The vocalist of the band ‘Parokya ni Edgar’ Chito Miranda.

Parokya ni Edgar has been referred to by local media as “Pambansang Banda ng Pilipinas” (The National Band of the Philippines). Despite having “Edgar” in the band’s name, none of the members are named Edgar.

Alfonso “Chito” Yanga Miranda, Jr.(born February 7, 1976) is a Filipino singer-songwriter and occasional actor best known as one of the founding members and lead singerfor the band Parokya ni Edgar.

Early life and career

Miranda attended grade school and high school at the Ateneo de Manila University where he met Gab Chee Kee, Vinci Montaner, Jeric Estaco, and Mikko Yap. They formed a garage band during their high school years.

The group was known in school to be class clowns. Normally in shows, they would show up in women’s clothing to entertain victims of earthquakes and typhoons and sing off-key in poetry readings.

They eventually landed the role of front act band for the locally well-known Filipino alternative rock band The Eraserheads. Later on, Buwi Meneses and schoolmate Dindin Moreno joined as bassist and drummer, respectively. When they graduated high school, Estaco and Yap decided to leave the group to pursue other interests. Shortly thereafter, Darius Semaña (lead guitar) joined to complete the sextet.

Band members

Current members

• Chito Miranda – lead vocals (1993–present)
• Buwi Meneses – bass guitar (1993–present)
• Darius Semaña– lead guitar (1993–present)
• Gab Chee Kee    – rhythm guitar, vocals (1993-present)
• Dindin Moreno – drums (1993–present)
• Vinci Montaner – backup vocals, occasional percussion, monologue, live comic relief (1993–2012, 2016–present)