On Cover: One Click Straight

Manila, Philippines — For over a decade, One Click Straight has built a sound and spirit uniquely their own—equal parts grit, melody, and heart. Composed of brothers Sam and Tim Marquez, with Toffer Marquez and Joel Cartera, the band has never waited for opportunities; they’ve created them. From late-night bar gigs to cross-country DIY tours, their story has always been about showing up—for their craft, their community, and the music that binds them. And now, with Radfest, that philosophy comes full circle: a homegrown festival that captures everything they’ve stood for since the beginning.

Roots of Radfest

“We started Radfest kasi before that, lagi naman kami nag-gigs. Lagi kami gumagawa ng mga DIY shows,” One Click Straight recalls. “Nag-start siya, syempre, bar gigs. Tapos we did our own DIY tours.”

For the band, the ethos of Radfest wasn’t born out of novelty, but from ten years of groundwork. “Mayroon kaming common denominator na napapansin na, alam mo, parang andito yung pinaka-ethos natin as a band. Yung mga beliefs. Andito yung passion natin eh,” they explain. “So I think, na-feel namin yung umabot sa 2025 na ito yung year na, gusto namin, just basically do what we’ve been doing for the past few years and put it on a bigger stage.”

Radfest, for them, isn’t just another event. It’s a culmination. “Same lang naman talaga eh. Tugtog lang with friends. And kahit hindi friends. Tugtog with people who believe in good music. You know? Parang ganon. Rock and roll, diba?”

“The ethos of the band, since the beginning of time, since we started, how long ago? More than a decade ago. I was like, if you, ano to yun eh, if you can’t get shows, you make your own shows.”

And because it’s their festival, they did it their way. “May idea si Sam. Parang gusto namin, lagay tayo ng massage chairs. Pwede yun. Kasi yun yung gusto ko gawin eh,” one of them laughs. “Before, pag umattend ako ng mga festivals or mga music events, man, solid. Kung pwede tayo nakaupo sa massage chair, pinapanuod yung best band, favorite band, solid yun. So parang, a fraction of the idea, nakagawa kami ng gano’n na thing.”

To them, Radfest isn’t boxed into genre or form. “Hindi rin naman siya necessarily a rock festival. It’s just music. Kaya nga siya Radfest eh. Lahat ng feel namin na rad.”

It’s also a reaction to a system they’ve observed in the scene where some had just been more focused on the number of streams of the bands and artists booked more than the art. “Pag industry, may mga reasons bakit… For example, may festival. Siyempre, may mga process yan na parang, ah, certain bands are gonna play here, or artists, kasi, medyo, let’s say, number-based,” they explain. “And we always felt na, well, gets ko yun, pero pa’no kung gusto na namin ng music? Pa’no kung gano’n na festival?”

“So we made our own festival, na music lang yung peg, bahala na. I don’t even know ano yung mga number-number ng mga bands and artists na kinuha namin. We just know, yung mga artists na ‘to, hit us personal.”

The Human Frequency

As the band puts it, Radfest—and their music as a whole—is a celebration of people showing up. “Some people just genuinely love music. Some people would show up because, I don’t know, it’s what’s cool. And some people would show up because, yun nga, I don’t wanna say clout, but, honestly, showing up for whatever reason means a lot to the band.”

“People can show up in different reasons and all that, pero yung pinaka-important is, once nagstart na yung sound waves, yung music na yung magbubuhat eh,” they continue. “Kahit pa maglagay ka ng pyrotechnics din or what, and any special effects, lagay mo pa si Michael Jordan diyan or whatever. Parang I think yung pinaka-key dun is, there’s people that would just wanna go to a place to celebrate music, and there are bands who want us to start that music for the people.”

As conversation shifts toward AI and the growing digitalization of music, the band remains firm in their faith in humanity. “Honestly, we can’t really see in the future what will happen in live music or listening experience of people with music because of how things are progressing,” they admit. “But I think, we, or our belief is like, music is life so— I trust the human race.”

They elaborate, “Even if the technological advances brings us to alien territory, there will always be these cores that people bring back—still human expression—and because that’s the point of music and that’s art.”

“We follow artists for their perspective. So, that’s the key that I think no matter what happens, I trust the human race and our species that live music is basically human perspective live.”

And if AI creates new paths, they’re curious but grounded. “There will be a new path of a niche of that prompt rock, I think. Indie prompt or folk prompt which is cool,” they joke. “But I know, I trust this lane and for every artist who’s still doing human-generated music, there’s a pot of gold somewhere there and the pot of gold is in the heaven, yeah.”

For them, AI only strengthens the argument for authenticity. “I hope it also serves as a reminder of why we value music and why human perspective should be taken care of,” they say. “We trust the people. You have to trust yourself that at the end of the day, we will find ways to support each other… I’m excited kasi less of the internet and more for real things and more for real interaction.”

For the Love of Sound Waves

Asked about influence, the band’s answers mirror their personalities—varied but aligned. “We started playing classical piano at the start of the age,” Toffer recalls. “Personally, I like Rage Against the Machine, Sum 41, the classics, then Blink-182.”

Tim reflects through analogy: “Ako, I think, more of inspiration ko is way of life. Na parang, you know, let’s start with something like food… nag-gravitate towards lang ako dun sa mga bagay na core or original.”

“For me, influence, wala akong isip right now sa art. Kaya kong sabihin, Oasis and everything, mga idols ko. Pero right now, mas nag-resonate ako na ang trip ko talaga is yung simple lang… you can make super creative ideas with egg and add this and that and add this and that. Pero in the end of the day, egg yan.” This is for Sam.

They laugh—“Egg man!”—but the metaphor is solid: simple, raw, honest.

And that honesty carries into how they see their role in the scene. “Numbers really don’t matter. At the end of the day, good music, good vibes, you can see it,” they affirm.

The dream is bigger than their name. “We have people, our people, have the luxury of enjoying music that way… na hindi na tayo, yung time of day, na maramimg hobbyists, maraming music lovers, na pwede rin talaga pumunta sa events, kasi, ‘ah, ito yung, hindi paulit-ulit yung lineups, hindi pa ganyan,’ it could be really mixed.”

“If ma-achieve in our generation, then that would be great,” they say. “Pero kung stepping stone lang kami, for the next generation of bands, to do the same thing, and then the next, and then the next… then I think, job well done for everybody.”

At its core, One Click Straight’s journey mirrors the spirit of the scene they’ve helped shape—restless, hopeful, and unafraid to make its own noise. Whether through the pulse of Radfest or the resonance of their music, the band continues to champion what’s real: connection, creativity, and the courage to show up. In their world, the sound waves never stop—they just keep finding new ways to be heard.

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Artist ONE CLICK STRAIGHT SAM MARQUEZ TIM MARQUEZ TOFFER MARQUEZ JOEL CARTERA Creative Director H Cover story JAS RICO Photographer DWIGHT LUNA Videographer DWIGHT LUNA  Produced by THE NEW HUE Location DORM HOUSE

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