Moonpools & Caterpillars

The Glendale-based Moonpools and Caterpillars were one of the most successful bands of Philippine ancestry and released their only major-label album, Lucky Dumpling, in 1995 through Eastwest/Elektra. The strong debut was produced by Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Go-Go's, Judybats, and Jeffrey Gaines) and Jeffrey Lesser (Lou Reed, Barbra Streisand) at Bearsville Studios. Moonpools and Caterpillars were popular mainstays of the Los Angeles scene, especially on the Sunset Strip. Lead singer Kimi Ward Encarnacion had the voice and stage presence of Natalie Merchant, Bjork, and Gwen Stefani. JayJay Encarnacion brought an amazing combination of guitar sounds to the group and was influenced by U2's the Edge, 10,000 Maniacs' Robert Buck, and the Smiths' Johnny Marr. Bassist Tim DePala and drummer Gugut Salgado made up a dynamic rhythm section. Moonpools and Caterpillars have accurately been compared to Belly, the Cocteau Twins, Edna Swap, Alanis Morisette, the Cranberries, Velocity Girl, Tuscadero, Blake Babies, the Darling Buds, Liz Phair, and Veruca Salt. In spite of album sales that disappointed Elektra, Lucky Dumpling was a critical success and Volkswagon licensed multiple songs for the Jetta debut ad campaign (especially "Hear"). The band's song "Summertime" also was used in Disney's Baby-Sitters Club. Moonpools released The Pink Album in 1995 through Nobu Records. A third disc simply called Twelve Songs was for sale the night the group disbanded in 1998. Moonpools and Caterpillars were a phenomenal band that was vastly underappreciated. In a fair, just world where good taste reigned, Moonspools & Caterpillars would be household names. ~ JT Griffith, All Music Guide