In Qatar’s dawning rock music scene, most bands stick to playing crowd favourites that are primed to earn them guaranteed applause. Then there are some who tread lesser travelled paths simply because they choose to believe in the genre of music they love playing, and hope that the audience will, too.
The peculiarly named Eiquf – formed from the first letters of the first names of the original band members – is a good example of the latter. The four-piece band of Filipino expats enjoys belting ’90s alternative rock, grunge, and even a bit of punk, and it shows. Their regular gigs at the popular British pub The Rose & Thistle in Horizon Manor Hotel are quite a hit with the patrons and the group is now well on its way to establishing its distinctive sound and style.
Two years after making their debut in the live music scene here and two days away from an imminent piece of sad news on the anvil, the cool bunch takes stock at a quiet coffee shop in Al Sadd on Wednesday night. “We first met at this jam room in Mansoora. It was our hideout place,” Quincy, Eiquf’s frontman recalls, “We called it the Rock N’ Roll house. It was basically a sound-proofed studio for musician friends to come together and jam. But it’s gone now. The people who started it left Doha.”
Like Quincy, bassist Ian and rhythm-lead guitarist Eli, too, were in different bands back then. “We were in various bands such as Hello Monday, All Systems Go, No Bad Days, Oda, and Yema,” Ian says, “Eli and I were band mates since 2012. After getting done with No Bad Days, both of us took a break from the scene and decided to return with a ’90s alternative-grunge rock band.”
Eli says, “Quincy is the first guy we approached to be the lead singer. The original drummer had a short stint with us as he had to go home. We have had several drummer changes since then but the three of us have stayed on.” 
The new drummer in is Rob, who joined this July. “We just put him straight on the stage. Our first two gigs with Rob were also our first two practice sessions with him,” Ian says, laughing. Rob shrugs and says, “There was no other way. They had consecutive gigs and their previous drummer had left. They gave me a super long list of songs – about 80 in all – and asked to learn whatever I could in just three days.” 
Back in the Philippines, Rob used to play drums for “variety music” bands, a term he uses for hodgepodge, genre-traversing popular music. “That was my job. But musicians get paid very little there.” 
It’s taken the band no time to get Rob into the fold. “July was our busiest month thus far, as we had five gigs. In August, we had three. It’s been a while since we have been playing exclusively at The Rose & Thistle. We are really grateful to the Garveys to have helped us reach where we have, in the music scene of Qatar. We have too many people to thank – Chris Garvey, Anthony, Melvin, Heather. They have made us feel at home and have given us the opportunity to play there. Playing at The R&T makes us feel like we are in a community back home. At some other venues, we feel like outcastes,” Quincy says, referring to the fierce competition among the various Filipino bands in Qatar, some of who are regulars at certain clubs.
Ian explains, “We are happy to do our own thing. A rock band is like a basketball team. You play as a team; you don’t play only for yourself. Also, we don’t claim to be good. Even when people compliment us, we choose to stay humble. We don’t get too excited.” 
When any of the four make a mistake during a show, they shake it off. “We all know who erred and we have a laugh about it. Of course, we talk about it after the show but not seriously. We are not just band mates. We are friends first, and I think that’s very important. The bonding itself is just as important as playing music. We are like brothers. We chill together, insult each other and crack jokes. Rob is new and doesn’t know the rest of us so well, so he often gets bullied,” says Ian, chuckling.
Rob says, “When I joined the band, I told them right away – I am joining because I need money. That’s because my salary at my day job isn’t that good. But when we played a couple of gigs, I enjoyed it so much that now bonding certainly comes first and money second.” Eli is ready with his response that gets the whole gang laughing: “That’s why we now tell Rob – since you love our bonding so much, you don’t seem to need the money anymore. So give your share, too.”
Even with rehearsals, which they have at their friend Nord’s place in Abu Hamour, the band takes it easy. “We jam a week or two before our gig. We can’t jam regularly because I have a really tight schedule,” says Eli, who works as a graphic designer, “One time, I had to miss the show because I had to stay back at work and complete a job.” Quincy says, “So we had to get a stand-in guitarist and change our set-list a bit. We managed well in the end.”
What’s truly heartbreaking for the band is Quincy’s leaving this weekend as he is set to move to Oman for professional reasons. “I cried at our last show at The R&T, last Thursday,” says Quincy, at once laughing and also feeling a tad emotional, “We had great fun playing that night. But all of us were emotional at the end of our set because it was literally the final set for us as a band. There will be a new vocalist but it won’t be the same for me or for my mates.”
However, there’s never really too serious a moment for this bunch. One of them prompts the other to share a funny episode concerning Rob at a recent gig. “Rob had too much water to drink before our set and he desperately needed to go to the loo,” Ian says, as others laugh, “So when the crowd was all pumped up and spurred us on to launch into a final, fiery spell, Rob just upped and dashed to the washroom. To keep the show going, on a whim, Eli started playing Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud and Quincy began singing even as the crowd wondered what had happened to our musical choices. It was good fun!”