"What are your influences?" a reporter from a magazine asks.

"Local or foreign?" they ask back.

"Any," the reporter says.

"Local," they reply.

This is just one of the million anecdotes that explain why Parokya ni Edgar is one of the biggest bands in the local music scene these days. Capturing the pinoy's weakness for humor and wit effortlessly, PNE still continues to lord it all over coming to their latest release Halina sa Parokya .

More than a decade ago, Parokya ni Edgar tested the warm waters of the industry called music. The band kicked off during Club Dredd's glorious years, creating music that made an impact even on first-time listeners. Since then, the band composed of Dindin Moreno (drums), Vinci Montaner (back-up vocals), Darius Semana (guitars), Gabriel Cheekee (guitars), Buwi Menesses (bass) and Chito Miranda (lead vocals) has won countless fans with their catchy music and quirky humor.

"Eto, matatanda na, sampung taon nang nagbabanda, pero enjoy na enjoy na enjoy pa rin . sobra. Hindi kami nagsasawa sa isa't isa kahit more than 20 years na kaming magkakasama," Chito Miranda declares enthusiastically when asked how they're doing now. A lot of good things have happened in their 10 fruitful years as a band-and through the years they have remained in a league all their own. "Actually," Chito continues, "ang highest priority namin ay dapat masasaya kami sa ginagawa namin. At dati wala kaming pang commute, pero ngayon meron na kaming pambili ng jeep ."

PnE have been around for more than a decade now: from the earliest origins as class clowns in Ateneo high school (where the name was first coined), to gigs in full costume at campus concerts and Club Dredd, to multi-platinum album releases and attention-grabbing (and award-winning) videos, to stadium size shows and U.S. tour last year. Not bad for a band who used to join school programs dressed in drag and bastardizing mainstream rock fodder such as Guns N' Roses' cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" ("Nakaw ang Wallet Ko"), Radiohead's "Creep" ("Trip," an ode to siopao ) and Yano's "Banal na Aso, Santong Kabayo" ("Chikinini"), among many others.

The late Bella Tan discovered PnE in Club Dredd; when she was invited by a rock manager to check out another band. They were signed up as soon as the band came up with more original songs. PnE's longstanding partnership with Universal Records was jumpstarted with two albums named like tongue twisters: Khangkhungkernitz and Buruguduystunstugudunstuy , which yielded future classics such as "Buloy," "Harana" and "Please Don't Touch My Birdie," among many others.

PnE then went on to release their Christmas album Jingle Balls, Silent Night, Holy Cow which is a cult favorite because of the twisted storyteller narrative about the reindeer that bullied Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. PnE's following release Gulong, Itlog, Gulong" skyrocketed the band's popularity with hits such as "Halaga," "Inuman Na" and "Picha Pie" and gave further proof that they're here to stay. Inspired by Ryan Cayabyab's seminal old TV show, PnE then released Edgar Edgar Musikahan, which yielded the summer hit " Swimming Beach ."

And just when a crop of young bands started to establish a new world order in the local rock scene, PnE came up with the blockbuster album "Bigotilyo." The release of the latter was boosted by the landmark hit "Mr. Suave," a song inspired by combancheros , AM Radio and Rico J. Puno that gave the novelty hit wave of 2004 a run for their money. The song laid out the red carpet for nostalgia and a barrage of election campaign jingles.

Countless Gold and Platinum Record Sales Awards, MTV Awards and Awit Awards trophies later, PnE is showing no signs of slowing down with their latest release Halina sa Parokya . Like any other Parokya album; comic skits, spoofs and heaps of classic Parokya humor abound in Halina Sa Parokya. The idea for their album artwork was inspired partly by the Department of Tourism's thrust to promote various tourist destinations and local festivities via their Wow Philippines campaign (if you can recall the TV advertisement which featured Regine Velasquez). The album was also inspired by both the popular children's TV show Sesame Street and its local counterpart Batibot . Taking a look at the album cover alone, you will laugh at the colourful characters Chito, Buwi, Vinci, Gab, Darius and Dindin portray!

The new album's highlights include the first day of school anthem "First Day Funk,"  the carrier single "Mang Jose" (about a superhero-for-hire who will rescue a victim then ask for payment of his services), "Walang Nangyari" (a spoof of the Andrew E. hit "Andrew Ford Medina"), "Papa Cologne" (which was originally intended by PnE for - of all people! - novelty group Masculados), "Bagsakan" (a collaboration with Francis M. and Gloc-9, further proof of pinoy rap's influence on the band), "Name Fun" (a spoof of the song "Name Game") and "The Ordertaker" (a spoof of System of a Down's metal hit "Toxicity"). Surely with their new release, Parokya will continue to deliver their brand of hilarious pop/rock that nobody has come close to capturing. Halika na !

It's obvious now, more than ever, to understand why Parokya ni Edgar has been dubbed as "Pambansang Banda Ng Pilipinas".