PinoyRock pioneers reunite!

by: YUGEL LOSORATA
 

To see members of the legendary Juan de la Cruz Band perform together again is not just looking at veteran musicians showing they can still do it. But it is more of marveling at a famed trio whose contribution to Pinoy rock wasn’t only a statement but a definition during the early 70s or in an era when Tagalog rock songs had not yet found a way to capture the hearts of Filipino youth. Yes, the classic triumvirate of Joey "Pepe" Smith, Mike Hanopol, and Wally Gonzalez are back — at least on stage. Producer Danny Barrozo, a fan of the three way back in his high school years, felt the need to reunite them through a major concert billed "Ang Pagkalas" set this coming June 11 in time for Independence Day. This get-together, to be held at the World Trade Center in Pasay, is somehow seen as the ultimate encore to the trio’s "Ang Pagbabalik" Concert in 1998 where Razorback, a group owing much reverence to their music, performed as their front-act. This time, Juan de la Cruz is bound to churn out its old hits with new arrangements, along with the fact that they’ll be performing their melodic rock classics with state-of-the-art musical equipment.

A press conference was held last Friday at Chaquico’s Bar in Makati where the three sat side by side to the crowd’s bewilderment, feeling that the event being set for these rock icons is a kind of honor they truly deserve. "Excited ako for this reunion!" exclaimed Hanopol, the beret-wearing rocker who, as a solo artist, spawned many hits including the remarkable "Laki Sa Layaw." Hanopol, who described the band’s classic originals as their own children, therefore, "wala kaming paborito," was a dominant force in the group’s songwriting department. He wrote and co-wrote two of the band’s most memorable tunes, "No Touch" and "Titser’s Enemi. No.1," respectively. Ever the ‘jeprox’, he blurted, "Nakakalamang kami sa ibang mga banda ngayon kasi kami ang original, kami ang Pinoy rock!" Well, his boast may probably just get nods of respect from rock groups they obviously influenced.

The lanky Pepe Smith, perceived by many as the iconic image of Pinoy rock, sounded just as excited, but trying not to make too big a deal with what’s at hand, "I just wanna play around. Show a few chords. Scream a few lyrics. Have a good time. We’re giving a shot in the arm just to remind people that once upon a time there’s this group who came out and did stupid things." Stupid? This must be Pepe’s other word for ‘great’ since Juan de la Cruz Band, recipient of NU 107 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, really did wonderful things for the music industry. For one, their touchingly anthemic "Himig Natin," sang and co-written by Pepe himself, became a generation’s melody, catapulting Tagalog rock into popular acceptance.
 

After the contract-signing formalizing the reunion concert, Pepe, Mike, and Wally, each with an electric guitar, jammed on stage with a couple of sessionists and performed some of their signature hits including "Balong Malalim" and "Mamasyal sa Pilipinas." Wally, who idolizes guitar-god Eric Clapton, played superb guitar lines, attracting much attention from press photographers, while Mike easily fired up the crowd with the catchy "Titster’s Enemi No.1" intro.
 

Producing what for him is his biggest project so far, Barrozo shared how did he manage to assemble the Juan de la Cruz band for such a significant concert event. "I happened to see Pepe (Smith) during last year’s NU Rock Awards and that gave me the idea to unite the three. When a friend chanced upon Mike (Hanopol) during a TV taping, that gave me the opportunity to set for a meeting. Mike, Wally and I met last Jan. 11 and from there it got well through this. Juan de la Cruz Band is a legend so I think we’re coming up with something our music industry, especially the rock scene, should really be proud of."
 

Juan de la Cruz Band — its homegrown name patterned after Uncle Sam’s strong identification to the people of United States — was part of the first open field rock festival in the country which was held in Antipolo in 1970. Needing to identify the group’s official members apart from sessionists, Wally’s brother Dodie thought of the three–man group concept. Pepe, Mike and Wally shared vocal and songwriting duties, with Pepe usually on drums/acoustic guitars, Mike on bass/piano, and Wally on guitars.
The group’s first album, "Up in Arms" was released in 1972, followed by "Ang Himig Natin" the next year. Their last was "Kahit Anong Mangyari" in 1981. This was the album wherein several of the tracks later found their way to the band’s greatest hits collection aptly called "Himig Natin."
 

Asked if they’ll go for the idea of working on a reunion album composed of new compositions from them, Pepe Smith just proudly replied, "We have nothing to prove anymore. But if given the chance, we’ll be happy to do it. There are still some songs in our heads."
 

A few of today’s marquee musicians are being invited to jam alongside Juan de la Cruz Band in their June concert as they play their memorable hits and possibly, a new song also entitled "Ang Pagkalas" now being written by the group.

Pepe Smith and Wally Gonzalez  Rockin’ on!

 By Irene Ocampo Curtis    (Tuesday, October 05, 2004)

It’s a damp night and the rock circuit is abuzz. Along Scout Borromeo, the wet road is almost dead, the coldness benign. But inside My Bro’s Moustache Folk House, excitement is a contagious illness aggravated by keyed-up, joint-silhouetted nocturnes inadvertently knocking joints and skulls in the dense space. Casually fitted corporate dads, leftover hippies in ponytails, kids in dreadlocks and football jerseys, beatnik poles and birds in black— they’re all here to celebrate a rare rock freakout with two Pinoy rock legends, Juan de la Cruz Band’s (JDLC) Wally Gonzalez and Pepe Smith. Expectations: Definitely high.

When these two come together for a show expectations are definitely high.

The Juan de la Cruz Band has always been a cut above the rest. Three virtuoso musicians who needed not dabble with grand upstaging antics or follow any dictates from guys in business suits. Wally, JDLC’s lead guitarist, exults, “Being with JDLC was the ultimate high because for a musician, there’s nothing greater than being able to play what you want.”

“We just wanted a Pinoy rock thing. We were lucky people liked it though we were not sure they would,” enthused Pepe, who both played the guitar and sang vocals for the group.

JDLC straddled the politically ravaged seventies with their innovative all-Tagalog sound, effortlessly capsizing the barriers between the high and the low class, and steering the children of that decadent era with untouched invincibility. Together with JDLC bassist Mike Hanopol, this rock triumvirate rocked, soared . . . then fell silent. And just like that, Pinoy rock was orphaned.

Outside looking in

“I had to support my family.” Certified guitar god Wally Gonzalez released two solo LP’s after JDLC disbanded (which yielded the epic Wally’s Blues). But upon his return from a non-JDLC Singapore gig, EDSA was on full blast, disco had overthrown rock, and music royalty was a big pain in the ass. Thus, the musician-slash-family man gave up his fire-breathing metal chest to return to anonymous real life as treasurer for his brother’s shipping company.

Nineteen Eighty Nine, London, rock capital. Strolling along Piccadilly Circus, the classic strains of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” made its way to Wally’s music deprived ears. Right then and there, he knew it was time to go back.

For Joey “Pepe” Smith, it was more like, “where did the good times go?” The JDLC breakup had a Beatle-like element to it, with the group’s individual and gradual branching out culminating in an unexpected breakup while still on top.

Pepe then turned into a freewheeling nomad who played band after band after band. “I must have played guitars in a thousand bands: Pepe Smith and The Victims, Pepe Smith and The Bureaus, Pepe Smith and The Airwaves, the list goes on.”

Watching him leap from one (mis)adventure to another, the world can now say that Pepe is truly one of the few unstoppable potty-mouthed rebels who lived (and still does!) rock and roll to the bloody hilt. Whatever straights accuse him of you have to give credit to the man for being less like a dying survivor and more of a defiant survivalist. Pepe’s note to self: Don’t die.

In 1998, JDLC staged an ill promoted but well-attended reunion concert that marked their perilous route to a second act. Back in the scene, the group discovered how much influence their music wielded over commercial Gen-X rock bands. And now, with Wally and Pepe back into the fold, getting the café latte generation to finally take notice is definitely easier.

In Deep Sh*t

That’s where the Filipino music industry is as far as Wally and Pepe are concerned. The former recalled his disgusted amazement in finding out that after 15 years of absence, a pithy P1,800 is all he’s going get from his record label. “That amounts to four years of royalty dues, so I asked them, asan na yung 11 years na natira? [Where’s the rest of the 11 years?]”

Thanks to an Australian album collector, Wally learned that he was being railroaded in Europe. Over www.psychedelic-music.com, two of Wally’s solo albums (Wally On The Road and Tunog Pinoy) are sold by a German label for $55 each. A solo album of Pepe’s is also included in the list while the very first JDLC album (with the original lineup), Up In Arms, is being sold as a collector’s item for $2,000—with no royalties. “Wala kaming laban [We can’t put up a fight] because the Philippines has no jurisdiction outside its territory.”

The 54-year-old guitarist can now only joke about the miserable plight of the Filipino musician/composer. But his friend Pepe feels differently. “We don’t get legit international sales in Filipino communities abroad. Sometimes, I receive P100 and P300 for local sales, naka-check pa.”

They ventured that as far as royalties go, nothing has changed from the time of JDLC up to now. Wally opined that this kind of thing should not be happening to established musicians their age and of iconic status at that.

He remains disheartened by the subsistence wages they had received—or rather had not received—for years of working grueling hours on the blues-rock circuit. “It’s so sad ‘cause pinaghirapan mo yun [you worked hard for it] then it can’t even support you.”

The two also share similar sentiments on releasing new solo albums. Wally has temporarily put off plans of releasing an CD with his new band. “It’s hard to offer it to a big label where you don’t even know how much you’re getting sales-wise.”

Meanwhile, Pepe remains on the lookout for labels that would “really take care of it, promote it, all the works.” This time, he’s not willing to compromise all the hard work he put in with Idiosyncrasy, his latest album.

Wally even thought of bootlegging their own work, just as nineties band, Eraserheads, did when piracy started swallowing the industry whole. “At least, nahahawakan mo ’yung pinaghirapan mo [you get what you worked for].”

Another sensitive issue these two rock protagonists are protesting is the fact that the Juan de la Cruz Band has never received recognition from respected national award-giving bodies; even if it has played a major role in shaping Filipino music as the first rock and roll group in history to create all-Tagalog hits, and by influencing other Pinoy-sounding bands to follow their lead.  NU Rock Awards is the only group that recognized the contributions of the band when they first named Pepe Smith to the Hall of Fame and conferred the same award to Wally Gonzalez in 2002.

Intimate rock orgy

August 31. Bathed in hazy stage lights, the cozy acoustic gig opened with a sharp rhythm that pierced through everyone. Pepe, all bony and with cool dark glasses, barked The Doors’ “Backdoor Man” and the audience responded with a strange exalting welcome. Wally, the blues rocker, provided a slow, rolling pressure that exploded into outright mad conclusions. The audience lapped it up.

The stripped-bare rock n’ roll rumble of these two demi-gods included keyboard-sounding riffs in “Route 66” by the Rolling Stones, “Baguio” and “Rakenrol Sa Ulan” by JDLC. Rustic spirits that grew up with the band couldn’t contain their rock-induced bliss and gave the nervous Pepe a pat on the back from afar. “You’ve still got it, man!”

With a crowd that doesn’t cringe at foul language, Pepe played up on harmless admonitions and nontoxic references to drugs that everyone took in good-naturedly. Even while trapped in that classically torn and frayed body, Pepe still has that rock n’roll swagger. And though he admitted to being nervous, there was nothing tentative in the way he played the set.

Beside him, the brooding form of Wally provided a striking contrast to Pepe’s unrestrained rocking. Great guitar wanks, six-string bliss, mighty axe grinds — they all had the hypnotizing Wally G. touch. Pepe, with his guttural yawps and unbridled wildness, is a compelling performer that no one could ever ignore. But Wally, though careful not to upstage his good friend, still managed to steal the spotlight with his complex, barbed guitar riffs. Together, they successfully ripped it up for the rock-hungry spirits incarcerated in a music lockdown.

The set goes on with more Rolling Stones, Doors and JDLC. Present that night to provide the duo some groovy harmonica playing was photographer Tom Epperson. After 90 minutes of gritty, sped-up blues, “Himig Natin” wrapped things up just beautifully. Fans and friends gravitated toward the stage where another half hour or so was spent taking pictures and signing autographs.

That night, the realization was that nobody can demythologize Wally Gonzalez and Pepe Smith. Not even when technical glitches and patrons operating on hostile frequency almost ruin a good show, as they did in the second “plugged and unplugged” engagement on September 15.

Energy, comedy, tragedy and soul—the elements of a great gig that almost went pffft. Grounded cables, annoying feedback, a broken guitar string, and blitzed listeners. “It’s all part of performing live,” Wally explained. But the truly amazing thing about that night was the way Wally and Pepe managed to rouse the troops from quasi-somnolence. In the late ciggie smoke-coated night, the two musicians angrily retreated from their idle goulash and came back hitting the few last songs fast, stretching them out for a while, fusing themselves and the audience through the music, and finally, ending it with a corrosive bang.

And once again, the audience lavished on the two the kind of adoration reserved for nothing less than rock gods. For at each show, no one left without turning into a convert. For Pepe, the rock knight who can’t get no satisfaction, the performances were reminiscent of his early rockin’ days. Wally rekindled JDLC junkies’ hope by letting it slip that with Mike Hanopol still in the country, a complete reunion gig — no big concerts this time—just might happen.

In the meantime, rock-thirsty brothers can get their fill of Wally and Pepe’s brand of blues and rock at the first year anniversary of Chaquico’s Bar (Makati Avenue corner Jupiter Street, where Wally Gonzalez and Friends also play every Thursday) on October 14.

For some of us who weren’t even breathing when the JDLC were young and savage, those two nights, clearly, weren’t just about nostalgia. There was no false sentimentality about; just two distinct personalities and a roomful of rockin’ souls inextricably bound by rock n’ roll.

Wally and Pepe, we salute you! 

Pepe Smith is still kicking    (April 30, 2004)
- Irene Ocampo Curtis

Pare, when Pepe Smith enters the door, you’d definitely know it. Hellish excitement breaks out conversations stop, necks crane, tongue and tails wag surreptitiously: “Who??? Shit, where?! Is that him???” everybody wants a peek. Some play it (pa-)cool: stare uninterestingly at the man then mentally pump fists in the air when he returns the once-over. Others like this writer would rather hand him a pen and if god loves us, have a nice chat. Magpakatotoo ka, bro. Whether you like it or not, Pinoy rock’s Joseph “Pepe” smith is definitely it.
 

Locally, he’d be the biggest fish any rock writer could catch. It’s not just because the hippie pulse raced against his whippin’ stick n’ skin vibe or that he murdered the strings with his slidin’ blues without the help of the modern guitarists’ “kikay kit” a.k.a. the effects box. Actually, it may be because after almost 40 years, nobody has successfully enlisted into the rock circus and survived the way Mr. Pepe “sex, drugs, rock n’roll and more” smith fully did.
 

It’s been a long time since the world heard from Juan dela Cruz’s mad, mad drummer. But Pepe’s now kickin’ and back to form. Already pushing 60, you’d expect the gen-transcending rocker to do it the “dying rock hero way” and just throw his repackaged nuggets to the classic cult. However, Pepe didn’t survive the trip to hell and back only to have his nuts desperately crushed now.
“No retakes, no covers, no rehashes, and no frills” exactly how the rollin’ musical squeezebox described idiosyncrasies, an all-new 11-track album that is Pepe’s latest contribution to the Pinoy rock community. It’ll give rakistas a good idea on where Pepe stands now musically but, as we wait for its targeted May-June debut, the Times give you a fact here and a revelation or two over there on the mythical Pepe in his own words. • Sixties band, The Downbeats, where a 19-year-old Pepe played drums was a front act for The Beatles during the latter’s disastrous Manila visit in ’66. “I almost fainted when we were told. We got to meet the three Beatles except for Ringo. Our manager bought the Beatle amps for us coz after that concert, they started using Marshall amps.”
 

• In the Seventies, his beats landed him onstage with his hero, John Lennon, in Japan. “And I was so lucky that the bands I played with opened for a lot of big foreign rock acts both here and abroad like Pink Floyd, Les Paul and Jerry Ford, Grand Funk Railroad, Bad Company, L.A. Brothers...”
 

• The MTV generation got its first bite of Pepe when he appeared on one of its initial “MTV Enjoy” fillers. Remember the shorn-haired meztizo whom every poser thought was a foreign classic rock god who brought home an unpaid TV set in a cab? “They told me to just grab a TV and take it home in a cab. I told them I didn’t have money to pay for it and they said they’d take care of it. Great!” Now that’s something anyone would enjoy.
 

• The already balding rock circuit almost lost Pepe and his twang in an auto accident in January. “I was sleeping at the passenger seat and then—bam! There goes my chin!” It took lots of money to glue his jaw back, money that was provided by the rock frat. “I want to offer my new album to these people who pitched in for my surgery.”
 

• Burning question from the fans: honestly, was there a lot of bad blood when JDLC bit the dust? “Actually, it was more like, ‘where did the good times go?’” Got that?
 

• After handing him the Legend award, NU 107 made the uninhibited man of rock the very first inductee to its (and the country’s only) RnR Hall of Fame. “It was then that I realized how much people loved me. I owe my fans my life.”
 

• Indeed, it’s a freak that the legend still lives despite his decades-running stint in the wasted, loony rock trail; Pepe puts credit where it’s really due. “Living the rock and roll life was normal for me. What was important to me was that I didn’t treat anybody cruelly nor stepped on anyone while I passed by. I was just lucky that the lord loves me, e di napagbigyan.”
 

• On how he had evolved from the man he was: “Pepe today is a far cry from Pepe of yore. Before, I was curious about everything. Everything I’ve learned, I taught myself; I used to think I didn’t need anyone. But the truth is you can’t live alone. There’ll come a time that you’d have no choice but to go to Him. That and appreciating the people around you, those are the most important things I’ve learned.
 

• In case you think he’s on the rocker-to-preacher path, well, think again. The man still curses and cusses like the best in the lot. No need to say what specifically gives the man damn rashes; suffice to say he’s got a lot to shit about whenever the subject of “—TYs”—royalty, piracy, et.al.—comes up. Note: The man can’t live without his music—literally. So, for those who proudly bag pirated Mega Hits of Pinoy Rock or JDLC CDs, don’t be surprised to see Pepe not walking but sleeping on the streets one of these days.
Young rockers who are floating on cloud nine right now don’t think much of Pepe here, but go ask a legit rock apostle on who best represents Filipino rock at its best and worst. This is why PULP Magazine, the only legit rock authority in town, put Pepe at the helm of Pulp Summer Slam IV today at 1 p.m. in Quezon City’s Amoranto Stadium, along with the nation’s hottest rock outfits and 13 new bands personally handpicked by Pepe to carry on the torch of Pinoy rock! Yeah! With every good thing that happened to him since ’04 started, this certainly promises to be Pepe’s year! Rock and roll!!!


 

And the indie bands play on   (March 16, 2004)
- Karl de Mesa
 

 SANDWICH is, to the uninitiated, one of the best bands to come out of the whole post nineties band backlash. They are a supergroup, what with their line-up featuring Raimund Marasigan on guitars and vocals, NU107 jockey Myrene Academia on bass, Diego Castillo on guitars, Mike Dizon on drums and proudly charismatic Marc Abaya as frontman. They have given Pinoy rock renewed life through their anarchic swagger, inventive playfulness and a gaggle of hits that get people moshing either in the real pit or at placid mall gigs.
 

Their previous albums Grip, Stand, Throw and 4-Track Mind are sound documents of a post- 9/11 and post-Erap age. Pound for pound, the all-mighty rampaging triple guitar attack of Sandwich, coupled with their brilliant songwriting skills and superb on-stage flamboyance indicated they had the guns and guts to elevate Pinoy rock to the next level. 
Which is why Thanks to the Moon's Gravitational Pull feels like it's not up to par. Wait, calm down. First of all there's loads of keen stuff here. The album's got one helluva captivating, sexy cover that will get heads turning and wallets opening faster than you can say the album title. 
Plus, Thanks. . . is filled with the archetypal Sandwich merits, complete with all the bells and whistles: dazzling turns of rhythm, captivating melodies other bands would die for, chemistry that simply oozes right off the speakers and a proclivity for aggressive power that leaves you drowning happily in a sonic bath of bliss.
              
However, there is nothing as instantly original or ingenious here. No psychedelically majestic "Butterfly Carnival", no explosive "Food for the Soul". It actually feels and I'm probably going to be crucified for this that Sandwich are repeating themselves. The opener "Astro Holiday" rocks out - little space for argument there but it's a simplistic song that's good for little else than arena excitement. "Return to Center" and "Scared Shitless" actually sound like each others twins, just with variants in time and rhythm and a whole other set of lyrics.
 

By the time "Homerun" comes in for the second spin (a pleasingly raw on the edges rock ballad) you feel that there's something horribly wrong. Why doesn't this album hold your attention? Even with hot tracks like "2 Trick Pony", "Nahuhulog" and "Right Now" scattered like lovely gems through out the album there's simply too much fluff here for it not to get top heavy, keeling over at the wrong moments as if it hit an iceberg.
 

Perhaps it's got something to do with the live element, the band having explained on previous interviews that they wanted everything on the album easily playable live? Still, the whole record simply feels like Sandwich are not trying hard enough, or are merely waiting for something in their creative juices to click and grant them that perfect synchronicity that brought us Grip, Stand, Throw.
 

Critics may have also been mistaken in hailing Sandwich as our rock and roll saviors, but I'd like to believe the band is capable of leading us to the Promised Land. We may just have to wait though, because they won't do it with the songs on Thanks. . 
[Copies of the album are available at Sarabia Optical at UP Diliman Shopping Center or check out play4serve.com/sandwich]
Twisted Halo
 

The name of Twisted Halo's second album sounds twisted. It's called In Loving Memory of the Fearless Exploits of the Bolo Brigade. Says the press kit to explain the long, ubiquitous title: "In World War 2, the Bolo Brigade was a group of Filipino resistance fighters who assisted the American Forces when they returned to the Philippines. Poorly equipped, armed with little more than bolos, they went up against superior Japanese forces. . .it is to their memory that this album is dedicated."
That statement and the cover painting by Amorsolo depicting an idyllic rural scene of farmers carrying home the harvest would probably tell you that Twisted Halo are either a protest rock group or have serious activist leanings.
 

Basically they take the Brigade's all-or-nothing, fight-to-the-end clarion and run with it to offer better illumination to our age's issues. These issues being anything that we fail to confront either through indolence or jadedness. In the Halo's music, there's a veritable assortment of concerns to rail against if we can just make ourselves sit up and take notice. They include: things that make you want to take a gun and go on a shooting spree ("Breakable"), mindless violence ("Closed Captioned"), prostitution ("No 36."), consequences of the rat race ("Miron"), addiction ("Again"), love ("All About Relationships"), unpaid grievances ("Unsettled") and self-hatred ("Solace").
 

Twisted Halo are Buddy Zabala (bass), Jason Caballa (guitars), Vin Dancel (vocals, guitars), Joey Odullo (guitars) and Monmon Lopez (drums). The kit is vague on how these guys got together but their music is as uncompromising as it promises. All the old rock clich are given new life here, breathed on by a fiery vigor that lets you know Pinoy rock's oven of goodies can still spring a few surprises, even on terms of pure unquenchable emotion.
 

My favorite is the aching, personal and tremendously moody 'Asan Na?' As an urban ballad that directs you to the pastoral, simple virtues of untarnished love conjured through memory this track is excellent. "Noon pa man ay alam ko na/ Sa mga panaginip ko nakita / Magiging bahagi ka ng isang / Makulay na dula / Na aking ipipinta,?" sings Dancel, tugging at the heart strings and refusing to let go. The way the guitar notes are stretched seemingly towards infinity, swallowing itself up Ouroboros-fashion, strikes the viscera unerring.
 

In fact my only complaint is that they could perhaps find more effects to play with. See, by the time track 11 comes in (and there are 16 tracks on this whopper of an album!) I'm tapping my fingers, expecting a brilliant turn of sound or a gorgeous lyric to break the monotony. Hmmm, nothing. The album can get pretty lackluster with the same distortion, and you can only play power chords so many ways before it sounds repetitive (yes even with astounding lyrics). 'Pyramids' is, no doubt, a refreshing ender though.
 

Still, for a jolt of good old rock played with essential strut and honesty, careening towards its own altar of truth nothing beats this debut by the Halo. Cheers.
 

Wally Gonzalez is still kicking

 By Irene O. Curtis        (Saturday, February 07, 2004)

PURE, high quality white stuff, and Wally Gonzalez playing incendiary music not from a box but less than just two feet away. Both have almost the same anesthetizing impact that could have your bloody guts streaming straight out of your nostrils. But whereas said white stuff leaves you comatose, three hours of ear-blasting rockin’ revival from one of Pinoy’s rocks genuine masters send rock hormones on a blazing rampage.

From Wally to Pepe, with love

Night in question was a fund-raising gig for blues-sliding iconoclast Joseph ‘Pepe’ Smith whose jaw cracked open in an unfortunate auto accident earlier this month. No, he wasn’t stoned-driving (a presumptive mass-conclusion) but was actually dozing off in the passenger seat when the vehicle skidded to a jarring halt and his bony chin acquainted itself with the dashboard. Broken classic-rocker-chins are pretty expensive to repair and this particular one required major reconstruction thus burning a hole on Pepe’s jeans pocket.

Former bandmate and good friend Wally Gonzalez was only too glad to help out and immediately organized a series of headlining gigs for Pepe’s jaw surgery. The shows, featuring not only rockers of yore but great picks from Gen-X as well, had considerable audience turnout. Gig-generated funds and cash donations from the music circuit helped wheel Pepe into the operating room and when discharged recently, he’s as scruffy as ever.

If you’re a self-proclaimed rock enthusiast and then ask me who the hell are Wally and Pepe, well, excuse me while I whack your poser ass. But for the benefit of the genuinely bewildered, the two, together with Mike Hanopol, made up the Juan de la Cruz band (JDLC) that’s the certified protagonist of the authentic Pinoy rock movement in the early seventies.

In the beginning

Wally was left with JDLC’s moniker when the original bandmates left to form Anakbayan. The next JDLC (with Clifford Ho, Rene Sogueco, Romy Santos and Bobot Guerrero) came up with an aptly titled 1972 LP, Up In Arms.

The group (with ex-drummer Sandy Tagarro) branded CCP’s hallowed halls with a Philharmonic-backed rock concert that had roguish bikers flocking to the place. Weed-smokin’ peeps out to have rockin’ fun had some while splashing in the Center’s fountain while stoned-out hippies found the regal monstrosity’s carpeted hall conducive to relaxing.

“It was a silent protest. Imagine, ABC class ang nandon, tapos biglang nangyari yung ganon, Wally marveled. “Without saying anything, we proved we could still act that way despite Martial Law.”

Actually, CCP wanted another show the next day but a cigarette-seared usherette in smoke-banned CCP singed encore plans. But Malacañang invitations poured in, baffling minds since many considered Up In Arms as a protest album. “The administration then was very supportive of Filipino musicians. I don’t know who among post-Marcos presidents gave the kind of support that musical artists received then,” Wally explained.

Power trio

Influenced and inspired by Brit-rock triumvirate, Cream, the third JDLC installment combined the power of Wally’s lead finger-pickin’, Mike’s throbbing bass lines and Pepe’s racing drum pounding. The result: a brief but heady musical engagement that left a lasting legacy in Filipino rock.

Idea then was to form a rock band—not pop or folk but rock as real as it could get—that would play all-original Tagalog songs. “After we wrote a song for a show called Himig Natin in Luneta, I suggested to the group, why don’t JDLC just do original songs in Tagalog since wala pang gumagawa ng ganon at that time,” recounted the Clapton-signature player.

JDLC’s maiden LP, Himig Natin, was recorded in two nights since they dished out recording bucks themselves. Buying block time in DZRJ, they turned Wednesdays into special JDLC nights for one month. Thus, the whole album was handed over to Vicor Records on a silver platter.

Rak ‘en Rol sa Ulan, Mamasyal sa Pilipinas, Beep Beep, Balong Malalim and Himig Natin are just but a few of JDLC’s songs that laid Fil-rock’s foundation. Other albums include Maskara (1974), Super Session-Live at the UP Theatre (1975), Greatest Hits Live (Live Concert in Cebu), The Best of Juan Dela Cruz Band (1980), and Kahit Anong Mangyari (1981).

Splintered crystal

JDLC was a cut above the rest.. They didn’t dabble with grand upstaging antics nor follow any dictates from guys in business suits. “Being in JDLC was the ultimate high for me coz as musicians, we only played how and what we wanted to play. Ang sarap!” exulted the 54-year-old rock icon.

But the stage was too small even with just three people on it. With young, prolific musical artists, a split was inevitable. It was a time of experimentation, and that’s what the group set out to do—individually. While the electrifying advent to fame with Himig Natin underscored JDLC’s zenith, the break-up just the opposite. “Each just went his own way.”

And the Pinoy rock movement they launched ended. JDLC’s train reached a station and everyone got off; the blazing trail was too fiery for others to successfully follow.

More than 20 years after JDLC closed shop, the three (with a short-haired Wally) came together in a long-awaited reunion that gave rise once again to Wally-comeback rumors. In 2002, speculations materialized.

Rockin’ on

Inside the dim, compact folk-hub that is My Brother’s Moustache in Sct. Borromeo, I found the closest thing Filipino rockers could have to a Clapton/Page.

I wouldn’t know if Wally’s live string-bending blues and Fender slurs today were just as simultaneously deadening and resuscitating, as they were when he had waist-flowing hair. One thing’s for sure: he knows how rock should be truly played—OUT LOUD!

Boy Vinzon, MBM’s owner and Wally’s buddy, couldn’t believe Wally wanted 100-watt amps when the 30-watt Marshall he’s using already had the whole bar vibrating. Wally Gonzalez and Friends (his new band) play only acoustic rock at the Malate branch (located on 2nd floor) where there’s wood flooring. “Everytime Wally plays there, the owner of the bar below tells me, debris is falling down my place again,” chuckled Vinzon.

Wally’s new band boasts of a strong, fire-breathing rhythm section and a lusty vocal pair. Bass master Dondi Ledesma (who was adjudged Best Bassist in the world by a foreign bass magazine) and cymbal and bass drum demolisher Nelson Ocampo jacks up the music voltage. Ex-Passage band vocals, nubile Kat Agarrado perfects soft blues but her voice, high-ranged as it is, drowns under aggressive rig and beat Intercourses. Harmonica-playing vocalist, Joonie Centeno, catches Babyboomer-rock’s spirit. Keyboardist Wowee Posadas was not present.

Wally’s a quintessential Hippie-gen guitarist, standing on the side navel gazing. Now and then he’d venture forward, displaying power chord riffs to aspiring and gawking guitar-slingers.

But the self-admitted blues son sees himself only as an ordinary guitarist. “I just play whatever I am feeling.” Secret ingredient? “Your music should be felt by the listeners. Kailangan may puso.”

MIKE HANOPOL's lyrics of praise

By YUGEL LOSORATA

Rock icon Mike Hanopol complains that some people do not exactly undertand what his lyrics and melodies, especially those he did with the rest of the famed Juan de la Cruz band, conveyed. He complains all the more about this after realizing that despite his rocker self, he actually composed his lyrics from verses off the Bible!

A member of the trio that pioneered Pinoy rock music in the ’70s, Mike can’t argue the fact that the first two stanzas of "Balong Malalim" (one of Juan de la Cruz Band’s major hits) contain the very meaning of a couple of verses from the Bible’s Book of John. Now a renewed Christian Catholic, Mike can just smile and say, "Meron talagang nagga-guide sa akin noon. The Bible says don’t be arrogant. Yun din ang underlying message ko sa "Laki Sa Layaw."

Mike’s truly proud that he was able to come up with biblically significant lines as early as his days with Pepe Smith and Wally Gonzalez, or when Pinoy rock was still at its infant stage. In a way he attributes his experience inside the seminary long before as something that made him write the way he does. He expresses, "Nakakagulat na ang ibang kanta ko ay hango pala sa Bible. Number one talaga sa akin si Lord and I feel blessed that He works His way to me through my songwriting."

If one is to count Mike’s compositions since he began penning tunes, the number would reach 500! Of course, not all of these have been released in the market. Yet, many of them became classics such as "No Touch," "Titser’s Enemi No.1" and his trademark song "Laki sa Layaw" which ‘colloquialized’ the term ‘Jeprox.’ He’s also behind the song "Katawan" which made the Sonny Parsons-led Hagibis a popular act and served as theme song for the sitcom "Palibhasa Lalaki." His recent composition "Lagot Ka Isusumbong Kita" is, interestingly, the theme song for an ongoing sitcom closest to a "Palibhasa Lalaki" revival. He recalls, "I was riding home when the chorus tune of that song came over me. And that was it!"

Mike credits his musical prowess to his late maternal grandmother Nanay Inday who put him to sleep through the strums of guitar. However, it is still surprising that he already could play guitar at the age of nine and had been earning as a musician at 14. He was a perrenial bandleader in school and even formed his own band during his days at the seminary. To the chagrin of his dad who wanted him to lead a life more stable and respectable than a musician’s, he left school to work as a band player abroad at a time when he was a semester away from graduating in college!

"Kailangan ang dedication sa pagiging isang musikero. Lalo na ang disiplina," shares the man who has worked with some of the best minds in the music industry as A&R and have been in various bands aside from Juan de la Cruz. "‘Pag sinabi mong in two hours, kakapain mo ang isang particular song, kailangan kunin mo yun. ‘Pag nagbabanda ka at may praktis, dumating ka sa oras. ‘Pag trapik, lusutan mo. Huwag kang tutugtog nang wala sa tono ang gitara mo. Yan ang disiplina!"

Born in a small town in Leyte, Mike is proud to have been part of a band largely regarded as the pioneers of rock in this part of Asia where most people want to become singers or members of a band. "Kami ang original Pinoy Rock!" he often exclaims. "Sana palawakin pa ng mga nagbabanda ang Pinoy Rock. Yung iba kasi puro ingay lang."

He believes that much is expected from Juan de la Cruz band’s reunion concert at World Trade Center in Pasay City this coming June 11. The triumvirate lately recorded an original composition called "Pag-aklas," the arrangement of which strongly shows Mike and Pepe alternating vocal parts and Wally making his guitar wail beautifully.

Naturally a guitarist, Mike had to be the band’s bass player before because, as he reacts, "‘Di kami pwedeng parehong gitarista ni Wally." He feels to get much confidence from wearing his remarkable beret which, amusingly, he calls as a security blanket. He does admit: "Mahilig ako sa sumbrero."

As a solo act, Mike Hanopol’s career was nevertheless a success. He had songs such as "Buhay Musikero" and "Buhay Amerika," the latter definitely a reference to his life outside the country where he performs occasionally up to this day. But his masterpiece "Laki Sa Layaw," arguably his best–loved song, was the one that catapulted him to the ‘toppermost of the rockermost’ in all the essence of individuality and craftmanship.

Vocally proud of his renewed faith in God, he somehow found a hole to dig his downside which for many might just be valued as sheer brilliance. He now undermines his effort in some songs that he felt were lyrically masochist. In doing so, he experiences, on the other hand, solace in boasting his lyrics that enlightens like gospel. In the second verse of "Balong Malalim" which goes, "Gusto pa’ng kumain/ Kumain ng kumain/ Hindi naman nabubusog/ Sa kanyang kinain/ Hindi n’ya na inisip/ ‘Yon ay hindi sa atin," he interprets it seriously by saying, "‘Pag si Kristo ang kinain mo, ‘di ka na magugutom."