Bringing back the glorious days of rock band pioneers

Dennis Garcia, the man who created Hotdog and revolutionized Filipino pop music, has a question.  “Lately, there’s been an avalanche of foreign talents coming to town.  Sponsors have welcomed them warmly — and at great expense.  Unfortunately, it’s not the same when local talents are involved. Even if these talents are gifted Pinoys who have been elevated to near icon status.”

The gifted Pinoys that Dennis is referring to are the musicians who spearheaded the rise of groups during the ’60s like the Electromaniacs, RJ and the Riots, the Ramrods and many others. Back then the word combo did not mean a combination of goodies from a fast food outlet sold together at a reduced price, but a music band.  Some were made up of professionals.  Others were kids who got their parents to buy the instruments and then learned to play in the garage.  But whatever they were, there was no question that they could make good music.

So why are sponsors today excited about the arrival of Peter and Gordon or of the Cascades and want nothing to do with a Moonstruck reunion?  They come from the same era, have both matured or to be blunt about it, aged, over the years, and are still capable of making good music.  I guess the reason is that although there is no question about the degree of talent, the locals were victimized by the cultural shortcomings of Filipinos in the past.  The term now seems so passé but it is a fact that colonial mentality was what kept our ’60s bands from becoming pop icons. They were merely copies and no originals.

It was Dennis himself, who killed colonial mentality in pop music with Hotdog’s phenomenal Pers Lab in 1974.  Suddenly it was cool to talk Taglish and listen to a Pinoy band. But a decade before that, the current Filipino songs were God Knows by Pablo Vergara and Sapagka’t Kami ay Tao Lamang by Tony Maiquez that teen-aged buyers would never be caught dead with.  They bought Neil Sedaka and Paul Anka and danced only to the Ventures and the Beatles.

At what must have been a great sacrifice of their creativity, the combos willingly obliged and played only what the kids wanted to hear.  Some groups tried doing originals with some success but these were so few to have an impact on the market.  The Electromaniacs had Lover’s Guitar and I Miss You So.  RJ did Weightless.  But for the most part it was only a contest as to who among the neighborhood combos could do the best imitation and in a lot of cases, better versions, of the latest hits from the UK or the US.

Today’s generation of music lovers will get the chance to find out for themselves how good those combos were with the YEBA Combo Festival.  I do not know what YEBA means.  I only know that it was associated with the then Manila Mayor Antonio Villegas, but the word plus the term combo instantly recalls the glorious flowering of local bands during the ’60s, which became the heroes of the groups that came later.

Produced by Hotdog Productions, YEBA brings together the legendary combos of the ’60s and the ’70s. These are the Electromaniacs, Moonstrucks, Dynasouls, Deltas, Sundowners and Cobras.  Set to perform are their brilliant members like Ernie Delgado, Lito Toribio, Toto Ealdama, Boyet Manahan, brothers Vick and Tony Generoso, Raymond Estela, Snafu Rigor, Tony Jalandoni, Lenny de Jesus, Tony Fabie and many others.  Of course they will do the music of the Beatles, the Ventures, the Hollies, Lovin’ Spoonfuls, Beach Boys, Dave Clark 5, the Searchers, etc. etc. To add sparkle to the one-night-only event, special guests will be Ramon Jacinto, the famous RJ of the Riots and Dennis’ Hotdog plus DJ Steve O’Neal.

So don’t forget.  Watch the YEBA Combo Festival on May 2 at the NBC Tent.  You will get lots of good music and it is also for a good cause.  The concert aims to raise funds for the Harvest Aid Organization Foundation which is dedicated to helping the poor elderly. YEBA Combo Festival is presented with the cooperation of the The Philippine STAR, PDI, RJ 100, Crossover 105.1, Club Zed, San Miguel Beer, Standard Charter Bank and Gerry’s Grill.