The Cascades one more time

MANILA, Philippines - The last time Pinoys caught glimpse of the immortal Cascades was mid-2007 when they did their farewell concert tour of the Philippines. They disbanded shortly after and I ceased to be their manager. I was disappointed to see my favorite group fizzle after just reuniting in 2005. I attempted to get them together for three years to no avail. They had irreconcilable differences that were beyond my convincing powers. Such a pity because the Cascades had such a successful two-year run. Twelve of the 20 plus shows we did in the Philippines, Japan, Malaysia and the US were sold out concerts including three at the Araneta Coliseum.

A few months ago, John Claude Gummoe, the original voice of the Cascades (he sang lead on all the songs on the first album Rhythm of the Rain) and songwriter of such hits like Rhythm of the Rain which is the ninth most performed song of the century exceeding seven million performances as certified by BMI, There’s A Reason, etc. decided to return to the limelight and do a Philippine tour once again. John, together with Cascades MD and lead guitarist Chuck Crews, says this October 2010 tour is going to be the best ever. They have been rehearsing since May to get in shape.

Flashback 2004 when I accidentally discovered they didn’t die in a plane crash as rumored for decades but were very much alive and well. It took me close to six months and several trips to the US before John agreed to reunite the group. It was a huge undertaking since all of them haven’t performed together in a concert for over 40 years. The rehearsals were intensive at John’s vacation home at Palm Dessert (adjacent to Palm springs). They spent weeks relearning the songs. Back in Manila I also had my doubts how Pinoys would react. I almost chickened out and thought of booking them at a 1,000 or less capacity theater just to be conservative. My partners Lito Cruz, Emil Yap III and Wilson Tieng were thinking the opposite and booked the Araneta Coliseum. I was so relieved they proved me wrong. Not only did the Cascades sell out but broke the current concert record of the Araneta Coliseum for the new millennium. Four months later, they sold out the Araneta Coliseum again plus the Manila Hotel Ballroom whose maximum capacity was 1,200 but 2,000 crammed the place and Cebu’s Waterfront hotel humongous Ballroom.

This October, the Cascades will perform all their trademark hits like Shy Girl, My First Day Alone, The Last Leaf, Dreamin’, Punch & Judy, There’s A Reason, First Love Never Dies, Was I Dreamin’, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Lucky Guy, Let Me Be, Rhythm of the Rain, and more, plus a special guest appearance by Terry Sylvester, the former lead singer of The Hollies to perform Bus Stop, Just One Look, Look Through Any Window, He Aint Heavy He’s My Brother, Carrie Anne and more.

Manila shows include a dinner concert at the Heritage Hotel ballroom on Oct. 7 (tickets available at Ticketworld, National Bookstores, Ayala and Robinsons Malls) and the final concert at Pagcor Grand Theater at Pagcor Parañaque across NAIA Terminal One on Oct. 17 (tickets available at all SM Malls).

The Original Cascades Tour 2010 is presented by Steve O’ Neal Productions, PAGCOR and the GMA Network in collaboration with Heritage Hotel (the official residence), Zest Air (the official airline), PCSO, Business Mirror, SM Super Malls, Hard Rock Cafe, Mang Inasal, MS for Men, Perez Optical, IFM, 99.5 RT, Magic 89.9, Wave 89.1, Jam 88.3 and the official concert station RJ100.3 FM