Juan Miguel Salvador: Never too late

Anyone who has heard of Juan Miguel Salvador, whether from the music field or from advertising, will readily concede to his multiple talents. He first made a name as finalist in the First Metro Pop in the ’80s, and bagged the Cecil Award for Best Jazz Composition in 1985. Then we heard of him as head of the hottest rock band Rage.

Pretty soon, the band was hogging the limelight with the battle cry “Hollywood or Bust.” Rage did go to Hollywood to try its luck there, and like many other talented Pinoys (Martin Nievera was the biggest victim) ended up hoodwinked by supposed sponsors. “We spent eight months believing promises that were never fulfilled. I even learned to plaster on tiles for our daily needs,” recalls Juan Miguel.  

Upon the group’s return to Manila, possibly due to extreme disappointment, members found themselves splitting up and pursuing other interests. To this day, Rage continues to play to a new generation with a new sound that we are told is no longer rock.

As for Juan Miguel, also called JMS, he put up a new band Authority after leaving Rage. He tells us that he returned to Strumm’s Jupiter, Makati City where Rage used to perform, and the group is there Thursdays; and in Vue Bar at Bellevue Hotel, Alabang Fridays. With a clientele growing by the year, the Authority topped the search for the Philippine representative to the Band of the Land competition in London three years ago. Otherwise, he has been at work in the advertising scene for the past 28 years. He did the Christmas jingle of SM Supermalls sung by Maria Aragon and won the Silver Araw Award, Philippine Advertising Congress at CamSur for Best Musical Scoring of Ligo Sardines TVC. He has also received awards from Cannes Lions International and The Creative Guild.

We watched JMS perform at the EightyToEightyNine (80289) concert celebrating the icons of the ’80s last year, to explore other avenues. We checked him out again recently as special guest in Gary V On Higher Ground, and found him obviously enjoying himself. “This series is a welcome endeavor for me as it gives me the opportunity to showcase my talents to a wider audience. Indeed, I would love to do more of this,” JMS says. Higher Ground’s last two shows are on May 9 and 10 at the Music Museum.

Finally, we went over to Strumm’s to observe him with the Authority, and found him revved up and in high energy, jumping up and down, playing a keyboard equipped with all sorts of gadgets while singing a good 24 to 30 songs straight with his band. He has always told us he loves performing with his band; it is where he gets his high and that was obvious watching him that night. Our group, although not hard-core rock fans, enjoyed the show composed of familiar and unfamiliar songs. Those familiar included with Every Breath You Take (The Police), Talking in Your Sleep (The Romantics), Come Together (Beatles), My Sharona (The Knack) and of course, the Queen Medley of Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You. 

The band is made up of Chuck Menor on drums; Alvin Soriano, bass; Jay Agustin, second keyboard; Sharim Boquirin, second guitar; and the crowd’s favorite Jun Alicante, lead guitar. JMS tells us that Jun with the dazed look was a nerd who lived alone with his collection of everything that had to do with guitars. He knew every guitarist’s bio, studied their acts which he put together as his own (including one that had him eating the strings of his guitar that was hilarious) to the absolute enjoyment of the crowd.

Authority’s lead guitarist Jun Alicante, a crowd favorite

Gary, a long-time friend of JMS, has been helping him get a footing in the mainstream music industry. Gary says, “Juan Miguel is not the kind of artist that says ‘puede na yan.’ He spends time working on every sound he can get from his keyboards, to emulate what’s already playing in his mind. Yes, JMS may have been overlooked by the industry but I believe it’s not too late.” Genesis recently included JMS in its roster of talents. One inspirational song he has written will be in Gary’s upcoming inspirational CD. We ask him what he dreams for the future. He replies that 80 percent of his dreams have already been fulfilled. But he would love to be part of ASAP and add the television audience to his growing family.

We feel that Juan Miguel is truly a consummate artist, that he performs with a passion that oozes from within, and although we may not have the facility of a music critic, we certainly know when one connects with his audience and that’s all that matters to us.

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