Smokey Mountain was one of the hottest Filipino singing groups in the ‘90s. Their classic hits include Kailan, Can This Be Love, Mama, Paraiso, and Better World.
National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab formed the group while the great Douglas Nierras took the reins as choreographer.
Geneva Cruz, Jeffrey Hidalgo, and Tony Lambino recently appeared on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda,” where they reminisced about the good times they had as original members of Smokey Mountain. James Coronel is currently based in the US.
It has been more than three decades since their debut. Jeffrey was only 12 years old, Geneva and Tony were 13 and James was 14 when they recorded the hit song Kailan.
They continue to pursue their passion in their respective careers. Aside from acting and directing, Jeff has a production house that creates digital content. Gen still sings and acts. She happily shared about her medical spa called the Geneva Wellness Institute in Alabang. Tony is now the president of the Ayala Foundation.
It was revealed during the interview that they courted Geneva when they were younger. Tony said, “Hindi pa kami marunong manligaw noon.” Jeff further explained, “Siya (Tony) iyong pinakauna kasi siya iyong during Smokey Mountain. Siya iyong nanliligaw talaga. Ako, way after na. Grad ball date ko siya. Kaya ko siya in-ask kasi nga nililigawan ko siya.”
The three recalled the heyday of Smokey Mountain. At first, nobody was paying attention to them until Kailan was released and became No. 1. “Hindi na kami makalabas ng mall,” shared Tony. “Hindi namin alam ang nangyayari, Tito Boy. We were too young to make it go to our heads.”
I asked them what they think could have happened if there was social media during that time. “Baka mas mahirap kasi mas maraming pressure siguro. Alam mo naman iyong ibang mga tao hindi sila mabait sa lahat ng artists, so kung bata ka at exposed ka sa social media, baka ma-affect kami internally at 12, 13, and 14 years old,” Gen answered.
Jeff gave a different perspective on this. “Feeling ko, it would have worked to our favor kasi noong time na iyon konti pa lang iyong artists hindi kagaya ngayon. Because of social media, ang dami nang artists. Konti lang tayo noon, so feeling ko mas ma-harness natin iyong potential ng social media.”
Training was difficult, but they got to where they are now due to their mentors and the invaluable experiences they had as a group. “It was a lot of hard work. They really made us rehearse. Noong nagtu-tour kami, kahit sa parking lot nag-re-rehearse kami,” recounted Tony.
Smokey Mountain went on tour and performed in places like Los Angeles, the Netherlands, and London. Gen said, “We went to London also because during that time big fans kami ng ‘Miss Saigon.’” This was when Lea Salonga and Monique Wilson played Kim for the highly acclaimed musical.
The three shared the most important lesson they learned from the Maestro. Jeff said, “I think one great lesson na tinuro nila sa amin is to love what you’re doing because if you love what you’re doing, it will never feel like work. I think iyon ang na-a-apply ko sa sarili ko ngayon. I’m really enjoying what I’m doing right now.”
According to Gen, Mr. C always reminded them that there’s a time to play and a time to get serious during work.
Tony talked about their mentor’s professionalism. “Palagi maaga siyang mag-submit ng areglo.”
Gen, Tony, and Jeff may now be leading separate paths in their careers but they were together for a long time when they were young. It’s nice to see them remain good friends until now.