It’s yesterday once more

A sign of the times? Tell me, please. Why are revival bands so popular these days? Is it because today’s movers and shakers had their hormones raging during the late ’60s and ’70s and now they like to unwind to the music of their dating days? True, true.

But how come even those who started dating in the ’80s and ’90s love revival bands that play music of the ‘60s and the ‘70s?

"Eminem will be gone in 10 years but the Beatles, Motown, James Taylor, Sergio Mendes and even Carole King will be here to stay," a colleague, STAR editor Ibarra Mateo, explains to me. Ibarra is a product of the ’80s, but in the mid ’90s, he flew to Manila from Tokyo where he was then based, just to catch a James Taylor concert (very ‘70s!).

I asked Philip Cu-Unjieng, one of the owners of Dish (where the Spirit of ’67 draws a multitude on Tuesdays and where the Rockin’ Revival will soon be performing on Fridays) why revival bands are so popular.

"A revival band evokes feelings of a class reunion. For some, it is a night out that’s safe and memory-filled. Still something to be said for recapturing the spirit of one's youth, even if only for a night," says Philip.

Even fundraisers nowadays topbill revival bands.

You want people to shake their booty? Get a revival band.

* * *

Fast gaining a loyal following is the Rockin’ Revival band. It was in the summer of 1986 that the Rockin’ Revival was conceptualized by the late Eddie Nicolas of the Moonstrucks, one of the pioneer revival bands in the land. Rockin’ Revival’s first major exposure to the rock and roll population was at the Bistro RJ.

To get into Rockin’ Revival, band members must have played in the ’60s, for the proper feel and expression of the music. Rockin’ Revival has been under six generations of members, all of them coming from big names in the ’60s and ’70s metro bands like the Moonstrucks, Hi-jacks, Electros, Deltas, Bits and Pieces, Frolics, Dynasouls to name a few. These honest-to-goodness "vintage" artists saw to it that the music they played must be... nostalgic. And that’s what Rockin’ Revival is all about.

From Bistro RJ, Rockin’ Revival made waves in different clubs, hotels, bars and ballrooms across the country from as far north as Bangued, Abra, Cebu and Davao City. In Manila, the band has played in Studebakers, Tavern on the Square, International Pub, the Audiotorium, the Zu at the Shangri-La Makati and Century Park. Currently, it is drawing crowds at the Le Boulevardier at the Hotel Inter-Continental Manila every Friday. Starting February, Rockin’ Revival will be regularly rockin’ Mondays at the Dish at Power Plant and Wednesdays at the Forum at the Podium.

The first and only female member of the Rockin’ Revival is Cathy Castañeda, formerly a front liner of the Music Making Company.

"No need to wait for... Yesterday," says Yoli Celdran, the group’s manager. "Yesterday is here!"

Healing Hands Humane Hearts Foundation launched

The Healing Hands Humane Hearts Foundation (4HF) was recently launched to benefit the University of the Philippines’ College of Medicine and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). It is a charitable foundation spearheaded by Prof. Nenita Urbi Socrates and the late Prof. Jose Angel Socrates in honor of 10 physicians, all graduates of the UP College of Medicine and the Philippine General Hospital, who "have followed the example of The Great Healer–Jesus Christ."

The doctor honorees are Jesus Benjamin Mendoza, Class ’72, a urologist; Manuel Agulto, Class ’73, an opthalmologist; Rose Marie Rosete-Liquete, Class ’73, transplant, vascular and general surgeon; Edmund Chua, Class ’74, orthopedic surgeon; Ernesto Baello Jr., Class ’77, cardiologist; Joselito Chavez, Class ’81, pulmonary specialist; Marita Dantes, Class ’81, neurologist; Ma. Teresa Plata-Que, Class ’82, endocrinologist; and the Socrates sons, Jesus Francisco Socrates, Class ’73, a pathologist based in Philadelphia and Jose Antonio Socrates, Class ’74, an orthopedic surgeon, and head of the British-Palawan Trust administering to the indigents of Palawan.

The foundation money will be deposited in a "restricted fund" with the UP Medical Alumni Society in America-Permanent Endowment Fund (UPMASA-PEF). Since its inception in March 5, 2002, the amount swelled tremendously especially due to donations from friends upon the death of Prof. Jose Angel Socrates. The fund will be maintained perpetually and its annual interest will then be remitted to UP-PGH. The foundation plaque was accepted by UP president Dr. Francisco Nemenzo, together with Dr. Juan Nanagas, director of the PGH, Dr. Marita Reyes, UP Chancellor and Dr. Ramon Arcadio, dean of the UP College of Medicine. The Socrates clan acknowledges the "excellent education, rigid training and discipline" these doctors received from the UP College of Medicine–Philippine General Hospital. According to Prof. Socrates, "Hopefully, this gesture will, in a small way, give these doctors a glimpse of the overflowing love, appreciation and gratitude my husband and I have nursed in our hearts all these years." In an acceptance speech during the launching, Dr. Liquete said the magnanimity of the Socrateses, her mentors since her UP high school days, she could "never equal."

You may e-mail me at: [email protected]