MGA KUWENTONG CUBAO

I HAVE been a groupie of the Circus Band during the 70’s. They were lording it over in the live circuit arena in Roxas Blvd. Reno, Flames and Wells Fargo were the leading clubs then for live band music. Ilang beses ko rin silang pinanood. Humahataw pa nga ako sa dancefloor eh. Kudos should go to Sir Atek Jacinto (we recently reconnected through FB) for his brilliance in masterminding this super group. It's a pity though that the band released three albums in their prime. Their recorded-live LP, Circus On Tour, is truly a collector's gem, it is now selling on eBay for a whopping Php29,000.00.    

Tillie Moreno, Jacqui Magno, Pat Castillo, Hajji Alejandro, Pabs Dadivas, Richard Tann, Basil Valdez (later on na si Ceres Jacinto na mala-Chaka Khan ang pagka-funky) -- all lead singers par excellence who carved names for themselves as solo acts after the group disbanded. Special mention also goes to instrumentalists Boy Katindig, Paco Gamboa, Rudy Lozano, Walter Calinawan and Gerry Paraiso (he wrote "You" for Basil) –- the last three recently passed away. Gerry’s daughter, Pam, is a good friend of my son.   

It was also around this time when we launched our official mascot (in print) and tagline that goes "Your Chordian Angel." The pissing angel, with his back turned to us, had curly hair and a naughty impish smile on its face. 

We also published JINGLE Songhits, the small brother of JINGLE Music Magazine (I was already then its editor). Naglabas din kami ng JINGLE Keys (I handled this later on). This was purely for piano enthusiasts. Loaded nga yung first issue which featured So Far Away, Imagine and Your Song, to name a few classics. We also published JINGLE Organ for a while but it didn’t do well in the market. This was in the late 70’s.   

Every year, we publish a compilation magazine called the Best of JINGLE (of which I was the editor). This was a Greatest Hits issue -- pinagsasama-sama namin yung mga certified hits of the whole year. If I'm not mistaken, we were able to do 12 issues which translate to 12 years. There could have been more but, for a very private reason, I left the nest and raised a family of my own elsewhere.

The wifey and I worked with another creative group through the invitation and mediation of Val Vidad (a former staff writer of one of our publications, JINGLE Extra Hot, a movie magazine). We conceptualized and created Platinum, a music magazine. In deference to the JINGLE clan, I used a pseudonym (Frederic T. Sy) as its editor. The creative aspect can be shared but the original remains. This was in 1990s and is altogether a different story…

Rewind to the original: We also came up with an exclusive on the Beatles -- my all-time favorite band for all reasons and seasons. The JINGLE Beatles had red as its background color in the cover. "Kumpleto dapat ang LAHAT ng kanta nila," my Kuya Gilbert said.

It was during this time that we hired the services of musical genius Hexel Hernando who revolutionized the chords for our featured songs. He elevated its status several notches higher for advanced guitar players to enjoy. Ang ganda nga ng pagkakasipra niya dun sa Blackbird. Parang tab. Thank you, Hexel.   

Walang tigil na reprinting ng songbook ng Fab Four ang nangyari. Kada mauubos ang stock namin, nag-iimprenta kami ng panibagong mga kopya. Hanggang ngayon nga eh marami pa rin ang nagtatanong kung makakabili pa sila.   

Among my Cubao memories, I vividly remember na palagi ngang dumadalaw sa JINGLE office (sa Annapolis) si Florante na tinutukso pa namin kung "nasaan na si Laura." He would just impishly smile. Simpleng tao lang si Florante. Hindi airhead. Minsan eh may baon pa siyang nilagang mais. No frills. Very down-to-earth. Pati nga raw si  Ka Freddie Aguilar eh pumapasyal noon sa amin. Di ko nga lang siya natyempuhan. Naging contributor din namin for a while si Joey de Leon who started his career in broadcasting as a radio disc jockey. Lumalabas na din siya sa TV noon. Joeyism ang title ng column niya na pang-stand up comedy -- so very similar to his column now in Philippine Star.  

I was assigned by my Kuya to the music department where I did part-time proofreading of manuscripts and checking of chords. Nag-enrol ako sa College of Music sa UP Diliman at nakilala ko dun sina Ryan Cayabyab (one batch ahead sa amin), violinist John Lesaca, classical guitarist (and now UP professor) Lester Demetillo, classical singer Nanette Moscardon, trumpeter Rayben Maigue (now UP professor and husband to Nanette  -- both parents to Lara who's carving her own niche in the industry), saxophonist Tots Tolentino, guitarist Johnny Alegre, flutist Rey Ama, singer-songwriters Pol Galang and Joseph Olfindo,  bassist Tony Rodriguez, music arranger Jun Latonio at marami pang iba. I also saw Nanette Inventor and Joel Navarro of the UP Concert Chorus (under the baton of Prof. Rey T. Paguio). Pati nga si Edru Abraham (of Kontra-Gapi) eh palagi kong nakikita dun sa UP pag may ethnic gigs sila.

And speaking of great big artists, JINGLE Music Magazine’s core included Ces Rodriguez (she started as a letter sender, then as a regular contributor as per my Kuya’s invitation, and eventually its editor), Pennie Azarcon-Dela Cruz (who eventually became editor of Female Forum, another publication of JINGLE), Eric Gamalinda (now a world-renowned author based in New York), Juaniyo Arcellana, Tony Maghirang, Edwin Pena-Sallan, Louie Aseoche, Manny Espinola, Eric Caruncho, Anna Leah Sarabia-De Leon, DengCoy Miel (nagkita kami sa Singapore), Roxlee, Ludwig Ilio, Lav Diaz (walang-wala), Benjie Lontoc, Jr., Butch Maniego (RIP), Bernie Bagaman, Cousin Hoagy, Didits Gonzales (RIP), Jing Garcia, James Saspa, Pocholo Concepcion, Joey Ablaza, Bert Sulat, Jr., Edwin “Sproox” Escobar, Jomar Salabit and Romy Buen -- ilan lang yan sa mga lumikha ng pangalan in their respective fields. Bale second wave of writers and artists na sila. There were many more who contributed and shared their creative side with us. Hats off to all of you who were like soldiers who kept the torch burning long before the magazine wrote 30. I can never thank you enough, guys.