And before this turns into a narcissistic "Johnny's Fashion and Sexual Confessions" thread.......
The lull in the Rats' gigging activity very fittingly results in the logical conclusion to Apa's own mini-saga. In January of 2004, almost exactly six months into the 8th year after the Rats began, Apa gets hitched to #8. At a beautiful reception on the secluded grounds of Kuh Ledesma's hideaway near Tagaytay, A.L. gives the wedding toast as the best man, secretly resenting the fact that he has had to wear a long-tailed, gray morning coat at the grooms insistence. Visions of an elephant in a penguin suit linger as a painful traumatic memory. The couple's first dance is to the tune of Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves A Woman" which the wedding entertainment -- The Blue Rats -- enthusiastically perform. Tricie made the effort to return from downunder for the affair -- in some ways putting a fitting closure to an eight year run with Apa's marriage to bachelorette #8.
In 2004 into 2005, an itch needed to be scratched in the Rats' tails. The remaining bandmembers returned to the rehearsal studio. With Miguel and Tricie gone, and with Johnny trying to do doubletime with Overdrive, the band invited ex-Barbie's Cradle nanny #1 Wendell Garcia (himself an ex-Rat) to fill the drum seat. The talented and funky-tatooed Clare Lapuz (ex-Mother Björn) ended in the vocal chair. This version of the Rats only played out twice -- the most memorable of which was the second Beacon School Concert to raise funds to buy instruments for the music program of a needy elementary sister school. The Rats were mobbed by autograph seekers. Subsequently, as Johnny's chores with Overdrive became more demanding, he was replaced by ex-Barbie's Cradle nanny #2 Rommel de la Cruz -- the superb and supremely funky/tasty bass player. Folks, if you've never seen or heard this guy play -- do it. Rommel is the real deal. Unfortunately, the Rats never played out with this lineup, as the new members' commitments also began to get in the way.
2006 once again looked to be another slow year. Joe had committed himself fully to his church, and very sadly informed the band that his playing days with bands outside the boundaries of his faith were over. As happy as the Rats were to know that he had found his mission in life, there was certainty that he'd be sorely missed. Then a very strange thing happened....
In January, the band got a phone call from a very large call center, Ambergris Solutions. For their annual company Town Hall Meeting, they wanted to mount a huge "American Idol/Rockstar" competition company wide. In a nutshell: from 3,200 employees, the contest would narrow it down to 12 finalists, all of whom would learn a band's repertoire over a 6 week period -- 3 songs each, no repeats -- and sing these numbers onstage in front of a panel of celebrity judges and 4,000 screaming employees at the Araneta Coliseum with parts of the event to be aired on MTV. The prize: 3 months paid leave while singing with the band on their regular gig schedule. Having heard that the Rats were looking for a singer, Ambergris was hot about hiring the band.
To prepare for this gig, a stand in singer, drummer, and a bass player had to be found. On a whim, Tom brought in someone he knew from doing photography work at the Shangrila hotel. He described her as "this girl who says she can sing the blues" but had never really done it for real before.
The band's reaction: :doubt:
To make a long story short -- Tom brought in Mai Mislang. She came, We heard, She conquered.
.png "lol")
. It was clear to everyone that buried deep within this rather intense, enthusiastic and secretly sweet person (she doesn't want anyone to know she's sweet, so she tries to act.... well.... intense and enthusiastic.
) was the genuine potential for a very serious set of pipes. Johnny "Black" Besa's schedule from Overdrive suddenly freed up so the Black Blue Rat was back in the bass slot. In the drumseat, Vic Borgailly (ex-KO Jones) just happened to be scheduled first on a list of drummers the Rats had asked to try out. Unfortunately for the rest of the list, the guy knew practically every song on the repertoire, understood what a "sticky backbeat" (lagkit) meant, played naturally in the pocket, had great timekeeping, could actually do a genuine blues shuffle, and felt completely comfortable doing drum solos. Our apologies to anyone else on that list who never got a chance to do it, but that was early February and the gig was at the end of February!!! Absolute panic time to try and get over 36 songs down in rehearsals with 12 unknowns over 3 weeks in time for the event.
Fast Forward: Rehearsals were intense and fun. Vic and Mai were hot. One trial gig at Hobbit House with all 12 contestants the week before the event. On event day the Coliseum Rocked. In the final three-way shoot out, a clear winner emerged -- Kim Dosado doing absolutely knock 'em dead versions of "Tush" and "Mary Had A Little Lamb" -- she is the reigning Ambergris Rockstar
and the newest Rat.
Which brings us to today. Six months after that Rockstar gig, the double whammy of Mai and Kim are coming to the nearest bar to bluesify your soul....
Come check it out. :bluewink:
Notice how Johnny's fashion bias has morphed into a contagious disease in the pic above.
