The Music Forums > Jazz and Blues Cafe
BLUE RATS....95'-present.a decade of blues
deltaslim:
i hope there's a nice account of that gig in Club Dredd (?). i think it was Eddie Boy Escudero's bday blues gig. Basta I remember Apa, tipsy/drunk and walking around w/ his bass strapped on and thereby forcing people to duck for safety! And this was before their set!
i played on that gig too w/ my college band Soul Dredgers. iirc, Tom Colvin and Egay Imperio jammed with us.
blue buddha:
That's why Apa ceased to be the regular bassist for the Rats -- band members were spending too much time and money in emergency rooms across the city getting treated for bruises on the chest, upper arms, and back of the neck. The cops on the beat at the hospitals were beginning to suspect a serial attacker armed with a strangely shaped club tipped with four blades in the shape of three-leafed clovers.... :lol:
blues2death:
now the rats were starting to create a buzz...oh yes certainly they were a blues band....but they made the party really alive when they played.nevermind that the songs they played were old and forgotten classics to generation x.generation x actually loved it.and though the blue rats werent born so they could be blues ambassadors to the pinoy community....it just became that way. :)
now w/the situation that the gigs are growing, and exposure was steady...the band provided some form of financial respite in others...for some it was just a weekend thing..well trice,jj and i were still goin to school so it was pretty cool having extra lunch money so we could all eat at mcdo...hehehe
nevertheless the roster began changing...and it seemed like the constant lineup that would exist in the gigs were...
trice,apa,AL,butch, myself and joe.....
and then we have the revolving door of the rhythm section of blue rats.
blues2death:
percy and houdini...like i mentioned before, 2 part swing invention of the blue rats.were actually graduates of UST conservatory of music.living it. and breathing it. houdini had to bow out because of health issues. and percy was on his way to play bass in a norweigan cruise....
Cesar---aha...now this has been a running joke in the band. the age issue...now butch,apa and AL are in the same batch,the middle aged rats...JJ,me and trice form the new generation bluesmen/woman in the band during that time.....Joe? well let's say that he's been around the block 5 times...hehehe...in cesar we found someone almost as old as joe... :lol: ...cesar has been the veteran drum beater for as long as he can remember...at 14 he ran off to join a band in vietnam to entereatin the troops...yep he's that old ,you could just imagine how old joe is... :lol: i dont see him reading this thread so :lol: tanda talaga man...but to his credit...his chops justifies his age...mature and precise he could give today's drummers a run for their money--
Norman Belardo---former advent call bassist.now here's the kick when you play in a bar..any bar.you meet great musicians and even greater musicians.advent call was one of those bands we played back to back with.I call him 'Baloo' the bear ...me bein mowgli.which was literally how it was between us.he's as chunky as his basslines that plow forth from his fender jazz bass. He was the policeman who laid down the law when it comes to the foundation of the blue rats.it made the jams exciting and grand.often times impressing jammers when they come a-visting the hobbit house...a lot of guitar players wanted to hire the rhythm section coz we were as tight as a duck's &^%ss!
also notable are when henry/advent call keyboardist comes a jamming....that organ player from deep purple sure would worried if he ever hears this guy play!
ok hold on to your seats!
here's where it gets tricky! :lol:
blues2death:
enter "bosyo"..one of the many bands who we played back-to back with in hobbit. it started out as one big jam of a mess...but nevertheless really exciting.
eggpie....bass virtuoso. aha! his name is actally rene de castro...became eggpie when he had a stint playing in olongapo and call girls would playfully call him eggpie..hehe
he played bass for the jerks,jun lopito,pepe smith,sampaguita and most notably became part of the watawat band,backing up the great freddie aguilar.he was the go-to bassist for pinoy rockers.playing foundation licks in the style of jaco pastorius...i think he was better than jaco.seriously.known for his kabuki hairstyle..domo arigato mister roboto..
edmund fortuno---"bosyo"...how we got this guy to play drums for us,i will always be grateful.doesnt need an introduction.you know what your eardrums will get into when this guy's behind the kit....one memorable quote i heard from a hot momma who used to watch us at hobbit..."wow, if my lover would only look like that when we did the deed, that would give multiple,multiple orgasms all day and all night."
we miss you edmun...i will always remember the words of wisdom you would give me when i took you home to las piņas in plaza quezon.i love you bro! im sure youre givin the angels up there a heck of a good time!
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