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RIVERMAYA:
10 years of Great Music....
and still counting |
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| On the night of April 16, people from different walks of life headed to Araneta Coliseum to watch the concert of Rivermaya. As one of the hundreds who went there, I had a strange feeling that I was dining at a Jollibee store the moment I saw the crowd. There were teens as young as 10 and oldies in their 40s. It seems Rivermaya bridges generation gaps. No wonder they are tagged Banda ng Bayan. |
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True to Rico’s words: Rivermaya’s evolution is “like life, a worm that gets its wings.” |
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“Ngayon
lang
napuno
ang
Araneta
Coliseum
ng
isang
rock
concert…
kaya
magdadagdag
tayo
ng
kanta,”
said
the
inspired
Rivermaya
mainman
Rico
Blanco
after
singing
a
few
hits.
The
audience
of
course,
rejoiced.
And
when
Rico
asked
“Kelan
ang
repeat?”
Together,
they
blurted
out
“bukas!”
To
which
Rico
jokingly
replied
“Huwag,
Linggo.”
Fans
can’t
help
but
adore
Rivermaya.
They
can’t
get
enough
of
the
band.
They
just
love
the
music,
they
know
all
the
words.
Rico
was
not
kidding
when
he
once
said,
he
sings
with
their
fans,
not
to
or
for
them.
Evidently
in
the
concert,
the
crowd
never
stopped
singing
with
Rico
from
the
very
first
song
up
to
the
finale.
They
sang,
screamed,
leaped
and
expressed
their
angst
as
the
band
played
their
hits,
mixing
in
Echo
&
The
Bunnymen’s
“Killing
Moon”
with
“A
Love
To
Share,”
and
Queen’s
“We
are
The
Champion”
with
“Alab
ng
Puso.”
They
were
in
their
high
spirits
from
the
beginning
to
the
end.
Whatever
success
Rivermaya
is
reaping
now,
blame
it
on
Rico
if
you
must.
For
he
was
damn
good,
he
writes
perfect
melodies
that
echo
the
yearnings
of
his
thousands
of
fans.
So
don’t
get
surprised
if
after
10
years
with
10
discs
and
more
than
20
hits,
Rivermaya
still
delivers.
And
just
like
wine,
gets
better
with
age.
“As
much
as
it
sounds
like
a
cliché,
it’s
all
about
the
music,”
says
Rico
in
an
article
published
in
the
Inquirer.
“Because
music
is
why
I’m
here.
If
my
music
sucked,
I
wouldn’t
still
be
here,
10
years
later.”
10
years
of
ups
and
downs
Fans
hung
on
to
Rivermaya.
They
were
there
since
1994
when
the
band
then
with
former
members
Bamboo
Mañalac
as
main
vocalist,
Nathan
Azarcon
as
bassist
and
Perf
de
Castro
as
guitarist
had
their
first
hit
“Ulan.”
A
string
of
radio
hits
followed
including
“214,”
“Bring
Me
Down,”
“If,”
the
anthemic
“Awit
ng
Kabataan”
and
the
timeless
“Himala.”
Not
too
long
after
the
first
album
was
released,
Perf
left
the
band
to
form
his
own,
Tri-Axis.
Even
though
I
remembered
Nathan
told
in a
past
interview
“Hindi
siya
umalis,
pinaalis
namin
siya.”
But
then
it’s
another
story.
Rico,
in
spite
being
the
band’s
backbone
was
then
“just
melting
into
the
background”
as
keyboardist.
When
Perf
departed,
he
immediately
became
the
guitarist.
That
pushed
him
forward
into
the
spotlight.
In
1996,
their
second
album
“Trip”
was
released,
followed
by
“Atomic
Bomb”
a
year
after.
Both
yielded
radio
hits.
They
marked
the
year
1998
with
a
remix
album.
And
then
released
their
fourth,
“It’s
Not
Easy
Being
Green”
in
1999.
Rivermaya
reborn
What
happened
next
was
Bamboo’s
departure
from
the
band.
After
a
successful
US
tour,
the
former
front
man
announced
that
he
was
leaving(the
band)
and
will
stay
in
the
US
for
good.
Rather
than
look
for
a
replacement,
Rico,
again
filled
in.
Others
thought
that
it
would
be
the
beginning
of
the
end
for
Rivermaya.
Yet
something
else
happened.
Rivermaya
seemed
like
a
different
band
when
Rico
stepped
forward
to
be
the
lead
vocalist.
And
for
him,
it
just
felt
right.
I
recalled,
Rico
said
in
my
past
interview
with
the
band
that
at
first,
he
had
to
explain
to
Bamboo
how
“Himala”
should
be
sung.
He
didn’t
have
to
do
that.
In
2000,
Rivermaya
released
their
fifth
album
“Free”
which
is
actually
given
away
for
free
on
the
Internet.
If
the
band’s
second
album
“Trip”
marked
Rico’s
playing
of
the
guitar,
“Free”
established
his
being
the
band’s
frontman
and
unearthed
Rico’s
emotional
core
via
the
song
“Faithless.”
A
favorite
of
their
hardcore
fans.
Nathan
eventually
left
the
band
but
his
departure
didn’t
scar
the
band’s
newfound
character.
Moving
on,
Rivermaya
released
“Tuloy
ang
Ligaya”
in
2001.
With
new
members
Mike
Elgar
(guitar)
and
Japps
Sergio
(bass),
they
scored
a
hit
with
“Umaaraw,
Umuulan.”
A
new
sound,
a
new
chemistry.
The
“new”
Rivermaya
displayed
their
rockability
in
“Live
and
Acoustic
with
Slapshock”-released
in
2002
singing
the
latter’s
signature
hits
like
“Evil
Clown.”
In
2003,
under
a
new
label
Viva
came
“Between
the
Stars
and
the
Waves”
producing
hits
such
as
“A
Love
to
Share,”
“Sunday
Driving”
and
“Balisong,”
which
could
be a
perfect
Chillout
song.
Soundtrack
of
their
lives
True
to
Rico’s
words:
Rivermaya’s
evolution
is
“like
life,
a
worm
that
gets
its
wings.”
Rivermaya
is
soaring
high
now.
A
lot
of
changes
happened
in
the
band.
After
10
long
years
in
the
business,
it’s
their
music
that
really
mattered.
Finally,
writers
got
tired
of
asking
why
they
chose
the
name
Rivermaya.
People
forgot
about
digging
out
the
true
translation
of
214
(It’s
not
Am I
Real!)
and
they
did
not
care
now
what
“Himala”
actually
means.
In
the
end,
Rivermaya
fans
love
them
for
their
music,
so
much
that
the
songs
have
been
the
soundtrack
of
their
lives.
It
was
almost
12
midnight
but
there
was
no
room
for
exhaustion
in
the
concert
scene.
After
almost
10
songs,
the
crowd
was
still
yearning
for
more.
Rico
thanked
the
audience.
Drummer
Mark
Escueta
even
took
a
picture
of
the
crowd
for
the
band’s
website.
The
Big
Dome
filled
with
sounds
of
ooohs
and
ahhhs
when
Rivermaya
played
“You’ll
Be
Safe
Here.”
And
when
it’s
time
for
“Liwanag
sa
Dilim,”
Rico
shouted
out
“Alam
nyo
‘to!”
The
crowd
got
wild
and
sang
their
hearts
out
for
the
final
hurrah.
DP |
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