Reo Brothers

The Reo Brothers is a band composed of four brothers from the Otic family. They are doing renditions of 1950s thru 1970s music of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Dave Clark Five, Bee Gees, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, The Lettermen, America (band), The Ventures, VST & Co. and other prominent bands of the era. The band became more popular after they performed at the ABS-CBN Christmas Special 2013 in Araneta Coliseum. It was a concert graced by over a hundred local stars and celebrities but it was Reo Brothers band that drew the only standing ovation that night.^[1]

Background

Formation and early years in Tacloban (2005-2013)

It was in 2005 when Ronjoseph made drums from tin cans covered with chips packaging bags. He fixed it up and started learning to play the drums on his own. After learning to play the drums, he then mastered playing the guitar and passed the skills to his other three siblings, Ralph, Reno and Raymart.^[2] They started playing Original Pilipino Music, songs from famous boy bands and songs inspired by their father's(Reynaldo Otic) collection of 50s through 70s songs of The Beatles, Bee Gees, Sir Cliff Richard etc.

It was October 2008 when Mr. Roger David Gabero Bichachi, an employee of the City Mayor's Office of Tacloban and a member of PGBI (Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc) Tacloban Chapter saw them jam with their friends, singing and playing their improvised instruments. Mr Bichachi then invited them to his birthday party to sing some songs of The Beatles with Ronjoseph the lead vocalist and acoustic guitar player. Mr. Bichachi was so impressed with the Otic siblings, he then pledged to help with the band formation. He bought them their musical instruments and requested the band to play for his other parties and events. The band mastered some songs until they created their playlist for gigs, events and competitions. They were later discovered by Mr. Bia Ong, a friend and previous employer of Mr Bichachi. Mr. Bia Ong is a retired musician, a member of the Biatles band, a band that did renditions of The Beatles and other prominent bands of that era in Tacloban during the 1970s through the 90s. He mentored and trained the Otic siblings and gave them support.

The band was then called PGBI-RDGB (Abbreviations for Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc - Roger David Gabero Bichachi).

The first line-up consisted of Ronjoseph on vocals, Ralph on bass guitar, Raymart on rhythm guitar and Reno on drums.

They started singing through competitions and events in 2009 to earn a living. Since their father doesn't have a stable job, singing through these events was a big help in sending them to school and with their family's financial needs.

They later changed the name of the band to REO Brothers, derived from the first letters of their first name, middle name and surname. 'R' for Reno, Ronjoseph, Raymart and Ralph, 'E' for Evasco their mother's maiden name and 'O' for Otic their surname.

More and more people noticed the band as they jump from gig to gig. On June 22, 2012, they met Mr. Reynaldo Fuentes; The man was so impressed with the band that he gave them his calling card and told them to contact him in case they decided to come to Manila.

The band was featured twice on a local religious TV channel in Tacloban. They were contented living in Tacloban, where they became popular and earned enough for their financial needs, until a super typhoon, Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, hit Tacloban.

Super Typhoon Haiyan Hit Tacloban (November 2013)

Super Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban, Philippines on November 8, 2013. There was widespread devastation from the storm surge in Tacloban City with many buildings being destroyed, trees knocked over or broken, and cars piled up. The low-lying areas on the eastern side of Tacloban city were the hardest hit, with some areas completely washed away.^[3]

The Otic family survived from the super typhoon but the devastation left the family penniless. It was 2 days after the typhoon that Raymart got the chance to communicate with their other siblings residing in Manila via a social networking site. Their siblings in Manila immediately decided to bring the whole family to Manila. The Otic family had to walk for more than an hour to reach the bus terminal from which they were fetched by their brother-in-law, a bus driver of Philtranco Bus Company. They only brought their guitars, some clothes and subsisted only on biscuits, a gallon of water and candies on their entire trip. It took them more than two days to reach Manila. They stayed in a small apartment in Quezon City.

Reo Brothers in Manila(November 2013 to present)

After a week in Manila, they remembered the calling card given by Mr. Fuentes on one of their gigs in Tacloban. They successfully made a contact and met up with Mr. Fuentes. He then referred them to his friend Mr. Tom Banguis Jr, a businessman and a band adviser. On November 26, 2013 at the InfinitiF, a professional band rehearsal studio in Makati, Mr Banguis asked them to play three selections. After hearing the band play and sing, Mr. Banguis and his band ended up clapping. According to Mr. Banguis they performed with polish and finesse normally associated only with mature, much older professional bands. He then called up Mr. Bobby Caparas, General Manager of the Primos Cuisine and Lounge, and implored him to give these Tacloban boys a break, even if it’s just for a meal and transport money. Mr. Caparas then booked a slot on Thursday, November 28. The audience was so impressed on their first gig and did not want them to stop playing that night, and the boys gladly obliged, perhaps overwhelmed too with the crowd’s wild appreciation. The Primos management then announced that the band would be back the following evening, Friday, November 29. The Friday evening crowd was just as enthusiastic and appreciative of the band that played almost 3 hours of continuous music, displaying the same energy and vivacity from the first piece to the last! More than just a repeat “one-shot” performance, Primos have now engaged the band to regular gigs on Tuesday evenings, which will go a long way in providing them needed presence and stability in Manila, where they decided to stay while Tacloban is slowly rebuilding.^[4]

Mr Banguis decided to share their story to the National Television Networks in the Philippines. ABS-CBN responded to the letter and wanted the band to appear on their annual Christmas celebration dubbed as “Kwento ng Pasko – Pag-asa at Pagbangon” on Tuesday, December 10 at Araneta Colisseum, which was aired on December 14–15. They were the only performer that drew the standing ovation on the event.

International Success

The band performed at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Pinoy Relief Benefit Concert on March 11, 2014 with other performers such as Jennifer Hudson, Pentatonix, Plain White T's, A Great Big World, Jessica Sanchez, Apl.de.ap, DJ Poet Name Life and Charice.

After their performance in New York, the band also performed for a benefit concert dubbed as 'Here Comes the Sun' in Southern California, presented by Rotary Club of Historic Filipino Town in Glendale.

On June 14, 2014 the band performed at the Sun Pearl Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan dubbed as "Damo Nga Salamat"("Thank You Very Much"), a thanksgiving concert presented by The Philippine Assistance Group. The event features Reo Brothers with guests Charito, FilCom Chorale and Sayaka Akimoto.

They made history when they became the first Filipino musicians to perform at the historic Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, the birthplace of iconic British band The Beatles.^[5] The Reo Brothers have their 3 days UK tour. On August 1 at Cavern Club in Liverpool, on August 2 at Bournbrook and Selly Oak Social Club in Birmingham and on August 3, 2014 at Northumberland Theatre in London.

After almost three months, the band was back at United Kingdom for their second tour. They performed at Cavern Club (Liverpool, England) on August 31, at Ten Foundation (Belfast, Northern Ireland) on November 2, at Benwell & Springback Club (Newcastle upon Tyne) on November 7 and at The Dome (London) on November 9, 2014.

Discography

Studio albums

TV/News/Documentary Appearance

Band Members

Reno – lead vocals; drums
Ronjoseph – lead vocals; lead guitar
Raymart – lead vocals; rhythm guitar
Ralph – lead vocals; bass

External links

• The Story of Reo Brothers Band
• 'Yolanda' survivors perform at 'Kwento ng Pasko'
• Standing ovation for Tacloban's Reo Brothers at ABS-CBN's 'Kwento ng Pasko'
• REO brothers band survives through music, with inspiration and hope for better future
• HOW MUSIC HELPED REO BROTHERS AFTER 'YOLANDA'
• How Pinoy Beatles group survived 'Yolanda' and got to America
• Young band from Tacloban wins ovation in Yolanda benefit concert in NY
• Tacloban's Reo Brothers Band will Perform in NY with Jenni

References