12 Facts You Did Not Know About Karl Roy

KARL ROY/ BRUTAL GRACE PHOTO

I had a dream about Karl Roy several nights ago. It started out with me walking into a place that was all white… it seemed endless. Literally, everything was white–from the ground I was walking on, to the ceiling when I gazed upon it–with each step of mine echoing hollow yet snappy sounds, very much like the sounds heard when you enter a new and empty house. The whiteness went on forever.

I kept on walking in one straight line. I feared that I might fall off if I stopped walking or if I walked in another direction. Then from a distance, I saw a man. I could not make out who it was but that made me walk a bit faster because I was relieved to know I was not alone–wherever I was at that moment–and I wanted to ask him where I was, indeed. As I got closer and closer to him, it became clear to me who I was seeing.

He was shirtless, had tattoos, and was wearing camouflage army style pants. He had boots on. He was just sitting on an old-fashioned wooden black stool. I saw he was Karl Roy, although he was a lot younger, how he used to look back in the late 90’s is the best way I could describe his physical appearance. As I got nearer to him, I could make out the objects that were around him. Right beside his stool was a stack of books placed on top of each other. On the left side of it was a small collection of vinyl records.

Seated comfortably on the stool, with both his feet slightly raised and resting on the tips of his boots, he was looking interestedly at the back of a case of a vinyl record as though it was the first time he was holding and seeing it. He looked happy and in peace without a care in the world.

I stopped walking towards him a couple of feet away as I did not want to disturb him from his reverie and what he was doing. Then, he suddenly lifted his head and looked at me straight in the eyes, and asked me: “What do you see when you think of me ?” in a manner as though he had been expecting me to be there. I thought I had not wanted to disturb him so his awareness of my presence before him quite surprised me in turn. I was stunned by his pointed question and at the same time so elated to see him one more time as I had got to see him perform with his band Kapatid a total of three times only beginning in 2003.

But before I could even compose myself and answer his question, my dream abruptly ended. Yet, there seemed to be a continuity to that dream because I woke up so very disappointed I did not have the chance to answer his question.

In the days following, I tried to make sense of that dream of mine of Karl Roy and to connect the dots. Upon deeper reflection, I knew what I had to do. I knew what I wanted to do. I want to write again about Karl Roy.

This article is for you, Karl Roy.

It was because of my dream of Karl Roy that I have come up with a brand new sub-section for my column entitled: “12 Facts You Did Not Know About…” And it is only right and fitting that the very first local artist I feature is the legendary Karl Roy.

However, the facts will not come from me but from some of Karl Roy’s inner circle of closest friends: people he grew up with and a few of his former bandmates in Kapatid. They  will reveal to the readers, his fans, and music aficionados FACTS little known about Karl Roy.

KARL ROY/ CRIS PANGAN PHOTO

Here they are:

1) Karl was a member of Tau Gamma Phi which was founded on the same year he was born.

Fact from: Albert Llave

2) Karl loved cats. He owned two; one of the cats had a Caesarean section and had a scar that almost looked like the one he had on his chest.

Fact from: Kristian Paulin and Orlando Tiongco

3) Karl was the grandson of the late Senator Jose J. Roy. He was his grandfather’s favorite and who wanted Karl to be a senator too. Obviously, he did not become one.

Fact from: Drebo Videna

4) He was an electronics/gadget aficionado and collected knives but he kept on losing them because he was a daily commuter. Karl didn’t know how to drive.

Fact from: Kristian Paulin, Drebo Videna and Orlando Tiongco

5) Karl was very spiritual. Nahiligan nya pag- aralan ang ibang religions tulad ng Budhhism, Islam and Native American.

Fact from: Nathan Azarcon

6) He was really into Psychedelics and did Yoga.

Fact from: Nathan Azarcon

7) When Karl was not in the mood to socialize but always had people surrounding him… mag susuot na lang siya ng earphones kahit walang music so that no one would talk to him even for a while.

Fact from: Anjones Elemos

8) He was on a no MEAT diet. He loved to cook pasta with tuna. He was the only person that made our friend Orlando eat fish.

Fact from: Orlando Tiongco

9) During gigs at Ateneo, Tacloban and The Verve room, Karl lost a tooth; to hide the “bungi” he used chewing gum. By the way, these were on different occasions.

Fact from: Nathan Azarcon, Orlando Tiongco, Kristian Paulin

10) The Anthem Song “Noypi” by Bamboo (the band) was originally written by Nathan Azarcon for Kapatid but Karl turned it down.

Fact from: Kristian Paulin

11) During the first night of Karl’s wake, his mom did not expect the number of fans he had. She was shocked that hundreds and hundreds came. They had to transfer to a bigger room. Hindi kasi nag kasya mga tao sa sobrang dami.

Fact from: Kristian Paulin

12) He always thought of his daughter Arianna.

Fact from: Rj Sy