‘The Joker’ invades Muziklaban finals

JOEY “Pepe” Smith: A joker in real life, too

Joey “Pepe” Smith looked every inch the rabble-rousing villain in green hair and The Joker makeup at this year’s Red Horse Beer Pambansang Muziklaban finals, held recently at the Aseana Business Park on Macapagal Avenue, Parañaque.

The gangly rock legend, now 64, joined his Juan de la Cruz Band (JDLC) cohorts Wally Gonzalez and Mike Hanopol in a performance of their classic hits “Rock and Roll sa Ulan,” “Titser’s Enemi No. 1” and “Balong Malalim.” Gonzalez did some shredding in his sultry “Wally’s Blues,” while Smith served a fiery solo in “Beep Beep.”

It was an exhilarating way to give meaning to the event’s theme, “Pinoy Rock Through the Decades.”

A hero

Though Smith projects a ragamuffin image and is a natural-born joker offstage, he’s nonetheless a hero to the other artists on the bill, especially Jett Pangan.

The Dawn’s front man acknowledged JDLC as one of the reasons that he joined a band.

“Kung wala sila, wala rin kami. It’s as simple as that,” Pangan told the Inquirer, adding that JDLC’s attitude made a huge impact on him. “Wala silang takot. They just made music they believed in.”

Freddie Aguilar gave the audience a dose of folk-rock. The mood turned somber when he performed his signature song “Anak,” with his son Jeriko.

JAMIR Garcia of Slapshock dives in.

A highly politicized artist, Aguilar dedicated a new song, “Maguindanao,” to the 58 victims of the infamous massacre in Ampatuan town.

The crowd, many of whom belonged to local punk tribes, went crazy when ’90s-era bands Razorback, Greyhoundz and Slapshock tore the place down with growling, hard rock tunes.

Ely Buendia was up next. It was no secret that the Pupil front man has been distancing himself from his past image as former leader of The Eraserheads. So it was a pleasant surprise when he sneaked “Pare Ko” and “Magasin” into a set that included Pupil material like “Disconnection Notice.”

Rocksteddy, Tanya Markova, Franco, Kjwan and WilaBaliW—touted as bands of the “New Millennium Pinoy Rock,” played an eclectic blend of experimental, alternative and metal rock, with a dash of pop.

For 13 years, Muziklaban has been providing amateur bands an avenue to jump-start their careers through the annual nationwide competition. Earlier that night, Davao-based David vs Goliath won over Mind of Clay of Legazpi City, Zephaniah of Baguio and Leviticus of Cebu.

FREDDIE Aguilar: A dash of folk-rock. He sang “Anak” with his son Jeriko.

A hardcore metal group, David vs Goliath—composed of vocalist Oliver Lagdameo, guitarist/vocalist Jules Montañez, guitarist Kenneth Zamudio, bassist Arvin Nacario and drummer Miel Avila—dished out a brutally heavy yet melodic number.

The band took home P500,000 cash, a P300,000 album launch sponsorship and a Red Horse endorsement deal worth P200,000.