Please read this post, enjoy the music, and share as widely as you can. It is rare to see genius in some so young, and in 4 brothers! As many of you would know, I am on Disability in the Philippines, trying to get well enough to get off my pension, and to set up a charity here for the millions of poor who live in the worst imaginable circumstances. A Filipino friend of mine put me onto a local rock group from the Philippines, and after I watched some of their videos, I was just amazed! They are called the REO Brothers Band, as all 4 of them are brothers who have the same initials REO, with their first name all starting with R, their Mothers Maiden Name of Evasco (which is the standard naming convention in the Philippines, and that I have followed with my 2 youngest children), and then their Fathers Family Name of Otic (which means relating to the ear, which is very appropriate as they learnt music by ear). They are: Reno Evasco Otic - born on September 25, 1989 (age 24) Ronjoseph Evasco Otic - born on February 20, 1992 (age 22) Raymart Evasco Otic - born on February 27, 1994 (age 20) Ralph Evasco Otic - born on November 18, 1996 (age 17). They made their own instruments from bits and pieces around them, and started writing their own songs, learning songs they heard, and especially listening to their fathers record collection of music from the 1950s to the 1970s. With help from the Tacloban, Leyte (Eastern Visayas, South-East Philippines) charities and community, they managed to buy real instruments. Their Father was unable to support the family reliably, which is very common in the Philippines, where the poverty level is about 50% of the more than 100 million people. They started working professionally in 2009, when their ages ranged from 11 to 19. The money they earned from that work was enough to support them in school, and the rest of their family as well. They were content to hone their craft, and provide for their families from such a young age, however something came along that changed all that forever. On 8 November 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan (called Yolanda in the Philippines) hit Tacloban, Philippines. It has been accepted in all scientific circles that this Tropical Cyclone is the worst in recorded history, with some wind readings of over 470 kmh, as that was the wind speed detected before the calibration equipment was completely destroyed. 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. The death toll was 6,340 confirmed, with 1,061 still missing, plus 1.9 million homeless and more than 6,000,000 displaced. The Otic family survived the Super Typhoon but the devastation left the family penniless. It was 2 days after the typhoon that son 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, 5 litres of water, and candies (lollies) on their entire trip. It took them more than two days to reach Manila. They stayed in a small apartment in Quezon City. They called a person, Mr. Reynaldo Fuentes, who had given them a business card in Tacloban previously, and he guided them to his friend Mr. Tom Banguis Jr, a businessman and a band adviser, who listened to them play in a rehearsal studio. This led to Mr. Bobby Caparas, General Manager of the Primos Cuisine and Lounge in Manila, where they now play regularly. 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 a standing ovation at the event. 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 Ts, 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 featured REO Brothers Band with guests Charito, FilCom Chorale and Sayaka Akimoto. How good are these brothers? 10/10 for me, with excellent musicianship. How did they overcome so much? It is typical of the poor here, amazing! Will they be successful internationally? YES! YES! YES! Will I follow them, and buy their music? YES! Will I hire them for performances? YES, as part of my charity work here! I am leaving some links here for you to make up your own mind. https://youtube/watch?v=6IK5EASvCc4 https://youtube/watch?v=WgA6cau9Y4E https://youtube/watch?v=eEQ2t4Parkk&feature=youtu.be
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 09:11:54 +0000
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