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Rivermaya
Rivermaya is a Filipino alternative rock band. Formed in 1994, it is one of the several bands that spearheaded the 1990s Philippine alternative rock explosion.
Rivermaya is currently composed of original members Mark Escueta and Nathan Azarcon. Notable former original members include chief songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Rico Blanco and vocalist Bamboo Mañalac, who later formed the band Bamboo and eventually went on his solo career.
The classic 1994–1998 quartet lineup of Mañalac, Blanco, Azarcon, and Escueta performed a major reunion concert, with the event held at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque on February 17, 2024 and produced by Live Nation Philippines. The event received positive reviews from fans and critics alike.
Rivermaya is among the top thirty best-selling artists in Philippine history.
The band's predecessor consisted of Jesse Gonzales on vocals, Kenneth Ilagan on guitars, Nathan Azarcon on bass guitar, Rome Velayo on drums, and Rico Blanco on keyboards and backing vocals whom Azarcon and Ilagan recommended to the management after hearing him play his portable piano rendition of Metallica's "Seek & Destroy" during the audition process. They were managed by Lizza Nakpil and director Chito S. Roño who had the intention of molding the group into a rock showband. The group was called Xaga.
In the process of grueling practice sessions, Azarcon's schoolmate Francisco "Bamboo" Mañalac replaced Gonzales who was asked to leave the band for not meeting expectations; Azarcon's childhood friend Mark Escueta replaced Velayo who no-showed and left shortly after sensing he is not fit with the group's musical style, and Ilagan (a family friend of Roño), who eventually left the band later on for personal reasons concerning his studies, was replaced by Perfecto "Perf" de Castro who owned the rehearsal studio where the band used to jam. With Ilagan leaving and de Castro as the new guitarist, the band members disbanded Xaga and formed the band Rivermaya. The name "River" was already in place, as mutually agreed by the whole band, while the added "maya", to serve as a distinction, was said to be initially coined by Blanco which was then strongly approved, suggested, and vouched by de Castro to Nakpil. With the exception of Blanco, de Castro and Azarcon, who were aged 20, 19, and 18, respectively, Mañalac and Escueta were both minors when they signed up with the band (both aged 17). They started putting together original songs like "Ulan" [Rain], "214", and "Awit ng Kabataan" [Song of the Youth] (mostly composed by Rico Blanco) in demo form for prospective recording companies.[citation needed]
By November 1994, the band had released its first album, the self-titled Rivermaya, and its first single was "Ulan"; followed by "214". Both songs were critically acclaimed.[citation needed]
Citing artistic differences with the management, Perf de Castro was adamant in leaving the group in late 1995 in the middle of recording of their second studio album and returned to his project band "The Blues Trio", a band later renamed "Axis" until its final inception as "Triaxis." The band continued as a quartet and Rico Blanco became the full-time guitarist while Nathan Azarcon's friend Edward Alfafara filled in as session additional guitar player on live shows for the remainder of the year until he was replaced by J-John Valencia (also a friend of Azarcon) in 1996.[citation needed]
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Rivermaya
Rivermaya is a Filipino alternative rock band. Formed in 1994, it is one of the several bands that spearheaded the 1990s Philippine alternative rock explosion.
Rivermaya is currently composed of original members Mark Escueta and Nathan Azarcon. Notable former original members include chief songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Rico Blanco and vocalist Bamboo Mañalac, who later formed the band Bamboo and eventually went on his solo career.
The classic 1994–1998 quartet lineup of Mañalac, Blanco, Azarcon, and Escueta performed a major reunion concert, with the event held at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque on February 17, 2024 and produced by Live Nation Philippines. The event received positive reviews from fans and critics alike.
Rivermaya is among the top thirty best-selling artists in Philippine history.
The band's predecessor consisted of Jesse Gonzales on vocals, Kenneth Ilagan on guitars, Nathan Azarcon on bass guitar, Rome Velayo on drums, and Rico Blanco on keyboards and backing vocals whom Azarcon and Ilagan recommended to the management after hearing him play his portable piano rendition of Metallica's "Seek & Destroy" during the audition process. They were managed by Lizza Nakpil and director Chito S. Roño who had the intention of molding the group into a rock showband. The group was called Xaga.
In the process of grueling practice sessions, Azarcon's schoolmate Francisco "Bamboo" Mañalac replaced Gonzales who was asked to leave the band for not meeting expectations; Azarcon's childhood friend Mark Escueta replaced Velayo who no-showed and left shortly after sensing he is not fit with the group's musical style, and Ilagan (a family friend of Roño), who eventually left the band later on for personal reasons concerning his studies, was replaced by Perfecto "Perf" de Castro who owned the rehearsal studio where the band used to jam. With Ilagan leaving and de Castro as the new guitarist, the band members disbanded Xaga and formed the band Rivermaya. The name "River" was already in place, as mutually agreed by the whole band, while the added "maya", to serve as a distinction, was said to be initially coined by Blanco which was then strongly approved, suggested, and vouched by de Castro to Nakpil. With the exception of Blanco, de Castro and Azarcon, who were aged 20, 19, and 18, respectively, Mañalac and Escueta were both minors when they signed up with the band (both aged 17). They started putting together original songs like "Ulan" [Rain], "214", and "Awit ng Kabataan" [Song of the Youth] (mostly composed by Rico Blanco) in demo form for prospective recording companies.[citation needed]
By November 1994, the band had released its first album, the self-titled Rivermaya, and its first single was "Ulan"; followed by "214". Both songs were critically acclaimed.[citation needed]
Citing artistic differences with the management, Perf de Castro was adamant in leaving the group in late 1995 in the middle of recording of their second studio album and returned to his project band "The Blues Trio", a band later renamed "Axis" until its final inception as "Triaxis." The band continued as a quartet and Rico Blanco became the full-time guitarist while Nathan Azarcon's friend Edward Alfafara filled in as session additional guitar player on live shows for the remainder of the year until he was replaced by J-John Valencia (also a friend of Azarcon) in 1996.[citation needed]