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Through thick and thin: The confessions of a Rivermaya loyalist

Rivermaya: Mark Escueta, Mike Elgar, Norby David and Ryan Peralta (Photo by Niña Sandejas)

I love Rivermaya.

Before I became a music photographer, I once worked as a fashion stylist for Rivermaya when the band was just on the verge of breaking through the Asian music scene. It was the time when Rico Blanco fully owned being the frontman for the band alongside Mike Elgar, Mark Escueta and Japs Sergio.

It was a memorable time because I was a mere freshman in fashion school and barely knew anything. But then there I was, assigned to work with the hottest band in the country. For such a great band to trust an unknown was something I credit to being in the right place at the right time.

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‘I owe them my career’

Thanks to Rivermaya, I met more of the bands I would later cover when I went into music photography. I owe them my career.

When Rico Blanco left, I felt pretty much the same way everyone else did. The fact that he was the frontman (after Bamboo left) and the band’s chief songwriter fed into the uncertainty of whether there was still going to be a Rivermaya. And it haunted me. Little did I know that I would love the band even more when a whole set of challenges awaited them down the road.

I continued to work with Rivermaya when they looked for a new vocalist. I was on their side all the way in the face of their battles. I was a true loyalist, vowing to be with them with every change they went through.

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Personal soundtracks

In every phase of the band, there was an album that became the bookmarks of my life and I’m sure for the lives of those who listened to them from day one. Post-Blanco, I made the albums “Buhay” and “Closest Thing to Heaven” my personal soundtracks.

And I changed as the band did, embracing the new and uncertain.

Now with the line-up of Mark Escueta, Mike Elgar, Norby David and Ryan Peralta, Rivermaya’s new album called “Panatang Makabanda” is especially apt for me since I swore my loyalty to the band.

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Who was ‘da best’? Bamboo or Rico

I was keenly aware of the social media debates about the changing line-up. They sparked online wars between the “Bamboo forever” guys and those who thought Rico “da best.”

Like many of them, I knew a “reunion” of the old guard would be a treat. I actually glimpsed a bit of it last year when Bamboo sang with Rivermaya at a New Year’s party in Mike Elgar’s house. Yet even if I felt giddy to be witnessing that serendipitous jam, a part of me wanted to keep whatever memories I had of the music of every member who went away all to myself.

We all have our reasons for how much we love a band. Their music triggers specific memories, as personal and unique to us as our thumbprints. And then, like old lovers, we move on and are left with a box of memories we peek into when we need to.

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Still our ‘Banda ng Bayan’

Even now, Rivermaya owns the term given them when they were at their most popular: “Banda ng Bayan.” They were the stars of longest pop music industry soap opera ever: from members leaving to managers changing to the band soldiering on.

We all too easily dismiss those who want to offer us something new because we’re too hooked on an old song like a first love. But liking something new doesn’t mean we need to forget what we loved.

Rivermaya still exists because they continue to affect people--no matter the moment or whatever the band was going through. Everyone is entitled to embrace the part in the Rivermaya history they like best…and that includes being a fan of every phase the band has ever been in.

Niña Sandejas’s first solo exhibit “Behind the Curtain’s Shadows” is ongoing until July at Apartment 1B restaurant on the ground floor of One Rockwell East Tower, Rockwell Drive near Power Plant Mall in Makati. Visit her blog, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. Read more of Niña’s blog posts on Yahoo! OMG!.