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Local blues band The Brat Pack represents PH in Memphis blues challenge

The Brat Pack at a December 2013 gig: all blues, 'no guitars.' (Photo from The Brat Pack's Facebook)

The Brat Pack, a Pinoy foursome which plays jazz fusion, bested the competition at the 2nd Philippine Blues Competition in October last year. They earned the right to represent the Philippines at the 30th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee in the US from January 21-25, 2014.

The band is composed of pioneering members, pianist RJ Pineda and bassist David de Koenigswarter, recent recruit Allan Abdulla on drums, and vocalist Christine Mercado who’s been singing jazz and blues since the age of four.

Despite the apparent musical pedigree of its members, the band went through unexpected challenges and unforeseen breaks on the road to Memphis.

Almost quit

David de Koenigswarter remembers, “Some two weeks before we submitted our application to the Philippine blues competition, RJ and I were actually talking about taking a break. We realized Brat Pack wasn’t going anywhere. Some of our gigs weren’t pushing through anymore.

“Then we saw the competition’s ad on YouTube. That did it for us.”

The said ad featured an endorsement by Paul Lobrera, guitarist of the Bleu Rascals, whom the Brat Pack rubbed shoulders with during their Salon de Ning gigs.

Missed deadline

The band missed the original deadline of submission of application to the local blues showdown and made it only when the organizers extended the cut-off date. They also barely made it through the semifinal round ranking last among the five eventual finalists.

Allan Magturo, Philippine Blues Society officer and seasoned chaperone to Pinoy participants to the Memphis Challenge, says, “The band that landed on sixth place is a well-known classic rock act and a dark horse to enter the finals. Brat Pack was lucky the other band didn’t play the blues. Actually, the judges rated Brat Pack’s semifinals performance to be merely average.”

A major concern for local blues aficionados was the tendency of the band to play jazz rather than straight-up blues. A solution offered was for the band to recruit a guitarist whose riffs, in the blues tradition, anchored the bluesy tone and temperament of the music.

No guitarist

Unfortunately, two weeks going to the finals, the band hadn’t found a guitarist to beef up their frontline. At the same time, their drummer elected to be part of an orchestra that would be performing in Japan on the days leading to the Philippine blues finals.

R J Pineda readily texted 20 possible candidates for the drummer post and only Allan Abdulla, a percussionist for a Pinoy orchestra, showed up. Abdulla thought the call was for a one-off session gig but he proved more than up to the demands of the post. He’s been on the job for the past three months.

As for proposal to get a guitar man, pianist R J Pineda explains, “We actually found a very good guitar player. Unfortunately, he was busy with other projects. So, we had no choice. On the other hand, we saw something good about the way we are. People would see us as a band with the guts to go into the blues finals without a guitarist.”

 

Superb show

David adds, “Me and RJ are basically the rhythm section. In that sense, it’s easier for us to do some kind of bagsak or transition. If we had a guitarist, we still have to orient him on how we play. Sometimes kasi things just happen. We don’t have to talk about it. We just do it onstage.”

It also helped that Allan Magturo sent to all the finalists a message from the Blues Foundation. It was a very long interview of a former competitor at the Memphis Blues Challenge which dealt with the do’s and don’ts for a winning performance.

After the band made the necessary adjustments, they turned in a superb show at last year’s Philippine Blues Finals. The judges were pleasantly surprised at the quick makeover by the band and rendered a unanimous decision to crown them blues champions for 2013.

Sub-zero temperature

In Memphis, the band will be playing at ten degrees below zero. If they make it to the finals, they will playing every day during their stay in Memphis in sub zero temps.

The Brat Pack and The Kingpin Trio, the Philippine entry to the youth showcase in Memphis, have also been given a slot to play at BB Kings Restaurant & Blues Club in Memphis. They have been chosen from out of 120 bands which will descend on the city for the 2014 International Blues Challenge.

The Brat Pack has also been given the opportunity to do a four hour recording session in the famed Sun Studios, birthplace of rock and roll and early home to Elvis Presley and a host of 50s rockabilly firebrands. The band has a few compositions they plan to work further on at Sun Studios.

Mecca for blues guitarists

Allan Roy bids the band all the best and just enjoy Memphis. “It’s a rare opportunity for any Filipino band to play in Memphis. It’s a mecca for blues guitarists.”

There’s the rub. Memphis may prove to be a much bigger hurdle for a guitar-less band. Brat Pack will have to rely on their guts and talents to outwit the weight of tradition in the house of blues.

The trip to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee is supported by the Philippine Blues Society in cooperation with The Roadhouse Manila Bay and other corporate sponsors.

 

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