Sons of OPM icons carry on their parents’ legacy
Their parents were OPM icons.
In high school during the 80s, three of them became close friends. Years later, they would hook up again to make music together.
A fourth figure, a professional musician also with celebrated OPM-etched genes, completed the line-up.
Band with no name
The band with no name then was just happy to do covers of their favorite classic rock artists in occasional gigs around the Makati area.
In 2008, they decided to call themselves Generation.
The old high school buddies were brothers Joe and Mike Chan, sons of ever-popular singer/songwriter Jose Mari Chan; and Ige Gallardo, whose mom is renowned OPM singer Celeste Legaspi (now seen in the GMA teleserye “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real”).
The fourth member was Kowboy Santos, son of Pinoy rock icon Sampaguita.
6 years in the making
When the boys got together, they also began writing songs for an album.
It would take another 6 years for the self-titled album to see the light—launched recently at the Hard Rock Café to an SRO crowd which included a contingent of glittering relatives there to support and jam along with the boys.
“The album took a long time to finish since none of us were devoting full time to music,” Mike Chan exclusively told Yahoo.
“We had to attend to family obligations, daytime jobs and other more immediate concerns. Even Kowboy who had a pretty steady gig with the Blue Rats had his share of family priorities at that time.”
Worth the wait
The wait has been long but as crit-speak goes, it’s well worth it. The self-titled album packs more hooks and attractive melodies than any OPM album out there at the moment.
“It has everything we were listening to when we were young. There’s a big pool of musicians that ties us together. The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, The Who, the Doobie Brothers,” said Ige Gallardo.
Adds Joe Chan, “If you listen to our music closely, you’ll also hear a bit of glam rock and hair metal. Even punk is in there somewhere.”
The sound of ‘new classic rock’
The band says they put the same amount of effort and attention to each of the 12 songs that make up the album. They all agree though that the carrier single, “Love Is Killing Me” best represents the type of original music the band wants to put across.
Kowboy volunteers, “We’d like to call it new classic rock sound. It’s a blend of the classic rock of the ‘60s and ‘70s and the strong melodies of our songs as well as vocal harmonies from the band.
The sound of mid-period Beatles circa “Rubber Soul” is all over the album in the infectious hooks and compositions that aspire for the classic 3-minute hit. There are also hints of The Searchers and The Byrds, new wave and garage rock, rockers and ballads that almost always blossom into mild rockers fueled by an active backbeat and pop-rocking guitars.
6 different drummers
Mike says, “We don’t have a frontman or a leader for that matter. We can all sing. “We deliberately distributed the vocal duties so it won’t be taxing on any one member during a gig.
“It’s nice to blend together. Sometimes there would be four different voices and when our instruments come into play—that feels very exhilarating.”
The band doesn’t have a regular drummer either. The 12-song album itself features six different drummers. For a live performance, they recruit from a pool of friends. It’s been that way since they debuted as a band at Handle Bar. It remains their most memorable one.
Ige remembers, “We were so energized and pumped up to be on the same stage that the time. I think the chemistry that would bond us together was born then.”
Full-time musicians
All four members are full-time musicians now. So what keeps them excited about the music?
Joe Chan: “On my iPad, a lot of oldies. I really like classic rock and standards.”
Mike Chan: “Right now, I’m into jazz, Glenn Miller and Keith Jarrett. But next week it may be different.”
Ige Gallardo: “I’m listening to Sparks and Electric Light Orchestra. I also discovered King Washington on Spotify. They sound pretty much like us."
Kowboy Santos: “On my way to this interview, I was listening to John Butler Trio and Queens of the Stone Age on the car stereo.”
So there. Generation may, in the larger scheme of things, be “bringing back” a certain sound and trying to fashion something “of their own.”
But, clichés be damned. On their first record, Generation is merrily straddling the fine line between classic rock and whatever’s cool out there on the sidelines.
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