Jojo Yso; Rockin’ Winnipeg

Levy Abad, September 6, 2016
http://www.philippinecanadiannews.com/canada/winnipegs-home-grown-musicians/
Published September 9,2016

Courtesy of  Traffikk Jamm Fb page

Jojo Yso arrived in Winnipeg in 1987 and right away he looked for a band to join, the name of which he cannot recall anymore. In the following year, he joined the Off Limits Band. The year that Jojo left the Philippines, the country was full of hope. The dictatorship was just ousted, but in the midst of this change, the music scene was shifting too. The curse of the karaoke was slowly creeping and killing the livelihood of folk singers and rock bands. The peasants were massacred at the bridge leading to Malacañang (President’s Palace) for singing the song “Dapat Bawiin” (Retake the Land). It was during this time when I was beginning to delve into peoples’ art and studying the songs of activist songwriters including Gary Granada’s Bahay, Joey Ayala’s Santa Filomena while halfway across the world, Jojo, whom I will meet later in 2010, was singing to ease the pain of our people in the diaspora. This is the context and the time of Jojo’s journey as a musician. Jojo is fortunate to have crossed over to a country that is still insulated from the wave of change in the music industries ever changing terrain.. 

Off Limits

As a newly arrived migrant and artist endowed with a restless soul, Jojo cannot wait to join a band and take on the stage to satisfy his thirst for music while earning something on the side or to hit Nashville or Hollywood by storm. Thus the Off Limits Band was formed with Jojo as guitar player/vocalist, Ardie Sarao (a guitar legend in the Filipino community), Willy Liwanag who plays the bass guitar and Lito Balmes.

They performed Pinoy Rock songs and also Glam Rock. Glam Rock is like the music of Poison, Motley Crue, The Cult, Def Leppard and Cinderella. Glam Rock is short for Glamorous Rock because of the way the bands dressed-up. According to Jojo, the Off Limits Band was around for two to three years. He added that after some time, Ardie Sarao left the group, went solo and ventured into the mainstream community. (Text messages of Jojo Yso- September 2, 2016). With Ardie bidding adieu to the group to go solo and other pressures affecting the lives of the rest of the band members, they decided to part ways for a time and regroup with new artists to form a group known as One Band.

ONE band (1989-90)

Jojo Yso , Traffikk Jamm FB Page

Sometime in 1989, Jojo joined another group called the One Band. The crew of this band were Jojo Yso (Lead Guitar/ Vocals), Willy Liwanag (Bass), Noel Marana (Drummer) and Bernard Mercado (Lead Guitar). Jojo told me that they used to perform Hard Rock songs or music.  They used to cover Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Bad Company, Pink Floyd (Text messages of Jojo Yso, September 2, 2016). From the Glam Rock genre, Jojo, together with his bandmates, transitioned to another style.  This shift in style and musical pieces entailed changes in influences. The moment a guitar player studies musical pieces of new musicians, he is changed too and has to absorb and really master the new arrangement. This is tough for band leaders because they have to lead in terms of arrangement, aside from being the admin of the band.  After a couple of years and economic pressures, some members of the band left the group to find greener pastures  and those who decided to stay on licked the pain of losing buddies, raised the banner of rock and roll and go on with the march to guitartopia with a new group called Exodus.

Exodus

Between 1991 and 1993, while the world was still fresh from the fall of the Berlin Wall, another local transformation occurred with the founding of a group called Exodus. Exodus was comprised of Jojo Yso (rhythm guitar), Ricky Natoc (drums), Willy Liwanag (bassist), Janjan Natoc (keyboard) and Jun Magnaye (lead vocals/guitar/second keyboard). Jojo shared that Exodus was more geared toward 80s and 90s song and classic rock, the likes of ToTo, Europe, Duran Duran, Santana, REO Speed Wagon, Journey and Eagles(Jojo Yso’s text message, September 6,2016).  This group was kind of transitional since by 1993, it metamorphosed into After Touch due to pressures of migration. One of its members had to look for better opportunity somewhere. Qualitatively, there will be a shift in approach as most of the eventual members of After Touch are musicians who read notes like Frank Urbano.

After Touch

Came 1993, the group, After Touch, was born. After Touch was known as the community’s sessionistas and was also a show band. The members of this group were Joso Yso (acoustic and lead guitars), Frank Urbano (bass player/band leader/arranger), Jun Urbano (2nd keys), Jonjon Natoc (1^st keys), Darius Dandan (saxophone), Maui Zamora (percussionist). Most of the performances of After Touch were with bands that visited from the Philippines.  Known as a band that reads notes, they can right away gel with fellow musicians from the old country.  I had the chance to listen to the album of After Touch, which, by the way, was mixed by Paul Morrow, and it sounded awesome. Unfortunately, their album was not released. I am still hoping that this album will be launched one day as it is a part of the Filipino community’s spirit of the 1990s.

Jojo Yso recalled the places where After Touch performed. The band gigged twice at the Concert Hall, four times at the Pantages, five or more at the Burton Cummings Theatre.  They also played as sessionists for Rachel Alejandro, Ogie Alcasid, Raymong Lauchenco, Ariel Rivera, Rey Valera, Erick Santos and Allan K. as well as the opening act for Basil Valdez, Jaya and Sarah Geronimo.  They also did back-up for Maan Dionisio of Miss Saigon, a major PCCM event held at the Concert Hall. With all these achievements, I think After Touch was Winnipeg’s premiere band of the 90s and early 2000s.However, in 2011, the band parted ways. The good news is members of the After Touch is comtemplating playing again as a group  this year.  (Jojo Yso’s text message, September 2, 2016).

Jojo Yso, Rockin’ Winnipeg Part 2

Levy Abad

Traffikk Jamm

On December 2013, the band, Traffikk Jamm, was born. Traffikk Jamm is one of the high impact rock bands of the Filipino community.  The members of the band are JojoYso (guitar and vocals), Erwin San Juan (lead guitar/vocals), AC Garcia (lead vocals), Willy Liwanag (bass /vocals) and last but not the least, Noel Marana (drums/vocals) (Traffikk Jamm’s FB page). Their music incorporates elements of classic rock and top 40s music. This year, Traffikk Jamm performed at the recently concluded Food-O-Rama at PCCM and at the 2016 Manitoba Filipino Street Festival held at Downtown Winnipeg where about 15,000 attended. They also held a fundraising concert at 49 Euclid Avenue for the Filipino Seniors Group. On October 1 and 2, they are one of the featured performers at the Octoberfest organized by the Winnipeg Filipino Beer Festival. (Traffikk Jamm Band:  Winnipeg`s Pride, Levy Abad, Articles and Poems).

Faithful to his Folk roots

Wow, what a rock and roll ride for Jojo Yso who told me that he has always been faithful to his folk roots. It just so happened that back in the olden days, everybody in Visayas (group of Islands in the Philippines) wanted to go to Japan to become members of a band and earn a decent living. It was a necessity to adapt to new approach to music. This was during the time of the Marcos dictatorship when the labour export policy was implemented that led to the mental and talent drain of the 70s and 80s.  Jojo shared his folksinging years back in high school and told me that they had a trio with two older musicians who hailed from Mindanao. They sang songs of Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills Nash and Young or CSNY, Asin (Salt of the earth), Neil Young, America, James Taylor, John Denver and Don McLean.  He added that in this trio, two played the guitars and one played the base.  Jojo also had a group in high school performing Asin and Simon and Garfunkel songs in school functions.

Playing Ukelele at the age of 6

Jojo was born in 1967, my contemporary. We share the same music, sang the same songs and had the experience of performing in high school events. The difference is Jojo started playing the guitar (ukulele) earlier than me at a young age of 6 years. He explained that when he was in 1^st year high school, he joined a guitar playing competition and won first prize against his senior year opponents.

He reminisced that the piece that he played  when he was in first year was  the instrumental  “Forbidden Games “ or Fur Elise, which was the favourite of his dad.  He said that even up to now, when he remembers his dad, he plays this song that takes him back in time.

Time spent on playing the guitar

Reflecting on the experience of Jojo, I can imagine the time that he spent on playing the guitar and honing his skill. Back in high school, we used to boast of the caloused fingertips due to hours spent playing the guitar. I neglected my studies just to learn After the Gold Rush of Neil Young, I Need You of America and Is it okay If I call you mine by Paul McCrane.  I can just imagine how many hours were spent on this through the years excluding the time spent on memorizing songs even the cassette cartridges spent, the cassette player messed up by the forwards and the rewinds just to capture the style of James Taylor, Don McLean, among others. For those who never went through this kind of experience, everything seems easy and perhaps would think that singing a song is a cheap trick.  Mind you, Jojo reads notes and knows how to arrange, which for a folksinger like me who only learned to play guitar on the streets, is another level still.

Band leadership is humbling

Watching Jojo Yso perform with his present band, Traffikk Jamm, and listening to their impressive performances make one concludes that as a group and as a member/ band leader, Jojo is just reaping the fruits of the time he spent playing the frets of the guitar or whatever instrument he plays.  Jojo’s role as a band leader is not an easy job. I remember seeing him carrying all the amps and other performance stuff to set up and after the gigs, he is one of the last persons to stay to clean-up and lift stuff. What a sacrifice to make people happy and momentarily free them from the depressive effects of diaspora.   The regular band practice, the individual research on the pieces of music to be played and the arranging of songs for the band, my, oh my, I haven’t done any bit of this. The only thing that I did as a performer was bring my guitar, plugged it to an amp then sing about revolution. All this task of a band leader reminds me of some lines in Neil Young’s “Comes a time:” we were right, we were giving, that’s how we kept what we gave away. Well, Bai (Bro) Jojo, from 1972 when you learned to play the ukelele and all these years, I know and you know deep in your heart that we made people happy, reminisce, fall in love and out of love, but the power of music in us, as shaped by our folk roots, withstands the vicissitudes of time. So Bai, “Keep on rockin’ Winnipeg!”