Rock of Edges (2006 to 2017)

Levy Abad
The Diversity Times  , 
April 2017 , Vol.6 No.4

The Beginnings of the Band

Rommel , Mandy , Al, and Brian

Rock of Edges, formerly known as Rock of Ages, is a Filipino-Canadian band. According to Al Federis, they changed their name into Rock of Edges in the Fall of 2016. The band plays classic Rock. The members are Norman “Mandy” Bustarde (bass guitar), Al Federis (rhythm, lead guitar and back-up vocals), Brian De Nieva (lead guitar) and Rommel Torres (vocals).  Rock of Edges is known in the Filipino Rock and Roll scene as a touring band, as most of their weekend gigs are outside Manitoba. These guys cover songs of Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi, CCR, Metalicca, ACDC, Kid Rock, Led Zeppelin and Queen.  When I called Al Federis last September 3, 2016, the band was in Thompson, Manitoba for a two-day gig. Rock of Edges has performed at the Beer Fest on October 1 and 2, 2016 at PCCM. The festival was organized by the Winnipeg Filipino Beer Festival and Vocal Arts Centre whose CEO is Jose “Bobbit” Nepomuceno. I asked Al  to share names of places where they have performed  and here are some of them:  Neon Lights  (Canadiana Hotel, 1400 Notre Dame), United Tavern (2100 McPhillips), St. Joe’s Garage (103 Bond St.), KABAYAN  64 (Keewatin St.), Brooklands Inn (97 Keewatin St., Club) and  St. B. Bar and Grill (171 Dumoulin St.).  Al added that Rock of Edges performed at the Fall Music Festival at St. Andrews on August 26, 2016.

Some interesting facts about the band members

Mandy Bustarde, the founder and band leader, started playing the guitar when he was in high school. He confided that he had no band experience in the Philippines but he gained the same mainly here in Winnipeg. His first gig was with a band called Wreckless from 1987 to 1997 (FB interview).

Rommel Torres, the vocalist of Rock of Edges who works at Deer Lodge and been a wedding singer for eight years  and a DJ  prior to being a member of the band, commented, “It’s always exciting, especially when you see all the audience having such a wonderful  time and fun singing along and dancing with the  band. Sometimes even the owner of the bar is dancing and singing too.”  Rommel added that, “I always wanted to prove that even with our colour in a white dominated industry, we can always overcome the race factor and make folks enjoy our music for what it is.” He believes in the saying that “You got to perform or play like it is your last.”

Brian de Nieva shared his reflection as a member of the band. “Rock of Edges is an experience of a lifetime for me, not only that it gave me an opportunity to continue my love of music/guitar playing and performing, it also gave me a taste of how touring musicians live, get to meet different people and go to different places.”  As for his band mates, here is what he shared, “Have good relationship with my band mates. We are like family. On out of town gigs, we go around exploring the place during the day, go for coffee or eat after the gig etc.”

Mandy Bustarde (Band Leader )

Brian started playing the guitar back in 1994 when he was fourteen years old and that was during the Grunge era and Pinoy Alternative bands. He was in 2^nd year high school in the Philippines. His early influences were Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Metallica and local bands like Eraserheads and the Youth.

Like other touring groups, Rock of Edges had their share of funny moments, one of them Brian clearly remembers. He quipped, “On one occasion, our drummer forgot to bring the drumsticks. We were in Yorkton Sk. to perform in a bar called City Limits Saloon. We arrived there around 6 pm and while setting up our instruments, the drummer found out he forgot his sticks! And the gig starts in 3 hours! So we went out to look for music stores but all the stores we went to were already closed, so we thought we’ll just improvise. For our last try, we ended up at Walmart. We found some wooden dowel sticks and taped them together. Thank God, those survived one night.” He shared another story, ”There was also one time, going home from Creighton SK, our van developed a radiator leak  and we ran out of water to put in the radiator. Being in the middle of nowhere, we had no choice but to get water from the ditch.”

The music continues

Reflecting on the years of Mandy’s experience as a member of the band, I cannot help but notice the consistency and persistence he demonstrated as a musician. As a musician myself, I know that the band scene is tough. Another striking thing about Rock of Ages or Edges is that most of their performances are outside of Winnipeg. Even Jojo Yso who has been in the band scene for quite some time affirmed “Rock of Ages/ Edges touring character.” They had gigs in Thompson, City Limits Inn, 8 Betts Ave., Saskatchewan, Queen Street Station Bar and Grill, Dryden and Lac du Bonnet, to mention a few. Rommel Torres shared that they were also offered to play in Sandy Lake, Ontario by one of the native chiefs at their biggest yearly event called “Muddy Waters Festival” in 2016, but since two of their members can’t make it, they turned it down. Given these mode, I asked Mandy if they are full time musicians and he replied that they do this on weekends with consistency.

Al Federis, who started playing the guitar in 1990s and influenced by Black Sabbath, Metallica, Ozzy Osborne and Filipino alternative rock groups like Eraserheads and Rockstar and the first member of Rock of Edges whom I interviewed has this to say, “It is a very rewarding career as a Filipino musician and a member of an all Filipino rock band here in Winnipeg.  I’ve been playing with the band for ten years now and a member of CMA agency. I experienced gigs in a lot of hotels /bars here in Winnipeg and Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, the partisan nature of some people in our community still exists. Some folks would ask you to attend their events and even ask you to perform, but when it is your time to ask for help, nobody bothers to support.”  This reminded me of Jim Croce’s “Ages” where a line says, “When your down nobody gives a damn anyway.”

To have a taste of their music, I invite you to go to YouTube and type Rock of Ages or Norman Bustarde (better known as Mandy in the band scene) and you will hear some of their covers  like Bed of Roses (Bon Jovi ), Living on a Prayer( Bon Jovi), Crazy for you, Creep (Radiohead), Sweet Child of Mine(Guns N’ Roses), and Shook Me All Night (ACDC).

Writing this Rock of Edges narrative simply amazed me. These guys are going around the Province and even venturing as far as Ontario and Saskatchewan, showing their prowess as Rakista representatives of the Filipino community of Manitoba.  It makes me imagine standing up to this challenge and travelling to perform as a folk and country musician in the last quarter of my life and chronicle the process. This takes me back to 1974 during the time of Butch Jularbal and the Cobra band or its later evolution, The Jade Band, which also toured outside of Manitoba.  I am happy and grateful for the chance of writing the narrative of this band and musicians so that their story will never be forgotten.

(Levy Abad is a freelance writer and also a singer songwriter/recording artist and a member of Migrante Canada-Mb chapter and also a founding member/ program coordinator of Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum, Levy has released three albums , Canadian Experience Vol. 1 (iTunes ), Never Give Up and Rhythms of Compassion CanEx 3. Levy is soon to release a his fourth album by fall titled "Tara ng Maglakbay". You can reach Levy Abad through , lev67.abad@yahoo.ca or on Facebook.).