Jhayzon Paredes:  90's Rock and Roll
Levy Abad  
Ang Peryodiko Vol.XV No.3 February 1-15

I sent a message to Jhayzon Paredes asking about the bands that he got involved with and he told me to drop by his place and he has the record of rock bands back in 1993. Jhayzon had organized three bands and they were the following:  Palitaw (1994- 2004), FourSight (2004 to 2011) and the last one that exists up to now is Fhamathou (2012 to 2016). But before I write anything about the bands that Jhayzon organized in the 90s, I would first try to explain the context so we can somehow appreciate the process that shaped his band, band mates’ consciousness and the time.

What struck me with writing this article is the year 1993, which according to Jhayzon, was the time when he organized Palitaw band.  This was the time when I was still in the Philippines and active in the cultural movement and occassionally was given a chance to gig at the Mayric’s Bar (later Sazi’s Bar) when Burt Chavez and Sazi Cosino were still the alternate managers. During  that time, the fall of the Soviet Union’s  revisionist regime was still fresh  and  you can still hear the song of the band Scorpions, “Winds of Change”  (1990) being played, as well as the song, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House (1986) constantly played by the mainstream media  after the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. Philosophically, with the crumbling of the revisionist regimes (socialism in words and capitalism in deeds), post-modernism/ deconstructionism as a philosophy unfolded, and so it spread like wild fire in the field of culture that lead to new forms of art.  From the traditional forms of writing music based on a system/ structure, suddenly, groups like Nirvana (1987 to 1994) exploded with their new approach to writing songs, power chords, growling style of singing and lyrical incoherence, for short new forms of artistic rebellion with a strong sense of post modern tendency.

In the midst of the cultural tsunami that struck during the 90s, I asked Jhayzon where he was in all of this.  Was he in Manila?  He explained through FB message that he was already in Winnipeg. He was in high school during that time and already starting to toy with idea of forming a band. High school means Del Pilar Academy in Imus, Cavite and Daniel McIntyre at 720 Alverstone St. in Winnipeg. He added that in the Philippines, he was not involved with any bands. It was only here in Winnipeg that he started to do some gigs in 1994. Jhayzon told me that as early as the late 80s, he was already listening to Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi and Metallica. Persistenly, I asked how old he was when he started to play the guitar. He replied that he began to play at the age of 13. He learned to play guitar through an evangelical church community program of giving guitar lessons and with the song “This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.” What an interesting evolution.

During this period of Jhayzon’s formation, folk, rock and country were the main themes at Mayric’s Bar and Restaurant (1320 Espana Street- in front of the University of Santo Tomas). By the 90s, new forms of music were  growing so fast most especially in the ranks of the youth, and businesses realized the potential and tried to capitalize on the trend and created new  icons of  music that reflect the psyche of the young rebels of the 90s.  With this, the likes of  Yano Folk/ Punk Rock Band (1993), EraserHeads Rock Band (1989-2002), Siakol Band , Alternative and Punk Rock (1994-Present ), Slapshock Heavy Metal Band  (1997), Parokya ni Edgar (1993),and many more, will make it big time and popularize new forms of music, the different forms of alternative music.

 In the 90s, I recall clearly that most of the alternative groups usually perform and sadly, nobody cares until suddenly they hit the waves.  At Mayric’s Bar, while alternative bands played, everybody watches television on the opposite direction.  Yano, one of the favourites of the time was composed of three cultural activists, Dong Abay of Patatag and Erik Gancio and Onie Badiang, a sessionist of Joey Ayala’s “Bagong Lumad,” another activist from Mindanao.  I had the opportunity of being with these three at a workshop organized by Musika Philipines in Los Banos where Rom Dongeto of Buklod, the one who composed Kanlungan (sung by Noel Cabangon } and Tatsulok (which was interpreted by Bamboo), Rey Asis, and Rossette Taganas were the facilitators.  Another hang out of alternative bands during the 90s was Club Dredd, and the favourite radio station was NU 107.

Reflecting on all these reminds me of  Jhayzon’s generation .Somehow, I have an idea of what really influenced them in terms of music and style. You have the North American influence of lyrical anarchism, as influenced by the deconstructionist trend in philosophy riding on heavy metal musical forms like Nirvana and Green day punk band (1986), which made it big in the first half of the 90’s. On the other hand, you have the Filipino Rock influence of alternative rock with socially reflective lyrics of Yano, Eraserheads etc.  Truly, these are some of the tendencies that run through the minds of artists of the 90s that has a lasting influence in the way they make their music and write their lyrics.  With this in mind, I guess it is time to focus on the bands of the 90s here in Winnipeg where my friend Jhayzon Paredes led a significant role in the music scene in the growing Filipino community which will be featured in part two of this article.

(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 "I Love Canada". You can reach Levy Abad through , lev67.abad@yahoo.ca or on Facebook.).