Juan de la Cruz Band
| Juan de la Cruz Band | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Manila, Philippines |
| Genres | Manila Sound, Pinoy rock, OPM |
| Years active | 1968–1981, 1998-present |
| Labels |
Vicor Music Corporation Blackgold Records |
| Members |
Wally Gonzalez Mike Hanopol Pepe Smith |
| Past members | Sandy Tagarro Edmund Fortuno Bing Labrador Alex Cruz Bobot Guerrero Larry Martinez Tony Rodriguez |
The Juan de la Cruz Band is a Filipino rock group formed in 1968 that pioneered what became known as Pinoy rock. Founding guitarist Wally Gonzalez credits his fellow founding member, drummer Edmund Fortuno (a.k.a. "Bosyo"), as having introduced the band's name. In December 1970, the band was lauded for headlining the first open field rock festival in the Philippines. In 1971, they released their first album as a quintet, and thereafter gained momentum when it performed in a rock opera with the Manila Symphony Orchestra, the first production of its kind in the country. Juan de la Cruz reinvented itself in 1973 as a power trio and rose to stardom as the premier rock band in the Philippines.
The original Juan de la Cruz Band, consisting of Wally Gonzalez (guitar/vocals), Sandy Tagarro (bass guitar/vocals), Chris Messer (drums), Bing Labrador (keyboards) and Alex Cruz (saxophones & flute), was formed in 1968. In December 1970, they performed in the Antipolo Rock Festival (the Philippine equivalent to the festival of 1969). They were subsequently tapped in September 1971 as the featured rock band in tandem with the Manila Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Redentor Romero) for the Philippine production of the rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Consequent to his dramatic part as the Judas character in the rock opera production, Sandy Tagarro vacated his instrumentalist role in the group and was replaced by Clifford Ho as bassist.
Upon the conclusion of the Jesus Christ Superstar production, Edmund Fortuno (aka "Bosyo"), Bing Labrador and Alex Cruz (with guitarist Vic Naldo and bassist Marlon Ilagan) formed a splinter group, Anak Bayan which, together with the Manila Symphony Orchestra, performed for another major production run at the Cultural Center, the rock opera, Tommy by The Who.
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