Pillars of the Filipino Live Music Scene in Chicago

By: Lou Maningas Cabalona

 

Rowell Reyes, Bert Velarde and Armando Aguas are 3 of the pillars of the Filipino Live Music scene here in Chicago.

Armando Aguas was born in Angeles City, Pampanga. He started his singing career at a very young age, winning most of the contests he joined. He is best known for imitating the great singers and performers of his time including James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, etc. As a matter of fact, he got his nickname “Chubby” after he won a national contest that gave him the title, the Chubby Checker of the Philippines!

In the 60s, Chubby got discovered in the Philippines by Mr. Robert McMackin, a talent agent from Las Vegas who brought his band, The Continentals, to the USA to perform all over the country. Chubby settled in Chicago and after his stint with The Continentals, he joined another band, Da Madisons, also came from Angeles City, and made a name for themselves in the Filipino community here.

Rudy Campos, President of the Filipino Musicians of Chicago (and 2016 recipient of the Chicago Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame Award in Music), fondly shares this unforgettable story. “His (Chubby’s) band, the Jaguars, did a show at the Airmen Club in Clark Airbase (in Pampanga). He was doing his James Brown routine when he had his epileptic attack. Everybody thought that was (a) part of the show!”

Presently, Chubby is staying at Aperion Care Nursing Home in Elgin, Illinois. According to his friend and singer Ayza Zamora, “Chubby is doing dialysis three times a week. The Doctors diagnosed him with slight Alzheimer’s Disease and Diabetes.” She also adds, “Let’s pray for his continuous healing.”

Another Da Madisons member, Bert Velarde was a powerhouse on the drums. Rudy describes Bert as a very friendly, happy-go-lucky guy who is also hard-headed. They met back in Angeles when Rudy would catch their late show at the Madison Club after his own gig at the Airmen’s Club.

Ferdie Villas, lead guitarist for Above and Beyond 4 (AAB), recalls he was 15 when he saw the Madisons play at the Bolingbrook Filipino Friendship Society event and was in awe. Little did he know then that he would end up playing with Bert 14 years later.

“Our group, Technocrats rocked until 1996,” Ferdie shares, adding, “We remained friends over the years even being with other group of musicians. Bert was the original drummer of AAB. His move to Bolingbrook coincides with him reuniting with AABs latest version. His latest health episode makes it very hard for him to make any band commitments. However, he’s still very much a part of this group”.

Bert is currently in the hospital because of a number of health conditions including congestive heart failure, after suffering a stroke last June.

Rowell Reyes migrated to the USA shortly after he formed his first band in Manila. But it did not take him long to get back in the music scene. He played the Chicago area club circuit for three years with The Gambits while finishing his studies.

After graduating at De Paul University, he decided playing music was the life he wanted to pursue. Since then, he has been with a number of very successful bands – The Gambits, Ray Villar and the Royal Flash, Rina and The Fantasy and The Fantasy with Jonathan Potenciano. He toured all over the Midwest, Cape Cod, Florida and the Carolinas, and was also playing in the local big clubs around Chicagoland.

The last band he formed, FRIENDS, with good friend Rudy Ollero from the Gambits played together until 1987, after which he ventured into the club and restaurant business until he was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in 2008.

In the few years I have been a part of the Filipino Musicians of Chicago, I have come to realize what the musicians and singers that have come before me had to face to be literally “heard” in this country. They have many stories of their successes, memorable moments on stage, and lifetime accomplishments that eventually built that trusted belief that, “Yes, Filipinos are awesome musicians and singers!” We all — from the average Filipino karaoke lover to “The Voice” contest hopefuls — reap the benefits of that good name.

I hope you will join us in “Let’s Band Together,” A Benefit Concert on August 27, 2016 at 7pm at Miraj Restaurant. All funds gathered at the event will go towards the medical expenses of all three musicians.

It is a benefit concert, but more than that, it is a celebration of a lifetime of achievements in giving Filipinos a place in the Chicago Music Scene. Thank you, Rowell, Bert and Chubby!

For more information, check out Filipino Musicians of Chicago on Facebook TGIF and the Chicago Weekend Tour in October.

Speaking of Filipino singers and musicians, just wanted to invite everyone to our big concert this October featuring Filipino American artists Jessica Sanchez from American Idol, Youtube Sensation and Canadian Idol Mikey Bustos and Chicago-based Filipino Folk Fusion band, SamaSama Project.

The TGIF Concert will be on October 7 at the Copernicus Center in celebration of Filipino American History Month. Tickets are at $58, $78, and $118. On the same day, there will be a FAHM Bazaar, delicious Filipino food popup restaurants and performances by local FilAm artists at the Fiesta Hall. Fiesta Hall admission is free.

A special Chicago Weekend Tour is also being crafted especially for out-of-town guests who will get to see the concert on Friday as well as be part of an exclusive tour of the 10,000 Philippine artifacts in the Field Museum and dine at a Filipino restaurant on Saturday.

Tickets are available at copernicustickets.com or call 708- 528-6321. For more information, please check out pacfmidwest.org.

Louella Maningas Cabalona is a singer, actor, and Senior Manager for Business Analytics, Sears Holdings. She is the co-founder of the Filipino Folk band, SamaSama Project, ILPRO (Illinois Philippines Recovery Operations) and is one of the inaugural delegates of the FYLPRO Immersion program of the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC in 2012. She is passionate about sharing Filipino culture in the modern world and actively supports all outstanding Filipinos around the globe. If you would like to connect, email louellarose@ gmail.com.

Officers and members of the Filipino Musicians of Chicago (fr L-R) Glod Dimaano, Lheenda Nico, Jun Rey, April Garcia, Rogel Arceo, Lottie deVeyra-Topacio, Rudy Campos, Patty-Lou Soliman, Gerry Lomotan, Louella and Baron Cabalona.

Good friends Bert Velarde and Rowell Reyes enjoying reminiscing at FMOC’s Spring Jam 2016 event.

FMOC Members Ed Sawyer, President Rudy Campos and Rudy Ollero visiting Chubby last May 2016.

VT/CPRTV supporting the FMOC’s Spring Jam 2016 event (clockwise from L-R) Louella Cabalona, Girlie Pascual, Publishers Veronica Leighton and Joe Mauricio.