‘Here Comes the Sun’: How Tacloban’s Reo Brothers made it

One of the first questions I asked the Reo Brothers—a band doing Fab Four covers and currently making it big here and abroad—was a tough one: What is your favorite Beatles song? 
 

Ask a Beatles fan this question and it’s likely they will not have a solid answer. I once read an article comparing a favorite Beatles song to underwear: like undies, the song becomes old, and you will eventually have to lean onto another song that could serve your purpose better.
 

Asking this question, however, could be a good way to get to know a person and to get an idea of what he’s currently going through: a “Good Day Sunshine” answer could indicate joy, a “Tomorrow Never Knows” favorite could mean inspiration.
 

The brothers’ answer: George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.” This is exactly the answer that I wanted to hear.

Not just another cover band

My father introduced me to the Reo Brothers a few months ago, asking me to come with him and my mother to a gig where the band was expected to do excellent Beatles covers. This isn't exactly my type of crowd, but I grew up singing along to albums like “Abbey Road,” “Revolver,” and “Magical Mystery Tour,” so I went.  
 

The band’s renditions of Beatles hits are unlike most of the covers I’ve heard, because they’re clean and don’t have the usual embellishments commonly found in covers. The instrumentation is perfect and the voices are spotless. Sometimes, it’s this kind of simplicity that fans like me are looking for. The band’s usual crowds, made up mostly of baby boomers, are always pleased; you’ll see most of them dancing at the end of the night.

I’ve been to more shows after this, so I eventually learned about the band’s history. The most recent gig I went to was the one at the Hard Rock Café, a special show they kicked off with “A Hard Day’s Night.” 

They performed mostly Beatles covers—from “Abbey Road” (“Octopus’s Garden) to “Revolver” (“Here, There, Everywhere”), from “Let It Be” (“Two of Us”) to “Rubber Soul” (“In My Life”). They also did some songs by Dave Clark 5, Cliff Richards, the Everly Brothers, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and The Cascades.

Yolanda

Based in Tacloban City, the Reo Brothers are 24-year-old Reno Otic on drums, 22-year-old Ron Joseph Otic on lead guitars, 20-year-old Raymart Otic on rhythm guitars, and 17-year-old Ralph Otic on bass.
 

According to Raymart, it was in 2005 that they got serious about making music. They started learning to play instruments after their father, Reynaldo Otic, brought home a hand-me-down guitar to Tacloban.
 

“Si kuya RJ gumawa ng tambol na lata tapos siya po nagturo kay Ralph mag drums, tsaka kay kuya Reno,” recalled Raymart. “Afterward, tinuruan din kami niya mag gitara. Then noong 2007, nagkaroon po ng banda si kuya RJ, which was composed of his classmates and friends. Pumupunta sila sa bahay minsan nag jamming dun din—medyo nahilig kami sa banda [pagkatapos]. Until na nabuo na kaming apat as Reo brothers in 2009.”
 

The brothers were living in Tacloban with their family when Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) ravaged the city. They survived, but needed to flee after the calamity took almost everything they had. After communicating with relatives in Manila, they boarded a bus to Quezon City.

The brothers remembered that someone from one of their 2012 gigs gave them his card and told them that they should give him a call if they ever come to Manila. This man, Reynaldo Fuentes, referred them to band adviser Tom Banguis, Jr., who was so impressed with what he’d heard that he started referring them to contacts in the music industry. Banguis eventually became their manager.
 

Since then, the Reo Brothers started playing small gigs in the Metro and eventually got people listening and asking for more.
 

The biggest one so far happened at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, the place where The Beatles used to play. Raymart recalled: “Noong magpeperform na kami, excited at kabado kasi doon nagmula ang Beatles and audience pa ay mga Briton, so nakakapressure din. Enjoy naman sila sa pag tugtog namin, halos lahat ng kinanta namin sumasabay silang lahat.”
 

I’ve interviewed and written about a lot of bands, and I have to say that these guys are, hands down, the most professional by far. They arrive at venues early, respond to emails fast, and they’re not stingy with the number of songs during gigs (they would play for hours with just a few breaks)—qualities of true and dedicated artists. This, I think, is something that fans (and perhaps promoters) should know.
 

'Here Comes the Sun'
 

The band said that they are working on their first album, which includes covers of 60s songs as well as two originals—“Ako’y Tinamaan” and “Oh Bakit!”—both written by veteran songwriter Vehnee Saturno.
 

I asked them about their plans for the future. They agreed thus, “We aim to finish our studies, and get jobs and even build our own business, kahit hindi masyadong malaki. To have an alternative or fallback. Because, of course, not all the time po meron kaming gigs."
 

The band is set to leave for the United Kingdom later this month. They will once again perform at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, as well as in Belfast, Newcastle, and London. They will also have a concert in Qatar in December, and a number of shows in the United States are also currently being finalized.
 

They told me: “This will be our second tour concert in the UK. We'll be having four concerts. Our return to the Cavern Club is exciting—nung una kasi, medyo nabitin kami at yung audience sa performance namin, short set lang kasi ibinigay sa amin. Now we’re coming back and probably long set na po kami.”
 

“It seems like years since it’s been clear,” said George Harrison in one of his biggest hits. This song, the band’s favorite, could not be more apt.
 

It’s been almost a year since the Otic family boarded a bus to Manila to escape one of the strongest typhoons in recent history. For these four hardworking and humble brothers, things are slowly getting better. I hope that they keep up with the professionalism, make more songs, and keep dreaming. They’re young and full of potential, and they still have a long way to go. 
 

I’d like to think that their favorite Beatles song 'suggests this. — VC, GMA News