User:Juliusagustin/sandbox

The Reo Brothers is a band comprised of four brothers from family of Otic. They are doing renditions of 1950s thru 1970s music of The Beatles, Beachboys, Dave Clark Five, Bee Gees, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, The Lettermen, America (band), The Ventures,VST & Co. and other prominent bands of the era. The band became more popular after they performed at the ABS-CBN Christmas Special 2013 in Araneta Coliseum. It was a concert graced by over a hundred local stars and celebrities but it was Reo Brothers band that drew the only standing ovation of the night.

Formation and early years in Tacloban (2005-2013)
It was 2005 when Ronjoseph made drums from tin cans covered with chips packaging bags. He fixed it up and started learning to play the drums. He learned on his own. After learning to play the drums, he mastered playing the guitar and passed the skills to his other three siblings, Ralph, Reno and Raymart. . They started playing Original Pilipino Music, songs from the famous boy band and songs inspired by their father's(Reynaldo Otic) collection of 50s through 70s songs of The Beatles, Bee Gees, Richard Cliff etc.

It was October 2008 when Mr. Roger David Gabero Bichachi, an employee of City Mayors Office of Tacloban and a member of PGBI (Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc) Tacloban Chapter saw them jammed with their friends, singing and playing their improvised instruments. Mr Bichachi then invited them to his birthday party to sing some songs from The Beatles with Ronjoseph the lead vocals and playing the acoustic guitar. Mr. Bichachi was so impressed with the Otic siblings, he then pledged to help the band formation. He bought them their musical instruments and make the band played for his other parties and events. The band mastered some songs until they created their playlist to set for gigs, events and competitions. They were later discovered by Mr. Bia Ong, a friend and previous employer of Mr Bichachi. Mr. Bia Ong was a retired musician, a member of the Biatles band, a band that did renditions of The Beatles and other prominent bands of that era on Tacloban during 1970s through 1990s. He mentored and trained the Otic siblings and gave support.

The band was then called PGBI-RDGB (Abbreviations for Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc - Roger David Gabero Bichachi).

The first line-up consisted of Ronjoseph on vocals, Ralph on bass guitar, Raymart on rhythm guitar and Reno on drums.

They started singing through competitions and events on 2009 to earn a living. Since their father doesn't have a stable job, singing through events was a big help to send them to school and their family's financial needs.

They later changed the name of the band to REO Brothers, derived from the first letters of their first name, middle name and surname. 'R' for Reno, Ronjoseph, Raymart and Ralph, 'E' for Evasco their mother's maiden name and 'O' for Otic their surname.

More and more people notice the band and they jump from gig to gig. On June 22, 2012, they met Mr. Reynaldo Fuentes; the man so impressed with the band gave them his calling card, and told to contact him in case they decided to come to Manila.

The band was feature on a local religious TV channel on Tacloban twice. They find contentment on their life in Tacloban, where they became popular and earning enough for their financial needs. Until a super typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines hit Tacloban.

Super Typhoon Haiyan Hit Tacloban (November 2013)
Super Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban, Philippines on November 8, 2013. There was widespread devastation from the storm surge in Tacloban City with many buildings being destroyed, trees knocked over or broken, and cars piled up. The low-lying areas on the eastern side of Tacloban city were hardest hit, with some areas completely washed away.

The Otic family survived from the super typhoon, the devastation left the family penniless. It was 2 days after the typhoon hit Tacloban, when Raymart had the chance to communicate with their other siblings residing in manila through a social networking site. Their siblings in Manila immediately decided to bring the whole family to Manila. The Otic family needs to walk for more than an hour to reach the bus terminal from which they will fetch by their brother-in-law, a bus driver of Philtranco Bus Company. They brought their guitars, some clothes, biscuits, a gallon of water and candies. It took them for more than two days to reach manila. They stayed in a small apartment in Quezon City.

Reo Brothers in Manila(November 2013 to present)
After a week of stay in Manila, they remember the calling card gave by Mr. Fuentes on one of their gig in Tacloban. They successfully made a contact and meet up with Mr. Fuentes. He then referred them to his friend Mr. Tom Banguis Jr, a businessman and a band adviser. On November 26, 2013 at the InfinitiF, a professional band rehearsal studio in Makati, Mr Banguis asked them to play three selections. As per Mr. Banguis they performed with polish and finesse normally associated only with mature, much older professional bands. He then called up Mr. Bobby Caparas, General Manager of the Primos Cuisine and Lounge, implored him to give these Tacloban boys a break. Mr. Caparas then booked a slot on Thursday, November 28. The audience was so impressed on their first gig and did not want them to stop playing that night, and the boys gladly obliged, perhaps overwhelmed too with the crowd’s wild appreciation. The Primos management then announced that the band would be back the following evening, Friday, November 29. The Friday evening crowd was just as enthusiastic and appreciative of the band that played almost 3 hours of continuous music, displaying the same energy and vivacity from the first piece to the last! More than just a repeat “one-shot” performance, Primos have now engaged the band to regular gigs on Tuesday evenings, which will go a long way in providing them needed presence and stability in Manila, where they have decided to stay while Tacloban is slowly rebuilding.

Mr Banguis decided to share their story to the National Television Networks in the Philippines. ABS-CBN responded to the letter and wanted the band to appear on their annual Christmas celebration dubbed as “Kwento ng Pasko – Pag-asa at Pagbangon”. They were the only performer that drew the only standing ovation on the event.

International Success
The band performed at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Pinoy Relief Benefit Concert on March 11, 2014 with other performers such as Jennifer Hudson, Pentatonix, Plain White T's, A Great Big World, Jessica Sanchez, DJ Poet Name Life and Charice.

After their performance in New York, the band also performed for a benefit concert dubbed as 'Here Comes the Sun' in California, presented by Rotary Club of Historic Filipino Town.

Band Members
Reno – lead vocals; drums Ronjoseph – lead vocals; lead guitar Raymart – lead vocals; rhythm guitar Ralph – lead vocals; bass