DZRJ

[stillonymous]

This is a re-post. I'd asked for any memories about DZRJ, and didn't check
back before this post disappeared. I believe someone wrote about Ramon
Jacinto, and how bad his surf band was. How bad was it? Were there any good
Filipino bands in the 60's? I remember the Downbeats - they opened for the
Beatles. I remember Ronnie Villar - he grabbed all the Brit Invasion hits
and got his covers out before the originals. And DZRJ was unlike anything
else at the time. I have a recording I made off the radio. Great setlist.
And when they went off the air for awhile and test-broadcasted before coming
on again, they played Bob Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street" over & over for
weeks.

[Wilfredo Morada]

DZRJ was the most influential,groundbreaking radio station in the
history of Philippine radio.It was owned by the Jacinto family and you're
right RJ stands for Ramon Jacinto and led a band called RJ & the Riots.(I
have their one & only LP in my collection) The group is a groundbreaker in
their
own right because while every band during that time we're playing cover
versions of US or British groups , they played thieir own compositions like
"Take a Trip to Manila " together with their own cover of Jan & Dean, Beach
Boys songs.If I remember it right,this group stirred some controversy during
the late sixties by playing a version of the Philippne National Anthem with
a rock & roll beat years before Hendix did a psychedelic version of the
Star Spangled Banner in Woodstock.
The seventies in my opinion were the golden years of DZRJ. This was
during the height of the student movement for reforms in the government and
especially against the Marcos regime. The Mendiola Massacre , suspension of
the Writ of Habeous Corpus to finally Martial Law.They were 780 on the AM
band and was called as Boss Radio.
Together with their sister station DZUW they played a lot of music
which you can't hear anywhere else. They played a lot of blues, straight
ahead jazz , fusion ,rock & roll. Anywhere from B.B. King , Johnny Winter
,The Grateful Deadl, Frank Zappa , Cream , The Allman Bros. Band to John
Coltarne, Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra ,Larry Coryell , Chick Corea
etc. a lot of unrealesed stuff that I can only read about in Rolling Stone
and Jingle Magazine and sometimes if I am lucky enough , my relatives here
in the States would send me several of these LPs.
Martial Law was another turning point for the station. I don't know
what happened behind the scene, I think the Marcos Regime confiscated the
station as well as all forms of media. RJ went into exile or moved the US.
Despite of all these adversities,(DZUW was gone by htis time ,in fact
I remember listening to DZUW on a simulcast with DZRJ during the eve of the
proclamation of Martial Law and woke up the next morning with just static on
the radio.) the radio was still able to play the music they were best known
for. Personalities like Double A (Alan Austria ,who was the bass player for
RJ & the Riots), Cousin Hoagy (who has a late night show named The Rock &
Roll Machine ),the late Big Freak (who was shot and killed at a concert at
the PWU campus) , Bob Magoo , Cousin Becky , Howlin Dave ,The Madman were
able to work around the system to broadcast the music they were known for
during the pre-Martial Law days..
Also during the early seventies, Pinoy bands were also finding some
sort of direction which gave birth to the Pinoy Rock Movement. Bands like
the Juan de la Cruz Band , Anak Bayan , The Psyclones(later to become Maria
Cafra).Petrified Anthem ,Boy Camara & the Afterbirth ,folksingers like
Florante , Isagani Ibarra , Asin .
End of part 1. Please e-mail me if you want anymore details of what
happened afterwards.
WILLIE R. MORADA
Z ! RECORDS
STORE:
2910 FOOTHILL BLVD.
LA CRESCENTA,CA 91214
PHONE:(818)-236-2110
FAX:(818)-236-2117
STORE HOURS:11 AM TO 7 PM PST
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VISA/MC/AMEX/NOVUS/DISCOVER/DINERS

stillonymous wrote in message ...

[Pine...@my-dejanews.com]

In article <70tjm1$hor$1...@ash.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,

"Wilfredo Morada" <zrec...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> DZRJ was the most influential,groundbreaking radio station in the
> history of Philippine radio.It was owned by the Jacinto family and you're
> right RJ stands for Ramon Jacinto and led a band called RJ & the Riots.(I
> have their one & only LP in my collection) The group is a groundbreaker in

(cut)

During the popularity of the "combo," I recall RJ and the Riots playing
mostly the Ventures songs (Walk Don't Run, Bulldog, etc.) They were one of
the "best" sounds at the time. Other groups such as The Electromaniacs
played the Shadows sound, a British group that played accompaniment music for
Cliff Richards.

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[panchous]

Cousin hoagy is still playing his blues stuff over NU107 every tuesday, 8 or 9
pm.
Howlin Dave i think still with rj for the booty
rj station here in manila is lost in time warp and has forgoptten to play the
ban u listed below.
good thing cousin hoagy didnt lost his tracks and got Land Bank for sponsor!

Wilfredo Morada wrote:

> o

[jaz...@my-dejanews.com]

In article <70tjm1$hor$1...@ash.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
"Wilfredo Morada" <zrec...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> DZRJ was the most influential,groundbreaking radio station in the
> history of Philippine radio.It was owned by the Jacinto family and you're
> right RJ stands for Ramon Jacinto and led a band called RJ & the Riots.(I
> have their one & only LP in my collection) The group is a groundbreaker in

> their

The trouble is that DZRJ ceased to be a trendsetter after Ramon Jacinto
returned in 1986. It has been mired in a timewarp ever since. Listening to
RJ- FM today will bear this out since it is trumpeted as a "baby boomer"
station - it alienates rock fans who fall outside of that demographic.
Furthermore, while younger rock fans would probably enjoy listening to the
classic rock of the late 60's and 70's - the music played still reflects RJ's
tastes which seems to stop at 1965, before the Yardbirds discovered tube
distortion. It's 1998 already for cryin' out loud, it wouldn't hurt them to
play a little U2 or Smashing Pumpkins or even Eraserheads.

The Manila rock stations that remained trendsetters were XB in the 80's and
NU107 in the late 80's till the present. DZRJ has its place in history but
has chosen to remain a historical footnote rather than remaining on the
cutting edge. It's quite telling that when Cousin Hoagy returned from the US,
he opened up his Crossroads blues hour on NU107, reviving in part the spirit
of the old Rock and Roll Machine.