Wally Gonzalez has always loved to play for anyone who listens to blues rock. Pepe Smith, his longtime cohort in the Juan dela Cruz Band and a lifelong bluesman, passed away last January, but Gonzalez is back after a hiatus to perform with one of his side projects, The Manila Blues Experience (MBE), on July 26 at The Axon, a big hall in Green Sun hotel in Makati.
Some musicians can only aspire to be rock stars, but Pepe?
He was mortal, after all.For decades, we held on to the belief that Joey “Pepe” Smith would be the last man standing and that somehow, despite his legendary excesses and, um, questionable lifestyle choices, he would continue to be a survivor.
Pepe Smith was strumming his guitar in the early hours of Jan. 28 at home in Cainta, Rizal, when he complained of heavy chest pain.
Optometrist Nella Sarabia sent me a frantic text message early in December: “Pepe is losing his sight.”
I’ll be on my seventh step to heaven this Christmas,” says Joey “Pepe” Smith.
RURU Madrid, the 17-year-old Filipino actor who first gained notice in 2012 via the GMA 7 reality series “Protégé: The...
Sixteen music acts including rock legends, four DJs and three college bands, five participating bars, and loads of beer await the crowd at this year’s San Miguel Beer Oktoberfest, which kicks off Sept. 18 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) open grounds in Pasay City.
Local cinema currently thrives on comedy, teen romance and drama. It is easy for a filmmaker to exploit viewers’ emotions...
In early 2000, big luck came my way in the person of Ben Chan, of the retail giant Bench. I had never met Mr. Chan, or so I thought. One day, out of the blue, he asked his advertising promotions director, Jojo Llamzon, to phone me about doing a book for him.
