by aLfie vera mella
On November 29, the touring crew of Philippines’ Rocksteady project will grace the stage of Winnipeg’s Cub Regent Event Centre.
The Rocksteady crew is comprised by the Philippine artists/actresses/TV hosts Glaiza de Castro and Julia Clarette and the music-scene veteran Robert Javier, bass player of the legendary Philippine Alternative Rock band The Youth. Both De Castro and Clarette will be backed up by a group of Winnipeg local session players whom Javier will lead and direct himself. Javier will play the guitar for both acts.
De Castro will be performing songs from her third studio album, entitled Synthesis, which contains songs such as “Country Tree,” “Barcelona,” “Waiting Shed,” “Dusk ’til Dawn,” and “Pag-ikot.” On the other hand, Clarette, performing with Javier as their scene moniker The Cult of Julia Robert, will be tackling songs from their forthcoming album that includes “Fooling Around,” “Tongue Tied,” and the single “Ripe for Picking.”
Opening the concert are two of Winnipeg’s prime acts, the Alternative Rockers The 12/21 (the band of brothers Roman, Rico, Roque Maceda) and the Classical New Wave collective haLf man haLf eLf (aLfie vera mella, Christine Mazur, Dave Labovich, Jeremy Rusu, Xaq Freeman, Gail Ignacio, Michael Mostajos, and Phoebe Man).
Glaiza de Castro
Born on January 21, 1988, in Valenzuela City, Philippines, to a family with musical/showbusiness inclination, Glaiza de Castro started her showbiz career in 2000 by participating as an extra in a number of television shows. She got her first major acting role in 2001, via the movie Cool Dudes 24/7. At the same time, De Castro also pursued her passion in music, singing and songwriting. To date, she has released three albums to her credit—Magbalik Ka (2001), Glaiza (2006), and Synthesis (2015). Her style of music is a mix of Pop and R ‘n’ B. Recently, De Castro was hailed as “Female Rock Artist of the Year” at the 7th PMPC (Philippine Movie Press Club) Star Awards.
Julia Clarette
Born on September 24, 1979, in the Philippines, Clarette began her career in showbusiness in the mid-’90s as a member of a group of young showbiz aspirants called Star Circle. Aside from playing acting roles in movies like Hataw Na (1995), Biyudo si Daddy, Biyuda si Mommy (1997), Jologs (2002), Scaregiver (2008), and Guni-Guni (2012), she has also acted in several TV teleseries and become a regular host of the long-running noontime TV variety show Eat Bulaga! Clarette pursued also her knack in singing and performing onstage, releasing in 2006 under her name the album Bumalik Ka Lang, which includes songs like “Dahil Mahal Kita,” “Sa Aking Tabi,” and “For Once in My Life.” And then recently, Clarette struck a musical partnership with Robert Javier, who is the bassist of The Youth and who works also as a musical director at Eat Bulaga! The duo’s collaborative project is named The Cult of Julia Robert, with which the single “Ripe for Picking.” A full-length album is soon to follow.
Robert Javier
A graduate of a degree in Arts and Letters at University of Santo Tomas, Javier started his career in the Philippine Alternative music scene in 1988 as a contributing writer for the music publication Rock and Rhythm, interviewing local bands and reviewing concerts and albums. In 1990, he became the bass player of the Philippine Alternative Rock band The Youth, which in its on-and-off activity has released four full-length studio albums–The Youth (1990), Album na Walang Pamagat (1994), Tao Po (1997), and Pirata (2012)—and a string of singles like “Multo sa Paningin (Multong Bakla),” “Magulo Buhay ng Tao,” “Basura,” “Mukha ng Pera,” “Plastikman,” “Ba-Ba-Ba-Bayani,” and “Taong Grasa.” Soon after, Javier started producing albums by other bands that included Tribal Fish, Siakol, Orange and Lemons, Moonstar 88, and even novelty records by actor/comedian Joey de Leon. Ultimately, he became a part of Eat Bulaga! as a musical director, writing jingles, directing musical productions, and mentoring audio production staff. Recently, he formed the duo The Cult of Julia Robert with actress/singer and fellow Eat Bulaga! mainstay Julia Clarette.
Rocksteady Crew
In late 2015, De Castro, Clarette, and Javier embark on a North American tour to promote their respective musical outputs—De Castro’s Synthesis and The Cult of Julia Robert’s forthcoming album. The Winnipeg leg of the tour is happening on November 29, at Club Regent Event Centre. The trio will be backed up by select Winnipeg local musicians such as Christine Mazur (violin) and Gail Ignacio (drumkit) of haLf man haLf eLf and Kervy Quitane (guitar) and Michael Borja (bass) of Lykosa.
Rocksteady is brought to us by Dennis Castañeda and Mary Jean Aromin and the rest of DMC Production, the same team that gave us OPM Legends (featuring Rico J. Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Marco Sison, Eva Eugenio) in March 2015 and Klownz Comedy Bar Concert Show (Allan K, Boobay, and Ate Gay) in May 2015, both held at the same prestigious venue.
For those who haven’t gotten their tickets yet, hurry and buy yours now. Tickets are at $50 (general admission) and $75 (VIP). Contact for tickets and more details: Fil Asian Food (204)771-6850 or West Alexander (204)414-9281. Venue doors will open at 5 p.m.
