Cadio... by request

Leo by day…Cadio by night.”

That just about sums up the current lifestyle of the persona behind the growing popularity of a radio show that is known to many simply as “Cadio – by request”.

I chanced upon his radio show one early Sunday evening as we were cruising along EDSA for a dinner out. This was pretty rare, considering that I like to lounge in bed on Sundays. The music was live, and this perhaps was what caught my attention. Live music on radio in this day and age? I couldn’t believe it, but there it was, live and engaging.

I grew up in radio and witnessed how Philippine radio has evolved over the decades. Being a DJ in several stations before TV sales snagged me, I was in the midst of it all when combos and singers jazzed it up at the cramped and cold radio booths, live. They obviously enjoyed crooning and rocking in spaces so tight they could hardly flex their limbs. And I knew people out there listened and loved every minute of it. Those, I think, were glory days for the Filipino musicians and music lovers alike.

Comes now Cadio. He has resurrected the old fad, just when everyone thought it was a dead fish, and slowly re-ignited the interest in live music. Cadio… by Request has been on the air for almost a year and a half now, in December 2010 to be exact, at dwBR and it was a pretty bold move.

Actually, Cadio (Leocadio Ferreira in real life) started singing professionally in clubs and lounges at an early age, and still does bar engagements up to now. He certainly has the bedroom voice, deep and full and mellow, and the knack for intimately talking to his listeners, something all the old deejays had in common but is sadly missing in today’s young crop.

Before, deejays “flirted” on the air and seduced their listeners to stay with them for the full hour that they were spinning records and talking in between. And they had hordes of fans that streamed into the stations regularly, content to watch them in action through the glass windows. Now, the fans are on Twitter and Facebook.

Cadio has a once-a-week radio show, every Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. on DWBR. On weekdays, Leo (the other persona) works a regular job as general manager of a highly successful car dealership of a top auto manufacturer in Cubao. I’ve also had the occasion to meet him then as a customer, not knowing that the amiable Leo could croon and hold his audience in awe for two hours.

Actually, Cadio has a full band in attendance every Sunday evening for the show — all six of them, him included as vocalist. Cadio himself used to be with the Balahibo Band, a rock group in the ‘70s, so having a band is not new to him. Amazingly, he met up with an extremely talented group whose innate love for music has never waned and put together a full band which can whip up songs by request on the spot. Impromptu.

There is Rommy Francisco who plays the flute and trumpet beautifully. Cadio says Rommy has played lead trumpet for big foreign artists like Paul Anka, Burt Bacharach and Johnny Mathis, and for local greats like Pilita Corrales. Marito Moreno, the resident drummer, used to play drums for RJ, while Ed Carino who plays the electric upright base has an imprint in the music field, known by everyone as Sarge, the bassist. GG Theresa is the percussionist who used to figure prominently in the popular band Pink and Purple from the ‘70s, while Demetrio Lumacad, himself a very accomplished musician, lords it over the keyboard.

To say that these are all seasoned musicians is a big understatement. Every Sunday for the past four months, Cadio says they average about 300 requests by text and they have to accommodate as many songs as they can in their two-hour radio show. There is simply no time to practice a piece. In fact, the group does not practice together as a band at all. They simply come together on Sundays, arrive for the call time which is about an hour before the show to set up their instruments, and when the first few notes of Come Fly With Me, their signature song, floats on the air waves, it is their signal to synch together as a band. Then Cadio’s voice, full and mellow drifts over the radio as he greets his radio listeners with a “Magandang gabi po, ako po si Cadio”, and proceeds to sing the signature song to perfection.

Their repertoire is so varied — songs from the 30’s to the 50’s and up to the current ones even are played. Cadio says he can sing any song, just don’t ask him to play Lady Gaga’s and Adele’s songs please. And the members of his band just seem to meld together when a requested piece is picked for airing. Just like that. Live singing and live playing. No rehearsals.

And just as varied too is his audience. He couldn’t believe that his texters are as young as 14 years old and as old as …well. And the audience just seems to grow every week, judging from the number of text requests they get every Sunday. And because the list is growing, Cadio rues that he simply cannot accommodate all the requests, not on a two-hour live show. But the texters faithfully send in their request anyway, every Sunday, from six to eight p.m., which only shows that Cadio has found a niche and filled a need.

If you haven’t yet tuned in to Cadio and feel a little nostalgic for good old music live on radio, check out the band every Sunday evening. When Cadio calls out to you to come fly with me, surrender and give in to an enjoyable night of good music and be lifted.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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