That’s what friends are for

Lucky, lucky Romnick Sarmenta, Harlene Bautista and their business partners at Prismwork Productions Inc.. They have a sure winner in their hands. They were able to tap the tried-and-tested team of Rico J. Puno, Rey Valera and Marco Sison (with Alicia Meyer as added fillip) for their fledgling company. Rico J., Rey and Marco, three of the GH5 quintet (also made up of Nonoy Zuniga and Hajji Alejandro) are back.

And this time, they will rib each other, perform songs that evoke memories of years past and crack unprintable jokes (minors, stay out!) not in some -unreachable shore like the US, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Dubai, where they’ve brought their act to, but right where Juan de la Cruz can reach them.

The concert is Kings of Hearts at the Casino, set Feb. 16 at Casino Filipino Angeles City.

With names like these in the marquee, getting sponsors must have been no sweat for Prismwork, so named because, as Harlene says, their creative ideas put together bring out all the bright colors of the rainbow there is. Harlene, for her part, is a Theater Arts graduate, so seeing the audience’s eyes light up with glee at her show gives her a different high.

"It all started for me when I produced the show of my friend, Candy Pangilinan four years ago. I enjoyed it so much I decided to put up another show with my partners," she says.

So she now juggles motherhood (to a seven-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl) with producing concerts in-between. With Romnick by her side and the recall factor of their names combined, mounting shows has become second nature to them.

Not that they need extra effort in making their three artists gel. Rico J., Rey and Marco do not need a script to turn out a riotous show. Rey relates a story about something that just happened to him and tests its effect on Rico and Marco. If Rey just gets a blank stare, Rico J challenges the top songmaker: "O, will you repeat that story on stage?"

Rey retorts by harping on Rico J’s seniority as the deciding factor in determining the flow of the show. Cracking jokes, for instance, is determined by age. The oldest one, Rey says while looking at Rico, gets to crack the joke first.

But don’t get them wrong. They can be serious, too. Marco, for instance, is bent on coming up with a new set of hit songs (after Make Believe and Si Aida, Si Lorna o si Fe). He also wants to record his own compositions, which he has collected over the years and are now waiting to be interpreted by its maker no less.

"I plan to offer it for distribution to a recording company," adds Marco, a provincial board member in Laguna.

Rey, for his part, remains a keen observer of the local music scene, even if he has yet to come up with a new song after Sharon Cuneta’s Kahit Wala Ka Na et al.

"I was afraid my type of songs will no longer appeal to today’s generation," the bespectacled songwriter admits. But hearing Aiza Seguerra’s Pagdating ng Panahon proved him wrong, he adds. Filipinos, he remarks, have remained as romantic as ever. Rey notes that such songs of love lost and found — which he has been doing way back since 1989, have remained the stuff of which hit songs are made, bar none.

As for Rico J (Corik to friends), he never hid his distress over the dearth of originality among today’s singers, whose short-lived careers are a far cry from his, or that of his friends’ Marco, Nonoy and Hajji.

Marco and Rey see the most promise in Christian Bautista. "He has his signature style," observes Marco. "He will go far if you give him song after song," chimes in Rey the songwriter who has crossed over to scoring for the movies.

He also has good words for Sarah Geronimo and Rico J’s daughter Tosca, who "will shine, given the proper break."

"Problem is," Rey points out, tonque in cheek, "the father himself doesn’t give her that break."

Rico J quickly retorts, "Just because I have a pretty daughter …." His voice trails off, silently challenging Rey to complete the sentence any way he wants to.

Rey smiles, reading his friend’s mind. He knows Rico J will parry whatever Rey’s answer is with a witty reply that will send the huddle of press people around them roaring heartily. That’s how deep the friendship has gone. No explanations, just a tacit bond that implies nothing — not even sarcastic words or catty remarks — can hurt their relationship. That’s what friends, and long-time partners in the performing scene, are for.