50 years of Ventures music

MANILA, Philippines - In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor of the Mughal Empire was so grief stricken over his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal’s death after she gave birth to his 14th child, he decided to build a super expensive memorial in her name. Almost 400 years later, the Taj Mahal has become India’s most famous landmark, visited by millions year after year.

For the past five years, I’ve been wondering why the edifice I go to work in every weekday morning on Makati Avenue is called Ventures Building. Now I have the answer to the nagging question. My boss Ramon “RJ” Jacinto named it after his favorite group that inspired his budding career in music.

Instrumental rock was very much in vogue during the ‘60s. Remember the hits Wipe Out by the Surfaris, Tequila by the Champs and Telstar by the Tornadoes? They were just a few of the instrumental hits that lorded the charts and the airwaves.

Even the Beatles in their early years dabbled in instrumental rock. The two groups that dominated the instrumental scene on both sides of the Atlantic were The Shadows led by Hank Marvin in Europe and the Ventures in North America.

The Ventures was formed in Tacoma Washington in 1958 by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. Fifty years and 100 million records sold later, they got inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Only a handful of groups hold the distinction of

Bob Bogle (seated), co-leader of The Ventures, performs at the residence of Ramon ‘RJ’ Jacinto (leftmost)

celebrating a golden anniversary in the music industry. This year, RJ is celebrating his 50th year as a rocker/musician. To highlight the event, he invited the legendary Ventures to perform with him.

Only a few people know that when the Ventures came to the Philippines in the ’60s to perform in a series of concerts at the Araneta Coliseum, they borrowed RJ and the Riots bass player Alan Austria (a.k.a. “Double A”) and drummer Bernie Evangelista (a.k.a. “Steel Banana”). Since meeting his idols in the ‘60s, RJ has kept contact with the various members through the decades. He even brought Ventures guitarist Nookie Edwards in the ’90s to record and perform a series of intimate concerts.

On Sept. 14, Ventures fans will have a ball reminiscing those chart-topping hits like Walk Dont Run, Perfidia, Telstar, Hawaii Five-O and more at the main ballroom of the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati. Seats are very limited so I would highly suggest you buy tickets at the Dusit Thani hotel lobby early.