Pinoy rock legend Joey Smith passed away on January 28 and in death, he will be long remembered as the king of Pinoy Rock.
But Joey Smith is known by other names too: Pepe, Piyaps, ‘Tol, and lately Lodi, among them. At other times, he’s been referred to as Speed and Juan de la Cruz pertaining to the bands he’s been associated with some forty years ago today.
In life, Pepe actually personified rock as a Pinoy experience, being the most visible quantity in the legendary Juan de la Cruz trio that produced the anthemic ballad, “Ang Himig Natin,” one fateful night in December 1974 at the Luneta Park.
Juan de la Cruz band would move on to better sounding, harder rocking, bluesier masterpieces like “Balong Malalim,” “Beep Beep,” and “Kagatan” but “Ang Himig Natin” trumps them all by its original claim of being the true sound of a young Pinoy generation suddenly under the boot of ‘70s martial law. More than the excellent interplay of bandmates Wally Gonzales and Mike Hanopol, Pepe Smith’s plaintive cry would define the essence of rock as a Pinoy musical genre.
In performance, Pepe would just as easily descend from the throne, pretending instead to be Pinoy rock’s first jester. Everyone and everything, from the front row audience to the latest chismis to the recreational drugs de jour, was fair game to his comedic verbal swipe.
It was Pepe’s combination of high-minded rock royalty and low brow antics in a live setting that drove crowds to a frenzy. It also kept concert promoters coming back to produce more shows despite the ever-present risks of Pepe not appearing on time, going on without prior rehearsals or under the influence of something heavier than beer.
Pepe Smith embodied the bitter and the sweet sides of Pinoy rock. Long live the King!