Many famous bands have, at their core, two or three brothers and/or sisters. One can think of many examples of family bands that made good: The Beach Boys (3 Wilson brothers + a cousin); The Bee Gees (3 Gibb brothers); The Osmonds; The Jacksons; the list goes on and on.

 

To that list you can now add the Lozano Brothers, who make up the core of The Band of Brothers.

 

The roots of TBB can be found way back in 1994 when Pepe, the eldest of the three Lozano brothers, first learned to play guitar. He was taught by a cousin when he was 13 years old. He worked hard at mastering his instrument and after a couple of years felt himself good enough to enter a talent competition. The only problem was that he couldn’t enter the contest as a soloist. He needed a band. 

 

He knew a guy called Enrico Parulan who played bass guitar and Pepe reckoned, if he could get his younger brother, 11 year-old Jay Jay, to play drums, he would have a nice little 3-piece combo.

 

It didn’t quite turn out that way for the contest but within a year Fine Incessant Needles featuring Pepe, Enrico and Jay Jay was born. It was the first time that three of the current line-up of the Band of Brothers played together.

 

Of course, at that time, the band really just got together to play at school parties and studies took precedence over pop music. But music was never far away from these young men’s minds. Enrico was focusing on his studies to be a design artist. But Pepe and Jay Jay still felt the urge to play music. They got together with three school friends to form a new band which eventually became known as the Bloomfields.

 

Initially, they played the popular songs of the day. Then they discovered that they got a better audience response when they played what they called their “happy” music – oldies mostly – and these began to form the major part of their repertoire.

 

Jay Jay found he was drawn to backing vocals, especially those containing harmonies. He discovered the California sounds of the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was heavily influenced by a ‘50s vocal group called the Four Freshmen and it is their distinct harmony style that Jay Jay uses in many of his arrangements today.

 

The Bloomfields enjoyed a successful few years, signing a recording contract with EMI Music Philippines and releasing a couple of singles. However, as the guys matured, their musical tastes grew in different directions and the band-members went their separate ways at the end of 2009.

 

Many Manila music lovers were plunged into depression. It seemed the curtain was about to fall on the one live source of good, tight, vocal harmony in the Philippines. However they need not have worried. The demise of the old band was to set the stage for something better … MUCH better!

 

Jay Jay saw the opportunity to create a new group in exactly the musical mold he wanted rather than trying to alter the set ways of the old band. Of course, he still had his brother Pepe from the “old” Bloomfields and now he persuaded his younger brother, JC, to sing along with them. JC had just graduated from culinary college and was in the process of finding a chef’s position. It turned out – not altogether unexpectedly – that he blended perfectly with his older brothers’ voices. Thoughts of a career in the kitchen were put on hold. JC was also asked to handle the keyboards, a task he tackled with enthusiasm.

 

All three Lozano brothers were now involved in the new project. But the boys still needed to find a bassist and a drummer and it was important that at least one of them could hold a harmony line. For the bass guitar, the boys turned to their old friend from their Fine Incessant Needles’ days, Enrico Parulan. Enrico had graduated as a design artist was employed in that capacity. However, he was persuaded to bring his considerable experience to the table.

 

They auditioned a number of drummers but it was Sandy Baliong, a man with over seven years of professional experience, who impressed them the most. And he could sing!

 

The Band of Brothers was complete! Now it was just a matter of practice, practice, practice!

 

The band’s first booking was at the Aruba Bar & Grill in Metrowalk, Quezon City on January 25th, 2010.

 

The rest is a story of genuine success. 

 

Watch out for the next episode of this success story … coming soon!