Francis Reyes
Encyclopedia
Francis Florentino Saludo Reyes (born June 20, 1967 in Lipa City
, Batangas
, Philippines
) is a Filipino
musician. He was the chief radio announcer and musical director for the rock station NU107.5 FM
who uses the on-air stage name
Francis Brew.
contests which he regularly won. He started playing guitar at 14, helped by his elder brother Ferdinand who was a "natural" guitarist. The Reyeses were not rich, and his first proper guitar was a fake Gibson
acoustic worth Php
150.00 that his mother promised as a gift if he won a declamation contest during his junior high school year in De La Salle
Lipa.
Although supported by his mother, Francis' choice to pursue music or fine art
s in university was not encouraged by the family so he majored in Political Science
and minored in Literature at De La Salle University. Nevertheless he continued to study music on his own, bringing an old Telecaster copy–a gift from an uncle in Canada–to school and practicing behind the university library. He formed a few bands with friends and played at school events. The school's prohibitive tuition fees plus the delicate financial status of his family at the time took their toll and he went looking for writing jobs to supplement his income. In 1987 he auditioned for an FM radio station and became a graveyard shift
trainee but was eventually able to join NU107.
, which was then managed by Martin Galan, who also managed The Dawn
. When Francis joined The Dawn, he was juggling school, NU107, and the band. When the schedule of The Dawn began to fill up, he became somewhat negligent with the radio station and was let go amicably in 1992. He returned in 1997 to host the show "In the Raw", and has been with the station since then. He eventually was appointed its chief announcer and musical director.
in university during interpretative reading contests which Pangan regularly won. He became friendly with the group's guitarist/founder Teddy Diaz and they even spoke of forming a thrash metal
side project with drummer JB Leonor's brother Dennis. Unfortunately, Teddy was murdered mere days after their talk. Reyes was then asked to be one of the three guitarists who were to play Teddy's parts in the tribute concert "Salamat Teddy" at the Folk Arts Theater in September 1988.
Reyes returned to Afterimage during Atsushi Matsuura
's tenure with The Dawn and also became one of band's roadies
. In November 1989, he was asked to replace Matsuura.
Reyes recorded three albums and played with The Dawn until January 1995 when the band decided to go on hiatus. Between then and until the band reformed, he became a session guitarist for Lou Bonnevie
, Kulay, POT, and Joey Ayala
. He credits his experience with The Dawn and their eclectic music for being able to play in different genres comfortably.
The Dawn reformed with Atsushi Matsuura in 2000, thus expanding the line-up to a five-piece. Matsuura and the band parted ways in 2003 and Reyes remains the sole guitarist to the present.
Last April 16, 2009, that Francis Reyes left the band for some personal reasons.
He formed the improvisation-oriented trio Garlic with Razorback
bassist Louie Talan and Imago
drummer Zach Lucero (also an NU107 alumnus) in 1998. Although the group garnered some critical accolades, they have yet to record an album.
Reyes is also a part of the supergroup
Project 1
.
's solo on the intro to Deep Purple
's Speed King
as the moment when he decided he wanted to be a guitarist, although he was an obsessive Queen
/Brian May
fan as well. His early heroes included Eddie Van Halen
and Gary Moore
, and actually put electrical tape on his Telecaster copy à la Van Halen
. His current influences are Pat Metheny
, Eric Johnson
, Robert Fripp
, Allan Holdsworth
, David Torn
, Adrian Belew
, Matthew Bellamy
, Jonny Greenwood
, Ed O'Brien
, Nels Cline
, and Jimi Hendrix
.
. He plays the Hamer Standard XT and Vector XT models.
His other guitars include a Squier
Standard Telecaster, a Gretsch 5235T Pro Jet, a Dame Mind 505, and a pre-lawsuit Yamaha
Lord Player. He also still has the Casio
PG380 guitar synthesizer used during his first two years with The Dawn.
ese dan tranh, a Xaphoon
pocket sax
, and assorted small instruments such as a kalimba and tin whistle
, all subtly used in The Dawn's recordings.
Lipa City
The Lipa City /Li-pâ/ is a first class city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. It is one of the three component cities of Batangas province...
, Batangas
Batangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
) is a Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
musician. He was the chief radio announcer and musical director for the rock station NU107.5 FM
DWNU
DWNU, broadcasting as 107.5 Win Radio, is the music FM radio station of Progressive Broadcasting Corporation in the Philippines. The station's studio is located at the ground floor AIC Gold Tower, F. Ortigas Jr. Rd., Ortigas Center, Pasig City and its transmitter is located at Crestview Heights...
who uses the on-air stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Francis Brew.
Early years
Reyes was born and raised in Lipa City, the second child of Florante, a photographer, and Teresita, a housewife. His youth was not particularly musical and his on-stage experiences were focused on oratoricalOratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
contests which he regularly won. He started playing guitar at 14, helped by his elder brother Ferdinand who was a "natural" guitarist. The Reyeses were not rich, and his first proper guitar was a fake Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
acoustic worth Php
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
150.00 that his mother promised as a gift if he won a declamation contest during his junior high school year in De La Salle
De La Salle Philippines
De La Salle Philippines is a network of Seventeen Lasallian Institutions in the Philippines. It was established in 2006 for the unified implementation of the Lasallian Mission, generate creative synergy, and promote the spirit of "One La Salle" among member institutions...
Lipa.
Although supported by his mother, Francis' choice to pursue music or fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
s in university was not encouraged by the family so he majored in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and minored in Literature at De La Salle University. Nevertheless he continued to study music on his own, bringing an old Telecaster copy–a gift from an uncle in Canada–to school and practicing behind the university library. He formed a few bands with friends and played at school events. The school's prohibitive tuition fees plus the delicate financial status of his family at the time took their toll and he went looking for writing jobs to supplement his income. In 1987 he auditioned for an FM radio station and became a graveyard shift
Graveyard shift
A graveyard shift means a shift of work running through the early hours of the morning, especially one from midnight until 8 am. See shift work.Graveyard shift may also refer to:In movies, television, and video games:...
trainee but was eventually able to join NU107.
NU107
At around the same time he joined NU107, he became a member of AfterimageAfterimage (band)
Afterimage was a Filipino Alternative Rock / pop rock band who was active in the 1990s. The group disbanded after 11 years and made three studio albums. After disbanding, Wency Cornejo, the band vocalist, pursued a solo career...
, which was then managed by Martin Galan, who also managed The Dawn
The Dawn (band)
The Dawn is a Filipino rock band which first achieved commercial success during the late 1980s in the Philippines. The band broke up in 1995 with lead vocalist Jett Pangan forming another band, the Jett Pangan Group. The Dawn reunited in late 1999...
. When Francis joined The Dawn, he was juggling school, NU107, and the band. When the schedule of The Dawn began to fill up, he became somewhat negligent with the radio station and was let go amicably in 1992. He returned in 1997 to host the show "In the Raw", and has been with the station since then. He eventually was appointed its chief announcer and musical director.
The Dawn
Reyes met The Dawn during his tenure with Afterimage, although he had already known Jett PanganJett Pangan
Jett Pangan is a Filipino singer and guitarist best known for fronting the Filipino rock bands The Dawn, formed in 1985 and still active to date, and the defunct Jett Pangan Group....
in university during interpretative reading contests which Pangan regularly won. He became friendly with the group's guitarist/founder Teddy Diaz and they even spoke of forming a thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
side project with drummer JB Leonor's brother Dennis. Unfortunately, Teddy was murdered mere days after their talk. Reyes was then asked to be one of the three guitarists who were to play Teddy's parts in the tribute concert "Salamat Teddy" at the Folk Arts Theater in September 1988.
Reyes returned to Afterimage during Atsushi Matsuura
Atsushi Matsuura
Atsushi Matsuura is a Japanese guitarist born in Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture. He currently resides in the Philippines.-Early life:...
's tenure with The Dawn and also became one of band's roadies
Road crew
The road crew are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians...
. In November 1989, he was asked to replace Matsuura.
Reyes recorded three albums and played with The Dawn until January 1995 when the band decided to go on hiatus. Between then and until the band reformed, he became a session guitarist for Lou Bonnevie
Lou Bonnevie
Marilou Yuson Bonnevie is a Philippine pop rock musician. She started her career in 1984 and has published several albums. Her music was also used in the AD Police film. She is the first cousin of Dina Bonnevie. She attended University of Saint Anthony High School in Iriga City. She is of French...
, Kulay, POT, and Joey Ayala
Joey Ayala
Joey Ayala is a contemporary pop music artist in the Philippines. He is well known for his style of music that combines the sounds of Filipino ethnic instruments with modern pop music. His professional music career started when he released an album recorded in a makeshift-studio in 1982...
. He credits his experience with The Dawn and their eclectic music for being able to play in different genres comfortably.
The Dawn reformed with Atsushi Matsuura in 2000, thus expanding the line-up to a five-piece. Matsuura and the band parted ways in 2003 and Reyes remains the sole guitarist to the present.
Last April 16, 2009, that Francis Reyes left the band for some personal reasons.
Solo work and current projects
Reyes is also currently a contractual music arranger for the Roadrunner Network. He recently contributed a piece for the compilation album Mga Gitarista under 12Stone Records. Although constantly encouraged by peers to create a guitar-oriented solo album, Reyes is not interested, preferring to focus his energies on The Dawn.He formed the improvisation-oriented trio Garlic with Razorback
Razorback (band)
Razorback is a Filipino hard rock band formed in 1990. Originally known for being regulars at the now-defunct Kalye, a club in Makati, the band had proven their onstage mettle many times over, via their own club gigs to full-scale concerts as well as for having opened for Rage Against the Machine...
bassist Louie Talan and Imago
Imago (band)
Imago is a Filipino pop rock band composed of Aia De Leon, Myrene "Maps" Academia , Tim Cacho and Zach Lucero known for songs such as Akap, Anino, Ewan, Taralets and Sundo.-History:...
drummer Zach Lucero (also an NU107 alumnus) in 1998. Although the group garnered some critical accolades, they have yet to record an album.
Reyes is also a part of the supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Project 1
Project 1
Project 1 is a Filipino supergroup formed in 2008. Members include Clem Castro on guitars, Francis Reyes also on guitars, Carlos Calderon on bass, Jazz Nicolas on drums and Uela Basco , Katwo Librando and Raimund Marasigan on vocals...
.
Musical influences
Reyes credits Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
's solo on the intro to Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
's Speed King
Speed King
"Speed King" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple from their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. The song is one of the loudest from the album, and featured some of the band's greatest amount of improvisation in a studio recorded song, on both the original version and later live versions...
as the moment when he decided he wanted to be a guitarist, although he was an obsessive Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
/Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
fan as well. His early heroes included Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
and Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
, and actually put electrical tape on his Telecaster copy à la Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
. His current influences are Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
, Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
, Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...
, David Torn
David Torn
David Torn is an American composer and guitarist.He is known for the organic blending/manipulation of electronic and acoustic instruments and performance techniques that have an atmospheric or textural quality and effect, along with a particular harmonic richness...
, Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
, Matthew Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
, Jonny Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood
Jonathan Richard Guy "Jonny" Greenwood is an English musician and composer, best known as a member of the English rock band Radiohead. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist, but serves mainly as lead guitarist and keyboard player. In addition to guitar and keyboard, he plays viola, harmonica,...
, Ed O'Brien
Ed O'Brien
Edward John O'Brien is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist for the rock band Radiohead. He is also responsible for harmony vocals during live concerts and on many tracks from the band's albums...
, Nels Cline
Nels Cline
Nels Cline is an American guitarist and composer, currently the lead guitarist of alternative rock band Wilco. David Carr of the New York Times describes Cline as "one of the best guitarists in any genre."-Career:...
, and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.
Electric guitars
Reyes is currently an endorser for Hamer GuitarsHamer Guitars
Hamer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars. Founded in 1973 by vintage guitar shop owners, Jol Dantzig and his business partner Paul Hamer. Early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Flying V...
. He plays the Hamer Standard XT and Vector XT models.
His other guitars include a Squier
Squier
Squier is a musical instrument brand name owned by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-History:Fender, under the ownership of CBS, acquired the Squier brand name in 1965 when it bought a USA based string making firm , but it lay dormant for many years...
Standard Telecaster, a Gretsch 5235T Pro Jet, a Dame Mind 505, and a pre-lawsuit Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
Lord Player. He also still has the Casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
PG380 guitar synthesizer used during his first two years with The Dawn.
Effects pedals
- Digitech Brian MayBrian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
Red Special - Z Vex Fuzz FactoryZ.Vex Fuzz FactoryThe Z.Vex Fuzz Factory is a fuzz box made by the American inventor and musician Zachary Vex of the Z.Vex Effects company.The Fuzz Factory is based on, yet vastly expands the tonal palette of, classic fuzztone designs from the 1960s...
- Zoom G9.2tt (for pitch shiftPitch shiftPitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval are called "pitch shifters" or "pitch benders".-Pitch/time shifting:...
, modulationModulationIn electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal which typically contains information to be transmitted...
, and delaysDelay (audio effect)Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
) - Line 6 DL4 (for on-the-fly samplingSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
) - KorgKorgis a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
Kaoss PadKaoss PadThe Kaoss Pad is a touchpad MIDI controller, sampler, and effects processor for audio and musical instruments, made by Korg.The Kaoss Pad's touchpad can be used to control its internal effects engine, which can be applied to a line-in signal or to samples recorded from the line-in...
KP3 (for sampling and spontaneous texturesTexture (music)In music, texture is the way the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a composition , thus determining the overall quality of sound of a piece...
)
Other equipment
Reyes also has a VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese dan tranh, a Xaphoon
Xaphoon
The Xaphoon is a single-reed keyless woodwind instrument. Its construction is very similar to the chalumeau, a European keyless single-reed instrument that was the ancestor of the clarinet. The tone color produced by a Xaphoon is somewhere between that of a saxophone and a clarinet, and the...
pocket sax
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, and assorted small instruments such as a kalimba and tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, all subtly used in The Dawn's recordings.