It's an unresolved mystery since the late-2000's.
I still remember it back when I was in third year high school in Laguna. My shock after discovering that Rivermaya is now left with just four members instead of the original five back in their debut album! Perf De Castro has left. The songs turned out to still be great, but the band's new sound was recognisably different. A couple albums later, Bamboo left as well, completely altering the band forever. As a fan and as a kid who was starting to venture into playing in a band myself back then —idolising Rivermaya, I was quite devastated!
There were those who doubted, but history has proven that Rico Blanco's songwriting genius was enough to keep the band afloat, or rather —thrive. It did not take long before Rivermaya was on top of the pinoy music world once again. It will take several more years before Rico and Nathan Azarcon eventually quit the band one after the other, leaving only drummer, Mark Escueta as the only original member from 1994. In the present. Rivermaya is now a completely different band with a completely different fanbase. The band adapted and its now-iconic former members are shelved into the early fans' memories and nostalgia.
Going back to 2008 however, fellow rock legends and contemporary band, The Eraserheads did their "The Reunion Concert"!
Holy shit! Fans including myself were expecting a Rivermaya reunion to follow suit, but it never materialized. Everyone was like... Why?
Last week, I was able to get a hold of Perf De Castro, one the few whom I truly believe are the last remaining pinoy guitar gods (despite his uneasiness to my sincere flattery). We did three and a half hours of conversation, covering plenty of topics like the guitar, content creation and of course, Rivermaya.
The video below is how he responded when asked about the ever-present, reunion concert question. An unexpected mind-blower ensues.
There were a lot of unexpected bugs that haunted our live stream's audio and video, but this will definitely go down as one of my most memorable and favorites.
If you ever think of any way to solve the Rivermaya Reunion puzzle, hit me up immediately and let them know ASAP!
Until then, enjoy the full TPKP 86: Perf De Castro episode below.
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