The mysticism of the 90’s diversity in sound, interpretation and style created a culture where each band is a mentor to another. Everyone knew everyone and supported each other’s music. Though unique in sound and identity, a 90’s band is part of one community, one family, and one culture.
When Stephen Lu first came out in the music scene in the 1980’s, he was in a rockabilly band called the Runaway Boys, named after the song by the Stray Cats.
“I started out my musical journey with the ‘RUNAWAY BOYS’ in UP DILIMAN, as a freshman back in 1983. As a young boy growing up in different places in and around Metro Manila, I was exposed to Sunday “tagay” and the fancy I acquired with jukeboxes and JINGLE magazine”, remembers Stephen.
The group, then enetered a TV Punk Band contest, and ended up as a runner. “We used up the prize money to record. After about a year or so, I left the Philippines to accomplish my college education in the US and further got exposed to rock music and totally enjoyed watching live concerts of the artists I was exposed to on MTV”, Stephen reminisces.
Upon his return to the Philippines by 1990, ‘Stiff’ had aspired to take the music more seriously, paying their dues, performing 3 sets a night and 3 nights a week in the gig circuit in Metro Manila, with the occasional out of town shows. The seasoning provided by watching his elder brothers in the business, namely COCO JAM, JUN LOPITO, THE JERKS & several others really fine tuned his craft until the dawning of THE RIZAL UNDERGROUND, established during the release of ALERT LEVEL, an indie compilation album featuring unsigned bands TROPICAL DEPRESSION, COLOR IT RED & THE BREED
“Surrounded by the most talented songwriters/musicians, we were able to generate a successful bout in the underground until we were signed by POLYCOSMIC RECORDS, and eventually the “SABADO NIGHTS’ phenomenon. Our music finally hit the airwaves which brought us to the farthest reaches of the Philippines and thus fueled my thirst to travel and perform in some of the most exotic destinations in the country”, relays Stephen.
When the year 2000 came, Stiff kind of semi-retired upon the birth of his 2 kids but somewhat came back around 2008 and has since have performed the rounds of beach destinations like Puerto Galera, Boracay, Coron & Siargao. Armed with a new band with a newly-formed outfit called the ROCKOUSTIC BLUES EXPERIMENT. Initially, it was a cover duo, trio or band, but eventually releasing a CD as a full band, comprised of industry veteran members, in 2017, touring extensively in the country to promote the release.
“Currently, I have decided to pursue this journey as a SOLO artist, performing in destinations outside the Philippines. The first ever time of which was only last June of 2018, when I embarked on a US tour to promote the ROCKOUSTIC BLUES EXPERIMENT CD. It was such a successful and delightful experience travelling with my 2 teenage daughters, hitting the big cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Houston. Although none of my family are musicians, they have keenly supported my musical journey specially during that tour”, marvels Stiff.
“As a musician, there is nothing more valuable than to be able to showcase the music in different places. And with the success of the US Tour with my children, I think someday they can share with their kids the experience and the modest success that I was able to generate during my lifetime. Taking musical journeys together and making people happy in the process”, asserts Stephen.
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