Tonet Fabie

Tonet Fabie – Homegrown Talent

Like any legendary musician, Tonet Fabie’s humble beginnings paved way for a splinter group that evolved and carved a name in history.

Growing up in Pasay City, Tonet Fabie was exposed to the right kind of blend of music and company. “My neighbors Glenn and Vaughn Velasco influenced me greatly”, narrates Tonet. Together, they formed The Deltas, active in music from 1963 to 1968. It was Tonet’s christening moment as  a musician. “When I was with the Deltas, amplifiers and bass guitar were not that plenty in the market, and way too expensive too.. so I used a radio as my bass amp ...and my six string's guitar is converted it to four strings that's how I started playing the bass” chuckles Tonet.

In 1965, Tonet left The Deltas and formed The Downbeats with Eddie Reyes, Tony Jalandoni, Charlie Meileib and the late great Joey ‘Pepe’ Smith. The Downbeats was already going places like Clark Pampanga, Hong Kong and Guam, when in 1966, the group noticed that their drummer would be better suited in singing upfront than sitting down with the drum set. “Joey Smith was initially our drummer and vocals. Buy we thought he was getting much of his great talent out , so we got   Eddie Reyes our manager to play the drums (initially playing the keyboards)...and Pepe gave all what was holding him back there in the stage”, says Tonet.

The much talked about historical Manila Beatles Concert last July 04, 1966 was sort of a peak in their career. “The Calvacade International was our promoter at that time. Incidentally, they were the same group who promoted the Beatles show in Manila”, remembers Tonet. If you think that was the biggest thing that came for The Downbeats, wait til you hear Tonet’s story. “When Tony Jalandoni and Charlie Meilieb left the band  in mid of 1967, Wally Gonzalez and Mike Hanopol filled in as two guitar players”, recalls Tonet.

But it was short-lived. By early 1968 they left their management and changed their name to ‘Mother Earth’. “The group were still intact; Pepe, Wally, Mike and me, until our split in late 1968 and all the members went their own ways; Wally worked in his brother’s office for a while and shortly thereafter, eventually formed Jungle Cats and then Juan Dela Cruz band; Mike went on to jump from one band to another like, Bulwarks, Chetniks, Jives, Glenmores, Zero History ; and Pepe went to Japan and formed Speed, Glue and Shinki”, remembers Tonet.

The Downbeats recorded two original songs which hit the charts. "It Won't Be Easy" written by Tonet Fabie and "You Gotta Tell Me" by Joey Smith. The former even managed to land on #2 in Hong Kong.

“My style in playing the bass is just like filling up most of the notes and in rhythm with the drums. One for All / All for One... bring out the best potential of each band member”, says Tonet. Ventures, Shadows , The Rolling Stones, Hendrix, Grateful Dead, The Doors are some of his influence in playing.

After The Downbeats, Tonet called it quits and worked for San Miguel Corporation.

“Now i am back to my song writing and I have a couple already”, muses Tonet. By April, Tonet will be 74. He enjoys gardening and, of course, loves to play the guitar. “No more band for me, I had enough of the night life”, finishes Tonet.