- Pepe Smith
Joseph William Feliciano Smith (drummer-singer-songwriter), initially known as "
Joey Smith ", and later more popularly as "Pepe Smith", is the foremost icon of original Filipino rock music, or "Pinoy Rock ".Born to an American serviceman father and a "Filipina" motherFact|date=April 2008 at
Subic Bay Naval Base , he grew up in theKamuning district ofQuezon City , with his maternal grandmother from the age of three. He formed his first rock 'n' roll band at the age of eleven.A member of the nationalistic and the seminal Philippine rock group, the
Juan dela Cruz Band . Along with fellow legendary musicians, Wally Gonzales and Mike Hanopol. "Juan dela Cruz" is the recognized term for the "everyman" in Philippine society. The Juan dela Cruz Band initiated the rock music revolution in the Philippines, veering away from covers of foreign hit songs and focusing on original songwriting. The trio has always been credited of spearheading thePinoy Rock genre in the Philippine music industry.albums with the Juan Dela Cruz Band
* Himig Natin (1973)
* Maskara
* Super Session
* Kahit Anong Mangyari (1981)Solo album
* Idiosyncrasies
Points of Interest
Spent six months in Vietnam during the
Vietnam War . His band, the Surfer, was contacted to play for American soldiers.Jailed for six month for alleged drug possession in 1993. His constant jail visitor in the Quezon City Jail was Apa Ongpin. After his release for lack of evidence, Smith held a concert at the jail for the inmates.
At age-11 he had his first band, consisting of his friends and neighbors from the Kamuning district, in Quezon City, Metro-Manila, Philippines.
Released in 2005 his very first solo album entitled "Idiosyncrasies", on Alpha Records. The 14-track album was three-years in the making; the recording project had started in 2002. The album was released simultaneously with the Juan Dela Cruz's three-CD collection from the rival Vicor Records.
Despite having an American father, he had never set foot in the USA. It's his dream to visit America, he says. His band, during their peak, only toured the United Kingdom, East Asia (and later, Australia), but not the Americas.
In 1994, he survived a car accident that damaged his signature jaw.
He was one of the Filipino acts who opened for the
July 4 ,1966 concert of the Beatles at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, Philippines. His admiration of the Beatles further strengthened his musical resolve.He and the Juan Dela Cruz Band participated in the first open field rock festival in in 1970, the Antipolo Rock Music Festival.
Father of Queenie Smith singer and Sanya Smith, a MYX VJ (i.e. video jockey). [ [http://supreme.ph/2008/05/03/her-name-is-sanya-smith/ Her name is Sanya Smith] at the [http://supreme.ph Philippine Star SUPREME] ]
Born to an American father and Filipina motherFact|date=April 2008 in Subic Base (once an American base), he grew up at Kamuning with her maternal grandmother at age 3.
One of his main hobbies is collecting toy planes. His childhood dream was to be a pilot.
A member of the nationalistic and the seminal Philippine rock band, the Juan Dela Cruz Band. "Juan Dela Cruz" is the Everyman's name in the Philippines.
Smith composed the song "Himig Natin" backstage in 1972, while waiting for his turn to play in a concert called "Himig Natin", at the Rizal Park grounds in Manila, Philippines.
Joey Smith formed his own band, The Airwaves, in circa-1976. The personnel were Joey Smith (vocals/dobro/drums), Jun Lopito (guitar), Gary Perez (guitar), Gil Cruz (bass) and Edmund Fortuno (drums).
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.