The story begins in 1973, a year after the declaration of martial law, at a college party in Leon Guinto, Manila.
Joey Puyat, then an Ateneo student, recalls to Daily Tribune via email: "We got out of the car and were immediately bombarded by what seemed to be the most gigantic stereo system we had ever heard. As we entered, there was a crowd of a couple of hundred people clapping feverishly along to this guy who was wielding his guitar like a light saber, anointing his disciples with streams of sound."
The "guy" playing the guitar was Gabe Ascalon, who died on 13 December at age 68.
Ascalon was just 19 in 1973 when Puyat first saw him at the party.
"Gabe was a true friend. I believe it was 1973. His diplomat father had been reassigned back home after a long stint in New York. He showed up in the scene with his overalls, clogs, New York accent and, most importantly, his Les Paul. Back then, as it probably still is today, people with like minds and interests somehow find each other and hang out — not in chat groups, but the flesh, jamming, eating, drinking and smoking organic delights. Music was our muse," recounts Colby de la Calzada, who was then enrolled in Fine Arts at the Philippine Women's University.
"I was present at that party because I was his only drummer at the time," Richie Quirino tells Daily Tribune via email. "I first met Gabe in June of 1973 at the De La Salle Taft campus as a freshman student. Gabe, who had just arrived after 13 years of living in New York City, enrolled at La Salle since it was not too far from the Ledesma (Gabe's mom was a Ledesma) compound along Taft Avenue.
"We discovered music was a common interest, and not long after, we met Sam Sen who played bass and whose voice sounded like Paul McCartney. Immediately we formed Destiny, whose name I had suggested. It was a power rock trio with Gabe on his 1958 Gibson Les Paul, Sam on his Hofner bass guitar, and I on my sparkling white 1966 Super Classic Ludwig drum kit.
"Our maiden performance was live on TV on my uncle's show, Seeing Stars with Joe Quirino. We performed a rock-jazz version of 'A Taste of Honey'!
"I gave a (recorded) copy of the performance to Howlin' Dave, then a DJ of Ramon Jacinto's DZRJ, who played on a 6 to 7 p.m. show called Pinoy Rock & Rhythm. It became an instant hit to the young and the restless."
Ascalon, in Puyat's words, "was the most kick-ass, rip-roaring guitar player I've ever seen. When he burst into the music scene in '73, all the top players were suddenly relegated to the backseat, twiddling their thumbs before this denim overall-clad deity in clogs, wielding a 1957 Gibson Les Paul and spewing out the raunchiest, flashiest, tastiest licks and a toe-curling vibrato."
Puyat — the only Atenean among the group of musicians in this story — confessed: I used to follow Gabe around, hoping to get a glimpse of his fretboard wizardry (impossible to even try to copy) at dozens of parties and gigs, where spellbound audiences would wipe their collective drool at his feet. I had heard the top local players at the time and was a beginner on the guitar, but there was no doubt what was happening before us was something very unique and special.
"It would take a couple more years before I finally got introduced to him, and I was floored to find out that, offstage, he was the nicest, most humble, soft-spoken guy."
Quirino says: "Colby came into the picture when I met him in the summer of 1974 at Philippine Christian College where I was taking up summer classes. Since Colby played guitar, I invited him to join Destiny and we recorded his originals, 'Carousel of Dream' and 'Music Is the Key That Opens the Door to Your Heart.'
"Not long after, I invited
pianist-composer Ed Jose, who had just arrived from studying four semesters at Berklee (College of Music in Boston) and we recorded 'Trees,' inspired by the Joyce Kilmer poem. Inch Gaddi, who was the girlfriend of Sam, sang the tune which again became an instant hit on radio."
In 1975, Puyat and Ascalon were in a band that joined a competition dubbed RC Cola Battle of the Bands: "I was conscripted to play bass for the twin-guitar lineup of Gabe and Colby (yes he was a great guitarist in another lifetime!)."
Quirino remembers: "I was interested in playing jazz fusion because of the record collection of Gabby Lopez and because Ed Jose was deeply into fusion. But Gabe didn't want to toe the line, so he formed Mother Earth with Colby on second guitar, the young Joey Puyat on bass and Harry Tambuatco on drums. We were thus sister bands and we tied for first place at the nationwide RC Cola Battle of the Bands in 1975.
"The Destiny that competed in the Battle of the Bands had Ed Jose on keyboards, myself on drums, Bob Aves on guitar, Nick Lizares on flute and alto-sax, Ed "Sarge" Carino on bass, and Eggie Moran on percussion. We performed all originals by Ed Jose."
It seems Ascalon was a free-spirited musician.
"Shortly after, Gabe left the band and did his own musical projects," says Puyat, "but by then we were great friends and would hang out almost every night. He went on to play with different bands, and later did stints with the early lineup of what would become one the top pop bands in the country."
Puyat was talking about Side A.
"Yes. Very true," Rodel Gonzalez tells Daily Tribune via Messenger. "When I formed Side A with Mar (Dizon) and my brother Naldy (Gonzalez), I got Gabe Ascalon as our first guitar player. I've always looked up to him and watched him with his band Destiny. I was in high school, I didn't know him personally but was a big fan.
"That was in 1984, when the Side A lineup included Ding Silverio and Colby de la Calzada. Although short-lived, we had good memories. Gabe was a perfectionist and wanted to transcribe all the songs we were playing. He was true professional musician.
"When I realized I cannot work with Ding Silverio, I 'disbanded' Side A but kept the name since it's registered under my name. Gabe went with Ding. Colby took a gig in Malaysia. That's when I got Joey Benin on bass and Kelly Badon on guitar."
What made Gabe stand out as a guitarist?
"He was a showman who played the strings of his guitar with his teeth. He also slung the guitar behind his back and played it. He was a no-nonsense guitarist who could do Santana, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix licks with a passion," says Quirino.
"His tone, his feeling and technique… He always wanted to improve and learn. Once he started playing, it was 100-percent… He was always ready and willing to teach and help other musicians," says De La Calzada.
"Onstage he had the swagger of Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, but as soon as he talked to you he was genuinely attentive and displayed no rock-star persona," says Puyat.
Ascalon left the scene when he moved to Bacolod to manage the family farm.
"Every time I had a gig in Bacolod, we would surely meet up and take me to his house, making the producers very nervous because the band had one missing member hijacked by Gabe Ascalon," recounts De La Calzada. "He would call from time to time, although not lately, because his health was failing. And I feel bad for cutting our conversation short because I was doing something."
Puyat says: "When the call of music had to give way to personal responsibilities, he moved to Bacolod and managed the family plantation. We would be in touch whenever he would fly to Manila. He amassed a massive collection of guitars that he was endlessly fixing, modifying and playing… He will always be the greatest in my book."
