MY LIFE would never be the same after hearing the music of The Ventures?and meeting its members later.

When the whole world was being rocked by such iconic vocalists as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino and The Everly Brothers in the late ?50s, The Ventures crashed the barriers and created guitar instrumental combo fever.

?Walk Don?t Run?

The American band?s ticket to fame, a cover of the tune ?Walk Don?t Run,? peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart on July 18, 1960.

In the Philippines, the song hit me like a tidal wave in 1961.

Six months before that, I had formed a ragtag band in high school called The Riots. It first performed during a Christmas program at the Ateneo high school covered courts on December 5, 1960.

Irresistible

At that time, I was playing instrumental tunes of Duanne Eddy and Johnny and the Hurricanes, using Japanese-made electric guitars and a one-string gasoline drum bass contraption.

But The Ventures completely won me over when I got a copy of its first album. The appeal of the band?s brilliant-sounding Fender electric guitars and driving beat were hard to resist.

Soon after, I got a complete set of Fender instruments.

If you?re a guitar lover, you will remember the thrill of owning your first good electric six-string. The smell of that first Fender guitar that I bought when I opened the case still lingers in my being.

My band, renamed RJ and the Riots, became one of the many combos that sprouted in the Philippines and played a la Ventures. The Hi-Jacks, The Deltas, The Drastics, The Intruders, Orly Ilacad and the Ramrods and also female bands like the Peppermints and Poni-Debs were the more popular ones.

In 1962, The Ventures arrived to perform at the Araneta Coliseum, with guests Joanne Campbell and Bobby Vee. But only the band?s founders, Bob Bogle on lead guitar and Don Wilson on rhythm guitar, were present.

To complete its lineup, my band mates, bassist Alan Austria and drummer Bernie Evangelista, were asked to back up the band.

Good friends

The Ventures became my good friends. When I visited Hollywood and recorded four songs, I had the band as my backup. It was an experience of a lifetime. I also stayed in Bogle?s house.

Influential

Just how big an influence is this band, whose sound is said to have presaged surf music?

George Harrison, Carl Wilson, Keith Moon, Terry Kath, Joe Walsh, John Fogerty, Stephen Stills, Jeff Baxter, Gene Simmons, Ricky Wilson (of The B52?s) and Alan White (Yes) are some of the world-renowned musicians who have acknowledged the effect of The Ventures in their lives.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, The Ventures have also been awarded by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for contributing to friendly relations between the United States and Japan.

Still active

The band remains active and plays for 90 days straight every year in Japan?where its records reportedly outsell The Beatles 2 to 1.

To date it has sold over 100 million records worldwide.

Return to RP

To celebrate my 50th year as a performer, I have invited The Ventures to come to the Philippines to play once again.

Next Tuesday, September 14, the band will be my special guests at the Grand Ballroom of Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati.

Also helping me celebrate is my good friend Jose Mari Chan, who is likewise a Ventures fan.

The Ventures playing at the Dusit Ballroom is quite a different experience?an intimate setting where you will hear all the notes and see the band up close. This may be your last chance to watch the band live.

Joe Mari Chan and I will warm up the audience to add to the ultimate guitar instrumental experience.

(Call Dusit at 867-3333 or the RJ office at 899-3108.)