The Dawn had weathered the most difficult challenges to its existence – the loss of the band’s founder and guitarist Teddy Diaz, who died in 1988 just after the release of its second album; a hiatus in 1995 that extended to four years; other members leaving; and the need to stay relevant 40 years since forming in ’86.
As the band gears up for ‘Kwarenta,’ its anniversary concert on June 27 at The Theater at Solaire, lead singer Jett Pangan, drummer JB Leonor, guitarists Francis Reyes and Sancho Sanchez, and bassist Bim Yance sat back and granted 15-minute interviews with about a dozen media outlets.
Here’s their chat with SoundStrip.
Can you recall a particular moment or series of incidents when you said to yourself that you wanted to be a musician?
Jett: I grew up hearing music in the house. My uncle Vic Jose was an executive at Blackgold Records in the 1970s. He opened a record bar, managed by my mom. So music was part of my daily diet. We had a lot of vinyl test records from the record bar that were brought home.
My mom loved to sing and joined ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan,’ and my dad loved to play the guitar. So the love for music was there.
And then in high school nauso yung punk. I was in college nung sumikat ang Duran Duran and other bands, mga New Romantics, so the fantasy built up – what if I joined a band? One fateful day, the brother of Clay Luna, the original bassist of The Dawn, approached me and asked if I could join the band.
JB: In high school, we wanted to be cool, to be accepted.
And when I heard people talking about musicians, it was with reverence. I wanted to be seen like that. In my fourth year at La Salle Green Hills, we had music class, and the teacher said we could join either the choir or the band.
I told her I could play the piano, so I’ll be in the band. The teacher thought I could sight-read [notes], but I lied. As a kid, I took classical piano lessons, [but I wasn’t that good].
Yung mga barkada ko, sila yung mga drummer. There was another guy who played the piano, and that’s how I learned to play ouido [by ear]. We would listen to Mahavishnu Orchestra and Chick Corea. Jean Luc Ponty, Jeff Beck, Ravi Sankar.
Then I met Teddy Diaz. That was the turning point. On the day of our jam session, he gave me sheet music to ‘Envelope Ideas’ and ‘Dreams,’ which had a different title then. You could see the structure. We did that the whole afternoon.
Sancho: We were then living in Olongapo, and as kids we had to take a nap in the afternoon. I was awakened by the sound of loud music from the neighbor’s house, so I went to check it out. About five houses away, I peeped through the gate to see who was playing and saw Mike Hanopol and his band. It was so loud.
Soon I was playing air guitar with a walis tambo while listening to Hanopol’s ‘Awiting Pilipino’ album.
And then in fourth year high school or first year college, I saw The Dawn’s ‘Oktoberstorm’ concert, watching Teddy Diaz doing solos on his guitar, and thinking, this is what I want to do.
Francis: Growing up, the family was into pop and disco. We had Bee Gees albums, Barry Manilow. But I started liking rock music. The first band that I fell in love with was Queen. But I could not imagine myself as a musician. I just enjoyed the music.
But what I remember distinctly was that I was in second year high school, it was summer, I was listening to the radio on RJ AM, which was playing ‘Speed King’ by Deep Purple. In the intro, [Ritchie] Blackmore sounded like he was abusing the guitar. I mean, the effect was visceral. Ramdam mo yung gigil. And when you’re 14 years old, you’re starting to be aggressive with certain parts of your body.
That was also the time I heard [Filipino punk bands] Chaos and Betrayed. It was all connected. When I heard Blackmore, I said I want to play guitar. I want to be a musician. That’s what I want to do.
Bim: My dad had lots of records. Ann Murray, Ray Conniff, Chipmunks, Barry Manilow, James Last, Jackson 5. And there was Perez Prado and the song ‘El Bimbo.’ Bimbo. That’s why my dad named me Bimbo when I was born in 1975.
We also had an organ in the house. My dad played the organ. I was five years old when I also started playing the organ on my own, and then my parents took me to Yamaha, but I lasted only a week, kasi pinapalo ako ng teacher, sinumbong ko.
I think I was 11 or 12 when I saw The Dawn on TV playing at Concert at the Park. That was a light bulb moment for me. I wanted to be in a band. I went on to join True Faith.
The Dawn’s second album, ‘I Stand with You,’ had just been released when Teddy died. And there was a coming concert at the Folk Arts Theater. Did the remaining members talk to Martin [Galan, the band’s manager] that if things didn’t work out, The Dawn would disband?
JB: Yes, when Teddy died, we thought it was over. What we did was, we agreed to delay the decision. Una, libing muna ni Teddy, tapos yung Folk Arts concert.
Jett: The Folk Arts concert had already been booked. That’s why we had to push through. That was part of the decision, okay, tuloy muna natin ‘to. Let’s get guest guitarists [Noel Mendez, David Lava, and Francis Reyes].
JB: The concert turned out very well. So, I guess that helped us decide to push through.
Francis, what motivated you to join The Dawn full-time?
I was already a fan. I bought the first album. And I became part of their road crew. I was with After Image at the time. We had the same management. Martin saw that I was interested in the technical side of things. Not just guitar, but, you know, how does this and that work? So, when he finally said, ‘Why don’t we talk? You’re the next guitar player. How do you feel about that?’
I said, ‘Okay.’ And that was it.
Why the need for two guitarists?
Jett: There had been a precedent during the Francis-Atsushi [Matsuura] era…
Sancho: I took over when Francis and Kenneth [Ilagan] left, and when Francis returned, we gelled well.
Francis: Because with only one guitar player, it’s hard in terms of sculpting with effects. It’s fun, yes, but when you solo, may butas e. There’s always that feeling of something’s missing, and then you end up overcompensating. And then after the solo, you have to go back and play rhythm again. So, it’s a little stressful. But when there are two, I don’t have to worry. You can be confident that the band’s sound will always be whole.
You guys have remained relevant, recording singles like ‘Earth’ in 2023, ‘Sa’n Ka Pupunta and ‘Delikado’ (2025). Do you think artists don’t really retire?
Sancho: Kung umabot sa point na the band [ends its run], I’ll still play guitar. I’ll still make music kahit ako lang ang makakarinig, or kahit i-post ko lang sa IG.
JB: There has to be music in you. Hindi mawawala yun.
Francis: I think it’s almost a compulsion.
May itch sa kamay?
Bim: Oo!