The Thought

THE THOUGHT was a FILIPINO NEW WAVE/PROG ROCK BAND which was formed back in 1987 composed of JOJO ARMAS on vocals, JOEL YU on guitars, and BOY RAMOS on sequencers and drums. This band should not to be mistaken from the early 80s band from NETHERLANDS of the same name. YUP!! This is PHILIPPINE MADE!! I was able to get in touch with one of the band members Boy Ramos via POGZ of Dead Pop Stars and one of the DJ Host of "Ballad Of The Times". Boy would eventually be the new addition to this great New Wave Radio show on NU107. THE THOUGHT was featured on "Ballad Of The Times" last January 27, 2010 and Boy was the only band representative present on the show that evening. He then referred me to their lead vocalist Jojo Armas to complete this blogpost of mine. So big THANKS to BOY and JOJO that we are featuring them here in my little blog "The Doctor Is In". So how did the band started? Jojo and Boy unofficially met at La Salle Greehills High School Fair back in 1986 when Boy's band beat Jojo's band on a band contest back then. Then in 1987 both Jojo and Boy decided to get together and jam with the former band mates of Jojo. Boy was the classmate of Jojo's sister so that's why Jojo considered this as their official meeting. Hmmmp? Unofficial and official? Interesting!! He He He!! After sometime, they decided to join a band contest at DLSU and this time they were already in one group and this was also the first time that they were introduced as "THE THOUGHT".


THE THOUGHT was known for their inclusion on this PINOY BANDS NEW WAVE COMPILATION entitled "NU ROCK: THE ALBUM" made by none than NU 107 back in 1988. They were one of the eight PINOY Bands featured on that great compilation which I will also feature here on my blog in the future so watch out for that too. Although, not as popular as the other bands on that NU107 compilation album, still I give credits to these guys since they were part of that movement back in the 80s here in MANILA. And having a song released on a Vinyl back on those days, then this band really made a mark on Philippine Music especially on the underground scene. Not so many PINOY Bands during those times have that great opportunity to record their songs on a major record label. That's THE THOUGHT for you!!


I asked JOJO a couple of questions and his answers are well indicated.

Why the name "The Thought"? Was it related to a Foreign New Wave Band of the same name?
JOJO: I think I came up with the name. I only found out about the "other" (hehe) a couple of years later from mobile DJ friends of ours in DLSU. I wish I had the net then so that I wouldn't have used the name. Since we formed in 87 and the album came out in 88, maybe we were really the original The Thought? He He!! Anyways, I thought The Thought was appropriate because I wanted to convey in music the thoughts, ideas and psychological reactions to the things that happen not only to one's self but also to the societal, philosophical and environmental aspect of life in general. Among the 3 tracks we recorded, Listen and I Am Was Not What exemplifies those thoughts. Mirrors of Conscience which was written, words and music, by Joel Yu, talked about love which also affects us all. It is actually a rearranged cover version of his other band's material. As of now, I still do not know how the other Thought looks or sounds like.

Who were the original members?
JOJO: Initially there was Boy, myself, my cousin Joel Yu on guitars, Anthony Reyes on keys, Alain on bass and another guy on drums but I forgot his name. Wala pa kami kasing sequencer noon. He He!!

What was your very first gig?
JOJO: The 2nd Crescendo in 1988, a DLSU band contest.

What was your most memorable gig?
JOJO: For me it would have to be Mayrics in 1990 which was aired live on NU.

What were your influences as a band?
JOJO: Initially music from XB, then NU. Each band member had a different favorite genre or influence and I really feel that combining those differences made us what we were. I believe that these difference also contributed to the fact that none of the original members stayed on. The other reason being is that some of them also eventually left for abroad. Oh well... Speaking for myself, I was initially heavily influenced by The Cure and The Smiths.

Who are the other members?
JOJO: Aside from the guys mentioned above, we were also able to play officially as The Thought with the ff:

GUITARS:
Jonathan Khonghun
Uri Djemal

BASS:
Robert Dungca
Derek Ileto
GJ Torres
Frank O' Connor

DRUMS
Ned Javier


Do you remember the band's final gig together and when was this?
JOJO: The last big crowd event we played in was at the Ateneo for a San Miguel contest. That would probably have been in 91 or 92. Boy and Joel Yu came out once as the Thought sometime in 07 in a bar in Makati that was formerly Kalye. They played with other bands from our era (yes, we can't deny our age anymore!) including The Dawn.



As what I've mentioned a while ago, The Thought was one of the PINOY BANDS featured on the NU107 "NU ROCK: The Album" compilation. Definitely, we have to know the story behind it so here's my question again for Jojo regarding this said compilation.

Can you share your experiences regarding the making of the NU ROCK compilation, the recording process, the promotional tours, and the TV appearances? How were you guys picked by NU107 to be part of the compilation?
JOJO: The song on the album was actually a song we recorded for the purpose of airing in NU when they started accepting locally recorded stuff. The song was recorded in 1 day (if only we knew better then!) at the 16 track RJ recording studios along Makati Ave and the street of Tia Maria's. Only 3 members recorded that song namely Boy, myself and Joel Yu. Engineered by Voltaire of Warhead. I'm not sure how Octo Arts picked it but I supposed it was passed to them by the folks in NU. We were a bunch of noobs then so when we were asked who produced the track, our immediate reply was ourselves thinking it was a who-financed-it question! The song started out with Boy letting the original incarnation of the group hear his keyboard part during a jam. Soon everyone started to put his instrument and the song was eventually completed. We performed it live for the very first time at Crescendo. The cash prize we won there was added to our recording budget for the song and the rest, as they say is history. The Thought came out in only 3 TV shows, all noontime variety game shows! It was Regal Family on IBC 13, Eat Bulaga GMA 7 and another lunchtime show that I do not remember. I remember this instance where Keno, a former local singing idol, asked us if we had Pond's facial cleanser and from that moment on feeling showbiz na kami! Ha ha ha!


So I guess that's a lot of information for you guys regarding PINOY 80s band "THE THOUGHT". When I was making this blogpost I realized that the photos of The Thought on the "NUROCK: The Album" Vinyl and the Cassette Tape were two different photos. Wheeew!! So what I did was I also took a photo of my original "NUROCK: The Album" Cassette Tape cover which I apologize for It's poor quality since I don't have any scanner right now. Btw, the Blogpost Header Photo of The Thought I used was from the Vinyl Record Cover which I just modified. I hope that both photos help spice up this exclusive blogpost of mine of "The Thought". Btw, I remember Boy Ramos saying on air that one of his memorable experience of The Thought was the "NUROCK: The Album" launching at the Legendary Skating Rink at ALI MALL in CUBAO called "SKATE TOWN". He remembered the place being full of audiences trying to catch all the bands featured on the said compilation album performing their songs.

Here are three more questions I asked JOJO:

How are the band members right now? Any of you still in the music scene?
JOJO: As far as I know, only Boy is the most active. Joel Yu plays for him once in awhile. Boy told me that Uri Djemal is with a NY recording studio. They get to talk over in Facebook. I don't have a Facebook account. hehe I am still active in the music scene but on the TV and concert production side of it. I do get to play on stage with other bands but only seldomly. The last gig I played in was at the Phil. Jazz Festival last Feb. 21 at The Fort as a guest player for one of the bands.

Do you have anything to share other than what we have tackled?
JOJO: Among the 3 tracks that we recorded, only 2 got airplay - Listen and Mirrors of Conscience. Mirrors was recorded in 89 and got the most airplay on NU. It stayed in the Sprite 7 at 7 segment for 3 months. I Am Was Not What, which NU turned down, actually made it big in Boston college radio stations. The Thought gets the last laugh on that one. hehe

Any final messages for those people who still remember your band and to those who will read this exclusive blogpost?
JOJO: Be well. Peace and love to everyone. As Master Yoda said "Do or do not. There is no try." Enjoy music and let's enjoy more of it. Success and more music to you guys!!

Btw, Boy played the three songs of The Thought on "Ballad Of The Times" when the band was featured on the radio show. Aside from "LISTEN", the other two songs were "MIRRORS OF CONSCIENCE" and "I AM WAS NOT WHAT" which I included here on my blogpost just for your listening pleasure since the band decided not to make these songs available for download. LISTEN to these songs by PRESSING THE PLAY BUTTON.

"I AM WAS NOT WHAT"

Find more The Thought songs at Myspace Music

"MIRRORS OF CONSCIENCE"

Find more The Thought songs at Myspace Music

Visit THE THOUGHT:
http://www.myspace.com/thethought

I'll leave you with their trademark song from the "NUROCK: The Album" compilation entitled "LISTEN". This song reminds me of PINOY GOTHIC band IDENTITY CRISIS especially the sound on "TALE OF TWO" album. So listen to "LISTEN" by THE THOUGHT. You can download the song just in case you don't still have a copy of it. I wanna THANK Jojo and Boy for helping me out and trusting my blog to feature THE THOUGHT!! This is "The Dr. Stirring Rhod Way" of giving tribute to the band that was there on the New Wave Scene when it matters here in MANILA. THANKS for dropping by!!

Listen to "LISTEN" here:



DOWNLOAD THE SONG HERE:



Btw for added info, here's a photo of The Thought, the obscure 80s band from the Netherlands that released three albums from 1982-1989.

So what are your thoughts about
THE THOUGHT?
-DR. STIRRING RHOD