Filipino rock icon Bamboo Mañalac was born as Francisco Gaudencio Lope Belardo Mañalac. He is a son of a political legend in Mindanao and comes from an influential Muslim family. He grew up with his mother staying mostly at their home in the northern part of the Philippines.
Born in San Francisco, California on January 19, 1978, Bamboo broke the silence of the Philippine music scene as he became the frontman of the band Rivermary which is composed of Perfecto de Castro on guitars, Mark Escueta on drums, Nathan Azarcon on bass guitar, and Rico Blanco on keyboards and backing vocals. The band was conceptualized by Lizza Nakpil and the award winning Philippine film director Chito Roño. Rivermaya started to hit charts with their self-composed songs “Ulan”, “214”, and “Awit ng Kabataan”. Despite the fame they are into, in 1998, after three successful albums and series of US and Canada concert tours, Bamboo decided to leave the band and stayed at United States to continue his studies.
After the departure of Bamboo, his Rivermaya bandmate Nathan Azarcon also decided to leave the group and joined the band Kapatid. While Bamboo was still in the US, he began to talk to Nathan about the possibility of forming a new band. With Bamboo, Nathan, Ira Cruz, and his friend, Vic Mercado as the members of the band, they debuted in late 2002. “Bamboo” which became the name of the band, was decided for its strength and durability and also to have Filipino feel in it.
Being one of the Philippines’ best music icons, Bamboo being on the band “Bamboo” got nominated and won different music awards. He won Vocalist of the Year at 13th NU Rock Awards (2004-2005) and SOP Pasiklaban (2006). Everyone thought Bamboo band will stand firm until the end but a shocking revelation from KC Montero in his Twitter account last January 10, 2011 leave the fans puzzled as he stated that the band decided to have it quits.
On January 11, 2011, just a day after the rumor of calling it quits, Bamboo published an official statement in the band’s official website. He said, “As a group we’ve come to a point where you have to trust your gut, your heart and your head and accept that all things change. The hardest part as always is to know when to pack it up and part ways. We’ve learned that this journey is not only about us but includes all who came along for the trip. Family, friends and of course our front row believers who were there for the best reason of all. To simply listen. So it didn’t come easy winding down to this decision. So here we go. IT’S OFFICIAL. THE BAND. IT’S OVER.”
Bamboo, after having failures as a member of a band, decided to have a solo career. He released his debut album “No Water, No Moon” consisting of 12 tracks with “Questions” as its career single. The album reached gold in February 2013 after selling more than 7,500 copies.
Projects come in hand as he was also casted on ASAP last February 2013 and confirmed as coach and judge in The Voice of the Philippines and The Voice Kids which is currently airing at ABS-CBN during weekends.
