DAUG

LIKE their award-winning song Naghihintay, members of Césta are in a "wait-and-see" mood.
They can’t even submit to any radio station the song which won two awards — the Best Pop/R&B song and Best Single — in the recent 1st Musika del Sur Music Awards for airplay.
"We are very much happy to hear our song on the radio," said Rhex Jun Villahermosa, the leader of the group formerly known as Strings on the Shed or SOS. "But for the meantime we don’t want to jeopardize the chances of our companion."
Rhex refers to their female vocalist Francesca Mauren "TR" Lagura, or now known as Cheska to millions of Kapuso viewers watching the Coke-sponsored Sunday reality show Ride To Fame over GMA7. Cheska is one of the two Davaoeños still competing in the show.
The song Naghihintay is one of the original songs submitted by Cheska in the competition. As an entry, it is now exclusively contracted to GMA network during the competition.
"That’s why we are restrained to submit it to any radio station," Rhex said. Cheska provided the lyrics to Naghihintay with the music of lead guitarist Jobo Wong.
Rhex, the band’s rhythm guitarist, said they already received offers from recording companies. But until the fate of Cheska will be decided in the reality show, their hands are tied up in signing any contract.
In fact, the group is currently under the management of Archie Beñegas, the Davao head of Manila-based Synergy Music Records. Beñegas helped push local acts Isla Era and 1017, two Davao-based bands which got recording contracts in Manila.
Aside from Cheska, Rhex and Jobo, the group is currently composed of Jobo Ruiz on bass and percussion, Raffy Priego on drums/beatbox, and beauty queen Aieelen Cainglet as co-vocalist.
SECOND TO THE LAST
Césta started in 2006 as a quintet acoustic group Strings on the Shed, and underwent changes in membership.
Rhex, a management and accounting graduate of University of Mindanao, and friend Jordan Dimakiling (then the beatboxers) recruited Cheska to be the band’s female vocalist. Rey Amante was added as lead male vocalist, and so was Jobo Wong on the lead guitar.
"All the members were not actually serious (in playing music) although we have attachment to music," Rhex said. "We have no formal training, we were just formed in an instant."
The band’s first public performance was in a post-Valentine competition at Jive Bar along Bonifacio Street.
"We were second … to be eliminated (in that contest)," Rhex revealed.
But the defeat encouraged them to go further, especially one of the judges — an executive of a brewery company — asked for their contact numbers and vowed to help them.
But while there was no help that arrived from the brewery executive, the group went on performing in any available gig — even for a minimal free.
Even in weddings, the group has no qualms in giving their all-out performances. Their first wedding gig was for their big brother Paolo Mesias who encouraged them to pursue their goals.
Later that year, the group joined in the Unplugged Acoustic Challenge. This time, they ended up as second placer among the dozens of participants.
It opened doors for them to play in small bars in the city, and got appearances in radio stations which play local songs.
From acoustic, the band later tried pop music and bossa nova which was then the hottest trend.
Before 2006 ended, the group was already under the ATM managerial team of Jommel Bañez, Joey Dichoso, Randy Quilos, and Synergy’s Beñegas.
ATM further pushed the group with regular gigs. The band started to have special participations in major concerts, particularly as opening acts to Manila artists performing in Davao.
When the ATM group was dissolved, the group decided to stick with Beñegas.
MEMBERSHIP CHANGES
In their short period of getting together, the group experienced a number of changes. Three of its members left the group for various reasons. Rey went to US. Founding member Jordan also left, and his replacement, Randy Masangid, also pursued another interest. Raffy filled in the beatbox/drum section while Jobo Ruiz was tapped on the bass.
Just days after they submitted the song Naghihintay to the 1st Musika del Sur Music Awards and some radio stations, the band was advised to change their name by a radio disc jockey who apparently found it hard for the group to penetrate the business using a long name.
"We were told to shorten our name for easy recall, so we took the name Césta after Cheska," Rhex said.
In that same week, Cheska qualified in the Ride To Fame.
Last July 20, a night before Cheska left for Manila, the group got together at Malativas along Bonifacio for a dinner. It was also in that place that the group saw Aieelen.
"It was a chance meeting with Aieelen, but I was already thinking of inviting her to join our group before hand," Rhex said. Rhex and Aieelen were school mates at Daniel R. Aguinaldo High School in Matina.
Thus when the group invited the 2004 Mutya ng Dabaw to temporarily fill up Cheska spot, the beauty queen immediately said yes without any hesitation.
"Aieelen knows how to play the keyboard aside from singing… That’s the advantage," Rhex said.
The band was already using the name Césta when they won two awards in 1st Musika del Sur Music Awards as Strings on the Shed for Naghihintay last August 19.
FUTURE PLANS
But pending Cheska’s fate in the reality show Ride To Fame, the group is nailed on the group.
"We can’t enter into any recording contract for the meantime," the group said. "Our next move still depends on the outcome of the show."
If Cheska made it big in the contest, Rhex said the band is willing to be her back-up group. But even if Cheska failed, she is much welcome to return.
But the group is adamant in having an album in the future. Rhex said they already have 11 original songs, enough for one album.
Currently, the group is regularly performing at Jack’s Ridge (Thursday night) and Casino Filipino (Friday night).