Clifford Cada

A History of The Wildthing

In December of 1987, Jun Jara had an idea. He had been toying with it ever since his older brother, two years his senior, formed a band and started practicing in their backyard. He was, first and foremost, a pianist. He was tutored privately since grade school. Though his brother was met with minor success, Jun wanted to put up a band of his own. An opportunity came up when he presented the idea as a gig for Parents' Day.

He called upon his friends whom he knew could play a tune on a guitar. One of them was Cliff Cada, who just happened to have a guitar and a keyboard at hand.

After two nights of practice they had a couple of songs, pretty standard for the day, and a Christmas song to delight the audience, mostly parents in their forties. The gig went on without a hitch, the band members gaining a taste of real applause, not just from their own parents, but from other students and parents as well.

That small success inspired Jun to continue with the band, and decided to practice for their Christmas party. This time, they had a drummer.

They played a few songs in that party and was met with polite applause. No cheers. No booing either - which was a good thing. They were in their freshman year. These kids probably had no interest in live band music at that tender age. They never performed again for the rest of the school year.

Still, the idea wouldn't leave him. Somehow the crowd, the stage, and the lights called to him. He tried again in 1988, again at their class Christmas party. He was joined by Ariel and Anthony Aparte - the twins gifted with musical know-how. Ariel was on lead guitar and Anthony was on drums. They performed their first original work, an instrumental piece entitled "Heavy Metal" - it was an experiment in music-writing. The crowd applauded their efforts and cheered them on.

In the following year, Clifford Cada, a pianist who has performed on and off in the past two years, teamed up with a classmate to form another band. He ended up playing the drums, and then back to the keyboards for a few songs. Jun Jara was there to see them perform.

Maybe the formula wasn't right or the crowd wasn't ready. Whatever it was, none of the bands that formed ever had more success than a classroom performance.

It wasn't until the following year, in 1990, when Charlie De Villa, Jun Jara, Joel Vergara, and Cliff Cada teamed up with three other fellow students to run for seats in the Student Executive Board - an elected board representing the entire breadth of the student body. In the tradition of Miting de Avance, candidates pull off gimmicks to get them elected. And thus, the band performance was hatched. Again, they called on the twins, Ariel and Anthony to play guitars and drums. Jun was on keyboards, Cliff was on bass guitar, and Joel was on vocals.

Having known each other since kindergarten, parents and siblings also knowing one another, it seems the chemistry was just right. Or maybe the timing was right. Whatever it was, the huge crowd cheered for them. It was the biggest crowd they have ever performed to - from the fourth grade to the tenth grade, as the senior high school students were called.

As it turned out, four of the seven seats in the Student Executive Board went to the members of the all-male party.

It was around this time after their success that the name was chosen. "The Wildthing" was based on Charlie Sheen's character in Major League, and the rap song "Wildthing". Members of the band got together to record impromptu performances in Cliff Cada's garage. Joel Vergara, Jun Jara, Christopher Marte were joined by musical talents from other year levels and other schools to record "Wildthing: Jamming Sessions". The master copy was circulated among the entire class.

The success of their underground album of sorts inspired them to record another one, this time entitled "On Keys and Strings".

Meanwhile, Cliff Cada and Joel Vergara, both officers of the Student Executive Board, proposed a fund-rasing concert to help fund various projects of the board. Sensing a shot at fame, they gathered the group, and called on the services of additional talent from one of the sophomore students. Jun Jara, Cliff Cada, Christopher Marte, Joel Vergara, Ariel and Anthony Aparte, were joined by Jay Sangalang and Glen Gonzales. Charlie de Villa became their manager. The logo was designed by Mike Mascardo, who was gifted with artistic talent.

To gather more support, they asked the new group from the College department to join them in a back-to-back concert. Luckily, Charlie's brother was a member of that band. And so teaming up with them was easy. "On Keys And Strings" the concert was born.

In February of 1991, the Wildthing and Aftershock bands played three concerts to sold-out crowds at the Hermana Fausta Hall, with audiences coming not only from inside the school but outside as well. Bootleg copies of their concert has reached Cebu and even as far as Australia and London.

In 1992, The Wildthing returned to the Hermana Fausta Hall for a thanksgiving performance, paying homage to the graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing of 1991 - of which the Aftershock members were part.

Then again in the summer of 1993, they played for another school activity, this time at Ouan's Worth Farm. They were invited by a young group of musicians who followed in their footsteps.

That was the last public performance of The Wildthing. Since then, each has taken his own path, none in music. Still they get together once in a while, reminiscing, jamming, and exchanging stories about life and anything under the sun. Those that remain have become lifelong friends. And one day, they hope to come back, and play once more.