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MANILA – The original members of the OPM band Side A are coming together for their first virtual concert.

Set to happen on January 30 at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m., "Side A Redux Calesa Night" will feature songs which the band used to perform at the Calesa Bar back in the '80s.

While it will mark their reunion for the first time in years, the virtual concert will also double as a fundraising activity since all the proceeds will go to their chosen charities and organizations helping to rebuild communities hit hard by recent typhoons.

“Natutuwa lang po ako dahil alam ko na 'yung aming pagsasamang muli ay nagkaroon ng saysay. Next to impossible siguro na nagkasamasama kami ulit. Pero [when the] opportunity presented itself, I grabbed it right away kahit magkakahiwalay kami para lang makapag-give back,” founding member Rodel Gonzalez said during a press conference for the concert on Monday.

His brother Naldy Gonzalez, who is the longest serving member of the band, shared this excitement, saying: “We’ve been in this pandemic for quite a while and naghahanap din tayo ng gagawin. It’s a blessing for me na makasama ko ulit sila. I am so glad to be here. It’s an opportunity for me to share my music and at the same time makatulong.”

Meanwhile, Mar Dizon shared how this concert came about.

“Ang pagsasama-sama naming ito nagmula lang sa pagpansin sa pino-post ni Rodel na pictures namin noon dati. Umabot na po sa ganito, ang unang gig namin. Isang napakalaking karangalan po sa amin iyon,” he said.

When asked about the challenges they encountered in mounting this show, Rodel said they had to deal with their physical distance with each other and doing all the recordings amid the pandemic.

“We haven’t really seen each other for quite a while. Ang mga bihasa na sa technology and recording ay si Joey Benin, Pido (Lalilarmo) and my brother Naldy. Sila talaga 'yung may kaalaman na. Kami nila Kelly and Mar, kami 'yung nagtatanong sa kanila. It was labor of love for every one of us because obviously we committed a lot of challenges, mistakes, repeats,” he said.

“Pero for me, I really enjoyed the process of creating this concert because nandoon na 'yung tawanan and mga novice mistakes na nangyayari sa recoding. We really tried our best to put this show together to bring back that vibe of Calesa. Pinag-isipan talaga namin 'yung line up ng kanta from that Calesa vibe,” he added.

Lalilarmo also teased their fans on what they should expect from the show.

“The Side A Redux is actually dedicated for mga kaibigan na nanood sa Calesa. As much as we want to include the new songs, ito na muna 'yung ginawa namin. This is the batch na nagkita-kita at nag-mini reunion sa Messenger. But definitely merong gagawin 'yung for the new generation. Abangan din natin iyan,” he said.

The Gonzalez brothers, Benin, Lalilarmo, Dizon and Kelly Badon said they are open to doing more shows together in the future, virtual or physical, after this online concert.

Tickets for the "Side A Redux Calesa Night" concert are priced at P1,000 each and are available via KTX and carlopacific.com.

The concert is produced by Ateneo Batch 88 and Forex Cargo.

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