In 1992-93 I produced an album for international rock star Mike Hanopol. Americans might not know who he is, but he is considered “The Father of Pinoy Rock”. Pinoy Rock is a genre of hard rock hailing from the Philippines. Mike Hanopol is as big a star in the Philippines as the Beatles were here in america. Mike had to leave the Philippines for political reasons, and he moved here to Miami to wait out the changes in his home country’s regime. While he was here, he and I worked together to create what was to be his comeback album in the Phillipines. It was originally titled “Pilyong Bata” or “Bad Boy” but in the Philippines he released it under at least two other names — “Buhay Amerika” and “Jeproks Kumusta Na”.

I will be writing a more in depth article about this fascinating musician, but for now here is a taste of my favorite four tunes from the album. Mike Hanopol wrote the songs and plays all guitars and sings all vocals, and I did everything else including drums, bass and keyboards. (You’ll need to have a sound card installed in your computer with speakers connected and turned on to hear the music.)