Skip to main content

The passing of Mon Legaspi

 Last week, one of my own personal heroes passed away. Mon Legaspi of Wolfgang, The Dawn, and Kontra was 54 when he went into cardiac arrest. He was in the US at the time, and the news was broken to the general public by his current band, The Dawn, via their social media page.

He was one of my favorite bassists, hands down. I remember when I started playing the bass, Wolfgang's Halik ni Hudas was one of the first songs I tried to learn, right after learning how to play RHCP's Soul to Squeeze and Under the Bridge, since we needed to play those songs. I also learned both the rock and acoustic version of Wolfgang's Hell Looks at the time - and I was incredibly proud of myself when I was able to play it passably. Looking back, it wasn't one of the most complicated songs in Wolfgang's repertoire - or even in my own repertoire - but that song kicked so much ass and I felt cool as fuck playing it.

If Buddy Zabala influenced me with his walking basslines, and Flea was my go to bassist for all that funk, Mon was my guy (in a manner of speaking) for fast basslines. In many of Wolfgang's recordings, Mon's bass would often take the backseat to Manuel's guitars - and for good reason, I guess - but when I sat down and studied the basslines through very cheap headphones at the time, I realized that there was much more to Mon's notation than just providing the backbone for the song. I mean, he and Wolf did that perfectly, yes - they were a great rhythm section for a four-piece band. I remember watching them live at a school concert once, and while the mix left plenty to be desired, their songs didn't feel like it was lacking any melody even when neither Basti nor Manuel were providing the melody (usually when Manuel was soloing).

And that got me into thinking, that maybe there was something to be said about the lowest register providing more than just rhythm, maybe it could also provide a melody of sorts. Of course, it wasn't an easy thing to achieve; you needed to provide the backbone still, so you'd have to use your fills to round out the melody without losing the backbone (because if you, the bassist, got lost, then there was a chance that your drummer could get lost too). This meant that you needed to have at least a working knowledge of the key and chord you were playing - which sounds pretty basic, but I'm dumb that way.

If Francis Reyes is to be believed, Mon had a pretty good mastery of his chords, modes, notation, and scales. And it isn't that hard to believe; his history as a bass player for showbands inspires confidence in the possibility that he was a master of the low end, even if he never really took the time to show off during his gigs. And I love that despite all of the experience he's had, he could still fuck up on stage - and keep grinning about it, as shown in the video below.

Thanks for all of the memories, Mon. Your fans will miss your presence in the low end, and I believe that your band mates both past and present will miss you.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maynilad Water Chronicles: The Clusterf$%#, Part 2

This is the third post in our Maynilad Water chronicles. This time, we will talk about just how inept their record keeping skills are in the face of a massive overhaul in a given area. This involves a technique used by Meralco in high-risk areas called clustering, and is efficient – if utilized correctly. Needless to say, Maynilad has yet to be able to do this.
Post a Comment
Read more

Clarity in Three Parts

i Maraming beses na kitang nilayasan Iniwanan at iba ang pinuntahan Parang babaeng mahirap talagang malimutan Ikaw lamang ang aking laging binabalikan Manila, Manila I keep coming back to Manila Simply no place like Manila Manila, I'm coming home I walked the streets of San Francisco I've tried the rides in Disneyland Dated a million girls in Sydney Somehow I feel like I don't belong Hinahanap-hanap kita Manila Ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga Mga Jeepney mong nagliliparan Mga babae mong naggagandahan Take me back in your arms Manila And promise me you'll never let go Promise me you'll never let go Manila, Manila Miss you like hell, Manila No place in the world like Manila I'm coming here to stay ii. Too, uh, cheesy to mention. Check the lyrics here . iii. I've been drunk or inebriated every day of this week since Saturday last week; since I'm holding an inuman party
1 comment
Read more

Manila Series: Parks of Manila

The other day, I read the post of a friend who was ranting about how Manila can only be beautiful when seen from a specific light. I could understand what he means, because Manila is the center of traffic in the NCR. The poor are here in full force, the most corrupt policemen are here, and honestly, there is no discipline whatsoever. But here’s something that I’ve discovered. You walk Manila. You don't drive it. It isn't the most walkable city in the world, but what can be seen when you do walk it is fantastic. And when you walk around the city, you don’t encounter the corrupt cops (because they’re going after the drivers), you don’t deal with traffic. You can’t do anything about the poor, though. Unless they’re doing something productive, and not just begging, I avoid them. If they’re cleaning up trash, or something similar, then I give them cash.
Post a Comment
Read more