NEW YORK– One night, eight people are gathered in a small dining table inside a nice townhouse in North Jersey. There is pasta with white sauce on the table, along with freshly baked garlic bread, some wine and pizza.

It is by no means a formal dinner. It is more akin to a group study where laptops are open and humming, papers are scattered, and the sound of pencils shredding lead on white bond papers blends with the crackle of toasted crust, laughter and music.

 The eight people in the meeting represent different sectors in the Filipino-American music industry and they are in caucus to select the artists, and songs that will make one of the most highly anticipated albums this year–Rock in the Box 2.

The Kuwagos part ways with long-time bassist
IN January 2007, Gatchie Ignacio, Cho Lopez, Marc Lacsamana, and Rommel Kabigting, were in a Bergenfield restaurant plotting the launching party of their debut album– The Kuwagos.
The lineup of guest bands were discussed, logistics were ironed out, and the set list was programmed. They were like four generals inside a makeshift tent, drawing the blueprint for an assault at a nearby hill.
The excitement was prodigious, the promise– overwhelming.

The album, would be launched a few days later, would become one of the biggest releases in Filipino-American music history, and would cement the band’s place in the growing scene. The generals have conquered.
One year later, the same four guys were at the same place.
However, the huddle was not about a new album, nor about a new tour. It was about a breakup– The band’s breakup.The excitement that was present when they were preparing for their launch last year was replaced by tension, and there were no promises this time.

In less than ten minutes, the Kuwagos adjourned.
They have decided that Rommel Kabigting, their long-time bassist, will be a Kuwago no more.

“It was a mutual decision," said front man Gatchie Ignacio. “ I could no longer work with him and neither could he. I laid my cards on the table, but he kept his.  I did not see an effort from his side to resolve the tension between him and me and opted instead to leave the band rather than dealing with the situation.

The Kuwagos are known to be a very tight-knit group, and a breakup among the original members was unthinkable until that night. Ignacio also admitted that there were many reasons for the fallout and that the split was inevitable.

AS the new year slowly asserts itself,  we are still in the heat of recalling how great the previous year was.

Fabulous would be a fitting term to describe 2007. And here are some of the reasons why.

In 2007: