Nostalgic fun in FACC post Valentine dinner concert

 



By Susan Palmes-Dennis

‘I CAME to move, move, move, ‘cause it goes on and on,‘ so went the lyrics to the song ‘Dynamite’ by Taio Cruz that reverberated through most of the Newell Elementary School last Saturday (Feb. 26).

As sung live by Rommel Olarte of the Emojis Band, the song drove those in attendance to swoon to the beat during the post Valentine dinner concert sponsored by the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas Inc. (FACC).   The event called ‘FACC Dinner Concert’ is a fundraiser in which attendees paid US $20 each for the organization.

About 32 out of 38 songs in the playlist was sung by alternating vocalists, said Marissa Olarte—one of the vocalists. The playlist is a mix of modern, fast and slow music of all genres which appealed to the sense of nostalgia of the attendees, said FACC president Yulie Armstrong.

Chris Helms, husband of FACC auditor Jean Helms, said the crowd went nuts as songs like ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ played through the night, leaving them lovestruck and nostalgic for the good old days. 

The Emoji Band of Dr. Ed Tautjo , Incumbent First VP of FACC, is made up of members of three bands in the Charlotte area : Pinoy Noir of Dr. Ed Tautjo, Dust’n D Attic of Rommel Garcia and Silvermoon Rising of Marissa Olarte.

‘We got together quickly through the invite of Dr. Ed, in fact I invited my sister Tess and Rommel,’ Marissa Olarte said. The band members are mostly healthcare professionals while the others have played in bands for quite a while . They consist of:


Dr. Ed Tautjo - band leader / guitarist

Dr. Ronel Enrique- musical director / pianist / vocals

Ed Haponik , Educator - Bassist

Jigs Yalong , Health care registration - drummer

Rommel , home-care director - guitars / vocals

Tess Garcia, RN - Vocals

Dr. Sheila Villamor- vocals

Kee Martin --former band vocal performer who did stints in Singapore and Malaysia and worked as a teacher before migrating to the US--on vocals

Marissa, RN, LNHA - back-up guitars/ vocals

Since they  have full time jobs and live in different cities in North Carolina, the band only practiced twice to three times for the dinner concert . Now they plan to jam for at least once a month to be ready for future events in the emerging post-pandemic world.

The playlist for the FACC dinner concert is made up of songs in Doc Ed and Doc Ronel’s gig lists in addition to some songs that some singers requested to sing themselves.

That the band has a lot of potential cannot be ignored as they perform genre by genre to showcase Filipino-American talents. ‘I’m honored as well to be invited by different bands , organizations and event organizers to sing and share my God-given talent especially when it’s for a noble cause,’ Olarte said.



Another vocalist, Kee Martin, said ‘I had so much fun last Saturday . The food was great and I sang with the band. Most of all, I love being around our Kababayans. We always have so much stuff to talk about whenever we all meet in an event.‘ Martin said,.

Marissa Olarte concluded by saying that the Emoji band is more than just a band. ‘It’s a long enduring  friendship through the years that now turned into a family,’ she said. To end the dinner concert on a high note, the Emoji Band performed  a cover of the song 'Cake By The Ocean' by the group DNCE that left the attendees grooving all the way to their homes. (Photos sourced from various contributors).

 

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