You can keep your sordid stories of an inebriated Gretchen Baretto canoodling with John Estrada, or Ogie Alcasid making whoopee with Regine Velasquez, or Ruffa Gutierrez getting zapped with a million volts in a bathtub (and living to tell the tale -- talk about a Turkish bath!).

For band geeks like us, the real story of any consequence is the tale of how Rico Blanco walked away last May without leave or warning from a successful career as chief songwriter and frontman for the 14-year old band Rivermaya. Band manager Lizza Nakpil dropped us an e-mail with the band's official statement - and it's not quite what we expected.

But first the back story, presented here for the uninitiated. On May 4, SMS messages were rumbling fast and furious through the telco networks that Rivermaya - the self-titled "Banda ng Bayan" has played its last gig, a triple bill with Sandwich and Pupil at Metro Bar in Quezon City.

A fantastic rumor to some, but easily confirmed in the days that followed by many quarters. The story shaped up that frontman Rico Blanco had grown weary of his role in the band, and wished to pursue other activities away from the entertainment scene. Exactly what was unclear, as Rico steadfastly kept his mouth clamped tighter than a chastity belt during the Crusades. But some clues managed to surface through the month of June.

A move into the world of fashion design perhaps? With much media hoopla and an ad campaign to boot, Rico debuted as a designer of a line of clothing sold by Bench-owned label Human.

Or did he have a deeper motivation in mind? A couple of blog sites went up, attributed to Rico, focusing attention on a non-profit group he expressed interest in creating. Called "A Million Flames", the movement kicked off with an inspirational message from Mr. Blanco.

We believe that at this point change can only begin with us. Not with our leaders, not with our institutions, and especially not with government. Its time we stop complaining and blaming other people for our misery. Ikaw ang liwanag sa dilim. Set the example. Be a flame."


All well and good, but the blogs also contained what can pass as Rico's official statement on leaving Rivermaya:

Dear friends, i am no longer with the band and management of rivermaya. I have been with the group from the start, and after 14 great years, I am now quite excited about the chance to finally do other things with my life, pursue endeavors outside of the entertainment spotlight, a desire I have made known to my group as early as 2005 and have already postponed several times. I will surely miss the music and the fans and will always cherish the experience. I hope you will continue supporting the group and the whole of opm. My work is done. Thank you for all your incredible love and support."


Is that the end of that? And what of Rivermaya? In the prophetic words of that sage old songwriter Ely Buendia, "there's a B side to every story."

And this brings us to the e-mailed statement from Rivermaya management that just arrived in our e-mail inbox, which we are publishing here in full. That old cliche may be right this time. Read it. And weep. (or scratch your head, if you prefer).

But the message is clear - Rivermaya intends to go on.

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OFFICIAL STATEMENT
FROM RIVERMAYA MANAGEMENT
14 JUNE 2007

We confirm that Mr. Rico Blanco has written us a letter of resignation from Rivermaya. We are unable to give an explanation for this action since Mr. Blanco’s statements are inconsistent with the facts.

For the record, Mr. Blanco did not make any announcement of his leaving Rivermaya “as early as 2005”, or in 2004 or 2006, for that matter. On the contrary, he actively participated in and benefited from our plans and activities, not to mention the record-breaking number of awards, local and foreign concerts and endorsements during those years.

While our artist-management contract was automatically and validly renewed, the same letter contains a bewildering and inaccurate declaration that neither Mr. Chito S. Rono nor I have been his managers since 2003. “Inexistent and of no force and effect” were his words to describe a relationship that has spanned 14 years since the start of his career in the music business.

That notwithstanding, we have done our best to deal with the situation with professionalism and to dissuade Mr. Blanco from pursuing a rash course of action, that would delay if not cost all of us our successful entry into the international market.

Unfortunately, and despite our best efforts, Mr. Blanco has decided that he no longer shares our vision of a Rivermaya that can spread its wings into Asia. Mr. Blanco has not made it plain as to what he plans to do next and we have not been able to correctly assess our options or courses of action to take, given his leaving the band.

Be that as it may, Rivermaya is not ready to turn its back on its fans and the many relationships we have built in the Philippines and in the rest of the region. We are committed, more than ever, to follow our dream of bringing Original Pilipino Music to our neighboring countries, and to finish what we have started, in the name of all Filipino musicians.

We have seen for ourselves how the power of OPM can transform the image of the Filipino abroad and how, in our own small way, we have given our fellow Filipinos working abroad newfound pride in their country. The road ahead will not be easy, in fact it will be a monumentally difficult one – and already the naysayers and doomsday experts abound -- but we are ready to pray hard and work even harder to take on the task ahead.

We take heart in the thousands of text messages, phone calls, and email we have received from friends in and out of the country, asking us not to give up the fight. Thanks to them, our hopes and courage are intact. We salute all our comrades, past and present, but we continue to believe that no one member of Rivermaya is greater than the whole. In the next few weeks, we will finalize our plans on how we intend to face these new challenges – and we will share them with you every step of the way. Only with your support and God’s help can we even begin the incredible journey ahead of us.

LIZZA G. NAKPIL
CO-MANAGER, RIVERMAYA