The Beatles and Bee Gees in perfect harmony

Who would have thought that out of merely playing drums from tin cans covered with chips packaging bags, the REO Brothers would set foot on Abbey Road in the United Kingdom and would walk on the same street where their idols, The Beatles, traced their humble beginnings.

Not the brothers’ kababayan in Tacloban, where they were born and raised. Certainly, not even the brothers themselves, who found the initial experience surreal.

From the songs of The Beatles to the Bee Gees and even the ‘70s Pinoy pop group, VST and Company, REO Brothers can amazingly croon the hits in faultless timber — plakadong plakado. The quartet has been unerringly rendering the tunes in perfect quality. You’ll undoubtedly get goosebumps and admire them when you hear their versions.

Walking on Abbey Road in the UK

After only seven years in the professional music scene, REO Brothers have carved a niche for their group. Proudly. They have performed in the United Kingdom five times. Aside from walking on Abbey Road, they also performed at London’s The Cavern Club, where the Beatles had their early gigs in the ‘60s.

The experience was a dream-come-true for the all-male quartet. Their latest feat has perhaps made the REO Brothers even prouder. They recently merited the Silver Play Button Award from YouTube for having gained 100,000 subscribers.

The REO Brothers is the quartet of RJ (Ronjoseph), Reno, Ralph and Raymart Otic. They come from the brood of nine siblings. They are the last four, plus the youngest. The older siblings have their own family already.

It was RJ who made drums from tin cans covered with chips packaging bags. He fixed it up and started learning to play the drums on his own. Then, RJ mastered playing the guitar and subsequently passed on the skills to his three other siblings — Ralph, Reno and Raymart. They started playing songs and rendered the hits of other prominent bands in the ‘60s era.

The name REO Brothers was derived from the first letters of their first name, middle name and surname. “R” for Reno, RJ, Raymart and Ralph, “E” for Evasco, their mother’s maiden name and “O” for Otic, their surname.

RJ is the designated leader of the group, since he is also the musical arranger. He has wide knowledge in music. Ralph got some ears on voicing. He’s the one assigning their voices on their songs, like who does this particular part. Reno has good vocal abilities, too, like Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees. Raymart is the spokesperson of the group.

The brothers did not get their musical inclination from anyone in their family. No member is a professional musician. Admittedly, they merely listened to the songs carefully if they were doing cover versions.

In 2013, the unexpected happened when the Otic family was uprooted from Tacloban because of Typhoon Yolanda. Against all odds, they moved to Manila. The family traveled for two days. They reached Manila and stayed in the cramped apartment of their sister Regina.

The experience was so devastating for the family. After a week, the brothers remembered that back in 2012, during their gig in Tacloban, they met Reynaldo Fuentes, who handed them a business card. A call to Mr. Fuentes started the Manila gigs for the REO Brothers.

Since then, the Otic siblings have been based in Manila, with the rest of the family. Life took a totally different turn for the brothers when they launched their professional singing career. Not only did they gain a growing following, they also went to places they never imagined they would reach one day.

To date, the REO Brothers have toured the US, the UK and performed in (Tokyo) Japan. They would love to go to some other places in Europe like Spain, Germany and France.

Among the bands that REO Brothers covers, it is The Beatles that had a big impact on the young group. The Beatles are the band of brothers’ biggest musical influence. Besides, they found the music of The Fab Four really different.

They were not really used to hearing the music of The Beatles before, but eventually, they got used to it and were amazed with the harmonies. It was their father, now also their manager, who initially proposed they could do The Beatles, because there were also four of them.

The brothers admitted it was not always smooth-sailing among the four of them. They had common misunderstandings, especially when they performed. Yet, they easily ironed out their differences.

In 2015, the REO Brothers released their debut album, Reo Brothers of Tacloban, under Star Music. The CD is composed of six songs, with two originals written by Vehnee Saturno and four OPM tracks.