JOKO REANTASO

Hi! I’m Joko Reantaso, a guitarist, composer, sound engineer, producer and part-time guitar instructor and event organiser from Manila, Philippines.  

I’m primarily a guitar instrumentalist but I also play guitars for soul band Holmes, Pop RNB band Be Lucid and the frontman (and founder) of the blues rock band MEAN JAY.  

My love affair with the guitar started 2008 when I was 9 years old.  My dad assembled my 1st guitar rig composed of a Stratocaster shaped plastic guitar (with red, orange, yellow, green and blue buttons) a Nintendo wii game console and the game “GUITAR HERO”.  The game introduced me to Eddie Van Halen and Eric Johnson, who became two of my main influences.  I was both obsessed and frustrated with the game because my Dad was really good and would beat me every single time we played.  So, I gave up on the game and picked up the guitar for real.  At age 11, I was joining and winning talent shows at my school.   

I was sucked deeper into my relationship with the guitar when I found the blues at age 13 - or rather, when the blues found me.  Somehow I crossed paths with a luthier from my hometown, Medel Miguel, Tatay Ambo as he is fondly called, who introduced me to the blues and took me to my first blues jam at The Roadhouse Manila Bay.  It was at that moment, I found home - music and the stage.  

After a year of attending open jams as often as I could, I decided to form my own blues rock band, MEAN JAY when I was 14 years old, with myself on guitar and lead vocals.  With MEAN JAY, I joined the prestigious 3rd Philippine Blues Competition in 2014.  At 15 years old I was competing against the top blues musicians in the country as MEAN JAY reached the final 4.  We were the youngest band in the entire competition - three teenagers who just started playing the blues for 5 months going up against seasoned professionals.  We didn’t win but we were invited to represent the Philippines in the 2015 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.

When we got back to the Philippines, I got signed by Fender Philippines through Yupangco Music to be the Philippine ambassador for Fender guitars.  At that time, I became the youngest Fender guitar endorser in the world.  

After that, me and MEAN JAY made the stages and bars of Manila our playground playing as much gigs as we can.  We also got to play in major music Festivals like Fete Dela Musique, West Philippine Sea Blues and Jazz Festival among others, and winning a few competitions like the 2015 Yellow Room Nationwide Battle of the bands where I also one Best Guitarist. 

In 2017, Fender Guitars and Yupangco Music sent me to the NAMM show in Anaheim California.  It was one of the most mind-blowing experiences that I ever had.  While in NAMM, I also organised a show with Pinoy Rock Legends Wolf Gemora (Wolfgang), David Aguirre (Razorback) and Phil Recto (Bonehead) in downtown Los Angeles. 

In 2018, I gravitated back towards my roots in guitar instrumental music and started composing, recording and producing my own as myself: Joko Reantaso.  I released my first guitar instrumental EP, “Sunny Side Up” at 18 years old.

While performing as a solo act, I also performed as a session guitarist for Pinoy Rock Royalty Mike Hanopol, French recording and touring artist David Abakan, and several Indie artists.   

Further expanding my repertoire of skills and musical diversity, I joined seasoned singer - songwriter - producer, Jay Ortega and veteran guitarist Marco De Leon, and co-founded the soul band HOLMES.  As I did my contribution on guitars, it gave me the opportunity to learn music production and sound engineering from one of the best in the country:  Louie Talan while recording for the Holmes album which debuted in 2019.  During this time, I was also blessed with the opportunity to work with drummer Jun Dizon (former member of True Faith) as guitarist and musical director for the Pop RNB band Be Lucid. While making music and performing with my bands, I’m also taking up AB Music Production at the College of St. Benilde - School of Design in Arts as a scholar under Resorts World Manila’s Original Pilipino Performing Arts (OPPA) Foundation scholarship program. 

This year, 2020, I will be releasing my second EP I call “Sonic Spaghetti” - a yummy dish of 3 songs made of guitar noodles, rich, meaty melodies topped with cheesy synth sounds sand spices. 

Lastly, just call me Joko :)