Tropical Depression is a Filipino reggae band formed in 1987 by vocalist and guitarist Dominic "Papadom" Gamboa (1965-2013) and guitarist Lawrence "Bonglennon" Eudela. It was the merging of 2 pioneering Ska bands when Domeng left hispband, The SKAVENGERS and joined in with Bonglennon"s band, The SKALAWAGS ( with bassist Edwin Aguilar, and drummer Nonong Timbalopez, vocalist Raymond Encinas) Then got Bing Austria ( a friend of Domeng's from BRAIN SALAD) to play Keyboards, completing the 1st line-up, naming the band TROPICAL DEPRESSION as we geared our music from SKA to Reggae and having our residency at Mayrics Bar for a long while ( sometimes backup singers Tonette Bernales, Sazi Zosimo, Annabel Bosch and Cutie Paduano ( yes,that was before Agaw agimat was formed) and recorded some demo tapes at LOUDHOUSE... Then came some line-up changes due to member's other interest, that saw Brutus Lacano coming in on drums, TJ Espinola and Irwin Cafugawan on Keyboards, and new wave pioneer Jun Lazo ( from Dean's December) coming in for Bass duties, adding back-up singers, Anabel Bosh & Jo Staples ( also Quennie Calma, Tonette Bernales) on which The band became part of the compilation album together with other bands COLOR IT RED, THE BREED and RIZAL UNDERGROUND called ALERT LEVEL 4 produced by Loudhouse Music Enterprise ( owned bt Stephen Lu of Rizal Underground). The band went into the mainstream in 1994 with the release of KAPAYAPAAN, their first album under VIVA-NEO Records and with another Line-Up changes with Pexx Holigores on Bass. Aside from Gamboa and Eudela, the band's notable line-up was composed of guitarist Lito Crisostomo, bassist Pex Holigores, keyboardists TJ Espinola and Mike Llacar, back-up vocalists Arlene Empalmado and Lala Lejeune, and drummer Brutus Lacano.

The band was one of the several bands who spearheaded the 1990s Pinoy rock explosion and popularized the songs "Kapayapaan", "Bilog Na Naman ang Buwan" and "Alaala". All songs are Composed by Dominic 'PAPADOM' Gamboa and Co-Composed by Lawrence Stephen "BONGLENNON" Eudela, also as the Song arranger.

Hiatus

The group went into hiatus in 2013 following the death of original lead vocalist Dominic Gamboa. Gamboa died a day before his 48th birthday in December 2013. The wake of his burial was held private as per his family's request. The cause of death was said to be due to kidney failure.^[1][2][3][4] On February 12, 2016, Gamboa's widow Maria Amparo Concepcion "Teng" Santaromana-Gamboa, 50, was found dead with a gunshot wound in the head along Kalayaan Avenue, Makati. Santaromana-Gamboa, who worked in a business process outsourcing company in Makati, was believed to be killed minutes after she left her office at 2:20 AM on February 10. She was declared missing the following day. Police said that prior to her death, Santaromana-Gamboa was able to send a text message to her son informing him that she was on her way home aboard a taxicab. The primary suspect Nitro "Zenki" Agustin Ison a.k.a. Ricky Ibatuan Ramos, a taxi driver, was arrested in April 2016. The motive of the killing was later identified to be a robbery. Ison was also charged with other criminal cases in connection with at least seven cases of car thefts, seven cases of robberies using stolen taxicabs, three homicide cases and at least three rape cases in Quezon City, Mandaluyong and other areas in southern Metro Manila.^[5]

Reunion

The group reunited in 2015 with a new line-up composed of co-founder Bonglennon Eudela (guitar),and original members TJ Espinola (keyboards) and Pex Holigores (bass), Brutus Lacano (drums), together with new frontmen JR Oca (vocals), All this with the approval and blessing of Papadom's manager and Wife, Teng Santaromana until her unfortunate death. The Band soldiers on even without JR Oca ( taking a leave and pursuing his own goals )and was replaced by new recruit, Cholo Famisan on Vocals ( from Toguegarao's band, Cagayan Roots), serves as an addition towards a new direction for pinoy reggae, continue composing new songs of love, unity and freedom, while playing the same Music for new generations to enjoy.

2021–present lineup

• Bonglennon Eudela - guitars, vocals, arrangement
• Pex Holigores - bass, vocals
• TJ Espinola - keyboards
• Jaydee Abugan - drums
• Macky dela Cuesta - keyboards
• Cholo Miguel Famisan - vocals
• Bunny Liwanag - vocals

Discography

References