GETTING together former high school classmates to start a business is understandably an easy venture.

That was what happened when high school classmates in La Salle Greenhills – Jack Teotico, Dindo Ibazeta and Gilbert de la Cruz – decided to put up a bar with live music and called it Red Rhino.

“We listed down the names of animals with colors, which we wanted to call the bar,” disclosed Red Rhino president Jack Teotico.

Names like Pink Unicorn, Blue Whale, White Elephant, Orange Hornbill, Red Rhino, Pink Lizards or Pink Flamingo cropped up and were among the choices.

“It also describes the character of the music bar that we want to have,” added managing director Dindo Ibazeta, who works full time at Red Rhino. “Maybe if it is just a resto-bar, it might have a different name.”

Opened in September 2023, Red Rhino is now on its second year of business. “This is our first venture into the bar scene with live music,” Ibazeta pointed out.

“There are several kinds of bars, with live music, in-house music,” Ibazeta added. “We had no problem setting it up. The problem was getting Red Rhino to where it is today. It took word of mouth but what if you’re passing around is not good, it will not take off.

“We wanted to be known as a bar with live music every night. We got that concept after the pandemic. This place was available and the Greenfield people talked to Jack and offered it to him.

“So, in December of 2022, Jack asked me, ‘What if we put up a bar?’ Jack and I go a long way back and we share the same passion for band music and singing. This Red Rhino is a bar and we can sing here every night.”

That was the initial concept. “I never expected it to be that challenging, but it is a very challenging business,” Ibazeta maintained. “We were lucky because from the get-go, because of events, corporate friends like San Miguel, we were able to generate revenues early.”

Getting the place known proved to be a hard part. “There is a Red Rhino owned by Jack Teotico, that offers good music. That took a while to fill that scenario,” Ibazeta said.

“There is Red Rhino with good food and good music. That experience, people brought it out. The word of mouth has been fantastic. Social media algorithms also help, but it’s different when it’s word of mouth.”

The venue was previously a bar called Primo’s, owned by ‘90s artist Rannie Raymundo. “When the bar closed after the pandemic, the place was vacant for more than a year,” Ibazeta shared. “Jack talked to the owners and I guess they gave him a good price for it.”

Teotico really wanted a bar. “So we can sing here every night,” Ibazeta said. “Jack has a nine-man band. I have to take care of the daily operations of Red Rhino. I never expected it to be a challenging business.”

Teotico, who also has his art gallery, shared that major part of Red Rhino’s revenue is yielded by corporate events. “Red Rhino is Jack’s playtime,” said Ibazeta. “Gilbert is a doctor (ophthalmologist). The bar is also his playtime.”

Good food was curated by their consultant chef, Teotico’s brother-in-law who runs Café Sanso in San Juan. “He helped us organize the kitchen, the menu, got the staff, trained the staff and he did a good job,” Ibazeta said.

“We decided to position the music bar in Mandaluyong so the venue is in the middle,” added De la Cruz. “There are those who don’t want to go all the way to QC (Quezon City) because it’s far from them, especially if they are from the south. Parking is not a problem here. The area is safe. There’s security all over the place.”

Last November and December, Red Rhino was fully booked for Christmas parties. “Before, when big offices held their Christmas parties, there were at least one thousand employees partying,” said Ibazeta.

“Now, they trim it down to divisions, with respective budget, so they came over here (Red Rhino) and watched the bands.”

Among the popular bands in the venue is the eighties group of Progeny, who got their second Aliw Award last year. It was led by ophthalmologist Gilbert de la Cruz and his two sons – Patrick and David. Gilbert is also part owner of Red Rhino.

“They get Gilbert and his band all the time, even for bigger events,” said Ibazeta. “He is an investor for Red Rhino.”

“In the beginning, it was not easy to get bands. Sundays are reserved for special shows, events and functions.”

After more than a year, Ibazeta brags that Red Rhino is among the choices now for bar destinations.

“I think we can safely say that we offer good food and also great music,” Teotico offered. “They can come any day of the week although sometimes, on Sundays, we’re closed. But if there’s an event, we open.

“Some bands have their own following. But there are people who have balikbayan guests or they come here for reunion, get together with high school friends. They go to Red Rhino.

“Sometimes, they don’t even look at the band anymore. They are sure that there will be a good band onstage.”

Interestingly, even foreigners flock to the bar. The venue normally closes at midnight, but there are days when they extend up to 2 a.m. when the guests clamor to hear more band music.

Comfortably, Red Rhino can seat about 90 for a dinner crowd. “But if we will pack it in, we reach sometimes 120,” informed Ibazeta. “The busiest days are Thursdays to Saturdays.

“On Mondays, we try to innovate like the (recent) Green and Blue night, with La Salle and Ateneo musicians and singers. We promoted it and the people started coming in even on a Monday.

“One thing we realized, the peak season which ran from October to December, now extends up to March. The balikbayans extend their stay here in Manila.

“When they come home, the balikbayans look for a bar with live music, something that they don’t have in the States. They go for live bands.”

Red Rhino presents different bands every night and that helps. “There was a recent Thursday when John Lesaca played jazz, something we haven’t heard from him in decades,” said Teotico. “He did his renditions of Noel Pointer.”

The staff has been the face of Red Rhino, as Ibazeta repeatedly told his people. “They do their best to make the customers happy,” he said. “Up close and personal, the band is playing and the stage is not far from the audience.

“On nights where there are lots of people, customers cannot dance. But getting Red Rhino to be known was a lot of work last year or to be part of the selection process. Today, that is happening already and we’re happy with that. We are in that level but still a lot of work.

“We’ve done a lot of hard work here at Red Rhino – Jack, I and Doc Gilbert. But we’ve also been lucky. This place turned out to be okay. We have a bar that is not dark. Our glasses are open. People can pass by and they can see what’s happening inside.”

Although they are not open for lunch, they give way to corporate events and other functions. They have the equipment and an LED wall.

“Dr. Gilbert also helps us in getting the bands to perform here at Red Rhino,” said Ibazeta. “Before, we had to be the one to look for bands to perform here. Now, we have bands approaching us through Dr. Gilbert.”

Red Rhino is still far from being Strumm’s and getting a prominent name, according to Ibazeta. “But we’ve gotten a solid following,” he said. “Mr. Teotico loves to create stories. Every night is a story at Red Rhino. That has been successful.”

Teotico previously handled the music beat of The Manila Times, where he wrote a music column. “That was why I got to know Ray-An (Fuentes), Pat Castillo, Ding Mercado, Basil (Valdez) and Louie (Reyes).

“When they’re in town, we were able to invite them,” Teotico informed. “Like Ray-An last year, Fe de los Reyes and Miguel Vera They all performed at Red Rhino. The people that came from the US really entertained our crowd.

“(Former government official) Lenny de Jesus brought her Groovy Beats band here, the old Glass Onion, a retro band. Bo Cerrudo also entertained the crowd.”

People have been going out, so they are coming to Red Rhino. “Even on a weekday, they want to go out,” Ibazeta noted. “The landscape has changed “Now, people want to go out and they want to listen to the bands.”

The band, RockItWell, was formed by the high school classmates back in 2016, four years before their 50th year homecoming in 2020.

“We thought, why don’t we put up a band, there were eight of us, from Batch 1970 of La Salle Greenhills,” Teotico offered. “We started rehearsing and we volunteered our services to perform in the homecoming. They liked our concept.

“But then, it turned out that all the celebrating batches also had a band. They wanted to give us only four songs. We were disappointed. But we negotiated and we were given six songs.”

RockItWell is an “amorphous” band, described Teotico. Coining the name proved easy for the members.

“We like rock and roll music and we were rehearsing in a small studio in Rockwell,” shared Teotico. “So, when we were looking for a name, we said, ‘What about RockItWell?’ That sounded good.”

They started playing in venues like Muzika, 19 East, RJ Bistro, 12 Monkeys. They even did outdoor concerts at Capitol Commons Park and Greenfield Park,

“Then we thought, maybe we should have a home rather than always performing everywhere,” Teotico said. “That was in 2022 and the following year, we built Red Rhino. It took us a year to renovate the place.”

Dr. De la Cruz, who is another La Salle Greenhills alumnus, also have his seven-member Progeny Band, so he was invited to join. He never put up a bar before but only performs at 19 East, Pier One Bar and Grill and 360 Bar at Newport World Resorts.

“We have Milan, our strongest and best band,” Teotico granted. “They also consider Red Rhino their ‘home.’ Rannie Raymundo also performs once a month at Red Rhino. Progeny takes centerstage twice a month, usually on Fridays. The events, they get Progeny.

“We were able to bring our band base. Violinist John Lesaca, who is a friend, wants to bring back Area One, composed of artists from UP. They will also perform at Red Rhino this March.

“There are other dance bands who will join our line-up, plus the Superband of Nonoy Tan. They will be here in April.

“There are also the sounds of the seventies courtesy of 8-Track, with dentists who performed from Stargazer days. In Heat is another energy band that came from Hyperbeat and performs eighties music that gets the crowd going.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Leah C. Salterio