Jessica Hidway

Jessica with Gerry at the Manila press conference on May 15, 1998.

Meet Jessica Hidway from Manila, Philippines.

HISTORY: EARLIEST MEMORY OF AMERICA

I can't recall exactly when I first heard of the band or their songs. What I can recall are quiet afternoons and evenings of listening to "Horse With No Name" or "Ventura Highway" as my Uncles played them on their guitars. They seemed to be fascinated by the chords, endlessly practicing though never getting the vocals right. The words "I need you" stuck to my mind together with a lot of broken phrases from "Sandman", though I didn't understand the story of the songs. At eight, I couldn't grasp their meaning but I could sure hum the melody of these songs anytime. I also knew who sang them as the three illustrated figures on the LP that read: "History: AMERICA'S Greatest Hits".

1982: VIEW FROM MY SISTER'S GROUND

She was crazy about this voice and this band. I kept hearing Gerry this and Dewey that. I had to listen to the songs almost everyday for about two years. She was fourteen and had just discovered a passion for this duo's music. As the younger sibling, I listened to her with a mixture of adoration and irritation, not wanting to agree with her but not quite able to stop myself from being fascinated by everything she did. In no time at all, I was humming "You Can Do Magic" along with "Inspector Mills" and "Jody" this time around. And then it gave way to "Your Move" and "The Border". The band was very popular locally during those times and everybody knew their songs from the local radio stations who gave AMERICA a lot of air time. When she left for college, I found myself taking out her LP's and playing her songs every now and then, listening to the words more carefully this time. Eventually, she got interested in other rock groups and ceased her bombardment of AMERICA songs into everybody's system. But - I guess the damage had already been done to mine.

1992: AMERICA LIVE...FROM THE PAST

I was in my second year in college when I went back to our family home for a holiday. It was near the beach and I went for a stroll along the paved walkway in what is called The Capitol in my home town. It was one beautiful summer afternoon. It was my birthday, I think. My best friend and I passed by one of the restaurant bars lining one side of the beach and a song came echoing out from within one of them. A male singer was soulfully doing his version of "Inspector Mills". I recognized it instantly and came to a full stop. He was quite good though very different from the original because he had a deep, solid voice unlike that Gerry fellow I used to hear a lot of from my sister. It might have been the mellowing sunlight, or the soft ocean breeze blowing, or it could have been my own need to reminisce - but that moment felt so beautiful. It made me listen again and again to all three LP's my Uncles and sister used to play.

By some lucky coincidence, I kept catching AMERICA tunes on the radio around this time, hearing "I Don't Believe In Miracles" for the first time. I guess I understood then why my sister was crazy about that voice. I also saw a docu feature of the band's concert on TV though I didn't catch the title, the venue or even the year. I just remembered two of the songs played were "Hollywood" and "Another Try". The video looked grainy and the sound was very raw, but for me, it was just great. It was fascinating to see the very young faces of Gerry and Dewey (even younger-looking than the faces I knew) on stage when all this time, I've only looked at their faces in one of the album covers.

And then a year later, just as I was really seriously getting hooked on the band, they came to Manila for a two-night engagement. I came to know about it by accident again and bought two tickets as fast as I could. Of course, I went with my sister. She couldn't believe that she'd finally get to see the band she's been so wrapped up with for years. The reality of AMERICA playing even better live than on the LP's had her speechless. I kept singing along all night up in the bleachers, the best section my money then could buy. Although some of my favorite love songs weren't included in the playlist, it was a great night for me. Even the poor lighting which left Gerry in the dark for most of the night didn't lessen our enjoyment. When the band finally said goodbye, I felt so bad because I didn't have anymore money to see the second show. And I couldn't get past the gates to even ask for an autograph.

One could say that after that night, I really became a fan. Over the years, I bought every AMERICA album I could find, though the ones back in the seventies weren't available locally anymore. From then on, I became the AMERICA fan in our family instead of my sister.

1996: REDISCOVERING AMERICA

An article in the paper told me about "Hourglass". I bought the CD instantly. That was a year ago though the album was dated 1994. Just in time to give me new songs to play over and over instead of the old favorites. The album was a revelation to me since it had more info about the band on its jacket than what I've gathered over the years after the concert. "Close To The Wind" and "Greenhouse" are two of my favorites.

And then, just as I thought that that would be the most important find I'll ever make, I stumbled on VGG while I was waiting for someone in a record shop. I was just idly scanning the titles when the words "Gerry Beckley/Van Go Gan" came on sight. I blinked twice in disbelief. Then almost instantly, a frown replaced the wonder on my face. Could it be that AMERICA had disbanded and Gerry went solo? The question bugged me so much that even as I immensely enjoyed the album, I worried what could have happened. I had no way of finding out.

But as if on cue, an officemate of mine who was a consultant in a local internet server asked one day if I wanted to check any topic on the Net. I had only one word for him: AMERICA. However, he had trouble getting to AMERICA the band, because there were a lot of entries under that heading. So, I told him to try Gerry Beckley and that did it. I was in!

That was last August. I spent hours every afternoon since then reading the whole web page of the band, trying to absorb everything on it. My good and great officemate also got me an e-mail address and it gave way to my correspondence with Sue Robbins whose AMERICA EXPRESS I enjoy immensely and Steve Lowry who keeps me coming back to his list of songs and to this fans page.

It's great to talk to and read about people who could share this fascination and I'd say love for AMERICA and their music. And although I found that the others have a lot more (in terms of number of albums, concerts attended, AMERICA trivia) and that they have actually met the band members, I still wanted to add my name here.

I guess I just wanted to express my appreciation of the band, let others see how they came to be a part of my life, just like they are a part of many people's lives throughout the globe.

At the moment, I'm hoping for a possiblity that the band will come back in Manila for another concert. Meanwhile, I just got myself a copy of "Hat Trick" CD, as well as "Ventura Highway and Other Favorites". It was simply great listening to "She's Gonna Let You Down" and just about every song on "Hat Trick". I'm also on the list of the CD store I bought the albums from, in case they get a new shipment of the other 1970's AMERICA albums.

So, while the new album is being recorded, I'm on the journey back to rediscover the songs I missed.

ABOUT ME:

I am 25 years old, an advertising coordinator in a bank, who likes playing table tennis and going for long walks in the beach, and who loves to watch movies and TV (a certified couch potato!).

CONCERT REVIEW: MANILA 1997

Here is a link to a review and some photos from the America concerts held in Manila May 21-24, 1997.

MISCELLANEOUS:

By the way, I found some old articles and photos from a song book back in my family home when I went there in May of 1998.

• A photo from the Alibi time period
• An old America photo (including Dan)
• An article about remakes

ONE TIME, ONE NIGHT ONLY: MANILA 1998

Rick's official AMERICA page and Steve's AMERICA Fans Page listed a May Manila show by the band early this year. I was overjoyed at the prospect of a repeat of my AMERICA experience last year at Shangri-La's Zu. But then something was terribly different. Only a week before the scheduled show, I still didn't know where it's going to be. There were no print announcements, no mention in the radio no nothing anywhere.

And then there it was, a news release from Northwest that it was bringing Mike Love of the Beach Boys and the California Beach Band to Manila for an exclusive concert. Special guest will be AMERICA!

I was so relieved that it was finally there the venue. But as I read on, I was dismayed to find that it was a "by invitation only" show, meaning only Northwest's WorldPerks members, customers and clients were given tickets. I'm not any of those I mentioned and so I was very disappointed. Then again, I'm not worthy of the name "America Fan" if I gave up that easily. So I called friends who I thought could help me out. Still, I kept on feeling this terrible fear that I won't get to see the show. Three days before May 15th, there weren't any calls to tell me I can see the band on Friday night. Two days to go, I decided to call some more people who aren't even my friends but acquaintances of acquaintances. I was told to call again the following day. Well, the next day was as fruitless as the previous ones. Thursday night, I was calling some more friends I haven't talked to for months just to try my luck. It was no use. So Friday morning, after I called one promising source and got a negative answer, I finally gave up. I joined in the Chat Session at Steve's page feeling decidedly down and blue. I couldn't even concentrate enough to type my responses on the keyboard. In the middle of the chat, I was called from my desk. I had a phone call. It was one of the friends I had contacted first. I felt heavy because I expected her to say: "I'm so sorry, I couldn't get any tickets and yada, yada ." After all, she asked for me only after talking to another office mate and I was just an after thought. Or so it seemed.

But then she said: "I wonder if you'd kiss both my feet." That was all she needed to say and I was shrieking! In wondrous amazement, I listened as she told me she got two tickets to the show and instructed where I should pick them up. But my mind was already thinking of what I needed for that evening. When I finally got back to Steve and the rest of the guys in the chat box, I was a different person. I told them about the miracle but I was sooo excited that I couldn't stay for long talking to them. Lunch break found me buying film for the camera that I just brought with me that morning, just in case luck turned and brought me tickets. Later, I couldn't concentrate on anything, too wound up about the nearing show to function normally. Steve was right to ask if I could still focus on anything else during our short chat. It was just that I really, really tried my best to get those tickets but only met dead ends. I was willing to pay for a way to get in, knowing that no one was going to hand over their ticket to me just like that. But then, when I have finally given up, lost hope of seeing the show, I was practically handed not one, but two tickets. For free.

I guess I was right when I told Alberto from Italy to not give up easily because America always seems to find its way to me and to other fans outside the US. He wanted to see the Singapore show on May 20 but it's another Northwest sponsored show and he, too couldn't get hold of tickets at that time. Well, what do you know? He got his ticket earlier than I did! And me? I got to enjoy the one night show and even attended the press briefing held just before it. I think fate was finally convinced of my dedication and decided to humor me. Only one time, one night, but finally, I got my dream as an AMERICA fan I finally met Gerry and had my photo with him and Dewey. Thanks to that friend of mine and for Gerry and Dewey who were as friendly and as wonderfully nice as all their fans claim them to be.

For a full account of the press briefing and the show (along with lots of photos), you can read my Manila Show Review.

Feel free to send your comments or questions to Jessica.