‘Bromance’ sa likod ng musika
MAGKAKATUNGGALI sila sa nakaraan, ngunit siguradong ngayon ay magkakaibigan na sina Richard Reynoso, Renz Verano, Rannie Raymundo at Chad Borja.
Hindi nga nahihiya ang mga tanyag na mang-aawit noong ’90s na magsabihan ng “I love you, man.”
Sinusuportahan nila ang isa’t isa anuman ang mangyari. Kantiin mo ang isa, kailangan mo ring harangin ang tatlo pa.
“They are the brothers I’ve always wanted to have,” sabi ni Rannie. “I guess the real magic with our group is that we really love each other. Our friendship is solid as a rock.”
Nagbigay ng halimbawa si Rannie kung gaano ka-protective ang tatlo niyang kaibigan.
“One time, we did a show in Pampanga so I had to rush to another gig. Renz, Chad, and Richard were like girls in that they kept texting me, ‘Let us know if you arrived safe!’
“Another was when Renz got very sick. How I wish there was a CCTV footage so that people could see Richard put towel on Renz’s back, how Chad was rushing left and right to look for medicine. Could you imagine the effort despite being tagged as ‘barakos?’”
Malapit ding magkakaibigan din ang mga misis nila.
“This is a friendship we would keep until the end,” sabi pa ni Rannie. Matagumpay na mga solo artirts sina Richard, Chad, Renz, at Rannie noong ’90s.
Ngunit noong 2012, nagkaroon ng ideya si Richard na bumuo ng grupo.
“I got the idea when I saw our rapport back stage. We were supposed to perform in one show and while we’re waiting, I saw how comfortable each one is with the other.
So I told Rannie, ‘Why don’t we bring this chemistry on stage? Let’s form a group,’” kuwento ni Richard.
“So Rannie told me, ‘If you could get Chad Borja, then I’ll join.’ He didn’t know that Chad and I are good friends!” sabi pa niya. “Then we needed one more, so we decided to get Renz since he was my labelmate in Alpha Records.”
Nagplano ng meeting si Richard sa bahay ni Chad. At mulan noon, nangako silang magiging bahagi ng grupo, na layuning ibalik ang golden days ng OPM. Nagpakuha pa sila ng litrato upang markahan ang pagsilang ng kanilang grupo.
Ang unang show ng OPM Hitmen ay sa Newport Performing Arts Theater. At nagbalik-tanaw si Rannie kung paano sila naka-“survive” sa performance nang wala man lang ensayo.
“It was election year. Renz was campaining in Naga, Chad was busy,” salaysaya niya. “So Richard and I talked about the songs then we e-mailed it to the two. Did you know we only met on performance day? But we survived the show. Immediately after that night, we got another booking.”
Ibinunyag naman ni Renz na nakatulong ito para magkaroon sila ng sariling “designation” sa grupo.
Si Renz ang abala sa sa business side – siya ay inilarawan ng mga kaibigan bilang “human calculator” – ang strength naman ni Richard ay marketing.
Si Chad ang in charge sa technical side. Nakatuon naman si Rannie sa music side, sa pagsusulat, at pagpopodyus ng content ng kanilang mga t snhgow. Naglabas na ang OPM Hitmen ng alloriginal album na ipinangalan sa kanilang grupo. Noong 2015, naiuwi nila ang Best Major Concert by a group award sa Aliw Awards.