Teddy Diaz

Teodoro de Villa Diaz, more popularly known as Teddy Diaz (April 1, 1963 - August 21, 1988), was the founding guitarist of the Filipino rock band The Dawn. At the height of his career and at the peak of The Dawn's popularity in the late 1980s, he was stabbed to death in front of his girlfriend's house by two bystanders allegedly under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

In spite of his early demise, his influence is still felt among many guitarists in the Philippines today and he has become a legend among many Filipino musicians. The Dawn, and the Filipino music industry also consider Teddy Diaz to be the band's driving force until today. In memory of Teddy Diaz, The Dawn has recorded a song that pays tribute to him: I Stand With You.^[1] Teddy was also distinguished apart from other rock musicians due to his positive habits: he never smoked and didn't drink much.

Family

Teddy's father was the legendary Filipino actor Vic Diaz of Sampaguita Pictures fame; his grandfather was the late Pompeyo Diaz, a well known judge. He was a godchild of the "King of Philippine Movies", the late Fernando Poe, Jr.

Teddy Diaz was born on April Fools' Day, and was often teased because of this. He was the first grandchild on both sides of his family. Diaz had two brothers, Carl and Loren. Among the family members, Teddy's strongest bond was with his paternal grandfather, the late Justice Pompeyo Diaz. He inherited his grandfather's discipline and straightforwardness that would later show in his music.

Education and talents

Teddy Diaz spent both grade school and high school in his father's and grandfather's alma mater, Ateneo de Manila University, which he considered his spiritual home. After high school, he enrolled in the University of the Philippines as an architecture student and stayed there for three years. He transferred to the Philippine Women's University after his third year in UP and took up music with guitar as his major.

Aside from being a musician, Diaz was also gifted with a talent in drawing. He would spend time with Fine Arts students in PWU, and would draw comic book characters and different electric guitar designs for relaxation. His mother and brothers still treasures all the drawings that he left behind.

Passion

Teddy Diaz was a very passionate musician, according to those who knew him well including his close friend and second successor as guitarist for The Dawn, Francis Reyes. Diaz was said to practice at least eight hours a day on his guitar.

Teddy was "very ambitious"^{[citation needed]} according to Reyes; he wasn't satisfied of being just a good guitarist -- he wanted to be the best. This probably explains why he practiced eight hours a day. Aside from the guitar, Teddy also played keyboards and drums, and according to his brother Loren, he also knew how to play other instruments as well.^{[citation needed]}

Trivia

Perfecto de Castro, former guitarist of Rivermaya, was inspired to study the guitar upon seeing Teddy Diaz perform with The Dawn in a concert in 1987.^[2]
Teddy Diaz uses a bow to play his guitar in a video segment contained in the second disc of the Tulad Ng Dati album of The Dawn.
When Teddy Diaz started playing the guitar and after graduating from college, he made a statement that he would never cut his hair.^{[citation needed]}
Former Afterimage guitarist and 6Cycle Mind's founding lead guitarist Chuck Isidro is also influenced by Teddy Diaz. He treasures a poster of Teddy Diaz kept in his room, which he got during his pre-teen years.^{[citation needed]}
Ping Medina, son of Filipino film, television and stage actor Pen Medina, portrayed Teddy Diaz in Tulad Ng Dati.
INTRoVOYS was mentored by Teddy Diaz. One of the songs, RADIO, on their 2005 release, A Brighter Day, was originally arranged by Teddy Diaz back in 1987.^{[citation needed]}
Teddy's foreign influences includes Jimmy Page, Harold Faltermeyer and Yngwie Malmsteen.^{[citation needed]}

External links

Official Website of The Dawn

References

^ Ricky L. Calderon (May 24, 2006). "THE DAWN: 20 YEARS AND GETTING BETTER". www.newsflash.org. Retrieved 2006-11-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Dennis Ladaw (November 4, 2005). "A rocker goes classical". manilatimes.net. Retrieved 2007-01-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[www.newsflash.org-1] Ricky L. Calderon (May 24, 2006). "THE DAWN: 20 YEARS AND GETTING BETTER". www.newsflash.org. Retrieved 2006-11-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[ManilaTimes-2] Dennis Ladaw (November 4, 2005). "A rocker goes classical". manilatimes.net. Retrieved 2007-01-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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