ABOUT
Sonny
Coming from a musically gifted family, Sonny was naturally drawn to music at an early age and learned to play the guitar at age 10 and over the years learned to play the piano & keyboard. In 1966 his Dad and brothers saw the Beatles when they came to the Philippines. It was magical experience and from that day on, Sonny became an avid Beatle fan. Forty years later he would see Paul McCartney in concert in San Francisco.
Growing up, Sonny played in various bands playing the music of Billy Joel, Elton John and Chicago among others. After college, he joined a very popular ensemble group called the New Minstrels as its lead guitarist. Joining the New Minstrels took Sonny throughout Asia to perform in the best clubs & hotels in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia
After Sonny relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, he still played music but his concentration was on his career and post-graduate studies. Sonny completed the formation of the pre-BEAT-LELE group, Day In the Life, and the rest is music history.
ABOUT
Dennis
Originally from Redondo Beach, California, Dennis has been an avid drummer since a teenager and only recently transitioned to a cajon (box-drum) when BEAT-LELE was born in 2015. He performed with various bands in the L.A. area before relocating to Hawaii in 1996. In Hawaii he performed with several groups including a 12 piece African marimba band which is where he first met Alastar McNeil, who would later join forces with Day In the Life, the Beatles tribute band that preceeded BEAT-LELE. In 2008 Dennis met Nolet Quiason at a church function and both realized they shared a similar love for The Beatles and sought to form a Beatles Tribute group. After tapping Alastar to perform as “George”, Nolet then reached out to his old friend from the Philippines, Sonny Aquino, to perform as “John”.
Day In the Life re-grouped as BEAT-LELE in 2015, donned ukuleles for the first time and decided to take things to the next level by recording their debut album. Dennis lives in Kailua on the island of Oahu and authored a Beatles inspired autobiographical conversion story titled, “Mother Mary Comes To Me, Words of Wisdom From Medjugorje”.
ABOUT
Alastar
Alastar was raised on the island of Oahu in Hawaii where he was surrounded by music and musicians. First picking up the guitar at around 10 he began teaching himself and learning from friends. As he was exposed to the music of bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and, of course, the Beatles, his passion grew stronger until he realized that it was his destiny to play guitar. Later, in his 20’s he began building ukuleles with Kanile’a and the passion for playing was renewed with the love for ukulele. It was extremely fortuitous when he was asked to join the group that eventually became BEAT-LELE.
His love for the Beatles and ukulele has provided him an opportunity to express himself in a unique and challenging way. He has since become a touring member of RAIN and found incredible satisfaction in diving into the seemingly endless world of the Beatles catalogue and perfecting as well as reinventing the music that has revolutionized the world.
ABOUT
Nolet
Nolet was born and raised in Manila and learned to play the guitar at around age 7. After having watched the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan television show in February 1964, he avidly followed their music, listening to album after album as they were released; learning and absorbing the melodies, harmonies and chords. He also developed a strong inclination to sing and to play the bass, due mainly to the influence of Paul McCartney’s vocal style and inventive lines. Eventually, Nolet expanded his musical interests and delved into folk, rock, soul, jazz and religious genres but has always had the Beatles as his bedrock.
In 2009, he and Dennis met and formed a Beatles Band. They covered the roles of “Paul” and “Ringo” and called on their friends Sonny and Alastar to fill in the parts of “John” and “George”. As “Day In The Life”, they performed around Honolulu for about 3 years before going into a hiatus in 2012.
It was during this period that Nolet discovered the fun of performing Beatles tunes by accompanying himself only on the ukulele. To test out the viability of this newfound approach, he challenged himself in 2013 and posted 60 Beatles Ukulele Cover videos on YouTube. Fully convinced about its exciting uniqueness, he then persuaded the guys to reinvent the band by transitioning to 3 ukuleles and a cajon for percussion. And so, in 2015, BEAT-LELE, the “Fab Four on Four Strings”, was born.