Joko’s guitar journey began with Guitar Hero 3 on the Nintendo Wii where he discovered his idol Eric Johnson and the iconic song “Cliffs of Dover”. At age 11 he decided to play Guitar Hero for real. Approaching his 14th birthday, Joko found the blues and eventually formed the Blues Rock trio “Mean Jay”. The band won major band competitions in the Philippines and was eventually invited to join the Philippine delegation to the 2015 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Joko and Mean Jay took the legendary Beale Street by storm as they were invited to perform at iconic music hotspots such as BB King’s, The Purple Haze Cafe, Rum Boogie, Pig and Jerry Lee’s. That same year, Joko was tapped by Fender Guitars to be its Philippine Brand Ambassador at the age of 15 years old.
In 2018, Joko released his first instrumental EP “Sunny Side Up”, a collection of guitar instrumental songs loaded with good vibes that will bring out your sunny side. (Sunny Side Up Official Music Video: https://youtu.be/pOuRvYAPbsw )
This was followed by his EP, “Sonic Spaghetti” in 2020 a 3 song EP (as Joko describes it) made of guitar noodles in a rich meaty melodic sauce topped, with cheesy synths and sound effects. (Sonic Spaghetti Official Music Video: https://youtu.be/OORu74ejSd4 )
Aside from composing and producing his original songs, Joko plays guitar for the soul band Holmes, Pop- RNB band Be Lucid, and Philippine Blues Collective, Puwersa Azul. He also runs his Youtube Channel that features guitar and gear reviews aside from a wide variety of guitar instrumental covers and of course, his original songs. On top of these, Joko is taking up his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Music Production at the College of St. Benilde School For Design and Arts under the Original Pilipino Performing Arts (OPPA) scholarship program of Resorts World Manila.
Joko currently represents SIRE USA guitars as a member of the global collective, Sire Friends. He is also a collaborating artist for IBOX, GC Rockboard, Pedalpimps, Stomp Machines, and Prism Clothes Line.
Joko’s tone settings are available on the NUX MG-30 versatile modeler factory preset library.
YouTube: JokoReantaso
Facebook: JokoReantaso
Instagram: jokoreantasomusic