Known by his stage names Joey Smith and Pepe Smith, he gained prominence as drummer / lead vocalist of Speed, Glue & Shinki from Japan, and drummer / co-lead vocalist of Juan de la Cruz Band from The Philippines, which became pioneering figures in original Filipino rock music or "Pinoy rock".

[4][5] The Downbeats, managed by the Reyes clan of Pasig, owners of RCR Productions, appeared in contemporary TV specials and movies.

Eddie Reyes and The Downbeats opened for the Beatles at their concert of July 4, 1966, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium with Orlando Muñoz in Manila, performing "Get Off Of My Cloud", originally by the Rolling Stones.

Zero History and Juan de la Cruz Band core members were Smith, with Wally Gonzalez (guitar) and Mike Hanopol (bass).

Subsequently, Wally Gonzalez sailed home to form the first version proper of Juan de la Cruz Band which released their debut studio album “Up In Arms” in 1972.

After a trip to England where he performed and hung out with members of Free (including the current Free & future Faces Japanese bassist Tetsu Yamauchi) Pepe Smith’s Japanese passport had expired and after renewing his passport en route to outgoing flight back to Japan Pepe was notified he wouldn’t be permitted to leave the country as a result of martial law in the Philippines in September 1972.

With Pepe Smith now a permanent resident of his home country again he rejoined Juan de la Cruz Band in 1973 and the group downsized to a power trio playing once again with Wally Gonzalez and Mike Hanopol.

It became a quartet a few years later with the addition of Edmond "Bosyo" Fortuno from D’Swooners on drums, when Smith decided to play guitar instead.

Juan de la Cruz arguably invented the Pinoy rock genre, focusing on original songwriting in Tagalog, instead of covers of foreign hit songs in English.

[9][10][11][12] Smith composed Juan de la Cruz's arguably most classic song "Himig Natin" backstage in a ladies' toilet (he said the door to the men's toilet was busted) in 1972, while waiting for his turn to play in a concert called "Himig Natin" at the Rizal Park grounds in Manila.

[13][14][15][16] Although "Himig Natin" and many others of the Juan de la Cruz songs have become rock anthems in the Philippines, none of the group members profited from the recordings.

The rights to the whole catalog had been sold in perpetuity to Vicor Music from the very beginning of the band, a practice that might today be regarded as exploitative, but was apparently commonplace during the era.

During the first Juan de la Cruz reunion concert in 1998, the band members appeared one by one on stage, adding one instrument at a time, building to a dramatic crescendo accompanied by fog and light effects.