Gonzalez formed and led the Juan de la Cruz Band which, with the collaboration of bassist-vocalist Mike Hanopol and drummer-vocalist Pepe Smith, rose to unprecedented national prominence as a power trio.
Left to his own devices, Gonzalez soldiered on with new incarnations of Juan de la Cruz, sustaining sufficient interest towards the release of the band's first album, Up In Arms (1971), despite meeting only with moderate success.
As a fitting epilogue, Gonzalez returned to the recording studio for what became the final Juan de la Cruz album project, four years later since the band's prior release; with their most accessible albeit commercial work, Kahit Anong Mangyari (trans.
[4] His groups were a revolving door for emergent Pinoy Rock talent such as drummers Chris Messer, Vic Mercado, Bea Lao and Wendell Garcia; bassists Dondi Ledesma, Louie Talan and Norman Ferrer; keyboardist Wowie Posadas; vocalists Joonie Centeno and Kat Agarrado; and second guitarists such as Ted Nicholoff, King Pineda and Armand Quimpo.
featuring Lorrie Ilustre, Homer Flores & Mike Hanopol (piano), Chito Ilagan & Danny Bornilla (bass guitar), Edmond Fortuno (drums) Spurred by a slew of bar gigs featuring Wally Gonzalez and Pepe Smith performing together as a duo in the early 2000s,[14] the Juan de la Cruz Band were engaged for a reunion concert on June 11, 2005 at the Philippine World Trade Center in Pasay City.