|
The History
Late in 2003, when the Monta Vista choir The Impressions first practiced, Pei Kuo and Richard Wang looked each other in the
eye. They did not kiss; instead they decided that singing was fun. And by God, they were going to do it more. They recruited
Ray, Richie, Will, Hadi, while David caved in to peer pressure in a mere week, muttering as he crawled back to their presence.
The swelling of ranks however meant that they could not use their first-intended names, "F.A.G." (Five Asian Guys),
nor "After Hours," nor "The Testostertones."
The first song they put together was "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye (To Yesterday)" by Boyz 2 Men, which David
had transcribed earlier. David and Richard would prove to be the main contributors to their repertoire, while other songs
would be improvised by every member. Early attempts at recording themselves would prove laughable, and the evidence was destroyed.
The Luminaires introduced themselves to the masses at the Impressions debut concert with "Breakfast at Tiffany's,"
which would prove to be a precursor to the group's best known cover songs, "Pretty Woman," "A Change in my
Life" and "Pretty Change," their clever medley name.
After countless serenades that happened to take place in front of numerous people and school functions, the Luminaires
were beginning to become ubiquitous at Monta Vista, so they decided to branch out and lend their services to the community.
St. Jude's and River of Life church became places where The Luminaires performed multiple times, and the affiliation to
St. Jude's led to a joint concert with a Chinese gospel choir touring North America. At Evan Low's Campaign Kickoff, where
they opened with "The Star-Spangled Banner," they were approached by an executive from a local television station.
Unfortunately, they did not have the time to perform for them, as they needed to finish recording and start distributing
their CDs. It spoke clearly and brightly about the Luminaires' future, though.
Look for more from the Luminaires in the summer of 2005.
|
