| Legaci | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA |
| Genres | R&B Pop |
| Years active | 1997 - present |
| Labels | unsigned Kamikaze Records, 2003-2006 |
| Associated acts | Justin Bieber |
| Website | www.legacimusic.com |
| Members | |
| Chris Abad Jason Atencion Del Lazaro Micah Tolentino |
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| Past members | |
| Mathew Arcilla John Daria Jason Guison Chris Mamitag Ulysses Pastones Vince Remo Chris Wong Dom Manuel |
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Legaci is a Filipino American R&B band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1997, its original members consisted of Mathew Arcilla (guitar/vocals), Jason Atencion (vocals), John Daria (vocals), and Micah Tolentino (guitar/keyboard/vocals). In the current line-up, only Micah Tolentino remains along with Chris Abad (vocals) and Dominic Manuel (guitar/keyboard/vocals). Jason Atencion is currently out due to health concerns. They are currently the backup singers for Canadian Pop-R&B singer Justin Bieber on the My World Tour.[1]
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The founding members of Legaci got together under the leadership of their late manager, Mike Viernes of Point Blank Entertainment. Their dream was not only to succeed in the music industry, but to give Asian-Americans mainstream relevance. They performed cover songs and original pieces at various parties, talent shows, cultural events and competitions throughout California. Performances often included assistance from Miquan Bell (drums), Peter De Leon (keyboard), Wayne Gross (alto/tenor saxophone), Alymar Eugenio (vocals), Rhomell Calara (vocals), Walter Boncato (vocals), and Initial Phaze (backup dancers). In 2001, Legaci self-published and released their first CD single "Make Sweet Love" to promote themselves to their fans as well as potential music industry contacts. The single included a bonus music video filmed and produced by Nelson Nunez.[2] One of their most notable events during this time was performing as the opening act for 107.9FM KDND's EndFest at Sacramento, California in 2001 after coming first overall in a local "Battle of the Bands" competition. They opened for artists such as LFO, Vertical Horizon, Uncle Kracker, Dream, 3LW, and Smashmouth. Membership within Legaci fluctuated during this time, going from as many as five members down to three.
Legaci continued to perform, seeing the departure of Mathew Arcilla and the addition of Chris Abad, Jason Guison, and Chris Mamitag. They also worked on creating their first album in the studio. What started as an independent project soon changed when Kamikaze Records, a local independent label, picked them up late 2003 and helped to push the release of their CD. Little Black Book was released on March 14, 2006.
Legaci and Kamikaze Records parted ways late 2006, along with members Jason Guison and Chris Mamitag. Despite this, Legaci continued to perform and went back into the studio to start work on their next album, Sessions. With new member Delfin Lazaro, they pushed the Sessions EP in 2007, with plans to finish a full album in the future.
In late 2007, Legaci turned to YouTube as a method of promotion to gain more of a fan base and attention.[3] Over the course of 2 years, their channel has accumulated over 1 million unique views and their videos have cumulatively reached over 12 million views, collaborating with several other rising Asian-American YouTube stars.[4] Dominic Manuel was added into the lineup while Jason Atencion was forced to take leave due to health concerns.[5] In one of their most recent covers of Justin Bieber's song "Baby" with YouTube users Cathy Nguyen and Traphik,[6] much like how Justin Bieber was discovered,[7] Legaci's video was seen by music manager Scooter Braun. He contacted them the day after the video was posted and Legaci was flown out the very next week to start rehearsing for the promotion run of Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 album. Since then, Legaci has been performing with Justin Bieber and have even been given a slot in the tour's setlist where they are able to showcase their talent.[1][8]