By Sara Stokoe
Ming-na and her hustband, Eric Zee, gear up to form the new Asian pop sensation, At Last.
This article originally appeared in
Asia Pacific Arts.
Interview with At Last
April 25, 2003
Interviewed by Sara Stokoe
Transcribed by Angie Kang and Sara Stokoe
Click here for the full interview in RealVideo.
Finally Meeting AT LAST
It was a cloudy Friday afternoon as I drove down Santa Monica Blvd., rushing to get to Third Street where I was meeting the hottest new Asian group AT LAST, which was deemed by Rick Dees as “the breakthrough group of 2003,” for an interview before their street performance. I thought over my questions as I sat frustrated in traffic, making sure I was prepared for anything, as I wasn't sure what to expect once I was out on the street. I wasn't sure if I would interview them all at once or one-on-one while the others set up for the performance.
When we arrived, we grabbed our equipment out of the car and began making our way down the street amongst the random shoppers in search of the Puma store in front of which their performance was to be held. I wondered to myself why such a well-known group of men who are rapidly rising to stardom, were playing out on the streets of Santa Monica with, well, some not so well known performers, if you know what I mean.
After walking a few blocks, I spotted them sitting on a park bench together with their equipment at their side, relaxing and eating some lunch. I was surprised; the guys looked even more handsome in person than in pictures and on their website! They all immediately stood and introduced themselves, seeming very excited and eager to do the interview. They were extremely nice, down to earth, and willing to do the interview as a group, which is what I was hoping for. I immediately knew this was going to be a great interview! The following is a transcription of the interview that took place.
Sara: Your group formed after Ming-na and Eric Zee went on a nation-wide search for talent. Did you audition? How did they find you?
Hans: Basically Ming-na and her husband Eric, via websites, college campuses, any ways and means of communication, they set out on a nation-wide search, and they held the auditions in L.A. Basically, they had quite a few people come out, and it was a singing and dancing audition. In the very end, these are the five that made it. We're the five that made it.
Sara: Did you guys know each other at all before your group was started?
Mike: Well, (pointing to Hans) we've known each other since high school. We were actually in a singing group before we joined the group, just for fun. We'd sing with a couple other friends. And then basically, Hans found out about the auditions through the group's website, and then we just made it a road trip for the weekend. We came down to L.A. and just auditioned, and we ended up making it.
Sara: What has influenced your music the most: music idols, parents, eras?
Mike: Wow, the list could go on for a while!
J.P.: Well, it's different for everyone. Usually, I guess we'd have to say Boyz II Men, and Shai. But it's different for everybody, because like I have some jazz influence, that I like. I like Al Jeroe and the old school guys like Peabo Bryson. But for these guys there also are different types of influences.
Justin: I think as a group, as a whole, a lot of our influences are drawn from the harmony groups, like vocal five part, four part harmony groups of the mid-90's or early 90's, so… Boyz II Men, Shai, As Yet, Portrait, all those groups.
Sara: What is your average day like?
Mike: Well, we rehearse 5 days a week, you know, at least, and we have our whole afternoon set aside for practice. Actually, we practice where we live. We all live together, and our downstairs living area is basically stripped down to rehearse. We have speakers set up, mirrors, stuff like that. We will start off with a lot of vocal warm ups, do some choreography if necessary, arrange songs, and write songs.
Justin: Work out.
Mike: Yeah, work out together, you know. Pretty much we have the whole afternoon to the early evening set aside for rehearsal time. Then, other than that, we all have day jobs; that's what we do in the mornings and at nights.
Sara: I know that you guys write your own songs. Do you all write? Do you all take part in that process? And when do you do most of your writing? Is it in the afternoons when you're rehearsing together?
Hans: Umm, it's all different. I don't think writing is really a planned process; it just kind of happens from your own inspirations. We have so many different combinations to write a song. Sometimes one individual will write a song on their own and finish it, or one person will start a song, bring it to the group, and we'll finish it together. Sometimes we will actually work on a song, all five of us together, and actually a lot of our best songs are when the five of us collaborate together and put something on paper, I guess.
Sara: I know you guys have done a lot of shows, events, basketball games recently. But do you ever get stage fright? Or have you had any really funny or embarrassing moments?
J.P.: Take this one Ken!
Ken: Umm..embarassing? I think it was at The Block in Orange and we were doing a show and I jumped off the stage to sing to someone, and my foot caught the speaker cord. As I went down, the speaker just kind of followed me down and rolled. Yeah, that was a little embarrassing. But as far as stage fright, no not really. I mean we all look forward to it, and I think that being in front of people is why we do this.
Justin: I think we always get excited though. There's a little bit of that nervous excitement, anxious energy every time we go out on stage. But it's almost like a good feeling that we're addicted to, and we look forward to it every time.
Sara: What songs of yours do you like performing the most or listening to the most?
Justin: I know, well, right now, we've been singing our new hot single, “More than Friends.” And I think we all enjoy singing that, and it's definitely a great song to sing. And another one, I think a lot of us like is “I Miss You” from the “Driven” album, number four.
Sara: I know you guys are very busy rehearsing and performing, and you all have other jobs as well, but what do you do for fun, on your downtime, living here in L.A.?
Hans: I think it's different for all of us. A lot of the time it's working out, or even singing when we're not singing. We like to get together and just mess around. Actually, that's where we come up with our new routines also; it is spontaneous, just singing in the living room, and putting something together. Other than that, a lot of us play different instruments, like piano or guitar. And just going out to the beach, or hitting up a club, or a bar or something like that; that's usually what we do in our spare time.
Mike: Playing sports, stuff like that.
Justin: But even when we're out there at the club, we're still promoting our group.
Mike: Always working, always working.
Hans: It's 24-7. That's how it's gotta be.
Justin: There is no downtime.
Sara: I know you guys are rapidly becoming stars yourselves, but I was looking at your website and you have met a lot of famous people. Is there any one you were really star struck by, or really excited to meet?
Hans: We've actually met a lot of people and it's kind of weird. We've met Ed McMahon, we performed on his show, Dick Clark, Rick Dees, and these are all music icons, so it's kind of a surreal experience. I think one exciting moment was when we performed at Jingle Ball last December. That was sponsored by KIIS FM. So we were squeezed right in between Justin Timberlake and Destiny's Child. So to have that experience and to be able to share our music with 18,000 people on the same stage as artists who have proven themselves, I think that's the most realistic it's gotten for us. So everything else is, you know, having fun in the process. But that was definitely something that motivated us more to want to get to that level.
Justin: We got to meet Justin Timberlake backstage for a picture. He was really cool; a really cool guy.
Sara: I read that there have been a lot of assumptions made about your name AT LAST; like at last an all Asian band. But it's actually from Martin Luther King's proclamation “Free at last.” So what special meaning did that have for you guys, or what made you choose that?
J.P: Well, when Ming-na and Eric Zee first put this whole group together, it's a little bit funny, because it started all on a dare. They were very, very motivated by Martin Luther King's proclamation “Free at last” because whatever it is you want to do in America, if it's a really cool dream that you want to come true, all you gotta do is just do it. This is why we are here in America, it's a free country and that's what it's all about, you know, making your dreams come true, free at last.
Sara: So, do you think you're at a disadvantage at all by being an Asian boy group, or do you think that's an advantage?
Mike: I think we see it more as a challenge that we would like to overcome. I mean, we are going to be facing a lot of obstacles, being an Asian American band in America, and a lot of obstacles will come our way. But basically, we're trying to use it as our hook, something that will catch people's attention, something that's never been done before. It's a challenge that we're definitely up to meeting.
J.P.: The great thing about it is that non-Asian audiences that we encounter will change their minds, and that feels great. When it all comes down to it, it's about the music, and it just so happens that visually the first thing they see and the first impression they get is that they're Asian. And they can sing too. We can use that as an icing – hey they're Asian, great. And hey they can sing!
Mike: We're hoping that the music will transcend all differences.
Sara: What's something about each of you that your fans wouldn't know?
Mike: Actually, I started off playing the flute. I'm not thrilled about admitting that. But I actually started playing the flute when I was really young, that's how I got my start in music. My parents forced me to take lessons, but I actually have to thank them for that. Because I played the flute, I developed my ear for music and my love for music.
Justin: I never leave home without my trusty chapstick. Sometimes I leave my wallet or keys at home, but I never leave home without my chapstick.
Ken: I guess I'm just a big nerd.
Hans: This guy knows a little about everything. He's an almanac, we'll call him up for directions, everything.
Ken: I'm just a big nerd – thick glasses when I'm not wearing my contacts. The whole works.
J.P.: Nobody is supposed to know this, but now everybody is going to know. I can do a really good impression of Mrs. Pots from “Beauty and the Beast.”
All: Show us! Do it!
J.P.: What about our image? Ok, “Tale as old as time…”
Hans: (sarcastically) Despite the yellow skin and the slanted eyes, I'm really Mexican.
Sara: I have to ask, are you guys single?
Justin: We're not married.
Hans: Our music is our girlfriend right now, for all of us.
Mike: It's the love of our lives.
Sara: What can we expect from you guys now? I know you guys are working on your album.
Justin: Our new single. We just finished it a couple months ago. It has two songs on it: “More than Friends” and “I Miss You,” which is basically the single that we're pushing right now.
Hans: We just started getting radio play in a lot of cities across the US, and that's basically our game plan right now – to get it to frequent rotation all across the world. Right now, we're just promoting our new single like crazy, and we hope everyone will check it out. You can find out more at www.atlastmusic.com. Just please request your local radio stations to play it. Call in; a lot of them have copies of it. That's basically what we're trying to do – push the single, try to get on a tour, and share our music with everyone.
Sara: Great, thank you very much.
At Last: Thanks for having us.
When we finished the interview, I thanked J.P. of course for being such a good sport and showing us the Mrs. Potts impression! Then we packed up our equipment and moved to the opposite side of the street where we could get front row seats for their performance.
Off camera, I asked the guys if they performed in Santa Monica often, and their reply was that any time they don't have a show that weekend they come out to Third Street for a little extra practice singing to the crowd. It also is a great way for them to safely try out their new songs in front of an audience, like a test-run. I thought that was very smart of them, and it showed me that even though they have been on Carmen Electra's “Livin' Large,” Dick Clark's “The Other Half” and headlined with stars such as Justin Timberlake and Destiny's Child, they are still down to earth, seriously committed, truly having fun, and genuinely loving what they're doing!
Even before the performance began, as they started to warm up their voices and perfect their harmony, people on the street started stopping to listen. They began with the beautiful classic “Amazing Grace” and as soon as their voices could be heard, a massive crowd had seemed to instantaneously form behind me.
I had listened to their songs on the web before, but I must admit I was a little blown away when these wonderful guys that I had just been chatting with informally suddenly busted out with incredible voices and perfect harmonies.
Their next song was an original song off the new album “Driven” titled “I Miss You.” This is when they really started to let loose, and I was taken aback by how at ease they were, and how they were so in tune with the crowd. It appeared as if the crowd suddenly brought them to life in a way that was not visible during the interview.
There is no doubt in my mind that these guys are going to be a huge success very soon! Keep your eyes out for them and check out their website at www.atlastmusic.com, where you can see their upcoming schedule and listen to a few of their songs!
Published: Friday, May 23, 2003
