Luis Montalbert-Smith
Encyclopedia
Luis Montalbert-Smith is the lead singer and co-founder of the Costa Rican music group
Music of Costa Rica
The country of Costa Rica has many kinds of music.Though its music has achieved little international credit, Costa Rican popular music genres include: an indigenous calypso scene which is distinct from the more widely-known Trinidadian calypso sound, as well as a thriving disco audience that...

 Gandhi
Gandhi (Costa Rican band)
Gandhi is a Costa Rican rock band formed by Luis Montalbert-Smith , Federico Miranda , Abel Guier and Massimo Hernández . Inspired by British groups such as Pink Floyd, Queen, and The Beatles, and Latin American bands Soda Stereo and Caifanes...

.

Early life

Luis Montalbert-Smith was born on May 22, 1975 in Washington DC, to a Costa Rican surgeon and a physiologist who were studying at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

 at the time. He lived his first years in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and moved to his parents hometown in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

 in 1979.
His first artistic expression, her mom remarks, was dancing at the young age of one while listening to Anita Wards’
Anita Ward
Anita Ward is an American singer and musician. She is best known for her 1979 million selling chart-topper, "Ring My Bell".-Career:Before signing a recording contract, Ward obtained a degree in psychology from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and had become a schoolteacher...

 hit Ring my Bell.

During a visit to his grandmother’s for tea at the age of 5(his grandparents were of English descent), she played the piano. The moment was so shocking to him that he instantly told his mother “I want to do what Grandma Molly is doing”. His parents right away put him in piano lessons with a local neighborhood teacher, which prepared Luis to audition for the Children’s Program at the University of Costa Rica’s School for Musical Arts. In order to support him, his Grandma Molly gave Luis an old Köhl piano she had, as a motivating factor for his studies.
In 1981 he presented the audition and was admitted to the Basic Stage Program and assigned to Professor Sara Mintz.

When he was 8 years old, he watched a Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

  concert on the TV and decided he wanted also to sing. His mom put him in the Children Chorus at the University of Costa Rica
University of Costa Rica
The University of Costa Rica is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro, in the province of San José. It is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious institution of higher learning in...

, where he was already studying piano. He studied until 1990, when he was forced to quit the musical program in order to improve his high school studies.

Beginnings of Gandhi

Montalbert-Smith began to create his own band at the age of 13, while attending Saint Francis College -HighSchool- in San Jose, C.R. As part of the teenage natural search for identity, he rebelled from his classical music education and started experimenting with other musical styles. His search stopped when he first listened to the Guns 'n Roses album Appetite for Destruction
Appetite for Destruction
Appetite for Destruction is the debut studio album by American rock band Guns N' Roses, released in July 1987 on Geffen Records. It was well-received by critics and topped the American Billboard 200 chart...

.

In 1988-89 he formed his first group called The Hypers, who played classic rock from the 60s and 70s. As a curious detail, Luis was the drummer. The group dissolves when Luis left to participate in a dance contest at school. In 1990 he formed his second band with a couple of friends, including Erick Hernandez (now part of the 1/2Docena comedy group).

During 1991 he met guitarist Federico Miranda
Federico Miranda
Federico Miranda is the guitarist for the Costa Rican music group Gandhi.-Early life:When growing up, the young Miranda was always surrounded by music, his sister played the organ and his uncles played guitar...

, also enrolled at St.Francis High School. Miranda proposed to Montalbert to form a band in order to participate in the High School Talent Show. By that time Miranda was also known for being a great guitar player and Montalbert-Smith accepted the proposal. They participated with 2 songs and won first and second place at the contest.

Gandhi
Gandhi (Costa Rican band)
Gandhi is a Costa Rican rock band formed by Luis Montalbert-Smith , Federico Miranda , Abel Guier and Massimo Hernández . Inspired by British groups such as Pink Floyd, Queen, and The Beatles, and Latin American bands Soda Stereo and Caifanes...

  as a band was formally established in 1992 with Federico Miranda on the guitar, Luis Montalbert-Smith as lead vocalist, Bernardo Trejos (later cofounder of El Parque) at the bass guitar and Mario Carvajal on drums. They named it Gandhi since they liked the sound of the name and liked the positive association it created with Mohandas K. Gandhi.

In 1993, when Montalbert-Smith had already graduated from High School and a regular student at the University of Costa Rica, Carvajal left the group and by Miranda’s sister intermediation they were introduced to Massimo Hernandez, who finally came to play drums for the band. At the same time, Trejos was replaced with Bruno Porter’s bass guitar player Mauricio Pauly.

The band played covers of famous hits such as Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

, Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...

, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

, etc. They debuted in mid-1993 at a bar in downtown San Jose call Cus when opening for a local band called Signos Vitales (with Luis Arenas on vocals, who later was the singer for Costa Rican Group El Parque).

In 1994 they entered the Yamaha Music Quest and participated with the original song El Jardin del Corazon. They did not win but the contest gave them exposure and opened opportunities.

During 1995 they had their first major experience when opening for the Guatemalan group Alux Nahual
Alux Nahual
Alux Nahual is the Latin rock band formed in 1979 by brothers Plubio and Alvaro Aguilar, and their cousin Ranferí Aguilar. Alux Nahual is a maya-quiche phrase naming a goblin similar to a leprechaun. The band's climax came in 1995 while performing in a sold-out show at Los Angeles Palace.The...

. In 1996 M. Pauly left the group and Abel Guier
Abel Guier
Abel Guier is the bass guitarist for the Costa Rican music group Gandhi. He also plays with Parque en el Espacio and Villegas, both very well known bands as well....

 entered Gandhi
Gandhi (Costa Rican band)
Gandhi is a Costa Rican rock band formed by Luis Montalbert-Smith , Federico Miranda , Abel Guier and Massimo Hernández . Inspired by British groups such as Pink Floyd, Queen, and The Beatles, and Latin American bands Soda Stereo and Caifanes...

to consolidate the current band structure. Abel was the bass guitar player for Viuda Negra, a famous underground metal group in San Jose at that time.
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