TEST: Live Music

About Us

The origin of the group TEST dates back to October of 1999. At that time Stan and his son Tomek, had already been performing on-stage as a duet for a few years the in Metro Detroit area. They decided to test the possibilities of forming a band with musicians who would be handpicked for their impressive vocal and instrumental talents. After watching and listening to some of the top bands and singers in the local Metro Detroit European community, they approached these musicians with the prospect of forming a group whose diverse talents would be able to cover music from Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, Czechoslovakia, the Caribbean and the United States. The combined experience of these new members provided the depth that Stan and Tom were looking for.

For some of the already working musicians, joining a group that was virtually unknown and without any gigs lined up for the future would certainly take a leap of faith. Within three short months’ though, word got out about this new group called TEST and they were asked to perform their opening night on New Year’s Eve 2000 to a crowd of 400. Since then the group has performed for many occasions and events including being chosen to perform at the Polish Cultural Center for President George Bush in 2002. People of all ages and cultural backgrounds have come to appreciate the quality of entertainment that TEST has been able to provide over these past few years.

Band Bios

Tom - Keyboards

Watching and listening to his father Stan perform on stage was a great motivator for Tom to pursue a musical career. Given a small keyboard at an early age, Tom quickly developed a talent for the instrument and would over a few short years, (and a few sets of keyboards later); become adept at playing the very songs he would hear his father’s group play on-stage. After graduating from Univeristy with a MS degree in computer sciences, Tom decided along with his father Stan to start performing as a duet. Tom’s serious dedication to his music soon carried over to develop his vocal talents. During performances, it is not unusual to hear Tom sing in Polish, Italian or French as well as Spanish or English. As the group’s leader, Tom has a natural ability to focus on the sound of TEST. He always makes sure that before the band takes to the stage, the sound is at a perfect level for any given room. The state of the art speaker equipment that TEST uses (JBL SRX700/VRX900) affords the listener the highest fidelity sound for the environment, whether it be an outdoor venue, a small festive party or playing live in front of 900 partying people. Tom’s insight to feel the crowd as it were, shapes the mix of the music at any given event. Most musical “sets” are usually put together by Tom and the band during the event to accommodate any requests and to blend with the energy of the audience. Tom’s musical intuition always brings fresh music to the audience. By keeping the music of TEST au courant, Tom ensures the audience will always get a high quality performance. .

Luke - Bass

As a young boy, seeing Elvis perform on TV was all it took for Luke to start taking guitar lessons. Raised in an Italian family, he would play music with his relatives at family get-togethers and by age 16, was teaching guitar at the local music studio. After earning a degree in photography at R.I.T. in New York, Luke found a side job as a flat-pick guitarist in the bluegrass group Stoney Creek, regularly featured on public radio and at bluegrass festivals. It was at this time Luke also learned how to play mandolin. During the country music craze of the late 70’s, he learned to play the bass guitar but tougher yet, how to sing and play bass lines (a road few bassists choose to take). He developed his singing style performing country duets on-stage with Debby Lynn and the Wanted Band. In 1981, Luke was offered a contract to tour with a Detroit-based, Vegas style Top 40 group, TOUCH. The experience of being on the road with TOUCH, as Luke would put it was “priceless”. It was during this time that Luke honed his percussive “pop & slap” bass skills that he still incorporates into his playing style today. In 1986, Luke quit the life on the road to get back to his career in photography, but by 1991 he was longing to play music again and auditioned as a bassist for the group Promien. It was at this point that Luke met Stan who played lead guitar. Luke’s bluegrass influenced “lonesome sound” style of singing along with his pulsating bass lines kept him busy performing with Promien for the next seven years. In October of 1999, Luke received a call from Stan to see if he wanted to test the possibilities of forming a new group. In a word, Luke said “yes” to the Test. Luke is one of the original founding members of the band and has been with the band for over 10 years. .

Stan - Guitar

Before Stan arrived on the shores of the United States, he had already been performing on-stage since a teenager in Poland. His talents on guitar, and sometimes even on Hawaiian guitar, landed him a job performing with one of the top big touring orchestras in Poland. A well-educated Mechanical/Metalurgical Engineer, Stan brought his young family to the United States in hopes of providing a better life. After settling in Michigan, Stan was able to continue his musical career in 1991 with a well-known band Promien, (and at that time) the only orchestra in the Polish community that played true Polish music. With only one band to play so many events, it became clear to one of the members of that group that there certainly was enough room for more bands in the Polish community. After this new group was formed (Rytm), it left an opening for a bass player in the group Stan was performing in. It was at this time that Stan met Luke when he auditioned for the band. Luke was immediately impressed with the emotional drive of Stan’s raw, expressive guitar playing and after joining the group, continued to perform with Stan on-stage during the 1990’s. Toward the end of the 1990’s, Stan, encouraged by the newly developed talents of his son Tom on keyboards, decided to start performing as a vocal duet with guitar and keyboards. The foundation of the group TEST was already in the making… .

Spencer - Drums

Spencer is the newest member of the band. On January 1st 2010 he offically became "TEST"s full time drummer. Spencer has been playing drums since he was 10 years old his he has vast experience within Latin and Jazz styles and is the New Beat in our music today. .