Royal Pirates

Royal Pirates is a Korean-American rock band that originally formed in 2004 under the name Fading From Dawn, with Kim Moon-chul (vocals and guitarist), drummer Soo-yoon, who later changed his stage name to EXSY, and bassist Richard Kim (who was Moon-chul’s older brother).

Richard Kim would, unfortunately, pass away from a fatal car accident in Pomona, California, in April of 2008, leaving the band with no bassist. As a result, they could no longer perform at shows (they would often perform at Korean events around LA and Orange County) and would later end up changing their name and rebranding as Royal Pirates.

Eventually, after the rebrand, they found some success on YouTube with their covers – the first upload being in 2008 and was a cover of Muse’s “Time Is Running Out”; though at the time, it was still just Moon-chul and Soo-yoon.

In 2009, James Lee would join them as the new bassist.

As a result of their popularity on YouTube, they would appear on Korean television and make their official debut in 2013, with the release of the single Shout Out and performed the track on Inkigayo (a popular Korean music ranking program) on August 25, 2013.

However, in 2015, James would suffer a fatal accident prior to the release of their album 3.3, resulting in an injury in his hand and forcing him to give up the guitar, which he had been playing for 13 years until that point. Fortunately, he would still be active in the band, playing keyboard. He would later leave in 2017 to pursue a solo career in the US.

Despite all they’ve gone through, Moon-chul and Soo-yoon would continue the band, releasing the EP “Hasta La Vista” and even releasing solo music.