EightyPlus Rocks!!!!!!

The Journey of Eighty Plus: 2002-Present Eighty Plus is the first band I ever started. When I think of Eighty Plus, I think of how it all started for me. Eighty Plus was founded in the year 2002 in a small town in Brazoria County. It was only supposed to be a bad thing gone good. What I mean by that is when I started Eighty Plus I had no idea I would be named the singer of this band. After playing drums all of my life who would have known, not me that’s for sure, but I was surrounded by a group of talented musicians with whom I grew up with. Being around friends that felt like family was a big thing for me. When it came time to hit the stage they made it easier on me a lot of the times. After a year in Eighty Plus I came across one of the most talented guitar players I had ever seen in my life, Brett Pennington. He decided to commit and join Eighty Plus in the year 2003. Playing the music we all grew up with from Motley Crüe, Ratt, Poison, Skid Row, Quite Riot, ZZ Top & many others was something we not only enjoyed but wanted to bring the 80's music back to life for others to enjoy as well. After all of us were adjusted to the sounds of today's music, you can pretty much say we were at the beginning of our peak. My longtime friend and drummer "Shorty Segovia" stepped down from the band due to health related issues in the year 2007. Eighty Plus later acquired another talented musician, John Longoria, bringing all he had acquired playing drums over the years. John became a member of Eighty Plus in the year 2008 and has made a wonderful asset to the band. In 2010, Eighty Plus faced one of the worst years in our band’s history. Bass player Able "Bebo" Sanchez was diagnosed with cancer, causing the band to slow its process and mourn with our friend in a time of need. On August 3, 2010 Able "Bebo" Sanchez lost his battle with cancer, leaving all of us devastated (RIP my friend). After trying to pick ourselves back up, we began a search for a new bass player. I never thought a bass player would be so hard to find in our area. Eighty Plus had a few fill in’s here and there but we couldn’t find someone wanting to be committed or that we all were completely satisfied with. After many auditions, a very talented bass/keyboard player, Roger Harper walked in the practice room bringing all of his talents on both bass and keyboards. We instantly knew we found what we were looking for. At times I feel as though throwing in the towel and wanting to give up would be the easiest solution, after going through many different musicians in the past few years. It’s so hard for us to "better" ourselves if we have to continuously search for new members and start from the beginning with each one. In September of 2011, our rhythm guitar player decided to step down to pursue his music career elsewhere pushing me to wanting to call it quits. Thankfully I have a strong group of musicians and friends behind me that brought my hopes back up about Eighty Plus and we began our search again for another musician. After checking my email one morning in February, I remember receiving a message stating "Hey dude, if you’re still looking for a guitar player I'm available. My band decided to call it quits." I mentioned the message to the guys at our next band practice and we all decided to give him a call and audition him. Chris Tarter not only has a degree in music but was the perfect addition to Eighty Plus, bringing the rips we needed and inspiring our lead guitar player, Brett Pennington. After all agreeing to never look back at all of the bad times we have encountered, we have moved forward and continue to "rock the house". No matter how hard we have got hit, we have always seemed to find a way to get back on our feet and continue to do what we love to do. Personally I would like to thank all of the musicians that have been a part of my life and the Eighty Plus Family: Able "Bebo" Sanchez -Bass (RIP) Shorty Segovia -Drums (RIP) Rene Hernandez - Drums Junior Cantu - Guitar Jesse Garza - Guitar Mike Davis - Bass Rhett Burlington - Guitar Brett Berry - Drums (RIP) Javi Rivera - Bass Fernando Gonzales - Guitar Kendall Shiflet – Vocals Sincerely, Edward Garcia / Eighty Plus Eighty Plus Rocks