The following are facts about eight53:
Eight53 is a piano grunge duo from Portland, Oregon.
Shank is the keyboardist and vocalist. Shank is from North Carolina.
Benzo plays drums and percussion. Benzo is not from North Carolina.
Eight53’s genre can be classified as alternative/grunge rock.
Eight53 is currently working on their first full length album.
Eight53 is not just another number.
Richard's love of music started early. He began picking out songs on his cousin's organ when he was 6 or 7 and his first “public“ performance singing was at 8 years old, for a parent-teacher event at his school. Richard started playing piano in his early teens, learning with a chord book and watching other musicians. “I can remember during that time,” Richard says, “I had a cassette tape with some songs that had piano parts in it I really loved. I would put the tape player under my pillow and fall asleep listening to that tape.”
Soon he was playing in a Pentecostal church with a full band. This experience paid off down the road. “I've played with a lot of musicians who really have a hard time just jumping in a playing a song they haven't heard before”, Richard says. “Every time I played at church, it was all improv. Very little practice, not really knowing what was going to happen. It was a real learning experience.”
Richard has played in a number of bands over the years. His musical experience included gospel, country, rock and blues.