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8084 (Eight-Oh-Eight-Four) is an American rock band that formed in the spring of 1982 and continues to perform well into the 21st century. Keyboard player Charlie Hawthorne, vocalist Randy Smith, and drummer Gary Spaulding formed the band with guitarist Paul Schoenberg and bassist Andy Latrice. The goal was to perform classic and current hits of the day on the local bar circuit to support their ambition of writing and recording original music. In the fall of 1982, bassist Frank Barnes and guitarist Andre Maquera joined the group, completing what has become accepted as the original 8084 line-up. From the beginning, the band enhanced their live performances with high-energy, often choreographed stage moves that highlighted the physical calisthenics that set Maquera and Smith apart from other performers of the time.

From 1982 through 1985, the band performed throughout the northeastern United States and Canada, gaining new fans wherever they went. Their high-energy shows and tight vocal harmonies earned them the reputation as one of the hottest bar bands on the New England and upstate New York circuit. 8084’s reputation continued to grow, and they were taken under the wing of Sixties folk-rock icon Richie Havens. Havens guided the band as an adviser and mentor, sharing the songwriting and stagecraft knowledge he had learned as a respected international music icon in his own right.

In 1986, the band members and crew moved into a house in Pembroke, New Hampshire, limiting their time at home with their families to one day per week. The plan was to focus on writing songs for their debut album while simultaneously gaining close proximity to the Boston music scene. At this time, 8084 linked up through a mutual friend with Boston producer Hirsh Gardner, former drummer for the band New England. The team collaborated for the next few months, with Gardner traveling to New Hampshire to work out new material and arrangements with the band before recording demos at Gardner's home studio. In the fall of 1986, 8084 recorded their self-titled debut album. The album was released on their own independent label, Swinesong, an homage to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records and Maquera's affinity for pigs. Soon the band secured a European distribution deal with Semaphore Records based in The Netherlands. European sales soon took off, and 8084 started receiving press and fan mail from magazines and fans throughout Europe.

In April of 1987, 8084 competed in Rock Search International, a music competition held at the Olympic Stadium Velodrome in Montreal, Canada, and which featured 12 finalist bands from North America. During the four days of competition, 8084 emerged victorious, taking first place and bringing the audience to a standing ovation at the end of their set. Since the judges for Rock Search included high-ranking executives from CBS Records, Virgin Records, and Yamaha Music Corporation, it was only a matter of days before the band began receiving offers for management. 8084 signed a management and recording contract with MCM, a partnership that was formed specifically to manage the band, whose partners included Isba Records (a Canadian CBS affiliate) executives Nick Carbone and Maurce ??) and Robert Mariano, who was the promoter of Rock Search. The band immediately began work on an album with CBS/PolyGram recording star Aldo Nova as the producer. (Aldo’s credits include his own hits, ‘Life is Just a Fantasy’ and ‘Blood on the Bricks’, as well as performing and production credits for work with Jon Bon Jovi, Cindy Lauper, and Celine Dion.) MCM secured a house for the band north of Montreal where they spent the five months writing and recording their second album. The album was 75% complete when, for legal reasons, the project was put on hold. The band moved back to the States and continued writing at the Saxony Recording Studio in Rouses Point, NY, while earning money and keeping their performance chops tight by playing in the bar that was located on the first floor of the building. Smith was experiencing some vocal health issues during this time, so live performance vocal duties were handled by Warren May of upstate New York during the band's tenure at the Saxony.

Smith returned to live performances in 1988, and the band hooked up with Jim Mallonee of the Showtime Agency in Raleigh, N.C. This relationship expanded their touring circuit to include all of North America east of the Mississippi River. With their popularity increasing, the band reworked some of the tracks they had done in Montreal and added some new material to produce–again with Hirsh Gardner at the helm–their official second album, Love and War, which was released to critical acclaim in the United States and Europe. Soon thereafter drummer Gary Spaulding decided to leave the band. He was replaced by Springfield, Vermont native, Scott “Punky” Mitchell.

In 1989, during one of the band’s Florida shows, Mallonee brought the band to the attention of a Coors’ Brewing Company executive. Coors offered to sponsor the band, and subsequently, the touring increased. Just like falling dominoes, one sponsorship initiated another, and soon 8084 found itself being endorsed by–and endorsing–Schoales Guitars, Takamine Guitars, Hughes and Kettner Amps and Electronics, Pro Mark Drum Sticks, Trace Eliot Amplification, and Remo Drum Heads. The sponsorships, along with the increased touring and the critical acclaim, enabled 8084 to be put on the bill with some major label touring acts. Soon the band found itself sharing the stage with artists such as Warran t, Edgar Winter, Blue Oyster Cult, Honeymoon Suite, America, and many others. 8084 seemed to be headed for the major leagues once again when tragedy struck.

On Christmas Eve, 1989, keyboardist and founder, Charlie Hawthorne, was killed in an automobile accident while driving home from a local performance. Charlie was the leader and the inspiration for the band. Recovery for the remaining members was not easy, but they knew they weren’t ready to throw in the towel.

In January of 1990, after a two-week reformation and mourning, the band returned to the scene as a four-piece unit. They continued to tour the eastern seaboard, promoting their 2nd album and learning to perform without Charlie. In the summer of 1990, the band went back into the studio to record their third album, “Satisfaction Guaranteed”. The album was released as a five-song EP in the spring of 1991 and sold very well regionally.