While some people listen to music just for the fun of it, these eight boys who make up the boy band ‘8’ have an unbelievable passion for music.

Adrian Bacchus; Andre Bacchus; Bradley Dodd; George Campbell; Jhada Dwyer; Jordan McLeary; Matthew Gillespie and Moses Estick met at Jamaica College (JC) where they were a part of the award winning school band.

The boys aged 17-20; enjoy playing music together and so decided to continue as a unit when a few of them moved on to university.

Their passion for music and love for bands such as Jackson 5; New Edition; and Earth Wind and Fire, inspired and motivated them to make ‘8’ a reality.

Rohan and Carol Dwyer who have had over 20 years of experience in the music industry and have worked with several Jamaican as well as international acts on various projects, were the ones who urged the boys to start a band, inclusive of their son Jhada Dwyer.

“Auntie [Carol] saw what we had together as the school band at JC, and we all realised that the school band, as we knew it, was about to end, due to some of us leaving for

tertiary studies. She brought the idea to us and we ran with it,” 8 band told

teenAGE.

Having performed at the

Governor General’s I Believe Initiative National Youth Consultative Conference and

Solid Gold- Celebrating Ernie Smith’s 50th year in Music, the band said the feedback has been tremendous from peers, family members, people from all across the world and particularly JC’s Principal Wayne Robinson who has been extremely supportive.

“We are also surprised and excited that persons from as far as United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Japan and Sudan have checked our website and have shown us some love. It has been a very heartwarming and rewarding experience so far,” 8 band added.

When asked about rituals practised before performing, the boys explained that they begin with

prayer and then two minutes of jumping jacks or high knees for the singers.

“Auntie Carol collects all phones to free our minds from distractions

before we perform. For the most part, we give jokes and stay happy before

we go on stage,” a member further noted.

Looking ahead, 8 band’s plan for the future entails positive energy, high

entertainment value and good clean music to bring to the world, making their families, school, peers and Jamaica proud.

Most bands fear breaking up, however, when asked if they shared this fear, their response was simply optimistic.

“We never speak our fears. Word is power,” 8 band asserted.

8 band’s debut single

‘School Boy Anthem’ is now available on iTunes, Google

Play, Amazon, Spotify, and all other major online distribution outlets.

For bookings, individuals can email them at booking@8bandjamaica.com or visit their website www.8bandjamaica.com .