Drummer and vocalist Byron Brewer first fronted “The Benders” on Oct. 28, 1985. Coincidently, that was also the time of his most recent haircut. As the leader of “The Benders” Byron often claims that his hair is more popular than he is. 

Joining Byron in the trio, which produces melodious 50s and 60s show tunes, are guitarist / vocalist Johnny Cruz fresh from a 4 year vacation, and Bassist Larry “Campy” Campanello.

Guitarist Cruz is a Law enforcement officer when not rocking and after a 2 year retirement brings back to the stage his polished vocal and guitar skills. 
Rounding out The Benders is Bassist Larry “Campy” Campanello. Recently re-joining the band after a two year “vacation ” Campy brings his unique bass, vocal and fashion flare to the band in addition to the often imitated but never duplicated “Campy Shuffle”  

One of the most common questions besides “Is that your real hair?” is how the group gets its name, “The Benders”. This is a question, the group says, that has a combination of answers, one gruesome and one logical.
The unique answer to that question is that one day when looking for a group name, the men stumbled across a newspaper clipping that told of a family in Southeastern Kansas with the last name of Benders. As the story goes, the Benders family set up a restaurant and were suspected of murdering some of their diners.

Making a long story short, the men combined the fact that many of the great bands from the 1950s used the naming format of “The _______,” and the story they found about the Benders in the mid-nineteenth century, to come up with the benders.

For more information about how “The Benders” came to be check, out their web site www.thebenders.net were you will find a complete line of Benders merchandise including CDs, clothing, and more.