Dan and Russell met in early 2003, having worked together shortly at a microbiology lab on the north side of Milwaukee. At the time, Dan was involved with another band. Russell was staying busy outside of work managing his steady diet of Xanax and Budweiser. A year passed, and Dan left his job and band. In March of 2004, Russell received a call. The two got together in the basement of Russell’s mom’s place, worked out nearly half a dozen tunes that Dan had been crafting, and the search for the guitar player ensued.
Lodi and Dan had been introduced just a couple of months earlier at a café/bar in the south-side neighborhood of Bay View. A friend had told Dan that Lodi could really play, and that we should try him out. Only, little to anyone’s knowledge, Lodi would rather listen to Barry Manilow than most of the music Dan and Russell are looking to emulate.
As you’ve probably guessed, Dan’s musical influences aren’t exactly rooted in the noodley stylings of the likes of The Grateful Dead and other worthless… I mean, eccentric bands. So when Lodi first sat in with Russ and Dan, there were moments when they weren’t sure about the guy. “Less noodle, more rock”, I believe was the phrase coined at the first couple practices.
Lodi however, is a rock-star. Not only can he consume like one, and annoy his closest friends like one, he is such a talent, that upon hearing songs like Radio Birdman’s Descent Into The Maelstrom just a couple of times, he could play them nearly verbatim. Lodi’s addition to the original material already in the works transformed and completed their sound. So they found him: the guitar player.
Now, onto the name:
The three-piece began rehearsals in April. They played a couple of times per week in Dan’s basement for a couple of months and just could not decide on a name. A conversation began about Lodi’s recent purchase of a ’84 Trans Am. It was kind of funny really; a silver-spooner of sorts, whose father is a M.D., is buying and driving a $700, rusty Trans Am. It just so happens that back in high school, Dan also drove a car in the same family of vehicles, a ’87 Camaro. Somehow from driving a Camaro back in these days, Dan was given the name “Trans Am Dan” by some of his smart-ass friends. This was all brought up in the conversation. Then, from behind the kit, Russell stands up and says, “I’ve got the name… IROC Z!” So, we added a K to IROC (for obvious “rock” reasons) and the rest is history. They figure, as long as Russ doesn’t hurt himself one of these times, falling off the three-day wagon, you’ll be hearing a lot more of IROCK Z.
"Trans Am Dan"
|
Name: | Daniel N. Schultz Jr. |
| DOB: | September 14, 1977 | |
| Place of Birth: | Racine, WI | |
| Past Bands: | American Standard (Milw.) / The Getters, The Service, Porn in a Barn, The Blackwalls | |
| Favorite Bands: | Radio Birdman, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, The Hellacopters, Black Sabbath, BAD BRAINS, Stiff Little Fingers, Misfits, Zeppelin & The Stones | |
| Favorite Song: | City Slang – Sonic’s Rendezvous Band | |
| Favorite Drink: | Anything FREE | |
| Top 3 TV shows: | 3-2-1 Contact, The Simpsons, Magnum P.I. | |
| Favorite Food: | Mary Jo's tomato soup at Eat @ Jo's cafe in the Melkweg, Amsterdam. | |
| Favorite IROCK Z Song: | Size 6 Sarah (when we feel it) | |
| Favorite thing to do with friends (besides sex): | Naming local trolls. | |
| Future Ambitions: | Sculpting my mullet. | |
| Favorite Personal Quote: | "What are they going to do... fire me?" | |
| Anything you want to tell the fans: | Quit being a little bitch and pay a lousy five bucks to see and support local music. |
"Russell Danger Zone"
|
Name: | Russell Samuel Eaton IV |
| DOB: | July 7, 1978 | |
| Place of Birth: | My Mom's Crotch | |
| Past Bands: | M85, Verona Love, Mudfoot | |
| Favorite Bands: | Zeppelin, Soundgarden, Pantera, Stone Temple Pilots, Sponge, Chris Duarte Group, Incubus, Misfits, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Big Wreck, Jeff Buckley, Primus, Kings X, Kickstand, Deftones, Sevendust | |
| Favorite Drink: | Pabst and Jim Beam at night, Ice Water during the day | |
| Top 3 TV shows: | I have too short of an attention span to sit through a complete show, but i will say i watch new South Park episodes and Packer games religiously. | |
| Favorite Food: | Palermo's frozen extra thin crust pepperoni pizza with added extra cheese and Tobasco. | |
| Favorite IROCK Z Song: | The Runner | |
| Favorite thing to do with friends (besides sex): | I don't have any friends, unless you count my 4 cats. | |
| Future Ambitions: | None | |
| Favorite Personal Quote: | "Can i bum a cigarette?" | |
| Anything you want to tell the fans: | Come to a show and watch me enter the "dangerzone", you'll find it quite amusing. |
"L. Camino, a.k.a. Lando Cop-a-feel, a.k.a. Lodi Capri"
|
Name: | Lodewijk Mengesha Broekhuizen |
| DOB: | June 5, 1975 | |
| Place of Birth: | Makella, Ethiopia | |
| Past Bands: | Federalist Papers, Spindly Thin | |
| Favorite Bands: | White Snake, Back Street Boys, Destiny’s Child, The Mothers of Invention | |
| Favorite Song(s): | Take on Me & Pump up the Jam | |
| Favorite Drink: | Old Overholt | |
| Top 3 TV shows: | Who’s the Boss, Party of Five & of course, Knight Rider | |
| Favorite Food: | Cheeseburgers | |
| Favorite IROCK Z Song: | Standing | |
| Extra-Curricular Activities: | Baking Quiche | |
| Favorite thing to do with friends (besides sex): | Eat Quiche | |
| Future Ambitions: | Memorizing the guitar solo in Free Bird | |
| Favorite Personal Quote: | "Russell, you shot-ass bitch!" | |
| Anything you want to tell the fans: | What comes is better than what’s gone before. |
