A new local band by the name of IOH is starting to pick up popularity in the community, and especially at Steinbrenner High School. The “pop infused rock” band has been in plenty of local shows over the past few months, where plenty of students have gone out of their way to see them live.
After announcing their Temporary Bliss tour, holiday tour, and other pop-up shows, (majority of them in the Tampa Bay area), Steinbrenner students have begun to create hype around the band. They have had many local shows and have become popular to many teenagers in the Lutz and Tampa area, especially at Steinbrenner.
“It’s like a little pocket of people who support us and it starts to blossom and, luckily, it is at these local high schools where people do talk about music on a daily basis,” said singer Zakk Morgan.
They recently had a concert on Dec. 1 with The Raine, a band with students who attend Steinbrenner, at What We Live For Studios.
Their overall openness and willingness to listen to fans and collaborate with others shows the members of the band are not only great performers but great people.
“It’s really fun because there’s a lot of talent in Tampa Bay. Being able to know all these different bands and to do shows with them… and to really just build a community is just an amazing feeling. We’re just like this huge group of friends,” said guitar player David Cavan.
This hype isn’t going unnoticed by the band members, either. They’ve been known to be very supportive of their fans, which is notable on their social media.
Their most recent album, “Whatever Helps you Sleep at Night” is for sure a must listen to for the alternative music lover. It’s reminiscent of a typical 2006 pop-punk band and definitely belongs on any angst-filled playlist. They have a noticeably similar sound to other “edgier” bands, such as Fall Out Boy, which is understandable as bass player Spencer Giordano considers Fall Out Boy one of his biggest musical influences.
Like every other band, they may not be for everyone. However, IOH has at least one song every listener is bound to enjoy. The fact that they’re able to experiment with so many genres and combine different musical styles so well into their music makes them a brilliantly diverse band. They have everything from fun, upbeat songs to more mellow music.
Each band member has very different influences and inspirations when it comes to their music. Ranging everywhere from Avenge Sevenfold to progressive jazz-metal bands to Fall Out Boy to Post Malone, their influences somehow merge together into the music they’ve created.
“Somehow, all of those influences come together and make what we are and I don’t think any of us could be any more proud of the sound we have, because it’s a little bit of everything. Like, there’s something for everyone,” said Morgan.
IOH has been a hot trend at Steinbrenner that doesn’t seem to be slowing down their hype anytime soon.
Doreen Coreen // Co-A&E Editor
Photo courtesy of IOH
