Meet The Band
Lorrie Kountz
Guitar/Synth/Vocals
Being a virtuoso in both guitar and piano, she toured the United States, Canada and Mexico and has shared the stage with U2, Scorpions, Ramones, Cramps and New York Dolls to name a few. Lorrie has written and recorded ten Internationally distributed CD’s/Vinyl with her projects Bitch, Surrendur Dorothi, Rash and Whatismu, highlighting several genres including Industrial, Rock and Punk.
Lorrie has appeared on television and radio specials including NBC, ABC, FOX, WGN and WTTW’s ‘Wild Chicago’ feature. She has been highlighted in major publications such as Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, The Reader, Illinois Entertainer, and has been featured multiple times in Guitar Player Magazine. Most recently Lorrie has performed and recorded with Paul Barker (Ministry, REVCO) in his project Lead Into Gold.
Jeff Fite
Drums
JEFF FITE picked up his first set of sticks at a friend’s house when he was 7 years old. Early on, Jeff studied with Jake Jerger; he then spent time at Berklee before returning to Chicago where he studied with various jazz, rock, and Latin drummers and percussionists to satisfy his appetite for a deeper understanding of world rhythms. After receiving his Percussion Performance certification, Jeff played with many bands before replanting his roots around Chicago. Some of those bands include Numbers, Exposé, The Rob Zettl Trio, Mosaic, and Funk Revolution, to name a few. He has spent time playing a wide variety of genres including Jazz, Latin, Rock, Prog/rock, and funk. He also spent 15 years playing and recording with the Willow Creek Community Church music ministry. Most recently, Jeff played with Second Time Around; Chicago-based alternative rock bands FoiL, Silversmoke; Vic Lombardi and the Chicago Seven (funk, contemporary rock); Rock/New Wave band Chick Norris; Classic/Prog band the Lorrie Kountz Band; and with Country/Rock band Last Exit South. He is on staff as the drum and percussion instructor at Music Workshop in Mundelein, IL. Jeff currently plays drums for Jazzilla (jazz, Latin, funk).
Mike Orfanos
Percussion
Mike (aka: Bongo Mike) plays congas, bongos, timbales, shakers, assorted drums & percussion. The band’s true “rock historian” is influenced by such musical acts as Santana, Rare Earth, The Grateful Dead, and much more. He has a love for all that old 60’s and 70’s rock and roll, and is constantly searching for classic tunes and forgotten nuggets for new material. Mike currently performs with The Mosquitos Jam Band and Whatismu.
Laura Jansons
Guitar, Video, and Graphic Art
Whatismu’s “Rock-Doc”, is a multimedia artist, composer, and rhythm guitarist. Laura embodies the coolest solid hard rock guitar passages, and plays the acoustic guitar parts with soul. Laura has worked with Lorrie in previous music projects including Chick Norris (rock/new wave band) and the Lorrie Kountz Band (Classic Rock, Prog, originals).
Art Scheer
Bass
ART SCHEER started playing guitar and reading music in 1963, just before the British Invasion when his early musical influences included: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Roger Miller and Chet Atkins. He played Saxophone his Freshman year in High School and started playing Bass Guitar in 1972. Bass Guitarists who influenced Art the most include: Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, Chris Squires, Geddy Lee, Gary Thain, Mars Cowling, Geezer Butler, Jack Cassidy, Phil Lesh, Billy Sheehan and Allen Woody. Art played his first Professional gig in 1977 and has played with many bands in Chicagoland and Phoenix, Arizona since the late 1970’s. He has done radio interviews and has appeared on NBC, WGN and Fox television. Art plays many musical genres, including: Rock, Blues, Progressive Rock, Soul/Motown, Fusion and Funk. Art currently plays bass for The John Koziol Band and The Clams.
In The Media
“Lorrie’s recordings include her onstage guitar solos and other showcases for a variety of flashy licks, fast picking, highly skilled whammy workouts and blues licks, all couched in a commercial rock context. An incredible talent!”
“The Talented Kountz pole-vaults between pop-metal normalcy and near-atonal craziness.”
“Kountz rips fiery leads on her guitar and has been a key player on the music scene for a decade”
“When the stage lights flash on there is no keeping guitarist Lorrie Kountz down-listeners are treated to a show that emits non-stop energy”
“Lorrie Kountz is a talented lead guitarist running wrangled string leads and what sounds like folding the neck on her guitar“
