ABOUT US
Meet: Mark Schultz - Lead Vocals
Mark has always been a big fan of music. As a youngster, Mark liked to sing, but never in front of people. It wasn't until the age of 24 that Mark, after a few too many cocktails, got up on stage to try karaoke at a sales conference. Mark turned some heads when he blew the doors off a few rock standards, but more importantly his performance caught the attention of local musician Rocky Klitzke who was in the audience. After a few months, Mark agreed to join Rocky's band. That band, Shades of Grey (so named before the book came out), played around the St. Cloud, MN area and was voted best band two years in a row in the St. Cloud Times "Best Of" edition. They also had the pleasure of opening for 2 Live Crew. After the breakup of Shades, Mark didn't sing for six years until 2010 when he was asked to try out for the band Hangfire. Shortly after he started in Hangfire, the band changed musical direction and morphed into 90 Proof. Soon, 90 Proof became the band Mallrats .If you ever bump into Rocky get that man a drink, because he sure had an ear for talent.
Meet: Brady Hermel - Guitar, Vocals
When Brady first saw KISS in the mid 70's, he fell in love with rock and roll and wanted to play guitar like Ace Frehley. After he got his first guitar in 7th grade, he realized how difficult it was to actually play and immediately buried it in his closet. When his dad said he was going to sell the guitar a few years later, Brady decided to start practicing again. Then one day local musician Kent Larson showed him what a bar chord was and Brady's whole concept of guitar changed.
Brady started his first band called Dick Pronto with his cousin Dono and some friends. They recorded an album of original music called 15 Minutes of Fame. Sadly, it did not crack the Billboard 100. He also formed and played in the band Hangfire for more than 20 years. Hangfire played at countless local venues and street dances, and once headlined Oktoberfest in La Crosse, WI. One amazing Hangfire highlight was when the band performed the song Little Suzi with Troy Luccketta (the drummer from Tesla) at Halfway Jam.
Brady has also had the privilege of performing on stage with James Warren, The Johnsdale Myth, The Jackpine Savages and the Brown Boyz.
Meet: Dan Schepers - Guitar, Vocals
Dan has been a musician for 35 years and has been in a bunch of bands during that span of time including Seazon of The Fly, ReImagine (A Lennon& McCartney tribute), Rock Drive Love (A Cars Tribute) and The Michael Shynes Band. During his 15 years in Seazon of the Fly, Dan played shows with many national acts such as Buckcherry, Candlebox, Powerman 5000, Saliva, Local H, Seven Mary 3, and Tantric.
Dan has been a guitar teacher in the St. Cloud area since 1997 and is an instructor at the Wirth Center School of Rock. Dan's knowledge of all things guitar is amazing, and he is one of the finest players you will ever see.
Meet: Matt Moline - Bass, Vocals
Matt started playing music in his teens, as one day he just picked up a guitar and started playing. Matt took some lessons but never practiced and he just didn't have any interest in the six-string . Then one day at a music store Matt watched someone playing a four stringed instrument and asked his buddy if that was a bass. His buddy laughed.
Matt was so hooked on the sound the bass made, he went back to the music store where he was taking guitar lessons and plugged a Washburn bass into a Crate amp and cranked up the distortion. After he sat in the music store for 6 hours just hitting a low E and thinking that was cool, the salesman couldn't take it anymore and took the bass away from Matt.
Matt didn't give up there and went in search of a bass. Finally, his Dad rented one and got him an amp the size of a refrigerator. Matt really started playing when he was 16 and first performed live when he was 17. After 36 years of playing in too many bands and shows to mention he ended up in Mallrats!
Matt's stage antics and incredible playing make him a visual and sonic showpiece.
Meet: Kyle Jacobson - Drums, Vocals
Kyle followed in the family tradition of playing music as a youngster. His father was a drummer and that gave Kyle the inspiration to play the drums. He started his first band in high school, and the "Johnsdale Myth" still play two times a year. Kyle claims his three kids are his biggest fans. (Full disclosure- he actually has a total of seven fans).