Dan Koch
Dan Koch | |
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![]() Dan Koch performing with Sherwood at the Apollo Theatre in Nagoya, Japan | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Daniel Koch |
Origin | Los Gatos, California |
Genres | Indie rock, Alternative rock |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
Instrument(s) | Guitar Background Vocals |
Years active | 2002–present |
Labels | MySpace Records |
Website | Official website [1] |
Dan Koch (born 1983) is an American musician, the lead guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter for the rock band Pacific Gold and previous lead guitarist and principal songwriter for Sherwood. He helped form the band with Nate Henry in 2002 while attending university at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. Dan was originally Sherwood's drummer, but when drummer Joe Greenetz joined the band he switched from drums to guitar. Moreover, Koch transitioned into the rhythm guitar player. With the departure of Chris Armstrong, Koch switched into the role of lead guitarist. Dan Koch is a native of Los Gatos, California. Dan married girlfriend Jaffrey Bagge on November 29, 2009. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington with his wife.[1] While in high school, he was in a punk band called Ignorant Youth.
Band formation
Koch was friends with Nate Henry and Chris Armstrong while they were attending college in San Luis Obispo, California. He began as the principal songwriter of Sherwood, but over the course of three full-length albums, the songwriting duties were shared with bassist/lead singer Nate Henry and keyboard player Mike Leibovich. With the band's addition of Joe Greenetz as the drummer this also inclined Dan to switch to guitar.[2] Koch has a full beard, which led to the nickname "Beardy." He attended The King's Academy in Sunnyvale, CA and graduated in 2001.
Present day work
Dan has been a part of 3 side projects. One titled "More important than Music" being a blog originally set up on blogspot.com but later moved to worldpress.com account. It is mainly devoted to charity organizations. Another project, "I'll Beat You up" was set up by Koch and Sherwood's former guitarist Chris Armstrong. A free EP was released on their page. Koch is a studio member of Jonathan Jones' We Shot the Moon. Koch also started a series of podcasts titled "Beards in a Band" with drummer Joe Greenetz in addition to the "Apples and Oranges" series started by lead singer and bassist Nate Henry and keyboardist Mike Leibovich. He is currently playing for the newly formed act, Pacific Gold (formerly known as Wayfarer).
Koch currently hosts a podcast called Depolarize! Podcast that discuss topics such as politics, philosophy, and faith issues. He is often a guest on other podcasts with similar content, such as the Bad Christian Podcast.