The Whiskey Fund to play an eclectic array of songs at the Wildwood

The running joke with Spinal Tap is that the mortality rate for drummers in the fictitious band was as high as Ozzy Osbourne was during his run with Black Sabbath. However, it was the opposite with the Grateful Dead.

The lone surviving members of the Grateful Dead are their two drummers, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Iconic Grateful Dead vocalist-guitarist Bob Weir died earlier in the month. Weir's final band, Dead & Company, announced a tour will happen at some point. However, no dates have been cemented.

For those who want to hear live Dead covers, it's time to look for local tribute band The Whiskey Fund.

"That's the way it's looking," keyboardist-vocalist Sean Seaton said. "It's funny since rock stars used to die so spectacularly. They used to die by suicide, plane crashes, drug overdoses and murder. Now some of these amazing musicians die of diabetes."

Seaton and his Whiskey Fund bandmates are there for those who would like to experience their favorite classic songs live. The band, which will perform Friday at the Wildwood Saloon, delivers an array of tunes spanning rock, soul, funk and R&B.

"We mix it up," Seaton said. "We'll do some Steely Dan songs and then we'll throw in two of my favorites, Stevie Wonder and Elton John. Those two guys have been my heroes. I learned how to play the piano thanks to Elton John. I like musicians like that and bands like the Doobie Brothers. I like anything where there are grooves."

The Whiskey Fund, which also includes vocalist-guitarists Dave Rosazza and Ben Schmidt, bassist Bill Shannon and drummer John Edwards, doesn't shy away from playing deep cuts.

"We'll play some songs that not everybody’s heard of, and we'll perform a variety of songs," Seaton said. "Ben loves Americana and so we'll play some John Prine. Dave loves the blues. We have so much fun with this band."

Seaton and Rosazza were part of the group Blueprint and continue to play originals in the band Shade of Blue.

"The Whiskey Fund is what we do for fun," Seaton said.

Each of the members have day jobs. Seaton is the tech director for the Solon Community School District.

"It's my 27th year and I love it here," Seaton said while calling from his office.

The Iowa City High School and University of Iowa alum stayed close to home and stayed closer to the music. Seaton is a concert junkie.

"I love going to local shows and I'll drive out to shows as much as possible since I love music," Seaton said. "I went to see Paul McCartney in Des Moines last year. The last time I saw him was in 1990. It was an incredible show. I'm going to see Toto at the Davenport next month. I'm really looking forward to it. It's the first time I'm seeing them when it's just Toto performing. I saw them with Journey, who were kind of lame but Toto sounded good. I want to see these bands before they start losing key members. I saw The Eagles in Omaha (in 2024) but that was after (vocalist-guitarist) Glenn Frey died (in 2016). Steely Dan opened up for the Eagles and it was after (guitarist) Walter Becker died (in 2017)."

The Whiskey Fund, which formed after the members were hanging out one night at the Black Angel Restaurant, typically close their shows with Steely Dan's "My Old School."

"That's not a song that a lot of (cover) bands play but that gets the crowd going," Seaton said. "We have fun with that one."

It's a laid back vibe, but what else would you expect from a band that came up with a name that it joked about but the moniker stuck?

"When we were hanging out, the name The Whiskey Fund came up," Seaton said. "We talked about how normal people call it the tip jar, but we said, 'We'll call it the Whiskey Fund.' So some people put dollars in the jar and some gave us whiskey bottles. The name fit, and this band is our guilty pleasure that we love."