Steven Senn was born in Meridian, Ms and raised in a small town in west Alabama called Demopolis. He was introduced to music by his mother at an early age. He performed his first vocal solo at age 6. Senn went through the garage band days and played his first real, solo gig at Faunsdale Bar and Grill on a Sunday at age 12. With his parents and the staff as his only audience, he played through all the popular covers of the time and even threw in a few of his own originals.  He continued playing through high school and into college. While working as a singer/songwriter act in Tuscaloosa, Al, around 2000, he was picked up to be the new front man for a hot regional, touring act named Iratowns. It was during this time that Steven learned more about creating music than ever before. Iratowns explored music in a way he had never been exposed to. It was a fusion of worlds and ideas. He stayed with Iratowns until 2004, playing such venues as The Georgia Theatre and The Variety playhouse and sharing the stage with some of the top touring artists of the time.

During that time of his career, around the turn of the century, Steven met a young guitarist named Daniel Groover. They met while playing a festival together with Daniels band, Ludowici. That was the beginning of a friendship that has been filled with musical exploration, creation and more musical exploration. The two have spent countless hours in the studio since then. In 2009 they created the project IOZ, and recorded their first self titled album while working for Jim Zumpano at ZAC Recording in Atlanta, Ga. Daniel was the studio guitar player, picking up work with industry leaders such as Snoop Dog, NAS, The Pussycat Dolls and more. Steven was handling studio gear rentals through ZAC’s sister company Eclipse Audio and working live music productions through a backline company called Crossover Entertainment. Steven went on to work at Crossover for about eight years.The time he spent in the production world gave Steven the ability to learn other aspects of the craft. It gave him the experience he needed to realize the extreme work effort and bad-ass teams that exist behind every successful project. A deep passion for music, creation and production has driven Senn down this curvy path his entire life.

Daniel Groover began playing guitar at age 9 and started performing in bars and venues around Atlanta at age 13. Eventually he graduated from the Atlanta Institute of Music in 2002. During his time at A.I.M he toured the southeast with the instrumental outfit, Ludowici. They submerged themselves in the jam band scene and often shared stages with members of the Derek Trucks Band and another local group, Iratowns. This is where he met Steven Senn and they immediately started collaborating from that point on.

After graduation, he began working for Jim Zumpano as the in-house session guitarist at ZAC Recording in Atlanta, Georgia. Through his work at ZAC he recorded and co-wrote for artists such as Snoop Dogg, Nas, Nelly, Macy Gray, Robin Thicke, De La Soul, India Arie, Wale, K’Jon, Rich Boy, Pussycat Dolls, G-Unit, Brandy and more. His work ultimately contributed to (2) Grammy nominated albums, (5) gold records, (2) platinum records as well as multiple No.1 singles.

Groover continued performing outside of the studio on national tours and in the Atlanta area with Dungeon Family Band, Mama’s Mustache (fronted by multiple Grammy-winning producer, Mr. DJ of Outkast, and Jeff B. of the Dungeon Family). In 2009, he was a part of the reality TV show, Monica Still Standing. As a part of the show, he performed a song at the end of every episode with Monica and super producer Bryan-Michael Cox (35 number one hits and 12 Grammy nominations).

In late 2009, Groover teamed up with Steven Senn to form I.O.Z with the help of the Zumpano Audio Community (a.k.a ZAC Recording). After recording their first album and starting a buzz in Atlanta they toured the southeastern United States sharing stages with Galactic, Fishbone, and Toubab Krew. Groover also began touring with bass player Charlie Wooton as well as Lingo of Nimbleslick Records. During this time he had the opportunity to sit in with Flannel Church and special guest Derek Trucks.

Groover continued session work at multiple studios in Atlanta and in 2013 got the opportunity to work with Colonel Bruce Hampton on his album, Pharaoh’s Kitchen, where he was credited as MVP and best defense. Some of his recent works have been playing guitar on rapper Wale’s last four albums. On Wale’s album, The Gifted, he was on a song called “Gullible” featuring CeeLo Green and the horn section from the Dap Kings.

In 2020, Groover was touring heavily with Charlie Wooton to promote his album, Blue Basso, which he co-produced, co-wrote and mixed. The album hit #12 on the Billboard Blues Charts and led to performances featuring George Porter Jr., Sonny Landreth, Victor Wooten and many more. They also toured Japan as Zydefunk featuring guitar prodigy, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer. Now the focus is purely on I.O.Z. When the pandemic hit, he and Steven Senn began working on the new I.O.Z album - Life After Rome. The album is a culmination of everything he and Senn have learned through life and music and is filled with a cast of musical giants.

“I.O.Z is about a community that’s always been there, you just might not have known about it.”

In late 2009, Daniel Groover teamed up with Steven Senn to form I.O.Z with the help of the Zumpano Audio Community (a.k.a ZAC Recording), an artist community turned recording studio compound.

This was a place where the late Col. Bruce Hampton would regularly stop by for an afternoon couch session to discuss the process of day lily propagation with Jon Marett or the Kennedy assassination with Senn and Groover. It was a special place that existed long before I.O.Z, the home of Zambie, Project Z and countless more.