He sells mortgages by day, and plays rock 'n' roll at night.

And Ellwood City native Donnie Iris, who will perform Saturday in Saxonburg, finds similarites in both.

"You're working with people," says Iris. "When I'm on stage, I'm up there selling our music. At my company (SIMCorp) I'm selling mortgages."

He gets a kick out of both.

"Oh, yes. This is my own baby," he says of SIMCorp, in which he is a partner with two friends. He now spends a lot of time on the golf course and talking to people. He says the name recognition has been fantastic for him when he is calling on a client.

Some react in disbelief when he tells them he is Donnie Iris. "But I tell them that's who I am," says Iris, 55, who is enjoying his dual life as a proud new grandfather and a primal scream ("Ah! Leah!") rocker.

"As long as people come to hear us, that's what keeps us going. Even to this day, most shows are sold out," says Iris.

He still enjoys the one-on-one experience of playing live. "It's an experience you can't get in a recording studio. There's a feeling you get live from people that's just wonderful," he says.