In the relaxed ambience of the Crocodile Restaurant and Bar, the Stage Band performed a two hour set filled with jazz standards, bossa novas, choros, and funk on Mar. 3.

Senior lead vocalist and guitarist Andrew McCaffery, who has been a member of the stage band since his freshman year, said, “playing at the Crocodile [Restaurant and Bar] gave us the opportunity to experience a more relaxed side of music that is generally untouchable by high school groups. The gig really had a feeling of professionalism and was our best performance of the year, so far.”

Being a senior leader of the, Andrew has experienced a lot with this band.

After last year, Mr. Eli Buchanan, founder of the Laguna Blanca Stage Band, moved to Texas.

However, the Stage Band did not miss one beat.

Ms. Laura Geier, who has a B.A. in Music from Rice University, a M.M. in Music from Ohio University, a M.A. in World Music & Multi-focus Violin from the California Institute of the Arts, and a Fulbright Graduate Study from the Academy of Music, Dance & Fine Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria;  was hired to fill the position.

Sophomore saxophonist Conrad Perry, a first-year member of the Stage Band, said, “Ms. Geier has does a fantastic job with all of the bands.”

When asked about the transitions coming next year in Stage Band with seniors, Andrew McCaffery and Troy Ritter, leaving, Conrad said, “Our band is going to be a lot different without the two seniors. They teach us a lot about the ways of the Stage Band.”

When asked about the gig at the Crocodile Restaurant and Bar, Ms. Geier said, “The gig at the Crocodile Restaurant and Bar was a new experience for us because we had to play a new kind of set list that we were used to, but I felt like we listened to each other better and came together as a band.”

Along with the gig at the Crocodile Restaurant and Bar, the Stage Band has played at the Jog-A-Thon, the Padaro Beach Grill, and at the Winter Revue.

In April, the Stage Band will be playing for the school’s musical, Once Upon a Mattress, and at the Spring Revue.

Their final performance of the year, which will be seniors Andrew McCaffery and Troy Ritter’s final performance as members of the Stage Band, will be at SoHo on May 5 at 5 p.m.