Lake Forest Academy's band's been raising the roof for 22 years

Madonna. Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Fray. Gladys Knight.Co-ax, the faculty-student rock band at Lake Forest Academy, plays it all and has been entertaining audiences for 22 years."It began, really, as a band to give some teachers an opportunity to play for fun. It was quite self-indulgent at the beginning," said Steve Ryder, the band director who founded the group and a French teacher at the Lake Forest school."Then we took some students to play some parts we couldn't play. Over the years it grew, with more student participation.""When you're in a band like this you get exposed to different types of music," said lead guitarist and senior Phil Conklin. "I never would have played a Stevie Wonder song before.""Our concerts always contain an insanely wide range of styles," Ryder said. "Some might see it as weird but I think of it as our strength."At a Co-ax concert on Dec. 3 at the Cressey Center at Lake Forest Academy, the students demonstrated just how eclectic their musical repertoire truly is.The students and Ryder performed popular new songs such as "1234" by Feist, their own version of "Boyfriend" by Avril Lavigne, "Time" by Pink Floyd and older songs such as "River" by Joni Mitchell and "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder."I am still struck by how much the younger generation know and love the old classic rock music," Ryder said. The students choose most of the songs played by the band.Co-ax fans consist of elementary age children all the way up to older adults. One thing they have in common is their love for the band."Go Mr. Ryder!" screamed audience members at the Dec. 3 concert. They screamed the names of student band members throughout the show as well."They're awesome," said Niki Torskiy, a Lake Forest Academy student and Buffalo Grove resident who is a big fan of Co-ax and came to see her friends light up the stage. "They're all very talented."So do the students think it's cool for the teachers to be rockin' the stage with their friends?"It's actually kind of cool because you'd never expect it," said Lucy Irungu, who was at the concert with Torskiy and lives on campus.Ryder said lately it's been kind of difficult to find time for students and teachers to practice together, but he is determined to get more teachers involved again. He was the only teacher who performed at the recent concert."There's nothing like teaching a student the subjunctive in French one minute and jamming a rock song on stage the next," he said.The Co-ax band members meet at least once a week to practice and there are tryouts to be part of the band."I like practice a lot," said Derek Mazur, who was the lead singer in many of the numbers at the Dec. 3 concert. "I look forward to it every week."Mazur said Ryder keeps the band together and going strong."He's the backbone of the band," Mazur said.Doug Kaplan, of Lake Forest, is a Co-ax alum who played with the band for four years and still attends their concerts. Kaplan said performing with the band made him more confident and gave him leadership skills as well."This is the most exciting context for these young people to develop their musicianship," said Mary Baer, who attended the concert. She's also a Co-ax fan and says the experience has done a whole lot for her son, Matt, as well.So, what's the secret to success that has kept the band going strong for 22 years?"I think it's everyone's love for the music, plus the buzz we all get from playing to a live audience," Ryder said. "What keeps me doing it after so long, apart from the music, is seeing the kids grow into confident musicians, performers and leaders.""The bottom line is, I have the best job imaginable. Outside of family and friends, there are three passions in my life -- language, music, and soccer. In this job I have been able to indulge all those passions. There aren't many people who can say that," he said.