Mike
LaRoche was born in Chattanooga Tennessee and spent his school years just
across the state line in North Georgia. While still in elementary school he
joined the band and began playing the alto saxophone. At his first concert
he saw a baritone sax for the first time and knew that that was what he
wanted to play someday. Upon entering Lakeview High School he did take up
the baritone sax for concert band and the school big band. Throughout high
school Mike branched out to play bassoon and percussion but continued
playing baritone sax in the big band. In 1969 the Lakeview High School
Big Band had the honor of playing for over 19,000 people at the Kiwanis
International Convention in Miami Beach.
After high school Mike attended
Middle Tennessee State University as a Music Education major and played in
the Phi Mu Alpha Stage Band. In 1972, with a low draft number, Mike chose to
enter the Air Force for 4 years and didn’t play saxophone again for 15
years. In 1987 a group of folks decided to put together an alumni band for
the Lakeview and Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School homecoming football
game and the sax finally came out of the case again.
In 1989 another group of folks put together the Mid South Concert band
and Mike joined and later became a board member. In 1994 a group of folks
from this band decided that it might be fun to start playing some big band
music after the concert band rehearsals and the band that eventually became
Sweet Georgia Sound was born.
In 2000 after several personnel changes Mike became the bandleader and
front man and has served in that capacity ever since. In recent years the
band has added a combo (The Sweet Georgia Sound Combo), a dixieland band
(The Mason Dixieland Line), an oompah band (The Wurstbrats), and even
provides orchestras for musicals (the 24601 Orchestra)
In addition to The Sweet Georgia Sound groups over the years Mike has
also been a member of The Legionaries Big Band, The Scenic City Band,
various church orchestras, and is currently the orchestra director for Fort
Oglethorpe First Baptist. He has also played from time to time with groups
such as the UnumProvident Big Band, Saxophobia, Instrumental Magic, and the
New Magnolia Jazz Band to name a few. Mike has also taught saxophone
privately.
Mike has always enjoyed playing in pit orchestras for musicals, these
include: The Apple Tree, Little Abner, Oliver, Annie, Music Man, Annie Get
Your Gun, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Fiddler on the Roof, Les
Miserables (student edition), Big River, The Wiz, Hello Dolly, West Side
Story, 1776, and Finnian's Rainbow.
Major influences on playing have come from Rassan Roland Kirk and local
Chattanooga Saxophonist Manny Bowen.
Mike resides in Chattanooga with his wife Kelley and 4 cats and is a
Systems Analyst with a major carpet manufacturer.
A quote from Mike:
"To me it is amazing what we have accomplished since 2000, the level of
musicianship just keeps getting better. Someone who had last heard Sweet
Georgia Sound in 1999 came up to me at a gig recently. They commented that
it was hard for them to believe it was the same band. I told him that it was
because we aren’t that band anymore"
