Steve McFarland
Owner
Steve began his musical career at age 16 playing with bands such as KISS, Aerosmith, Van Halen and Rush. Okay, it was air guitar, but he was a rocking pretender from an early age. Actually, if you fast forward 30 years... Steve saw the idea for School of Rock and wished it would have been around when he was young. After seeing his children take endless lessons with no motivation, the idea of getting kids on stage with School of Rock just made sense. With a sports background and having coached youth sports for many years, the idea of School of Rock was natural to him: individual lessons (practice), group rehearsals (team practice) and the show (the game). “I’ve always wondered why some people ‘make’ their kids take an instrument just because they think it’s a good idea to learn an instrument. You don’t hear of anyone making their kids take a sport and never playing on a team or in a game. Why make them take endless lessons with no chance to perform?” As the owner, Steve challenges his team to make sure we are enriching kids’ lives in everything they do: lessons, shows, camps or just hanging out with some new friends. Steve has now been an owner for 11 years with three Indiana locations, one Wisconsin and now one in South Carolina.
Mandy McFarland
General Manager, Owner
Mandy is the General Manager and Owner of School of Rock Mount Pleasant. Although not a musician herself, Mandy is an avid music lover through and through. Growing up on Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue and Nirvana, she is a true Rock N’ Roll baby. Mandy went to school for Child Development and Human Growth Psychology. She is passionate about working with youth and children of all ages. What better way to make an impact on someone's life than with music! Mandy has been involved with School of Rock as a career since 2019 but has been a part of the School of Rock family in Indiana since 2014. Mandy and her husband, Matt moved to South Carolina from Indiana in the summer of 2022. The most important part of School of Rock is the community that is cultivated, something Mandy takes pride in being a part of. Her favorite memory from her time at School of Rock Fishers was taking a group of House Band students from the Fishers and Carmel school to perform at the Rock in Rio Music Festival in Lisbon Portugal.
Matt McFarland
Manager of Franchise Operations & Owner
Matt is our manager of franchise operations and owner. He was one of the first drum students at his local School of Rock in Carmel, Indiana back in 2012. Although he did not continue his drumming bug, School of Rock is still a big part of his life. After graduating college for video production, starting in that field, and quickly realizing it was not his true passion, he found his way back to School of Rock. Starting as a studio coordinator in Carmel, he quickly rose to the General Manager position at the Fishers, Indiana location. Shortly after visiting Charleston for the first time in 2021, he and his wife, Mandy decided they wanted to open a school in the Charleston area. Since moving to the area in the Spring of 2022, they have since made South Carolina their home.
Steve Laine
Music Director
Steve has been playing bass guitar for over twenty five years, has twenty years worth of experience playing in bands, and fifteen years of teaching experience. With his musical interest sparked by The Beatles, Steve began to play the bass guitar. As the years went by his influences grew from classic rock gods such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Black Sabbath to more improvisational rock groups such as The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead, and Phish. Along with his love for rock n’ roll Steve enjoys blues, bluegrass, reggae and jazz.
Steve has logged over 600 gigs in 16 states traveling from Burlington, Vermont to Austin, Texas and everywhere in between. “I feel my approach to the bass guitar is very similar to that of John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam. A focus on solid rhythm with melodic ideas interspersed.
Daniel Garneau
Guitar Teacher
Daniel recently moved to Charleston to be closer to family in anticipation of having twins, which were born in August! Previously, Daniel worked at School of Rock in Johns Creek, GA as House Band Director for several years. Alongside his tenure at School of Rock he was music director at McGinnis Woods Country Day, a private school in which he taught students Pre-K to 8th grade. His curriculum included running the school band and chorus classes, a guitar class and general music classes which would focus on learning about music from around the world and introducing a variety of instruments including piano, trumpet, trombone, recorder and several percussion instruments. Daniel received his formal music education from Armstrong State University in Savannah, GA where he majored in Music Composition with an emphasis on French Horn. With his degree he has focused on writing a series of operas, one of which had a small debut in June 2022.
Grayson Lentz
Guitar Teacher
Grayson Lentz is a Charleston-based multi-instrumentalist with over a decade of performance experience and a passion for live music and live sound production. Self-taught at the age of 14, he has played both guitar and bass in a variety of bands. Grayson has toured across the country twice now and currently plays with three different groups and can be found gigging 4-5 nights every week.
JT Rollerson
Drum Teacher
James “JT” Rollerson, also known professionally as “Crush Ice,” is from Charleston, South Carolina. He began playing drums for his church at the age of 8 where he was exposed to some of the best musicians in the region inspiring him to grow and follow a musical path. His performances to date include Demetria McKinney, Jo Jo, Miguel, the Asap Mob, and more!
JT has appeared in many TV programs like "McDonald's Choir Showcase “ (UPN & FOX Network), “Low Country Live” (ABC), “Lopez Tonight” with George Lopez (TBS), “The Late Late Show” with Craig Ferguson (CBS), “Hall Of Games Awards Show “(Cartoon Network), Canada's "Much Music TV" (muchmusic.com), “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno (NBC), “Live with Kelly Ripa” (ABC), "Presidential Inaugural Ball" (CNN, NBC, CBS), and "The Arsenio Hall Show” (FOX).
JT is and has been the drummer for Far East Movement, the Asian-American pop-rap group from Los Angeles, CA (Cherry Tree/ Interscope Records), having charted with the songs "Like A G6,” “Rocketeer,” and the latest hit single “Live My Life” featuring Justin Bieber.
JT's current completed tour list includes:
"Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour"
"Sorry For Party Rocking Tour"
“Asap Rocky Live Nation Tour”
And more!
JT has also had the privilege and honor of performing for President Barack Obama at his 2013 inaugural ball! JT has completed his latest gig, working with one of hip-hop’s biggest rappers and rap groups, A$AP Rocky and the A$AP Mob. He is now collaborating with actress/singer Demetria McKinney and gearing up for his new tour with Wilder Woods (Bear Reinhart) in the fall of 2023, along with his very own band, Black Noyze.
Annie Lesser
Singing Teacher
Originally from metro Atlanta, Annie grew up with a love for music and found herself performing for friends and family from a very young age. Taking her vocal education to a new level, Annie graduated from Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia (more colloquially known as the “pop-rock school”) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.
In addition to her professional collegiate training, Annie has been taking voice lessons and learning technique her whole life. She has a love for all music and styles, especially rock, folk, bluegrass, indie-pop, and musical theater. Annie has performed in productions ranging from HAIR and REEFER MADNESS to 1776, and others.