3 Farmingdale Boys Raise $4,000 For The Bahamas With Live Music

FARMINGDALE, NY — Three middle school students from Farmingdale found a way to have an impact outside of the country.

Mariano Schwartz, Ryan Loughlin and Aidan Hamilton, who make up the band Starcasm, performed at a local Starbucks on Friday, Sept. 13, where they pledged that all the money they could raise would go towards recovery and relief efforts in the Bahamas after the country suffered massive damage from Hurricane Dorian.

Schwartz, 12, plays the piano. Loughlin, 13, plays the cello. And Hamilton, 12, plays the drums. For over an hour, the trio entertained the Starbucks crowd with instrumental covers of songs such as Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's "Shallow," John Legend's "All of Me," Prince's "Purple Rain," AC/DC's "Back in Black," Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" and Force MD's "Tender Love."

The concert proved a success, as the band raised $944. Hamilton said the boys' parents matched whatever they raised, which brought the total to $2,000. Schwartz's dad, Brian, works at HSBC, and said the bank will match that donation, bringing the total to $4,000. Loughlin said there are still donations coming in through friends and family, as well.

"It feels really good," Mariano Schwartz told Patch. "Not only do I get to think I’ve done something good for the community and the Bahamas, I feel like I’ve done a good thing for the world."

Through their parents, each boy felt a special connection to what the Bahamas are facing in the aftermath of a hurricane. Schwartz's dad's hometown in Puerto Rico faced similar issues a few years back. Hamilton's mom experienced hurricanes first hand when she lived in Saint Vincent in the Caribbean. Loughlin's mom used to live on Saint Thomas, another Caribbean area occasionally hit by hurricanes.

"We saw Dorian going over the Bahamas and absolutely wiping out almost everything that was down there," Loughlin said. "As a group, we all thought that maybe a good idea would be instead of keeping any tip money we get to ourselves, taking that tip money and giving it to an organization that will use that money towards helping rebuild the Bahamas."

Loughlin added that it was the least they could do, and that he hopes the money will expedite the reconstruction process.

Once the idea was put out there, all three boys were in agreement.

"After we saw the path of the hurricane and that it was going to wipe out the Bahamas, and then we saw what happened to the island, we were all really devastated, because it means a lot to us," Hamilton said.

Brian Schwartz said the group has yet to decide on which organization they'll send their proceeds to, though they've narrowed it down to about three. In the meantime, he encourages people to donate to The American Red Cross.

But this won't be the only charitable effort for Starcasm. The boys said they'll look to do another concert and raise money for whatever charity needs it.

Hamilton said one of the teachers at Weldon E. Howitt Middle School, where the boys currently attend, asked the band if it could perform for the opening of the school garden in the Sixth Grade Courtyard. If all goes well, he said he hopes to raise more money there.

Starcasm, named after Loughlin misheard Schwartz's dad's suggestion of Sarcasm, formed a few months ago when the boys were each working on the song "Shallow" on their own by coincidence. They then worked on the song together and eventually performed it at a backyard barbecue. The idea came for Starbucks when they realized that the coffee shop would allow them to perform outside.

The boys aren't sure what the future of Starcasm holds, but Loughlin hinted there are plans for more charitable performances in the works.

"People just have to look forward and be ready for them," he said.