Reggae in fine fashion.

People of all ages gathered at Shaka’s, a local spot at the Oceanfront, to watch a performance by the “Buddha Council” band. “Buddha Council” is a locally based band consisting of some of the school’s alumni, such as Aaron Kuklica, Rhett Walton, and Travis Mansell.

Band members Mansell, Walton, Kuklica, as well as John Wilkens, Pat Spalding, James Dale, and Thayer Davis got together to form the band, after having a desire to play music based on the reggae genre. However, they weren’t strangers to one another. In fact, some of the members have known each other since grade school.

“I used to work with our lead singer down at 17^th Surf Shop and I met the rest of the guys through friends,” Mansell said. “It’s really just the same people in the same bands just reforming and changing scenes.”

After other musical opportunities didn’t work out, members decided to get together and make their own reggae music. And on May 2 of last year they released their first album.

“The band is fairly new so I was relieved that we released our album so soon after,” Mansell explained.

Choosing a name though didn’t come easy. It took a lot of brainstorming and group messages to finally narrow it down to “Buddha Council.”

“I thought of the name ‘Buddha Council’ for the band. It was rejected for a while, but I always had the name in the back of my head,” Walton said. “Then on the day of the winter photo shoot we decided on ‘Buddha Council’.”

The band’s goals include always being the topic of discussion; even though their name may be featured in a magazine they always looking to move up to the next level.

“The nature of a musician is that you’re always pushing for the next level and trying to get your art out there,” Mansell said. “You’re almost never satisfied because you always want something better for your band.”

For now they tour around South East Virginia and the Virgin Islands performing shows. With high hopes of success, they aim to put out another album and get their music heard around the world.

“With all the work we put into our music I don’t see why we can’t one day tour the world.  Maybe even win a Grammy,” Mansell said. “But right now my immediate goals are to get the band on tour maybe even bigger festivals.”