A two-man band in Denton Hall has given the words “elevator music” new meaning.
Nick “Cool Wave” Montopoli and Brad “Style” Schachat have joined forces musically, playing their violin and guitar, respectively, for residents who ride the elevators in North Campus dorms.
The sophomores play any of the 23 (and counting) popular songs in their musical arsenal in the dorm elevators, mostly in Denton Hall, performing songs such as Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” Britney Spears’ “… Baby One More Time” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” – and they do it with a smile.
“They look at you. They smile. Then they start rocking out,” said Conor Scott, a freshman government and politics and philosophy major who lives on the fifth floor of Denton Hall along with Montopoli. “They make the elevator a wonderful, magical experience.”
Montopoli, who began playing the violin at age 5, and Schachat, who picked up the guitar at age 11, decided to start playing their instruments in dorm elevators shortly after they met in the fall of 2007 and realized they shared a similar taste in music. The performances are mostly for fun, but the two hope to garner interest for their newly formed band, Sextacy.
People’s reactions to their first bizarre encounter with the musicians in the elevator, Montopoli said, can vary.
“Most people are pleasantly surprised when the elevator doors open and they are greeted by two friendly gentlemen performing a familiar tune,” he said. “Every once in a while, people appear to get angry because of our music, but those people are missing out on a great time.”
Scott was at first caught off-guard when he discovered the two students in the elevator. “I mean, it’s not something you see every day,” he said.
Other students, although not angry about the music, are unsure whether to enter the elevator in the first place.
“I felt really awkward,” said freshman letters and sciences major Richa Shah, an Easton Hall resident who had to ride all the way to the eighth floor with the musicians. “I tried to avoid looking at them because I was laughing so hard.” Shah said she was too weirded out to really enjoy the ride.
Montopoli thinks the best reaction he and Schachat receive is when people sing and dance along with the music. He said some students even give tips of as much as $5.
“I remember watching people trying to get into the same elevator as them, just to listen,” said Victor Adebusola, a junior government and politics major who is the resident assistant on Denton’s fifth floor. “I know a lot of people in my building enjoy them playing on the elevators.”
Sophomore biology major and Denton resident Rachel Kirkpatrick said the duo is “mad awesome.” She saw the pair play while hanging out at Denton’s front desk.
“They rode up and down all night. We cheered every time the door opened,” Kirkpatrick said.
After initially playing only in Denton Hall, the pair decided this fall to begin providing their service to residents of other dorms. They even made a Facebook group,”Fro Dude and Tall Guy: Those Studs Who Play in the Elevator,” just before spring break to gather support and to post scheduled dates of when they would perform in different dorms on North Campus. Elkton Hall is listed as the only dorm where Montopoli and Schachat will not perform.
When the musicians decided to branch out to other dorms, Elkton was their first choice. Montopoli said everything was running smoothly until a resident assistant “pulled us aside and told us that the elevators were for transporting people only and that we were not allowed to play there.”
Montopoli said he and Schachat will happily start playing in Elkton Hall again if they can collect 300 signatures from Elkton residents requesting a performance.
“Plus,” Montopoli added, “it’s fun to hold a grudge, and it makes for interesting things to write on our Facebook group.”
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