By Bianca Strzelczyk
Unique. That is the single word Megan McGregor uses to describe the two-man musical collaboration of Mike Mathieu and Dave Coffin.
“You never know what to expect at the show,” the senior music industry major said.
And fans do not know where to expect the duo to play, either.
Last year, after a series of misunderstandings with afterHOURS, Northeastern’s on-campus nightclub, regarding contracts and sound equipment, Mathieu and Coffin took their two-man acoustic-rock show up one flight of stairs to the first floor of the Curry Student Center. At this time, “the Hangar,” a collection of shows at the site, was born.
“We were supposed to be headlining,” Mathieu said. “A friend of ours said to go play in the student center. Everybody got up [and followed us out]. We just had our guitars and started playing.”
The move upstairs was the culmination of numerous problems with the nightclub, Mathieu said.
“Every time we tried to play, there was always some stress involved,” the music industry major said. “We just wanted a place without the corporate structure.”
Manager of afterHOURS Jacqueline Indrisano said the musicians were justified in taking action, but should also have spoken to the club.
“Every musician has a right to question what goes on with their sound,” she said. “We’ve made many improvements since then.”
Since the incident, the two have hosted numerous shows at “the Hangar,” while looking for other on-campus venues to play.
“All we wanted was to play somewhere else,” Mathieu said. “We want to show students entertainment outside of afterHOURS.”
These other venues would be places where students could set up their own shows without having to deal with the regulations put forth by contracts. It would be free for students, Mathieu said.
Coffin and Mathieu said they wanted an alternative to the “corporate structure” of afterHOURS. They said they view afterHOURS as a part of the university and thus, Mathieu said, they feel the nightclub’s goal is to make money.
The afterHOURS dilemma was a catalyst for Mathieu and Coffin to join student government to incite change. As part of the organization, they were able to reserve the space, located under the stairway on the first floor of the student center, for their shows last year. They played once a month and became officially dubbed the “Hangars.”
“We don’t know exactly why [we are called that],” Coffin said. “[I think] one of our friends came up with the name because the area looks like a plane hangar.”
The shows became a forum for developing their live act and promoting the Dave and Mike EP, an album they recorded and released themselves last year. Since both are music industry majors, the pair shares a particular interest in the music world.
“[Our music is] all we’ve got,” Mathieu said. “We are very into the business.”
Currently they are concentrating on organizing their six-member band, but they plan on starting up again in January with the “Hangar” shows.
Their next show is a return to the on-campus club they once rejected. Coffin and Mathieu are scheduled to perform Saturday at afterHOURS at 9 p.m.
“We have [long] reconciled with afterHOURS. They have done a lot of improvements since [last year],” Mathieu said.
But Mathieu said he insists the lesson pulled from the afterHOURS experience is that there should be new forums for artist development, which he hopes to partake in. He said if students are interested in other venues to play their music, they can contact Coffin and Mathieu at [email protected].
