Room Two Rocks Out

A pair of Hofstra Alums and their band try to make it big.

by: Liliana Cipriano

When Room Two played its most recent gig on Long Island , a John Travolta look-a-like straight out of the movie Saturday Night Fever walked into the bar and kept yelling for the band to play Sweet E-motion. Lead singer Kevin Nolan convinced the fan to listen to one of Room Two’s newer songs instead.  When it was over, the would-be Travolta nudged the 23-year-old woman next to him, and said, ‘Hey! These guys are GOOD!’”

Indeed, with a growing fan base and impending record deal, Room Two, a band with Hofstra roots, is on the brink of stardom.  “We are in talks with Sony and Bailey Park Records, which is an independent record label,” said Justin Madden, 23, Room Two’s manager.

Band members Nolan and Chris Vaughan have known each other since high school.  “I met Kevin on a Thursday afternoon when I noticed a huge crowd in front of the third floor men’s room,” said Vaughan, 23, lead guitarist and vocals. “Kevin was [going to the bathroom] in the only stall that didn’t have a door on it. That was the talk of the town for quite a few days.” Despite the strange encounter, Vaughan and Nolan became fast friends when they realized they each loved music.

At Hofstra, Vaughan , a finance major, studied music theory, while Nolan, a marketing major, took a Spanish finger-picking guitar class.   “We both began writing together and started our first band, About II Break, which was just the two of us playing acoustically,” said Nolan, 23, vocals and rhythm guitar.

About II Break didn’t last long. They then both realized they had to do something more to get noticed by a record label. “Playing acoustic was fun at the time, but we knew that to get real recognition we would need to put together a full band,” said Vaughan . “[We needed] something original but definitely mainstream, and to do that we added a bassist, drummer and keyboardist.”

The guys were too busy practicing to think about a name for the band.. “We would practice in a building filled with studios on Long Island,” said Vaughan . “Every time we practiced we went to Room Two because the music always sounded better in that room.” When the band arrived at their first gig and were asked for their name, Nolan made it up on the spot – Room Two.

After recording their first demo album in one week, they started performing at local Long Island bars. They made a name for themselves at college bars like Mulcahy’s, The Blue Parrot and The Bitter End. “Their crowd loves them because it’s like being at a real concert,” said 24-year-old fan Elissa Di Bona. “The boys are very charming and cute.”

Performance has become second-nature. “Being that we have been playing our songs for so long, that kind of frees up my mind to focus on different things,” said Sean Powers, 20, drummer. “I think about what I’m doing after the show, if I’m wearing any underwear, or is the guy in the front row staring at Kevin’s crotch.”

Many people have compared the band’s sound to others like Third Eye Blind, Staind and Dashboard Confessional, but the boys see themselves differently. “We were at first a pop/rock band because we looked like an ugly version of a clean-cut boy band looking to write radio-friendly songs, which are showcased on our first album ‘Everything You Wished For,’” said Nolan. “However, we have grown and definitely become something a little different after the recent release of our second album.”

The band describes its music as 80’s-influenced, with lyrics about situations most people can relate to. With this in mind, their idols come straight from the era of the moonwalk. “Kevin idolizes James Taylor and Michael Jackson,” Vaughan said. “I grew up loving Aerosmith and idolizing Silverchair. They’re still my favorite bands.”