By Mark Richmond
Staff Writer

They christened Where Else's music stage three years ago and tonight, 7th Man Down — a local cover band — is returning for its farewell performance.

The band's life is coming full circle as many of its members are graduating this semester. Mike Montag, a senior in the School of Management and lead vocalist for the band, reflected on the band's experiences in Lafayette.

"Three of us were Figis, and we just formed a band," said Montag. They started out by playing at parties and bars for free. When Where Else opened, 7th Man Down was the first band to play there.

Where Else is a great place to play, he said. They give everyone a chance, even the new bands that no one has heard of.

"If you want to get recognized, that's how you go about it," Montag said. "If it wasn't for Sigma Nu and Figis, we never would have gotten our start."

Since its start three years ago, 7th Man Down has grown in size and has become a regular in the Lafayette music scene.

The band includes Montag; Donny Maravilla, a senior in the School of Management (guitar); Greg Buckles, a senior in the Schools of Engineering (bass); Andy Lempera, a Purdue alumnus (drums); Jorge Alvarez, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts (congas); Devon Johnson, a Purdue alumnus (saxophone); Jason Vinluan (violin); and Dena Shepherd, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts (vocals).

Montag said the band’s members all have different musical backgrounds. "I've been playing guitar since I was 13 and been in bands since 15," he said. "Dena used to sing in PMO, and Jorge knew a bunch of guys in the Purdue jazz bands (and brought some of them into the band)."

"We're all pretty good friends; we know we're all in this for good times, so that keeps the stress level down," Montag said.

The band mostly plays cover songs from groups such as Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam and Phish.

Montag said the band has focused on playing mainstream cover songs at their performances. Montag said, "I think why we've been so successful is that we play what people want to hear. You play what they want to hear, or you play in front of no people."

In addition to the band's local performances, it has also opened for the Why Store and played at a Ticketmaster venue at the IU Auditorium during this year's Little 500 weekend in Bloomington.

Now, on the eve of the band's breakup, Montag said the band owes its existence to early supporters and thanked Sigma Nu, Figis and Nick Brown.