An inside look at the Madhatters a cappella group
‘I would say we are really weird dudes’
If you are a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, chances are you’ve heard the word Madhatters. I’m not talking about the bar, I’m talking about the gorgeous men in red who sing like angels.
In honor of their concert on November 11th, I chatted with some members of The Madhatters about what it’s like being a part of the oldest a cappella group on campus.
‘Being a part of the oldest group on campus means being a part of some amazing traditions,’ Will Hoverman said. ‘We have alumni come back who are in their 30’s…so much history. It’s amazing to be a part of a group with a past like the Madhatters.’
When asked how he got involved in the Hatters, Tyler Livingston recalled the moment right away.
‘In high school, I was in an a cappella group. Pretty much music’s always been a part of my life, and I saw the Madhatters perform when I was in high school. I saw the last show of the beatboxer at the time, and it just blew my mind. I started beatboxing more, came here to try out, and luckily got in.’
Will had a similar experience, he confessed he didn’t want to end his music career in college.
‘I’ve always loved singing and performing. When I got accepted to UW-Madison, I thought I’d have to close the door on that part of my life. Then, a friend of mine who was a student here told me about the Hatters. I immediately knew I had to be a part of it.’
The Madhatters have been a constant on the Madison campus since 1997, and they’ve been regularly performing in sold-out shows. When asked what makes them unique, Tyler said, ‘we have a different flavor, I don’t know. Just the way we are on stage, we are really diverse within our group, but we are all the same when we perform. It’s just there, we connect.’
With their busy schedule of sorority gigs on Mondays and three rehearsals a week, not including the out-of-town gigs on the weekends, the Madhatters spend a lot of time together. But music doesn’t happen out of the blue, it takes work.
‘Well, once we are all quiet after the first 20 minutes of seeing each other, we do warm-ups like normal, and then some run-throughs of songs. When we are learning new songs, we split up into sections and we work with our section. Then we come back, see what we have, and it usually sounds like trash the first time. We figure it out.’
‘That I’ve been a soloist in? Right now, we are doing a Cold Water/Closer mash-up,’ Tyler replied, after I asked what his favorite solo moment was. Both songs are incredibly catchy, so we can’t blame you, Tyler.
I asked Tyler what songs he’d love to perform if he had the chance, and he said ‘personally, I have been fighting for this since I’ve been here. I wanted to do Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo just because that’s my jam. I was really fighting for 24K Magic, the new Bruno Mars song but we are actually doing it. That’ll be coming up.’
When asked about the best parts of being a Hatter, both Will and Tyler mentioned the same place: Lambeau Field.
‘Honestly, the best pat about the Hatters is the memories that we make on the road. [I] never thought I’d be able to perform at Lambeau Field, the Governor’s mansion, and for sold-out crowds,’ Will said.
‘I would say Lambeau Field, and it was super cool. It was 800,000+ people, which is insane for college a cappella. Otherwise, I would say Sturgeon Bay is always fun. Some weird things usually happen with overnight gigs. 16 guys on the same hotel floor is always gets weird,’ Tyler commented.
The prestige is definitely there, but many people don’t realize just how goofy these men can be.
‘I would say we are really weird dudes. Not a lot of people assume we are, I don’t know, professionals? We are really quirky dudes, and music just happens to be a thing that we share.’
Make sure to catch these guys for their fall concert, or swoon to their music on their official Facebook page.