Intimate and exclusive, it’s a venue for the chosen few.

A couple of the walls, embellished with invaluable pictures of former performers, is an intriguing sight for newcomers and a highlight for the regulars. On the small stage stands the trademark piece of stained glass which has given the room atmosphere and character over the years.

The sound booth has stories to tell about the acts who have played through the room’s stellar sound system, and the carefully positioned lights show signs of wear from the many acts they have spotlighted.

All these features have contributed to The Maintenance Shop’s character over the years, although the permanent features of the room aren’t the only ones that have given audiences something to view during performances.

Every performer that graces the M-Shop stage brings a special personality and atmosphere to his or her performance.

In order to attain that certain mood or sound, performers bring extra instruments or props that can be used to distinguish their band from others. Flashy costumes, obscure collections of instruments and unique arrays of wigs are just a few things that have been used to accent performances.

After the last note has been sung and the last beat strummed, it’s time to pack up.

In the rush to get out the door and on the road to the next gig, it’s easy to loose track of extra odds and ends. That’s when a few of these “treasured” possessions tend to get left behind.

Dave Brezina, senior in electrical engineering, has worked at the M-Shop since August of 1995 as one of the M-Shop’s sound engineers. After most performances, Brezina helps clean up the M-Shop and put the chairs back into place. During his cleaning escapades, Brezina said he has seen quite a few things bands have left behind after shows.

“Normally when they leave something, it’s usually something that’s easy to forget,” Brezina said. “It’s the kind of things that are expendable.”

Among the more expendable items are guitar picks, drum sticks and broken strings. “A lot of times we just throw [the expendable items] away. Normally it’s junk,” Brezina said. “On tour you go through lots of drum sticks. If you lose one, you don’t think about it.”

There are a few things left behind at the shop that most bands do miss and remember, Brezina said.

Past performers have accidentally left behind more expensive pieces of equipment such as guitar stands and amplifiers. These are items Rusty Poehner, M-Shop coordinator, said most bands don’t easily forget.

“The bands call to get their stuff back, especially if it’s equipment,” Poehner said. “They send me plaintive little notes. Some of them I never notice. I usually take pity on them and put out the bucks to mail it back to them.”

Because Brezina and Poehner are used to finding these band “souvenirs,” they don’t treasure every little piece of concert memorabilia.

However, Brezina said fans who attend the concerts are often thrilled when they find something to take home from the concert, even if it is just a shriveled old guitar string.

“I’ve seen people come up and ask for old beat up guitar picks I would have just thrown in the garbage,” Brezina said. “People also bring in old vinyl LPs to have signed by band members.”

Performers are more than happy to release most of these items to fans, Poehner said. Musicians willingly hand over their old, sweaty, smelly shirts that they wore during the concert, that would have otherwise been tossed in the trash.

“I find [the shirts] two or three days afterward in the green room,” Poehner said.

Other things Poehner has found include “a very nice shade of lipstick,” a “really ugly wig” from Hairball Willie, and slices of old pizza in the green room sofa cushions.

“Everybody leaves [pizza slices] – they’re kind of required,” Poehner said.

Anyone who has ever helped in the sound booth at the M-Shop knows about Stuart Davis’ infamous barbie doll left behind after a concert that featured his “barbie doll song.”

Poehner describes the barbie doll as a “love offering” a fan brought Stuart in dedication to his song.

“The barbie doll was all beat up and tortured and he left it to us,” Brezina said.

To this day, Davis’ Barbie doll hangs in the sound booth, still tortured, still hideous. “It’s hanging above our lighting counsel,” Brezina said. “We use it for running stage lights.”

But not all the items that are left behind are worthless. Poehner said she has found some of the forgotten items useful. About five years ago, Poehner found an old thermos bottle she has become grateful for.

“Nobody came for it and claimed it,” Poehner said. “Every time I go on a road trip, I thank whoever it was that left it.”