MACRoCk makes some noise

For those of who salivate over the mere thought of going to an event like the South By Southwest conference in Austin or the CMJ Music Marathon in NYC, your appetite for independent music will be pleasantly satiated by Harrisonburg's own MACRoCk.

The Mid-Atlantic Radio Conference is annually hosted by 88.7 WXJM, JMU's student-run radio station. This weekend Harrisonburg will see more than 7,000 people from across the country travel to hear the 100 bands play. There will also be a trade show, label exposition, and round table discussions.

MACRoCk's main goal is to celebrate and promote lesser-known and independent bands who often get lost in today's highly commercial environment of carefully manicured and airbrushed manufactured pop music. A blind listening committee selected artists from over 700 applicants.

It is not only small, unknown bands performing at MACRoCk this year. A number of the artists have large, underground followings, while other artists are up and coming. Sam Yoder, drummer for campus favorite Oscar's Mad, said, "I was a little disappointed when our application for MACRoCk was turned down, but I felt a lot better when I found out that bands like Pedro the Lion would be there."

MACRoCk's list of past bands boasts names like the late Elliott Smith, The Faint, Fugazi, Juliana Theory, Hot Water Music, Hackensaw Boys, and Dashboard Confessional, just to name a few. This is your chance to fulfill every indie rock kid's dream of being able to say "Oh yeah, I saw them a long time ago, you know, before they were popular."

Shows will be held all over Harrisonburg this weekend starting Friday at 4:30 p.m. and wrapping up around 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. A mere $20 will get you a badge that gets you into all of the shows. Many of the shows are on JMU's campus at the PC Ballroom or Godwin Gym, as well as Dave's Downtown Taverna, the Little Grill, Court Square Theater, and The Pub. While most of the bands fall into the indie rock and hardcore genres, there are also a number of electronic, hip-hop, punk, Americana, acoustic, and even jazz acts to satisfy almost everyone's musical tastes.

This year my pick for the band not to miss is Pedro the Lion. They play at 11:20 p.m. Friday night in the JMU PC Ballroom. David Bazan leads the band with his haunting voice and dark, thoughtful lyrics that present an unsettlingly challenging theology. What else would you expect from a songwriter who is known to openly admit his Christian beliefs while at the same time despising the inherently contradictory genre of "Christian Rock?" His songs do not deny the darker side of human nature and the challenges that all people, Christian or not, face as a consequence of that.

Bazan's narrative and melodic songs use tales of infidelity and murder to challenge our often-hypocritical beliefs as Christians. Even if you don't enjoy Pedro the Lion's music it is sure to spark one of the things that we Mennonites were born to do: have dialogue about theological issues.

A full schedule of bands and events can be found at http://www.jmu.edu/wxjm/macrock/index.html. Tickets can be purchased at the Warren Box Office on JMU's campus.

Pack some snacks in your backpack, put on your favorite thrift store t-shirt and your most comfortable retro-sneakers, because parking is sure to be horrible if you plan on punishing your eardrums this weekend.