Posted on April 3, 2008
Harrisonburg is gearing up for one of the biggest indie music celebrations taking place in the Valley this weekend.
Friday and Saturday, the Mid-Atlantic College Radio Conference (MACRoCk), run by local WXJM radio station volunteers, will feature more than 70 lesser-known bands on the rise and a few more prominent artists, such as Maps and Atlases, Valkyrie, Mas y Mas, Fin Fang Foom and Owen.
After taking a break in 2007, the MACRoCk committee has returned full-force and independent of its JMU ties. This year the event is entirely student-run and funded, and unlike previous years, all activities will take place in venues in Downtown Harrisonburg including Blue Nile, Clementine, Court Square, Little Grill Collective, Memorial Hall, VFW Hall and Garibaldi’s.
Freelance publicist Sean Patrick Rhorer, 28, volunteered to help the MACRoCk committee find speakers for the panels as well as book the punk/hardcore showcase. Rhorer, from Richmond Va., said he felt the new independence of MACRoCk’s organization will benefit the Harrisonburg community. “They’ve had to fight to keep this [event] alive,” he said. “They found the money, the venues… I think what the MACRoCk organizers have accomplished is really admirable.”
MACRoCk will feature several showcases this weekend, including punk/hardcore, rock, indie rock and metal. Other events include a label exposition to take place at the Masonic Temple Friday.
MACRoCk’s Web site explains that the exposition will allow students to interact and network with members of independent labels, booking agencies, public relations groups and local businesses selling art and other goods. Participating groups include Dischord Records, Lovitt Records, Building Tomorrow, Icon Omnimedia and the Sound/Friends Network.
Rhorer said there will be three different panels this weekend: DIY Recording, DIY Publishing and a record label panel.
The DIY Recording panel will introduce several musicians, engineers and producers for recording studios. The panel includes Don Zientara, producer and sound engineer who started Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Va. Rhorer said Zientara has created “a lot of really legendary recordings for Dischord and other well-known labels.” Zientara has worked with bands such as Jimmy Eat World, Fugazi and Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters. Rhorer said attendees will have a chance to learn about a range of recording equipment and techniques.
The record label panel will also feature representatives from independent labels who will explain the processes of promoting, distributing and releasing records. Panelists for DIY Publishing will discuss publishing their works and share experiences of working in a changing media environment.
“I think in the past there were a lot of good ideas for the panels, but were maybe not executed as well,” Rhorer said. “This year all three of the panels are really solid.”
For Harrisonburg residents and students just looking to hear new music and favorite bands, buying a weekend ticket opens the door to several showcases at once.
Ben Mills, a freshman business marketing major from Gloucester, Va., said he was eager to hear The Cinnamon Band and Auxes. “I have a couple friends that are helping out with MACRoCk, and I just always kind of wanted to go to it,” he said.
Students helping out with the conference this year expressed enthusiasm for seeing bands up close in the downtown venues. “I was really excited to see both Anathallo and Maps and Atlases,” said Rachel Sarah Blanton, asst. venue head for the showcase at Clementine. “I've seen Anathallo before last spring at Starr Hill and they were really great; the whole band switches around and plays different instruments throughout the show.” Blanton, a junior SMAD major, said she will have the opportunity to interact with and meet bands playing the show.
The complete list of bands, locations, prices and times for the MACRoCk event can be found at macrock.org.
