MUSIC THROUGH A LENS: A MACROCK PHOTO SERIES

Awaiting MACROCK 2017 was the closest I’ve come to giddiness since Christmas as a kid. My anxiety swelled as the date approached. I needed an activity to gauge my excitement, so I rented a camera from the local camera shop downtown, Glen’s Fair Price, and began shooting that very night at The Golden Pony’s MACROCK warm up show.

Aside from local bands, I wasn’t familiar with any performing musicians, which minimized the disappointment faced when having to pick between musicians with the same time slot playing at different venues. This year I was looking forward to see what I’d stumble in to. I mostly took pictures of local musicians who I knew to avoid an awkward conversation with an offended stranger about my obnoxious camera flash. Musicians I took photos of include Flyying Colors, Illiterate Light, Jaguardini, Kal Marx, Lung, and Zooanzoo.

Flyying Colors is Graham Brouder’s project based out of Harrisonburg, VA. He played at The Golden Pony for the MACROCK warm up show. Flyying Colors is soft like a fluffy dream with a pretty guitar sound and vocal harmonies that caress the heart.

WRISTS bandcamp describes him as a noisy electro hip-hop artist from New Jersey. He played at The Golden Pony with an energy that was wild and contagious inspiring uninhibited dancing.

Kal Marks is a post punk band with a versatile sound from Boston, Massachusetts. They headlined on the first night of MACROCK at The Golden Pony, playing a clean and edgy set.

Musicians played on Court Square by tents filled with vendors selling all sorts of items: art, jewelry, and clothes.

Lung is a two-piece band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They consist of an electric cello and drums. They filled The Artful Dodger with their dramatic and dark sound.

Illiterate Light is a two-piece band based out of Harrisonburg, VA. They consist of Jeff Gorman on guitar and Jake Cochran on drums. I’ve seen them play a few times but this set had particularly high energy; it was incredible, so blissful. I felt like I was in a room packed with best friends in the at-capacity Artful Dodger.

Pictured: Jake Cochran.

Zooanzoo is Zach William’s project based out of Harrisonburg, VA. He usually performs alone but lately has played with drummer, Josh Hebdon. Zooanzoo, an electro pop artist, played a poppy beat pumping set at Wolfe St. Brewery.

Jaguardini is Ivan Christo’s project based out of Harrisonburg, VA. Jaguardini brings the element of surprise because their sets are never the same. Jaguardini entranced a packed audience at Wolfe St Brewery. He took us on a jazzy electro journey through time and space, an epic adventure.