Alison Neubauer
Jrn 400
Article 2 imc fest
782

IMC Fest is back this year, bringing together an eclectic mix of local music, visual and performing arts, belly dancers and political social speakers to perform during a three day festival on April 17-19. This year the Independent Media Center and Boneyard Arts are working in conjunction to promote both events.
A widely diverse range of music will be featured. Thirty bands are scheduled to play including Kilborn Alley, Elsinore, Headlights and Jigsaw. The bands’ musical styles range from folk, rock, indie, punk, blues, hip-hop, jazz and electronica. Twenty-Eight of those bands are local to the Champaign area.
Besides music, Boneyard Arts will have it’s art show on display noon to two a.m. beginning Thursday April 16.
“Traditionally the IMC is always part of Boneyard as a venue for artists but this year we are both that and evening entertainment spotlight as well,” said Dan Blah, an active IMC volunteer and the main organizer of this event..
The speakers include local activists and people who are part of the IMC who will talk about the history of this local IMC, the Indy media movement and their own movements and organizations.
“I want it to be a spectacle. A kind of controlled chaotic circus. It’s going to be crazy,” said Blah.
IMC Fest is a music and arts festival coordinated by groups of volunteers and IMC staff. The shows group, finance group, production group, WRFU 104.5, and the tech group make up the IMC organization. This year, IMC Fest encompasses the whole organization and Boneyard Arts, unlike previous years when just the shows group put the event together. IMC Fest and Boneyard Arts focuses on local talent.
“This is a way to get people and bands exposed to the IMC,” said Blah. Blah hopes to see 600 people over the entire weekend.
Planning for IMC Fest starts months in advance. Prospective headlining bands and bands who previously played are contacted first, then others follow. About 50 bands were contacted this year and because of such a large positive response, 20 had to be let go.
“You lose three months of your life every year,” said Blah. This fest also digs into the pockets of organizers.
According to Blah, all the funding is donated from the organizers and sponsors. Nobody gets paid, all the money goes to the IMC to pay for programs.
Local band Common Loon is playing for their second time at IMC Fest after playing in 2007, the year their band formed. They are looking forward to hearing the local bands they will be playing with.
“There are tons of good musicians in town and you don’t always get to hear all of them,” said Matt Campbell, the drummer, keyboardist and vocalist of Common Loon. “It’s a very eclectic mix of music. It’s cool to hear something new,” said Campbell.
Common Loon, a kind of dreamy psychedelic pop band, as described by the guitarist and vocalist Robert Hirschfelb, see IMC Fest not only as an opportunity to hear new music but also an opportunity for new people to hear them. IMC fest grew significantly since the last one two years ago.
“I’m pretty excited about this year. There’s a lot more collaboration and new shows members. It’s not just me,” said Blah.
The first IMC Fest was held in 2003 at the Canopy Club. It was a building campaign to raise money to buy a building specifically for the Independent Media Center. When the original organizer, Zack Miller, left after he got a job in Australia, the IMC Fest took a hiatus resulting from lack of motivation and time by other members. Another IMC Fest in 2007 raised money for a better radio tower for WRFU 104.5 that covered a larger area.
To avoid interfering with Pygmalion and other fall festivals, IMC fest skipped fall 2008 and prepared for spring 2009. According to Blah, IMC fest will now be annual.
The IMC is a non-profit, grassroots organization that uses media production and distribution to promote social and economic justice in the Champaign-Urbana area, according to their website.
“The goal is to bring the media to the people, allowing people to get their voices out. It’s a community center with social goals for social progress,” said Blah.
Blah is looking forward to seeing the public’s reaction and to seeing the impression everyone’s hard work makes on the audience.
“It’s not just about seeing the bands. It’s also about the art, the culture, the influence, talking to people, and the sense of ownership. It’s exciting to see that happen,” said Blah.





Sources

Dan Blah
Blah@chambana.net
217-714-2738


Matt Campbell
309-530-1701
Casacada@gmail.com

Robert Hirschfelb
217-417-3302

www.Ucimc.org


http://www.40north.org/events/festival.html