Marc Choquette
Assistant Perspectives Editor
Tickets are on sale for the Nov. 4 Matt Wertz/Jars of Clay show at Alumni Park, at which the tag team will blow your socks off in an epic concert that will probably trigger an earthquake of massive proportions that Malibu has long-evaded.
OK, so maybe not everyone is as amped about the show as I am. I do not want to take away from Jars of Clay or Matt Wertz because they are an extremely talented bunch. As far as having a successful show that will attract as many students and others from outside the Pepperdine community to check out, however, these probably are not the guys to call.
We need to up the ante. We need to go big. Pepperdine is going bigger on the landscaping, the athletics, the facilities and the endowment yet such tight restrictions on what musicians can perform here leaves the Student Programming Board with little opportunity to land a bigger name and a void in our historically lacking student life.
Why should bands that solely identify themselves as Christian be the only ones sought to play here? Plenty of musicians out there have Christian backgrounds but would rather be labeled “musicians” instead of “Christian musicians.” Lyrics can parallel ideas of faith and love yet because they are not identified as Christian, the bands are overlooked.
According to Facebook, artists like Jack Johnson, John Mayer and Death Cab for Cutie are among the most popular bands among Pepperdine students. Are these artists considered too offensive to play here?
It is too restricting to only book artists to play here that openly and outwardly identify themselves as “Christian.” This narrow allowance of music diversity promulgates more students to instead take their money to L.A. venues, rather than re-investing in Pepperdine.
Christian bands should still be sought to play here, but Pepperdine needs to broaden their horizons, to attract an artist that will get everyone out. We just have to face the fact that, although well intentioned, Christian music is not going to create a stir on campus.
When Something Corporate came two years ago, lead singer Andrew McMahon commented on stage that before his arrival at Pepperdine, nobody had ever told him what he could or could not say on stage. He was obviously unhappy enough about it that he felt the need to mention this to us. The crowd instead screamed the one obscenity of the night after McMahon turned his microphone toward them. So much for trying to put a stop to such vulgarity.
If we are going to invite artists and them give them a list of words they cannot say, it is no wonder we cannot get popular bands to come here. These are the same words students on campus use everyday. Should students be banned from saying these words as well?
Music has always been about what people like and what they want to hear. At Pepperdine it should be no different, as long as the artist is not grossly inappropriate, essentially meaning excess profanity. Ninety-nine percent of musicians, regardless of background, try to wow crowds instead of disgusting them with lewd behavior. That might have worked in the 80s but not anymore.
Furthermore, SPB needs to give all students the choice of who should come here by conducting some sort of survey or vote. It is the only way for it to assure that the interest is there.
Attracting a higher-profile artist to come here not only makes students happy but also makes business sense for the school. Prime location and high outside interest in Pepperdine concerts (as Jimmy Eat World and Something Corporate Ticketmaster sales proved) can be the cornerstones of a worthy investment for Pepperdine. Something Corporate sold 800 tickets on Ticketmaster in a few days, while a mere 50 student tickets went unsold of the 700. The 2005 Jimmy Eat World show sold out Firestone Fieldhouse.
So while I am ambivalent towards Jars of Clay, as I am sure many other students are, I hope the SPB and the administration can someday share the dream of going big.
10-05-2006