Pillar brings meaning to its music

by Joshua Maloni
Grand Island Dispatch, November 3, 2006
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, November 4, 2006

Pillar

“Everything has meaning,” sings Pillar frontman Rob Beckley on the opening track of “The Reckoning,” his band’s latest release. While that may be true, not everyone interprets the meaning of something the same way.

Take Evanescence, for example. In 2003, the alt-rock band released “Fallen,” which sold 14 million copies behind the strength of hits “Bring Me to Life” and “My Immortal,” two songs widely believed to be Christian-themed.

As it turned out, fans who thought that way had given the band’s lyrics a different meaning than its makers intended. Evanescence, though claiming to be Christian, denied its songs were a reflection of that – guitarist Ben Moody stating plainly his band made songs for everyone.

Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Christian music fans today don’t automatically assume bands communicating Biblical themes are Biblically oriented. Conversely, they don’t automatically write off bands that, on the surface, don’t typify a traditional Christian image.

This broadened perspective has been fueled by the notion – and practice, of late – that Christian music and rock music can co-exist. Christian alt rockers Flyleaf shared the Family Values Tour stage with Korn and the Deftones. Decyfer Down has opened for Puddle of Mudd and Breaking Benjamin. Pillar, performing Oct. 31 at the Buffalo Icon, has done shows with Slipknot and Limp Bizkit.

“That thought process has opened the door for people to be more accepting,” Beckley said during a phone interview. In other words, the Kingdom Bound crowd hasn’t shunned the Warped Tour kids, or vice versa. The music of each group is allowed to live, and breathe, and move.

“When it comes down to it,” Beckley explains, “People respect you for how good you are as musicians.”

By providing good music, and refraining from imposing a belief system on others, rock music has proven a more reliable means of spreading the Good News than most Sunday school classes. Music fans – teen-agers, in particular – that might resist a sermon or cringe at a Bible reading are willing to listen to faith-based songs from bands like Pillar.

“If you’re a good band, and you write good songs, I’ll listen to it,” Beckley said.

Choosing to present Christianity, rather than attack secularism, has proven an effective means for Bible-believing bands to spread the Gospel’s meaning to new audiences.

“I live my life for Jesus; I don’t put on a show,” Beckley said. “I don’t think that anyone can go through our music or read our biography and not see that we’re Christian.”

While Pillar’s belief in God is obvious, so too it’s not hard to see why the foursome has shared the stage with hard rock bands. “The Reckoning” is an anthemic, head-banging collection of 13 full-throttle songs, and the band – fine-tuning its live show for eight hours each day – presents each in a memorable way.

“We have some pretty cool moments,” Beckley said. “We’re putting on a show – it’s not just lights.”

Pillar brings its “The Day of the Reckoning” tour to the Buffalo Icon, 391 Ellicott St., Buffalo, on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. Opening acts include Days of Fire, The Showdown and Decyfer Down.