by Tanya Ghahremani

Daily Titan Staff Writer

With the spring semester in full swing, ASI Productions (ASIP) began their Wednesday concert series under the sun in the Becker Amphitheatre at noon on Jan. 27. Great performances by LA-based pop-funk-soul band FeelGood and spoken-word poet extraordinaire Sean Hill made up the first installment of the series, kicking off what’s looking to be a unique and exceptional season.

Both acts making up the first show are a part of genres that are noticeably different from the type that ASIP generally books.

“We try to work towards a more diverse audience,” said Associated Students Inc. (ASI) member Francis Szyskowski, who manages and plans the Wednesday concerts along with fellow ASI member Katie Holland. “[We are] trying to appeal to a more massive crowd instead of just one genre of music, like indie bands every week or something like that.”

Well-known bands often perform at these shows. Less than two years ago, popular alternative band The Airborne Toxic Event headlined and folk rock crooner Matt Costa performed just last April.

Though genres the past bands booked have varied, this season promises an even more diverse set of performances.

“I’m trying to bring in some harder-edge stuff,” Szyskowski hinted about future acts, “maybe do some cultural stuff like we did before in the past, where we had hula dancers or belly dancers.”

Performing acts are generally discovered through the magic of social networking sites, through show attendance and by mailed-in demos. ASI encourages anyone interested in participating in the shows to drop off or send in demos to the ASI offices in the Titan Student Union (TSU).

Talent, of course, is always the deciding factor.

The Wednesday shows themselves have been going on for the past couple of years, much to the liking of students like child and adolescent development major Jaclyn Florescio.

“I think it’s a really good idea that they have this. People walk by and they come over here and listen. It gives the band an opportunity to be out and show their talent to everybody.”

The performers at last Wednesday’s show liked it too.

“It’s a lot better than most of the other set-ups I’ve seen at schools. You guys have kind of an amphitheater thing going with great sound. It was really easy to perform up there,” said FeelGood front-man Stefan Di Maria.

“It was fun! I’m glad that a lot of people stayed around and still felt the music – it wasn’t even about me, it was about the music. Beautiful stuff,” said Hill, who opened for FeelGood with a lively set of spoken-word poetry.

It was both the members of FeelGood’s and Hill’s first time performing at Cal State Fullerton.

We can definitely expect much more diversity in the acts to come. Future acts are to include girl-pop-punk band Apocalipstick, and the Feb. 3 show promises country-rock band Good Man Down – two members of which are individually from famed ’90s bands Lit and Sugarcult.