A CSUN student band will be playing the Union Program Council’s (UPC) noontime concert.
PapaFish, an up-andcoming band, will take the stage at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30 at the University Student Union (USU).
UPC co-chair Jagrup Singh said the UPC noontime concerts have been going on for a number of years and the event comes into play from the student band submission Web link that has been created.
“This semester the music subcommittee of UPC decided to follow a new structure, and have student bands verses bigger name bands showcase their talents, while providing their fellow students enjoyment through music, and a chance to relax from classes,” Singh said.
PapaFish’s genre can be classified under Rock, Reggae and Ska, Singh said. He added that the diverse music group can provide enjoyment for all sorts of music fans.
Fernando Alarcon, 23, political science major, said he’s very supportive of student bands on campus.
“I feel we should all support student bands,” Alarcon said. “It’s a nice gesture to attend the events of fellow students. I know that when it comes to music, it’s difficult for everyone to like the style and genres of all the bands that perform, but it’s an act of kindness to be supportive and at least let friends who are open to all kinds of music know about these events so that the bands have an audience.”
The band selection process for noontime concerts is based on a new method the UPC adopted, Singh said.
“Student bands submit their videos online, that get placed onto a YouTube channel for other students to vote upon,” Singh said. “From various voting techniques the line-up of performing bands is chosen for the semester. At the end of the semester we hope to have a battle of the bands event of the most popular chosen bands.”
According to Singh, when it comes to non-student bands the UPC looks to students for their musical interests. The UPC then uses surveys to test the awareness and success of the bands that could potentially perform at CSUN. The bands are then chosen based on the results.
With already three noontime concerts this semester, PapaFish will mark the fourth concert.
Singh said there is one more concert scheduled for this semester, which will be held at the UPC Earth Day event in the Plaza Del Sol on April 22, 2010 at 12 p.m.
“This event will be a collaboration with a UPC Craft Corner, which gives students an opportunity to bring out their creative side,” Singh said. “The band performing on Earth Day is not yet confirmed, but will be a non-student band, who will draw attention for the CSUN students to: 1) provide music and possibly expose them to a new genre of music and 2) raise awareness of our Noontime Concert student bands submission process, UPC, and lastly the USU.”
