The Basement Band Series is a weekly event under the subhead of student activities. Almost all the shows take place in the basement of the Marshall Center, and the bands range from alternative rock to coffee-shop soloists to full-fledged pop music.

“I think something like this was done a long time ago,” said Brian Joyce, the series organizer who started the series during last year’s fall semester.

“We’re working on increasing our diversity,” Joyce said, referring to other genres of music.

The method of scheduling bands to the series is simple: contact Joyce via press packets, agents or even by sending a CD. Depending on who’s headlining on what week, Joyce schedules local bands to open based on complimentary styles.

International Orange is one of the more prominent bands featured in the series lineup so far. The band has received its fair share of critical- and fan- based acclaim with members Robert Sledge from Ben Folds and Snuzz from Ben Folds Five.

The Unsung Zeros are the hometown heroes of Orlando and should appeal to the more MTV-emo- inclined crowd. The band’s song “Always It Will Be the Same” fits right in with TRL. The Unsung Zeros can be seen at the Marshall Center basement on Oct. 8.

The concerts are usually scheduled from 9-11 p.m., with performances lasting from 45 to 50 minutes.

For many new students, the basement of the Marshall Center often remains unnoticed, and Joyce wants to get more students involved.

“The main difference this year is that we’re more focused on marketing,” Joyce said, mentioning new T-shirts and some outdoor concerts.

Curious performer Jay Hansen is set to perform on Oct. 29. As stated on his Web site, immodestly called the Jay Hansen movement, he plays a wide variety of instruments including the EBow, djembe, binger and other instruments that sound cool to have in one’s repertoire. Another solo artist, Amanda Garrigues, hails from Gainesville and sings about the human condition. She’ll play Oct. 22.

Basic Rock Outfit, due to play Nov. 11, looks to be on the quirkier side of the lineup so far, noting influences from The Beatles to Gen X.

Concerning any crazy stories of the bands he’s worked with so far, Joyce said they’ve been “Mostly pretty cool.” In other words, well behaved. Sooner or later, one of these bands is going to change that.

The Brand plays Friday in the Marshall Center basement. The Basement Band Series schedule is at www.ctr.usf.edu/bbs/.