Anthony "Fascious" Martinez
Graduation Year: 2008
Major: Music Industry with a minor in Audio Arts Production
Hometown: Bronx, NY
Career: Working with The Hip Hop Theater Festival and The New York International Fringe Festival; recipient of the Bronx Borough's Peacemaker Award.
MEMORABLE COLLEGE EXPERIENCES:
As a member of The Intangibles Spoken Word Collective and founder of the Poetry Slam Association, Fascious gained substantial recognition during his career at Oneonta, both on campus and off. He was a two-time Northeast Regional Poetry Slam champion, two-time Oneonta Grand Slam champion, 11th Annual 7 Deadly Sins Poetry Slam champion, and Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam finalist. He opened for some of today's most innovative artists including Saul Williams, HBO Def Poetry's Anis Mojgani, M1 of Dead Prez, Head Automatica, and Immortal Technique. In addition to performing alongside talents such as The B-Side Players and Grammy-nominated pianist Professor Jeremy Wall (of Spyro Gyra and Oneonta’s Music Department), Fascious was cast for a production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist. He participated in five National Poetry Slam competitions and was a member of the 2005 Oneonta Poetry Slam Team, which was ranked second nationally. He wrote, directed, and performed his own one-man show, Penumbra, which was released as a Hip Hop Theater play. With the support of a 2008 Research and Creative Activity Grant from the college, he completed his solo debut album, also titled Penumbra. Fascious created a festival at Oneonta called The Epicenter, which fuses hip hop, poetry, indie rock, dance, and progressive rock.
CAMPUS ACTIVITIES:
At Oneonta, Fascious participated in the Mask & Hammer theater group, the Music Industry Club, College Union Activities Council, the Students of Color Coalition, the Oneonta State Emergency Squad, and The Wire video club. He also founded his own record company, Regime Records, under whose label he recorded performances and made appearances on campus and off in venues such as universities, high schools, middle schools, juvenile centers, and prisons.
Why Oneonta?
I was a musician in high school and wanted to learn more about business and how to start my own company. I visited, I had an amazing time, I met people I am still friends with today.
What opportunities did you find at Oneonta?
I had all these ideas and wanted to do more than just talk about them. I wanted to make them happen. A lot of people don’t ever get to go to college. I don’t waste time. I feel a big responsibility to show my appreciation and be the best I can be. I want to keep moving and asking questions, and make every moment count.
What did Oneonta do for you?
Oneonta is where I began to establish my identity, who I am, who I am becoming, what I want to do with my life. I finally got to see through my dream of being in theater. There are so many resources at Oneonta, and that is why I got to do my play, to start the music festival.
