"Mighty" Mike McGee's Electronic Place of Himself.
Typings of a well-traveled, talky, funny, hobo-poet.
Made it home to Silicon Valley. Now for a lot of bouncing around the Bay Area as I vagabond my life for a while through the run of my show in San Francisco.
This show is a real departure for me. I am stoked to be doing my thing in theaters. It’s the right venue for talking.
Click here for the Facebook event page of my show run through August.
Click here for half priced tickets.
My one man show opens this Sunday, August 8, 2010 – EXACTLY seven years to the day of winning the NPS Indie Grand Championship in Chicago. Weird.
I have been self-employed for seven years. I am a whole new person. This version of me has never had a job.
RESIDENCE
The weirdest part about being back in the Bay is realizing just how settled I was at home in Worcester. The only key I own is for the lock on my storage unit in San José, which I’ve been renting since September 2002. I just put a few things in there yesterday and will be living out of a suitcase indefinitely. I may ask for a couch, floor or porch to crash on. I am f’n back.
I am determined to adjust my life to re-building a poetry scene here in San José, while designing new tours and making sure my family is in good spirits and health, along with my own spirits and health.
This is the smart list; borrowed from Derrick Brown:
Winter: Chill, stay warm and focus on local community.
Spring: Tour incessantly.
Summer: Stay cool, tour until it’s hot, then focus on community.
Autumn: Tour incessantly.
I am in a good place, but it’s a new place. I am full of ideas and oomph. I want people and poets to invest in this oomph. Give me your time and skill and I will give you mine. You have my word.
I miss Worcester. Most importantly, I miss the people of New England that invested in me and gave me their time. I hope they feel I returned the same and more. I hope they know they have given me one of the best homes I’ve ever had. I hope they realize how beautiful they are and keep investing in all the wonderful people that come through. Don’t invest in the wack, Worcester. Cut the fat.
I will be back. I still need you, Wormtown. I do, I do. Considering how much a part of Worcester I became, even with all of my coming and going, I am confident that anyone can immerse themselves into any community they believe in. I believe in you, Woo. I do.
This entry was written by , posted on 4 August, 2010 at 6:32 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged Bay Area, california, home, poetry scenes, San-Jose-California, silicon valley, Worcester-Massachusetts. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
My heart goes out to the people of Chile today and still to the people of Haiti who are going through one of my biggest fears right now: utter and total loss of loved ones, familiar environment and property due to massive earthquakes.
I will never forget the 7.1 San Andreas fault temblor on October 17, 1989. I was 13 years old and at my aunt’s apartment complex alone in San Jose, California. I have never felt more scared, more unprepared and more alone. The aftershocks were the worst reminders of what had taken place. During the quake, I panicked and looked out the window only to see the intersection of Willow Street and Bird Avenue liquefy and ripple like water. It was the most disconcerting visual of my childhood. We were lucky. The whole Bay Area was pretty lucky.
Haiti still needs help and will need help for a long time. Physical help. Chile may need even more help. Hawaii may suffer the consequences of a tsunami. That scares me so much. I have checked in with a bunch of people in Honolulu and they are okay and will keep updating. It’s so good that they have so much time to prepare.
As for the future, I implore the the people of Mexico, California, Portland, Washington, B.C. and Alaska to see these events as a huge warning. This will happen locally at some point in the future. I hate to think of it, but it’s a fact and my generation has been lucky so far that we haven’t had to deal with such tragedy. But when it comes, I will be there to help. Until then, prepare. Be ready. It will be well worth it and you will be so glad you did.
———
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 27 February, 2010 at 10:31 AM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged Bay Area, earthquake, earthquake zone. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
My heart goes out to the people of Chile today and still to the people of Haiti who are going through one of my biggest fears right now: utter and total loss of loved ones, familiar environment and property due to massive earthquakes.
I will never forget the 7.1 San Andreas fault temblor on October 17, 1989. I was 13 years old and at my aunt’s apartment complex alone in San Jose, California. I have never felt more scared, more unprepared and more alone. The aftershocks were the worst reminders of what had taken place. During the quake, I panicked and looked out the window only to see the intersection of Willow Street and Bird Avenue liquefy and ripple like water. It was the most disconcerting visual of my childhood. We were lucky. The whole Bay Area was pretty lucky.
Haiti still needs help and will need help for a long time. Physical help. Chile may need even more help. Hawaii may suffer the consequences of a tsunami. That scares me so much. I have checked in with a bunch of people in Honolulu and they are okay and will keep updating. It’s so good that they have so much time to prepare.
As for the future, I implore the the people of Mexico, California, Portland, Washington, B.C. and Alaska to see these events as a huge warning. This will happen locally at some point in the future. I hate to think of it, but it’s a fact and my generation has been lucky so far that we haven’t had to deal with such tragedy. But when it comes, I will be there to help. Until then, prepare. Be ready. It will be well worth it and you will be so glad you did.
———
Word to the nerd.
Originally published at Mike McGee Town. You can comment here or there.
This entry was written by , posted on at 10:31 AM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged Bay Area, earthquake, earthquake zone, personal updates. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
And a happy June to everyone!
Summer approaches and so does our 24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2009, the
second annual event I started with David Perez. It was born out of my half-assed December 2007 attempt to read poetry for 24 hours straight. I made it about 18-hours with a huge nap in the middle. Luckily, it lead us to a new idea.
Ten months later, David and I decided to replicate the event, but knew we had to open the mic to anyone that wanted to perform.
24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2008 was a hit last September. MACLA, also the home of the San Jose Poetry Slam, was the perfect venue for such an endeavor. We had nearly 200 people stop by, and had a parliament of 30+ people most of the time. To take a nap at 3:30am, and to wake up an hour later to see that the crowd laying around you has grown is a sight to behold. It was indescribable fun to have such confirmation for the Slumberfest.
San Jose’s just the right setting for an event of this kind. The people want it–nay–need it and MACLA’s more than happy to pursue just about anything to promote art in all of its forms. It has been a purveyor of art for sometime now, and is the true home of spoken word in Silicon Valley. There is none higher.
Last year David mentioned his interest in bringing more international performers to the Slumberfest, and being a low-cost event, we certainly could not fly people out to attend. It’s quite literally a slumber party with a stage, a few mics, a pile of blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, food (all sorts!) and a couch or two.
But dammit! We live in Silicon Valley! We’re poets and artists who are also tech nerds. There must be something we can do to bring the world to MACLA.
SOLUTION: Skype + projector + wall + camera = INTERNATIONAL SLUMBERFEST!
If you think, “Man, this sounds like fun, but I can’t fly to San Jose, California (although you really should), but I do have a Skype account and I do have a webcam and I do have internet access and I do have poetry or music that is or isn’t mine and I do like the idea of reading it aloud…” Then you’re all set to be a part of the show! Join us from your very own country, province, state, cafe, school, bar
kitchen or bedroom.
We are signing people up for Skyping or those interested in just showing up to perform. Anyone outside of the United States will get priority with time slots. If you’re interested, look up the event listing on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/kpuwej, or comment here with the the general time slot you’re interested in.
Slumberfest 2009 runs from June 5 to June 6 – 6pm Friday to 6pm Saturday.
Slots may be less than 15 minutes, but not more than 15 minutes, depending on demand. The later the better. It will be easier to get a slot at 6am then at 11pm. Pay close attention to the difference in time between your time zone and Pacific Time.
http://www.timeanddate.com/
Examples:
“I am Joe Davis. I am a poet. I live in San Jose. I will attend in person. I would like to sign up between 6pm and 7:30pm. My email address is XGHKIG at HJJIY dot COM.” “Hey, Slumberers! I am Suzy. I live in the UK. I am a musician. I would like to play my songs over Skype sometime between 3am and 5am Pacific Time. You can reach me at SUZY at SUZY dot COM.”David and I will be working everything out for the rest of this week, and you will get a response with your time slot and explicit Skype instructions by Thursday, June 4 or the morning of June 5.
There will be lots of laying about, aside from David and I hosting and filling in empty slots on the mic. It is recommended that if you bring food or beverage, please bring enough to share.
NO BOOZE OR DRUGS. This is a clean event. We’d love for you to get high on life instead.
MACLA
510 South First Street, Between William and Reed in Dowtown San Jose
Free street parking after 6pm.
Meters in the daytime.
Suggested donation: 5 to 7 bucks.
Original time slotted was 7pm to 7pm, but scheduling forced us an hour ahead. It is 6pm to 6pm.
Various prizes and games for those who volunteer and stay the whole 24-hours.
Get plenty of rest beforehand and be sure to bring plenty of water if you intend to stay up.
We will attempt to webcast the event throughout, but due to issues in the past, we can make no promises. Check back to this blog throughout
the week for more info.
———
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 2 June, 2009 at 6:00 AM, filed under Podcast, Writing and tagged 2009, 24-hour, 24-Hour Open Mic, all night, barefoot coffee roasters, Bay Area, downtown, event, festival, live bands, live music, live performance, live poetry, macla, marathon, mike mcgee, Music, open mic, pillows, poet, poetry, san josé poetry slam, San-Jose-California, sleep over, sleeping bags, sleepover, slumber fest, slumber party, slumberfest, snacks, spoken, spoken word, summer, sweetness. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
And a happy June to everyone!
Summer approaches and so does our 24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2009, the
second annual event I started with David Perez. It was born out of my half-assed December 2007 attempt to read poetry for 24 hours straight. I made it about 18-hours with a huge nap in the middle. Luckily, it lead us to a new idea.
Ten months later, David and I decided to replicate the event, but knew we had to open the mic to anyone that wanted to perform.
24-Hour Summer Slumberfest 2008 was a hit last September. MACLA, also the home of the San Jose Poetry Slam, was the perfect venue for such an endeavor. We had nearly 200 people stop by, and had a parliament of 30+ people most of the time. To take a nap at 3:30am, and to wake up an hour later to see that the crowd laying around you has grown is a sight to behold. It was indescribable fun to have such confirmation for the Slumberfest.
San Jose’s just the right setting for an event of this kind. The people want it–nay–need it and MACLA’s more than happy to pursue just about anything to promote art in all of its forms. It has been a purveyor of art for sometime now, and is the true home of spoken word in Silicon Valley. There is none higher.
Last year David mentioned his interest in bringing more international performers to the Slumberfest, and being a low-cost event, we certainly could not fly people out to attend. It’s quite literally a slumber party with a stage, a few mics, a pile of blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, food (all sorts!) and a couch or two.
But dammit! We live in Silicon Valley! We’re poets and artists who are also tech nerds. There must be something we can do to bring the world to MACLA.
SOLUTION: Skype + projector + wall + camera = INTERNATIONAL SLUMBERFEST!
If you think, “Man, this sounds like fun, but I can’t fly to San Jose, California (although you really should), but I do have a Skype account and I do have a webcam and I do have internet access and I do have poetry or music that is or isn’t mine and I do like the idea of reading it aloud…” Then you’re all set to be a part of the show! Join us from your very own country, province, state, cafe, school, bar
kitchen or bedroom.
We are signing people up for Skyping or those interested in just showing up to perform. Anyone outside of the United States will get priority with time slots. If you’re interested, look up the event listing on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/kpuwej, or comment here with the the general time slot you’re interested in.
Slumberfest 2009 runs from June 5 to June 6 – 6pm Friday to 6pm Saturday.
Slots may be less than 15 minutes, but not more than 15 minutes, depending on demand. The later the better. It will be easier to get a slot at 6am then at 11pm. Pay close attention to the difference in time between your time zone and Pacific Time.
http://www.timeanddate.com/
Examples:
“I am Joe Davis. I am a poet. I live in San Jose. I will attend in person. I would like to sign up between 6pm and 7:30pm. My email address is XGHKIG at HJJIY dot COM.” “Hey, Slumberers! I am Suzy. I live in the UK. I am a musician. I would like to play my songs over Skype sometime between 3am and 5am Pacific Time. You can reach me at SUZY at SUZY dot COM.”David and I will be working everything out for the rest of this week, and you will get a response with your time slot and explicit Skype instructions by Thursday, June 4 or the morning of June 5.
There will be lots of laying about, aside from David and I hosting and filling in empty slots on the mic. It is recommended that if you bring food or beverage, please bring enough to share.
NO BOOZE OR DRUGS. This is a clean event. We’d love for you to get high on life instead.
MACLA
510 South First Street, Between William and Reed in Dowtown San Jose
Free street parking after 6pm.
Meters in the daytime.
Suggested donation: 5 to 7 bucks.
Original time slotted was 7pm to 7pm, but scheduling forced us an hour ahead. It is 6pm to 6pm.
Various prizes and games for those who volunteer and stay the whole 24-hours.
Get plenty of rest beforehand and be sure to bring plenty of water if you intend to stay up.
We will attempt to webcast the event throughout, but due to issues in the past, we can make no promises. Check back to this blog throughout
the week for more info.
———
Word to the nerd.
Originally published at Mike McGee Town. You can comment here or there.
This entry was written by , posted on at 6:00 AM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged 2009, 24-hour, 24-Hour Open Mic, all night, barefoot coffee roasters, Bay Area, downtown, event, events, festival, ideas, live bands, live music, live performance, live poetry, macla, marathon, mike mcgee, Music, open mic, pillows, Podcast, poet, poetry, san josé poetry slam, San-Jose-California, sleep over, sleeping bags, sleepover, slumber fest, slumber party, slumberfest, snacks, spoken, spoken word, summer, sweetness, writing. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
There are two events I really want to promote for this week. I will be one of the featured performers at both spoken word events.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 3 at the Blue Monkey in Downtown San José. FREE and ALL AGES. The Blue Monkey has a taco grill downstairs, and the show will be in the lounge upstairs. Derrick Brown, one of my favorite poets of all time, is expected to show as well to read in the open mic.
I thought there was a San Jose Poetry Slam being held later, but there is not. The SJ Slam will return April 10, as will I. Slam Mistress Kat and I are working out details to have me host the San Jose Poetry Grand Slam Final sometime in May.
I plan to attend the Berzerkeley Poetry Slam to then watch Derrick’s own featured set on Wednesday, April 4.
I had hoped to attend Tourettes Without Regrets on Thursday at the Oakland Metro, but alas, I must fly to Colorado.
April 5 I fly to Denver, then perform for the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado on Friday, April 6. Yes. That is correct. Mines.
Sunday, April 8, I will be at the newly returned San Francisco City Slam & Experimental Mic at Poleng Lounge.
All details for the SJ and SF events are listed below.
The Poetry Lounge @ The Blue Monkey.
–Next Reading: TUES, April 3 in San Jose
—The Poetry Lounge at the Blue Monkey is a monthly reading and open mic in Downtown San Jose.
—WHO: Hosted by Kim Alvarez and co-sponsored by the Creative Writing Department at San José State University and Poetry Center San José
—FEATURING: Neil Moody, Karen Wood Hepner, and Mike McGee
—WHEN: Tuesday, April 3, 2007. Open Mic Sign Ups: 6:30,
Show: 7:00pm-9:00pm.
—The Poetry Lounge.
The Blue Monkey. 408.275.6600. 1 East San Fernando Street, San José, CA 95113.
1st Tuesdays MONTHLY. 6:30 sign-up, 7:00pm show.
ALL AGES. Admission is free.
Host: Kim Alvarez (Poetry Center San José)
Info: http://www.pcsj.org
TRANSIT: From Fremont Bart Station, take the 180 VTA bus to Downtown SJ. Walk south on second to San Fernando, turn right.
VTA LIGHT RAIL: Get off at San Antonio Station downtown, walk north to San Fernando, turn left.
DRIVING: 280 to San Jose. 7th Street Exit. 2 lefts after exit gets you onto 7th Street. Left at San Salvador. Right at 3rd Street. Free Parking Garage at 3rd and San Carlos. Walk to First and San Carlos, make right. Walk to San Fernando (1-2 blocks), make left.
From Charles Ekabhumi (Ellik):
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SF/The City Slam & Experimental Mic.
–Next Slam: SUN, April 8.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~
–The highly-anticipated rebirth of the SF Slam did not disappoint! It was a fantastic show. The talent level was stratospheric. 27 poets signed up, most of them slam veterans gunning for the team. We also had a few talented open mic folks who wanted nothing to do with being scored, just there to soak up the vibe. And WHAT a great vibe!
—The Features, Slam, everything on stage was flaw-less. Poleng Lounge is dreamy, and the room worked even better than I imagined it would. Folks LOVED it. Loved the food, the drinks (full bar), the vibe. Geoff and Noni’s duet was sublime. Xero Skidmore (from Baton Rouge) was incredible and earned a full standing ovation…from our jaded veterans, no less! Thadra Sheridan’s farewell set (She’s moving back to Minneapolis to open a club) had all the new folks, particularly the Poleng staff, rolling in the aisles.
—Mona is an adorable emcee. People gushed about her. I’m so glad she finally has a worthy venue for her talent. She’s perfect for the job of San Francisco Slammaster. Our staff was so pro, everything functioned like a well-greased
machine.
—Maybe you’re wondering who WON? OH! Well, it was a truly fearsome slam. We used a new format, splitting the first round of the slam into 2 sections, separated by a feature. The top 2 poets of each half advanced to a clean-slate final round of 4 poets.
—It was largely decided by time penalties, as several top poets (Jason Bayani, Isaac Miller, Dazier, ect) got axed by the clock. Josh Walters finished 4th with “Summon The Silly”. Cheryl finished 3rd with “Put A Mic To Your Soul”, and
Christian Drake in 2nd with “Bad Seed”, after a time penalty.
—Winning it all by a tenth of a point was Mighty Mack Dennis with “Trees”. I asked if he was coming out of retirement and first he said no, then yes, then maybe, then he’ll think about it. Whatever. The audience went NUTS when he was announced.
—The mood was overwhelmingly positive and upbeat. The 75+ audience members were vivacious till the end, especially when the winner was announced. That’s a great crowd for our first show, only two weeks of promotion, the night after St. Pat’s AND YouthSpeaks’ Finals, a new venue, all that. Mona and I are very happy. It was a very satisfying re-start of a beloved event.
—Look out for next month. Word is OUT, people! Plus, we’re featuring SF, National, International, and WORLD slam champion MIKE MCGEE. Some claim he is the funniest man alive. I’m not arguing. He may be a contender for the sweetest, too! He specifically asked for this gig to build support for a show he wants to see succeed… www.mikemcgee.net
—-The City Slam & Experimental Open Mic.
Poleng Lounge. 1751 Fulton Ave @ Masonic.
2nd Sundays MONTHLY. 7:30 sign-up, 8:30 show.
ALL AGES. $7 Door. $150 Cash Prizes.
Hosts: Mona Webb & Charles Ekabhumi Ellik.
Grooves provided by: DJ Agana.
Info: thecityslam @ yahoo. com
www.polenglounge.com/
TRANSIT: Cars: Pay garage across the street under Albertson’s. BART: from Civic Center, exit toward 6th St, walk N. to McAllister, take the 5 Fulton Bus. www.sfmta.com
CARPOOL: 3-5 fans, show us your ticket from the garage, everybody gets $2 off admission.
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This entry was written by , posted on 2 April, 2007 at 3:19 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged Bay Area, derrick brown, experimental mic, feature, open mic, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, san francisco, San-Jose-California, slam poetry, spoken word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
If you thought I was hairy now, check out this image of me taken by David Huang for PoeticDream.com.
If I’m not mistaken, this was taken sometime in November 1998. That’s me slamming for the very first time, at the first poetry slam in downtown San Jose, started by David Huang and Vadim Litvak. It was, at least, the first poetry slam that continued on and is still running today at the Britannia Arms downtown. The venue I’m at in the photo is the now defunct Cafe Babylon. It was a nice place and I wish it was still around.
I’m in the middle of a horrendous stand up routine that lasted two minutes and thirty seconds. For that, I received what I’m pretty sure is the lowest score in SJ Slam history to date: a 6.0 (drop the 1 and the 3, add the 2s). The feature that night, and the first feature I ever saw, was either Mack Dennis (badass) or Alan Kaufman, compiler/editor of the Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. The slam at that time was called the Silicon Valley Poetry Slam, then shortly afterward it became the Metro Silicon Valley Poetry Slam after receiving sponsorship from SJ’s weekly rag, The Metro. I never liked the name as much as I liked the free ads we got from them, so when I took over the slam in 2003 or 4, I dropped the contract and the name and went with San Jose Poetry Slam (sorry, Vadim). That’s one of the few good things I did with the slam, that and move it to a weekly show. Well, sometimes good. Anthony R. Miller’s done a much better job with it since then.
Had I continued slamming in 1998-99, I might have gotten better and made it into the finals (doubtful). The SJ team that came out of that season went on to win the National Poetry Slam team finals, along with co-champs Team San Francisco. I could’ve easily helped San Jose take 33rd!
The Bay Area boom in spoken word and poetry slam that followed that season produced several new poetry slams and hundreds, if not thousands, of new poetry slammers. And it introduced a new school to the old school in slam. I have heard pre-1996 slammers refer to all post-1996 poets as the “new school,” or “assholes.” Well, we are, aren’t we?
Ah, the memories! I remember when Tourettes Without Regrets, the now 450+ crowd infamous circus of hip hop and debauchery, was a glorified open mic/open of about 8 poets and
Most Bay Area slammers don’t realize that there was a single poetry slam held February 1990 in downtown San Jose by my friend William’s friend and writer, Michael Vaughn. From what I’ve been told, that very first poetry slam was a dismal failure and the poets in attendance at that time swore never to allow another poetry slam downtown. Well, they either all died, moved away or changed their minds because our current slam is in its eighth year and counting. San Jose has a pretty rich beat and page poetry history – its slam history is totally catching up. Odd coincidence: Two years ago there was one odd night when our regular venue “accidentally” booked a company party on our slam night and we needed a quick alternate spot to run the show. We called all of the venues downtown, dreading the idea that we may have to cancel the slam. That first venue that hosted the 1990 fiasco slam just happened to be the only one willing to host us 13 years later. It was an omen or something, but it ended up being a great night and we made new slam fans who still come today. That night also introduced San Jose to the powerful words of our feature that night: Corbet Dean.
I know that San Francisco held the first and third National Poetry Slams thanks to Gary Mex Glazner (the godfather of West Coast poetry slam, who’s coming to feature in SJ very soon), but what happened when he left? Did slam continue on consistently in the Bay, or was there a complete drop? Charles Ellik is certainly at least partially responsible for its rebirth in 1998, but he moved here in 1997 (I believe). Who knows the history before this? I anticipate a nice and lengthy comment from Mr. Ellik on this subject (when he has time).
I am fascinated with the gaps in Bay Area poetry slam in the mid-1990s. Does anybody know what went on? I know most of the history from 1998 through today. I’m going to have to interview Gary when he gets in to get a complete timeline.
If you visited a poetry slam in the Bay Area before 1998, please give me all the details you might remember about the venue you visited, who performed and why you were there. Beyond all of this and the Bay, what was touring as a poet like pre-2000? Was there a nation-wide boom in venues and slams?
I know Mr. Phil West and Ms. Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz are working on a project that covers a lot of this information on a global level. I can only imagine what they’ve captured and collected in interviews with poets and organizers. Let’s just say I can’t wait to read, hear and/or experience whatever they put out for public consumption!
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 16 March, 2006 at 10:41 AM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged Bay Area, history, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, poetry, san francisco, san josé poetry slam. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.