"Mighty" Mike McGee's Electronic Place of Himself.
Typings of a well-traveled, talky, funny, hobo-poet.
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.
San José Poetry Slam at MACLA
Tonight, June 9, 2008
Doors/Sign up at 7:30pm
$6:00 cover
at MACLA
510 S. FIrst Street
Downtown San Jose 95113
between William and Reed
I will be hosting and the featured poets will be the San José Youth Slam Team.
Want to compete? Bring at least two poems, three of you’re a strategist.
There will be beer and wine available, but most importantly, an opportunity to get into a great poetry groove.
Add the slam on Chris Bundy’s SJ Slam Myspace profile: http://www.myspace.com/sanjoseslam
The San José Poetry Slam is held at MACLA every 2nd Monday of the month.
NEXT SJPS: July 14 & August 11, 2008
This entry was written by , posted on 9 June, 2008 at 3:48 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged downtown, macla, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, San-Jose-California, spoken word, youth team. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Re-posted from http://www.mikemcgee.net:
On Monday night, at MACLA in downtown San José, California, I hosted the return of the San José Poetry Slam. The co-slammasters at the helm are Kat Dietrich and Chris Bundy, who finally made the move to bring the slam to MACLA (with lots of pressure on my part) after a two-year run at Britannia Arms pub on Santa Clara Street.
The night couldn’t have been any better, with newer local favorite Chris Locksin running the door, Tristissima at the scorekeeper’s table, and about 50 people ready to slam or witness slam, Silicon Valley Style.
Students Liam and Lorian drove all the way down from Dominican University, which lies well north of San Francisco. Liam took loads of pictures throughout the night for a school project. Max Hare came down from Stanford University and made it all the way to the second round. Turns out there’s a hefty handful of Stanford kids who love performing and slamming, and with his skill on the mic, I imagine he one of their leaders.
The doors opened at 7:30pm and people began signing up right away. With MACLA being an all ages venue, it was heartwarming to see some of my youth poetry students finally get a chance to weigh their words on the same stage with older slam veterans such as Kim Johnson and Anis Mojgani, who performed a subtle, stellar feature between two marvelous rounds of poetry. There were poetry fans of all ages chanting and lauding his verses as he performed the first slam feature of the year – and of this new venue – in the welcoming, darkened, black box theater.
We had a more-than-full sign up list for Round 1, taking on 11 slammers, narrowing the field down to the top 5 for Round 2. It felt like old times for me in a room full of new faces, many of whom drove from Santa Cruz or the East Bay and San Francisco just to be there. So many in fact, that all five of the 2nd Rounders were from everywhere but San José.
Third place went to Dusty Rose of Berkeley.
Second Place went to Baraka Noel of Berkeley.
First place went to Kevin Holmes of UC-Santa Cruz.
Along with our standard cash prizes, I gave out a mini “We Own The Night” poster for third, and let Baraka and Kevin duke it out over a mini “Superbad” poster and my Young MC tape. The tape ended up making a new home in Berkeley.
At the end of the night, as people helped stack chairs and mingle, Chris Bundy and I celebrated the success of the show. It truly felt like a re-birth. MACLA has been a haven for some of our slam finals and Battles of the Bay, but now it is definitely our home to stay. We were so happy last night.
In 1998, I began performing shortly before the very first San José Poetry Slam, just two blocks away from MACLA, in what used to be Café Babylon. That was in the fall. Ten years, five slammasters, and four venues later, we’re back on the street we started – First Street. Kind of poetic, really. The venue is perfect for us, and vice versa.
So we’ll be running every 2nd Monday of the month at MACLA. I intend to host through June, and hopefully onward from there. The next SJPS is March 10, 2008. It six bucks at the door. Sign up is at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm. Come have a great time with us.
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
2008: Doing it!
This entry was written by , posted on 13 February, 2008 at 3:35 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged dominican university, downtown, macla, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, poem, San-Jose-California, santa cruz, slamming. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Reposted from http://mikemcgee.livejournal.com:
Hey, all.
As some of you may know, I will be reading poetry for 24-hours this weekend at MACLA in downtown San José.
Get all your info at MACLA’s site: http://www.maclaarte.org/
As I get closer to the event, the more I realize how prepared and unprepared I am in certain aspects of this performance. I am none too worried, as it is an experiment, and the main goal is to put focus on poetry and spoken word for an entire 24-hour period. I am especially pleased to be doing this in San Jose
*The coffee will be supplied by Barefoot Coffee Roasters of Santa Clara. Yay!
*Many people have opted to attend the whole show with me, which I encourage. The more the merrier. I recommend that you bring pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, snacks and such. Like a sleepover, only weirder.
*I will not turn anyone away if they cannot pay the cover. The costs are merely a recommended donation, really.
*Those of you with children, I am scheduling a foul-free children’s stories reading around noon on Sunday, for two hours. That’s definite.
*The schedule program will be posted here within a couple of days.
*You too can hold your own 24-hour reading in your very own town on April 5-6, 2008! Take the Scott Woods’ Challenge! Click here for more info.
Big thanks to 
scottwoods for the inspiration to do this, and the help and info he’s given me.
I am in the process of scheduling the whole series and have concluded that it would be easier to have large sections of relatively random readings during the late night hours. Nothing will be set in stone for that time, just me, armed with loads of poetry.
I have well over 300+ chapbooks, but I’d love to have more to read.
tabor36, I am most certainly reading the retail poem of yours you gave me years ago. I still love it.
So if you have a poem you think I should read, please feel free to email it to me, text only, no attachments to mightymikemcgee at gmail
Don’t be afraid! I will probably read it.
Emails should include:
Subject: My Poem For McGee’s Show
Name of author
Year written
Background of poem (optional)
Title of poem
Poem
If you know of a poem by a poet I may not know of, please send them my way as well. Let them know you did so if they are within contact. Please be sure to send the name of the author and any pertinent info you deem necessary.
Please have your poems in my inbox by 7:00pm on Saturday, although, in theory, if I am able to check my email during the show, I will probably read anything that comes in during the set. Not guaranteed though.
I will not answer my phone during the show, but I may read text messages to the audience.
I am stoked!
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
2007: Go for it!
This entry was written by , posted on 19 December, 2007 at 10:10 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged barefoot coffee roasters, downtown, macla, performance, San-Jose-California, spoken word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Reposted from http://mikemcgee.livejournal.com:
Hey, all.
As some of you may know, I will be reading poetry for 24-hours this weekend at MACLA in downtown San José.
Get all your info at MACLA’s site: http://www.maclaarte.org/
As I get closer to the event, the more I realize how prepared and unprepared I am in certain aspects of this performance. I am none too worried, as it is an experiment, and the main goal is to put focus on poetry and spoken word for an entire 24-hour period. I am especially pleased to be doing this in San Jose
*The coffee will be supplied by Barefoot Coffee Roasters of Santa Clara. Yay!
*Many people have opted to attend the whole show with me, which I encourage. The more the merrier. I recommend that you bring pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, snacks and such. Like a sleepover, only weirder.
*I will not turn anyone away if they cannot pay the cover. The costs are merely a recommended donation, really.
*Those of you with children, I am scheduling a foul-free children’s stories reading around noon on Sunday, for two hours. That’s definite.
*The schedule program will be posted here within a couple of days.
*You too can hold your own 24-hour reading in your very own town on April 5-6, 2008! Take the Scott Woods’ Challenge! Click here for more info.
Big thanks to scottwoods for the inspiration to do this, and the help and info he’s given me.
I am in the process of scheduling the whole series and have concluded that it would be easier to have large sections of relatively random readings during the late night hours. Nothing will be set in stone for that time, just me, armed with loads of poetry.
I have well over 300+ chapbooks, but I’d love to have more to read.
tabor36, I am most certainly reading the retail poem of yours you gave me years ago. I still love it.
So if you have a poem you think I should read, please feel free to email it to me, text only, no attachments to mightymikemcgee at gmail
Don’t be afraid! I will probably read it.
Emails should include:
Subject: My Poem For McGee’s Show
Name of author
Year written
Background of poem (optional)
Title of poem
Poem
If you know of a poem by a poet I may not know of, please send them my way as well. Let them know you did so if they are within contact. Please be sure to send the name of the author and any pertinent info you deem necessary.
Please have your poems in my inbox by 7:00pm on Saturday, although, in theory, if I am able to check my email during the show, I will probably read anything that comes in during the set. Not guaranteed though.
I will not answer my phone during the show, but I may read text messages to the audience.
I am stoked!
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
2007: Go for it!
Originally published at MIKE McGEE TOWN DAILY. You can comment here or there.
This entry was written by , posted on at 10:10 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged downtown, macla, performance, personal updates, San-Jose-California, spoken word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.