Final Kitchen Session Worcester

So, the last Kitchen Session in Worcester (#18!) is almost one year to the day from the very first KS featuring Simone Beaubien. Such interesting timing.

This final Kitchen Session Worcester will feature Tony Brown and I, with mini-features (four poems) from Megan Thoma and Melinda Lee (yes, my roommate, who has yet to read at a KS!)

Tony’s my homie who deserves a feature with all the advice and support he’s given me since before I moved to Worcester. Best neighbor a guy could have.

Megan’s been to most Kitchen Sessions and is super-supportive of the local community.

Melinda’s a fucking badass.

I will state right now that since this will be my last hoorah at my house in Worcester, Massachusetts, I will probably cry like a leaky faucet. A fat, sweaty, good-smelling, leaky faucet. I will try to make everyone cry. I promise.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
1. Normally, I have two sections of “The Openers” prior to the feature; 10 single-poem readers and 5 two-poem readers. In order to accommodate as many readers as possible, I have a 33 person sign-up list on the Facebook Group. It may NOT fill up, but either way, it’s going to be one long night. 33 sign-ups, ONE POEM EACH. No two-poem limits for this one. I know I am crazy, but I want everybody to get a chance to read.

I like the number 33. A. Lot.

I am hoping to utilize this as an opportunity for people to stay intimate with this house and its residents. I fear that my departure will stop people from visiting Melinda, Tony and Missy. That would be wack. They like company. Be company.

There is a small crew of people that are looking to run irregular Boston Sessions. Since I run the Facebook Group for KS, I am thinking of just passing it to them to run. I’d stay on to help. Or I might make it a central hub for all Sessions that pop up. If you’re on it, please stay with the group, if not, consider joining.

MY POSSESSIONS
I want to rid myself of as many possessions as possible. Anyone who attends and donates $$ will get a “thing” from my personal stuff. Books, arts, crafts, clothes, furniture… stuff. The money will be split amongst Tony, Melinda, Megan and I.

This will be seed money for me in the west and coverage money for expenses I may leave Melinda with until she finds a roommate.

I highly recommend arriving before 7:30pm. RC Weslowski’s feature had 40+ in attendance. I imagine this one should come close.

Man. Let’s have way too much fun.

Word to the nerd.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 20 July, 2010 at 2:52 PM, filed under Uncategorized and tagged kitchen-sessions, moving, Worcester-Massachusetts. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

If You Know People In The Bay Area

Please point them to my one man show debuting in San Francisco on August 8, 15, 22, and 29.

In Search of Midnight: The Mike McGee Show of Awesome

IF YOU KNOW PEOPLE IN SAN JOSE OR THE SOUTH BAY
Tell them I am looking for a room to live in for little money per month. I come and go often and stay gone for long stretches. I can wait until October to move in. I essentially need a closet with a closet. Enough room for a twin bed and small desk or a TV tray. A place to sleep and keep a modicum of stuff.

INDOOR YARD SALE
I am looking to rid myself of about 85% of what I own in Worcester. Melinda will inherit some items, like my perfectly seasoned skillet. If you’re in or around Worcester and want some of my stuff for real cheap or real free, then come on over.
———
Word to the nerd.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 18 July, 2010 at 4:17 PM, filed under Uncategorized and tagged in search of midnight, indoor yard sale, moving, one-man show. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Re-Update for July

I guess I jumped the gun yesterday on my flight issue from Boston to SFO.

As of yesterday, there was only one flight available from Boston to the Bay Area total between July 25 and August 5. I held the flight for July 27. As of this morning, there are several flights available… So frustrating. So aggravating.

I just now booked my flight on United Airlines for the morning of Tuesday, August 3rd.

This now means there will be no Kitchen Session on July 24. I am moving the last Kitchen Session back to Friday, July 30.

But I get to stay an extra week in Worcester.

Woot!
———
Word to the nerd!

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 17 July, 2010 at 9:24 AM, filed under Uncategorized and tagged boston, flights, flying, moving, sfo, Worcester-Massachusetts. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Update for July 2010

MUST HAVE
Betty White Calendar for a good cause

MOVING ON – 11 DAYS LEFT IN WORCESTER
Admittedly, due to expenses, I have been on a deep, deep search for the least expensive flight from BOS to SFO. I found a one-way ticket through United that required 12,500 miles. I have 11,544. Ugh. I purchased 1,000 miles for $67 on United in order to get the ticket. It takes two days for miles to post. I called the airline and held the flight for 3 days. Hopefully it will work, but the sadness lies in the fact that the flight leaves Boston on July 27. It was all I could find. This means I am gone in 11 days. No August for me.

I have been wrought with every emotion possible on this move. Worcester has been so good to me. I cannot express it all at the moment.

MONEY SUCKS ASS(ES)
The hardest part about performance touring for a living is budgeting – living off of what you make during your “tour season.” Summer sucks for touring. Less interest, less gigs. Even if you make good money on the road in the summer/winter, you have to deal with uncomfortable weather, incorrigible travel conditions and high costs.

CHANGES TO THE KITCHEN SESSION SCHEDULE
Because I love Kitchen Sessions so much, I booked four of them at my house for July as a month-long series of final hoorahs here in Worcester, plus Simone Beaubien took on tonight’s “Kitchen Session – Boston #1” in which I am the feature. A week after planning these, I canceled July 10 due to over-extending myself. And this week I moved the July 30 “Tony Brown/My Feature” to Saturday, July 24, which was supposed to be “New York Poets Invade Worcester.” I was really hoping to foster a poet-love-in between New York and New England. The very last Kitchen Session at my house will be July 24 in Worcester.

Geography lesson for you west coasters: New York is not in New England. New England = Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. No one knows why Connecticut made it on the list. It’s wedged between NY and MA, I believe it’s a toll road.

Of the 20+ NYC poets I initially invited, three or four excitedly offered to attend. I’ve learned over the past 1.5 years on this coast that New Yorkers really prefer not leaving New York. Ever. I think people in big cities have this subconscious expectation for small towners to come to them.

“Hey, I live in this giant city. Everybody comes to us.”

To the New York poets I invited: I love you. Deeply. Wet.

I understand money concerns and loads of poets are lacking funds these days, but I think a lot of people underestimate the generosity of my peeps here in New England. New England poets adore other poets. I’ve seen more money get passed to features then at most poetry slams. Reps from Manchester, NH’s “Slam Free or Die” crew are always supporting everyone’s events in New England. I nominate them as the most supportive poets in New England. They’re just really good people. And sexy.

HERE, TAKE THIS, I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE IT
I wish more people here in New England especially, and the rest of North America would consider having a Kitchen Session in their homes. It can be so fulfilling and if you’ve never experienced spoken word in a crowd of people you really dig, with the performer less than 6 feet away from you, then you don’t know what you’re missing. I will say that the interest in your reading will depend heavily on the personality of your host. Because the event really only has your house to rely on for consistency, so you have to look to the face of your event for the feel of the night. Your host has to be comfortable and free to talk and be themselves.

There is something about a room full of people who came to an event specifically for the event. It’s quite familial.

I could also see people organizing poetry slams in their homes. Imagine the San Jose/McGee’s Kitchen Slam Team or Chicago/Robbie Q’s Laundry Room Slam Team representing at Nationals.

Can’t say this enough: The writing at these events MUST be new or never-before-read work (NONBRW), or poets just won’t be as consistent. When you have 8-15 regional poets doing their signature poems over and over again, you WILL lose interest and you WILL NOT put butts in seats. I guarantee it. Also, it’s good to pressure your features to do a minimum of two NONBRW so that your home event has something to offer the community of regulars who intend to follow the feature to other venues. People who’ve been to a Kitchen Session can sit comfortably knowing they are in for something new throughout the entire night.

Actually, I’d recommend this to anyone starting any type of show.

I am stoked that Boston is putting the moves on creating a more permanent Kitchen Session in the region. It should be awesome because it is in good hands.
———
Word to the nerd.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 16 July, 2010 at 2:17 PM, filed under Uncategorized and tagged kitchen-sessions, moving, San-Jose-California, United States. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

I Am Moving Back To The Left Coast [14]

PORTLAND, OREGON
Since I’ve notified everyone in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the most part, and told my family in California, I figured I might as well make it known that I intend to move from Worcester, Mass. to Portland, Oregon. Probably this summer.

Barring anything that might make me move sooner, I am thinking that since the fall is a major touring season for me, I’d like to try to get settled on the west coast by September. I miss my family too often to live this far away now. I gave myself a year to live here and my family understood, but it’s getting harder to be this distant.

My father’s side of my family lives in Washington. My mother’s side lives in California. Oregon is a good central location. I have very close friends in and around Everett, WA who I love to visit, as well as in Eugene and Corvallis, OR.

LOTS OF THOUGHT
I want my family, given and chosen, to travel more. Shit — I want everyone I know to travel — but they are a sedentary lot down there in Silicon Valley and up in the Seattle area. If I move to a place they can get to in one flight or train, or even a 12 hour drive, they just might do it.

I’ve been considering this for sometime now, ever since the Elephant Engine Revival Tour last autumn. We spent a pretty solid week in Portland and I fell in love with the city itself, caught up with a surprising amount of friends in the area, and realized it’s proximity and low cost were key to being closer to San José and Vancouver, B.C., the Cities of My Heart.

Portland is a 1h:45m flight to San José and generally very cheap. Portland is also about 6-8 hours by train to Vancouver, or a 1h:10m flight straight through. Seattle’s an easy stop. Boise’s awesome and easy to get to as well.

MY TIME IN WORCESTER
I feel I’ve experienced as much growth in Worcester in the last 13 months as I did in the previous five years on the road. So much of it is thanks to Bill MacMillan and Tony Brown — my brothers from other mothers. I feel like I can be me and I like the me that I’m becoming thanks to the people who have become my New England family. My roommate Melinda Lee is the shit, plain and simple. I have felt very much at home here thanks specifically to Missy Mitchell, Dave Keali‘i MacKenzie, Sou MacMillan, Alex Charlambides, Liz Heath, Cyndi Keeley, Rushelle Frazier (before she moved), Heather MacPherson, Danielle Carriveau, Mark Palos, Sam Teitel, Roger Mindfucker (our cat), Anne O’Neill, Simone Beaubien, Danny Balel, Emily Mele, and a host of other people in New England. I haven’t forgotten any names, I just didn’t want to turn this into an acceptance speech. I will surely write that entry when I do actually move.

WHAT BOTHERS ME MOST
I am sad that so many others promised to visit me in my home while I was here and will have absolutely failed to do so before I move. I am just glad Finneyfrock and Weslowski are coming to do there own respective Kitchen Sessions this spring. And they’re coming from the WEST COAST… At this point, I will be too busy to really host anyone else before I move… Very, very saddening.

PORTLAND IS RAD AND GETTING RADDER
With the growing number of Write Bloody authors living and moving to Portland, it’s a perfect spot for a northern WB hub. We can put on shows/readings, get the ball rolling on events and brainstorm future projects. The city pushes the arts, has a fantastic transit system (which is a HUGE sell for us rare non-drivers), and loves their bicyclists, an activity I’ve missed since my Schwinn cruiser days in downtown San José.

Portland is alive and electric. It excites me. I feel I could be there even if I didn’t know anyone, although, it does also feel very, very transient. I think people come and go like mad, which is my plan as well. The gray skies will get to me in due time, but at least it doesn’t snow very often.

I think people should travel and really try living in other places. It’s easier than it seems and there are a number of people who do it enough to advise newbies. I said I would give Worcester a year and it turned out to be more. I will probably give Portland a year. I think it’s a good idea. You really get a feel for a city when you’ve spent a year there.

WHERE I TRULY BELONG
Of the entirety of the Bay Area, I would really only live in San José/Silicon Valley, but it’s three times the cost of living in Worcester. I am one of San José’s biggest fans, but I have spent 27+ years there (prior to touring) and I really just want to see more places and try out new environments for a while. I will return to San José, but I need just a little more stability and a girl-partner who is also a huge fan of Silicon Valley. And they would have to be a fan of it because anyone who didn’t grow up there has a hard time seeing it’s greatness. I couldn’t love a human baby as much as I love Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley Example of Greatness #2,482: 300 days a year of sunshine. 300. Yep.

SILICON VALLEY vs. PACIFIC NORTHWEST
There are really only a few places I feel I belong in a living situation and they are Silicon Valley and the Pacific Northwest (Eugene, OR to Bellingham, WA… Vancouver is the Pacific Southwest to Canadians.) I belong in Vancouver. I am so very much at home in Vancouver, but the cost of living there is fuckstupid, especially for an American. With my constant travel, I’d have to fly from Vancouver to U.S. destinations pretty often. I tend to have to book flights on short notice. I just did a sample search and a ONE-WAY flight two weeks from now from Vancouver to Denver is $309-USD. However, one-way from Seattle to Denver is $101-USD. Prices for Canadian flights to the U.S. are almost always three-times U.S. prices, across the board. I could bus it down to Seattle whenever I had a flight, but making the right bus-to-flight connection is a bitch-and-a-half and pretty costly over time. It’s a 2h:30m ride and you have to cross a border every time. I’ve done it and I despise it.

Vancouver Suckiness Example #2: Three short days a year of sunshine.*

I’d be better off living in Seattle, but Seattle has always felt like Vancouver Light. Aside from the awesome poetry people who live there, Seattle feels very, very sad. It is almost like 60 to 70% of the city is depressed. I feel it whenever I am there. The Seattle spoken word scene is pretty stellar thanks to Daemond Arrindell and Youth Speaks Seattle, but a thriving poetry scene is one of the last reasons I would move to a city. If it were my first reason, I’d be living in Vancouver already.

I did seriously consider moving to Bellingham, but it was only because I like the Poetry Night crew and their proximity to Vancouver, B.C.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles is a congested maze and nearly impossible to navigate without a car, but I do like it more than I did five years ago. I have some very close friends down there, but the traffic alone kills me. I don’t know how anyone does it. It seems to me to be the place so many people go to realize their dreams, only to get stuck in a job they despise and eventually abandon their reason for moving there. Success in the arts in L.A. must be limited to a very lucky/determined 2% of the population — if that.

There is so much sadness in L.A. and such a shattered spoken word and poetry scene. In all of my touring I have only ever lost money in Los Angeles. I’ve been paid a few times, but I feel like it was always out of Rob Sturma’s pocket and not really from the community around him. And merch sales? Doubtful. I think so many people are always broke in L.A. because they have to save their money to buy gas and keep their car running. I only ever go there to visit friends. Any gig I get is merely an attempt to deflect some of the cost of travel. But seriously, If I am wrong about L.A., please tell me so. If there is a growing spoken word scene I don’t know about, let me know. Da Poetry Lounge is always a fun gig for me, but it pays irregularly. A lot of poets would like to tour through L.A. but everybody outside of it has no idea where to start.

Orange County seems to have a decent reputation for gigs, but it’s one giant suburb.

Long Beach is the home of Write Bloody and Snoop Dogg, and it’s about an hour away from L.A. I can dig Long Beach, but it’s still too similar to the rest of Southern California. It’s a nice place to visit. All of it really is, but if you have no family there, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.

THE MIDWEST
Chicago has always been a possibility, but one of the reasons I intend to leave New England is based on my ever-growing spite of the cold. I can handle rain and chill, but to-the-bone-kind-of cold really wears on me and keeps me inside too often. The cold here in New England starts in October and last through April. I have had two seasons of it. I would just be moving into a similar weather system in Chicago, which also has a summer humidity index that makes me want to punt fat babies. I could really only live there in the spring and autumn, if they show up. I love Chicago, but I would only live there for the people I knew and the fact that Chicago has THE BEST FOOD IN THE WORLD, but I would eventually despise the city for its weather.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Chicago is, without a doubt, THE HOME for funny poets. For me, the spoken word scene there has always been a draw for this reason. If you want to be a funny poet and like cold-ass winters and humid-ass summers, Chicago is the place for you. Male, female, emale, wemale — whatever — they are hilarious. Maybe it’s the food and weather. Being well fed and in constant sweaty/freezy conditions must help mold the humor… I am serious. Think about it. If you know the poetry slam/spoken word universe, Chicago has to be the funniest American scene. Germany is very, very big on humor in their poetry, as is Vancouver, but I think Chicago sets the standard as a scene. Hmmm.

I love you, ChiTown. I do, I do.

TIMELINE: JUST TALKING IT OUT
Since I have a bunch of travel this spring, I am going to try to spend as much time in Worcester this summer as I can. Depending on my finances, I will probably move toward the end of August, but I won’t know for sure.

I really don’t want to move while it is hot, so I may have to push it closer to June, which would kill my summer plans here, but would probably be a wiser move. I don’t make as much touring in the summer as I do in the spring and autumn. I would spend money to survive all summer, then spend money to move. I have gigs lined up this spring that would make a June/July move very easy. I am at a loss. I just don’t know.

What would be awesome is a road trip/poetry tour move. Any takers?
———
Word to the nerd.

*I am kidding… Sort of.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 15 February, 2010 at 1:23 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged left coast, moving, oregon, portland, relocating. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.