"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.
The awesome-ness I experienced at my 24-Hour Solo Soltice Set last December really made me look at performance from many different perspectives. I have realized over the last several months that embarking on such a long event alone has made me feel a bit self-centered and vain. When I attempted to convince other less conceited poets to try their own, they just didn’t seem interested in such an individualistic endeavor. Granted, the lack of sleep aspect is also not as alluring to people far wiser than I. It occurred to me that putting on such a long event should require a more community-based reasoning.
Upon discussing this with David Perez, who was pivotal in getting the original 24-Hour set off the ground, we decided that a true open-mic was necessary. We are organizing our next event to be 24-hours of 15-minute slots for anyone who signs up. That’s pretty much 96 feature slots in one day. We could go 25-hours to make it 100 slots. I doubt we’d get 100 performers, but David and I, along with our crew, will stick around to host and fill gaps in the sign up.
So if you’re around Downtown San José on the August 29 and 30, please come by MACLA to watch it all take place, or to help us make it take place.
David has established a $5-$7 sliding scale, but no one will be turned away, thus making it a $0-$∞ sliding scale. Everyone who pays, may come and go. Donations could really be of anything useful…
Comment here or email David or I about ideas, volunteering, donations of any sort, or signing up. We will need blankets, sleeping bags and pillows like mad. I recommend people wear jammies and such. I wonder if we should establish an online sign-up list to have the night ready at the onset, or to have all the sign ups as-we-go. Maybe the first half of the night could be pre-signs, then the last half as-we-go… Feel free to comment your ideas and thoughts on this blog or on my Facebook page
(or future Facebook group).
If you know of anyone in the area who might find this interesting, please send them the following information, or help us promote this event via papers, media and the likes. This could be huge! Whoa, what if we extended it due to sheer awesomeness!
SUMMER SLUMBER FEST 08 – HOSTED BY MIKE MCGEE & DAVID PEREZ
Starts: Friday, August 29, 2008, 8:00pm
Ends: Saturday, August 30, 2008, 8:00pm to 9:00pm
$5-7 sliding scale
No one turned away for lack of funds
Fresh out of hibernation with a pots of coffee in one hand and a box of chap books in the other, Mike McGee and David Perez return to MACLA for another 24-hour set of poetry. This time, he opens the mic to a band of loyal poetry-and-music-loving vampires to form the one and only, “Summer Slumberfest ’08”. We’re packing in couches, pillows, blankets and whatever else is soft and fluffy to make a never-before-seen Thunderdome of Comfort. Barefoot Coffee Roasters provides the caffeine. So peel back those eyelids and help us rock the night away by reading your own poetry or just kicking back, cuddling up and watching the show.
For more information contact David @ david@maclaarte.org
Visit MACLAarte.org for information
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 18 July, 2008 at 9:13 PM, filed under Uncategorized and tagged 24-hour, coffee, macla, Music, open mic, open mike, San-Jose-California, slumber party, spoken word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The awesome-ness I experienced at my 24-Hour Solo Soltice Set last December really made me look at performance from many different perspectives. I have realized over the last several months that embarking on such a long event alone has made me feel a bit self-centered and vain. When I attempted to convince other less conceited poets to try their own, they just didn’t seem interested in such an individualistic endeavor. Granted, the lack of sleep aspect is also not as alluring to people far wiser than I. It occurred to me that putting on such a long event should require a more community-based reasoning.
Upon discussing this with David Perez, who was pivotal in getting the original 24-Hour set off the ground, we decided that a true open-mic was necessary. We are organizing our next event to be 24-hours of 15-minute slots for anyone who signs up. That’s pretty much 96 feature slots in one day. We could go 25-hours to make it 100 slots. I doubt we’d get 100 performers, but David and I, along with our crew, will stick around to host and fill gaps in the sign up.
So if you’re around Downtown San José on the August 29 and 30, please come by MACLA to watch it all take place, or to help us make it take place.
David has established a $5-$7 sliding scale, but no one will be turned away, thus making it a $0-$∞ sliding scale. Everyone who pays, may come and go. Donations could really be of anything useful…
Comment here or email David or I about ideas, volunteering, donations of any sort, or signing up. We will need blankets, sleeping bags and pillows like mad. I recommend people wear jammies and such. I wonder if we should establish an online sign-up list to have the night ready at the onset, or to have all the sign ups as-we-go. Maybe the first half of the night could be pre-signs, then the last half as-we-go… Feel free to comment your ideas and thoughts on this blog or on my Facebook page (or future Facebook group).
If you know of anyone in the area who might find this interesting, please send them the following information, or help us promote this event via papers, media and the likes. This could be huge! Whoa, what if we extended it due to sheer awesomeness!
SUMMER SLUMBER FEST 08 – HOSTED BY MIKE MCGEE & DAVID PEREZ
Starts: Friday, August 29, 2008, 8:00pm
Ends: Saturday, August 30, 2008, 8:00pm to 9:00pm
$5-7 sliding scale
No one turned away for lack of funds
Fresh out of hibernation with a pots of coffee in one hand and a box of chap books in the other, Mike McGee and David Perez return to MACLA for another 24-hour set of poetry. This time, he opens the mic to a band of loyal poetry-and-music-loving vampires to form the one and only, “Summer Slumberfest ’08”. We’re packing in couches, pillows, blankets and whatever else is soft and fluffy to make a never-before-seen Thunderdome of Comfort. Barefoot Coffee Roasters provides the caffeine. So peel back those eyelids and help us rock the night away by reading your own poetry or just kicking back, cuddling up and watching the show.
For more information contact David @ david@maclaarte.org
Visit MACLAarte.org for information
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
Originally published at MIKE McGEE TOWN DAILY. You can comment here or there.
This entry was written by , posted on at 9:13 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged 24-hour, coffee, macla, Music, open mic, open mike, San-Jose-California, slumber party, spoken word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The awesome-ness I experienced at my 24-Hour Solo Soltice Set last December really made me look at performance from many different perspectives. I have realized over the last several months that embarking on such a long event alone has made me feel a bit self-centered and vain. When I attempted to convince other less conceited poets to try their own, they just didn’t seem interested in such an individualistic endeavor. Granted, the lack of sleep aspect is also not as alluring to people far wiser than I. It occurred to me that putting on such a long event should require a more community-based reasoning.
Upon discussing this with David Perez, who was pivotal in getting the original 24-Hour set off the ground, we decided that a true open-mic was necessary. We are organizing our next event to be 24-hours of 15-minute slots for anyone who signs up. That’s pretty much 96 feature slots in one day. We could go 25-hours to make it 100 slots. I doubt we’d get 100 performers, but David and I, along with our crew, will stick around to host and fill gaps in the sign up.
So if you’re around Downtown San José on the August 29 and 30, please come by MACLA to watch it all take place, or to help us make it take place.
David has established a $5-$7 sliding scale, but no one will be turned away, thus making it a $0-$∞ sliding scale. Everyone who pays, may come and go. Donations could really be of anything useful…
Comment here or email David or I about ideas, volunteering, donations of any sort, or signing up. We will need blankets, sleeping bags and pillows like mad. I recommend people wear jammies and such. I wonder if we should establish an online sign-up list to have the night ready at the onset, or to have all the sign ups as-we-go. Maybe the first half of the night could be pre-signs, then the last half as-we-go… Feel free to comment your ideas and thoughts on this blog or on my Facebook page (or future Facebook group).
If you know of anyone in the area who might find this interesting, please send them the following information, or help us promote this event via papers, media and the likes. This could be huge! Whoa, what if we extended it due to sheer awesomeness!
SUMMER SLUMBER FEST 08 – HOSTED BY MIKE MCGEE & DAVID PEREZ
Starts: Friday, August 29, 2008, 8:00pm
Ends: Saturday, August 30, 2008, 8:00pm to 9:00pm
$5-7 sliding scale
No one turned away for lack of funds
Fresh out of hibernation with a pots of coffee in one hand and a box of chap books in the other, Mike McGee and David Perez return to MACLA for another 24-hour set of poetry. This time, he opens the mic to a band of loyal poetry-and-music-loving vampires to form the one and only, “Summer Slumberfest ’08”. We’re packing in couches, pillows, blankets and whatever else is soft and fluffy to make a never-before-seen Thunderdome of Comfort. Barefoot Coffee Roasters provides the caffeine. So peel back those eyelids and help us rock the night away by reading your own poetry or just kicking back, cuddling up and watching the show.
For more information contact David @ david@maclaarte.org
Visit MACLAarte.org for information
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on at 3:33 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged 24-hour, event, macla, Music, poetry, San-Jose-California, spoken word, summer slumber fest, word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
I get into these moods where I crave local music and art. Now that Vancouver is such a “local” spot for me, I crave Canadian works from time to time, having become so familiar with the spoken word and music scenes up there.
Some of you are quite familiar with Mr. Mark Berube, but those of you who are not really should go to his site and check him out. His music is incredibly entertaining and I think he’ll make a fan of most of you. For those of you looking for something new to listen to, if you have none of his music in your collection already, please go now and get it.
You may know Mark from one of his projects called The Fugitives, which features my homie C.R. Avery, with Barbara Adler and Brendan McCleod. They’re a singing-talking spoken word quartet out of Vancouver, B.C. and they’re quite good. Mark’s music soothes me and you can find MP3s available at his website on his music page. I suggest that you buys his album if you like what you hear. http://www.markberube.com/
My personal favorite track is “Flowers on the Stones.”
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 5 March, 2006 at 3:16 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged mark berube, Music, spoken word, the fugitives, Vancouver. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.