San Jose Poetry Slam Tonight

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 Mike McGee, 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.

San José Poetry Slam Returns

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 Mike McGee, 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.

Ill List IV

Last night was awesome. As usual.

I was at the fourth annual Ill List poetry slam in Modesto, California. It’s a huge, invitational competition held in the State Theatre. 600+ in attendance to watch, Sonya Renee, Big Poppa E, John “Survivor” Blake, Ed Mabrey, Alvin Lau, Anis Mojgani, Scorpio Blues, Chad Sokolovsky, Adriel Lewis, and myself, compete for $1000.

I’ve performed at all of the Ill Lists in Modesto and they’re always awesome. I’ve always only ever made it into the top three, but this year…I came in the bottom three! This all thanks to my being late, missing out on the draw, taking the first slot, and the judges allowing score creep to settle. I also repeated poems from previous Ill Lists and I think that may have had some effect.

Since I knew I was mathed out by the second round, I went ahead and did a four and half minute version of Puddin’. That was incredible fun.

Sonya took first, Alvin took second, Scorpio took third, and “Survivor” took fourth. It was a good slam all around and the audience had a great time. I’d have to say that the Ill List is one of the best slams in the world. It’s pretty amazing to see such a small town come out in droves to see poetry on a cold Saturday night. Tickets for the event always sell out a day or two in advance. That’s over 600 tickets for a poetry event.

They should be holding Ill List V around this time next year. I may not be in it, but I certainly recommend to anyone in near Modesto to go check it out.

Sam Pierstorff organizes all of the Ill Lists and the regular Modesto Poetry Slams; visit them here: http://www.slamonrye.com/

–––––––––

Word to the nerd.

2007: Go for it!

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 9 December, 2007 at 2:51 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged california, ill list, modesto, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, slam on rye, state theatre, theater. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Ill List IV

Last night was awesome. As usual.

I was at the fourth annual Ill List poetry slam in Modesto, California. It’s a huge, invitational competition held in the State Theatre. 600+ in attendance to watch, Sonya Renee, Big Poppa E, John “Survivor” Blake, Ed Mabrey, Alvin Lau, Anis Mojgani, Scorpio Blues, Chad Sokolovsky, Adriel Lewis, and myself, compete for $1000.

I’ve performed at all of the Ill Lists in Modesto and they’re always awesome. I’ve always only ever made it into the top three, but this year…I came in the bottom three! This all thanks to my being late, missing out on the draw, taking the first slot, and the judges allowing score creep to settle. I also repeated poems from previous Ill Lists and I think that may have had some effect.

Since I knew I was mathed out by the second round, I went ahead and did a four and half minute version of Puddin’. That was incredible fun.

Sonya took first, Alvin took second, Scorpio took third, and “Survivor” took fourth. It was a good slam all around and the audience had a great time. I’d have to say that the Ill List is one of the best slams in the world. It’s pretty amazing to see such a small town come out in droves to see poetry on a cold Saturday night. Tickets for the event always sell out a day or two in advance. That’s over 600 tickets for a poetry event.

They should be holding Ill List V around this time next year. I may not be in it, but I certainly recommend to anyone in near Modesto to go check it out.

Sam Pierstorff organizes all of the Ill Lists and the regular Modesto Poetry Slams; visit them here: http://www.slamonrye.com/

–––––––––

Word to the nerd.

2007: Go for it!

Originally published at Posted on MikeMcGee.net. You can comment here or there.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on at 2:51 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged california, events, ill list, modesto, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, slam on rye, state theatre, theater. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Brave New Voices: Youth Poetry Slam Nationals

So Brave New Voices, the Youth Poetry Slam Nationals, has been in San Jose this week. The first really massive poetry slam event ever to come to my hometown. I’ve been quasi-coaching the San Jose Youth Team which consists of a few friends who happen to be some really amazing poets, who happen to have been born in the late-80s/early-90s.

There are 400+ kids from all over the country (and one team from Leeds, UK) hanging out in downtown San Jose today for poetry. I really, really dig young intellectuals. I love the hope and darkness they embrace. I love observing that stage of finding their own image, or even accepting the one they’ve fallen into, or finally rejecting all images and designing their own.

As I write this (11am), ten superb youth teams will be battling it out in the semi-finals. Then the top 4 or 5 will head to the finals, which are being held The California Theater on First Street in downtown San Jose tonight at 7:00pm.

If you’re interested, you should check it out. Tickets can be bought at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/16907

They have a slew of guest coming out to perform, such as Beau Sia and Saul Williams. It’ll be a great night of poetry slam in San Jose.
–––––––––
Word to the nerd.
2007: Go for it!

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 20 July, 2007 at 11:01 AM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged brave new voices, california theater, nationals, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, San-Jose-California, youth. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

I saw this posted on

succulentpoet

‘s journal.

T.Paul Ste. Marie passed away this weekend. He was the host of one of Vancouver’s longest running open mics, Thundering Word Heard. I think most poets who’ve visited Vancouver have had at least one interaction with T. Paul. He gave me so many stage opportunities as a visiting poet, I am shocked and dismayed by this news.

You can read more here: http://succulentpoet.livejournal.com/670859.html

If you are in Vancouver, I think it wise to visit the Vancouver Poetry Slam on Monday, as I’m sure they will offer ample opportunity to memorialize him, or at least there will be others who want to get together on this.

Wow. I haven’t seen him since December and I surely forgot to call him last week. I can’t stand that feeling.

I hope they have a shitload of hair grease, wherever you are, T.Paul.
———
Thunder to the Heard.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 3 June, 2007 at 6:07 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged death, heard, notice, open mic, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, ste. marie, t. paul, thundering, Vancouver, word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Friday, May 11: The 9th Annual San José Poetry Grand Slam Final!

Friday, May 11: The 9th Annual San José Poetry Grand Slam Final!

San José’s top slammers vie for team membership to compete this August at the National Poetry Slam in Austin, Texas.

This should be a lot of fun.
Britannia Arms, Downtown San José, California.
$10.00 at the door.
Free parking at the garage on San Pedro.
Ages 18 and up. Slam outdoors in the back patio.
Hosted by Mike McGee, featuring Anthony R. Miller.

Bring a smile and room for a good time.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 10 May, 2007 at 8:13 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged competition, final, grand slam, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, San-Jose-California, slam team. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

My Week In The West – Bay Area Gigs

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.

—-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.

Powered by ScribeFire.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, 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.

Question From A Friend

My friend, Wes (

weslink

), a young slammer from San Jose recently asked me this question as a comment on my last blog entry. I’m pretty sure he is 18 and surely out of high school because I missed his graduation last June.

It occurred to me that some of you may have words of wisdom to add as well. Here is his question and my response below it.

Wes, be sure to thank the nice people for their time.

WES: Curious, how early should a poet trying to schedule their first tour start contacting slams?

McGEE: Well, Wes, I think age has very little to do with touring. It sounds like you have the bug to get out there and see the road. It’s a neat road.

I would say it’s definitely best to wait until one is 18 to tour, this way you avoid any legal troubles a minor might encounter in strange places. I know some teens that have toured, but they were with an adult or very irresponsible. It might benefit you to wait until you’re 21 as well, since a good portion of you first gigs will be in bars and some venues won’t have you in that case.

As for when you should tour as an adult, I would gauge it with experience. If you’ve ever been on a slam team, had work published, made lots of contacts in a regional or national poetry scene, and/or acquired a title or two in a regional/national/international competition, then you’re probably ready on an aesthetic level. Most of your first gigs will be at slams, and in order for a slammaster to want to book you, they usually want to know who you are first, and that is usually through hearing about you from other poets/slammers and not by you in the form of an introdctory email. Although, when sending that initial email, be kind, ask questions about their show, and don’t brag. Bragging to a slammaster/organizer about tiny, local accomplishments might get you deleted.

The more you perform and make contacts in your region, the more you will be mentioned by poets/slammasters to others in regionsnorth  outside of your own. Especially if you do well. It ain’t pretty, and it ain’t even an honest system, but it’s a system and it is widely used in North American slam and open mics.

If you enjoy slamming, go out for a team. If you enjoy writing, get something published in a paper, magazine, zine or periodical. The more you get published, the more people may want to publish you. If you’re a good writer, age should carry no weight.

By winning a slot on a slam team, you afford yourself an opportunity to go to the National Poetry Slam where not only will you perform in front of other poets and slammasters from different regions, but you can also use that opportunity to introduce yourself to most of the regular National slam community. There you can learn more about other scenes and trade contact information with slammasters and poets.

Give it time. If you rush into touring, you could plan it poorly and hurt yourself and your enjoyment of poetry. A bad tour can have a lasting effect on your interest in it poetry and performance later on.

I open this up to others for debate or to provide additional information.
(If you’re reading this from my website, click here to read the comments.)
———
Word to the nerd.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 15 January, 2007 at 11:18 AM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged advice, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, poetry tour, touring. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Los Angeles Has Me All Up In It

I was in San Luis Obispo a couple of nights ago with Rachel McKibbens, Sonya Renee, Sekou the Misfit, Steve Connell and Anis Mojgani. I hosted a “for fun slam” in front of a thousand incoming Cal Ploy freshmen, while all the poets above slammed for bragging rights. We did two slams – Anis won the first, Sonya won the second. Man, it was good time. Fuckin’ shite it was a damn blast. All good peeps. The students were exciting and were totally turned onto spoken word. Admittedly, one would have to concur that we had a pretty good crew of poets converting them into fans.

Later, I interviewed Sonya for my podcast, in my hotel room. That’s what they call it now…”interviewing for my podcast.” Hmmm.

Actually, when I found out who she’s dating, I was stoked. The dude’s a good guy, and I can’t think of anyone in the poetry slam community that might have a bad word to say about him. It ain’t my place to say who’s who, but we read each other’s blogs…
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My podcast Episode #4 is up and it’s awesome. I interviewed my favorite poet, RC Weslowski while in Vancouver last week. He’s so S-wheat.

I am now in the midst Los Angeles and it’s surrounding chaos. I like it a bit more every time I come down here. At one point, the people I really knew down here were Ratpack Slim and Feff, who had relocated from San José. Now my old roomie Dante lives here, along with old SJ slam teammate Erik Sanchez, yet both had grown up here and moved to San Jo.

Monday, September 25: I will be performing at Green! I dig this spot, so much that I hold the record for the most performances of any visiting poet. More info here—–> GreenEveryMonday.com

Tuesday, September 26: I have been asked to come and do a set at the Da Poetry Lounge. I had a blast the last time I was there, so I couldn’t say no.  More info here—–> DaPoetryLounge.com

Sunday, October 7: I am one of the features at the Soul Cypher. This event is run by NerCity and Scorpio Blues, former Oakland Slam Team members, and now the husband and wife poetry family duo of supreme awesomicity. They are really doing an incredible job of bringing quality spoken word back to Oakland. We’re talking black tie affairs and superb downtown style events. Come check them out! They are the Swheatest! More info here—–> Soul Cypher’s MySpace Page

If you’re in the L.A. region, please come see me at one of these spots next week! Email me or comment to say you might make it out. These shows would like to have you there. mightymikemcgee gmail com
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Hella word to the nerd.

This entry was written by Mike McGee, posted on 22 September, 2006 at 2:41 PM, filed under Personal Updates and tagged anis mojgani, cal poly, da poetry lounge, green, l.a., los angeles, oakland, palmer room, Performance Poetry and Spoken Word, rachel mckibbens, san luis obispo, sekou the misfit, sonya renee, steve connell. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.