Friday, February 18, 2011

"It's been a hell of a week..."



Greetings,

I must say that I’ve had a great week. I’m excited about what I have to report, as well, so I’ll go ahead and jump in.

First, we recorded the MANIFEST IV: Love & Other Struggles show. I’ve chopped up the performances into tracks, and we’re going to make it available to all you good people in the very near future. We’re tinkering around with a few things before we do so, so stay tuned if you’d be interested in taking home the Love & Other Struggles gang on disc.

Second, on Sunday, we were fortunate enough to win the C.A.F.E. Grant from Planet Altered. We’re looking into getting shirts made for MANIFESTS, and we’ll also be able to freely record our singers, musicians, poets, etc. who perform onstage. They can, in turn, use the tracks for EPK purposes, live demos, etc. Hopefully, we can help those who choose to be a part of our showcases better promote themselves, or just have a live recording to add to their collections.

On Wednesday, we had our BIGGEST SPEAKEASY LIST EVER. We happily boasted 20 performers and ran for over three hours. It was amazing. What was also amazing was the fact that we had comedian DOUG STANHOPE get down with us. If you’re not familiar with him, you should peep his website. The man’s been around for a while.



Doug performed under the alias of Hotel Guest, and he absolutely murdered his time on the microphone. He was in Chattanooga for a gig and just kind of managed to stumble upon The Speakeasy. Needless to say, we were very happy to have him in attendance.

Last night, Brother Marcus Ellsworth and I took a field trip to Roswell, GA to compete in “Slammin’ in the Suburbs,” Roswell’s 7th Annual Poetry Slam. It’s sponsored by the City of Roswell, and was incredible. Even Roswell’s Mayor was there.

There were 27 poets who performed in the first round. Yes, 27 peeps. I drew the fifth spot and Marcus got the 20th one. We did our thing, and managed to make it to the 2nd and final round. It was cool to be able to go to a place where we didn’t know a soul and still offer a good showing. We both placed in the top 10.

What was even better was that after the slam, we got to meet and network with some of Atlanta’s poets. It should be interesting to see what happens from here. Of course, I’ll keep you guys and girls informed. It’s what I do.

Lastly, Marcus and I will be two of the judges for the NAACP’s Black Ink Competition, which takes place TOMORROW. If you’re interested in coming out, things start at 12:30. It’s being held at the EPB Comm. Room, which is at 10 West MLK Blvd. If you stop by, say hello.

Well kiddies, I’m off. Enjoy your weekends!

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