Dan Vaughn and all that stuff
Wow.
This night had it all. Suspense. Drama. No one there on time. Well, that's not entirely true. There were several, as in THREE, people there at around 7:00!
Other than that? The place was looking mighty dim Tex, that is, till the 8:30 mark passed us by. Then EVERYONE shot out. I was like, ok, was there a special episode of FRIENDS or MONIFAH or FRIENDS with special guest MONIFAH or what??!!
After my heart rate went back down I made note of a few things.
1) I should remind myself every week to be just giddy over the fact that even ONE person would choose to come out and share in the word and the fun each week.
2) That while a night is, can, and should be entertaining, there is a higher purpose being served, so ya best hit the mic right, people! (this is my shout out to Terry, my official guardian angel for at least the next 24 hours. I love you for what you said man. Most of us "poets" don't have the balls to be that honest in our work, much less with our lives. Thank you for coming out and I pray you come again soon)
3) That while start time IS important, what is more important is making sure that what show people DO get is a hot show. So thanks to all the poets for making it just that.
4) I will fight a lion fresh off a hunger strike in a titanium cage to keep PHAEDRA as my main bartender. Yes, she is just THAT good.
On to the night.
About 50 cats came thru. Stopped the open mic list at 12. Nice number for everyone to get their two poems and let the feature do his thang.
Cinnamon was a great vendor. I am sooo loving this idea of people helping one another out. The vendors treat the space they use like it is a mini store (which in essence it is). Very professional. Glad I took the risk to do it.
Had a table full of cats who drove 45 minutes from NEWARK, OHIO just to check out the night. Gave them the 3rd degree about if they enjoyed the night, etc.. They DID. Score! I will be in Newark next week in the name of poetry so it was a nice sign to see some people come down from there.
Getting a few teens each week. Know what this means right? Gotta get the colored wristbands jumping off. I would feel like poop if someone's child gets crunk at the open mic. The bar staff is good about not letting that happen, but again, I must remain proactive. As a matter of fact-new rule starting now. All people under the age of 20 will get in half price. There. I said it. It's official.
Last week I had some girl hand me her cell phone. On it was her mom. She just wanted to confirm that her daughter was in fact at a poetry reading. See, it was her first date with this boy and mom wasn't feeling it. When I told her that, yes, her daughter and the young man were at the Brownstone drinking Coke and listening to poetry, you could almost hear the gremlin in her brain screaming "Does Not Compute!".
So, what did mom do? She came down with her man to check out the night. They loved it so much she is working on a rotation; one week her daughter can come, another week mom rolls out, another week they do the mother/daughter thing and come together. Cool. Real cool.
So on to the feature. Dan came down and did a great job. Killed alot of the "i am a slam poet who tours" crap that alot of audience people expect or alot of poets deliver. His work was varied and he showed depth and imagination in his work and the pieces he chose to do. Even had Phaedra wanting to buy his stuff. (which for the record is now my new judge of good work...it doesn't make sense but I will keep track of that little stat just the same)
So all in all, a great night. I would list the other things that came up but they will get there own post above this one.
As you can see, I am posting things in advance now. Then as the event passes, I will go into the original, former 'advanced' release info, and simply edit it, turning it into the post of what went down. This will save me time and space and YOU don't have to figure out what is what.
Peace 2 Fingers!
This night had it all. Suspense. Drama. No one there on time. Well, that's not entirely true. There were several, as in THREE, people there at around 7:00!
Other than that? The place was looking mighty dim Tex, that is, till the 8:30 mark passed us by. Then EVERYONE shot out. I was like, ok, was there a special episode of FRIENDS or MONIFAH or FRIENDS with special guest MONIFAH or what??!!
After my heart rate went back down I made note of a few things.
1) I should remind myself every week to be just giddy over the fact that even ONE person would choose to come out and share in the word and the fun each week.
2) That while a night is, can, and should be entertaining, there is a higher purpose being served, so ya best hit the mic right, people! (this is my shout out to Terry, my official guardian angel for at least the next 24 hours. I love you for what you said man. Most of us "poets" don't have the balls to be that honest in our work, much less with our lives. Thank you for coming out and I pray you come again soon)
3) That while start time IS important, what is more important is making sure that what show people DO get is a hot show. So thanks to all the poets for making it just that.
4) I will fight a lion fresh off a hunger strike in a titanium cage to keep PHAEDRA as my main bartender. Yes, she is just THAT good.
On to the night.
About 50 cats came thru. Stopped the open mic list at 12. Nice number for everyone to get their two poems and let the feature do his thang.
Cinnamon was a great vendor. I am sooo loving this idea of people helping one another out. The vendors treat the space they use like it is a mini store (which in essence it is). Very professional. Glad I took the risk to do it.
Had a table full of cats who drove 45 minutes from NEWARK, OHIO just to check out the night. Gave them the 3rd degree about if they enjoyed the night, etc.. They DID. Score! I will be in Newark next week in the name of poetry so it was a nice sign to see some people come down from there.
Getting a few teens each week. Know what this means right? Gotta get the colored wristbands jumping off. I would feel like poop if someone's child gets crunk at the open mic. The bar staff is good about not letting that happen, but again, I must remain proactive. As a matter of fact-new rule starting now. All people under the age of 20 will get in half price. There. I said it. It's official.
Last week I had some girl hand me her cell phone. On it was her mom. She just wanted to confirm that her daughter was in fact at a poetry reading. See, it was her first date with this boy and mom wasn't feeling it. When I told her that, yes, her daughter and the young man were at the Brownstone drinking Coke and listening to poetry, you could almost hear the gremlin in her brain screaming "Does Not Compute!".
So, what did mom do? She came down with her man to check out the night. They loved it so much she is working on a rotation; one week her daughter can come, another week mom rolls out, another week they do the mother/daughter thing and come together. Cool. Real cool.
So on to the feature. Dan came down and did a great job. Killed alot of the "i am a slam poet who tours" crap that alot of audience people expect or alot of poets deliver. His work was varied and he showed depth and imagination in his work and the pieces he chose to do. Even had Phaedra wanting to buy his stuff. (which for the record is now my new judge of good work...it doesn't make sense but I will keep track of that little stat just the same)
So all in all, a great night. I would list the other things that came up but they will get there own post above this one.
As you can see, I am posting things in advance now. Then as the event passes, I will go into the original, former 'advanced' release info, and simply edit it, turning it into the post of what went down. This will save me time and space and YOU don't have to figure out what is what.
Peace 2 Fingers!
posted by edmabrey at 3:50 PM
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