NOTE-worthy: Cabinet of Music/Text Curiosities

Local Poets Guild, with the help of TEO 315, is launching a poetry/music series and we’re kicking off the whole shebang with a beautiful showcase of poetry/music this coming Thursday September 20th at 7:30 pm. Participants include Mitch Rayes, Mark Weaver, Mike Balistreri, Michael Vlatkovich, Lisa Gill, Clyde Reed, Matt Norman, Al Faaet, and Sirena Rayes… Come help us celebrate some timely convergences…

First off, Mike Balistreri is back in town! And he has been known to conspire and become virtually unstoppable when working together with Mark Weaver, the curator of the Roost! Together the bass/tuba duo form the crux of TEO 315, th3 e1emental orke5tra, the ever-shifting conglomeration of musicians who improved regularly with poets at Out ch’Yonda back in the heydays…  (That is the series that served as catalyst for our original Ke5tra: Sound Literature broadside.)

For this show, Balistreri and Weaver will be joined by Matt Norman and Al Faaet of Fufaka, (a duo who blew my mind at a roost a couple weeks back) and the quartet will be projecting text and responding…

Weaver wrote this:

Beyond That Circle: Sun Ra album cover art and poetry with live musical accompaniment by th3 e1emental orke5trahmmm… bios
Also in the show, poet/musician Mitch Rayes will be performing with his daughter poet/upcoming musician Sirena Rayes. A set where both share poetry and Mitch works wonders with a variety of sound options for the words… (Some of you may not be familiar with just how many albums Mitch has done sound for, how many poets he has backed up musically, but you should know that is discography is pretty stellar.) And everybody knows, Sirena who grew up on the poetry scene is living the poetry family legacy (Mitch’s great grandfather Authorson was also a writer). Her work is stunning, tight, rigorous, funny, and biting… always surprising.
And I’ll also have some pretty finely honed tremendous pleasure when I get to perform new work written for a collaboration with Michael Vlatkovich of LA (trombone) and Clyde Reed of Portland (bass). Michael and I have worked together a bunch, here and a bit in LA, and I’m thrilled and inspired to do more. (I worked hard on this new poem, sparked from a theme suggested by Vlatkovich. He said, “The theme is Curiosity.” I said, “here’s the title, ‘Manifestations of Thwart and Opine for Curved Bill Thrasher in Four Parts’ ” To which he immediately responded by writing a new composition just for the title.  Then I finished the poem and popped it off to him and clyde, now we see what the next steps are… Already good process!!!)… This will be my first time meeting Clyde. Both are in town for upcoming roosts…
I could go on and on with the bios… but for now won’t. Later I’ll toss some more info into the mix, but this good news about a good night is enough for now.
Show starts at 7:30 PM Thursday September 20th at the Projects 3614 High Street NE. We’d welcome a $5 donation to support the space and help feed the musicians and poets (9 of us)… but as is always the case, it’s only a suggested donation. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Hope to see you. We’ll have coffee/snacks too… We’re hoping the whole show approaches the effect of the top image (An early 18th-century German Schrank with a traditional display of corals Naturkundenmuseum Berlin) or at least allows curiosity to turn into catalyst…
-lg
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