THIS IS Needless to say, Mr. Barnes "The Poetry Man" rocked again while sipping some "Corporate Coffee" and nibbling on "Deep Fried Chicken." The night continued with some cool blue blues from Jimmy Smith and his friends. Then, Mike Sonksen, Phil Martin, Slim, Yvette and Rachel got everybody on their feet claiming, "I'm alive in Los Angeles!" (They will all be alive and kicking at the L.A. Theater Center next Saturday night, so go see them -- you won't regret it.) Then, an amazing act called Totem Maples, got on stage, and boy did they mix music and spoken word! The rhythm of those congas hit me right in the stomach, the sounds of the piano trickled through my consciousness like a stream, the guitar plucked my heart strings, the bass resonated in my every cell, and the spoken word tickled my fancy as Larry (the vocalist) mused about music. Let me tell you: these guys (and a girl) are HOT! Go see them next time you hear they are performing in Los Angeles! The last but not least was the performance of the female poetry collective known as WomanSong. The ladies raised some really serious issues and wrapped them up in smooth poeticism. Now, if a book can be judged by its cover and a new multimedia happening by its opening night, RHYTHMz should be a winner.
Still, don't forget: the real winner is the corporate-coffee-drinking, deep-fried-chicken-eating poetry man, Mr. Wayman Barnes hisself. And just to think it all started by me asking him for a ride. We are the champions (my friend)!
WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU ARE FRIENDS WITH WAYMAN or WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
More precisely, Wayman Barnes is... But let me begin where it all began. See, yesterday I coerced Wayman to give me a ride to Redlands where I had to pick up my painting from an exhibit that just ended. And don't ask me what I had to do to coerce him! I'm just not ready to look the truth in the eyes... So, we pick up the painting, get back on the road, get lost (as usual), turn around, drive back, drive forth, drive sideways... Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean. Finally, we make it to Long Beach just in time to hear Jaha Zainabu feature at the Big Damn. Sheeeee! That woman has THE VOICE!!! And some amazing poetry, too. Good to see the sister back on the poetry scene. I missed her since the time she won a spot on the 2001 L.A. Slam Team. So, after Jaha's feature, Wayman and I decided to enter the weekly poetry slam at the Big Damn. And you know how those writers are... You have to trick them into doing something, and they pretend to be shy and disinterested, and you think their self-esteem is shattered ... and then they get up on stage and blow everybody away, and you are left with a blank stare on your face saying, "Uh?" Well, that's exactly what Mr. Litrave did: blow everybody away. He won the slam with a total of 85.5 over Katie O'Laughlin's 82.2 points. Way to go WAYman!!! Now, LitRavers, pay attention! Go down to Long Beach on the 25th of this month to support our dear editor in the monthly Grand Slam. But shhhhhh! Don't tell him I sent you!
Now, as though his victory was not enough, instead of taking me home, Mr. Barnes took me to a brand new happening in Silverlake - RHYTHMz. When I think better, RHYTHMz is not that new after all... At least, the setting and the hosts are very familiar: Zen Restaurant, Larry Jaffe and Brandon Backhous of Poetic License fame (R.I.P. Poetic License). However, the format is different. It all started off with an open mic.
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