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Music
Berzerkeley SLAM Rules :
#1: Have Fun!
Compete to uplift, not defeat. Leave your ego at the door. "The point is not the points, the point is poetry!"
#2: Poems
1original poem per round, under 3 min.
Ten-sec grace period (3:10), then 0.1 penalty per 0:01.
Time begins at first utterance!
Poems that win $100 may not be repeated until Semifinals.
#3: Content
Any content, any style.
One possible bonus point first round only.
No music. Singing is OK. No Costumes or Props.
Poems used to win $100 may not be repeated until Semi's.
Team pieces are allowed, IF all poets perform both rounds.
Team pieces do not count toward Poet Standings.
#4: Judging
5 judges selected from audience by lottery.
Poems judged on 1-10 scale with tenths.
High and low scores are dropped.
Poets can be disqualified for attitude. If you can't shake hands afterwards, somebody's got a bad attitude.
Ties are broken by "Sudden Death Haiku"
Audience choice winner goes to Round 2 regardless of score.
#5: Heckling
Good-natured heckling from the Audience and Judges is great, but intimidation is not only rude, it's weak.
#6: Prizes
1st=$100, 2nd=$30, 3rd=$20
Movies
----The highest award a poet can win at the Berkeley Slam is the COVETED GOLDEN MACARONI BELT (CGMB). It is donned by the winner of our annual Team Finals.
----Each one is hand-made, unique, and highly prized. It's a lot of work to make, and originally was intended to be handed down from champion to champion, but Omolara announced from the stage "You're gonna have ta pry this shit from my cold, dead, fingers!" and thus (s)heroically began an annual tradition.
----In 1998 and 99, the belt was awarded to the San Francisco champion, as there was no Berkeley Team at the time. In 2000, because Berkeley and SF joined to create a unified team (and because Finals were held in S.F.) no belt was created. Amazingly, that year there was 4-way tie for 1st place in the Team Finals (four poets with a cumulative score of 59.5) so perhaps this was for the best!
----When Charles Ekabhumi Ellik switched to being the slammaster of Berkeley, he took the tradition with him.
----Berkeley Poetry Slam is a weekly spoken word showcase built around an audience-judged competition. Established in 1998, we meet every Wednesday, give away $150 in prizes, feature top poets, live jazz, and incredible poetry! Most weeks, it's $7 to get in. Check the calendar for special events. Our home is the Starry Plough pub, 3101 Shattuck Ave, near Ashby BART.
----Here's what you can expect: When you arrive, you'll find a large room full of diverse and friendly people, colorful characters, a few crusty locals, and the hum of conversation. It'll probably smell like pizza cooking, and sound like funky live music. The Starry Plough is a venerable local Irish Bar and feels like family.
----If you arrived early, you may find a table or a seat (lucky!). Sign up to slam, if you wish. Sign-ups start at 7:30. Be aware that we have up to 30 people sign up each week, so we do a lottery to choose the 12 poets who will slam.
----Berkeley Slam starts at 8:30 with the first round of the competition. It may be loud, thoughtful, funny, painful, inspiring, intimate or rawcus. Probably all of the above. Poets are competing for $150 in prizes and a spot on our Nationally-acclaimed team, so expect the competition to be FIERCE, though our audience is very forgiving of newcomers. We have a live jazz band or DJ perform between the poets, and we usually have a couple tricks up our sleeves to keep folks awake.
----After the break, we return with our feature(s). We have featured virtually every notable slam champion, local legend, and touring poet from across the English speaking world. Immediately after our feature, the top five poets bring their best in the second half of the slam. Prizes are awarded, Words Of Wisdom are shared, and we end the show by inviting you to stay for a couple beers and some conversation!
----Our first slam at the Starry Plough was held in 1998 as a fund-raiser for KALX. It was such a hit, we were invited back to start a regular show, which began in March of 99. We went weekly in 2001. Our slam team regularly finishes in the top 10 nationally, including a 3rd place finish in 1999 (as half of 'Team Oakland' and a 4th place finish in 2004. We are the longest-running slam in NorCal, with a solid audience of 130 and our talent pool runs deep.
----To join the NorCal Slam UPDATE weekly mailing list, which lists ALL the poetry slams in NorCal, write to slamUPDATE-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Respect staff @ Berkeley Poetry Slam, continued success with your business. When you get a chance you should checkout this video clip from a Hip Hop Chess Federation I went to not too long ago, great stuff!!
Check out my teammates Dan Sully & Alvin Lau at California State University in Chico. Check out myspace. com/alvinlau or myspace. com/dansully. Both are Def Poets; Sully is one half of the duo Death From Below as well as a co-founder of the Speak'Easy Ensemble; Sully is a 3-time National Poetry Slam semifinalist and 3-time Mental Graffiti Grand Slam Champion; Alvin is the only finalist at both youth and adult levels, a 3-time Individual finalist at NPS, 3 time semifinalist with Mental Graffiti, team and solo Rustbelt Regional titles; only poet to win Green Mill & Mental Graffiti Grand Slam titles; Sully & Alvin also do eduacating and workshops. Check em out.
"On Being Water" at the National Poetry Slam:
BILLY TUGGLE is the HipHoppers Guide To The Galaxy: 1/29 OAKLAND Oakland Slam co-featuring N'ER CITY; 2/2 SAN FRANCISCO Free Feature Salon; 2/8 SAN FRANCISCO City Slam & Experimental Open Mic; 2/9 SAN JOSE San Jose Slam; 2/10 ARCATA Humboldt State U Black Liberation Month; 2/11 EUREKA College of the Redwoods; 2/12 EUREKA Slam @ the Accident Gallery... also hope to see you at BERZERKELY SLAM and at 16TH & MISSION!
Mission: Californiaquarius... 1/29 OAKLAND Oakland Poetry Slam, co-featuring with N'ER CITY; 2/2 SAN FRANCISCO Free Feature Salon; 2/8 SAN FRANCISCO City Slam & Experimental Open Mic; 2/9 SAN JOSE San Jose Poetry Slam; 2/10 HUMBOLDT COUNTY Humboldt State University; 2/11 HUMBOLDT COUNTY College of the Redwoods; 2/12 EUREKA poetry slam @ the Accident Gallery Plus cameos at The Berkeley Poetry Slam, 16th & Mission and more.
Peeaaace... Not sure if you peeped this yet. It's had a good run on MTV-u Let me know what you think.
4ward Eva! AZEEM...
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"Open Em Up" from AIR CARTOONS [Oaklyn Records] for NEW MUSIC and the FULL VERSION of "Open Em Ep" [lyrics included] check out: Oaklyn Records MySpace Page
NOW BOOKING AZEEM "Air Cartoons Tour" contact: booking@oaklynrecords.com
In the New Word Series '08 eight of the nations top Poetry Slam teams face off for acceptance into The 2009 National Poetry Slam in sunny S. Florida!
Each year more and more cities & scenes around the country want to send teams to The National Poetry Slam ("Nationals" or "Nats" or "NPS"). That's GREAT! In the last couple of years though there's been more teams than there is space for in the tournament. So, now teams must compete to get into Nationals.THIS IS THAT COMPETITION!!
On Wednesday Oct. 29th EIGHT TEAMS will face off against each other in 2 separate 4 team "bouts" at The Berkeley Slam @ The Starry Plough. The TOP FOUR teams (2 from each bout) from Wednesday's competition will advance to Thursdays CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND at The Oasis Restaurant & Bar.
We'll have teams reppin cities both near (Oak, Berk, SF) and far (San Diego, Boise). We'll have the irrepressible DJ Mr. G on the wheels of steel, Bushamama creating masterpieces on canvas right before your eyes, a full bar, tasty bbq'd victuals that even poets can afford, the open air smoking patio and, of course, your favorite host ever guiding you throug
Hey, Berkeley... If you're in the mood for some written word, check out Eleven Eleven (Cal Art's lit. journal). My poem "A Rhetorical Inquiry Into the Moral Certitude of Cause and Effect" is in the latest.
