boston progress radio

with the exception of one month, for three years, every second friday has transformed a tiny bookstore into a magical haven of shared energy—stanzas, lyrics, melodies, rhymes, dances, visuals, fragmented thoughts, reciprocation and appreciation, have been transferred between bodies and spirits.

so i thought it would be fun to take a short look back, in order to look forward.

the bookstore, east meets west, opened october of 2004, with just a small table full of independent apia CD’s and chapbooks. only open on saturdays, the store served as a clubhouse of sorts for boston progress members to catch up, crack jokes, and build together. having an actual physical space available and seeing the potential of our space, it was only natural to program an open mic… but what shape it would take or how it would be actualized, no one really could tell. up to that point, only a few people have actually passed through the threshold of the store and wandered into our world.

in a boba tea spot in the back bay, at a monthly boston progress meeting, the open mic began to form an identity. after several suggestions (ginger-bred, mic-a-saurus rex), vinh the kid said after only a second of thought, east meets words, and the open mic had a name.

first open mic, we had the synchronous fortune of having not just one, but two members of 2 tongues, anida yoeu ali and marlon esguerra, in the northeast. it seems only fitting to have them be the first to bless the open mic as our first co-features. flash forward a year, we had regie cabico telling stories of mini-wooden-penises from men in barrels while humping a stool as a make-shift lover. in between and following, beautiful features from nyc, philly, the bay, LA, minnesota, toronto, chicago, jersee, and locals—all have graced the space.the list of open mic-er seem to be just as illustrious with local poets, musicians, freestylers, youth, passer-byers—all have come thru the space and shared…

to now. we don’t even have to worry about having folks come through… without fail, open mic nights become packed. and the unheated bookstore warms with body heat, which is the only thing that can keep you warm during the cold cold cold boston winters.

on a personal tip, the open mic has opened gates internally, like nothing has before. it’s not just learning the audience banter as a host, or getting over awkward insecurities as an open mic-er, or being brave enough to read from dusty journals as a feature, but i’ve learned that the more i can let go of… speak my mind and heart about, the more room i have to grow… i’ve learned to be open, unguarded—even if just for a few minutes—shed walls and free little pieces of my thoughts with the people. i’ve learned in a deep way the power of words… the unlocking of held breathes i usually choke back, releasing spiritual self into the physical world. even now, three years later, once a month, i still get nervous as i open my black book of secrets and with a shaky voice read out. but i’ve started to see many others, other unidentified poets and writers looking forward, raising their voice at the open mic. in the most obvious way, the open mic was a monthly session to meditate on the state of your union. where would i be if i didn’t have that space… i can’t even begin to assume.

looking back, we realize the open mics really wouldn’t be anything without everyone who supports–reads out on the list, listens in the metal chairs, claps their hands to the beat, yells words to rhyme about, and who shouts—ohhhhhh yeah. so it seems only right to have our three year anniversary feature be east meets words—a super mic of sorts. each and every participant—open mic-ers and audience alike—are the feature.

oh, the only month we did not hold the open mic at east meets west, was august 2005—when boston hosted the 3rd apia spoken word summit. but i guess even then, one can see the community and family showcase as open mics, so yeah, then for three years, boston progress has hosted an open mic, each month… and we’re still holding it down. solid.

Tags: Boston Progress, Commentary, Open Mic.

Shuffled! is a new feature on BPRLive, in which we ask some of our favorite people on the scene to set their mp3 player of choice to random, and tell us about the first few songs that they hear.

Today’s Shuffler: Karla Margallo

Along with her shy eyes and sweet smiles, it’s easy to be fooled by Karla Margallo’s 5-foot frame. But she knocks that picture out with a powerful punch of self-produced songs that raise the bar in pop music delivered by her distinct voice, rich in soulful, mellow tones. Although her songs range from R&B to rock styles for the sake of prosody, they are consistent in sincere poetry, captivating melodies and shades of the blues.

Born in the Philippines, raised in New Jersey, Anna Karla Margallo earned her degree at Berklee College of Music dual majoring in Music Business/Management and Songwriting. Although she’s been singing since she was a baby, performing since she was three, and writing songs since she was 13, Karla thought she was destined to pursue a career in medicine. Fortunately, she had enough passion and drive to realize her responsibility of sharing her gift of music.

Karla’s eclectic art reflects her musical journey. Carrying her little boom box around the house, she grew up listening to Top 40 on the New York City radio stations and looked up to divas like Madonna, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Eventually her musical horizons broadened as she discovered R&B, alternative rock, hip-hop, folk, old-time classics, and jazz and studied classical piano and voice and also contemporary music theory. Today, Karla draws songwriting influences from the mastery of classic tunes and finds inspiration for innovation in current radio hits by top producers.

But Karla’s main muse is simply life:

“Music should move the mind, heart, or feet. And in order to make that honest music, whether you are the performer, the writer or the musician, you must allow yourself to take your knowledge, influences, experiences, and beliefs and naturally express all of those important elements with your performance, compositions or instrument. You can always challenge yourself and try new things. Step out of your comfort zone, but never deny your true self. You don’t have to try too hard to be unique. We naturally are.”

Karla Margallo is not your typical singer-songwriter. For more information on Karla, check out her website: karlamargallo.com.

On to the shuffle… Read more

Tags: Shuffled!.

Back in the early days of Boston Progress Radio, Delia noted the gender imbalance of the artists on our station. (Yeah, I know that was only a few months ago, but sometimes it seems like we’ve been doing this forever.) It seems as though there are far more male artists than female artists. That is kind of a shame. Also shameful is the fact that we have only a single female blogger contributing to Boston Progress Radio. Maybe, Asian boys are just more opinionated? I don’t think so. Right here, I’m reaching out to all those female-identified heads out there who have some opinions about AA or PI arts, music, or spoken word. At Boston Progress, sharing your stories in your own words is more important than writing a Peabody-award winning piece.

Today, to help balance the imbalance, I’m adding music from four female artists.

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Tags: News, Online Radio.