boston progress radio

Watch for Shuffled! every Thursday. Check out the Shuffled! archive for past shufflers.

Today’s Shuffler: Catzie Vilayphonh

Laotian American multi-talented spoken word artist Catzie Vilayphonh is the Fashion Director for two.one.five magazine where she also writes a weekly interview column called Catz Out The Bag. In the column, Catzie a.k.a. Catzuella questions all kinds of interesting folks from designers to directors and artists to actors. Previously, she was an editor at dorkmag.com, and a manager and assistant buyer at Ubiq.

When she’s not working at her day job, Catzie is one member of the spoken word group Yellow Rage. If y’all didn’t know they were featured on the first episodes of Def Poetry in 2000 (when it was actually still good). If you got the time, tune into their live interview here at Boston Progress Radio.

She’s been a citizen of Philly for nearly all her life and says she knows cheesesteaks like the back of her hand.

Now, on to the shuffle… Read more

Tags: Shuffled!.

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.

 

 Easts Meets Words Open Mic - 07/13/07 - Part 3 of 3 [23:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Today, it is almost 2 months since Yellow Rage was at the East Meets West Bookstore. There is only so much to say about a recorded podcast that was done almost 2 months ago. I must say however that I do have fond memories of the July 13, 2007 open mic. Almost one year to the day, I attended my first open mic. I know that in August 2007, when I hosted the open mic, I said that it was one year since August that I attended my first open mic. Well, I lied. Or maybe I’m losing my memory. To be honest, the first Boston Progress open mic I attended was on July 14, 2006 when Eli Kao featured.

People often say that they lose their memory as they grow old. Maybe you don’t lose your memories. Maybe, you just remember the most precious moments in your life and everything else, the less memorable moments, you forget. I know that when I become really old, I will look back upon the month of July 2007 with fondness. Being one year since I attended my first open is only one of many reasons why it will go down as one for the ages. Heck, why stop there? I know that when I become really old, I will look back upon the year 2007 with fondness.

This blog post is not supposed to be about me, so I’ll stop talking and instead introduce the third and final podcast of the July 2007 open mic. Yellow Rage brings their brand of anti-racist, anti-sexist spoken defiant word to Cambridge and Boston. Listen and reflect kids.

Tags: Open Mic, Podcasts.

 

 Easts Meets Words Open Mic - 07/13/07 - Part 2 of 3 [20:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

The second part of our first three part podcast bring us the first half of Yellow Rage’s performance at the East Meets Words Open Mic in July 2007. We’ll start off with something a little angry. Sometimes Catzie sounds a little quiet, but that is only because of the bad recording.

These three separate podcasts means three additional posts about Yellow Rage. That will probably raise the total number of posts about Yellow Rage significantly. Maybe I’m just artificially helping their ranking in our Artists Cloud over there in our sidebar. Or maybe I just want to maintain my comfortable lead on the number of posts written. I know I can’t write as eloquently as my friend Giles over there, so my consolation prize is to lead in the number of posts. You know, it is kind of like, if I can’t play in the World Series and get a chance to win the World Series, at least I get to hold the major league record for number of walks in a career. That’s a subtle dig for you non-baseball fans out there.

[The background static is still there. I apologize.]

Tags: Open Mic, Podcasts.

 

 Easts Meets Words Open Mic - 07/13/07 - Part 1 of 3 [21:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

When Yellow Rage came to feature at the East Meets West Bookstore in July, we recorded the entire open mic. It took me awhile, but I’ve finally managed to listen to it and snip it up into three thirty minute chunks.

In Part One, we have the open mic proper, hosted by BPR’s Delia, featuring pieces by some fine folks whose names I have forgotten. The recording has a nasty hum or hiss, so I apologize for that. I did my best to filter it out, but I really am a post production novice when it comes to handling audio. I hope that doesn’t deter you from listening and enjoying the open mic. Besides, you can’t miss Giles perform a song about his wife. Honestly, the lyrics brought a tear to my eye. Well, not really, but in my mind, I believe that I could have cried.

Tags: Open Mic, Podcasts.

 

 Interview with Yellow Rage [13:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

So it’s been more than a month since Yellow Rage came by and featured…. Maybe we should rename ourselves Boston Procrastinators Radio. ANYWAY.

I have to admit, after I youTubed Yellow Rage, I was a little reluctant to interview them. I mean, aren’t they angry?

As it turns out, they’re both fun to talk to. They clearly have a lot of passion for working with the Asian American community and speaking out on things, that well, make them angry.

Tags: Interview, Podcasts.

It was that time of the month again at the East Meets West Bookstore and this month’s East Meets Words Open Mic series featured the dynamic duo of Michelle and Catzie, also known as Yellow Rage. Based in Philadelphia, they are Asian American female spoken word poets who have appeared in the nationally recognized show Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on HBO. Before we got to the main attraction, the Open Mic segment featured some familiar faces as well as some new faces. Following tradition, Vinh started off the show by experimenting with a new style of writing that he inherited in New York. Following Vinh was Scott Cahalane who recalled his first kiss and took the audience back to when they had their first kiss. Theresa and Tara each read a piece that they wrote when they were traveling. Theresa’s piece was about her journey on the bus to Atlanta and Tara’s piece was about her journey home to Boston. Other performers include Mike Keo and Pedro but the Open Mic segment concluded with Giles Li who performed a song that he wrote that day while waiting for the cable guy to finish installing his cable.

Read more

Tags: Open Mic, Recaps.

June is almost gone. That means July is around the corner and that means another open mic. Please join the Boston Progress Arts Collective in welcoming Yellow Rage as the July East Meets Words open mic feature performer on July 13. As usual, we’re going to be starting around 8pm. And as usual, the open mic will be at the East Meets West Bookstore at 934 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA.