For this poet, bombing at a reading won’t be bad
March 1, 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Poetry readings have always been a blast for S.A. Griffin, but the tour that the venerable Los Angeles poet plans this spring may be his most explosive.
This time the author of such collections as “Unborn Again” and “One Long Naked Dance” will be packing his poems inside of a Cold War-era bomb and taking them on the road. The idea is to create the constructive from the destructive.
“I’m taking one of the most iconic images of destruction of the 20th century and turning it into something positive,” says the strapping Griffin, who at 6-foot-3 is nonetheless dwarfed by the gun-metal gray performance-art companion that rises more than 7 feet tall when tilted on end. He found the dummy bomb, which contains no explosives, on the Internet and bought it for $100.
His plan: bring the bomb to a city near you, dropping rhymes and free verse by the hundreds on audiences everywhere from Atlanta to Montana, Oregon to North Carolina and points in between. His aim is to get people to wake up to poetry.
Ellyn Maybe – City Streets
February 24, 2010
“City Streets” from Ellyn Maybe’s Rodeo for the Sheepish
Video Randi Malkin
http://henhousestudios.com/
///This video was a contribution to Ellyn’s online zine www.rodeowrite.com …please visit and contribute your own work to the Rodeo!
Pedestal Reviews Rodeo for the Sheepish
February 23, 2010
The Pedestal Magazine Reviews Ellyn Maybe’s Rodeo for the Sheepish
Reviewer: JoSelle Vanderhooft
Of all the things I review for Pedestal, spoken word CDs are my favorite, both because of their rarity (few poets, after all, have the resources to put one together) and the ingenuity with which they blend visual art, music, and, of course, poetry read aloud. The best of these CDs blend all of these disparate elements to make something that is neither music nor poetry but which uses the common roots of each to create something bold, new, and frequently difficult to categorize, save for the term “performance.” Indeed, the successful spoken word poet is one who does not just read his or her work, but performs it as if it were a stand-up routine, a monologue, part of a “Happening,” or simply as something meant to live beyond the confines of the page.
Ellyn Maybe is a poet who knows how to do just that. Not only a strong poet on paper, she is also a consummate performer with a warm, full voice that is as friendly and inviting as it is delightfully quirky. Few poets—indeed, few performers of any stripe—have the personality, honesty and, yes, unabashed geekiness which Maybe displays in her readings of the ten poems on Rodeo for the Sheepish. Her voice is not only entrancing but unforgettable; indeed, I would very much like to hear her perform live someday.
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Ellyn Maybe – There Were Two Girls Who Looked A Lot The Same
February 5, 2010
Henry Rollins writes “Ellyn Maybe is an irresistible force. To read or listen to her poetry is to be gently and completely crushed while simultaneously inspired and charmed. The honesty with which she so exquisitely reveals her vulnerabilities, desires and pain is beautiful and rare.
Rodeo for the Sheepish has so many great moments. The first time I listened to it, I was reminded of when I first met her many years ago and how much I liked her and her poetry. One of the stand out tracks on the album, There Were Two Girls Who Looked A Lot The Same, is a perfect example of why one becomes a fan of Ellyns immediately. I cant understand how anyone could not find an aspect of themselves in that piece. This is what Ellyn does so well and so often in her work and on this album.
Reading Ellyns poems from the page is one thing but hearing her read them just the way she meant them to be heard is something else altogether. Ellyn has a great sense of humor and reads wonderfully. The musical accompaniment on the album is not mere background filler but a true collaborative effort between Ellyn and the musicians that really works.
Ellyn is a very gifted writer and a true gem.”
Song “There Were Two Girls Who Looked A Lot the Same” is from the CD “Rodeo For The Sheepish”.
Video by Veronika Bauer
Veronika was born in Krems, Austria and is a writer, actress, photographer, poet, and graphic designer. She came across Ellyn’s poetry on the internet, instantly loved it, and met Ellyn later in Los Angeles.
She has written and directed two short films, “The Window Across the Street”(2006) and “The Blue Door”(2008) and acts in short films and theater. She has also written two novels, several screenplays, several short stories and loves to take photos. Multi-talented and multi-lingual she literally lives Ellyn’s poem “Being An Artist.”
Charles Plymell on Robert Peters – What Peters Means To Me
January 25, 2010
I’ve never been that big of an advocate of “oral” poetry (in fact it suggested sex to my dirty mind). Nor did I care that much for “voice” or “performance” poetry, which always suggested to me a way to present otherwise dull poetry where everyone bows their head to the grave task of “understanding.” I thought of it as more arts org decoration because no one knew what real poetry was when funding it, so applause would thus take cues from Jerry Springer with all the slam and “stuff.” I am old fashioned enough to know that in black ink the love of poetry still shines bright. So what do I get in the mail but the new wave of the future of publishing: a cd of the recorded voice; a little booklet of poems; the photo of the poet’s life all in one neat little package! i revised my thinking on the topic. Maybe it WAS important to hear the old Celtic tremble of Yeats, or the dramatic sculpted prosody of Pound in recordings. So here is the gift of the voice of Robert Peters, Professor Emeritus who is probably the last academic scholar and real voice in American poetry to be heard.
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Poetry Picks — The Best CDs of 2009
January 21, 2010
By Bob Holman & Margery Snyder
(Hen House Studios, 2009) Ellyn Maybe got her moniker because she was too shy to commit when she signed up for the open mic list—“Ellyn,” she’d write, “maybe.” She’s an LA phenomenon, published by Henry Rollins, the lovechild of Gertrude Stein and Allen Ginsberg, a lyrical poet in hippie couture, a one-of-a-kind. Now, with Rodeo for the Sheepish, she shows she’s ready for Las Vegas. Brilliant settings by producer Harlan Steinberger, superlative vocal backtracks by Tommy Jordan—all of a sudden, she’s gone Motown and you can hear the sheer force of Poetry vs. Pop music in an arena the size of Radio City Poetry Hall. Humor, poignancy, universality, individuality—like all great artists, how she does it is a mystery, but Ellyn Maybe is for real.
Hen House Studios Interviews Poet Michael C Ford – #2
January 21, 2010
Hen House Studios Interview with Poet Michael C Ford – #2
Michael C Ford was born on the Illinois side of Lake Michigan and is a Grammy/Pulitzer Prizepoet . His debut spoken word vinyl {on SST} LANGUAGE COMMANDO earned a Grammy nomination in 1986. His book of Selected Poems EMERGENCY EXITS was honored by a 1998 Pulitzer Prize nomination.
His last CD FIRE ESCAPES was bankrolled in 1995 by New Alliance: produced at Sonora by Michael Campagna who also composed and orchestrated most of the charts.
He concluded a recording project: a verbal rhapsody which pays an important tribute to both the art and the history of percussion; collaborating with DOORS cofounder John Densmore at the drum kit.
MCF has participated in keeping THE DOORS open by occasionally being in the company of keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Since their milestone appearances at McCabe’s (1986-1989) they’ve been collaborating on several voice and piano recording dates {the most recent being a specially conceived track titled EXTREME UNCTION FOR JAMES DOUGLAS MORRISON for Hen House Studios anthology Vol. 4}.
Besides publishing music journalism, essays and assays on other aspects of American cultural history, he’s served as judge and panelist for literary arts organizations and publishers.
Hen House Studios Interviews Poet Michael C Ford – #1
January 21, 2010
Hen House Studios Interview with Poet Michael C Ford – #1
Michael C Ford was born on the Illinois side of Lake Michigan and is a Grammy/Pulitzer Prizepoet . His debut spoken word vinyl {on SST} LANGUAGE COMMANDO earned a Grammy nomination in 1986. His book of Selected Poems EMERGENCY EXITS was honored by a 1998 Pulitzer Prize nomination.
His last CD FIRE ESCAPES was bankrolled in 1995 by New Alliance: produced at Sonora by Michael Campagna who also composed and orchestrated most of the charts.
He concluded a recording project: a verbal rhapsody which pays an important tribute to both the art and the history of percussion; collaborating with DOORS cofounder John Densmore at the drum kit.
MCF has participated in keeping THE DOORS open by occasionally being in the company of keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Since their milestone appearances at McCabe’s (1986-1989) they’ve been collaborating on several voice and piano recording dates {the most recent being a specially conceived track titled EXTREME UNCTION FOR JAMES DOUGLAS MORRISON for Hen House Studios anthology Vol. 4}.
Besides publishing music journalism, essays and assays on other aspects of American cultural history, he’s served as judge and panelist for literary arts organizations and publishers.
Ellyn Maybe’s Planet Green Interview
January 20, 2010
Ellyn Maybe and Tommy C. Jordan Ride in a ‘Rodeo for the Sheepish’
Poet Ellyn Maybe talks about her new album of spoken word fused with music.
I had never heard of Ellyn Maybe before a chance meeting in Los Angeles. Shame on me, considering her poetry pedigree is practically second to none. With her latest project, a spoken word/music album, Rodeo for the Sheepish, it is easy to see why she was named one of ten poets to watch in the new millennium by Writer’s Digest.
What’s particularly delightful about this album is that in addition to hearing her perform her poems, the album is also full of the vocal stylings of Tommy C. Jordan, of whose band Geggy Tah David Byrne once said:
“Geggy Tah are so post modern that they’ve come out the other side.”
We had a chat with both Ellyn and Tommy about making the album, inspiring social change through words, plus got a little insight into what both artists are working on next.
PG: What gave you the idea to do an album of spoken word set to music?
Ellyn Maybe: Since I reference music so often in my work it seems natural to do a spoken word/music album. This amazing opportunity came about when I reconnected with my cousin Harlan Steinberger who is wonderfully talented and he suggested we go in the studio and record a few poems with a click track and the album evolved very quickly.
We recorded everything at that first recording and then I went back after the music was finished and rerecorded some poems once I knew what the musical accompaniment was as that affected the reading.
We’re working on turning Rodeo for the Sheepish into a movie musical and hopefully a live stage show too. If anyone wants to create images for a track or a vignette for in between the songs they should please write me at ellynmaybe@aol.com.
We’re open to live action, animation, photography, painting, sketching, dance…
Hen House Studios Interview with Metis Cole with Bravo and Second Son
December 20, 2009
Hen House Studios Podcast Interview with Metis Cole with Bravo and Second Son
Raised in New York City and Los Angeles, Metis Cole brings a true bi-coastal flavor to his music. He started making beats and writing lyrics as a young teenager. In fact, Metis has been teaming up with Second Son and Bravo for over ten years.
A decade later, Metis Cole’s rhythm and poetry have evolved into one of the most complete hip-hop sounds around. Let his slamming beats move your body but don’t forget to follow the lyrics. Because Metis’s verses, like those of Second Son, are the crême de la crême of rap music. Look out for Bravo as well. This is a man possessed!
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