Messages

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Slam Selection Processes / Tourettes Without Regrets-Oakland, Team Selection

« on: March 20, 2011, 10:03:42 PM »

Tourettes is the First Thursday Monthly, sign up starts at 8 PM, names are drawn randomly

1- 1st and 2nd place winners December - June get a spot in finals which will be held in June.  

2- Once team is selected, if someone bows out, the spot will be filled by the next highest scoring individual.

3-Fun will be had by all.

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General Discussion / Re: Preselected, qualified judges for NPS?

« on: August 19, 2009, 03:45:28 PM »

Hmm well, I thought the idea of picking judges from the audience was to get the audience involved.  Marc Smith used to say somethings like--, he came up with slam so the audience had a voice and didn't have to sit through some self important poet. . .

Arent you all just making the poets the most important people in the room by doing this?  And not the audience?  Sorry--Im from Chicago, and I just can't escape the importance of the audience being the most important thing--Though Marc and I didn't always get along, I think he is spot on about this--and his packed venue every single week for years is proof.

yes, when i hosted at nationals it was near impossible to find judges outisde of the poetry community for some of my bouts, and in some bout judges that the teams liked better, but, I think that the solution to this is to not to make more rules and pick judges ahead of time, but to get more audience in the doors.

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General Discussion / Re: no repeat rule

« on: August 17, 2009, 01:24:04 PM »

I personally love the no repeat rule because ive heard so many poems, and some of them it seems like 100's of times. BUT I am torn because I know that I am a jaded listener who has been part of the slam scene for 11 years, and I hate most stuff--but, as a business person and promoter Ive had to see the other side of the issue.  Some quick points:

 *My prob with the no repeat rule as it stands was that people used to complain all the time that it only took 3 poems to win finals--and were tired of teams with only 3 poems a person winning finals--but the rule did nothing to insure that the teams that reached the finals stage actually did have deep pockets--luckily  thus far most of the teams that have hit finals did have deep pockets, but, since there are random factors in slam, there could be a year of flukes--A year where most of the teams that reach finals stage actually don't have polished work.

*Unforturnately the way that NPS works now, all your new/non poet audience members pretty much come on finals night.   It used to be that people wanted NPS to move around region to region so that when people saw it, they would be inspired and start their own slams, or it would build on the slams already there--if finals is lackluster it defeats this purpose.  I would like to see more audience members that actually travel to other parts of the country to see an NPS, however if their first taste is a mediocre finals--then I doubt they will travel to NPS the following years, or even pay $30 to see finals if its is in the same city the next year.

*I think there is another element to bouts:  the synergy of teams responding to each other through poems, and the ebbing and flowing of this, the roller coaster ride--And eliminating poems from their pockets I think changes this energy as some of the perfect response poems are gone and many teams will simply have to do something that they know, but might not be right for the moment--that spark of electricity is gone--I enjoyed the heck out of the Austin No Repeat year, but I could tell that there was electricity missing from the room--some of the poems made no sense going back to back--but maybe Ive just bought into the slam formula. Even this year people are saying contradicting things--like All the poets rocked--but finals was boring.

* Do you remember the first poem that really turned you onto slam?  And don't you want the world to hear it?

* Don't you want to get a chance to hear the poems that everyone is talking about at 3 AM?  Maybe you are someone who travels the country and will hit every slam venue, or your home venue is in a large city that all the poets come through, but for many people, it will just be impossible to hear these poems live.

* I remember having this discussion with Taylor Mali years ago when I was bitching about seeing the same stuff on finals stage, and he pointed out that 1500 other people in the audience have never heard them before, it prob took me a couple years to come around to seeing his point, and I see it, though I personally prefer no repeats. So a compromise would be the best be in my book.

*Surprisingly the same debates seem to be going on as when I left as a slammaster 5 years ago, one of them was is NPS just for the poets?  Is no repeat rule just for the poets? Or is it in fact for the audience who is going to a slam for their first time?

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General Discussion / Re: gee, thanks marc and taylor for the "press"...

« on: July 31, 2009, 12:21:03 PM »

I actually didn't think that the article was bad.  I don't even think it was really negative, Ive definitely read much more negative things in articles, put much more harshly.

People Love Drama.

A point of geekiness, I play an MMORPG, everyone says that they hate drama, BUT everyone pines to play on the server with the most Drama, they think its the best.  Who hae the most friends on the scene--The Drama Queens.

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General Discussion / Re: Slammaster Access Request Archive

« on: July 26, 2009, 03:56:27 PM »

tytyty, that was lightning fast:)

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General Discussion / Re: Slammaster Access Request Archive

« on: July 26, 2009, 03:44:48 PM »

Hello,
Krystal Ashe here,  I am Slammaster of Tourettes WIthout Regrets, Oakland, could I get Slam master forum access so I can sort out our proxy vote?

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General Discussion / Re: TEMPE TEAM - RADIO INTERVIEW

« on: August 15, 2007, 01:37:54 AM »

As for all the numerous attacks on the Mental Graffiti people for filing the protest or all that Kahoots nonsense,

When MG filed the protest they had no way of knowing that if the DQ went through, if it meant that MG would get the spot, or of one of the teams whom Tempe Competed against would get the spot if the ranks were changed.

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General Discussion / Re: Member request archive

« on: August 15, 2007, 12:03:18 AM »

Krystal Ashe here, renewed at NPS this year.

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General Discussion / Re: TEMPE TEAM - RADIO INTERVIEW

« on: August 15, 2007, 12:02:28 AM »

THEN we should've been disqualified.

Keep in mind, that there is no FINAL verdict. Just because we got disqualified, doesn't mean that we weren't legitimate, and apparantly, just because we got in, doesn't mean that we WERE legitimate.

I'm talking about the PROCESS...If that much time was spent on this, why did us Tempe poets end up even being put in this positiong in our first slam?  Who approves the slam master/ the venue? who trains the slam master on all this info? I was just a poet who came out weekly and slammed, and got thrown in all this drama, and felt DISGUSTED by the fakeness and ego's that I saw in poetry. Especially when I have more of a reason to have an ego, than ANY of these no-name local poets who do SHIT for their community's and come out for the wrong reasons.  For the MILLIONTH TIME...I WASNT PLANNING ON SLAMMING when I came out this year.  It was never about the slam or the results. It was the process and the behind-the-back BS.  I'm sorry if I vented earlier and disrespected the organization or the peopel who put time into this, but I don't see how this issue wasn't covered after all these years. This should NEVER happen to any POET. 

The radio interview was my more calm approach to the topic- and me giving the info that I was aware of and my account of what happened. That's all I can do.  i can't just stay quiet when I feel that I got screwed over (by not just ONE person).....But by my slam master, by my state, by my friends, by PSI AND the board....or I should say PSI 'or' the board...because one of them was definitely wrong in their decision.  obviously.

As  far as I know your slammaster said one thing in the original interviewing protest, and then when he got to NPS he said another.  There is a process and it has worked for quite a long time now.  There are requirements to get a venue certified, but in the end a community is who decides whom is a good slammaste/ Host/ Organizer.  Someone who may not know all the rules for an event that happens once a year, maybe be an awesome Host whom brings the people in all year long, if this is the case dont get down on him, find hoim an assistant who can learn the rules because they are all here on forums, in listservs and in the rulebook that everyvenue gets..   

I hate to see you still insulting the many tremendous people at NPS, maybe they are not as famous as you are, but many of them run programss at schools, in prisons, have started other large tournments, have been widely published, or just plain saved someone's life wonce with something that they said in a poem, at to me, that is what slam and spoken word are all about..

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General Discussion / Re: TEMPE TEAM - RADIO INTERVIEW

« on: August 14, 2007, 11:26:43 PM »

Alright, this thread makes me sick in so many ways. . .

As a slammaster I spent 6 years fighting for rules that would make slams transparent and give every poet in the community a chance to get on a team in their area, specifically so that no one would be left out of a slam because of the color of their skin, their sexual oreintation, the kind of work that they perform, or a personal grudge. Now maybe you live in an area where one has a few slams to choose from, but in most areas of the country this is not like this.  I also fought for these rules so that there would not be another hand picked team like Mouth Almighty, because I don't think that having a hand picked team of professionals, or of people whom all pull 10s is fair.

Me and countless other slammasters over the history of slam have spent an awesome amount of hours, and money to get to the annual slammasters meeting so that we could hopefully have a smooth event.  We've spent countless hours on listservs and time in chatrooms to hopefully produce that best possible results for the poets, as well as for the NPS.  

Also "Slam Off"  is just lingo for final team selection, the process of it, new people may equate it to one event but really most people are referring to the process when they say this.

Now, I am not a slammmaster anymore, but if I still was I would've filed a protest when I first heard about the possible violation, and then again with the protest committee if nothing came to the first protest, why?

Because I feel that rules are made for a reason, and that it is a slap in the face to all those who have fought so hard to make this an open and fair event.  Even if your SM is just poorly informed, letting Tempe slide would mean that there would be 10 teams next year trying to do the same thing and using you all as precedent.  And then that open stage, that open slam that I fought for so that ANYONE in a community has a chance to have thier voice heard would slowly be chipped away.

Now, it's true that I am the former slammaster of Mental Graffiiti, BUT you can go though the poetry slam listerve and read all my old posts to know how greatly  I feel about all of this, you can see how much time I spent on just that  listserv trying tomake things right, trying to advance slam and touring poets, etc.

I would've liked for things to work out differently, for the orginal prostest to be taken more seriously, but that is not how it turned out.  And Instead I am watching you insult the 100's of poets and slammasters and organisers that I respect and admire, I am watching you insult something that has been near and dear to me for 10 years.  

As a poet whom I am sure has aspirations to tour, I would think about toning it down, because I am not the only person who is reading the things that you say and watching the way that you are acting. that wonders what would happen if you step on our stages.  My advice take it or leave it.

Krystal Ashe
Chicago Mental Graffiti Slammaster 98 - 2003