#forword feature

[forwordcollective-blog]

forWord Special Performance for One Night!

Happy National Poetry and Writing Month!

Seemingly out of thin air, forWord will be breaking out of our performance hiatus and will be back on the mic as one of the night's special performances at the 7th Annual Mr. Hyphen on Saturday, April 27th in San Francisco! Come watch the final four talented and charismatic API men perform and compete for the crown and a $1000 cash prize to benefit the non-profit they represent.

Steph, Mark, and Eddy will be driving up from LA/OC while Susan already bought her ticket and will be taking flight from Seattle, so this is going to really happen! (We barely can believe it ourselves, but it's true.) So excited to come back and support a great cause for our API community!

[forwordcollective-blog]

"The Things They Said" by forWord

Stephanie Sajor, Eddy M. Gana Jr., and Susan perform their spoken word piece "The Things They Said" at Uncultivated Rabbits Presents Poetry Showcase at their alma mater University of California, Irvine, CA. This piece came from our looming anxiety not knowing whether we will have a bleak or bright future after college graduation.

Interesting Fact: forWord met through Uncultivated Rabbits, the one and only spoken word organization, at UC Irvine. They served as board officers and are Lifetime Rabbits. -- Connect with us! contact: [email protected] like: http://www.facebook.com/forwordcollective follow: http://forwordcollective.tumblr.com tweet: http://www.twitter.com/fWcollective

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forWord Feature TONIGHT: "Pass the Mic: Reclaim Your Roots" at UC Irvine

The Asian Pacific Student Association (APSA) is presenting an annual spoken word and hip hop showcase/workshop event called, “ Pass the Mic: Reclaim Your Roots.” Through a fusion of spoken word pieces and hip hop, we hope that participants and the audience will be reminded of their roots and we hope to give them a space where they can reclaim their identity as Asian Pacific Islanders or People of Color. In addition, we look forward to collaborating with spoken word and hiphop artists from different areas of California. This event is free and APSA invites all students and the community to come out to witness the raw power of self-expression. In addition we will also have a mini workshop on how to get into spoken word and hip-hop by our special guests and collaboration with Uncultivated Rabbits and Hip Hop Congress. Special Guests: forWord, Hoodini and King, and many more!

GOING DOWN TONIGHT, APSA of UCI has invited us back to our alma mater! Stephanie and Eddy will be holding it down for forWord. We will be sharing the stage with the one and only spoken word organization that brought us altogether, Uncultivated Rabbits. Previously from APAAC earlier this year, Hoodini and King are back to show y'all their love for Hip Hop!

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/374572835915410/

Free event at the UCI Cross-Cultural Center from 8 to 10 PM!

[forwordcollective-blog]

Reflection: Kappa Psi Epsilon's Roots II Reality at CSU LB

On March 15, 2012, Roots II Reality was the first time forWord had ever performed at a college university that was not our alma mater UC Irvine. The lovely ladies of Kappa Psi Epsilon invited us to perform at CSU Long Beach: The Battle of the Beach was no more.

It was quite a journey to get to Long Beach. I left from UCLA by my lonesome. Steph and Susan drove together from El Monte. Mark came from Fullerton. We met up at the Safeway parking lot so we could take one car on campus. Save money for parking! The event was held outside. There was an array of performers from emcees to musicians to poets. It was a chilly night, but the mic was burning from all the fueling passion spilled on stage. Our friends, Janice and Jay, were there sharing their poetry and holding it down for KmB. We performed late at night so thanks to all those who stayed to support the later performances. Our first time performing at a college university and what a good time it was. Roots II Reality was beautifully organized and it was not surprise that this was the second show of its kind. We can't wait for its next show by Kappa Psi Epsilon of CSU Long Beach!

Here's some pictures of us in the parking lot because we forgot to take pictures during the event. Shame on us, but at least we got this!

- Eddy M. Gana Jr.

[forwordcollective-blog]

Reflection: ITZ HAPPENIN' Full Moon Open Mic

Who says werewolves are not real?

ITZ HAPPENIN' Full Moon Open Mic Once Every Full Moon At El Centro Cultural de Mexico in Santa Ana, CA 8:30 PM - Midnight

At our forWord feature at the ITZ HAPPENIN' Full Moon Open Mic on April 6th, 2012 in Santa Ana, creative monsters were unleashed and we were there front-and-center to witness the carnage. In all seriousness, the community was as huge as the moon that night. There was a variety of performers like Hip Hop emcees, singers, flute players, poets, comedians, reggae artists, rock bands, and more.

Joese Gloria, one of the organizers and the host for the night, kept it real with freestyle sessions and honest opinions to keep the audience engaged. Nestor aka Illness was the sound engineer for the night and made sure that everyone's voices were heard clearly and that the beats reverberated our chairs for an awesome evening of creative self-expression.

We loved this open mic! One of the best open mics we've ever experienced. We had fun out there. During our set, we performed a poem about our Asian-American identity and cultural competence (still untitled).  Susan performed, "A Taste of Home," Steph and I performed "Are listening now?," and I ended our set with "Everybody Wants to Be An Activist." The crowd was very receptive and showed love to everyone not just us. And that is what open mics are all about: Connecting and forging a community through self-expression.

A special shout-out to Sherwin aka ReVerse and Tony aka NOIZE for coming out to support and enjoy the arts with us!

If one night you look outside and there is a full moon, make your way to El Centro Cultural de Mexico in Santa Ana for one of the best open mics in the area! From, Eddy M. Gana Jr.

[forwordcollective-blog]

forWord Feature: Between the Bars Open Mic

BRAND NEW OPEN MIC VENUE! Wednesday, April 11th 8:30 - 11:00 PM 256 South Main Street Pomona, CA 91766

Celebrate the launch of a new regular open mic at the dba256 Gallery Wine Bar in Downtown Pomona. Between the Bars Open Mic, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month. Features... Judah1 Matt Sedillo O.Smith Kasi Teyana Karla Moxley Ghettospeare Mic Hempstead Gilead7 and... forWord Come at 8:30 for limited open mic Admission: FREE (Please buy food and/or drink at bar - no minimum) 21+ "Drink up baby. Look at the stars. I'll kiss you again, between the bars," Elliot Smith. Find what you're looking for Between the Bars. Poetry, passion and art. Where performers share their songs, words, verses and rhymes. Adding to the proud tradition of open mics in Pomona. Our expression is our weapon. Between the Bars, we're all condemned to be free. Hosted by David A. Romero Artist, activist and male model. Romero is the author of Diamond Bars: The Street Version and Fuzhou two collections of poems released by Dimlights Publishing. His work has been praised by writers and poets such as the Tony Award winner Poetri, the author of Up the Street Around the Corner Besskepp, and the West Coast Editor of Rock & Rap Confidential Lee Ballinger. Romero has opened for Latin Grammy winning artists Ozomatli and Latin Grammy nominated artists La Santa Cecilia. He has featured alongside Taalam Acey as well as with a number of HBO Def Poets, including Beau Sia, Paul Mabon and Thea Monyee. Romero hosted Diamond Bars Open Mic in Diamond Bar and was also the host of Flowers of Fire Open Mic at Corazon del Pueblo in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Romero is the President of David A. Romero Productions, a licensed 81 - Personal Services business through the city of Diamond Bar. He teaches writing and performance workshops on spoken word poetry. Romero is an artist affiliate of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) and a member of the Revolutionary Poets Brigade (RPB). "I enjoy performing funny poems, but I hope that after the laughs, people can stay and listen to the messages that I am spreading with my poetry against racism, against prejudice, against imperialism, against labor exploitation and against economic injustice. I believe in a world free from hunger or any other kind of scarcity." Romero is a graduate of the University of Southern California, a double major in Film and Philosophy. Check out his blog, "The Mexi-Asian Perspective: A Mexican's Guide to All Things Latin, Asian, or Both," on www.projektnewspeak.com Visit his website, http://www.davidaromero.com/ for more. Don't forget to come with a designated driver!

TOMORROW, we will be featuring in Pomona with a bunch of our favorites! We got an explosive community brewing here!

[forwordcollective-blog]

"The Movement" by Susan

Susan performs her spoken word piece "The Movement" at Heartstorms by Lady Basco at The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, CA. The piece was influenced by Chicago spoken word poet, Kevin Coval's "nothing fight".

[forwordcollective-blog]

The holiday break is over. We are coming back!

Our first performance of 2012 will be at the after-party of APSA at UCI's 27th Annual Asian Pacific American Awareness Conference (APAAC) entitled, "RECLAIM THE BEAT: Art Activism in Concert." We will be sharing the stage with Beau Sia, SKIM, Nghiem Le of Uncultivated Rabbits, Andrew Figueroa Chiang, and Hoodini and King!

Discover activism in music and spoken word as you listen to brilliant rhythms, beats, and stories!

RECLAIM THE BEAT: Art Activism in Concert

Saturday, January 28th, 2012

Doheny Beach, UCI Student Center

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

$5 for concert only (or FREE if attended APAAC)

Tickets for APAAC are only $7 each for an all-day event with speakers, workshops, food, more performances, and a chance to learn and tackle important API issues today. Register at www.apaacuci.org.

Following the concert will be a Q&A with Beau Sia and SKIM!