FEATURED POET: This man dropped by a few weeks back, during his “walking the earth” travels and took our open mic by storm! So being the smart organizers we are, we invited him back to hang for a full feature presentation! Hailing from Texas, JOE BRUNDIDGE aka ELEMENT615 speaks in a cadence that does not break down across barriers of race, age or geography. Soulful stanzas echoing something between Coltrane and Cyrano, Element 615 is unapologetically romantic, devoid of pretension, and delightfully sensual. His work promotes thought as a natural bi-product of itself, while unambiguously uniting his audience with his honest, compassionate tak…e on the human experience. Element 615 has graced many a stage in his home state of Texas, performing and hosting at poetry venues from frequent Slam performances in Austin and Killeen, Austin’s EXSE Spoken Word Showcase (’09 & ’10) and African American Book Festivals (’08-’10). His appearances on the Austin open-mic circuit are a beloved treat among local poetry fans and abroad. A member of the 2006 & 2007 Austin Neo Soul National Slam Poetry Teams, this man’s got mad performance chops, a generous soul, an unlimited greyhound bus pass, and a willingness to go ANYWHERE people are rocking good words. Hey! We’re anywhere! Yay!!!

MUSICAL GUEST: RICH PEOPLE FOOD is an indie pop band from Boston, Massachusetts including four members with origins all across the nation. After spending three years in Los Angeles with his previous band, Drew Tambling (vocals) moved to Boston where he met Steve Weston (guitar), a native of New Hampshire at UMASS Boston. Lisa Hickox (synth/keys) and PJ Hohl (drums) moved cross country to attend Berklee College of Music from the Bay Area, California without prior knowledge of each others existence. Equipped with their contrasting musical backgrounds, Rich People Food quickly became a melting pot of genres with influences ranging from pop to metal and everything in between. A typical set list showcases their ability to create catchy, fun pop songs as well as memorable rock anthems, all while engaging the audience with their captivating stage presence. Rich People Food is currently touring venues around the Boston and working on their first EP set to be released in the next month, so be sure to keep your eye out for this band!

BONUS RUCKUS: IRON POET QUALIFIER “Mahon vs. McDonough,” – The winner gets a shot at our brand new champion, SAM TEITEL. After this qualifier dust settles, Sam is sure to face a great challenge to his newly acquired sovereignty. DR. JEN MAHON is a Doctor! For real! Recently passing the boards to become a full fledged vet! She’s got the words and performance chop to cure all us sick puppies at Ralphs! COREY McDONOUGH just moved to Somerville and has been hitting our open mic’s hard! In the face! A ball of charismatic, earnest energy and the words to back up all that swagger! This is gonna get good. Chairman YOSH SHARTIN’s got our secret ingredient on lock! Our two competitors will launch out the gates, concocting haiku’s, short poems and incorporated poems, and will face off at the end of the show with 3 judges, scoring on taste, presentation and of course…. use of the secret ingredient! Aprons!!!!

VISUAL ARTIST this week is none other than our Snack Time Queen, EMILEE MORREALE! This culinary artist is gonna rock a different genre, and this yummy art if going to go on your wall, not in your mouth (got that Nick?). We can use a snack time volunteer, just get at Emilee, to coordinate. Write her HERE to take some work off her hands! DUCT TAPE BAND is keeping it steady like they only can! YOSH is thinking that maybe CHICKEN should come back from vacation! We got an open mic! We’re putting an APB out for DAMIAN who now owes us something like three 90′s songs of the week! We’re still waiting for 2020, so we can live in the roaring 20′s. This decade has no defining characteristic. Bummer! We’ll just rock another high caliber show for you this Monday Night! Worcester Arts Council Project Grant Recipient NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS endorses this message!

Take a sec to rock out with this Monday’s Musical Guests and visualize shaking it with them!

FEATURE: “Armed with both humor and a brazen darkness, each poem in this book is another swing of the pick axe in this young woman’s tunnel, insistent upon light.” On tour to support her brand new full length book, After the Witch Hunt, our special guest MEGAN FALLEY is one of a mere handful of poets to be published both on Penmanship Books and Write Bloody Press.  After representing SUNY New Paltz for four years on the college poetry slam team, Megan later earned her degree in English Literature and Creative Writing and returned to New Paltz to coach the team.  In 2009 she helped found the second largest collegiate spoken word tournament in the country, The Wade-Lewis Poetry Slam Invitational.  In 2010 she represented New York City on a competing team at the National Poetry Slam and her work began appearing in several literary magazines and anthologies including PANK, Muzzle, Kill Author, The Legendary, Danse Macabre, and The Literary Bohemian.  When she is not writing poems, Megan occupies herself by turning her ex-lovers into pies.

MUSICAL GUEST: THE DUBBER – In the tradition of the Mississippi Delta Bluesmen, confronting the world with his words and guitar. THE Dubber, the self taught singer/songwriter infuses America’s Rock, Jazz and Funk along with some Reggae, Middle Eastern and Afro Beat flavoring to express his blues and complete his distinctive sound. Which he has officially dubbed New World Music. Since 2005, the Washington DC bor…n/Columbia SC based artist has trail blazed through the U.S. with honest and intimate live stage performances. Always a crowd favorite, his sophisticated one man band guitar style and universal message keeps THE Dubber booked year round. Playing such prestige events from South by Southwest Music Conference (Austin TX) to Mid-Atlantic Music Conference (Charlotte NC). With radio airplay here and abroad, and two albums “In the Temple of…” 2005, “Global Warning” 2010 under his belt. THE Dubber is now ready to embark on an European Tour with dates in UK, France and Greece. As THE Dubber says… “It time to go GLOBAL !!! www.thedubber.com

BONUS RUCKUS: The “QUOTH THE RAVEN” (On Helium!) “NEVERMORE!” Challenge! In celebration of Edgar Allen Poe’s Birthday this past week. Dirty Gerund’s paying tribute to all the deep baritone readers who have brought macabre to light, the only way we know how! Flip the switch and give the helium crew a try! We’ll bring helium balloons and a copy of the famous “Raven” poem! We’ll assign you a stanza. We’re going to coordinate this, so the poem gets read to the fullest, with helium soaked wind pipes trading turns, so we have one epic, high pitched, cover version that won’t be so scary as we drift towards the end of the show and eventual slumber. Nick get’s nightmares when he hears scary stories. We’ll let the audience vote on who’s cartoon voice hits the mark best. FO POE!!!

GUEST VISUAL ARTIST & DG Visual Arts Director AARON WHITE is going to book himself, and we’re more than happy to welcome him as he paints a special Asian Print Design this Monday Night! Bring your cash for this AUCTION! DIRTY GERUND DUCT TAPE BAND should be reunited this Monday (we’ll see how good we’ll all feel about it! at least snack time song will get back to normal!) Thanks to SHANE HALL for filling in so wonderfully this past Monday! YOSH & CHICKEN will be back in charge, bringing you the best in gluten free libations, or gluten if you dig gluten! Snack Time? Please contact Emilee to reserve your place in history! NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS is cat-sitting for gram this week! He’s excited and approves this message!

We’ll leave you with some video of our featured musical artist!

FEATURE: AYANNA GALLANT is a music and poetry artistic leader for non-profit groups Arts in Reach, Jazzmouth: The Portsmouth Poetry and Jazz Festival, and With Open Minds. She teaches poetry workshops for youth and adults in schools and most recently, for the Seacoast Writer’s Association and for AIR’s Phenomenal Women Project. Ayanna shares her love for the arts as a music teacher at the Deerfield Community School in Deerfield, NH. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of New Hampshire in Music Education and a Master of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Arts Integration. Ayanna credits her students, colleagues and New England poetry family for teaching her about the things that matter most, creating and learning. Ayanna was published in The 2008 Poets’ Guide to New Hampshire. She is the author of Room Without a View (Sargent Press, 2007), How to Say Hello (Sargent Press, 2008) and most recently, Sreams, Moans and Lullabies (Sargent Press 2012). Gallant has participated in two of The Wire’s (Portsmouth NH) “RPM Challenges” an annual event challenging artists to create a complete CD during the month of February; plays trombone with the Portsmouth Symphony; and has shared the stage with Branford Marsalis, Clark Terry and US Poet Laureate (2004-2006), Billy Collins.

MUSICAL GUEST: H.W. (aka HAZARDOUS WASTE) You may remember this Boston Indie Rap Emcee from his time touring with SHANE HALL on the “Break a Branch off the Crazy Tree and ……) Tour last year! Now he’s back for a full musical set. Paving his own path in the Boston hip hop scene with countless shows under his belt, H.W. (also known as Hazardous Wastes) brings us his newest effort, A Year’s Worth of Worry. This release is a cohesive collection of songs that share his vivid stories of life’s challenges. Once again, H.W. shows the hip hop community how he contributes to the Boston scene with a truly unique style of rap that is serious and insightful yet cynical and sarcastic. His lyrics often portray him as a sensitive person — but the intense honesty he puts behind each track maintains his hard edge. The deeply moving content of H.W.’s material on AYWOW is so powerful and real that the listener will likely develop a personal connection with his music after just a couple songs. All heart and no lies, H.W. is a passionate emcee and an aspiring entrepreneur. He is the owner of the independent label, Delusional Records, which he founded in 2002. He also works closely with DJ Emoh Betta (Deck Demons), one of Boston’s most talented DJs. H.W. has big plans for 2010 – be on the lookout. Check him out at www.longlivehw.com

BONUS RUCKUS: The WHADDAWE DO WITH THE EXTRA $9???!!! WRITING CHALLENGE! The Dirty Gerund Show is super excited to have continued support in 2012 from the good people at the Worcester Arts Council! Their support this past year has allowed us to do more promo and pay some very talented people to do the work that they love to do! Imagine that! The thing is, uhm, this may have been a typo, but our grant allocation does not end with the number zero. It ends with a nine. Uhm. These days, arts communities need every last dollar to help support the work of engaging their communities in the most creative, efficient way possible. And we are most prepared to make good use of our generous award. It’s just that, we, uhm, don’t know what to do with these last nine dollars. I mean, it’s just strange. We’re not accountants. Nick wrote a budget with a zero at the end of the DG request. Now he’s clutching himself, rocking back and forth, fully clothed in a cast iron bath tub, muttering “does not compute” over and over again. So, PLEASE bring us a haiku or short poem, telling us how best to make use of this remaining NINE dollars! Heck you can write a poem at the DG on the spot! The most creative budget fudge-er gets a super special prize!

Gus Van Sant might be running out of gerunds, but we’re picking up the slack in 2012!!! DUCT TAPE BAND is losing a WILSON & LEIGHTON this week as they join GREG McKILLOP on another installment of his Forever Tour! (better not be forever ever, n’a mean?) So expect some band modification! Word has it snacks are taken care of! Visual artist TBA. Dirty Gerund totally supports and celebrates MLK day, so if you got a tribute, by all means bring it down. If you got the day off, by ALL MEANS, call some friends and tell ‘em to come art things up with us! YOSH & CHICKEN expect the pats to shut down Tim Tebrow! NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS is still muttering. I’ll say it for him, “We Miss You Already!”

NOW, for some hot rhymes from our musical guest! BrrrraaaAAAAP!

FEATURED POET: On tour from Ann Arbor, Michigan, SCOTT BEAL is a poet, educator, freelance writer, and stay-at-home father of two who grew up in Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Ohio, and earned his MFA from the University of Michigan in 1996. He leads workshops at the Neutral Zone (Ann Arbor’s teen center) and 826michigan. In 2007-8 he was DZANC Writer-in-Residence at Ann Arbor Open School. Scott Beal’s poems have appeared recently in Indiana Review, Dunes Review, The Legendary, and in a split book with Rachel McKibbens and Aracelis Girmay called Jangle the Threads. I’ve known Scott for years, as a fellow mentor at Brave New Voices Festival every year, I’ve seen first hand the incredible work he’s done with Ann Arbor Youth Slam Poets, obviously, I don’t think the apple falls too far from the tree!

MUSICAL GUEST: Boston Poet, Singer Song Writer & Emcee, JADE SYLVAN is noooooooooooooo stranger to our stage. (hell, you’d think she lives in Worcester!) but every time she comes through, she’s wearing a new artistic hat, and a snazzy outfit to go right along with it. She’s featured twice as a poet, and rocked the mic silly with her Madame Psychosis Alter Ego. Now get ready for a set of original songs, some co-written/produced with our every music man GREG McKILLOP! Gritty, true, stripped down emotional songs of righteousness are sure to make us sway with fervor! Don’t miss her. This is her last U.S. appearance before joining fellow poet SEAN CONLON on a EUROPEAN TOUR (right? i wish that was hyperbole). So come down and get your rock on right!!! www.jadesylvan.com to get the rest of the story!

BONUS RUCKUS: IRON POET CHAMPIONSHIP: “GIBBS vs. TEITEL, THE BATTLE FOR A NEW IDOL?” (meh, I’ll keep working on that one). This is going to be EPIC. Like, we’ve been waiting for this match-up for wayyyy too long. The brash, bruising champion ROBERT BLACKWELL GIBBS plans to defend like this is all he’s got. SAM TEITEL is multiple Manchester New Hampshire Poetry Slam Team Star, Bicycle Comics Press Published Author and has got an understated, humble mic presence that could very well David this poetic Goliath! You know the drill! Chairman YOSH SHARTIN chooses the ingredient. Both competitors have the entire show to concoct 3 pieces (original haiku, original short poem & incorporation of ingredient into a poem they’ve performed before). 3 judges chosen at random to score each piece 1 through 10. A trophy and mad dog glory are on the line!

DUCT TAPE BAND rocked the hecks outta us last week! JEFF CANNON got into the horseradish again! It was bring your parents to the DG Night last week. Keep ‘em coming. Talk to Emilee if you’d like to rock us a snack. Talk to Aaron if you want to paint the lights fantastic! Need help finding them, head over to our RUCKUS STAFF PAGE for links to email addresses and whatnot! NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS misses you already. I’ve used the word “rock” way too much, so you know I’m excited. Let us get this without hesitation. Great show! Great Night! Guaranteed!

In case you don’t believe us, here’s a clip of our musical feature, singing without pants!

2012!!! I don’t want to hear about your doomsday scenarios. Every Monday, we live life like there’ll be no tomorrow anyways! This year will be NO different. Awesome Poets, Awesome Music, Awesome Art and Ruckus! Let’s all go to the lobby and get ourselves a clue!

FEATURED POET: NANA – Exciting new poetic voice rising young-gunning his way onto Worcester’s Poetic Radar. A recent college graduate, this cat’s been capturing attention and applause at the popular 3rd Thursday Poetry Cove Monthly Series run by Elite Promotions right here in Worcester (poetry club show at the Train Station)! From really fun erotic poems, to deep delves into father’s advice stories, growing up and/or becoming, Nana’s words are sharp, sophisticated and seeking. He takes the audience with him. Crazy stage presence and swagger for days. With his trusty phone (he doesn’t read poems without it), he wields electronic stanza truth tectonically, the voice of a leader, a student and a teacher! Don’t miss out on this energetic juggernaut!

MUSICAL GUEST: LITTLE WAR TWINS – Renegade Folk Mystic Tribe from Boston, “have come forth through the storm to awaken the thunder and lightning in you, bearing these words: You are strength. You are electric. You are whole.” Together Little War Twins stands as a tribe, with each member threading together a tapestry of sounds that is as unique as the instrument they sheath. Featuring guitar, drums, bass and string and lapsteal, these musicians have been making the rounds and gaining notoriety & fans in Boston. This Monday, you get to see what this buzz sounds like. For more, check ‘e, out here!

BONUS RUCKUS: “Magnetic Poetry A Go-Go” Challenge! – Ok, don’t know that the A-Go-Go’s about…. yet. (Sounded cool when I typed it). Your Curator NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS has some magnetic poetry strips and is willing to flip them in your direction. Each participant will get 20 or so magnetized words and something metal as canvas. Combining luck and skill, the deepest, most stirring phrasing to come from a word random word cluster wins. You will have the whole second half of the show to slap together eternity! Either your own Magnetic Poetry Set of a drink on us for the winner!

PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!! have a safe New Years Celebration and PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!! save some for us Monday Night! You have a full day to recover from your amateur hi-jinx New Years Eve. Come rock with Duct Tape Band, Snack Time, Open Mic, Damian’s 90′s song of the week and all the rest! Yosh and Chicken resolve to hook you up with the best in burger and drinks. We resolve to not quit until the last drop of fun’s been squeezed out of any seemingly benign Monday Night!

Hiccup!

Where’s my New Year’s Kiss….

Seriously….

We shall leave you with some words from our feature at his last feature!

POETRY FEATURE: TAWNY POWELL – Young Worcester Born & Raised Poet makes good! Tawny Powell is an avid hugger. She laughs in the face of uncertainty and leaves poems under-bellied, not belying a city’s footsteps, she brings forth both raw earth and shadows in her poems. Born and raised in Worcester, MA and a graduate of Assumption College, she resides now in Atlanta, embracing the cultures performance heavy ways while staying true her paged roots. Though new to the stage, she embraces it wholeheartedly with the fearlessness of a child and calm of an ocean. That is to say, she might wave at you. Cast stones. Or tidal-wave-drown you. Poetically, that is. She’s got a debut chapbook on deck entitled Long Winters Baby, which could be said to be long overdue but, “I’ve always been a late bloomer.” Her approach to her art is “staying tuned, to myself, always.” And if she can throw a bit of society, global politics, environmentalism, weather, religion, or a something about the steak she ate last night and how beef production contributes to the erosion of the ozone layer and global warming…. She just F’s with it that way. As a growing poet/performer her goal is to connect self to society in ways beyond her own individual experiences, though not ignoring those experiences, deeming them rather “life’s time stamps.” Moving forward into 2012 she aims to speak about broader socio-political, economic, geographic, transcultural issues, while situating the self as an individual poet, recognizing and empathizing with the plights of others, and toward a final attempt to link multitudes with common threads of experience, intellect and emotion. As a passionate performer who’s just now ‘getting her feet wet’ she warns, “look out for some sneak attack political poems in 2012.” Though yet to surface they are not far underneath the soil… And she tils. Til infinity.

MUSICAL GUEST: MEGHAN McNEALY: After spending 4 months in a tent, some people might go home and visit their family for the holidays, right? Or maybe some people would emerge from their wilderness seclusion to sing us pretty tunes on a little Spanish Guitar. Meghan McNealy is a Massachusetts resident, and editor for Corrupt Press, which puts out scores of poets work! She has poetry of her own (and a new book coming out) but she will be singing us quirky and vibrant songs as our musical feature! Here’s some video!

BONUS RUCKUS: “Santa’s Naughty List Gameshow” Challenge – Got royally screwed gift wise this holiday season? We’re not hating, but it may very well have been your fault. In an effort to educate, we’ll have haiku’s, featuring some of the naughtiest acts in the past year, spoken through the famous persona voices of those who did the sinning. Be the first to buzz in, name the foul player, and get a point. First to three gets a chance at redemption with a special gift prize. Sinners win too! 

Holy North Star! What a great show we had last week! Let’s keep the momentum going into 2012! Duct tape band got their hands on some LARRY WILSON back from his hobo travels! YOSH & CKICKEN are making their lists, checking them twi….. well that’s a bit too much work, they checked ‘em, that’s what counts. Rumor has it that we’ll have an uber special holiday visual artist! Who’s snacking us? Special surprise guests are slated to share this post holidaze biz with us! NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS has chestnuts, who’s got the fire?  Seriously, have a safe and happy holiday season, make sure you save some room to come feast with us! We are always workin! You better not cry!

MASS L.E.A.P. COLLECTIVE – For the past year, I’ve been attending way too many meetings and working my non-existent fanny off, helping get a state-wide collective initiative going. It’s called Mass LEAP (Literary Education & Performance) it involves dozens of poets, educators and activists who want to increase opportunities for young people to discover spoken word and for teachers to get performance poetry into the class room. A handful of very talented individuals will be performing, showcase showdown style, to help raise funds and that all important awareness for our activities, the biggest one being, the announcement of the very first evah! LOUDER THAN A BOMB / MASSACHUSETTS Youth Poetry Festival, slated to splash down this Spring in Cambridge! For years, I’ve been bringing teams of talented local teens to National Tournaments. It takes a lot of work, time and energy. As I wax a year more mature and (I hope) wiser, I’m working at increasing these festival type opportunities for more of our youth here in the Bay State! We’re making connections all over, partnering up with great organizations like MASS POETRY & looking to follow the amazing lead, modeled after the successful LOUDER THAN A BOMB Festival in Chicago, check out the trailer for their documentary! Some of my newest poetry organizer friends and artists will be helping me celebrate my birthday early, by hitting the Gerund Mic, telling you all more about our plans and selling Mass LEAP samplers. Every dollar we raise will help us get this popping!

MUSICAL GUEST: PEET – local chip-tune heros hitting our stage for the first time to bring their indie-sonic-manic-dance-synth tunes our for us to move our you know what’s properly! This is a birthday bash after all! Friends with such heralded local luminaries as JON VON WONDERFUL, THE GRAND ARKANUM & ACTIVE KNOWLEDGE, these cats are gonna crank the amps all the way up and past FUN!!! (ya, there’s a knob for that). To find out more and groove out to their latest EP release, “Clearly I Have Some Holes,” just wander on over to their Bandcamp Page and listen away: http://peet.bandcamp.com/

BONUS RUCKUS: The “Saint Nick’s Bag O’ Tricks” Improv Haiku Challenge! Last minute, “I don’t really know you but feel obligated to bring a gift to your thing” blues got you down? We hear ya. We don’t know if this helps, but we can always have fun trying. Your curator & favorite intrepid word wrangling brain stormin’ poet NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS is bringing a bag of tricks with him (editor’s note: “bag” may be a box, “tricks” may be a bunch of crap Nick’s got lying around the house!) become spellbound as he creatively calls them “gift ideas,” whereas most normal people would call them “a bunch of weird crap.” Whoever wants in will get a “gift” at halftime and have time to write a haiku justifying it’s presence as a present. Best re-gift yule-tide platitude nets you your choice of gifts and a drink on us, the gift that keeps on giving, at least until you pass out!

DUCT TAPE BAND is one beard down, but may get one back! YOSH & CHICKEN‘s plans to sell Ralph’s Diner “Gift Certificates on cocktail napkins were thwarted by management. KEV H is your visual artist! Anybody got some Chanukah Cookie Snack-Time, talk to Emilee! DAMIEN has promised a return of “90′s song of the week!.” Alex does not require gifts, only your bright shiny faces listening and applauding all the good stuff going on this holiday season. The weather outside is not that frightful, get your Dunks Gift Card Shopping done Monday Morning, order an extra Turbo Shot and meet us at Ralph’s for a holiday party you won’t be ashamed of in the office Tuesday morning! Ice Cold! (Pictured left – me checking out my suspended animation chamber, set to rock when I turn 40… so future generations can enjoy the ruckus!)

POETRY FEATURE: Other than being the Mayor of Awesometown, “Mighty” Mike McGee is an international spoken word artist, writer, performer, speaker, slam poet and comic. He has performed in thousands of venues all over North America, and was one of the first Americans ever to perform poetry at the University la Sorbonne in Paris, France.

McGee began performing comedy and poetry to audiences at home in San Jose, California in 1998. As a Poetry Slam competitor in the U.S., Mike has competed at the National Poetry Slam on team San José several times. In 2003, McGee won the coveted National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship, besting over 300 nationally ranked poetry slammers. He has since toured over 300,000 miles throughout the United States and Canada where fellow National Poetry Slam Indy Champ, Shane Koyczan and beat-boxer poet extraordinaire C.R. Avery (of Vancouver, B.C.) joined him to form the group Tons of Fun University in 2004. They have since headlined music festivals across Canada, bringing their unique blend of poetry-laden “talk rock” to massive audiences all over the great north.

In 2006, McGee became the first person to win two separate individual titles by being crowned the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, besting over 70 of the world’s best ranked slam poets. His “stand-up poetry” has been written about in Writer’s Digest magazine, and been featured on NPR, HBO and CBC. Mike McGee books internationally and is on tour damn-near 300 days a year.

Mike McGee was born with Spina Bifida in Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Tennessee, but grew up in and around San José, California. He writes and performs all over the world. He discovered a love of words at the age of three, but didn’t write poetry until the age of twenty-three. In 2003, he won the National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship in Chicago, and then in 2006 he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship in Charlotte, N.C., becoming the first person to attain both titles.

Mike has a mighty appetite, an uncanny relationship with ladybugs, several tattoos and siblings, and a passable Scottish accent. He breathes somewhere between Silicon Valley, California and Vancouver, B.C. as often as possible. Mike thoroughly enjoys weather, beverages, and the scent of mock orange blossoms in the spring.

I’ve known Mike for 10 years and have never ceased to be amazed by his endearing, honest, and wonderful wordplay. Yes, wonderful. As in “full of wonder”, as Mike has never lost his sense of childhood and yet still explores the complicated morays of the adult world.

Please join us in welcoming this former Worcester resident back to the Woo in style!

MUSICAL GUEST: This week, the DG brings you the experimental sound stylings of Dreamzoo. This ain’t your normal musical type guest either. Oh no. This is that extra special two part goodness! Dreamzoo will consist of:
Blending lo-fi noise with minimalism, Paul Pinto (of thingNY) gives the Worcester premiere of For Stefanos Tsigrimanis, a haunting and meditative elegy scored for two Califone turntables, guitar, voice and electronics.
http://pfpinto.com/

AND Cellist and vocalist Valerie Kuehne presenting a follow up to her recent release, Dream Zoo (featured in Avant-Avant and Lucid Culture, and praised as “more avant-garde than avant-garde”), entitled Food, Drugs, and Commerce. The satire and innuendo underscoring collective experience is revealed through blistering, operatic vocals.
http://dreamzoo.bandcamp.com/

BONUS RUCKUS: AUTOTUNE SHAKESPEARE CHALLENGE! Simple! Bring your favorite Shakespeare sonnet. Perform it. We’ll do the rest. Your curator NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS has made arrangements to have a production engineer AUTO-TUNE your words, so even you will have trouble recognizing the Frampton-esque stylings emanating from your gullet! Keep a straight face the best, audience votes. Winner gets a drink on us and a life-time worth of pop music stardom memories!

Last week’s open mic was the business! Let’s see if we can make this week’s the corporation! (Bad, I know…running low on caffeine…) VISUAL ARTIST & SNACKS TBD

And we shall leave you with a video from our amazingtastic poetry feature

POETRY FEATURE: 2011 Portland Maine Slam Team Member WIL GIBSON was born the bastard son of a good idea and a bottle of bourbon and raised in some of the poorest communities northern Illinois and eastern Arkansas have to offer…He now lives in Portland, Maine, (he likes it a lot there, you probably would too) and writes too many love poems sometimes. He is a proud (mistake prone) father, but he tries real hard. He has shared stages with Regie Gibson, my brightest diamond, Kurtis Blow, Jason Carney, Brother Ali and Patricia Smith.  He is a three time Portland, Maine and one time Manchester, New Hampshire grand slam champion. He loves people and dogs a lot, and would like to pet your dog, give you a hug and talk to you for a few minutes… Wil’s got an amazing raw energy that got rewarded when his Port Veritas Slam Team made semi-finals at the National Poetry Slam. He’s been touring nationally, getting his incredible words and pretense-less persona out there! This is his first time visiting the Gerund, so let’s get crazee! “Wil Gibson is what makes performance poetry fun. Whether running his local venue, cultivating young poets of his community or in one of his many features across the United States, his connection to those involved is unforgettable.” -Jason Carny, National Slam Champion.

MUSICAL GUEST: Sorry for the scheduling snafu. We get our signals crossed in internet land. Apologies to Boston Emcee HW (we will have you back soon!) This week, Dirty Gerund welcomes the trance like, fluid synth, vox indie rocks sounds of BETWEEN TALL SAINTS & SINNERS which features musician / producers BRAD DeMATTEO & AKARI UCHIYAMA. We don’t have a whole lot of info on these cats for the hype machine that is this blog, but never fear, you can head on over to their Bandcamp and check out their four track EP, titled “and when I looked back, they were gone.” just move them little mousey click fingers over to: http://betweentallsaintsandsinners.bandcamp.com/track/fields

BONUS RUCKUS: AUTO-TUNE WORD WARBLER CHALLENGE! Simple! Bring a poem. Perform it. We’ll do the rest. Your curator NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS has made arrangements to have a production engineer AUTO-TUNE your words, so even you will have trouble recognizing the Frampton-esque stylings emanating from your gullet! Keep a straight face the best, audience votes. Winner gets a drink on us and a life-time worth of pop music stardom memories!

DUCT TAPE BAND likes SCOTCH….TAPE (who knew?). Lot of great new voices on the open mic last week! Keep coming down! VISUAL ARTS & SNACKS TBD (maybe a little less ghost chili powder?, meh! we’re not gonna mess with Emilee’s artistic integrity! YOSH & CHICKEN have their holiday shopping done! Thanks guys, I really needed a tie! NICHOLAS DAVIS can’t find a Santa willing to lap him! Meanwhile, catch him fight for JEFF CANNON’s slam services Thursday Night at the Little a poetry Reading (97 Webster Street) 8pm w/ Mr. Cannon doing a full set of poems to boot! End transmission.

Psych – Here’s your poetry feature doing a…. wait for it…. a poem!

MUSICAL GUEST: TOM “Inhaler” WEYMAN – super great friend of the Dirty Gerund and Worcester scenes. Having worked with the likes of CORRINA BAIN & SAGE FRANCIS, this musician, producer is playing his first solo show in 2 years! He’s the founder of Supply & Demand Music, home to super bands DARK DARK DARK, BROWN BIRD, and many others. While performing most of his magic behind the mixing board, Tom rocks out live on occasion, confessing that his musical performances exist primarily to entertain SHANE HALL, hell, that’s more than good enough for us! Tom’s paying us a special visit, in part to also lay claim to being Mr. Miss Dirty Gerund (awww…. him and Megan are sweethearts… 1,2,3 awwwwww……) This should be a blast, whether you’re a sentimental mofo or not!

BONUS RUCKUS: IRON POET QUALIFIER, “Lipman vs ?????” It’s time once again to find out who wants a piece of current champion BOBBY GIBBS crown! Former Denver Poetry Slam Titan and recent Worcester Transplant PAULIE LIPMAN wouldn’t mind spit-shining that trophy outta Bobby’s crying hands. The question is, who else wants a shot? We haven’t confirmed a second competitor yet, so hit us up on facebook, or call your curator NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS (if you’re lucky enough to have his digits). 3 rounds, 2 competitors, 3 judges, 3 categories, one diabolical secret ingredient concoction proffered by the man we ALL give thanks for, Chairman YOSH SHARTIN! Quit acting like you ain’t impressed… haters….

DIRTY GERUND DUCT TAPE BAND is thankful for the invention of beer! YOSH & CHICKEN are thankful that hockey season isn’t on lock down, tip them between Bruin Goals! VISUAL ARTIST & SNACK TIME contributor up in the air (let’s ground that soon)! Get at AARON or EMILEE (on the ruckus staff page) if you’re interested! I’m off to a family function, missing my Monday Family! NICHOLAS EARL DAVIS is smashing windows in anticipation of another HOT NIGHT! Don’t make him smash his hopes & dreams of rocking out with you this Monday!

We’ll leave you with some awesome words, then we’ll really leave you!