The next stop on our tour was Peterborough.  We were excited to return and visit our friend and comrade Dragon, who toured across Canada with the Outspoken Wordsmiths in 2006.  We were also thrilled to get to see a number of other familiar faces, and rolled into the Aylmer house on Sunday afternoon to attend a Food Not Bombs BBQ/gathering.  There were about 20 people in attendance, enjoying the elaborate spread of vegetarian fare, including two equally delicious varieties of vegan burgers (oh, they we're soo good!)  Once we had thoroughly enjoyed the food and let our bellies settle for a few moments, we took to the center of the back yard and did a short off-mic performance for the people gathered.  We didn't have much time to linger as we had another performance in a couple of hours, so we invited everyone to join us at Dragon's house for a housewarming party.

We arrived at the Bethune House just in time to help set up for the party.  DJ WHO brought over their PA system and DJ gear, and we transformed the living room into a stage/dance floor.  The evening began with tunes spinning and the room packed with smiling faces and dancing bodies.  There was lot of freestyling that going on and jamming alongside the turntables with a guitar and bass.  We felt the house getting warmer, and when the moment was right we stepped to the mics.  Testament and Illogik began the live performance segment of the evening, getting the crowd worked up into a frenzy, and the Outspoken Wordsmiths followed up.  The energy was big and warm and contagious.  It felt great to come back to a town we had visited, and to share new material with old friends.  The night ended with an extended jam/freestyle session that stretched into the wee hours and elicited many laughs from those still awake.

We had an extra day to spend in Peterborough, and we took advantage of the opportunity to go for a walk through some of the local greenspace, and to take a dip in the Otonabee river.  As luck would have it, our FNB friends were headed to Toronto on the same afternoon as us, and we crammed into the back of their car for a squishy ride to our next destination.  THANKS!!

TORONTO

It was somewhat of a relief to pull into Toronto, as we all had friends and roots of sorts in the city.  Our first gig in Toronto was at a little venue called 751, an adjunct to a downtown sportsbar.  The space for our show was in the basement of the sportsbar, right past the restrooms.  While we were in a bit of an out of the way space, the circumstance worked to our advantage as many people who came downstairs from the bar to use the washroom were attracted by our commotion and ended up joining our show. The venue had a healthy little sound system, which lent some extra juice to our already energetic performance.  TESTAMENT and illogik were on point this night!  Plus, a good number of our local friends came out to show their support, as well as a surprise contingent of Testament's friends and fans from London.  We had the little venue packed, and made a lot of big noise that had the people jumping and singing along.  This gig went unexpectedly well, and we were happy to put on a quality, high-energy show.

The next day was Friday, and we were slated to head to play a show at The Piazza, a smaller bar on Vaughan Rd (one of Toronto's "tougher" neighbourhoods).  The event was the Hood 2 Hood CD release show, hosted by local emcee Wassun. We showed up to the venue unsure how the evening would unfold.  The sound setup was a modified Karaoke system, plugged into a glitchy house speaker system.  We had very little control over the sound, and the microphones continually came unplugged, causing for some humorous, if not difficult moments.  We had arrived quite early to "sound check", and it took quite a while for the show to get rolling.  Eventually, we got up and did our thing for a small group of seemingly disinterested people.  The whole gig seemed a bit haphazard, and we were relieved to pack up our things and make our way back home.

The next day was a busy one, as we had an afternoon gig in Toronto, followed by an evening performance in Hamilton.  We had been invited to participate in Connecting The Dot, an event aimed at promoting youth expression and raising funds for local youth centres.  This event took place at the plaza in the middle of the Dufferin Mall, directly outside the Wallmart entrance.  We were rather amused by the circumstances that placed us in such a position, and made sure to gesture appropriately at the corporate giant's edifice while singing Testament's "Question War" which begins with the lyrics "Wallmart makes all of the profits / keeping kids around the world starved and impoverished / they work all day for a dollar, make all of the products / that we buy to toss in the garbage."  We shared the stage with an extended showcase of local youth, who did everything from choreographed dance numbers, to hiphop acts, to gospel songs, and even one young woman who lipsynched a couple of  90s-era Nirvana & Smashing Pumpkins songs.  At one point prior to our performance the MC asked for a volunteer from the audience to get up and beatbox, and Blank Space jumped onstage and proceeded to wow the crowd.  They were instantly receptive when we began our set, and we left the event feeling like we'd made a positive impression on those in attendance. 

We scampered from the mall to the bus station and caught the GO bus to Hamilton, then hoofed it through the rain to the Skydragon Cafe, where our evening's event was to take place.  Unfortunately, this show turned out to be a non-event.  There were a few cafe customers who, happened to be around, (and one great person that came out just for us!) so we put on a short show for those present, then packed up our gear and hustled to get the last bus back to Toronto.

The next day was Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market, a car-free day in the market during which artists are encouraged to table their wares on the sidewalk.  We went out early to stake out a good spot (across from the Patty King and Roach O Rama) on Baldwin St.  Testament had his Empowerment Infoshop setup, and we had our National Microphone Association gear spread out on a large sheet.  We were set up next to our friends Shawn & Allison -- who were selling embroidered patches, and silver and leather jewelry -- and we enjoyed an afternoon in the sun, engaging the passersby and selling an agreeable quantity of our books, patches, CDs, etc.

Our next gig was on Tuesday in London at Testament's house, AKA Empowerment Infoshop.  This was the first time either of the Wordsmiths had visited Empowerment, which had attained near-legendary status by way of scores of stories told by Testament .  A large house on Queens Ave, Empowerment is recognizable by a large illuminated sign hanging over the front porch.  On the main floor is a kitchen, and a large living room-like area that doubles as an infoshop, with walls covered in radical literature and posters.  Upstairs is a bathroom (whose shower/bath area is currently being fitted with a DIY tile mosaic) and several bedrooms, and out back is a large garden and a 3-car garage that hosts a bike workshop as well as a glassblowing setup.  The basement, an unfinished affair, serves as a performance area for the live shows Empowerment hosts regularly. 

We were excited to play a show with Leper and Mutiny, as we had seen them recently in Montreal, and have always enjoyed their extreme intensity and solid convictions.  There was a good contingent of local youth in attendance, and the evening started with locals Plutrocraplyse Now, who kicked things off with loudness and verve.  Leper and Mutiny played next, with the intention that the loudest acts would be finished before the noise curfew came into effect.  They blew the crowd away, as expected, and the basement was transformed into a sweaty mass of heaving bodies.   We pounced on this momentum and grabbed the mics before people could drift away for a smoke break.  Testament and Illogik teamed up for a duo set and rocked out a set of crowd favorites, including "Fuck the System," "Turtle Island," "Who Are You?" & "Freedom Song".  Next was a cross-over block featuring the Wordsmiths and Testament, and more favorites, such as "Police State," "Paint Bombs / 3 Blind Pigs," & "Love and Rage."  The crowd was pretty fired up by this time, and the Wordsmiths kept the energy high.  Afterward we all piled into the back yard to cool off and congratulate ourselves on a successful show.

The next day we were slated to meet up for a BBQ with some of Testaments friends from London's local War Resisters movement.  This was to be another private, off-mic performance for a small group.  Our host Wendy welcomed us warmly upon our arrival and let us know how excited their group was to receive a private performance.  The evening was to be a combination BBQ/social, as well as a brief meeting to be followed by our performance.  The dining room table was covered in various delicious dishes, and we all heaped our plates before heading outside to enjoy the evening's warmth.  We sat and observed their meeting while enjoying our dinners, then we all filed back inside to the living room so that we could show the folks what we do best.  Illogik had returned to Toronto earlier in the afternoon, so our crew now consisted of the Wordsmiths and Testament, and the three of us joined our voices together to fill Wendy's living room with the sounds of our poetic dissent.  This was another warm, intimate performance, with about a dozen or so of the War Resisters group in attendance, listening intently and showing their support by way of focused, smiling faces and nodding heads.  We were mellowed out by the time things wrapped up, and we sat and chatted into the evening as the crowd dwindled.  We felt very appreciated and loved, and were invited to return any time we came through London.

Next stop was Hamilton for their 2nd annual Anarchist Book Fair.  We had a couple of days of downtime before the book fair, and we took advantage of these before convening in Hamilton for the big event.  The Book Fair was being held in a local high school, with the main tabling area situated in the cafeteria.  Testament brought virtually all of Empowerment's stock to the book fair in the infoshop's recently-acquired travel van and set up a huge display.  We had our National Microphone Association table set up and ready to rock, and spent the day running the table and reconnecting with friends we hadn't seen in a year or more.  The weather was warm and sunny, and there were scores of people in attendance, with a great big old line forming in front of the Food Not Bombs serving.  We moved a bunch of CDs, patches and zines, made some trades and found some new friends (we now have re-usable menstraul pads for those interested!).  Next thing we knew it was time to pack up our things and head over to the Skydragon Cafe for the Book Fair afterparty.

We were thankful to see that the Skydragon was packed upon our arrival (unlike our previous visit) and proceeded to sound check and set up our merch.  The night began with an acoustic duo, and was followed by Lee Reed, Hamilton's "Insurgent Laureate", best known as the vocalist for Warsawpack, who wowed us with his insightful & articulate hiphop lyricism, delivered in a relaxed, almost off-hand manner.  Testament and Illogik followed, giving another of their incredible tag-team performances that had the audience eating out of their hands.  The Wordsmiths were to perform next, and we invited our Torontonian friend and renowned slam poet White Noise Machine to the stage to work his magic for a few minutes before we took the stage.  We jumped on the mics as the crowd was still cheering for White Noise Machine, and launched right into our first piece of the night, "You Just Can't Ignore It (Systematic Violence)."  Testament joined us midway through our set for "Police State," "Paint Bombs / 3 Blind Pigs," and "Love and Rage," and we finished our set with "Chocolate Dumpster," which again proved to be a real crowd-pleaser.  Everyone was all smiles by the end of the evening, and we were excited to connect with Lee Reed and discover yet another ally.

The next day was the Sarnia Artwalk.  Testament had landed us a hook-up to table and perform, so we loaded into the Empowerment info-van and embarked on an early-morning drive, accompanied by our good friend Allison, founder of Paper Snake jewelery creations, who would be tabling her unique, hand-made jewelery items alongside us.  We arrived to find Sarnia's main street blocked off and lined with tents filled with all sorts of visual arts, crafts, and various other types of independent artistry.  We set up our tables near the music stage, and had time for a quick soundcheck before our performance was to begin.  We were only allocated a short time to perform, so we did a combined set with Testament and rocked it for those within earshot.  It was quite early in the day (before noon), so there weren't too many people gathered to take in the music, but there were a few young boys in the front row who were unable to contain their excitement, so we felt like it was well worth the effort.  After our performance we set up shop at our tables, beside our friend Allison, who and began to engage with the passersby.  Blank Space ran about the artwalk like a man possessed, making trades with many a vendor and ending up with a treasure trove of gifts to send to the folks back home.  We all fared quite well at the art walk.  When the day was finished, we went kitty-corner from our tabling location and visited the owner of a local art gallery, who quickly befriended us.  After visiting for a while it was time to return to London for some rest and relaxation.

We found ourselves with a couple of days down time, and were happy to take advantage of them.  Our next gig was to be our final Toronto show of the tour, we'd return quickly for an intimate gathering the Mud House, home to a number of our friends.  This show took place on a rainy Thursday evening.  It was originally intended to be a backyard campfire/BBQ affair, but the weather prompted us to transform it into a living room performance.  Despite the crumby weather there was still a respectable turnout, and the folks gathered seemed to thoroughly enjoy the Outspoken Wordsmiths' beatbox antics.   Testament was feeling a tad under the weather, and suggested he would be unable to perform.  However, when we prompted the crowd to express their enthusiam, Testament was unable to refuse their request, and ended up delivering a top notch performance.  We said our farewells to our Toronto family, then prepared to depart for our next show in Guelph.

Our good friend & talented songstress Kelly Rose helped us to set up our Guelph show, which took place at Ed Video, a video-based arts education/resoure centre.  We were excited far in advance for this show, as we were told that Peterborough's legendary gender-bends All Girl Band would be on the bill, alongside their sideshow Big Pussy (unfortunately, BP was a no-show, but the night carried on regardless).  The night began with All Girl Band, who thrilled us with covers of gender-fucking classics such as "Lola", as well as AGB originals such as "Call My Cunt a Cunt" and other even more charming numbers, made all the more enjoyable by band-member Mark's musical accompaniment on the bench grinder (he humped a crotch-mounted tin can against the grinder, creating music and sparks... perhaps you had to be there).  The crowd was all whipped up and ready for Kelly Rose, whose haunting vocals held us captive.  The Outspoken Wordsmiths (in drag!) followed, and kicked some ass as two beatboxing bearded womyn.  The people were loving it, and were ripe and ready for Testament & Illogik's follow up set.  They, of course, kept the momentum and took the night to its glorious conclusion.  From there we followed our friends to their house where there was a campfire aburnin', and visited with the folk before crashing for the night in a giant greenhouse.

The next day was a long drive in the Empowerment van to Windsor for our gig at the Chubby Pickle Rock n Roll Saloon, a local bar that hosts a variety of live music acts.  We had connected with EM-C from Minced Meat Radio, a local promoter with a solid reputation for putting on quality hiphop events.  This was a stacked bill, with a selection of hiphop artists from Windsor, Detroit, Ann Arbor and beyond, including Emcee Khary "Wae" Frazier (Detroit), Windsor's local hiphop super-group Academy,
local Emcees Mass, Lyrical Bliss, and Marcus Flow, with DJ Don Valley holding it down on the ones and twos.  Our !Forbidden Texts! posse went up in the middle of the show and rocked the huge house system, earning instant kudos from the crowd.  This wasn't the most heavily-attended of shows, but was great nonetheless.  We were satisfied by the end of the night, and retired to EM-C's abode for the evening. 

We had the next day "off," so we took the opportunity to do a wee bit of exploring around Windsor, and enjoyed spending a sunny afternoon hanging out with EM-C and friends before returning to London for a brief stopover before our show the following night in Kingston.  Testament had hooked us up with some friends of his from Kingston, who had recently opened The Space, a small multi-use space intended to serve as a local meeting-space, all-ages venue, infoshop, etc.  We arrived to find the large multi-unit warehouse complex that contained The Space and a variety of other businesses and commercial enterprises.  Our hosts welcomed us into the venue, an area approx 5x12 metres, recently renovated and replete with sawdust and drywall particles. 
This was the venue's first show, so we were excited to get to participate in such a momentus occasion.  Unlike the majority of our other shows, this time it was just our !Forbidden Texts! line-up (for those with poor memories, that's The Outspoken Wordsmiths, Testament & Illogik) with no other local acts to back us up, so we got all set up and sound-checked (big thanks to locals who provided the PA and helped run the board!) then launched into our sets.  There was a modest crowd of local youth who came out for the show, but most seemed more interested in smoking outside or engaging in drunken drama than paying attention to the show.  Regardless, we gave it hard and connected with the few in attendance who were focused on the performance.  We had an issue with some officers of the law, who rolled by and let us know there had been several noise complaints from the neighbours.  Thankfully, we had a soft-spoken ambasador who pacified the cops and ensured the noise stayed inside, and we were able to finish the show without any extra complications.  It was late by the time things were all wrapped up, and we piled back into the van for a moonlit return trip to London.

Our final London show was to be a biggie, at least symbolically.  This was to be the final show of the eastern leg of our tour; it signified two and a half months on the road for the Outspoken Wordsmiths, and would be our final gig with Testament and Illogik.  We had been anticipating this show for weeks at this point, and were excited to get to the venue and sort things out.   The East Village Arts Coop (EVAC) is "a grassroots community project which exists to provide shared space and resources to local emerging artists."  From the street, the space appears to be a quaint boutique of sorts, with side-by-side window displays and a gallery-esque area immediately inside the front entrance.  Continuing deeper into the bowels of the building we found ourselves in a large back room, carpeted in mismatched scraps and furnished with an array of scavenged furniture.  A local DJ by the name of Charlie helped us put together a sound system for the night, and provided ambiance while we prepared to begin our show.  Another local friend, alt-hiphop maven Thesis Sahib (we bumped into him in Portland, Maine, remember?) graciously accepted our invite to join our show, and kicked off the night with his unique and kinetic style.  Bounding about the stage like a playful ocelot, Thesis spat out a virtually endless series of off-kilter rhymes that held us fixed in place with duncelike smiles afixed on our faces.  We were saddened when the end of Thesis' set came about, but were excited to take the stage for our last big show with the entire !Forbidden Texts! line-up.  The Outspoken Wordsmiths went up next, testing the limits of the dusty speakers and making sure to have a lot of fun.  Testament joined us for "Police State," "Paint Bombs/3 Blind Pigs," "Love and Rage," and "Chocolate Dumpster," then continued to do a combined set with Illogik.  They took the show home once again, leaving the audience cheering for more. 

This show signified a huge culmination of planning, preparation, follow-through, hard work & perserverance, and we were thrilled to take the opportunity to celebrate and unwind once it was all said and done with.  We returned to Empowerment and cracked a few cold ones, and smoked two for Mina (big bl*^ts!) in ritualistic fashion, trading stories and jokes until it was time to melt into sleep.

And thus we come to the end of this chapter. 
Tune in for Winnipeg shenanagins and the details of the western leg of our tour as they develop.

Lots of love to all of our friends, family, fans and supporters.

<3   The Outspoken Wordsmiths  (Blank Space & strong.cottonwoods)


  theoutspokenwordsmiths@gmail...com

Feast and Famine -- a universal pattern that seems even more apparent while traveling on the road.

The rest of our stay in New York was enjoyable and educational, if not a raging success in terms of packed shows.  Here's how it all went down:

Tuesday evening we went to the Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan to scope out the local spoken word scene and see if we could sign up for their Poetry SLAM.  Turns out the fellow running the door wasn't a very flexible individual, and wasn't willing to compromise on the $7 entry fee, not even for 'international touring artists'.  Ha!  I suppose that's New York for ya.  We figured our money would be better spent on food, or some other necessity, and went in search of another opportunity to perform.  Earlier that afternoon we'd picked up a flyer for Penny's Open Mic, so we made our way to the venue, Under St. Mark's, a cute little black-walled theatre space on St. Mark's Place.   After a short chat with Penny, we were admitted sans-cover and signed up on the list.  The evening was a mixture of stand-up comedy, spoken word monologue, drunken rambling, & your standard singer-songwriter fare.  And, of course, the a'capella stylings of OW & Testament.  We had a blast testing the limits of their little house PA system, and managed to stir some excitement from the mostly-drunken crowd.  We also met Tina & Rachel (mother and daughter, respectively) of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, a 3-piece family ensemble who play charming folk songs set to a projected slide-show of old found-object family photos.  Tina & Rachel shared a cab ride home with us, as they reside in Bushwick near the Surreal Estates, and invited us over for a vegan lunch.  We took them up on their offer the next day, and met Jason, wife to Tina and father to Rachel (15).  They welcomed us into their humble & charmingly-decorated abode and we shared travel tales & discussed politics with them over a delicious bean soup with salad & dumpstered cookies.  They are genuinely wonderful people and we are certainly looking forward to crossing paths with them again in the future.

When we checked our E-mail the next day we were very honoured to find an invitation to a private gathering in Manhattan, hosted by well-renowned radical artist/activist Fly. (Find her work online at http://flyspage.com/)  Fly's apartment, situated in Manhattan's East Village, had once been a squat, and now, after years of determination, resistance and renovations, is now a legitimate housing cooperative.  We arrived a bit early, and decided to check out nearby Thompkins Square Park, a disgusting excuse for a public green space, consisting of paved walking paths lined by black wrought-iron fencing that segregated all the grass & trees from human contact.  Ick!!  It was like a tree zoo; a parody of a real park.  We immediately felt like barfing, and found ourselves needing to exit the "park" immediately.  Thankfully, we soon found ourselves in front of Fly's place, and buzzed ourselves up with the 'secret password' we had been provided with.  Once inside we got to meet Fly and a few of her friends, some of whom we recognized from the Book Fair a few days earlier.  She showed us some of the multitude of photos she has collected documenting the history of her building as it progressed from a ramshackle squat to a livable building, surviving a fire & many other obstacles in the process.  We also got to meet her friend and fellow radical writer/visual artist Seth Tobacman, an outspoken housing advocate and co-founder of World War III Illustrated and many other incredible creative projects.  We were honored to have the opportunity to give an impromptu a'capella kitchen performance for Fly, Seth, Ramsey (from AK press) and the rest of the folks in attendance.  They responded positively to our material and gave us a huge boost of encouragement -- it felt amazing to be well-received by long-time activists who have been instrumental in creating change in their community for decades.

We had an evening performance set up for Wednesday at Vox Pop, a radical cafe/bookstore/community space in south Brooklyn.  We showed up with a crew from Surreal Estates and arrived in the middle of a film-screening, which was to be followed by a European jazz trio, then ourselves and Testament.  By the time the films (one a documentary about a Televangalist, the other a black & white Werner Herzog film about an ascetic holy man who exiled himself to the top of a stone column alongside a desert road) wrapped up and the jazz ensemble finished their set it was getting late into the evening, and most of the already-sparse crowd had thinned out.  Still, we soldiered on and played for the handful of remaining folk, who provided encouragement and eager ears, then made our way home on the subway in the wee hours of the morning.  The best part of the evening was when part of our crew splintered off from our homeward posse to explore the Bolthouse Farms juice dumpster, bringing home a taxi-load of pomegranate juice & assorted fruit smoothies worth upwards of $500.  Can you say "juice-feast"?

We also set up an afternoon performance for the following day (Thurs) at the Yippie Cafe in Manhattan, home of Abbie Hoffman & co. back in the day.  We didn't have great expectations for the event, as it was set up with very little notice, and there was virtually no promotion.  Our hope was to catch the attention of some of the patrons as they came through the space.  Well, it turns out that there weren't very many patrons on a Thursday mid-afternoon.  Still, we made the best of a questionable situation; strong.cottonwoods put on an impromptu improv performance with the nine-year-old daughter of one of the regulars, and we got to have a bit of an on-mic rehearsal & do some much-needed E-mailing.

Thurs evening we returned to the Surreal Estates for the Open Ring Open Mic, a community event run by one our hosts,Telly, a lasso-twirling Cowboy Comedian.  The evening began with a few local comedians doing stand-up routines -- some topics included mocking Canadians (whoo-hoo!), and a bevy of other cynical, nerdy, and self-loathing memes. Next, a barista from local coffee shop Cafe Orwell came by and wowed us all with her stellar cello skills.  Of course, The Outspoken Wordsmiths & Testament stepped up to the stage to spit some of our mojo, and impressed those gathered with our ability to rock it hard without the assistance of mics or sound system.  The evening ended with a cypher session that devolved into a battle of sorts, as us Canucks ended up taking issue with some of the sexist content coming from a few of the local MCs.  Thankfully, everything ended up peacefully, as a crate of  pre-packaged dumpstered vegan meals was produced and we all stuffed our faces with delicious eats.

The next day was Friday, and we said a reluctant good-bye to our gracious hosts at the Surreal Estates and hopped on the L train to head to our next destination, the John Bosch house -- another community living space, this one in the Bedsty neighbourhood of Brooklyn.  We arrived at John Bosch in the mid-afternoon, hot and sweaty after slogging our gear between a series of brownstone government housing projects in the sticky mid-day sun.  When we arrived, we found our new home nestled safely behind a tall, barbed-wire-topped iron fence, preventing us from knocking on the front door.  Luckily, the tried-and-true technique of hollering at an open window proved effective, and we were allowed entry by one of the residents. After storing our baggage we ventured out into the neighbourhood to check out the 123 Community Space, a multi-use space frequented by many of our Surreal Estate friends, which hosts zine & lending-libraries, a community kitchen, bike workshop, art exhibits, a silk-screening setup & more.

Our plan for that evening was to perform at a show in the John Bosch garage, with Mutiny Amongst Friends, Highway Gimps, and Laura Stevenson & the Cans.  As it turned out, the fellow who was organizing the show had just fathered a child, and priorities ended up shifting. We found ourselves on the night of the show in the garage with a couple of the other bands, wondering where to find the PA, audience, and Mutiny Amongst Friends.  Once again, we made the best of a questionable situation, taking advantage of the local bodega's $1 tall-boy beers, and putting on another impromptu a'capella performance for the few people who had shown up for the show and the members of the other bands present.  They dug our message & sound, and we traded a few CDs with them before they took off for another party.  We chilled with our beverages for an hour or two until some friends of ours from Surreal Estates came by, all excited for the 'show' they were expecting to find. Not wanting to leave them disappointed, we put on another mini-performance for our friends before laying our heads to rest.

On Saturday we emerged from the John Bosch garage into the bright sunlight to find our way to the China Town bus that would transport us to Philadelphia.  A hot & sweaty 2 hours later we found ourselves in downtown Philly & braced ourselves for a heavily-laden cross-town slog to the Wooden Shoe infoshop, where we were slated for an evening performance.  We introduced ourselves to the volunteers on shift, dropped our bags in the back room, and went around the corner in search of Gianna's Grille and their legendary vegan Philly Cheesesteak.  Twenty minutes later we were stuffed and satisfied, and ready to return to the Wooden Shoe to get the space prepared for our performance.  Once again, we found ourselves learning to make lemonade from the lemons provided -- there was virtually no turn-out for the show, but we were able to sell some of our wares to the infoshop, and managed to find/create a couple of mini-audiences to perform for.  One crew of youth had assembled in front of the store-space in hopes of rendezvousing with some of their friends, so we seized this as an opportunity for yet another impromptu performance.  In the midst of this exhibition we attracted the attention of a couple of local hiphoppers, who took the opportunity to jump in the circle and start freestyling.  A short cypher ensued, and we found ourselves amused by their combination of clever rhymes and unfortunately misogynistic content.  A while later we kidnapped the attention of another group of people who entered the store looking for a specific book. They ended up leaving with some of our CDs instead.

Our billet situation for Philadelphia was tenuous, and we found ourselves needing a safe place to sleep.  Luckily for us, James, the volunteer who was running the bookstore during our show, proved to be a jovial and generous fellow.  He led us on the subway to his abode in north Philly, where we spent the night on the living room couches with his cats.  In the morning we met James' cheerful wife Michelle, and the five of us enjoyed a delicious late-morning Sunday brunch on their backyard patio.

We hopped back on the subway to downtown Philly to retrieve our baggage from the Wooden Shoe in preparation for our gig that evening at the A Space, another radical community space across town.  But first, we had to revisit Gianna's Grille for some more deliciously greasy vegan vittles.  Well, lo and behold, who should we bump into at GG's but the members of Mutiny Amongst Friends, the AWOL folk-punks from the would-be John Bosch show.  Turns out they had gotten lost on their way to the show, or some such business, but it all worked out in the end, as they were traveling to Baltimore the next day (just as we were) & had room for us in their van.  We marveled at our brightening luck, thanked them for their generosity, & wrote down their phone #, then made our way across town towards our A Space gig.

Our A Space event was slated to take place after a film-screening, which we understood would be a documentary about well-known Black Panther Party-member & death-row resident Mumia Abu-Jamal.  This wasn't exactly the case; the film shown was "Black & Blue", a documentary focused on police repression of Black Liberation struggles in Philadelphia during the 1970s, particularly the MOVE organization.  The evening was organized & attended by members of Mumia's family (his daughters and their children) and surviving/continuing members of MOVE.  We were awash with emotion as we watched the film, which included a great deal of footage depicting racist police brutality, including the FBI's cowardly used of a helicopter-delivered incendiary bomb used to torch MOVE's headquarters.  (Water cannons were used to contain, not fight the ensuing flames, and five children died in the inferno.)  The film was followed by a lengthy conversation, then it was our turn to do our thing.

We were more than a little bit nervous to step up and kick our set for an inter-generational group of died-in-the-wool social justice activists.  (To make matters more complicated, we found ourselves again with no mics or sound system, and all three of us were feeling worse for wear, as Blank Space had a beat-box-impeding swollen lip due to a mysterious food allergy, and Testament & strong.cottonwoods were sporting sore throats.)  Well, it turns out that all the people present were on the same page as us, so to speak, and they loved what we were doing.  After our first piece, Testament's "Police State", we were met with a round of thunderous applause that set our fears and anxieties to rest.  We performed the rest of our set to a room of smiling faces & bobbing heads, and by the time we finished we were covered with sweat and awash with endorphines.  Pam Africa, long-time MOVE member and one of the key organizers of the event, and many of the other people in attendance, expressed so much enthusiasm & excitement for us & our cross-continent journey that it felt almost as if we were dreaming.  Once again, we found ourselves overwhelmed with encouragement and acceptance from people we deeply respect and look up to.  Those present were excited for the opportunity to help support us by buying some of our CDs, and we hooked them up with a bunch of our zines & radical literature.

After the evening wrapped up we were still riding high from the whole experience when we got the folks from Mutiny Amongst Friends on the phone -- their house-show gig for the evening hadn't begun yet, so Emily swung by to pick us up in their van and bring us to their show.  We arrived at a smoky punk-house & introduced ourselves to those present, then sat down to enjoy performances by MAF and their touring-mate Tom of Play It Faster.  Both Tom & MAF come from Naugatuck, Connecticut; Tom played acoustic guitar & sung a set of enjoyable scratch-throated folk-punk numbers with scream-along choruses.  MAF combined acoustic guitar, electric bass, drum kit & keys, and sang songs about their town's chemical factory shutting down, and a sing-along/make-up-your-own-verse song about addiction, among others.  Julian, followed up Tom & MAF with an extended set of folk/punk cover tunes, which the crowd enjoyed singing along with (although we'd never heard most of them).  Once Julian was finished his set we made our way to the center of the living room & grabbed everyone's attention with "You Just Can't Ignore It", then launched into an unmic'd set with Testament.  The assembled anarcho-punx dug our overt lyrical content & the fact that we were putting a new-yet-familiar spin on hiphop.

We all hit the sack soon afterwards, and awoke to a delicious breakfast of pesto tofu scramble, home-fries & dahl, lovingly prepared by Blank Space.  Impressed by BS's culinary talents, the MAF crew decided that we'd all earned passage to Balitmore.  We piled into their trusty white Econoline van & drove thru a torrential downpour to the Frisby House, a punk house situated in a lush, tree-laden neighbourhood in north Baltimore.  MAF was slated to perform there that evening along with Trunks & Tales, and Lucas.  We felt very honoured when Mutiny Amongst Friends asked us to come forth and perform during the middle of their set, and we found ourselves again kicking it off-mic in the middle of a living room full of crusty folk-punks.  We started with "Chocolate Dumpster", and were thrilled when the assembled crowd began singing along to the chorus.  Trunks & Tails followed, a folk/punk duo from Annville, Pennsylvania, who charmed the audience with their soulful crooning & slide guitar action.  The next act was two mysterious fellows (really, we just didn't catch their names), who helped mellow out the evening with a serving of ambient soundscapes.  They sat cross-legged on the floor in the midst of a networked web of electrical devices, and churned out delightful gentle distorted/reverby guitar riffs.  Lucas was the final performer of the evening; he sang some gentle songs on acoustic guitar, lulling your faithful blogger to sleep as he lay stretched out on the front porch's couch.

So, that takes us from New York to Baltimore.  We've got another gig here in Baltimore tonight, and then we catch a 2:30am bus to Boston, MA.  We'll fill you in on all the juicy details as they develop.

Remember, we love to hear from all y'all back home & along the road.  You can contact us at theoutspokenwordsmiths_AT_gmail.com

Best wishes!! & MAD LOVE!!
  -The Outspoken Wordsmiths

March 28th -- Victoria, BC -- Linden House "Community in Action" Festival

April 3rd -- Vancouver, BC -- Cafe Deux Soliel

April 11th (noon) -- Manhattan, NY -- New York Anarchist Bookfair

April 11th -- Brooklyn, NY -- Surreal Estates

April 14th -- Manhatten, NY -- Under St. Marks Theater

April 15th -- Brooklyn, NY -- Vox Pop

April 16th -- Manhatten, NY -- Yippie Museum / Cafe (4:30pm)

April 17th -- Brooklyn, NY -- John Bosh

April 18th (7pm-9pm) -- Philadelphia, PA -- Wooden Shoe

April 18th (night) -- Philadelphia, PA -- HELP US BOOK THIS

April 19th -- Philadelphia, PA -- Aspace

April 22nd -- Washington, DC -- HELP US BOOK THIS

April 23rd -- Baltimore, MD -- H Block

April 24th (7pm - 9pm) -- Boston, MA -- Critical Breakdown @ Blackstone Community Center

April 24th (night) -- Boston, MA -- HELP US BOOK THIS

April 25th (2pm) -- Boston, MA -- Critical Breakdown Workshops @ Blackstone Community Center

April 25th -- Cambridge, MA -- You Need New Glasses

April 28th -- Portland, ME -- Port Veritas Spoken Word Series @ North Star Cafe

April 30th -- Portland, ME -- HELP US BOOK THIS

May 1st -- Portland, ME -- HELP US BOOK THIS

May 2nd -- Portland, ME -- Slainte Wine Bar & Grill

May 7th -- Nova Scotia -- HELP US BOOK THIS

May 8th -- Nova Scotia -- HELP US BOOK THIS

May 9th (noon - 2pm) -- Halifax, NS -- Good Food Emporium

May 9th -- Halifax, NS -- Woozley Farm

May 10th -- Moncton, NB -- "Hip Hop Sundays" @ The Paramount

May 13th -- Quebec City, QC -- L'AgiteE

May 14th -- Montreal, QC -- The Pound

May 15th -- Montreal, QC -- Anarchist Cabaret

May 15th & 16th -- Montreal, QC (noon) -- Montreal Anarchist Bookfair

May 15th & 16th -- Montreal, QC (night) -- HELP US BOOK THIS

May 19th -- Montreal, QC -- Yo! Mtl Raps

May 20th -- Ottawa, ON -- Exile Books

May 21st -- Ottawa, ON -- 214

May 22nd -- Belleville, ON -- The Organic Underground

May 23rd -- Kingston, ON -- AKA autonomous social center

May 27th -- Toronto, ON -- HELP US BOOK THIS

May 28th -- Toronto, ON -- The Oasis

May 29th -- Toronto, ON -- tba soon

May 30th -- Hamilton, ON -- Skydragon

June 2nd -- London, ON -- Empowerment Infoshop

June 5th -- Sarnia, ON -- tba soon

June 6th (noon) -- Hamilton, ON -- Hamilton Anarchist Bookfair

June 6th (night) -- Hamilton, ON -- tba soon

July 2nd -- Winnipeg, MB -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 3rd -- Winnipeg, MB -- tba soon

July 4th -- Brandon, MB -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 9th -- Regina, SK -- Exchange

July 11th -- Saskatoon, SK -- tba soon

July 15th -- Edmonton, AB -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 16th -- Edmonton, AB -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 17th -- Calgary, AB -- The Soda Night Gallery & Lounge

July 18th -- Lethbridge, AB -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 23rd -- Nelson, BC -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 24th -- Nelson, BC -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 25th -- Penticton, BC -- HELP US BOOK THIS

July 28th -- Kelowna, BC -- The Grateful Fed

July 30th -- Kamloops, BC -- HELP US BOOK THIS

August 1st -- Vancouver, BC -- tba soon

August 2nd -- Vancouver, BC -- Spartacus Books

August 2nd -- Vancouver, BC -- Thundering Word @ the Montmartre cafe'

August 6th -- Victoria, BC -- HELP US BOOK THIS

August 7th -- Victoria, BC -- Camas Books

August 8th -- Victoria, BC -- Linden House "Community in Action" Festival

....................

Greetings fellow artists and art lovers, family and friends alike.

This message is coming to you from Lekwungen Territory [popularly known as Victoria, BC, Canada], courtesy of Alex (BLANK SPACE) & s.cott (strong.cottonwoods).  You may know us from either side of this continent, or our various journeys in between.

    BLANK SPACE and strong.cottonwoods are: The Outspoken Wordsmiths, a bi-coastal pair of beatboxing pirates who've taken to shore to spread their a-cappella antics & circle(A)political poetics By Any Means Necessary.
    Since embarking on an epic zero-budget coast-to-coast tour in January '06 to promote their DIY debut album, From Our Cold Dead Hands, The Outspoken Wordsmiths have shared their vernacular activism with receptive audiences in a diverse variety of venues between Victoria and Halifax. From basement punk shows to literary events, political benefits to underground raves, high school performances to bar shows or concerts, an eclectic crowd has shown appreciation for the Outspoken Wordsmiths' unpredictable stage chemistry, overt politics & energetic beatbox hijinx.

In April 2009 we will begin touring across Turtle Island [North America], from coast to coast over borders and in between.  Our tour dates will be scheduled to coincide with Anarchist Book Fairs taking place between April and September.  Our intention is to stop in as many cities as possible (we've got 30+ cities on our list at the moment; see itinerary below), playing and promoting live shows and readings, house parties, and in-the-streets performances.  We will do all of this while supporting ourselves as independent artists, selling our DIY merchandise – self-recorded/produced CDs, self-published books, 'zines and patches.
 
You may be wondering where you come into this whole equation.  We're looking to network with friends, and friends-of-friends who are interested in assisting us with booking, promotion, billeting, transportation, and the various other details we'll need to manage to make this all happen.   This could include: booking gigs, hosting a house party, postering or flyering, transportation (helping us find a ride to the next city, or helping us get gear to a gig), putting us in touch with like-minded local artists, letting us crash in your living room, informing us of opportunities to sell our wares (consignment / vending / events), acting as a city guide, informing us of local open mics and similar events, hooking us up with access to free internet or photocopies…

We're also looking to team up with local artists to share stages/audiences/jam space with!  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you are willing & able to help us in any way possible please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.  We look forward to working and playing together with you.

Your partners in art thru expression,

The Outspoken Wordsmiths  
  (Jon) Alex & s.cott  
       theoutspokenwordsmiths@gmail.com
Ph: (778) 430-3865

---
 
(Jon) Alex Murray / BLANK SPACE
 3.14blank.space@gmail.com
  http://reverbnation.com/314blankspace
 
s.cott / strong.cottonwoods
 strong.cottonwoods@gmail.com
 
--
 
PS---
We've got a few tracks of our newer individual and collaborative work (spoken word pieces, multi-layered beat-boxing tracks, freestyling & beyond) available in mp3 format.  We wrote, recorded and produced all this, and would love to share it with you.  Just send us an E-mail or visit www.myspace.com/outpsokenwordsmiths

theoutspokenwordmiths@gmail.com  
 
 
 

 
..
......

Tentative “Forbidden Texts” Tour Stops:


NEW YORK STATE
     Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Paltz, Waterton
PENNSYLVANIA
     Bethlehem, Philadelphia
MARYLAND
     Baltimore
RHODE ISLAND
      Providence
MASSACHUSETTS
     Boston, Cambridge, Worcester
NEW HAMPSHIRE....

     Lowell, Manchester
MAINE
     Portland
NOVA SCOTIA
     Halifax, Sydney
QUEBEC
     Montreal
ONTARIO
     Ottawa, Kingston, belleville, Peterborough, Toronto, Windsor, Collingwood, Oshawa, Mississauga,
Hamilton, London, Guelph, Sarnia, Owen Sound, Kitchener, Waterloo, St. Catherine's,
MANITOBA
     Winnipeg, Brandon
SASKATCHEWAN
     Regina

then undetermined FESTIVALS ON WEST COAST
+
Vancouver, BC, CAN
Victoria, BC, CAN

Greetings friends, family & fans!

It's been a long time since we've sent out a dispatch to the world at large.  We've been plenty busy this year, so here's the low-down.

In January the Wordsmiths reunited in Victoria, after Alex / Blank Space returned from an extended visit to Halifax.  Recording was soon underway, and Muse-Licks was the result, a compilation featuring artists from the National Microphone Association (including The Outspoken Wordsmiths, their related projects--Odditory Presence & The Soapbox Poets--and their talented friends PeSt, & Proverbial (Charlie & Reid).   "On the Rocks," a songbook/art-zine was simultaneously created by the Muse-Licks crew, and March on the Rocks followed--a spring tour of BC's gulf islands to promote the NMA's newest creations.

March on the Rocks took us to SaltSpring Island, Lasqueti Island, Hornby Island, and Nanaimo, and tested our resolve as we faced a reduced crew due to a near-fatal allergic reaction (thanks to the staff at Salt Spring Hospital!).  Despite the challenges we faced the tour was a success, as we managed to explore new ground and get our message (and merch!) out into the world.

Muse-Licks has been met with a great deal of positive feedback.  One reviewer from the Yukon describes the album as: "...a nourishing repast: sonic sunshine that warms the soul and stimulates the mind.  I found the album was reminiscent of  beat poetry from the 1950s with a hint of The Last Poets from the late 1960s. ...the message is raw, exuberant and right in your face, suffused with egoless auditory activism. The words exit your speakers with a rapid-fire flow. An intelligent stream of consciousness mind ... adventure with every track."

After we cooled our heels from MotR, summer arrived almost unexpectedly, as it does most every year.  The Outspoken Wordsmiths packed their bags and headed out east for some sun-bathed adventures on the open road.  We found our way to The South Country Fair in Fort Macleod, Alberta, where the Most Vocal Poets Society welcomed us to their Lotus Land spoken word stage.  We had fun pushing the little Lotus Land sound system to its limits before making our way to the main stage for a brief but enjoyable stint on the big-daddy speakers.  Our sound stood out from the fair's mostly folk-oriented acts, and we certainly made our mark on the folks gathered.

Next we made our way to Brandon, Manitoba, for the Brandon Folk Festival.  We arrived weary after a hectic greyhound journey (luckily no one lost their head, at least not literally) and found our way to the word@folkfest area.  We led a beatboxing workshop for about 20 eager participants, and ended with an extended group jam that left us all smiling.  We were able to make our way onto the main stage for a few short visits. Our brief stint on Friday evening's main stage caught the attention of one reviewer:

"The musical selections were eclectic, including blues, gospel, reggae and spoken word poetry. Friday night featured performances by Dusty Roads Band, JFK & The Conspirators and FireDance Productions, though the most memorable were Outspoken Wordsmiths. A "tweener" performance, designed to provide entertainment between more major acts as the stage crew made the necessary equipment changes. The group consisted of the Beat Box Pirates who rapped their way through their 15 minutes of Brandon fame. Their message ... and performance was reminiscent of high school motivational speakers ... but with all the kitsch of Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff." [emphasis added]

Our favorite Brandon Folk Fest moment, however, had to have been when CR Avery called us up to the main stage to beatbox on one of his songs. CR is a highly talented spoken word artist/beatboxer/multi-instrumentalist who has served as a great inspiration to us both -- it was a huge honor and thrill to share the stage with such a natural showman.

After the BFF we found our way back to Victoria and were soon off to Bella Coola for the Wild Earth Gathering, an inter/national gathering of eco-activists and forest defenders.

In September we returned to Victoria to begin preparations for the city's third annual Anarchist Book Fair, and the one year anniversary of the Camas Educational Society (the parent organization of Camas Books, the worker-run infoshop where The Outspoken Wordsmiths have been volunteering for the last six months).  We ran our National Microphone Association distribution table at the book fair, performed at several book-fair-related music events, and helped organize a successful fund-raiser dinner & party to celebrate Camas Book's first year of success.

Since then our focus has been on performing new material at a variety of local shows (including a series of Halloween shows, a Tom-Waits-themed benefit show for our favorite local cafe, monthly arts/cultural festivals at our community house, regular appearances at the local weekly open mic, a fund-raiser for a Brazilian recyclist collective, and more), recording new material in our home-studio for a new album slated for release in March 2009, and preparing new promotional materials to help rally support for our Summer '09 tour of North America.

Thanks to you all for your interest and support.

The Outspoken Wordsmiths: Blank Space & strong.cottonwoods
  [theoutspokenwordsmiths@gmail.com]

PS
Check us out at:
Reverb Nation -- http://www.reverbnation.com/theoutspokenwordsmiths
CBC New Music Canada -- http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/The-Outspoken-Wordsmiths/