Open Mic Protocol

Honestly, I wish we did not have to have any rules and everyone would just show up and play until we are all exhausted and ready to go home, but unfortunately we have grown and some venues limit us to how much time we are allowed to perform.

Membership/Fees:

There is no sign up fee or charges to participate in this group. Membership is automatic once you sign up on the official website or come to the venues. We do put out a tip jar or box to pay for the website use at www.poetry.meetup.com/506/ and that is a fee of $12 per month if it is paid three months or more in advance; otherwise they charge $19 per month. It is a costly site, but then again non of us have to maintain the site other than go and look at the calendar, messages and other information may be exchanged between artists.

Performance Sign-Up:

Depending on the venue and time scale given to us you must arrive thirty (30) minutes prior to starting time for sign-up, and fifteen (15) minutes to your time slot for time allotted venues. Sign-up is cut off fifteen (15) minutes after start time, unless you have signed up on the official website; then you will automatically be on the list in order of sign-up on that site. If you have not arrived with in thirty (30) minutes of starting the Open Mic; then you will be removed from the list; unless you have said so on the official site or emailed Chef E personally and let her know.

Performance Piece Allowance (music, song, poem, etc...):

Each performer will be allowed two (2) reasonable timed pieces each if the sign-up on the official web site is at nine (9) members; otherwise if less than, and we have to consider at least three (3) have shown up in the past few months not being announced. If less than eight sign up then you will be able to do at least three (3) reasonable sized performance pieces. If they are long; then we have to ask you to consider the other performers time allowance.

On Stage Content:

There is not problem with language of any performance piece other than if minors are present please tone it down, and no nudity will be allowed. Shirts, pants and Shoes must be worn during or while other performers are on stage. What you do outside of the venue is otherwise your own business.

Equipment Usage:

Most of the equipment being used is owned by performers, and we ask that you respect their property and do not abuse it while performing. If you yourself own equipment and would like to be included in the use during events, either let Chef E or Karl Dentino know at the venues. We always appreciate any help in set-up or break-down since this is not a paying gig in any way shape or form.

Cultural Art Expression- Open Mic Plainsboro 2/16/09

Jim- Acoustic, Original & Covers


Looking up the definition of growth a meaning was found that fits CAE in the past year...

a) the process of growing
b) development from a lower or simpler to a higher or more complex form; evolution.










Juanita- Singer

Cultural Art Expression- Open Mic is not a business, or a company, and it is not even a society. This is a group of individual artists that choose when they feel it is right to come and share their art form with other like minded individuals, or audience that is made up of like minded artists and friendly folks who like to enjoy our relaxing atmosphere.











Vito Natale- Acoustic, Covers;
Video Tech- Advantage Video


The artist that have and are beginning to participate in the past year have helped bring alive something that has come and gone over the past sixty years. The group holds true to its roots of meeting or gathering in coffee houses. Coffee houses symbolize a more cultured side of humanity in a sense.






Michelle Kalleman- Poetry, Teacher & Drama

Performing in bars has not been an option for this group. Wanting to also attract a younger generation of artists has been a great desire for the artists.











Glenn Swan- Shakuhachi Japanese Flute

Young to older artist should gather and influence each other and bind that long called 'generation gap' and communication. Gathering in this manner of diversity provides an opportunity to share and discuss politics, music, poetry, romance or rebellion.











Dennis- Acoustic, Original & Covers


Read, Write, Sing, Play, Perform and Peace!







Howie- Acoustic, Original & Covers








Dave- Acoustic, Original & Covers

Open Mic- Robbinsville 2/09

Posting each even can be a task and possibly boring to those of you do not attend, but it encourages attendees and chronicles the rise of just three or four regulars to the twelve performers and packed coffee house every month.

I am proud to be a part of this group of individual talented writers, poets, musicians, songwriters, and performance artists...You Guys Rock!

Chef E, Chef/Poet/Emcee, and organizer...it has been a long road over the past year, but it has all been worth it...

Ryan actually finished the set tonight, and rocked us with his original material on the acoustic guitar...

Vito Natale...acoustic extraordinaire and our video technician/photographer...

We had a new poet come out and look forward to her returning...Jean Williams...

Bill Korns, Poet, has really developed his skills over the past few months for being a new artist...

Chris a new acoustic player came out and played a cover and one of his own...

One of our new acoustic musicians tonight was Theo...

Karl Dentino has been with us from the beginning and we call him the 'Rag Picker' Blues Man...

Susan is one of our regular 'Groupie' audience and we appreciate her 100%...

Robert Avila, 16, Acoustic Guitar...sings cover and original material...

The audience has been great, and we appreciate all the support!

Isle Youth School Open Mic

January 31, 2009

Today my group was invited to downtown Trenton to do a show and teach (Isle Youth School), a safe haven for kids to not be out on the streets. We talked to them about Open Mic, stage presence, singing and writing. How it has (can) changed our lives...what it means to us, and many of my guys have come out today, and talked about their younger years of coming from the trenches themselves...alcohol, drugs, time in jail...they so opened up and related to these kids. We spent the afternoon with.

They ask me to come back and teach some cooking classes, and us to do a performance again. Two of these kids read some of their poetry and almost knock me off my feet...also one of my regulars was playing and it was a catchy beat, so I got up and danced around the room!

I love volunteering and seeing how kids like this do what they can to redirect their lives in a positive way...

I have made a great bunch of friends through my Cultural Art Expression Group, but why are they all men? Would Freud have something interesting to say about this...

We will have footage of 'E' sessions uploaded with in the next few days, and you can put a voice to the face...click HERE

Expressit!

I had the opportunity to travel down to South Jersey and visit another Open Mic that is held in a coffee shop called Expressit, in Hadden Township, NJ. It is hosted by a very talented guy named Tom (above), who sets up his own three speaker sound system (jealous already), and plays acoustic guitar, and sings mostly his own material, or a redone cover song.

Having the privilege of going second and being the only poet was...well felt the same as when I perform my Open Mic, but I survived. They get a crowd that is there to watch, and perform very similar to what Cultural Art Expression has been doing the past year.

I meet Vito Frattale (above) down there, he had attended our Classic Book Store event, and invited me down south. He was just as great as that day, and is a really nice all around guy. I am hoping he and I can do a duet, 'Jackson' by Johnny Cash, that I will be working on. Vito has also volunteered to transfer our Open Mic sessions to our youtube.com site and I will let you know when that is up.

Vito also was really networking for us, and invited many of these people to come up North once in a while to join our group. He was very positive about how well we are doing, and I appreciate that! I do believe we should ban together and it seems Open Mic for poets, acoustic musicians, comedians, and such have many homes down in that area, so I am hopeful we can also expand in the Central parts of Jersey.

This young man was just walking by, he is only 17 years old and has been playing since he was ten. His father plays the drums, and with that influence he has written his own songs, and what a finger picker this kid was. I took a photo so that I could say "I knew him when"! This was his first time to perform in front of anyone...

Read, Write, Sing, Play, Perform, and Peace to All!

Chef E

Expressit! 18 Hadden Avenue, Hadden Township, NJ Phone: 1-856-854-1001

Last Tuesday Each Month

Well this is the last Tuesday we perform at the coffee house in Plainsboro, with a week rest, and then we start all over next month. Tonight we had so many show up, and have started getting regulars who come because they just want to hang out with other artists and play to a small to medium crowd once in a while.

We actually had a full house of coffee patrons, who did not pack up and leave when we started, they pretty much sat there and listened, and plenty of applause all around. We had two new people show up, and I felt bad. They did not tell me they were there to perform, but we still squeezed Karin (pronounced Car-in)into the line-up for a reading of her poem she had been working on, and it was great!

Juanita would have sang for us, but she just wanted to check it out first... Many of us did Inaugural songs or poems tonight. They were all great and a few made us laugh.

Thanks guys for another great night!

Performers tonight... Chef E, Poet Karl Dentino, Acoustic Kevin Dail, Poet Howie, Acoustic Jim, Acoustic Tim Allen, Poet Karin Jervert, Poet Juanita we look forward to hearing you on January 31st...

We will be performing at the Isle School of Trenton, Saturday Jan 31st, 1-4 PM
Anyone interested, please contact me for more information, or visit our website...

~Cultural Art Expression of New Jersey~

Classics Book Store in Trenton

We all would like to thank Eric Maywer for letting us use the book store for our Special Open Mic Events every other month! We love it!

Don’t be surprised if you find a poetry reading or discussion group happening when you show up. Feel free to pull up a chair and browse.








In performance art, usually one or more people perform in front of an audience. In contrast to the traditional performing arts, performance art is unconventional.





Performance artists often challenge the audience to think in new and unconventional ways about theater and performing, break conventions of traditional performing arts, and break down conventional ideas about "what art is," similar to the postmodern art movement.

Open Mic & Performance Art go hand in hand, and can generally be found relaxing and a great environment to rejuvenate ones on performance abilities that lay dormant...

Thank you Karl Dentino, Mark Shardine, Bill Korns, Vito Natale, and the Isle School and Staff for attending our event at Classics!