Here We Go, Yo!

So what's, so what's, so what's the scenario!?! Well as you may or may not know, slam is EXTREMELY competitive in nature. Not only are poets going up against each other for a lofty title, occasional cash prizes, and likely a spot on a team, but various poetry venues within certain areas are each hosting slams. There are more and more opportunities, slams every other night all over the city and poets, poets, everywhere, slamming their little hearts out. Let's not forget that everyday life responsibilities, conflicting schedules, and goals often crowd out our artistic aspirations. Tough decisions must be made. As a result, sometimes you start out with one team and end up with another. Hey, it happens.

A couple of the original team members for the 2011 LA Slam Team decided to explore other opportunities in slam and we wish them the very best. They will stay friends of the LA Slam Team and we definitely love them, support them, and congratulate them in their future successes! As a result of the shift, we were able to bump up two of our finalists: Ashley and Madison. We are so very excited to have these fierce young ladies join our team this year and happy that they were able to. So that's the scenario. Now, run tell yo Mama.

2011 LA GRAND SLAM FINALS RECAP

It was crazy. The poets went balls deep. Our special guest host, Javon Johnson kept it crunk. Our DJ, Tamara Blue kept us gyrating in our seats between poems. The audience was live. And when it was all said and done, the judges had the final say. Thank you to lovers of Brass Knuckles, everyone who supported all season long, our judges, hosts, and most of all, slammers!

Congratulations to Judy Holiday who dethroned last year's Grand Slam Champion, Nikki Blak with a final cumulative score of 88.1!!! It was such an exciting night! Though we hated to see the poets who were eliminated as the slam went on have to leave us, we sure are happy for the ones who made it through. Here are the final scores of the night:

Judy Holiday 88.1

Nick Macedo 87.3

Francois 86.8

Mr. Poetic 86.4

Edwin Bodney 86.2

2011 LA GRAND SLAM FINALS

Here's the line up:

Manuel

Francois

Madison

Ashley

Edwin Bodney

Mr. Poetic

E. Amato

Judy Holiday

Nick Macedo

What does that mean? Simply put... BRING YOUR ASS. That is all

2nd Semi Final Bout RECAP

Last night was the second (and very last) of 2 Semi Final Bouts to determine this year's finalists for the 2011 LA Slam Team. The crowd was hype and the gloves were off. In the end, Francios (who made it to Semis last year) was crowned the evening's king with a cumulative score of 84.9. We'll see him in finals, along with the following poets:

Madison 84.4

Manuel 83.8

Ashley 82.9

Judy Holiday 82.1

It's been fun, no? Well, the party ain't over! Join us for the grand finale of this year's slam season. We're talking 10 poets, 5 slots, 1 Los Angeles Grand Slam Champion, and the formation of a sexy ass team. Don't miss it.

Monday March 21, 2011

Kaos Network

4343 Leimert Park Blvd.

LA, CA 90088

8:30

$5

Special Guest Host: Javon Johnson

1 Down, 1 to Go: Semi Final RECAP

Last night's Semi Bout kicked off the beginning of a series of slug-fests for the eventual formation of the 2011 LA Slam Team. The crowd was enthusiastic, the judges were on point, and the poets were in rare form. Rudy Francisco showed us exactly why he is the current reigning Individual World Slam Champion with a score of 87.3. The following poets also earned a coveted slot in the 2011 Los Angeles Grand Slam Final:

Nikki Blak 86.2

E. Amato 86.1

Nick Macedo 85.6

Edwin Bodney 85.1

Now, with this one down, we have one more Semi Final Bout to go. Join us on Monday March 7th to see how it all pans out. Judge, spectate, congratulate, but don't be late. It starts at 8:30, costs only $5 and is the best thing you could be doing with your life on a Monday night.

Brass Knuckles LA Semi Final Bout Pt. 2

Kaos Network

4343 Leimert Park Blvd

LA, CA 90088

8:30

$5

AND OUR SEMI BOUT POETS ARE...

February 21st

• E. Amato
• Nikki Blak
• E. R. Sanchez
• Leon P.
• Nick Macedo
• Rudy Francisco
• Sarah Winters
• Mr. Poetic
• Edwin Bodney

March 7th

• Francios
• Lailah
• Matt Sedillo
• Judy Holiday
• Madison
• Clay
• Ashley
• Manuel
• Arthur Hitchcock

Los Angeles, your random slam judges have spoken with their scores. These are the poets you (and maybe fate) have selected to squabble for a spot on this year's LA Slam Team! Please come out and support these poets with your applause, slam scores, whoops and hollers!

BRASS KNUCKLES SEMI FINAL BOUTS

2.21.2011 & 3.7.2011

Kaos Network

4343 Leimert Park Blvd.

LA, CA 90088

*These lists were generated by random.org

Final Qualifying Slam RECAP

Last night marked the official end of the open slam season. Some of our favorite open mic-ers and a couple of last year's LA Slam Team members came out and got their slam on. We were thrilled to see the following folks advance to Semis:

Nick Macedo 86.4

Francois 86.3

Judy Holiday 84.4

Sarah Winters 83.3

E.R Sanchez 82.4

E. Amato 81.7

That's it kids! This is where it starts to get SERIOUS! Slammers, put on your good shoes and join us on February 21st and March 7th for our Semi Final Bouts. All of our qualified poets will be randomly placed in 1 of the 2 slam bouts to compete for a slot in our Grand Slam Final. We will post the bout schedule here, so be sure to check back, soon!

Coming Soon! Final Qualifying Slam!

The FINAL Qualifying Slam is only days away! Do you want to make the team? Are your poems all ready to go? Well, then, we're ready for you. This Monday night will be the last time you get to shoot it out (figuratively, of course) and earn a spot in one of the LA Slam Team's Semi Bouts. Don't be scurred. Be prepared. Slam sign ups start at 8pm.

Don't wanna slam, just wanna watch? Oooooh, you're so kinky! We like that. But be advised... It'll cost you. $5 at the door for good times and all the coffee you can drink. Meet us in the park after dark (translation: 8:30pm). 4343 Leimert Park Blvd. LA, CA 90088.

Qualifying Slam RECAP

The poets are coming out of their hiding places and showing up on our stage, slamming like crazies! Last night we were witness to some veterans, newbies, and people that we love but don't even ever slam, all going at it for a chance to be on the 2011 Los Angeles Slam Team. In the end, the following poets qualified and will be moving on to Semis:

Nikki Blak 82.1

Manuel 80.6

Mr. Poetic 78.3

Matt Sedillio 76.2

Lailah 72.1

Leon P. 66.1

Thank you all for coming out! Good luck in your semi bout. (hehehe... that rhymed) Our next and FINAL Qualifying bout for the 2011 LA Slam Team is on February 7, 2011. If you haven't already slammed and just needed to excavate the poems you needed to get down with or build up the nerve, this is your last chance! And if you don't want to compete but just want to come see, please join us. We need judges, audience members, and eye candy.

2nd Qualifying Slam for 2011 LA SLAM TEAM

Don't forget kids! Monday is the 2nd Qualifying Slam for the 2011 Los Angeles Slam Team. If you have dreams of forming like Voltron to become a big, bad ass slam machine alongside 4 other folks and representing at this year's National Poetry Slam in Boston, come on down! Bring your best 4 poems (for 3 rounds of poetry and a possible tie breaker, if necessary) and friends to cheer you on! We promise, it'll be fun.

Back Like We Left Something: 1st Qualifying Slam of 2011

It's been a long time. We shouldn't have left you. Without out some slam poems to -- judge to? Ummm, well, maybe that little lyric change didn't go so well... but you wanna know what did? You guessed it! Brass Knuckles' first qualifying slam of the new season!

This week, we had a gaggle of brave slammers come out and dust off their poems for the new season. They gave us a great show and built up our excitement about the soon to be formed 2011 LA Slam Team. Here's how the night ended up:

Rudy Francisco 82.5

Edwin Bodney 79.0

Madison 72.6

Ashley 71.3

Dennis 65.1

Clay 62.8

We look forward to seeing them in Semis!

FINALS

Last Saturday cracked and if you missed it, you missed it. Kaos in Leimert Park housed a room filled to capacity with: fans, friends and family along with some seasoned slam vets and team members all of whom came out to witness bloodshed on the vicious Brass Knuckles stage. The night was hosted by the 2x Los Angeles Grand Slam Champion, Ms. Tamara Blue & San Diego’s 2009 Grand Slam Champ, Simply Kat. The two lovely ladies provided energy and comedy throughout the night. But enough about them, let’s get to the slam.

The 10 poets competing for 5 slots on the newly revived 2010 Los Angeles Slam Team were: E. Amato, Leon P, Mr. Poetic, Francois, Artus Mansoir, Daniel Weingarten, Nick Macedo, Nikki Blak, Judy Holiday, and Matt Sedillo. Topics from the first round included: love, inspiration, street life and personal triumph pieces. When the round was over unfortunately the first two poets of the round were also the first 2 dropped and we had to say goodbye to E.Amato and Leon P.

Heading straight into Round 2 (Henny with no chaser; yep it’s like that in Leimert) the poets competed in reverse order and were forced to bring it! Judy Holiday and Nikki Blak were in the lead, tied for first with a 29.7 each. The second round included but was not limited to: singing, shouting and a few poems even brought some audience members to tears. Artus Mansoir was dropped at the end of the 2^nd round.

A short break was granted and the entire room scattered for the door like roaches with the lights turned on. It was HOT in Kaos, if hell is that hot, then I need to repent. After some fresh outside air, and small talk with people from far and wide we were ready to start the 3^rd round, but not without a fantastic sacrificial poem first. The sacrifice came from 3x San Diego Slam team member, Ant Black. After his hilarious poem paying homage to the R&B legend turned Minister Al Green, the crowd was ready to form a team.

Going high to low in the 3^rd Judy Holiday (who was STILL tied for first with Nikki Blak) opened up. Next, Nikki Blak received the first 30 of the night. Nick, Daniel, Mr. Poetic, Francois and Matt Sedillo rounded out the night.

When the dust settled, LA formed their team and chose Daniel Weingarten, Mr. Poetic, Judy Holiday, Nick Macedo and their Grand Slam Champion Ms. Nikki Blak. (Honorable mentions MUST be made to Francois who finished 6^th with an 87.2 right behind Daniel with an 87.3. And congratulations to Daniel who didn’t make this year’s Atlanta Slam team and is now a member of both the LA adult slam team and the IE Youth Team.) After attending San Francisco and team Berkeley’s Grand Slam Finals this year, I can honestly say that this was hands down the BEST finals I’ve been to all year. These poets had heart and brought the heat. Good luck to the 2010 LA Slam Team as they compete this August against the rest of the nation at the National Poetry Slam in St. Paul, MN. REMEMBER that Brass Knuckles takes place EVERY Monday night at 8pm at Kaos in Leimert Park

-Chas

twitter.com/iAmChas & facebook.com/chaspoetry

The Road to Finals

Mr. Poetic, Bout to Give Somebody a Verbal Beat Down

Bout number 2 was packed with champions from the previous qualifying bouts. For that reason, coupled with the poets' desires to make a strong impression on the judges and position themselves to be on the team, this bout proved to be just as intense as bout number 1. To add to the pressure and make the night even more hectic, San Diego Slam Team family drove up to support and rep their bit of the Golden State, Matt Sedillio wore a suit, and drunk folk bum rushed the stage and free styled. If you weren't there, you missed the special kind of fuckery (and poetry, in between the madness) that can never be replicated, even if we tried real hard.

Matt Sedillio, in His Suit

Mr. Poetic, Judy Holiday,Rela8, Francois, Matt Sedillio, Paul Mabon, Damnyo, and Leon P. went at it. We were thoroughly entertained and thank them for their high energy and slam skill. In the end, Judy Holiday stomped all over the competition and looked damn pretty while doing so. We had to say goodbye to Paul, Rela8, and Damnyo and welcome the top 5 contenders of the night into Finals.

Chris Wilson, San Diego Slam Master

Los Angeles Semi Final Bout #1

I say, I say, I say DAMN! Let me tell you... though Slam may by definition be a competition, Monday's Semi Final bout proved that it's not a game. 9 poets took the stage to earn 1 of 5 coveted slots in the Finals, and they were not playing around. It was a brawl that ended in a 3 way tie and a sudden death round. I think someone lost an eye. Where do I begin???

I guess the beginning is a good place to start. First off, despite the rain and the Laker game it was a packed house. The energy was crazy, the audience was loud and lovely, the judges were stern faced, and the evening's hostess, Judy Holiday had on her Bad Bitch heels. We had some awesome poets in the audience that showed up just to support, and a few that blessed us with some of their work as the night's calibrators. We want to thank Donny Jackson, Francois, Fisseha, and Tammy Vaitai for starting our rounds off right.

Our lovely Score/Time Keeper and Resident Slam Veteran, Cayenne

DJ Just Boom kept us entertained between poets, Cayenne kept score, and Naomi worked the door, collecting donations that will fund the team's trip to Nationals. At the end of the night, Charlene "Hustle Diva" Green, Artus Mansoir, and the evening's underdog, Nick Mecedo, found themselves in a 3 way tie with only 2 slots available for Finals. The audience demanded a 4th round, and the tied poets went at it. When the smoke cleared, Artus and Nick were left standing and join April Rojas, Nikki Blak, and Daniel Weingarten as the 5 poets advancing to Finals.

Poetic Wizard, Daniel Weingarten

Cumulative Scores for the Evening

April Rojas 87.8

Nikki Blak86.5

Daniel Weingarten 85.4

Artus Mansoir 84.6 (3rd round: 29.6)

Nick Macedo 84.6 (3rd round: 29.3)

We want to thank the other poets in the bout. We appreciate your hard work and thank you for making this slam the hellified shit. We look forward to May 24th's Semi Final Bout. The following poets will be competing for the remaining 5 spots in Finals:

Mr. Poetic

Treesje

Judy Holiday

Rel8

Francois

Matt Sedillio

Paul Mabon

Damnyo

Leon P.

If you missed Bout #1, we seriously suggest that you bring your ass out to the 2nd one, cause it looks like it's gonna be a banger, kids.

BRASS KNUCKLES

@Kaos

4343 Leimert Park Blvd

LA, CA

8:30pm

$5

Go Hard, or Don't Leave the House

We know the Lakers are playing tonight and thats all fine and good... But in these days of synthesized bullshit, virtual this, and programed that, we figured folks would be in the mood for something real. Thus, we bring you, an evening of live entertainment, courtesy of tonight's Semi Final bout poets. They promise to bring it to you in a way that it has never been brought-en to you before. As a matter of fact, they've been explicitly instructed to go hard... Or don't leave the house. That's reason enough for you to leave yours and join us at Brass Knuckles for the first of 2 Semi Final Bouts. Bring $5, a pair of hands ready for clappin', and a mind set to be blown. At the end of the night, we will personally thank you. Kobe won't. Boom.

BRASS KNUCKLES

SEMI FINAL BOUT #1

@Kaos

4343 Leimert Park Blvd

8:30

$5

What Had Happened Was...

So, this past Monday was the very last qualifying slam for the 2010 Los Angeles Slam Team. As we suspected, the last of the area's most brave and motivated poets brought their asses on out the house to participate in the slam extravaganza... and we love them for it. We were also graced with the presence and talent of New Orleans songstress, Kelly Love Jones, and a few of our favorite poets who didn't want to slam, but instead came out to support and even offered to calibrate. Much love and thanks to everybody who's been out to Brass Knuckles so far and we want to wish good luck to the poets who have qualified and made it into the Semi Final Bouts.

This past week's qualifying poets include Daniel, April, Rel8, Brass Knuckles' own Judy Holiday, Damnyo, and Francois, who swept in like a viscous whirl wind and earned the highest cumulative score of the night. And with that, our rapid fire qualifiers were done.

So what's next?

Well kids, now we get down to business. The 18 poets that qualified get to show you what they got in a duo of Semi Final bouts. Each bout will have 9 poets competing for a spot in the Grand Slam Final, which will determine the 2010 Los Angeles Slam Team. Thanks Random.org, we were able to generate list for the Semi bouts, and it goes a little something like this:

Semi Final Bout #1 - May 17th

Artus Mansoir

Sanyu
E. Amato
April
Daniel
Charlene
Kristina
J.P Martinez
Nikki Blak

Semi Final Bout #2 - May 24th

Mr. Poetic
Treesje
Francois
Matt Sedillio
Judy Holiday
Leon P.
Damnyo
Paul
Rel8

We anticipate 2 nights of kick ass poetry, and we're pretty sure you won't wanna miss it. So be there. It's easy.

Kaos

4343 Leimert Park Blvd

8:30

$5

Back to the Future

Last week, folks came on out to slam, slam, slam... and slam some more. If you weren't there, you sure picked a perfect time to fuck up! It was a juicy one. If you were there, I think you'll agree that people laid it all out, so much so, that I'm wondering what they're gonna have left for Semis and Finals! In the end, Mr. Poetic was crowned King of the evening's slammers and we're looking forward to seeing him in one of two Semi bouts. Also advancing to Semis was Kristina Von Hoffman, Sanyu, Charlene "Hustle Diva" Green, new author Matt Sadillio, and Brass Knuckles' own, Nikki Blak. See what I'm sayin?!?!

Tonight, we're anticipating more slam madness. It's the final qualifying slam for the Los Angeles Slam team, which means that if you ain't made it yet, this is officially it. For that reason, we think it might end up turning into quite the blood bath, as all the last minute poets go all out for a spot in Semis. Our recommendation: Be there. On time. That way, you'll be sure to snag a seat (the closer to the stage, the better. If you're lucky, you'll get a little blood spray in the face... Ummm... that was a metaphor. Not really, but, yeah).

8pm sign up

8:30 Start time

4343 Leimert Park Blvd

Los Angeles

$5 to Sit

FREE to Spit

Opening Night Pictures

Here are some pictures of us (loitering on the corner) on our first night, after the slam, courtesy of Birthday Girl, aka Jimetta Rose.

Host Extraordinaire, Judy Holiday

Nikki Blak, the Other Host

Brutha Gimel

One of the night's Slammers (who earned a spot in the Semi Finals), E. Amato

Our Door Girl and Resident Side Eyer, Naomi

The evening's Birthday Girl

Once again, we want to thank everyone that came and supported. So far, we've had 2 successful qualifying slams, which means there's only 1 left before we move on to Semis... Which means, if you want an opportunity to rep LA at this year's National Poetry Slam, you got one more chance to get your shit together. Bring your best poems and meet us at Kaos in Leimert Park on May 10th. We promise, we won't bite... Unless you want us to.

Brass Knuckles

@ KAOS

4343 Leimert Blvd.

LA, Ca. 90008

8pm Slam Sign Up

8:30 Start Time

$5 for a Seat

FREE to Spit Some Heat

Wanna Know What Happened at the Opening Night and Slam Monday Night???

Well, you shoulda had your ass there! Good thing for you, we're doing it again next Monday... And it'll probably be even better, 'cause things tend to do that with time. It's hard to imagine, though... there was so much poetic goodness! Oh, and a birthday, too!

10 poets came out to slam... some were faces we hadn't seen in months and months, and in some cases YEARS! Others were faces we'd never seen before. But new or old, experienced Slam vets or not, everyone put their best foot forward and honestly, we were quite impressed. If those were the poems for the preliminary bout, what are people gonna do for Semis and Finals???

When the dust cleared, 6 poets were left standing. Tressje repped the ladies well, earning the first 10 of the night, getting the high score of the evening in the first round, and taking first place at the end of the night. Congratulations to her! Following closely behind in points was Artus Mansoir who was on the LA Slam Team a few years back. We also want to congratulate J.P Martinez, E. Amato, Paul Mabon, and Leon P. for their hard work in the slam and wish them good luck in Semis.

Speaking of Semis, there will be two seperate bouts, each with 9 poets. Semis are scheduled for May 17th and May 24th and promise to be two great nights of poetry that you should not miss. Once all of the qualifying bouts have taken place, we will post the bouts with the lists of poets for each one here, so be sure to check back.

However, in the meantime, we would like to give a big ass thanks to EVERYONE who came out to the first night and helped to make it as awesome as it was. If you're not one of those people, don't let it happen again! We wanna see your face. Monday, May 5th at 8:30 are the time and date, Kaos in Leimert Park is the place. Make it happen.

It's Only Hours Away

In just a couple short hours, Brass Knuckles will be balls deep in an opening night full of poetry, slam, and most importantly, fuckery. Of course, tonight we will mainly be trying to focus on the slam festivities... Not so much the fuckery part. But fuckery is hard to ignore.

As far as slam is concerned, some people don't know what the hell we're talking about. So, where gonna give you the run down. Basically, Slam is competitive performance poetry. In Slam, the focus is not just on writing, nor is it just on performance, but it should be a little bit of both. Poets perform original work within an alloted time period and get to be judged by selected members of the audience. Generally, most slams are open to everyone. Tonight's Slam is what we refer to as a "qualifier" which basically means that you must participate in and place in the top 5 to then be eligible to compete in the Semi Finals and so on. Think basketball. Everybody don't get to play for the Championship... Only a select few get to compete in the higher level for a shot at the title, and of course, that's based on their previous performance in preliminary games -- or as we say in Slam, "bouts". In this particular case, "The Championship" would be a spot on the 2010 Los Angeles Slam Team. Once you make the team, you get to go to Nationals and compete against other teams from all over the country, and that's basically the whole point.

Got it?

Okay, good. The rules are as follows:

-Each poem must be of the poet's own original work

-Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem. If the poet goes over time, points will be deducted from the total score.

-The poet may not use props, costumes or musical instruments, nor may they do a poem with another person or persons.

-Of the scores the poet received from five randomly selected judges, the high and low scores are dropped and the middle three are added together, giving the poet a total score of 0-30.

That's pretty much it. Judges, score cards, boisterous audience, 2 fly hosts, and some fierce poetry gets us a one way ticket to Slam-ville.

I'm excited. How about you?