Today's guerrilla gathering offered our first chance to check in with each other in awhile, as well as a spontaneous opportunity for a lyrical ambush that landed us on the nightly news broadcast of at least one local network affiliate. First, the notes:

• Jess is moving away in the next week: she handed off Treasurer duties to Laurie + Cesar Chavez connections to Jeff
• Jeff will help with compiling the weekly email calendar — Laurie and Jeff will be trading the responsibility every other week.
• Shahid will compile a list of ways to plug in for newcomers
• Discussed outreach to new organizers + the possibility of shifting wintertime lyrical ambushes from DuPont Circle to mobile ambushe
• Saturday, July 7, 6pm at Fire Swamp (a house) 1029 10th St.—Jeff's birthday kegger vegan straight edge (root beer and cream soda kegs and vegan hot wings)
• Next guerrilla gathering: Sunday, July 15 from 12 – 2pm at the Belmont House

Next, the low-down on a lyrical musical strike, guerrilla-style:

(more…)

On Monday, June 18, guerrilla poet Jessica Philie teamed up with Joe and Bill from the Rhythm Workers Union to facilitate a workshop at Cesar Chavez School for Public Policy , Parkside campus in NE DC. Eighteen energetic and talented students learned about different types of drums and percussion, as well as performing poetry on the mic with accompaniment. The students worked on their own piece and also created a new melody and chant/hook that they performed at the end of the workshop. They are polishing up their group piece for the Class of 2010 and 2009 CAPSTONE Presentation at the school on Friday, June 22, at 11:30 am. They have been discussing issues surrounding the themes of racism, sexism, and discrimination, and created a spoken word/rap song, with at least four rappers spittin' their thoughts on the subjects. The workshop helped some of them come out of their shells a bit on the mic, and the students will get to test out those skills in front of their peers as part of their year end work. We had fun, learned new things from and about each other, and made some memorable music together. One of the best workshops yet!

mom mom mom mom

can't you see

look what baby don't to me

he took away my std

and let me watching barney

tic tac toe

three in a row

barney got shot by gro

we went to the doctor

and the docter say

sorry kids but barney death