I talk a lot. I leave unnecessarily long voice mail messages, and I am known to write flowery emails with lots of adjectives and grammatically correct sentences. So why then, have I been hesitant to write for the Comp Noise blog? I mean, really WRITE. Not the "go see this show" or "this is super cool you should check it out!" postings I am currently submitting.

I was given some very good advice the other day, from a very trusted source. "Post to your blog. Update it every day. Never miss a day. Add as much information as you can. If it is worth reading, people will begin to read it." I hadn't thought about using this tool as such a resource. But it makes sense. Complete sense. So here goes this experiment in "worthwhile" written communication.

I will begin my quest to bring the DC Hip Hop scene to your fingertips, my mission to make local artists accessible and well promoted... from California. Of course that makes sense, right? Ha. But if I can pull it from across the country, then surely, I will be able to continue once I have returned from my original home of funk, the East Bay.

I have to admit that, while I founded a Hip Hop organization in DC, and feel myself to be in touch with the scene here, I know very little about what is happening out west. I plan to do do as much self-educating as I can in the week or so I am out there. For starters, I plan to get in touch with the guys at Oaklyn TV. I will go take classes at New Style Motherlode. Perhaps even venture over to Funkanometry SF.

I am a totally different person now than I was when I left Oakland some ten years ago. (Duh, captain obvious. Of COURSE I'm different.) But what I mean is, that I am ready and excited to embrace who I am now, my DC Hip Hop self, and see how that applies to my home and once-familiar surroundings in The Bay.

As I kick off this new chapter in Complementary Noise's evolution book, let me first say, Happy Holidays to you all. Here is to spreading peace, love, joy, inspiration, and creativity in '08!

Join the Movement

Join Capitol Movement, Inc. for their fundraiser to benefit the third annual Capitol Movement Project Dance Concert. Come for cocktails and a silent auction, leave knowing that YOU helped to make a fantastic weekend of dance in Washington, DC possible!

January 10, 2008
6:30-9:30pm
Teatro Goldoni
1909 K St NW
Washington, DC
Admission $50
Please click the above link to purchase tickets.

Capitol Movement, Inc. (CMI) believes in "building better lives through dance". It is their mission to provide "dance for all" by reaching out to the community to establish a traveling classroom and provide mentors for disadvantaged youth. In addition to youth outreach in the schools, CMI also offers scholarships for young dancers to attend elite training institutions and to participate in our performance programs such as the Junior Wizards Dancers now known as "Capital Kidz" and our CMI Kidz Company.

Through the annual dance concert, The Capitol Movement Project, CMI has been able to provide more than 120 area dancers a unique opportunity to gain experience performing in a professional production at a prominent venue. By attending audition workshops with local choreographers such as Tony Powell, Helanius Wilkins, and Joseph Nontanovan, as well as choreographers Eddie Garcia, Liz Imperio and Luam from Los Angeles and New York, they provide the local dance community with the exposure to works that would not otherwise be accessible to them. This unique dance concert, now in its third season, is one of the ways in which CMI raises funds to offer scholarships to aspiring local dancers, and to assist children and schools in need of arts and fitness programs.

For more information on Capitol Movement Inc., please click here.

Deadline approaching!

Call For Urban Artists (Performing and Fine Arts):

Deadline is approaching. Don't miss your chance to be a part of this extraordinary event!

Dancers, poets, emcees, djs, theater artists, actors, singers, painters, photographers, graffiti, graphic, and all other urban artists are encouraged to apply.

Deadline for submissions: December 17, 2007

Complementary Noise and Expansion Dance Project Are Proud to Present:
Move-Ments: A Journey Through Dance From the Artist's Perspective

Move-Ments is a four-day, multimedia, multi-venue art exhibit that includes gallery showings of local fine artists, a live show by local performing artists, opening reception, club venue, and a live auction. "Move-Ments" events will be taking place April 10-13th, 2008.

We are looking for local Performing and Fine Artists to present work at our gallery exhibit, live performance, and other "Move-Ments" venues.

Requirements
* DC, Maryland, or Virginia resident
* Performing artists must be willing to create a 5-10 minute piece based on the Move-Ments themes
* Fine artists must be willing to create 6-8 pieces based on the Move-Ments themes

Celebrating movement from the perspective of those who dance:
Why Move?
Why? Move.
Why (I) Move.

OR

Celebrating dance from the perspective of those who are moved by it:
You Move?
You? Move.
You (Need to) Move

For more information and to submit an application, please visit:
Complementary Noise's website
Expansion Dance Project's website

Please help us get the word out! by sending this to anyone you think might be interested in submitting work. Thank you for your support!

Culture Shock DC Auditions

December 9, 2007

CityDance Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, Maryland 20852
Phone: 301.581.5204 (For Directions ONLY)

Registration starts: 1:00pm (Room 405)
Audition starts at 2pm
End time approximately 6pm

For more information email:
joseph_csdc@yahoo.com
For more info on Culture Shock, D.C please click here.

D.C. Advocates for the Arts - Meeting

Join D.C. Advocates for the Arts this Friday, December 7, 2007 from 12-1:30pm for its monthly meeting.

This session will include a presentation by two members of the District's Office of Budget and Planning. Viola Davis (deputy director for budget administration) and John McGaw (interim director for capitol improvements) will provide an overview of the D.C. Budget, and take questions from attendees.

The D.C. Advocates for the Arts work to ensure that elected officials and the general public appreciate the value of the arts. For more information on the meeting and the organization, please click here.

The Word Begins. Here.

Steve Connell and Sekou (tha misfit) in The Word Begins at

Signature Theater now through December 2, 2007.

I had the opportunity to see Steve and Sekou at a local open mic spot in DC a few weeks ago. They were the featured artists of the night. There was no lighting, no soundtrack, no sets, not even mics that worked 100% of the time. But let me just say, they rocked my world. In the poetic sense that is.

I didn't think it could get better than that. I was mistaken. (It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, I have no problem admitting it!) I was set straight when I went to see The Word Begins, the two-man show written and performed by the dynamic duo this past weekend. To be pulled into the very personal, and yet absolutely universal, snapshot of life that is The Word - there is nothing better.

In a world where we are so often taught to turn our cheek when confronted by difficult issues, Steve and Sekou not only meet the hard topics head on, but they do it in such a way that hits every emotion and leaves the onlooker with a sense of absolute need to go out and change the world.

This is a show that caters to all demographics and yet, there is no way to describe the action-packed, throw-you-around emotionally type of performance that this is. Hip Hop has found a meaningful and important place in the theater. We are given permission to laugh beyond control and cry tears of anger and sadness almost within the same breath when these two take to the stage.

Be prepared to enter ill prepared for the ride you will be taken on, and be prepared to leave a better, more aware person.

Just for you, Comp Noise supporters: mention the code "misfit" when purchasing your tickets and get the usually $65 tickets for $20. Good looking out fellas.

Shows every evening except for Monday, with a matinée on Sunday. Please check the website for more info and tickets.

So really, there is no excuse to not see the show. And only everything to gain from being exposed to the raw, gritty, and intensely poignant world being offered by Steve and Sekou in The Word Begins. See you there.

Comp Noise had the chance to catch up with Sekou in a recent interview. Hear what he has to say about the show, and why you should be there.

Call for Artists

Call For Urban Artists (Performing and Fine Arts):

Dancers, poets, emcees, djs, theater artists, actors, singers, painters, photographers, graffiti, graphic, and all other urban artists are encouraged to apply.

Deadline for submissions: December 17, 2007

Complementary Noise and Expansion Dance Project Are Proud to Present:
Move-Ments: A Journey Through Dance From the Artist's Perspective

Move-Ments is a four-day, multimedia, multi-venue art exhibit that includes gallery showings of local fine artists, a live show by local performing artists, opening reception, club venue, and a live auction. "Move-Ments" events will be taking place April 10-13th, 2008.

We are looking for local Performing and Fine Artists to present work at our gallery exhibit, live performance, and other "Move-Ments" venues.

Requirements

• DC, Maryland, or Virginia resident
• Performing artists must be willing to create a 5-10 minute piece based on the Move-Ments themes
• Fine artists must be willing to create 6-8 pieces based on the Move-Ments themes

Celebrating movement from the perspective of those who dance:

Why Move?
Why? Move.
Why (I) Move.

OR

Celebrating dance from the perspective of those who are moved by it:
You Move?
You? Move.
You (Need to) Move

For more information and to submit an application, please visit:
Complementary Noise's Website

Expansion Dance Project's Website