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| Maui-Erotica Slam at Casanova's in Makawao October 18th, 2007 |
| The Kit Kat Club - Maui Burlesque Troupe Perform at half-time during |
| Yakuna Takes $100 1st Prize |
| Heather Peach 2nd Place |
| Holly Dish 3rd |
| Naughty Miss 4th |
| Slam Master Marquis D'Maui |
| Mistress Chela & Pat Masumoto |
| Queen of Hard-Ons 2nd Place Costume |
| Randy Bunny 1st Place Costume |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Winner - Terms None "Kidding" Peaced OFF! Photos by Luckycomehawaii on Flikr |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Listen to "Peace Offering" Zack Williams |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Michael SoLow |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Lawrence Hill |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Lizzzzzzzzz |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Zack |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Dr. B |
| Maui SLAM Peaced Off! Melatonious Monk |
Bookend wins for Terms None!
June 24th, 2007
- Terms took the prize on Memorial Day and brought
it home again last night at the largest MauiSLAM!
yet held at the War & Peace Art Exhibit in
Makawao, Maui.
200 or so made their way to the space in Makawao
as the Maui Artists for Peace hosted MauiSLAM!
Maui's only monthly performance poetry
competition. 30 poets from 7 to 70 spit their
verses as living canvases were adorned with a
mural of serenity and peace.
Eddie Float and Rudy Esquire rocked the space as
the crowd filed in through the countries largest
war and peace art exhibit in the country; and
more works continue to come in with only five
days left before the official close of the
exhibit.
DJ Tobin filled the air with beats between the
first time slammers, serious contenders and
previous winners like Pat Masumoto, Jahsun,
Lawrence Hill, Michael P, Frank Rich and Terms
None.
G503 aka Zack Williams, Firetender & Terms all
scored 29 and with Firetenders earl departure,
only G5 & Terms bring it back to the stage. Terms
took the tie breaker and the $100 for the second
month in a row as the theme of war & peace fueled
the passion of this incredible performer.
Video highlights coming to the site soon.
Mahalo to all the poets, judges and supporters of
MauiSLAM! and the Maui Artists for Peace!
THE SHOW MUST GO ON!
Peace,
D
- Artists Slam the War
Haleakala Times, June 6th 2007
by Jacob Meade
This Memorial Day, Dave and Chela Coennen’s Maui
Slam! Competition collaborated with the
organizers of the War & Peace Art Exhibition to
explore local poets’ reactions to the War on
Terror. As usual, the monthly event (this time
advertised as “Peaced Off”) at Moana Café in Paia
drew a large crowd of presenters and supporters.
Slam is a passionate new breed of spoken-word
performance that aims to reclaim poetry from
dusty bookshelves and stuffy professors. The
intensity of Slam comes partly from the
competitive nature of the events, as audience
members are selected to rate performers on a
scale of 1 to 10, ultimately deciding on a winner.
- While the war was the predominant theme,
performers used their allotted three minutes of
stage time to take on all sorts of emotions,
reactions and ideas. Said co-organizer Michelle
Sewell, the war in question could be a war on
anything. Hope and optimism was a powerful theme
of the event, which drew an impressive variety of
age groups and demographics. Liz Dunlop, an
employee of the café, who led efforts to bring
the competition to Moana, described her own
poetry as “encouraging happy stuff,” despite the
sobering topic of the event.
During performances, audience members were
invited to contribute to a “collaborative art
piece” set behind the stage. What began as a
blank canvas slowly transformed into a colorful
expression of numerous elements, the most
prominent of which was, appropriately enough, a
peace sign. The painting will be submitted to the
War & Peace Art Exhibition kicking off June 8.
Next month’s Maui Slam! will take place at the
Exhibition.
The competition ended with a seven-way tie,
ultimately broken by solo MC/spoken word artist
Terms None after a rematch of 30-second finalist
performances. The Makawao resident’s fast-paced
delivery was a satisfying finale to the flurry of
emotions that came head-to-head at the night’s
events.
According to Coennen, the Slam Competition hopes
to branch off into other venues at monthly
intervals. “The whole point is to express what
you feel,” she said.
Maui Slam Poets Are
"Peaced Off!"
Memorial Day, May 28th
at Moana Cafe in Paia
- On this Memorial Day, Maui Slam remembers and
honors those who have died in wars, past and
present, as part of Maui Artists for Peace,
movement to stop the war on Iraq.
3455 US Service Members have died in the illegal
and immoral military action on Iraq as of today.
390 have died in Afghanistan.
30,000 wounded are returning to a veteran's
health system that is under-funded, mismanaged
and ignored.
Then there are the tens of thousands, perhaps up
to a million, uncounted civilian deaths in both
regions in this war of terror.
Join us with Maui Artists For Peace as we
continue the kick off a summer of arts in action
against the war on Iraq.
Last night we GIVE PEACE A DANCE in Haiku and on
Monday, Memorial Day, we get PEACED OFF! at Maui
Slam! in Paia with guest artists and DJ Tobin.
- On Monday, May 28th 2007, performance poets,
emcees, spoken word artists and activists, come
speak your "peace", spit on the war or slam for
the soldier.
Bring original works on War and/or Peace, of
three minutes or less* in competition for a $100
Cash Prize, 6:30PM at Moana Café, 71 Baldwin
Ave., Paia. DJ Tobin spins conscious beats before
and between Slammers.
Maui Artists for Peace was born when painters,
musicians, poets, theatre performers and
activists began coming together in early spring
along with members of Maui Peace Action to plan
an art show that would resolutely demand an end
to the war on Iraq.
Maui Artists for Peace "will be marking Summer
2007 with demonstrative expressions of peaceful
art" and all artists are welcome to join this
collective voice of protest at www.mauistopthewar.
com
Moana Bakery & Café doors at 6:30PM and a five-
dollar cover charge covers the prize, the purpose
and the spoken word. DJ Tobin spins beats before
and between slammers.
Donations supporting Maui Artists For Peace are
welcome and encouraged.
The kitchen will be open with a full menu
available. Space is limited and on a first come
first serve basis. Under 18 welcome in the
company of a parent. For more information call
244-9091 or email mauislam@mauislam.com
* Original works of three minutes or less on the
theme "War and Peace". No props, costumes or
music.
Maui Slam's favorite son of Jah,
Jahsun, took the $100 prize again
in the March Maui Slam after
winning a Slam Off with Randy
Mills.
- They had gone up against twenty-five other
performance poets including many fresh and strong
voices. And if you want to spit your works, speak
your mind or generally wax poetic; performance
poets, spoken word artists and emcees are invited
to perform original works of three minutes or
less on any theme in competition for that $100
cash prize on Monday, April 30th, at the Moana
Bakery and Café a 71 Baldwin Ave. in Paia.
Doors open at 6:30PM for performer sign-up and a
7:30PM Slam and space is limited. Special guests
and randomly selected audience members will judge
the event, so come down and enjoy some of the
most talented and creative bards on Maui
featuring a special guest DJ spinning beats
throughout the evening.
There is a five-dollar cover at the door for this
event. Moana Bakery & Café's kitchen is open as
well as a full bar. Under 18 welcome in the
company of a parent. For more information call
244-9091 or email mauislam@mauislam.com
Maui Weekly,
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Maui Slam! at Moana Cafe
by Allegra Fasnacht
It’s the right time, right place for Maui’s
largest poetry event.
You can usually find Maui’s beloved organizers,
Chela and Dave Coennen, running around a bit
frantically on slam nights, but you’ll never see
them without a smile.
As a crowd of over 100 packs into the Moana cafe,
cover fees are collected, judges are sought from
the audience, and poets gear up for their three
minutes of performance.
DJ J.P. spins a smooth beat in the background,
and the energy is undeniable. After nearly two
years of monthly slam competitions, expectations
are high as old hats hone their skills and
newcomers have the potential to shine.
The Coennens’—activists, entrepreneurs and
general movers and shakers—have found a new home
for Maui Slam!, the spoken word competition with
a $100 cash prize that has brought a community of
poets out of the woodwork and into the spotlight.
The Moana Bakery and Café on Baldwin Avenue in Pa
‘ia now hosts the slam on the last Monday of
every month, beginning Feb. 26, thanks to
competitor Lizzz (her stage named, according to
Dave), an employee at the café who began her own
“Open Mind, Open Mic” night the remaining three
Mondays.
Moana’s casual atmosphere in the heart of Pa‘ia
offered a missing puzzle piece to Dave and Chela’
s search for a solid, lasting home for the slam.
Serving good food, coffee and alcoholic drinks,
there was something for everyone this Monday.
Favorites Randy Mills and Pat Masumoto gave
signature performances, with Mills offering a
flamboyant piece as the voice of the Superferry
(“It sure is hard being so super…”) and Masumoto,
the inspiration for Maui Slam!, singing and
dancing for a full minute on stage, after ripping
up her poem and throwing it towards the audience.
Repeat winner was poet Jah Sun, who gave an
encore performance afterward that had heads
bobbing to the beat of his words.
Read the rest of the article here.
NOW IN PAIA, MAUI SLAM!
MOVES TO LAST MONDAYS
AT MOANA BAKERY & CAFE
Thanks to MauiSlam! competitor Lizzz, host
of “Open Mind, Open Mic” and Moana Bakery
and Café, MauiSlam!, will bring Maui's only
spoken word performance competition to a
new day and a new location on the North
Shore beginning this month.
Performance poets, spoken word artist and
emcees are invited to perform original
works of three minutes or less on any theme
in competition for a $100 cash prize on
Monday, February 26th, at
the Moana Bakery and Café at 71 Baldwin
Ave. in Paia.
Doors open at 6:30PM and performer sign-up
for a 7:30PM Slam. Special guests and
randomly selected audience members will
judge the event, so come down and enjoy
some of the most talented and creative
bards on Maui plus a surprise or two as our
special guest DJ spins beats before and
throughout the evening.
There is a five-dollar cover charge at the
door for this event. Under 18 welcome in
the company of a parent. Want to hone your
skills and try out your work before the
slam? Be sure to check out “Open Mind, Open
Mic”; music, poetry, spoken word, and
comedy at Moana Bakery & Café from 6-9p
every Monday but the last. Donations
accepted. Try out your spoken word and
bring it to compete on the last Monday, the
26th. For more information, contact Slam
Master D at 244-9091 or email
mauislam@mauislam.com
MAUI SLAM:
PARTIES WITH A PURPOSE
by Jared Libby,
Haleakala Times,
Dec. 5 2006
When Maui Booksellers in Wailuku closed in
September, the competitive poetry event
known as Maui Slam was homeless. But former
storeowners Dave and Chela Coennen, who
began hosting the event in April 2005, were
determined to keep the show going. On
Sunday Nov. 26, Maui Slam came to Hapa’s in
Kihei for the second time.“It’ll definitely
be a monthly thing,” Dave said. “We’re
trying to rebuild it here at Hapa’s. But we’
re also looking to take the event to
different venues around the island.” Maui
Slam Poets have three minutes to show off
their spoken word skills with no props, no
music and no costumes. Five randomly
selected judges score each performer. Some
toted notebooks for reference and others
spat verse from the tops of their heads,
but everyone who stood up owned the stage
for their three minutes. Competitor Jah Sun
of Haiku, a past Maui Slam winner who
recently won a slam in Oahu, said he had
never participated in a slam event before
showing up to one of the Coennens’ events
at the bookstore. “I was kind of hooked on
it after that,” said Sun. “It’s a bummer
about the store but it’s cool their still
doing this.” READ THE ARTICLE
- Maui Slam! at Hapa's
Sunday, Oct. 29th
Spoken Word Competition
This weekend we will be bringing Maui's
only competitive spoken word performance
contest to the south side and our raging
poets will take the stage at Hapa's at 41
East Lipoa St. in Kihei.