New upload on the Soundcloud: Crows

Happy new year and all that. It's 27th January and I think this is my first post of the year. It's been pretty busy so far. Was doing a bit of the old hosting at Battersesa Arts Centre for their New Year's party. Since then I've gigged at Hammer and Tongue Hackney, Lipped Ink, my own Beats and Elements night at Camden People's Theatre and then last night, at new night called Dry January...and speaking of which, last night, at this cosy little creative space on Old Street called Ziferblat, I had a little slot where I got to do a few of the poems that I don't normally do, like this one below. Crows. Hold tight Morden, Raynes Park, Cannon Hill Common and the wildlife.

This Friday 27th NOv plus new stuff on the Soundcloud

This Friday I'm dropping half an hour's worth of new stuff at

7 Minute Itch, all in aid of the new show I've been banging about which now has a working title of: (Drumroll...)

The C/D Borderline.

Also stepping up on the night with new stuff are Michelle Madson (who set the thing up) Bridgette Minamore (We go way back, Rubix and all that!) Imogen Butley-Cole (who I've not seen before but I'm told is very good) and the legend Gary From Leeds (becoming a bit of a thing this, me and him on the same bill dropping new stuff!)

It's FREE entry - but you need a ticket which you can get HERE 

Elssewhere this week, in my limited, clustered headspace and Soundcloud page, I uploaded another track from The 90 Sick E.P, produced by Elian Gray, I present, None To Run. Enjoy. Hopefully.

 

Feedback feeding me

Yes. It's been a busy few weeks doing shows and what-not. Started last Thursday (5th) at Scratch That Hackney. Had the first roll out of the latest peice of this as yet unnamed show I'm working on. Went pretty well, there was a bunch of good acts there too. My mate Gary From Leeds stepped up doing bits from his new show, Gary Baldie. It's gonna be a banager, trust me. Did another scratch on Monday with Gary called Words In Progress  drropped the same peice again, HMS Kiss. Different crowd, dofferent space, did'nt use the mike but it went alright. Feel in a good place with it. Got some good feedback for both nights. Doing another one on the 27th, called 7 Minute Itch gonna do a half an hour, hopefully with a bit of sound and maybe some movement.

Wound up getting on the mike and MCing over Drum 'N Bass last Saturday evening, at Shorditch Town Hall. It's been a long time since I've done that to a room full of people. I'd gone to see Will Dickie's new peice Rave Space. Will's an artist and DJ who makes perfomances in which he uses movement and sound. Don't know a lot about dance and movement but I know that Will is very good at what he does. It was a sick show in which he dj's (played a load of classic Drum and Bass tracks) afterwads he kciked a full set and asked me If I wanted to MC. I was a bit shy and hestitated, but then I'd hd a few beers so thought fuck it. Had a great time!

Tuersday evening saw me head up to Birmingham for Grizzly Pear, run by the Writers Block society at Birmingham Uni. Great night, really well run and attended. Very warm crowd. Did a whole 40 minutes too, don't get sets like that very often. Loved it.

On to Sunday and I dropped this on the Soundcloud. Yea

No Frills live @ Cabaret Lounge

Performed this live back last year for a live spoken word and music set I did with Conrad Murray

New poems on the Soundcloud

Hello!

After that good stretch of gigs, I've loaded a few new bits up on the Soundcloud. Enjoy

P.S I thought England did alright to be honest. I was pleased to see them actually trying to pass the ball between them and attack, I'm pretty sure the last 6 years the only goals England ever seemed to score were from dead balls...

Lost Days Lost

Rhythm

 

Turbo Breeze

New old bits on the soundcloud

Hello

Over the last few few months, I've been slowly loading all the old bits that I've been performing out, plus a few extras, over the last few years onto the soundcloud. Stuck a few more up this week.

The Plight of St George

I wrote this story prior to the last 2010 World Cup. Football fascinates me for a lot reasons. Some good, some bad. I've met a lot of people over the years who talk with a genuine intelligence on the game but would never be considered intelligent in some circles. Shame that

The Irony of it All

This was written for the final of a slam competition I was in called Manorlogz back in 2010. It was boracdcast on a SKY channel way up in the high numbers. I never perfomred it again afater that.

A Tale From The Bedsit @ Battersea Arts Centre

Greetings, on this fine glorious today.

On Monday the 21st Match I'm going into to Battersea Arts Centre to begin the second run of A Tale From The Bedsit. I've been spending the last few weeks re-familiarising myself with the text again, though December wasn't that long ago, it's surprising how much I had forgotten! I'm on course though and looking forward to getting into a new space with Stef O' Driscol (director) and Phil Davies (Sound designer) and India Banks (set designer) we're doing it for a good sized crowd this time, should be a lot fun!

You can book tickets HERE

..also here's an extract from the show I recorded for Soundcloud

A TALE FROM THE BEDSIT

Paul Cree 17 - 21 Mar 9pm Running Time: 45min Price: £12, £9 concs Recommended for ages 14+ Come in, kick back, take your shoes off, or keep them on, have a cuppa and make yourselves comfy. This intimate and autobiographical coming-of-age tale by spoken word artist and writer Paul Cree set in his bedsit amongst the books, tapes and comics of his youth. Leaving the mundane monotony of his hometown for the bright lights of Brighton, a new job and his first love the world seems bigger somehow. A witty & honest tale that reminds us of our own journeys, mistakes and joys. A Roundhouse Production Written and Performed by Paul Cree Directed by Stef O’Driscoll DOUBLE BILL See A Tale from the Bedsit with John Berkavitch's Shame at 7:30pm (17-19 Mar only) for £20 (£15 concs). This offer will be applied automatically to your baske

Words from the archives #7 Kingpin (2009, audio)

In that one small moment

I became king

The feeling as the ball rolled from my hand,

Arrowing straight down the centre of the lane,

Maintaining a position of perfection,

As it travelled at the speed of delight,

Equal distance between the two gully’s,

Was like, walking out of my house to the bustop,

And without breaking step,

The bus pull's up,

And I casually jump on,

All in front of the prettist girl in the school.

My own projectile missile,

Target locked on.

And Upon Impact,

Producing the harmonic sound of that organised crescendo of chaos,

As the ball struck the centre pin.

The catalyst for the chain reaction,

Collapsing all 10 pins.

Obliterated

Nothing left,

Only the vegas like synthetic strip lighting highlighting my glory,

As if all the balls on the other lanes,

Were bowled at once and syncronised like a 21 gun salute.

X marked the screen.

I'd long ago accepted my position in all this,

My rank being verbal punch-bag,

In the great mis-order of things.

I'm the one you wonna' play pool against,

after you've just taken a whipping.

I'm the one you wonna push around after you've just taken a kicking.

I'm the one you wonna take the piss out of when you're trying to chat up women.

I'm the one you wonna talk too, when you're confidence has gone missing.

My social scene is like a fruit machine

My mates are like the cherries,

Always in pairs.

I'm the lemon,

Solitary and sour.

I turned back round,

And saw my 3 friends,

And their girlfreinds,

With their mouths open wide,

As if they were about to engage in speech,

But nothing was coming out,

Just particles of stake breath.

I never knew silence could make a sound so beautiful

Words from the Archives #6: Dizzee from Change (2010)

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be putting some of the pieces that I've been performing over the last 3-4 years up on my Soundcloud page. Starting with this one - Dizzee from Change. I wrote as part of a slam competition I finished runner up in at the end of the year, called Manorlogz. It was broadcast on some sort of cable channel which you can see HERE



I vividly remember that transition between garage and grime

Wobbly baselines and eerie synthesizers

Epitomizing the darker side of London life

Gone were the girly vocals

Replaced by raw instrumental space allowing an MC to demonstrate

The delicate balancing act between bravado and flow

As whole studio's previously only available to those with dough,

Were condensed and squeezed onto desktop pc's

Whatever side of the musical divide you chose

The relentless march of evolution wasn’t stopping

Time waits for no man

So the saying goes

And rightly so

Because

I've suffered many a splinter from sitting on fences

Worried that whatever side I decided to climb off Id be defenseless

For years I perched trying to search for the perfect way

To permeate the boundaries of success and away from the doldrums without being seen,

I saw attention as an enemy that could potentially halt my progress

Though thought and action were two factions that rarely agreed

In-bedded in the tred of my trainers is the memory of a thousand pounded pavements

Paces of procrastination.

Paving slabs greeted my feet anytime I sought retreat in my lunch hour

An escape from my place of work.

I took to these walks to create space for thought

My daily tours saw me over analyzing situations beyond contemplation

Until I realized immersing myself in grey clouds of thought

Was a just a subconscious delay tactic

A mental fence on which to sit

Blanketing the reality of mother nature’s very own weather report

Worried about getting caught in a shower when the forecast was heat

For the sun's rays to penetrate I needed to accept the fact that weather does change 

And the outcome is out of my hands

In order to jump off the fence and make an impact

I tried to revolutionize the way that I think

In the same way that garage dj's did when they dropped 138 Trek by Zinc

Whether or not it paid 

It triggered a chain reaction for change to happen

I'm not sure who claimed they were first to maim that skippy 2 step beat

And chop it in half

All I know is that it tore a line apart between old and new

I Love You was a long way from Bring Me Flowers

However it allowed a whole new species to blossom

The pollen of many genres responding to mistakes and lessons of the elders

Genetically encoded in the DNA of the music

And passed on like father to Son

I decided I had nothing to loose by taking risks

Other than loosing a few splinters,

And the sole's of my trainers could start connecting with a few more stages

And a few less pavements

Actions have consequences – positive and negative

So they say

No action knows no satisfaction

Sitting on the fence in isolation was frustrating

Only dipping my toe into the ebb and flow of everyday living

Would stunt the development required for essential decision making

The act of waiting becomes frustrating

And that impatience converts to bitterness

Who's only home lies in defeat

I didn’t wonna' be another could a been.

So I selected my spot.

Jumped off my fence and went to ground

I realized sometimes you have to do things on you're own.

Accept responsibility,

And just go

The same year Dizzee dropped Boy In Da Corner

I left home

CrossRoads

Have a wee listen.

If you like here's a link to the VIDEO

A Pale Shade of White

On Wednesday this week, whilst at the launch for the Ryming Thunder   book, my friend and fellow Rubix member Bridget Minamore performed a poem called Melanie. It's a very good piece of writing and inspired me to dig this one out, which isn't actually that old, I'd just forgotten about it 

You can read and see more of Bridget right HERE