ReGenesis

An infinite number of things run through my head before stepping on stage. Things like, me wondering what pieces to perform or what piece to start off with. I check the tone of the room and wonder how will I be received... The list goes on. If I don't feel like performing, I don't. It's a rule I hope I never have to break. Going into Cincinnati this past week it had been over a month since my last performance. I had not held a microphone or even thought of putting on any type of show prior to. I didn't want to get back on stage until I felt I was ready.

During my "layoff," I got a chance relax and do some writing, thinking about the tone of my work and where I want to take it. After thinking about it all, I felt recharged. I was ready to be the spark on stage someone may need to see in order to make their evening or week go by a little bit smoother.

Upon showing up at the MIXX on Thursday, everything about the show felt different. I had to perform on a different stage then past acts. The microphone stand was "missing" and my performance time was earlier than normal. This time when I took the stage I didn't have a thought in my mind other than, "I'm going to be holding the mic my whole set, this sucks!" It didn't! The energy I felt on stage was amazing! I have never felt so good performing and moving around with the mic in my hand. Plenty of times I've had shows where I felt like every word fell from my lips with perfection, but THIS, this was nothing like before.

I almost felt as if I was putting on a show for myself. Like, God was reminding me that HE blessed me with this gift to be a blessing to others. It was as if HE wanted to show ME how HE gets down! The rush was great! I didn't even feel that my FIRST time on stage! OR my first time in front of THOUSANDS of people! I feel hungry all over again. Not my normally determined and strong willed self, but HUNGRY, like I have something to prove not just to myself, but to everyone who has supported me from day one.

This is the recharge, and is only the beginning...

Stay tuned!

Passion

This week I will be stepping on the stage to perform for the first time in over a month. The past four weeks off have indeed been good for me. I think a recharge, refocus was in order for my writing and performing to grow.

Cincinnati will be the back drop for what feels like a "new beginning" of sorts. I have been writing new material, practicing old poems for new delivery and the whole nine. I'm actually interested to se ow this goes

Stay tuned. . .

Clear skies and ocean waves

It's amazing how beautiful the beach is at night when no one is around. You can break out a nice chair or blanket, look up into he heavens and listen to the sound of the ocean meeting the land.

It's rare we get moments to ourselves to think. Moments where we can wonder, ponder or think about nothing at all. Tonight I found that if you stare up into the stars long enough you almost feel as if you are looking down into an abyss. Pretty cool

Dreams

What is it about some people that makes them dream? Chasing what they want instead of following suit?

During some much needed down time out here in the beautiful Washington DC area, I have been thinking about my dreams and things I want to accomplish. Sometimes when my back is really against the wall it makes me question if I'm on the right path, or maybe I should consider being something else. Just when I get down on myself for not being more "successful", someone steps in and reminds me that things wont always be easy.

Who helps to motivate you when you need it?

Adventures in LA LA Land!!

What can I say about LA that you haven't already seen on TV?! It's a great terrible beautiful ugly city! There's everything to get into and most of it is trouble! lol

Upon arriving at LAX my first mission was quite clear. . .Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles! That craving was quickly put on pause as I drove past a Wing Stop!! Those wings are the bizness!

So I hook up with my frat brother and hit a backyard BBQ that turns into an old school battle dance contest which turned into a drunken soul train line that turned into what seemed to be a TOO serious Micheal Jackson dance move contest. Yes folks, Micheal Jackson's best moves were performed by a 6 foot woman in booty shorts. . .that is all.

It was great kicking it in LA and Hollywood. I met Rufio from Peter Pan! The leader of the lost boys. lol Between politricking with suites and "up coming artists" I had a ball. Ate on sunset blvd, road through the hills, walked through Long Beach and slid out to a few mics in the process.

PS

Do not feed the birds

and now, SLEEP zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Dissed by ANGRY blogger. . .

For those of you who think the grass is always green on the other side, heres a hole in my wooden fence, take a peak. . .

This is a blog from a guy that attended my show in Saint Louis:

Allow me to start by saying that the Future, the Michigan based poet, is not wack. Nothing that I’ll say in this blog will change the non-wack view people may have of him. Surely, a few words won’t dim his, umm, future.

Let’s start with the positives. He’s a handsome guy. He’d tell you as much during his set. He’s a clever punch line artist. He’s engaging when he spits his verses. His locks looked manicured. He has a cool looking CD (I didn’t get around to buying one). He knows his Nas albums, which is a plus for those who dig Nas. It seemed like most sistas liked him or at least liked looking at him. Did I mention that he’s a handsome guy?

I had a chance to check out Future at Legacy Café during SWG last Friday. I wanted to support the brotha because he’s my friend on MySpace…but really, because I like to hear spoken word artists do their thing. I mean, with a name like Future, I was sure his flow would be unique and his lines would be, umm, futuristic; ergo, original. Ironically, Future’s flow is very much a reflection of the current style of spoken word (rap-esque with sermonic tendencies), and cliché at that. By reflection, I mean that it only reflects the light of other poets who may possess the light that Future reflects, like a star or a moon would with the sun. I don’t want to speculate on whose light Future is reflecting, so I won’t.

Beyond his originality-challenged flow, his transition between poems needs scripting. It was like hearing someone talk on the phone when you’re waiting for the point. After a while, you get distracted by TV or paint drying and just want to hang up. Some folks did hang up; by leaving. For instance, before dropping his last poem, Future gave a five minute introduction about his looks and about some other self-absorbed ish.

As for the content, one piece sticks out in my mind. It was an anti-intellectual rant about “deep” poets whose lines are littered with jargon and obscure references. I don’t recall if he said this in the poem but he wanted the crowd to “get” one of his punch lines that may have floated over their heads. I don’t know if they did because I had to get off the phone.


If you want to see this on the original site (to ensure i haven't embellished this blog in anyway) copy and paste the link below:

http://www.mkstallings.com/?entryId=32265d2b1aae8d2b9b3b8a8c84fe7fd8

please send your HONEST thoughts and opinions ;-)

7 days

So, I have been back home for 7 days straight. Its a weird yet restful feeling. Anyone who knows me or has been following me this year knows I have been away from home all year with the exception of about a month, if you add he pit stops between tour to say hi and bye to family.

Outside of working out theres not too much going on in Flint Michigan, but hanging with the family.

Stay tuned!