co-lab:ORATION
by Jordan Ehrlich (photos by Felix
Salzman)
What? 5$ to see poetry, painting,
music, a DJ… and tap dancing? 
All on the same night?
Wait, you mean all at the same time?
Holy Cannoli!
As the modern spoken word movement
reaches new heights in the American
counter-culture, from the inception
of the National Poetry Slam over 15
years ago to the recent arrival of
Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Poetry
Jam, more and more people are drawn
to this ever-emerging art form.
In the wake of poetry’s rising
popularity, it is this humble poet’s
belief that poetry readings have slowly
lost the communal vibe that captured
the minds and voices of the recent
generations in the first place.
Never fear…
Leave it up to a new breed of human
being to take poetry and spoken word
to yet another level. People made
up of thick double helixes of art
infused DNA. People like Y&I’s
very own Rachel
Kann.
Rachel, a nationally renowned poet,
has taken it upon herself to bring
poetry back to the community roots
so many of us know and love. She has
created a night of poetry, art, and
music that she calls co-lab:ORATION,
where anything and everything is allowed,
except, of course, performing by yourself!
In short, co-lab is a night that interfuses
a cross section of art forms, forcing
writers to collaborate with musicians,
DJ’s and painters. Mixed all
together, it can best be described
as a monthly live improvised art experiment.
And every first Sunday of the month
at The Temple Bar, (a hot bed for
live music in Los Angeles), people
show up in droves to see what might
happen next.
Don’t be fooled. Although much
of it comes together on the spot,
the artists who perform at co-lab:ORATION
always bring their A-game.
Amazingly enough, in the midst of
all the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles
night life, late on a Sunday night,
some of the most talented writers,
musicians, and artists that the region
has to offer find their way onto the
co-lab stage month after month.
It’s hard to imagine all this
talent performing for you at once.
It’s a risk. But more often
than not, I find myself sitting back
and enjoying all the passion being
thrown at me. There are these magical
moments when it all synchronizes.
The poetry, the painting, the music.
All the performers just click and
it becomes clear that I am listening
to modern voices in search of pure
honesty.
I asked Ratpack
Slim, a member of this year’s
Los Feliz, CA National Poetry Slam
team and a man who never misses a
co-lab, what makes co-lab so special.
Here is what he had to say:
Y&I:
What sets co-lab:ORATION apart from
other readings you have been to?
RS: It's the energy. The energy toward
community. And it's run by Rachel,
who works like a crazy person to put
all the musicians and poets and artists
together every month. And because
of the nature of the reading "forcing"
people to work together, you will
get performances that will never be
duplicated.
Y&I: In what way would you say that
the extra elements of music and painting
affect the poetry?
RS: I think the best moments at co-lab
are the result of musicians and poets
LISTENING to each other, and creating
a better product because of that.
It's certainly taught me how to pay
attention...
Y&I: Any moments personally, where
all the elements just clicked for
you while doing a piece? And specific
examples?
RS: I’ve been fortunate to have
a number of ‘clicks’ on
that stage. I think every time Emily
Wells (songwriter/ violin, guitar
player) and I work together. Also
the four-man beatbox-rhyme-fest "Just
A Vision" performed by my whole
Nondescript crew Jedi (DJ), Joshua
(beat-boxer), Unsaen (poet). And doing
anything with strings!
Y&I:
Do you think that because of the
way co-lab is set up, it creates
more
of a
community
feel than other readings?
RS: Very much so. And I gotta put that
back on Rachel. Going to co-lab is
kind of like a bigger staged version
of, "Hi! I'm Rachel Kann and
these are my amazingly talented friends
that I told you about!" Just
amazing amounts of love in the air.
It's thick, I tell ya.
Y&I: Why do you think so many great
poets and musicians keep showing up
month after month? (Especially since
it’s on a Sunday way out in
Santa Monica.)
RS: Because the music is great. The poetry
is hot. The vibe is hot. The people
are hot. And it's only five bucks
for a crazy amount of edutainment.
Y&I: Anything else to add?
RS: Accept no substitutes. Rachel Kann
is… and co-lab:ORATION is…
one-of-a-kind.
Ratpack Slim is definitely not alone
in his thoughts about co-lab. His
enthusiasm about the reading is easily
apparent in all the performers and
the spectators who make co-lab a packed
house every single month.
For me, it is at co-lab that the idealistic
hopes I had for poetry’s potential
to bring people together and inspire
the apathetic have been re-instilled.
A reading like this truly allows anyone
with a pen and an idea to take the
stage and find their own unique expression
while being part of something bigger
than themselves. And then, we begin
to hear the rumblings of the collective
voice of a generation. A voice that
has infinite contributors, each with
their own vision of the world and
their own set of circumstances that
we, as listeners, can learn from.
And sometimes, more importantly, identify
with.
If we listen very closely, we may
realize that, (to quote the poem Rachel
opens each co-lab with),
“We are less different than
we are the same
that there is no game to win
it is just this interconnectedness
that blesses us."
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co-lab:ORATION
First Sunday of every month
8pm (Open mic signup 7:45) $5.00 cover
No drink minimum!
The Temple Bar
1026 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica,
CA
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