Mighty Mike McGee
Encyclopedia
Born in Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, McGee is the oldest of eight children from several marriages. He has spent most of his life in and around San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he started his career in spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
, poetry slam and performance poetry
Performance poetry
Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...
in 1998. He is a contemporary of Jack McCarthy
Jack McCarthy
Jack McCarthy is an American writer and slam poet.-Biography:McCarthy was born in Massachusetts and now lives in Seattle, Washington. He began writing poetry in the 1960s, but did not begin performing his works for audiences until the 1990s...
and Buddy Wakefield
Buddy Wakefield
Buddy Wakefield is an American performance poet/slam poet, whose latest works have been released by Righteous Babe Records and Write Bloody Publishing .- Biography :...
.
McGee is the first slam poet to win both the American National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship (2003) and the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship (2006). From late 2007 to December 2008 he hosted the San Jose Poetry Slam, with Co-Slam Master Christopher Bundy.
Biography
In 1999, McGee helped form Bleeding Edge Spoken Word, under the directorship of his then-roommate. Over two and a half years, the two released 33 compilations of contemporary American spoken word. Although the label is now defunct, McGee started his own imprints – 3XMsound and 3XMpress, in 2001 – in order to produce and release his own CDs and chapbooks.In 2001, after three years of competing at the San José Poetry Slam, McGee earned a spot on the slam team and went to his first National Poetry Slam held that August in Seattle, Washington. He then returned to the National Poetry Slam with the same team in 2003 and 2004.
In 2003, McGee co-founded the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, B.C.-based "talk-rock" trio Tons of Fun University
Tons of Fun University
Tons of Fun University is a musical, spoken word trio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which formed in 2003. It consists of Canadian poets Shane Koyczan and C. R. Avery, and American poet Mighty Mike McGee....
with Shane Koyczan
Shane Koyczan
Shane L. Koyczan is a Canadian poet and writer. Born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Koyczan grew up in Penticton, British Columbia. In 2000, he became the first Canadian to win the Individual Championship title at the US National Poetry Slam. Together with Mighty Mike McGee and C. R...
and C. R. Avery. Their debut was before a crowd of 15,000 at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Vancouver Folk Music Festival
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival is an outdoor multistage music festival. It takes place annually, on the third weekend of July. Founded in 1978, this annual festival uses eight outdoor stages, located at Jericho Beach Park on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia.In the past it has...
, July 2004. The trio has since toured extensively throughout Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, performing primarily in music festivals.
In 2005, McGee performed a revised version of his popular poem "Like" on a fifth season episode of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO.
Poetry slam titles
- Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, 2006
- International World Poetry Slamionship, 2006 (2nd)
- National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Champion, 2003
- San Jose Poetry Slam Grand Champion, 2003 and 2004
- San Francisco Poetry Slam Grand Champion, 2003
Discography
- The Them They're Talking About (Tons of Fun University EP), 2005, Mother Press Media
- Happy Is The New Sad (guest on track 6, Delta Activity's album), 2005
- New High Score: Best of Urbana Compilation, 2005, The Wordsmith Press
- Live In Denver, 2004, 3XMsound
- For Mayor (Best of), 2003, 3XMsound
- Miscellaneous, 2003, 3XMsound
- Is Beautiful, 2001, 3XMsound (discontinued)
- Mighty, 2000, Bleeding Edge Spoken Word/3XMsound (discontinued)
Filmography
- Ill List Volume 1, 2004, Word Groove, Inc.
- 2003 National Poetry Slam, 2004, Word Groove, Inc.
- Russell Simmons' Present Def Poetry Jam (Season 5, Episode 34)
External links
- MikeMcGee.net
- Mike McGee's Livejournal
- PoetrySlam.com
- Scene Missing Magazine Interviews Mike McGee
- Gotpoetry.com article
- Cloudy Day Art: Saturday, March 18th, 2006 at 2:22 pm - Mighty Mike McGee video
- Feedburner: Mike McGee's Podcast
- San Jose Museum of Art - ArtCar Fest 2003, September 27, 2003 including performance by Mighty Mike McGee - "San Jose's own National Poetry Slam Champion".