Not My Greatest Moment EP out now on bandcamp, and CD available!

Not My Greatest Moment EP.

A departure from No-No Project volume I, the “Not my greatest moment” EP is the grainy enlargement of a snapshot taken from the metro blue line in East LA, a comment on the opioid crisis, and a call out to the appropriation of indigenous themes and aesthetics from Attack Bear Press co-founder and writer Jason Montgomery. The EP features stripped down and haunting soundscapes from Union St. Records founder Kevin Walker. Walker blends the words with traditional and nontraditional instrumentation to create a musical experience that captures and amplifies the lonely resignation in this collection.

credits

released July 20, 2019

license

all rights reserved

This EP is brought to you through a generous grant from the Amherst Cultural Council, and the Masscultural Council.

The No-No Project

"This is the music" – Steven Jesse Bernstein

What is the No-No Project?

In 1991 the American underground writer and performance artist Steven Jesse Bernstein recorded a raw live session at Monroe, Washington State Penitentiary Special Offenders unit. Although the original recordings seemed unusable, Subpop Records contracted Steve Fisk to finish the project without the involvement of Bernstein whose mental health, and substance abuse issues were spiraling out of control. Working alone, and with various musicians from the Subpop label, Fisk scored the performance with jazz and other music creating powerful and compelling “Soundscapes”. The album titled Prison was released a year after Bernstein’s suicide, and though the two artist hardly met, the resulting work is a challenging tour de force by two men that really didn’t have much to do with each other.

The No-No Project, whose name is inspired by one of Steven Jesse Bernstein’s poems, follows the legacy of his work with Subpop recordings. Local Poets from across the Pioneer Valley will be invited to come and record their work at the home studios of Union St. Records. The artists at Union St. Records, with the permission of the poet, will use the recordings to create musical soundscapes of their own.

Live Shows and Spin-Offs

The No-No Project has grown passed it’s beginnings as a studio project. The Poets and Union St. Records have been playing out across the Pioneer Valley. With spin-off shows like at Cultural Chaos 2018, or full shows like Amherst Poetry Festival, The Root Cellar and the Northampton Block Party, the No-No Project has been hustling to bring our spoke word to the world.

CD Release: Volume 2

The No-No Project Volume 2 is right around the corner keep your eyes on our Instagram and Facebook for more details!

Recording Session One:

Adam Grabowski’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in jubliat, The Rattling Wall, Off the Coast, Beech St. Review, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, and elsewhere. He received his MSW in 2012 from Westfield State University and is a host/organizer with the formidable Northampton Poetry, where he runs a poetry workshop. Adam’s latest chapbook is The Washing Our Hands EP is available through his website. He lives with wife and daughters in Holyoke, Ma. www.adamgrabowskipoetry.wordpress.com

Catherine Weiss: “In 2012, I started writing poetry. Because I love the sound of my own voice, and engaging in processes that grant me forms of validation, I started participating in open-mics and slam competitions.

I write about topics like mental illness, fatness, gender, and occasionally other things that either grind my gears or make me weepy. Sometimes I'm funny.

I've performed several features and I'm interested in booking more in the future. OMG HINT.” Bookings, and other inquires: http://www.catherineweiss.com/contact/

Recording Session Two:

Ruben Palacio: Bio Coming Soon!

Taliani Alexander: My name is Taliani Alexander Acevedo, I am from the Caribbean, the island of Puerto Rico, city of birth, Ponce. I am an American. My educational includes, an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Community College, Bachelor Degree in Liberal Studies, Westfield State University, and a Master’s Degree in Social Work, Springfield College. I am Fantasy Artist, Painter, Muralist, Singer, Songwriter, Music Producer, Actor, and Poet. My belief is that we all come together respectfully in peace, and learn to make a positive change for all humanity, through healing and love.

Nathalie Vicencio: Bio Coming Soon!

Crosby Girón: A Guatemalan journalist and author. He has worked as director of Inforpress Centroamericana magazine (2007-2010) and he currently writes for a number of digital publications including Albedrio.org and Publicogt.com. He also studied a postgraduate studies in sociology in Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México. He has published short stories and poetry in several Guatemalan literary magazines. He is the author of El Hijo del Ángel y Otros Relatos (Son of an Angel and other stories).
Contact: crosbycrosby@gmail.com
Cel no. 2221 575389 (Puebla, México)

Periodista y narrador guatemalteco. Actualmente es corresponsal para la revista Noticen (New Mexico). Trabajó como director de la revista Inforpress Centroamericana (2007-2010) y para diversas publicaciones, incluyendo Albedrio.org y Publicogt.com, entre otras. Realizó estudios de posgrado en sociología en la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México. Ha publicado relatos y poesía en revistas literarias de Guatemala. Es autor del libro de cuentos El Hijo del Ángel y Otros Relatos, y el libro de poemas Glifos.
Contact: crosbycrosby@gmail.com
Cel no. 2221 575389 (Puebla, México)

Alexandra M. Woolner: Alexandra is a Massachusetts native but it has been said that likenesses have been found painted on taco shop walls across Asia and Europe. She received her B.A. in English from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2007, and her M.A. in International Education from SIT Graduate Institute in 2014.  She has been published in Concordia University's The Promethean, and her work has appeared at MCLA's Gallery 51.  In 2016 Alexandra co-founded Attach Bear Press with Jason R. Montgomery. In April 2017 she will participate in Easthampton, MA's Bookfest where she will get her typewriter nerd on with an unsuspecting public. When not poeting, she can be seen lurking in the Sergio Aragones section of comic book shops, repairing typewriters, convincing brave young youth to spend a good chunk of their academic careers abroad, and gently annoying her cat. This summer Alexandra plans to fall down the stairs at a Motel 6 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She intends to be done by November 25th.
Contact: attackbearpress@gmail.com

Miranda Wiley: is a local artist, musician, and poet with a flair for controversy. Currently residing in a junk punk house in Belchertown while she finishes her degree, Miranda spends most of her time reading, filling crossword puzzles, and preparing for the inevitable End of Days. She has fronted several Metal bands including Mold Spores and Showhorses, and is currently pursuing her ever-evolving solo act, Hypnagogia. In 2015, she joined the WMass DIY Calendar team and has been in charge of producing the monthly release since then. Her love for word-smithing began at a young age, though her passion for spoken word has been flourishing following her initial introduction by the Northampton Open Mic Poetry group in 2012.

Recording Session Three:

Miguel Bacho Cabezas was born in Iquique, Chile, in 1986. There, he participated in several local initiatives, such as Literary Caravans to Cochabamba and La Paz, Bolivia in 2010. In 2013, the Universidad Nacional de Lanús Press in Argentina published his first book of poems, Papeles Sueltos. Half of this printing was sent to Iquique’s public Libraries. Between August and October of 2016, Miguel collaborated with the website www.viceversa-mag.com in the section Crónicas Urbanas. He is currently working on his second book, Labores, which he hopes to publish in 2017. In addition to his manuscript, Miguel is finishing his website www.miguelbacho.com, a selection of articles, poetry and collaborations. Miguel currently resides in Providence, RI. For Bookings and other inquires: miguelbacho@gmail.com

Camila Carpio: Bio Coming Soon!

Recording Session Four:

Robbie Dunning: Robbie Dunning is a sparkly ethereal mess, poet, and vitamin knowledge extraordinaire living in Northampton, MA. Born and raised in rural Virginia, they attended Smith College and subsequently made Massachusetts their home. Robbie has competed at the 2015 and 2016 National Poetry Slams as well as the 2016 Individual World Poetry Slam. Their work covers gender, trauma, birth, teaching, and can be found online in the SlamChop podcast and Voicemail Poems. Their first chapbook, Up All Night In Worship, can be found at Northampton Poetry on any given Tuesday. For booking, email rlwdunning@gmail.com, follow them on Twitter at RobbieLWD and on Facebook as Robbie Dunning!

Lauren Singer is a native New Yorker living in Western Massachusetts by way of Chicago. Her poetry has been published in Nerve House, Bareback, Feel the Word, Read This, Kosmosis, One Night Stanzas, and other literary magazines across the country. Lauren is a staff judge for WinningWriters.com, has been a featured guest attendant for a TedX youth conference, and maintains a weekly creative writing group for trauma survivors. In 2015 she received her MSW at the University of Chicago, is a graduate of Bard College at Simon's Rock and an attendee of the New York State Summer Writer's Institute. She has self-published three chapbooks, and received an honorable mention in the 2011 Wergle Flomp humor poetry contest. In addition to her creative interests, Lauren works as a mental health clinician and therapist in Holyoke, MA and is on the board of directors of the Prison Birth Project. Lauren prides herself on her wealth of useless knowledge, namely of nineties R&B lyrics, and she can pretty much quote "The X-Files".
 

Tara Jean Bernier walked into an open mic in August of 2012, and never left. Currently, she is the slam master and co-host of the weekly Northampton Poetry open mic. Mama of a Kai and Keegan, she is not above using their antics as source material for her work. Incidentally, this led to her recent inclusion in the anthology, The Good Mother Myth published by Seal Press in 2014.