San Diego Slam Team Rises to the Call Again!

Earlier tonight, Team San Diego made history. The team (Ant Black, Deacon Blair, Gill SOTU, Brian Debenedictis, and Slam Master/Coach Chris Wilson) went head up against heavyweight and favorite New York-Urbana, first-time powerhouse Boston-Lizard Lounge, and soft-spoken Springfield in their second bout. The team not only held their own, they won the bout.

For the first time in the history of San Diego Slam team history, the team is undefeated in its first 2 bouts and advance to the semi-final round tomorrow (Friday). It was a hard hill to climb and the other teams made it very competitive. Once again, Ant Black, this time with Brian Debenedictis, set the bout off with the first poem of the night. It was the only team piece (Mr. President) of the bout and scored a little low (26.0), but set the team up to raise the bar in later rounds. In the second round Gill SOTU performed a flawless rendition of "Moments of Sincerity" and received the high score (28.4) of the round. Deacon Blair performed "Job Security" in the third round and had the audience on their feet by the end of his performance. He also received the highest score in his round (28.6) and was eventually the highest scorer in the bout! In the last round of the bout, Ant Black performed a very emotional poem, "Alone" and was rewarded with the second highest score (27.3)in the final round (only .10 away from the highest score of 27.4).

Over the course of the preliminary bouts, the San Diego team has only lost two of the eight rounds of competition. The hard work and preparation in San Diego and many tune-ups at Elevated! helped the team in adjusting to shifting dynamics and judging standards that all teams deal with. However, the San Diego team has discovered a brand new secret weapon. We are throwing "seven different kinds of smoke" when we take the stage. Hopefully we will continue on to the finals. Right now we are just taking it one step at a time and we are focused on the semi-final bout tomorrow.

Please stay tuned for more updates and please leave a comment. Your energy and enthusiam is greatly appreciated and is very helpful in keeping the team motivated.

HOW YA FEEL SAN DIEGO???? WE ARE ELEVATED! IN MADISON, WI.

San Diego Slam Team Rises to Victory!

Last night in a small midwest town a small whisper turned into a loud roar. The San Diego Slam team let the world know that San Diego has something to say. In its first trip to the National Poetry Slam since 2001, the San Diego Slam Team enjoyed the sweet taste of victory in its first bout. Going up against very talented teams from Fayetteville, Montevallo, and Maui, the San Diego team performed four individual pieces.

With Ant Black kicking off the bout, he set the bar high, winning his round with a flawless delivery of "The Cuts." The team followed his lead, winning every round. In the second round Deacon Blair overcame the nervous jitters of a first-timer's performance in the national spotlight and performed "Mario Brothers", a brand new poem. Wowing the judges and the audience with a stellar performance of "Stars," Gill SOTU took the stage in the third round. Closing out the bout, Brian Debenedictis received the highest scores of the night for "Jack Your Mind Up."

The night was worthy of celebration and the team hooked up with the Hollywood Slam team, who placed second in their bout against NY-Urbana. It's been a good trip so far and last night made it even better. It was good for both teams to taste success in their first round bouts. Things are looking good for Southern California Poetry in Madison. Both teams are scheduled for their next bout on Thursday at 10 pm (central) and 8 pm on the left coast. Stay tuned for more updates.