Van Slam
featuring Electric John

Events, Van Slam

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

June 2nd will mark the beginning of the summer season of Van Slam.

Our feature will be Electric John from Toronto.

‘Electric’ Jon Negrych began his career as a Winnipeg teenage polka sensation in 1987, playing tenor saxophone and singing in the Legion band, Fantasia.

From 1989-1993, he spent 4 years redefining college radio @the University of Winnipeg while attaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Performance.

In the mid-nineties while recording spoken word experiments on a Fostex 4-track recorder in a Winnipeg basement with Jason Eastwood and Richard Altman, Jon turned calling bingo in a Manitoba casino into performance bingo with a twisted Vegas flare. Studying the beat writers of the 50’s as well as experiments with pot and LSD moulded the psychedelic template that would become the creatively limitless benchmark of this young writers vision.

After moving to the Centre of the Universe, he ran the experimental multi-media reading series Dimentia 5 in downtown Toronto for nearly two years.

He currrently fronts the cyber-tronic hip hop group of tomorrow known as Destructicus Prime., along with fellow P-word and MC Spencer Butt.

Jon is also working on a cy-fi graphic novel, Carefully Sealed in the Margarine Container and an album of original honkey-tonk songs. ‘Electric’ Jon practices a form of literary voodoo and is self educated in semiotics.

There is also an Open Slam with Cash and Prizes
Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
Still only $5 at the door

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!