The Antipoet

Biography

"A wry blend of anarchocynisism and comic observation." Jim Reaper - The Daily Rumour Paul and Ian have brought together the wit and wisdom of one of the countries finest performance poets with melodic rhythms of solo bass and the odd piece of gratuitous percussion thrown in for good measure to create the unique sound and spectacle that is The Antipoet. Paul is a Poet, Writer and Singer / Performer. His first collection 'LYRICAL QUIBBLE & QUIP' was published by JOKAT in 1999 and is currently available to download from thelisteningzone.com. Paul has featured in a number of anthologies and has a new collection entitled 'THE KULT OF THE KAZOO' published by Rrrants in 2009. He has gigged extensively, sharing stage space with such legends as John Hegley and Gerard Benson. Ian Newman aka 'The Bass Whore': the rhythmic half of The Antipoet partnership. Ian slaps out the riffs that Paul rambles over. Ian has played the bass for Rock, indie & Jazz bands, recently picking up the Double Bass to give the Antipoet it's unique sound. The Antipoet have toured with Laura Dockrill and performed along side David J, Elvis McGonagal, Attila the Stockbroker, Rachel Pantechnicon amoung many others. They are appearing at Larmer Tree 2010 and will be a mainstay of the Rrrants 2010 Bardaid Festival as part of the London Fringe.

Samples

'Holy Moses' Well there's this guy called Moses and all he can see is sand, he took his people on a journey to find the promised land. They called him 'mister charisma', his leadership was bold, they followed him into the desert on an exodus foretold. He was the man of the moment, their carrot on a stick, they would have followed him to Venus just to see him do his trick. ( the one with the waves and the slaves ) But his people started moaning, they'd been wandering too long, Should they stop to ask directions, what if his vision had been wrong? And so he stopped. Right there. In the middle of nowhere. And he looked around at the people in his care and he saw some worried faces, caught the odd defiant glare; a few mutinous stares, here was trouble brewing, of that he was aware.... He felt control was slipping fast; he was but one man and his rod, and so he told them he was going to have a word with God. And so he climbed the nearest mountain and he thought 'til he was sure that what his Israelites were missing was punishment and law. So he wrote them 10 commandments, thought he'd try a different tack, he said they all had to do his bidding or God would give them flack! So he stood there with a straight face; all innocence and grace, and not a trace of smugness while he sol them the case, for subservience to this big angry beardy guy who sits there up in space, and who'd smite them for even thinking of stepping out of place. But what this story has to tell us is that it's freedom that you chase, be careful that it isn't just the dictator you replace!

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.