September durham3

September in Durham means it is time for Pride and no one has more pride in Durham than durham3. We’ll celebrate Pride and Durham with an event that highlights the queerest art scene around at the Duke Coffeehouse on East Campus at 8pm on Saturday, September 24th. The September durham3 will feature music by Rachel Lee Walsh; poetry by Carrboro’s Poet Laureate and Blue Door founder, Todd Sandvik; performance art from artist and activist Randall Williams; spoken word by Sista Rhonda Reese, and film shorts from Todd Tinkham and Tinkham Town Productions. We’ll end the evening with an open mike and a, by now almost mandatory, door prize drawing. Doors open at 7:30, the event gets swinging at 8pm, open mike is first come, first serve, and don’t forget the Duke Coffeehouse is BYOB. There is a 2$ cover and there will be an artist’s table chockfull of brilliance when you like what you hear. The Duke Coffeehouse is located in the Crowell Building on East Campus, right around the corner from the main Pride stage. See their website http://www.duke.edu/web/coffeehouse/directions.html , give them a call at 684-4069 or visit us at the durham3 blogspot http://www.durham3.blogspot.com/ for directions. For other information contact Amy Nolan at amycnolan@hotmail.com or Tanya Olson at olson@vgcc.edu. durham3 urges you to enjoy the day’s Pride activities http://www.ncpride.org/pride/index.shtml before coming out and joining us. Most importantly, during these times, durham3 reminds you that celebrating the work of artists might be the queerest thing you could do. durham3 is sponsored in part by the Carolina Wren Press http://carolinawrenpress.org/index.php3

Rachel Lee Walsh- Drawing on her rock, folk, country, and blues musical influences, Rachel Lee Walsh creates songs that have been cited as beautiful and dreamy, yet dark and gritty. With just her guitar and a powerful and outstanding voice, she casts out compelling songs about her own life and the world around her. Her characters often know the struggles of growing up poor and abused, dealing with crazy families, trying to make ends meet, longing for great love, and trying to find a little place of happiness in the sun. After years of playing guitar and singing in various bands in New York City, Rachel stepped out into the front with her own writing and performing as a singer-songwriter in 2001. New York venues Rachel has performed in include The Williamsburg Public House, The Gallery at CBGB’s, Arlene’s Grocery, The Local, 9C, Superfine, and Freddy’s Backroom. In 2004, she moved her home base back down South to concentrate on touring venues in the region. Currently, she lives in Asheville, North Carolina. Visit her website at http://www.rachelleewalsh.net/

Todd Sandvik- Todd Sandvik is currently the Poet Laureate of Carrboro, North Carolina. He hosts The Blue Door reading series, a nocturnal companion to Desert City Poetry events. He is a member of Lucifer Poetics Group.

Randall Williams- Randall Williams is a freelance reporter, anti-war activist and member of the Lucifer Poetics Group. He lives in Hillsborough, N.C. His articles, poems and literary reviews have appeared or are forthcoming in McSweeney's, Salon, The Independent, Word /for Word, Displayer and Gut Cult. Since 2001, he has taught journalism and creative writing in the Office of Continuing Studies at Duke University. Junk Horse Press published his two chapbooks Empire and 40 Days in 2003 and 2004. His most recent news article dealt with the U.S. Army's tactic of landing Blackhawk helicopters outside high schools as a recruitment strategy.

Rhonda Reese- Rhonda Reese- Sista Rhonda Reese is a local social activist, a spoken word artist and a member of the Bull City Slam team. Her spoken word CD, Neverending, is now available and she is working on her 2nd CD entitled Broken Silence, to be released in Jan. '06.

Todd Tinkham- Todd Tinkham is a local filmmaker and at the center of Tinkham Town Productions. TTP is an independent film production company, specializing in creating short and feature films just outside the norm. Founded in 2004 by a committed group of writers, actors and filmmakers, Tinkham Town Productions strives to create the best in fiction and non-fiction shorts and features. Visit them at http://www.tinkhamtown.org/

durham3 is a series of multi-media events that bring together a variety of artists. The series is interested in using the physical and psychological thirdspace qualities of Durham to foster collaboration between artistic communities in Durham and the Triangle. Ultimately, this series would also like to aid Durham in defining its own artistic identity. Towards that end, each event will feature poets, performers, spoken words artists, visual artists, musicians, and dancers from across the Triangle.