Frank Messina, author of four books of poetry.....

Frank Messina Band

Frank Messina
Author of four books of poetry including the critically acclaimed Full Count: The Book of Mets Poetry and Disorderly Conduct, Messina's work tackles subjects relating to human nature including themes of love, struggle, war, civic responsibility and sports fanaticism. An avid baseball enthusiast, his baseball poetry has seeped into the realm of pop-culture, being the subject of debate and commentary on such programs as The Howard Stern Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live and SNY-TV's Mets Weekly, where Messina's Mets-related verse is set to the visual backdrop of glorious (and not so glorious) moments in Mets history. As a result, sports fans around the world refer to Messina as "The Mets Poet".

"A populist poet of academic influence", Messina's poetry has been featured on the front page of the New York Times, FOX News, PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, The CBS Early Show, SportsNet New York, Sports Illustrated and published in several poetry journals, college textbooks and magazines around the world.

His work appears in The Beloit Poetry Journal, The New York Times, Ground Zero: New Yorkers Respond, the 9/11 Peace Poetry Project, Long Shot Magazine, New York Press, Oxford Magazine, Published in Heaven Poster Series, Oxalis, Footwork: The Paterson Literary Review, Frank of Paris, Newark Writer's Journal, Idiom, and Promethean Press. He has been featured on National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Network. His 9/11-related poems, including Bicycle, have gained international attention and are included in the curriculum at several educational institutions including the University of London.

Photo: by Jeremy Hogan

Messina earned a B.A. in English from St. Thomas Aquinas College in 1990 and received The Woolrich Poetry Fellowship of Columbia University in 1993 where he studied under David Ignatow and later with Alan Dugan at the Poetry Writing Workshop at Indiana University. Messina was nominated for the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award in 1995. He currently serves on the Creative Advisory Board for the Jack Kerouac Project of Orlando Florida.

Messina first gained notoriety as the founder of the underground band, Spoken Motion, whose signature ability to fuse bold, lyrical content with eclectic jazz and experimental rock music helped catapult the fledgling 'Spoken Word' genre of the 1990's to commercial success. The group featured percussionist Larry McDonald, Elliott Levin of Cecil Taylor's Phthongas on sax and flute, Bob Susko on guitar, Wes Jensen on drums and bassist Joe Isgro.

Frank Messina & Spoken Motion's album, Biting the Tongue, includes special guest appearances by the legendary composer David Amram, jazz violinist Billy Bang of the Sun Ra Arkestra and Scott Murawski and Mark Mercier of Max Creek. The album made the Top 20 Spoken Word Chart immediately after its July, '98 release date and remained for 16 weeks. In addition, track 1 from the album, I Want to Hear Poetry, is included on the 1998 College Radio's Best of The Indies compilation CD. The same track hit #1 on the mp3.com Spoken Word Charts in April, 1999.

He also founded the all-star "Spoke n' Roll" band, OCTOPOET, in 1999. The experimental group has featured members of the Spin Doctors, Max Creek, Sun Ra, Gil Scott-Heron Band and Spoken Motion plus Mark Egan, saxophonist Erik Lawrence and vocalists Lucy Woodward, Dawn Lorentz and Chanda Rule. Spanning his career, Messina has recorded over 200 spoken word & music compositions including works from Biting the Tongue (1998), Absorb (1999), Rage (1999), The Long Road to Nowheresville (2004) and Walking Home (2007).

Messina has performed worldwide at notable venues such as Newark Symphony Hall, Madison Square Garden, The London International Poetry and Song Festival, The Louisville Center for the Arts, Hofstra University's Spiegel Theatre, Crossing Border Festival in the Netherlands, Bowery Poetry Club, Meer Dan Woorden Festival, Lollapalooza Festival, Woodstock `94, Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, The Knitting Factory, Nuyorican Poets' Cafe', Howlin' Wolf Club in New Orleans and several in-store performances at Tower Records, Barnes and Noble, and Borders Books and Music. Messina has also performed in Dublin, Ireland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Berlin, Germany; Reykjavik, Iceland; Newcastle on Tyne, UK; Edinburgh, Scotland; Prague, Czechoslovakia among other cities.

Messina has shared the stage with David Amram, Reg E. Gaines, Mark Egan, Buddy Cage, The Spin Doctors, Angus Calder, Billy Bang, Miguel Algarin, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Leo Kottke, Max Creek, Vince Welnick and Tom Constanten (Grateful Dead), Stir Fried, Lucy Woodward, Melvin Seals, Mike Gordon (Phish), Leo Nocentelli (The Meters), Allen Ginsberg, Merle Saunders, Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Bernie Worrell, Gil Scott-Heron, Melvin Sparks, The Last Poets, Moe, Jeff Pevar, Hal Sirowitz, Courtney Love, Ron Whitehead, Arnie Lawrence, Erik Lawrence, Vic Juris, John S. Hall, Paul Winter, Buzzy Linhart, Sonny Sharrock and many others. Messina has appeared in several feature films including Big Kahuna with Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito, The Hurricane, Freedom: A Poem for America and Shampoo Horns.

Messina is also a prolific painter, known to include shredded poems, pharmaceuticals and poppy seeds in his large, dramatic canvas works. As a burgeoning artist with an illustrious past, his paintings hang in the private collections of jazz musicians, writers, governors and fashion models around the world.


Bob Susko, Guitarist
Bob "Cantankerous Cowboy" Susko picked up the guitar at age 15. His formal training began with Robert Fripp of King Crimson and further studies with John Berenzy and Russ Defillippis. For the last fifteen years, Bob has played and recorded jazz with various groups including Derwin Holder, the bassist with Sonny Stitt and Sam Wayman, brother of Nina Simone. Bob came on board the Spoken Motion train in 1993.

Joe Isgro, Bassist
Bass player and loyal co-founder of Spoken Motion, Joe also also works with the acoustic band Charged Particles when the planets are aligned properly. Thankful to have collaborated on many musical voyages with the late, great guitarist Paul Thorbjarnarson; a shining star and a pillar of inspiration.

Elliott Levin, Saxophone and Flute
Born in 1953, Elliott Levin is a Philadelphia born and based jazz musician and poet. For ten years he toured the world with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, as saxophonist in The Sound of Philadelphia band. His poetry has been published in several periodicals including the LA Weekly, Blue Beat Jacket (Japan), The Painted Word, Po’ Fly, The Nile, Vital Pulse, Ozone, and Poets & Prophets. He regularly performs jazz and poetry with Gloria Tropp, Miguel Algarin, Cecil Taylor’s groups Phthongas and Unit Core Ensemble, New Ghosts, Interplay and Talking Free Be-Bop. His original music and poetry was recorded for broadcast throughout the USA as part of the New American Radio Series. Frank met Elliott in the summer of 1994 at the Lollapalooza festival in Philadelphia where Frank was booked as one of the featured spoken word artists. Elliott joined Frank and Courtney Love the night before at a local bar for some raucous stage antics and then reconvened the next day on the concert stage for some poetic and musical mayhem. Spoken Motion has never been the same since. Elliott appears on Cecil Taylor's latest album, Live in Berlin, on FMP Records.

Larry McDonald, Percussion
Born in Jamaica, the 'King of Sunshine' Larry McDonald grew up on the roots and rhythms of island music, calypso and reggae. In addition to recording with Frank Messina & Spoken Motion, Larry had recorded on over 25 albums including the works of Taj Mahal, Toots and The Maytals, The Skatalites, Gil Scott-Heron and Muta Baruka. He's performed regularly with Gil Scott-Heron's Amnesia Express for the past 20 years and has appeared on MTV's UnPlugged and The Jon Stewart Show. A fellow founder of Spoken Motion, Larry has been responsible, along with bass player Joe Isgro, for writing the music for several of Frank's early pieces including 'Father and Son in July', 'Song for the Poet' and 'Woman with a Handkerchief'.

Wes Jensen, Drums
Wes Jensen joined Spoken Motion in 1993, completing the jazz influenced rhythm section and adding his own unique style of playing. Aside from playing with Spoken Motion, Wes has put together a variety of musical projects over the years ranging from jazz to electronic music. Since 1986, he's been increasingly involved with electronic percussion and synthesizers and records his own music at his home studio. You can visit him at http://www.wesjensen.net/

Program:
Friday, March 5, Art House Productions presents JC Fridays, a citywide celebration of free arts and culture programs in Jersey City.
The Light Horse Tavern invites you to an evening with artist Frank Messina. As you may know, Messina incorporates cayenne, poppy seeds, pharmaceuticals and shredded poem-fragments into his large, mixed media works. While there, enjoy the fine food and spirits of Jersey City’s finest restaurant Light Horse Tavern 199 Washington St, Jersey City, NJ 201-946-2028. 6:00 PM. Free and Open to the Public.

March 23, "Amazin' Tuesday" at Two BootsTavern Frank reads from Full Count: The Book of Mets Poetry. More writers to be announced. Bring a Mets baseball card, get a free beer. Where else you gonna get a deal like that? Two Boots Tavern, 384 Grand St., between Norfolk and Suffolk. You can take the F to Delancey; the J, M or Z to Essex; or the B or D to Grand. Phone: 212/228-8685. 7PM

March 24-30, Louisville, KY, Frank appears at the Motherlodge Festival at First and Oak. More info announced soon.

April 1, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY Dante's 'Inferno' read the way he originally intended as part of the Maundy Thursday Vigil. Once again, this dramatic literary event will take place in the nave of the Cathedral, near The Poets’ Corner, with selected Cantos read by honored guests, distinguished poets, eminent translators, visiting scholars including William Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Palma, Frank Messina and others. The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski, Cathedral Dean, and Cathedral Poet-in-Residence Marilyn Nelson, host the event. Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave @ 112th St. New York. 9pm-midnight. free.
http://www.spokeface.com/bio.html