THE BLUEBOTTLES, with Stephen Campiglio July 8, 2011

THE BLUEBOTTLES, with Stephen Campiglio, spoken word; Matthew Bister, piano;

and Jay Wood, drums & percussion

Stephen Campiglio was the featured poet in the Summer 2008 issue of Italian Americana and a finalist in the 2009 Bordighera Poetry Book Prize. His work has also appeared in Caduceus, Calapooya, Ekphrasis, The Lumberyard Journal, Natural Bridge, Sahara, Urban Spaghetti, and The Worcester Review, among others, with work forthcoming in the anthology, New Hungers for Old: 100 Years of Italian American Poetry and in the New England Jazz History Database (www.jazzhistorydatabase.com). Since 2005, he has served as program associate for Credit-Free Programs in Continuing Education at Manchester Community College in CT, where he founded and coordinates the Mishi-maya-gat Spoken Word & Music Series. For more information on the Series, please visit: www.mcc.commnet.edu/faculty/spoken.php.



Matthew Bister has been part of the Connecticut music scene for nearly twenty years. He has played in several bands, including Adelle, Mixed Bag, Drop City, and Manchester’s own Supergreen. He has proven himself as a performer, and equally important, as a supporter of live music. A multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, Matthew’s passion lies in experimental, avant-garde jazz. Whether it’s guitar, Hammond organ, Rhodes, or acoustic piano, his exploration of sounds and ideas are often through rhythmic and dissonant expression. Using both electronic effects and manipulation of the instrument itself, his original compositions and improvisational techniques are best heard live and in person. His most current project, Gaslight Experience, co-founded with drummer Jay Wood, demonstrates this exactly. For more information, please visit him on Facebook.

Jay Wood graduated from the Jazz Studies/Percussion program at the University of North Texas, after which he played in variety of bands in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, including with Edie Brickell, Hillary Tipps, and Catapult. In 1999, he co-founded The Kelvins, an original rock band that garnered considerable success in New England and which was nominated three years in a row for Best Original Rock Band, with Jay nominated as Best Drummer. The Kelvins were the opening act for Living Colour in New Haven, Boston, and Northampton. He has also traveled and played all over New England with the highly successful Jimmy Buffett tribute band, Changes in Latitudes. He is a drum instructor for Dynamic Percussion in Manchester, CT, as well as for Credit-Free Programs at Manchester Community College, and continues to play with various acts in the CT area. For more information, please “friend” Jay on Facebook.

Deinstitutionalized

She rubs the coins
together in her hand,
as if something further
were contained in the metal.
Her face almost changes
into an expression of thanks.
But then her invisible team of huskies
(and so I must see them too)
yanks at the toy reins
in her other hand;
the empty collars magically alive.
She lurches forward
with playful banter
and trots to other customers
in the snowy, fast-food,
lunchtime parking lot
before steering her sled
into line at the drive-thru.