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tunes penned and produced by doned me," and poses the :Hayes, Robert Conley and question ''Am I unlovable/is Marius de Vries and recorded my skin untouchable/do I over the past year. remind you of a part of that was freestyle. Making up things on the spot is something that Mali enjoys to do in front of an audience.

Mali, whose performance was showcased on HBO, had a pleasure to perform for Cabrini College's audience. Mali put on an intense-continence-thought provokingslam poetry performance.

Unlike previous poets hosted by CAP Board, the atmosphere was not a typical coffee house setting for Mali.

It's noon on a sunny Sunday and a large group of Darren Hayes fans eagerly waits to enter 170 Varick Street. Inside they pile into elevators, which raise them to the 11th floor to Chung King Studios (famous for recording with artists like James Taylor, Bon Jovi. 'Pavarotti and Smashing Pumpkins), where they were to be among the first in the nation and the world to hear Darren Hayes' newest unreleased CD, The Tension.and The Spark."

If the name Darren Hayes sounds remotely. familiar. it may be because he wasthe formerwriter·and lead singer from the•popular Australian duo, Savage Garden. In March of 2002 Hayes made his solo debutwit'1the release of his last CD "Spin,"featuring the ~tely popular single lnsatiabte."

This wining summ¢r, Hayesplansto releasehis~ond -solo CD. "The Ten$i()ll and .The$park; with its first •single, "f()pular," sending out a jaded, cynical and comical look at fame these days including lyrics such as, "I don't want to keep my feet on the ground. I want to be popular," and "I'm willing to sleep my way to the top/I want to be popular."

·•rmsaying I'm willing to sleep rnyway to the top, and in a way that's what I'm doing with this song. "I don't know if you heard.it but at one point I say in the background 'I've just sold my soul."ffial'swhat the song's about." Hayes said to the Darren Ha~ street team members who were il)Vj~ t()• t;helistening•party on~-~18, The .•eager·strNJ this CD that sounded like "Of course I know that's Savage Garden songs, but not true, but there's times they wereall so good and now when you feel things like that he has more of a dance/club and I think it's a real feeling vibe. It's a much darker that people connect with and sounding CD." Daniel understand." Hayessaid.

"I didn't hear any songs on you/that you don't like?"

Pichardo, a long time fan of Other songs like "Hero." Hayes' songwriting, said. offer more insight into the

Laura Giorlando, director of contemporary issues, was in charge of planning to host Mali in the Weidner Venter Lecture hall. She organized the event at with the help of other CAP Board members who helped set up the event. His performance resembled a stand up comic setting, with a microphone and a bar stool and plenty to say. His theatrical movements kept the audience on the edge of their seats.

After Mi~ wayi (()¥1!#;,:, 0 '¾,aprN11!11il!S!lllllrirlW111!1-lllll~i!9)1iliellidlill~liil£611f llllllil1Je•~,ipromote the new CD with the of fame, citing "Ladies and street team, Darren Hayes gentlemen/listen up please/I entered the room full of nerv- don't want to be your hero." ous, shaking fans. to a flurry Other songs on the album of camera flashes to discuss offer hope, like the song what the fans liked and dis- "Light" which proclaims "I liked· about the album and have been cold, l have been also to answerany questions blind/you weresent to change the audiencebad. my mind/Ican putmy faith in

"Where do you get the you,.. and also the song "I courage. to allow everyone LikeThe-Way,"which holds into your head and J)ffiOnal the albums'title in its lyrics. thoughts?"one fan •asked. "I like the ~·• you move.in

"You can't think about it the dark/thetension, the tenthat way because you'd an.a- sion and the spark" )y2e it to death #nd. that "This albmn, is •almost wouldn't work," Hayessaid. more, •gothic • ~ng •then "What's YO\U'favorite song all the other albums rve oft' this •album?" New YOl'k worked on.but I do think it na~ Lara. said. has the kind of vibe that the

"The track "Unlovable,is first Savage Garden albl.Jm my favorite soag on •••the had.thoughit is very diff'erent album. If •you· listen from still," Hayessaid. • beginning.to the end•of the ''I lovedthis new album, I albumthe songs have a simi- can't wait for it to come out in lar feel.The only difference is stores so l can buy it. It's so toWardsthe beginningof the di.fferentbut it's so amazing at album I start blaming others the same time," Pichardo said. for my.innerproblems and as The listening party's f"male the albumprogresses you•see came too soon for the happy I startto take the responsibili- audience who booed wben ty for it and that's how it goes Hayes' manager announced for anger and emotions if that there was no more time you>Jlnotice," Hayes said. for questions. Hayes' manager

The.dark.feel of the album and assistant quickly brought stems from Hayes childhood elation back to the frazzled memories ,and tmotioos he's fans by announcing that each felt he's had to work•through fan could line up for an autoin his life. The lyrics poit)t this graphand picture with Darren out ftom. such• songs as the before the end of the party. mentioned, '"Unlovable.. For more mfonnation Which Haye$ writes "You about Danenli'ayes,or to join makeme feel UP IDYfatl1tr his street team, neverIQvt!dme/Youmakeme visit:http:llwww.darrenfoit1ti

CAP Board first heard of Mali as at a local National Association for College Activities. Executive board members got a sneak peek of Mali's performance at a convention that has samples of artist to perform on college campuses around the country. College students can relate to the simple everyday comparisons he uses to speak about abstract feelings. Mali dealing with topics such as Jove; one that he performed is called "Love is like owning a dog:" "Throw things away and love will bring them back, again, and again, and again. But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.

And in return, love loves you and never stops."

College students are also a focus of most of Mali's work because he wants to encourage students to pursue teaching after graduating.

His performance is more than just words. His poetry has story-telling-tactics that make the audience want to hear more. To make his story-telling more believable, he adds in several characters.

Mali used a piece of electronic equipment called loop to record his voice in different pitches and doing different imitations to play them back along with the stories adding sound effects to his work. This gave it a dynamic edge to give the audience an emotional performance.

Mali is used to performing for large audiences, but enjoyed Cabrini's small turnout. Cabrini's audience was lucky enough to witness the delivery of a new poem .

Conviction

Education is valued tremendously by Mali as not only a poet but a former teacher. Much of his work displays his strong passion for teaching. His mission statement is to get 1,000 college students to become teachers by the year 2006 Mali said.

Mali currently has a CD out titled, "Conviction." After Mali's performance he signed autographs for students. The CD fits in the category of Spoken Word/poetry. CDs were on sale for $10. His work is a lot clearer to hear it, rather than just reading the printed version. His way of delivering his work makes it more enjoyable. Keep your eyes out for him on the TV; you never know where he will pop up next.

To view his poetry visit, www.taylormali.com