Are You The Talk of Orladno? Touch the Mic

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ORLANDO UNITY AWARDS RETURNS APRIL 2013

Do you prefer to host?

“It’s kinda hard to say I like one type of art more than another. Any time I’m in front of the mic, you will get all the elements of me an artist. I might sing, crack jokes, tell a story, play or recite all while hosting. I might have you crying from a deep poem one minute and singing with a smile the next. I can’t say I likedoing one more than any other but I can say I have a lot more confidence when doing poetry now. (laughing)” Where & when?

Did you think it would ever get this big or popular?

By Kris Kinville of TalkofOrlando.com

TOUCH the MIC THURSDAY’S

DEVERY BROOX

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www .flyerpromonow. com

As a writer & poet myself, I craved a poetry environment when I moved to Orlando so many years ago. Fortunately for many like me, patience is the key! In the last 2 years I have had the great pleasure to watch “Touch the Mic” Thursday’s grow from a small audience at Café Annie’s grow to the ideal location of the Majestic with a capacity of 1500 people. The reason? Devery Broox’s determination.

He would never take all the credit, but being in promotions myself, I appreciate the work that this singular man has put into creating a positive family & community oriented event for ALL artists to express themselves. He saw a need and fulfilled it. Not just for himself, but for all of us. Even when he realized it was growing faster than he imagined, he focused instead of saying it was too much to handle.

Your community “Thanks You!” sir for providing an event “where the inspired…inspire”! & Orlando wouldn’t be as beautiful without it! If you are an artist looking for a supportive community, “Touch the Mic” is your home. For those that fell in love with performance poetry, here it is live & in your face! Yes, Orlando has evolved!

When was touch the mic born & why?

“It was a vision of a collage of different types of shows that existed in 2010. Cece’s “Sunday Night Live” & “Dirty Word” were great events that had stopped and I wanted to create an event to fill in that void. I wanted to incorporate all art forms of performance; poetry, dance, hip hop, music and art. To keep that cozy/intimate vibe and a presence of community, to have everyone who attends know each other by name. It now goes way beyond what we do on Thursday’s. From community barbeques & game nights to our 1st annual “family vacation” trip coming up. What is even more surprising is, it was all “word of mouth” that made us grow! It wasn’t until this past year with our contract with DISH network & AfroEntertainment that we started to use major forms of promotions.”

“I wasn’t even thinking it all the way through when I created it. It is definitely a bigger project than what I thought it would be. But I saw a need here in central Fl and that’s why I stuck with it. It’s a really good, raw, underground type of entertainment. People actually get to know you. At any given time, anyone in the audience can become an artist.

That’s the way it grows. Someone who has been coming out for weeks to watch will decide to put their name on the list to perform. Out of the 3 people who attend, at least 1 of those is going to return every week. Now that I have seen it grow so much in such a short time, I can see it doing BIG things. We grew only from word of mouth & free internet promotion avenues initially. This year we will be using more types of promo such radio and TV. Since last June we have been aired on Afrotainment on Dish network.

We are now nationally & international known just because of that avenue. I get hit up from artists/supporters from all over, even Africa. There is even an Andriod App for Afrotainment that a fan can download live/tapped shows to their phones.

Every Thursday 8:30 to 1am @ Majestic Event Center 801 North John Young Parkway Orlando, FL 32804 Shouts OUTs Of course Talkoforlando.com who has always supported me, all the “Touch the Mic” family, HAYA - Helping All Youth Achieve with Charlie Patterson & Mike Scott, all the other open mic shows in central FL, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church with Rev. Pastor Jones, After Dark - the band, and of course my GOD & family who are always there for me.

Contact Info www.touchthemic.com, at twitter @deverybroox @touchthemic @afterdark407 , at facebook Devery Broox or Touch the Mic Thursdays

Do I hear a dream of Syndication? “(laughing) Absolutely! You don’t see this kind of talent/ artist performance shows on TV anymore. We are definitely striving for syndication. As a matter of fact we are having the next show taping at the Shakespeare Theater downtown Orlando 1/28th. If you want to be a part of the audience go to Touchthemic.com to register. I’m also on radio am1400 Mondays 5-6pm with “What’s Happening?” Gospel Radio.”

What got you into performance poetry?

“I really was introduced thru seeing Def Poetry Jam on TV. That’s when performance poetry caught my attention. Up until then I was more a singer/song writer. When I was creating “Touch the Mic” I had Terance Jones be the original host because I wanted to inspire the poet audience with a host who was actually a poet. It was a perfect fit but after a while his schedule became too busy, so I had to pick up the mic/torch. I still felt like a poet was necessary to fill that role, so I started to perform & refine my craft. It wasn’t until I actually started performing it that I fell in love!” www .flyerpromonow. com

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