Introduction Who are we? The Southern Collective Experience is a group of photographers, visual artists, prose writers, graphic designers, poets, and musicians. We share a similar, smart, gritty song in our hearts and refuse to shoot anywhere but straight. - Clifford Brooks, Founder
What are The Collective Sessions? The Collective Sessions are designed with you, the customer, in mind. Through use of this brochure, you can create a show specifically for your venue. We deliver what’s expected—and provide radio exposure locally, with NPR available; professional photos of events; film of event; advertising space in our magazine, as well as a story write up.
The Five Core The members of The Collective you are most likely to see at the events include:
Clifford Brooks Clifford Brooks is a teacher, freelance writer, and poet living in North Georgia. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and Georgia Author of the Year for his first book, The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics. Clifford’s next book, Athena Departs, is currently in the last stages of editing. Amazon.com: The Draw of Broken Eyes & Whirling Metaphysics Facebook /// Twitter /// Instagram /// Other
Peter Ristuccia Peter Ristuccia is an entrepreneur and author. He is the Founder and CEO of Firefly Telecommunications, LLC - an international technology start-up company. He is also a historian, novelist, poet and essayist whose work has been featured on National Public Radio. Before he started his own business, he attended the University of Georgia, where he earned a BA in History. Through social media, he actively spreads awareness of art-history, a passion of his. Facebook
Matt Youngblood Matt Youngblood is a brother like no other. He's the co-owner and DJ for WYYZ 1490 AM The Croc, and better half of the Collective's radio show, Dante's Old South. He is perceptive to an uncanny level, dedicated, highly intelligent, and a satirist to rival Swift. WYYZ 1490 AM The Croc Facebook
Genesis the Greykid Russell McGee Jr (better known as Genesis the Greykid) is an artist, creative, activist, philosopher, and poet. He runs a poetic / creative workshop called “Words In Grey.” His first book, "Words In Grey," is a collection of his poetry. He was recently featured on the new Muhammad Ali Documentary: Peoples Champ (with Jim Brown, Nas, TI, Sway, Tyrese, J Ivy, LL Cool J, and many more) that aired on BET and opened the Urbanworld Fillm Festival. Amazon.com: Words in Grey
Jennifer Avery Jennifer Avery is one of the original members of the Collective. She is a poet and novelist who’s making a powerful statement in the world of letters. Her kindness, wit, and intellect are invaluable to our team. God bless her indomitable soul. Facebook
The Managers Tracy Kincaid Tracy Kincaid has been living in the fast lane of “Corporate America” for the past 16 years. In the 24/7 cutthroat business world of fresh bulk commodity sales, she finds very little down time to do much of anything else. In this role, she has had the pleasure of padlocking some very key contacts/friendship from the West to East Coast, and even abroad from time to time. What free time she is able to find, she utilizes by releasing her creative alter ego in a soft, tactful, southern sassy way. This is thrown against the wall in the form of poetry and short story writings, visional arts, home décor, and event consulting. Tracy dabbled in an accounting curriculum at Pickens Tech (when it was named as such) but was thrown wide open into Corporate America shortly after and was unable to finish her pursuit of a degree there. Opportunity called and she took it by the horns like she does anything else that may find its way into her path! This journey has served her well over the years and built relationships and self-reflection that is everlasting. Holly Holt Holly Holt is a Jack of all trades (or, rather, a Jill). She writes both poetry and prose, while running Southern Muse Publishers, which is dedicated to blending art with literary endeavors. She is currently enrolled at Kennesaw State University. Her major? Management. Yet, this isn’t the sole reason she is a manager for The Collective; her demeanor is calm, firm, yet fair— the momma traits needed to control a group of heathens. Facebook /// Twitter /// Instagram /// Tumblr
The managers are charged with making sure everything is in order. With that said, once you have finished perusing the brochure and selected members that you want at your venue, please complete the form found through the link below:
The Collective Sessions
Dante’s Old South
The Blue Mountain Review Read these pages. Know our truth. Breathe, with us, into the future. http://issuu.com/thebluemo untainreview/docs/the_blue _mountain_review_issue_1
Southern Muse Services Read our first issue Southern Muse Publishers. The perfect blend of art and the written word, all in one place. http://issuu.com/southernm usepublishers/docs/the_colle ctive_expression
The Merchandise Drop in and visit the online shop for The Southern Collective Experience! You'll find unique merchandise with the official logo on t-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers, and more. http://www.cafepress.com/thesou therncollectiveexperience
TABLE OF CONTENTS ARTISTS Brent Ellis .................................................................................. Page 1 Crespo ........................................................................................ Page 1 Ka-Son Reeves ........................................................................... Page 2 Loki LaVay ................................................................................. Page 2
MUSICIANS Bennie Beatsmith Medore Lussier .............................................. Page 3 D. L. Yancey II............................................................................. Page 3 Seth Turner................................................................................. Page 4 Wyatt Espalin ............................................................................. Page 4
WRITERS Asha Gowan ................................................................................ Page 5 Chani Zwibel ............................................................................... Page 5 Felino Soriano ............................................................................ Page 6 James Murdock .......................................................................... Page 6 Jamez Chang ............................................................................... Page 6 Kenneth Farmer ......................................................................... Page 7 Michael Cowan ........................................................................... Page 7 Scott Thomas Outlar .................................................................. Page 7 TC Carter .................................................................................... Page 8 William Tribell ........................................................................... Page 8
PHOTOGRAPHER Matthew Polsfuss ........................................................................ Page 9
ACTOR Brendon Earp ............................................................................. Page 9
Artists Brent Ellis
Brent Ellis is an artist with wild skill who has served 20+ years as a member of the law enforcement.
Crespo Crespo, self-taught photographer and fine art painter, has participated in numerous exhibitions in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey (also under the pseudonym "Morgan"). She has served as gallery coordinator for the Pocono Arts Council, and has served as cocurator for several group art exhibitions at the 1199SEIU Gallery in NYC. She continues to exhibit her art in the New York metro area.
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Ka-Son Reeves
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Ka-Son Reeves cultivated his natural artistic ability by watching his father (a portrait artist) and eldest brother (a graffiti artist). Since then, he has participated in over 30 group and solo exhibitions in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. His work is included in permanent gallery collections and private collections. He is also author of a collection of poetic verse titled “A Poet-Whore, Pimped By Pain�, published by Whimsical Publications, LLC.
Loki LaVay
Loki LaVay was born among the corn in Illinois, where there wasn't much inspiration. Her mother was an artist and she would sit and look at her drawings for hours learning every line. Art became her reality. As a child, she dreamed of going to art school and becoming a proper artist, but realized that was not her path. Her path has many potholes, but it is the path that allows her to reach her full artistic potential. Her conviction: I am living art.
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Musicians Bennie Beatsmith Medore Lussier
Bennie Beatsmith Medore Lussier is a family man first and foremost. Secondly, he’s a sample-based beatsmith who produces tracks for 3rd Phloor Productions and Balance Brothers! He also handles the upcoming Southern Collective Soundcloud page, which will feature a vast array of music and spoken word projects.
D. L. Yancey II
D.L. Yancey II is an acclaimed engineer, songwriter, and educator from Hampton Roads Va. In 2010 he recorded a hip hop/neo soul mixtape on which he worked and recorded with Grammy award winning record producer Lex Lucazi. He released “Resurrected: The Mixtape” in 2011. In 2014 he released his debut single “Mr. Soul.” Recently in 2015 he developed a youth arts program titled “Math Is Art”, where he helps the local youth explore math through its relationship to music, and the visual arts. In addition to “Math Is Art,” he is currently working on a web based reality show with wife, Ayanna Yancey, which serves as a creative ministry for relationships/marriages. Be on the lookout for D.L. Yancey in 2016 as he plans to release his debut EP “Just A Sketch” this fall, along with his first book titled “Fortune Cookie 360”. His single, “Mr. Soul”, is available on Cd Baby, Amazon, and Rhapsody. Personal Website Page 3 of 9
Seth Turner
Lucian Seth Turner of Rome, Georgia is a lifelong musician, songwriter, and scoundrel. He became a brother in The Southern Collective Experience in late 2013. Happily married with two beautiful daughters, Lucian tours with his band, The Strange, and never forgets to ride the jam out. Soundcloud
Wyatt Espalin
Wyatt Espalin began entertaining audiences in his hometown of Hiawassee, Georgia as early as age eleven. He first paired with his brother Matt to become “The Fiddling Brothers,” then with Cobi Ferguson to form the acclaimed Americana duo, “Trees Leave.” With this experience under his belt, Wyatt found a new setting fit for a more personal level of songwriting, and his solo debut album, The Pardon (April, 2013), was born.
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Writers Asha Gowan
Asha Gowan hails from Carrboro, NC. As a freshman currently attending the University of North Carolina at Asheville, she intends to major in Literature with a possible concentration in Creative Writing. She has a wide range of far-reaching interests that have enriched the content of her prose and poetry. Scaling down the excess, hers is a struggle for truth, its beauty, and her own version of its music through a developing method: restless curiosity.
Chani Zwibel
Chani Zwibel spent her first 18 years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but now calls Marietta, Georgia, home. She writes and gardens in a little red brick house. Married to Evan Butler, she and her husband are parents to a lovely blue pitbull named Loki.
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Felino Soriano
Felino Antonio Soriano’s work finds its foundation in created coöccurrences, predicated on his strong connection to various idioms of jazz music. His poetry appears in varied online and print publications. He lives in California with his wife and family and is the director of supported living and independent living programs providing supports to adults with developmental disabilities. Links to his poems, books, interviews, images, etc. can be found at http://www.felinoasoriano.info/.
James Murdock
James Murdock is a poet, essayist, and songwriter currently residing in North Jasper County (south of Athens, Georgia). His love for self-expression has burgeoned upon an ardent kinship for the wisdom of American Transcendentalism. He is an advocate of things natural, wild, and free, and his poetry tends to revolve around themes of space, unity, and momentary glances of a surreal and cosmic perspective. Murdock is a naturalist by trade and spends much of his time in the quiet observation of nature, working in his garden, and combing through the woodlands of a farm outside of Monticello, Georgia.
Jamez Chang
Jamez Chang is a poet, writer, lawyer, editor and former hiphop artist living in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. After graduating from Bard College, Jamez became the first Korean-American to release a hip-hop album, Z-Bonics, (F.O.B. Productions, 1998), in the States. His prose and poetry has appeared in Underground Voices, FRiGG, Bartelby Snopes, Prime Number, and Menacing Hedge. He edits Flash Fiction at Counterexample Poetics. His single “15 Years” marks his musical comeback after 15 Years.
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Kenneth Farmer
Kenneth Farmer lives and works in North Georgia. He studied music at Reinhardt College. He plays guitar, writes poetry, and acts in community theater.
Michael Cowan
Michael Cowan lives on the old family farm in rural Jackson County Georgia with his daughter, Lillian, and his three dogs. He enjoys spending time romping through the forests of North Georgia, playing piano with his band Radiolucent, studying old hymnals, reading, writing, spinning records, the occasional Marlboro Red, and sipping a fine pilsner. He has lived and traveled all over the country, and as far east as Leh, India - a place that instantly felt like a second home. His writing is uncouth and expressive; irreverently holy. He draws most of his inspiration from nature and love (or love lost); however, he is completely indiscriminate when squeezing out poetry from any muse he finds convenient at that moment. You can find his writings at https://southernmusings.wordpress.com/.
Scott Thomas Outlar
Scott Thomas Outlar hails from Georgia, a devoted UGA fan, outstanding human, and a poet who recently received a nod from Best of the Net. Amazon.com: Songs of a Dissident Personal Website
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TC Carter
TC Carter was born in Virginia in 1939, and started military service at seventeen, after which he spent the next three decades in the western U. S. — most of that time as a ranch hand. He started writing in February of 2012 with a special interest in cowboy poetry, which led to songwriting and guitar lessons. TC Carter Reading
William Tribell
William S. Tribell is an oversexed ne’er–do–well, starving artist-type with erratic sleep patterns, and a penchant for travel that’s included aimless wandering. After years of living abroad, he recently returned to the States. He has been published in journals around the globe such as Mensa’s Calliope, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, and Cowboys & Indians Magazine. Many of his poems are recorded spoken word. He currently lives in the Cumberland Gap, TN where he hosts a radio show called “Spectrum.”
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Last but not least . . . . Photographer: Matthew Polsfuss
Matthew Polsfuss is a photographer who doesn’t live by a simple definition. In 2002, he was challenged by a young lady to best the images she had received from her last shoot with a “professional photographer.” She loved the images and, soon, Matt was shooting her model friends too. With each shoot, he built a style that flattered the subjects of his image and moved farther away from that earlier definition. His goal is to keep growing that vision and to continue to share the images he loves. Personal Website Actor: Brendon Earp
Brendon Earp has been a professional actor for five years in theatre, TV, and film. He plans on acting, producing, and directing in the future as well as doing a bit of writing. He sees The Collective as a place where one can go and share without judgement or theft or intellectual property; a creative think tank where projects can become real. Cool peeps. Zero creeps.
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'Tell about the South. What's it like there. What do they do there. Why do they live there. Why do they live at all.' - William Faulkner