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Beats, belts and beatbox

Firstly, apologies to those of you who've submitted news which hasn't made it into a mailshot and is now out of date.  We've been so busy redesigning the sites that we simply haven't had time to put together out until now.

However, hopefully the redesign is worth it!  Take a look for yourselves (although it's not quite yet finished) and while you're at it, don't forget to check out the latest interviews with our sponsored artists.

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We got a couple of new products in stock at our online store.  First up is some ear candy in the form of Roman Beats' new CD, I'm the BEATBOXER, They're the RAPPERS.  With 16 tracks from The Un-Human Beatboxer, including 12 collaborations, both your beatbox and hip hop collections need this!

Then, to keep your pants up whilst you're getting down to Roman's beats, we've gotten in some mic(saver) canvas belts which are exclusive to our online store! These 46.5 inch (1.18 meter) canvas belts have rubberized metal ends and buckles; the latter adorned with our familiar mic(ism) logo.

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Whilst you're shopping online, please take a minute to support human beatboxer, Mr Mouth, who is competing in the 3 Student Music Awards with his track U Get Around and who needs your vote.  To listen to the track, watch the video clip and vote for Mr Mouth, visit the 3 Student Music Awards' site.  The track is also available as a download here.

UK residents can also vote via sms: text "3SMA mrmouth" to 85080.  Texts will cost your standard network text rate.

More music, info and beatbox ringtunes are available here.

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Meanwhile, in the offline world, Adam Matta has a series of shows lined up which you'd be foolish to miss.  Here's a short summary:

• March 9^th, w/ violinist Julianne Carney
  • @Bar Sputnik, Brooklyn, NYC
• March 12^th, from 7pm as one of the five acts at the Bric-A-Brac Festival Variety Show
  • @ Brick Theater, Metropolitan Ave/Lorimer Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC
• March 12^th from 9pm, as part of Sxip!Matta
  • @ The Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street, NYC
• March 17^th-19^th, w/ Jo Jo Beat, Wes Carroll & others
  • @ The East Coast A Cappella Summit, Oswego, NY
• March 19^th, from 9pm, as part of Sxip!Matta
  • @ The Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street, NYC
• March 23^rd, from 9pm w/ Aaron Comess
  • @ Nightingale's, 2nd Ave. at 13th St, NYC
• March 26^th, from 9pm, as part of Sxip!Matta
  • @ The Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street, NYC

See Adam's site for all the details.

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Also in NYC, but this time featuring Baba Israel and Yako, Hip Hop Commedia and the Hip Hop Theater Festival present, What You Say White Boy?  Staged at the Bowery Poetry Club, the show starts at midnight on Saturday March 11^th and tickets are $10, although the first ten people to email back get tickets for $5!

Set to be an off the wall night of hip hop, comedy, spoken word, freestyle, beatbox and theater; go see ancient comedia characters possessed by the beat of hip hop and transformed into their modern day counterparts! Meet sexy waitresses who are looking for their big break, love sick poets, sassy hosts, spaced out musicians, know it all experts, wanna be bouncers rappers, militant and mean soundmen; all interacting with you and special guests Rabbi D and Reggie Cabico!  There's also going to be a dance contest and open mic.  What more could you ask for?

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Well, you could ask for a performance from one of our sponsored artists who's a veteran of the beatbox scene, and if you're in Denver, Colorado, then you'll be getting just that. Click88 pka Click that Supah Latin is going to performing on St Patrick's Day (that's March 17^th to you non-Irish) at the Fifth Episcopal District Young People's Division Mid-Year Convocation.  Tickets for the show cost $10 and the party starts at 7pm at the DoubleTree Hotel, 3203 Quebec Street.

Click has the option of staying in the area all weekend, so if you're a promoter or know of anyone who may want to book him while he's there, contact us and we'll pass on your details to Click.

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Over in London, an event's coming up which promises some of the best in UK beatboxing.  The show, Beyond Beatboxing, will be held at the South Bank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of their Ether Festival, from 7pm on Sunday March 19^th and will feature Killa Kela, Faith SFX (w/ grime emcees, Purple and Lady NY) and Shlomo.  Attendees will also get sets and showcases from DJ Matman and Orifice Vulgatron thrown into the deal.

Tickets are £12.50 in advance, £15 on the door and are available through the Royal Festival Hall's site and by calling 08703 800 400.

There will also be free workshops and open mic sessions from 3pm, run by TyTe and Lianhart, as well as free deejay sets and battles in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall.  Open mic spots are limited so book your spot in advance by emailing or calling 020 7921 0846.

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Thousands of miles away, but still involving another one of our sponsored artists (the slogan is sported and supported by beatboxers worldwide!), the Australian Beatbox Championships' Brisbane heat will take place on March 25^th under the watchful eye of the First Lady of Beatbox, Hopey One.

The battling will take place at 3357 Pacific Hwy, Slacks Creek, Brisbane, with tickets costing around $20.  Quite a bargain considering all the guest beatboxers and performances scheduled for the event!

Registration and enquires for all the heats should be sent via email to the BeatboxAustralia.com team.  However, don't worry if you're not Brisbane-based, as the Sydney, Perth and Adelaide heats will soon be announced. Keep an eye on their site for updates.

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Don't worry if you're on the other side of the globe, 'cause if you're battle-hungry and on the US East Coast you can get your fix at Lounge Battles 4 - the biggest hip hop battle in central Florida.  This year the annual event features a producer battle and a performance battle, as well as the usual beatbox (of course), deejay and emcee battle, where entrants go head to head for money, prizes and bragging rights!

The event takes place on March 25^th, from 9pm-2am at aka Lounge, 68 East Pine Street and on March 26^th, from 9pm-2am at Club Screamers, 360 State Lane; both in Downtown Orlando, FL.  Advanced tickets cost $15 for both days, but you can also purchase separate tickets for March 25^th ($13) and March 26^th ($5).

To enter the mic(ism) sponsored beatbox battle and win lots of fantastic mic(ism) prizes, email over details of your real name, stage name, which battle you're entering and telephone number.  Alternatively, or for further details, call Madd Illz on 407-435-4798.

Entry costs just $10 and includes entry to both days of the event.

With performances by Wrekonize, Swann, Shadcore, Madd Illz and the event being hosted by Madd Illz, Santeago Skillz of Secret Sircle, Full Impact All Starz and Beat Ministry, you definitely don't want to miss this!

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If you're not quite ready to be schooled in the battle arena, the following might just provide the education you need.  For the Spring semester of 2006, Shodekeh will be joining the faculty of Towson University as a musical accompanist within the Department of Dance, providing the vocal rhythms for Vincent E. Thomas' Level 1, Modern Dance Class.

Shodekeh will also be opening up for 9^th Wonder of Little Brother and MURS on April 5th at The Ottobar in Baltimore, MD.  He'll be presenting a lot of new material at this show, so be sure to go check it out if you can.

Then it's back to school for Sho' on April 15^th, when he'll be performing at The Murphy Fine Arts Center of Morgan State University, together with Baltimore's own Bossman, who's recently been signed to Virgin Records.

For more info on any of the above, contact the man himself.

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Finally, if you can't be bothered to leave the house, there's still plenty of beatbox-fun to be had over at Beatboxing.com, where a contest is currently underway.  All the details can be found on the site and the first place winner of contest #1 will be the lucky recipient of a whole bunch of mic(ism) goodies.

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www.micism.com

www.micism.com/iba

www.micism-store.com

Got news?  If you have news which you feel might be of interest to the beatbox community, why not give us the scoop by submitting details here?  Relevant news items will be included in our news pages and mailshots.