When Wakefield Brewster moved from Toronto to Calgary two years ago, he immediately made a name for himself in the poetry slam scene with his high-energy, hip hop influenced poetry. His years of stage-hopping have paid off, as he unveils his debut spoken-word CD, Wakefield Brewster: Da Lyrical Pitbull.
    Brewster, a self-described poet and MC, began his journey to the CD racks at a poetry slam in 2006, where he caught the attention of Kill Whitey Records, AKA Scott Lidstone and Daniel Martins. The trio clicked and got to work on the 17-track album. “Danny writes music like you wouldn’t believe, and Scotty’s producing makes love to your eardrums,” says Brewster. They brought local songstress Kyemara on board for backup vocals. “After we recorded my voice, they went and recorded her, and wow, she slaughtered those tracks,” says Brewster. “She wrote her own choruses, sang her own lines and did her own double, triple, quadruple tracks. It sounds like a whole chorus is singing with me.” To complete the collaboration, Brewster even got his family involved. His daughter provides backup vocals on a love song to his girlfriend, and a birthday voicemail from his mother introduces another track. “I’ve got the triad!” he exclaims. “It’s an exquisite team effort.”
    On the album, Brewster promises poetry, floetry and hip hop rhymes. “My whole life is on this CD, man,” he says. “I tell stories like a true griot.” The CD launch, featuring guest artist Kyemara, hits Vicious Circle on August 30th, 9 p.m., $5.
    If your office life needs to be spiced up, join Andree Iffrig for an evening of wine, cheese and storytelling. Iffrig is the author of Find Your Voice at Work: The Power of Storytelling in the Workplace, a guide to communication and collaboration with your fellow cubicle-dwellers. Join her at Owl’s Nest Bookstore on August 28, 7 p.m.
    Joan Spencer spent many years in the clutches of a destructive gambling addiction, concealing her dependency in a web of lies. Since overcoming her addiction, she’s written A Place Where Weeds & Roses Grow, an autobiographical account of this difficult period in her life. She shares her story at McNally Robinson on August 29, noon.
    It’s a busy week for spoken word, as the Calgary Poetry Slam gears up for the 2007-08 season. This week’s Slam launches a re-vamped format: on top of the competition, where three-minute poems are scored on a 10-point scale, there’s a new open-mic stage for those who want to share without competing. The 2007 Calgary Slam Team — Shone Abet, Möe Clark, Kirk Ramdath and Sabo — will host the evening and preview some of the work they’ll take to the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Halifax this October. The Slam takes place at the Auburn Saloon on August 30, 8 p.m. If you want to Slam, bring three poems and sign up at 7 p.m.