YELLOW RAGE

Catzie Vilayphonh and Michelle Myers made their first appearance together as "Black Hair, Brown Eyes, Yellow Rage" in December 2000 at the Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Slam in Philadelphia, where they made the semi-finals. In March 2001, they represented Def Poetry Jam at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado, sharing the stage with Jessica Care Moore, Black Ice, Taylor Mali and Steve Colman. In July, they attended the first-ever APIA Spoken Word and Poetry Summit, held in Seattle, WA. At the summit, which was organized by Chicago's I Was Born With Two Tongues and Seattle's isangmahal arts kollective, Michelle and Catzie led a workshop and performed in the artist showcase. Yellow Rage most recently performed in the 2001 NY Fringe Festival in the show "Asians Misbehavin" with the arts collective "Something To Say." They will also be featured in an upcoming HBO show for Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam.

Together, Michelle and Catzie are a dynamic duo of Philly-based Asian American female spoken word poets. Both are part of the larger Asian American Philadelphia performance collective "Something to Say" led by Gary San Angel of Peeling the Banana fame. Through their voices, they hope to provide an awareness that is not often heard. Exploring topics from fetishes to cultural appropriation to ethnic pride, Yellow Rage challenges mainstream misconceptions of Asianness.

http://www.yellowrage.com