Next Man Up, Poetry in Motion

Announcer 0:00
This is a KUNV Studios original program. The

Wesley Knight 0:04
content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Here we go! Here we go! Move it! Move it! Move it! Yeah. Beautiful. Next man up. Dave. Let's go.

Donavan LeDean 0:41
Hello and welcome to the show. I am your host, Donna Villadine, actor, author, and inspirational rhythmic poet. You're now tuned in to Expand Up Poetry in Motion, where the mission is to promote good mental health for everyone. This poetry show will motivate, educate, and inspire you with spoken word through cultural expression, we have a special guest in the building, Tristan Butigig, a New York native now residing in Philadelphia, who is a self-taught writer, poet, author, musician, and creative artist whose work is rooted in imagination, perseverance, memory, and the belief that every person carries a unique voice within themselves. His mantra is commit to the bit translation to fully believe in the creative vision, even when others do not understand it yet. Tristan Butigig, thank you for being here.

Tristan Buttigieg 1:39
Thank you for Having me,

Donavan LeDean 1:40
all right. Knowing your purpose means you know your identity, and you've courageously decided to dave deep into the arts without any formal training or access to artistic education. You didn't have much much support for your artistic journey. You mentioned that you begin your journey later in life, which caused a sense of loneliness, right?

Tristan Buttigieg 2:07
Right.

Donavan LeDean 2:08
In detail, for our listeners, elaborate more about your inspirational journey as a self-taught, multidisciplinary artist who, through resiliency, defied the odds mentally and emotionally.

Tristan Buttigieg 2:21
Well, you know, even though even though a lot of the creative endeavors started out later in life, as far as teaching myself how to whether be music or whether learn how to write, that did start at a very early age. But the music came first. What happened was my parent, you know, my parents bought me like the old classics like AC/DC, Kiss, Queen, and I heard these guys. I must have been I don't know maybe nine or 10, and I wanted to be like these guys. I was so impressed by them, so much so that they bought me a guitar a year after, and I just took it upon myself, whether it be just craziness or just stubbornness, that I wanted to learn it by myself. Yeah, and it got frustrating after a while. It got to my amp broke, and then I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to drop this. And out of frustration, I just watched TV one day. So I actually saw a a local store here, the Pawn Stars. I saw a show, and I saw I saw a musician that I was like, oh, this guy looks interesting. Okay, so I like to listen to music, just not play it. So I heard one song, two song, three songs, and I wasn't old enough to drive. I forced my parents to drive us to our local library so I can you know burn the CDs for myself. And that artist was Jimi Hendrix, and he he you know with all respect to all those humbled masters that I just mentioned to you, he knocked them completely out of the water for me. He he was such a force, and and thanks to him, thanks to him, not only had had he sparked it, but he he introduced me to a lot of different artists, whether it be the blues, whether it be the different artists that were happening in the '60s, or even jazz, all the all like he really opened up a lot of things for me, and also poetically as well. If you hear some of his music, he also does have some very beautiful lyrics as well. You know, poetically, you know. Then again, that took a while too. Just randomly for you know, one day I was, you know, I'm a big Bob Dylan fan as well, which is where how I learned it from Hendrix, and I was listening to Subterranean Homesick Blues, and the poetry I was writing, I just was not happy with the style. I just, I, I, I wanted that grit New York like in your face kind of stuff. So, so I'm listening to you know Bob Dylan, and all of a sudden, I just start I just start writing something without without any thought to

Donavan LeDean 4:45
it. Gotcha.

Tristan Buttigieg 4:46
And I saw it, and I'm like, "That's it. That's the style. Yeah. And that's the first poem in my first book, which is titled "Have Nine Lives. Okay. That's the first poem in the book. So it's really been a process. Cool.

Donavan LeDean 4:57
At the age of two. You were diagnosed with type one diabetes. Yes, because of your disability, you were bullied, shamed, or at times felt misunderstood. How did these obstacles shape you as a person and as an artist?

Tristan Buttigieg 5:18
Well, you know, you know, people try to people try to be conservative, whether it be with you know if someone has a disability, and then there's a lot that aren't very conservative with that. But in terms of the art and the music, it really gave me an outlet to express the frustrations not only from people who were you know for lack of a better term, bowing, but also was a good outlet for trying to understand it, trying to you know be in a positive thing, and you know my parents were very supportive when it came to the diabetes, so there wasn't any problem there. But it gave me an outlet, and also you know when I started playing, you know in the second phase when I was starting to play guitar, I I realized for you know, for a lack of a better term, this this guitar can be used as a weapon for good.

Donavan LeDean 6:06
Right.

Tristan Buttigieg 6:06
You know, it gives you that like it gives you that feeling. You just have this power to express yourself, however it may be. So that really did help me with in terms of like coping mechanisms. Yeah. Whether it be if there was a bullying incident or something like that? It gave me some coping mechanisms.

Donavan LeDean 6:24
Right on. For our listeners, let them know what projects you may be working on and the books you have published.

Tristan Buttigieg 6:31
Right. So currently, I have the two books published right now. One of them was published about a couple years ago. Like I said earlier, Have Nine Lives. Don't ask me where the name comes from. It just it it's all from the subconscious for me. Okay, that's that's my handle on Instagram. You know, product of the subconscious. That's what I really feel. It's all it just comes from a different place. And then the second book that I brought with me today is titled Perlesk. Okay. Don't ask where that came name either. But and then I'm currently working right now on a third poetry, you know, collection, which is titled. I'm gonna. I'm thinking of titling it "Va Va Voom" just for you know, just to have that Vegas with me. It's catchy. Yeah, and I'm also working on a debut album right now, which you know has really, again, like we said, you know, things have happened later in life, but you know, you you know you certain things just have a certain certain point where you just like you got to do it you know you can't overthink it so I'm working on that right now in the process of working on the website and all that stuff I love it yeah

Donavan LeDean 7:33
yeah at the end of the day you're fulfilling your purpose you know yeah and you know

Tristan Buttigieg 7:37
I I tell you know if I if I may I tell I tell a lot of people because you know they're like oh you know oh you're you're 27 you're 28 that's very impressive you released two books and to me I felt that it wasn't enough that's not enough for me you know I always always have to strive to to be better to do more to to you know and and to expand on my knowledge of this stuff you know yeah.

Donavan LeDean 8:01
As an artist, what do you want the people to take away from your work?

Tristan Buttigieg 8:07
Well, you know, specifically for the work, the poem I'm going to be reading today doesn't really it reflects on my style, but it's not my typical style. What I want people to take away from my work is that everyone has their own everyone has their own fingerprint in life. Okay, and just having your having different opinions is very important. And I feel like I feel like we lack that today, especially. But it doesn't only have to be poetry. It you know anything, whether it be general discussion of whatever. There's a lot of there's a lot of different you know a lot of different opinions, and I feel it's very important to have those opinions because you know if it's going to be something that's with the same generalized message, which is fine, but it's more interest. It's more it's more of the spice of life to have you know that different opinion.

Donavan LeDean 8:59
Indeed,

Tristan Buttigieg 8:59
yeah, to take that away, and and you know, also not necessarily with the work, but I don't know if you were going to ask this, but you know, I the the key takeaway I want to take from this show is that with all the trials, tribulations, the hardships, like if you just if you just be a tank, if you just be a train, and you just keep going, no, despite despite what anybody tells you, despite nobody supporting you, at the end of the day, you're you're your own fan. You're your biggest fan. So you have to you have to keep pushing. You have to keep you know just accelerating in the in the thing you want, and eventually you will you will find success in that.

Donavan LeDean 9:37
That's a great message. And before we go, I would like for you to share a poem for us. Sure, sure. You ready? Yeah. All right, King. Talk to him.

Tristan Buttigieg 9:45
Cool. So this this is actually spookily titled "Copper Queen, which is inspired from my New York roots. For some listeners who might not know, the Statue of Liberty was once copper at one point. So that's where the name comes from. But the poem is beauty of a woman sitting still on the rocks, races come charging like a flock of birds. Lead me with your light that's made of gold, and persuade me to stay with your green-tinted body. Tell me the good, the bad, the ugly, the pretty, embedded in the lines of your constructed face, tell me the history, the marks, the overall fantasy of living in a world that's different from mine. Show me the hustle and bustle, the sweet sounds of a lake. Tell me who lives here, from dull gray to dark green. I have so many questions for my copper queen. The eyes of the goddess are windows to the future, the broken pieces are memories of the unmarked past, and to think it was made for a silly like me. Lend me with your wisdom, your guidance, your lust for knowledge. Towering the world, what do you see? A standing stone. Are you ever alone? Elemental battle, do you have the strength for it? Do you feel like an animal encaged in a zoo, admired by most but never appreciated, a symbol of freedom or just a common theme? I have so many questions for my Copper Queen.

Donavan LeDean 11:18
Phenomenal! You heard it right here, Tristan Butigig. Thank you for your time.

Tristan Buttigieg 11:24
Thank you for having me. The

Donavan LeDean 11:24
poets that'll be featured on our playlist today are Malika Bella, the protected poet, Rachel Davera Winninger, Walter English, Sheldon Alex, Sebastian, Yaya, Stephon Petway, Chelsea Moray, and Donovan leading. Now let's get on with the show. This is X Man Up: Poetry in Motion. Here we go. Here we go. Next Man Up. Brand new. Tyrant, me, tyrant. You know what? The only reason why you believe I'm a tyrant is because you never won anything. See, you don't know what it takes to compete. You don't know me. You don't know my motive. You don't know that my intent is legit. You don't know that I'm humble and kind, but see, my kind nature isn't compatible to the nature of these ruthless bad boys of the league who's eager to make a name for themselves by breaking your neck on the field. You don't know that's my passion for winning and making these men great in their craft incites me to pop 'em in the mouth to prepare for battle. You don't know that I yell at my men to make them see that they're not ready yet, and it will take much more grit to compete. You don't know that this league is far more ugly, more vicious than I can ever be in my men. See, our opponent-they don't care about us, and why should they? All they care about is inflicting pain, winning games, and looking good while doing it. Life. If you don't know that, then we can't relate. And if we can't relate, then why are we talking? Look, man. If I'm perceived as a villain, so be it. If everybody's mad at me, so big, but the records don't lie. I'm a champion. My team are champions. We win ball games. Now, if you excuse me, I got a game to win. I ain't taking no L's, rookie. I ain't taking no L's. You know what it is. I stand 10 toes down on this one. What about you? I said 10 toes down this. What about you? Next man up, Acamia Deadweiler.

Acamea Deadwiler 14:09
Daddy's little stranger. Share

Donavan LeDean 14:14
an example of your story versions that covers the topic of mental health.

Acamea Deadwiler 14:20
Yeah, well, as I said, the biggest part is there's the situation and there's the story. The situation is the facts; it's what happened, and that's where we can get into trouble with assigning labels if we don't add meaning to what we're sharing, and then and to the readers, and that's how we reduce people to their mental health struggles rather than creating, you know, full characters, and it's important to do that. So, one example: if I were to say, she was paranoid. She thought people were watching us through the windows. She thought the food was poisoned, so she didn't feed us. She thought the floor was poisoned, so we couldn't walk on it. Those are facts. That is the situation. But what is the story? And this is the story version. Reflects those same facts. I remember too much, but also forgot a lot. I forgot how my mother and I were before our love was interrupted by tragedy. I forgot she'd always taken care of us until one day she didn't. And even on that day, convinced our floor was contaminated to the point of untouchable, she lowered to her hands and knees and crawled with us on her back. She touched the poison wood, so her children wouldn't have to. That's an excerpt from my memoir, Daddy's Little Stranger. It frames an entire story where, even in that state of psychosis, even in that challenge she was experiencing, she was loving us. She was mothering us the best way she knew how, with the tools that she had, and that really helped me tell that story in a way that didn't disparage someone that I truly care about, and still put her in a positive light because it was a mental health crisis. It wasn't, you know, this this terrible thing that that she'd done. It was, you know, it was a health issue.

Donavan LeDean 15:54
I came here dead while.

Acamea Deadwiler 15:56
Daddy's little stranger.

Donavan LeDean 15:58
Next man up, Dave.

Joshua Gray 16:01
Standing on the peaks of a nation, with our wings perched in anticipation, overlooking the cityscape, preparing for our next escape. We want to conquer. We want to succeed. We want to fly. We want to soar. We want to jump. We want to leap. We want to catapult into all greatness as our eyes pierce one destination, bound to touch an array of generations, our wings prepare to spread out large, accepting our journey out far. Can we conquer? Can we succeed? Can we fly? Can we soar? Can we jump? Can we beat? Can we catapult into all greatness? The wind begins to appear manifest, and the heat of the sun becomes the test. But we are able to defeat opposition because conquering is our definition. We will conquer. We will succeed. We will fly. We will soar. We will jump. We will leap. We will catapult into all greatness. You really want to conquer. You really want to succeed. You want to jump into all greatness in a day, an age like this. Yes, fact. For we do not only want to, but we shall conquer. We shall succeed. We shall fly. We shall soar. We shall jump. We shall leap. We shall catapult into all greatness.

Donavan LeDean 17:22
Next man up, May Mayanest. This is

Mei-Mei Mijares 17:25
one of the songs that I wrote way back when, in like 2019, after I graduated college, because it was when I first started my mental health journey, and I was cutting out. This is called eggs. Don't talk. Mending hearts is my specialty. I'll cook you eggs with a sign of guarantee. Call my name, and I'll always come running. Oh, you gotta do is tell me you love me. And I'll always leave the light on. So when you get home, you know I'm there for you. Once you turn 'em off, I'll crawl in bed thinking what about me? And then I'll go to sleep dreaming. Is the more for me I think dreaming wouldn't it be unfair to him? Never break my heart, just beat it bloody. Much too scared to teach 'em how to love me. So yeah, let me lie to me, cheat on me, tell me who to be, hit me, compare me, push me. I'll be a devotee. Tell me it's all because you love me, not by hate. And I'll always leave the light on. So when you get home, you know I'm there for you. Once you turn 'em off, I lie in bed thinking. what about me, and then I'll go to sleep dreaming. Store more for me out there, dreaming. Wouldn't it be Unfair to him or me when you cried to me at the end of the line. Maybe I'll remember your tears on mine. Maybe I'll. Remember, I deserve better, and I'll buy it. Breaking hearts is my specialty. Cook my eggs with a side of healing, and sprinkle them with dreaming. There's more for me out there. Dreaming, wouldn't it be unfair to heal? hold me to Him, to me, to Him, to me, to Him, to me, to Him, to him, to him, to me, to me, to me, to me, to him. Wouldn't it be I'd say? Wouldn't it be I?

Alaina Noelle 21:40
My mother asks me to unload the dishwasher to let out its most recent meal of dirty dishes, and as I reach down to undo the clasp, the steam seeps out, and the dishwasher screams on its hinges. And it sounds like the dishwasher is asking its God why it's being ripped from its resting place. And I wonder when I'll become the kind of person that prays for guidance instead of swearing to God, and I wonder if I'll ever believe in the God that I swear to, or if maybe I should start swearing to something like soap. And maybe the dishwasher isn't creaking from years of work, but it's crying, and it isn't steam from the heat of the wash, but from the pressure, and the tears still wash dishes the same, don't they? And I wonder if the spoons feel the same way, or if anyone ever thought to ask them how they felt. And I think about them stuck in the dishwasher with their soft edge, and they're surrounded by so much of the opposite-forks and knives and knives and forks. And I wonder which one I'm more like. And I wonder if my edges will ever be spoon swallowed, and I have to pull a plate out of the way from the bottom rack before I can pull it out, and it makes me think about all the room I made for things that didn't fit, and how I tried to fit in rooms that I wasn't meant to be in, and I wonder if the dishes have noticed a difference in the brands of soap over the years, and if they miss the old brands over the new ones, and then I start to wonder if they're even capable of wondering where something like that went, and then I think about all the times that I tried to, and I think that I might be more like a player. And when I think about how I thought I was going to leave, but I was just too afraid because I didn't think I really fit here. So when my mother asks me to unload the dishwasher, I do it quietly, and I ask the dishwasher if it can introduce me to the God it believes in as I start to unpack it.

Protected Poet 23:25
Next man up came talk to him. I'm unhappy and I know. Swasta mafi. Hey, what was my brother to do? Ex-convict conflicted between having one foot in the streets, the other foot on a banana peel. He slipped there with a banana in a tailpipe. Now he facing three strikes. It hurted like a twisted, turned knee, when the district attorney turned into Wayne Brady and said, "Let's make a deal. 25 years is our best offer. Hey, then he turned into Howie Mandel and said, "Deal or no deal. My brother said, "No deal. Now to this day, my bigger brothers facing open cases. Hey, hey, hey, how we tell me how we supposed to tell his three kids father's now facing life? Now the only time they can face father is on Facetime. Hey, I stomp my feet so much it feels like I got Achilles heel. Can you give me. Some words of wisdom on how to heal. I just wanted to be happy and kick it with my friends. Hey, what do you do when your best friend kills your best friend? Hmm. You innocent by association, but now both families feel you guilty by affiliation. Hey, how am I supposed to decide on how to pick a side, aside from being indecisive, I'm unhappy and I know.

Donavan LeDean 25:38
Next man up, Dave. Before you go, I would like for you to share a poem for

The Unknown Odist 25:43
us. Oh yeah,

Donavan LeDean 25:43
ready?

The Unknown Odist 25:44
I'm ready.

Donavan LeDean 25:44
All right. King, talk to him.

The Unknown Odist 25:52
Life don't come with a manual. Just scandals and sandals on paths that burn like candles. We gamble with fate like Vegas nights. Fight our reflections like shadows with rights, ingest wisdom from old heads that never chewed slow. I grew though through potholes and plot holes, and folks that got goals but stopped cold when dreams felt like frostbite. I toss light in dark spaces and spark stages with truth, 'cause life ain't a sprint, it's a loop. A fruit that ripens with bruises, a fuse lit by losses that win if you use it. And it's life. And it's life.

Donavan LeDean 26:31
Before we go, I would like to conclude with a power message. It's a message about discipline. Throughout our lives, we may discover things that may attract our interest, yet life seems to sometimes throw itself in between us and the things we may be attracted to. It may be a sign that you need to pay close attention to. Pause, observe, analyze, and ask yourself: Is it something that is potentially beneficial or detrimental for you. With every important decision, stay poise, stay disciplined, in order to make the best logical decision for your life. Thanks for tuning in to the Expand Up Poetry in Motion. I am your host, Donna Villadine. To see my inspirational and poetry reels. You can go to YouTube at Donovan LeD. Also, you can find my poetry books, children's books, and coloring books on Amazon under my name, Donovan Le D. For actor or poets bookings, you can contact me dvmedia10@gmail.com. Special thanks to my guest Tristan Budegig for stopping by discussing his life journey as an artist and mental health. I am Donna Van Lee Dean, actor, author, and inspirational rhythmic poet. Until next time, peace.

Acamea Deadwiler 28:00
Dave.

Donavan LeDean 28:09
Dave.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai