High Desert Poet Shawn Mafia To Perform At Palm Springs Art Museum

A definitively unique lyricist, composer and neo-noir literary fable spinner, Shawn Mafia began his career in the mid 90s singing throughout San Francisco's Mission District. By 1998 Mafia was back to the town of his youth in a remote area of the Mojave 30 miles above Palm Springs. It was during this time, all the while working part-time, low-wage jobs that Mafia began to craft the stories and characters he would later be known for. The summer of 2000 proved to be a turning point for Mafia.

The small community of Joshua Tree where he was currently residing saw a surge in musicians, artists, actors, writers and spiritualists fleeing the urban sprawl and commercial art scenes of major metropolitan areas for the sanctuary and beauty of the stark desert terrain. A major focal center for artists and activists was the Joshua Tree Beatnik Café's infamous open mic, of which Mafia was a frequent participant. It was during this time, having discovered the musical and lyrical tour-de-force of Tom Waits that Shawn changed his last name to Mafia and began re-tooling his musical repertoire and stage performance.

The result was a lyrically potent blend of singing and spoken word performance set to an off-beat, epileptic tempo driven musical soundscape that can only be described as gritty "Film-Noir Rock." Mafia has since remained a pivotal figure in the establishment of the Hi-Desert scene that the Los Angeles Times has described as, "The New Bohemia." Mafia released his debut CD, "Tales from a Street Corner Confessional" in 2003 and is currently working on his anticipated second full length album that is to be called, "Death in 'D' Major."

The LIVE OUT LOUD Poetry Series features live readings by renowned poets through May 2007 on the third Thursday of each month in ZONE 101 at the Art Museum. The readings begin at 6 p.m. and the public is invited to attend for FREE. Upcoming poets in the series include Lee Rossi, Florence Weinberger, and Anne Waldman.

This event is supported by Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from the James Irvine Foundation and by the generous sponsorship of Koffi, The Sun Runner Magazine, Steve Lowe and The Beat Hotel.

Located downtown in an architecturally-significant E. Stewart Williams-designed building, the Palm Springs Art Museum features exciting exhibitions of contemporary, Native American, Western and Pre-Columbian art in spacious galleries, a sculpture garden, stimulating lectures and educational programs for all ages, and diverse performances in the 433-seat Annenberg Theater. The Art Museum is open six days a week; Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. Admission is free to members; $12.50 for adults; $10.50 for seniors 62 and over; $5.00 for children 6 to 17, students, and active-duty military with I.D. and free to children under 6.

By www.psmuseum.org