SPREADING THE WORD for 12 YEARS!
Tongue & Groove presents: Desert Stories 

After repeated sold out performances in Joshua Tree, where this spoken word event was born, Desert Stories comes to Los Angeles. Cheryl Montelle, producer and host of the show gathers storytellers and musicians to tell their desert tale. It’s an evening of quirky and odd stories, odes, songs and poems from the land of endless vistas, weird bugs, unusual plants, wild animals and dry beauty. Join us for an early Easter evening,  grab a drink and be prepared to be entertained. Previous readers have included Eric Burdon from the Animals, writer Deanne Stillman, Bob Forrest, Ted Quinn, artist Diane Best, author Josh Kun, and Victoria Williams.

Sunday March 27
6-7:30 pm
The Hotel Cafe
1623 1/2 No. Cahuenga Blvd.
Hollywood, Ca 90028
$7.00

Featured storytellers: Matt Perry, Vicki Juditz, Ken Layne, Marie Chambers, Steve Stajich, Cheryl Montelle and our musical guest is Annachristie

A writer, filmmaker, journalist and ramshackle storyteller, Matt Perry always seems to find himself embroiled in trouble of one kind or another. Once told by a close friend “You have the lowest bullshit threshold of anyone I know,” he has tried to monetize this particular attribute without success.  Following the death of his mother four years ago, he moved from Sacramento to Los Angeles, India, Joshua Tree, Monterey and now Santa Cruz.  Currently a writer on Aging issues for the California Health Report, he likes to ride his motorcycle and do qigong exercises.

Vicki Juditz has performed stories at festivals and theaters across the country, including the National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee.  Los Angeles audiences have cheered her on at the Moth StorySLAMS and GrandSLAMS.  She has performed comic roles on shows such as COACH, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, and MY NAME IS EARL and sold everything from birth control pills to cat beverage in TV commercials.

Ken Layne is the editor and publisher of the Desert Oracle, the acclaimed quarterly magazine about the American Southwest. In past lives, he was editor of Wonkette and the L.A. Examiner, national correspondent for Gawker, and an Eastern Europe bureau chief for United Press International. Layne’s work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The Awl, and dozens of newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and L.A. CityBeat. He is the author of two books, including 2011’s desert novel Dignity. He has called three U.S. deserts home and is a longtime resident and wanderer of the Mojave. desertoracle.com

Marie Chambers is a Southerner by birth and an Angelino by choice. She received an MFA from the Professional Writing Seminars at Bennington College.  Her work has appeared in The LA Review of Books, The Atlanta Review, Talking Writing, The Quotable, Printer’s Devil Review, Ironhorse Literary Review (finalist photofinish contest) and the California Poetry Society (honorable mention annual poetry contest.) She’s the 2014 winner of the Tallahassee Writers Association annual creative nonfiction prize and is also a winner of the 2015 ARTlines2 Ekphrastic Poetry Contest for work inspired by a piece of art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

Steve Stajich (Stych) was a stand-up comic and singer-songwriter before becoming a writer for television.  His series television writing credits include “Reba” (WB), “Daddio” (NBC), “Tall Hopes” (CBS),  “This Just In”  (ABC), Politically Incorrect (Comedy Central), “Dennis Miller” (Tribune) and various pilots.  He was a staff writer for public radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and his comedy/ political writing has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times.  His plays have been produced in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. His play, “Auto Parts” was recently performed in the desert– indoors– at the Hi Desert Cultural Center in Joshua Tree.

Annachristie is currently living in the beautiful small village of Joshua Tree, CA. The death place of Graham Parsons and birth place of many artistic visions. She has shared the stage with artists such as Amos Lee, First Aid-Kit, Langhorn Slim, and Hoots and Hellmouth.  As luck or hard work would have it. Annachristie and Sisters3 sang all the backup vocals for Sharon Little on her tour with Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.  She has made appearances on Mountain Stage, NBC Ten Show, Good Morning New York, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Bliss Fest, and Electric picnic. She is as hard working as a donkey and as magical as a unicorn.annachristiemusic.com

Cheryl Montelle is a Los Angeles based writer whose stories have been published in various anthologies and magazines, and performed in Los Angeles, Joshua Tree and New York City. She is the producer and host of  “Desert Stories”, an annual fundraiser for the High Desert Playhouse in Joshua Tree, CA. which she has also produced in New York City and Los Angeles. Cheryl has collaborated with The Laboratory, an international artist collective on two multi-faceted  art magazines, and heads the veteran/community non-profit Mil-Tree. cherylmontelle.com

Come early!  Seating is limited and we start on time! www.conradromo.com