Goings On This Weekend

A couple of cool happenings going on this weekend, from the Peninsula all the way to South County. I've also got a few poetry/hip-hop gigs going on, so this counts as a gratuitous, shameless plug. Here you go:

Friday night, Candyman (the rapper, not the horror movie monster) performs at The Castle in Soledad. Y'all remember his early '90s hit, "Knockin' Boots." That was the jr. high dance special for me. Dust off your Z-Cavaricci's and black boots and get your groove on. Also performing will be Mic Quin, Alcatraz and Sammy Sluggz. Show starts at 9 p.m. Admission is $15. The Castle is located @ 140 Oak St., Soledad.

Also Friday night, my group Baktun 12 will be performing live @ Monterey Live, 415 Alvarado St., Monterey. We'll be doing our annual Baktun 12 Variety show with special guests The Cranks, DJ Mike J, Brown P, MC Cambio, The Joint Venture (J-Scrawls & DJ Mike J), and spoken word poets Jacob Tsypkin and Gayleene Badiango. Rubber Chicken Poetry Slam host Garland Thompson will emcee the event. Show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door. For information, visit www.montereylive.com.

Saturday night, renowned Chicano poet Jimmy Santiago Baca will be performing @ The Cesar Chavez Library in Salinas. Baca wrote the screenplay to the movie "Bound By Honor," a true Chicano classic. He's a bad dude, and I'll be opening with a spoken word set of my own. Come by, it's free. Show starts @ 7 p.m. Cesar Chavez Library is located at 615 Williams Road, Salinas.

One last note: Redman and Method Man will be performing Saturday night at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz. For info, visit www.catalystclub.com.