Slam poet Christian Collier, above, and blues guitarist Mark “Porkchop” Holder founded Strange Bedfellows, a combination of improv, poetry and music.While they rank with pickles and ice cream or Spider-Man and Broadway musicals on the list of unexpected pairings, music and poetry aren’t generally found in the same place.
Last December, local slam poet Christian Collier and blues guitarist Mark “Porkchop” Holder founded Strange Bedfellows, an event that combined the two art forms with a healthy amount of improvisation.
Collaborations generally occur on the spot, Collier said.
“It’s interesting to see these performers … venture out of their element and do something that’s happening right before your eyes,” he said. “I don’t want to equate it to free jazz, but it’s interesting to see something born in the moment.
“The quality of it is most surprising. Most of the stuff that comes out, you wouldn’t believe it was discussed five to 10 minutes before someone gets on the stage, if at all.”