A.D.H.D. Unplugged made for a long awaited intimate get together for the fans of Team A.D.H.D. After a short hiatus, the poetry group came together to speak with their fans in a truly unplugged setting.
The little space in Florida States Oglesby Union room 311E held about 55 audience members. A.D.H.D. member Michael McCain says making a come back like this shows appreciation to our fans.
“This show was our first show at FSU since summer 2011. Usually, our shows are held in bigger venues but we wanted to do something small and intimate to give our fans a more personal connection.”
Team A.D.H.D was formed November 9, 2009 when six members of Poetic Lyricism were put together to make a group piece. They realized then that collaborating their talents would make for an iconic poetry group; something that FSU has never hailed before.
The team, consisting of 5 poets and 1 singer, started the show by giving updates about their lives. In the past year all 5 poets have graduated and moved to different locations. Yveka Pierre is the only female member of the group and she is now living in Washington D.C. attending Howard Law School.
“Although the distance is far, to me its about the team. Our dynamic is something that I constantly yearn for and honestly I am a poet first, so coming together with these guys to do a show, all they have to do is call and I’m here.”
After the updates and introductions the show began and the atmosphere was truly that of an unplugged concert. The conversational dialogue between the poets and their audience made the crowd of first time viewers and old fans more receptive. The group showcased a few new pieces named ADHD and Ego Trippin that audience members reacted well too.
This was Melissa Williams first time seeing Team A.D.H.D. and she says she wasn’t really into poetry before this show.
“I really enjoyed the show, I hope I get to see them perform again but they don’t go to school here anymore so I mean Ill just have to look out for them when they are in town.”
The members took the time to give background stories to most of the poems recited during the show. Telling listeners the inspiration behind one of their most popular poems, Beat Drop. Member Lucien Christian came up with the concept.
“I actually used to do a lot of covers for songs when I was in high school and this idea just came to me in our group meeting one night. I was just like lets do a poem using just sounds and everybody looked at me like I was crazy. So I explained it for like 15 minutes and then I wrote it and it just came together beautifully. Now its like one of our most requested poems.”
The team hopes to take their shows further than the state of Florida. They were featured at Florida Atlantic University’s Al Soul event for Valentines Day with hopes that the exposure will bring them more success.