Thank YOU, thank YOU, thank YOU. Hello Again! Welcome to another wonderful collaboration between East Side Story and The Post. Let me be the first to officially, whole-heartedly welcome you to the recap and recording for the 65th epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 64 previous shows East Side Story has put together, we all decided to take a break from our busy schedules all over town in order to sit back and relax and get everyone cultured up just right in the form of a Nashville writer reading from original prose, followed by an amazing local musician performing and talking about their original music, and then a round-up creative conversation with all featured guests of this event to talk about their individual journeys and personal ties to Nashville. Without further ado, fulfilling the entertainment portion of your day, this is East Side Storytellin’ 65. Let us begin, again.
The first featured guest of the night was someone born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up traveling the world and living in various countries before settling for a minute or two in Los Angeles. In LA, she briefly worked at a vitamin factory and then began a long career in independent film distribution. A former single mom for 11 years, she and her husband decided to settle into the Nashville area as she writes by the lake when she can escape their five kids and two dogs. She is a self-professed kooky, tough, soft, and brutally honest artist who proclaims to have a lot of dreams but too much reality. She digs music, amazing writing, babies, sunshine, and that certain smell that brings you back in time to a secret memory. She uses grains of her often gritty life to infuse her stories with cathartic realism. Her stories Fire and Scars have both been finalists in Glimmer Train’s writing contests and are included in her first anthology titled Scars– published by Punk Hostage Press and available for purchase here tonight and afterwards at East Side Story. The full-hearted crowd at The Post gave a warm welcome for the very talented Nashville author, Nadia Bruce-Rawlings.
Nadia, sporting a delightful seedless watermelon shirt to lighten up her appearance in stark contrast with her heavy material, started off the reading with something more sad than I can ever imagine bringing home to my wife … a poem titled Flowers from Walmart. Then she promptly dove into a short story that was very personable between her childhood and her family structure. But, the combination of the insightful, brief poem and the second piece of a short story about family and dark times pretty much set the perfect spectrum of what everyone in the crowd was in store for from Nadia. Her writing is brutally honest, as mentioned above, and she hides from nothing. She allows the readers and the listeners to dive into her life, most always at the place where she has more pain than joy, and then everyone is free to reevaluate their own histories and present condition and be a little more thankful and in tune with their worlds than before hearing Nadia.
Nadia told some more poems about the same death but different places, devolution of a young woman growing up in trouble where shame means nothing, and then she shared her title track of Scars in the form of the short story that had light points of Casper the friendly dog and then the deep end of the pool with several suicide attempts in full description. Nadia did a tremendous job of not only going beyond metaphors to give a gritty sense of her past reality, but she also did something very cool with the fact that it wasn’t all about her in the story. She revealed poignant points during the aftermath of the suicide attempt on the way to the hospital where her friend was hitting on the doctor, the RA was perturbed that this had happened on her watch, and then how the school itself was not too happy about her condition or the situation at all. All of these different angles made her story pop even more than had she decided to go down a one-way avenue about the world and possible end of that very world revolving around her. By doing and sharing this, the audience was intrigued enough to follow Nadia wherever she wanted to go with her trials and tribulations. She almost got emotional at times, and the crowd felt the same way … on the edge of their seats with every word.
And then it was time for the music.
The featured musician of the night was someone who escaped the major traffic jams of Atlanta, Georgia and has quickly made Nashville her favorite home for the second time in East Nashville. A highly talented singer-songwriter, she is a Baptist preacher’s daughter who’s tight family roots have helped shape her and her craft. The eldest of four in a family where all have found success creatively, she gave up on her pursuit of music for several years until a relationship went sour and prompted her to dive into her music again to make things right. Since jumping back in, she has made two records, the most recent being The Gilded Lily with Clay Cook of the Zac Brown Band, and she has spent a little time and energy lately producing an indie-pop-electro thing under the side project name Munitions. To say that she is busy would be an understatement so we are very thankful that she took the time to join the East Side Storytellin’ family once and for all. Once again, the delightfully packed crowd at The Post got the noise going collectively to celebrate the music of Eryn McHugh.
Eryn immediately thanked the same crowd who was giving much applause her way to kick her set off just right. She started with a song that seemed like the perfect transition from Nadia’s stories to her melodies. It had something of a lyric with the girl counting regrets late at night in bed instead of sheep, and that nearly knocked everyone out of their seats. The collective feeling, from the people producing this show to the people sitting back and taking it all in, was that Eryn’s stories were the ideal matches for Nadia’s prose. The more Eryn sang her heart out, the more it became evident that there was a very good reason beyond serendipity to why Eryn and Nadia were showcasing their art together this very night … and it sounded great!
Eryn went on to bring East Side Storytellin’ 45 alumnus Taylor Corum up to the stage to the chagrin of all who attended and knew Taylor before the show started. It was ironic that Taylor was playing this show alongside Eryn; not because they are dating and make a lovely musical couple, but because it was at Taylor’s show where we proudly announced the birth of Wilder Bruce Roberts (son of Ben and Emily Roberts from the band Carolina Story) and Wilder just so happened to be in the crowd this very evening in his pajamas. Anyways, Taylor took to the stage and helped to add a little gee-tar to Eryn’s tickling of the ivories and lovely harmonies.
Eryn took time to sing songs about letting go and heartfelt tunes about longing others in her life. To end the set, she broke out a new song and then an oldie called On My Honor and about being home soon. All in all, it was a real treat and Eryn is immensely talented at her craft. I’m sure Taylor would add that she’s sweeter than Yoo-hoo at this point in the recap.
After the music ended, I had the chance to bring Nadia and Eryn to the stage and share even more back stories and depth to where their art is inspired and everything that made them the amazing artists and people who they are today. There were several times where a tissue might have been needed from the crowd and on stage when Nadia shared her past with abuse and cats and speed (listen to the recording for explanation). There were times when I wanted to make light or tell a joke that probably would have landed dead on arrival, but I kept it pure and honest and on the surface with all of the intense topics that were discussed in such an open manner. At times it felt like a live broadcasting of the show Intervention come alive. Either way, both of these artists shared material that was sad in nature, but each are currently in a place where they have learned from their pasts and have grown into people they are proud of more than ever and everyone in the crowd and listening to them with open hearts were better after experiencing East Side Storytellin’ 65 more than they were before.
So here it is- the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 65 that featured Nadia Bruce-Rawlings and Eryn McHugh at The Post on Tuesday, August 18th, 2015. Enjoy and share with others who you think would appreciate it over and over:
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Nadia Bruce-Rawlings and Eryn McHugh for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can read more about Nadia’s writing here- (www.facebook.com/NadiaBruceRawlingsWriter)
You can listen to more of Eryn’s music here-(www.soundcloud.com/erynmchugh)
You can listen to this show, edited, soon, alongside the previous shows too, on our website, www.eastsidestorytn.com, at our In Our Own Words Tab – see here – www.eastsidestorytn.com/in-our-own-words
I’d also like to show much love to Clay Brunton for the beautiful artwork online to promote the show.
I’ll keep the gratitude going for Tom Eizonas, my lovely wife and most talented artist in Emily Harper Beard (efharper), and everyone that came out live to support the show … and to everyone who has helped continue to spread the word and support the show online afterwards.
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to give one last shout out to Tonya and Chris for making The Post so welcoming and positively life-changing for the East Nashville community at large.
The NEXT East Side Storytellin’ event will be …
East Side Storytellin’ 66
Tuesday, September 1st
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Amanda Elend (@amandaelend)
singing- Pete Lindberg (@peteontheipad –facebook.com/petelindbergmusic)
That said- that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 65 and another fabulous event at The Post with East Side Story at the helm. Thanks for coming out and sharing the good word and giving some love to all of these great Nashville artists and our creative ideas. Please remember to be nice to one another out there.
much love,
mE