East Side Storytellin’ 131 – The night Kristin Russell and Suzie Brown brought all the life, pain, wisdom, and love that only mothers can teach humanity

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 131st epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 130, I repeat … 130, 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’ 131. Let us begin, again.

The first featured artist of the night is someone who goes back to the early stages of East Side Story. Through mutual friends, this author found me and entrusted me with the opportunity to promote and sell her first book by the name of Recovering Ramona  She, like that book, is a local treasure. She is one of the few who can say she grew up in and still resides in Nashville. Staying on course with her off the beaten path journey, she has worked as a hairstylist for the past 17 years or so and began writing fiction in the break rooms of salons between client appointments. On January 8, 2019, her next book A Sky For Us Alone will be published by Katherine Tegen/Harper Collins. A dual threat to blow your mind with a hairdryer and prolific stories, it was beyond time to finally welcome to the stage my dear friend Kristin Russell!

Kristin, a self-proclaimed and natural introvert, broke out of her shell and broke out some freshly printed papers of her latest work in the making to share with all of us. She was nervous and excited and right on time. She prefaced the overall reading with the brief synopsis of her next novel that is ready for print and publishing. She explained that she was at a really good space with the project because she could finally share a concise paragraph or two to friends and strangers about what the story is about, instead of rambling through every idea and emotion she had while making it like every artist tends to do with their creative babies before they arrive. Kristin’s honesty and directness, as always, was something to behold.

Kristin’s latest story takes place in a location by the name of Strickland County. It’s a brilliantly laid out setting that drew a picture for me like a modern take of Little House on the Prairie meets Coal Miner’s Daughter. It is a small town community and family dealing a death within a big time opioid problem. In the course of the first two chapters, it is filled with unforgettable characters, family love and bickering, and unforgettable tragedy that is becoming all too common in the world we live in today. Some of the lines that I wrote down that I couldn’t get out of my head because they were so good and relatable across the board were the following: ” … hard finding things to fit them” (referencing a 6’5” character, but something we’ve all felt or said before), ” … we’ve still got a lot to learn,” “…the Summer before, there had been no baby. They really lived it up.” (something any parent can relate to before and after a child). But all that said, one of the biggest gut-wrenching parts of the reading was having to hear of a parent dealing with the loss of their child. Our featured musician mentioned it later in the show, but I was equally having a hard time not thinking about the well being of my healthy child at home at that moment. Being able to write fiction that strikes you to your core is something I look for in every great writer, and Kristin Russell is indeed a great writer with many more good years and good stories to share going forward. I am not alone in wanting to finish reading the rest of the chapters of her next novel when it’s released to the public in January.

Our featured music of the night is someone who Marvel Studios will one day make a superhero movie out of in the next decade, unless Stan Lee meets her before that time. By day, and some overtime shifts, this lady is an amazing cardiologist. By night, most often after she’s already put her two adorable and independent children to bed, she helps Nashville maintain its status as the best city in the world to hear live music. Her superhero motto will be, and I totally copied this from her and her husband, saving lives and playing dives. She is just as magical a songwriter and performer as she is a mother, so I don’t really need to add a lot of words to describe her as much as get her up here and let her astound you herself. In a recent personal storm, I was calmed by listening to her perform her song Sometimes Your Dreams Find You. Once again, a serendipitously perfect pairing and compliment to the writer reading for the night, I was excited for everyone else in the room as much I was to be there to witness the words and sounds and overall positivity of the one and only Suzie Brown.

Suzie already had a full day at work, dealing with patients who needed help with their worried and hurting hearts, and home, with two crazy awesome toddlers who need guidance from Suzie and her husband to learn how to use their healthy and growing hearts, but she was the consummate professional as soon as she plugged in her guitar. She was in her zone, and she instantly took us in the crowd to another place of zen altogether. Beyond her natural beauty and beautiful voice, Suzie has a gift of being a straight shooter, cutting past any bullshit or filters you may see from others during your day. Point being, when Suzie is talking or singing, you listen and feel better than before she started by doing so.

Suzie started with a new song to literally settle us in, reminding us that it’s all gonna be okay. Like an unexpected Summer breeze in the middle of another humid Nashville afternoon in June, Suzie did her thing and we were hooked from the start. She was vulnerable in telling us that she’s almost there, where she wants to be, and then she pulled our heartstrings with her own creative rendition. She made us laugh with a puntastic song about candy, and then she brought us back to a hopeful reality with the aforementioned Sometimes Your Dreams Find You. I know for a fact at least two people in the crowd shed tears listening to that one. Then, Suzie closed her set with a wonderful song involving a behind the scenes, filled with enough cute love to make Hallmark go out of business, look at a simple and epic moment of her story with her husband before the blessings of more family members showed up. You really need to stop reading this recap and listen to the entire show and set for yourself below.

Then, yet again, after the music faded, I was able to spend a few extra minutes behind the art with the two artists. They were both so sincere and forthcoming with their answers about their creative backstories and inspirations for when, how, and what they do to continue creating their art and sharing it with others. They were both already wildly successful in their day job careers before embarking on creative careers to boot. Basically, these two turn everything they touch into gold and make everyone they meet more compassionate and empathetic human beings. I’d say they are two of the very good ones, to say the least. Go ahead, ask anyone who knows them. See what they say, if not much better than I have above. Point being, I’m so thankful to call each friend, and I’m excited to see all of the great things in store for them in the coming year.

So, here is the edited full show of East Side Storytellin’ 131, the night that Kristin Russell and Suzie Brown helped us all heal whatever ailed us this particular week in our worlds. It was recorded at The Post East on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Please enjoy, and feel free to share it and listen to it over and over and over again.

Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Kristin & Suzie for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.

You can read more about Kristin’s work here- @kristinrussell_

You can listen to more of Suzie’s music here – suziebrownsongs.com

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’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.

Our next show will be
East Side Storytellin’ 132
Tuesday, June 19th
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Ned Dymoke
singing- Molly Martin

That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 131 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. I repeat, please be nice to another another.

Much love,
mE