Chuck Beard, Kirk Walker Graves, Abigail Dempsey, Hannah Lusk, Ben Lusk, and Tom Eizonas
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 of the 153rd epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 152, I repeat … 152, 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 the recap and recording of East Side Storytellin’ 153. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is someone I was first introduced to while at my bookstore East Side Story by our mutual friend, the great John David Herald. This guy, not John David, is a graduate of Princeton University who now lives with his wife and son in Nashville. This guy is featured tonight because he is a published writer. He is the author of the book Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It is part of the famous book series 33 1/3, where each volume is written about a single album. His take on Kanye’s album is a nonfiction introspective and philosophy of the Kanye West album of the same name. So, introducing an artist who is currently the opposite of Kanye when it comes to humility but on par with Mr. West in talent with his written word, it wasn’t hard for me to ask for and receive a big round of applause for my friend Kirk Walker Graves.
Kirk did not read anything from his book about Kanye. Instead, he kept it local and relevant to the time we were living in. He opened up and read from a published story he wrote for Vice Magazine a few years back that featured the story behind and all around the duo band called Birdcloud. Written back in 2015, right before the presidential campaign and election nobody can forget, Kirk took a journalistic/storyteller approach to uncovering and revealing the truth behind what made and makes Birdcloud so darn important. Kirk did a tremendous job of humanizing a concept band with concept messages that is often all caps, bigger than life and death, over the top and under the Bible beltline, and often misunderstood.
The closer that Kirk got to the truth of Birdcloud, thoroughly dissecting various poignant lyrics that continuously saw and pushed the boundaries of what was currently socially exceptable, the more clear you could see just how vital having such a group was/is for our society, progress, and being able to have open communication within a democracy built upon freedom of speech. It also reminded us that you don’t have to like everything or agree with everything when having an open mind. But yeah, I thought that Kirk did a masterful job of writing and reading his educational take on a topic that allowed me and others in the audience to feel like we were in a cool college course, truly giving us a sense of higher learning. You can read the article in the highlighted text above, or listen to the entire reading in the recording link below, but I also thought it was fun to watch Kirk smile giddily behind the mic when exposing all of the truths he shared. The reading was pretty awesome, to say the least.
Our featured music of the night is a familiar set of faces with a change of scene. Currently working on a debut full length record, this group of friends have already graced the East Side Storytellin’ stage before many moons ago with their band called Forlorn Strangers. Point being, they are already family. The three are anything but strangers. Together they continue to bring amazing melodies, messages, and hope into your life, in case you’re lacking any of those three today or needed them as much as I always do. They are a pop rock band with tons of color, heavy grooves, catchy songwriting, and high energy. Again, things I crave in my life on the daily. Lucky to have them, honored to introduce them, it wasn’t hard to convince the fantastic crowd to give respect, love, and a big round of applause for my friends Abigail, Hannah, and Ben = the family band of sorts who is sure to be your new favorite band. I’m talking about none other than The Rally Club!
When you experience The Rally Club, whether it’s in person or online, you pretty much see and hear everything what you get. It is a compassionate, beautiful, melodic, thoughtful, deep and insightful, basically its a FULL force of all that is good in life hitting you smack dab in your soul. Like watching a professional athlete at the top of their game, The Rally Club makes and shares music that feels like they are doing so effortlessly. Their sounds mesh with your moment like when you pull back the curtains just after sunrise and you feel the warmth of hope in a new day. They play their music and their music itself is as easy to feel and then becomes as vital as breathing.
They crew didn’t take much time in between songs to tell backstories or titles. Instead, they jumped into the river of their set and let the music flow everywhere it needed to go, giving us as much of their music as they could in the given timeframe available. Switching instruments, sharing smiles, and even throwing in a makeshift dance party into the mix, it’s pretty safe to say that they were having fun. That said, it’s also safe to say that it’s near impossible for any crowd experiencing The Rally Club to not have fun or feel better about life because of their energy and art. I know you’ll take a listen to this stripped down set they gave to this show in the recording link below, but I’d advise you to really listen to the lyrics. There is some next level awareness and lessons for attaining enlightenment buried under and on top of the surface of each song. These are just your throwaway lyrics or life messages you often find on the pop radio and mainstream music award shows. The Rally Club digs deep in their spiritual garden, finding their roots, and nurturing the growth of their lives and yours at the same time. Point being, you are in a safe and positive place when faced with The Rally Club. Plus they have fashion to match their overall coolness to boot.
After the music stopped, we moved the keys and let the band and Kirk take a seat and relax. Kirk was equally as buzzed from the music as me and the rest of the room. That said, it didn’t take long for all of us to hit a conversational groove with honesty, humor, and smiles galore. Like the reading and music set, I probably could have stayed on that stage talking with these four fantastic people for hours on end and into the sunrise, but I recognized that people were hungry and needed to get some sleep at some point. I could go on and on here about several things Kirk mentioned about Birdcloud and their importance, or I could name at least 20 lines from songs off the top of my head from The Rally Club that instantly fit into any meditational mantra on par with anything George Harrison ever chanted (like I know what’s real, I belong, when my body slows down, she’ll make you feel good, – all separate lyrics yet from the same core origin and wavelength – and more!), but I’d rather let you just listen to the entire recording for yourself.
So here it is, the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 153, the show that was filled with love and enlightenment, continuously providing stellar valuable life lessons shared by Kirk Walker Graves and The Rally Club at The Post East on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. It was free to attend, and now it is free for you to listen to and share with everyone you know, over and over again. You are most welcome.
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Kirk and The Rally Club for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can listen to more of The Rally Club’s music here – www.therallyclubband.com
You can read more from Kirk here – https://www.amazon.com/Kanye-Wests-Beautiful-Twisted-Fantasy/dp/1623565421
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 East so welcoming and positively life-changing for the East Nashville community at large.
Our next show will be
East Side Storytellin’ 154
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Morgan Christopher
singing- Bill Crosby
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 153 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 remember to be nice to one another. Thank you and goodnight.
Much love,
mE