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 157th epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 156, I repeat … 156, 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’ 157. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artistof the night is probably the most prolific Nashville author/retiree who has ever lived. If you didn’t know about his writing before today, you will soon. And you’ll have plenty of content to enjoy. A unicorn in his own right, this young man grew up in East Nashville before it was cool. An alumnus of Rosebank Elementary and Stratford High School, he is a graduate of Belmont University, where he majored in English and spent most semesters on Chapel Probation (aka street cred). He worked for nearly 40 years with Kroger before retiring in 2012. That retirement coincided with more spare time to churn out his fiction and help fill the shelves of East Side Story when we first opened. Hot off the press with his 10th, let me repeat 10th novel this year, it was my honor to finally introduce the local legend, an authentic, homegrown Nashville treasure, my friend, Ralph Bland.
Ralph approached the stage, in front of a room filled with adoring friends, and was as professional as I’ve ever seen him but the way he read to the crowd was like he was reading to each of us individually. Instead of diving into a story that was typical of the East Nashville bar scene, of which he has several with familiar settings, Ralph opted on reading an instant classic tale about an 11-year-old boy and his dog Joe Dog going to a revival. But it wasn’t just one revival. This is a colorful story about the two loveable characters having to attend every night of a weeklong Baptist revival set in the 1961 South. Religiously, some things haven’t changed much, but the way Ralph weaved his two gems of characters into such a sometimes complex web of ceremonies and great spiritual order and expectations set a beautiful tone for tons of humous laughs and moments throughout that never stepped on the faith of the other people attending the revival.
You didn’t have to know the entire story to witness that Ralph was having a blast reading his material or that the entire room chuckling in unison at various times was having just as much of a blast too. Honestly, Ralph and the music that followed combined into one of those shows that I wish we could’ve had them reading and singing all the night through. Ralph used the word humdinger (a word that can never be overused in my book) and referenced the 19th repetition of the hymn Softly & Tenderly that is usually longer than Stairway to Heaven, ironically. Let me just say that if going to an actual Baptist revival on the longest sermon on Friday nights was as moving as Ralph’s fictional rendition, my family would have weekly schedules set in stone. The story was that great. But Ralph didn’t finish there, as you can listen below. He went on to share another fun short piece inspired by a phrase he coined in a household game of checking in on a particular neighbor by the title of Not Dead Again. It was poignant and also filled with splendid talk of the moon and the world around interesting characters. Ralph truly has a gift of making the ordinary extraordinary with writing that should not be missed. You need to listen to the below and go out and get one or all of his books today. You’re welcome for that tip.
Our featured music of the night is a New Jersey native but she plays like howI imagine a unicorn would. Introduced to me via our dear mutual friend and her equally other-worldly talented musician cohort by the name of Joe Pisapia, this woman is an old soul who has been compared to other strong female songwriters you know of like Joni Mitchell and Carole King. Her piano-driven music will drive you to many smiles and deep thoughts on life. She attended the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program in the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, and has been on tour with incredible artists pretty much ever since. She was a finalist for Lighting 100 and BMI’s 2016 Road To Roo and grand prize winner for their 2016 Music City Big Break competition. Also a good friend of our good friend Jason Eskridge, the room was packed with best friends and new fans of the amazingly wonderful Jess Nolan.
And leave it to Jess to settle in on stage and the first thing she says is a humble request for the crowd to give another round of applause and acknowledgement to the wonder of everything that Ralph had just shared. Instead of writing a 1,000 words about that moment, I’ll just share Ralph’s glow.
After the applause trickled down, Jess jumped right into her set by setting the scene with a short story of where the first song was inspired. Camping out and taking in all of the beauty and life that just is at Max Patch Mountain outside of Ashville, NC, Jess blew us all away (at least those of us who were hearing her perform for the first time beyond sound check). She through us into orbit and then followed up the first powerhouse song with one of her more well-known hits about gravity to bring us back down and settled in on her level. Not only did she get us settled in, she was gifting us with new songs that she had rarely, if ever, played in public to date. You could tell she was a little nervous to do so, like most musicians who share new stuff and who aren’t used to the level of such an amazing listening crowd that always shows up and out for East Side Storytellin’, but Jess looked and felt right at home after the first few new notes.
If you are a woman, I’m betting every single lyric, story, melody, and note that Jess shares is a breath of fresh air of enlightenment and inspiration for you to live your best life every second of every day. I say that as a man because I believe that any man listening to Jess’s music and truth gets a new look on their life and dreams with a breath of fresh air of enlightenment and inspiration for you to live your best life every second of every day. And she does it so naturally. They say the best professionals make the hardest of acts appear to be easy. Jess does that with her art, and we are all better for witnessing and appreciating it. I was so thankful that my wife, my toddler son, and a friend were able to pop in for the middle of the set to hear a few of the songs before heading back home. I know they were moved in that brief time like the rest of us who were able to take in the entire set. You can take in the entire set in the recording below. Do yourself a favor, and take that whole set in in one sitting = #treatyourself.
When I grabbed another stool and told Ralph to sit next to Jess in a way that let the crowd visualize what a duet or rendition of chopsticks with these two would look like, we were soon off to the races with our words. This adorable and perfect pairing lent itself to an candid interview that flowed more like a delightful dinner party with friends than a question and answer flow. Each guest shared honest introspection without extra frosting on their personal insight, and each guest flooded the other with admiration and compliments that were warranted and unnecessary but made a good thing even better. It was such a treat for me to help steer this new creative friend-ship towards the shore that was a room filled with friends and fans who gave full attention and a ton of love to these extraordinary humans and excellent storytellers giving us their time while on their amazing journeys. I have no doubt that you will be reading, seeing, and hearing more from both of these two artists for a long time to come. It was truly a pleasure to behold and to spend time with these two.
So here is the promised recording of East Side Storytellin’ 157, the show where Jess and Ralph brought you natural medicine to improve your outlook and all the feels of the good life. This magic took place at The Post East on Tuesday, July 16, 2019. Please enjoy this show and feel free to listen to it and share it with anyone and everyone 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 Ralph and Jess for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can experience more of Ralph’s writing & music here – www.ralphbland.com
You can listen to more of Jess’ music here- www.jessnolanmusic.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’ 158
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Mark Doyle
singing- Lynn Taylor & The Barflies
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 157 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