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 130th epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 129, I repeat … 129, 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’ 130. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is a Haitian/African-American writer from Chicago. He recently graduated from Vanderbilt University with an degree in English/Creative Writing. Before Vandy, he was a part of Chicago’s Louder than a Bomb poetry slam competition. While at Vandy, he was published in the Vanderbilt Review and was the co-recipient of the Merrill Moore Award for poetry. After Vandy, this young man is going to keep his momentum going strong as tackles everything the Michigan Wolverines dish his way as a MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Michigan later this Fall. Recently published in the Nashville Review, I was ready to hear this literary legend in the making with clear eyes and a full heart. I’m talking about Sir Bryan Byrdlong!
What initially struck me about Bryan was his authentic confidence that filled the entire room. You could instantly tell that he knew exactly what he was going to say, how he was going to say it, and that every second of his being was filled with purpose. Even before he uttered his first words, I was instantly reminded of the same feeling I had recently when I watched the Black Panther lead actor, Chadwick Boseman, give a commencement speech at his alma mater in Howard University. You can watch that speech, and I really think you should, by clicking this word HERE.
Bryan did a magnificent job of telling stories, real stories in poem form. He led off his set with a transformative piece about the Nashville he moved into and was moved by before moving out later this year. There were beautiful metaphors with the price of living and mice having to move along after years of living side by side with the new folks. It is an outstanding perspective of the spectrum of the times we live in. Then, taking us on a trip down memory lane, Bryan went into a masterful examination of his misadventures of Bible camp back in the day with his best friend. It was a twist and turn of religion and sexuality and faith and sex in general and a focused snapshot of a Polaroid that anyone can relate to from their own friendship tales. Throughout the rest of the poems, all of which you should listen to in the recording below and the link mentioned at the end of this recap, Bryan drove us on his own magic school house bus while educating and enlightening the crowd with a new sense/filter that he sees the world. There were odes to his hometown cities of Chicago and Nashville, and I am more than excited to see what he ends up writing about Michigan after living up North for the next few years. Like any brilliant artist, Bryan is someone you can see and feel his story from his past and present but inevitably have trouble going to sleep after witnessing his art because you are more excited than Christmas Eve to find out what he has in store next.
Our featured music of the night is someone who is a civic-minded, radical empathy, brilliant human who spends a lot of time creating and sharing his original music all the while trying to become a better listener. He has self-described his music as woozy and folkie, and you are about to evaluate for yourself what that means to you. This guy practices what he preaches, singing songs about love, vulnerability, and the impending collapse of our society (lots of truth talk). When backed up by his Nashville surf-maestros, The Beech Benders (shout out to Bowling Green and waterparks), this guy helps you dance your way through the haze of mundane life and into the wild expanse of our collective consciousness. As I’ve said before many-a-times, any good friend of Carl Carbonell is someone I GOTTA be friends with, so I was thrilled to finally meet and greet and shake hands and hug the newest artist of absolute truth I’ve been fortunate to witness and get to know … I’m talking about the one and only Bill Eberle!
Equiped with nothing but an electric guitar and his voice, Bill jumped right into his set by following Bryan’s strong prose with some strikingly poignant and current newsworthy lines about violence in Palestine and other social issues that were still ringing in the air from five minutes prior. I keep telling y’all, but these pairings just happen like that and sync up more perfect than I could ever plan. That’s how we know we are supposed to keep doing this show. Bill filled with room with simple words and simple melodies that in turn filled our minds and heart and soul with a perfect amount of energy to digest, reflect on, and talk about later with family and friends who weren’t present to witness this show firsthand. It was breathtaking from start to finish.
In between a few of his songs, Bill gave big props to Bryan’s words and relayed to the crowd that he too was a student of poetry (although he studies more on his own and unofficially since he got dismissed from two separate programs for his own reasons). Again, the University and College level loss was our musical and creative outlet gain. Aside from the tone and tempo and honesty provided by both artists of the night, there were two specific points of the performances that stood out to me for synchronicity-sake. First, was that Bill, when talking about his unofficial studies, had met Bryan’s and our mutual friend Tiana Clark while working at Trader Joe’s and talking about poetry in motion and all things that he needed to study. Bryan had actually studied under/with Tiana in a few workshops too. And secondly, there were metaphors about mice in regards to various cultures in both song and poem this evening. At one point, beyond the actual material shared, I felt an overwhelming sense of truth all around me. It was something I can’t fully describe unless you were there with us this night, but it is something that I shared with the artists later together and said I wish every performance at the Ryman and other big money tickets would showcase more of from various artists on all levels. Bill’s set was priceless.
Once again, after the music ended, I was gifted with the opportunity to talk it up with both featured guests. Like their writing and songs, both Bill and Bryan brought their A game. I pass around one mic and they in turn pass around their stories and thoughts on why they do what they do and where they want to go with their creative time and goals going forward. Whether it is high education or finding time to create away from their kids, all the while trying to make art that inspires themselves and others around them and properly records the people, issues, and times we currently live in, these two artists are truly as good as it gets. Don’t believe me? Give the recording below a good listen, and see if you don’t have it on repeat by the time we get to the talking points. I also find when people speak as candidly and from the heart as these guys do and did, time feels like it slows down and reality is more clear on what we need to think and act on. Bill and Bryan have gifts to cut through all of the bullshit and serve life on a golden platter for you to eat just enough of what you need to feel better about our world and in turn give back to the world with a newfound, exhilarating sense of purpose for a good life. Is there anything else you can ask of from others? Like I said before, take a listen to the recording below and also take time to check out the artist links below too. These two guys will not disappoint you.
So, here it is, the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 130, the night when Bryan Byrdlong and Bill Eberle brought the truth, the whole truth, so help us all! It was recorded on 5/15/18 at The Post East, but you can now play it until the internet breaks. Please feel free to share it with everyone and anyone you know and don’t know on the streets. They will thank you afterwards. I thank you now.
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Bryan & Bill for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can read more of Bryan’s recently published work here – as.vanderbilt.edu/nashvillereview/archives/14301
You can listen to more of Bill’s music here – billeberlemusic.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’ 131
Tuesday, June 5th
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Kristin Russell
singing- Suzie Brown
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 130 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 one another out there.
Much love,
mE
