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 138th epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 137, I repeat … 137, 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’ 138. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is another one of those awesome people who I met via the Sewanee School of Letters. East Side Storytellin’ has been privy to a few, and, like those before her, this lady did not disappoint. Her poems are wide-ranging, with a common focus on sound and word play, often exploring the “between places” in the social, emotional, and physical. In fact, her MFA thesis project is titled Between Stations. She poetry has been featured at the Georgia Center for the Book in Atlanta and the Word of (South) Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee. She is the recipient of the James Dickey Award at Emory University and the Amon Liner Award at UNCG. She has worked as a book production editor, but the most impressive thing she’s done to me is teaching creative writing with middle schoolers. This lady is brave and the real deal. Welcomed to the mic with a very warm reception, it was perfect timing to hear from the likes of Laurie Perry Vaughen.
Laurie had arrived at The Post promptly at 6pm, per my request to outwit traffic. She was ready to sound check and get on the mic probably by 6:01pm. Point being, by the time she was introduced about an hour later than that, she was more than ready to do her thing. Like most readers on this show, Laurie was fully prepared on content and what she wanted to share with the crowd. She opened her set with a wonderful pantoum poem (a type of poem where there are repeating lines throughout in various places). You can listen to the poems in the recording below, but how cool is any set that begins with an actual pantoum? The answer is very, very cool. I’m going to start using that word more in public from here on out.
Laurie kept the hits rolling after the solid start, using heartfelt tributes and lots of substance to every layered line she shared to guide our emotional trip. She followed her pantoum up with a 2008 New Orleans’ flood based story used as a dedication to the current Carolinas. And then she struck serendipitous gold with work about The Grand Old Hatchery of Dickson, TN. In between Memphis blues and Nashville claims, she unknowingly connected with the musical act of the evening more than words. She then told a lovely family story about growing up with radios and what that meant to her relationship with her parents and others even through today. It really made me think about the beauty of simple with the line of “listen to the sound of the word nothing.” And then, just before she left the stage she dropped a poem that involved her son, trains, and basically a snapshot of my relationship with Nashville and my own son in the parks near our house. It really hit close to home, and I appreciated every single word and image that Laurie spoke on this given night. She has a voice that is familiar and content that is eternal and universal. You can listen to the entire set in the link below.
Our featured music of the night is a group who I’ve met and seen perform at various locations because of mutual Scotsman. Specifically, I first met Ben with Scott McMahan on an East Side Storytellin’ show, and then I met Dorothy recently when she helped Scot Sax rip the roof off of the City Winery Nashville. They’re both extremely talented and amazing people as individuals, but when you put them both together just forget about it. The sky isn’t even the limit. They have played all around the world, sharing their songs rich in pastoral imagery and love in its many forms, but this event was extra special for The Post East. I was extremely excited for everyone in attendance and for me too. Like the Wyld Stallyns, individually they are Ben DeBerry and Dorothy Daniel … but together they are The Danberrys!
Dorothy and Ben, like Laurie, strolled into The Post East ready to conquer the day. They quickly set up shop and took there spots in the crowd, amped and feeling right at home (down the street from their actual home), surrounded by friends and new fans. Once I got them on stage, they were primed to share their songs and tell their stories. They admitted that they chose the set list based on songs they thought had the most interesting backstories, and they didn’t disappoint. Their candidness in between the songs was as truthful and as amazing to hear as the experience is awesome seeing them do what they do in every song. They don’t just play the music, they feel it. And, in turn, anyone watching and listening to them play feels it too.
Whether Dorothy is using her guitar or a tambourine or a dance or a subtle smile, she and Ben compliment each other every second that they share together. To me, it’s fairly obvious that they were meant for each other to make art and lead us all into higher love by example. They seem to do it all effortlessly, and I know I wasn’t the only person in the crowd who felt/feels the same. The Danberrys are beautiful to witness, and I haven’t even mentioned the actual stories in their songs yet. I’d be hard-pressed to find a more authentic and emotional and historical account of art and life coming together perfectly than in the song about Dorothy’s home place of Promise Land Road in Charlotte, TN. But then Ben answered that song with the impressive account of meeting a majestic musician strolling through Music City denying his offer for shelter to crash in the “backseat of his hotel room” … meaning a car. You can hear it all, more than I could review and connect you to the original content shared, by clicking the recording link below, but I could write for days about my thoughts on this set. Every song reassured me that we are all on our own roads, moving forward on the daily, and blessed for the stories and people who have come before us to help guide our way. Again, I am a better person for having experienced The Danberrys’ music in person. Even if you Google the words, you won’t find anything quite like them.
And yet again, I was fortunate to have a few extra minutes to share with all of the featured guests of the show for the night and all of them were a pleasure to listen to as they told us the b-sides of their personal stories and works of art. To find out more about the personal inspirations and immediate family characters and tales who sparked the creativity and foundations of storytelling for each of these three artists really put into context their overall sets of this extraordinary night perfectly. Like I’ve already said before a few times, listen to the link below to really get to know these artists and people they are on and off the stage. You too will be a better person afterwards.
So here it is, the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 138, the day at Laurie and The Danberrys really brought to light the power and beauty of Dickson, TN, on Tuesday, September 18th, 2018 at The Post East. Do yourself a favor. Listen to and share this link with as many people you know or just met on the street today. It will help us all become better versions of ourselves. You’re welcome.
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Laurie and The Danberrys (Ben and Dorothy) for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can keep up with Laurie’s writing here – www.laurievaughen.wordpress.com
You can listen to more of The Danberrys’ music here – www.thedanberrys.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’ 139
Tuesday, October 2nd
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Eiko Shawnsie
singing- Annika Bennett
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 138 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