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 142nd epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 141, I repeat … 141, 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’ 142. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is an activist, musician, self-proclaimed troublemaker, and an author. He is best known as the founder and bassist of The Slants, the world’s first and only all-Asian American dance rock band. He has been a keynote speaker, performer, and present at TEDx SWSW, Comic-Con, Stanford University, and over 1,200 events across four continents. In fact, he has set a world record by appearing on the TEDx stage 13 times. But, he is here for this show and I’m sure he’ll have just as much time as he did on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, NPR, BBC, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone. I’m talking about the one and only Simon Tam.
Simon kicked off his reading by letting everyone know that he has been busy writing a memoir and that what he was about to share with us was the roughest rough draft, pre-editor remarks, from the first chapter of said memoir in the making. He said that the content would be mainly about the childhood era of his life and leaving the Supreme Court case victory of Matal v. Tam for subsequent chapters for us to read at a later time. Basically, Simon laid a solid foundation for the audience to really get to know the person he is now because of the way his family and society helped shape his environment. I not only appreciated this tactic for setting up reading non-fiction excerpts from memoirs, I loved the fact that I was hearing all of this on the first occasion I got to meet with Simon in real life and not on the internet or reading articles about his ongoing legacy. Simon broke down his history in an engaging way that left for more laughs and deep thoughts than any actual breaking down on stage. He was/is a true professional speaker.
In a holiday week that usually has families coming together and making food and a lot of the time making scenes that last a lifetime, Simon retraced several quotes and memories from his parents that have stuck with him and inspired him during the highs and lows of his adulthood up to this point. I related a lot with his dad saying, “Work with your brains, not with your back.” I also related with the Spanish-speaking skills he added to his English at school too. That said, I felt empathy for Simon while he spoke about the cultural and race relation clashes from his teachers telling his parents that he needed special classes to talk more “American” and not like them, eventually driving his education in places where he would lose touch with his ability to read in the 1st 3 languages he was taught in youth at home. I guess you could say that the mental fortitude Simon found after addressing these incidents and choices along his path may have found him finding the light in choosing the ukulele over a guitar and then deciding on the bass guitar over other instruments that didn’t feel as close to home for his musical calling.
One of the last things that Simon read about, and probably the thing that stuck with me the most after the show was over, was the bullying experience he had in school while four bigger kids beat him up in the schoolyard and called him names because of his ethnicity. It was a moment surrounded by so much ignorance and hate and pain that always lasts longer than the physical scars, and the kids doing the bullying felt nothing but laughter in that moment. It was heroic and awesome to hear what Simon said to the bullies in his defense, but it was something that still happens way too often in our world today, especially from the people who work in the most powerful positions. But if Simon’s story after that incident says anything about our world and our future after the massive hurt and suffering and collective bullying going on at the present time, then I’m at least more hopeful today than I was before this show and Simon’s wonderful reading.
Our featured music of the night is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, and musician with a background in music and entertaining that began at the age of 13 and has taken him around the world, most recently a non-stop weekend of live shows in Oklahoma. What started out as an inspired talent show performance in school soon went into warp speed with performances on stage throughout many venues in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. In a long line of solid connections and moving in and out of Nashville in between record deals, he finally moved back to town in 2012 when everything aligned just right, the same year we opened East Side Story … coincidences found in the stars, possibly? Either way, I’m just glad our good friend Dave Coleman suggested this connection. Everything this guy does is entertaining and enlightening. Normally with his band The Buckles, we had this guy flying solo, ready for him to get back to his original only sets for a renewed charge for the new year ahead. I’m talking about the very talented Nathan Belt.
I knew from the first sound in sound check that Nathan’s performance was going to be something special. He is vintage country with a fresh twist. I’m not talking about the kind of stuff you hear on country music radio these days. I’m talking about the kind of stuff people heard on country music radio when there wasn’t anything but a radio in the house or the front porch kind of days. It only takes a few measures in the first original song you hear from Nathan to know that this boy has done his homework, he has put in a lot of work, and he is the real deal. More important than impeccable musical talents, you can tell that he genuinely loves every second of what he is doing and sharing when he plays music. That is a gift and a blessing.
Like any professional, like Simon, Nathan makes playing music look easy. Again, like Simon’s memoir, Nathan has a beautiful knack for taking poignant moments and true stories in his life and blend them into art that is relatable for anyone listening. The first track was about finding and communicating love. One of the others was about a frugal time period when he learned that money makes the world go round for a lot of people in our society and that just because your world isn’t spinning at the moment doesn’t mean that it’s not valuable. To lift the spirits a little bit, but not by much, he played several songs that he prefaced with themes of depression (one being a quasi-tribute to Hank Williams Sr. and another one asking what he got into in the character of Jerry Lee Lewis inspiration). Nathan ended the show with a song that is vintage Nashville with a twist. It was a love song that was a train song, but it was written while he was working as an entertainer on a cruise ship “400 Miles to Heaven” away from a girl he admired at the time. It was a combination of everything great that Nathan brings to the musical table and Nashville in general. But similar to the bullying incident read in the first act, one of the songs from Nathan called “Your Memory Makes It Rain” was the dagger to my heart that stuck with me after the show. I recently had to say goodbye to my best friend of 13 years, bearKat, a dog who was more of a person than most people I’ve come across so far in this life, and every single lyric of song was so beautiful that I had to hold back the tears so the show would go on without my scenes. You can listen to it for yourself in the recording below, but the lines about “Everyone tells me the weather will change” and “I can’t hold back the tears when your memory makes it rain” and so much more just got me good. It was exactly what I needed to hear and feel, and the entire set just made me feel all the feels of life.
After the music ended, I welcomed Simon back on the stage to join Nathan and myself in a good conversation about creativity and their backstories. They were both so succinct with their words and intentions. They were both honest and clear with their statements, so clear that it almost felt like it was nothing new for either of them to be as open and honest as anyone you’ve met in the past few years. We are constantly bombarded with lies and agendas in entertainment and politics and everywhere that we turn these days that it is beyond refreshing to come across two good people who make it a habit to just be themselves and share their experiences and lessons learned for others to appreciate and integrate into their own journey. The way that Simon simplified the stories about battling racism in the Supreme Courts and the way that Nathan candidly spoke about the opportunities to creatively write with his heroes inspired me beyond words. I’m pretty sure that everyone in the room was more than ready to charge after their dreams as soon as they leave The Post East on this given night, totally inspired by the art and activism of Simon and Nathan. Again, it was a complete honor to share this given night and experience with these two solid human beings. They are as humble as they are talented, and you can hear for yourself just how talented they are in the recording below. I hope to see both of them sooner than later and track their careers for decades to come. All the best!
So here is the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 142, the night when Simon Tam and Nathan Belt slanted the playing field back to the good guys for a positive change. This went down at The Post East on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, and you, my friend, can listen to and share this link over and over again with as many people you know and haven’t even met yet. I’m fairly sure they will give you many thanks for doing so, this week or days and weeks after Thanksgiving. You’re very welcome.
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Simon and Nathan for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can keep up with Simon’s writing here – www.simontam.org
You can listen to more of Nathan’s music here – www.nathanbelt.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’ 143
Tuesday, December 4
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Craig Freeman
singing- Jason Eskridge
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 142 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