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 143rd epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 142, I repeat … 142, 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’ 143. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is kinda like a unicorn in the fact that he is an actual Nashville native. He is featured tonight because he is a brilliant creative writer who constantly weaves introspection into intricate woven rhythmic poetry, essays, and short stories. He utilizes his writing to provoke thought and question behavior. A graduate of Alabama State University (shout out to Hornets) who has spent some quality time in Nashville as an audio engineer at Dark Horse Institute, in the summer of 2016 this guy steered away from the traditional corporate flow to dive deeper into his stream of his creative abilities. He has said that self-expression lives at the core of the human experience; without it we limit life’s offering. Featured this past summer at the wildly successful and monthly Poetry In The Brew sessions, we were honored to have the opportunity to help promote and to sit back and show witness to the awesomeness that is the one and only Craig Freeman.
Craig, like only very few featured authors up to this point in the show, didn’t use script in his hands. Without a safety net of words to fall on, he popped right onto the tight rope of a stage and promptly amazed everyone in the crowd. His words are daring, flowing like a high tide river rampage of truth that either splash you in the face if you’re standing on the sidelines or sweep you up and take you away to another place of awesome all together if you jump into it. I’m pretty sure everyone in the crowd this evening jumped into it. Craig spoke with his hands, his face, and his soul.
Craig walked us down to his river at the beginning of his set and told us that the majority of his work, if not all of it, is inspired by self talk with his higher self. With his Soul on Fire, he reminded us that life is short and we are all just trying to find our pace in the zombie race. Dropping a Two Week Notice on my front porch, I was refreshed by and charged to the notion of creating my own reality with the backdrop of how some people in the world try to get you to cut the head of your own dreams and replace it with a Frankenstein version of others. He entered into the political reflection world with a powerful poem titled Hypocrite, and then took us on a grand finale of a road trip adventure with his 30th birthday reflection titled Stumbled Upon Heaven’s Gate. Overall, Craig did a masterful job of sharing his life stories and thoughts so we can do a better job of living our own. You really can’t ask more of an artist, can you? Take a listen in the recording of the reading below.
Our featured music of the night is a highly respected musician from Rockwood, TN. After playing football and earning a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University (shout out to the Golden Eagles), he tried a few things in a few different places but eventually couldn’t run away from the calling of music and Music City. He’s worked as an opening act or background vocalist for the likes of Lyle Lovett, Jonny Lang, Keb Mo’, Marc Broussard, and others you know very well, but this evening we had him all to ourselves. After his self-titled independent EP, he traveled the world playing his music in places like South Africa, Amsterdam, India, England, and more. His latest release of Live in Nashville includes a brilliant version of Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come. He currently hosts a soul music series every 2nd and 4th Sunday at The 5 Spot (1006 Forrest Avenue) with a $10 cover charge for a priceless show and he tours regularly while prepping his next indie release under his label Rustic Soul Records. Point being, we are extremely lucky and excited to have him for this extra special show. Alongside his talented friends Brandon Newsome & Kateri Farrell, it didn’t take much to get the crowd excited to give it up for the amazing Jason Eskridge.
Jason, like Craig, got into his groove instantly. We had a few minor that could’ve been major setbacks during the soundcheck with our equipment and various things, and I don’t think we could have been working with a more patient and understanding artist with the caliber of talent on top of grace in the tri-state area on this given night. It was a solid reminder that we were doing what we needed to be doing with exactly the right people in the right place … and that everything always works out in the end how it’s gonna happen. All we have to do is show up. And Jason and his crew definitely showed up!
Jason tends to take his time in between songs. With an element of athletics in the mix, slowing his words and thoughts down to perfectly articulate his thoughts while stretching our mindsets at the same time, it was almost like he was preserving his energy to immediately hit the ground running and explode on the scene with the dynamic stories and emotions that you can find in every single lyric and song he shares. Jason is also sharing when it comes to the people he plays with. Like a solid player/coach, he knows his teammates are impeccable and add perfect highlights to each song with various solos and change of tempos. If Craig’s poetry was a swim in the river, then Jason’s music was the bonfire dance party waiting for us at the shoreline take out to keep the trip alive and going. Many of Jason’s songs are based upon and seeped in love. So, without me going on and on with words trying to describe just how much I loved his good music, I want you to go ahead and listen to the recording below and enjoy it yourself.
And speaking of the bonfire dance party beside the river of life and good music, we sure enough sat down like we were chilling around the fireside to have a chat about creativity and life in general. Once again, serendipity arrived at my front door with this pairing when the backstory came out that Craig had once contacted Jason awhile ago when working in the music business and fully appreciating his work. Basically, this talk, this friendship, and this artistic experience was meant to be. I could’ve sat and talked with both of these guys for hours, but you know The Post had to close and Jason needed to get to a bus on time for another tour date (15 more Christmas shows before Christmas was on his schedule after our show). But I am very thankful to have met with and shared this time and show with these two humans. They really understand what this life is about, and they helped me and others see their light.
So here is the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 143, the night when Craig Freeman and Jason Eskridge and crew performed and showed us the true meaning of the holiday spirit that we can live with and share every day of the year. This show took place at The Post East on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, and I am forever grateful I was there and not alone to experience it. Enjoy the recording, over and over again until you know it all by heart, and feel free to share it with everyone you know. Thank you.
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Craig and Jason (and Brandon & Kateri) or sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can listen to more of Jason’s music here – www.jasoneskridge.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.
Also, I wanna give a big shout out to Clay Brunton who once again graced us with his artistic abilities to make the anniversary print you saw online and here tonight.
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’ 144
Tuesday, December 18
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Al Andrews
singing- Matt Woods
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 143 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 out there. Thank you and goodnight.
Much love,
mE