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 144th epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 143, I repeat … 143, 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’ 144. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is someone who I met for the first time when he dropped by my old East Side Story bookstore when I first opened in 2012 and brought several copies of his book, “A Walk One Winter Night: A Real Christmas Story.” He walked into the store alongside his beautiful bride, and they instantly filled the room with smiles and love and holiday spirit every day of the year (this was before Christmas time and Thanksgiving, if memory serves me right). A counselor by trade, and a damn fine human being close to sainthood by day, this man is always is always on the go and helping others. Founder of a magical non-profit called Porter’s Call, this man is not only a wonderful writer and storyteller and giver and event magician of sorts, he is someone who has helped more than 1,000 different artist from all genres and counting. Someone who always inspires me daily from afar, I was super excited to find an opening in his calendar to promote his work and rekindle our friendship post bookstore. It was truly an honor to welcome to the stage the one and only, you can call him Al because it’s his name, Al Andrews!
Al walked into the room, fresh off a multi-date tour of Christmas shows with other friends, and took a seat at the front of the room with the joy and jolly of Father Christmas himself. Not one to boast, Al began his reading by telling the crowd that he is not a writer by trade, more of an observational person who likes to write about things that he sees. And instead of treating the crowd with the reading of his Christmas book, he added an awesome twist of sharing 3 short stories that he had written for his sons in the past during the holiday season. Point being, Al was treating us like family.
The first story was one of the most fun Christmas stories ever created about jingle bells. If I try to explain it to you at all, I’ll be sure to ruin the ending and feeling throughout. Listen to the recording below. The second story was something that hit very close to home. It was a tale about a 2 year old son, sitting in the backseat of a car, noticing and calling out the “beautiful” Christmas lights during a cold, winter night. The musings of the innocent babe transformed the energy and awareness in the rest of the car and slowly the rest of the world. This awareness and appreciation from the story bled into the ambiance of the crowd too. Again, take a listen for the full story below. Then, for the grand finale, Al brought out the big story that reveled in his fan hood of The Three Stooges and love of church. Set in an Anglican Church in England, this one was a true story. It also put a spotlight and exclamation mark on the writing skills Al has when observing everyday life and bringing out all the feels for every reader and listener to experience. It’s a heartwarming tale about a visit to a holiday service that quickly goes astray from traditions you’d expect, kind of like a bunch of kids doing whatever they want to in a wedding procession and in turn displaying the love and beauty of what this entire thing of life is about … love. Like the two stories above, I can’t write a review about it that explains the story and gives it proper justice. The best thing you can do is listen to the full reading in the recording below and look out for the published compilation of short stories from Al Andrews in the new future. In fact, I’m going to do both right now too.
Our featured music of the night is a mutual friend of the amazingly creative, always honest and caring, and alumnus of East Side Storytellin’ in that of Scott McMahon. I first met this fellow at one of these shows because of Scott, and he instantly wanted to be a part of this thing as soon as the time worked for everyone. Tonight is that time. On his website, you can read many quotes about what others have said about his music like “He sounded the way the country feels – and by country I don’t mean rural areas, but our entire war-torn forlorn post-recession nation. America hurts, and this guy howls for her” and “Get hold of his records, they will haunt and hold you” –I’m assuming in the best of ways. After you listen to the recording of this show, you’ll be able to write your own take on his gifts, but we were thankful to have him with us to experience his music before ending 2018. I’m talking about the always amazing Matt Woods!
Matt wasted no time at all before jumping into his first song. You can tell from the way he plays his guitar and sounds out his words, Matt holds nothing back. I’ve never lived very long in a drive-thru town, but the conviction and power that Matt sang his first song made me feel as though I had at one point. Then Matt dove into a rare love song called “Fireflies.” But it didn’t take long for Matt to get back into his wheelhouse, gritty, rock and blues.
Matt, to the surprise of Al and myself (if not more), broke into an original Christmas song that was recorded in the off-season (much like White Christmas was). Titled “Wake Me On Christmas”, it was not the happiest of Christmas songs, but it was as honest as any holiday song I’ve ever heard. I thought it was a perfect reflection for how the majority of people in our country has dealt with current politics this year. It was a reflection on 2018 in general. It was perfect. Matt then followed that jingle up with a few more to close. The finale was a song about a “Cold Civil War” that, once again, totally fit with our day and age and country at the time being. Like the rest of the show, and most of the shows, it encapsulated the ongoings surrounding the recording date and world we live in. Give the recording a listen below and you may actually feel the power and humanity in Matt’s voice as seen in this picture.
I was able to finish the show with a quick conversation with the boys. Al gave a really thoughtful and extensive history and purpose to his organization Porter’s Call. You can see the link below, but it is definitely worth checking out and sending information to all of your artist friends who may need some help with mental health. Matt took time to explain where he gets his biggest inspirations from the road and in the writing process, on top of briefly showing love to his newest hometown community of artists and love from Nashville. That was quite evident by the sheer number of friends he had in attendance in the full house. But like the material found in Al’s true story and Matt’s Christmas song, this interview was an absolute delight to witness and help put a bow on 2018 for our East Side Storytellin’ idea. We’re only going to do one show in January, an extra special show on an extra special date. See details below and see you all at the show!
So here is the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 144, the night that Al Andrews and Matt Woods brought the 2018 real meaning of Christmas to light. It was recorded on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at The Post East. You can now listen to and share it over and over and over again, beyond the New Year. Enjoy!
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Al and Matt for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can keep up with Al’s writing here – http://porterscall.com/about
You can listen to more of Matt’s music here – www.therealmattwoods.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’ 145
The first show of 2019 after taking the actual 1st off …
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Tommy Womack
singing- Tom Mason
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 144 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. Have a very merry and happy holiday season with your family and friends. 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