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 160th epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 159, I repeat … 159, 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 East Side Storytellin’ 160. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artistof the night is the second featured author in a row to be featured on this show who graduated from Furman University (shout out Claire Gibson). This guy, not Claire, also got a MA from The University of Virginia, a PhD from Florida State, and is a frequent contributor with Chapter 16. His articles, essays, and stories have appeared in the Nashville Scene, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Post Road, Pittsburg Quarterly, The Southeast Review, and a ton of other places that are respected and read by people you’d probably take home to meet your mom. A native of central, not to be confused with East or South Virginia, author of Only Love Can Break Your Heart, and one heck of a teacher at Montgomery Bell Academy, and dad, husband, son, and friend in general, it was my honor to introduce the extremely humble and talented Ed Tarkington.
Ed started off his reading by letting the crowd know that he was just getting back on the bike again. After two years straight of doing readings and interviews for his debut novel with a break in between to write his latest work, he gently took a seat on his second bicycle and set off into unexplored territory with us in tow. Similar to a musician playing a new song for the first time in public, Ed bravely left any resemblance of an ego at home while pulling out papers with words that have not reached a printer other than his own to date. It was fresh, it was exciting, and everyone in the room was on the same page … the first page.
The next novel has a title of So Wise, So Young. Set in the Nashville area, everyone in the crowd who lives near by was all ears to see if they may hear their own story in between the lines. I’m not sure if anyone I knew in attendance has experienced sending off siblings to war or receiving them back from battles in coffins wrapped in patriotic flags, but that didn’t matter as much as the brilliant characters and tone that Ed placed at the foot of our tables at The Post. The air was somber and thick, but the elements of family, religion, talking heads on the news, and the grand concepts and definitions of noble sacrifices rang loud and clear from the ripples produced the stones Ed repeatedly threw into the collective river of consciousness at The Post East on this given night. You can listen to the entire reading in the link below, and you can buy the book to find out what happens when it comes out next year (stay tuned and stay connected), but trust me when I say that you are in the hands of an extraordinary, reliable author in Ed who will take to beyond your backyard to discover things, people, places, and ideas that were waiting for you to discover at just the right time.
Our featured music of the night will be provided by someone who simmered in the pot filled with everything great about Louisiana before ever calling Nashville home. Soaking in the influences of traditional Cajun, Louisiana blues, swamp pop, New Orleans Brass Bands and Zydeco, and a side of red beans and rice, I’m sure, this guy has kept in touch with his Louisiana roots while making a fresh take of Americana and Roots music for Music City. Like Ringo, this guy has outstanding new music to give us with a little help from his talented friends, but tonight we are lucky to have him all to ourselves and the ghosts he lives with. Just shy of being hot of the press with his latest record titled Living With Ghosts, the entire room was on time and on point to show some love for the not so one and only Will Payne Harrison!
I have to say that I included the title of Will not being the one and only because he corrected me and my attempt at personal research by letting me know he was in fact the 4th Will Payne Harrison in his family lineage. I always respect the truth, but I instantly wanted him to tell us more about the doings and histories of those Will’s who came before and are permanently connected to him. Instead, he changed the setlist he had prepared and called in audibles that he thought best suited the overall feel of this show once he got to jump in after Ed set the stage for music. Like Ed, it was honest, upfront, personal, LIFE in call caps, and fit just like a glove that is one size fits all = it was that special.
Will’s set almost made me want to brand him as the male Taylor Swift of breakups from the perspective and voice of the male point of view, but I realized pretty quickly that, unlike Taylor, Will writes all of his own songs and I like them better (no disrespect to Taylor). Will told stories behind each song and breakup and even some of the feedback he has received from said stories and songs in the past. The instant classic response, for me, was the heartbroken man in Cincinnati yelling to Will before he played High As Willie. The preclude and then the chorus that followed made me see visions of future heartbroken souls singing along with a repeated chorus in unison and turning bad times into good over the long haul of this song’s projection. Similar to Pearl Jam’s Alive or Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline at a baseball game, High As Willie, mark my words, will be a crowd favorite sooner than later. Like most of the songs of Will’s set, nothing brings us all together or more connected than sadness.
But Will didn’t stop at Willie. He sang about death, funerals, the smells and memories of Louisiana (not to be confused with death or funerals), people who clearly had something wrong with them because they didn’t want to move to Nashville, and everything in between. It was an amazing set, and thankfully you can listen to it all in the link below. Do yourself a favor, and give it a listen.
And like I do every time around this time, I was able to share the stage with both featured guests at the same time. As we stood together, huddled at the stage like that makeshift group of guys standing around the fire in a barrel and singing Philadelphia soulful songs outside of Rocky Balboa’s residence, both Ed and Will dove straight into some deep and enlightening personal narratives and perspectives of why and what they do. We all were told about other family artists who we need to go read more about and from, in Booth Tarkington, and we all finally got some education on what exactly swamp pop is and where we’ve heard it before. Will had been on a marathon of interviews and performing as of late without sleep, but the interview and entire show, once again in my opinion, was a dream. There were many laughs and smiles and epiphanies shared among the three men to the listening and appreciative crowd, and I truly believe everyone in the building was better off after the show than we were before it started. I am very grateful to Chris and Tonya for opening their doors to our show, especially on this given night and pairing.
So here it is, for your enjoyment, the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 160. It was a show that we were lucky to host with the reading of Ed Tarkington and singing of Will Payne Harrison on Tuesday, September 3, 2019, at The Post East. East Nashville will never be the same. Literally, it will never be the same. Tis life. Enjoy the recording, and life (for that matter), and share it with everyone you come across today and tomorrow. Thank you.
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Ed and Will for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can read more of Ed’s writing here- www.edtarkington.com
You can listen to more of Will’s music here- www.willpayneharrison.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’ 161
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Dan Hoy
singing- Brad Sample
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 160 and another fabulous event at The Post with East Side Story at the helm. Thanks for coming out 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