Hello everyone, and welcome to another great round of East Side Storytellin’. Similar to the 44 previous shows we’ve put together from East Side Story, we’ve come together here to get you cultured up just right in the form of a local 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. If the last show with Ciona Rouse and Amita Fukui was the most soulful show yet, the combination of the featured guests for this one had the promise of being one of the most heartfelt shows yet. And like all of the guests of this show bringing their A-games to the crowd and recording, this show did not fail in keeping its promise. This is East Side Storytellin’ 45. Let us begin, again.
The first featured guest of East Side Storytellin’ 45 is more than the lovely stepmother of the absolute coolest yoga teacher in Tennessee (and that I know anywhere- shout out to Rachel Mathenia). Born and raised in Upstate New York, she has made Tennessee her home since 1990. Recently changing her mail delivery and voting services to call Nashville home, her poems and essays have appeared in literary journals such as Birmingham Poetry Review, Quiddity, and, most recently, Number One, published here in Middle Tennessee. Her collection, How She Got That Way, appears in the chapbook quartet Mend & Hone. She is the founding editor of Mixitini Matrix: A Journal of Creative Collaboration, an assistant editor at Sundress Publications, and teaches writing courses at Volunteer State Community College. It was truly an honor to introduce a good friend, the amazing poet, and even better person who we like to call Leslie LaChance!
Leslie was spectacular. She kicked things off with a candid set of poems that dove into mixing English with Spanish, love with life, childhood with growing up, memories with deep thoughts, and her intimate, life-changing moments with a crowd that was all heart, smiles, and ears. It was really something to sit and listen to while appreciating the nice Fall weather comforting everyone in sight. I had a handful of people come up to me after the show and recite their favorite lines and concepts that Leslie shared throughout her performance. And let me tell you, before you get to the recording below, it was quite the performance. Few I’ve seen do spoken word utilize such a gift that Leslie shared with us this evening with the inflection of her voice, shifting and emphasizing the perfect syllables in multiple languages to get her exact points across. Whether you knew what the Spanish words meant (I did), everyone seemed satisfied with understanding where Leslie was coming from and where she was taking everyone. It was a fun trip for all.
The second featured guest of the evening wrapped up this month of September’s homage to talented friends of talented friends of my favorite music duo of Carolina Story– new parents of the next wave of Americana in Bruce Wilder Roberts. I first met this young man at the same house concert that headlined East Side Storytellin’ alumni Carolina Story and Amita Fukui. Saying the same as I did with Amita, any friend of Ben and Emily is someone with whom we should all should hope to to be friends. You’ll know it for yourself after about 5 seconds of meeting this guy on or off stage, but its impossible not to be in a good mood instantly around him and his music. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee … their loss is Nashville’s gain. A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University (Go Blue Raiders), he is one of the few people and musicians in town that truly gives me hope that country-western & southern music has a future by relating to its historic past and bridging that gap with the current state of our city and world … his world. I personally feel that he’ll step out from behind the backstage passes shared by Carolina Story and start playing originals at the Opry for the masses soon enough, so cherish the recording below while you have him all to yourself with more than two songs at a time. This is my promise. This is just the beginning of your musical journey from this talented guy. A man that strums three chords and sings only the truth, get ready for the one and only TC, Taylor Corum!
Taylor immediately treated the people and the stage like another house show. He has a knack for cutting past all the bologna and serving the people his heart on a platter. He jumped right into a song that put a 100 smiles across the patio. His feet, my feet, everyone’s feet were moving to the beat of Taylor’s strum. He took time in between songs to thank the crowd and his amazing friends (friends, as I have come to find in my own life = our chosen family that give us more strength than we ever knew we had before), and he took a tough personal year and transformed it into a set of seven songs that transformed the moment and us all. You see … when you cut past all of the little stuff, like Taylor did and does with outward ease, you do actually see the truth and the basics for which life is about. It’s not a complicated thing, the words and chords Taylor uses are always quite simple, but the point is that Taylor’s music and positive outlook/metaphors reveal a sense of hope that is more than easy to relate to on a perfect Fall evening amidst good people.
After Taylor finished his set with a song that he changes the ending every night like a Pearl Jam Yellowledbetter song, I was really excited to get Leslie and Taylor on the stage together so they could share a little more of their stories beyond their creative awesomeness. I was like The Joker, I couldn’t stop smiling. I told the people that unless you were watching Taylor’s performance from the front row, you missed a white James Brown with dance moves way bigger than the radio recording. The way that Leslie and Taylor shared their art, you could see that it moved their bodies as much as it moved our minds … and that’s saying a lot about how good these two are. You can take the time to listen to the recording below to get a sense of what you missed or remember what happened if you were lucky to witness it live.
I’ll say it again, like my friend and East Side Storytellin’ alumnus in Nate Woodall mentions during every show he comes to (frequently, I will add). He said, “About halfway through every East Side Storytellin’ show I start to feel sad for everyone else that isn’t here with us.” I think that pretty much wraps up my sentiments exactly, but I couldn’t feel too bad on this particular evening because there were no more seats available for the crowd – some standing in the back, all with smiles for the show. In the end, I hope everyone agrees and says in years to come that it was something to see. I think this is something to see. I also think this is something to hear and listen to as well.
That said, here is the edited recording for East Side Storytellin’ 45. Please feel free to shaw with everyone you know and listen to it over and over again until you fully understand English/Spanish poetry as your own heart’s language and you get enough of what Leslie and Taylor are dishing here (Which, coincidentally, the answer is it’s never enough). So, enjoy this recording as many times as you want. This is a gift.
https://soundcloud.com/eastsidestorytn/sets/east-side-storytellin-45
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Leslie LaChance and Taylor Corum for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
I’ll keep the gratitude going for Tom Eizonas, for the recording and sound of the night, Clay Brunton for the amazing art print, for Kevin Anthuis at 5 Points Digital Imaging (http://5pdi.com) for printing those art prints, Otis James for my wicked cool hat, and to my lovely wife 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.
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 – http://eastsidestorytn.com/in-our-own-words/
But we are not finished.
The NEXT East Side Storytellin’ event will be …
Date- Tuesday, October 7th, 2014
Time- 7 pm sharp (Central)
Location- Mad Donna’s (1313 Woodland Street)- http://maddonnas.com
With Fog Ink’s own Amy Neftzger and music by the wonderfully talented Rae Hering. It will be another transcendent, soulful night not to miss.
That’s all for the East Side Storytellin’ 45 show. Thanks for coming out and sharing the good word. Remember to be nice to one another out there. Thanks and good day your way.
Much love.
chUck
