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 87th epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 86, I repeat … 86, 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’ 87. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is a poet and an artistic activist (meaning he helps spark inspiration in others to not only talk but to do things creatively all over town and beyond). Online, he articulates his thoughts on poetry and Nashville and where the two intersect, on a blog titled hemouthsmewrong.blogspot.com. Offline, he coordinates and hosts the monthly poetry readings that are at least one visiting poet and one local poet reading an hour’s worth of poetry called E t A l Poetry Readings. But he doesn’t stop there. He co-edits the sporadic web-journal ‘Pider, and does his own thing too. He is the author of the full-length collection Let’s be close Rope to mast you, Old light’ and chapbooks ‘o n e’ and ‘Note on Tundra’. I’m talking about the word maestro of Nashville himself, the one and only Matt Johnstone (exclamation mark)!
Matt had his cell phone in one hand and a cold beer in the other. He knew exactly what he was doing. He declared that he had some poems that he wanted to read and others that he needed to read, and he told the crowd to figure out which were which. Nothing like an artist who lays down the bravado and a contest for all to get involved with their art before they start the show. I loved it.
One funny thing that happened from reading from his phone instead of from memory or papers on the podium, nobody had a good idea of when to show some love and clap in appreciation for sharing each individual poem because we didn’t know if he was finished with the poem or making dramatic pauses while scrolling on his phone. It wasn’t a flaw in the performance nor did this fact take away from his wonderful words. On the contrary, the major solo applauses that Tom Eizonas dished out during every secondary pause in the reading totally made Matt feel appreciated as he smiled and told the crowd, “Thank you, YOU.” I know Tom and everyone around us loved it.
But yeah, Matt spoke about truths and current events all-life encompassing. He talked about cops, LeBron James needing to revitalize the Akron University Press, the depth of responsibility and connectedness within the current use of the word “I” in modern poetry, and many other things that made me feel smarter in general and more aware of how someone who has a skill of articulating just the right words at the right time can honestly change everything. Matt Johnstone has those skills, and we are all better off for being around him and listening to what he has to share.
In an attempt to follow the magic of Matt’s words, we went big. I’m talking about bringing out the figurative cake and candles and decided to feature someone with a big birthday. Quasi-sponsored by our fine, mutual John friends who own and run The Beer Pale and Wingfield’s Cleaning Service, respectively, this birthday gig was also one of the first major literary/music events for the likes of my son’s dear friend Colin Wesley Craver. As you can see, he thought the show was finger-lickin’ good, taking it all in with his mom and dad. We are grateful for kids of all ages who attend our shows.
Our featured musician and man with a birthday this show day is a folk singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia who does way more than play a guitar and sing a few songs. Drawing influences from some of my favorites in The Avett Brothers and Old Crow Medicine Show, to name two, he writes and performs an acoustic blend of bluegrass, folk, and country music. Last year, he recorded an EP titled Sweetheart-a bluegrass driven folk record of twangy love songs. Playing alongside a very talented friend and singer by the name of Kiely Schlesinger, it was perfect timing to give attention and love to the likes of my good buddy Drew Kohl.
Drew and Kiely wasted no time getting everyone in the mood to put on dancing shoes with a tune that was literally called Dancing Shoes. Luckily, before most of us could get out of our chairs to dance and try to keep up with their beat, Drew and Kiely slowed down the next few songs to some of the most poignant and introspective ballads I’ve heard in quite some time. Each song had a ton of raw emotions and backstories mixed into lines and melodies that we could all relate with in our own lives and personal backgrounds. Most of them had a knack for leading with general lines that involved sadness, but Drew turned everything around by the end and made those initial, simple lines into something with more depth than first imagined. Plus, it sounded great.
Between Drew’s lead vocals and the way Kiely lifted up the material and added a beautiful fierceness and grit to the stories, the pairing of them both together just fit so nicely. Whether it was a funky cover of The Ramones with a country twang, or a love song that hit you straight to your heart, these two know how to make a song come to life.
So after the music ended, Kiely took a seat and let the three amigos take to the two mics on sight and talk about some things. It was a fun, flexible interview where I enjoyed listening to each of their takes on their journeys so far and also mixing things up while asking each other questions when they were looking for tangent lines to connect between their two highly creative worlds. And as much as I enjoy and admire both of these artists as artists, I also love to hear more about how each of these people spend so much time and energy to help others in the short time they call spare time in their everyday lives. There are many reasons why people like Matt Johnstone and Drew Kohl have such dedicated fans and friends who go to great lengths to support their art. We were lucky to recognize several of those reasons by experiencing their craft and insightful conversations firsthand at The Post.
Here it is, the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 87, featuring Matt Johnstone and Drew Kohl (with Kiely Schlesinger) at The Post on Tuesday, July 19th, 2016. Enjoy and share over and over again, as you wish:
So before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks, once again, for Matt Johnstone and Drew Kohl and Kiely Schlesinger for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can read more of Matt’s writing here – hemouthsmewrong.blogspot.com
You can listen to more of Drew’s music here – drewkohl.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 WordsTab – 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.
I’d also like to show much love to Clay Brunton for the beautiful artwork online to promote the show.
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’ 88
Tuesday, August 2nd
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Barry Jones (www.barryjonesstories.com)
singing- Woodferd – aka Peter McKeown (woodferdmusic.com)
That said- that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 87 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.
much love,
mE