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 93rd epic edition of East Side Storytellin’! Like the 92, I repeat … 92, 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 recap and recording of East Side Storytellin’ 93. Let us begin, again.
The first featured artist of the night is a poet, storyteller, and author = basically the perfect trifecta for East Side Storytellin’. She paints tapestries with words and inspirational stories and perceptions from life’s ever-winding journey. Her book Free to Fly is available to purchase at East Side Story. It is a peek into the soul of a free spirit spreading her wings and embracing the world around her. Love, hope, and freedom are constant messages at the heart of this collection. By day, she teaches literacy and creative writing to 6th graders. By night, she is a superhero of words, a prominent voice that has been featured all over town for quite some time. You may have seen her featured at the monthly Poetry in the Brew, but tonight she is all ours. I’m talking about the extremely talented Leeah Vickers.
Leeah kicked off the show by calling one of her dearest friends, Canille Turner. I’m serious, Leeah phoned a writer friend like she was a contestant on Who Wants to be a Poetic Millionaire. Instead of asking Canille for random answers, Leeah and Canille performed an original collaborative poem they had written and last shared over four years ago. Like learning to ride a bike again, they fell during practice a few times but nailed it when the spotlights and microphones were shining. It was honest, raw, and delightful all around. It was another first for East Side Storytellin’, to have an interactive phone call on speaker, but it was well worth the magic that these women threw down. Listen to the recording for yourself below.
How do you follow up a phone call with a bestie? Well, Leeah hung up and then dialed up her best impersonation of a timid poet who took two seconds to get into her groove of words and then totally rock the house without skipping a beat. She pretty much knew every word by heart, from the poem for her mother to driving a car to work, but she used her book and her phone and even the microphone as separate pieces of her theatrics. She put a spell on the crowd and an exclamation mark on the day. Leeah even killed it when she paused in between her prose. Seriously, take a listen to her performance below and come to the bookstore to get a copy for yourself as soon as you can, while you still can.
Our featured music of the night is someone who has been a very dear friend of East Side Story and East Side Storytellin’ for a good while. He is a writer and a singer/songwriter on the rise. He is a folksinger hitting hard on the heels of Bob Dylan, plus all of his millions of musical disciples. He is a composer of originals and coverer of all-admired materials. With two records out and counting, Folk Songs and Thunder 1: Calamitous Foe, this artist is another featured guest who constantly finds different mediums and outlets to get his creativity into the world, free to fly if you will. I’m talking about my good friend, Dustin Lowman.
Dustin was instantly classic Dustin. He had his guitar, harmonica, cool clothes, confidence to fill the room, and a voice that flooded it. He started his set with a Hank Sr. take on I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry. It instantly felt like the perfect score to the reading that Leeah shared moments before. I knew we were in for a treat.
Dustin followed Hank with a few of originals of his own. His own take of birds flying by when he is Close to You, a pins and needles panic button pressed for Trying to Find Work, a self defining motto of I’ll Try Anything, to Searching for his Twin, and also a unique melodic trip on Joyful to Obtuse. In between laying down the tracks to a brilliant original set of tunes, Dustin took the time to pay homage to one of his creative heroes in Dylan with the track You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When When You Go. All in all, like I mentioned before, it was a brilliant set that was heartfelt by every heart in the building.
After Dustin played his final track, I got Leeah and him back on stage together to share a few special comments and commentary behind their creative scenes of producing such wondrous music and prose. They were both very insightful, energetic, complementary of one another, and an excellent pairing for a night or nights that have been shook up by the funky moon as of late. Point being, these two artists were just what I and so many people needed to hear on this given night. The final conversation also offered one of the top 5 moments in East Side Storytellin’ history for me = when the CD dropped out of the case on accident. You really had to be there to fully appreciate the moment, but, again, you can listen to the recording for the genuine happiness and fun surrounding said CD fall.
So here it is, the edited recording of East Side Storytellin’ 93 that featured Leeah Vickers and Dustin Lowman at The Post on Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Please listen to it and share with everyone you know, over and over again.
Before I say goodbye for this round of fun, I’d like to give a big round of thanks for Leeah and Dustin for sharing their stories, talents, and time with us.
You can read more of Leeah’s writing here – www.leeahvickers.com
You can listen to more of Dustin’s music here – dustin-lowman.bandcamp.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’ 94
Tuesday, November 1st
at The Post (1701 Fatherland Street) at 7pm
reading- Kyle Martindale (https://twitter.com/kyle_martindale)
singing- Jessica Martindale (http://jessicamartindale.com)
That said, that’s all for East Side Storytellin’ 93 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