Relive memories of "what I did over my summer vacation" essays and the first day of school with four young, established writers — Tyler Killette, Daniel Figueroa, Emily Nipps and Andrew Silverstein — who share theirs at Story Time's Back to School night Friday at 7 p.m.
The quarterly event offers humorous and poignant tales about school days and summer vacations past with an animation video presentation by multimedia artist/inventor Hunter Payne and the punk band Doll Parts.
Melissa Carroll — writer, Rock the Park hostess and yoga teacher — steps in as guest emcee, and Michael "KTuF" Bagby from WMNF-88.5 FM provides spins for the night.
What’s more is that the event is earlier and shorter than previous editions, so it's a perfect pre-show outing for nightcrawlers heading to Ybor and the Hub. (Outings include Wasted Youth Sink or Swim night at The Social, Eject Entertainment Clothing Launch w/Vilifi at Crowbar, and Nervous Turkey and Florida Night Heat at New World Brewery.)
Learn about the talent here (in alphabetical order):
Michael KTuf Bagby hosts a show on WMNF-88.5 FM called the Jangle Junction, which he claims “millions” wake up to promptly at 4 a.m. every Wednesday morning “to tune in and listen to his powerful pop train as it careens across genres and decades with additional whistle stops along the byways of comedy and silliness.” He's also the WMNF volunteer chairperson, on its board of directors, and has been a lover of public and community radio since the mid-’70s. Originally from Cincinnati, Bagby has lived in Pinellas County since 2005. “The lovely and wonderfully quirky Dunedin is my adopted hometown,” he adds.
Melissa Carroll is a writer, poet, yoga instructor, tree hugger, former dance-off champion and teacher of creative writing at the University of Tampa. Her poetry chapbook, The Karma Machine, received the Peter Meinke Award (YellowJacket Press 2011).
Doll Parts Playing around the St. Petersburg dive bar scene since 2004, Doll Parts has been charming drunken crowds with its pop-punk hits for nearly a decade. Stacey's razor-raw melodies are backed by the singing and dancing Susan and Heather, with Mandy on the power chords, Emily on the low notes and Molly on the beats. The sextet of chicks is always ready to rock with the easy listening favorites: "Bathroom Business," "D.U.M.B.," "You F'd Up," and "Shut Up," but always keeping a few Ramones covers in their back pockets.
Daniel Figueroa IV just completed one of CL’s most prolific internships ever, on the beat at festivals, concerts, lectures, air sex contests — you name it. He says Tom Waits is his spirit animal and describes himself as a “writer, biker, drummer, nerd.”
Tyler Killette is a 20-year-old writer, who’s originally from South Tampa but now lives in St. Pete — she’s a senior at USF St. Petersburg majoring in journalism. Tyler is the editor-in-chief of the student-run newspaper The Crow's Nest, she participated in a PR internship with the St. Pete Museum of History, and she's a caffeine addict who likes going to concerts, thrifting and playing with her cat, Ruby.
Emily Nipps was a longtime news reporter for the Tampa Bay Times before making the jump to the public relations dark side last year. She now serves as the spokeswoman for Tampa International Airport but still does freelance writing on the side to keep her chops. Emily was a frequent skipper of classes in high school and still has nightmares about not passing that big test.
Andrew Silverstein says he’s “a person who writes things for a living and thinks of himself as generally interesting enough to muse on subjects like music, food, and pop culture." He also takes pictures sometimes and thinks he could probably eat 20 chicken wings in one sitting if he really tried. His presentation is billed as "Summer 25 by Andrew Silverstein, Tattooed Jew Records."
Confirmed guest features include the Artist Known as Girlfriend and more TBA.
