A Reluctant Endorsement
When it comes to jam-band music, I’m pretty much a hater. There are exceptions, certainly, but on the whole I’d much rather spend an evening applying a Dremel tool to my molars than, say, listening to Phil & Friends. And yet, one of Asheville’s biggest and most important annual concerts—the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, admittedly grown more rootsy than just jammy in recent years—is a full night’s worth of noodling. The X-Mas Jam has contributed more than $500,000 to the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, and it’s hard to find fault with that. Talk about mixed feelings.
What’s “worse”: It was recently announced that the bright minds behind the X-Mas Jam have now come up with a great new moneymaker for AAHH. Warren Haynes Presents: The Benefit Concert is a series of live recordings taken from the past 18 years’ worth of jams, each (thus far, at least) being released as a double-disc package for maximum coverage of the shows’ directionless performances. Volume 1 captures the highlights of the 1999 X-Mas Jam, including performances by Gov’t Mule, Edwin McCain, Susan Tedeschi, The Derek Trucks Band and Col. Bruce Hampton. Volume 2 is culled from the 2000 Jam, and includes The Allman Brothers Band, Bottle Rockets, John Popper and Kevn Kinney. Following the pattern, the soon-to-be-released Volume 3 includes highlights from the 2001 Jam, highlighting Blues Traveler, Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ and Phil & Friends. All three retail for $19.98, and all proceeds benefit the AAHH.
According to an official press release, the remaining volumes will start with the 2002 X-Mas Jam (presumably there are no quality recordings prior to 1999) and will include DVDs of the performance as well. The albums are available at the Habitat Home Store in Asheville, at various jam-friendly record shops, and online at www.xmasjam.com
The Most Local Of National Awards
Each year, the North Carolina Writers’ Network holds a national contest in honor of Asheville’s biggest literary star. The Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize carries a $1,000 purse and a somewhat wishy-washy promise of “possible” publication in the The Thomas Wolfe Review, as well as a goodly increase in literary stature. This year’s winner was recently announced, and—big shock—most of the top honors for this “national” contest went to locals. Asheville-based writer Billie Harper Buie took home the big prize for “Shining Rock Wilderness,” and honorable mentions included Jason Mott of Bolton, N.C., and Leslie McCrary of Cartersville, Ga. The winners were decided by noted Appalachian author Sharyn McCrumb. For more info, visit www.ncwriters.org
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