Asheville On YouTube
Unless you’ve been living under a very large (and non-Internet-ready) rock in the past year, chances are you’ve heard of the online video-sharing network YouTube.com. It’s like a cable-access show gone nuts, and hundreds of thousands of people across the globe have contributed content. Some of them are even from Asheville. What follows is a brief rundown of some of the more interesting clips and videos one can find by typing “Asheville” into YouTube’s search engine.
Baseball Manager Snaps: Among the highest rated of the Asheville YouTube posts is the now-famous meltdown in June 2006 by Asheville Tourists baseball team manager Joe Mikulik. Several videos of his tirade (which involved pulling up the second base and chucking it into the outfield, covering home plate with dirt, and throwing several baseball bats onto the field from the dugout) made it into the national media. Mikulik was suspended for seven days and fined $1,000, but his antics brought a rare level of media attention to the minor-league team. Combined, the videos of Mikulik’s tantrum have received more than 500,000 views.
Theremin Killed the Radio Star: In 2005, the Orange Peel hosted a four-day convention of all things Theremin called the Ethermusic Festival. Although attendance was said to be light (fewer than 50 people, according to a few sources), the festival did have its highlights. Among them was a cover of the 1979 hit by the Buggles, “Video Killed The Radio Star,” played in karaoke style by the Boston-based band the Lothars. Fortunately, someone had a camera, and captured the moment forever.
Who are you … Who, Who … Who, Who: In August 2006, Ohio-based YouTube contributor Paul Robinett (aka “Renetto”) posted a video (“Who are you … Who, Who … Who, Who”) explaining that he was tired of his friends’ failure to understand the depth of the YouTube community. He presented this community with a challenge: Create a video explaining who you are, and post it as a reply to his video. Hundreds of people responded, among them local filmmaker Jaime Byrd. Her five-and-a-half minute film is a brief masterpiece of video autobiography.
They Might Be Giants — Asheville: On their 2004 tour, never-boring rock group They Might Be Giants recorded a new song for each venue. Their Asheville stop was at The Orange Peel, and during the sound check they recorded a sad little ditty about a dejected peel who laments being abandoned: “I’m the peel that you left on the floor / You took the good part and walked out the door / And I hate you for that.” A remarkable animated video for the song (including many Asheville landmarks) was included in the band’s 2005 DVD/CD release Venue Songs, but through the magic of YouTube, you can see it for free.
Other notable videos: “Star Wars on a Banjo” by local musician Will Chatham (which may just be the most popular of any locally generated YouTube video, having been viewed more than 330,000 times); The Asheville Women’s Rugby Prom Dress Match; a number of music videos by groups like Stephanie’s Id, Ahleuchatistas, GFE and SeepeopleS; video snippets from The Rebelles’ Burlesque shows; the “Asheville Is” commercial contest; various posts from URTV contributors (such as the Asheville Global Report); and several films from the Asheville 48 Hour Film Project (Fairy’s Tale 2 : The Domareckoning is a personal favorite).
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