Oh autumn, we love you with your crisp air, your bright colors, your proximity to Halloween, your shorter days but long nights in which to hear good music or (as is the case with this weekend) take in edgy new art. Big fun, small cover charge.
Plastic with purpose
At first glance, the world of Taiyo la Paix's paintings is a bubble gum dream of carnival rides, palm trees and beautiful people in rock-star clothing. In fact, la Paix has been criticized for overindulging the fluffy fantasy. The many faces of Papillia / with additional illustration by Nathanael Roney "I actually think about heavy […]
"Let’s just see what happens when it counts"
If anyone had asked drummer Steve Gorman, back in 2002, if he'd ever tour with The Black Crowes again, the answer would have been a resounding no. "I quit," he tells Xpress. "I said for sure I'm not coming back. We were completely burnt out and exhausted." Now, a reunion and two albums later (just-released […]
"Get out the plow, get out there and do it"
Malcolm Holcombe has a clear sense of the bigger picture. Critics sing his praises, his peers hold him in the highest esteem (Steve Earle called him "the best musician I ever threw out of my recording studio"), and he plays to adoring fans across the United States and Europe. But Holcombe is surprisingly quick to […]
Spork
Hoss Haley's new fountain at Pack Square Park is pretty fan-damn-tastic, and Asheville's latest art and craft fair will be staged around it and the recently completed Vance Monument area of the park. Art in the Park will complement the recently-renovated Vance Monument areas of the Pack Square Park, including artist Hoss Haley's brilliant fountain. […]
Junker’s Blues
"One man's trash is another man's treasure." It's a cliché I hear all the time, when I'm "in the field" junking, or when I'm trying to tell some new acquaintance about my odd method of making an income. Illustration by Nathanael Roney. I'm here to tell you that it isn't true. Take it from a […]
Sound Track
• Take2 by WillBmusic The inspiration of singer/songwriter Will Baker, Take2 is one of those totally DIY projects. Baker performs all the instruments on this collection of 14 mellow, languidly groovy tracks (exception: "The Hill" is a collaboration with songwriter Jon Oakley). "Beautiful Moment" has a fluid feel from the jazzy cymbal taps to the […]
The dapper Mr. Gray
First, the bad zombie news. Then the good zombie news
The annual Asheville Ashtober Zombie Walk has been postponed until next year, due to a new round of city regulations and fees made necessary by the event’s massive success last year. But never fear (unless you have tasty brains in your head), because other zombie events are still in the works…
The Decemberists go crazy on you
An evening with one of indie-pop’s most operatic collectives yields drama and goofy fun, both.
Edgy Mama: Beer’s good for mama’s bones
There’s more good news on the health benefits of beer, especially for women. A recent study reveals that those of us who drink beer regularly have stronger bones than those who don’t.
Outside Terra Diva
Haywood Street
Expect the unexpected: Asheville Playback Theatre Review
For the launch of their 15th season, Playback Theatre earned the confidence of their audience, creating a sincere-yet-playful environment to share, listen and watch.
Red boots
Fall floral
This weekend on a shoestring
Turns out this is a perfect week to start the weekend early. Loads of exciting music is happening in and around Asheville all weekend and Thursday is a nice primer for all of that.
A city of book arts
To Margaret Couch Cogswell's recollection, she was a slow reader as a child. The physicality of the book and the pictures inside often captured her fancy more than the words. Perhaps it was this fascination that led her into the realm of the book arts — a burgeoning art form that highlights the intimate and […]
Sound Track
Fusion is key in Asheville – in food, fashion and music – and Shod My Feet has harnessed a unique blend of eclectic influences. While creating a sound all its own, this trio (Emily Keebler on vocals, keyboard, guitar; Sherman Hoover on bass, synthesizer, vocals; and Andrew Ross on drums and vocals) draws from myriad […]
Strega Nona returns
[Editor's note: dePaola's visit to Malaprop's was cancelled due to health circumstances; Strega Nona's Harvest is still available. Alli Marshall interviewed dePaola before the visit was cancelled.] Illustrations from Tomie dePaola's Strega Nona's Harvest. Reviewing a children's book is an interesting proposition. There's not much narrative arc to discuss; little in the way of foreshadowing […]
Krautrock? Nein!
Ever since a British music journalist cheekily coined the term "Krautrock" in the early '70s to reference a burgeoning cluster of exciting German rock bands, groups such as Can, Neu and Kraftwerk have had an ambivalent relationship with the word. While they benefitted from the attention that comes with any new pop-music phenomenon, they also […]