“Without perspiration,” says singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier, “you just end up with goo.” Gauthier (pronounced “go-shay”) is talking about writing lyrics, a process she has been known to agonize over. The Louisiana native, who is now based in Nashville, rewrites songs almost compulsively, reworking them as many times as she has to until she feels that […]
A little help from their friends
During their 2007 European tour, Asheville’s own Wayne Robbins & the Hellsayers had their first, and admittedly awkward, rock-star moment. All you need to remix: Wayne Robbins & the Hellsayers’ sophomore album will have a few final tweaks from guest producers Mitch Easter and Super Furry Animals. Photo By Sandlin Gaither “We pulled up to […]
Inside looking out
It’s typical for musicians to list the venues they’ve played and name-check other artists with whom they’ve shared stages. What sets California-based performer Shimshai apart is that his list includes dates at various yoga studios, bodywork centers and the Omega Institute wellness retreat. He’s performed with the likes of kirtan leader Jai Uttal, Be Here […]
Top Drawer: Fashion news and views
Frock (4 Battery Park Ave., 255-4626), located in the storefront that formerly housed Chicago Hi Fashions, has little in common with its predecessor. The boutique is geared toward women, for starters, and boasts a far more subdued palette than the pink and purple zoot suits of yore. Yet it seems fitting for the of-the-moment clothier […]
Pulses and Rhythms: An evening of eclectic, colorful dance
In an upcoming performance by Center Stage Dance Ensemble, the power of music and movement in the body is explored in a colorful concert appropriately titled Pulses and Rhythms.
Edgy Mama: The birds and the cicadas
“My kids are expressing their curiosity about the reproductive world this spring, now that our yard’s rife with flowers, pollen, bees and multiplying cicadas.”
Glass Menagerie
The Quatro Vetro Glass and Mixed Media exhibit brings humorous high-art by Sterling Crandall, Michael Hatch, Rick Melby and Rob O’Sheeran to the Asheville Area Arts Council’s Front Gallery.
Soul survivor
Like many of the legends from soul music’s heyday, Percy Sledge has always leaned upon a higher power. Now approaching 70, it’s faith that is at the forefront of Sledge’s mind.
Bootstraps Burlesque this weekend
Bootstraps Burlesque steps in where the Rebelles left off. Here’s where to catch the show.
Vietnam, through an Asheville photographer’s eyes
Asheville photographer Paul Jackson wants to take you on a trip to Vietnam, a journey of the urban and rural, the war-ravaged and the modern-day, the public and personal.
Beyond and Back: X frontwoman Exene Cervenka talks punk with Xpress
Earlier this month, Mountain Xpress conducted a phone interview with Exene Cervenka, frontwoman of revered L.A. punk band X. Cervenka discussed the much-storied L.A. punk scene of the ‘70s, her poetry and visual art, her attraction to antiquity, and the vanishing America that she chronicles in some of her work.
48 Hour Film Project holds meet and greet Thursday
Interested in the 48 Hour Film Project? Thursday, May 22, is your chance to find out anything you want to know. The project is holding a meet and greet at 6 p.m. at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company.
Book Report: The Indiana Jones Handbook
The perfect companion piece to Indy’s return to the big screen, this locally penned how-to book is full of adventure.
Pat & Alli’s Weekly Winners
Each week Xpress reporter Alli Marshall and WOXL DJ Pat Ryan team up to bring you their entertainment suggestions.
AMJam rocks on
Question: How do you keep a small regional music festival viable? Answer: Invite top-notch talent, keep your core audience happy and stress the local economic impact of the festival. Sounds familiar: Ex-Biscuit Burner turned solo artist Shannon Whitworth makes her presence known at AMJam. That appears to be the path for the Asheville Music Jamboree, […]
Only rock ‘n’ roll
“I think they’re surprisingly receptive,” says Silver Mt. Zion’s Efrim Menuck when asked how live audiences have been responding to the lengthy songs on the band’s fifth and latest album, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons. With four pieces of moody—even dreary—orchestral rock that run upward of 13 minutes each, the material certainly takes its time […]
Ballroom blitz
Though actress Barbara Bradshaw is quick to point out that “people shouldn’t come to this play expecting Dancing with the Stars,” there’s a good chance popular dance shows will boost appreciation for Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. Two to tango: Flat Rock Playhouse introduces the odd couple of dance. Photo By Mike Dirks The […]
Going nuts in Brevard
Bright white tufts of fur with pale bushy tails in tow scamper down the streets of Brevard, clambering up tree trunks, sprinting across clipped green yards and pausing to reel in the occasional nut. No, these aren’t optical illusions, and relax—you aren’t having a heat stroke, either. They are Brevard’s white squirrels, caught in their […]
Top Drawer: fashion news and views
One of the best parts about the summer festival season is getting gussied up in flamboyant alter-ego-inspired apparel. Tie-dyes, colorful sundresses and dramatic hats are pulled from closets along with devil sticks and hula hoops. But shouldn’t a festival also be a good place to shop for those inner-child-pleasing wardrobe pieces? At the biannual Lake […]
Cinebarre to screen ‘Indiana Jones’ outside
The movie theater at the Biltmore Square Mall claims it will be one of only a few in the country to screen the summer blockbuster outdoors on opening night.
Asheville HATCHfest wants your help
The multidisciplinary arts and cultural mentoring event, slated for April 2009, will host volunteers this Wednesday afternoon.