“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 […]
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 […]
A mass of bee balm 2 feet tall grows on the bank beside the driveway. For the life of me I can’t remember planting it there. Generally I don’t plant bee balm because of the powdery mildew it gets (at least in my yard), but this stand is healthy, vibrant, taking-over-the-bank bee balm. I can […]
For a number of years, folks from the local chapters of the nonprofit Trout Unlimited have been meeting the hatchery truck at the North Fork of the Mills River to hand-deliver hatchery stock in five-gallon buckets to sections inaccessible by truck. In April I showed up for the stocking of the North Mills and met […]
I would suggest that [Bill] Stanley not take the apathetic and pathetic 38-percent voter turnout in the recent primary as some sort of mandate for his continued position as county commissioner [“Buncombe Commish: The Democrats,” May 14]. “Doing it good,” as you said? I don’t think so. More likely, voters who don’t participate don’t care […]
Thanks for the [master-plan] article last week [“City Asks for Opinions, Gets a Rally and an Overflow Crowd,” May 14], and thanks for including the photo of Laura Thomas’ model of the proposed [hotel] building. Gazing at that model, with its vast, flat roof space, gave me the craziest idea: Since Asheville could indeed use […]
I really miss having real restaurant reviews in our main local rag. I used to go directly to the contents and find out which restaurant was being written about that week. Recently, the food column hit an all-time low by talking about who gets served first and how fast you can get your food [“No […]
Even in hard times, the human body deserves the best nourishment. Your article “You Can Have Your All-Organic Cake and Eat It Too” [May 21] did a great service by highlighting how we can continue to benefit ourselves with organic food despite rising prices and a stagnant economy. Your most important suggestion is to take […]
The effort [put forth] by Asheville’s running community is a symbol that we can all make a difference, with commitment and stamina, to solve the world’s water crisis. On May 3 and 4, nearly 300 runners, supported by family and friends, participated in the first Blue Planet Run 24, a unique 24-hour trail relay race, […]
Guess what, folks—it’s already begun. The swift boaters are at it again. In my travels around town recently, I’ve come across several people who said they’d never vote for Obama in the fall because he won’t salute the flag, [or that] he turned his back on it at an event, he refuses to say the […]
I recently read a full transcript of John McCain’s speech concerning global warming, the environment and energy policy. The speech sounded very progressive and in line with what the envirocrats have been saying for years. For a fleeting moment, I was actually impressed and had a bit of hope for the Republicans. And then I […]
In the small mountain community of Spruce Pine, just northeast of Asheville, a piece of America’s past is being restored: the Carolina Theatre. Built in 1937, the theater’s grand, neon-decorated marquee jutted out prominently over the city sidewalk. By the late 1940s, the Carolina Theatre was home to the nationally recognized Carolina Barn Dance, which […]
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.
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.
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.
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Glen Edward Chapman, 41, pulls on a leather jacket, tugs at the sleeves and rolls back his shoulders: a perfect fit. Out and about: Ed Chapman bikes around the UNCA campus, a few weeks after being released from 14 years on death row. Photos By Jonathan Welch Susan Shandor, the office assistant in UNCA’s psychology […]
“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 […]
