Bluesman Robert Pete Williams once declared that his inspiration for playing was all around, claiming the music itself was in the air. In Asheville this week, people will actually be playing the air itself, using the unique instrument the theremin. EtherMusic 2005 runs August 4-7, including two public concerts on Friday and Saturday. Attendees of […]
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A brief history of the theremin
The theremin permeates most traditions of music now, in both the classical realm via interpreters like Lydia Kavina, and in a contemporary sense, by (among others) Pamelia Kurstin with her band, Barbez, both appearing at the EtherMusic festival this week. To understand the rich heritage behind this wondrous invention, one must return to a different […]
Grandpa Jones never got plastic surgery
“What’s the difference between a violinist and a fiddler?” “Two-thousand dollars per concert.” There’s much truth in the quip’s minor-key humor — how mountain musicians have to be in it more for joy than money — according to the Dowden Sisters of Leicester, who, in classic Grand Ole Opry style, tend to offer such jokes […]
Laying his cards on the pable
“Yellow City,” by Randy Shull One of the most dangerous things mid-career artists can do is change something major about their work. With his new exhibit at Blue Spiral, furniture maker and sculptor Randy Shull risks much. Sure, there are tables, and one of his signature clocks. And the medium is the same: wood, treated […]
Earful
Skeletons in the jukebox “Skeletons” provides a forum for local musicians, artists, record-store owners, etc., to erase cool points by expressing their unseemly affection for an unhip album from their past. Tom Jones — Help Yourself, by Kim Clark of WNCW “It was early 1969, and protest songs and ‘heavy’ message music were all the […]
Cartoons
Letters to the editor
Don’t miss the bus A bus will be leaving the Westgate Shopping Center at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6, bound for Oak Ridge, Tenn., where there will be a daylong peace rally in recognition of Hiroshima Day (the 60th anniversary of the first use of a nuclear bomb). While I appreciate the excellent coverage […]
Diamonds and drugs, guitars and guns
Around 10 p.m., the lights in the Asheville Civic Center arena darkened, and the somber strains of Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra”—the theme from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001—filled the air. The music was appropriately momentous, because the long-waited date of July 22, 1975, had arrived. A bona fide superstar was about to rock the then-new arena […]
Earful
Skeletons in the jukebox “Skeletons” provides a forum for local musicians, artists, record-store owners, etc., to erase cool points by expressing their unseemly affection for an unhip album from their past. “Come On Eileen,” by Martin Anderson, Music Director of WNCW “‘Come On Eileen,’ from Dexy’s Midnight Runners in 1982, was my first favorite song. […]
Cartoons
Getting comfy with comfrey
When I first met her, we were on no uncertain terms — comfrey was not my friend. I was a first-year student at The Evergreen State College in Washington state, and I was determined to have a garden. I biked down to the community garden and found my plot. It was buried in a sea […]
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
“I had to admit I loved them,” Mark Bittner says simply, trying to explain to the camera that, although he doesn’t anthropomorphize the birds he’s nursed for many years, he also recognizes the strong emotional bond he has developed with them. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill isn’t so much a “nature film” as it […]
Tugger: The Jeep Who Wanted to Fly
Being G-rated, Tugger assures concerned parents their ears won’t be assaulted by swear words. Alas, the 65-minute film is so boring that the attempt to avoid being offensive might put them to sleep. In its favor, Tugger’s visual style is delightfully vibrant, crisp and clever, with a lovely, World War II-era vintage look. But the […]
Asheville City Council
Opponents of the state Department of Transportation’s plan to expand the Interstate 26 connector to eight lanes through West Asheville have long argued that a less invasive six-lane road could handle the anticipated traffic — both now and in the future. And at the Asheville City Council’s July 19 work session, city Traffic Engineer Anthony […]
Letters to the editor
Shameless P&Z commissioners approve In yet another “up with the developer, down with the community” display of local government shortsightedness and greed, on July 6 the Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-1 in favor of the “Kenilworth Heights” development, despite the Planning Department staff’s recommendations that the application be denied. While the developer blamed […]
Chief: Taser incident handled professionally
[Editor’s note: On March 18, Oakley resident Kyle Ross was walking to a neighbor’s house to let out a dog when she was stopped for questioning by an Asheville police officer. Two additional officers arrived as backup. The 48-year-old Ross was subjected to three separate Taser stun-gun shocks before being taken into custody and charged […]
Fossil Fuel Addicts Anonymous
“I used to think that I was coolDriving around on fossil fuelTill I found out that what I was doin’Was driving down the road to ruin.” — James Taylor My name is Cathy, and I’m a fossil-fuel addict. Yep, I drive a car, and I’m frequently the only person in it. I rarely take the […]
Letters to the editor
Compassionate choices should involve common sense Two incidents, only two hours apart, gave me a closer view of this place I currently call home. Each one involved a verbal exchange; both were insightful. The first was with a young man at a bus station. I asked a simple question, and was answered with the standard […]
Lean, green and coming to a neighborhood near you
It’s been almost seven years since City Council adopted Asheville’s Greenway Master Plan in 1998, recognizing the many advantages these linear parks offer. The following year, the seven-member Greenway Commission was established as an advisory board under the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. Greenway development takes time — and patience. It’s a large-scale, long-term effort, […]
Through a lens, clearly
Naked children burned by napalm running down a dirt road. An execution with a single gunshot to the temple. For many people, these Pulitzer Prize-winning photos will forever be icons of the war in Vietnam. But photojournalists weren’t the only ones clicking away in Southeast Asia — thousands of unpublished war images sit yellowing in […]
Earful
Skeletons in the jukebox “Skeletons” provides a forum for local musicians, artists, record-store owners, etc., to erase cool points by expressing their unseemly affection for an unhip album from their past. ELO, El Dorado, by Steven Howard, music director of 103.5 WPVM. “The Electric Light Orchestra performed a symphony called El Dorado in 1974 on […]