1. Steve Earle hasn’t invaded Asheville — it’ll just seem like that over the next couple of weeks. 2. On Thursday, Nov. 6, Steve Earle will appear at The Orange Peel in Asheville with the current version of his longstanding band, The Dukes — guitarist Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, bassist Kelly Looney and former dBs drummer […]
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Negative energy
Photographers have traveled a long, hard road to gain respect as serious artists. Even today, when major museums and galleries are flush with photography and photo-based works, some art buyers and connoisseurs still haven’t gotten past the standard I-can-press-a-button-on-a-camera-too prejudice. But for late N.C. photographer Bayard Wootten, making pictures was hardly that easy. In the […]
Random acts
Of note Setting the tone for this week’s politically minded Random Acts, I’d like to report that at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, Eamon Martin, a member of the Asheville Global Report editorial collective, will speak at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe. Martin will discuss the AGR, a nonprofit, independent, all-volunteer-staff newsweekly focusing on human rights, labor […]
Cartoons
Out of the headphones, into the deep
“They make special-effects records just for stereophonic equipment, like sounds from the very deep part of the ocean. … When … everyone can hear that low-pitched sea cow barking at them … people look up to you.” — From Some of My Best Friends are DJs The crew Celebrated scratch DJ Kid Koala (secret identity: […]
It takes two
Don’t ever think you can out-funny Vance Gilbert. The celebrated Boston-area singer/songwriter answered his cell phone recently with a bland “hello” as he minivan-ed across New York City, bound for a co-headlining gig with fellow frontline folkie Ellis Paul. Goody — I’ve caught him off guard, I think greedily. “I’m trying to reach new California […]
Random acts
Local folkie film star? Chuck Brodsky was in Anderson, S.C., last week to perform his song “Radio” in conjunction with the town’s premiere of Radio, the just-released Columbia Pictures chronicle of the real-life mentoring relationship between a developmentally disabled young man (Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr.) and a compassionate high-school football coach (Oscar nominee Ed Harris). […]
Cartoons
The hyacinth bean
In the early fall of 1993, I visited Monticello one sunny afternoon to take photographs for a future lecture at UNCA’s College for Seniors. And whatever other memories I have of that trip, few are sharper than the sight of the arbors made of black locust at the southwest corner of Jefferson’s 1,000-foot-long vegetable garden […]
Beyond Borders
Beyond Borders is advertised as a romantic epic, but don’t disillusion yourself that you’re in for some warm Valentine fuzzies. The movie is really a heart-wrenching overview of the plight of war-ravaged refugees around the world; Beyond Borders‘ love story is only the intermittent personal thread that connects the global hotspots. And while it’s really […]
Dear voters
Xpress asked the candidates to submit letters to our readers addressing one specific local issue that they plan to address as council members. We asked them to explain why the issue is important and to offer a concrete explanation of how they would proceed. Terry Bellamy When it comes to specific challenges that Asheville faces […]
Letters to the editor
Conflicts of interest marred housing-code debate The whole minimum-housing-code debate has been painful and unsettling. Wouldn’t it have been healthier for all involved if all of our City Council leaders were more evenhanded in the process and more forthcoming with information that was bound to become public eventually? Shame on Asheville City Council [member] Jim […]
Ripping the heart out of Asheville
Last week, on a typical Mr. Rogers morning in Asheville, Frank Adams and I strolled over to City/County Plaza to take a look at the 0.43 acres of public property approved for sale to the Grove Park Inn by our illustrious City Council. Arriving at the northwest corner of Market and College streets, we immediately […]
Why logging the Woodfin watershed is a bad idea
By now, most Mountain Xpress readers have probably heard about the controversy concerning the Woodfin Water District’s proposal to log their 1,800-acre watershed to raise money for system maintenance and repairs. There are many reasons why the people of Buncombe County might legitimately object to this plan. In this rapidly urbanizing county, green space becomes […]
Woodfin residents make waves
Rip Van Woodfin is waking up. On the eve of the elections, the hamlet that long seemed to slumber obscurely in Asheville’s shadow is being roused by noisy controversies. A proposal by the board of the Woodfin Sanitary and Water District to log its watershed has prompted a coalition of Woodfin and Reems Creek residents […]
A world of difference
In Bolivia, citizens have taken to the streets in mass demonstrations against a government plan to sell natural gas to North America; the people’s uprising prompted Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada to shelve the proposal. The story only recently started creeping toward the front page of The New York Times. The Asheville Global Report […]
Asheville City Council
At one point during the Asheville City Council’s Oct. 14 formal session, a frustrated Vice Mayor Terry Bellamy sighed audibly, staring at the audience with a look that seemed equal parts “Can you believe these guys?” and “I should have known better.” Only Bellamy, of course, knows how close she came to saying whatever she […]
Letters to the editor
Thanks for the votes of confidence, Asheville I want to thank all of the citizens of Asheville who came out and voted for me in the City Council primary election held on Oct. 7. It is an honor to have come in first place in the primary election. Through my work on the North Carolina […]
Ain’t nothin’ to figure out …
The artist formerly known as John Anderson looks a little out of place among the more typical patrons at a downtown-Asheville gallery opening. Cornbread, as he calls himself and signs his work (something to do with an adolescent acquaintance who used to tell people, “I’m gonna tear up your ass like a piece of cornbread”), […]
Security blanket
“Beautiful … beautiful love,” Me’Shell Ndegeocello lushly croons over the panoramic, space-age soundscape of “Love Song #2,” from her just-released album Comfort Woman. It’s a far cry from “I just had your boyfriend,” a mock-schoolyard taunt she flings at a cuckold “stuck-up bitch” on “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night),” from her 1993 […]
Random acts
“What section of the record store do you belong in?” I demanded of Asheville’s Ahleuchatistas an hour before they played a benefit show at Asheville Community Resource Center on Friday, Oct. 10. “Probably, like, the experimental section, I guess,” suggested drummer Sean Dail. “That’s the only thing I can think of.” “Rock ‘n’ roll,” guitarist […]