While discussing The Flaming Lips, bassist Michael Ivins puts his anti-social image to a real test, sounding nothing like the “clinically shy” borderline-psycho he’s been made out to be over the band’s 17 years. “It makes a good story,” Ivins acknowledges. The bassist is painting as we speak, not canvas but cabinets — kitchen cabinets […]

“An amazing new novel is just off the press which is of great and unique interest to Asheville. This community in fact, is going to be astounded by it. Some few well known residents may be shocked into chills. Others probably will be annoyed. Many others will snicker and laugh. “The reason is that the […]

“We take the stars from the blue union from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty.” — George Washington “I was looking for a quote to put in our first single that […]

Everywhere you turn, the traditional pulse of Latin American music is heating up the mainstream. The recent hit movie The Buena Vista Social Club is just one example of the way the lively, layered rhythms of Latin percussion have penetrated North American consciousness. And these rhythms are quickly infiltrating everyday life, not only for those […]

A decade ago, when I first discovered Asheville for myself, it was then, as now, a cultural high ground. It had been so since the days of O. Henry and Thomas Wolfe: The elite of the literati were at home here. Ten years ago, though, fewer folks (ironically, mostly those in the arts) were aware […]

A lot of big-name artists talk about getting back to their roots. But very few of them have the chance (or the guts) to seriously steer their careers in that direction — and fewer yet enjoy renewed commercial success in the process. Ricky Skaggs, a bona fide country superstar during the ’80s, is the exception. […]

Drumming and dancing have graced every culture and time period. In fact, these celebratory expressions are so interconnected they actually create each other — sometimes, it may seem like the drummers are dancing while the dancers produce the rhythm. For millions of people and countless generations, these types of ceremonies were part of everyday ritual. […]

Forget the destination — Vigilantes of Love leader Bill Mallonee savors the journey. He’s sung about it on major record labels — and on his own, credit-card-financed label. And he lives it, performing his passionate, personal music close to 200 nights a year — and that’s for almost 10 years now. Today, he’s on the […]