When the CD Digital Duke (GRP) was released in 1987, it affirmed that the Duke Ellington legacy would ring true even into the digital age. Duke’s son, Mercer, who had conducted the Duke Ellington Orchestra since his father’s death in 1974, assumed that role for this album (the Digital Duke band included members of the […]
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The hills are alive
It’s summertime, and popular wisdom holds that this is the season for livin’ easy: We want our tea sweet, our tomatoes fresh-picked, our radios pumping, and our air-conditioning — period. Moreover, we want our entertainment gentle on the ear and mind. After all, the block in “summer blockbuster” isn’t the one sitting on your neck. […]
Step right up
How many times have you heard someone lament, “You can’t get anything for nothing, anymore!”? As if, in the olden days, all interesting stuff was free, whereas now everything has its price. Well, obviously these modern-day cynics have never been to Asheville’s weekly summer hoedown, Shindig on the Green. This outdoor show is completely free […]
The secrets of semi-success
Who needs fame and fortune? All they get you is an unflattering shot in the tabloids and a steady stream of phone calls from suddenly-not-so-distant relatives. But seriously, how can a talented band keep disgorging disc after disc of solid, accessible music without ever hitting the big time? We found some answers in Cleveland’s The […]
This is not Granola Funk Express
The definition of “freestyle” cannot be found in the dictionary … yet. Though Webster’s does include a certain amount of slang, the book remains a couple decades ignorant of how revolutionary artists and thinkers, forward-thinking writers — even people on the street who happen to be paying attention — are talking. So I had to […]
A walk on the wild side
Tami Barry is a living example of her own explosive art. With her elfin features, dancer’s movements, exuberant laughter and two-toned hairdo, she seems to have jumped right off the dizzily colorful surface of her work — a melange of candyland swirls, postmodern test patterns and lyrical composition applied to recycled furniture, glassware and shoes […]
Living with nonattainment
In Western North Carolina, the words “nonattainment area” could soon evoke the same sense of dread as “Superfund site.” This drab bureaucratic designation, signifying regions that fail to meet state and federal ozone standards, imposes severe restrictions on the growth of local highways and air-polluting industries. At the June 12 meeting of the Regional Air […]
Keep your eye on the ball
The TV screen flickers, and the image of a machine appears. The humming sound of whirling, trapped air fills the room. Behind the glass, numbered ping-pong balls swarm and collide in a chaotic dance of destiny. After a few tense seconds, the first one is randomly sucked up from the melee and its number shown, […]
Beach bingo: no lifeguard on duty
“With one person in charge of vice, bingo becomes a low priority.” So said Officer Joe Palmer, the one person in charge of vice for the Asheville Police Department, during a recent interview. In between juggling multiple phone calls, paperwork, my questions and the occasional visitor to his Montford substation, Palmer said, “We receive very […]
Asheville City Council
After all the work sessions and public hearings, the actual adoption of the city’s operating budget is usually a quick and fairly benign affair. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, however, a fractured City Council debated three hours before approving the $84 million budget on a 4-3 vote. Council members Charles Worley, Terry Whitmire […]
A rose by any other scent …
When I was a boy, I spent lots of time in my grandfather’s hay barn out on Sugar Creek (near Barnardsville). I’d build make-believe forts out of hay bales and tobacco staves. I still remember the musty, acrid aroma of that old barn. I also loved to visit my uncles’ dairy farm in Mars Hill. […]
The $83 million pot of gold
I decided to come out of the woods for a while and follow the money trail over at City Hall. The quest led me to City Council’s budget work session, a meeting on affordable housing, a public hearing on the budget, and a series of meetings with city decision-makers: Asheville’s budget director, city manager, assistant […]
Why I’m not a Libertarian
Some friends in Durham sent me an invitation to a Libertarian Party fund-raiser, an opportunity to meet the party’s candidate for governor of North Carolina. It’s natural that Libertarians would mark me as a fellow traveler. The basic libertarian philosophy is irresistible to me — the same philosophical catnip that made me a Goldwater conservative […]
Asheville City Council
Judging by the sentiment at a June 6 public hearing on Asheville’s new operating budget, most city residents seem to approve the proposed tax hikes — and, maybe more importantly, the improvements they will pay for. There was standing room only at the hearing, as a dozen folks paraded to the lectern and praised the […]
Notepad
Wanted: your junk mail You open your mailbox. Peering into the dark recesses, you glimpse … could it be? Maybe someone really does love you! But no, it’s only another mountain of that modern scourge, junk mail. The news is not all bad, however, because Asheville residents will soon be able to toss all that […]
The road not taken
Just try telling someone how to get to Ridge Road. Five of them exist in Buncombe County — three in Enka alone. Anyone who’s ever attempted to help a hapless tourist get from Biltmore Avenue to Merrimon Avenue, an obvious segue to jaded Ashevilleans, knows that not all our road names in these parts make […]
A new day for the League
The one certainty in life is that change is inevitable! The League of Women Voters, a viable organization both nationally and locally for the past 80 years, is facing changes in leadership format and selection. Ironically, though, the national and local changes are separate. For the first time ever, the local League has not been […]
Finding my father’s love
I felt like a child playing hide-and-seek, only to discover, hours later, that no one was looking for me — not even me. I had abandoned the child of my youth, and all his secrets, for far too long. Some memories are hard to face, and growing up with Dad was one of them. As […]
High art and low blows
Don’t let this happen to you: You’re sitting on your front porch, nursing your favorite cold beverage and admiring that freshly mowed lawn — when, suddenly, you remember that your real work is far from done. That is to say, summer’s almost here, and you’ve yet to realize your promise to your significant other that […]
A cut above the rest
Whether you’re an earth-sciences scholar or a material girl scouting new glitter, an upcoming show at the Colburn Gem & Mineral Museum offers a wealth of attractions. Let’s start with a brief geography lesson: Minerals are natural, inorganic, solid constituents of the earth’s crust; in other words, anything that’s not animal or vegetable. Gems are […]
Now hear this
The “practically lost art of listening … is the nearest of all arts to Eternity.” — William Butler Yeats I’m cooking in the kitchen — and roaming Asia with Pico Iyer. Doing laundry, I’m uplifted by Kathleen Norris’ spiritual encounters in a Benedictine monastery. In the garden, I’m captivated by John Le Carre’s Cold War-spy […]