Although the roster for last fall’s Lake Eden Arts Festival was nothing to sneeze at, the spring L.E.A.F. lineup digs even deeper into the cracks and crevices of different musical traditions: Western swing, gospel, Cajun, country, R&B, bluegrass and world music are all represented by first-class international acts. One group — the London/Kyoto-based Eastwhistle — […]
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Translating the unconscious
“Andy Milne, as in ‘kiln,’” writes the young jazz-piano sensation in the liner notes of his new CD, Forward to Get Back (d’Note Records, 1997). And the hot comparison is apt. Backed on the disc by Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Mark Prince on drums, Reggie Washington on bass, and Robin Dixon on vocals, Milne offers […]
The wolves survive
I have to admit I was a little peeved at Los Lobos for a time. Downright angry, even. See, the quintet is responsible for a permanent ringing in the right ear of my best friend, Suzie. Make no mistake, folks. Los Lobos is loud live — ironic for a group of guys who started out […]
Jack of all genres
Loudon Wainwright III came to the forefront of my consciousness maybe 15 years ago with a song on an Earl Scruggs tape called “The Swimming Song.” It’s an amusing, self-consciously awkward little song, but its perfectly chosen words fit together so well, and the melody hangs on such a note of triumph, that it hooks […]
Plenty of cash to go around in the ABC system
Here’s an interesting tidbit: Buncombe County retail businesses began selling beer and wine again precisely one day after the end of Prohibition in 1933. But it wasn’t until 1947 that North Carolina residents could buy hard liquor in their home state — through state-controlled Alcoholic Beverage Control stores. And you couldn’t belly up to a […]
Notepad
Free speech award Do you know someone who stands up for free speech when it comes to social justice, racial harmony, community betterment or self-determination? Then go ahead and nominate ’em for the 11th annual Dr. Marketta Laurila Free Speech Award. Dr. Marketta Laurila is a former UNCA Spanish professor who was denied re-appointment in […]
Buncombe County Commission
In what she calls a “hiring freeze,” County Manager Wanda Greene effectively fired five Buncombe County employees in recent months by eliminating their positions. “We need to look at saving as much money as we can save,” Greene told Mountain Xpress. “We need to look at every position to make sure that we’re not duplicating […]
Notepad
You take Manhattan (just give me that countryside) In 1976, Martha and Porter Claxton settled into their home on 500 acres in Weaverville, along with a couple of dogs, a few old cows and some chickens to loiter about the old tobacco barn. Twenty years later, the menagerie has grown to include ducks, geese, peacocks, […]
Brave new wind
Roll down the windowsLie back and doze to the song of the wind in the pines — from “Gathering Souvenirs” As any good Southerner knows, that wind is beautiful when it sings. But God help you when it roars. The same week that Jeff Holmes — singer, guitarist and songwriter with the Nashville, Tenn.-based acoustic-rock […]
A wild country mutant (and that’s just his axe)
If you don’t think you like country music, you’re not listening to the right musicians. Here’s my take on the whole shebang: A bunch of tame, low-impact, ironed-on-jeans-wearing, truck-commercial-singing, multimillion-selling, pretend-honky-tonkers are giving Nashville a bad name. What Music City — hell, what the the music world in general — needs is more of the […]
A felt sense of meaning
As the drum beats and the story begins to unfold, you’re suddenly transported to a time and place apart from any other. The insistent pulse of the drum takes you to a locale that seems African, or perhaps Latin American — but the story rises out of yet another land, maybe less recognizable, but deeply […]
Letters to the editor
Beware the small print On behalf of the older adults in this area, I want to thank you for enlarging the crossword puzzle. We enjoy your paper very much. Keep up the good work! — Murray Asch, volunteerLand-of-Sky Regional Council Area Agency on Aging Time to end predatory annexations Recall that the original Royal Colonial […]
Letters to the editor
Friendliness begets friendliness It was with great interest that I read Eileen Duignan-Woods’ diatribe against Asheville [Letters, April 8], because I believe her complaint brought to light a pressing concern for the people of Asheville and Buncombe County: the ongoing effort of newcomers and natives to peacefully co-exist in this area. Given that there are […]
HPV: Are you at risk?
You might be spreading a sexually transmitted disease (STD) you don’t even know you have. There are more than 80 types of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), 11 of which are transmitted sexually. Two of those 11 types can cause warts in the genital areas of both men and women. Another five types can cause women […]
Buncombe County Commission
Commissioner David Gantt has a problem with the county’s animal-control ordinance, which authorizes Friends For Animals, a private organization operating under contract with the county, to go on people’s property and enter their houses without a warrant. Under the ordinance, violators wind up with a criminal record. “I’ve got a problem with that,” said Gantt, […]
Notepad
Bring back that sack Attention, Ingles shoppers: Quality Forward and Ingles Markets are challenging you to “Bring Back That Sack.” From now through October, for every month that shoppers return more than 5,000 plastic and paper bags than are currently collected, Ingles will donate a planter made of recycled plastic to Quality Forward. Recycling stations […]
Wanted: An 18-mile magic wand for Swannanoa Valley
Let’s say a giant fairy could grant Buncombe County one industrial-strength wish. What might that be? How about: • More industry, which translates to more jobs and a bigger tax base? • New apartment buildings, which would mean more decent, reasonably priced homes for people struggling to survive in a tight, overpriced rental market? • […]
Still raggin’ after all these years
“Gimme an F, gimme a U, gimme a C …” — you can probably figure out the rest of the cheer that sealed singer/songwriter/guitarist Country Joe McDonald’s place in history — a place that extends far beyond the fitful conflagration of music, politics and naked bodies that marked a gathering on a piece of muddy […]
Everybody say Keen
In concert, when Robert Earl Keen sings that line about AA, the crowd always chants along and cheers. Sometimes, people pour beer on each other’s heads. “Hallelujah,” proclaims the good-time chorus to “Merry Christmas From the Family,” Keen’s quintessential dysfunctional-kin-’round-the-Christmas-tree carol. “Everybody say ‘Cheese.’” Take a snapshot of your average Keen show — if there […]
Culture-shock rock
Imagine a world in which the primal pulse of ancient drumming meets the electrified clatter of modern rock — a world in which the rhythmic shimmy of a belly dancer slowly works free from a cocoon of veils. To a Jungian, such sounds and sights might be expected to ignite ancestral memories. But Ryan Cate […]
It’s story time again
Some folks already know about the magic of storytelling. They know firsthand how it feels to be enlightened, entertained and held spellbound as a skillful teller weaves together strands of experience, history, folklore — or even nonsense. They know that live storytelling connects us to our past, our humanity, and each other, in a way […]