Video a-go-go

What exactly is the true spirit of Asheville? Is the the people? The city’s visual charm? The social and cultural events? By capturing a few snippets of a fairly standard spring day in the city, this video hopes to at least answer a piece of that question.

Walking up to strangers on the street and asking to take their picture is a fundamental part of the job for every photojournalist. But aspiring photog crazyboarderx was a little shy, and needed a project to help get over that career-stunting roadblock. So, perhaps borrowing a page from the Faces of Asheville, the intrepid would-be photojournalist decided to approach as many strangers as it took to get 100 photos from the streets of Asheville. Let’s take a look at the results.

Speaking of strangers, another great way of getting over that initial awkwardness with people you don’t know is to find a setting where you may not know the people, but you at least know that moves. Like, say, a local contra dance. Not sure what a contra dance is? This video from the recent Old Farmer’s Ball sums up the experience nicely.

Of course, when it comes to dancing, sometimes it can be just as good to do it alone … at night … in an isolated parking lot. And if you’re willing to listen to some slightly not safe for work music, this video is a good example of a local dancer who prefers the solo approach.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. It’s not always the big events that people reflect on when they look back at their lives. Often, it’s the little stuff—a hike on a beautiful day, good times with friends and so forth—that really sticks with people. And when those memories are about Western North Carolina, even a highly personal video can strike a chord with those of us who have had similar experiences.

There’s no getting around the role that local music plays in Asheville’s culture. But what about music stores? Not convinced that local record shops are better than their online competitors? Perhaps his appeal from Greenville, SC,-based duo O Mellow Cello Tree will change your mind. Not only do they advocate for the value of supporting West Asheville’s Harvest Records on Record Store Day, but they do so while hula-hooping, just to keep it interesting.

Although we typically end each week’s roundup on a song, this week we’ve opted to end on something a little more dramatic. Here’s a video of Kinnie “Rocketman” Gibson doing what he does best at a kick-off stunt for Action Fest at an Asheville Tourists game earlier this week.

Rocketman Ashville, NC April 15th, 2010 from Jonny Revolt on Vimeo.

Each week, dozens upon dozens of interesting local videos are uploaded to YouTube. It’s a lot to keep up with. Did we miss a particularly interesting, recently uploaded local video? Share it by leaving the videos URL (but not the embed code) in the comment fields below. Also, please mark it Not Work Safe if there’s any controversial content to the video.