Almost two years to the day since Xpress first shared news of Electric Dream by Luzius Stone — the project of WNC native Justin Miles — that album finally gets a launch party. It’s been a long time coming.
Tag: the mothlight
Showing 211-231 of 250 results
River Whyless lets listeners in with new EP
“I feel like we’re ambassadors out there,” says singer and guitarist Ryan O’Keefe. “I love to say it on the microphone. The reaction is always like, ‘You’re from Asheville? I love Asheville!’”
Smart bets: Vio/Miré
The project is that of sometimes soloist, sometimes bandleader Brendan Glasson, who shrinks and grows his lineup as needed to support his sweetly melancholic and orchestral songs.
Experimental percussion ensembles at The Mothlight this weekend
Be aware: Those sounds might be greener on the vine and more challenging to a listener than standards of classic minimalism. “I think contemporary music is far too often imprisoned in academic settings,” says Corey Denham of 10-can Percussion, “We’re interested in exploring performance in as many diverse venues as we can.”
Orbit DVD celebrates its birthday with free “Everything is Terrible” show, Feb. 27
There are really strange things on YouTube. You try find Kanye’s latest rant and before you know it, you’ve lost half a day down the rabbit hole of fashion shows, cartoon horses, Kid ‘N Play videos and “Alf” reruns. In a way, that’s the premise for Everything is Terrible!, “the internet sensation video collective responsible […]
Hearts Gone South hosts monthly Country Night at The Mothlight
Pie Walk fever is going around — have you caught it? A cornerstone of the monthly Country Night at The Mothlight, the traditional game of musical chairs (in which the last person with a seat wins a pie from Sweetheart Bakery) has become famous for its fierce competition. “All kinds of dirty tricks abound,” says […]
Smart bets: Jackson Scott
Inspiration from existential crises is nothing new in the music world. Psych-rocker Jackson Scott, however, ups the ante by blending both the highs and lows of 20-something Asheville life in his sophomore album Sunshine Redux, due for an April 28 release. “[It’s] about my own dichotomy of euphoria and despair,” explains the self-described apocalyptic pop […]
Smart bets: Worldline
The photos for local sci-fi rock band Worldline, on the group’s website, all evoke the fantastical otherworldly environs of planetariums, film sets or well-conceived theme parties. Suspended orbs and strands of fairy lights glow against dark backdrops. It’s no wonder that the project — conceptualized by producer/singer-songwriter Andrew Schatzberg — also lends itself to live […]
Theater review: Asheville Fringe Arts Festival — The Mothlight and beyond
The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival’s shows at The Mothlight featured an empowering female double bill that also fully embraced its international heritage with a pair of talented performers from the United Kingdom.
Pig blood, redux: Why The Mothlight booked Young and in the Way
“We booked Young and in the Way!” said The Mothlight in a newsletter. “Remember that band that shut down The Lab’s listening room after they covered it and everyone in it in pig’s blood? Them.”
Show review: The Freeway Revival
It might be a song about dying, but The Freeway Revival‘s cover of “Whipping Post” — performed last Saturday night during the local band’s show — brought The Allman Brothers’ legacy to life. In fact, the five member band, led by a songwriting brother duo, seemed to channel the soul-filled history of rock ‘n’ roll. […]
Smart bets: Freeway Revival
Recently topping the ReverbNation Americana charts for Asheville, Americana/country-blues collective The Freeway Revival writes songs about the Appalachian mountains but spends a lot of time touring outside Western North Carolina. Upcoming dates take the group to the Carolina coast, upstate New York and into the Midwest; last spring the band traveled to L.A. to record […]
Acoustic Asheville: DrgnKing
Indie-psyche duo-turned quartet DrgnKing, from Philadelphia, recently performed at The Mothlight. Before the show, the band played a special plugged in song for Acoustic… er, electric Asheville. Filmed at The Mothlight by Jesse Hamm. “Afraid Of”
Xpress readers weigh in on the best performances of 2014
“There’s nothing to do” is a complaint rarely heard around Western North Carolina. There are rivers to raft, trails to hike, breweries to visit, galleries to browse, shops to consider, historical sites to take in, restaurants to sample and neighborhoods to stroll. And then — as if all of that isn’t enough fun — there’s […]
Gold Light mines ’50s sounds, big screen aesthetics and friendships
What if a band is less about its members and more about the vehicle for a set of songs? If that’s the case, the dissolution of a band is not really a breakup as much as the completion of a project. Not that musician and filmmaker Joe Chang is saying that. Still, the disbanding of […]
5 questions with Allah-Las
California is important to psych-garage band Allah-Las. The Los Angeles quartet formed while its members — drummer Matthew Correia, bassist Spencer Dunham, and guitarists Miles Michaud and Pedrum Siadatian — were working at the city’s famous Amoeba Records. But it’s not a mere matter of geography. The attitude and the sonic history of the Sunshine State […]
Five questions with Water Liars
The Water Liars take Instagrams of album covers, muscle cars, breakfast specials and random signs. They write the kind of songs that you get instantly and understand later. From Mississippi, Water Liars was originally singer-guitarist Justin Kinkel-Schuster and drummer Andrew Bryant, and their combined vision. Constantly productive and constantly on the road, the duo eventually […]
Smart bets: The Tills
Asheville four-piece The Tills could absolutely call their music “grit-pop” if they didn’t live in a region where fans might confuse that label with a culinary term. The group’s latest tunes venture from the safety of ruggedly upbeat pop phrases to less charted punk yelps and back again before the refrain, all while conveying the […]
Sound Track web extra: “Howlin'” by The Tills
The Tills (formerly The Critters) play every song like rock ‘n’ roll was just discovered and their veins run with undiluted caffeine. And that’s the elevator pitch for the local band’s new 7-inch, Howlin’ (out on Phuzz Records): A hyper-bombastic dash through Animals-era rock, made more jangly, more garage-y and, ultimately, more fun. The album’s […]
Smart bets: Mutual Benefit
Mutual Benefit are currently on tour in support of the re-release of the 2011 EP, The Cowboy’s Prayer, and will appear at the Mothlight on Friday, Sept. 5.
Five (or more) questions with Mutual Benefit
Mutual Benefit is an ironic name for a band that’s singular rather than plural. Singer-songwriter Jordan Lee is the project’s sole permanent member. Then again, the benefit in question might be shared with Lee’s many collaborators — he assembles a group for each album he puts out. The most recent release, the dreamy and transcendent […]