Over the last 20 years, millions of people have experienced Pink Floyd’s The Wall and heard only the psychedelic strains of that progressive concept album, helped, of course, by soaring electric-guitar waves, thunderous drums and full-on, powerful rock ‘n’ roll. For Luther Wright, it was obvious the album was hiding yet another identity — rescued … Read more
Picture cruising along in your car, bobbing your head to your favorite driving tunes. That’s the feel Jim Wann envisions for the songs he wrote for his new production, Jim’s Garage, which has its world premiere this week at Flat Rock Playhouse. And if a rehearsal one morning last week is any indication of what’s … Read more
I first saw Scots fiddler Alasdair Fraser play 14 years ago in a tiny town hall. At one point in the performance, he began playing an ancient Celtic tune from somewhere in Europe (Normandy maybe), and by changing his bowing technique and rhythmic emphasis subtly, he traced the tune’s migration route across the channel to … Read more
Of note New Dawn for Daylight Dies: Regional metal band Daylight Dies is nearly finished with its new record, No Reply. Expect it to hit stores in October. The group signed with Relapse Records earlier this year. For more information, visit www.daylight-dies.com. NDS throws in the towel: It seems that Asheville’s would-be rock stars New … Read more
Henry Ford dramatically changed the lives of Americans. He brought tourism and commuting to ordinary folks. He brought the assembly line to manufacturing. And you could argue that he created the need for artificial fertilizers. One of Henry’s crowning achievements was a marketing scheme that was, at once, both inspired brilliance and evil genius. Ford … Read more
You would be amazed at what will hold a plant. There are vases and jardinieres, urns and pots, troughs and tubs, window boxes for window ledges, pots to hang on walls or from trees, just plain hanging baskets, not to mention discarded sinks, old wheelbarrows, abandoned tires, abandoned super-market carts and even a toilet (or … Read more
Angry, anxious, adamant, antagonistic — myriad words could describe the hundreds of citizens who descended on City Hall for the public hearing on the proposed Riverbend Marketplace/Wal-Mart Supercenter development at the old Sayles Bleachery site. But one word should be forever stricken from the list of Asheville adjectives: apathetic. The June 25 City Council meeting … Read more
Writing program at Warren Wilson College presents open readings and lectures Every six months, students from across the country gather at Warren Wilson College for an intensive 10-day residency of workshops, classes and readings, as part of the college’s MFA Program for Writers. These residencies are combined with a nonresidential semester of highly focused study, … Read more
The statue of its much-attacked Indian mascot looms above Erwin High School’s campus, a symbol of the disquiet that seems perpetually to afflict the school. Psychic scars here are still fresh from the bitter, but never satisfactorily resolved, controversy that culminated in the ousting of Principal Mal Brown. The football team is notorious for its … Read more
Here are extracts from my interview and correspondence with Asheville, NC, paranormal investigator Joshua Warren that were too lengthy to fit in my print article (“The Ghosts of Erwin High,” Mountain Xpress, July 3, 2002). My questions are edited for brevity and clarity, but Warren’s answers are transcribed or copied verbatim. Q: [Many people still … Read more
