Of note Hip parade: Local hip-hop promoters Smush Factor have recently announced plans to release their second compilation album. The group has strong ties to several local hip-hop artists, including GFE and Philo. For more info, visit Smush Factor on-line at www.smushfactor.com. Up and running: The Asheville Music Coalition has a new Web site. The … Read more
“I remember thinking, ‘What am I going to have in common with a transsexual [who’s had] a botched sex change?’ … [but] I left the theater that night thinking, ‘I have everything in common with Hedwig.’” — Hedwig and the Angry Inch musical director Charlie Flynn-McIver Hedwig isn’t like the other boys. First of all, … Read more
A good funk band, like fine wine, just gets better with age. Anyone who attended last summer’s Goombay Festival and heard The Original P (Parliament) can attest to that. And with funk veterans the S.O.S. Band headlining this year’s festival, Goombay’s 20th anniversary feels more like a silver one. “The original S.O.S. Band — that’s … Read more
After their final show, after the worn-out Town Pump crowd had left and just before the various pieces of musical gear were loaded back into cars and trucks to be taken away, I sat and had a few final words with The Unholy Trio. The melancholy of off-stage reality had begun to settle in around … Read more
Being part of a family is tough, especially when someone dies. We all have to grow up and share some of the sorrow, just like we shared the joy. The life and death of Widespread Panic guitarist Michael Houser unfolded before our eyes and ears, and showed us the formidable beauty of the human spirit. … Read more
Two hundred years ago, if a family had extra available cash, it was spent on a garden, for the purpose of improving the food the family was eating. Today, if a family has extra available cash, it’s spent on a second house or additional car, and the family continues to eat the same old junk … Read more
Once again, the Council chamber was packed to the gills. Once more, complaints about traffic congestion and public safety rippled through the room. It was an evening that pitted neighbor against neighbor and neighborhood against developer. But for once, it wasn’t about Wal-Mart. The Aug. 13 formal session of the Asheville City Council was the … Read more
It’s called eminent domain, but for property rights advocates, that term is nothing more than a euphemism for extortion. It’s a relatively simple concept: Under eminent domain, a government (be it local, state or federal) can take private property if it is needed for a public use or the public good. The fifth amendment of … Read more
It’s as if they’ve built an urban zoo. A safety fence encloses an entire city block. Behind it, two noble, winged lions stare out from their perches. Strange sounds emanate from within. Curious people stop and peer and wonder. But the fence isn’t in place to keep the winged beasts from escaping. After all, they’re … Read more
Imagine trekking to court after being nabbed with a speeding ticket. Or finding yourself in a court battle over who should be awarded custody of your child. Wouldn’t you want a say in who will decide your case? You do have a say, actually. This fall, voters will choose who will fill two contested seats … Read more
