Of note Ukulele Madness Good news for fans of Ami Worthen’s Mad Tea Party: The nostalgic, upbeat duo (Worthen and Jason Krekel) recently announced plans to begin recording a new CD of old-time novelty-jazz tunes, Old Songs for New Ears, at Collapseable Recording Studio in Asheville. The album is a followup to last year’s full-length … Read more
Kasey Chambers, raised on Australia’s vast Nullabor Plain by free-spirited, Hank Williams-loving, occasional Seventh-day Adventist parents, emerged a couple of years ago as wish-fulfillment for alt-country believers. And alt-country music is for believers — believers in a broken voice, in the perfect song, in messages that speak for us all. Evangelists of the nascent genre … Read more
Richard Shulman sits on a comfortable-looking rolling chair placed next to a large black keyboard and two Mac computers. Sometimes, when he turns his head away in thought, the large lenses of his glasses catch a blue-tinted glare from one of the screens, rendering his eyes opaque and glowing. Shulman is a small-framed man, and … Read more
For many twangy young singer/songwriters, the alt-country label is a badge of honor. Neko Case thinks it sucks. With the release of Case’s first celebrated solo album, The Virginian (Mint, 1997), she was so branded, frequently painted as a saucy poster child for the nuevo-genre. “I never want to be called ‘alt-country’ again as long … Read more
According to local choreographer Susan Collard, the Connecticut company Momix can’t be critiqued as a modern-dance group. Interestingly, Momix performer Todd Burnsed might agree. “We hate being called a modern-dance company,” he revealed in a recent interview. The group’s heavy use of props and visual tricks — though “wonderful and exciting,” notes Collard — makes … Read more
Forget Sleepless in Seattle — I’m Dateless in Asheville. When the shelves of local stores filled with valentines and chocolates the day after Christmas, I determined that in 2003, I would have dates. I would be a dater of men. How does one like me go from being dateless to being a dater? I don’t … Read more
When it comes to dating and mating, everybody has at least one worthwhile story to tell. A girl I knew in high school met her husband-to-be while she was working in a sunglass hut at the mall. He walked by her hut, she liked what she saw and blurted out, “Hey! I think you’re good-looking.” … Read more
Maybe they were just talked out after their weekend retreat in Hendersonville. Whatever the cause, the Asheville City Council’s Feb. 4 work session was a marvel of brevity; it took a mere 45 minutes to cover a three-point agenda. Mayor Charles Worley called the meeting to order, asking for a moment of silence to remember … Read more
“My family has farmed the land at the base of this mountain for seven generations,” says Nancy Hensley, standing in her brother’s yard in Burnsville (population 1,623). “I can’t bear to look up there; it’s like looking at a dead body.” Hensley is talking about the Mountain Air Country Club, a 1,000-acre resort/residential community/private airstrip … Read more
Anderson Davis knows firsthand the need a kid with a bad attitude has for community intervention. “I was that at-risk child,” he reveals. “I did drugs, and it’s nothing I want anyone else to go through. I thought it was all right to do whatever you felt like you were big enough to do.” The … Read more
