Of note Filling the Void Asheville-based acoustic/heavy-rock group Off Centre has announced plans to release its debut demo in early spring. The project features Joey Wilton (guitar, vocals) and Koli (bass) performing with former MiniVoid alumni Brandon Lowery (guitar) and Grant Henry (drums). Though there’s no current contact info for Off Centre, the group plans … Read more
“If he didn’t like your drawing, he would walk by and reach over and grab the paper and roll it up and throw it in the trash and keep walking,” a laughing Benajmin Long recalled of the teaching style favored by one of his former art instructors. “That’s not what we’re trying to do here … Read more
Few records prove themselves so immediately indispensable as Steve Earle’s El Corazon. Throughout that classic 1997 album — which travels effortlessly from finger-picked ballads to bluegrass romps, old-style-country love songs and Nirvana-loud rock anthems — Earle’s songwriting is consistently impressive and memorable, not only for his guitar and mandolin work, but for the instant-legend lyrics … Read more
As recently as three years ago, African-American comics Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and D.L. Hughley were, despite extensive touring and numerous television appearances, relatively obscure. But Spike Lee’s The Original Kings of Comedy, a filmed performance from the four comics’ nearly $40-million concert tour, which began its lengthy run in 1997, made … Read more
It seems a particularly cruel stroke that Valentine’s Day falls in the coldest stretch of winter. The glimmer and rush of the holidays behind us, we see nothing ahead but sunless skies, biting winds and a long, slushy trudge toward an elusive spring. And in the midst of this gray wasteland blooms Love’s Big Day. … Read more
Give a bird a home Here’s a chance to get creative, help out a feathered friend — and support a worthy cause. Dirt and Sky People Gallery (51 N. Lexington Ave. in downtown Asheville) is hosting the First Annual Birdhouse Auction, slated for Friday and Saturday, March 28-29. Donated birdhouses, from simple to elaborate, are … Read more
“‘Smart growth’ is growth that happens in someone else’s neighborhood,” proclaimed Asheville resident Jim McClure during the Asheville City Council’s Feb. 11 formal meeting. And though he made it clear that he was speaking tongue in cheek, McClure’s comment nonetheless encapsulated the resistance city officials predictably face whenever they advocate infill housing. A tenet of … Read more
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may be taxed. That is, of course, provided the state legislature agrees to the 1-cent increase in the local prepared-food-and-beverage tax proposed by the Asheville City Council at their annual retreat, held at UNCA’s Kellogg Center in Hendersonville. The proposal, one of several goals set during the … Read more
Whenever the issue of Buncombe County land-use regulations comes up, controversy is almost sure to follow. That held true this month when the Buncombe County Planning Board decided, on a split vote, to recommend that only property owners be allowed to sign petitions calling for the creation of a community-based planning district. With countywide zoning … Read more
If you’ve ventured downtown in recent weeks, you may have noticed that hardhats are now as common a sight as dreadlocks. With a major street-and-water-line renovation under way, arteries such as Haywood Road and College Street have seen their fair share of dust and disruption. And if the din of jackhammers and dump trucks isn’t … Read more
