In a sleek office building in Arden, record-company executive Mickey Gamble is blasting the soulful vocals of up-and-coming singer Lauren Talley over his computer speakers. “I don’t have a closet religion,” she belts out. “Not what people who don’t listen a lot would think of as Southern gospel,” shouts Gamble, straining to be heard over … Read more
Don Coffey’s clarion tenor voice captivates listeners, both in concert and over the radio. A duet he recorded with Kirk Talley (“I Know a Man Who Can”) soared to No. 1 in March 2002 on Black Mountain Southern-gospel station WFGW (1010 AM) — and stayed there for 5-1/2 months, becoming the station’s top song of … Read more
On a chilly November evening, I’m offered two starkly different choices for a Friday night out in the small Western North Carolina town of Columbus. “Football or gospel?” asks the beefy man directing traffic outside Polk County High School, home of the Wolverines. “Gospel,” I call out. A couple hundred other people choose the same … Read more
“One of my favorite dancers was my grandfather, and I only ever saw him dance once,” Giles Collard recalls. “He was waiting for his wife to cook his breakfast,” continues Collard, a dancer, choreographer and instructor at Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre and the New Studio of Dance. “This wonderful, old-timey music was playing, and he … Read more
What, exactly, sets the fiddle apart from other old-time-music instruments? Bobby Hicks is pretty sure he knows. “The fiddle kind of sings and hums the words,” notes the recent Fiddler’s Hall of Fame inductee and Madison County resident. “Some fiddles can talk.” Indeed. And when four renowned fiddlers take the stage at Black Mountain’s The … Read more
Of note Tastes like jam: Asheville jazzsters Delicious have just released their self-titled debut. With just three songs running to a total of 30 minutes, some serious jamming is surely involved. Yet coming from a band known for running toy laser guns through their guitar pick-ups (and putting on otherwise unforgettable live shows), this improvisation … Read more
“OK, now lock your shoulders like this,” says Jon Berbaum, stiffening his shoulders by way of demonstration. “Now pretend you’re a bicycle and these are your handlebars,” he continues, grasping my hands. “I’m going to steer you around.” “Oh, good,” I say nervously. “I often imagine I’m a bicycle.” He starts maneuvering me around the … Read more
“People realize that if they don’t help the organizations they believe in, no one else will.” — Pat Smith, executive director, Community Foundation of WNC “Mostly I did this because I’m incompetent,” jokes local philanthropist Rob Pulleyn. “Really, they keep better records than I do.” He’s talking about the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. … Read more
“I expect you’ll be hearing from me soon.” — outgoing Council member Brian Peterson Outgoing Council member Brian Peterson had a message for his soon-to-be ex-colleagues: Expect to see him during future public-comment sessions. “I love this city, and I love democracy,” Peterson proclaimed after newly elected Council members Jan Davis and Brownie Newman had … Read more
