Harry Leak’s first attempt to join The Gospel Jubilators didn’t go as planned. Not only did the a cappella group’s old codgers turn him down, but they then insisted he come listen to them practice. And lo, Leak went to the house where harmony reigned. And the rest is all amen. To be a bit … Read more
Veteran bluegrass stylemaster Doyle Lawson and his band, Quicksilver, are rightly celebrated for their sound — smooth vocals graced by tight harmonies, and paired with flawless instrumentals. But if not for one peculiar personal habit of Lawson’s, his fans wouldn’t have the chance to snatch up copies of the group’s latest CD, which has been … Read more
The making of art can be as much an exploration of self as it is a demonstration of skill. For All Desperate and Golden at the River District’s Wedge Gallery, curator Ryan Ford has assembled a team of seven, including himself. All are 20-somethings — some just barely so. In promoting the exhibit, Ford references … Read more
Spring cleaning CDs for review tend to pile up fast around here. And like so many other winter-cluttered places, Xpress‘ local-music desk has lately been getting hard to see. So, in the spirit of spring-cleaning, this week’s Random Acts is all about finally getting around to those belated record reviews of 2003. • Debut, Boojum … Read more
“There’s always plusses and minuses to everything, and losing my privacy in general has been one of the minuses,” declared Jared Fogle at the other end of the phone line. Fogle, the celebrity speaker for this week’s Sunset Stampede race in downtown Asheville, had by then been talking for a good five minutes about his … Read more
Plants that creep, crawl and spread over the earth like a warm quilt are called ground cover. They are the fine linens of the landscape. Insulating in winter and sealing in the earth’s cool moisture in summer, these living blankets have an important place in the garden. Underplanting with bulbs and spring ephemerals brings ground … Read more
The second-annual Sunset Stampede happens Saturday, May 1; its three races all begin and end at City/County Plaza. They are: • The Kid Mini Stampede, kicked off by Jared Fogle of Subway fame (see accompanying feature story), starts at 3 p.m. • The ultra-challenging 10 Mile Course, a scenic north Asheville route, starts at 5 … Read more
When protohumans first wandered away from home in search of a meal — or beat a hasty retreat, pursued by something that saw them as a meal — sooner or later they came to the mountains. (The first mountain sports festival, in fact, may have spontaneously occurred when a primitive bear chased a family of … Read more
“It would be much simpler to go through a normal recruiting process for a department director that wouldn’t necessarily involve the public.” — Asheville City Manager Jim Westbrook, who will pick the new police chief. Asheville residents had their first and last chance to question the two finalists vying to become the city’s new police … Read more
