Having it Both Ways: Alison Krauss claims AC/DC as an influence, but her new direction is simply AC … as in Adult Contemporary. Alison Krauss is suddenly, and somewhat inexplicably, a hottie. The once-pudgy teenage fiddling virtuoso who wore PTA-mom bangs (brunette, mind you) is now a petite blonde glamour-puss gliding along the red carpet … Read more
At some point during Liz Aiello’s years playing Patsy Cline, things took a weird turn. Part-way through a run at one of the many venues across the country where she’s reprised her role as the beloved country singer, Aiello began to notice a fan returning night after night. Besides his repeat attendance in the theater’s … Read more
Tiny universe: Formal societies of miniaturists have a lot of rules. And Rita Dils of Burnsville, who applies acrylic paint to feathers, doesn’t necessarilt follow them. ****************************************************************** Connie Bostic It’s easy to feel like Gulliver in Lilliput in the gallery at Black Mountain Center for the Arts. The Center is hosting its sixth-annual exhibit of … Read more
“I built a bonfire, metaphorically, in the dark,” begins poet, traveler and organizer Pasckie Pascua in a recent interview. His story is about the figurative blaze that came to be known as the Traveling Bonfires — a moveable feast of music and poetry now based in Asheville. But it also starts with a very literal … Read more
It’s January. The evergreen that looked so glorious last month is now shedding needles on the carpet, the brown landscape has lost its romance — and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that you’re facing three long months of thermal underwear and Friends reruns. Don’t despair. Just because you can’t hop the next cruise ship to Aruba … Read more
News/updates Vincent’s Ear is dead. It’s official, it’s a shame, and — barring some unforeseen act of divine intervention — I think we can finally (and I mean finally) put the club’s dead, bloated corpse into the ground. But perhaps it’s best to instead burn the thing in the desert (like they supposedly did with … Read more
Asheville Police Chief Bill Hogan by Brian Postelle It’s been about seven months since Bill Hogan came on board as Asheville’s new police chief. Chosen from a pool of 89 applicants by City Manager Jim Westbrook, Hogan arrived in Asheville after five years spent heading up the Rocky Mount, N.C., Police Department. In response to … Read more
It may be too soon to tell whether cutting-edge technologies will prove to be the tourniquet that stanches Western North Carolina’s continuing hemorrhage of manufacturing jobs. But if not, it won’t be for want of trying. As the new year begins, a variety of high-tech programs and projects are moving ahead. In late December, AdvantageWest, … Read more
Prayer breakfast honors King Asheville’s Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Weekend will mark its 24th year with a four-day celebration Jan. 14-17. As in past years, the highlight will be the annual prayer breakfast at the Grove Park Inn on Saturday. The breakfast gala typically draws some 1,100 community members; this year’s theme is “Securing … Read more
