In the 1920s, a genteel New England woman found her way to front porches and barns way up in Appalachian hollers. She wheedled and befriended and pestered the local folk until they shared their old-timey music, which she commenced to notate. Her purpose was the preservation of ballads that had changed little in the four … Read more
“This book helps free you, helps you be free — and it is free,” notes Karuna Alan Kistler, the author of Driving Your Demons Sane (Before They Drive You Crazy!). An unusual marketing strategy, to be sure, but no more so than the book’s exotic subject: do-it-yourself exorcism. For most folks, the word “exorcism” evokes … Read more
When I was in seventh grade, I worshipped Norwegian one-hit wonders A-ha. As in, I got teary when said hit made it to Casey Kasem’s top slot. By the time I was a junior, my tastes had improved to slinky post-punk Love and Rockets. But since then, it’s been a long wait for a crush-worthy … Read more
Even the best of friends can feel their relationship strain when faced with the big, discomforting things in life: Deception. Betrayal. A blank white canvas. Yasmina Reza’s play Art, now being staged by North Carolina Stage Company, tells the story of three men whose friendship almost disintegrates after one of them splurges on a massive … Read more
What is a Bo Bo? Robert Gardner’s Harness It could be the name of a ’60s TV clown, the dog you had when you were 12, or some exotic furry animal from Australia. Brad Reichardt had an Argentine friend who said that a Bo Bo was an anomaly, something you couldn’t explain. So when Reichardt … Read more
In 1932, the great filmmaker Josef von Sternberg resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, calmly announcing that the Academy “has nothing to do with art and even less to do with science.” That was 73 years ago, and, as the 77th Academy Awards proved on Sunday night, nothing much has changed … Read more
News • Head on over to quaint little Iceland, the real-life setting of Led Zeppelin’s ice-and-snow-laden “Immigrant Song,” where Zero to 60 front man Rick Weissinger will open a gig there the weekend of March 4 for Icelandic rockers Brudarbandid, who recently played Stella Blue. Last-minute tickets from some online travel agencies were going for … Read more
Flavor: Southern staplesAmbiance: No-frills dinerService: Courteous and efficient Living, working and playing in downtown Asheville, sometimes it seems to me that I’m surrounded almost entirely by transplants from elsewhere. I’m one too, and it could be easy to forget that this is first and foremost a Southern town, were it not for the generally congenial … Read more
Staff of life: On Saturday, March 5, Greenlife Grocery will host the Asheville Artisan Bread Festival from 2-6 p.m. The event will showcase local, mostly organic artisan breads, along with locally made accompaniments such as jams and cheeses. A panel of experts, including nationally known baker and author Peter Reinhart, will be on hand to … Read more
