Bluesman Robert Pete Williams once declared that his inspiration for playing was all around, claiming the music itself was in the air. In Asheville this week, people will actually be playing the air itself, using the unique instrument the theremin. EtherMusic 2005 runs August 4-7, including two public concerts on Friday and Saturday. Attendees of … Read more
The theremin permeates most traditions of music now, in both the classical realm via interpreters like Lydia Kavina, and in a contemporary sense, by (among others) Pamelia Kurstin with her band, Barbez, both appearing at the EtherMusic festival this week. To understand the rich heritage behind this wondrous invention, one must return to a different … Read more
“What’s the difference between a violinist and a fiddler?” “Two-thousand dollars per concert.” There’s much truth in the quip’s minor-key humor — how mountain musicians have to be in it more for joy than money — according to the Dowden Sisters of Leicester, who, in classic Grand Ole Opry style, tend to offer such jokes … Read more
“Yellow City,” by Randy Shull One of the most dangerous things mid-career artists can do is change something major about their work. With his new exhibit at Blue Spiral, furniture maker and sculptor Randy Shull risks much. Sure, there are tables, and one of his signature clocks. And the medium is the same: wood, treated … Read more
Skeletons in the jukebox “Skeletons” provides a forum for local musicians, artists, record-store owners, etc., to erase cool points by expressing their unseemly affection for an unhip album from their past. Tom Jones — Help Yourself, by Kim Clark of WNCW “It was early 1969, and protest songs and ‘heavy’ message music were all the … Read more
Flavor: ItalianAmbiance: Dark but somehow cheerfulService: Very good In Asheville’s restaurant scene, the award-winning, consistently busy Trevi is one of the big boys. What is it, exactly, that makes this restaurant so successful? Is it the classic, accessible and familiar menu? The unpretentious atmosphere that walks the line between family-style and date night? Certainly, a … Read more
Wingin’ it: Get ready for a finger-licking good time at the first annual Wings and Strings Festival, a two-day affair in Maggie Valley, the weekend of August 6-7. Two stages will feature bunches of bands, but the real highlight may be the WNC Buffalo Chicken Wing Cook Off — the winner will go to the … Read more
photo by Cecil Bothwell Used tires are a societal headache. Once upon a time, we buried them in landfills — until the realization dawned that they gradually work their way back to the surface. In some places they were simply piled up; not infrequently, however, they caught fire and burned — sometimes for years. These … Read more
One of the best pieces of gardening advice I ever received came from a book and an author I’ve long ago forgotten, though I repeated the guidance in one of my own collections (The Icarus Glitch, Brave Ulysses Books, 2001): “Never be afraid to move any plant you can lift.” (Note that this is lift … Read more
