text and photos by Jon Elliston Chris Bower is sitting in a low-rent apartment space in downtown Asheville’s Chicken Alley, surrounded by other people’s trash. And he loves it. In fact, he’s spent the past year-and-a-half laboriously gathering what most folks would consider refuse, scraps or outright junk, and piecing it all together like a … Read more
Jonesing for some authentic African cuisine? Then make a date with Anntony’s Caribbean Cafe in Asheville’s Grove Arcade. From 5:30 to 9 p.m. this Sunday, May 21, the restaurant will host La Cuisine de l’Afrique, an event featuring African food and wines. Call 255-9620 to find out more. The Wine Guy is presenting several events … Read more
Flavor: Seasonal southern ItalianAmbiance: Intimate, charmingService: Well-trained, colorful On a recent evening, three friends joined me for dinner at at La Caterina Trattoria. The restaurant has been an Asheville success story, opening first in Pack Square in 1994, then moving a decade later in the building off Merimon Avenue formerly occupied by the Il Paradiso … Read more
CD reviews Fifth House, Place: Three Stars • Genre(s): Funk, rock, jam band. • You’ll like it if: You don’t mind the normal jam-span being whittled to (oh my!) single-digit lengths. • Defining song: “Phase Shift.” The retort is always the same for bands that cater to the jam: “Yeah, the album’s painful, but you … Read more
• What’s this with artists inviting the general public to constantly tromp through their studios? Everywhere you look there’s a studio walk, stroll, jump or hop! Maps are passed out, banners and flags hung, ads taken out — even billboards. West Asheville pioneer David McConville says, “Though West Walk was at first a ‘studio stroll’ … Read more
It Wasn’t Video That Killed the Radio Star … It Was Videobot! The rotten thing about making a short film or music video for your friend’s band is that, once you’ve made it, it’s hard to find a place for people to see it. Sure, you’ve got the odd film festival and the occasional Web … Read more
Christina Mullen, “Love and Luck,” graphite and watercolor on nautical paper. There couldn’t be a better time to drive to Penland. If you can keep from looking at the ridiculously pretentious McMansions under construction on the mountainsides around Weaverville and focus on the brilliant swaths of color provided by the purple stocks and white daisies … Read more
Nothin’ To Prove. That’s the title of Mac Arnold’s new CD — a title that perfectly sums up the man’s worldview at this point in his life. Muddy’s man: Arnold’s Southern heritage clinched his worth in Waters’ eyes. Nothin’ To Prove, released this year on Arnold’s own label, which he’s dubbed Plantation # 1 Productions, … Read more
Tilling the fertile soil of the lousy childhood: Michelle Tea. “There’s something great about being at the bottom of your own personal loserness,” muses reluctant heroine Trisha Driscoll in Michelle Tea’s novel Rose of No Man’s Land (MacAdam/Cage, 2005). When Nietzsche (or was it Conan the Barbarian?) said “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” … Read more
