With a name like the Asylum Street Spankers, preconceptions are almost impossible to avoid. And in this case, they’re probably accurate. From the wry humor and social commentary of their breakaway YouTube hit “Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV” to Mommy Says No!, their award-winning children’s album, the Spankers have made a career of defying … Read more
It used to be that the widely held American conception of Irish culture culminated in leprechauns, green beer and a penchant for belting out choruses of “Danny Boy.” Along came Michael Flatley, and all that changed. Well, not exactly, but it is true that despite the fact that the number of New York City residents … Read more
Literary Trails of the North Carolina Mountains: A Guidebook (University of North Carolina Press, 2007) by Georgann Eubanks is a revelation. In turns historic tome, travel guide, Southern-heritage volume and trivia collection, the book is exactly the sort of thing that’s so obvious it’s a wonder no one wrote it sooner, and such an ambitious … Read more
For all the high-energy, well-attended shows at the recent POPAsheville festival, it’s fair to say that half the fun was getting to the music venues—or, rather, commuting between them. That’s because the festival enlisted the LaZoom bus-tour crew to provide transit: Attendees got a free ride (and in many cases, free rides) on the purple … Read more
Insight: Necklace of sterling silver with jade, turquoise, clear quartz and moonstones. “Give me people who are earthy, natural and lacking in pretense,” says jewelry designer Akiko Gordon. “It is their work I emulate.” That wild, untethered influence is readily apparent in the artist’s clustered, textural creations. From 1996 to 2001, Gordon was a host … Read more
Created in 2001 to encourage high-density, mixed-use development, the “urban village” zoning designation is still experiencing growing pains. In 2006, City Council raised the maximum allowable height of buildings in such districts from 80 feet to 150 feet. The change came after Biltmore Farms pleaded its case for a 12-story hotel at its Biltmore Park … Read more
A welcome sound woke me at 2 a.m. one recent Saturday: Plunk … plunk … . I listened: It was faint and dull. It could be a raccoon fiddling with my trash-can lid (too faint for a bear, too loud for a mouse—we have both here). Plunk. Plunk. Pit. Pat pat pitter-pat. Rain hitting my … Read more
Flavor: Traditional taqueria Ambiance: Clean, utilitarian and very well-lit There’s a new taqueria on Haywood Road. Perhaps you’ve seen it. OK, surely you’ve seen it: Agave Azul exudes a fluorescent glow so bright it’s probably catching the eye of local astronomers. But who needs a Big Dipper in the sky when you can have first-rate … Read more
Does your road-rage quotient rise around construction sites? Have you long harbored smoldering anger at Asheville’s renowned “malfunction junction,” aka the approach routes to the interchange for Interstates 26 and 40? Are you baffled and perplexed by the construction going on there now? Life in the fast lane: Schedules and updates on the I-16/I-40 approach … Read more
If you want to go faster, go by yourself. If you want to go farther, go with a group. Whatever your outdoor passion, there’s probably a club for you in Western North Carolina. But joining one won’t make you fit; rather, it’s your reward for being fit, and a great way to improve your skills … Read more
