Some 150 south Asheville residents turned out Jan. 31 for an arduous, heated public meeting to talk about the ground-water contamination at the former CTS of Asheville plant on Mills Gap Road. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the N.C. Division of Waste Management, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and others … Read more
On Jan. 22 Anywhere, USA, formerly known as Asheville: The Movie won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival for “singularity of vision.” The film, from local auteur Chusy Haney-Jardine, took three years to make, using mostly local actors and locations. Winners: Actors Mike Ellis and Perla Haney- Jardine in promotional art for … Read more
John Frank honestly didn’t think it would cause much of a stink when he reopened the Skyland Crest shopping-center location formerly housed by Rio Burrito. After purchasing the property, he decided to save some bucks by adding the letter “B” to the existing sign and dubbing the new business Brio Burrito. Name that burrito joint: … Read more
The opening of the filing period for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners race is still nearly a week away, but already the horses are jostling the gate. And for good reason: This year, all four commissioners’ seats are open, along with the chairman’s seat. And while we can’t be sure exactly who will opt … Read more
HandMade in America, the Asheville-based nonprofit that brought Western North Carolina crafts new attention, was born in the mind of Becky Anderson in 1993. The area native married the idea of place-based economics to the artistry of the region’s craft tradition, placing new emphasis on how to support handmade crafts and their creators as an … Read more
“I had an epic journey to get here,” SeepeopleS front man and multi-instrumentalist Will Bradford says from a studio in Boston. Now you see them: Although SeepeopleS frontman Will Bradford (far right) and drummer Tim Haney (second from right) are based in Asheville, the rest of the group isn’t exactly local. Keyboardist Peter Keys (far … Read more
In the view of legendary Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, the folk-music revival was “really only in vogue for three years” before The Beatles burst on the music scene. And by the time folk superstar Bob Dylan hit, folk was already over. If you could read his mind: Gordon Lightfoot has long been one of Canada’s … Read more
Dan Whitney, better known as his alter ego, Larry the Cable Guy, insists that he’s “very deadpan, very serious” before chortling into the phone. “I like telling jokes and doing what I do, so I’m pretty much always in a good mood,” he says. “Let’s just say I don’t sweat the small stuff.” Blue-collar, and … Read more
Since their 2003 debut Gallowsbird’s Bark, The Fiery Furnaces have left listeners swooning in a state of confused delight as they repeatedly trounce genre boundaries and make each record radically different from the last. Consisting of siblings Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger and a rotating cast of support musicians, the Furnaces have veered from lo-fi, skeletal … Read more
Maceo Parker is the last of a dying breed. As one of music’s last true superstar sidemen, Parker has played his signature stuttering and stammering saxophone lines all over some of soul music’s most beloved songs. That’s him accenting James Brown’s grunts on classics such as “I Feel Good,” “Out of Sight,” and “Papa’s Got … Read more
