I'm on hold with Warner Brothers Records, and a pretty typical modern pop song is blaring from my receiver. The treble is too high, blurring the melody and the tone of the singer's voice, but she has a piercing bubble-gum delivery that resembles many of the blandly hooked starlets clogging today's FM airwaves. Mercifully, the … Read more
In the West, we're likely to associate any kind of powdered food or beverage with inauthenticity. Powdered lemonade, powdered cheese sauce and powdered milk — they all smack of the artificial. Matcha, a dried, finely milled, shade-grown Japanese gyokuro green tea, busts the notion of powdered food as inferior alternative, and is emerging locally as … Read more
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Nov. 15, 2011 meeting Residents still divided over tax increase Planning Board appointments postponed The Buncombe County commissioners kicked off their Nov. 15 meeting by reiterating their support for local farmers with an update on the N.C. Cooperative Extension's statewide 10% Campaign, which urges Tar Heel residents to spend more … Read more
Great piece by Max Cooper in the Nov. 9 Xpress [“Asheville Argus: Eyes on the Street”]. His pictorial and verbal observations of today's Asheville amplify my misconceptions of the Asheville I experienced 70 years ago as a young GI in an infantry basic training camp in South Carolina. It was hotter than hell in that … Read more
How well does Asheville support local? Well enough that at least one local business has been able to take over a building recently abandoned by a struggling chain restaurant. When a Domino's Pizza location in south Asheville closed, the owners of the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company, a beloved local business with a loyal following … Read more
Singer/songwriter David Wilcox is an Asheville staple going back to the '90s when he played in Black Mountain's storied McDibbs, released his East Asheville Hardware album and his songs like "Eye of the Hurricane" were in heavy rotation. Though he's moved away from (and back to) the area, Wilcox's Thanksgiving shows are a thing of … Read more
Local electronic band Sonmi has been having a pretty great year, what with Bele Chere and Moogfest engagements. The instrumental outfit wraps up 2011 with one more local performance — this one as part of the RUN DMT show at the Asheville Music Hall. "RUN DMT began as an experiment in sonic debauchery in the … Read more
"Whether one celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, yule or any other holiday, this will be the party to attend," promises illustration and pop culture art gallery/retail space ZaPow! Browse all things nerdy/geeky in comic book art and graphic toys while sipping Wee Heavier from French Broad Brewery (or fruit punch, if that's more your speed) and … Read more
Prog-electronic quartet Déjà Fuze formed in Buffalo one January, perhaps trying to get through the winter doldrums or to stay warm. Either way, the band (now based in Asheville) probably knows a thing or two about heating up a room. Or a set. "The four melody makers at the center of Déjà dial into each … Read more
Here’s a gift idea for you: The brand-new Go Local discount card being offered by the Asheville City Schools Foundation and the Asheville Grown Business Alliance. Remember school checks? They were popular, yes, but the discounts were typically for chain restaurants and half the money went to the company that underwrote the program. The Go-Local … Read more
