The Asheville Mardi Gras parade makes its through downtown this weekend (read about the parade and other festivities here). But even though this particular celebration marches to the beat of a very different drummer, it wouldn’t be a parade without a band. And it wouldn’t be a Mardi Gras parade without a second line band … Read more
Roots musician Woody Pines used to live in Asheville. If you don’t recognize the titles of his ragtime-meets-country-meets-jazz albums (Counting Alligators, You Gotta Roll and Rabbit’s Motel), you’d probably recognize Pines and his group from their countless performances on Asheville’s streets and stages. But not too long ago, the musician packed up and moved to … Read more
I recently returned from a visit to Scottsdale, Ariz. All of the houses and businesses there are set back 200 feet from the roads. The exterior of all the buildings match the sand of the desert floor and none of them are more then two stories high. Billboards are nonexistent As a result, when you … Read more
Yesterday, @ashevillehaikus tweeted: Please use the hashtag #avlvalentine or put in @ashevillehaikus so I can RT everything to compile this years list. #avl #asheville Not long after that, hearty, local-flavored yearnings began flowing. And they still are. To follow the stream, go here. For just a taste of the spirit, here are a few highlights: … Read more
One of the wonderful (and sometimes confusing) things about instrumental music is how open to interpretation it can be. While lyrics and instrumentation go hand in hand, the introduction of words does effectively contextualize a song. Of course there are other markers — rhythm, key, the instruments being played — that set a mood, but … Read more
