Letting His Freak Flag Fly

Chris Robinson (lead singer of The Black Crowes) doesn't do many interviews. At this point in his career he doesn't have to, and this year he has mostly, as one press agent put it, "let his music speak for him." But he took time to talk to Xpress in advance of his Orange Peel show with his current band, The Chris Robinson Brotherhood, because "No. 1, I really love Asheville and I love that area," he says. "It's small and that's good. It's like how we're starting — what we're doing is very hands on and grassroots."

 Robinson says that he's not into talking heads and sound bites, but "if you have something to say, it's better to take a little time and do that." So what does he want to say to his Asheville fans? "People should know that Freak America loves them," he says.

who: The Chris Robinson Brotherhood 
where: The Orange Peel 
when: Saturday, Sept. 3 (9 p.m. $18 advance/$20 doors. theorangepeel.net)

written by: Alli Marshall | Read More...

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Nataraj

Nataraj, translated from Sanskrit, means "king of dance", and we do our best to live up to that name.

Combining dynamic drumming with soaring otherworldly melodies, Our music weaves flowing improvisation together with the dancer's energy to create an interactive and high energy atmosphere. From Asheville, NC.

Facebook | Website

(cross posted to Around Asheville)

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in Sun by WAGES

WAGES is a new impressionist band made up of members from NYC band Arizona. They recorded a debut album produced by Hank Sullivant (the Whigs, MGMT, Kuroma) at Echo Mountain Recording.
"in Sun" is the first in a series of EPs to be released by WAGES in 2010. Nick was kind enough to give me a few links off the new EP, in Sun. Hurricane Cocaine and You. (See below.)

LISTEN: WAGES - Hurricane Cocaine.mp3
LISTEN: WAGES - You.mp3

credits:
released 10 May 2010
Engineered by Alex Hornbake and Julian Dryer
Produced by Hank Sullivant
Mixed and Mastered by Alex Hornbake
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Echo Mountain Recording, Asheville, NC.

Download Album $5 USD or more or have a listen to the songs here on their website.

Facebook | MySpace

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Yeasayer Coming To Asheville!

>

APRIL 5, 2010 | 9:00 PM

Where: The Orange Peel, Asheville

TICKETS

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The Bob Moog Moogseum

The Bob Moog Moogseum

The Asheville Tourism Board just gave them a nice grant for their museum.

link

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The Graduates

The Graduates

The Graduates is a fun coming-of-age comedy about four friends who head to the beach after graduation. They go to party and chase girls, but end up growing up over the course of the week.

The Graduates features music from Asheville's Mad Tea Party and also features Robin Williams' son Zak Williams in his feature film debut.

The Graduates was directed by Asheville's Ryan Gielen (also directed Larry Keel: Beautiful Thing) and will be in theatres nation wide starting May 8th and will run through the summer.

Here are the details:
Thursday, March 12th
Doors at 9:00pm
Screening at 9:30pm
Tickets $5
Venue Asheville Pizza Company

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT OUR SITE ONLY - Previous screenings have all sold out so get your tickets at the website soon.

The Graduates (Official Trailer) from Ryan Gielen on Vimeo.

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Michael Franti in Asheville, Again

Musician/Poet/Activist Michael Franti is appearing tomorrow night in Asheville again. He's become one of our favorite touring bands because we like his music and we like what he stands for. A year or so ago he took a few days and helped clean up our river banks and in December he helped with Habitat for Humanity. Now that kind of good will goes a long damn way.

Mountain X: Can you share a story or memorable experience from one of your shows in Asheville?

Michael Franti: Well, the first one that comes to mind was the last show, the Christmas Jam, Warren Haynes came up to me and he says, “Michael there [are] a couple folks that would like to sit in with you, are you interested?” I said, “Yeah, of course, I’m always interested.”

He said, "Mickey Raphael, who plays harmonica with Willie Nelson would like to sit in." And I was like, “Oh, yeah, of course, that’d be awesome.” And then he said, “And John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, would you mind if he played on a song?” My mouth hit the floor and I was like, “You kidding me?” So we went backstage and we just started jamming.

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THE BEARDS OF COMEDY TOUR COMES TO ASHEVILLE

Stand-Up Comedy at the Rocket Club, Wednesday Jan. 14th

Distinctive Laughs Comedy has been offering quality, alternative stand up comedy shows around bigger cities on the east coast, including Charlotte, Asheville, Greenville, Athens, and Atlanta. Distinctive Laughs is teaming up with Athens based Loft Comedy and Asheville’s own Rocket Club to present the Beards of Comedy Tour on Wednesday, January 14th at 8 PM.

Admission is $8 at the door, general seating. Doors will open at 7:00pm and the show will begin promptly at 8:00pm.

The Beards of Comedy Tour is comprised of four seasoned and bearded comedians, in a unique format that blends stand-up, sketch, and audience interactive comedy. The show is 90 minutes or more of nonstop laughter, with several surprises in store.

The Four Beards: www.beardsofcomedy.com

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ARIZONA GLOWING BIRD

ARIZONA'S GLOWING BIRD

{via}: Arizona is a Brooklyn via Asheville, NC band that I’ve been following since I fell in love with their first album Welcome Back Dear Children.

They’ve recently released a new album entitled Glowing Bird (on Asheville's Echo Mountain Records). With this new LP Arizona has put together their deepest, broadest and most emotionally charged batch of songs to date. Produced (again) by Danny Kadar (My Morning Jacket, Iggy Pop, The Avett Brothers), Glowing Bird was set in motion when the band decided to shack up together in a rural North Carolina farmhouse to record the new songs.

It's what I'm listening to lately. They will be playing at The Orange Peel (Asheville) Friday, November 21. AND Blitzen Trapper Thursday, November 20 in Asheville at The Orange Peel.

Suzin Sez: ARIZONA has a soft psychedelia and mellow-y sound with nice harmonies. Go forth and ...

Listen: Heath by Arizona

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Prop 8 Protest in Asheville

Proposition 8 Protest Today
By Lin Orndorf

A large crowd of LGBTQ folks and straight allies gathered in Asheville's Pritchard Park to protest Proposition 8.

Cool and windy but a very successful showing today at Pritchard Park. See the photos and read more about it at Gay News - Out In Asheville where Lin Ornduff has put together a comprehensive account.

link

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Southeast Gas Shortage

photo credit: Jason at sweetashvegas who is always my first media stop when looking for anything about Asheville.

Oh, man, when you'ved added the local gas station to your speed dial, you know that times are getting hard. Two freaking weeks after Ike and we're still hunting for gas? My husband offered someone $10 a gallon for gas.

But it paid off. I called my neighborhood station this morning and she said, "hurry up and get down here" and I did. Good timing.

It's one thing to fill up and let it last you for a week or so if you're fortunate to live close to your usual stops. But it's another thing to fill up and have to drive long distances every day, like from state to state. grrrr

We all have it hard right now if we drive. I just had to sound off a bit.


**UPDATE: Knoxville, TN, has mixed emotions about Pilot sending gas to Asheville and more. {via}

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BLOGASHEVILLE AWARDS

BLOGASHEVILLE AWARDS

Alright, you probably know I'm not big on celebrations or coming out into the daylight for that matter, but these group of Asheville Bloggers work hard to put together a nice celebration each year.

"This year's festivities will take place in the Courtyard between Lexington Ave. and Carolina Lane behind Top Floor Studios. The party starts this coming Saturday at 6PM with the Awards beginning at 8PM sharp. The event will be a fundraiser for the outstanding AHOPE, which provides services for the homeless here in Asheville. BlogAsheville is requesting a donation of $10 per person but we hope that those who are able, will give generously. We look forward to seeing you there." link

**VOTE IN THE 2008 BLOGASHEVILLE AWARDS!!**

The 3rd Annual Extravablogiversapaloozathon BlogAsheville voting has begun! The voting couldn't be more simple.

Go and vote for me! And if you don't have a lot of time, you can vote for what you can and go ahead and submit it. Voting closes this Thursday at 11:59pm. It's always a good way to visit more of the Asheville blogs.

**Vote Here**

The fundamentals of this celebration are strong, damnit.

(X-posted to Around Asheville)

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Asheville Naked Bike Ride

Asheville is getting ready for the big Asheville Naked Bike Ride soon. It's part of the global World Naked Bike Ride and we've had one in 2004, 2005, 2006, and now in 2008.

From Asheville Freak Bikes: "It's in the planning stages and the 14th June is more like the official date this year so there's plenty of time to organize. I've also been told that the French Broad Food Coop is the usual meeting place, so if everyone can confirm this and decide on a definite date and time..."

In March and June 2008, in cities around the world, people will be riding bikes naked to celebrate cycling and the human body. The ride demonstrates the vulnerability of cyclists on the road and is a protest against car culture.

Flickr Group | x-posted to Around Asheville

MORE TO COME!

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Merrimon Avenue Then and Now

Merrimon Avenue Then and Now

I'm back after having breakfast at the Atlanta Bread Company on Merrimon Ave (Asheville), which has been there about 3 years now.

Actually, some people who've left Asheville would be surprised to see how little Merrimon Avenue has changed. Years ago on this corner of Merrimon and Edgewood is where the Brass Tap, Caesar's and the Human Factor once stood. All the same building; just different ownership.

It was a laid back bar with live music. You could walk in with your guitar and get called up to join the band or get asked to come up and sing harmony.

It was an intimate musician's place where single pickers and bands came to play on Open Mic nights or were booked for a set. Guitar builders, songwriters and wicked blues musicians were showcased all the way to New York and Nashville, depending on your style. Loocal heros like Malcolm Holcombe, Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule), Ray Sisk, Joey Freeman, Bruce McTaggart, Steve Cook and a few others. Like Ronnie Burgin, who has since passed on, but he may have been the best blues guitar player/singer I ever did see. Sober or not. What I'd give to hear him belt it out just one more time.

But back to Merrimon Avenue. It's still the same tiny 4-lane road with a few new banks and restaurants so basically it looks the same way it did 20 years ago.

Photo by Zen

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I'm looking to score a Velvet Elvis

Hey, man. I'm looking to score a Velvet Elvis. Seen on Asheville's Craigslist under "Barter".

"I have a 21 inch TV with vhs and remote. It works pretty well, although you have to jiggle the wire occasionally when you're watching cable. To get picture in picture I once taped a photo on it."

"My current projects include decorating my doublewide, building a solar hottub, and growing stuff. Here are some trade ideas: a velvet elvis, ceramic hands used to manufacture latex gloves, organic fertilizer, fuzzy dice, yellow bell pepper seeds, a cast-bronze taco 006, a solar differential controller, a rubbermaid structural foam stock tank."

"Hilarious and worthless trades considered."

WTF? Just how random is that?? Seen on Asheville's Craigslist under "Barter".

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Citizen Camera!

Citizen Camera!
Each camera was left in place for at least 24 hours with attached instructions to take a picture and leave the camera there. Then uploaded to Flickr.

What a cool idea.

Citizen Camera link | via Blog Asheville

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Weekend Theremin Festival

Weekend Theremin Festival!

The world's finest Theremin Players are gathering in Asheville to teach and showcase the music of the World's Oldest Electronic Musical Instrument (AND the only musical instrument you play without touching!) - the Theremin. Moog Music will again sponsor this International Theremin Festival – EtherMusic Festival 2008 - a celebration of the Theremin. This event will feature workshops and concerts and much, much more - all sponsored by internationally renowned Moog Music of Asheville, N.C.

Tickets at The Orange Peel website.

link | MySpace

x-posted to Around Asheville

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Polis is This: Charles Olson and the Persistence of Place

Next Thursday (April 17th, 2008)

A film by Henry Ferrini & Ken Riaf
7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 17
Fine Arts Theatre, 38 Biltmore Ave., Downtown Asheville
Admission: $7 BMCM+AC members + students with ID-$9 non-members
Filmmaker Henry Ferrini will be in town for the screening and will answer questions afterward.

"A beautifully composed homage to one of the few truly monumental American poets of our times." Jack Hirschman, Poet Laureate of San Francisco

"The best film about an American poet ever made." Bill Corbett, The Boston Phoenix

"...an impressionistic, yet informative and moving document about the act of creation that neither shies away nor oversimplifies." Michael Kelleher, ArtVoice

Just in time for National Poetry Month in April, the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, The Captain’s Bookshelf and Western Carolina University present a striking new film about Charles Olson, poet and charismatic leader of Black Mountain College during its final years, at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 17th. Polis is This: Charles Olson and the Persistence of Place wrestles with the six foot eight inch 275lb colossus of poetry through an extraordinary mix of word and image. Filmmaker Henry Ferrini will be present at the April 17th screening at the Fine Arts Theatre to answer questions following the film.

Polis Is This combines interviews, archival footage, commentary and animation into a single voice full of insight and visual beauty. The film allows the audience access to the subject even as it captures the zeitgeist of a formative era in literary history. The 60-minute documentary features John Malkovich, as well as interviews with poets and scholars Robert Creeley, Ed Sanders, Diane di Prima, Gerrit Lansing, John Sinclair, Pete Seeger, Chuck Stein, Anne Waldman, Charles Boer, Susan Thackrey, Amiri Baraka, Robin Blaser, Michael Rumaker, Jonathan Williams, Ammiel Alcalay, John Stilgoe, Vincent Ferrini and the poet’s son, Charles Peter Olson.

Read More »| x-posted to Around Asheville

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TYLER RAMSEY

Asheville's Tyler Ramsey - now playing with Band of Horses

Sporting a beard that would make most men jealous and a talent that would make most women swoon, Tyler Ramsey is a songwriter who clearly values intricacy, quality songwriting, and atmospheric credibility. A guitarist whose stylistic range varies anywhere from gentle finger-picking treats to bluesy riffs of utmost enjoyability, Ramsey has the ability to capture a broad spectrum of emotions in his highly impressive solo material. Though he will likely be remembered for his solo career, Ramsey also serves as a backing and studio guitarist for a variety of acts located around his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. More recently, he has been recognized as the opening act and part-time guitarist for Band of Horses. Though the highly touted indie-rock trio is based out of Seattle and not Ramsey’s own North Carolina, they are giving Ramsey a well-earned opportunity to try his hand at stardom. With the way that his new album sounds, I would not doubt that he reaches it.

link | x-posted to Around Asheville 11/7/07

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Rev. Billy Graham: A Prince of War Exposed

The propaganda machine of the Evangelical Christian Right will soon be in counter attack mode. One of its darling preachers is about to take it on the proverbial chin. The Rev. Billy Graham, who has created a multimillion dollar media empire, that a Rupert Murdock would envy, is the subject of a shocking expose’ due out on Nov. 15, 2007. It’s entitled, "The Prince of War: Billy Graham's Crusade for a Wholly Christian Empire". The author is Cecil Bothwell. He hails from Asheville, North Carolina and is an award winning investigative reporter. Bothwell’s unflattering portrait of Rev. Graham shows him as a wily warmonger and a lackey for the Establishment. He describes Rev. Graham as a public figure who: "Undermined the Founders’ skeptical Deism and sought to rebrand the U.S. as a Christian nation, [and] its armies [as] the rightful instruments of [a] Christian crusade and empire."

Read the Review

Asheville's Cecil Bothwell's compelling book sure has people talking. I can't wait to read it.

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