OUR 20TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 21 NO. 5 AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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CONTENTS CONTACT US
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• Insured • Over 30 Years Experience
Two decades of Xpress This week, we look back at Mountain Xpress in the ’90s — the paper’s first years. Who produced it? Why did they do it? What difference did it make? For answers, we turned both to former staffers and to civic activists.
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Speaking of Nature: Place-Based Creative Writing Full-Day Workshop
NEWS
JANISSE RAY
8 OUR VOICE: 40 YEARS Crisis agency’s staff, volunteers look back on four decades serving WNC
NEWS
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10 HOT SEAT Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger takes the heat for snow days
MARC WILLIAMS
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ALAN MUSKAT
Wild Mushrooms: A Magical Mystery Tour
39 HANDCUFFED REDUX Locals continue the discussion about NC liquor laws
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37 FEASTING IN THE CLASSROOM — FEAST supplements the elementary curriculum with gardenbased learning
46 LONG LIVE LAAFF Local festival returns with an eye toward the future
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48 SOUL PURPOSE Local musicians unite for a quadruple album release show
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Wild Abundance: Reliance on the Foods Around Us
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OPINION
Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com. STAFF
PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Margaret Williams A&E EDITOR/WRITER: Alli Marshall FOOD EDITOR/WRITER: Gina Smith STAFF REPORTERS/WRITERS: Hayley Benton, Carrie Eidson, Jake Frankel, Lea McLellan, Kat McReynolds EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Hayley Benton, Grady Cooper, Carrie Eidson, Jake Frankel, Michael McDonald, Lea McLellan, Kat McReynolds MOVIE REVIEWER & COORDINATOR: Ken Hanke CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak, Tracy Rose
CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON
Most program slots designated for those on Medicaid I am writing this letter to bring to light an issue I am sure most parents are not aware of. My child has a history of severe ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and has other issues. When he was in middle school, he was put on a waiting list to be placed in a special program for children with similar issues. It seems that almost all slots for the program are designated for those on Medicaid. Only one slot per year in the whole county (Buncombe) is allotted for "pro bono," or those with private insurance. Therefore, over a period of five years, we were always on a waiting list and never were granted the slot. Well, as the saga progressed, my child did not function well in a regular classroom and things continued to spiral out of control. He wound up quitting school at age 17 and had to be sent to a wilderness therapy program out west and now is in boarding school. I wonder about the "No Child Left Behind" idea. Seems it does not apply to those with private insurance. Vickie Moore Asheville
Mother upset by confrontation over dog Recently, I asked my daughter to run to Lowe's to pick up a mop bucket for me. As soon as she picked up her keys to go, our beloved rat terrier, Daisy, wanted to go, too. I have taken Daisy before. She is only 11 pounds of love. As soon as my daughter got out of her car with Daisy, a man in the parking lot started cursing at her for having her "g.d. dog" at the store. This man used such vulgar language that he had my daughter in tears and Daisy's nerves just shattered. My daughter was so upset by this guy following her and cursing her that she went directly to the service desk and asked the associate to escort her and Daisy to get the bucket. The folks at Lowe's were very kind and helpful to them. A lot of us take our pets out to hardware stores. This man has a problem. He thinks he is someone special that can go around jumping on women who are alone and look like a victim to him. Guess what? Not every one will take crap like this. There are families in these stores and would they rather see my sweet Daisy or a little man with a bully complex swearing?
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We are from West Asheville, and we aren't bashful! Step up on the wrong person and maybe you'll have a change of heart about picking on girls and their puppy dogs. You should be ashamed of your actions. What if it were your daughter or wife or mother? Would you be the same or do you hate everyone and everything the same? My dogs have better manners. At least they know how to act in public. My kid came home in tears. I guess the man in the parking lot got his jollies out of that. Glenda Turner Asheville
Marshall's loss of restaurant is Brevard's gain The fabulous Marshall restaurant Pork & Pie, which received three Best of 2014 awards in the Mountain Xpress, is relocating to downtown Brevard in October. The Xpress followed each award with the notation "closed." Marshall's loss is our gain. Chef Jaime Hernandez is the kitchen artist behind the name Pork & Pie that will re-emerge as Jaime's at 44 E. Main St. in downtown
CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN
Brevard. Having been a patron at the Marshall location on numerous occasions, I highly recommend the Asheville restaurant crowd check out the new restaurant in Brevard in early fall. You will not be disappointed. Thanks to Mountain Xpress readers for recognizing a high-quality restaurant that sets a higher standard for uniqueness in flavors and innovation. Thanks. See you soon in Brevard. Tim Hall Brevard
How do we know if fracking chemicals are safe? North Carolina's Energy Modernization Act prohibits disclosure of chemicals used in the process, according to your fine article on the subject ["Focus on Fracking: NC Officials Seek Public Comment on Draft Rules," Aug. 6, Xpress]. How are we then to know if these chemicals are safe for the water supply and the environment?
The answer is that we won’t know, and that’s just the way the fracking companies and their Republican puppets in the legislature want it to be. What the public doesn’t know won’t hurt them, but the chemicals used in fracking might. Fred Flaxman Weaverville
vides books for both children and adults. The library was made from recycled materials by longtime Asheville resident John "Pops" Olup, who is the father of local business owner Peggy Yarborough (Yesterday's Tree). I hope to see some new readers at this LFL now that one is known to be on the south side. Lani Ray and Don Dahms Asheville
Another of the Little Free Libraries is in South Asheville
Candidate says to give half of contribution to charity
Reading your great article on the Little Free Libraries [“Asheville's Little Free Libraries Make a Big Community Impact," Aug. 6, Xpress] caused me to feel left out. Though a registered participant in the LFL program, we have only recently been added to the official site online [littlefreelibrary.org]. We have a Little Free Library on the south side of Asheville on Breezeway Drive off Sweeten Creek Road at Rathfarnham Circle. It's been here for two years and pro-
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I understand that Tate MacQueen, Democratic candidate for North Carolina's 10th Congressional District seat, has asked his supporters to cut in half the contribution they were going to make to his campaign and, instead, give the remaining 50 percent of the contribution to a charity of their choice in Western North Carolina. This is the first time ever I've heard a politician asking for less money, not more. It's absolutely refreshing. Bray Creech Asheville
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N E W S
Forty years, strengthening ‘Our Voice’ The crisis agency’s staff and volunteers look back on four decades of work in WNC
BY CARRIE EIDSON
ceidson@mountainx.com 251-1333 ext. 110
In the summer of 1990, Anne Heck was riding her bike in northern Virginia when she was attacked and beaten before being dragged into the woods and raped. In the months that followed, Heck began her physical recovery and even volunteered with a rape crisis center in Virginia. But she also experienced frequent episodes of posttraumatic stress that left her struggling to breathe. The episodes continued after Heck moved to Asheville in 1991, and she was referred to the Rape Crisis Center. “I spoke with a volunteer and I just remember feeling this sense of calm,” Heck says. “Having someone who knew what it was like to be in a trauma situation — it helped just to know there was someone who could understand and support me.” Heck went on to become vice chair of the board of directors at the Rape Crisis Center — or Our Voice,
as it’s known today. The organization, which started as an all-volunteer, grassroots endeavor in 1974, will celebrate its 40th anniversary on Thursday, Sept. 4. Though the early focus was on crisis intervention and counseling referrals, today Our Voice provides a 24-hour crisis line, counseling services, community outreach and youth programs maintained by a small paid staff and over 50 volunteers. “We’re working to create a community that says, ‘Sexual violence is not OK against any individual,’” says Executive Director Angélica Wind. “And we’re working to make a community where those who have experienced sexual violence feel safe to disclose — where they don’t have to endure victim-blaming or attacks on their credibility.” BEHIND THE LINES “When I talk to people about what it is I do, a lot of the time they say, ‘Oh, I could never do that! You’re so brave,’” says Our Voice
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STARTING CONVERSATIONS: Our Voice began as an all-volunteer organization in 1974. On Thursday, Sept. 4, the organization will celebrate its 40th anniversary at the Diana Wortham Theatre. Our Voice staff are (back row, from left) Melanie Gordon-Calabrese, Stefanie Gonzales, Dearing Davis, Daniel Lee, Laurie Jackson, (front row, from left) Leah Rubinsky and Angélica Wind. Photo by Carrie Eidson.
volunteer Pam Wellman. “But I feel like a lot of people could do this. It’s just about being a regular person in the room for something that is a scary and uncomfortable experience.” Wellman has been a crisis response advocate for almost two years. She serves on the organization’s 24-hour crisis line, where she says it’s not uncommon to receive calls from survivors expe-
riencing post- traumatic stress similar to what Heck experienced. “We do get calls from people in acute crisis, as in actual physical danger, but also people who have had a previous trauma triggered and just need to talk to someone,” Wellman says. “Sometimes people just call to find out more information.” Wellman says people may hesitate to call the crisis hotline out of fear that it will commit them to taking action before they are ready to do so, but she says this isn’t the case. “It’s very low investment to call the hotline and talk to someone,” Wellman says. “You’re not committing to going to the hospital, you’re not committing to going to court. You can choose the level of investment you want and what feels right for you in your healing.” Volunteers at Our Voice also accompany individuals affected by rape and sexual assault to the emergency room to provide support during examinations and wait times, which Wellman says can take up to six hours.
“Your job is just to show up and witness this act of strength that is happening,” Wellman says. “There is bravery that is required to be a witness and be a support, but it’s not that much different from being a regular person. And in many cases, that’s exactly what survivors need — a normal person who isn’t a medical person, to help it feel less alien.” Our Voice volunteers also work in community and school outreach programs including Climbing Toward Confidence, which focuses on confidence-building exercises for low-income girls ages 12-14, and Bar Outreach, which promotes bystander intervention by training bar staff and patrons how to spot someone under the influence of a date-rape drug. Wellman says if someone is interested in volunteering but feels uncomfortable being in the hospital or speaking to large groups, Our Voice will still have a volunteering niche that can be filled. “It’s just about making the clients feel supported,” Wellman says. “It’s a wide range of people who come through our doors and some have family support or community support, but some don’t have any at all.” A VOICE FOR EVERYONE John Langlois was 50 years old when he sought therapy for stress he thought was related to his job. But shortly after beginning the counseling process, Langlois began to realize how his mental health had been affected by being sexually abused by three different perpetrators as a child, something he had never discussed with anyone. “I always kept quiet about it because I thought I was OK,” Langlois says. “I went to counseling for job burnout, but I realized that a lot of what I was experiencing was compensation from not dealing with those issues.” As a medical professional, Langlois says he was aware of Our Voice as a resource for women, but, like many men, he was hesitant to speak out about his experience and unsure what services were even available to him. “I do think there is shame involved for everyone, but shame is a very big issue for men,” Langlois says. “We’re raised that we’re not supposed to talk about things. That’s a stereotype, but it’s very true.” When Langlois first contacted Our Voice, he found that a men’s group had existed but it was not active. In an effort to make sure other male
survivors knew they could find help, Langlois became a volunteer and speaker at Our Voice events and wrote columns in local publications. In 2011, Our Voice gained funding to establish the One in Six program, which takes its name from a study from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention that found one in six men have been victims of abusive sexual experiences. The program provides one-on-one and group counseling for adult males, and, according to Wind, is currently the only program of its kind in Western North Carolina. “We have had survivors who have driven to Asheville from Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina to participate in the program, which shows that there just aren’t many programs of this kind,” she says. Wind adds that though Our Voice grew out of the feminist movement, the organization’s mission has always been to serve all of Buncombe County. “Sexual violence does primarily affect women, statistically, but in reality it affects all communities,” she says. Langlois says that he was surprised to see how many men had been affected by sexual assault. “It was an awakening and a comfort to know that I was not alone,” he says. “But it is also sad to see how many others out there had experienced it.”
“There have been these public issues with Penn State, the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, and people will talk about it for a few weeks and then forget that it’s a bigger issue. We need to not ignore this.” Heck says that she has seen an increased focus on education and prevention since 1991 and would like to see that continue. “Our Voice has done an exceptional job creating these programs,” Heck says. “People are more willing to talk about sexual violence today, but we still try to put it away and not address it. It’s ugly and it’s uncomfortable to discuss, but it doesn’t get better unless we bring it to light.” Wind adds that Our Voice’s focus on prevention will continue as the organization adds new programs, including Teen Tech Safety, which focuses on the consequences of sexting and sharing explicit photos, and an extension of Bar Outreach, which will teach college students about the increased risks that come with drinking and the importance of consent in sexual activity. She says Our Voice will also continue increasing
support for programs geared toward minorities, including Latinos, people of color and the LGBTQ community. “Hopefully, in another 40 years, we won’t exist because sexual violence has been eliminated,” Wind says. “But that’s a perfect world. In 40 years, we want the rates of sexual abuse to be lower because the community as a whole is talking about this and taking a stand to prevent it. “We started this program to create a better response to individuals who have already been impacted,” she continues. “But what we’ve also done is develop strong, innovative prevention programs that are helping us change that paradigm.” Our Voice will celebrate its 40th anniversary at the Diana Wortham Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 4, with a keynote address by Anita Hill, a law professor at Brandeis University and an advocate for sexual harassment laws. Tickets are $50 or $100 for VIP tickets, which include a meeting with Hill. For more information, visit ourvoicenc.org or call 252-0562. X
LOOKING FORWARD When asked what she would like to see Our Voice accomplish in its next 40 years, Wellman pointed to increased support for sex workers and more programs like Kelly’s Line, the organization’s voicemail system that allows sex workers to anonymously report sexual and physical assault. She also hopes to see an increased awareness of victim blaming, which she says is pervasive and ranges from seemingly innocent comments such as, “She shouldn’t have gone there alone,” to more appalling and graphic statements. “You hear children say, ‘She was asking for it,’ because they’re repeating something they’ve heard,” Wellman says. “That needs to stop, all the way.” Langlois says he hopes to see consistent and secure funding for men’s programs, as well as an increase in public awareness of sexual abuse against males.
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NEWS
by Cameron Huntley
cameronhuntley1@gmail.com
Hot seat
ON A SNOW DAY: Buncombe County Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger, who replaced Otto DeBruhl in 2011 and was elected in 2012, has been criticized for closing the office during a February snow event. (File photo)
Buncombe Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger takes the heat for snow days
It’s been a hard few months for Buncombe County Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger. His office remains under scrutiny following the news that he closed the Deeds office in February during inclement weather and a governordeclared state of emergency. No other Buncombe County department closed at the time. Buncombe officials later responded by granting every county employee an additional 13 hours vacation leave, roughly equivalent to $480,000 in paid salaries. That’s a ballpark estimate, but county staff say it might not cost taxpayers a dime.
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During the Aug. 5 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, county residents got a chance to comment on the situation. Their displeasure was clear, leading commissioners to review the issue and look more closely at the options. “It is not right,” said Peggy Bennett on Aug. 5. “It’s not right to expect the taxpayer to pay the $500,000. It is up to you all to do what’s right. Set a good example for Mr. Reisinger. Maybe he’ll learn, maybe he won’t. But it’s not right for us as taxpayers to pay that money. We expect you all to take care of it.” “I read where this year’s budget will make [it up to] the employees of the county ... who did not get a free taxpayer-funded playdate,” said Eddie Harwood. “Since Mr. Reisinger is a bonded official, I assume that the more than $500,000 this costs the taxpayers
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will be recovered, which is the purpose of the bond on an official in case of misconduct or other actions that cause harm to taxpayers.” After hearing from Bennett and Harwood, Board Chairman David Gantt directed County Attorney Robert Deutsch to prepare a response. On Aug. 19, Deutsch outlined the details, some of which addressed Harwood’s suggestion. North Carolina General Statutes require many public officials to carry fidelity bonds, including “any County officer, employee or agent who handles or has in his custody more than one hundred dollars ($100) of county money at any one time,” Deutsch explained in his report. The bonds function as a type of surety or insurance for performance. For the Register of Deeds, the bond is to assure faithful performance of the duties of the office, which is outlined in the N.C. General Statutes, and financial integrity, said Deutsch. The bond for Reisinger was set at $50,000, the largest amount, by law, that a performance bond for the Register of Deeds can carry. “Insurance companies write these bonds,” Deutsch later told Xpress. “If I, for example, am a general contractor, I might pull a fidelity bond from the insurance company for the owner of the building I’m working on, so if I don’t perform, the fidelity bond would stand for it.” Like any insurance company, Deutsch continued, the bond agents “will fight hard not to pay. They interpret these things very technically.” Deutsch also said that the only people who could call the bond are those who suffered “direct financial damage” from the deeds office closing. “So if I was trying to close my deed and I couldn’t, and it cost me financially, that would be the only time I could assert the bond. I did not think the [office] closing caused anyone financial damage, or violated the duties of the Register of Deeds as outlined in in North Carolina General Statutes.” As for the cost to taxpayers, that’s uncertain. While the potential cost for paying extra vacation time is about $480,000, Deutsch said that’s a “maximum,” and the final, actual
number could vary — a lot. “It could be zero,” he said. While vacation time is a liability cost for county government, the cost is theoretical, depending on a variety of circumstances. All Buncombe employees were granted an additional 13 hours vacation time by commissioners, but that compensation will only end up costing taxpayers extra money under specific conditions, Deutsch said. “Say a department is minimally staffed, and someone takes that 13 hours of vacation, and that department has to bring someone else in to cover [thus paying both the vacation time and the other employee],” said Deutsch. “That’s the only time it would cost taxpayers additional money. Hopefully our departments would be more than minimally staffed anyway.” Regardless, he said, the county won’t know the exact cost of Reisinger’s decision until June 30, 2015, the end of the current fiscal year. No matter what the final tally, the issue has generated confusion and anger from the public. When contacted by Xpress, Reisinger said that his office was one of several that closed on Feb. 12 and 13 during a state of emergency. According to him, while Buncombe County traditionally keeps offices technically open, even if not operational, there’s no set policy on whether an office can be closed during inclement weather or other emergency conditions. “Based on the combination of written and unwritten policies,” said Reisinger, “it is reasonable for there to be ambiguity and questions on this issue. I did choose to close my office during the state of emergency because I had no staff who felt safe traveling during the snowstorm. [Deed] employees elected to take vacation time or leave without pay on Feb. 12 and 13.” County Manager Wanda Greene, however, told Xpress: “Our policy is that we do not close, and no other offices have closed in the 20 years I have been with Buncombe County.” “I have personally expressed to [County Manager] Greene and every commissioner my regret for any confusion this matter has caused [her], the commissioners and the public,” said Reisinger. X
NEWS
by Jake Frankel
jfrankel@mountainx.com
Long walk ahead
Tunnel Road — previously known as “the goat trail” where veterans walk each day between the Veterans Restoration Quarters and the VA Medical Center — has been paved. Ordinances have also been strengthened to require some new private developments to include sidewalks, Pelly notes. All new subdivisions exceeding 20 housing units must now include sidewalks, he says. The total mileage of all new sidewalk expected to be completed in the next five years is still being determined, says Ken Putnam, Asheville’s transportation director. His department is currently working on drafting a Multimodal Transportation Plan that “will look at the system in a comprehensive way and will measure mobility deficiencies city wide and will develop and establish a priority system.” The plan is scheduled to be completed by September 2015, and several public meetings will be held to solicit feedback between now and then, says Putnam. The overarching goal is “to create an effective and progressive plan that encour-
ages health oriented and sustainable transportation, reduces barriers to access transportation and connects residents and visitors with the places they want and need to go with improved safety, efficiency and accessibility.” Meanwhile, a range of partners, including Asheville on Bikes and the N.C. Center for Health and Wellness, are working together to organize a count of walkers and bikers next month in different parts of town to help determine where the biggest needs are. Pelly says he regularly hears from neighborhood leaders advocating for sidewalk improvements on a long list of roads such as Lakeshore Drive, Johnston Boulevard, New Haw Creek Road, Bear Creek Road and Beaverdam Road. At the upcoming public meetings, Pelly says he’s “hopeful neighborhoods desiring sidewalk improvements will make their voices heard.” No public meetings on the multimodal plan have been confirmed at this time — stay tuned to mountainx.com for details as they are announced. X
WE SAY SIDEWALKS! In 2010, hundreds marched down Tunnel Road advocating for a sidewalk between the Veterans Restoration Quarters and the Charles George VA Medical Center. The sidewalk was built, but the city’s far short of its goals. Photo by Jake Frankel
Asheville falls short of sidewalk construction goals Asheville has constructed about 18 miles of new sidewalks since 2006, but that’s a far cry from what advocates say is needed to improve pedestrian safety in the city’s neighborhoods. A new report released by city government shows that it’s fallen well short of its goal of building 108 miles of sidewalk. A five-year, $132 million Capital Improvement Plan, passed by Asheville City Council this summer, focuses sidewalk investment along major arteries such as Hendersonville Road, Charlotte Street, Leicester Highway and the River Arts District. That leaves only $550,000 for building new sidewalks
in residential neighborhoods — enough for about one mile of new pathways, according to City Council member Chris Pelly. “I believe there is a significant pent-up demand for neighborhood sidewalks in Asheville. Our budget, however, does not adequately respond to this demand,” says Pelly. “Budgeting for one mile of new neighborhood sidewalks every five years is not adequate to meet this demand.” A longtime advocate, Pelly’s grassroots push to bring more sidewalks to East Asheville in 2010 helped catapult him onto Council the following year. The new report came at his request and, despite his ongoing concerns about the pace of progress, he also notes that it highlights improvements. Since 2011, a mile-long stretch of worn grass and rocky paths along
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
| The Kress Building, circa 1990. Photo courtesy of Public Interest Projects.
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A word from the publisher
20 years ago… This week, we look back at Mountain Xpress in the ’90s — the paper’s first years. Who produced it? Why did they do it? What difference did it make? For answers, we turned both to former staffers and to civic activists. Next week, we’ll continue to look at the ’90s, but change the focus and examine Asheville’s monumental and even miraculous evolution during the past 20 years — once again, told by the players and people who helped bring about those changes. Asheville’s metamorphosis is a big story, with many people contributing to it. Letting them tell their stories will likely take more than two weeks. And that’s without any ensuing discussions. So stay tuned for more coverage, online and in print, over the coming weeks, and if you’re moved, tell us what you think. — Jeff Fobes, publisher X
letters Dear Jeff ... It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since you began publishing the Mountain Xpress. During that period of time, Asheville has changed a great deal, and the Mountain Xpress has been a big part of that process. It is really hard to comprehend the changes that have taken place in downtown Asheville since 1994. Restaurants, galleries and breweries have transformed the downtown into a national tourist destination. I think the fact that five new downtown hotels are currently planned confirms the future vibrancy of our community. We have a lot of people to thank for our success, including Roger McGuire, Julian Price, Doug Bean, as well as you and your parents. We have a come a long way since 1994, and the Mountain Xpress has been a voice for many of our community’s constituencies during that period of time. Congratulations on your 20th anniversary, and we look forward to Asheville’s next 20 years of progress. — Lou Bissette Lou Bissette practices law at McGuire, Wood & Bissette, P.A. He has served as mayor of Asheville (1985 to ’89) and president of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. He is currently vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina System.
Congratulations, Xpress In 1994, the renaissance of downtown Asheville was still in startup mode. Jeff Fobes and his family were recent arrivals to the mountains. Vacant storefronts were plentiful, and no one had to circle the block to find a place to park their vehicle. Who would have envisioned that starting from a meager beginning of only 24 pages that Mountain Xpress would be around in 2014? Not only is the weekly still around, it has grown in number of pages, in-depth stories and local news, has more advertising than its local rival, and is still free for the taking each Wednesday. With so much media available, publishing a successful newspaper in today’s environment is a difficult task. But Jeff and his staff consistently issue a quality edition every week. Twenty years later, in 2014, the downtown storefronts are filled, and it’s hard to find a place to park even on a Sunday afternoon. However, from that first issue with the crazy rabbit on the cover page to this very day, it’s hard to pass the newsstand on Wednesday without stopping to pick up the current issue. Congratulations Mountain Xpress for 20 years of outstanding success! — Russ Martin
1994-1995
Russ Martin served on Asheville City Council from 1987-89, and as mayor for two terms (1993 to ’97). He currently volunteers with the Kiwanis Club and the Aktion Club, which he and his wife started as a service club for adults living with disabilities.
AUGUST 27, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
Challenging the status quo, cleaning up local government BY STEVE RASMUSSEN
Twenty years ago, law enforcement in Asheville and Buncombe County was unaccountable, environmental regulations were a joke and local government was a perpetual backroom deal. Mountain Xpress’ investigative reporting and commitment to community involvement helped changed all that in ways that I might not believe possible if I hadn’t seen them myself — from the outside as an activist and from the inside as a journalist. In August 1998, my mate Dixie Deerman and I were helping lead Community of Compassion for Cannabis, a movement to make marijuana and hemp a low priority for local law enforcement. Supporters of a resolution to that end jammed City Council’s ordinarily near-empty chambers, in an effort to get an unwilling Council to pass it. When one of our group took the podium and pointed out a plainclothes city policeman sitting in front who was videotaping every citizen who spoke in defense of cannabis, only one reporter — Xpress’ Margaret Williams — promptly swiveled in her chair and snapped a photo of the videographer. The sole press report of this crude but then-typical intimidation tactic was in Margaret’s story in the next week’s Xpress. I started working at Xpress the following year and continued for the next six as the community-calendar editor and as a reporter. My most eyeopening beat, which I inherited from fellow activist/writer Clare Hanrahan: the board meetings of the Western North Carolina Air Quality Agency. That agency had become a rubber stamp for air polluters, and was so slack and corrupt that one industryinstalled board member literally slept in his seat through permit hearings until it was time to vote, when someone would wake him up. But thanks to the insistent outspokenness of a few citizen activists — notably Hazel Fobes (Xpress publisher Jeff Fobes’ mother) and Arlis and Rachel Queen — combined with the
vividly written but scrupulously factual reports we Xpress writers learned to file under Peter Gregutt’s editorial tutelage, a fierce spotlight of public scrutiny forced the air agency to reform its board and begin actually enforcing the clean-air laws on its books. The influential Clean Smokestacks Act, which WNC legislators spearheaded in 2002, was a direct outcome of this change. Xpress‘ in-depth reporting on local politics so angered some powers-that-be that we journalists sometimes experienced threats to our safety. At one meeting of conservative local businessmen that I attended during the time when Xpress reporter Brian Sarzynski was covering the controversies surrounding the approval of the Wal-Mart at the old Sayles Bleachery, my car was vandalized and I nearly got punched out by a furious developer just for being an Xpress reporter. Another time I was menacingly followed home after being what felt like the first reporter to ever cover a meeting of the Woodfin Town Council, at a time when we were receiving frightening allegations about corruption in connection with Woodfin’s mayor. We heard more allegations of dirty laundry than we could investigate and cover. Once when Cecil Bothwell was my editor, we were meeting in his office when he received a tip by phone that, right at that moment, cops were dealing
drugs out of the back door of the Asheville Police Department. If we could have confirmed that long-circulating rumor — the way Cecil’s reporting in Xpress successfully exposed the now-jailed Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford — the APD’s evidence-room scandal would no doubt have broken years before it eventually did. It’s thanks in no small part to Mountain Xpress that Asheville’s City Hall is nowadays at the forefront of a nationwide movement to open up the backrooms and make government transparent and inclusive. The corruption that once seemed so intractable here has largely moved on to our state capital in Raleigh. And thankfully, its steps are being dogged by Carolina Public Press, the successor to Xpress‘ sister Fund for Investigative Reporting (FIRE), with which I’m proud to say I once shared a cramped office and an overstuffed filing cabinet on the second floor of the Miles Building, which has been home to Mountain Xpress for two decades. Steve Rasmussen worked at Mountain Xpress from 1999 to 2005. He is the coauthor with Dixie Deerman of The Goodly Spellbook: Olde Spells for Modern Problems, which is being re-issued in a 10th-anniversary second edition by Sterling Ethos. X
Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
We lost Green Line, but we gained Xpress BY MONROE GILMOUR
| Cartoonist Randy Molton satirized the controversies of the day. This one is from 1997.
wide spectrum of the community, including not only visitors to Asheville or residents looking for weekend activities but also public officials and decision-makers, other media outlets, community organizers and everyone concerned about the quality of life in the region. I realize just how important the Mountain Xpress is when I try to imagine what our community would be without
it. Thus, it’s useful on its 20th anniversary that we remind ourselves not to take for granted this important “connector” we have. Monroe Gilmour lives in Black Mountain and has been a community organizer in WNC since 1986. He is coordinator of WNC Citizens Ending Institutional Bigotry (wncceib.org). X
1995-1996
I remember being relieved and deeply pleased in the late 1980s, when Jeff Fobes and the WNC Greens formed and initiated Mountain Xpress’ predecessor publication, the Green Line. Asheville and Western North Carolina had lacked intensive, in-depth coverage of controversial environmental and social-justice issues. Whether it was clear-cutting in the Asheville watershed, discrimination at the Biltmore Forest Country Club, homophobia, Central America or a myriad of public policy decisions, Green Line gave voice to those issues and concerns. Thus, when plans for the Mountain Xpress were formulated and became public in ’94, there was consternation within Asheville and among the region’s progressives. There was fear that the Green Line was “selling out,” losing its commitment to social justice, etc. But I think many of us who had those fears also sensed that the move was a logical and necessary broadening of scope in order to be be sustainable financially and, importantly, to reach out beyond the choir. Over the years, the Mountain Xpress has proved itself to be that blend of general news and event information that reaches a big-tent audience while also honing in on important social, environmental and justice issues. Mountain Xpress has become a must-read for a
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
20 years before the masthead BY PETER GREGUTT
1997-2000
Time may not be strictly linear, but a weekly production schedule definitely is. That daunting fact had a good deal to do with my leaving Mountain Xpress almost as soon as it began. I was the editor of Xpress’ monthly predecessor, Green Line, from 1991 to ’94. After nearly seven years, however, it had become all too apparent that despite Publisher Jeff Fobes’ seemingly limitless energy, passion, determination and resourcefulness, Green Line simply wasn’t sustainable. And after a good deal of soul-searching, it was decided to recast it as an alt weekly in hopes of at least breaking even. For me, though, this decision triggered a crisis of sorts. Green The Mountain Xpress staf Line’s grueling, 60- or 70-hour f in 1997 — including Pub from right), Office Manage lisher Jeff Fobes (back row production week came around Margaret Williams (second r Patty Levesque (front row, far right) and Managin , second row g Editor , sec ond from the only once a month; the thought left). (File photo) of doing even a scaled-down version of that each week gave me the hee We wrapped up Green Line in June of plus assorted advertorials, club listings bie-jeebies, and I reluctantly tendered ’94, spent the month of July scrambling and classified ads. Not exactly a home my resignation. furiously to get ready, and unveiled the run, perhaps, but a fair indication of what Even putting personal considerations new project Aug. 10. was to come. aside, however, Xpress was a pretty dicey That first issue’s 32 pages contained: And come it did, though after the Oct. proposition. Asheville was a lot smaller commentaries by a half-dozen local 5 issue, I took my first hiatus from the then, barely on the cultural map, and in writers wildly spanning the politipaper. I spent the next couple of years many quarters, our little ragtag operacal spectrum; a cover story by Cecil doing random freelancing (including a tion was viewed with considerable susBothwell taking aim at the D.A.R.E. stint as a beer writer, at a time when picion. So, figuring it might take a while drug-resistance program; another Asheville had exactly one craft brewery), to find someone else crazy enough to do news story profiling a leader in the local before finding my way back to Xpress as the job for the money on offer, I gave African-American community; some a freelance editor. Did that for another six months’ notice — enough to carry us shorter pieces spotlighting Asheville’s decade, went back on staff for six further through Green Line’s final issues and get nascent arts-and-entertainment scene; the weekly launched. years, left again in 2013 and am now once
PAGE 16
AUGUST 27, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
more a freelance editor for the paper. Like Green Line, Xpress has always been a magnet for sharp, talented, creative oddballs, whether they were staffers or freelancers. I’ve seen a great many of both come and go over the years, some leaving deeper marks than others. In those leanest of lean times, though, it was really only the power of a shared group obsession that enabled us to keep putting out a paper each week. I remember how some in the community thought we were communists or wild-eyed, bomb-throwing anarchists or whatever other label may have served as their hobgoblin of choice. I remember the line of reporters regularly filing into Jeff’s office seeking an advance on their next monthly paycheck. Readers, meanwhile, seemed to fall into two principal camps: enviros, hipsters and assorted other progressives hungry for news and inspiration, on the one hand; and more mainstream types who felt they needed to keep an eye on what those troublemakers were up to now. The past two decades have witnessed remarkable changes, both in this town and at the paper. But as much as I love the vibrant Asheville of today, there are times when I can’t help but shake my head in wonder, remembering how things used to be. Yet when I call back all the memories, revisiting the turmoil and ferment and adventure, my most enduring impression is the sense that we were really just continually feeling our way toward some dimly imagined vision: of quality, of creativity, of community. Twenty years later, I’m not sure how much that’s changed. And perhaps that’s a good thing. X
Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
Chasing crack rabbits BY CECIL BOTHWELL
| Vol. 1 Issue 1, Aug. 10, 1994
improve. I became founding editor of the Warren Wilson College environmental journal, Heartstone, and managing editor of Xpress. With my appetite for investigation whetted, I went on to cover other “crack rabbits” — like the groundwater pollution at the Sayles Bleachery site (still un-remediated) and former Sheriff Bobby Lee Medford’s corruption. Six of my books have their roots in my work for Xpress, and my later entry into municipal politics grew out of years covering City Council and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meetings (together with a sharp elbow jab from another former managing editor, Jon Elliston). Mountain Xpress has been good for news reporting in WNC, sometimes challenging other media outlets to keep up,
sometimes keeping the others in line. Longtime readers will know that my relationship with the paper hasn’t always been pacific, and I still find time to snipe when I think criticism is due. But I remain grateful for my years as a contributor there, and proud of what a feisty and committed team of journalists, editors and artists has pulled off. “... if you go chasing rabbits and you know you’re going to fall. Tell ‘em a hookah smoking caterpillar has given you the call.” And know that caterpillars often turn into butterflies. Cecil Bothwell is author of nine books including She Walks On Water, a novel (Brave Ulysses Books, 2013) and a member of Asheville’s City Council. X
2001-2003
Grace Slick sang, “One pill makes you larger, the other makes you small. And the ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all,” on Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” cementing the figurative connection between Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the ’60s drug culture. Perhaps that’s why an educational anti-drug video, produced 20 years later, featured a drug-using rabbit — and collaterally why that rabbit appeared on the cover of the first issue of Mountain Xpress. When the monthly Green Line caterpillar was pupating, on the cusp of metamorphosis into the weekly Xpress, I had been a contributing freelancer for a few years. I wrote commentaries, reported some news, drew cartoons and wrote the monthly humor column for the Grin Line page. That summer, I had stumbled on my first big scoop: I learned that the federal government was doing all it could to suppress a report it had contracted from the Research Triangle Institute. RTI had analyzed the effectiveness of Drug Abuse Resistance Education, a program that was being used in schools across the country and taught by police officers. The study revealed that students exposed to DARE used drugs earlier and more often than their non-DARE peers. Big money was at
stake, from the federal to the local level, and the “Just Say No” folks did not want that story to leak. They blocked publication of the results. I took the story idea to Calvin Allen at the Fund for Investigative Reporting and Editing, in its office just down the hall from Green Line, and he endorsed it. That meant I would be paid real money (which neither Green Line nor Xpress could afford on its shoestring budget). There was no specific deadline, but I completed the story as quickly as I could assemble information and interviews. It just happened that the story was ready to go as the Xpress rollout loomed. Along the way I borrowed a copy of the official DARE videotape (from the Asheville Police Department), which proved to be a modern day Reefer Madness fantasy. It unabashedly claimed that any exposure to drug use would lead inexorably to crack cocaine, anorexia, failure and death. The cartoon rabbit image was irresistible and nabbed the cover position for my story. I lucked out. Alternet, which was then a wire service for alternative newspapers, picked up the story and it ran again in Columbus, Ohio. That rocked my fledgling writing career. My humor columns had led to a weekly radio commentary on WNCW 88.7 FM, and suddenly Alternet was willing to syndicate Duck Soup: Essays on the Submerging Culture. Now I was “getting ink” across the country! Whooee! Thanks to the patient guidance of the brilliant Green Line/Xpress editor Peter Gregutt, my writing continued to
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
Tapping into the local debate BY MARGARET WILLIAMS
In the days before commenting on websites, Facebook and other socialmedia venues, Mountain Xpress got readers talking each week. Every issue featured two, three and sometimes four commentaries, often from wildly different worldviews. The Aug. 31, 1994, Xpress featured four, including the first “Gospel According to Jerry [Sternberg].” Readers reacted strongly to Sternberg’s support for tough discipline and Owen High School Principal Fred Ivey, who had been fired for such actions as allegedly punching a student. One reader accused Sternberg of taking “a cheap shot” at the boys who had been involved in the central incident, although another concluded, “Mr. Sternberg is entitled to his opinion.” In the ensuing weeks, the letters kept coming. In the Sept. 14 issue, local
activist Monroe Gilmour took Sternberg to task, accusing him of bravado and being misinformed and asking if he knew about efforts by the Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council to investigate what had been happening at Owen. On Sept. 21, a Black Mountain resident wrote, “Sternberg [has] subjected Mountain Xpress readers to a warped, moralistic reminiscence of a father who believed that if one beating was good, two were better.” And the week following, another reader wrote, “Mr. Sternberg’s father must have hit him on the wrong end a few times in that old woodshed.” Some other topics that Xpress commentators covered generated lots of feedback: Meredith Hunt’s anti-abortion crusade, the UNC Asheville development of Chestnut Ridge and the economic benefits of tourism. As a policy, Xpress remained committed to including views that might seem anathema to fellow locals, though. By the way, Sternberg still writes for Xpress. X
An Xpress roll call BY JAMES FISHER
Miles Building, Elwood Miles, hot summer days, sketchy Lex Ave (Welcome to Wally World), Grey Eagle in Black Mountain, Leni Sitnick, Julian Price, Be Here Now, Gatsby’s, Danielle Truscott, Marsha Barber, phones with cords, fax paper rolls, boot leather and notebooks, Carey Watson, Wanda Edney, paper ballots for Best of WNC, Patty’s little girls roaming the halls, the office keg during Bele Chere,
the Xpress Stage, throwing beads, hot wax guns, camera-ready boards, Rob Hammonds, The Mountaineer printer in Waynesville, Goolsby, Feirstein, the first LEAF, the last Black Mountain Fest, Tressa’s, Vincent’s Ear, The Merle, Blue Rags, Barley’s… Foodies? Hipsters? Beer City? Nah, just Asheville. James Fisher worked in the Mountain Xpress advertising & marketing department from 1995 to 2011. He is currently a manager at the Asheville Citizen-Times Media Group, specializing in Food & Entertainment. X
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
Pre-millennial Asheville: No renovation required BY MELANIE MCGEE BIANCHI
| A&E Editor Melanie McGee started as a freelancer at Xpress in 1997.
changes into a boxy, purring Mac, I shed a few tears, lost a level of eyesight, and suspected I was learning more than any journalism-school grad ever did. In December 1999, I became Arts & Entertainment Editor, a post I held until July 2007. I led a wonderful, hardworking team that included culture writer and novelist Alli Marshall, Xpress’ current A&E Editor. With graphic designer Travis Medford as part of the 2005 production team, we won an international industry award for our print guide to Bele Chere. I got to interview the Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood back when the band was playing The Basement — the pocket bar below the present-day Thirsty Monk Pub — instead of selling out two-night engagements at the Orange Peel. As the town boomed, so did the opportunities. I talked to Doc Watson and Loretta Lynn, and I can still remember what they said, both on- and off-record. I also phone-interviewed humorist David Sedaris, who after-
ward sent me a postcard from Germany picturing three giant black mice cavorting around a captive cat. After 10 years at Xpress, I left to stay home with my infant son and pursue freelance work with local, state, and national lifestylemedia outlets. Then, from 2012 until this summer, I headed up Verve, Asheville’s high-quality magazine for women. I am now the managing editor of two Hendersonvillebased lifestyle magazines: Bold Life, an artsand-culture monthly, and Carolina Home + Garden, a glossy quarterly. My career has been shaped by the growth of this area, and I’m grateful for how many national top-10 lists WNC makes these days, because I have the chance to cover these coups from the viewpoint of a local. But I’ll always be a little nostalgic for the time when Asheville and surrounds were on the shabbier side of “shabby chic.” As for what used to happen in the upper reaches of the Kress Building before those top floors became prime real estate — I’ll never tell. X
2004-2006
In 1994, the year Mountain Xpress started, I was sharing a $365/month place in Montford with my sister. It was a narrow little flat in a Victorianera home, its backyard adjacent to the property where Zelda Fitzgerald died in a mental-hospital fire in 1948. The same apartment, no bigger but much refurbished, rents for $950 today. F. Scott Fitzgerald himself once lived at the Grove Park Inn, from 1935 to ’36 —but in 1994, he didn’t yet have any luxury condos named in his honor. However, there was Gatsby’s (now Scully’s Bar & Grille), one of very few downtown bar/restaurants around at the time. Nineteen-ninety-four was the year Barley’s Taproom and Earth Fare opened. Both of these local institutions blew up into multi-state chains. House parties in 1994 happened in haphazardly occupied riverside warehouses or in lofts down dark alleys. It snowed more, then. “Renovation” was something that happened to ice-broken bridges, and “gentrification” might have been the name of a constellation visible only from Devil’s Courthouse, a cliff in Transylvania County. I began freelancing for Xpress in early1997. Publisher Jeff Fobes and
then-Arts & Entertainment Editor Marsha Barber took a chance on me even though my degree was in creative writing, not journalism. I presented exactly two published clips: a fiction story I’d managed to place in a national teen magazine, and a theremin brochure I’d composed for Robert Moog, put out by a local ad agency. As a portfolio, it was sparse and bizarre: kind of like downtown Asheville itself. But local music in the mid-’90s was anything but dormant. It was raw and urgent. It was this real thing happening, for its own sake: old-fashioned, uncalculated mayhem. The Blue Rags caused near-hysteria – lines snaking the sidewalk around Be Here Now, fans beginning to dance before they even reached the door. The Merle peeled the paint off the walls at Stella Blue. Luv Six seized heart after heart at Vincent’s Ear. Marsha Barber, Xpress staffer Frank Rabey and devoted freelancers, including Asheville scenester Tom Kerr, committed this vital era to print. Covering mostly visual art, theater, and national bands passing through town, I became Xpress’ regular arts-and-entertainment reporter and editorial assistant. In those days, the editorial assistant’s job was to decipher galley pages marked up in red pen by then-Senior Editor Peter Gregutt. Peter was a stickler of the old school, and, after a solid nine hours under his scrutiny, the pages would resemble a two-dimensional autopsy. Poring over them late at night, entering the endless
AUGUST 27, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
| David Cohen’s cartoons appeared in the very first Xpress (Aug. 10, 1994). This one’s from 1995.
Happy 20th, Mountain Xpress!
Here’s to many more years of Asheville arts and community reporting. Grant propsal writing and related services for nonprofit organizations www.communicationmark.com • (828) 650-0902
It must be a Coincident… BY DAVID COHEN
When the Green Line, Asheville’s monthly environmental newspaper, decided to go weekly, all of us who worked on it got together to talk about what that would entail. How would production be affected? Would there be enough to fill a weekly? And what toll would a new ramped-up schedule take on all of us? I was already doing cartoons for the paper. I had come over from Out ‘N’ About, which was a biweekly put out by Alphie and Tracy Hyorth. I pushed for a cartoon section, and volunteered to be the editor of said section. I put out a call for local cartoons; I already had been inundated with pitches from syndicates. I remember there wasn’t a lot going on locally — I can’t remember if Randy Molton submitted anything, and I don’t think Brent Brown was on the scene as of yet. A few things dribbled in, but weren’t really up to snuff. Not just my opinion, but a consensus of staffers. I did go with Derf’s “The City,” and
342 Depot Street
River Arts District Asheville
a strip about a natural foods restaurant that was pretty funny and topical to Asheville. As for myself, I got the opportunity to do a weekly cartoon and an occasional cover. I was with the Xpress for 10 years before I went over to the Citizen-Times. I can relate one story that was a highlight for me in Xpress’ early days: I did a cartoon about hail-sized golf balls — a take on the typical “golf-ballsized” hail line from weather reports. I was coming out of the Battery Park exit of the Haywood Park Hotel one day, and, lo and behold, it was hailing. As I was waiting under the canopy for it to slacken off, so was a business-suited gentleman. I looked a little closer and saw he was holding an Xpress, open to the page with my cartoon on it, and was chuckling. I didn’t say anything, but thought to myself that it wasn’t going to get any better than this! David Cohen is currently the editorial cartoonist for the Asheville Citizen-Times. While not a native, he has lived in Asheville for the last 40 years and has reveled in the fact that there is no dearth of subject matter here. X
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
How citizen-based reporting got the news
25% Off Store Sale! Wed. August 27th – Tues. Sept. 2nd
BY WAYNE STANKO
In 1995, Wayne Stanko was a 54-year-old research engineer for BASF in Enka. He is now retired. He currently publishes the newsletter for the local Mensa group and serves on the Board of Directors of Descriptive Audio for the Sight Impaired, which describes live theater productions for the blind. Julian Price introduced the results of this 1995 citizen-volunteer-based reporting project: “We at Mountain Xpress want to help you decide whom you’d like to represent you for the next two years. We gathered together a panel of seven interested and concerned citizens (of diverse backgrounds and points of view) to look at all the candidates, ask them a lot of questions and then discuss their findings. … X
Asheville resident Julian Price (left), shown here with David Quinn, gave his time, energy and money to revitalize downtown.
The Julian Price-Xpress connection BY MEG MACLEOD
In the early 1990s, Julian Price and Jeff Fobes began working together to transform Jeff’s tiny monthly econewspaper called Green Line into the snappy, colorful, popular weekly — chockfull of local news and features — that we know today as Mountain Xpress. The Xpress offered Julian a place to express his quirky, contrarian outlook via various articles and op-eds on subjects ranging from pornography to spousal abuse to poorly timed pedestrian crosswalks.
Julian’s relationship to Jeff, along with his being able to express himself freely to the public in the forum of Green Lineturned-Mountain Xpress was a muchneeded anchor for Julian. Jeff and the Xpress helped him to remain in Asheville and to continue believing in himself and in his work here, despite his many dark fears and doubts. InterPlay leader Meg MacLeod was Julian’s wife and a co-conspirator in his work. Currently she is collaborating with others on the Julian Price Project to illustrate Julian’s values and strategies, which helped make downtown livable for everyone and to inspire impassioned activists. Interested? Contact megfrolic@yahoo.com. X
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In the early ’90s, more than 20 people filed for the Asheville City Council primary election. Instead of Mountain Xpress reporters interviewing the candidates, the paper asked for community volunteers to help. A group of volunteers met with Julian Price in an upstairs room on Page Avenue. We were given a set of questions to ask the candidates. I was assigned three candidates: a UNCA administrator, a lawyer and an 80-year-old woman. The administrator was very liberal. The lawyer was a moderate. The woman refused to talk with me. All the volunteers’ information was collected and printed in the paper. The lawyer was one of the winners in the primary.
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
A journalist’s rite of passage BY CALVIN ALLEN
started to allow (shudder) opinion pieces from “the bad guys.” I remember Elwood Miles, the owner and manager of the Miles Building, walking the building with a giant ring of keys, looking for things that needed cleaning or repairing. I remember Julian Price bringing a Danish expert in to help with creating pedestrian-friendly urban outdoor spaces to Asheville. The Dane’s slideshow of European street cafés and pedestrian malls was my first inkling of what Julian had in mind for the future of Asheville. Calvin Allen is a retired reporter who worked for Green Line and Mountain Xpress, and served as the executive director of the Fund for Investigative Reporting and Editing. X
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AUGUST 27, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Xpress made the community’s housing a priority BY BETH MACZKA
I moved to Asheville in 1989 and remember how excited I was to read the Green Line. As Western North Carolina director of the Self-Help Credit Union, I’ll always remember the day that Julian Price walked into our little office at 12 ½ Wall Street and made a substantial deposit. I know his support of the Self-Help Credit Union and Green Line were some of his earliest investments in Asheville. In 1994, I was the executive director of the Affordable Housing Coalition of Asheville and Buncombe County. Mountain Xpress’ consistent coverage of important housing issues, starting with the passage of a minimum housing code, brought local housing
2009
I remember editor Peter Gregutt helping my writing recover from four years of grad-school jargon and two years of technical writing. I remember the excitement of working on emerging social issues, such as the gay rights movement (still a work in progress). I remember thinking that my job was to “take down the bad guys” and learning that there are no bad guys, just fellow humans with different points of view. I remember the transition from Green Line to Xpress, when we suddenly had to do in a few days what we had been doing in weeks. I remember the change from writing mostly environmental stories to a mix of political, investigative and social stories. I remember the outcry when Xpress
advocacy to the forefront. Calvin Allen and the Fund for Investigative Reporting stayed on top of the housing code negotiations that went on for months. I can still remember one Xpress cover feature titled, “Burning Down the House,” which eloquently shared the story of a family living in a substandard rental home in Montford where sunlight showed through holes in the roof and rotting floorboards showed the ground below. After the city housing code passed, the Mountain Xpress stayed on top of other important community stories such as the creation of the Unified Development Ordinance and the passage of the Housing Trust Fund. Xpress’ in-depth coverage of these important stories furthered the community conversation and kept challenging issues in the public’s eye. Beth Maczka is executive director of the YWCA of Asheville and WNC. X
Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
The day Hazel Fobes showed me up
When I look back at the early ’90s, I can remember a lot of issues that everyone worked on. Specifically, though, when I think about Green Line and then the Mountain Xpress, I am reminded of publisher Jeff Fobes’ mother, Hazel Fobes. She attended meeting after meeting, waiting to speak her opinion on all kinds of issues, from the problems with a water source to zoning issues. She was dedicated to her causes. I recall one public hearing during the winter that went on into the night. The snow was coming down and the roads were getting really slick. I sat next to Hazel and we were both worried about the worsening weather. As always, we were the only audience members at 11:15 at night. Hazel spoke last after hearing me ask her to shorten her remarks. She didn’t, of course, because that was not her style. Afterwards, I walked her to her car and it was really slick. The next morning, there was an early meeting at the Water Authority. I waited for a while to come into town until the roads got better, so I missed the meeting. At another meeting later that day, Hazel came up to me and asked why I missed the water meeting. That was Hazel Fobes, one of the most colorful and diligent figures in the area at the time. Mike Plemmons is a lifelong Buncombe County resident and is executive director of the Council of Independent Business Owners. X
Getting ready to plant the area beside Lexington Avenue at the Interstate 240 underpass. This was one of hundreds of beautification projects undertaken by Quality Forward (now GreenWorks). Photo courtesy of Susan Roderick
On Wednesdays, everyone was reading it BY SUSAN RODERICK
Mountain Xpress added to the vibrancy of an already out-of-control energy level around Asheville in the ’90s. Events and causes finally had a voice, and everyone pitched in to get the word out. We knew it was a successful publication because you would go through downtown on a Wednesday and everyone was reading it. It’s still a mainstay of my life every week — how would I know what’s going on around town? In 1994, the folks with Quality Forward — now Asheville GreenWorks — were busy planting trees and providing big flower pots all around downtown and beyond, with the help of hundreds of volunteers. Some of my favorites are the cherry trees out Patton Avenue into West Asheville, planted
with help from A-B Tech students. Our ambition was to line the entire strip all the way from downtown out to Interstate 40, but we had to come to our senses. The gateways into town are still fairly ugly, so we’ve got more work to do. Even though the city now requires developers to plant, there’s still very little shade. It’s been a blast watching Asheville and Buncombe County transform, and I have to say that Mountain Xpress has been a huge part in this renaissance. May you be around for another 20 years!
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Susan Roderick moved to Asheville in 1975, worked at Asheville GreenWorks (then Quality Forward) for 38 years, has lived in Montford since 1980 and planted hundreds of trees around town. You may see her to this day planting, weeding and cleaning up. She is so proud of what Asheville has become when she travels to other cities and doesn’t see half of the vibrancy and care for the environment. X
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Xpress
“HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY TO MOUNTAIN XPRESS!”
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
Heady and hard to typify Asheville clubs and music in the ’90s
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Asheville’s a great place to live, unless you suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). Even if you catch the drum circle, a gallery crawl, three bands and a late-night DJ, your Twitter feed will still be full of reports and photos from the indie-film screening, book launch, poetry reading and symphony concert that you missed. The musician- and club-per-capital has certainly picked up since the ’90s. A June 1995 issue of Xpress included events at 45 venues (Clubland currently lists 80 in its print directory), with shows by David Wilcox and Leon Russell, and regular performances by Stark Naked & the Car Thieves (we’re not joking). Of those 45 clubs, only a handful remain, including The Grey Eagle (which was located in Black Mountain until it moved to Asheville). But even if you didn’t live in Asheville two decades ago, you probably recognize the hallowed names of performance art space the green door, dive bar Gatsby’s and listening room Be Here Now. The latter, a 550-capacity venue, hosted weekly sets by local almost-famous roots-rockers The Blue Rags along with nationally known folk heroes like Leo Kottke and Lucinda Williams. Rowdy alt-rockers Fishbone even took the stage before the club shuttered in ’98. Vincent’s Ear, tucked into a Lexington Avenue courtyard, operated for 11 years. This year marks a decade since the closing of the coffee house and bar, though its legend looms large — it booked such noteworthy acts as Cat Power and White Stripes. Unlike The Ear, The Ebony Grill never garnered its own Wikipedia page, but the low-ceilinged hole-in-the-wall on Eagle Street did boast swoon-worthy soul food (long before 12 Bones drew Air Force One) and world-class jazz sessions. Really, mentions of each of Asheville’s now-defunct venues turns up not just a
Besides previewing the Tibetan Monks’ 1995 performance in Asheville (bottom left), Xpress interviewed Be Here Now’s original owner, Chris Hardwicke (right).
fond memory, but a key to the city’s eclectic and vibrant music scene. A few samples: By the mid-’90s, members of Granola Funk Express, aka GFE, were busking on street corners as well as in Beanstreets (now the home of Green Sage). That coffee house’s open mic also served as proving ground for poet Barbie Angell, among others. 31 Patton (now the home of Asheville Music Hall) hosted alt-rockers The Mathmatics, whose front man Milton Carter, along with local musician Rob Best, launched The Decline of Western North Carolina series, Vol. 1-3, on Atone records. That collection alone proves that even if the local music scene wasn’t gaining national attention, there was hardly a dull moment. Add to the mix the early iterations of the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, a championship poetry slam team and a rich bluegrass and folk tradition boasting artists like Sons of Ralph and David LaMotte, respectively. Plus, there were ongoing series like Shindig on the Green (started in 1967), and the annual injection of festivals such as Bele Chere (19792013) and Goombay (since 1982), to round out the heady — if hard to typify — scene. Alli Marshall first freelanced for Xpress in 2001. She is now its Arts & Entertainment editor. X
Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
Xpress made me (and a lot of others) a writer BY TOM KERR
The Grove Arcade, bricked up and being used as the Federal Building to house National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration operations. Photo courtesy of Public Interest Projects
ered extraordinary; it was just the way we all expected Asheville to be in those days. I have supported myself as a writer for about 15 years now, but I don’t think that would have ever been possible were it not for Mountain Xpress. I have never encountered a more generous and inclusive publication. The editors gave me my first paid assignment and basically taught me how to write. They would never reject anything I submitted, but would just quietly fix, polish and publish it. Then I would compare my version to the one in print, and that’s how I figured out how to write like a professional. On more than one occasion, I saw a freelancer file his story on a big yellow legal pad filled with page after page of almost illegible chicken scratch. My
editor patiently transcribed the words, reworked them, published them and then paid the writer. What publication does that? But Mountain Xpress valued the ideas and the stories, and that guy had fantastic stories to tell. Xpress gave everyone a chance and that, to me, was a rare gift that really helped to build, define and celebrate the Asheville community. But it is an exaggeration to call what I was back then a “freelance writer.” I wasn’t a writer; I was just one more fellow with a desire to be a writer. Mountain Xpress editors gave me the opportunity. They made me a writer long before I was qualified to be one. For that, I will be forever grateful. Tom Kerr is the author of The Underground Asheville Guidebook.X
2012
People ask me how the Asheville of the ’90s compares to Asheville now. The easiest way for me to explain it is to tell them that back then, if you were semi-employed, maybe a student or part-time bartender, you lived in a big Victorian house in Montford. Those who were unemployed or in a punk band that had no gigs or income stream whatsoever would reside in downtown lofts. Meanwhile, if you lived in West Asheville, your friends would rarely come to visit because it was much too far to drive. And the community there was generally very conservative. So having a home in West Asheville was a socially-isolating experience. There were multistory buildings downtown for sale for $150,000, but very few people were interested in buying them. The Grove Arcade was a bricked-up federal office building and you could rent a room on Biltmore Avenue, in the same block as Tressa’s and Ananda Hair Salon, for about $100 a week. Back then, Tyler Ramsey, of Band of Horses, was either busking for change on the sidewalk or playing for free at a little pasta joint (Basta!) on College Street downtown. As a freelance writ-
er for Mountain Xpress, I went to hear music at Be Here Now and, on one occasion, wound up standing around in the back chatting with Jewel (Kilcher) who was clutching a guitar and eating a slice of pizza. She had opened for some mediocre act. Six months later, I heard she had won a Grammy and was on the cover of Vogue Magazine. Around 2000, the White Stripes played a show at Vincent’s Ear, which was pretty much a hole-in-the-wall dive on Lexington Avenue. About a year later, the White Stripes were arguably the most popular new group in America. Perri Crutcher, the fanciest floral designer in WNC, whose designs were in all the best homes in Biltmore Forest, was working out of an alley until he could afford to rent a shop and move indoors. I ran into Viggo Mortensen while waiting to use the bathroom at Tressa’s during an open-mic night. I had no idea who he was. But I was pretty sure he was that Hollywood actor, Owen Wilson. He was a nervous wreck, practicing to read a poem. His hands were shaking from stage fright. Then he got up and read it, and it was the worst performance of the whole night. He sat down and Steve Buscemi got up and sang Roger Miller’s circa 1960s hit song “King of the Road.” Buscemi killed it, brought down the house, getting a roaring ovation. But none of this was consid-
AUGUST 27, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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Xpress
A LOOK BACK 20 YEARS
Corporate experience but with a new flair BY WANDA EDNEY
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AUGUST 27, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
The years 1996-2003 were a great time to be in Asheville. Little did I know I was a part of the root-feeding system of a most successful alternative newsweekly. Mountain Xpress was just becoming known when I was offered the position of advertising director. To watch the product grow year after year was one of my life’s greatest accomplishments — from 24 pages to 108 pages (I believe it was) the day I left in 2003. I had never worked anywhere outside of corporate America, so this was all new to me. I found people who loved each other and loved what they did. We all believed in getting the word out. This may have been information that would not neces-
sarily make the daily pages of Asheville Citizen-Times. We introduced new entertainment venues and new restaurants, and broke stories that would become personal battlegrounds. My entire life changed. I used my corporate experience, but with a new flair, and applied it in many places to help us grow the paper. Walking out the door everyday onto Wall Street, rain or shine, with that feeling of accomplishment — it still thrives in me to this day. I love that a part of my story is, “I helped to start Mountain Xpress.” Wanda Edney is advertising manager at the Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C. X
We faced strong resistance from mainstream advertisers BY ROBERT FEIRSTEIN
In a nutshell, the political climate in Asheville/Buncombe County in the early ’90s was quite polarized. We had the good ol’ boy network in place and a growing progressive arts-and-political community wanting to assert itself. I served as the director of advertising for the Green Line newspaper in its last year before it morphed into Mountain Xpress. While we expected a certain degree of resistance to a weekly political/arts magazine, we found out quickly that we would not be accepted readily by the mainstream business community, and certain buzzwords like lesbian, gay and environmentalist (in the Xpress news and commentary sections) would bring us virtually NO advertising dol-
lars from many existing Asheville businesses. It quickly became apparent that the path to survival would be to rely on forward-thinking, sympathetic businesses, along with the financial support of Asheville benefactors like the late great Julian Price. How times have changed. Every time I hear an Ingles ad touting “Organics in every aisle,” I think of how Xpress’ Director of Advertising Carey Watson and I were politely shown the door in 1994 by an old-school Ingles executive in response to our request for ads for organic products. To their credit, a younger generation of Ingles execs now sees the importance of a broad marketing reach and advertises frequently in Xpress! Robert Feirstein is a sales/marketing veteran working at Kimmel and Associates. He specializes in recruiting for mechanical/electrical construction industries. X
Xpress
How Green Line put me on my career path BY DANIELLE DROITSCH
I can trace my professional and personal roots back to the predecessor of the Mountain Xpress — Green Line. When people ask why I do what I do, part of the answer is my time as a reporter for the Green Line in the early ’90s. At the time, I was assigned to write a story about what was then the Champion Pulp and Paper Mill in Canton (where I lived at the time). The mill had been discharging its wastewater pollution into the Pigeon River for generations. Tennesseans living downstream were fed up and complained about how it polluted their community and caused cancer. As an investigative reporter for the paper, I learned about how the North Carolina government granted exemptions to the company, allowing it to evade clean water laws. Through our reporting, we helped bring the issue to light, and North Carolina was eventually forced to clean up the mill. I was disheartened by how my North Carolina government had fallen down on the job enforcing pollution laws. So I became personally involved in working to clean up the mill and advocating for a clean Pigeon River. This environmental advocacy work led me to pursue a law degree. Subsequently, I spent 10 years working on water issues in Tennessee, and I am now an attorney in Washington, D.C., for the Natural Resources Defense Council, where I work on issues facing our climate. Working at Green Line — my first job out of college — put me on my career path. I learned about the essential nature of providing balanced reporting, never taking no for an answer and the importance of seeking the truth. In many ways, I do a lot of the same in my current work, starting with research, investigation, understanding the story and then communicating to the right audience. I am very grateful for Green Line’s early training ground and proud to have been an early team member of Mountain Xpress’ precursor. Danielle Droitsch is a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. X AUGUST 27, 2014 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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One of the first connections I made when arriving in WNC in 1991 was with Green Line and Jeff Fobes, and right away I got the go-ahead to do a piece on the proposed passenger rail service to Asheville. Now, 20-plus years later, rail service to Asheville is still “proposed” (dream on), but Green Line is alive and well and thriving as Mountain Xpress. These days, most people I encounter say, “Huh?” when I mention Green Line, so here’s how I remember it — a crusading radical left-wing tabloid that did a surprisingly good job of investigative reporting for a paper of its size and with its resources (basically, none). With a mix of young and not-soyoung staffers and contributors, it was gung-ho to make Asheville and WNC a better, healthier, cleaner, more honest place to live. As a bonus, it covered the local outdoor and arts/entertainment scene, which for a while were my beats. Green Line was dirt poor, but those of us who worked there were proud of what we did. But Green Line didn’t have much of a future as it was constituted at the time. The paper was attracting about as much advertising as it could, given its crusading nature, and that wasn’t enough to survive without help. So the decision was made: Go out on a limb and grow up overnight into something you might find in a bigger
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city — something like Atlanta’s Creative Loafing. Skeptics didn’t think it would succeed, that Asheville was indeed too small to support a free paper that ambitious, that there wasn’t really enough going on around here to fill its pages, that no one would read it. Fobes proved everyone wrong, and today, two decades later, Mountain Xpress is celebrating its 20th anniversary — and what’s amazing is that the new version of Green Line hasn’t abandoned the principles that drew me to it in 1991. I left not long after Xpress made its debut, deciding to leave it to the younger kids (and Fobes, who must have discovered the fountain of youth). Not that I was ancient, but with a magazine background, I was used to a monthly production schedule and the weekly grind was getting to me. I still think about those days, though, and of the stories we did, and of the pride everyone had as each issue came off the press. I think of Peter and Andrea and Jim and the two Danielles and Mark and Rob and Rusty and Cecil, and all the other reporters and staff, and I miss them all. It was like a family then, and I’d venture to say that it still is. Semiretired in Black Mountain now, Bob Rufa does some freelance book editing and works part time for the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry. He is co-author of the recently published eBook Maybelline Takes a Powder. X
HUMOR
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(1) Up-and-coming Sicilian mobster Domenico Palazzotto, 28, was outed in August by Italy’s L’Espresso magazine as the owner of an ineffectively pseudonymous Facebook page showing off his muscled, bare-chested body and perhaps recruiting members. One fan asked, “Do I need to send a résumé?” “Yes, brother,” came the reply. “We need to consider your criminal record. We do not take people with clean records.” Palazzotto operates out of Palermo and listed among his “likes” the singer Kenny Loggins. (2) According to his postings on Facebook-type social media sites, young, body-obsessed Egyptian jihadist/gym member Islam Yaken is a law school graduate who’s fluent in English, French and Arabic, allowing him to describe the particular viciousness that he and his brothers and sisters will wreak upon infidels. CAN’T POSSIBLY BE TRUE • A jury’s murder conviction (and the ensuing 15-to-life sentence) against Daniel Floyd for a 2008 killing went for naught when, in July, the Brooklyn Supreme Court ordered a retrial, forcing witnesses to testify all over again. The sole reason the court cited was the trial judge’s decision, on the first day, to seat the potential jury pool and not Floyd’s mother — who, because she was temporarily left standing, successfully argued that her son’s right to a “public” trial had been violated. • I (Heart) Strangers: Two 30ish men knocked on the door of a Sebastian, Texas, woman at 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 3, asking for water and whether they could come inside to charge their cellphone. Apparently, the woman cheerfully invited them in and let them sleep in her backyard shed. She didn’t know they were wanted for murdering a U.S. Border Patrol agent until a law enforcement manhunt widened into her neighborhood, and officers arrested the pair inside the shed. THE NEW NORMAL (1) The ubiquitous “sexting”
F
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by Chuck Shepherd
phenomenon continues to flourish. A Washington state agency suspended the license of anesthesiologist Arthur Zilberstein in June after finding that he’d exchanged sexually explicit text messages during surgeries. (2) One of the emerging occupational skills for emergency medical technicians, according to a June Wall Street Journal feature, is holding up blankets at accident scenes to thwart onlookers’ apparently uncontrollable urge to take gruesome photos to send to their friends. ANGER MANAGEMENT NEEDED (1) A 40-year-old man’s throat was fatally slashed in August in Laurel, Montana, in a fight with an acquaintance over which military service, Army or Marines, is better. (2) A 37-year-old New York City man survived multiple bullet wounds in August after a 1 a.m. dispute over who would be the “star” in the rap music video they were making.
online so others could create 3-D printed reproductions. She’s made several attempts to spotlight the underrepresentation of female genitals in Japanese society. • Who Knew? Researchers from England’s University of Lincoln revealed in July that red-footed tortoises are not only “inquisitive” but make decisions in their brain’s medial cortex, associated with “complex cognitive behavior.” The tortoises pecked out touch-screen decisions (for rewards of strawberries), learning as quickly as rats and pigeons and faster than dogs, said researcher Anna Wilkinson. MOVIES COME TO LIFE (1) In July, officials at the Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham, England, broke up an attempt by five students (aged 11 to 14) to escape the school (which is locked down in daytime) by tunneling under a security fence. (A partially successful World War II tunneling escape from a Nazi prison was depicted in the 1963 movie “The Great Escape” starring Steve McQueen.) (2) In a deadly ending reminiscent of scenes
in several crime movies, a 22-yearold man fleeing police in Brooklyn, New York, in June crashed his car at a high speed into the back of a flatbed truck and was decapitated as the body of the car (but not the part above the dashboard) continued on under the truck. LEAST-COMPETENT CRIMINALS Not Ready for Prime Time: (1) A 40-year-old man was arrested in Seattle on July 31 after an epically inept, several-hour crime spree. Attempting to rob a restaurant, he was turned down by employees and customers, and then by two potential carjacking victims (the first of whom pulled out her cellphone and shot video), before giving up just as police arrived. (His only take was the $15 he’d swiped from the restaurant’s tip jar.) (2) Joshua Pawlak, 27, entered four Woodbridge, New Jersey, businesses on July 27 and, meeting similar resistance and/or indifference to his money demands, came away with only $2, also from a tip jar.X
WAIT — WHAT? In Multnomah County, Oregon, in July, a Romanian princess pleaded guilty to involvement in cockfighting. Irina Walker, 61, was born in Switzerland, where her father, King Michael I, lived after abdicating the throne. She came to Oregon in 1983 and, in a second marriage in 2007, fell in with former Deputy Sheriff John Walker, who’d moved on to the gambling and cockfighting business, USA Today reported. NEW WORLD ORDER • Japan is noted for several traditional fertility festivals and theme parks at which joyous visitors, including children, revere explicit, oversized sculptures of male genitalia. In July, on the other hand, police quickly arrested artist Megumi Igarashi after she scanned her vulva and distributed the data
READ DAILY Read News of the Weird daily with Chuck Shepherd at www.weirduniverse.net. Send items to weirdnews@earthlink.net or PO Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679.
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C O M M U N I T Y
C A L E N D A R
AUGUST 27 - SEPT. 2, 2014
Calendar Deadlines In order to qualify for a FREE LISTING, an event must benefit or be sponsored by a nonprofit or noncommercial community group. In the spirit of Xpress’ commitment to support the work of grassroots community organizations, we will also list events our staff consider to be of value or interest to the public, including local theater performances and art exhibits even if hosted by a for-profit group or business. All events must cost no more than $40 to attend in order to qualify for free listings, with the one exception of events that benefit nonprofits. Commercial endeavors and promotional events do not qualify for free listings. FREE LISTINGS will be edited by Xpress staff to conform to our style guidelines and length. Free listings appear in the publication covering the date range in which the event occurs. Events may be submitted via EMAIL to calendar@mountainx.com or through our ONLINE submission form at mountainx. com/calendar. The deadline for free listings is the Wednesday one week prior to publication at 5 p.m. For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/ calendar. For questions about free listings, call 251-1333, ext. 110. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 251-1333, ext. 320.
BENEFITS ART SHOW AND BBQ SALE 231-5267, badarling@charter. net • FR (8/29) & SA (8/30) Proceeds from this BBQ, art and rummage sale benefit artists at BeLoved House and building repairs at St. George and La Capilla de Santa Maria. Fri.: 9-11am & 5-7pm; Sat.: 8am-noon. Held at St. George's Episcopal Church, 1 School Road. AUCTION FOR CHRIS SPURRIER 242-2848, eblenfound@aol.com • SA (8/30), 10am - Auction to benefit Spurrier’s van fund for computerized hand controls. Held at New Life Community Church, 1417 Riverside Drive CD RELEASE FOR SWANNANOA CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 669-9404
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THE FRUITS OF LABOR DAY: Labor Day weekend in Hendersonville means apples, apples and more apples. The N.C. Apple Festival will be held from Friday, Aug. 9 to Monday, Sept. 1 in Hendersonville’s historic downtown. Festivities include food, arts and craft vendors, live entertainment and the King Apple Parade. Photo courtesy of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. (p.30)
• FR (8/30), 7:30pm - Tickets to this CD release show for Swannanoa artist Renae Brame benefit the ministry's emergency aid services. $15. Held at White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Road, Black Mountain OUR VOICE 252-0562, ourvoicenc.org • TH (9/4), 6pm - "40 Years of Starting Conversations," anniversary celebration with keynote speaker Anita Hill. $50. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 2 South Pack Square STORIES AND MUSIC OF FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY 670-0051, stjoanofarc3640@ bellsouth.net • FR (8/29), 7-9pm - Tickets to this performance by local storytellers & musicians benefit church programs at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. $15/ $12 advance. Held at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 768 Asbury Road, Candler
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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TURCHIN CENTER GALA AND SILENT AUCTION 262-6084, tcva.org • TH (8/28), 6:30-9:30pm Tickets to this silent auction, featuring food and live music, benefit the center for visual arts at ASU. $25. Reservations required. Held at the Turchin Center at ASU. WNC RUN/WALK FOR AUTISM 5K 800-442-2762, wncrunwalkforautism.com • Through (9/13) - Registration is open for this race to benefit the Autism Society of North Carolina and families affected by autism. $25. Held at UNCA on Sept. 13.
BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY ONTRACK WNC 50 S. French Broad Ave., 2555166, ontrackwnc.org • TH (8/28), 5:30-7pm -
Energy Efficiency Class. Free. Registration required. • TUESDAYS through (9/9), 5:30-8pm - "Dreaming of Debt Free Living," financial and emotional impacts of debt from the Women's Financial Empowerment Center. Free. Registration required.
CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS A NEW ART SCHOOL IN ASHEVILLE! (pd.) Weekly classes at Astoria Art Center, East Asheville. $210 for 6 classes. Free supplies and all levels welcome. Thursdays 7-10 PM. 718-9568539 astoriaartcenter.com FACILITATION SKILLS TRAINING (pd.) At The Mediation Center. Well-led meetings help organizations improve planning, encourage collabo-
ration, and manage conflict. For more info and to register, (828) 251-6089 or www.mediatewnc.org FREE FOOD IS EVERYWHERE! (pd.) Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants Intensive: September 4-7, with wild foods and survival guru Richard Cleveland, and herbalist Stacey Phillips! In this comprehensive program, learn how to properly identify, collect, and prepare delicious meals and effective medicines. (865) 850-9715. lovetheearth. com LINDA PANNULLO MOSAICS AND WORKSHOPS (pd.) • Concrete Leaf Class, September 13, create a bird bath or garden centerpiece • Carol Shelkin Realism in Mosaics class; September 20 and 21. • Mosaic Jewelry class, September 19. • Linda's Mosaic Mirror class, all levels, October 20. • Deb
Aldo, Pebble Mosaic Mandala workshop, November 8 and 9. For info and registration, call 828-337-6749. www.lindapannullomosaics.com ASHEVILLE BROWNS BACKERS CLUB 658-4149, ashevillebbw@ gmail.com • SUNDAYS - Meets during Cleveland Browns games. Contact for specific times. Held at The Fairview Tavern, 831 Old Fairview Road ASHEVILLE MUSHROOM CLUB 298-9988, ashevillemushroomclub.com • TU (9/2), 7pm - Workshop: "Spawning a Mycelial Network," discusses how human community organizing can mimic fungal communities. $10-30. Held at Warren Wilson College's Cannon Lounge. GOODWILL CAREER CLASSES 828-298-9023, ext. 1106
• TUESDAYS through THURSDAYS, 9am-noon Adult basic education/ high school equivalency classes. Registration required. • MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS, 5:30-8:30pm - ESL classes. Registration required. • ONGOING - Classes for careers in the food and hotel industries. Includes American Hotel and Lodging Association Certification. Call for times. $25. • TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS, 12:30-3:30pm - Medical office support career classes. Registration required. LAUREL CHAPTER OF THE EMBROIDERERS' GUILD OF AMERICA 654-9788, egacarolinas.org • TH (9/4), 10am - Monthly meeting and sale of needlework. Held at Cummings United Methodist Church, 3 Banner Farm Road, Horse Shoe MOUNTAIN AREA VOLUNTEER LAWYERS 210-3429, morgan@pisgahlegal.org
• 1st THURSDAYS, 12-2pm - "Debt 101" clinic, includes discussion of debtor rights, resources and options. Free. Held at Pisgah Legal Services, 62 Charlotte St. YOUTH OUTRIGHT youthoutright.org • SUNDAYS, 4-6pm - Weekly meeting for LGBTQ youth and straight allies. Held at First Congregational UCC of Asheville, 20 Oak St.
DANCE STUDIO ZAHIYA, DOWNTOWN DANCE CLASSES (pd.) Monday 6pm Hip Hop Wkt • Tuesday 9am Hip Hop Wkt 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm Bellydance 2 8pm West African • Wednesday 6pm Bellydance 3 • Thursday 9am Hip Hop Wrkt 4pm Kid's Dance 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm West African • Saturday 9am Hip Hop Wrkt 10:30am Bellydance • Sunday 10am Intro to West African • $13 for 60 minute
classes, Hip Hop Wkrt $5. 90 1/2 N. Lexington Avenue. www.studiozahiya.com :: 828.242.7595 CIRCLE 8'S SQUARE DANCE CLUB circle8s.info, garwoods2@ yahoo.com • TUESDAYS, 7:30-9pm - Weekly dance classes. $5. Held at Oakley United Methodist Church, 607 Fairview Road. INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCING connielwiley@gmail.com • MONDAYS, 2:15-4pm & TUESDAYS, 7:30-9:30pmFree with donations. Held at Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd.
ECO LAUGHING WATERS RETREAT CENTER 3963 Gerton Highway, Gerton, 625-4780, laughingwatersnc. com • SA (8/30), 1-4pm - 10th anniversary celebration tour
of this net-zero-energy homes community. Free. WNC SIERRA CLUB 251-8289, wenoca.org • WE (9/3), 7-9pm - Includes presentation from the city of Asheville and GreenWorks on solid waste reduction and composting. Free. Held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place
FESTIVALS FOUNDERS DAY FAIR 884-4595, transylvaniaheritage.org • SA (8/30), 10am-4pm Includes craft and food vendors, demonstrations, live music and civil war reenactment. $5. Held at Transylvania Heritage Museum, 189 W. Main St., Brevard LEXINGTON AVENUE ARTS AND FUN FESTIVAL (LAAFF) facebook.com/lexfest • SU (8/31), 11am-9pm Street festival, includes live music and local art, food &
craft vendors. Free. Held on Lexington Avenue in downtown. NORTH CAROLINA APPLE FESTIVAL 697-4557 • FR (8/29) through MO (9/1) - Street fair includes arts & crafts vendors, live music, parade and children’s activities. Free to attend. Held in Downtown Hendersonville.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS FRENCH BROAD RIVER MPO brmpo.org • TH (8/28), 12:30 - Public board meeting. Held at LandOf-Sky Regional Council Offices, 339 New Leicester Highway Suite 140 LAND-OF-SKY REGIONAL COUNCIL OFFICES 339 New Leicester Highway Suite 140 • WE (8/29), 2pm - Public meeting of the Regional Planning Organization
MOUNTAINX.COM
Transportation Advisory Committee. Free to attend.
KIDS ASHEVILLAGE INSTITUTE ashevillage.org • SA (8/30), 10:30am- noon - Children's tour of the permaculture gardens and natural buildings. $15 adults/ $10 kids. MILE HIGH KITE FESTIVAL 468-5506, beechmtnchamber. org • SU (8/31) - Includes kite flying, live music, vendors and kids activities. Free to attend. Held at Beech Mountain Town Meadow, Beech Mountain SPELLBOUND CHILDREN'S BOOKSHOP 50 N. Merrimon Ave., 7087570, spellboundchildrensbookshop.com • WE (8/27), 5pm - First in a Series book club: The Hostage Prince by Jane Yolen. For ages 7-12. Free. THOMAS WOLFE
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by Carrie Eidson & Michael McDonald
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
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Send your event listings to calendar@mountainx.com.
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Fun fundraisers
MEMORIAL 52 N. Market St, 253-8304, wolfememorial.com • Through FR (9/26) Students in grades 4-12 may submit works of fiction to the Telling Our Tales writing competition. Must be inspired by The Sun and the Rain. Contact for details.
OUTDOORS APPLE FESTIVAL 8K 692-1413, active.com • SA (8/30), 6:30am - Part of the NC Apple Festival. $40/ $30 by Aug. 27. Held at Pardee Medical Office Building, 709 N. Justice St., Hendersonville ASHEVILLE MUSHROOM CLUB 298-9988, ashevillemushroomclub.com • FR (8/29), 10am-11am Wild mushroom walk led by a Mushroom Club member. $15/$7 children. Held at Chimney Rock Park, 1638 Chimney Rock Park Rd, Chimney Rock
An auction for a neighbor in need WHAT: Benefit auction for local resident Chris Spurrier WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m WHERE: New Life Community Church, 1417 Riverside Drive WHY: Buncombe County native Chris Spurrier was paralyzed in a car accident during his junior year of high school. Through extensive physical rehabilitation, he regained the use of his arms but remains paralyzed from the chest down. Since graduating in 2011 from Western Carolina University with a Master of Arts in School Counseling, Spurrier pursued employment in the counseling field and volunteered with at-risk youth in the county. “In high school my opportunities for mischief broadened and came with greater consequences,” Spurrier says. “I want to be able to give back by working with at-
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
risk youth because I can see where they’re coming from and where they might end up.” In order to continue his work in Western North Carolina, Spurrier needs to purchase a specially modified van, as the 19-year-old van he previously drove no longer meets regulation standards. To help offset the cost of a new vehicle, Eblen Charities is sponsoring an auction that will include gift certificates to local establishments and a variety of local art and appliances. All proceeds will benefit Spurrier’s van fund. “It’s hard to express how much I appreciate the generosity of people,” Spurrier says. “I knew my van was going to expire, and I dreaded that day. A new van would be a bridge in my life to help me continue to volunteer and work.” For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page at avl.mx/0ed. The event is free to attend. — Michael McDonald
MOUNTAINX.COM
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY HIKES 298-5330, nps.gov, gail_fox@ nps.gov • TH (8/28), 7pm - "Prepping for Winter," a ranger-led, two mile hike discussing seasonal change. Free. Held at Folk Art Center, MP 382. • FR (8/29), 10am - "Black Balsam Knob: What's in a Name?" Ranger-led two mile hike discussing natural history. Meets at MP 420. CHEROKEE STICKBALL DEMONSTRATION ladcock1@unca.edu • TH (9/4), 6pm - Featuring the Wa Le Lu “Hummingbird” team. Held at UNCA's Intramural Field. Free. HOLMES EDUCATIONAL STATE FOREST 1299 Crab Creek Road Hendersonville, 692-0100 • SA (8/30), 10:30am-1pm Family hike day. Registration required by Aug. 28. Free. PISGAH BREWERY AND SWANNANOA MONTESSORI FIELD DAY 815-222-5979, jen.swanmont@gmail.com • SA (8/30), noon-5pm Includes live music, local food vendors and kids activities. Free to attend. Held at Pisgah Brewing Company, 150 East Side Drive, Black Mountain
PUBLIC LECTURES PUBLIC LECTURES AT UNCA unca.edu Free unless otherwise noted. • FR (8/29), 11:25am - "The Question of Universal Rights: Revolutions Across the Atlantic." Lipinsky Auditorium. • FR (8/29), 11:25am - "The Legacy of the Cold War." Humanities Lecture Hall. • MO (9/1), 11:25am "Community and Authority in the Medieval West." Lipinsky Auditorium. • TU (9/2), 7:30pm - World Affairs Council: "Ukraine: The Anatomy of a Crisis." Reuter Center.
SENIORS AARP SMART DRIVER CLASSES 253-4863, aarpdriversafety. org Driving refresher course for ages 50+. $20/$15 AARP members. • TH (8/28), 1:15-5:30pm - Registration required: 6698610. Held at Lakeview Community Center, 401 Laurel Circle Drive, Black Mountain GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH 1245 Sixth Ave. W., Hendersonville, 693-4890, gracelutherannc.com • WE (9/3), 7-8pm & TH (9/4), 10:30-11:30am Healthy aging seminar. Registration required by Sept. 2. Free.
SPIRITUALITY A COURSE IN MIRACLES (pd.) A truly loving, open study group. Meets second and fourth Mondays. 6:30 p.m. in East Asheville. Grace United Methodist Church. For information, call Susan at 828-712-5472. ABOUT THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION TECHNIQUE: FREE INTRODUCTORY TALK (pd.) Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Asheville TM Center, 165 E. Chestnut. 828-254-4350 or MeditationAsheville.org AIM MEDITATION CLASSES (pd.) Ramp up your meditation practice with AIM’s Meditation’s Classes: Mindfulness 101- Basics of
Mindfulness Meditation, Mindfulness 102 - More advanced, intermediate class. Class dates and times: www. ashevillemeditation.com/ events, (828) 808-4444 ASHEVILLE COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION CENTER (pd.) Free practice group. Learn ways to create understanding and clarity in your relationships, work, and community by practicing compassionate communication (nonviolent communication). 2520538 or www.ashevilleccc. com • 2nd and 4th Thursdays, 5:00-6:00pm. ASHEVILLE INSIGHT MEDITATION (pd.) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation. Learn how to get a Mindfulness Meditation practice started. 1st & 3rd Mondays. 7pm – 8:30. Asheville Insight Meditation, 29 Ravenscroft Dr, Suite 200, (828) 808-4444, www.ashevillemeditation.com ASHEVILLE OPEN HEART MEDITATION (pd.) Experience effortless techniques that connect you to your heart and the Divine within you. Your experience will deepen as you are gently guided in this complete practice. Love Offering 7-8pm Tuesdays, 5 Covington St. 296-0017 heartsanctuary.org. ASTRO-COUNSELING (pd.) Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Readings also available. Christy Gunther, MA, LPC. (828) 258-3229. AWAKENING DEEPEST NATURE MEDITATION CLASS (pd.) Consciousness teacher and columnist Bill Walz. Healing into life through deepened stillness and presence. Meditation and lessons in unorthodox enlightenment. Mondays, 6:30-7:30pm, Asheville Friends Meeting House at 227 Edgewood Ave. (off Merrimon). Donation. (828) 258-3241, healing@billwalz.com www.billwalz.com AWARENESS GROUP (pd.) With Isa Soler, LPC, CHT, lCAS. Join me as we utilize the transformative effects of breathwork, guided meditation and Tibetan and crystal bowl sound healing,
facilitating increased awareness of our connection to source and our innate potential to heal. • Saturday, September 6, 3pm-4:30pm. At: Co-luminate, 69A Biltmore Avenue. Cost: $20. co-luminate.com CRYSTAL VISIONS • INTUITIVE ARTS FAIR (pd.) Saturday, August 30, 10am-4pm. • Psychic Readings • Mediumship • Tarot • Akashic Records • Energy Work • Chair Massage. Most sessions $25. (Cash only). 5426 Asheville Hwy, 28791. (828) 687-1193. www.crystalvisionsbooks. com MINDFULNESS MEDITATION (pd.) ASHEVILLE INSIGHT MEDITATION Deepen your authentic presence, and cultivate a happier, more peaceful mind by practicing Insight (Vipassana) Meditation in a supportive community. Group Meditation. Thursdays, 7pm8:30pm. Sundays, 10am11:30pm. 29 Ravenscroft Dr., Suite 200, Asheville, (828) 808-4444, www.ashevillemeditation.com ASHEVILLE HARE KRISHNA 506-0996, gopalonetwo@ yahoo.com • SUNDAYS, noon - Includes chanting, discussion and a vegetarian meal. Free. Held at Kuntao Arts, 211 Merrimon Ave. FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UCC OF HENDERSONVILLE 1735 5t Ave. W., Hendersonville, 692-8630, fccendersonville.com • WE (9/3), 10-11:30am Discussion of Marcus Borg's Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but not Literally. Free. • WE (9/3), 5-6:30pm Biblical survey study with Rev. Barbara Rathbun. Free. GREAT TREE ZEN TEMPLE 679 Lower Flat Creek, Alexander, 645-2085, greattreetemple.org • Last SUNDAYS, 10:30amnoon - Family Meditation with Rev. Teijo Munnich MOUNTAIN MINDFULNESS SANGHA mountainmindfulness.org • MONDAYS, 7-8:30pm & THURSDAYS, 8-8:40am - In the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. All levels. Free. Held at Urban
Dharma, 29 Page Ave.
Memory & Story," memoir
SHAMBHALA MEDITATION CENTER 19 Westwood Place, 4904587, shambhalaashvl@ gmail.com • SUNDAYS, 10-noon Morning sitting meditation. Instruction provided. Free. • 1st THURSDAYS, 6-7pm - Public group sitting and Dharma reading/discussion. Free.
writing workshop. Free. • TU (9/2), 9am - "Writing a Legacy Love Letter," memoir writing workshop. Free. WEAVERVILLE LIBRARY FRIENDS Weaverville Public Library • SA (8/30), 10am-3pm Used books, audio, movies
The VAPOR EXPERTS are now HERE in Asheville! New ville East Ashe ! location
el Rd, 271 Tunnhili’s! behind C
and music sale to benefit the library. Held at 41 N
SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD CITY LIGHTS BOOKSTORE 3 E. Jackson St., Sylva, 5869499, citylightsnc.com. Free to attend. • FR (8/29), 6:30 - Jon Sealy discusses his book The Whiskey Baron. • SA (8/30), 3pm - Timm Muth discusses his book Disciple of Flames. COURTYARD GALLERY In the Phil Mechanic Building 109 Roberts St., 273-3332, ashevillecourtyard.com • MONDAYS, 8pm - True Home Open Mic. MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE AND CAFE 55 Haywood St., 254-6734, malaprops.com Free, unless otherwise noted. • MO (9/1), 7pm - Bridging Differences Bookclub: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. • TU (9/2), 7pm - Women in Lively Discussion Bookclub: One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty. • WE (9/3), 1-2pm - Autism Bookclub: Not Even Wrong: A Father's Journey into the Lost History of Autism by Paul Collins. • WE (9/3), 7pm Malaprop's Bookclub: Beloved by Toni Morrison. • TH (9/4), 7pm - Tony Earley discusses his book Mr. Tall: A Novella and Stories. OLIVE OR TWIST 81 Broadway St., 254-0555 • SA (8/30), 4-7pm Lashunda Smith discusses her book I Double Dare You to Dream. THE UGLY MUG 2425 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville, 693-9999 • WE (8/27), 9am - "How Personal Objects Evoke
Main St., Weaverville
VOLUNTEERING ASHEVILLE CITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION julia.shuster@asheville.k12. nc.us, 350-6135 Works to create strong public schools and break the cycle of poverty. Info: jay@acsf.org or 350-6135. • WE (9/3), 12:30pm & TH (9/4), 5:30pm - Open house for those interested in being a volunteer teacher assistant, tutor or mentor. Held at the ACSF central office, 85 Mountain St. ASHEVILLE GREENWORKS 254-1776, ashevillegreen-
E-Cigs, North Carolina-sourced ORGANIC E-Juice, Mods and Rebuildables, in a Polished Environment.
Saturdays 15% Off ALL E-JUICE! No Coupon Necessary!
works.org Organizes environmental volunteer projects. • FR (9/5), 7-10:30pm - Volunteers needed to oversee recycling at New Belgium's Film and Beer Tour night. Volunteers are given T-shirts, food and beer. Registration required. LUPUS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA, NC CHAPTER 877-849-8271, lupusnc.org Works to find the cure for lupus and provide support to those affected by lupus • Through (8/30) - The foundation seeks two volunteers to serve as group facilitators for a proposed local support group. Contact for details. For more volunteering opportunities visit moun-
West: 1334 Patton Ave. Suite 110 Asheville NC 28806 East: 271 Tunnel Rd. Asheville NC 28805
Mon-Sat 10AM - 7PM • Sun 12PM - 5PM facebook.com/madvapesavl 10% OFF with Coupon
tainx.com/volunteering
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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FEET HURT?
W E L L N E S S
Still caring
Dr. Daniel Waldman, DPM FACFAC
After 50 years, Council on Aging still lends a helping hand
www.blueridgefoot.com 828-254-5371 Expand Your Healing Touch and Your Reiki
Become a Certified Surgical Coaching Practitioner Training Seminar 18 CEs for RNs, IMBTs, HT Renewals
September 19th-21st Brevard, NC at Transylvania Regional Hospital Contact Kathy Blue: 828.577.6948 Bluecavu527@aol.com
Nancy J Blue, M.Ed, CHTP Instructor
Judy Lynne Ray
MS, CHTI, Instructor www.beyondsurgery.net
A Spa Featuring WORLD-CLASS
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Patricia, a 61-year-old woman from Swannanoa who wishes to be identified by her first name only, was living alone after her husband died. She was having trouble getting up and down the steps to her house and couldn’t use her shower for fear of falling. She contacted the Council on Aging of Buncombe County, which installed a ramp to her house and put hand-holds on her shower. “If it hadn’t been for them,” says Patricia, “I don’t know what I would have done. They were a lifesaver. I would have had to move somewhere else. I didn’t want to leave my home.” Patricia is one of approximately 5,000 older Buncombe County adults who receive services from the Council on Aging, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. A gala celebration was held Aug. 23. “Our goal and passion is to make sure older adults have equal access to the opportunity to age with independence, health, well-being and choice,” says Wendy Marsh, executive director of the Council on Aging.
POINT STILL WELLNESS 81-B Central Ave In the heart of Downtown Also featuring Salt Water Floatation
W W W. S T I L L P O I N T W E L L . C O M 828.348.5372 34
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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KEEPING ACTIVE: Silver Sneakers participants gather for a free exercise class at the Senior Opportunity Center in downtown Asheville. Meals are also provided Monday through Friday. Photo courtesy of the Council on Aging
There are no income guidelines to the program, which is available to anyone over the age of 60 and their caregivers, she explains. The main accomplishment of the Council on Aging during the past 50 years, says Marsh, “is to be a go-to place for information and assistance about how to get help.” Through its Resource Coordination program, the COA connects people to a variety of programs and agencies they work with collaboratively. “I liken it to a map,” says Marsh. “Some people you can give a map to, and all they need to know is what direction to go. With some people you need to sit down and work out the route with them, … and with some people you have to get in the car and ride with them.” The Council on Aging also provides in-home aid with its Seniors Safe at Home program. It offers minor home repairs for health and safety needs, which allow people like Patricia to continue to live independently in their homes. The Call-a-Ride program offers transportation for medical appointments and errands. Kevin Miller, a volunteer with this service, says, “I’ve
become friendly with the people I drive, and a bond forms. Rather than a taxi service, it becomes a social thing during the course of the ride. We both look forward to it.” The agency’s Senior Dining and Wellness program offers participants the opportunity to share meals, exercise and make friends at five locations staffed by community agencies. The significance of the Council’s anniversary celebration, Marsh adds, “is that we’re still here and responding to the growing population of older adults. In Buncombe County there are more people over 60 than under 17— the highest ratio in the state.” Marsh says she hopes the Council can expand services in the future to keep more people in their homes. “Currently there are 400 people on the waiting list for in-home aid,” she notes. “In general, it’s cheaper to help a person stay at home than it is for them to go into a nursing home.” For more information about the Council on Aging, go to coabc.org or call 277-8288. X
WELLNESS CALENDAR
by Carrie Eidson & Michael McDonald
WELLNESS ABOUT THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION TECHNIQUE: FREE INTRODUCTORY LECTURE (pd.) Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation. Learn about the authentic TM technique. It’s not concentrating, trying to be mindful, or common mantra practice. It’s an effortless, non-religious, evidence-based technique for heightened well-being and a spiritually fulfilled life. The only meditation recommended by the American Heart Association. • Topics: How the major forms of meditation differ—in practice and results; What science says about TM, stress, anxiety and depression; Meditation and brain research; What is Enlightenment? • Thursday, 6:30-7:30pm, Asheville TM Center, 165 E. Chestnut. 828-254-4350 or MeditationAsheville.org EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING/PERSONAL GROWTH WEEKEND WORKSHOP (pd.) Intensive 26-hour self help weekend encounter, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, August 29-31. • Seating is limited. • Save $75 today, call (828) 484-1676. Information/ Registration: heartofasheville.com ASHEVILLE BIRTHKEEPERS • 2nd & 4th WEDNESDAYS, 5:30-7:30pm - Meets at the Spiral Center for Conscious Beginnings, 167A Haywood Road. ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA CENTER 8 Brookdale Road, ashevillecommunityyoga.com Asheville Community Yoga Theatre • WEDNESDAYS (8/20) through (9/3), 6:30-7:30pm - Laughter yoga. $11/ $30 for series. • THURSDAYS through (8/28), 6-7:30pm Prenatal yoga. $40 for series. CIRCLES OF HEALING WELLNESS FESTIVAL 225-6422, udharmanc.com • TH (9/4) through SU (9/14) - Includes a Sand Mandala demonstration and speakers focusing on various healing modalities. $0-20. Contact for full schedule. SIDE-BY-SIDE SINGING FOR WELLNESS sidebysidesinging.wordpress.com • WEDNESDAYS through (9/24), 1:30-3pm - For people with dementia, Alzheimer’s or brain damage and their care-partners. Free. Held at Unitarian Univeralist Fellowship of Hendersonville, 2021 Kanuga Road, Hendersonville YOGA IN THE PARK 254-0380, youryoga.com/yoga-workshops • SATURDAYS through (8/20), 10am11:30am- Outdoor yoga event. Free with donations to Homeward Bound or Helpmate encouraged. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St.
SUPPORT GROUPS ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS & DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES For people who grew up in an alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional home. Info: adult-
children.org. Visit mountainx.com/support for full listings. AL-ANON/ ALATEEN FAMILY GROUP A support group for the family and friends of alcoholics. Info: wnc-alanon.org or 800286-1326. Visit mountainx.com/support for full listings. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS For a full list of meetings in WNC, call 2548539 or aancmco.org. ASHEVILLE UNDEREARNERS ANONYMOUS underearnersanonymous.org • TUESDAYS, 6 p.m. – First Congregational UCC, 20 Oak St., Room 102 ASHEVILLE WOMEN FOR SOBRIETY 215-536-0618, www.womenforsobriety.org • THURSDAYS, 6:30-8 p.m. – YWCA of Asheville, 185 S. French Broad Ave. ASPERGER’S ADULTS UNITED facebook.com/WncAspergersAdultsUnited • 2nd & 4th SATURDAYS, 2-4:30pm - Held at Hyphen, 81 Patton Ave. ASPERGER’S TEENS UNITED facebook.com/groups/ AspergersTeensUnited • SATURDAYS, 6-9pm – For teens (13-19) and their parents. Meets every 3 weeks starting June 28. CHRONIC PAIN SUPPORT deb.casaccia@gmail.com or 989-1555 • 2nd WEDNESDAYS, 6 p.m. – Held in a private home. Contact for directions. DEBTORS ANONYMOUS debtorsanonymous.org • MONDAYS, 7 p.m. – First Congregational UCC, 20 Oak St., Room 101 DEPRESSION AND BIPOLAR SUPPORT ALLIANCE magneticminds.weebly.com or 367-7660 • WEDNESDAYS, 7 p.m. & SATURDAYS, 4 p.m. – 1316-C Parkwood Road DIABETES SUPPORT laura.tolle@msj.org or 213-4788 • 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 3:30pm – Mission Health, 1 Hospital Drive. Room 3-B. EATING DISORDER SUPPORT GROUPS Info: thecenternc.weebly.com or 337-4685. Visit mountainx.com/support for full listings.
TAKE CHARGE of YOUR HEALTH Offering Mind-Body therapy and/or Massage Therapy for: Stress • Anxiety • Depression • Back Pain • Neck Pain • Arthritis Allergies • Headaches Insomnia • Blood Pressure
828-774-5150
ELECTRO-SENSITIVITY SUPPORT For electrosensitive individuals. For location and info contact hopefulandwired@ gmail.com or 255-3350. EMOTIONS ANONYMOUS For anyone desiring to live a healthier emotional life. Info: 631-434-5294 • TUESDAYS, 7 p.m. – Oak Forest Presbyterian Church, 880 Sandhill Road FOOD ADDICTS ANONYMOUS 423-6191 or 301-4084 • THURSDAYS, 6 p.m. – Asheville 12 Step Club, 1340A Patton Ave. HEART OF RECOVERY MEDITATION
1636 Hendersonville Rd. (Inside the Walmart Shopping Center)
Asheville, NC Abbas Rakhshani, PhD Mind-Body Specialist
$50 OFF
Mind-Body Therapy Services
One coupon per purchase per person. Cannot be used with another promotion or towards the purchase of products. Coupons Expire 9-30-14
Cari Common, LMBT (NC 3007) Massage Therapist
$25 OFF
Massage Therapy Services
THE YOGA WELLNESS CENTER “A Holistic Health Facility” www.TheYogaWellnessCenter.com MOUNTAINX.COM
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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WELLNESS CALENDAR
Eating Right
for Good Health
Leah McGrath,RD, LDN Corporate Dietitian, Ingles Markets Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/InglesDietitian Work Phone: 800-334-4936
Cow Pies & Cattle
a visit to Hickory Nut Gap Farm Visit Hickory Nut Gap Farm during ASAP’s FARM TOUR Sept 20-21 asapconnections.org Find Hickory Nut Gap Farms ground beef in Ingles Markets in Western NC and their steaks and chops in about a dozen WNC Ingles stores. See complete article with photos Inglesnutrition@blogspot.com
Hickory Nut Gap has about 90 acres of pasture land and a
total of about 200 acres in Fairview. They also work with a co-
operative of other farms that subscribe to the same principles for raising cattle (i.e. 100% grass-fed, no antibiotics and no added hormones -- cattle have their own natural hormones).
by Carrie Eidson & Michael McDonald
GROUP Teaches how to integrate meditation with any 12-step recovery program. asheville. shambhala.org • TUESDAYS, 6 p.m.- Shambhala Meditation Center, 19 Westwood Place.
Christian Church, 470 Enka Lake Road,
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NAR-ANON FAMILY GROUPS For relatives and friends concerned about the addiction or drug problem of a loved one. Info: nar-anon.org. Visit mountainx. com/support for full listings. NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS For people living with mental health issues and their loved ones. Info: namiwnc.org or 505-7353. Visit mountainx.com/support for full listings. OVERCOMES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE For anyone who is dealing with physical and/or emotional abuse. 665-9499. • WEDNESDAYS, noon-1pm – The First
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For couples where at least one member is recovering from addiction. Info: recovering-couples.org • MONDAYS, 6pm – Foster Seventh Day Road. S-ANON FAMILY GROUPS For those affected by another’s sexaholable weekly in WNC. For dates, times and locations contact wncsanon@gmail.com or 258-5117. SMART RECOVERY all types of addictive behavior. Visit mountainx.com/support for full listings. ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH United. For teens (13-19) and their parents. Meets every three weeks. STRENGTH IN SURVIVORSHIP For cancer survivors. Strengthinsurvivorship@yahoo.com or 8087673 • 1st & 3rd SATURDAYS, 11am-noon – Mills River Library, 124 Town Drive, Mills River SYLVA GRIEF SUPPORT Hosted by Four Seasons Compassion for Life. melee@fourseasonscfl.org • TUESDAYS, 10:30am. - Jackson County Department on Aging, 100 Country Services Park, Sylva To add information about your support group, call 251-1333, ext. 114. Support groups must be free of charge to be listed.
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F A R M
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Feasting in the classroom FEAST supplements the elementary curriculum with gardenbased education
JOHN’S
BY CARRIE EIDSON Send your garden news to ceidson@mountainx.com
Think back to your elementary school math class. For many of us, one of the things we struggled with the most was fractions. You may have tried memorization or repetition — scratching numbers onto a chalkboard over and over. But did you ever think to cut up a fruit and look at how the pieces fit together? Incorporating garden-based education with an emphasis on healthy eating into the regular curriculum is the goal of two in-school programs run by FEAST. An extension of Slow Food Asheville, FEAST began as monthly cooking and healthy eating classes. Now the effort has expanded to support faculty positions in two elementary schools where a FEAST garden and cooking coordinator will work with teachers to bring the school’s garden into the classroom. “Our FEAST teachers will go and meet with the school staff and say, ‘What are you working on?’” explains Kate Justen, FEAST executive director. “For example, if a class is working on fractions, then the garden lesson is focused on fractions, either through recipes or giving the class pieces of a fruit. So if one student has half of an orange and another has a fourth, they can put those together and see how they combine as pieces of the whole.” FEAST first began its youth programs with cooking classes at Asheville Middle School and I Have a Dream, an after-school program for children from low-income neighborhoods. But last year, FEAST attained funding that allowed an AmeriCorps volunteer at Vance Elementary to stay on as a part-time faculty member, and this school year an additional position will be created at Francine
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Delaney New School for Children. Both teachers will lead lessons that emphasize nutrition and ensure students have regular interactions with the garden and the food it produces. “A lot of the schools have AmeriCorps, which is a great program, but it changes every year,” Justen says. “When an AmeriCorps volunteer begins or runs a school garden, he or she is there for one year, maybe two, and then they leave and someone new comes.” Justen adds that the turnover can be confusing for young students, and makes it more difficult for them to trust a new instructor. “If I say, ‘Eat this because it’s healthy,’ and they don’t know me, they’re going to say, ‘Who are you and why should I do what you say?’” Justen explains. “But if they know me and they see me all the time, they can trust that I’m telling them the truth, and they’re more likely to eat these foods.” Both of the FEAST elementary school positions are funded through grants, business sponsorships and private donations. The program will
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also receive additional donations from Mother Earth Produce to help supplement the lessons. The Vance Elementary position now allows instructor Jordan Diamond to work 32 hours a week in the school. Francine Delaney will see Abby Walker, formerly an assistant teacher at the school, leading a weekly program and adapting her curriculum for each grade level. “It’s something I’ve already seen in schools — teachers are so busy that, even if they want to use the garden in their lessons, it’s too difficult when they’re supposed to teach all this other stuff,” Walker says. “The students aren’t tested on gardening and healthy foods. “Even if it’s right outside the classroom, often the garden is the last thing teachers are able to squeeze in,” Walker adds. “But having someone there who is actually doing that, once a week or even
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continued from page 37
once every two weeks, is a benefit to the kids and the teachers.” Walker and Justen say their hope is that the FEAST program will have a positive impact on the nutrition of the students, both in the classroom and at home. “[At Frances Delaney] we’re an almost 50 percent low-income school, and a lot of the food the kids eat for lunch is very sugary,” Walker says. “My personal goal is to increase healthier foods in the school and even have things from the garden that the kids can buy for lunch or that we include in free lunches.” “I have parents telling me, ‘My child made me buy this vegetable at the grocery store,’” adds Justen. “So sometimes it’s the case that [the program] is changing nutrition for the whole family. The adults would never have eaten these foods but they are now because the kids want to. We consider that a great success.” Justen says FEAST hopes to find funds to create a faculty position for the current AmeriCorps volunteer at Hall Fletcher Elementary and expand some FEAST services to W.W. Estes Elementary. She adds
that volunteers are always needed to help maintain the school gardens during monthly workdays or to assist with in-class activities. FEAST will hold its annual fundraising event, Feasting for FEAST, at The Pillar on Thursday, Sept. 4. The event features food from local restaurants, wine from Biltmore and a beer brewed specifically for the event by Oyster House Brewing Company. Tickets are $45 at the door or $35 in advance. For more information visit feast. slowfoodasheville.org. X
Garden Calendar
ASHEVILLE GARDEN CLUB 550-3459 • WE (9/9), 9:30am - Includes a discussion of NC wildflowers and herbs. Free. Held at North Asheville Community Center, 37 E. Larchmont Road. ASHEVILLE MUSHROOM CLUB 298-9988, ashevillemushroomclub.com • WE (9/3), 6pm - Workshop: Radical Mycopermaculture. Discusses how to integrate fungi for a more sustainable lifestyle. $10-30. Held at The Landing, 68D Kentucky Drive
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MEN’S GARDEN CLUB OF ASHEVILLE mensgardenclubasheville.org, kenandanne@ bellsouth.net • TU (9/2), 12pm - A discussion of the advantages of native plants in home landscaping. Held at First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St. SYLVA GARDEN CLUB 631-5147, pollybdavis@yahoo.com • TU (9/2), 9:30am - Includes workshop on making dried seed flowers. Free. Held at First Presbyterian Church of Sylva, 46 Presbyterian Drive, Sylva
F O O D
Handcuffed redux Locals continue the discussion about North Carolina liquor laws
BY JONATHAN AMMONS
jonathanammons@gmail.com
In response to our recent article (“Handcuffed: Asheville Bartenders Decry ABC Law Restrictions,” July 9 Xpress), General Manager Mark Combs of the local Alcoholic Beverage Control system had a few things to say. “North Carolina’s alcohol control system is indeed conservative,” he wrote. “Reforms are slow and deliberate, but many will argue that the system is a good balance of consumption and control. For example, North Carolina ranks third among the 50 states in revenues and 48th in per capita consumption. It is a model that facilitates the deliberate, responsible consumption of alcohol.” Combs went on to address bartenders’ complaints about the difficulty of obtaining specialty products. “For special orders, my staff routinely researches, determines bottles per case, prices and specialorders them according to customer instructions,” he wrote, adding, “Our ABC stores can’t sell our customers what distillers won’t ship to us. And not all suppliers are willing to fill special orders — or to fill them quickly. “When a bar wants a specialty spirit, good communication and lead time can minimize delay, so if businesses already know their drink specials for the coming quarter or two, they can let us know and we can begin communicating with the distiller. … Don’t let outof-state, big-box grocers sell you a bag of goods called privatization.” Combs’ response, however, failed to address many of the issues raised by local business owners in last month’s article. “I am absolutely not asking for privatization,” says Kala
Brooks of Top of the Monk. “What I am asking for is that when I follow the rules that have been given to me, I should get what I ordered. If I am required to order a minimum amount of something to get it, I should get all of what I ordered, because you gave me that requirement.” Many local bar managers complain that while the state did develop a “boutique list” that allows for three-bottle cases of specialty products, the main result has been that the price per bottle has gone up — and it’s now even rarer that those products are shipped within a reasonable time frame. “As a small bar,” continues Brooks, “if I arrange my budget and allocate money to buy anywhere from three to 12 bottles of something that I might use one bottle of per month ... that’s a huge chunk out of my budget, and if it would just come in when I order it, that would be fine — or if it would come in at all! You tell me that if I follow these rules, then I will be able to get what I ordered, but that is not the case.”
SPIRITED ARGUMENT: “When I follow the rules that have been given to me, I should get what I ordered,” says Kala Brooks, liquor curator at Top of the Monk. Brooks is among local bartenders hoping for changes in the state’s alcohol control system. Photo by Cindy Kunst
The ABC, she reports, never gives her estimates as to when the product will arrive, saying, “It is a complete grab bag as to what actually gets shipped here from Raleigh, and when. “When we opened this bar in September, I ordered the Willett Pot Still Reserve,” Brooks recalls. “I had ordered a half case for my bar, which, at the time, was the minimum order required. It took from September until March for me to get them; I was only allotted two bottles, and it hasn’t come back since. If you drive to South Carolina, just over
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the border, you can buy that bottle off the shelf; you can buy 10 bottles if you want. And they are also a control state.” Brooks isn’t the only local bar manager who’s unhappy with the system. “To me, it seems unfortunate that we have a request system for a product that is readily available nationally,” adds Jasper Adams of The Imperial Life. “Why is it a request? Why is that not just an order?” Meanwhile, a frustrated-sounding Scott Dagenhart of Nightbell asks, “Why are so many of these boutique items hiding in the back of the store, unknown to the general public, if we as bars have to buy from the same place as the average Joe buys retail? Why are these ABC employees not trained to sell boutique items? ... What am I supposed to tell an excited bar patron when he/she asks, ‘Where CONTINUED ON PAGE 40
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can I get Batavia Arrack?’ Isn’t a bit of teamwork a doable way to assuage this problem? Especially since, hell, we’re paying all that extra money to fund a regulatory organization?” Cocktail bars like Nightbell end up paying more than three different taxes on the product they buy, and they’re required to maintain three different heavily regulated liquor permits merely to operate. For the past two years, Jim Dahlin has worked as a cashier at local ABC retail stores to supplement the income from his full-time job as student activities director at Montreat College. “There are so many people at individual ABC stores in the area who are doing a really good job, but I think the bureaucracy holds things up,” he observes, adding, “Most of those problems come from Raleigh.” Asked if he’s received any kind of training concerning the products he sells, his response is quick: “None whatsoever.” Imagine walking into an autoparts store whose employees had no idea what a sparkplug is. It would be hard to blame them if the store neither required them to have prior experience nor gave them any training on the job. And when I ask Dahlin if he’d ever worked another retail job that required such little knowledge of the products, his answer was, “Not at all. It’s crazy. But from my perspective, it was kind of nice, because I didn’t feel like I had to know anything.” That statement, however, would strike fear into the heart of any small-business owner who overheard it coming from an employee on his retail floor. “They’re a business. They are there to sell a product, and they
don’t even know about it because no one has trained them,” says Donnie Pratt of Cucina 24. “They don’t have distributors or reps coming in and saying, ‘Here’s this new product, here’s what it’s about, here’s how we make it, here’s how you should sell it.’ Which is how it works in independent wine shops and beer stores. They’re just seeing spreadsheets and ordering products, getting them in, looking at the bottle and saying, ‘Oh, that’s bourbon, cool: Let’s put that in the bourbon section.’ They just need to be trained!” Neighboring control states such as Kentucky and South Carolina, meanwhile, regularly stock readily available products that are unheard of in North Carolina. Until recently, South Carolina had the most conservative alcohol distribution system in the country, requiring bars to serve everything from a mini-bottle like the ones you get on airplanes to “regulate consumption.” In 2007, however, they created a progressive control system that’s helped Charleston develop one of the most respected cocktail scenes in the country. As for the state’s impressive revenue statistics, Malcolm Knighten of Seven Sows Bourbon & Larder offers an alternate explanation to the one Combs gives: “It’s very telling that we are third in revenue but 48th in per capita consumption. That can only mean two things: (1) Prices are too high. ... It’s simple division. (2) You have no actual means of measuring consumption of alcohol per capita whatsoever.” To view the full letter from Mark Combs of the Asheville ABC Board, look for this story on mountainx. com. X
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by Dorothy Foltz-Gray
dfoltzgray@comcast.net
Dawn of the doughnuts WHY THEY’RE DESTINED FOR A COMEBACK
Asheville’s renewed love affair with fried dough
Artisan doughnuts are about as rare in Asheville as a three-piece suit. City Bakery dropped its weekend doughnuts (big as tires on an 18-wheeler). And before selling its shops, Sisters McMullen gave up its weekend batches as well. At several Asheville tailgate markets, Sweetheart Bakery sells delectable apple butter, chocolate and lemon doughnuts so tiny they could substitute for toy tires — but unless you’re willing to fight children, it’s tough to land any of those either. Fortunately, a few spots — Dough, Geraldine’s Bakery and Tod’s Tasties (but only on Wednesdays) — throw life rings to the doughnut deprived. And at weekend brunches, Limones offers Mexico’s doughnut, churros — long, fried dough sticks perfect to dunk in hot chocolate. Cucina 24 sometimes builds doughnuts into desserts, picking up on a national trend. And more help is coming. Vortex Doughnuts is hoping to open in September on the South Slope, with doughnuts that are almost pure North Carolina — boasting everything from local flour to Asheville craft beer. “‘Tasty, local and twisted’ is our tag line,” says Ron Patton, who coowns Vortex with his wife, Valerie. “The twisted aspect is our flavor combinations.” Think crumbled malt, pretzels and peanuts topping a caramel (local) beer glaze or a doughnut decorated with chocolate ganache and candied orange ginger zest, a nod to Asheville’s Orange Peel. Also, coming in October is Hole in West Asheville, serving hot doughnuts that also incorporate local ingredients like French Broad chocolate and PennyCup Coffee. Hole’s doughnuts — with varieties like cinnamon sugar with toasted almonds and sesame seeds or chocolate-coffee — too will be as idiosyncratic as Asheville itself. WHY THE DOUGHNUT DEARTH? “Maybe because doughnuts seem unsophisticated,” says Ali Caulfield,
A HOLE NEW VENTURE: Former Tin Can Pizzeria owners Kim Dryden, left, and Caroline Whatley, right, are set to open Hole, a new doughnut shop on Haywood Road. Photo by Alicia Funderburk
pastry chef and catering manager at Dough. “Asheville takes pride in its food and a doughnut seems just normal. But it is not. It’s an art form.” Patton is puzzled as well. “Asheville has gourmet pizza and hamburgers but not artisan handcrafted doughnuts. It’s odd because artisan doughnuts are everywhere else.” Still, Asheville’s bakers are optimistic that Ashevilleans will respond to superior doughnuts. Tod’s Tasties’ success is proof: Offered Wednesdays only, four dozen — in alternating flavors like blackberry-ginger, currycashew and strawberry shortcake — sell out by noon. Caulfield has had to double her batches of cronuts — doughnuts made with croissant dough. “People come in and say, ‘Oh no, they’re gone!’ I had no idea that cronuts would open this crazy can of worms. People call to reserve them.”
Fred Dehlow, owner of Geraldine’s Bakery on Merrimon, says he sells 12 dozen doughnuts on weekdays. “And we sell a lot more on weekends,” he says. “We’re even doing a doughnut wedding with a morning reception.”
tues & weds 5pm - 2am thurs, fri & Sat 12noon - 2 am sunday 11am - 12midnight
Doughnuts are reviving in part because Ashevilleans like Hole coowners Caroline Whatley and Kim Dryden miss them. “I loved doughnuts as a kid,” says Whatley, former co-owner of Asheville food truck Tin Can Pizzeria and a baker who left happy bellies behind in New Orleans, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. “In Baton Rouge where I grew up, it was our family ritual to get hot glazed doughnuts. In Asheville, I’ve missed being able to do that.” Still, Asheville’s on the slow end of bringing doughnuts back, she says. “San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, New Orleans — all those cities have had really good doughnut shops open within the last three or four years. Doughnuts made with ingredients that don’t scare you have made a resurgence.” In fact, Saveur magazine devoted the cover and much of its March 2013 issue to America’s doughnut renaissance. “Doughnuts have wriggled their way into something more sophisticated than Dunkin’ Donuts,” agrees Caulfield. “They’re coming back all over the country. In New York, people have been paying other people to wait in line for cronuts. And they’ve been selling them on Craigs list like black market doughnuts. It’s insane.” Vortex Doughnuts is scheduled to open at 32 Banks Ave. in September. vortexdoughnuts.com Hole plans to open at 168 Haywood Road in October. facebook.com/ holedoughnuts X
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FOOD
by Gina Smith
gsmith@mountainx.com
Scenes from the Asheville Wine & Food Festival Dessert was the diva on Aug. 22, sharing the stage only with local libations and a touch of jazz at Sweet, an event of the 2014 Asheville Wine & Food Festival. About 30 area bakers, chocolatiers, pâtissiers, vintners, brewers and distillers lined the corridors of the Grove Arcade that evening, offering samples of everything from decadent candies and pastries, to gluten-free delicacies to ice cream to custom-made cocktails. The next day featured an Iron Chef-style competition — and, of course — wine.
DESSERT GUY: Victor Donatelli of Karen Donatelli Cake Designs. Photo by Hayley Benton
OOH LA LA, TARTELETTE: Sweet Monkey Bakery of Marshall offered samples of several different kinds of tiny tartelettes at the Asheville Wine & Food Festival dessert event, Sweet, on Friday, Aug. 22 at the Grove Arcade. Photo by Hayley Benton
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WINE POURING: McManis Family Vineyards from Ripon, Calif. at the 2014 Asheville Wine & Food Festival Grand Tasting. Photo by Kat McReynolds
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B
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Send your beer news to avlbeerscout@gmail.com or @thomohearn on Twitter.
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by Thom O’Hearn
Thirsty Monk brews again Thirsty Monk’s brewery is back online with even bigger plans for the future “It’s like being under a coconut waterfall surrounded by naked women.” Thirsty Monk Brewer Norm Penn says that’s one of the ways he’s heard CoCo Norm Coconut Porter described. The porter, one of the most popular beers at the former Thirsty Monk in Gerber Village, has not been seen around Asheville for more than a year. Yes, former is correct. The Thirsty Monk in Gerber Village, which opened WHEN, shut down last week and will not re-open as a Thirsty Monk. According to Thirsty Monk owner Barry Bialik and Vice President Chall Gray, the plan is open it to the public again in September with a new concept. “From what we can tell, it’s a new and radical idea that nobody has done yet across the country,” says Gray. While we’ll have to wait for September to see what happens at Gerber, Thirsty Monk will rechristen Biltmore Park’s location as the Thirsty Monk Brewpub and Taproom with a five-beer release party on Thursday, Aug. 28. Why the rebrand? “Our Biltmore location is where we’ll debut the Thirsty Monk beers as they’re released, and it will be the only place to taste all the beers,” says Gray. “We hope to get some of them to the other locations, but there will always be [exclusives] to Biltmore Park.” WHICH MONK IS WHICH? If it’s hard to keep up with the various Thirsty Monk locations and plans, that’s because the company has had a busy few years. The Monk currently owns or leases property at five locations in Asheville. There’s the original downtown location, of course. It will continue to be what Bialik calls “the candy store” of the Monks with the largest selection: Belgian beers, American craft beers and craft cocktails.
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through, but it’s all malt in the middle. … The rye helps it have a nice, dry finish for such a malty beer.” • Belgian Blonde (6.8 ABV / 25 IBU): “The Blonde is very Belgiany, …meaning you’ll get banana and clove on the nose and spice all the way through the finish,” says Penn. • Bent Creek India Pale Ale (6.7 ABV / 50 IBU): “This was one of our most popular beers back when we were brewing before,” says Penn. “It’s West Coast style but with more balance. … It has a citrus and mango aroma from the hops.” • Porter (6.2 ABV / 35 IBU): “The porter is a good, malty porter. … It’s actually what I use as a base for the CocoNorm,” says Penn. “It’s a hybrid between English and American-style porters. It has a nice chocolate character.” X BREW LIKE A MONK: From left, Norm Penn, Barry Bialik and Chall Gray are ready for the second debut of Thirsty Monk beers. Photo by Thom O’Hearn
The new Woodfin location is meant to be more of a neighborhood pub and will stay that way, notes Gray. “We might look at putting some games in there, like pingpong or foosball,” says Gray. “People are also coming for the food. ... It’s a convenient place to get a bite to eat off I-26 heading out of Asheville,” says Gray. That leaves three other Monk properties: the aforementioned Biltmore Park, which will now be the Brewpub and Taproom; the Gerber Village location, which will have a new concept shortly; and a future brewery planned at 92 Thompson St. THE BREWERIES AND THE BEERS For the immediate future, Penn will brew on a newly installed 3.5-barrel brewery at Gerber Village and transport beers to Biltmore Park before they’re ready to serve. “Our location in Biltmore Park is licensed as a brewery so we can take beer in large vessels to brite tanks at Biltmore and finish it from there,” says Bialik. “We’re basi-
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cally doing the hot work at one location and getting ready to serve it at another.” There will also be dedicated space for barrel aging. In 2015, the plan is to move the brewing operation to a 15-barrel setup at Thompson Street. That location will be the home of future festivals as well. “It’s a nice place with a view of the mountains,” says Gray. “In terms of size and space, it’s sort of like the Bywater…it doesn’t have the river, but it will have a brewery!” The beers will pick up where they left off, largely a mix of American and Belgian styles created at Penn’s whim. He still had the beer in tanks at the time of writing, but he provided a short description for what will hit the taps first, on the Aug. 28 event in Biltmore Park: • Pale Ale (5.9 ABV / 45 IBU): “This is fairly aggressive for a pale ale,” says Penn. “I used Belma hops as well as Cascade, so it’s piney and grassy.” •Rye Pale Ale (5.4 ABV / 35 IBU): “The Rye Pale is very malt-based,” says Penn. “It has some citrusy hops come
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WEDNESDAY ASHEVILLE BREWING: Wet Nose Wednesday: dog day at Coxe Ave. patio 5-8pm; $3.50 all pints at Coxe location FRENCH BROAD TASTING ROOM: $7 growler fills GREEN MAN: Food Truck: Tin Can Pizzeria, 3pm HIGHLAND: Live Music: Woody Wood (acoustic), 5:30pm LEXINGTON AVE (LAB): $3 pints all day OSKAR BLUES: Wednesday night bike ride, 6pm; Beer Run with Wild Bill (group run into Pisgah Forest), 6pm OYSTER HOUSE: $2 off growler fills WEDGE: Food Truck: Root Down (comfort food, Cajun)
THURSDAY ASHEVILLE BREWING: $3.50 pints
at Merrimon location FRENCH BROAD TASTING ROOM: Live Music: Even the Animals (folk, rock), 6-8pm GREEN MAN: Food Truck: Taste & See, 3pm OSKAR BLUES: Live Music: The MJD Trio (blues), 6pm OYSTER HOUSE: $4 well drinks SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN: Live Music: Todd Hoke (singer-songwriter, folk), 6-9pm WEDGE: Food Truck: Tin Can Pizzeria
FRIDAY FRENCH BROAD TASTING ROOM: Live Music: Leigh Glass & The Hazards (Americana), 6-8pm GREEN MAN: Food Truck: Root Down (Cajun, comfort food), 3pm HIGHLAND: Live Music: Lyric (soul, funk), 6:30pm OSKAR BLUES: Ten FIDY release party w/ bouncy house for kids, 4pm; Live Music: The Soul Magnetics
(R&B, soul), 6pm; Food Truck: 3 Suns Bistro
WEDGE: Food Truck: El Kimchi (Korean/Mexican street food)
CATAWBA: Mixed-Up Mondays: beer infusions
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN: Live Music: Picasso Facelift (rock), 8-10pm
WICKED WEED: Bend & Brew Yoga ($15, includes beer tasting), 11am
FRENCH BROAD TASTING ROOM: $2.50 pints
SUNDAY
OSKAR BLUES: Mountain Music Mondays, 6pm
WEDGE: Food Truck: Cecilia’s Culinary Tour (crepes, tamales)
OYSTER HOUSE: $3 pint night
OYSTER HOUSE: $5 mimosas & bloody Marys
HI-WIRE: Soccer & English Breakfast: Leicester City v. Arsenal, 11am; Bend & Brew Yoga ($15, includes beer tasting), 12:15pm; Live Music: Phil Lomac (acoustic), 5-7pm
CATAWBA: Live Music: Mike & Amy (Americana), 6-9pm
LEXINGTON AVE (LAB): Live Music: Bluegrass brunch; $10 pitchers all day
FRENCH BROAD TASTING ROOM: Live Music: Sky Larks, 6-8pm
OYSTER HOUSE: $5 mimosas & bloody Marys
GREEN MAN: Food Truck: Melt Your Heart (gourmet grilled cheese), 3pm
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN: Live Music: BlueSunday w/ Garry Segal & Michael Fillapone (blues), 5-7pm; Food Truck: Farm to Fender
CATAWBA: $2 off growler fills
WEDGE: Food Truck: Cecilia’s Culinary Tour (crepes, tamales); Live Music: Vollie McKenzie & Hank Bones (acoustic jazz, swing), 6pm
HI-WIRE: $2.50 house pints
SATURDAY
HI-WIRE: Soccer & English Breakfast: Manchester v. Stoke City, 10am; Everton v. Chelsea, 12:30pm OSKAR BLUES: Live Music: Amigo (Americana), 6pm; Food Truck: 3 Suns Bistro SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN: Live Music: The Stipe Brothers, Dan Ruiz & Kent Rector (rock, pop), 8-10pm; Food Truck: Farm to Fender
TUESDAY ALTAMONT: Live Music: Open mic w/ Chris O’Neill, 8:30pm ASHEVILLE BREWING: $2 Tuesday: $2 two-topping pizza slices & house cans
GREEN MAN: Food Truck: Taste & See, 3pm
HIGHLAND: Bend & Brew Yoga ($15, includes beer tasting), 5:30pm OYSTER HOUSE: Cask night
MONDAY ALTAMONT: Live Music: Old-time jam, 8pm
MOUNTAINX.COM
WEDGE: Food Truck: Tin Can Pizzeria; Live Music: Pleasure Chest (rock, blues, funk), 7pm
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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Long live LAAFF Local festival returns with an eye toward the future
BY ALLI MARSHALL
amarshall@mountainx.com
“Never say die,” reads the poster for the Lexington Avenue Art and Fun Festival, which returns Sunday, Aug. 31, after a one-year hiatus. When the beloved (and, in recent years, beleaguered) event’s return was announced earlier this summer, it was as a last hurrah. Organizers Kitty Love (LAAFF’s co-founder, who’s now executive director of the Asheville Area Arts Council), Franzi Charen (director of the Asheville Grown Business Alliance) and Jennifer Pickering (founder and executive director
WHAT LAAFF, facebook.com/lexfest WHERE Lexington Avenue from the I-240 overpass to College Street WHEN Sunday, Aug. 31, 11 a.m.-9p.m. Free
of LEAF) were already hatching a new festival concept for 2015, with a broader direction and bigger footprint, and there was some mention of “the last LAAFF.” Recently, however, Love told Xpress, “Merchants on the street want the name to live on,” which may account for the poster’s cryptic additional wording: “The death and rebirth of the legend of Lexington Avenue.” “We’ve had a lot of support from the community. People realized they missed it,” says Aaron Johnstone, president of Arts2People. LAAFF was canceled
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WILD CHILD APPROVED: Celebrate local music, food, drink, arts and eccentricities on Lexington Avenue. Photo by Frank Merenda
in 2013 due to a money crunch. The festival’s profits come from sponsorships, vendor booth fees and beer sales, Johnstone explains, and beer revenue is particularly hard to predict from year to year. In 2012, LAAFF planners had launched their most ambitious strategy to date, including an expanded footprint with a third stage, a food
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truck lot and a ticketed minimusic fest. Sales fell short of expectations, however, creating additional financial pressure. But this year, says Johnstone, “We’ve had some very generous support from Lexington Avenue merchants. Also, Henco Reprographics and Valet Gourmet are major sponsors.” So
LAAFF will return with more than a dozen bands, including stephaniesid, The Fritz, Rising Appalachia’s Leah Song, Lazybirds and more. There’ll also be fire dancing, circus performers, a kids area featuring the LEAF in Schools and Streets Easel Rider, a soapbox car race course, an Asheville on Bikes corral for those who arrive at the festival on two wheels, and plenty of local food and drink. In 2003, Love described the previous year’s inaugural LAAFF as “this giant force of nature that kind of bubbled up out of the ground and insisted on happening.” A year later, Love (who then owned Sky People Gallery and Design Studio) told Xpress that the annual event would “help to stimulate and propagate the kind of culture we would enjoy living in” — and she was right. The festival grew steadily for nearly a decade, working its way farther up Lexington, adding vendors and performers, a program to green the festival, additional stages, and activities ranging from bicycle jousting to skateboarding, from butoh performances to marching bands. “A common misconception … is that LAAFF started as a response to Bele Chere,” organizer Erin Scholze said in 2005. “That’s completely not true. It started as a way to showcase our community. We’re trying to attract people to see what we already have in Asheville, not what we can bring in from outside.” Looking to the future, she said, “I can see the festival eventually expanding beyond Lexington Avenue,” but added, perhaps prophetically, “It can only expand as far as the people in the community will let it.” According to Johnstone, though, there’s talk about how to keep the event going in its current form beyond this year as well. “LAAFF is something that’s been loved by the community,” he says. “The Lexington Avenue merchants really came forward, saying, ‘Hey, we miss having this on our street and we’d like to be a part of bringing it back.’ There’s an ongoing conversation happening — if the support is there, [LAAFF] will continue.” X
KEEPING ASHEVILLE WEIRD: A festival volunteer shows off her LAAFFcentric style in 2011. Photo by Alli Marshall
LAAFF lines
2002: First LAAFF. Local artist Sean “Jinx” Pace, won first place for sculpture with his piece, “The Deconstruction of a Piano Lesson” — a suspended pogo stick and a broken piano that unleashed mangled notes as participants jumped up and down. 2003: The festival raised funds to provide art classes to teens at the Swannanoa Youth Center. The lineup included The OxyMorons Comedy Troupe, rockers DrugMoney and burlesque performers The Rebelles. 2004: “All artists scheduled to show at LAAFF live in Western North Carolina,” Xpress reported, “while two festival stages will boast strictly local bands, and six Asheville restaurants will dish up culinary treats.” 2005: Toubab Krewe headlined and BoBo Gallery and Shady Grove Courtyard offered their spaces for additional performances. 2006: “The planning committee decided LAAFF needed to be more diverse this year,” said planner Jeremy Long. Enter Flamenco Saltado, Soora Gameela, Baraka Mundi, Banana da Terra, the
Shining Rock Reggae Band and Nbale (Newborn Ancient Love Ensemble) with Biko Casini of Strut on West African balaphone — a group formed just for LAAFF. 2007: Festival co-creator Michael Mooney sought to break the world record for tall bike riding by mounting a 44-foot cycle of his own design. 2008: Josh Phillips Folk Festival headlined. The same year, the “Get Your Freak On Photo Booth,” masterminded by Jen Bowen, debuted. 2009: Frank Bloom stepped into the role as LAAFF director, the festival teamed up with the then-eightmember Asheville Brewers Alliance to provide a greater selection of local beer; and for those without costumes, Honeypot hosted “Sew Your Own Art Clothes.” 2010: Rosetta Star and Jack Baun married at LAAFF, and the Mooneyinvented Big Wheels for Big Kids was introduced. 2011: Stephaniesid, Floating Action, The Secret B-Sides, Sonmi Suite, The Black Rabbits, World Music Elevation, GFE and more performed — and the festival continued late-night with a number of after-parties. 2012: The festival added educational components (Moving Minds Through Movies and Dr. Bob’s Interactive Sonic Experience) as well as a satellite stage and food truck lot on Rankin Avenue and a LAAFF-eve mini-music festival. 2013: LAAFF was cancelled due to a lack of funds. Arts2People board president Paul Van Heden said, “People put their heart and soul in, and deserve the best possible event, and we couldn’t do that this year. So that’s why we had to put it off.” 2014: LAAFF returns for a final — or not-so-final — run, to be followed in 2015 by a new community-minded festival with a broader scope and footprint. — A.M.
LAAFF schedule
MAIN STAGE • Youth Circus Arts Performance, 11 a.m. • David Earl & the Plowshares (folk, soul), noon • Nataraj (world, improv), 1:30 p.m. • Asian Teacher Factory (avantrock), 3 p.m. • Members of Free Planet Radio with
special guests Billy Cardine and John Vorus (world, fusion), 4:30 p.m. • The Fritz (funk, rock), 6 p.m. • stephaniesid (indie-pop), 7:30 p.m. WALNUT STAGE • Delta House Jazz Band (youth group from LEAF in Schools & Streets), 11:30 a.m. • Alex Krug (singer-songwriter), 12:45 p.m. • Indigo (singer-songwriter), 2 p.m. • Lazybirds (Americana, roots), 3:15 p.m. • Savannah Smith (singer-songwriter), 4:30 p.m. • Noonday Feast (Celtic-Appalachian folk), 5:45 p.m. • Leah Song (from Appalachia Rising, solo set), 7 p.m. LEX 18 STAGE • Hot Point Trio (Gypsy jazz), 11:30 a.m. • Antique Costume Contest, 1-5 p.m. • The Roaring Lions (nontraditinal traditional jazz), 2:30 p.m. • Dayton & the Dreamboats (crooner jazz), 5:30 p.m. • Firecracker Allstar Jazz Band, 9 p.m.
Mon – Fri lunch: 11:30am - 2pm dinner: 5pm - 10pm Fresh Salad made Daily 25 Items & 6 meats on our Lunch Salad Bar and 35 Items & 16 meats for Dinner
Saturday dinner:
4pm - 10:30pm
Sunday Lunch:
12pm - 3pm
dinner: 4pm - 9pm
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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A&E
by Edwin Arnaudin
Soul purpose Local musicians unite for a quadruple album release Laura Reed describes Asheville as “a fusion city” with an unapologetic, intuitive soul scene that brings in elements of jazz, hip-hop and funk. Juan Holladay, guitarist and lead vocalist for The Secret B-Sides, sees the genre as broader still: “For me, ‘soul music’ is the music that energizes a community to be what it can be and to move into greener pastures.” Such label-defying spirit will be in full effect Friday, Aug. 29, at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall with the celebration of new albums by The Secret B-Sides, Reed, HoveyKraft (multi-instrumentalist Ben Hovey) and Slo_Gold (the side project of
DAYS OF GOL D T OUR
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Secret B-Sides, Laura Reed, Sidney Barnes, HoveyKraft and Slo_Gold WHERE Isis Restaurant & Music Hall isisasheville.com WHEN
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Friday, Aug. 29, at 9 p.m. $8/$10
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Secret B-Sides’ keyboardist Jeff K’norr). All four acts will perform original sets, as will legendary singer Sidney Barnes. The show marks a homecoming of sorts for Reed, a former fixture in the Asheville music scene with her Boone-based band Deep Pocket. After relocating to Atlanta in 2010, the singer-songwriter called up her Grammy-winning producer friend Paul Worley, with whom she hadn’t spoken in nearly three years. While in the middle of recording Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now, Worley invited Reed to Nashville. She drove up the next day and played him a demo. Worley said, “I can’t help you in Atlanta,
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but if you move to Nashville, I can help you.” That same afternoon he called producer Shannon Sanders, with whom Reed would go on to write roughly 40 songs, 10 of which made it onto her new album, The Awakening. “I hit it off immediately with Shannon,” Reed says. “I wrote with a lot of people when I got to town – that’s kind of a Nashville thing – but I kept finding myself going back to the songs I was doing with Shannon. They were reflecting where I was the most.” On records for India.Arie, John Legend and Pink, Sanders built a reputation for taking R&B and hiphop elements and weaving in pop sounds. “He’d say, ‘Let’s talk about the world and make this bigger – make the message about humanity.’ He takes a personal song and makes it something people can relate to,” says Reed, who recently moved to the Raleigh-Durham area to be closer to family, but maintains Nashville as her musical base. While her current sound has more radio-friendly elements and her songwriting has gone from eight-minute jams to three-minute scripts, Reed says there’s a raw element that she’ll never shed: “People loved Deep Pocket because I was wailing and dancing on stage. My live shows are still that.” Reed describes the evening at Isis as coming full circle. Barnes, with whom she has a “soul kinship,” did all the background vocals on her first album and her final Deep Pocket show was a shared bill with The Secret B-Sides. Headlining the quadruple release, The Secret B-Sides’ Welcome to Soul City is inspired by Asheville native Floyd McKissick and his plan to build the titular racism-free community. In the early ’70, with more than $17 million raised from from federal, state and private sources, McKissick began construction on 500 acres of land in Warren County, only to cease progress when Sen. Jesse Helms and Congressman L.H. Fountain ordered a devastating audit of the venture. Negative press followed,
FAMILY REUNION: Vocalist Laura Reed, pictured, shares a soul music album release show with headliners The Secret B-Sides, HoveyKraft and Slo_Gold. Photo courtesy of Reed
the project’s funding was withdrawn and McKissick eventually sold a swatch of land to the Warren County Correctional Institute. Holladay didn’t want the album to be a straightforward narrative of McKissick’s project. “I’d rather talk about the issues he’s addressing with his visions and then go quickly to similar things in my own life and ... how I approach those same issues in my own life in a way that hopefully can be somewhat universal.” The topics of housing complexes – which Holladay connects to his experiences living on the Pascua Yaqui tribe’s reservation in Tucson, Ariz. – and prison help anchor the material to McKissick’s story, as does acknowledging how people of different colors and ethnicities have both
formed a resistance to those institutions and contributed to improving life for everyone else. To further the theme of unity across perceived barriers, Holladay assembled a roster of unexpected local collaborators, including singer/percussionist Billy Jonas and Americana vocalists Mary Ellen Davis and Molly Rose Reed. “I just feel like anyone who’s following their creative dream is being a part of the soul community,” Holladay says. “People who are really taking a chance and making music or art or craft, that inspires me to take that risk and put my time and energy into it and I know it’ll pay off and be a positive thing in my life.” X
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A&E
by Kyle Petersen
kylepetersen@outlook.com
Risk and reward Harvest Records celebrates a decade in business with three-day music festival Although “pretty much everybody” told them it wasn’t a good idea, Matt Schnable and Mark Capon opened Harvest Records in 2004. “We were just out of college and pretty headstrong about it,” says Schnable. “We figured even if were open just a year, at least we had seen something through.” The West Asheville-based store was embraced by the community and prospered, and will be celebrating a decade in business with the second iteration of Schnable and Capon’s Transfigurations festival — first held to mark the store’s fifth anniversary in 2009.
WHAT Transfigurations II harvest-records.com/transfigurations WHERE The Grey Eagle, The Mothlight, Blannahassett Island in Marshall WHEN: Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 28-30. See website for schedule. Weekend passes are sold out. Thursday and Friday individual show passes are $12-$25; Saturday passes are $50 advance/$60 at the gate
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 - REGAL CINEMAS
292 Thetford St. • Biltmore Park Town Square • 7 PM •Doors at 6 PM Tickets $15 ($17 after September 6), limited seating Limited VIP tickets for $30 Proceeds benefit Pisgah Area SORBA • Hosted by REI Tickets on sale at REI• Call 828-678-0918 • www.rei.com/asheville 50
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“That [first festival] was kind of a pivotal moment for us. We had gotten a loan to open the shop, and had finally paid it off,” Schnable says. “It was the beginning of a new era, of being not quite as stressed out.” The store owner credits his and Capon’s involvement with the extended community for their success, citing their work as music promoters on the side and using their storefront for monthly art shows and other happenings as key to their continued existence. “I think that it’s really important to try
and stay active and engaged in the world outside of the record shop,” he says. For the first Transfigurations, Schnable and Capon decided to book a festival based entirely on their own predilections. Given their record-store pedigree and the event’s obscure namesake (The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death by American Primitive guitarist John Fahey), it’s not surprising that lineup varied from standard festival fare: Akron/Family, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and The Books numbered among a cadre of other cerebral indie and folk acts. The lineup for Transfigurations II — Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 28-30 — is, if anything, more diverse, with acts ranging from the retro soul of Lee Fields & The Expressions to psych-rockers Moon Duo. This year’s plans also expand the original multivenue model (The Grey Eagle and The Mothlight) to include an all-day outdoor stage on Saturday at Blannahassett Island in Marshall. “We’ve got everything from folk to grunge to damaged techno,” Schnable says. “People will have a chance to step outside of their comfort zone, open themselves up to new things.” He’s particularly psyched for New Zealand’s The Clean, a jangly, psychedelic pop band that rarely tours the States and that the promoters sought out on a whim. And there will be sets by outsider folk artist Michael Hurley (whose debut LP was released 50 years ago this year on Folkway Records) and guitarist William Tyler (performing his instrumental material with a full band). Tyler will also play with another of the N.C.-based acts on the weekend’s schedule, Hiss Golden Messenger. That band is largely the songwriting vehicle for M.C. Taylor, a California transplant whose music seems to capture the vibe and personality of Transfigurations. Taylor moved to North Carolina in 2007, determined to gain a better understanding of the American South. “Everything I’ve been most energized by musi-
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Call Richard at NOT YOUR STANDARD FESTIVAL FARE: M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, pictured, joins the Transfigurations II lineup, which includes locals Angel Olsen and Reigning Sound along with Seattle grunge survivors Mudhoney, the retro soul of Lee Fields & the Expressions and more. Photo courtesy of Merge Records
cally and culturally has its roots in the South,” he says. “I felt it was incumbent on me to try and understand the region more deeply.” The music Taylor makes as HGM filters the mystical elements of gospel and old-timey folk, along with a dark, psychedelic-tinged indie-rock edge. The result, says Taylor, are songs about “reckoning with the lies we tell ourselves to exist on a day-by-day basis.” His latest effort, Lateness of Dancers, while somewhat lightened by the births of his two children, is “all a part of the same tapestry” of the progression of albums he’s made under the HGM moniker. Taylor’s deep love of words and sounds pervades much of his work — the title of the new album comes from a Eudora
Welty story, but was chosen for the lovely interplay of its syllables. The balance of deep Southern roots and sense of tradition with the adventurousness and uncertainty of the modern world is also something both HGM and Harvest have in common. The first HGM record was simply Taylor recording at home in his kitchen, but the project has grown to include venerable N.C. sidemen like Tyler and erstwhile Megafaun members Brad and Phil Cook, and will now see a strong national release on Merge Records, a label based in Chapel Hill. “Harvest is a great model of a mom-and-pop business,” Taylor says. “It’s what a brick-and-mortar record shop should be.” X
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MERGE at Castell Photography Cartier-Bresson, Kertész, Cunningham, Friedlander, Hugnet, Mann — together, these names read like a checklist from a MoMA photography exhibition. They just so happen to be among the more than two dozen artists featured in MERGE, on view through September at Asheville’s Castell Photography. The exhibit places these renowned artists among an arsenal of vintage and contemporary photographs. Owner Brie Castell and gallery director Heidi Gruner have thematically paired works from the private acquisitions of three eminent East Coast collectors with corresponding (if not delineated) pieces by eight emerging, mid-career photographers. “Having these historical works here would be exciting for anybody,” says Gruner, adding that it’s “thrilling to have them bringing recognition to the contemporary artists.” Each of these six cumulative bodies of work offers an alternative view into the breadth of the photographic medium, spanning from its adolescent years in the early 20th century into the present. The major pieces stem from the collections of W.M. Hunt of New York; Allen Thomas Jr. of Wilson, N.C.; and David Raymond, who recently moved to Asheville. Both Hunt and Thomas have juried past Castell exhibitions. Raymond’s collection enlists the earliest pieces, with Lotte Gerson
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and Werner Rohde photos hailing from the early 1920s. Each harbors a sense of excitement over what was then a burgeoning medium, turning ordinary household objects — such as an umbrella, in Rohde’s case — into inquisitive and surreal figures. It’s the inclusion of three works by Georges Hugnet that make up Raymond’s most significant contribution to MERGE. The dreamlike photo-collages meld with Castell’s longstanding love affair with manipulated photography. They’re shown with contemporary photographers Lauren Semivan (who stages furniture with antiquated props to create surreal images) and Stacey Page and Tom Butler (who have each embellished their prints with the likes of needle and thread and gouache). Page embroiders fanciful face masks on found photographs, most of which appear to be mid-century yearbook pictures. Some look like wrestling masks, while others seem religious and ceremonial. Butler makes similar use of vintage cabinet cards, a type of mass-marketed portrait popular in the late 1800s. He paints over heads and faces, covering some with paisley and flower-patterned head scarves and others with Cousin It-style hair extensions. The works from Hunt’s collection make up the bulk of the show’s photographic masters, who, in this case, happen to direct their focus toward obscured figures. In “Spain,” an early Lee Friedlander image, the reflection-focused artist peers into a tattered, chipped and frameless wall mirror. His camera, as it appears in his work for decades to come, is partially visible near the mirror’s lowest edge. “The Dream (Veiled Woman),” an apparitionlike portrait by Imogen Cunningham, and “Martinique,” a split-view
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PHOTO FINISH: “Fireworks,” by Sarah Anne Johnson. Courtesy of the artist and the collection of Allen Thomas Jr.
of a figure against the ocean by André Kertész, both add to the show’s surrealist undercurrent. These studies are shown alongside pieces by Aspen Hochhalter and Amy Friend, two contemporaries who have similarly cloaked their subjects. Hochhalter’s images require viewers to look through a series of magnifying glasses. Each of these six viewfinders is perched in front of a miniature portrait rendered from gum bichromate and hair, only visible on close inspection. The artists in Thomas’s collection take a direct, and at times psychologically dark, approach to revealing their subjects. “Drag,” a large-scale portrait by Jeff Bark, features a nude man smoking on his bed — perfectly positioned to greet you at the bottom of Castell’s staircase. In “Daddy Tattoo,” a neighboring work by Zoe Strauss, a solitary female is front and center. From a distance she’s got an air of glamour, but closer inspection reveals this makeup-caked damsel’s apparent distress: fresh scars on her elbow, dirty hands and clothes, wind-swept hair and a series of questionable markings on her wrist. And then there’s Sally Mann — famous for panoramas that depict decay and death — represented by two works from her mid-1990s “Motherland Series.” These 30-by-48-inch haunted
landscapes, though entirely modern, hurl viewers into 19th century countryside views of Virginia, Mann’s native state. Thomas’s collection is accompanied by smaller-scale images by Christine Zuercher, Charlie Rubin and Ben Alper, who each continue the trend of photo manipulation. Works from Alper’s “Background Noise” series also add to the psychological undertones present in those by Strauss and Bark. One in particular, “Background Noise #12,” contains a mirror image of a young man, as if seen through shimmering water. Between his two divided selves is a blinding prismatic light — a subject and medium torn from itself. If MERGE seems provocative, that’s intentional. The exhibition is not only about the masterworks — as few are for sale — but to draw parallels and “promote and encourage the purchase of lesser-known but accomplished and vastly talented contemporary artists.” One of Raymond’s goals in moving to Asheville was to help establish a collecting community. He says, “Hopefully this show will inspire others.” The MERGE exhibit is at Castell Photography through September. castellphotographygallery.com X
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Duncan Trussell
Moog Music workshop series If you’ve ever approached a synthesizer, stared into the abyss of knobs and then retreated without extracting a single sound, Moog Music may have the triple-dose antidote you need — a single-day, hands-on workshop series. Synthesis 101, led by Paul Gaeta and Andy Hughes, will explore basic functionality concepts for software and hardware synths (45 minutes, free). Instructor Rob Gray will then aid participants in navigating Ableton Live software to create virtual instruments by inputting various sound sources (30 minutes, free). Finally, local electronic music virtuoso David Krantz (aka Futexture) will cover control voltage and modular synthesis topics by recreating his signature soundscapes using Moog Music’s Sub Phatty (one hour, $20). The limited-capacity series takes place at the Moog factory store on Saturday, Aug. 30, from 4-7 p.m. To RSVP, call 239-0123 or email paul.g@ moogmusic.com. Photo courtesy of Moog Music
Comedian Duncan Trussell might be based 3,000 miles from Western North Carolina, but he’s got serious ties to the region. Trussell grew up in Hendersonville and graduated from Warren Wilson College before relocating to L.A. There, he landed a job as a runner for The Comedy Store’s club owner Mitzi Shore. “While you were hanging out with her, she was teaching you how to be a comedian, but you would just think you were being tortured by the cruelest person on earth,” he told Xpress (full interview at mountainx.com). These days, he tours the country doing standup at Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and the Moontower Comedy Festival in Austin. He also has his own podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, which he says “really is a new form of comedic expression.” Trussell performs at The Millroom on Friday, Aug. 29, at 8 p.m. $12/$15. ashevillemillroom.com. Photo courtesy of Trussell
Listen to This Gather ‘round, folks — it’s story time. Asheville Community Theatre’s monthly storytelling series, Listen to This: Stories in Performance, closes its fourth season this week. Host Tom Chalmers will facilitate an evening of stories and songs performed by an assortment of Asheville’s most captivating citizens. This month, Chalmers tackles the topic of disparate power dynamics in political activism. According to a press release, attendees should expect performances in all shapes and forms: “Some are funny, some are surprising and some are frightening — but all are enormously entertaining.” Listen to This (with the theme David v. Goliath: True Tales of Taking on City Hall) takes place at 35below (at ACT), on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m. $10. ashevilletheatre. org. Photo by Tommy Propest
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Malcolm Holcombe “Humans are storytellers ... some just damn liars,” says singer-songwriter and Western North Carolina native Malcolm Holcombe in his bio. “The truth lives beyond songs and poetry, fables, folklore weighed down by human embellishments, hearsay and emotions.” Those musings on his new album, Pitiful Blues, are heavy, but so is the 10-track song collection. Still, even with song names like “Savannah Blues” and “Another Despair,” the album is not without its moments of levity. Holcombe’s trademark growl is deftly matched by lithe melodies, gentle rhythms and shimmering strings tones that are more otherworldly than melancholy. Holcombe is a master of his craft, tirelessly traveling the world with his guitar. He plays a rare local show at The Grey Eagle on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 8 p.m. Jared Tyler also performs. $12/$15. thegreyeagle.com. Photo by Ray Kennedy
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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A&E CALENDAR
by Carrie Eidson & Michael McDonald
ART BURNERS AND BBQ MURAL PAINTING facebook.com/burnersandbbq • SU (8/31), noon-9pm - A collaborative mural painting open to the public, includes BBQ vendors and music. Part of a graffiti and street art festival. Free to attend. Held at Odditorium, 1045 Haywood Road QUILT DISCOVERY EVENING 227-7129, facebook.com/mountainheritagecenter • TH (8/28), 7-9pm - Quilt experts will give a presentation on historical quilting. The public may bring quilts to be analyzed, $5 each. Free to attend. Held in WCU's Mountain Heritage Center.
AUDITIONS & CALL TO ARTISTS COURTYARD GALLERY In the Phil Mechanic Building 109 Roberts St., 273-3332, ashevillecourtyard.com • Through (8/28) - Submissions will be accepted for Anything Goes, Everything Shows, a multimedia mail-in art show. All submissions will be exhibited. Free. READING ANIMALS avl.mx/0e9, simkha@riseup.net • Through TH (9/18) - Writers are asked to submit fiction, creative nonfiction or poetry on animals and animal rights for upcoming public reading. Contact for guidelines. THE HEART OF HORSE SENSE heartofhorsesense.org • Through (11/5) - Artists may donate works to be displayed and auctioned at Zuma Coffee in Marshall. Proceeds benefit this nonprofit animal therapy program for veterans and at-risk youth. Contact for details. WRITERS' WORKSHOP EVENTS 254-8111, twwoa.org, prez@twwoa.org For beginning and experienced writers. • Through SA (8/30) - Submissions will be accepted for the Literary Fiction Contest, stories of 5000 words or less. $25. Contact for guidelines.
MUSIC DIANA WORTHAM THEATRE 2 South Pack Square, 257-4530, dwtheatre.com • FR (8/29) & SA (8/30)- Remembering Frank Sinatra: The Capitol Years. $32/$26 seniors and students. Fri.: 7:30pm; Sat.: 2pm. MUSIC AT UNCA 251-6432, unca.edu • WE (8/27), 7pm - Open rehearsal for Blue Ridge Community Orchestra. Held in the Reuter Center. Free. • WE (9/3), 12:25pm - Patrick Dodd, with Anne Coombs, Harry Lewis and Wayne Kirby, blues/southern rock. Held in
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
Lipinsky Auditorium. Free.
6-8pm.
Discovery Center, 1 Town Square Blvd.
RIVERLINK'S RIVERMUSIC 252-8474, ext. 1, dave@riverlink.org • FR (8/29), 5-10pm - The Artimus Pyle Band & Andrew Scothie and the River Rats, funk. Free to attend. Held at RiverLink Sculpture and Performance Plaza, 144 Riverside Drive
ARTS COUNCIL OF HENDERSON COUNTY 693-8504, acofhc.org • Through FR (8/29) - Bring Us Your Best XI, works by competition winners. Held at Blue Ridge Community College, 180 West Campus Drive, Flat Rock
IZZY'S COFFEE DEN
ASHEVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL GALLERY 1 Page Ave., 258-0710, ashevillearts.com • FR (8/22) through SA (9/20) - Camped Out on Greasy Grass: A Series of Portraits, works by artists from closed Lyman Avenue studios. Opening reception: Aug. 29, 6pm.
JOHNSON FARM
ASHEVILLE ART MUSEUM 2 N. Pack Square, 253-3227, ashevilleart. org • ONGOING - Sol LeWitt: Creating Place, Wall Drawing #618, conceptual art. • TU (9/2) through SA (1/4) - Humans and Machines: The Robotic Worlds of Adrianne Wortzel, mixed media.
169 Charlotte St., 575-9525, facebook. com/MetroWinesAsheville • Through (8/31) - Lost at Sea, works by Sandee Johnson.
THEATER ANAM CARA THEATRE anamcaratheatre.org, 633-1773 • FR (8/29), 8pm - No Regets improv comedy troupe. $12/$10 advance. Held at Toy Boat Community Art Space, 101 Fairview Road ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE 35 E. Walnut St., 254-1320, ashevilletheatre. org • TH (8/28), 7:30pm - David v. Goliath: True Tales of Taking on City Hall from the Listen to this: Stories in Performance series. $10. DRAMA AT BRCC facebook.com/BRCCDrama • TH (8/28) through MO (9/1), 7:30pm - A Carolina Story. $7/$5 students, faculty & staff. Held in Patton Auditorium on the Hendersonville campus. FLAT ROCK PLAYHOUSE DOWNTOWN 125 S. Main St., Hendersonville, 693-0731, flatrockplayhouse.org • THURSDAYS through SUNDAYS until (9/14) - The Mystery of Irma Vep, Wed.-Sat.: 8pm; Thurs., Sat. & Sun.: 2pm. $40/$38 seniors/$25 students. HENDERSONVILLE LITTLE THEATRE 229 S. Washington St., Hendersonville, 6921082, hendersonvillelittletheater.org • THURSDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/31) - Little Shop of Horrors, Thurs.-Sat.: 7:30pm; Sun.: 2:30pm. $24/$18 ages 18-25/$12 students under 18.
GALLERY DIRECTORY
5 WALNUT WINE BAR 5 Walnut St., 253-2593 • Through SU (8/31) - Corollaries, paintings by Suzanne Saunders. AMERICAN FOLK ART AND FRAMING 64 Biltmore Ave., 281-2134, amerifolk.com • Through TH (8/21) - Pattern, Texture, Emotion, quilts. ART AT UNCA unca.edu • TU (9/2) through TU (9/30) - Honoring Chuck Marting, black and white photography by the Asheville Traditional Photographers Group. ARTETUDE GALLERY 89 Patton Ave., 252-1466, artetudegallery. com • Through SU (8/31) - Life in Motion, works by Alyson Markell and Kenn Kotara. • TU (9/2) through SU (9/28) - Abstractions, works by Barbara Fisher, Robert Winkler, and Pat Zalisko. Artist reception: Sept. 19,
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ASHEVILLE GALLERY OF ART 16 College St., 251-5796, ashevillegalleryof-art.com • Through SU (8/31) - Paintings by Joyce Schlapkohl. • MO (9/1) through TU (9/30) - Paintings by Sahar Fakhoury. Opening reception: Sept. 5, 5pm. BLUE SPIRAL 1 38 Biltmore Ave., 251-0202, bluespiral1. com • Through SA (9/27) - Works from artists Kenneth Baskin, John L. Cleaveland, Brad Sells, Lee Sipe and Mike Smith. • Through SA (9/27) - Ahead of the Curve, contemporary works focusing on lines. CASTELL PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY 2C Wilson Alley, 255-1188, castellphotographygallery.com • Through TU (9/30) - Merge, vintage and contemporary photography. FOLK ART CENTER MP 382, Blue Ridge Parkway, 298-7928, craftguild.org • Through (10/28) - Into the Fire, glass, clay and metal works. GRATEFUL STEPS 159 S Lexington Ave., 277-0998, gratefulsteps.org • Through SU (8/31) - Urban Photography From The Streets Of A Bohemian Mountain Town, street photography by Joe Longobardi.
74 N. Lexington Ave., 258-2004 • MO (9/1) through TU (9/30) - Along the Way, long exposure photography by Chukk Bruursema. Opening reception: Sept. 5, 7pm.
3346 Haywood Road, Hendersonville, 8916585, historicjohnsonfarm.org • Through SU (8/31) - Photographs of the farm taken by local photographers METRO WINES
MICA FINE CONTEMPORARY CRAFT 37 N. Mitchell Ave., Bakersville, 688-6422, micagallerync.com • TH (9/4) through FR (11/14) - What I Know, photography by Dana Moore. PACK MEMORIAL LIBRARY 67 Haywood St. • Through SA (8/30) - Paintings, architectural drawings and iron work by Anthony Lord. RAVEN & CRONE 555 Merrimon Ave. Suite 100, 424-7868 • Through SA (8/31) - Handmade traditional Javanese Batik. RED HOUSE STUDIOS AND GALLERY 310 W. State St., Black Mountain, 6990351, svfalarts.org • Through SU (8/31) - Swannanoa Fine Arts League members juried exhibit. THE BENDER GALLERY 12 S. Lexington Ave., 505-8341, thebendergallery.com • Through TU (9/30) - Artifacts and Contraptions, glass and mixed media sculptures by Peter Wright and Audrey Wilson. THE GRAND BOHEMIAN GALLERY 11 Boston Way, 877-274-1242, bohemianhotelasheville.com • Through SU (9/14) - Imagined Circus and Travelers, paintings by Diana LaRoseWeaver. TOE RIVER ARTS COUNCIL
GREEN SAGE CAFE - WESTGATE 70 Westgate Parkway, 785-1780, greensagecafe.com Green Sage Coffeehouse and Cafe Westgate • Through WE (10/15) - ZOOM IN: An Exhibition of Asheville Street Photography, works by six local photographers. Opening reception: Sept. 7, 4-6pm.
765-0520, toeriverarts.org • Through SA (9/20) - Works by Barbara Littledeer. Held at Burnsville TRAC Gallery, 102 W. Main St., Burnsville • Through SA (9/20) - Edwina Bringle Retrospective, weaving. Held at Spruce Pine TRAC Gallery, 269 Oak Ave., Spruce Pine
HANDMADE IN AMERICA 125 S Lexington Ave #101, 252-0121, handmadeinamerica.org • Through TU (8/19) - Glass works by John Almaguer. Held at Beverly-Hanks
ZAPOW! 21 Battery Park Suite 101, 575-2024, zapow.net • Through FR (9/26) - British Invasion, works inspired by the British pop culture.
C L U B L A N D BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE Karaoke, 9pm
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27
BLUE KUDZU SAKE COMPANY Trivia night, 8pm
5 WALNUT WINE BAR Wine tasting w/ The Moodees (folk), 5pm Juan Benavides Trio (Latin), 8pm
BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Bob Zullo (acoustic), 7pm
BEN'S TUNE-UP Live band karaoke w/ The Diagnostics, 9pm
CORK & KEG Honey Swamp Stompers (country, blues, jazz), 8pm
BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE Buncombe County Boyz (folk, bluegrass), 7:30pm
CROW & QUILL Vendetta Creme: Vaudeville & Cabaret, 9pm
BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Open mic with Mark Bumgarner, 7pm
DOUBLE CROWN 33 and 1/3 Thursdays w/ DJs Devyn & Oakley, 10pm
BYWATER Soul night w/ DJ Whitney, 8:30pm
ELAINE'S DUELING PIANO BAR Dueling Pianos, 9pm
CORK & KEG Irish jam w/ Beanie, Vincent & Jean, 7pm
FRENCH BROAD BREWERY TASTING ROOM Even the Animals (folk-rock), 6pm
DOUBLE CROWN DJs Greg Cartwright & David Wayne Gay (country), 10pm
GREY EAGLE MUSIC HALL & TAVERN The Sadies, Sonny and the Sunsets & EDJ (rock 'n' roll, country), 7pm
DUGOUT Karaoke, 9pm GRIND CAFE Trivia night, 7pm
ISIS RESTAURANT AND MUSIC HALL The MoBros & Saint Francis (blues, rock, country, funk), 9pm
IRON HORSE STATION The Wilhelm Brothers (indie-folk), 6pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass jam, 7pm
ISIS RESTAURANT AND MUSIC HALL Acoustic on the Patio w/ Taylor Martin & friends, 7pm In the Lounge: Hovey Kat (jazz, blues), 7pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old-time session, 5pm LEX 18 The Roaring Lions (jazz), 8:30pm LOBSTER TRAP Ben Hovey (dub-jazz, trumpet, beats), 7pm MOUNTAIN MOJO COFFEEHOUSE Open mic, 6:30pm
LEX 18 Michael Jefry Stevens & Misty Daniels (jazz, chanteuse), 8:30pm
DINNER AND A SHOW: On Thursday, Sept. 4, Brevard’s 185 King Street will be hosting a “farm-to-fork” dinner, followed by Americana group Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys. “Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys are giving a nod to American traditional music, while boldly taking their own songs in new directions,” reads a passage from the band’s bio. “The group focuses on the original tunes of Lindsay Lou Rilko, which include true-life tales of bank-robbing aunties, moonshinin’ grandpas, and celebrations of love, life and nature.” Dinner is served from 5:30-7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m.
NEW MOUNTAIN Local Color taping w/ Lyric, The Paper Crowns (pop/rock), 7pm NOBLE KAVA Open mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 9pm ODDITORIUM Dowsing, MeteorEyes, Press & The Poles (rock), 9pm
To qualify for a free listing, a venue must be predominately dedicated to the performing arts. Bookstores and cafés with regular open mics and musical events are also allowed / To limit confusion, events must be submitted by the venue owner or a representative of that venue / Events must be submitted in written form by e-mail (clubland@mountainx.com), fax, snail mail or hand-delivered to the Clubland Editor Hayley Benton at 2 Wall St., Room 209, Asheville, NC 28801. Events submitted to other staff members are not assured of inclusion in Clubland / Clubs must hold at least TWO events per week to qualify for listing space. Any venue that is inactive in Clubland for one month will be removed / The Clubland Editor reserves the right to edit or exclude events or venues / Deadline is by noon on Monday for that Wednesday’s publication. This is a firm deadline.
LOBSTER TRAP Hank Bones ("The man of 1,000 songs"), 7pm MARKET PLACE Ben Hovey (dub jazz, beats), 7pm ODDITORIUM Jeff Thompson & the Outliars (singersongwriter), 9pm OLIVE OR TWIST Pop the Clutch (beach, jazz, swing), 7:30pm ONE STOP DELI & BAR Phish 'n' Chips (Phish covers), 6pm
OLIVE OR TWIST Swing dance lessons w/ Roger Buckner, 7pm 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock), 8pm
TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Blues & soul jam w/ Al Coffee & Da Grind, 8:30pm
ONE STOP DELI & BAR Mobile Deathcamp w/ Amnesis & We Kill Kids (metal, thrash), 10pm
URBAN ORCHARD Poetry on Demand w/ Eddie Cabbage, 6:30pm
PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Shampoo Duo w/ Shane Pruitt & Tracy LittleJohn (delta blues), 6pm SLY GROG LOUNGE Open mic, 7pm STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Brushfire Stankgrass (bluegrass), 6pm TALLGARY'S CANTINA Open mic & jam, 7pm THE PHOENIX Jazz night, 8pm THE SOCIAL Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm TIGER MOUNTAIN Sean Dail (classic punk, power-pop, rock), 10pm
VINCENZO'S BISTRO Lenny Petenelli (high-energy piano), 7pm WILD WING CAFE Karaoke, 9pm WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Skinny Wednesday w/ J LUKE, 6pm
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28 185 KING STREET Shane Pruitt Band (blues, gospel), 8pm 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Hank West & The Smokin' Hots (jazz exotica), 8pm ALLEY KATS TAVERN Open mic night, 7pm
ORANGE PEEL Slide of Life Comedy Open Mic, 9pm OSKAR BLUES BREWERY The MJD Trio (blues), 6pm PACK'S TAVERN Howie Johnson (acoustic rock), 9pm PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Dirk Quinn Band (jazz, funk), 8pm POSH BAR Acoustic jam, 6pm PURPLE ONION CAFE The Moon & You (Americana), 7pm RENAISSANCE ASHEVILLE HOTEL TLQ + 2 (rock, blues), 6:30pm SCANDALS NIGHTCLUB DJ dance party, drag show, Josie's birthday & Zack's going away party, 10pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Todd Hoke (singer-songwriter, folk), 6pm
TIMO'S HOUSE Release AVL w/ Dam Good (dance party), 9pm
ALTAMONT BREWING COMPANY Chuck Johnson "The Charlyhorse" (Americana), 8pm
THE MOTHLIGHT Harvest Records 10th Anniversary Celebration w/ Pete Swanson, Container, Profligate & Bitchin' Bajas (electronic), 9:30pm
TOWN PUMP Open mic w/ Aaron, 9pm
ASHEVILLE SANDWICH COMPANY Paul Edelman (Americana, indie), 6pm
THE PHOENIX Terina Plyer (folk), 8pm
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AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
57
CLUBLAND
TAVERN DOWNTOWN ON THE PARK Eclectic Menu • Over 30 Taps • Patio 13 TV’s • Sports Room • 110” Projector Event Space • Shuffleboard • Darts Open 7 Days 11am - Late Night
THU. 8/28 Howie Johnson
IRON HORSE STATION Barb Turner (R&B), 7pm
THE SOUTHERN DJ Leslie Snipes (dance), 10pm
ISIS RESTAURANT AND MUSIC HALL The Secret B-Sides album release w/ Laura Reed & Sidney Barnes w/ Slo Gold & HoveyKraft (soul), 9pm
TIMO'S HOUSE Unity Thursdays w/ Asheville Drum 'n' Bass Collective, 9pm TOWN PUMP The Egg Eaters (new-wave), 9pm TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES The Westsound Revue (Motown, blues), 9pm
(acoustic rock)
URBAN ORCHARD Stevie Lee Combs (acoustic, Americana), 6:30pm
FRI. 8/29 DJ MoTo (pop, dance hits)
VINCENZO'S BISTRO Ginny McAfee (guitar, vocals), 7pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Dream Team Tour, 9pm
SAT. 8/30 A Social Function
WILD WING CAFE Thirsty Thursday w/ Mike Snodgrass Trio, 7pm
(rock n’ roll, classic hits)
WILD WING CAFE SOUTH DJ Josh Michaels w/ Grand Theft Audio (rock, pop), 6pm
ST OF
WXYZ LOUNGE Turkish Delight (gypsy jazz), 8pm
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THE SOCIAL Open mic w/ Scooter Haywood, 8pm
TIGER MOUNTAIN New Wave dance w/ Cliff (80s pop, post-punk, punk-rock, synthpop), 10pm
THANKS FOR VOTING US #1!
BE
Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com.
WNC
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
20 S. SPRUCE ST. • 225.6944 PACKSTAVERN.COM
185 KING STREET Lefty Williams (Southern rock), 8pm 5 WALNUT WINE BAR The Krektones (surf-rock), 9pm ALLEY KATS TAVERN Amos & The Mixx Live, 9:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Porch 40 w/ Corbitt Brothers & Hazy Ray (funk, blues), 10pm ATHENA'S CLUB Mark Appleford (singer-songwriter, Americana, blues), 7pm
LOBSTER TRAP Riyen Roots band (roots, world), 7pm MAIN STREET PUB & DELI Buick MacKane Band (Southern rock), 8pm MARKET PLACE The Sean Mason Trio (groove, jazz, funk), 7pm METRO WINES Stand up comedy w/ Disclaimer Comedy, 7pm NATIVE KITCHEN & SOCIAL PUB Broken Bottles (country covers), 7:30pm NIGHTBELL RESTAURANT & LOUNGE Resident Dulítel DJ (indie-tronic), 11pm NOBLE KAVA Dan Keller (electro-jazz, improv), 8:30pm ODDITORIUM Vile Intent & Harsh Words (punk), 9pm OLIVE OR TWIST WestSound (Motown), 8pm Late Night DJ (techno, disco), 11pm ONE STOP DELI & BAR Free Dead Fridays w/ members of Phuncle Sam (jam), 5pm Flow Tribe w/ Darkwater Rising (funk, rock), 10pm PACK'S TAVERN DJ MoTo (pop, dance, hits), 9pm PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Bayou Diesel (zydeco), 8pm RIVERWATCH BAR & GRILL MotownBlue (soul, R&B), 6pm
BOILER ROOM Jamboogie Band, Five Miles Under & Duke Frye (rock), 9pm
SCANDALS NIGHTCLUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm
DOUBLE CROWN DJ Greg Cartwright (garage & soul obscurities), 10pm
SCULLY'S DJ, 10pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Picasso Facelift (rock, Americana), 8pm SPRING CREEK TAVERN Pleasure Chest (blues, rock, soul), 9pm STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Duke & the Family Band, 6pm
DUGOUT Fine Line (classic rock), 9pm
TALLGARY'S CANTINA Unit 50 (rock), 9:30pm
ELAINE'S DUELING PIANO BAR Dueling Pianos, 9pm
THE MOTHLIGHT Harvest Records 10th Anniversary Celebration: Moon Duo, Disappears, Nest Egg (rock, shoegaze), 9:30pm
FRENCH BROAD BREWERY TASTING ROOM Leigh Glass & The Hazards (rock, Americana), 6pm GOOD STUFF Michael McFarland (rock), 8pm GREEN ROOM CAFE & COFFEEHOUSE Apple Fest w/ Alan Barrington (blues, Americana), 5:30pm GREY EAGLE MUSIC HALL & TAVERN Mud Honey & Axxa/Abraxas (psychedelic-rock), 8pm
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LEX 18 The Byron Hedgepath Vibes Trio (jazz, Latin), 8:30pm
ROOT BAR NO. 1 Duke & The Situation (rock), 9pm
CORK & KEG One Leg Up (jazz, swing), 8:30pm
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
JERUSALEM GARDEN Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm
BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Acoustic Swing Night, 7pm
CLASSIC WINESELLER Jay Brown (blues, folk, roots), 7pm
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JACK OF THE WOOD PUB The Blood Gypsies w/ Alarm Clock Conspiracy (gypsy, funk), 9pm
THE PHOENIX 176 (rock), 9pm THE SOCIAL Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm TIGER MOUNTAIN Devyn (psychedelic, indie, metal, rock), 10pm TIMO'S HOUSE Dub Brothers Cleofus & Medisin (dance party), 10pm
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TOWN PUMP Rye Baby (folk-rock), 9pm
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TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Nikki Calloway & Friends (singer-songwriter), 7pm The Nightcrawlers, 10pm
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VINCENZO’S 254-4698 WESTVILLE PUB 225-9782 WHITE HORSE 669-0816 WILD WING CAFE 253-3066 WXYZ 232-2838
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VINCENZO'S BISTRO Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Asheville Tango Orchestra, 8pm WILD WING CAFE Joe Lasher Jr. (Southern rock), 7pm WILD WING CAFE SOUTH A Social Function (acoustic), 9:30pm WXYZ LOUNGE DJ Abu Disarray (EDM, lounge), 9pm
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30 185 KING STREET Golden State Lone Star Revue (funky blues), 8pm 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Andrew Fletcher (stride piano), 6pm Shake It Like A Caveman (Latin jazz), 9pm
60% OFF SELECTED LINGERIE
ALLEY KATS TAVERN The Twisted Trail Band, 9:30pm ANDREWS BREWING CO. The Bad Popes (rock, Americana), 6pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Big Pooh w/ Anthony David (hip-hop, rap), 10pm
BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Larry Dolamore, 7pm
CROW & QUILL Horror Night: H.P. Lovecraft, costumes, movie screenings, DJs, 9pm DOUBLE CROWN DJ Lil Lorruh (50s, 60s R&B, rock), 10pm DUGOUT American Gonzos (rock, funk), 9pm ELAINE'S DUELING PIANO BAR Dueling Pianos, 9pm FRENCH BROAD BREWERY TASTING ROOM Sky Larks (rock), 6pm GREEN ROOM CAFE & COFFEEHOUSE Apple Fest w/ Nello Masci & Mark Sherren (ragtime, jazz, pop), 5:30pm
one stop
one stop
CORK & KEG Red Hot Sugar Babies (jazz), 8:30pm
AUG
28 THU
Black Mamba & Black 3 men’s pills for $18.99
Double Birthday Throwdown
w/Amnesis, We Kill Kids and Alarka 10PM $5 21+
Gift Cards Available for Purchase
• • OPEN 7 DAYS • •
Tru Bars, Mike Rose, Hunter Bennett, DJ Ra Mak, and Jrusalam 10PM $5 21+
SUN-THUR 8 AM - MIDNIGHT FRI SAT 8 AM - 3 AM (828) 684-8250
Inquire about our customer rewards programs
one stop
CLUB ELEVEN ON GROVE Postal Express Street Riders Labor Day dance party, 8pm
AUG
27 WED
AUG Flow Tribe w/ Darkwater Rising 29 10PM $8/$10 21+ FRI AUG
Porch 40 29 FRI AMH
CLASSIC WINESELLER Joe Cruz (Beatles, Elton John covers), 7pm
New Rental DVDs Available
55 COLLEGE STREET-DOWNSTAIRS
w/ Corbitt Brothers & Hazy Ray 10PM $8/$10 21+
AUG
one stop
CATAWBA BREWING CO. Mike & Amy (Americana), 6pm
FULL FEATURE DVDs for $4.99
31 PATTON AVENUE-UPSTAIRS
ATHENA'S CLUB Mark Appleford (singer-songwriter, Americana, blues), 7pm
Charlie Traveler Presents: 30 Sirius B. w/ Karikatura SAT
Where Adult Dreams Come True
10PM $5/$8 21+
AUG Big Pooh w/ Anthony David 30 10PM $8/$10 21+ SAT AMH
185 KING STREET 877-1850 5 WALNUT WINE BAR 253-2593 ALTAMONT BREWING COMPANY 575-2400 THE ALTAMONT THEATRE 348-5327 ASHEVILLE CIVIC CENTER & THOMAS WOLFE AUDITORIUM 259-5544 ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL 255-7777 ATHENA’S CLUB 252-2456 BARLEY’S TAP ROOM 255-0504 BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE 669-9090 BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA 658-8777 BOILER ROOM 505-1612 BROADWAY’S 285-0400 THE BYWATER 232-6967 CORK AND KEG 254-6453 CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE 575-2880 ADAM DALTON DISTILLERY 367-6401 DIANA WORTHAM THEATER 257-4530 DIRTY SOUTH LOUNGE 251-1777 DOUBLE CROWN 575-9060 DUGOUT 692-9262 ELEVEN ON GROVE 505-1612 FRENCH BROAD BREWERY TASTING ROOM 277-0222 GOOD STUFF 649-9711 GREEN ROOM CAFE 692-6335 GREY EAGLE MUSIC HALL & TAVERN 232-5800 GROVE HOUSE THE GROVE PARK INN (ELAINE’S PIANO BAR/ GREAT HALL) 252-2711 HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY 299-3370 ISIS MUSIC HALL 575-2737 JACK OF THE WOOD 252-5445 LEX 18 582-0293 THE LOBSTER TRAP 350-0505 METROSHERE 258-2027 MILLROOM 555-1212 MONTE VISTA HOTEL 669-8870 MOONLIGHT MILE 335-9316 NATIVE KITCHEN & SOCIAL PUB 5810480 NIGHTBELL 575-0375 NOBLE KAVA BAR 505-8118 ODDITORIUM 575-9299 ONEFIFTYONE 239-0239 ONE STOP BAR DELI & BAR 255-7777 O.HENRY’S/TUG 254-1891 THE ORANGE PEEL 225-5851 OSKAR BLUES BREWERY 883-2337 PACK’S TAVERN 225-6944 THE PHOENIX 877-3232 PISGAH BREWING CO. 669-0190 PULP 225-5851 PURPLE ONION CAFE 749-1179 RED STAG GRILL AT THE GRAND BOHEMIAN HOTEL 505-2949 ROOT BAR NO.1 299-7597 SCANDALS NIGHTCLUB 252-2838 SCULLY’S 251-8880 SLY GROG LOUNGE 255-8858 SMOKEY’S AFTER DARK 253-2155 THE SOCIAL 298-8780 SOUTHERN APPALACIAN BREWERY 684-1235 STATIC AGE RECORDS 254-3232 STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE 669-8856 TALLGARY’S CANTINA 232-0809 TIGER MOUNTAIN 407-0666 TIMO’S HOUSE 575-2886 TOWN PUMP 357-5075 TOY BOAT 505-8659 TREASURE CLUB 298-1400 TRESSA’S DOWNTOWN JAZZ & BLUES 254-7072
V
CLUB DIRECTORY
S DR I VE N
E LU
2334 Hendersonville Rd.
ASHEVILLEMUSICHALL.COM MOUNTAINX.COM
(S. Asheville/Arden)
www.bedtymestories.net AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
59
CLUBLAND
Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com.
GREY EAGLE MUSIC HALL & TAVERN Malcolm Holcombe CD release w/ Jared Tyler (country, blues, folk), 8pm IRON HORSE STATION Mark Shane (R&B), 7pm ISIS RESTAURANT AND MUSIC HALL On the Patio w/ Whetherman (folk), 7pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Raising Caine (country), 9pm JERUSALEM GARDEN Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm
TIMO'S HOUSE Dance party, 10pm
LOBSTER TRAP Check Johnson Due (southern rock), 7pm
VINCENZO'S BISTRO Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm
MARKET PLACE DJs (funk, R&B), 7pm
WESTVILLE PUB The Gravelys (roots, Americana), 10pm
NIGHTBELL RESTAURANT & LOUNGE DJ Tony Z (chill-out, deep-house), 11pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN CD release & benefit w/ Jamie & Renae Brame, 7:30pm
OLIVE OR TWIST 42nd Street (jazz, swing), 7:30pm Late Night DJ (techno, disco), 11pm ONE STOP DELI & BAR Reggae Family Jam, 2pm Sirius.B w/ Karikatura (world, soul), 9pm ORANGE PEEL Local Showcase with Running On E, Posh Hammer & Hard Rocket (pop, rock), 7pm
WILD WING CAFE SOUTH '80s R Us, 7pm WXYZ LOUNGE Vinyl Time Travelers (DJ duo), 9pm
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Mande Foly (West African), 7pm ALOFT ROOFTOP/POOLSIDE Lyric (funk, soul, pop), 5pm BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE Jazz brunch w/ Mike Gray Trio, 11:30am
OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Amigo (Americana), 6pm
BLUE KUDZU SAKE COMPANY Karaoke & brunch, 2pm
PACK'S TAVERN A Social Function (rock 'n' roll, classic hits), 9pm
DOBRA TEA ROOM Tina & Her Pony (folk), 5pm
PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Black Mountain Field Day benefit for Swannanoa Valley Montessori School (family fun, games), 1pm Phuncle Sam (Grateful Dead covers), 9pm
HI-WIRE BREWING Phil Lomac (acoustic), 5pm
RIVERWATCH BAR & GRILL Carver & Carmody (Americana), 7pm ROOT BAR NO. 1 Dr. Love's Killer Karaoke, 9pm SCANDALS NIGHTCLUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm SCULLY'S DJ, 10pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY The Stipe Brothers, Dan Ruiz & Kent Rector (rock, pop), 8pm SPRING CREEK TAVERN Fritz Beer & the Crooked Beat (Americana), 9pm STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE BullFeather (Americana), 6pm
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TIGER MOUNTAIN IIIrd Wave dance night w/ Lynnnn & Sarah K (avant-dance, disco, darkwave), 10pm
TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Latin soul w/ Liley Aruz, 7pm Ruby Mayfield & The Friendship Train (soul, R&B), 10pm
ODDITORIUM Drone Summit, 9pm
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
THE SOCIAL Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm
LEX 18 HotPoint Trio (gypsy swing), 8:30pm
NOBLE KAVA Drayton & The Dragons (hot jazz, ballads, Western swing), 8:30pm
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THE PHOENIX George Terry (singer-songwriter), 1pm Blood Gypsies (swamp-soul, gypsy blues), 9pm
DOUBLE CROWN Karaoke w/ Tim O, 9pm
IRON HORSE STATION Mark Shane (R&B), 6pm ISIS RESTAURANT AND MUSIC HALL Jazz showcase, 6pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Irish session, 5pm LEX 18 Jazz stage at LAAFF w/ HotPoint Trio, 11:30am The Roaring Lions, 2:30pm Drayton and the Dreamboats, 5:30pm Firecracker Jazz All-Stars (brass, jazz), 9pm LOBSTER TRAP Tim Marsh (singer songwriter), 7pm ODDITORIUM Music & painting w/ The Krektones & Pleasures of the Ultraviolent (surf-rock, punk, ska), 9pm
TALLGARY'S CANTINA Mile High (country, Southern rock), 9:30pm
OLIVE OR TWIST Shag & swing lesson w/ John Dietz, 7pm The Committee (swing, oldies, rock), 8pm
THE ADMIRAL Soul night w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 11pm
ONE STOP DELI & BAR Bluegrass brunch w/ The Pond Brothers, 11am
THE ART HOUSE GALLERY & STUDIO Ellen Trnka Trio w/ Howie Johnson & Craig Woody (blues), 9pm
SCANDALS NIGHTCLUB Ultimate Virgo Birthday Bash: DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm
THE MOTHLIGHT Gurp Fest - Graffiti Fest w/ various artists (hip-hop, indie), 9pm
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY BlueSunday w/ Garry Segal & Michael Fillapone (blues), 5pm
NOW OPEN MORNINGS!
7 days/wk
WE WECARRY CARRY NFL NFL SUNDAYTICKET! TICKET! SUNDAY
9 am until
Daily Drink Specials
•Local & Sustainable Espresso & Coffee •Farm to Home Milk •House Made Syrups •Urban Orchard Chai •Local Bites To Go
www.32ICEBAR.com
Wednesday Sunday 1/2 OFF Martinis 5.00 Mojitos & & Bottles of Wine Bloody Marys 2.00 Domestics Thursday 2.00 Pints Monday 26 on Tap to 10.00 YugoBurger Choose From with Craft Beer Friday Tuesday 3.25 Flights 5.00 Margaritas 3.00 Corona & Saturday 5.00 Jager Bombs Corona Light & Angry Balls
SLINGING CIDER MORNING, NOON & NIGHT PLAYING ON THE PATIO: “Whetherman is the product of 30-year-old singersongwriter and Midwest native Nicholas Williams, whose Folk-infused Americana music has often acted as a meter for his personal journey through life,” reads the band’s bio. Williams, with Drew Matulich on mandolin, will drop by Isis Restaurant and Music Hall from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, for an evening of tunes on the restaurant’s patio.
SPRING CREEK TAVERN Mark Bumgarner (Americana), 2pm
DOUBLE CROWN Punk 'n' roll w/ DJ Leo Delightful, 10pm
STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Jerry, 5pm
GOOD STUFF Riverside Trivia Show, 7pm
THE PHOENIX Carrie Morrison & Steve Whiteside (classic covers & originals), 12pm
GREY EAGLE MUSIC HALL & TAVERN Contra Dance, 7pm
THE SOCIAL '80s night, 8pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Quizzo, 7pm
VINCENZO'S BISTRO Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm
LOBSTER TRAP Dave Desmelik (Americana), 7pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN An evening of lighthearted storytelling, 7:30pm
ODDITORIUM Labor Day carwash, 1pm
WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Crocs Duo, 5:30pm
OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Mountain Music Mondays (open jam), 6pm
YACHT CLUB Steely Dan Sunday, 5pm
THE MOTHLIGHT Sisterwives, Student Teacher, May Erwin (rock, pop), 9pm
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Eleanor Underhill & friends (Americana, soul), 8pm ALLEY KATS TAVERN Open mic, 8pm ALTAMONT BREWING COMPANY Old-time jam, 8pm BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE Bluegrass jam w/ The Big F'n Deal Band, 7pm
THE SOCIAL Hartford bluegrass jam w/ Ben Saylor, 8pm TIGER MOUNTAIN Honky-tonk (classic country & rockabilly) w/ DJ Lil Lorruh & David Wayne Gay, 10pm TIMO'S HOUSE Service Industry Night w/ Nex Millen (dance party), 9pm VINCENZO'S BISTRO Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm
BYWATER Open mic w/ Taylor Martin, 9pm
WESTVILLE PUB Trivia night, 8pm
COURTYARD GALLERY Open mic (music, poetry, comedy, etc.), 8pm
WILD WING CAFE Team trivia, 8:30pm
See our Facebook Page for Nightly Specials
210 Haywood Road, West Asheville, NC 28806
www.urbanorchardcider.com (828) 774-5151
WED • AUG 27 WOODY WOOD WEDNESDAY IN THE MEADOW (5:30-7:30) (TASTING ROOM CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT)
10/25 Sarah Lee 8/29 Blood Gypsies 10/25 Sarah Lee Guthrie Guthrie W/ ALARM CLOCK CONSPIRACY & Johnny Irion & Johnny Irion 9PM $5 w/ w/ Battlefield Battlefield •• 9pm 9pm $10 $10 8/30 Raising Caine 10/26 Firecracker Jazz 10/26 9PM Firecracker Jazz Band Band $7 & HALLOWEEN Costume & HALLOWEEN Costume Party & •• 9pm 9/5 Firkin Friday PartyFirst & Contest Contest 9pm $8 $8W/ SPECIAL GUESTS TERRAPIN BREWERY 10/27 Vinegar Creek 10/27 Creek •• 9pm 9pm FREE FREE (ATHENS,Vinegar GA) 5PM $FREE 10/28 Mustard Plug • 9pm $8 10/28 Mustard • 9pmW/ $8 9/5 String BandPlug Bonanza w/ Crazy Tom Banana Pants w/ Crazy TomPIGPEN Banana TODD DAY WAITS & THEPants BLUE W/ THE PLATE RIDGE ENTERTAINERS 10/29 Singer Songwriters 10/29 Singer Songwriters SCRAPPERS 9PM $7 in the Round 7-9pm FREE FREE in the Round •• 7-9pm w/ Anthony Tripi, Elise Davis w/ Anthony Tripi,the Elise Davis 9/6 Kelley and Cowboys Mud Tea • 9pm FREE Mud9PM Tea $5 • 9pm FREE
FRI• AUG 29 LYRIC (6:30-8:30) SAT• AUG 30 BACONFEST (12:00-4:00) (TASTING ROOM OPEN 4-9)
SUN• AUG 31 OPEN FROM 1-6 MON • SEPT 1 CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY
Open Open Mon-Thurs Mon-Thurs at at 3 3 •• Fri-Sun Fri-Sun at at Noon Noon SUN SUN Celtic Celtic Irish Irish Session Session 5pm 5pm til til ?? MON Quizzo! 7-9p • WED Old-Time MON Quizzo! 7-9p • WED Old-Time 5pm 5pm SINGER SINGER SONGWRITERS SONGWRITERS 1st 1st & & 3rd 3rd TUES TUES THURS THURS Bluegrass Bluegrass Jam Jam 7pm 7pm
95 95 Patton Patton at at Coxe Coxe •• Asheville Asheville 252.5445 • jackofthewood.com 252.5445 • jackofthewood.com
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Open Mon-Thurs 4-8pm, Fri 4-9pm Sat 2-9pm, Sun 1-6pm AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
61
NEWEST VAPE SHOP IN EAST ASHEVILLE
CLUBLAND
Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com.
Cozy Lounge! TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
is for the people Give Aways!
Handcrafted E juice made on site. Great Prices on hardware & tanks. Buy 3 juices, get one free (non-organic)
1070 Tunnel Road #30 • (828) 785-1536
5 WALNUT WINE BAR The John Henry's (ragtime, jazz), 8pm ALLEY KATS TAVERN Bluegrass Tuesday, 8pm
A True Gentleman’s Club OPEN MON-SAT 12PM-8PM EXTENDED HOURS DURING SHOWS FOR TICKET HOLDERS
OPEN AT 5PM FOR SUNDAY SHOWS
thu 8/28
fri 8/29 sat 8/30 tue 9/2 wed 9/3
the sadies, sonny & the sunsets and edJ (Transfigurations Night 1) 8pm • $15/$18 mudhoney & axxa abraxas
5 WALNUT WINE BAR Wine tasting w/ Drayton & The Dragons (folk), 5pm Juan Benavides Trio (Latin), 8pm
ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11pm
BEN'S TUNE-UP Live band karaoke w/ The Diagnostics, 9pm
BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE Trivia, 7pm
BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE Buncombe County Boyz (folk, bluegrass), 7:30pm
BUFFALO NICKEL Trivia night, 7pm
pat reedy & the longtime goners w/ hearts gone south 8pm • $8
fri 9/5
nine mile and the grey eagle present: midnite
sat 9/6
turquoise Jeep 9pm • $15/$18
10pm • $18/$20
GREAT DRINK SPECIALS EVERY NIGHT
Mon – Thurs 6:30pm–2am | Fri – Sat 6:30pm–3am
BRING THIS AD IN FOR
½ OFF COVER CHARGE DOES NOT INCLUDE UFC NIGHTS
520 Swannanoa River Rd • Asheville
(828) 298-1400
facebook.com/thetreasureclub 62
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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CORK & KEG Irish jam w/ Beanie, Vincent & Jean, 7pm DOUBLE CROWN DJs Greg Cartwright & David Wayne Gay (country), 10pm DUGOUT Karaoke, 9pm GREY EAGLE MUSIC HALL & TAVERN Pat Reedy & The Longtime Goners w/ Hearst Gone South (country), 7pm
GOOD STUFF Celtic Night, 7pm
GRIND CAFE Trivia night, 7pm
GREY EAGLE MUSIC HALL & TAVERN Man or Astro? (rock, indie), 9pm ISIS RESTAURANT AND MUSIC HALL Bluegrass session, 7:30pm
ISIS RESTAURANT AND MUSIC HALL Acoustic on the Patio w/ Taylor Martin & friends, 7pm Lyndsay Pruett Stolen Fiddle Fundraiser (singer songwriter), 7pm
LEX 18 HotPoint Duo (gypsy swing), 8:30pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old-time session, 5pm
LOBSTER TRAP Jay Brown (Americana, folk), 7pm
LOBSTER TRAP Ben Hovey (dub-jazz, trumpet, beats), 7pm
MARKET PLACE The Rat Alley Cats (jazz, Latin, swing), 7pm
MOUNTAIN MOJO COFFEEHOUSE Open mic, 6:30pm
THE SOCIAL Ashli Rose (singer-songwriter), 7pm
EVERY UFC FIGHT
BYWATER Soul night w/ DJ Whitney, 8:30pm
DOUBLE CROWN Punk 'n' roll w/ DJs Sean & Will, 10pm
SCULLY'S Open mic night w/ Jeff Anders, 9pm
BACHELOR PARTY & BIRTHDAY PARTY SPECIALS
9pm • $15/$17
CORK & KEG Honkytonk jam w/ Tom Pittman & friends, 6:30pm
ONE STOP DELI & BAR Tuesday night techno, 10pm
malcolm holcombe: cd release show w/ Jared tyler 8pm • $12/$15 man or astro-man? w/ the pack a.d. & wray
CLUB ELEVEN ON GROVE Swing lessons & dance w/ Swing Asheville, 6:30pm Tango lessons & practilonga w/ Tango Gypsies, 7pm
ODDITORIUM Comedy open mic w/ Tom Peters, 9pm
(Transfigurations Night 2) 8pm • $20/$25
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
ALTAMONT BREWING COMPANY Open mic w/ Chris O'Neill, 8pm
BYWATER Fire-spinning night, 9pm
Over 40 Entertainers!
WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Trivia, 8:30pm
TIMO'S HOUSE 90s Recall w/ Franco (90s dance, hip-hop, pop), 10pm TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Early Tuesday w/ Pauly Juhl & Oso, 8:30pm VINCENZO'S BISTRO Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm
NOBLE KAVA Open mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 9pm ODDITORIUM The Letdowns & Hashbrown Belly Boys (punk), 9pm OLIVE OR TWIST Swing dance lessons w/ Roger Buckner, 7pm 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock), 8pm ORANGE PEEL Delta Spirit (indie), 9pm PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Bruce Nemerov (singer songwriter), 6pm SLY GROG LOUNGE Open mic, 7pm TALLGARY'S CANTINA Open mic & jam, 7pm
WESTVILLE PUB Blues jam, 10pm
THE MOTHLIGHT Sunburned Hand Of The Man w/ Ma Turner, Common Visions (indie, garage), 9:30pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish sessions --- Open mic, 6:30pm
THE PHOENIX Jazz night, 8pm
Smokey’s After Dark THE SOCIAL Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass jam, 7pm
TIGER MOUNTAIN Sean Dail (classic punk, power-pop, rock), 10pm
LOBSTER TRAP Hank Bones ("The man of 1,000 songs"), 7pm
TIMO'S HOUSE Release AVL w/ Dam Good (dance party), 9pm
MARKET PLACE Ben Hovey (dub jazz, beats), 7pm
TOWN PUMP Open mic w/ Aaron, 9pm TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Blues & soul jam w/ Al Coffee & Da Grind, 8:30pm
OLIVE OR TWIST Pop the Clutch (beach, jazz, swing), 7:30pm ONE STOP DELI & BAR Phish 'n' Chips (Phish covers), 6pm First Thursdays w/ Phuncle Sam (Grateful Dead covers), 10pm
VINCENZO'S BISTRO Lenny Petenelli (high-energy piano), 7pm
PACK'S TAVERN Jason Whittaker (acoustic-rock), 9pm
WILD WING CAFE Karaoke, 9pm
PISGAH BREWING COMPANY The new Familiars w/ Bread and Butter Band (Americana, rock n roll), 9pm
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 185 KING STREET Farm to Fork dinner w/ Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys, 8pm 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Hank West & The Smokin' Hots (jazz exotica), 8pm ALLEY KATS TAVERN Open mic night, 7pm BLACK MOUNTAIN ALE HOUSE Karaoke, 9pm BLUE KUDZU SAKE COMPANY Trivia night, 8pm CORK & KEG Honey Swamp Stompers (country, blues, jazz), 8pm CROW & QUILL Dr. Sketchy's live model drawing, 7pm DOUBLE CROWN 33 and 1/3 Thursdays w/ DJs Devyn & Oakley, 10pm ELAINE'S DUELING PIANO BAR Dueling Pianos, 9pm FRENCH BROAD BREWERY TASTING ROOM Tree Reed, 6pm
Tropical Tuesday! Karaoke Thirsty Thursday Karaoke
ODDITORIUM Zombie Queen (punk), 9pm
URBAN ORCHARD Poetry on Demand w/ Eddie Cabbage, 6:30pm
WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Skinny Wednesday w/ J LUKE, 6pm
Tuesdays Wednesdays Thursdays Saturdays
Open 7 Days A Week • Asheville’s Oldest Bar 18 Broadway, Downtown • 253-2155
POSH BAR Acoustic jam, 6pm PURPLE ONION CAFE Jennings & Keller (folk, Americana), 7pm SCANDALS NIGHTCLUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm THE MOTHLIGHT Ecstatic Vision, Expo ’70, GYMSHORTS (trance, psychedelic, world), 9:30pm THE SOCIAL Open mic w/ Scooter Haywood, 8pm THE SOUTHERN DJ Leslie Snipes (dance), 10pm TIGER MOUNTAIN New Wave dance w/ Cliff (80s pop, postpunk, punk-rock, synthpop), 10pm TIMO'S HOUSE Unity Thursdays w/ Asheville Drum 'n' Bass Collective, 9pm TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES The Westsound Revue (Motown, blues), 9pm URBAN ORCHARD Stevie Lee Combs (acoustic, Americana), 6:30pm VINCENZO'S BISTRO Ginny McAfee (guitar, vocals), 7pm
Dinner Menu till 10pm Late Night Menu till
12am
Tues-Sun
5pm–12am
COMING SOON
Wed BEN HOVEY AND KAT WILLIAMS IN THE LOUNGE $10 • 7 PM 8/27 ORIGINAL ACOUSTIC MUSIC ON THE PATIO HOSTED BY TAYLOR MARTIN
Full Bar
AND AMANDA PLATT FREE • 7 PM
mountain xpress
FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY
Thur LAID BACK THURSDAYS LIVE PATIO MUSIC FREE • 6:30-9:30 PM 8/28 THE MOBROS & SAINT FRANCIS $8/$10 • 9 PM Fri THE SECRET B-SIDES ALBUM RELEASE PARTY FEAT. LAURA 8/29 REED AND SIDNEY BARNES W/ SLO_GOLD AND HOVEYKRAFT $8/$10 • 9pm Sat WHETHERMAN ON THE PATIO FREE • 7 PM 8/30 DUB KARTEL WITH INDIGO AND JOSH BLAKE’S JUKEBOX
$7 • 9 PM Show General Admission Seating :: Some Balcony Seating
Wed LYNDSAY PRUETT STOLEN FIDDLE FUNDRAISER / 9/3 COMMUNITY CELEBRATION $10 • 7pm Fri 9/5 THE BIG BEAT ROCK & ROLL REVUE $8/$10 • 8 PM Every Sunday JAZZ SHOWCASE 6pm - 11pm Every Tuesday BLUEGRASS SESSIONS 7:30pm - midnite
743 HAYWOOD RD • 828-575-2737 • ISISASHEVILLE.COM MOUNTAINX.COM
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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by Ken Hanke & Justin Souther
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HHHHH = max rating contact xpressmovies@aol.com
PICK OF THE WEEK
THEATER LISTINGS
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For HHHH
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 Due to possible scheduling changes, moviegoers may want to confirm showtimes with theaters.
DIRECTOR: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO. (254-1281)
PLAYERS: Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Eva Green, Jessica Alba, Powers Boothe
Please call the info line for updated showtimes Maleficent (PG) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 Neighbors (R) 10:00
COMIC BOOK NEO-NOIR RATED R
CARMIKE CINEMA 10 (298-4452) CAROLINA CINEMAS (274-9500) As Above, So Below (R) 11:30,1:40, 3:50, 6:05, 8:15, 10:25
THE STORY: Both a sequel and a prequel to the 2005 cult hit. THE LOWDOWN: Not as fresh as the first film, but it’s still good unwholesome fun (not for the easily offended) — and it’s one terrificlooking movie in the bargain.
No, it’s not as good as the original, but Sin City: A Dame to Kill For still finds Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez doing their best to make a worthy follow-up, and they come surprisingly close. Of course, back in 2005 when Sin City came out, no one had seen anything quite like its stark, utterly stylized black and white — with spots of color — in a movie before. That’s the sort of thing that can never be repeated. (Miller himself used the same approach in his vastly underrated 2008 film The Spirit.) Even very effective 3-D doesn’t change that look, so there’s nothing so stylistically startling this round. Also, there’s less black humor here, nor is the new film as shocking in general. Now, that might be attributed to me being more jaded nine years later, but I watched the original a couple of weeks ago and thought, “This is really nasty stuff.” (That is not a criticism with this type of movie.) It may sound like I’m down on the new film, but I’m not.
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JOSH BROLIN and EVA GREEN in Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s stylish, violent Sin City: A Dame to Kill For — the follow-up to their 2005 cult hit, Sin City.
Boyhood (R) 12:05, 3:25, 6:55, 9:10 Calvary (R) 11:45, 2:05, 4:25, 6:50 The Giver (PG-13) 12:10, 2:35, 4:50, 7:15, 10:25 Guardians of the Galaxy 3D (PG-13) 5:10
It wouldn’t matter anyway, since Sin City: A Dame to Kill For tanked this weekend and is already being written off as one of the year’s big flops. I can neither help nor hinder it, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who liked the first film — but caution reduced expectations. Once again, the film is made up of a series of sometimes vaguely connected stories and characters — all taking place in the neo-noir world of Sin City (actually Basin City). Here, however, time frames don’t line up between stories, which is a little disorienting. As a result, we get a movie that’s a sequel to the first one, but with a large stretch of prequel in the middle. That sounds more confusing than it is. Just realize that the segment with Josh Brolin replacing Clive Owen as Dwight is apparently supposed to be happening before Dwight has the plastic surgery that turns him into Clive Owen. Get it? Good. It isn’t perhaps absolutely essential to know, but it smooths over the change of actors. That story, which is built around Dwight (with his Philip Marlowe-like narration) and Eva Green as the ultimate femme fatale, Ava, may not be the best in the film, but it’s easily
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the most highly-publicized, thanks to quantities of naked Eva Green. (All well and good, but anyone who saw The Dreamers back in 2004 has already seen all the naked Eva Green there is to see — and more explicitly.) The film opens with Marv (Mickey Rourke) — the hulking, heavily medicated mental case who enjoys beating people up and worse — surveying the damage he’s apparently inflicted on a number of hapless victims and trying to remember what happened. Not far away, Nancy (Jessica Alba) is still plying her trade as a stripper in a sleazy club. (Is there any other kind in Sin City?) Still grieving over the death of John Hartigan (Bruce Willis, appearing as a ghost), Nancy has also taken to drink and plotting to get revenge on Senator Roark (Powers Boothe), who — mostly because it suits the plot — plays high-stakes poker in a back room at the same club. At the same time, a young gambler, Johnny (Joseph-Gordon Levitt), is out to take Roark at the card table — for reasons that go beyond financial gain. Between part one of this story and its climax, we get Dwight’s tale. The only character who moves freely from story to story is Marv, who fancies
Guardians of the Galaxy 2D (PG-13) 11:50, 2:30, 7:45, 930 The Hundred-Foot Journey (PG) 11:10, 1:45, 4:20, 7:00, 9:35 If I Stay (PG-13) 12:20, 2:45, 5:05, 7:30, 9:50 Let’s Be Cops (R) 12:15, 2:40, 5:00, 7:20, 9:40, 10:15 Magic in the Moonlight (PG-13) 11:40, 1:50, 4:00, 6:10, 8:20, 10:30 A Most Wanted Man (R) 11:00, 1:50, 4:30, 7:05, 9:40 The November Man (R) 12:00, 2:25, 5:00, 7:35, 10:00 Sin City: A Dame to Kill For 3D (R) 1:30, 6:00 Sin City: A Dame to Kill For 2D (R) 11:15, 3:45, 8:15, 10:30 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2D (PG-13) 11:30, 2:10, 4:45, 7:20, 9:35 When the Game Stands Tall (PG) 11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:15. 9:45 CO-ED CINEMA BREVARD (883-2200) The Hundred-Foot Journey (PG) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 EPIC OF HENDERSONVILLE (693-1146) FINE ARTS THEATRE (232-1536) Boyhood (R) 1:00, 4:15, 7:30 (no 7:30 show, Thu. Aug. 28) Magic in the Moonlight (PG-13) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, Late Show 9:15 FLATROCK CINEMA (697-2463) The Hundred Foot Journey (PG) 3:30, 7:00 REGAL BILTMORE GRANDE STADIUM 15 (684-1298) UNITED ARTISTS BEAUCATCHER (298-1234)
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himself Nancy’s protector; he’s more than ready to join Dwight for a spot of mayhem. Stylistically, the new film could scarcely be better. There’s not a moment that isn’t visually exciting. Equally important, the action scenes are brilliantly achieved in a striking emulation of comic book panels. And then there’s the 3-D. While the 3-D is incredible — and likely to be in short supply by Friday, given the opening weekend box office — I’m not entirely sure that it’s in the film’s best interest. It may be just too much. It frankly had worn me out by not much past the halfway point, and I suspect I might have liked it more in plain old 2-D. But either way, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is a bloody good, politically incorrect, over-thetop time at the movies. It goes on a little too long — and it doesn’t help that Nancy’s story, which is positioned late in the proceedings, is the least compelling thing in the movie — but it’s still something to see. Rated R for strong brutal stylized violence throughout, sexual content, nudity and brief drug use. Playing at Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande, United Artists Beaucatcher. reviewed by Ken Hanke
If I Stay H DIRECTOR: R.J. Cutler PLAYERS: Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley, Joshua Leonard, Liana Liberato, Stacy Keach GOOEY TEEN ROMANCE WITH MYSTICAL TRAPPINGS RATED PG-13 THE STORY: A teenage girl with a promising future is in a car wreck with her family, and her out-of-body self has to decide whether to live or not. THE LOWDOWN: Shamelessly manipulative assault on the tear ducts that will work for the excessively sentimental and, possibly, fans of the YA novel from which it’s adapted.
I spent a good deal of If I Stay hoping that characters from Sin City: A Dame to Kill For — playing only one
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theater away — would somehow wander into this movie and settle the hash of everyone involved. Now, I’m not immune to sappy movies. Oh, I might hate myself the minute they’re over, but I’m more likely than not sitting there wiping my eyes over the mushiest manipulative nonsense while these things are onscreen. So why did I find myself dry-eyed for the entirety of If I Stay? Was it the clunky ham-handedness of the movie’s notions of an outof-body experience? Or was it the “everything but the bloodhounds nippin’ at her rear end” ever-mounting tragedies? Or could it have been Chloë Grace Moretz’s tendency to express her emotions by proving herself a graduate of the Corey Haim Mouth-Breathing School of Acting? Or should we blame it on a screenplay that presents every “important” thought in purest bumperstickerese? Well, yes, it’s all this and more in what might best be expressed with, “Forget it, Jake; it’s August release floor-sweepings.” If I Stay is also one of those “if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen the movie” propositions — in fact, the trailer is such a chuckleheaded affair that it tips off the family body count before you’ve seen the movie. (I guess they presume you’ve read the popular YA source novel.) Oh, sure, the film tries to milk all manner of tension out of the story’s resolution, but it’s really a lot of wheel spinning unless the viewer is very credulous indeed. Even if you buy into the debatable notion that folks in out-of-body, near-death experiences are choosing whether to stay on earth or move on to the next plateau, the question of will she or won’t she stay feels like a stacked deck. Chances are you’ll be wishing our heroine would just make up her mind, so the rest of us can go home long before the resolution. The story concerns Mia Hall (Moretz) — budding genius classical cellist — whose big concerns in life are whether or not she’ll get into Juilliard and what this will do to her relationship with hot rock ‘n’ roller boyfriend Adam (Jamie Blackley), whose band is making a name for itself on the West Coast. Most of this has been force-fed to us in the film’s opening scenes — complete with narration by Mia — with extra lashings of what a picture-perfect family she has. Dad (Joshua Leonard) used to be a punk rocker — with a band called Nasty Bruises — but he decided to turn to teaching and become a full-time dad. Mom
HHHHH = max rating (Mireille Enos), on the other hand, was once some kind of rocker girl who also opted for life as a mom and travel agent. But they’re still rockers at heart — you can tell because they call everybody “dude” or “man” — and perfect parents to both Mia and her precocious, rock-lyric-quoting little brother, Teddy (Jakob Davies). They are not, however, so perfect that they don’t foolishly take everyone for a drive on a day when the weather’s so bad that the schools are closed for a snow day. Disaster — and the supernatural plot — follows. Mia awakes from the car wreck seemingly unscathed and in full “ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille” makeup and a suitably bland limboland ensemble. Ah, but this is her out-of-body self who is watching the paramedics get her and her family to the hospital in an attempt to save their lives. Unlike most tales of out-of-body expeiences, Mia remains firmly rooted to the laws of earthly physics — except that no one can see or hear her — a device that leads to her endlessly running around hospital corridors to keep track of who’s alive and who isn’t. Between lots of flashbacks, Mia ponders what she should do. How you’ll feel about this will depend entirely on whether or not you buy into Mia and her cosmic quandary — not to mention how much bad writing, so-so rock music, CGI cello playing, and how many barely defined characters and situations you’re willing to endure. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some sexual material. Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinema, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande. reviewed by Ken Hanke
Community Screenings
CLASSIC WORLD CINEMA FOREIGN FILM SERIES 273-3332 Free unless otherwise noted. • FR (8/29), 8-9:45pm - Shame by Ingmar Bergman. Held at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St. PUBLIC LIBRARY SCREENINGS buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/library • WE (8/27), 3pm - Gypsy. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. WNC FRACK FREE wncfrackfree.org • TH (9/4), 6pm - GasLand, followed by panel discussion. Free. Held at A-B Tech Ferguson Auditorium, 340 Victoria Road
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PLAYERS: Jim Caviezel, Michael Chiklis, Laura Dern, Alexander Ludwig, Clancy Brown CHRISTIAN SPORTS DRAMA RATED PG THE STORY: A high school football coach — burdened with an overdecade-long winning streak — must learn how to motivate his players and bond with his family. THE LOWDOWN: A dull, preachy, troublesome film that’s dramatically inert and purely predictable from a storytelling standpoint.
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Every time I review one of these goopy, preachy films aimed at a Christian audience, I have to write
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back to the top through grit, hustle, teamwork and the Good Book. Again, the Christian stuff feels almost incidental, and only pops up through Bob occasionally quoting scripture and one player (Joe Massingill, A Good Day to Die Hard) who’s taken a “purity promise” with his girlfriend. Mostly, it just feels like filler to reach maximum Middle-American wholesomeness, right alongside all the football and the team visiting a VA hospital. At the center of all this is Caviezel, who’s become — unequivocally — the most boring actor alive, a man who just waltzes on screen, stone-faced and with the gravitas of a wet paper towel, to speak only in platitudes and quote Scripture. He’s a dispassionate cipher of a performer, and his self-seriousness makes placing him at the film’s emotional center a drain on the entire picture. All of this combined would, at the very least, make for a boring, forgettable movie. But When the Game Stands Tall goes beyond that into the territory of truly awful with its portrayal of its black characters, despite its director being black too. Even with a handful of African-American actors in the film, their characters are portrayed as stereotypes, living in dangerous neighborhoods and full of themselves until they’re taught how to play football the “right way” by their white coaches and teammates. T.K. (Stephan James), who personifies one of the “good ones” ends up being shot to death. It all feels gross when propped up next to the rest of When the Game Stands Tall’s values, while the entire film ends up feeling closed-minded and backwards, without even the ability to stand up as simple entertainment. Rated PG for thematic material, a scene of violence and brief smoking. Playing at Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande, United Artists Beaucatcher. reviewed by Justin Souther
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the same disclaimer that I don’t dislike it because of its Christian worldview but because it’s just plain bad. Admittedly, a lot of the time, the religious aspects of these movies demand that they be unrealistically wholesome and lack any sense of daring. This is the catch with Thomas Carter’s When the Game Stands Tall, a movie that only incidentally feels like a Christian film, but is much more about football and becoming an honorable, humble man and overcoming adversity and other such pap. The reality is that the movie’s corny, drab and troublesome in its outlook towards race, a concoction that makes When the Game Stands Tall a dreary proposition. The film’s based on the true story of coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) and his De La Salle High School football team, which once won 151 games in a row, before — at least according to the film — cockiness and laziness did them in. When the Game Stands Tall is centered around the end of the streak and all the real-life melodrama that surrounded it — from Bob’s heart attack to the death of a former player — and Bob’s attempts to get them
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STARTING WEDNESDAY
The November Man Why this is being opened on a Wednesday is anyone’s guess. It’s not like the world is clamoring for the thing — or even the idea of Pierce Brosnan returning to secret agent status. The studio tells us: “Code named ‘The November Man’, Peter Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan) is a lethal and highly trained ex-CIA agent, who has been enjoying a quiet life in Switzerland. When Devereaux is lured out of retirement for one last mission, he must protect valuable witness Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko). He soon uncovers this assignment marks him a target of his former friend and CIA protégé David Mason (Luke Bracey).” Early reviews — of which there are very few — have not been kind. (R)
STARTING FRIDAY
As Above, So Below The boys who gave us Quarantine (2008) and Devil (2010) — director John Erick Dowdle and his producer/ sometime writer brother Drew Dowdle — are back with another found-footage horror yarn. This one works on the idea that the entrance to hell is in the Paris catacombs and is set to be discovered by this movie’s economical cast. The reviewers for both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety were underwhelmed. No one else has chimed in yet. (R)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Counsellor at Law HHHHH Director: William Wyler Players: John Barrymore, Bebe Daniels, Doris Kenyon, Isabel Jewell, Melvyn Douglas, Onslow Stevens DRAMA Rated NR In one of his finest performances, John Barrymore is cast against type as a Jewish lawyer who has risen from poverty to the top of the legal profession in William Wyler’s film of the popular Elmer Rice play, Counsellor at Law (1933). (It was the first film of which Wyler was proud.) The drama centers on Barrymore’s carefully built world crashing down when a case from his past threatens to destroy his career, and his less than supportive (and plainly anti-Semitic) wife (Doris Kenyon) opts not to stand by him, but to run off with a younger, more socially acceptable man (Melvyn Douglas). By turns sarcastically funny and heart-wrenchingly tragic, it’s a triumph for both star and director. The Asheville Film Society will screen Counsellor at Law Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
Rain Man HHHH Director: Barry Levinson Players: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen, Jack Murdock DRAMA Rated R Festooned with Oscars (including Best Picture), phenomenally popular 26 years ago and undeniably well-made, Barry Levinson’s Rain Man (1988) is nonetheless a shamelessly manipulative work, and not one I’d want to visit too often. The story is basically an odd couple buddy road trip — except the buddies (Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise) are estranged brothers, and one of them (Hoffman) is an autistic savant. The only reason for the relationship is that Cruise (always best at playing unlikable) is hoping to get control of the $3 million his father has left in trust for his newfound brother. Your mileage with this will depend a lot on your taste for such stories. The Hendersonville Film Society will show Rain Man Sunday, Aug. 31, at 2 p.m. in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.
Shame HHHHS Director: Ingmar Bergman Players: Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Sigge Fürst, Gunnar Björnstrand, Birgitta Valberg DRAMA Rated R While Ingmar Bergman’s Shame (1968) is an undeniably powerful work, it’s also one of the director’s most unrelentingly grim works — and with Bergman, that’s saying a lot. In other words, approach with a bit of caution, and don’t expect a lot of laughs. It’s also not a wholly accessible work. Much that happens — including the source of the tension between the couple at its center — is never explained. In essence, we’re watching the disintegration of two human beings caught in their own problems and a war they don’t understand. Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present Shame Friday, Aug. 29, at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District (upstairs in the Railroad Library). Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die HHH Director: Joseph Green Players: Herb Evers, Virginia Leith, Anthony La Penna, Adele Lamont EXPLOITATION HORROR CHEESE Rated NR It’s directed by someone you’ve never heard of. It stars people you’ve never heard of. It was promoted with “Alive ... without a body ... fed by an unspeakable horror from hell!” And it’s absolutely indefensible as anything other than no-budget cheese that is wildly entertaining for all the wrong reasons. This, after all, is the story of a mad scientist whose fiancée is killed in a car wreck. He responds in the only reasonable way — keeping her head alive in what looks suspiciously like a darkroom tray in his basement lab, right next to the closet where he keeps an ill-tempered failed experiment. His plan, of course, is to find a new body for his beloved — so he goes cruising strippers to find one. A movie of great charm. The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen The Brain That Wouldn’t Die Thursday, Aug. 28, at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther. MOUNTAINX.COM
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
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STILL SHOWING
by Ken Hanke & Justin Souther
contact xpressmovies@aol.com
If I Stay H
Calvary HHHHS
Gooey Teen Romance with Mystical Trappings A teenage girl with a promising future is in a car wreck with her family, and her out-of-body self has to decide whether to live or not. Shamelessly manipulative assault on the tear ducts that will work for the excessively sentimental and, possibly, fans of the YA novel from which it's adapted. Rated PG-13
Black Comic Faith Guilt Redemption Drama An Irish priest is informed (in the confessional) by a parishioner — a victim of sexual abuse by a long dead priest — that he intends to kill the priest to make a statement about the Church. Part mystery, part black comedy, part tragedy on the nature of faith and redemption, Calvary is a brilliant but deeply disturbing work that's a must-see for those who are up to it. Rated R
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For HHHH
Let's Be Cops S
Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley, Joshua Leonard, Liana Liberato, Stacy Keach
Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Eva Green, Jessica Alba, Powers Boothe Comic Book Neo-noir Both a sequel and a prequel to the 2005 cult hit. Not as fresh as the first film, but it's still good unwholesome fun (not for the easily offended) — and it's one terrific-looking movie in the bargain. Rated R
Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, M. Emmet Walsh, Domhnall Gleeson
Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans, Jr., Nina Dobrev, Rob Riggle, James D’Arcy Cop Buddy Comedy Two bored pals take up pretending to be cops and become entangled in taking down a crew of mobsters. Meandering, joyless tedium in the form of a buddy cop comedy. Rated R
The Expendables 3 S Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, Jason Statham, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes
When the Game Stands Tall S Jim Caviezel, Michael Chiklis, Laura Dern, Alexander Ludwig, Clancy Brown Christian Sports Drama A high school football coach — burdened with an overdecade-long winning streak — must learn how to motivate his players and bond with his family. A dull, preachy, troublesome film that’s dramatically inert and purely predictable from a storytelling standpoint. Rated PG
Action The Expendables go after one of their own, a nefarious villain long thought dead. A superbly uneven and overtly uninteresting journey into machismo and stuff blowing up. Rated PG-13
The Giver HHHS Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, Odeya Rush Dystopian Sci-Fi Fantasy A young man in a supposedly utopian society is chosen
HHHHH = max rating
to receive the forbidden real history of the world. Imperfect, but largely well-done and much more provocative — even disturbing — than the usual YA dysfunctional society sci-fi. Rated PG-13
one boy from childhood to the beginning of adulthood. Unlike anything you've seen, Richard Linklater's Boyhood is a must-see work of quiet, subtle power that nearly justifies the great reputation that precedes its arrival. Rated R
Into the Storm S
Get on Up HHHS
Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Max Deacon, Nathan Kress Special Effects Disaster Flapdoodle A rash of tornadoes and a team of storm chasers converge on a small town. Havoc and devastation follow. Almost amazing in its ineptitude and wheezy plotting, Into the Storm offers lots of CGI destruction, five cents' worth of dialogue and a lot of dullness between the devastation. Rated PG-13
Magic in the Moonlight HHHHH Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Eileen Atkins, Simon McBurney, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Jacki Weaver Romantic Comedy A stage magician sets out to debunk a young woman he's certain is a phony spiritualist and finds more than he imagined. A sparkling champagne cocktail of a romantic comedy only Woody Allen could make. It may be lightweight — though perhaps not entirely — but it's a little slice of cinema heaven. Rated PG-13
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles H Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Johnny Knoxville, Alan Ritchson Action Four mutated turtles and a plucky journalist try to stop an evil scientist and an even eviler samurai. Bargain-basement Michael Bay pastiche and a lot of sound and fury make for a noisy, not very fun action flick. Rated PG-13
The Hundred-Foot Journey HHHH Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon, Amit Shah, Farzana Dua Elahe Culture Clash Romantic Comedy Drama When an Indian family opens a restaurant across the street from a classy French restaurant in a small town in France, trouble — and romance — follows. A luminous Helen Mirren leads a first-rate cast in this familiar but thoroughly charming and appealing culture-clash, food-centered romantic comedy. Rated PG
Boyhood HHHHS Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, Steven Prince, Marco Perella Drama A film — shot over a period of 12 years — that chronicles the life of
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Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Viola Davis, Dan Aykroyd, Lennie James Musical Biopic The life and times of James Brown, from extreme poverty to the height of his fame and beyond. While its non-linear narrative is interesting as filmmaking, it’s not enough to conceal the numerous biopic pitfalls that drag the film down. Rated PG-13
Guardians of the Galaxy HHHH Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace Comic Book Sci-Fi Action Comedy A mismatched — and pretty ragged — quartet of unlikely heroes may be the only chance to save the universe. A thoroughly engaging, funny, exciting, even charming sci-fi actioner with an appealing cast that makes for excellent summer movie fare. Rated PG-13
And So it Goes S Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton, Sterling Jerins, Annie Parisse, Frances Sternhagen Comedy A grumpy widower is forced to take in his estranged granddaughter, who he helps raise with a widowed neighbor. An unfunny, flat piece of melodrama that wants desperately to be adult and a little bit raunchy but instead comes across as childish and boorish. Rated PG-13
Hercules HHH Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal Revisionist Ancient World Mythology Sword-for-hire Hercules agrees to help rid Thrace of a man trying to dethrone the king. No, it's not really all that good, but this latest take — revisionist in nature — on Hercules is painless fun. Well-crafted action and a strong supporting cast make a difference. Rated PG-13
Lucy S Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-Sik Choi, Amr Waked, Julian RhindTutt, Analeigh Tipton Sci-Fi Action Twaddle A clueless young woman accidentally gets an overdose of a new drug that causes her brain capacity to expand, giving her something like superpowers. Yes, it's so dumb that it ought to be kind of likable, but incoherence, lousy special effects, stretches of tedium and a ponderous tone make it just plain bad. Rated R
Pets of
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REAL ESTATE | RENTALS | ROOMMATES | SERVICES | JOBS | ANNOUNCEMENTS | MIND, BODY, SPIRIT CLASSES & WORKSHOPS |MUSICIANS’ SERVICES | PETS | AUTOMOTIVE | XCHANGE | ADULT
Oats •
Male, Domestic Shorthair Shorthair, 10 years old
Oats is a great companion to have around the house. He’ll warm up to you fast. He is super affectionate and playful. Every evening when you got home from work he will come running to greet you with meows and affection. He is a curious cat too, not afraid of much. He loves to explore and play with everything. For those looking for love and companionship, Oats would make a wonderful forever friend.
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REAL ESTATE REAL ESTATE HOMES FOR SALE GREAT EAST ASHEVILLE HOME All brick home on large lot near VA Hospital off Riceville Road. In Bell/Reynolds School District. 2 brick fireplaces with gas logs, dining room and 2 car garage. FOR SALE BY OWNER Open house: August 24 2-4 PM. 828-775-8449 cardinal8789@ yahoo.com LAKEFRONT HOME RIGHT OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE Amazing house on Lake Kenilworth FOR SALE BY OWNER- Huge fenced-in yard, organic garden space, large deck, patios, dock, and paddle board. Secluded but 3 minutes to downtown. 828552-6609. jesstoan14@gmail. com
use, distributor or low-traffic store. Negotiable. Call (828) 216-6066. goacherints34@ gmail.com OFFICE • RETAIL SPACE 5 REGENT PARK BOULEVARD (Off Patton Ave. / Near Sams Club) 1,150 Square Feet, High traffic area. Located in 10-unit Shopping Center • Available Immediately. (828) 231-6689.
SHORT-TERM RENTALS 15 MINUTES TO ASHEVILLE Guest house, vacation/short term rental in beautiful country setting. • Complete with everything including cable and internet. • $150/day (2-day minimum), $650/week, $1500/month. Weaverville area. • No pets please. (828) 658-9145. mhcinc58@yahoo. com
ROOMMATES RENTALS APARTMENTS FOR RENT BLACK MOUNTAIN 2BR, 1BA apt, $595/month with heat pump, central air, and washer/dryer connections. Very nice! (no pets). Call to see unit: (828) 252-4334.
HOMES FOR RENT 3BR HOME IN CANDLER 3BR/ 1BA. Large fenced yard. Background/credit check, employment, rental application and deposit required. Pets considered. $850/mo. Available 10/1/14. Contact: 828-776-5031. LOG CABIN • HOT SPRINGS/ MARSHALL Great views, private mountain. Newer construction, 2BR/1BA, 2 acres. 2 covered porches. Wood: floors, walls and ceilings. Energy efficient. WD. Fire pit. $750/month. (954) 559-8287. hippierealestate@gmail.com
COMMERCIAL/ BUSINESS RENTALS 2,000 SQFT +/- WAYNESVILLE, NC • Ideal office/ warehouse/workspace downtown Waynesville. Decor would support craft-oriented
ROOMMATES ALL AREAS - ROOMMATES. COM . Browse hundreds of online listings with photos and maps. Find your roommate with a click of the mouse! Visit: http://www. Roommates.com. (AAN CAN) SEEKING A happy / healthy home and housemate-peaceful, chemical-free. Prefer natural, homey, country, farm, rustic, or veggie. To $450 total or diverse services exchange. Details open. John: (828) 6201411.
EMPLOYMENT GENERAL AFRICA • BRAZIL WORK/ STUDY! Change the lives of others while creating a sustainable future. 1, 6, 9, 18 month programs available. Apply now! www.OneWorldCenter.org (269) 591-0518. info@OneWorldCenter.org (AAN CAN) AUTO DEALERSHIP LOT MAINTENANCE Lot maintenance position is available at local auto dealership. Position is part-time and requires applicant to be a self-starter
with the ability to perform multiple tasks in a timely manner. Applicant must possess a valid NC Driver’s License and be 19 years or older. Call 828-707-0513 for more information or apply in person at 1473 Patton Avenue.
SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES COMPUTER TECHNICIAN (MAC) (ASHEVILLE) Seeking Apple Bench Tech for full-time employment. 1-year of bench tech experience is required, 3-years preferred. Current ACMT certifications are also preferred but not required. Email Resume to: avlresumes@gmail.com HVAC SERVICE TECHNICIAN Mechanical Contractor seeks experienced Service Technician for the Asheville area. Great benefits. Please send resume to: 101 Third Street, Bristol, TN 37620
ADMINISTRATIVE/ OFFICE PROGRAM COORDINATOR AT LANDMARK LEARNING Excellent customer service required; managing equipment, clients, faculty. Full job description at landmarklearning.edu. Accepting applications until Aug 25, hire date Sep 30. Email resume and letter of intent to msp@landmarklearning.edu.
SALES/ MARKETING AUTO SALES PERSON Sales Person needed for busy auto dealership. No experience is required for this part-time position, we will provide training. Candidate should enjoy interacting with clients and have a positive attitude as well as being a team player. Position requires attention to detail, willingness to learn, problem solving and the ability to multi-task. Must be able to work Saturdays, possess a valid NC Driver’s License and be 19 years or older. Call 828-707-0513 for more information or apply in person at 1473 Patton Avenue. LEADERSHIP GIVING MANAGER United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County is looking for a highly motivated fundraising professional to join our organization as a Leadership Giving Manager. The successful candidate will be responsible
JOBS for the year-round management, strategic development and solicitation of individual donors focusing on gifts of $1K and above. In addition, the Leadership Giving manager oversees the Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) and the individual donor’s directmail process. • EOE • for a detailed job description and to apply visit: http://www. unitedwayabc.org/employment-opportunities SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER We are looking for a fulltime aggressive inside sales employee to join our team. Candidate will be responsible for sales to new and existing retail store accounts. Duties also include order entry and customer service responsibilities. Our business is fast paced, so the ideal candidate must be outgoing, very organized and have excellent verbal and computer skills. We are looking for someone who is self motivated, positive, focused, reliable and detail oriented. Previous sales experience is preferred. Benefits include competitive pay with commission incentives, comfortable atmosphere w/casual dress, holiday and vacation pay, and great office hours. Interested parties please fax or email resume and cover letter, Attn: Jacqui fax# 828236-2658 or email: Jacqui@ afgdistribution.com
RESTAURANT/ FOOD LINE COOK 131 Main has a from-scratch kitchen in which you will learn many techniques of food preparation and presentation. We are looking for professional, experienced or entry-level cooks that are hard-working and eager to learn. Apply at www.131-main.com or call at 828-651-0131
MEDICAL/ HEALTH CARE A CHALLENGING POSITION INSPIRING AT-RISK YOUTH! DAY TREATMENT SUPERVISOR (FT). Must have Bachelors/Masters in human services & 2 years experience working with youth struggling with mental health or behavioral problems. See www.aspireyouthandfamily.com for more information and instructions
to apply. 828-452-1300 aspireapplicants@yahoo.com aspireyouthandfamily@yahoo. com
HUMAN SERVICES DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR The Mediation Center is seeking a full-time Development Coordinator. For more information,please see www.mediatewnc.org/ jobs LOOKING FOR DIRECT CARE STAFF to provide services to persons(s) with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Several positions available. Training, supervision, and benefits available. Evidence of high school graduation is required. Please apply online at www.turningpointservicesinc.com; specify Asheville as the location. "We are an equal opportunity employer"
Sept 10 Sept 17 Sept 24 Oct 1 Oct 8 Oct 15 Oct 22
THERAPISTS NEEDED FOR CHILD/ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH POSITIONS IN JACKSON, HAYWOOD, & MACON COUNTIES Looking to fill several full-time positions. Therapists needed to provide Outpatient, Day Treatment or Intensive Inhome services to children/ adolescents with mental health diagnoses. Therapists must have current NC therapist license. Apply by submitting resume to telliot@jcpsmail.org
Rocky • Male, Collie Mix • 9 yrs old
Rocky is a great dog! He is happy, cooperative for grooming, easy to handle and obedient, trusting and just an all-around good dog. He’s very eager to please and loves it when you praise him and pet him. He’s a bit overweight so he’ll need an adopter who will not feed him table scraps and will commit to an exercise schedule. He’d love to go for walks or a swim in the creek to work off some calories!
PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Asheville History Center, Smith McDowell House. Parttime. Application Deadline: September 15, 2014. Asheville History Center, Smith McDowell House (WNCHA) seeks a self-directed, organized professional Executive Director. Bachelor’s Degree required. Previous Museum experience highly desired. The Director will be responsible for facilitating all fund raising; overseeing day to day
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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY
by Rob Brezny
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) In the coming weeks it will be important for you to bestow blessings, disseminate gifts and dole out helpful feedback. Maybe you already do a pretty good job at all those, but I urge you to go even further. Through acts of will and surges of compassion, you can and should raise your levels of generosity. Why? Your allies and loved ones need more from you than usual. They have pressing issues that you have special power to address. Moreover, boosting your largesse will heal a little glitch in your own mental health. It’s just what the soul doctor ordered. TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) The Icelandic word hoppípolla means “jumping into puddles.” I’d love to make that one of your themes in the coming weeks. It would be in sweet accordance with the astrological omens: You’re overdue for an extended reign of freelance play ... for a time of high amusement mixed with deep fun and a wandering imagination. See if you can arrange not only to leap into the mud, but also to roll down a hill, kiss the sky and sing hymns to the sun. For extra credit, consider adding the Bantu term mbuki-mvuki to your repertoire. It refers to the act of stripping off your clothes and dancing with crazy joy. GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) During the course of its life, an oyster may change genders numerous times. Back and forth it goes, from male to female and vice versa, always ready to switch. I’m nominating this ambisexual creature to be your power animal in the coming weeks. There’s rarely been a better time than now to experiment with the pleasures of gender fluidity. I invite you to tap into the increased resilience and sexy wisdom that could come by expanding your sense of identity in this way. CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) I’m getting the sense that in the coming days you’ll be more casual and nonchalant than usual, more jaunty and unflappable. You may not be outright irresponsible, but neither will you be hyperfocused on being ultraresponsible. I suspect you may even opt not to be buttoned and zippered all the way to the top. It’s also possible that you’ll be willing to let a sly secret or two slip out, and allow one of your interesting eccentricities to shine. I think this is mostly fine. My only advice is to tilt in the direction of being carefree rather than careless. LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) In his novel Les Miserables, French author Victor Hugo produced a convoluted 823-word-long sentence. American novelist William Faulkner outdid him, though. In his book Absalom, Absalom! he crafted a single rambling, labyrinthine sentence crammed with 1,287 words. These folks should not be your role models in the coming weeks, Leo. To keep rolling in the direction of your best possible destiny, you should be concise and precise. Straightforward simplicity will work better for you than meandering complexity. There’s no need to rush, though. Take your time. Trust the rhythm that keeps you poised and purposeful. LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) As I understand your situation, Libra, you have played by the rules; you’ve been sincere and well-meaning; you’ve pressed for a solution that was fair and just. But all that hasn’t been enough. So now, as long as you stay committed to creating a righteous outcome, you are authorized to invoke this declaration, originally uttered by the ancient Roman poet Virgil: “If I am unable to make the gods above relent, I shall move hell.” Here’s an alternate translation of the original Latin text: “If heaven I cannot bend, then hell I will stir.” SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) “Start every day off with a smile and get it over with,” said the misanthropic comedian W.C. Fields. I know it’s weird to hear those words coming from a professional optimist like me, but just this once I recommend that you heed Fields’ advice. In the near future, you should be as serious and sober and unamusable as you’ve ever been. You’ve got demanding work to attend to, knotty riddles to solve, complex situations to untangle. So frown strong, Scorpio. Keep an extra-sour expression plastered on your mug. Smiling would only
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VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) As you know, real confidence entails no bluster or bombast. It’s not rooted in a desire to seem better than everyone else, and it’s not driven by a fear of appearing weak. Real confidence settles in when you have a clear vision of exactly what you need to do, and it blooms as you wield the skills and power you’ve built through your hard work and discipline. As I think you already sense, Virgo, the time has come for you to claim a generous new share of real confidence. You are ready to be a bolder, crisper version of yourself.
distract you from the dogged effort you must summon. Unless, of course, you know for a fact that you actually get smarter and more creative when you laugh a lot. In which case, ignore everything I just said and, instead, be a juggernaut of cheerful problem-solving.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) was a renowned African-American gospel singer who lent her talents to the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. often called on her to be an opening act for his speeches. She was there on the podium with him on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C., when he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In fact, it was her influence that prompted him to depart from his prepared notes and improvise the stirring climax. “Tell them about the dream, Martin,” she politely heckled. And he did just that. Who’s your equivalent of Mahalia Jackson, Sagittarius? Whose spur would you welcome? Who might interrupt you at just the right time? Seek out influences that will push you to reach higher.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) When Europeans first explored the New World, ships captained by Italians led the way. But none of them sailed Italian ships or represented Italian cities. Cristoforo Colombo (today known as Christopher Columbus) was funded by the government of Spain, Giovanni da Verrazzano by France, and Giovanni Caboto (now known as John Cabot) by England. I see a lesson here for you, Capricorn. To flourish in the coming months, you don’t necessarily need to be supported or sponsored by what you imagine are your natural allies. You may get further by seeking the help of sources that aren’t the obvious choices.
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) Walter Kaufman played a major role in clarifying the meaning and importance of Friedrich Nietzsche. His English translations of the German philosopher’s books are benchmarks, as are his analyses of the man’s ideas. And yet Kaufman was not a cheerleader. He regarded Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra as brilliant and triumphant, but also verbose and melodramatic: a “profusion of sapphires in the mud.” I love that phrase, Aquarius, and maybe you will, too, as you navigate your way through the coming weeks. Don’t automatically avoid the mud, though: That’s probably where you’ll find the sapphires.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) I’m not tolerant of greed. Acquisitiveness bothers me. Insatiableness disgusts me. I’m all in favor of people having passionate yearnings but am repelled when they spill over into egomaniacal avarice. As you can imagine, then, I don’t counsel anyone to be piggishly self-indulgent. Never ever. Having said that, though, I advise you to be zealous in asking for what you want in the coming weeks. It will be surprisingly healing for both you and your loved ones if you become aggressive in identifying what you need and then going after it. I’m confident, in fact, that it’s the wisest thing for you to do.
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operations; and coordinating changing exhibitions and educational programming. • Please respond with a current resume and cover letter outlining your experience, interest, and qualifications to Smith-McDowell House, 283 Victoria Road, Asheville NC 28801, Attn: Personnel Committee or email AshevilleHistory@gmail.com (EOE) FINANCE DIRECTOR United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County. Responsible for leadership, direction and management of the financial and facility operations. Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or related field. CPA preferred. Minimum of five years experience in accounting/ financial management. • Notfor-profit experience preferred. Experience managing federal, state and local grant funds. Human Resource and Benefits Administration a plus. Send letters of interest and resume to D. Bailey, 50 South French Broad Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 or dbailey@unitedwayabc.org. United Way is an EOE employer and seeks diverse applicants. http://unitedwayabc.org/ employment-opportunities
TEACHING/ EDUCATION AVAILABLE POSITIONS • VERNER CENTER FOR EARLY LEARNING Riceville Center Manager • Toddler Teacher • Preschool Teacher Assistant • Substitutes. Verner Center for Early Learning is now hiring! We are seeking professionals who are nurturing, skilled in supporting the development of very young children, and can be assets to our model, progressive program. Part-time and full-time positions are available. See position details and apply at www.vernerearlylearning.org/ jobs or stop in at 2586 Riceville Rd. Asheville, NC 28805 to complete an application.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES $1,000 WEEKLY!! MAILING BROCHURES From Home. Helping home workers since 2001. Genuine Opportunity. No Experience required. Start Immediately! www.mailingmembers.com (AAN CAN)
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HOTEL/ HOSPITALITY GUEST SERVICES MANAGER Experienced hospitality professional to facilitate superior guest experience at luxury vacation rental property. Full time, paid vacation, salary commensurate with experience. Email resume to stay@barkwells.com.
RETAIL LOVE BOOKS AND MUSIC? Part-time retail. 2 years college preferred. Weekends required. Great working environment. Drop resume at Mr. K's Used Books, Music and More, 800 Fairview Rd in the River Ridge Shopping Center.
XCHANGE GENERAL MERCHANDISE KILL BED BUGS! Buy Harris Bed Bug Killer Complete Treatment Program/ Kit. (Harris Mattress Covers Add Extra Protection). Available: Hardware Stores, Buy Online: homedepot. com (AAN CAN)
feeling, diarrhea and weight loss, and insomnia, which seems to relate to a pulsar signal of varying intensity and coincides with the change in electrical service provider? • How have you solved this? Please help me by responding to: B. King, PO Box 6003, Asheville, NC 28816 or bking612@ gmail.com
ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES FRANCISCAN CHINA Total 20 pieces: 12 Dinner plates, dessert, vegetable plate and platter. No chips: excellent condition. Call for details: 692-3024.
FURNITURE A NEST OF TABLES Glass tops. Excellent condition. Very nice. $85 for all three. Call 692-3024.
JEWELRY 1950's JEWELRY Freshwater pearls • Broaches • Braclets and other pieces. Call for details: 692-3024.
SERVICES HOME A DOMESTIC GODDESS can shop, cook, clean, organize, and run errands all to make your house a home and free up your precious time. IdealAssistant1111@gmail.com 828.595.6063.
TRANSPORTATION BEST MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION SERVICES David’s Transportation Services for elderly and physically disabled, non emergency transportation anywhere in the USA. Certified Nursing Assistant and Spanish translator available. For more information please contact 828-215-0715 or 828-505-1394. www.Cesarfamilyservices.com
HOME IMPROVEMENT HANDY MAN HIRE A HUSBAND Handyman Services. 31 years professional business practices. Trustworthy, quality results, reliability. $2 million liability insurance. References available. Free estimates. Stephen Houpis, (828) 280-2254.
HEATING & COOLING MAYBERRY HEATING AND COOLING Oil and Gas Furnaces • Heat Pumps and AC • • Radiant Floor Heating • • Solar Hot Water • Sales • Service • Installation. • Visa • MC • Discover. Call (828) 658-9145.
ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS $50 WALMART GIFT CARD And 3 Free issues of your favorite magazines! Call 855757-3486. (AAN CAN) ATTENTION DUKE POWER CUSTOMERS Since January, have you experienced buzzing, ringing, clanging noise, painful head pressure, "jittery"
HELP YOURSELF WHILE HELPING OTHERS By donating plasma! You can earn $220/month with valid state ID, proof of address, and SS card. Located at 85 Tunnel Road. Call (828) 252-9967. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED A Western Carolina University graduate student is looking for participants in grades 8th through 12th who have been diagnosed with a reading disability to take part in a brief study on the effectiveness of a specialized font, which was created to reduce reading errors made by individuals with reading disabilities. The entire session should take between 10 to 15 minutes and each participant will receive a $10 Wal-Mart gift card, as well as results from the study, per request. Students under the age of 18 require parental consent and all participant information is protected and will remain anonymous. For more information, please contact Jessie Ramsey at (919) 351-5675 jramsey1@catamount.wcu.edu or Dr. Lori Unruh (thesis supervisor) at (828) 227-2738 lunruh@ wcu.edu. PREGNANT? THINKING OF ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. Living Expenses Paid. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/New Mexico/Indiana (AAN CAN)
PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE FOR THE SOUTH: SEPTEMBER 13- 24 Learn to become an effective ecological designer in our culturally and ecologically rich bioregion. Integrate Permaculture into your life and landscape. Earn your Permaculture Design Certificate. Meals and Camping included. 828*-7757052 info.wildabundance@gmail.com www. wildabundance.net
SALSA CLASSES! Salsa Classes every Wednesday ! Salsa classes going on now, and new 6wk will start September 17th! Beginners Salsa 7:308:30pm and Intermediate Salsa 8:30-9:30pm! Location: Extreme Dance Studio, 856 Sweeten Creek Rd. Asheville ! $10/class or $40/6wk More Info: 828674-2658, Jenniferwcs@ aol.com or www.facebook. com/2umbao
THE PAINTING EXPERIExperience the ENCE power of process painting as described in the groundbreaking book Life, Paint & Passion: Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression. August 22-24 at the Asheville Art Museum at Pack Place. www.processarts. com, (888) 639-8569.
MIND, BODY, SPIRIT BODYWORK
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS CLASSES & WORKSHOPS PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST TRAINING September 1 - 5, 2014, Asheville. For persons in recovery from mental health and/or addiction issues who wish to become NC Certified Peer Support Specialists. One year in recovery necessary. Forty hour training, $250. Complete information, contact Andrea Morris, LCSW, LCAS at http://amorrisconsulting. com or 828-551-4540
#1 AFFORDABLE COMMUNITY CONSCIOUS MASSAGE AND ESSENTIAL OIL CLINIC 3 locations: 1224 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, 505-7088, 959 Merrimon Ave, Suite 101, 785-1385 and 2021 Asheville Hwy., Hendersonville, 697-0103. • $33/ hour. • Integrated Therapeutic Massage: Deep Tissue, Swedish, Trigger Point, Reflexology. Energy, Pure Therapeutic Essential Oils. 30 therapists. Call now! www.thecosmicgroove.com
RELAXING AND INTUITIVE MASSAGE Beth Huntzinger, LMBT#10819 offers healing massage in downtown with weekend and weekday hours. Swedish, Hot Stones and Reiki Energy Healing. 7 years practice with Reiki. Call 828-279-7042 or visit ashevillehealer.com
AUTOMOTIVE
ACROSS 1 Truffle-seeking beast 5 Like some orders or tales 9 Bits in marmalade 14 Works of Goya, e.g. 15 Utah skiing mecca 16 Words after “You can’t fire me!” 17 Speed Wagons of old autodom 18 *Movie stand-in 20 Toddler’s banishment to a corner, say 22 Talkative bird 23 It may be bid in the end 24 Singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey ___ 25 ZZ Top, for one 29 *Crowd noise, for example 33 Devoid of wool, now 34 Keep in touch, in a way
CASH FOR CARS Any Car/ Truck. Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN)
ADULT
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¿HABLAS ESPANOL? Hot Latino Chat. Call Fonochat now and in seconds you can be speaking to Hot Hispanic singles in your area. Try Free! 1-800-416-3809 (AAN CAN). PHONE ACTRESSES From home. Must have dedicated land line and great voice. 21+. Up to $18 per hour. Flex hours/most Weekends. 1-800-403-7772. Lipservice. net (AAN CAN)
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35 Palindromic girl’s name 38 Bach work 41 iPhone data: Abbr. 42 Join, as a table 44 End of a Greek series 46 *One’s physical or emotional burdens 52 Love-letter letters 53 A “little word” in charades 54 Enjoy to the max 55 Like a soufflé’s texture 57 What the moon does during a lunar eclipse 59 Complete freedom … and a hint to each half of the answer to each starred clue 63 Sign of virtue 64 Tilter’s weapon 65 Anthony’s longtime partner on satellite radio 66 “___ option …”
DOWN 1 Tippler’s account 2 Tater Tots maker 3 Superprecise, as some clocks 4 Tries for again, as an office 5 Fragrance name that’s forbiddensounding 6 Jillions 7 Old Ford model 8 Nonprofessional 9 Promised Land, to Rastafarians 10 Where it’s always zero degrees 11 Benchwarmer 12 Up to, briefly 13 Fr. woman with a 63-Across 19 Got away from one’s roots? 21 Should 24 What your blood may do when you’re frightened 26 Completely screw up 27 Infatuated with 28 Praiseful works 30 Pal of Pooh 31 Humanoid monster of myth 32 Walk with an attitude 35 Nile reptiles 36 Asset of an oceanfront home 37 First razor with a pivoting head 39 Diplomatic fig. 40 Word before set or service
TANSWER I B I ATO PREVIOUS L I G H TPUZZLE O M G I C A N T A A T A B S C AA RR SO NO HMT AO N NS AY MN EC H P ES RMOE T L T F E AR DN A T M ED NR O EN RE AB SE E E A CR R I ES W W AC RL O SS CE AR L EN NU E D EO S T EC LH IE TW I SE MD T A T P L RA ON BT SA T RH EE CA AD P D I I AE ND S UC SR EA TG O PO SE AD S W SI CS EH N I TN GT Y AN RE M I S E IR SE O SC CE ER L A E S S T O A RR OE MR NO EL YL E T CDR U PT EC NH S A D A GA EL O FT L OB A S L P I R NE GE MS EC LA M TR I E EF U I P L L EA DL F P A EN Q UB IR LE AA TK E R AA DL O L F RE EK SE U RR GI EN S AE C EMT OAWT EE R SD TE EW I GR EE RS T GS A MA E NL NA OW Y T E X T E R S E N S N A R E
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67 Where sailors go 68 Like odorindicating lines, in comics 69 The latest
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