Eric Sarafin Mixerman p.76
Leisure & Libation
Learning to Be a Maker: DIY Arts & Crafts p.57
Western North Carolina's Free Spirit of Enterprise colu m ns
The Garden Column: Fall Cleanup p.48 Millennials and the Craft Aesthetic p.68
Strings OF Life Jack Devereux is a gifted fiddler for an award-winning bluegrass band, as well as an in demand violin maker.
-a n n ua l
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Volume VII - Edition X complimentary edition
capitalatplay.com
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video intervie ws
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capital atpl ay. com
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October 2017
George H. V. Cecil - Chairman of Biltmore Farms, LLC John F.A.V. Cecil - President
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“The best partnerships are born out of mutual respect and a passion for excellence. The multi-decades long relationship begun by my father and Mr. George Cecil of Biltmore Farms has helped both companies flourish and serve our community well. Working alongside Biltmore Farms, a revered community developer, is an honor.� - W. Neal Hanks Jr. -
828.476.4281 | beverly-hanks.com
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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Biltmore Farms, LLC
Q&A with President Jack Cecil HOW HAS BILTMORE FARMS, LLC, EVOLVED SINCE IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1897? In many ways Biltmore Farms today is much like the original Biltmore Dairy Farms organization as we strive to provide the best customer service with attention to details combined with civic responsibility as our company’s founder George W. Vanderbilt did for his guests and the greater Asheville community 120 years ago. HAVE ANY PARTNERSHIPS BEEN PIVOTAL TO THE SUCCESS OF BILTMORE FARMS COMMUNITIES OVER THE YEARS? Beverly-Hanks and Biltmore Farms have been business associates for over 35 years spanning two generations. My father, George H. V. Cecil, and Neal Hanks, Sr. had both a personal and professional relationship for decades much like Neal Hanks, Jr. and my friendship. William G. Lapsley & Associates, consulting civil engineers and Adams Law, Attorneys, have worked collaboratively with us for more than three and eight decades respectively. WHAT ARE YOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT? Biltmore Farms believes that the provision for education, access to quality and affordable healthcare, economic development opportunities for improved wages to support one’s family, cultural expression and artistic license, and environmental stewardship are important tenets for community development. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE SOURCES FOR INSPIRATION FOR THE RAMBLE BILTMORE FOREST COMMUNITY? Frederick Law Olmsted’s philosophy of creating community through the design and creation of a linked park system as found in New York’s Central Park and Boston’s Emerald Necklace. Ramble residents enjoy abundant preserved open spaces connected by an extensive network of trails. WHAT MAKES THE RAMBLE BILTMORE FOREST SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE TO LIVE? The harmonious convergence of the natural habitat and the built environment with its plethora of architectural styles found both within the personal homes and public spaces is unique to The Ramble. Aesthetic appreciation is embraced and personal character is celebrated in the community.
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The Ramble features an ex tensive trail system
Bow Bridge in The Ramble
The Ramble Living Well Center
Statue of George W. Vanderbilt at Longmeadow Park in The Ramble
Custom homes in The Ramble
About Biltmore Farms, LLC Deeply rooted in Asheville, Biltmore Farms has cultivated healthy sustainable communities, thriving businesses and an inspiring sense of place while preserving the Vanderbilt family tradition of gracious hospitality since 1897. Under the leadership of George H.V. Cecil, Chairman, and son John F.A.V. Cecil, President, Biltmore Farms continues this legacy today. For more information visit BiltmoreFarms.com.
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 101
The O riginator of Cult ure d Pe arls.
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October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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| October 2017
elcome to our annual Arts/Crafts & Music issue. From time to time I get asked what is the theme of the current issue of this magazine, and my default answer tends to be “regional private sector business reports and profiles of Western North Carolina entrepreneurs.” But as Capital at Play has grown and evolved, so, too, have we offered the occasional thematic focus. Last month, for example, was our immensely popular alcohol issue, while next January will be our annual report on the state of manufacturing—from widgets to foodstuffs, and everything in between—in the region. We don’t devote every issue to a specific topic, of course, but I have to admit that there’s something intrinsically satisfying about wrapping up a new issue for which all the pieces have an interlocking consistency. All you fellow journalism nerds will no doubt appreciate that sentiment. So: Arts/Crafts & Music. On the one hand, the October 2017 Capital at Play has an in-depth profile of a music lifer and recording studio whiz known to some simply as Mixerman, along with a profile of a young gentleman, who not only plays fiddle for a nationally-known roots/bluegrass band, but also does double duty as a violin maker (call it straddling the two worlds of music and arts/crafts). Theirs are inspiring stories, to say the least. You want inspiration? After reading our feature on DIY Arts & Crafts in Western North Carolina, we’re pretty sure you will be making plans to go visit one of the many regional venues and centers where, for the cost of a single class, or several, you can come home with a painting, a weaving, a piece of pottery, or even wearable jewelry that you created all by your lonesome (or at least via a touch of patient professional guidance). And if you’ve ever fantasized about performing in public, our report on covers bands, tribute artists, and celebrity impersonators should not only give you a newfound appreciation for all the time and effort they put into their work, you might finally decide it’s time to climb up onstage and show off what you’ve got at the microphone. One last thing I’d be remiss if I didn’t point it out. As noted last month in this space, we’ve been partnering with Bclip Productions, a national video production company based in Asheville, to create short video clips related to selected magazine content, as well as some intriguing exclusives; visit our website, Facebook page, or YouTube channel to view our “60 Seconds at Play” videos. One of those exclusives I’m particularly proud of is about Asheville’s Burton Street ONEmicStudio, which is a key component of the LEAF Community Arts “Schools and Streets” program. The goal is “to connect local and national musicians with young aspiring musicians and provide them the time and space to create work inspiring them to use technology as a means of creative expression.” It’s an eminently worthwhile project, one I feel all the closer to because my background is music and music journalism. Please take a look at the video and read the accompanying text—and please feel free to investigate more closely if you appreciate what you see.
Sincerely,
Fred Mills
Your Guide To North Carolina’s Finest Properties
$25 M PISGAH VIEW RANCH 70 Pisgah View Ranch Road Mike Davis | 828.301.6773 Reed Jackson | 704.713.3623
$2.85 M RICHARD SHARP SMITH HOUSE 288 Montford Avenue Mike Davis | 828.301.6773 288MontfordAvenue.com
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CHEOAH ISLE ON LAKE SANTEELAH 269 Pine Ridge Road Aaron Palmer | 828.545.8741 aaron@ivesterjacksonblackstream.com
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CLIFFS AT WALNUT COVE ESTATE 204 Folkestone Lane Vicky Wynn | 828-242-1171 Vicky@ivesterjacksonblackstream.com
SUNNYSIDE - GROVE PARK ESTATE 173 Macon Avenue Mike Davis | 828.301.6773 173MaconAvenue.com
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$587 K GROVE PARK- HISTORIC LONGCHAMPS
185 Macon Avenue #A5 Mike Davis | 828.301.6773 Mike@ivesterjackson.com
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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Western North Carolina's Free Spirit of Enterprise THE INNOVATORS OF COMFORT™
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Bonnie Roberson social media editor
Erin Hebbe
Information & Inquiries Capital at Play is Western North Carolina’s business lifestyle magazine. It embodies the idea that capitalism thrives with creativity—that work requires an element of play. Exploring everything from local industry to the great outdoors, Capital at Play is inspiration for the modern entrepreneur. In every edition we profile those who take the risk, those who share that risk, and those who support them—telling the untold story of how capitalists are driven by their ideas and passions. We cater to those who see the world with curiosity, wonderment, and a thirst for knowledge. We present information and entertainment that capitalists want, all in one location. We are the free spirit of enterprise.
gener al advertising inquiries
for editorial inquiries
e-mail advertising@capitalatplay.com or call 828.274.7305
e-mail editor@capitalatplay.com
for subscription information
Roy Brock, David Morgan, Katrina Morgan
subscribe online at www.capitalatplay.com or call 828.274.7305
marketing & advertising
Editorial content is selected and produced because of its interest to our readership. Editorial content is not for sale and cannot be bought. Capital at Play is financially sustained by advertisers who find value in exposure alongside our unique content and to the readers who follow it.
109 BROADWAY
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(828) 669-5000 Mon. - Sat. 9am - 5:30pm TysonFurniture.com SPECIAL FINANCING See store for details.
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| October 2017
This magazine is printed with soy based ink on recycled paper. Please recycle. Copyright © 2017, Capital At Play, Inc. All rights reserved. Capital at Play is a trademark of Capital At Play, Inc. Published by Capital At Play, Inc. PO Box 5615, Asheville, NC. 28813
Capital at Play is protec ted through Tr ademar k Regis tr ation in the United States. The content found within this publication does not necessar ily ref lec t the views of Capital At Play, Inc. and its companies. Capital At Play, Inc. and its employees are not liable for any adver tising or editor ial content found in Capital at Play. The ar ticles, photogr aphy, and illus tr ations found in Capital at Play may not be reproduced or used in any fashion without express wr it ten consent by Capital At Play, Inc.
ASHEVILLE:
Historic Biltmore Village 9 Kitchin Place 828-274-2630
STORE HOURS:
Mon. - Fri. 9:30am-7pm Sat. 9:30am-6pm Sun. 12pm-5pm
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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Capital at Play has partnered with Bclip Productions to bring the pages of each edition to life, just for you. Featuring a new 60 second video every two weeks, we give you exclusive interviews and insider info on the people, places, and faces of enterprise throughout Western North Carolina. Visit us on social media or at capitalatplay.com to see the latest 60 Seconds at Play. OCTOBER VIDEOS
JACK DEVEREUX
VIOLIN MAKER (p. 20)
DIY ARTS AND CR AFTS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA (p. 57 )
MARKETING AND TRAINING VIDEOS FOR BUSINESS At Bclip we do more than tell your story. Our business-first mentality and combustible creativity set us apart from other video production companies. It’s our mission to help our customers sell their products, train their staff, and entertain customers with video. We strive to eat, sleep, and think like the wonderful companies we work with.
www.bclip.com 10
| October 2017
thi s page : MIXERMAN WORKING with music at his home. photo by Anthony Harden on the cover : JACK DEVEREUX hand-craf ting a violin. photo by Olive & West Photography
F E AT U R E D vol. vii ed. x
20
STRINGS OF LIFE JACK DEVEREUX
76 THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF MIXERMAN ERIC “MIXERMAN” SARAFIN
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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HE SHARPES C ON T E N T S
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57
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Sound & Vision
Covers bands, tribute acts, and celebrity impersonators
colu m ns
insight
14 O rangetheory Fitness e Rd. Suite B Emily Brause & Natalie Anderson B Gallery at Flat Rock Suzanne Camarata Ball
48 The Garden Column: Fall Cleanup
Written by Cinthia Milner
68 Millennials and the Craft Aesthetic
Written by Joanne Badr Morgan & Derek J. Allen
p e o p l e at p l ay
88 The Asheville Area Arts
Council’s 2017 Indigo Ball
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| October 2017
l e i s u r e & l i b at i o n
Learning to Be a Maker
DIY Arts & Crafts in Western North Carolina
briefs
32 Carolina in the West 52 The Old North State 72 National & World News events
90 A Festive Fall
Oktoberfest, Boone Heritage, Show Me The Money, LEAF, & more.
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(828) (828) 654-8101 654-8101 (828) 654-8101 1979 Hendersonville Rd. Suite B (828) 654-8101 1979 1979 Hendersonville Hendersonville 1979 Rd. Rd.Suite SuiteBBHendersonville Rd. S Asheville, NCNC 28803 1979 Hendersonville Asheville, Asheville, NC 28803 Asheville, 28803Rd. Suite B NC 28803
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October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
13
nsight
Code: Orange For Emily Brause and Natalie Anderson, the members who attend their Asheville Orangetheory Fitness studio aren’t just clients—they’re family.
F
itness will always be a big business in the United States, and some would argue it has never been more popular. One of the fastest-growing fitness studio chains is the Florida-based Orangetheory Fitness, which has expanded at an exponential pace over the course of six years. According to the Orangetheory website, it has sold 1,000+ franchise licenses and has more than 450 open studios in 39 states. Nor th Carolina a lone list s 22 locations at the OrangetheoryFitness.com website, including one in Asheville, which was opened on Hendersonville Road in November of 2016 by Emily Brause and Natalie Anderson. According to Emily, she had become a member of an Orangetheory, and was so impressed with her resulting energy level and weight loss that she convinced Natalie to give it a try as well. “Natalie is not a fan of working out because it always made her feel awful,” recalls Emily. “She found a renewed energy throughout her day along with effortless weight loss after just two weeks—and she was sold!” The two subsequently felt this was something special they could offer to other people. They are both moms of younger children, so they knew what it is like to wear many hats— parent, wife, business owner, daughter, sister, friend—as well as how almost everyone is challenged every day with so much responsibility. “[We] truly believe that exercising goes beyond all of the tangible scientific positive effects on people,” says Emily, “and it also creates a more positive chain reaction within families and happier, healthier communities. By offering a place for people to experience a safe and friendly environment, and to gain strength, energy, and endurance, we want to have their Orangetheory family bring good things to the community.” Orangetheory offers technology-based training that measures cardiac output in a class-based workout setting rather than a traditional gym; the “orange” refers to the “orange zone” a person reaches when exercising at 84 to 91 percent of his or hear maximum heart rate. Explains Emily, “In an hour our coaches guide you through an endurance/ power and strength training, full body workout. Due to the heart rate monitor each member wears, everyone is guided
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through five heart rate zones that are shown on the real-time monitors. Having our members go at their own individual pace for their heart rate and keeping it there for a set amount of time creates the after-burn of calories for 24-36 hours after the class. Our coaches modify the workout to your needs, the workouts are never the same, and our coaches work very hard at energizing and engaging our members so that everyone will be successful in their fitness goals. We set up all members for success.” She likens her franchise members to family, adding, “Our milestones are our members’ milestones—we are absolutely crazy about our members! It is not a cliché that we are like family, and we are privileged to celebrate our members’ successes. [For example] we have one member who has struggled her whole life with weight. Coming in over 300 pounds, she has driven an hour to her classes at least four times a week and has lost close to 100 pounds, with no end in sight. Our members surround her with such encouragement and excitement.
“Our milestones are our members’ milestones—we are absolutely crazy about our members!” “We have [also] been so fortunate that we found the most amazing staff and coaches. It is clear that our staff is there to give you customer service that will exceed your expectations—our outgoing coaches will drive you to your very best. So beyond having members become stronger, healthier, more confident in their bodies and other aspects of their lives, creating an environment where people feel happy, kind, and emotionally and physically safe is huge in a world that feels so crazy at the moment.” It’s worth noting that Orangetheory truly believes in the notion of “community” as well, as evidenced by its ongoing philanthropic efforts. Emily says that the charities they have recently raised funds for include Make a Wish Foundation, Brother Wolf, and Tools for Schools, as well as funds for food banks, supplies for firefighters, and donations for school fundraising auctions. “Our plan,” concludes Emily proudly, “is to transform lives for the better, one member at a time, and create a happier and healthier Asheville. We keep seeing exponential growth every month—therefore our members’ results are walking proof that this lifestyle change really works.” To get more details on Orangetheory Fitness Studio #650 visit www.OrangetheoryFitness.com/asheville.
EMILY BR AUSE AND NATALIE ANDERSON October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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insight
GALLERY MANAGER SUSAN O’BRIEN, CHARLIE, & SUZANNE BALL
A Unique Energy A timely career pivot for Suzanne Camarata Ball led to the creation of the Gallery at Flat Rock.
I
t has been a remarkably busy year for the Gallery at Flat Rock. From the February-March exhibit Life in Color: The Pardee Cancer Center Artists and May’s Art in Bloom: Fine Art Interpreted by Imaginative Floral Design, to artist Lucy Clark’s Sacred Ground: Bringing New Mexico Home in July and August and intimate presentations featuring artists discussing their work, each month so far has brought a unique, buzz-generating offering from the gallery. “We often hear from visitors that the gallery has a great energy to it, and that with our diverse collection of art, there is something for everyone,” says Gallery at Flat Rock owner Suzanne Camarata Ball. “Local clients appreciate seeing fresh displays and changing exhibits on a regular basis. And the gallery’s success begins with the artists—we are fortunate to represent a group that is very dynamic. Not only are they fantastic artists, but they are engaged in their field. The artists have supported the gallery by being accessible to clients and involved in our exhibits and events.” Ball opened her gallery in May of 2015. Originally a freelance photographer based in Boston, she had moved to the Western North Carolina region in 2010, although at that point she was still commuting to Boston for work. “This was fine for awhile,” she explains, “but it wasn’t giving me the opportunity to engage where I lived. After marrying in 2014, 16
| October 2017
I was ready to build my business here as a photographer, this time in pet portraiture.” One snowy February day, the Balls drove into Flat Rock and wandered into what was then called the Singleton Center. (It’s now known as Flat Rock Square.) As Ball recalls it, “We saw a ‘For Rent’ sign in the window and the front door was unlocked. I took one look inside and fell in love with the space!” The gallery is located in a complex that used to be the Flat Rock High School, in the far building that used to be the cafeteria. She adds that she was smitten by “its airiness and afternoon light that streams through the windows.” Unexpectedly, after a couple of months renovating, she realized she wanted to move in a different direction from her photography and instead develop a gallery in the space. It has been a well-received enterprise, to say the least. Blue Ridge Now, for example, describing April’s Temporal Witness: Tracing Nature’s Path and featuring artists Alice Ballard, Christina Laurel, and Rosamond Purcell, called it a “strongly
and beautifully curated show… It’s perfectly understandable if, after walking into the current exhibition, you mistakenly think you are in a Manhattan art gallery.” High praise indeed. Ball notes that the Life in Color display has been her most personally gratifying project to date: “Working with a team from Pardee Hospital to provide original art for their new cancer center in Hendersonville, they were a dream client because of their passion for fine art as a tool to help those in need of healing. We were given a budget to procure art from local and regional artists that fit a vision of bringing the natural beauty of this area inside to those who needed comfort. Three of the ten artists represented produced commissioned work
“I believe we are more relevant than ever as a place to explore ideas and to build community and connections, which are best done in person.” for the cancer center. It was a moving experience for us all.” She also finds it rewarding to be helping to directly connect artists with the larger community, something only possible with a physical—as opposed to a virtual—gallery. “There is concern that brick-and-mortar galleries are becoming obsolete with the rise in online sales either directly from an artist or through an online store. I believe we are more relevant than ever as a place to explore ideas and to build community and connections, which are best done in person. And people [also] comment on how unexpected the space is—from outside you’d never know—and how comfortable and positive they feel in it. “We will continue to plan creative and interesting events in the space as a way to engage people and build relationships, [such as] events where the artists are present. We will begin holding two-to-three day workshops with gallery artists in areas such as clay, encaustic, watercolors, scarf-making, and jewelry. One event that I am very excited about is a ticketed dinner called The Artist Table. A local chef will design dishes that reference the artist’s work/life. The artist will be present to talk about his/her work and the chef will comment on the dish. It is a small event celebrating art and food—my two favorites!” The current exhibition is Marks in Time (with Marian Congdon and David Voorhees). For more details and exhibitions visit www.GalleryFlatRock.com.
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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local gifts buying guide
Cozy Fall Colors Compete with the leaves for attention this fall, with these standout pieces!
<< ROSE GARLAND HURRICANE VASE NYLON BUBBLE BAG
MODO PAPER-THIN TITANIUM FRAMES Two (2) pair no/line bifocals with frame. ( $250 ) OneWay Eyeglasses eyeglasses-asheville.com
<<
Scout Boutique 18 Brook St., No.102, Biltmore Village
<<
Flowers by Larry flowersbylarry.com
Convertible crossbody style with multiple interior and exterior compartments. ( $72 )
IKEBANA VASE. THE SIZE IS 8 X 8 X 17 INCHES. The three square tubes of this vase are in close proportion to the three main stems in an traditional Ikebana arrangement (representing the Earth, Sun and Moon). ( $325 ) The Gallery at Flat Rock galleryflatrock.com
<<
<<
A Jan Barboglio designs, Iron and blown glass hurricane. ( $680 )
HONEY POT NECKLACE Fall feels sweet like honey! This custom cut citrine necklace is designed and manufactured by women for women! Treat yourself or your honey to this decadent necklace. ( From $2300 )
<<
Spicer Greene Jewelers spicergreene.com
AUTUMN GLOW Handcrafted Lifetime Candles use smokeless, odorless paraffin oil, and the fiberglass wick never needs replacing. Distinctive fall decorating and holiday giving. BlackBird Frame & Art 365 Merrimon Ave, Asheville
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images not shown to size
<< LAUREN BY HOBO This clutch-wallet is effortlessly functional with a timelessly cool silhouette. She can hold your smartphone, cash, cards, ID, receipts, and coins. ( $128 ) Embellish Asheville embellishasheville.com
<< BABY ALPACA RIBBED SCARF
<<
This luxurious scarf is knit with 100% baby alpaca yarn on our solar powered knitting machine and is perfect for layering up this fall. ( $108 ) Echoview Fiber Mill echoviewnc.com
“ADVENT AT PAPHOS” GOUACHE ON PAPER (FRAMED) Though painted on an island on the coast of Maine, this painting evokes the Mediterranean isle of Cyprus, where Aphrodite emerged from the sea. (Image Size: 21.75” x 17.5”) ( $2,400 ) William Henry Price Studio williamhenryprice.com
<< BAKED SPICED APPLE AND CINNAMON SCENTED PINECONE CANDLE Baked Spiced Apple and Cinnamon Scented Pinecone Candles. Burntime 80 hours. One of our all-time best selling fall candles. ( $42 )
<<
The Gardener’s Cottage, Asheville thegardenerscottageasheville.com
SILK AND CASHMERE SCARVES BY CHAN LUU
<<
A featherweight blend of cashmere and silk, signature twisted fringing, and sized to wrap three times, invites you to experience cozy luxury at its finest.’ ( $195-$245 ) Bette Boutique facebook.com/betteboutique
COPPER & GOLD LEAF PENDANTS Fall in love with these Copper & Gold Leaf Pendants. ( $990-$1440 ) Biltmore Lamp & Shade Gallery biltmorelampandshadegallery.com
<< HARDWICK BLAZERS Comes in seven different colors: navy, burgundy, Augusta green, Cambridge grey, red, hunter green, and black. Fully lined with center vent. ( $195 ) Hunter and Coggins Clothing Company 28 N Spruce St. Asheville
paid advertisement 19 October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
video intervie w
capital atpl ay. com
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| October 2017
A KNIFE is used to f it the “feet” of the bridge, which holds up the strings.
Strings
Life
OF
He’s a gifted fiddler for an award-winning bluegrass band, as well as an in demand violin maker. But for Jack Devereux, the desire to know more and do better is what drives him every day.
written by bill kopp photos by olivia siegel | olive & west photogr aphy October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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“I was at a party. This drunk girl sat on my violin and busted the head off.”
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER instead served as the catalyst for Jack Devereux’s own entry into the world of fiddle making. At the time, nine years ago, Devereux was studying jazz violin at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He owned a fiddle built by Portland, Maine’s Darol Anger (a founding member of the David Grisman Quintet) and noted violin maker Jonathan Cooper. And when the instrument broke, a series of opportunities led him toward making a lifelong hobby into a profession. The Asheville-born musician had started playing the fiddle at age three. “I had always been interested in violins,” he says. “I tinkered with woodworking, building some string instruments as well. As kids, my brother and I were taking apart pawn shop guitars.” Devereux grew up in a household where that kind of creative exploration was encouraged. “My mom is a very capable craftsperson,” he says. “She does a lot of metalsmithing and some carpentry.” He adds that his father is an attorney, but still expresses his creativity via writing: “Coming from that environment where craftsmanship was something that was talked about, I just grew up thinking about these things.” And he picked up a piece of advice from his grandfather, wisdom that would guide his later pursuits: “Do something you feel you can stand behind… and then charge accordingly.” While a student at Asheville High, Devereux began an apprenticeship of sorts, working under Chris Abell, who has a shop in Asheville’s Grove Arcade in which he makes high-end flutes. He describes Abell as “a very meticulous and thoughtful craftsman who got me pointed in the right direction.” While he had long been a kind of enthusiast/hobbyist, by young adulthood, Devereux had developed a serious interest in the generations-old fine art of building acoustic instruments.
Maine Events
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SCROLL OF a f inished violin, a copy of one from 1740 by Giuseppe Guarneri. | October 2017
In the wake of that party mishap, Devereux took the broken instrument back to one of its original builders. “I became buddies with Jonathan Cooper in the process,” he says. “We’re into the same kind of music; Jon likes old-time music and bluegrass, even though he’s building these really expensive instruments for classical violinists.”
A GOUGE is used to establish the rough outer arch of a violin top.
Over the winter break of his junior year at Berklee, Devereux started learning from and working alongside Cooper. Once classes resumed, Devereux would return to Portland when he could on weekends and breaks. “I was working and hanging with Jon,” he recalls, “just thinking it was something fun; I wasn’t thinking about it too seriously.” In that period Devereux built his first few violins. But, because he didn’t consider the early fruit of his labors as high-end instruments, he simply gave them away to friends. Once Devereux graduated, he relocated to Nashville, but didn’t spend much time there. Instead, he hit the road as a sideman in what he describes as an “Americana/folkie band; just good folks doing good music.” But he quickly discovered that the life of a touring musician wasn’t for him: “I was somewhere in Ohio and realized that I was totally miserable.” He expressed that frustration during a phone call with his friend Cooper. “He had toured at some point, so he understood,” Devereux says. “So after we commiserated, he said, ‘Just come up here and work for me.’” Devereux made the move from Nashville to Portland in November 2012. “Not the time [of year] you want to move to
Maine,” he says, with a chuckle. He would remain in Portland for more than three years, much of which he says was spent “puttering around Coop’s shop. I came in not knowing too much about anything.” In the United States there is a short list of well-known and respected schools teaching the art of violin making. Devereux characterizes those as “a trade school kind of thing; people pay a bunch of money to go to school.” He sees his own tutelage as similar yet ultimately unique. “It was very one-on-one,” he says. “Jonathan Cooper is very established and well-respected in the American violin-making scene.” Devereux worked hard and learned as much as he could. “For the first year or two, I’m sure I was just in the way,” he says, with a self-effacing laugh. “But it got to the point where I was doing rough work on some of Jonathan’s instruments, and then building some of my own.” He says that violin-making was definitely a left turn from what he thought he would be doing. And what was that? “I don’t know,” he admits. “I was nineteen!” All he knew was that he wanted to get better at this thing he was interested in. “That October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 23
ROUGHING OUT a violin neck ’s shape on a bandsaw.
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was the whole motivation,” he says. “I’m still in the early stages of making a career out of it, but that’s secondary to ‘How do I get as good at it as I can?’” He certainly got better working with Cooper. But Devereux was cold in Maine, and so in early 2016 he returned south. The original plan was to head back to Nashville, but then he landed a gig playing fiddle with popular Asheville-based bluegrass band Town Mountain, so he ended up back in Western North Carolina. At the time of our conversation, Devereux is between residences, having temporarily moved his shop into an outbuilding in the backyard of his parents’ home. “It’s funny to be back here,” he says, “because this is where some of my first experiments happened, tinkering with guitars and stuff.” Devereux’s family has deep roots in the region; his mom grew up just north of Asheville, and both his parents’ families go back several generations in Buncombe County. On the grounds of the Devereux family home sits one of the original city trolleys from Asheville’s electric streetcar network, circa 1886-1934. “I don’t know how it came to be here,” Devereux shrugs. “It was there when my folks bought the house.” Today it serves as the family’s garden shed.
The Right Way There’s a great deal of history wrapped up in the art of fiddle-making, but Devereux’s perspective on the subject is of a decidedly practical sort. While emphasizing that developing the required skills calls for a lot of what he terms “ass-in-seat time,” he says that there’s a lot of manufactured mystique. It helps sell fiddles if people don’t know how it’s done, he says. “And that’s been going on forever.” After recounting a concise, condensed description of how the art began, he sums it up with an observation. “These guys were working in Italy in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. And they kinda got it right.” But, because the knowledge was kept mostly secret by those early figures, like Antonio Stradivari, Guiarneri del Gesù, and the Amati family, some of that knowledge was lost. “I think that’s where all that smokeand-mir rors stu f f comes from,” Devereux says. But today, passed-down tradition and modern technology have come together, he believes, to create what he calls “a second golden era of violin making.” In the past dealers were very guarded about sharing information concerning instruments and builders. But according to Devereux, now there exists a kind of reverse-engineering technology that allows for intense analysis of the techniques used to build classic instruments. “The trade is much more open than it used to be,” he says. For many generations, new violins were very much second-class citizens in the music world. But Devereux believes that some builders working today are crafting instruments that are “as good as the old Italian stuff.” As a modern-day violin maker, Devereux owns up to a bit of bias on that subject. But he cites some recent highprofile tests. “A few acousticians, violin makers, and physical scientists have gotten together and done ‘blind shootouts’ between a $5 million Stradivarius and a new, high-end instrument. And the new instruments tend to pretty resoundingly sweep the field.”
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It does seem that for the most part, today’s fiddle makers are doing their best to emulate the classic violins of old; there’s not a lot of wheel-reinvention taking place in the field. “I think there’s something cool about a traditional art form,” Devereux says, “about trying to be as expressive as possible while limiting yourself to the constraints of that form.” Devereux sees that mindset at work not only in the building of instruments, but in the actual music-making. “I came out of a background of playing traditional music,” he notes. “Playing old time music, bluegrass, and Irish music—and jazz is sometimes this way, too—is about seeing how you can be expressive within a pretty constrained art form.” But one can only take things so far. “If you change oldtime music,” he observes, “at a certain point it stops being old-time music.” And Devereux believes the same is true in fiddle-making. “There are certain people ‘innovating,’ and that’s cool. But for me, it’s a question of, ‘What did those Italian guys do? How do I come to understand it better?’ And that’s an ongoing struggle. Because there’s a right way.” For his part, Jack Devereux draws some wisdom from Eastern tradition. “I’m interested in the Japanese philosophy of paring away unnecessary stuff to get at the essence of the instrument,” he says. Concerned that he’s wandering too deeply into uncharted waters, he hastens to add, “I’m going to get myself into trouble here, because I don’t understand this stuff that well. But there’s the Wabi-sabi idea that no matter what you make, if you do it in an intentional way, it’s going to have some character.” He waxes poetic about the balance and tension between technical ability and emotive expression. Devereux says that whether it’s making violins, playing music (or any creative pursuit, for that matter), “You have to have some reason for doing it. It’s about understanding the medium, and then finding a place and a voice within that.” Yet with regard at least to violin-making, it’s also worth wondering how an artisan expresses his or her own individuality when the goal is emulation of that which has been done before. “I don’t have to think too hard about it,” he admits. “The thing is, my fiddles are going to look and sound like my fiddles, no matter what.” The setbacks Devereux experiences in his art tend to be the kind from which he can recover. “There’s a constant battle of things like operator error,” he explains, “sawing a piece of wood too short, and that kind of stuff.” But those problems are more than offset by a sense that he’s always learning, always improving. “My output is being lapped by my study,” he says. And with every violin he completes, he knows that the next one will be even better. That desire to know more and do better is what drives Jack Devereux every day. 26
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REFINING THE shape of the violin top with a plane.
Geometric Extrapolation Guitar aficionados prize early instruments like a 1937 Martin D28; when one surfaces on the market, it can change hands for well over $60,000. But guitars and violins are vastly different, says Devereux. “The D28 was a product that was standardized. They do have plenty of variation in them, but the goal was always standardization,” he says. “With what we—and the people we learn from and emulate—do, that’s never part of the equation.”
the other way around. “So there’s always going to be some ‘lumpiness.’ Even when you look at old violins, there’s ‘wobble’ in there.” To phrase it in modern terms, that wobble—that individual character—is a feature, not a bug. There does exist a kind of production-model violin, made in China. “Those are made in a manufacturing setting,” Devereux explains. That approach uses a mold for the ribs. “All the tops and backs get cut out the same shape,” he says, “and they all go together: bang, bang, bang.”
Problems are more than offset by a sense that he’s always learning, always improving. “My output is being lapped by my study.”
USING A KNIFE to round over the edge on a violin back.
To illustrate, Devereux picks up a custom-made plywood violin body mold that’s been sitting on his work surface. “I start with this mold; the template is symmetrical. I put the wood on here and trace it and cut it out. But then the ribs [sides] get bent around the template.” He says that the ribs dictate the final shape, rather than
Devereux’s method is at once less precise and more elegant. But it, too, is based on accuracy. With the help of a friend at the Library of Congress (“He does the care and feeding of their musical instrument collection.”), he acquired photographic copies of historically significant violins. “There’s a geometric rationale behind it,” he says. “Knowing just the length of the body, October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 27
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FIRE IN THE MOUNTAIN
“I’ve been a Town Mountain superfan since they started,” Jack Devereux says, of the “hard drivin’ Carolina string band”—as they put it on their website TownMountain.net—from Asheville. In addition to fiddler Devereux, the band includes guitarist/vocalist Robert Greer, bassist Zach Smith, mandolinist Phil Barker, and banjo player Jesse Langlais, and since forming in 2005, they have released five studio albums, the most recent being 2016’s Southern Crescent, recorded in Louisiana with GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer Dirk Powell. They also have a live-in-Asheville album and an EP of Grateful Dead tunes to their credit; performed at the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium; shared bills with everyone from Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass, and Steep Canyon Rangers, to Ralph Stanley, the Del McCoury Band, and the Seldom Scene; and snagged a pair of International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Awards in 2013 for Band of the Year and Vocalist of the Year (Greer). “When I was in high school, they were the ‘cool kids’ on the local bluegrass scene,” notes Devereux. “They’re not that much older than me. Even when I was in Boston, we were buddies.” When original fiddler Bobby Britt—proud owner of the second fiddle Devereux ever sold—had to miss some gigs for health reasons, Devereux subbed for him. And after Britt left for good in late 2015 to continue his studies, Devereux joined Town Mountain a few months later as a full member. “They write great material,” he says. “It’s not just dumb bluegrass clichés. They’re doing some serious songwriting that could stand up in any genre.” Devereux guested on pedal steel guitar on the band’s 2015 Dead Sessions EP, and looks forward to playing fiddle on the band’s next album, set to be recorded at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Studio.
THE THICKNESS of a violin back is measured with specialized calipers.
you can extrapolate the whole shape with only a compass and a straightedge.” He explains that up until the Age of Enlightenment, mathematics was often approached as a series of ratios, rather than specific measurements. “You can read all these treatises about building most anything during the Medieval to early Renaissance,” he says, with a knowing smile, “and there’s a lot of incredible geometric extrapolation. It’s less about the numbers. It’s more about, ‘This is one-seventh of that.’” That kind of analog beauty (as opposed to digital exactitude) is a key to the elegance of artisan-built violins. Devereux happily embraces the fact that even with this approach, there’s what he likens to “photocopy error.” No matter how precise one tries to be, when an artisan builds a fiddle, no two are ever quite the same. It’s little surprise, then, to learn that Devereux is deeply immersed in his chosen profession. “It’s such a cliché, but this is what I go to bed thinking about, and it’s what I wake up thinking about, too. I have this great job. I get to go visit other violin makers.” On occasion he has to summon his inner discipline to focus on the task at hand, but as a rule, he says, “I just like thinking about this stuff, and then working on it.” Devereux has achieved a kind of life balance by making time for live musical performance. His distaste for touring largely dissipated when he joined Town Mountain, one of his all-time favorite bands (see sidebar). As a result, a typical work day for Devereux can involve both sides of his livelihoods. “I’m in this weird place now where I’m touring a lot,” he says. “I love it and I love the band, but at the same time, it’s tough.” The evening before our conversation, he had driven home from a run of Town Mountain gigs, arriving back at 6:30PM. “I got home and thought, ‘It’s been three days since I’ve been in the shop!’ And then I was here in the shop until 11.” Between making instruments and playing music with Town Mountain, Devereux has little time for other pursuits. “I really don’t do anything else,” he says.
The Cult of Old Wood A violin maker can’t simply drive to the nearest lumberyard for wood. Devereux explains that the raw material—maple for the sides and back, spruce for the top—is milled specifically for violins, and is sourced from Eastern Europe, the foot of the Alps toward Italy. “Builders get really specific about density and weight; you can measure the way that sound passes through a certain piece of wood,” he says. And then there’s age. “The newest wood you could put on a fiddle has been out of the tree for maybe five to seven years. I just bought a back that’s probably been out of the tree for maybe 60, 70 years. And it’s going to sit there; I’m going to wait on that for something special.” Devereux recounts an in-joke among fiddle makers. “Old violin makers save their best wood until they die. Then the October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 29
widow gets fifteen phone calls: ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. You wanna sell some wood?’” But like so many issues surrounding fiddle-making, there’s disagreement as to the importance
wood was processed, and if it was cut by a virgin on a night with a full moon.”
The Big Payoff
He readily admits that he’s a nerd when it comes to instrument making. “I just love reading about it and trying to go hang out with these old fiddlers and talk to the guys who know more than I do.” of aged wood. “The most expensive violin in the world right now is a Giuseppe Guarneri that sold for something like $18 million and change,” Devereux says. “And if you look at the wood he used, some of it was two or three years old.” But people do like their mystique. “I feel like every six months, NPR will do a story on ‘The Secret of the Old Violins,’” Devereux chuckles. “And a lot of all that is b.s.: the way the
It’s difficult to pin Devereux down as to how long it takes to build a fiddle, start-to-finish. He says that the woodworking phase often runs a month or more. But the varnishing stage “has a mind of its own” and could be two weeks, a month, or more. And while in an ideal world, he’d like to be building ten to twelve instruments a year, with his Town Mountain performance commitments in 2016, he managed roughly half that number. To date, he says he has completed and delivered more than 30 instruments. Whenever possible, Devereux strongly prefers to hand-deliver a finished fiddle to its new owner. But because he has attracted the attention of musicians across the globe, that’s not always possible. “I’ve got a handful of instruments in Europe now,” he says, “and delivering those is always tricky: customs, transcontinental shipping, import taxes, and so on.” In those cases he tries to hand the violin off to a trusted friend or associate who’s headed that way.
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Devereux admits that the practice of presenting a finished instrument is sometimes bittersweet. By that point, he has already logged quite a bit of time playing and adjusting that fiddle himself. And at the moment, he doesn’t even own one of his own creations. “I keep meaning to build myself something,” he says. In the meantime he sometimes borrows back one of his violins for special occasions. After giving away his earliest models, Devereux’s first sale was to a good friend and former Berklee classmate who lives in Victoria, British Columbia. He had been playing what Devereux describes as a “dirtbag instrument; he had no money.” But he wanted one of Devereux’s fiddles, and insisted on paying for it, telling the fiddle maker, “If you’re going to do this, be serious about it.” “The instrument should act as a conduit from the mind of the player,” Devereux says. And part of his goal as an instrument maker is to make that connection as invisible as possible. “When someone’s playing one of my fiddles, I don’t want them to be thinking about the instrument.” Devereux does that thinking when he’s building. And for him, the payoff comes when he strings up a finished fiddle. Devereux says that he’s always excited to discover, “When you flip the switch, does the monster comes alive?” He readily CAPOctober17
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admits that he’s a nerd when it comes to instrument making. “I just love reading about it and trying to go hang out with these old fiddlers and talk to the guys who know more than I do. I really like getting into the nuts and bolts of it.” Asked what surprises him the most about his work, he has a ready answer. “People keep ordering fiddles! I mean, my website’s a disaster, and I’ve done no advertising. It’s miraculous; I have a waiting list.” Because of the time involved, he only builds on commission; there’s no stock room full of fiddles in Jack Devereux’s shop. “I would like eventually to get maybe three, four ahead,” he says. While he’s receptive to creating instruments that meet the specific desires of his clients, Devereux admits that he really wants to do things his way. Though he insists he has been fortunate never to find himself in this position, he knows of other fiddle makers who have encountered customers seeking a “magic bullet,” a violin that will magically make them a better player. “Luckily,” he says, “people seem to like the stuff that I like to make.”
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CAROLINA in the
WEST [
news briefs
No-Nonsense Help buncombe county
Local husband and wife Mathew and Stephanie Trowbridge, MD, will open their first Range Urgent Care facility on Merrimon Avenue in November. Like most urgent care centers, this one will provide extended hours of care for walk-up patients with non-life-threatening conditions. Services will include routine procedures like setting broken bones, treating common colds, providing physicals, and administering flu shots. A 3,300-sq.-ft. facility, Range will have four exam rooms and one procedure room, with on-site radiology and laboratory space. In addition, professionals will be accessible through a secure video platform for home access. With their clinic, the Trowbridges are joining a growing trend of providing access to affordable, quality healthcare
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outside emergency rooms and doctorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; offices. Distinguishing Range from other urgent care centers are some of its policies. For example, the Trowbridges promise to be an opioid-free safe space with transparent pricing. Stephanie is an emergency room physician.
Time for a Cool Change macon county
The Cashiers-Highlands Plateau home market is gaining appeal with non-retirees. The old-growth Nantahala National Forest and the Blue Ridge Mountains, combined with lakes, streams, and water falls, have long provided a high-altitude escape for lovers of the outdoors with amenities appealing to aficionados of upscale lifestyles. The 2008 housing crisis left the area with
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hundreds of expensive homes for sale in what remains a buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; market. Now, a major trend shows pre-retirees from Atlanta purchasing second homes in the mountains, where taxes and insurance are not as costly as they would be for beachfront getaways. Several come to the mountains to visit, fall in love with the area, and are able to arrange their work schedules around telecommuting or spending weekends in the mountains. Also trending: younger homebuyers interested in living in a walkable town near outdoor amenities. So townhomes in Cashiers can sell for more than double the price of comparables out in the country. With some houses on the market for almost a decade, Cashiers is within reach of more modest incomes. Units have sold for as low as $43,500, and interest in rentals is high. With hundreds of annual closings, sales in the last two years have increased around 10-20% in terms of both units and dollars.
Celling Like Hotcakes
runch g in v r se Now Asheville UNC (UNCA) was awarded a $76,527 grant from the North Carolina nch end bru k e e w g Biotechnology Center for the purchase of vin Now ser buncombe kend b weecounty
a laser-based CytoFLEX flow cytometer.
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The machine is capable of capturing multiple data points for each of thousands of human cells per second. Principal uses of flow cytometers include counting, detection, and sorting. Ted Meigs, UNCA’s GlaxoSmithKline Professor of Molecular and Chemical Biology, was listed as the principal investigator in the grant application. He said he intends to use the cytometer to, among other things, gauge the amount of DNA in cells and observe interactions of proteins tagged with fluorescent markers. Meigs’ co-investigators were Kinta Serve, who teaches biology at Mars Hill University, and Joseph Martinez, cofounder of f(x) Immune Diagnostics, an Atlanta firm recruited to Asheville in 2014 by the Biotechnology Center. Meigs said the cytometer will allow colleges and businesses in Western North Carolina to get involved in a wider range of projects. The CytoFLEX flow cytometer typically costs over $100,000, but manufacturer Beckman Coulter offered the machine to UNCA with an educational discount, and the school provided the grant match.
Big Party for Bigfoot mcdowell county
The Marion Business Association is working with Bigfoot 911 to organize a
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the old north state
national & world
festival celebrating the Bigfoot legend. The event, to be held in Marion sometime in September of next year, will be a typical fair with the addition of “evidence” to interest Bigfoot chasers. The idea follows a recent Bigfoot town hall that attracted 200 visitors from as far away as Canada. Participants met in Old Fort to tell stories and share audio and video following the most recent sighting. While on an expedition in search of Sasquatch, eight members of Bigfoot 911 had a close encounter near Lake James. They were scattering glow sticks in the woods, since they reportedly act as lures for the creature, when one of the sticks started moving through the woods. And that was when the team came upon a hairy, ape-like creature. Later on, a man from Minnesota claimed responsibility for the sighting. He said he was dressed in fur and performing shamanistic rituals in the woods in order to contact Bigfoot. While Bigfoot sightings and conferences are normally associated with the Pacific Northwest, the legend has enough of a local flavor to have attracted the filming of an episode of the television series Finding Bigfoot. The program featured a town hall meeting held in Asheville and hunting scenes filmed at McDowell County’s Lake James and Pepper’s Creek.
carolina in the west
Taking the Mound macon county
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians acquired 0.59 acres of land across from the Nikwasi Mound in Franklin. Principal Chief Richard Sneed was authorized by the tribal council to sign the resolution to purchase the site for $400,000. The tribe also authorized the expenditure of up to $100,000 on determining the highest and best use for the property. The site is the former home of Dan’s Foreign Auto, and the existing building will probably become a heritage-based educational center. Mainspring Conservation Trust, formerly known as the Land Trust For The Little Tennessee, is working with the tribe to create a conservation corridor. The organization purchased the property a few months ago with the intention of selling it to the tribe after it had been given sufficient time to cobble together investors “for the purchase and redevelopment of the property in a manner consistent with a vision of cultural interpretation, heritage tourism, and economic development.” Sneed said the tribe is still interested in regaining ownership of formal tribal lands, like the mound, which is now owned by the Town of Franklin. Not much is known about the origins of the manmade hill because
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carolina in the west
archaeological excavation has been minimal. Likely built by the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, it was used as a spiritual center and public meeting space by the Cherokee as early as 1730.
How Much is that Uber? buncombe county
WLOS News 13 announced the results of its investigative analysis of Buncombe County highways. While congestion continually gets worse, it was determined that population growth was not a factor, since the county has typically added only 3,000 residents a year for a current total of around 250,000. By way of contrast, the county was visited by 10.8 million tourists last year, 80% of whom drove themselves in automobiles. TRIP, a national transportation research group, estimated each Asheville driver lost $380 a year waiting in traffic. Last year, an estimated 18 hours per capita were lost; this year, the number is up to 26. The three worst chronic backlogs occurred on I-240 near the Jeff Bowen Bridge, at the I-26 and Brevard Road interchange, and on I-40 East approaching I-26. In these places tie-ups can stretch exit-toexit, with delays of about half an hour. Traffic on stretches of I-240 in West Asheville exceeded the North Carolina Department of Transportationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s limits 10 years ago, and many interchanges are not compliant with current standards. Although attempts to upgrade the highways have been postponed by citizen protests for 28 years, the DOT is moving forward. Land acquisitions for some parts of the I-26 connector will begin next year.
The King in His Castle buncombe county
Frank King, founder of King Bio Homeopathics, has purchased the Weaverville production facility formerly owned by Arvato. Arvato was a manufacturer of compact and digital versatile 34
| October 2017
discs that once employed 1,500 on the premises. Arvato’s business dwindled with the advent of shared digital media, and the company had at one point considered razing the building, which was in perfectly good condition. Instead, King purchased the 416,000-sq.-ft. space, and the underlying 33.5 acres, for $8.1 million. In addition to its conference rooms and upscale office space, the facility is outfitted with high-tech features like cleanrooms, high-security areas, a fireproof room, and “one of the largest water purification systems in the Southeast.” King has been working out of West Asheville, where his headquarters will still be located. He is not sure how much space his business will need in the Arvato building, but he intends to rent the remainder to other businesses, using an incubator model. King was motivated to found King Bio in 1989, when he couldn’t find anybody to prepare some of his proprietary blends. The company has since grown to manufacture over 500 King Bio natural remedies, and it prepares about as many formulations for sale by other brands.
Surviving the Squeeze henderson county
Two North Carolina healthcare systems announced their intent to merge. One, UNC Health Care, employs 30,000 in 12 hospitals; the other, Carolinas HealthCare, employs 65,000 and owns or manages 40 hospitals. Last year, UNC Health Care, which manages Pardee Hospital, collected $3.6 billion, of which $196.6 million was operating income; Carolinas HealthCare posted $9.8 billion and $422 million. The stated objectives of the merger included realizing savings of millions of dollars by being able to negotiate better deals with insurance companies and vendors, improving access in rural communities, and allowing a wider population to participate in clinical trials conducted through UNC’s medical school. Details have yet to be negotiated, but the
parties to the agreement have agreed to dissolve the existing entities and meld all overhead under a single banner, yet to be named. Bill Roper, CEO of UNC Health Care and dean of the university’s medical school, will serve as executive chairman of the board, while Gene Woods, CEO of Carolinas, will become CEO. The merger still must be approved by the Federal Trade Commission, to ensure patients retain sufficient choice in selecting physicians and hospitals and that there are enough restraints against monopoly pricing.
The Price of Freedom polk county
Polk County leadership wants to raise its occupancy tax to 6%, but standing in its way are the 3% municipal occupancy taxes. The county, therefore, approached the municipalities with a proposal: If they would repeal their occupancy taxes, the county would impose an umbrella 6% tax and let the municipalities keep five cents of every six. The county would keep the other penny to cover administrating the tax. Any municipality wishing to participate in the 6% tax arrangement would also dissolve its tourism development authority (TDA) to participate in a joint TDA formed by the county. It is expected a 6% tax would collect $229,000 for the entire county. Though no action has been taken, and any decision is ultimately up to the state legislature, the municipalities expressed concern any marginal gain they might enjoy from joining the joint TDA might not be worth the autonomy they would lose in deciding how to spend the tax. Representatives of the county said the money would either go directly to the municipalities or to the TDA board, which would have municipal representation participating in decisions. The latter was not appealing, as representatives assumed hoteliers would serve on the board and vote to use the funds to benefit hotels instead of general-fund capital and operations. October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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Sound & Vision
local industry
written by lucia del vecchio
Covers bands, tribute acts, and celebrity impersonators: improbable careers, or lucrative career paths? MARK CASSON OF the Wham Bam Bowie Band ready to rock, photo by Robin Gelberg October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 37
local industry
I
n the world of performance, it’s unlikely
you can find someone who sets out with the sole goal of performing the oeuvre of other artists, or even impersonating the artists themselves. Yet somehow, local music spots regularly have tribute bands on their schedules, impersonators can be found for hire outside of Las Vegas, and most of us remember that covers band at the wedding that could really, really play, and even got the people who don’t normally dance to kick off their shoes and join the party. What once might have been considered quaint facsimiles or even illegitimate forms of entertainment have become viable, potentially lucrative, career paths. Equally important: They offer the fans in the audience something meaningful and, often, downright moving. So what’s in it for the artists beyond a mere paycheck? How does someone find themselves in the midst of a 20-plus year career as an Elvis impersonator, or working as a dentist who is also in his fifth tribute band? How does a Halloween costume purchase turn into a lucrative and enjoyable side gig, and how do full-time musicians round out their work schedules by happily playing weddings as part of a covers band that’s been in business for 15 years?
Let’s Dance
First off, some distinctions need to be made, or argued, about the three categories of performance in discussion. A tribute band can be defined simply as a band that plays the music of a particular artist or group, and may or may not include dressing as the artists or adopting their personas on stage; sometimes tribute bands specialize in specific eras of artists, or perform classic albums from start to finish. An impersonator is someone who pretends to be someone else for entertainment, and physically resembling the artist is typically key. Finally, a covers band is a group whose repertoire consists solely of songs by other artists. As simplistic as these definitions seem to be, there is some controversy among performers as to the labels. André Cholmondeley, a member of both the David Bowie tribute band Wham Bam Bowie Band and the Frank Zappa tribute band Project/Object, feels that what he does is akin to jazz bands working around the world. “In large part,” says Cholmondeley, “those are cover acts as well, paying tribute to the great canon of jazz. Even original jazz artists usually perform some classics, or started out doing so. Same with orchestras. Ninety-nine percent of it is tribute to some other composer.” Jim Arrendell, lead singer of local covers/throwback band The Business (focused on ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, Motown, and classic soul), echoes Cholmondeley’s sentiment when he says, “Practically any jazz band is a cover band, although they would not term themselves that.” However, local jazz musician and band leader Russ Wilson, of the Euphonic Ragtime Orchestra, Russ Wilson & His Famous 38
| October 2017
THE BUSINESS, photo by Frank Zipperer
Orchestra, the Russ Wilson Swingtette, and several other ensembles, strongly disagrees. When asked if he considers his various music projects tribute acts or covers bands, he states, firmly, “I would consider it to be neither. I play jazz.” Meanwhile, Joe Borelli, who has been working full-time as an Elvis for 23 years, prefers to think of himself as heading up a tribute act, as an entertainer, rather than embracing the moniker of impersonator. Regardless of the disagreement on the definitions and labels, one thing is clear: These performers take what they do very seriously.
Under Pressure
And what they do doesn’t come easy. While they aren’t inventing music or comedy routines from scratch, these artists aren’t simply mimicking a few moves, telling a few jokes, or playing bars of music. Aaron Price, who plays keyboards in the Wham Bam Bowie Band with Cholmondeley and is also a fulltime musician, notes the challenge of learning another artist’s music, saying, “Bowie’s music is a lot of work; every song has a trap door of sorts.” For his part, Borelli, a musician since the age of 16, estimates it took a year and a half of studying hours of performance footage to get the physicalization and vocal stylization of Elvis Presley down.
In the case of Phish tribute band Runaway Gin, a two-year weekly residency at the Charleston Pour House was what it took to get their act honed; the band is currently based in Charleston, but as “the world’s most active Phish tribute” it performs regularly in the region and its members are from all over the Carolinas. “Without the weekly gig it would be impossible to have put the time in to learn the catalog,” says guitarist/vocalist Andy Greenberg, who adds that the band’s shows are always at least three and a half hours long, with one set break, copying the show structure of the Vermont jam band. (It’s worth nothing that Phish itself still tours; a lot of tribute acts are dedicated to bands that have broken up or whose main members are no longer living.) Long hours are a common thread in this business. Phuncle Sam, an Asheville-based Grateful Dead tribute band, learned over 200 songs by the iconic psychedelic group and also plays three-hour shows, not unlike the lengthy shows the Dead itself was accustomed to performing. Covers band Orange Krush, also from Asheville, points out that they generally play fourhour sets, since most wedding receptions are about four hours long. “Generally it’s an eight- to twelve-hour day with traveling, load-in, set-up, sound check, possibly play [during] the ceremony, then cocktail hour, then four-hour reception, then tear down, load-out, drive home,” says Brian Turner, Orange Krush’s band manager and piano/keyboard player. “Often on
Saturdays I’ll leave home around noon-2PM and don’t get back until 11PM-2AM, depending on where the gig is.” Brian Hoffman, who impersonates the late comedian Red Skelton, and has a six-show-a-week schedule at Rocky Top
Hoffman says he’s in the business for “the hour and a half that I get to have fun, versus the eight to ten hour days of working to make that hour and a half possible.” Theater in nearby Pigeon Forge, quips his show is “1.5 hours, unless no one laughs, then it’s an hour and goes from comedy to documentary.” (Skelton, a rubber-faced and gifted physical comedian who specialized in offbeat characters such as Freddie the Freeloader, Clem Kadiddlehopper, and a pair of talking seagulls called Gertrude and Heathcliffe, was hugely popular October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 39
JOE BORELLI, dressed as Elvis, photo courtesy Joe Borelli
local industry
from the Fifties through the Seventies, hosting The Red Skelton Hour on CBS in the Sixties and also performing regularly in Las Vegas. He passed away in 1997 after being in show business for seven decades.) So much more goes into the business of impersonation and band work than what one sees on stage. Hoffman says he’s in the business for “the hour and a half that I get to have fun, versus the eight to ten hour days of working to make that hour and a half possible.” Hoffman, whose show “Remembering Red—A Tribute to Red Skelton” was once the longest running show at the Westin Las Vegas Hotel Casino and Spa on Flamingo in Las Vegas, is a one-man, full-time operation, with Hoffman taking care of the promotion, billing, paperwork, and accounting of his show himself. “A lot of people in show business forget about the business and just think about the show, when without the business you have no show,” he explains. Jeffrey Evans, a Captain Jack Sparrow impersonator (he’s known as “Captain Jeff”) who found himself in the business after his wife challenged him to find a way for his Pirates of the Caribbean Halloween costume purchase to pay him back, agrees with Hoffman. “To me,” says Evans, “the most challenging thing is the business aspect—audience targeting, marketing, balancing home life with gigs.” A related but slightly different list of the type of legwork required to be successful is in jazzman Wilson’s line of work: “Booking gigs, drawing up contracts, dealing with club owners, wedding planners, mothers of the bride, booking flights, booking musicians, firing musicians, waiting for the check to arrive so the other 17 checks don’t bounce, getting fed cold chicken fingers and French fries while everyone else is eating steak and sushi, looking for financial patrons to help with your next big concert. You see, ‘music business’ is an oxymoron. But in my line of work you have to handle ‘the business.’ It’s hard. Honestly, I hate doing [that part of] it. I would love for someone else to handle it for me. But I have to do it, and that’s that.”
PHUNCLE SAM photo by Amy Soper
A New Career In A New Town
“The most challenging aspect of being in a cover band is that almost every event is in front of a different audience that you have to reel [in] and build your song list to,” says Jim Arrendell, who estimates about 80 percent of The Business’ gigs to be wedding receptions. Orange Krush’s Turner points to the difficulty that occasionally crops up with certain wedding gigs. “We work with a lot of different types of clients and some are very hands off and let us do our job, and those are our most successful nights,” Turner says. “Some clients like to come in and try to micromanage everything, and sometimes we have many different people coming at us at weddings with conflicting information rather than one contact or planner. It can get kind of hectic during the evening. Having 15 years of weddings under our belts, we are most successful when we are allowed to just do our thing.” 40
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KREK TONES photo courtesy the Krektones
The sights… the seasons… BRIAN HOFFMAN AS "Clem Kadiddlehopper" photo courtesy Brian Hoffman
A more specialized challenge is reserved for the impersonators, as being taken seriously as a profession can be one of their greatest hurdles. When asked about this issue, Elvis channeler Borelli responds, “I believe that there is a group out there that really want to be Elvis so bad, that they don’t care what they look like, they don’t care how they sound, and, in general, people see those people first. It makes it bad for the professional.” Hoffman agrees with Borelli, his frustration with the public perception of impersonation informed by his years working in Vegas with his Red Skelton act. “You see 100,000 Elvises, and some are good, and others, what’d you do, go buy a twodollar wig and think you’re Elvis now? It’s costuming, not impersonation.” On whether impersonation is considered a professional discipline, Jack Sparrow impersonator Captain Jeff says, “Some cases, there are people that raise an eyebrow. I think that, overall, people embrace the impersonation/impersonator; thus I believe impersonation is taken seriously—within limits.” Traveling is a big part of the life for impersonators, tribute bands, and covers bands. Other than Phuncle Sam, which plays about 40 shows a year and tends to stay close to home, most of the performers and groups have heavy travel requirements as part of their work. Andy Greenberg of Runaway Gin cites travel requirements as the hardest part of being in the band, and with 85 percent of their shows being out of town, and doing nearly 100 shows in a single year, that can make for a tiring year. Greenberg points to the band’s tendency now to
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local industry
RUNAWAY GIN photo courtesy Runaway Gin
CAPTAIN JEFF as Jack Sparrow photo by Amy Evans
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book fewer shows in larger venues as an effort to both grow the band’s reputation and cut down on the traveling schedule. By comparison, traveling once or twice a month and playing about 200 shows total a year, jazzman Russ Wilson has “played everything from dive bars to Lincoln and Kennedy Centers.” Borelli estimates he plays six shows a month as Elvis and five additional gigs a month in his other covers band, and plays weddings, banquets, clubs, casinos, even seniors’ centers, spanning from Buffalo to Florida and all points in between. The Business travels all over the Southeast, and Orange Krush has traveled up to six hours for a gig. “We will travel anywhere as long as the client has the money!” laughs Turner, who cites traveling the region with Orange Krush as one of his favorite parts of the work, in addition to “playing with killer musicians.” But what about costumes? For acts like Runaway Gin, Phuncle Sam, and the covers bands, dress doesn’t seem to be a major aspect of their performance. Borelli, however, can’t escape his King Of Rock and Roll look, even in his off time. “My sideburns are real,” he says. “My hair is real. It’s a curse sometimes—I have to go to the supermarket [and] I look like Elvis when I’m out shopping.” Jason Krekel, of Asheville based The Krektones, who play a mixture of surf rock, movie soundtrack music, and ‘60s instrumental garage, considers attire an important part of their show. “The Krektones always appear in our blue-sequin-edged black suits as a tribute to the bands of the ‘60s that considered looking good as important as sounding good!” Cholmondeley, of Wham Bam Bowie Band, agrees that a performer’s appearance is important. “Our singer, Mark [Casson, who also fronts The Cheeksters, not a covers band], would go for the ‘Thin White Duke’ look when we did the mid-‘70s
stuff, and the Ziggy/facepaint look for the earlier stuff.” Aaron Price, also of Wham Bam Bowie, says fans give the highest compliment on their sound and stage look when they say they felt like they were actually at a Bowie show, adding, “We try to capture a glam look, visually.”
Moonage Daydream
Experiences with the pay scale of these types of performance varies. Turner, from O range Krush, describes the pay as “excellent. It runs about $3,500 for the sixpiece band in town, and goes up from there as you add in travel and adding our horn section.” (When Orange Krush tours with horns that means up to three extra musicians.) For private events bands, the pay is generally steady, and Arrendell of The Business points out that most of the members in the band make more playing music than they do with their day jobs. The pay for Runaway Gin varies depending on the venue, and for Wham Bam Bowie Band, the pay can be a flat fee or a ticket sales cut, also depending on where they are performing at the time. Referencing the pay, Cholmondeley says, “Ha! that’s the tricky part. Actually, with Wham Bam Bowie Band it’s not bad, since our gigs are usually within the two-hour radius. We have toured only once, doing a ten-day run that included going up to NYC, Connecticut, etcetera, and actually didn’t lose money. Who knows—it works out to a couple hundred bucks each per month in a busy month, but versus the time spent, [and] travel expenses, it’s a labor of love.” When discussing the tours of his longer-term Zappa band, Project/Object, Cholmondeley
RUSS WILSON conducting his Famous Orchestra photo courtesy Russ Wilson
Skelton show in Pigeon Forge, and receives a considerable performance fee for one-time shows booked elsewhere. Captain Jeff, whose day job is building tires for Michelin, says, of playing Jack Sparrow, “The pay is adequate. I didn’t start impersonating to ‘become a millionaire’ or ‘get rich quick.’” According to Jason Krekel, the Krektones have a minimum of $50 a performer for shows, but he notes that while private gigs always generate the most pay, they tend to be less satisfying, as excited audiences are more often found in dive bars and clubs than your average private party. Russ Wilson sums it up concisely by describing the pay for his jazz gigs in these terms: “Sometimes it’s fabulous, and sometimes I wished I stayed home!”
“Another amazing thing is when people see the band multiple times and say that seeing us has inspired them to go back to the original records.” points out that overseas work is often a more profitable endeavor. “Generally, when you make it to Europe, the pay is a lot better, and over there, expenses such as hotels and two meals are usually provided in the deals,” he says. Cholmondeley founded Project/Object in the mid ‘90s, making it the longest running alumni-based Zappa tribute, as the lineup has included, variously, the late composer’s vocalist Ike Willis, slide guitarist Denny Walley, sax player Napoleon Murphy Brock, and original Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston. As for the impersonators, full-time performer Hoffman makes his money off the ticket sales for his regular Red
Changes Wilson is a full-time musician, as are many other of the performers. Two members of Phuncle Sam, Jason Krekel of The Krektones, Runaway Gin bass player Bobby Hogg, Aaron Price of Wham Bam Bowie Band, and all of the members of Orange Krush make their living solely with October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 43
local industry
CAPTURE
music. “We are all full-time musicians,” says Turner, of Orange Krush. “Most teach [music] and do gigs. Three of us have church gigs, so we try to get back home on Saturdays. I do everything from teaching five-year-olds piano in my Asheville music studio, to touring the country playing arenas with Caleb Johnson.” (Johnson, also from Asheville, was the Season 13 winner of American Idol.) It’s surprising to find out that Andy Greenberg of Runaway Gin is a dentist by day, and the keyboard player of his band works for Boeing. Jim Arrendell recently started working as a booking agent for EastCoast Entertainment, one of the largest full-service entertainment agencies in the country, and his guitarist in The Business, Tom Leiner, is a wine rep for Grapevine Distributors. Other members of their band have day jobs in carpentry, one is a visual artist, and one works at a factory that makes handmade teeth for dentists. “My day job is largely in the touring world, working for other artists as a tour manager and/or stage tech,” says André Cholmondeley. Despite currently working as a touring tech for the band Yes, and having toured with former King Crimson/Zappa/ Bowie/Talking Heads guitarist Adrian Belew, the late Greg Lake (of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer), .moe, Derek Trucks, Al Di Meola, and many more, Cholmondeley still needs to supplement his income with other work on occasion. “Sometimes when in town for an extended period, I’m a substitute teacher,” he notes. (One of Cholmondeley’s bandmates in Wham Bam Bowie Band, drummer Jim Neu, also plays in the Whooligans, a Who tribute band, while vocalist Mark Casson, in addition to fronting originals band The Cheeksters, is a real estate broker.)
the
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Heroes
ONGOING EVENTS
Beyond the pay, why do these artists choose to do this work? Cholmondeley points to the artistic satisfaction of playing in a tribute band. “It’s great fun and a labor of love. It’s a way to ‘get inside’ the music of an iconic composer or artist, and a way to understand the songwriting process in a very unique way—reverse engineering the song itself, and also the technology and sonics and timbres involved.” Jim Arrendell appreciates the connection that comes from playing beloved music for an appreciative audience, saying, “I love the fact that I get to share music that so many people know in their depths. It makes for an instant connection. I also feel that it removes any default separation between stage and audience, which I guess is a different way of saying the same thing.” While it may seem logical that someone performing as someone else for so long—and someone whose routines are so ingrained in the public’s mind—might get old, Joe Borelli speaks to the contrary. “It’s never stopped being fun. It really hasn’t. I love what I do.” In particular, he loves watching the expressions of people’s faces when he performs. “People
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say, ‘I closed my eyes and thought I was at an Elvis concert.’ I’m still amazed that it’s been so popular, and it’s still going.” Often performing at Greenville Children’s Hospital, Captain Jeff also considers the personal connection the best part of what he does as Jack Sparrow. “The thing I love most about impersonating is the reaction from the children. When I go to Greenville Children’s Hospital, the total excitement expressed on the children’s faces warms my heart. This is far and away the biggest benefit of impersonating. Just to know that, for a moment, you were able to brighten someone’s day.” Cholmondeley says he finds “one of the greatest rewards [to be] watching people respond with happiness, nostalgia, joy. Another amazing thing is when people see the band multiple times and say that seeing us has inspired them to go back to
THE WHAM BAM BOWIE BAND, photo by Robin Gelberg
BRIAN HOFFMAN AS "Freddie the Freeloader" photo courtesy Brian Hoffman
the original records, and, best of all, to expand their exposure to the artist and check out some release they may have missed or previously ignored. That is the highest compliment—making them even bigger fans of the artist.” For Runaway Gin and Phuncle Sam, there’s a more unusual reward to their performance, as both Phish and The Grateful Dead have a great deal of improvisation as part of their work. “With the Dead’s music, every jam is different, and experimentation is a crucial factor,” says Bill “Long Branch” Evans, who plays guitar and sings vocals for Phuncle Sam. Runaway Gin’s Greenberg says, of playing with his band, “The spontaneity of the live show—this feeling of leaving yourself, sort of bringing you into the moment, letting you forget about your day-to-day stuff, the way Phish is 100 percent improv in those moments—forces you to pay close attention and forget about the past and the future too much.” He also points out that since Phish plays so infrequently in the South, Runaway Gin gives Phish fans a meeting place outside of the Vermont band’s touring schedule. For both Runaway Gin and Phuncle
OR ANGE KRUSH BAND'S Brian Turner at a wedding per formance. photo by Carrie Turner Photography
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 45
local industry
OR ANGE KRUSH BAND per forming at a wedding recetption. photo by Carrie Turner Photography
Sam, their tribute work is a best-of-both-worlds scenario, as they draw fans of the original group, yet have artistic freedom within the performance with the improvisation. “That’s kind of the ethos of Phish,” says Greenberg. “To embrace the moment, to get to that space where something happens that no one’s expecting, and then together with the audience simultaneously arrive at that new place.”
Fame
From the venue’s perspective, Matthieu Rodriguez, the marketing director of Asheville’s Salvage Station venue and event space, says, “People may not ever get to experience their favorite band live for many reasons, but cover bands allow the
photo courtesy Amy Evans
along and leave very, very happy,” he says. “That’s always great and inspiring to see.” Overall, these performers, whether mounting tributes, playing covers, or impersonating, are having a blast. “Performing for me is a full-time job and satisfying act of self-expression,” says Jason Krekel. “By playing to an audience, they become part of the show and inspire my own self-expression while giving me joy!” For Russ Wilson—who, in addition to leading several jazz ensembles, has over the years performed with scores of artists across all genres—the work is about “playing music I love to play. Music I want to play, not that I have to play for someone else. I love the music and I love my life.” But how long will these artists continue? Joe Borelli is amazed that the love for Elvis continues, even into younger generations,
One thing is clear: These artists are satisfied, both artistically and professionally, and they create experiences highly valued by audiences. attendee to see their favorite music, band, or genre performed live.” Aaron Price of Wham Bam Bowie Band points out that now David Bowie has died, his catalog is set, and since fans are unable to see him perform live any longer, they may get more emotional at the shows. Salvage Station books numerous tribute acts into their performance space, including Phuncle Sam, and Rodriguez says, “We like good music. There’s always room for local musicians on our stage, and we try to balance those efforts with touring bands as well.” For André Cholmondeley, the fans are indeed the key to enjoying the work. “We have a blast being inside this amazing music, bringing it back alive, watching people sing and dance 46
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but figures when his voice starts cracking, it’ll be time to stop. “You don’t want to be the old guy on stage looking like a fool,” he says. “The jumpsuit will hang up and I’ll move on, but I’ll stay in the music business for sure.” One thing is clear: These artists are satisfied, both artistically and professionally, and they create experiences highly valued by audiences. The next time you see a tribute band on the docket at your local music venue, attend an event with a killer covers band, or find yourself lucky enough to be in the presence of a serious impersonator, know that they are having just as much fun as you are.
PLAYING IS FOR THE YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART. STAY THAT WAY.
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October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 47
column
Fall Cleanup
Before the gardener gets to go to bed, first you have to make sure you put the garden to bed.
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cinthia milner
is a garden coach at B.B. Barns Garden Center & Landscaping Services in Arden, North Carolina
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T ’ S FA L L , Y ’A L L , A N D S W E AT SH I RT S A N D
football and pumpkin spiced lattes are calling us. The cooler weather inspires mornings on the porch, coffee cups in hand, and a lazy weekend in sight. The garden? Nope. It got plenty of attention all summer long, without looking at a chore list ten miles deep. Aren’t we finished with the garden for the year? Not yet.
Fall cleanup seems overwhelming in the face of our fantasy football league, but to get us off to a good start in spring (when all we want to do is plant, plant, plant), it’s best to go ahead and get these chores marked off our lists now. Think of it like doing the dishes before you go to bed instead of facing them in the morning when you’ve got to rush out the door to work. You’ll thank yourself come spring. But we can keep it simple. Here are the absolute “gotta dos” for those ready to throw in the trowel after a ridiculously hot but, thankfully, rainy summer.
Tropicals go Indoors It’s past time for the houseplants that moved outdoors for the summer to move back inside. Tropicals or houseplants won’t show immediate damage unless exposed to frost or freeze. But, extended temperatures in the 40s can lower their resistance to pest and disease. Have them acclimated to indoors by the time evening temperatures are consistently in the upper 40s. How do you acclimate them? Once inside, their exposure to light is less, so start by putting them in shadier places outside | October 2017
to begin the transition to less light indoors. Expect some leaf drop once inside. Be sure to check for pests and treat any problems before bringing them inside. Now is a good time to shop for new houseplants, adding to your collection. Houseplants help purify household toxins. Snake plant or Sanseveria is easy to grow—little water and little light, basically neglect it—and, it is healthy for you. Sanseveria doesn’t release allergens; it does absorb toxins and release oxygen (put one by your bed for better sleep), and it releases moisture in the air, lessening airborne allergens. Peace lily is ranked number one for removing the most toxins, and it is as easy as snake plant in care. Adding one or two houseplants creates an aesthetic atmosphere, but, perhaps even more important, it also aids in creating a cleaner environment.
The Vegetable Garden Remove all spent and diseased plant material from the vegetable garden and ditto the perennial beds. Pull up the tomatoes that suffered tomato blight, bag them and throw away. The same applies to all diseased plant material. It does not go into the
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About the time winter starts to annoy us, daffodils, snowdrops, scilla, crocus, and more—those harbingers of spring—start popping up. That’s when most of us wish we’d planted more bulbs in fall. October is bulb planting month, but you can go into November as long as the soil is workable. Bulbs need a certain number of chilling hours to bloom, so if you wait until January, you may be too late. Thanksgiving weekend is a good deadline. Each year, determine to add more. Bulbs are a perfect addition to the landscape because by June, once their leaves have turned yellow, and you’re cutting them back, the summer perennials start to show. It doubles your planting space. Augers are the best tool for planting bulbs; just drill and toss the bulb in. Larger bulbs like daffodils, tulips, and allium, plant six to eight inches deep. Smaller bulbs like crocus, snowdrops, scillia, and grape hyacinth, four to five inches. Bulbs are like little flower factories: They have everything they need to perform encapsulated in their small package. You can add bone meal to their holes before planting, but if you don’t, come spring, you’ll still have blooming bulbs.
Gardener Review Here’s a fun chore. Grab a cup of coffee, a notepad, and pencil, and take a stroll through the garden. What worked? What didn’t? Were some plants fabulous but impractical? That banana plant was a show stopper and a traffic stopper— but it hogged the path to the backyard, so the grass got beat up from trampling feet going around the tree. What about those shade trees you planted years ago that are finally shading the house and likely the full sun perennial beds? Is it time to develop a shade garden plan? Keep a picture journal of your garden. Because we live in our gardens, we don’t often notice how they evolve, and when our full sun perennials fade out, we wonder why. Look up. How much bigger are the dogwoods and maple trees that you planted? How large are the rhododendrons now? It may be time to transplant sun loving perennials to sunnier spots and incorporate more shade tolerant ones. Gardens are not static. They’re organic, evolving spaces, which is what keeps us intrigued. Check the health of your shrubs. Are the interiors full of dead twigs? It may be time for some drastic pruning. Many shrubs benefit from rejuvenation pruning. R hododendrons, azaleas, hollies, boxwoods, all can be cut back to 18” (after blooming for the spring blooming shrubs), essentially creating a new shrub. If you’ve been pruning the same azalea year after year to the same height, it may be time. Make a note of what needs attention for next season.
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I f s qu i r r el s a b o u nd i n yo u r neighborhood, consider placing chicken wire over new plantings. They love tasty bulbs, though not daffodils. You can place the chicken wire on top or around the bulbs. The bulbs will find their way through, come spring. Remove all packaging of bulbs and anything that gives the squirrels the scent of what you just planted.
CELEBRATING 21 YEARS!
compost bin or stay on the ground all winter (a great habitat for disease and pests). If you didn’t plant a cover crop this year, make a note to plant cover crops, or green manure, next year. The name implies the benefits to your soil. Green manure helps with soil erosion, weed suppression, pest and disease control, and is a soil builder for next year’s garden. North Carolina State University Extension has excellent information on cover crops for farms and small gardens. If you missed the cover crops for this season, be sure to add a layer of leaf mulch to your beds. Read below for instructions. Harvest all your herbs and late summer crops before a freeze gets them and remember that now is a good time to plant garlic.
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A Few More Things to Consider
Weed, Weed, Weed
Do you need some shade or bones in the garden? Now is the time to plant trees and shrubs. The soil temperatures stay warmer than the air temperatures as we move into fall, allowing roots to develop over shoots, which is exactly what the plant needs. Remember you’re growing roots, even if you’re enjoying the shoots. Maybe the garden could use some winter interest. Often we go for the blooming plants, while forgetting that winter will be bare. Consider conifers to bring in winter color. Conifers aren’t just pine trees and they aren’t just green. They range in colors from silvery blue—think blue spruce—to chartreuse and even red. And while a Norway spruce is beautiful, not all yards have space for one. Conifers range in size from two feet tall to 100 feet tall. The choices are limitless. Want a pollinator garden? Now is the time to plan for it. How about planting for wildlife and birds? Whatever it is, get out the note paper and start dreaming. It’ll infuse some passion back into the garden and get you excited about a winter in front of the fire with sketches and plant lists.
Bulb buying and dreaming for next year’s garden beat this chore, but it’s necessary. Many weeds are going to seed now and ousting them before that happens is crucial. At least try to remove the seed heads with a sharp pair of deadheaders. Yes, you can call it quits on weeding, but that means next spring they’ll be back with a vengeance. One year’s seed is seven years’ weed, as the saying goes. Set a timer, weed for one hour one day, then again another day. That’s one hour you will love yourself for come spring.
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Gather the Leaves When the leaves start falling, do rake them off the grass, so you don’t kill the grass, but don’t give them to your municipality. Instead, gather them up and put them into the garden beds. You can put them directly into the garden beds, but certain leaves will mat together and form a slick barrier making it hard for rain to penetrate, and next year you’ll have to rake them back. Here’s a better and easy way. Rake them into a pile and run the lawn mower over them a few times. There is such a thing as a
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leaf shredder, which is very efficient and useful (think of a big paper shredder), but the lawnmower works, too. Then mulch the garden beds with the shredded leaves. Skip the expensive wood mulch, and comfort yourself with the knowledge that leaves contain two times the mineral content of manure, act as organic roughage—adding them to the soil improves drainage and aeration—and serve as food for beneficial microbes. There’s also the compost bin if you have one. Leaves are great food for compost. Leaves are garden gold. Use what nature gives you.
Save Some for the Birds and Wildlife A tidy garden is good and weeding important, but leave some of those coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and ornamental grasses for the birds who love the seeds and like to cozy up inside the golden grass stands for winter. You can cut those back in spring. Clean out birdhouses and wash bird feeders. Some birdfeeders can go into the dishwasher, but if yours can’t, just use warm water, a little soap, and scrub, rinsing well. Clean bird feeders
help reduce the possibility of spreading disease and sickness among birds. Clean and store tools. Wash soil and grime from all tools. Use a sharpener on dull tools and cover with a coat of oil to prevent rusting. It’s not a bad idea to do this frequently during the summer, but most of us forget or are too tired after a day of gardening, so get tools ready now for next spring. Store tools separately.
One Final Note Pruning: Pruning is a late winter, early spring chore (late February to early March). If you need to shape some shrubs now because they’re taking over pathways or windows, do so lightly. Pruning stimulates growth and any new growth now wouldn’t have time to harden off before freezing temperatures. Otherwise, save this chore for spring. All finished! Now, even the garden coach is being lured indoors with the thought of a good book, warm tea, and fireplace. And oh yeah, Clemson football. May your winter be blessed with quiet and restored creativity for next year’s garden.
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THE OLD
NORTH additional research and development activities will focus on making the device more rugged, user-friendly, and widely-applicable. Development is made possible with funding from the AFRL’s Center for Rapid Innovation.
Cabarrus County, the Cabarrus County Economic Development Corporation, and the NCDOT are also partnering for the deal. The absence of any state Job Development Investment Grant incentives, which usually play into large business announcements, as well as no mention of job-creation awards in Kannapolis’ incentive package, have led to speculation the average wage may not meet thresholds. The facility, set to open in 2019, will be Amazon’s fourth in the Charlotte area. It already runs a smaller distribution center in Concord, a receiving center in Charlotte proper, and a little-used air cargo service at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
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Kannapolis City Council approved a $562,275 economic development incentive grant for Amazon, which will be spending $85 million on a one-million-sq.-ft. distribution center expected to employ 600. City Manager Mike Legg said the incentives were critical to inducing the $500-billion company to locate the center in Kannapolis.
An audit by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) found the state Housing Finance Agency had misused federal funds. Through its Hardest Hit Fund, the TARP program issued funds to states worst affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, to help people avoid foreclosure. Funds were to
STATE [
news briefs
Homing Like a Pigeon fort bragg
Soldiers at Fort Bragg successfully tested an alternative to GPS, which functions by triangulating time-stamped signals emanating from at least four geostationary satellites, and it has been a boon to military operations from anything from navigation to target-seeking. As such, it has become a bull’s-eye for hackers. To work around signal jamming, which has been an issue both offensively and defensively, Echo Ridge, LLC, and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) developed a small device that triangulates off signals of known radio-frequency emitters. For applications requiring visualization, the device can be connected to a smartphone that runs the Air Force Android Tactical Assault Kit. Now that a proof-of-concept has been demonstrated,
]
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me to Plant!
be spent on “necessary expenses,” but the report identified over $3 million in “wasteful spending” across the country. The Agency was faulted for misusing $107,000; and while its spending was not as profligate as that of some states, the report faulted its business culture for using TARP funds like an ATM card. Listed abusive purchases included dinners, gift cards, party favors, crew shirts with the agency’s insignia, gym memberships, $5000 cash bonuses, and litigation. The Agency’s executive director, Scott Farmer, disputes the findings, saying the funds were miscategorized, not misused, and assures that amounts are already being repaid.
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PharPoint, a contract research organization, has created a fully-dedicated consulting division. Led by Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Jennifer A. Elder, the division will serve small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that cannot staff in-house teams to manage functions like biostatistics or regulatory compliance. PharPoint’s experts work
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with clientele to develop personalized plans to, for example, navigate Food and Drug Administration trials intentionally, avoiding wasted time and effort. Informed and experienced consultants can develop risk/benefit profiles for proposed products, which include costs of testing and timelines for moving through the FDA approval process. They can also help clients analyze data and otherwise prepare reports in accordance with FDA standards. Other services include pitching products for inventors, who prefer the thrill of discovery to honing their marketing skills, and introducing products in the international market.
flushable wipes, and no city employee had been able to identify a flushable wipe manufactured by select defendants in any clog. A suit against manufacturers of flushable wipes in Florida was settled similarly in 2016. No compensation was awarded for alleged damages in either case. Studies conducted in various cities have concluded more than 98% of items found in sewer clogs are neither designed nor labeled as flushable. INDA explains the wipes are designed to decompose in “properly-maintained sewer and septic systems,” and banning them would lead to more clogs as consumers try to flush paper towels and baby wipes instead.
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INDA (the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry), a global network headquartered in Cary, has settled a class-action lawsuit filed by the City of Perry, Iowa. The plaintiffs had alleged flushable wipes were responsible for damages to the city’s sewage system. In dropping the suit, representatives of Perry admitted, since suing in 2015, no clogs or increased maintenance of the sewer system could be attributed to
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Jamie Buchanan, owner of small-town car wash Visual Perfection, was one of 60 artisans selected to participate in this year’s Air Force One Detailing Team project. Participants typically spend one to two weeks preserving and restoring not only Air Force One, but a handful of other historic aircraft at Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Participants were divided into six teams and given daily instructions.
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Buchanan was assigned to the group restoring the project’s namesake, the original Air Force One. His jobs were to compound, polish, and seal the smoked-up exterior paint; and to buff out all the aluminum on the plane’s sides and engines to a mirror finish. Other participants worked on the WWII B-52 Stratofortress, the supersonic Concorde Alpha Golf, and the first Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. Buchanan has been in the automobile detailing business for 25 years. He learned about the project through a training program he attended, sponsored by Attention to Details.
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The solar eclipse presented power companies with a new problem, and it would be worst in states most reliant on solar power. North Carolina, second only to California in solar farming, collects 3,000 megawatts from photovoltaics, enough to power about 600,000 homes. On eclipse day, just as people would be reaching for the light switch, they would also have to be drawing on traditional generation. Compounding the problem, North Carolina’s total eclipse would be occurring during peak collection. Whereas in other parts of the country, the eclipse would pose no more of a challenge than a routine storm moving in, Duke Energy warned North Carolina solar farmers to prepare to be disconnected from the grid. Duke was going to idle backup natural gas generators to, at a moment’s notice, fast-track twilight operations should that become necessary. As it turned out, industry analysts had underestimated the number of people “playing hookey” that day, and a wave of dipped demand swept the country instead. It is expected that advances in solar storage will make this the last eclipse to concern power companies.
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Co-owners Cruz Cockman and Chet Lakhani set up their virtual reality arcade shortly after Cockman installed an HTC Vive headset in his store. It had such wide appeal that the two entrepreneurs, who ran shops across the street from each other, decided to make a business of it. Forty-five days later, Shift VR was up and running. The arcade currently offers four rooms, which customers can reserve for $50/ hour. They get to choose from about 70 games, with settings ranging from scary, vertigo-inducing zombie fights to silly, harmless kitchen messes. Business has grown steadily, though it has only been advertised by word-of-mouth and social media. Patrons include serious gamers, as well as parents who are curious about what kids are doing these days. Shift VR will probably soon expand into six rooms, and the owners would like to begin hosting leagues and tournaments. They see virtual reality as the future of gaming and expect a lot of competition will be forthcoming, so they want to “set the industry standard.”
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vTv Therapeutics has been awarded US Patent No. 9,717,710 for the use of azeliragon in treating mild cases of Alzheimer’s disease. vTv is a pharmaceutical company in the business of discovering and developing orally-ingestible, small-molecule cures for human illnesses. Its extensive portfolio has been developed with an emphasis on treating central nervous system and metabolic disorders, inflammation, and cancer. Azeliragon, vTv’s lead drug, has been fast-tracked by the United States Food and Drug Administration, having significantly outperformed placebos in clinical trials. Administration of five
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milligrams a day was correlated with an apparent reduction in declining mental and physical function. Unlike other treatments for Alzheimer’s, azeliragon targets the brain’s receptors for advanced gyclation endproducts, which manage levels of plaques and proteins associated with the disease and mitigate chronic inflammation. Data from two tests currently underway should be available next year.
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While auction is normally associated with homes of despair and repair, the internet is making it an appealing way to sell luxury homes. John-Mark Mitchell of Mitchell Prime Properties is now working with Concierge Auctions of Manhattan to put a French provincial estate in Winston-Salem up for online auction. The 12,000-sq.-ft., brick-exterior home sits on eleven acres with equestrian facilities, orchards, and gardens. Features include hardwood floors, four fireplaces, a marble bath, chef’s kitchen, bar, home theatre, gym, and salon. Owners John and Tammy Slate had listed it traditionally for $2.1 million. But that would typically only bring one or two showings per month. By way of contrast, online auctions give the house exposure to a world of qualified buyers. Concierge maintains a database of 500,000 registered potential buyers who, in return for putting $100,000 in an escrow account, are notified of auctions. Upon winning, the buyer must immediately put down an additional deposit and pay off the balance, in cash, within 30 days. Mitchell has already sold several seven-digit houses in the area this way.
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photo courtesy Penland School of Crafts leisure & libation
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Experience over shoppingâ&#x20AC;?: how to unleash your muse with DIY arts and crafts in Western North Carolina.
Learning, TO BE A
Maker video intervie w
written by marl a hardee milling
capital atpl ay. com October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 57
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You might think you don’t have a creative bone in your body, but there are places you can go for an hour or two and at the end of the visit you’ll leave with a painting, a pot, a piece of jewelry, or some other project that you’ve made yourself. In many cases this will inspire future craft experimentation and the awareness, in the words of The Village Potters coowner Sarah Wells Rolland, that it is “cheaper than therapy.”
T
he Western North Carolina region has long been a haven for artists and craftspeople, and now, more than ever, visitors and locals alike are longing for opportunities to test their own crafting abilities. “We have a lot of people who come into town and say, ‘Well, this is an arts town, what can I do to experience the arts?’ So we offer that to them,” says Rolland.
Adventures in Clay: The Village Potters Six- to eight-week classes are offered regularly at The Village Potters in Asheville’s River Arts District, covering everything from hand building and wheel throwing, to jewelry making and sculpture, to alternative firing. According to Rolland, “Our mission is that we want to inspire people to be passionate for clay and we nurture creative exploration.” The five resident potters at Village Potters teach the classes, and since most have more than 20 years of experience, they have skills in multiple areas of clay. People passing through town might not have weeks to devote to a multi-week class, but they can sign up for the “Create Your Own Workshop” at Village Potters— it’s a one-time, two-hour DIY experience with expert instruction. The fee is $95 for one person, $150 for a couple, and $75 per person for groups of three to six. Each participant will have a finished piece to take home after it’s fired. (They can ship if you don’t have time to wait, but there’s an extra fee.) “Some people use it as a tester to see if they’d like to take a six-week class,” says Rolland. “For tourists who come to town, many are starting to desire experience over shopping and that kind of thing.” They average between five and seven DIY workshops each week, plus they host “Get Your Hands Dirty” events for large groups and corporate team building. 58
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“We did a project with Eliada Home and had 40 kids come, and we did hands-on projects with them,” she adds. “We set up tables of 12 all around the place and had two people helping with each table. They each made a little cup and a medallion and they did it themselves. It was such a success.” The brief taste of creativity has even led some of the students at Village Potters to follow a whole new career path. Rolland and her colleagues have created a two-year independent study and mentoring program to take 28 skilled students to the next level and prepare them for a career in ceramic arts. “It’s the equivalent of a graduate study program,” says Rolland. “You have to have the ability to make pots. It’s a self-guided program, so it’s sort of do-it-yourself, too. About a third of the people studying in our independent study program started by taking classes with us. Some took classes for three years and then applied for the program. We have, from the onset of touching clay, nurtured people into becoming ceramic artists who are planning businesses now. We’re really proud of that.” She’s also proud of continual expansion. “We’re creating six incubator studios so our graduates can apply with a business plan for an incubator space for up to two years and build their business out of that space. We’ll continue to mentor and help them as they establish wholesale accounts. There’s a real established structure in running a fine craft business—working with galleries, how buyers buy, how the terms work with shipping and net 30. It’s a standard business. We help them learn that so they can matriculate into it.” The Village Potters has a fun event coming up on October 14 from noon to 5PM: pottery demonstrations, plus the opening of two different kilns, with all proceeds going to their scholarship fund. The Village Potters: 191 Lyman St #180, Asheville, NC (828) 253-2424 | TheVillagePotters.com
Pop-Up DIY Workshops: The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design
photo courtesy The Village Potters
photo courtesy The Village Potters
JESSICA WHITE, printmaker and letterpress ar tist photo by Marla Hardee Milling
CCCD EVENT teaching people about letterpress photo by Marla Hardee Milling
The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design (CCCD) in downtown Asheville recently came up with a unique way to introduce people to crafting. Staff invited established artists to set up outdoor pop-up workshops on select Friday evenings this past July, August, and September. They staged the Craft City Workshops in a parking area next to their building and filled it with tables, craft project demonstration, live music, and complimentary food and drink treats, such as Buchi kombucha/Hi-Wire shandies and hotdogs by Foothills Local Meats. Participants paid a modest fee for a craft kit—$7 in advance/$10 at the door. The outdoor environment allowed passersby to spot the event and make a spontaneous decision to register at a table in front. It’s the first year they’ve offered the Craft City Workshops, and Lauren Pelletier, CCCD marketing and development coordinator, says the fun approach came out of certain questions: “How can people be engaged with making things? Where’s the entry point?” Local printmaker Jessica White led a workshop to create letterpress notebooks on August 4. Participants punched holes in the center of a cover and several blank pages. Then they worked to bind it together using a stiff thread pushed through the holes they made. Once the thread was tied and securely held the notebook together, the next step involved printing a design on the cover using a letterpress. White set up two different presses and preselected a design for each. The large press, which required some force and leaning into the machine to get it to print evenly across the cover, featured a design of flowers on the side with the words “With a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” —Cicero. The smaller press required inking the press with ink, placing the flattened notebook on top, and then using a bar on top to slide over the design, leaving the print on the cover. It worked in the same fashion as an old credit card machine. It took just a short amount of time to weave the cover together and imprint an image on it, but the experience proved satisfying to the almost 50 people who took part, as they left with a finished project and perhaps a desire to continue creating. The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design: 67 Broadway, Asheville, NC (828) 785-1357 | CraftCreativityDesign.org
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 59
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Don’t Be Afraid of a Blank Canvas: Painting with a Twist
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It doesn’t take prior experience to create a masterpiece during a group painting session. Just slide up to an easel for a couple of hours at places like Painting with a Twist in Biltmore Park and receive guided instruction, while having fun with friends and sipping a favorite beverage. If you look at the online calendar (PaintingWithaTwist. com/asheville), you can pinpoint the scene you most want to recreate. Recent paintings included waterfalls, sunsets, a bouquet of hydrangeas in a Ball glass jar, and a colorful cow. Other scenes are tied to the region: “Starry Night Over Asheville,” which features a skyline of Asheville surrounded by a Van Gogh inspired design, and “Drink AVL Beer,” which shows a wooden sign pointing the way to area craft breweries: Oskar Blues in Brevard, Sierra Nevada in Mills River, and Highland Brewing Company in Asheville all have pointers on the wooden stake. Here’s how this franchise business works: Sign up for a specific class (register online or walk into the studio and book a seat). Most classes are two hours for ages 16 and up and cost $35, but they do have some one-and-a-half-hour sessions (younger kids welcomed) for $25. Then, show up with your favorite beverage and snack in hand, and join friends for a fun evening painting, relaxing, and laughing. At the end of the night, you’ll leave with your creation. Manager/instructor Erin Schmidt doesn’t want it to be an intimidating experience, so she says she tries to keep things lively in her classes by creating silly games with prizes. “Sometimes people can focus too much on painting,” she says, “so I will tell them to paint a mustache on their face and the best one wins an award. Or I’ll ask them to pull out the most unique item in their purse.” Schmidt, who has a theatrical background, received her training in art by making props for sets. She also expresses her range of talents by working as a living statue known as The Granite Goddess. She performs at area festivals such as LEAF and Artisphere in Greenville, South Carolina. The laughter, and the wine, helps people relax and just enjoy the process of making something that is uniquely their own. Schmidt says sometimes people come in forgetting to bring a bottle with them, but the shop is conveniently located two doors down from Thirsty Monk. Food and drink are the only things customers need to bring with them. Everything else is provided—the canvas, colorful acrylic paints, aprons, a spacious well-lit area to work in, and expert instruction. Jean Sexton of Asheville finds it convenient to stretch her talent during group painting sessions. “I’ve always painted, but sometimes I can’t think of anything to paint or it seems like too much trouble to get supplies together, so I’ll do a painting class and it gets me going again on my own projects. I’ve been to Canvas | Paint and Mingle, Painting with a Twist, and Wine
photo courtesy Painting With a Twist
photo courtesy Penland School of Crafts
photo courtesy Painting With a Twist
& Design on Merrimon Avenue. I started by painting my dogs, and I’ve painted a jar full of fireflies twice and given it away both times. I painted autumn trees with my work group (bonding exercise) and a fairytale fox that I liked the looks of. It relaxes me and gives me a direction without being taxing.” Weaverville artist Robin Plemmons spent a couple of years instructing classes at Canvas | Paint and Mingle, which used to be open beside Biscuit Head in West Asheville. The owner decided to close to pursue her own artistic endeavors (it now operates out of Candler as just Paint and Mingle), but Plemmons has fun memories of helping other people discover the creativity they never knew they had. She always encouraged participants to add their own individuality to the painting she was helping them create, but it was a young boy who stood out in being able to follow his own muse. “A family brought in a big group at Thanksgiving. I was showing them how to paint a simple, cute turkey. The grandmother was planning on hanging all of the canvases on one wall of her home. I told them, ‘If you want to make extra characteristics about your turkey, you’re allowed to do that.’ One little boy—he was about eight—raised his hand and asked if he could give his turkey a belly button. Then he asked if he
could give it leg hair. So his turkey was extra special. It stood out from the rest and was really awesome.” Another time Plemmons was showing the group how to paint a tree scene with an inspirational quote in the center. The one she selected was “Seek the quiet. God is there.” She loved how one participant did her own thing by replacing the phrase with “Look what mommy made.” “A lot of people aren’t raised to express themselves in any creative way or they are too scared to attempt it,” she says. “A lot of people who came in would overthink every stroke, and I reminded them they were there to have fun, relax, and enjoy. If you mess up, it’s okay. Some people would say, ‘I’m not creative. I don’t draw.’ But a class might open a door for them. It gets you out of your comfort zone.” It might even become a regular habit. Schmidt says one customer came to at least 20 classes at Painting With a Twist before deciding she loved it so much that she wanted to work there. She’s now an employee. Painting with a Twist: 2 Town Square Blvd #150, Asheville, NC (828) 214-5569 | PaintingWithaTwist.com/asheville
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Stepping it up a Notch: Penland School of Crafts Penland School of Crafts, in Mitchell County just west of Spruce Pine, maintains a strong reputation as an international craft center offering intensive study for serious artists and craftspeople. That status may cause beginners to think the programs there would be out of reach for them, but that’s not necessarily the case. “I talk to people somewhat regularly who say, ‘I’m not good enough to go to Penland.’ That’s really not true, but I do understand,” says Robin Dreyer, communications and marketing manager. While Penland doesn’t offer quick two-hour workshops or instruction over a weekend, it does include a series of three one-week workshops in spring, summer, and fall. “Penland is not in any way restricted,” says Dreyer. “Everybody is welcome, and all sorts of people thrive and have a great experience in Penland workshops, but it does require a certain level of commitment. We definitely have people sign up because they want to try it, but they will be in a room with people who are really into what they are doing. If you want to be in a studio with all the tools, really good instruction, and surrounded by people putting all their energy into it, then it’s perfect.” Students typically stay on campus during the week, but Dreyer says there are some students who live within a short distance to campus who prefer to commute. For folks in
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Asheville, Dreyer wouldn’t recommend a commute since it’s over an hour. To really get the value of the workshop it’s convenient to stay there—students can work as early or as late as they want. Tuition for one week sessions is $633; hot glass is $909. There’s an additional fee for room and board and different price options, ranging from shared room with a shared bath to a private room with a private bath. A glimpse of the schedule of one-week classes (www.Penland.org/classes/classes_ by_session.html) reveals instruction in hand building, ceramic bowls, and weaving, to name a few. The course description provides information on whether the class is for all levels or if it requires some prior knowledge or experience. These one-week sessions are in the mix of the traditional eight-week class schedule offered in the fall and spring. There’s also another way to test the crafting waters at Penland. “We have a community open house that’s generally held on the first Saturday in March,” says Dreyer. “People can go to different studios and try weaving on a loom or dying cloth or making something simple out of metal. It’s free and open to everybody.”
photos courtesy Penland School of Crafts
Penland School of Crafts: 67 Doras Trail, Bakersville, NC (828) 765-2359 | Penland.org
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LEARN TO DO IT YOURSELF Additional locations to easily dip your toes into the world of Arts and Crafts!
-Asheville Art Museum175 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC Ashevilleart.org Range of recurring art classes (adults or children) at different levels of skill; fees vary. -Asheville Cotton Company1378 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC Ashevillecottonco.com Sewing and quilting classes ranging from $25 to $170. -Chevron Trading Post & Bead Co.40 N. Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC Chevronbeads.com/workshops.html Classes in beading, wire wrapping, jewelry, leatherwork, pearl knotting, and more. Most classes range from $12 to $20. -Claying Around1378 Hendersonville Rd Suite D Asheville NC clayingaround.com Besides pottery painting they offer pottery wheel lessons, handbuilding with clay, making mosaics, glass fusing, canvas painting, and making charms. Parties, groups, and classes.
Cowee School offers classes in a variety of arts and crafts, including: pottery, textiles, and fine art.
2-hour class/$55 per person. Other classes in intermediate wheel throwing, metal clay, carved vases, glazing, etc.
-Crucible Glassworks60 Clarks Chapel Road, Weaverville, NC crucibleglassworks.com Glassblower Michael Hatch holds 30 minute ($50), 2 hour ($150), and 4 hour ($300$400) workshops.
-Paint & MingleCandler, NC Paintandmingle.com Schedule a painting party—kid’s birthday, corporate event, bachelorette party, church group, etc.—and invite your guests over. Paint & Mingle comes to your house or venue of choice and provides the supplies.
-Fired Up! Creative Lounge26 Wall St Asheville, NC 350 Chadwick Ave,Hendersonville, NC fireduplounge.com Calling themselves a hands-on-studio, they have a variety of art options including: canvas painting, wheel throwing, paint-yourown pottery, and mosaics. -Folk Art CenterMilepost 382 Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, NC Southernhighlandguild.org/Folk-Art-Center/ Demonstrations by experts in metals, glass, clay, fibers, and wood, along with selected opportunities for the public to try it out.
-Claymates Pottery31 Front St Dillsboro, NC claymatespottery.com Claymates offers Paint-Your-Own-Pottery & Warm Glass Fusing. Anyone interested in painting pottery, but without the kiln, can step into this shop.
-Nest Boutique10 Biltmore Plaza, Asheville, NC Stylethenest.com Workshops in everything from painting and jewelry design to embroidery and journal-making; bring your own adult beverage. Prices range from $35 to $85. Private events such as bridal showers, ladies’ night out, etc.
-Cloth Fiber Workshop191 Lyman St, Riverview Station (River Arts District), Asheville, NC Clothfiberworkshop.com/workshops/2017-descr.html Classes in traditional embroidery, screen printing, and Shibori. Ranging from $98 to $198, plus materials.
-North Carolina Glass Center140 Roberts St., Ste C, Asheville NC ncglasscenter.org Glassblowing and related classes range in length from 30 minutes ($60) to 3 hours ($200) to 6 weeks ($325).
-Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center51 Cowee School Dr., Franklin, NC coweeschool.org
-Odyssey Center For Ceramic Arts236 Clingman Ave (River Arts District), Asheville, NC Odysseyclayworks.com/classes/adult-classes Ready, set, throw! One night pottery classes
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-Riverview Station191 Lyman Street, Asheville, NC Riverviewstation.com On-site artists hold regular workshops for the public in painting, jewelry design, mixed media, and fibers. -Roots+Wings School Of Art & Design573 Fairview Rd., Asheville NC Rootsandwingsarts.com A variety of ongoing programs for schoolchildren and one-off classes for adults. -Silver River Center For Chair CaningCurve Studios, #9 Riverside Dr., Asheville NC Silverriverchairs.com 3-hour, day-long, week-long, and 2-week “intensives” classics. See “The Wonder of Weaving,” June 2017 Capital at Play. -The Great Paint Escape1681 Marrestop Rd, Murphy, NC 706 400-0567 "Paint Your Own Pottery" found in the peaceful and inspiring mountains. They also offer warm class, mosaics, art camp, clay works, and art instruction. Open MondaySaturday by Appointment -Wine & Design 640 Merrimon Ave, #208, Asheville, NC Wineanddesign.com/locations/Asheville DIY group painting classes with BYOB. Private parties, team building. Average price $35/per person; Paint Your Pet is $55.
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Arts and Crafts from A to Z: John C. Campbell Folk School There are so many workshops at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, the biggest challenge is deciding what to take. The school, founded in 1925, offers more than 800 weeklong and weekend classes each year. “Our course catalogue lists every class from A to Z. It starts with Basketry and ends at Writing,” says Keather Gougler, director of marketing. “You can search by class, or there’s also an e-catalogue available for download.” Blacksmithing, woodworking, jewelry making, clay, and all the fiber arts are among the most popular classes offered. “About 80 percent of our classes are for the beginner. We’re a place of discovery in a non-competitive environment. We are very accessible. Just go online, call, and pick a class. There’s no application process,” says Gougler. The weekend tuition price is $354 and week-long classes are priced at $640. Room and board are extra. “We draw people from all over the country. People look to us as their alternative vacation,” she says. “We also love the weekend sessions because people who are busier and don’t have a lot of time off work have an opportunity to come out on a weekend.” A good time to explore the campus and see some of the studios is during the school’s fall festival, held the first weekend in October. The event includes art vendors, music, a chance to explore the studios, and 30 to 35 demonstrations. John C. Campbell Folk School: 1 Folk School Rd, Brasstown, NC (828) 837-2775 | FolkSchool.org
DIY at Fairs, Festivals, and Special Events It’s possible to walk up on DIY craft activities at special events. Take, for instance, the bi-annual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands (www.SouthernHighlandGuild.org/shops-andfairs/craft-fair-of-the-southern-highlands) that’s put on by the Southern Highland Craft Guild each year at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville. At the summer event, there was an area set up for craft exploration with instructors guiding visitors into how to tie pieces of silk or cotton with rubber bands and then putting the material in a plastic bag. The next step involved taking plastic bottles of paint and squirting different colors onto the cloth. The end result: beautifully creative tied dyed pieces. At another table, an instructor encouraged passersby to pick up a square of denim and embroider a design with needle and thread. The fair runs again October 20-22. Also coming up at the end of October, the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher. Lisa Mackey, owner of Friends and Fiberworks Yarn Shop in Candler, is one of the volunteers who directs SAFF. She says in addition to livestock shows and 66
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photos courtesy Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair
vendor marketplace booths, workshops and classes make up a big part of the offerings. “There are 700 or so people who sign up for 175 to 200 classes taught by about 60 instructors,” Mackey says. “There’s everything from spinning, weaving, crochet, tatting, basketry—we even have a watercolor painting class and a woodcarving class.” Most of the classes run for a few hours or a day during the festival, which will run October 27-29. There are a couple of twoday classes in weaving and spinning. The prices are affordable and range from $30 to $200. All of the classes are listed at www. SaffRegistration.org/grouplistpublic.asp. Those sold out are marked in red, but many people sign up for open classes right before heading to the fair or even once they get there. The listing is available at the SAFF main website (listed below). Mackey says the event draws a mix of area residents and visitors. “A lot of locals take a lot of classes at local yarn shops. People come from all over to take classes at SAFF. Last year we had people from England and a lot of people from out west, the Midwest, and up and down the Eastern Seaboard.” Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands: U.S. Cellular Center, 87 Haywood St., Asheville, NC | October 20-22 SouthernHighlandGuild.org/shops-and-fairs/craft-fair-of-the-southern-highlands Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair: WNC Agricultural Center, 761 Boylston Highway, Fletcher, NC | October 27-29 / saffsite.org
You Can Make A Difference in the lives our neighbors this fall! Simply signing up for a free 3 month subscription to Capital at Play will benefit local nonprofit Pisgah Legal Services. Every month we interact with business professionals who take time to volunteer with Pisgah Legal Services, and the stories we hear are compelling, to say the least.
Pisgah Legal Services serves 16 of the 18 counties covered every month by Capital at Play.
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Simply fill out the card attached between these pages, and pop it in any USPS mailbox. For every card we receive, we will donate a dollar to Pisgah Legal Services this fall. If you want us to give $2, simply check the box to become a monthly subscriber of Capital at Play (less than $1.30 per month), and we will send $2 to Pisgah Legal Services thanks to you. (More information online at www.capitalatplay.com/general-contesting-rules/)
ABOUT PISGAH LEGAL SERVICES Pisgah Legal Services is a nonprofit law firm that has provided free civil legal aid to low-income people in Western North Carolina since 1978. Pisgah Legal helps our neighbors avoid homelessness, escape domestic violence, and secure income, food, health care and other essentials. Last year Pisgah Legal Services helped more than 15,000 people in crisis across our mountains. With Pisgah Legal we can create more justice and less poverty in Western North Carolina. WWW.PISGAHLEGAL.ORG
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Millennials and the Craft Aesthetic
In 2017 craft-focused and artisanal living has a development impact that goes far beyond simply having your favorite beer.
J
joanne badr morgan & derek j . allen
are attorneys with Ward and Smith, P.A.'s Asheville office. They represent lenders, borrowers, and developers in commercial real estate transactions.
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consumers everywhere have begun to crave a sense of familiarity where they live, perhaps in response to an innate longing for community.
Americans lost grasp of the goals of local, organic, and sustainable living after the Great Depression, and the industrialization and post-World War II eras of efficient mass production and competitive consumerism distracted and drew us away from those concepts. With the rise of social media and virtual connections, this trend continued well into the 2000s. Now, however, a shift is afoot. According to Pew Research Center, the number of millennials (generally defined as those between the ages of 20 and 36), is quickly surpassing the nearly 74.9 million baby boomers (ages 51-69). Both of these populations prioritize the incorporation of convenience, livability, and work-life balance in their communities, and many choose to move to cities and towns that have embraced those trends. In Asheville more than 10 million people visit every year, with approximately 35 percent of them traveling to Asheville to see friends and family in what has become a “top-five” travel destination.
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A significant number of those visitors decide to relocate to Asheville after only a short visit, because they’ve spent most of their trip asking themselves, “Why does it feel like I already know this place?” Asheville and Western North Carolina’s natural geography are partially responsible for that feeling, but the instant sense of familiarity which Asheville emits has not been generated by luck or accident—it has been purposefully cultivated by generations of its residents through a consistent emphasis on art, craft, sustainability, and mindful living. While a great deal of the buzz about Asheville these days centers on its craft beer scene, the fact is that this emphasis on craft is not new. It is no surprise that breweries, farm-to-table restaurants, and tourism are flourishing in Asheville because Ashevillians have always focused on making livability, artisanship, and craft the centerpieces of what they create. For more than 150 years, this focus has made Asheville a place for people to visit for recreation, health, and quality of life. In
J the early 1900s, while George Vanderbilt was preparing his Biltmore Estate for visits by friends and colleagues, his wife, Edith, familiarized herself with local people and the crafts they produced, holding craft classes so area residents could learn a skill to help them make a living. She later helped to start a craft school at the Biltmore Estates Industries. In 1906 the New York Times praised the strong and fadeless quality of the yarn made from wool from sheep raised on the estate and colored with vegetable dyes. So, even as far back as 1906, Asheville’s focus on the concepts of local, organic, and sustainability was prized. These basic priorities embraced by Asheville and its residents remain steadfast and alive today, as evidenced by its enduring and robust artisan community and the growth of its craft beverage industry. The prominence of intentional living is not limited to art and saleable products. With industrialization and technology at our
ACCORDING TO TIME MAGAZINE, IN 2011, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEARLY 100 YEARS, THE R ATE OF URBAN POPULATION GROWTH OUTPACED THE SUBURBS. fingertips, we can obtain low cost products fast and cheaply, but with the growing national emphasis on sustainability, no industry can afford to ignore concepts related to mindful living if they want to remain relevant with today’s consumers. In today’s world developers also must consider how to carve out mindful development patterns that are built around a specific population’s needs, mostly because the way that many people choose to live is changing. According to Time Magazine, in 2011, for the first time in nearly 100 years, the rate of urban population growth outpaced the suburbs. The aging of baby boomers and the rise of millennials have created an emphasis on concepts of “work-life balance” and as a result, to draw these populations, a living environment must be attractive and supported by good infrastructure, including initiatives aimed at energy, water, and waste efficiency. In Asheville, as with other areas heeding the demand for local focus, the real estate development and construction industry cannot ignore this clamor for mindful living environments. Asheville’s developers are learning that America’s young working population is enticed by urbanstyle living, and like other smaller cities and towns, these developers have to understand where they live, and hustle to recruit and retain millennials, who want to walk or bike to the grocery store, the laundromat, the wine bar, and their children’s elementary school. Millennials also want to walk October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 69
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to their local arts district, putting an onus on local leaders, city officials, and commercial real estate owners to create affordable residential buildings amidst continuously rising real property values and market rents so that communities such as Asheville do not lose the artist community that has contributed so significantly to its uniqueness. Now, when putting together a design model, Asheville’s developers are wisely considering the historical designs of the past, the use of lighting technology that mimics sunlight, and the use of construction materials that are void of known toxicity, are built to last, and maintain the integrity of the existing building. Development in Asheville also has a strong emphasis on craftsmanship and quality in building materials and their function, because that is the essence of craft and it is what today’s consumers are demanding. There are other benefits to focusing on the creation of mindful, livable urban areas in Asheville and other cities and towns, because such an emphasis helps to provide access to resources that make advanced industries—like biomedicine, energy, and technology—thrive, which in turn draws high-paying jobs that continue to support a booming real estate sector. It is noteworthy that, while less immediately enticing to millennials and the populations born after them, the suburbs are clearly not “going away,” and they present an opportunity for the real estate industry in Asheville and elsewhere to apply
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the principles of mindful living. Market participants cannot afford to ignore developments well beyond central business districts, but make no mistake—millennial families aren’t interested in living in the suburbs of their parents’ generations.
AS GROWING URBAN AND SUBURBAN AREAS ARE PRESSED FOR MORE HOUSING CAPACITY, ZONING ORDINANCES WILL NECESSARILY SHIF T TO ACCOMMODATE THE DEMAND. The demand, in Asheville and elsewhere, is for suburbs to be made more walkable, friendly, and convenient. Families still want tree-lined streets, soccer leagues, and cul-de-sacs, but they can do without endless commutes and traffic jams. Urban-style living can be made possible in suburban areas, so long as zoning accommodates this shift and commercial real estate developers and investors are willing to build communities
similar to models previously only thought possible in city centers: true “mixed-use” developments. No doubt zoning regulations impact city development in many ways, but by the same token, there is no reason why the opposite cannot be true: City development can both impact and change zoning regulations. While the function of zoning regulation historically has been to divide a municipality into distinct residential, commercial, and industrial zones, as society’s needs and demands shift, these regulations must also change. As growing urban and suburban areas are pressed for more housing capacity, zoning ordinances will necessarily shift to accommodate the demand. In the past planners may have interpreted a city’s comprehensive plan to require that a “mixed use” development was one where every separate parcel of land had to contain mixed-use development, but now planners will recognize the need for a larger planning view. For example, mixed use may mean that within a “mixed-use” district, housing can exist on one parcel, with a grocery store, daycare center, school, and pharmacy on adjacent parcels in a community. Instead of the old view of many uses under a single roof, creative mixed-use development can take the shape of multiple buildings and public spaces, placed in thoughtful proximity to one another and around an existing community, creating a tapestry within which a suburb can reinvent itself
e’re pleased to welcome the two newest members of our residential and commercial real estate team. Carolyn Clark Snipes and Kathryn
into a sustainable, closely-knit community capable of attracting baby boomers and millennials alike. Suburbs are also attractive because employers are increasingly attracted to suburban office markets. Rents for class-A space there tend to be nearly half those of central business districts. Improvement in suburban office markets goes hand-in-hand with growth in residential development and the multifamily sector, which will create urban-type markets outside of central business districts. As in many communities, Asheville’s young and seasoned entrepreneurial and professionally minded residents are learning that they can live where they want to live, within the communities they want to be a part of, and that their jobs and employers will come to them. The economic boon that has been experienced in Asheville can be cultivated in other North Carolina communities. However, in today’s world, in order to draw craft breweries, farm-to-table chefs, tech jobs, tourism, and millennial professionals and entrepreneurs to its boundaries, a community must remain constantly aware of the indispensability of incorporating concepts of craft and livability into its real estate development. This will be one of the most important factors that every city, town, and suburb must prioritize in order to achieve conscious, mindful growth.
Welcome
Carolyn Clark Snipes & Kathryn Maultsby Madison
“Kate” Maultsby Madison offer comprehensive legal services for real estate acquisition, leasing and selling, land use planning, financing, and real property development. Contact them to advance your next project. October 2017 | capitalatplay.com
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UPDATES FOR
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news briefs
Harvey Projects and Prelims houston, texas
As Hurricane Harvey approached the Texas coast, offshore drilling platforms were evacuated, and refineries were shut down. Petrochemical plants suspended operations, and the ports were shut down. While preparation and rescue kept the death toll amazingly low, estimated damages ran conservatively around $75 billion, or 1% of Texas’ gross domestic product. Approximately one-third of the country’s chemical production was disrupted by the hurricane. About 12% of its refining capacity went offline, and the Colonial Pipeline, which carries gasoline, aviation fuel, and heating oil as far as New York Harbor, was shut down temporarily until suppliers could be secured.
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Projections of the average fuel pump price increase fell short; gas rose 27 cents per gallon in spite of the normal Labor Day drop. Thousands of flights were canceled, but airlines cooperatively offered waivers to affected parties. About 1.25 million people were without power; only about 15% of homeowners carried flood insurance, with losses totaling in the billions. Recovery could take five years.
Reorder to learn shoppers’ preferences and know what size and brand to request when the user merely says “milk” or “peanut butter.” Using Google Express, Google Home launched in February, enabling remote shopping with delivery from over forty retailers. Since Walmart has the most brick-and-mortar stores, and sells more groceries than any retailer, the new partnership will give Google’s home shopping a boost in the game of one-upmanship with Amazon. For an additional edge, Google Express will waive the monthly fees as long as orders satisfy retailers’ minima. Amazon, in turn, recently closed on a deal to acquire Whole Foods. Apple’s voice-operated home shopping service is scheduled for release later this year.
Big League Investment Say “Cheese!” new york, new york
Walmart is partnering with Google to provide voice-activated shopping. Walmart already offers online ordering, and it will soon be partnering with Uber for delivery. The service, scheduled to launch in late September, will use Easy
miami, florida
The bidding drama over the Miami Marlins has ended, and the winner is former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Jeter’s $1.2 billion offer was accepted by the current owner, Jeffrey Loria, and an agreement has been signed. While investing only $25 million himself, Jeter will handle the baseball
and management parts of the business. New York investor Bruce Sherman, who is funding most of the rest, will serve as “control person.” Jeter had first worked with Wall Street executive Gregory Fleming to raise enough funds to enter the bidding process. The only remaining bidder had been Jorge Mas, a billionaire from South Florida, who, it was hoped, could rally a lot of business from Cuba. With a mediocre performance warranting sagging attendance, the Florida team carries eight-digit operating losses; but the relative scarcity of Major League Baseball teams attracted big-dollar bidders. Loria paid $158 million for the team in 2002.
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virtual watch follows wrist movement, and it allows viewing from different angles and zooming. Formex manufactures high-performance Swiss sport watches with racecar-inspired suspension. To slice prices, CEO Raphel Granito moved to online direct marketing, for having sold watches in brick-and-mortar stores for twenty years, he realized a lot of a fine watches’ costs were driven by brick-andmortar overhead. The online platform allowed him to halve prices, but potential customers remained hesitant to purchase watches they couldn’t try on, even with the company’s 30-day free return policy.
Mine Your Manners beijiao, china
Who Watches the Watches? biel, switzerland
While it cannot warn about any pinching and rubbing, the new, free app from Formex Swiss Watches lets online purchasers try before they buy. To virtually try on a watch, the user downloads the app from the AppStore or GooglePlay, prints out a paper strap to wrap around the wrist, aims the smartphone at the strap, and sees the watch appear. The
The Fortune Global 500 company Midea Group has been issued a patent for embedding chips that mine bitcoin in household appliances. Mining is the computationally-intensive means by which new cryptocurrency is brought into circulation. According to the patent, Internet-of-Things appliances would be sold pre-registered to an existing bitcoin mining operation and connect via the cloud. Mining would occur whether one of these appliances was in use or idling, and it would not bog down normal operation.
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This way, air conditioners and ovens could earn extra income for their owners’ bitcoin wallets. But rather than foreseeing runaway bitcoin inflation, industry analysts are doubting anybody will ever use the patent. A recent study published by Cambridge University determined 2.9-5.8 million people had used cryptocurrency, with the preponderance of transactions being made with bitcoin.
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Firebox.com, Ltd., which bills itself as a lifestyle store that’s not for everyone, has introduced “another mad creation.” The Head Case is a durable polyester luggage wrap that has, presumably, the owner’s face printed large on both sides. The objective is to either reduce baggage claim drama or to present a friend with a totally embarrassing gift. “After all, nothing says, ‘That’s my luggage!’ quite like a giant version of your own face, smiling back at you as it shudders round the conveyor belt,” explains the Firebox website. The Head Case comes in three sizes, with ample holes to ensure alignment with handles. Head Cases retail for $26, $32.49, and $39 (plus shipping). Purchasers need only upload
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national & world news
a high-quality photograph with their orders. Due to restocking issues, the company’s normal, “30-day, no-quibble” return policy does not apply.
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Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, introduced his company’s supersonic airliner to a crowd of aviation enthusiasts at the 22nd annual Aviation Forecast Summit sponsored by Boyd Group International. The plane would be the first supersonic passenger plane to fly since the Concorde was retired in 2003. The Mach 2.2 plane would halve flight times and do away with lengthy layovers for international flights. For example, Scholl said, an American could go to the opera in Sydney, Australia, over the weekend. Scholl already has 76 preorders, and Virgin Atlantic has signed to launch the product, with options for ten aircraft. The 55-seat model, offering only one seat on either side of the aisle, is scheduled to go into commercial service in late 2023, while the smaller “Baby Boom” may hit the market sooner. “Time saved is life gained,” said Scholl.
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California’s state treasurer, John Chiang, is exploring options for establishing a public bank. It would be run by state treasury officials and answer to taxpayers. It could also issue low-interest loans for affordable housing projects or education and mollify growing unrest with private-sector banking. The stated impetus behind the drive is the marijuana industry. Recreational marijuana will become legal in California in 2018, but the federally-regulated banking system will not insure deposits from trade deemed illegal at the national level. What’s more, drug money is susceptible to federal seizure. Banks and issuers of credit and debit cards, therefore, are inclined to exercise their rights to decline applications for accounts from marijuana companies. With estimates of the number of California marijuana traders without bank accounts hovering around 70%, industry transactions are projected to reach $6.5 billion a year by 2020.
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Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, has terminated the National Reserve of Copper and Associates that protects 18,000-sq.-mi. of rain forest. Eliminating the reserve will open about one-third of the area to mineral exploration and mining, the majority of 74
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the acreage still being protected by other conservation designations. The action was taken in the interest of economic development, as the area is rich in minerals like gold and iron, but critics argue it enriches government at the expense of the people, the environment, and the existing mining industry. In July the Brazilian government announced a plan to incentivize mining until that sector constitutes 6% of the economy. Part of the plan includes lifting restrictions in 10% of the country’s rain forests where mineral extraction is currently banned. Mining now accounts for 4% of Brazil’s licit economy, with the extent of black-market activity difficult to gauge.
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The Apple iOS 11 operating system launched September 19 as a free download for iPhone and iPad. Although it boasts a slew of useful, forward-looking new features, iOS 11 notably does not support apps built for 32-bit hardware; the iPhone 5S, released in 2013, was the first 64-bit iDevice, but it wasn’t until 2015 that Apple stopped making 32-bit devices and required new submissions and updates offered in the AppStore to run on 64-bit devices. Last year, developers using beta versions of iOS 10 began seeing warnings that Apple would be terminating support for 32-bit code. The company also announced it was cleaning up the App Store, additionally purging it of “abandonware.” Even so, a recent count tallied 187,000 32-bit apps still for sale. Most of these were games, and many others fell into education, entertainment, and lifestyle categories. While Apple would realize some exclusive advantages by streamlining to 64-bit software, the company has not announced a definite timeline for terminating backward compatibility.
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THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF
MIXERMAN aka Eric Sarafin, who details a life spent (so far) as a recording studio rat, an author, and an instructional video star.
written by jay sanders
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photos by anthony harden
THE FAINT SCENT OF INCENSE LINGERS IN THE AIR AS MIXERMAN sits in his basement recording studio. The walls are covered in Buddhist and Hindu tapestries, and the space has that perfect audio stillness that is the hallmark of all great mixing rooms. Anchoring the middle of the gallery, his audio workstation sits patiently showcasing his yin-yang inspired Mixerman logo. “Mixing is the most elusive discipline of all in this business,” he says. “For whatever reason, there's just very few people that can become good mixers. It requires a certain combination of personality traits I feel. Willingness to be obsessive. Willingness to not obsess. It's kind of like riding the line between left brain and right brain thinking. It's such a technical process, but it's such an artistic process at the same time. It's a lot of alone time; you have to be in control of your own demons when you're sitting there mixing for hours at a time.” Eric Sarafin, better known around the world by his public persona, Mixerman, is an enigma. At any given moment, it’s equally possible that he could be writing the story of an Indian billionaire’s entitled child’s quest to become a famous Bollywood producer, publishing videos about how to create a homemade delay effect using standard drainage pipe, teaching the world how to record a vocal that will make a grown man weep, or working with some of the most famous names in music, including hip-hoppers Tone Loc and The Pharcyde, contemporary rockers Ben Harper, Lifehouse, Nine Days, and Barenaked Ladies, Christian musician and pop star Amy Grant, and classic rock legend Foreigner, just to skim the surface of his discography. Eric is a gold and platinum awardwinning producer and mixer, author, video blogger, and one of the first viral internet celebrities. He recently relocated to Western North Carolina after 25 successful years in the Los Angeles music scene. Creativity energizes Mixerman; the visionary process that inspires music and writing are one and the same. “As long as I'm creating I'm happy. If I'm mixing an album, I'm creating and I'm happy. If I'm producing one, I'm creating and I'm happy. The same with writing a book. There's not much room for getting 76
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MEMOR ABILIA FROM Eric “Mixerman” Saraf in's years in the music business. October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 77
bored when you're switching between the different disciplines. There's really no difference between making a record, making a book, and making a video. There's still a story arc. You still need to push the listener or the viewer forward at all times. All of the techniques are the same. They all transfer perfectly. “Someone pointed out to me there's something very musical about my writing, and I realized what they meant by that,” he continues. “If you read my writing, there's a musical pentameter to it. There's phrasings: It will be nice and flowing, then halting, then it will be flowing again. To me, the order of the words and the syllables and how they come out is tied directly into the rhythm of melody and of music. It's no different writing a melody or writing a song than it is from writing a book.”
I Can't Do a Hip-Hop Album Anymore Perhaps it is best to drop in on Mixerman where he recorded his first snare drum: Boston. As a student at Berklee College of Music in the late ‘80s, Eric found himself in the fortunate position to be living above Dimension Sound Studios, the classic Boston recording studio where blues rocker George Thorogood had recorded many of his hits. “The chief engineer was willing to teach me how to use the place if I helped him out on his sessions, so I made the trade. He taught me how to work everything. I just would practice and record and find bands and record them again and again and again, until finally after several years I realized that my recordings were finally sounding as good as stuff on CDs,” Eric says. He spent three years tirelessly perfecting his recording techniques. “I was like, ‘Nope.’ Then I was like, ‘That's great,’ and then three weeks later, ‘That's crap.’ Then you do it again. “The only thing that kept me going was the incremental improvement. It's a very frustrating process—it takes a long time to learn how to record well.“ Eventually he concluded that his recordings were as good as what he was hearing on CD. “I was like, ‘Why am I staying in Boston for this?’ So I decided to move to LA.” He took a bunch of his stuff down to his parent’s house in New Jersey, packed up his old Honda CRX, and drove out to Los Angeles armed only with his freshly honed skills. “I got a gig at Capitol Studios doing setup, which is a glorified runner position. My job was to set up the sessions for string dates and rock gigs, whatever came in really. There were lots of string dates. I learned about microphones. All these different guys would come in and set them up in different ways, so I learned how they set up their microphones and how you record an orchestra in the studio setting.” After six months he got fired from Capitol. “It wasn't the right job for me. I was not the kind of person that could work my way up the ranks over years from assistant, then to engineer, and then whatever. That was not for me.” He ended up with a new position at the legendary Hollywood Sound Studios. At one time or another, world famous artists such as The Doors, Prince, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Jackson Browne, Iggy Pop, The 78
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ERIC SAR AFIN aka “Mixerman”
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, and Rick James have created musical history at Hollywood Sound Studios. “That’s where I met The Pharcyde and Mike Ross. Mike Ross was the president of Delicious Vinyl records and he was doing an EP with a group called The Pharcyde that no one had ever heard of—a hip-hop act. I was assisting on sessions. So consequently, I would have time with Mike Ross. He was the producer. We got along really well. One day he was complaining about how bad it was to record at Paramount Studios.” As it turns out, Jesse Hodges, the owner of Hollywood Sound Studios had a production room with a digital audio workstation (DAW), but Ross had never even seen a DAW before. “I spent a couple of weeks learning how to use the stupid thing—it was a Spectra Sonics system or something like that,” continues Eric. “ProTools (a DAW designed for Microsoft Windows and Apple’s OS X operating systems) had been out, but not many guys were using it. If you were in a major studio arena, we weren't touching digital.” Eric convinced Ross to bring The Pharcyde over to Hollywood Sound: “I say to Mike, ‘Hey, Jesse's renting out this room for $35 an hour, which is what you're paying at Paramount. I've been recording for four or five years. I'm sure that the people that they're getting [at Paramount] have
ERIC AT HIS audio workstation
been recording for all of five minutes, so why don't you do the album here?’ The next thing I know, the very next day, I was recording The Pharcyde. I spent eight months recording them. That album was my first gold album.” Released in November of 1992, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde would be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1996. Internal drama led to a separation between Eric and Hollywood Sound’s direct relationship. “I had gotten into a fight with them. Vicki [Giordano, Hollywood Sound’s “Traffic Manager”] was trying to push me around a little bit. There's this tension that happens when an engineer starts to get into this position where he doesn't need the studio so much.” Eric turned in his key as an employee, and showed back up the next day as a client. “I was mixing in Studio A, hired directly by the same label that had been paying me through the studio the day before. From that point forward I was a freelance recording and mixing engineer doing mostly hip-hop. Part of that was because my first success was a hip-hop record. Part of that was
because nobody in the studio wanted to do the hip-hop stuff. There weren't that many guys that wanted to do the hip-hop stuff for some reason. I did want to get into rock music, but getting into rock music was a very closed door. The biggest guys were in rock music. In hip-hop you still had opportunity at that time.” After a few years as a premier hip-hop mixer, Eric received a call from veteran A&R executive Andy Factor at Virgin Records. “‘We've got this artist Ben Harper, and we've put three mixers with him, and none of them have worked out,’” Eric recalls, of their conversation. “The next day I go in to start mixing, and I'm talking to those guys, and I realize that they want a rock album that has some low end to it. More like a hip-hop record but with rock. Nobody was doing that at the time. His stuff was so sparse and totally appropriate for it. I ended up doing the first mix. They loved it and the next one. A week later we were done with the album. That was [1995’s] Fight for Your Mind. After that I wasn't doing any more hip-hop because the hip-hop guys found out
“...the hip-hop guys found out I was doing a rock album and they were like—‘What, really?”
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 79
ERIC HAS published f ive books to date
I was doing a rock album and they were like—‘What, really?’ Just because I'm doing a rock album I can't do a hip-hop album anymore.”
The Birth of Mixerman From 1995-2000 Eric had an amazing run as a mixer, but what he really wanted to do, and why he had traveled to Los Angeles, was to produce. “Mixing was good work and good money, but it wasn't producing. I was finding it very difficult to make the transition from mixer position to producer. For whatever reason, it's an easier transition from a recording engineer, but recording engineers didn't get paid very much in the ‘90s. Not until the early ‘00s, when things were really just nuts. Then, all of a sudden, a recording engineer could command $1,200 a day. If I can make good money, then I'll do some recording if that's going to put me in a position to produce. I hooked up with Ron Aniello, who produced Lifehouse's first album. He was having his run. I recorded a bunch of albums for him. I recorded Lifehouse's second album, Barenaked Ladies, and Nine Days, but the Nine Days album was never released.” Eric and Ron worked on another record that never came out. He soon realized that he could easily work for an entire year on projects that would never be released, making it look like he wasn’t even working. “That's when I started getting a little frustrated with the business,” he says. Some things happened in my personal life where I needed to take a few months off. [In 2002] I got this idea to express my frustration with the business by writing this story called The Daily Adventures of Mixerman. I named it that, I had already been online as Mixerman, making a name for myself on Usenet. This new forum wanted to make money with people talking about audio, so they opened up and were paying me a stipend to grow the place. I was having trouble growing it, so I decided I would just post a diary about an anonymous engineer, ‘Mixerman,’ on a session with a bidding-war band and an infamous producer. I wrote the opening thing and one of the guys saw it and started posting on all these other places.” At first his posts were attracting maybe 200 visitors a week, but word about the Daily Adventures of Mixerman quickly spread, and it became a bit of a parlor game in the music industry—the recording sector in particular—to try to guess exactly who this band, producer, and engineer really were, since they were given pseudonyms. (Besides “Mixerman,” the band went by the name “Bitch Slap,” while the producer was “Willy Snow.”) “All of a sudden, I'm seeing the read counts are going up. If I refresh it goes up another five, and if I refresh it would go up another 10. I went from 10 views in a day to 10 views over five seconds. That thing just started blowing up and it started to become a lot of pressure. The first few weeks were great, but then I started to feel it. I wasn't a writer. I was a good writer in high school, but I had never developed it as an adult. If you read the original, the first edit is atrocious. I can't believe anyone bought into it, it's so bad. It's since been edited, but even the edited version, I can read it and see that I became a much better writer all the way through that book. It's pretty interesting. Week 4, someone posted on Usenet and all of a sudden I had 25,000 people coming a day. By the end I had 150,000 people coming a day.” Eric wrapped the story up and took a two year break. Eventually he decided he 80
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should put the entire thing out as a book. After researching printing companies, doing the design, and editing the text, he printed 3,000 copies and started selling them online. Within a couple of years, all 3,000 copies had been sold. “[Music print publisher] Hal Leonard contacted me and says, ‘Hey, we want to put out your book, The Daily Adventures of Mixerman. After some negotiations, I agreed.” By 2010, the winds of change were starting to seriously affect the music industry. Record sales were starting to plummet due to competition from digital file-sharing services such as Napster, and the money was starting to dry up. “I realized I should probably do some more writing because I could probably sell some more books.” Eric wrote Zen and the Art of Mixing, a book that has become one of the premier texts on the mixing process, and remains his best seller. “That book did well, so I decided to write Zen and the Art of Producing and Zen and the Art of Recording.” All three books have been met with accolades from critics and industry veterans alike. Legendary producer Ron Saint Germain, who has worked with MXERMAN EVEN has U2, Sonic Youth, Tool, and a tutorial video series Soundgarden, just to name a few, enthused, "Mixerman has done it again! With his signature humorous and entertaining style, he imparts a world of invaluable information for the aspiring recordist and musician in an easy to absorb (not overly technical) common sense manner." More recently, Eric has released the original The Daily Adventures of Mixerman volume as an audiobook (with his own narration, plus guests for selected other voices, along with original music), and he’s also been posting individual “days” as podcasts at the Mixerman.net website. In addition, he teamed with fellow studio veteran Ryan Earnhardt, of the Canton-based studio Lumen Audio, to create the eight-lesson tutorial video “How to Record Vocals That’ll Make a Grown Man Weep.” More are planned, and there are a number of other videos for viewing at the site, instructional and otherwise, all creative, informative, and infused with his trademark sense of humor.
The Dark Side of the Industry The business of music has been in a constant state of flux and uncertainty since Napster hit the scene in June of 1999. Music has seen its sales numbers drop at a precipitous rate as the sector has transformed from a commodity to a service over the
past 18 years. Where paying customers used to form lines that often wrapped around the block in anticipation of a big release, now they can get anything they want anytime they want through one of the major streaming services, typically for free. Eric Sarafin has been present throughout this entire industrial and cultural transition. “It's hard to say what the future is because at the moment it is all being left to market forces, and the market forces are being dictated by enormously large companies like Google, Apple, and YouTube,” he notes. “Then you have the smaller companies that are trying to become enormously large, like Spotify. Music over the course of my entire career has been in the process of devaluation. “Once we went digital, there was an explosion in record sales because everyone needed to transfer their catalogs from vinyl to CDs, so the [record companies] got another big bite of the apple for a good 20 years after that. They started to become less small companies and more corporate minded, so they were much more interested in quarterly profits. This is not an industry that does well with that model because you need to be able to stick with an artist for years before you might reap the benefits. That was just unacceptable from a quarterly profit model. Whatever you put out needed to sell now.” Eric quickly points to examples like classic rock supergroup Pink Floyd. Their early albums such as The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Saucerful of Secrets, and Ummagumma didn’t really sell. Then came Dark Side of the Moon. By sticking with the band, their record label EMI enjoyed the profits from one of the most commercially and critically successful records in music history. Dark Side of the Moon remained on the Billboard sales chart for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988, and has sold an estimated 45 million copies worldwide. “Labels started looking at the songs and saying, ‘We only really need one great song to blow up a band.’ They concentrated all of the efforts to make sure there was one great song on a 72-minute CD,” he says. “They insisted that bands were starting to feel the pressure of putting more and more material out. Instead of doing 10 songs, they were doing 15, 18, even 20 songs, and they were putting out their CDs less often. That is just a recipe for disaster. Three years between albums—that means by your second album, your 15-year old fan is now 21 and has moved on. “Enormous amounts of money were spent to make the product, and the CDs were selling for $17. Simultaneously, people were able to get the music for free with Napster. That
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THE STUDIO IS tapestr y-lined and includes a state-of-thear t mixing console.
was the beginning of the end, really. Once the kids could not afford $17 CDs for one song—and shouldn't—they revolted. They would just go to Napster and get the music for free. The record companies held on for awhile longer before streaming came. Streaming was the semi-legal alternative to Napster. Basically, they could play your music, but they didn't have to pay you like you were being played on the radio because it was a loophole. They weren't broadcasting it, they were playing it on the internet. Without getting into the weeds of all the legalities and how it all came to be, we can fast forward to where we're at now, which is streaming is king. If I can play music for free, why would I buy it? There's no point. “If you don't put your music out there, then no one finds you. If you do, then you're giving away your music for free. What are you selling? The only thing you can possibly sell now is your live show, and that's it.”
“To me, artistry and entrepreneurship are one and the same. There's only one model now. Get famous and capitalize. That's it.” Once upon a time, there were three revenue streams for an artist: the live show with merchandise sales; publishing, which is licensing and radio play; and royalties from record sales. Nowadays, money from record sales are gone, and publishing is mostly gone—or is at least pennies on the dollar. “That leaves one revenue stream out of the three,” concludes Eric. “Now all the bands are in the business of selling T-Shirts.”
Entrepreneurship Really Is The Only Option When you’re in the music business, you are your brand. To build and market your brand, you need exposure. Creative entrepreneurship for most people is really the only option. “To me, artistry and entrepreneurship are one and the same,” says Eric. “There's only one model now. Get famous and capitalize. That's it. If you don't get famous, you don't capitalize. If people don't find you or discover you, then you have no way of making money. You can go and play gigs—you can make a living—but that's never been the goal in the music business. The goal is to make a killing. If your object is to get famous, then the artistry is in the entrepreneurship. Yes, you need to make music too, it has to be compelling, but that's all part of the same thing. That's how you get famous: by making songs that people love and being a personality that people find interesting. “I'm doing way too many things, but I don't really see how there's any other option given the current climate,” he noted. “My business is Mixerman. If I'm Mixerman producing a record or Mixerman writing a book or Mixerman doing a video, I’m an artist. I’m trying to get people to buy into me and what I produce, whether that’s a book, a song, or a show. It’s a one-man show. I find what I like, make it, and hope to parlay that into something bigger.” In 2008, Wired magazine editor Kevin Kelley published an essay titled “1,000 True Fans” in which he wrote: “To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer,
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musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor, you need only thousands of true fans. You have to create enough each year that you can earn, on average, $100 profit from each true fan,” he continues. “You must have a direct relationship with your fans. That is, they must pay you directly. You get to keep all of their support, unlike the small percent of their fees you might get from a music label, publisher, studio, retailer, or other intermediate. If you keep the full $100 of each true fan, then you need only 1,000 of them to earn $100,000 per year. That’s a living for most folks.” While the math behind Kelley’s theory may be open to debate, and it is certainly easier to discuss than achieve, Mixerman is a full subscriber to his theory. “If they're going to buy everything that you do, then you can make a living on that for sure and maybe do better. At least it puts you into a position to expand,” Eric says. “It's always where you're at: ‘How do I grow the market that I have right now into a much broader market.’ “My ultimate goal is to be able to work on what I want when I want. To some extent, I may be there, although I don't have total power to dictate when things happen.”
AMONG HIS ACCOL ADES are the ARIA award for mixing Ben Harper’s 1997 album The Will to Live, and gold record for the Pharcyde’s 1992 album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde.
Blowing Up Asheville Eric was first introduced to the Asheville area when he came to work with two successful, locally based artists. He recorded Josh Phillips’ 2010 album, Get Outside, and Dodge The Arrow by The Broadcast in 2013, both at Echo Mountain Recording Studios. “I moved to Asheville in October of 2015. I had to move from LA because the rents were just beyond outrageous. I was literally going to have to move out of this great house I was in, and for the same amount of money was going to get half as much, if that.” Eric had also grown tired of the major label recording grind. The paradigm shift in the music industry now pays engineers pennies on the dollar with the same amount of stress. “I wanted to continue to produce what I wanted to produce. For me, not working on the major label stuff is amazing. We have total control over the product and the artist; basically I act as their A&R rep and their producer. We don't have any of those tensions to deal with. We just make the product.” Mixerman was quickly adopted as a thought leader in the local music community. “I had enough of a base of people that I wasn't networking completely from scratch,” he says. “My discography has been a blessing as far as that is concerned, because people want to meet me, but even with that, I haven't met everybody. It's just amazing how big this community is and how hard it is to infiltrate the whole thing. What I love about the place is really how much music goes on here. Asheville doesn't compare to LA; I didn't have this kind of concentration. In LA if I wanted to get musicians together they could be two hours away from each other—here, I'm seeing everybody all the time. I've never had so many friends in the music business that I saw all the time in my life. It's amazing, actually.” For all of its glory, however, the chinks Asheville’s musical armor soon became very apparent. “We've got a great music
community here. It's amazing, it's huge, it's concentrated. There's a lot of amazing acts, but there's no way for them to make money. Tips are not a business model. It doesn't make any sense. Another part of the problem is that a lot of this stuff is kinda thrown together. To survive as a musician you've got to play in multiple acts, which means they're not really rehearsing, which means they're OK, but it's not anything that's going to make people notice.” A recent study conducted by the Economic Development Commission of Asheville-Buncombe County, and published in the Citizen-Times under the somewhat dubious headline, “Asheville area music industry growth outpacing Nashville,” tallied more than 1,400 jobs contributing to music's economic impact on the region. The study calculates the direct impact of these jobs at more than $225 million, and the total effect at more than $383 million. Even with the presence of musical infrastructure such as Moog Music, Echo Mountain Recording Studio, and The Orange Peel concert venue, it is extremely difficult to see any of those coins finding their way into the pockets of local musicians. Efforts by the Convention & Visitors Bureau to promote Asheville as a music destination have also had inconsistent outcomes, something for which Eric has strong, but honest and truthful words: “Take all the money that you're putting into advertising and invest it in the community. That will go way further than anything you're spending on advertising.” There have been several attempts to organize the musical community, with mixed results. One of the largest points of contention is the rate of pay for music in the city, and the relationship between artists and venues. “A band plays for two hours,” he observes. “I watch them keep the people there. I watch people walk down the street, see what's happening, and go inside. That has no value to the bar? The band kept them there drinking. I understand the venue's October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 85
position as well. A lot of nights they break even. They have to make their money on sometimes one night a week if they're lucky. It depends on the venue. There's nights they know they're not going to make any money, but they have to keep their people working. The free shows aren't working because the bars don't want to give part of their take—because they don't see the value in it. There's so much competition... it's so saturated that the bars don't have to pay.” For his part, Eric is trying to be a unifying force and has solid ideas about how to grow the true economic impact of the musical community, and provide tangible benefits for musicians, venues, hotels, and tourists. “I feel we need to put together shows, real shows, very entertaining two-hour shows. Take an act and put them in one place every week, especially during the six month heavy tourist season. Instead of sending our acts out to go and find their fans, have them stay here and attract the fans as if this were a mecca. If you want to see a certain band, you have to come here to go and see them. It's just too expensive to go on the road. If you want to target tourists, then we need shows that they can grasp hold of. We can get the hotels to send the tourists. If you talk to the hotels, they don't know where to send anyone. They made this website that tells what's going on, but we don't know. Tourists look at it, I look at it, and I
61 Weaver Blvd, Weaverville, NC 28787 ✆828.645.8811 1888 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803 ✆828.676.0047 3340 Boylston Hwy, Mills River, NC 28759 ✆828.891.4545 812 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28804 ✆828.505.3672
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can't tell what to go see for the night—and I know half the bands!” “Right now I'm looking for funding to install the first show. If I can prove the model, then the spigot will flow. At the moment, everybody I tell the concept to thinks it's a great idea that will work, but implementing it is a whole different thing. Now I've got to get some money people who find it a great idea. I wanted to install a show at the Salvage Station. You can make some really good money on shows there; the sky's the limit on how many people you can bring in. If you're dealing with tourists, you're dealing with shuttles and not cars. It can expand or contract however you need. I'm not sure where I'm going to get the money from, whether I'm going to get it from investors or from sponsors like beer companies. I really think the beverage companies around here should be joining forces with the music industry. That marriage is already there.”
The Big Score In so many ways, Mixerman is a role model for how artists should develop themselves as a brand, diversify their interests and income, and employ creative entrepreneurship—all in pursuit of the ultimate goal: the big score.
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“I wish my business were predictable enough [to do financial projections],” he says. “I'm in a hit or miss business across the board. Either I get a hit and make a bunch of money, or I make some money. I'm always at the mercy of how many people are buying into whatever product I'm making at any given time, and I have a catalog. Anytime I
explode. Then once it explodes, then I need another one to follow it up with, so it's always about that.” Having someone of Eric’s talent and music industry stature in Western North Carolina has undoubtedly increased the value of the Asheville music scene. As the town struggles with the growing pains of a booming economy and exponentially increasing tourism, the musicians and artists who have long augmented the natural beauty of the mountains with their talents, and created the bohemian reputation on which the town has capitalized, are struggling to reap the benefits of the region’s good fortune. Perhaps Mixerman has come to save the day. Will Asheville continue to rise as the musical “Billionheir Apparent”? (Eric’s latest book, published in June of last year, is about the aforementioned India billionaire’s son, Mixerman and the Billionheir Apparent.) Will tourists turn their alcohol-induced jaywalking in the direction of The Asheville Musical Revue? One thing is for certain: If Mixerman paints this small mountain hamlet as the backdrop for his next book, hilarity will ensue as the local character chart comes to life beneath Eric Sarafin’s witty pen.
Anytime I put out a new product, I have the possibility of selling all the products that I've done up to that point. It's more about the pursuit at all times of the big score. put out a new product, I have the possibility of selling all the products that I've done up to that point. It's more about the pursuit at all times of the big score. That's what my business has been since I got into it. In some ways I'm starting to look at it less like that because I need to maintain some predictability, but at the end of the day, I need the big score because the big score is what is going to make my business
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S H O P LO C A L • FA M I LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D B U S I N E S S October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 87
People Play at
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1. Award winning body painter Ren Allen painting a performer (PL) 2. Erica Stankywytch Bailey & Brian Bailey (PL)
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3. Stephanie Morgan (MW) 4. AAAC board member Noel Swartz (MW) 5.Lara Nguyen & Kimi Leger,
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painting live at the Indigo Ball (MG) 6. DJ Nimbus, aka Patrick Fitzsimons (PL) 7. AAAC executive director
Stefanie Gerber Darr & Chris Bubenik (MG) 8. Volunteer Kat Oviatt (MW) 9. DJ MP Pride performing (PL)
2017 Asheville Area Arts Council’s Indigo Ball presented by the AC Hotel
Asheville, NC | September 9, 2017 AAAC’s The Refinery Creator Space, AC Hotel, Lexington Glassworks, RISC Networks Building
Photos by Max Ganly (MG), Myriah Wood (MW), & Peter Lorenz (PL)
( MG )
( PL )
( PL )
( MW )
& The Orange Peel
( PL )
( PL )
( PL )
( PL )
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 89
events
>Tickets: Door $22, Advance $18 > 828-398-1837 > theorangepeel.net
october 1-29
october
EVENTS october 1
“Rock For Rescues” Benefit / Reigning Sound 1PM & 8PM Grey Eagle 185 Clingman Ave, Asheville, NC
Not exactly a double bill, as separate admission is required. Midday, rock out to Ashley Heath, Fashion Bath, Poet Radio, Brief Awakening, & Andrew Cummings in a timely benefit for the Asheville Humane Society. Then that night, roll with the hi-nrg soul of Greg Cartwright and his merry band of musical archivists. All ages.
>Tickets: $10 & $12 > 828-232-5800 > thegreyeagle.com
M U S I C
C E N T E R
Winged Wonders 9-5PM
North Carolina Arboretum 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC Features include a chrysalis-rearing chamber and a walk through a butterfly house, a diverse community of all kinds of one of the few insects that conjures joy instead of creepy-creepy.
> Parking: Personal Vehicle $14, Motorhome $50, Bus $100
> 828-665-2492 > ncarboretum.org
Thundercat 9PM
The Orange Peel 101 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC Aka Stephen Bruner, a virtuoso bassist and soul/jazz fusioneer, who’s worked with the rock and hip-hop likes of Flying Lotus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suicidal Tendencies, Erykah Badu, Childish Gambino, and Kendrick Lamar.
School Band & Orchestra Instrument Rentals at Tempo Music Center
Better Strangers 7:30pm Magnetic 375 375 Depot St, Asheville, NC In this wholly local production, two people meet twenty years after a conversation that totally changed one of their lives. The play is a study in all dimensions of the spoken word.
>Tickets: $16 > 828-239-9250 > themagnetictheatre.org
october 3
Got Music?
october 5 -7
october 6 -7
Autumn Rails Model Railroad Show
12-7PM (Fri), 10AM-4PM (Sat)
WNC Agricultural Center 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd, Fletcher, NC This show is a production of the French Broad e’N’pire NTR AK Club, which
BEING MORTAL
“Hope is not a plan.” ~ Dr. Atul Gawande
the PBS FRONTLINE documentary film
FREE Film Screening & Panel Discussion Friday, November 10 5:30 Reception • 6:00 Film Quality products, great rates, prices, and a friendly knowledgeable staff. 244 North Main Street • Hendersonville, NC 28792 (828) 693-8276 • tempomusicwnc.com
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Asheville Community Theatre 35 East Walnut Street, Asheville, NC 28801
To reserve your seat, as tickets are FREE, please call 828.254.1320 or email Callie: cdavis@fourseasonscfl.org
f o r L i f e FourSeasonsCFL.org
C o m p a s s i o n
Four Seasons is a non-profit palliative and hospice care provider in Western North Carolina, deeply committed to serving the community through fulfilling its mission of Co-Creating The Care Experience.
apparently has a thing for N-scale trains; but the show is welcoming of all letters and numbers. There will be several operating layouts and booths offering railroad equipment and gear.
>Tickets: Adult $6, Child (0-11) FREE > 607-727-6994 > fbe-nscale.com october 6 -7, 13 -14 , 20 -21, 27-28
Ghost Train®
7:30-11:30PM Tweetsie Railroad, Incorporated 300 Tweetsie Railroad Lane, Blowing Rock, NC
Moon Duo + Birds of Avalon
8:30PM Mothlight 701 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC West Asheville’s Mothlight is now officially the region’s most eclectic and forward-thinking music venue. This night should be a psychedelia fan’s dream date, from Moon Duo’s kosmiche soundscapes to Birds of Avalon’s harder-edged fare. Nest Egg also opens.
>Tickets: $13 advance, $15 door > 828-252-5433 > themothlight.com
It wouldn’t be scary if the organizers let the cat out of the bag – or will they? No matter what jumps out of wherever, they promise the event will be scary and safe for the whole family. Trains run every half hour on the half hour. Advance purchase is required.
>Tickets: $38 > 877-893-3874 > tweetsie.com
october 7
october 7
Fifth Annual Ciderfest NC
1-5PM Salvage Station 468 Riverside Dr, Asheville, NC
This celebration with hard cider, mead and apple wine, and small bites of artisanal food promises tastings a-plenty. There is also a kids’ area. The event is a fundraiser for the WNC Green Building Council and Appalachian Offsets.
> 828-254-1995 > ciderfestnc.com october 7
Chairmaker Elia Bizzarri 11AM-4PM
Grovewood Village 111 Grovewood Rd, Asheville, NC Bizzarri is a master turner. He will demonstrate the techniques and tools of riving, hewing, and shaving as he creates furniture worthy of contemplation. His work has been honored by the governor and featured on PBS.
> 828-253-7651 > grovewood.com october 7
Forest Festival Day – John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet 9AM-5PM Cradle of Forestry 11250 Pisgah Hwy, Pisgah Forest, NC
This is a real lumberjack competition organized by Haywood Community College. Events include dendrology,
CAB210_3rdPg_CovWaufLowe_r2.qxp_Layout 1 5/12/17 9:14 AM Page 1
Different interests. Same passion. Helping you meet your financial goals.
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October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 91
Writer’s Bistro
events
crosscut sawing, archery, axe throwing, pole climbing, and what-all. Carvers, musicians, weavers, and others will try to distract you from the excitement.
> Admission: Adult $6, Youth (5-15) $3, Infant FREE > 828-877-3130 > cfaia.org
october 8
Boone Heritage Festival
10AM-4PM
Hickory Ridge Living History Museum 591 Horn in the West Dr, Boone, NC The Southern Appalachian Historical Association and the Boone Tourism Development Authority have pulled together an outdoor one-stop-shop for people interested in the colonial history and traditions of the region; crafts, storytelling, re-enactment, music, and food are among the offerings.
> 828-264-2120 > booneheritagefestival.com october 8
The Asheville Area Piano Forum’s 17th Annual Fall Benefit Concert 3-5PM Unitarian Church 1 Edwin Place, Asheville, NC
Some of the more notable pianists from Asheville will play a variety of styles to raise money for the educational and charitable programs funded through the AAPF.
> Suggested Donation: Adult $25,
Student $3 > ashevillepiano.org
october 9 -10 Show Me the Money Conference & Funding Expo 92
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UNC-A Sherrill Center (9th), Lenoir-Rhyne University (10th) Regional leaders in finance, grants, and capital access will present tools, training, and connections needed to successfully secure funding for their businesses, non-profits, or community projects. Keynotes: Josh Jacobson (Next Stage Consulting) and Thom Ruhe (NC IDEA). Capital at Play is a proud sponsor.
>Ticketed event > ShowMetheMoneyConference.com october 13 -14
Diavolo: L.O.S.T.
10AM (Fri) 8PM (Fri & Sat) Diana Wortham Theatre 18 Biltmore Ave, Asheville,NC What most of us are afraid to do on stationary staircases, the choreographed acrobat dancers perform on moving structures. All is performed with the mystique of abstract music, dark lighting, and dry ice.
>Tickets: Adult $50, Student $45,
Child $20 > 828-257-4530 > dwtheatre.com
october 14 -15
27th Annual Oktoberfest
10AM-5PM Sugar Mountain Resort, Main Lodge 1009 Sugar Mountain Dr, Sugar Mountain, NC
Visitors are encouraged to dress like German dolls to come listen to the Harbour Towne Fest Band and the Valle Crucis Middle School Band. There’s a section for kids to have fun as well.
> 828-898-4521 > oktoberfest.skisugar.com october 16
Carl Sandburg Heritage
Golf Tournament
12:30-6PM Kenmure Country Club 100 Clubhouse Dr, Flat Rock, NC A fundraiser for the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara. Golfers will get to use modern equipment and Sandburg-era hickory clubs and replica golf balls. Wear period attire for the Best Dressed prize.
> Admission: $150 > 610-917-1066 > crudbay@mac.com october 17
The Montrose Trio 8PM Tryon Fine Arts Center 34 Melrose Ave, Tryon, NC
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This is what happens when you pick up the pieces of the Tokyo String Quartet and add a pianist. They were an instant smash when they premiered in Detroit in 2013.
Erin Andrews
> Series Tickets: $110 > 888-501-0297 > tryonconcerts.org
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october 19
Greensky Bluegrass + Fruition 5-10PM Salvage Station 466 Riverside Dr, Asheville, NC
The sound is wistful, escapist, even spiritual. You’ll be more interested in the scenery in the places this music takes your mind than in analyzing the different parts.
>Tickets: $29 > 828-407-0521 > salvagestation.com
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October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 93
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
events
october 19 -21 WNC Fall Harvest Days
8AM-5PM WNC Agricultural Center 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd, Fletcher, NC The 2017 Engine and Tractor Show features over 250 vendors and exhibitors on all things tractor. The big draw will be the tractor pulls on Saturday. Tractor parade every day at 2PM.
> Admission: Adult Day $8, Adult
Weekend $20, Accompanied Child (0-11) FREE > 828-243-3166 > applecountry.org
COMPLETING BEAUTIFUL HOMES FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS! 562 Long Shoals Rd. Arden NC 28704 | 828-687-1968 | TogarRugs.com
YOU CAN PLAN BETTER IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S COMING
october 19 -22; oct. 23 Fall LEAF Festival / “Fantastic Voyage Cultural Arts Showcase” Lake Eden, Black Mountain, NC & Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
With headliners Toots & the Maytals and Los Lobos, plus the usual slew of all-over-the-map performers, you are guaranteed a good weekend. Then on Monday, the fun continues with a daytime performance from David LaMotte plus LEAF Guatemala, New Orleans, & Ivory Coast—billed as an “opportunity for school field trips, homeschoolers, all those who want to continue the LEAF weekend, or cannot make it to the festival.” Capital at Play is a proud sponsor of the LEAF Festivals.
> Consult websites for tickets. > Theleaf.org & theorangepeel.net
We do Estate Planning. We do it Well.
october 20
Hiss Golden Messenger
Estate Planning/Asset Protection and Business Succession Planning Lawyers Licensed in North Carolina, Florida & South Carolina
9PM Orange Peel 101 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC
77 Central Ave, Suite F Asheville, NC 28801 828-258-0994
M.C. Taylor is a genuine North Carolina A mericana treasure. New album
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| October 2017
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ESTATE PLANNING | ELDER LAW | TRUSTS | WILLS
strausslaw.com
Attorney Tips on Employee Law Hallelujah Anyway features Brad Cook, Phil Cook, Tift Merritt, and other guests, but the music—the nuanced, gospel-like vocals in particular—remains distinctively Taylor’s. He’s got a GRAMMY nom in his future.
>Tickets: $16 advance, $18 door > 828-398-1837 > theorangepeel.net october 20 -22
The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands: Fall Edition
10AM-6PM (Fri, Sat), 10AM-5PM (Sun) US Cellular Center 87 Haywood St, Asheville, NC It took two juries to whittle down all the goods to where they would fill only the arena and the concourse levels. Name your medium and see what somebody did with it. A tradition since it began in tents in Gatlinburg, back in 1948.
> Admission: Adult $8, Child (0-11) FREE > 828-298-7928 > craftguild.org
october 20
Eddie Palmieri
8PM Diana Wortham Theatre 18 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC The composer and bandleader is a ten-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master. Tonight, he’ll be on piano sharing his mix of jazz, Afro-Latin, and Afro-Caribbean sounds.
>Tickets: Adult $40, Student $35, Child $20 > 828-257-4530 > dwtheatre.com
october 21
38th Annual Valle Country Fair
9AM-4PM Valle Crucis Conference Center Grounds, Hwy 194, Valle Crucis, NC
KEEP DOCUMENTS Keep copies of important documents, such as handbooks/policies, disciplinary actions, etc., at home. You may not have access to them if you are terminated.
IS THE NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT I SIGNED ENFORCEABLE?
Over 160 vendors of crafts and vittles will be on hand for the annual event. This is a fundraiser for area ministries.
• It must be supported by valid consideration – did you get something of value for signing the agreement?
> Parking: Car $10, Van $25, Bus $50 > 828-963-4609 > vallecountryfair.org
• The limitations must be reasonable as to scope, duration and geographical extent – the courts have helped define what is reasonable.
october 21-22
40th Annual Woolly Worm Festival 10AM-5PM Downtown Banner Elk, NC
Woolly worms compete for the grand prize. Participants should bring one of their own champion, gorgeous, chestnut brown caterpillars. But if they forget, the PTO will have some for sale. Included are rides and vendors.
> Admission: Adult $6, Child (6-12) $4, Infant FREE > 828-898-5605 > woollyworm.com
october 22
Southeastern Downriver Championship
10AM Nantahala Outdoor Center Bryson City, NC
“All ages and boat types” will be racing in what is billed as the oldest whitewater race in the Southeast. To compete, register at the website.
> FREE to watch > 828-785-4855 > noc.com
John C. Hunter Attorney at Law
Providing experienced employee representation for over 30 years One North Pack Square | Ste 421 Asheville, NC 28801 828.281.1940 | jchlawfirm.com
MY HANDBOOK STATES THAT I AM AN “AT-WILL” EMPLOYEE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ? 1. Most employment relationships in NC are ‘”at-will” 2. This means that you can be terminated for any reason as long as it's lawful 3. It is not lawful if the real reason for your termination is prohibited discrimination, a violation of the public policy of the State, or in retaliation for doing something that is protected by certain state or federal laws. 4.There are other exceptions to the “at-will” status.
WHEN SHOULD I CONTACT AN EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEY •You have concerns about how you are being treated in the workplace or whether your termination is lawful. •You are not being paid your promised wages, including accrued vacation pay after your termination. •You are being asked to sign an employment contract, a non-compete agreement or a severance agreement. • You have been denied unemployment benefits.
October 2017 | capitalatplay.com 95
events
october 26 -27
3rd Annual RETR3AT Cybersecurity Conference
Montreat College 310 Gaither Circle, Montreat, NC
I
t’s my fave consignment boutique in town because the inventory is so amazing. –The Tony Townie, Lifestyle Blogger
The Overlook at Lake Julian 100 Julian Lane, Suite 120, Arden, NC 28704 Tel. 1.828.650.6566 www.jsmithboutique.com
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The event frames cybersecurity with an ethics perspective. The keynote speaker will be the USDE’s chief information officer Max Everett. Other speakers are from BoA, the FBI, CVS, and firms specializing in cybersecurity.
> Registration: $150 > 828-419-2109 > retr3at.com october 27 & 28
Love Makes a Home: The Life of Rebecca Boone 7:30PM White Horse Black Mountain 105 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain, NC A play about the fearless frontier woman who would become Mrs. Daniel Boone, it features the old time fiddling of Bruce Greene, with Barb McEwen in the title role.
Western North Carolina's Free Spirit of Enterprise
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>Tickets: $12 advance, $15 door > 828-669-0816 > whitehorseblackmountain.com october 29
Gladys Knight + Little Big Town
8PM Thomas Wolfe Auditorium 87 Haywood St, Asheville, NC A fundraiser for the future Reynolds Community Center, which will be built on the remnants of a segregation-era school. The center will house a library, studio, and computers, and offer music, health/wellness, and addiction recovery. The center is a long-term project of soul legend Knight’s husband.
>Tickets: $52.50 and up > 800-745-3000 > ticketmaster.com november 2
Garrison Keillor: Just Passing Through
7:30PM Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, US Cellular Center 87 Haywood St, Asheville, NC
The beloved storyteller, late of A Prairie Home Companion, is heard each morning on WNCW’s The Writers’ Almanac. He retains his homey charm even after receiving scores of prestigious awards.
>Tickets: $42 and up > 800-745-3000 > ticketmaster.com november 4
South Asheville Pie Contest
2PM Ivory Road Café and Kitchen 1854 Brevard Rd, Arden, NC
Pie is so underrated. So why don’t you show up to give some of these pies some love? Awards will be given for judges’ choice and people’s choice. Yum.
> FREE to wander > 828-676-3870 > ivoryroadavl.com
If your organization has any local press releases for our briefs section, or events that you would like to see here, feel free to email us at events@capitalatplay.com. Please submit your event at least six weeks in advance.
Discover your best self. Discover best self. Apply now foryour 2018-19 . Apply now for 2018-19.
Explore, dream, discover... Explore, dream, discover... All children dream of “what they want to be when they grow up,” and that means something different for each child. Some methods All children dream of “what they want to be when they grow up,” or learning environments may stifle a child’s curiosity, resulting and that means something different for each child. Some methods in boredom, low expectations, and marginal achievement. Our or learning environments may stifle a child’s curiosity, resulting teaching approach provides excellence in character and skills in boredom, low expectations, and marginal achievement. Our through hands-on learning in an inclusive community. Here, we teaching approach provides excellence in character and skills teach students how to question and become problem-solvers in an through hands-on learning in an inclusive community. Here, we ever-changing world. We prepare them to chart and navigate their teach students how to question and become problem-solvers in an own futures: to explore, dream, and discover their best self. Let’s ever-changing world. We prepare them to chart and navigate their make some dreams come true. Visit and apply this fall for school own futures: to explore, dream, and discover their best self. Let’s year 2018-19. make some dreams come true. Visit and apply this fall for school year 2018-19.
Upper School Admission Q&A Grades 9-11 Upper School Admission Q&A October 5 • 8-9 a.m. Grades 9-11 October 5 • 8-9 a.m. Middle School Admission Q&A Grades 6-8 Middle School Admission Q&A October 12 • 9-10 a.m. Grades 6-8 October 12 • 9-10 a.m. Lower School Admission Q&A Grades Pre-K/5 Lower School Admission Q&A October 18 • 9-10 a.m. Grades Pre-K/5 October 18 • 9-10 a.m.
Key School Open House Grades 2-8 Key School Open House October 25 • 8:15-9:45 a.m. Grades 2-8 October 25 • 8:15-9:45 a.m. Middle School Open House Grades 6-8 Middle School Open House October 25 • 5:30-6:30 p.m. Grades 6-8 October 25 • 5:30-6:30 p.m. Upper School Open House Grades 9-12 Upper School Open House October 25 • 6:30-8:30 p.m. Grades 9-12 October 25 • 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Lower School Inside the Classroom Grades Pre-K/5 Lower School Inside the Classroom November 9 • 8:30-11:30 a.m. Grades Pre-K/5 November 9 • 8:30-11:30 a.m.
CarolinaDay.org/Apply
828.407.4442 CarolinaDay.org/Apply 828.407.4442 Please note that the application fee is waived
for applications received by October 31, 2017. Please note that the application fee is waived for applications received October 31, 2017. 97 October 2017 by | capitalatplay.com
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