January 2015 Rapid River Magazine by Rapid River Magazine

New Year, New Faces, New Art at the Asheville Gallery of Art pg 15

VaVaVooom! Boutique and Photo Studio pg 17 Homebrewing Demos pg 19

2015 Preview

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22-23

What to Do Guideâ&#x201E;˘

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26-27

Local Dining Guide

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18-20

www.SusanMPhippsDesigns.com

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ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY MASTERWORKS SERIES

2014-2015 SEASON DANIEL MEYER, MUSIC DIRECTOR

BEETHOVEN’S 5TH ORDER BY PHONE 828.254.7046 2 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

www.ashevillesymphony.org

captivating performances Concert by Members of The Opal String Quartet

On Sunday, February 1 the Asheville Chamber Music Series (ACMS) will sponsor a concert to benefit the new “Welcome Project” of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville.

Featured artists include Ginger Kowal, violin; Kara Poorbaugh, viola; and Franklin Keel, cello. The artists are members of the Opal String Quartet. The group will perform a brand new trio by local composer, Tim Winter of Saluda, a trio sonata by Corelli, and the Beethoven Trio in C minor. According to Linda Topp, Director of Administration for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, the “Welcome Project” is estimated to cost $750,000. “We greatly appreciate the help of the Asheville Chamber Music Series toward achieving our goal.”

Project Plans

• The entrance from Edwin Place will be completely re-landscaped to create an entry plaza for outdoor gathering. The foyer between the Sanctuary and the fellowship hall will be enlarged.

• The entrance from the parking lot will become fully accessible to the sanctuary and the adjoining fellowship hall. A family/accessible restroom will be built near the entrance. • The floor of the Sanctuary will be raised, improving the sight lines for audiences. The floor coverings, as well as the platform dimensions, have been determined with input from the Asheville Chamber Music Board. “For the past twenty-five years, most of our concerts have been held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville,” says Polly Feitzinger, president. “Its excellent acoustics and good sight lines have made it an ideal setting for audiences. With its semicircular seating, this venue has been favored by both musicians and our subscribers. “The only drawback however, has been the size of the stage, which limits the range of the ensembles the series can present. This will all change with the proposed sanctuary expansion plans incorporated in the ‘Welcome Project.’” Ginger Kowal, violinist, is a native of Asheville and a founding member of the Opal

MARILYNNE HERBERT

String Quartet. WNC classical music fans who have really been around for a while might remember when she became the youngest member of the Asheville Symphony at age 13. Kowal has performed as soloist with the Charlotte Symphony, the Hendersonville Symphony, and others. Kara Poorbaugh serves as PrinMembers of the Opal String Quartet: Ginger Kowal, cipal Violist for the Asheville Symviolin; Franklin Keel, cello; and Kara Poorbaugh, viola. phony and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. Kara performs and also performs outside the classical genre regularly with the Greenville Symphony (SC), with numerous bands and artists. Symphony of the Mountains (TN), Asheville Lyric Opera, The Lovestruck Suckers, and maintains a busy private studio of violin, viola, IF and chamber music students. YOU Benefit concert, Sunday, February 1 Franklin Keel, performing on the cello, GO at 3 p.m. Patron tickets $50; general has appeared as a soloist with the Hendersonadmission $25; students $5. The UU ville Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Congregation is located at the corner of Edwin of the United Nations, and has also performed Place and Charlotte Street in Asheville. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit at local venues. Franklin is Associate Principal www.ashevillechambermusic.org. Cellist of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra

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Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 3

performance Your Vision Our Creation

ROBERTO VENGOECHEA 100 Cherry Street ~ Black Mountain (15 minutes east of Asheville) pg. 13

828.669.0065 | www.VisionsofCreation.com

Those Four Famous Notes BEETHOVEN’S 5TH SYMPHONY

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which features one of the most famous and recognizable opening bars in music history, headlines the Asheville Symphony Orchestra’s fourth Masterworks concert of the season at 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 17 in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the U.S. Cellular Center.

The concert, which will be conducted by Asheville Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Music Director Daniel Meyer, will also include Verdi’s Overture to I Vespri Siciliani and the Sibelius Violin Concerto featuring Korean violinist Kyung Ah Oh. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony opens with four famous notes considered to be a musical symbol of fate knocking at our door. Revolutionary for forging ahead in rhythm rather than melody, the rhythmic pattern weaves through the entire first movement, opening the door to the struggle from darkness to light in the rest of the work. Kyung’s appearance performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto, one of the composer’s most beloved works, continues the ASO tradition of presenting virtuosos of the Cleveland Institute of Music. The concerto will follow Verdi’s Sicilian Vespers, a piece written about the Sicilian Revolution of 1848, which will open the concert.

PROGRAM

Verdi, Overture to I Vespri Siciliani Sibelius, Violin Concerto Beethoven, Symphony No. 5

Violinist Kyung Ah Oh will perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto. IF YOU Beethoven’s 5th, January 17 at 8 p.m. GO at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in

downtown Asheville. Tickets start at $22 for adults and $11 for youth, and are available through the ASO office or the U.S. Cellular Center ticket office. For more information call (828) 254-7046 or go to www. ashevillesymphony.org.

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When it came to publicizing our meet the artist tours, concerts, or storytelling in the park, the overwhelming response was “We read about it in Rapid River Magazine.” Thank you for supporting the arts and entertainment community. ~ Ruth Planey

web exclusives RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE Established in 1997 • Volume Eighteen, Number Five

JANUARY 2015 www.rapidrivermagazine.com Publisher/Editor: Dennis Ray Marketing: Dennis Ray, Rick Hills Copyeditor: Kathleen Colburn Poetry Editor: Carol Pearce Bjorlie Layout & Design: Simone Bouyer Accounting: Sharon Cole Distribution: Dennis Ray

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Carol Pearce Bjorlie, Teresa Buckner, Rosalind Buda, James Cassara, Tedd Clevenger, Kathleen Colburn, Michael Cole, Susan Devitt, Amy Downs, John Ellis, Sahar Fakhoury, Max Hammonds, MD, Phil Hawkins, Marilynne Herbert, Lisa Jones, Phil Juliano, Chip Kaufmann, Michelle Keenan, Joseph Malki, Kay Miller, Michael J. Morel, Wendy H. Outland, Elise Pratt, Dennis Ray, Jocelyn Reese, Steven Samuels, Erin Scholze, Patrice Tappe, Catherine Vibert, Greg Vineyard, Bill Walz, Dan Weiser, J. & R. Woods.

CONTACT US Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine is a monthly publication. Send all mail to: Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine 85 N. Main St., Canton, NC 28716 Phone: (828) 646-0071 info@rapidrivermagazine.com

ADVERTISING SALES Downtown Asheville and other areas Dennis Ray (828) 646-0071 dennis@rapidrivermagazine.com Hendersonville, Waynesville, Dining Guide Rick Hills (828) 452-0228 rick@rapidrivermagazine.com All materials contained herein are owned and copyrighted by Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine and the individual contributors unless otherwise stated. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine or the advertisers found herein. © Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine, January 2015, Vol. 18 No. 5

On the Cover:

Works by new members of the Asheville Gallery of Art. PAGE 15 Clockwise from top left: Marion Vidal, Contemplation; Mike Alonzo, Maine Snow; Pam Winkler, Behind the Green Door; Elise Okrend, Max Patch; Bill Cole, Blue Barn; Juditta Musetta, Cloud Nursery; Suzanne Nelson, Can Can; Jane Molinelli, Momento Mori.

3 Performance

Discover More Exciting Articles, Short Stories & Blogs at www.rapidrivermagazine.com

SHORT STORIES

The Opal String Quartet . . . . . . . . . 3 Asheville Symphony Orchestra . . . . 4 Pan Harmonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Amici Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Magnetic Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Fringe Arts Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

7 Music Jeff Daniels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sheila Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ashley Capps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Mean Mary James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

8 Columns

New stories are added each month!

Blues West End

Written by Dave Rowe

Providence

Written by Nancy Dillingham

Mister Duane Remembers Aunty Tray

Written by George Ellison, Art work by Elizabeth Ellison

The Path To Your Destiny

Written by Phil Okrend

Quodophile

James Cassara – Spinning Discs . . . 8 Greg Vineyard – Fine Art . . . . . . . . 12 Wendy Outland – Business of Art 12 Bill Walz – Artful Living . . . . . . . . 21 Max Hammonds, MD – Health . . 21 Carol Pearce Bjorlie – Poetry. . . . . 24 Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

14 Fine Art Sahar Fakhoury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Asheville Area Arts Council . . . . . . 14 Asheville Gallery of Art . . . . . . . . . 15 Biljana Kroll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

17 Noteworthy VaVaVooom! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 WNC Film Society – The Pardon . 23 Salons at Malaprop’s Bookstore . . . 24 Art in the Park Grant . . . . . . . . . . . 31

18 Dining Guide Lex 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Asheville Brewers Supply . . . . . . . . 19 5 Affordable Restaurants . . . . . . . . 19 Healthy, Good Thoughts . . . . . . . . 20

Written by Sandee Setliff

WE’RE A LOCAL & RESPONSIBLE PUBLISHER Rapid River Magazine is an eco-friendly newsprint publication dedicated to helping the area grow responsibly through our use of soy based ink, purchasing only recycled post and pre-consumer paper, and donating thousands of advertising dollars to local environmental and non-profit organizations. We are local people working to support local businesses. Keep your advertising dollars here in WNC, call (828) 646-0071 today.

SPECIAL SECTIONS Black Mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 13 Downtown Asheville . . . . . . pgS 16-17 Dining Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . pgS 18-20 Waynesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 30

ONLY ONLINE The 28th National Arts and Crafts Conference and Show takes place

February 20-22 at the historic Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa.

Friends of the Smokies

received a generous donation from

Nantahala Brewing

for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Joe Rowland, owner of Nantahala Brewing Company, Smokies Ridgerunner presents a check to Anna Lee Zanetti, Friends of the program, Smokies Outreach Associate. which works to protect resources and enhance the hiking experience along the Appalachian Trail.

Artists & Writers, Promote Yourself on www.RapidRiverMagazine.com Artists and writers are invited to contribute to our new web exclusive section – “Creatives Sketched.” With a rapidly growing readership, the Rapid River Magazine website is a great way to promote yourself and a great way for potential buyers and readers to learn about you. Rapid River Magazine’s copyeditor, Kathleen Colburn, is editor and curator of the section. Please contact her with questions and submissions by email to rrshortstories@gmail.com.

22 Movie Reviews Chip Kaufmann, Michelle Keenan .22

26 What to Do Guide

™

Best in Show by Phil Juliano . . . . 27 Callie & Cats by Amy Downs . . . . 27 Corgi Tales by Phil Hawkins . . . . 27 Dragin by Michael Cole . . . . . . . . 27 Ratchet & Spin by J. & R. Woods . . 27

IF YOU GO: Tell them you saw it in Rapid River Magazine! Distributed at more than 390 locations throughout eight counties in WNC and South Carolina. First copy is free – each additional copy $1.50

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 5

captivating performances

Pan Harmonia Sonata Series

Pan Harmonia’s Sonata Series, a sequence of four programs, takes place from late January to early May.

The programs will feature a variety of instruments and treasured sonatas from the chamber music repertoire. Performances take place at White Horse Black Mountain and in the newly renovated sanctuary of Asheville First Presbyterian Church. This project is supported by a grant from the NC Arts Council. Pan Harmonia has received support from the NC Arts Council for its artistic excellence since 2007. The January concerts feature Russian, French, and American works: Serge Prokofiev’s epic Sonata for flute and piano, a riveting contemporary Sonata for viola and piano by American Jennifer Higdon and the ethereal Prelude, Recitative and Variations for flute, viola and piano by Maurice Duruflé. Sonata Series performers: Kate Steinbeck, flute;

John Ravnan, viola; Ivan Seng, piano. Works by Serge Prokofiev, Jennifer Higdon and Maurice Duruflé.

Friday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. Sonata Series, White Horse Black Mountain.

ROSALIND BUDA

Sunday, January 25 at 3 p.m. Sonata Series, First Presbyterian Church, Asheville. Tickets: $16.50 in advance, $22 at the door.

$5 tickets for students are available only at the door.

About Pan Harmonia

Directed by flutist Kate Steinbeck and based in Asheville, artist collective Pan Harmonia brings professional chamber music performances to audiences of all ages in diverse settings ranging from traditional concert halls to homeless shelters and prisons. Now in its 15th season, Pan Harmonia has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council for its artistic excellence. For more information on Pan Harmonia, please visit www.pan-harmonia.org Become a volunteer and get into ticketed events for free. Contact Rosalind in our office, if you would like to know more. Call (828) 254-7123 or email office@pan-harmonia.org.

Four-Hand Rhapsody

AmiciMusic begins 2015 with an exciting program of four-hand piano music featuring works by Schubert, Moszkowski, Liszt, and Gershwin.

Weiser and Lau will perform Schubert’s great F Minor Fantasy, written shortly before his premature death and filled with poignant melodies; Moszkowski’s picturesque Spanish Dances; Liszt’s virtuosic Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2; and Daniel Weiser, Artistic DirecGershwin’s energetic and fiery tor, will be joined at the piano Rhapsody in Blue. by Daniel Lau, a fellow Peabody Dr. Lau has been praised alumni who has performed in conby the Washington Post for his cert houses around the world. “exemplary artistry.” He is a Daniel Lau They will perform in three founding member of the Ravel different venues. Trio, and a professor at Washington Adventist University. Saturday, January 17 at 11 a.m. Saturday Dr. Weiser has been described as “a force Classical Brunch at Isis Restaurant and Music of pianistic energy” by the Classical Voice Hall in West Asheville. Cost for the concert is of North Carolina. He previously taught at $15. Reservations are strongly recommended. Dartmouth College and was the 1996 U.S. Call Isis at (828) 575-2737. Artistic Ambassador of Music, which resulted Saturday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m. Special in an eleven-country tour of the Middle East House Concert at the home of Kristie and and Asia. Both men have Doctorates from the Doug Doll at 309 Mountain Laurel in AshePeabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD. ville. Cost is $35 per person, which includes light food and drinks. Reservations are required. Pay online at www.amicimusic.org AmiciMusic is a professional or contact Dan, (802) 369-0856, or via email to chamber music organization daniel@amicimusic.org. dedicated to performing

Sunday, January 18 at 2 p.m. At the White

Horse in Black Mountain. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. To reserve tickets visit www.whitehorseblackmountain.com or call (828) 669-0816

6 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

Daniel Weiser, AmiciMusic founder and Artistic Director

the highest quality music in intimate venues and nontraditional spaces.

For more information please visit www.amicimusic.org

Flutist Kate Steinbeck. Photo: Micah Mackenzie

IF YOU Purchase a Sonata Series subscription GO for all four programs for $60. Concerts

held in Asheville or Black Mountain. Mail a check to Pan Harmonia, PO Box 18342, Asheville 28814, or bring a check to a January concert. This offer is not available online.

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE PROGRAM

Linda Kendall Fields and Frank Argento will be leading a chamber music program every Tuesday from January 13 through March 17.

Early intermediate to advanced skill levels welcomed. Some music reading skills desirable. Sign up by January 5. Call or email Linda at (828) 7124003 or lkfields17@ gmail.com to register. The cost for the 10week program is $150.

IF YOU Chamber Music Program, GO Tuesdays January 13 – March

17 from 5 to 6 p.m. Asheville Music School, 126 College St. Asheville. For more details please visit www. ashevillemusicschool.org

captivating performances

pg. 16

Emmy Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter Jeff Daniels

Emmy award-winning actor and singer-songwriter Jeff Daniels performs with his son’s band, the Ben Daniels Band, Saturday January 24 at 8 p.m.

BY JOHN

ELLIS

musicianship, and a sound that spans Americana, Blues, Jazz, and Rock. Daniels has spent the past twelve years playing venues across the country Jeff Daniels brought and has released five albums the house down when he last to date. His albums Live and appeared at Diana Wortham Unplugged, Grandfather’s Theatre in 2010. He’s returning Hat, and most recently Keep to Asheville right on the heels It Right Here (featuring Brad of beginning the third and final Jeff Daniels Photo: Luke Pline Phillips & Dominic John Daseason of HBO’s The Newsvis) showcase Daniels’ range as a songwriter, room, for which he received the Outstanding from the laugh-out-loud humor of “Have a Lead Actor Emmy Award in 2013, and the Good Life (Then Die),” to the self-deprecating highly anticipated release of the comedy film, tongue-in-cheek “If William Shatner Can, I Dumb and Dumber To. Can Too,” to the quiet and poignant lyrics of “Many film actors have worked in TV, “Middle of the Night.” and many dabble in the theater,” mused The On playing with his son, Daniels shares, Detroit News in a review, “but Jeff Daniels is “I love writing songs, I love entertaining one of only a handful who can count a respectpeople, and I love putting on a show. Happy to able musical career alongside acclaimed work say, the show just got better.” on film, TV and stage.” Jeff Daniels has received Golden Globe, A talented musician and vocalist, Daniels Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, and Indepenhas been writing songs for more than 30 years, dent Spirits Awards nominations throughout having performed with the likes of Lyle Lovett, his long film career. Most notably, he is John Hiatt, Guy Clark, and Keb Mo’. For his known for his roles in the movies Terms of next tour, Daniels is joined by his son Ben’s Endearment, The Purple Rose of Cairo, The accomplished band, known for its originality,

The Ben Daniels Band

Squid and the Whale, Speed, Gettysburg, Because of Winn-Dixie, Blood Work, and Dumb and Dumber. Daniels has also worked extensively on television and stage, where he first distinguished himself by winning an Obie Award in Johnny Got His Gun, and was most recently nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in the hit Broadway play God of Carnage with fellow actors James Gandolfini, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden. www.jeffdaniels.com www.bendanielsband.com IF YOU Jeff Daniels and the Ben Daniels GO Band, Saturday, January 24 at 8 p.m.

Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. Tickets: $45; Students $40; Children $15; Student Rush day-of show (with valid I.D.) $10. Info/Tickets: Box Office (828) 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com

Jazz Master Sheila Jordan – Performances and Workshops

Sheila Jordan received the highest honor for her outstanding contribution to America’s art form, jazz: the Jazz Master Award, presented by the National Endowment for the Arts, in 2012.

Saturday, January 24 – Work-

shop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $125 per person. Western Carolina University.

Sunday, January 25 – Sheila in concert with Bill Bares, Mike Holstein and Sonny Thornton. 8 p.m. at ISIS Restaurant and Music Hall.

She has just turned 86 years of Monday, January 26 – Workage and she continues to tour the shop at UNCA at 10 a.m. Workworld touching thousands of souls shop at Asheville Music School Sheila Jordan with her music and her teaching. A at 6:30 p.m. $50 per person. golden opportunity for singers and instrumentalists alike, Ms. Jordan will present Sheila Jordan is known as one of the the following performances and workshops: pioneers in vocal jazz education and her influence has touched musicians around the world. Wednesday, January 21 – Private Lessons Sheila is known as the innovator of the bass available, $100 per hour. and voice duets. Her recordings and perforThursday, January 22 – Sheila in concert with mances have contributed to the evolution of Bill Bares, Mike Holstein and Sonny Thornjazz and jazz vocals. ton. Cummings Memorial United Methodist Elise Pratt, Jazz Events Coordinator for Church in Horse Shoe, NC. 7 p.m. Co-sponthe Arts Council of Henderson County, says, sored by Arts Council of Henderson County. “It can be a life transforming opportunity when you experience Sheila’s performance Friday, January 23 – Workshop at 3:30 p.m. as well as her workshops and lessons. We are Sheila in concert with Pavel Wlosok and indeed fortunate to have her coming here to Mike Holstein at 7:30 p.m. Western Carolina our growing jazz scene in WNC.” University.

Born Sheila Jeanette Dawson on November 18, 1928, in Detroit, Michigan, she was singing in Detroit clubs at an early age. In the 1940s, Sheila Jordan dropped a nickel in a jukebox and heard “Now’s The Time” by Charlie Parker. She was instantly hooked – and so began a seventy-year jazz journey. In 1962, she emerged as the first jazz singer to record on the prestigious Blue Note label with her debut album Portrait of Sheila. Exploding on the jazz scene, this classic work set the bar for her career as an iconic jazz vocalist and mentor to other promising female vocalists. Ms. Jordan has worked as a recording artist and performer under the influence of, and in performance with, such luminaries as Charlie Parker, George Russell, Lennie Tristano, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, and Thelonius Monk. She was married to Duke Jordan, pianist with Charlie Parker. IF YOU Contact Sharon LaMotte, (828) 280GO 3770, to reserve space and make advance

deposit for the Saturday workshop and/ or Monday evening workshops. For more information please contact the Arts Council of Henderson County at (828) 693-8504 or acofhc@bellsouth.net.

Advertising Sales Representatives Needed Help us promote local arts, organizations, and businesses. Great for earning extra income. Set your own hours. Potential earnings are up to you! Seniors are encouraged to apply. INTERESTED? Call (828) 646-0071, or e-mail info@rapidrivermagazine.com

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 7

spinning discs

CD Reviews by James Cassara

Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014

Nonesuch Records

Seriously, you didn’t expect the band’s initial career retrospect to be the considered norm, did you? From the start Wilco has rarely followed any blueprint other than their own, wildly serving the whims of grandmaster Jeff Tweedy. This four-disc collection of live and non-LP recordings aptly show the depth and range of those whims. Twenty years into the game the band has created an imposing and wildly varied body of work; Alpha Mike Foxtrot collects 77 tracks from singles, promo releases, movie soundtracks, bonus discs, and downloads from their website. It’s a cornucopia of delights, an alternate soundtrack to the group’s history that, while clearly intended for the hard core fan, would

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Let’s start off the new year with a potpourri of goodies; a rarely heard gem by one of rock music’s greatest sidemen, a smattering of new releases, and a boxed set worthy of your holiday cheer. Remember that if it’s reviewed in these pages it’s worth having; and be sure to support your local independent music store.

Wilco

pg. 28

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www.mymusicwarehouse.com • If we don’t have it, we can find it! 8 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

be no less appealing to the neophyte. Chronologically sequenced from the first post Uncle Tupelo demos Tweedy cut in his living room, to extended live takes of songs from A Ghost Is Born, Alpha Mike Foxtrot traces the evolution of Wilco from a lively but ragged alternative country combo to the sonic powerhouse they would become. In purest terms nothing here is previously unreleased but having such gems as the ten minute on stage workout out “Spiders ( Kidsmoke)” alongside the soulful “The Thanks I Get,” and the pop/rock send up “The Good Part” is the stuff of pure delight. It’s a fascinating look at the many paths Tweedy and company chose not to take, complimented by a comprehensive booklet, liner notes, and all the extraneous accouterments that make record collecting so much fun. Now this is how boxed sets should be done! *****

Yusuf Islam

Tell ‘Em I’m Gone Sony/Legacy Music

“When a door is closed somewhere/ there’s a door that’s opening” sings the artist once known and loved as Cat Stevens. And while Stevens’s conversion to Islam-and subsequent comments he made regarding the fatwa on writer Salman Rushdie-made international headlines, his post millennium return to writing, recording, and performing music as Yusuf Islam has been largely ignored. Tell ‘Em I’m Gone, his third release in eight years, finds him leaning towards the folk/ pop he does so well, while demonstrating the power of his still magnificent voice. The material is at once more thoughtful, deliberate, and whimsical (traits that earmarked his earliest records) than he’s sounded in years. To help him along, Yusuf has enlisted longtime friend and guitar genius Richard Thompson, who adds an air of authenticity, and enlisted the contemporary production talents of Rich Rubin. It’s a more rhythm and blues sounding album than you’d expect from the man who recorded “Tea for the Tillerman” but it’s a sound that largely works, even when he tackles such unlikely material as Edgar Winter’s “Dying to Live” or Jimmy Reed’s “Big Boss Man.” The original songs are typically autobiographical, as Yusuf sings lovingly about his boyhood in London and his struggles with stardom. As a whole the album suffers from a few curious song choices and a paucity of Yusuf written songs, leaving it something of a near miss. The closing track “Doors,” referenced at the start of this review, offers hope that Yusuf has worked through the hesitancy that marked his return to performing and is ready to again make the sort of music that resonates with his fans.

As of this writing he’s in the midst of his first North American tour in 35 years, and by all reports sounds great. As one who still plays those early albums over and again I’ll be eagerly looking to see where the journey next takes him. ***

Bobby Keys Self Titled

Aurora Records

The now late and great Bobby Keys only made one solo album but it’s a joyous groove of soul, blues, and rock. Backed by the cream of the crop-including Jack Bruce, Ringo Starr, Leslie West, George Harrison, and Keys’ longtime cohort Jim Price-it’s a raucous jam session delight. Keys lived hard, once describing his partying as “making Keith Richards look like a choir boy” and played with a ferocity that belied his quiet Texas roots. Long out of print but well worth tracking down this 1972 release is quintessential 70s star power. ****

Heather Kropf Chrysalis

Reverie Records

On her latest full length release this Pittsburgh based singer/songwriter delivers a fine set of up-tempo folk and finely crafted pop tunes with a heart. While her first three releases found Kropf searching for her muse-and a delivery complimentary to her songwriting-Chrysalis hits the right notes, ranging from swinging ballads to pensive introspection. Written while recovering from a life threatening illness, Kropf choose not to retreat, forging ahead while launching a Kickstarter campaign that funded the effort. Overwhelmed by the support of her fans and newcomers she’s paid them back with her strongest outing yet, one which promises to sound vibrant even after repeated listens. Yippee for Kickstarter! ***1/2

Cracker

Berkeley to Bakersfield

429 Records

While he was “proudly born a Texan” Cracker principal David Lowery has always embraced the California ethos, reflecting both the warm glow and cold reality of its vast terrain. Growing up there has shaped his musical identity, from his early years with Camper Van Beethoven (who went so far as to record a pair of concept albums continued on page 13

sound experience

Ashley Capps & AC Entertainment

In many ways the history of The Orange Peel is closely intertwined with the resurgence of downtown Asheville and its national (and international) reputation as a mecca of the arts and entertainment scene.

The winner of multiple honors and recognitions, including numerous Mountain Xpress “Best of WNC” awards for both individual shows and as a collective entity, The Orange Peel continues to serve as a model of success. It has been consistently recognized by the Chamber of Commerce, the Asheville Area Arts Council, and the Asheville Downtown Association as not just a great venue to see live music but as a vital component of Buncombe County’s economic well being. Given the relatively small size of the area from which it draws, the quality of shows it is able to present is simply staggering. Be they members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Bob Dylan, Steve Winwood, Stephen Stills, Dave Mason and others) or cutting edge up and comers, The Orange Peel has hosted them. Originally the home of Skateland Rollerdome, the building that occupies the corner of Biltmore and Hilliard Avenue has long been an integral part of our city. After Skateland closed in 1962 it housed a number of nightclubs; the last of these was the original Orange Peel, which featured the occasional live band (including The Commodores and The Bar-Kays) as well as recorded disco and funk music. When The Peel closed down during the early 70s, a period that saw Asheville entering into a long and steady decline, the site lay vacant for many years. It eventually became

‘CDs’ cont’d from pg. 12

about The Golden State), to his on again off again tenure with Cracker, and his far too occasional solo efforts. Berkeley to Bakersfield is a two-disc set exploring the distinct personalities of Cracker’s music-lean guitar driven rock and roll balanced with a more courteous acoustic approach-that beautifully matches the twin extremes of urban and rural Californian life. The “hard” side (San Francisco) is as fierce as the band has ever rocked while the “softer” side (Bakersfield) showcases them at their country gentlemen best. Yet both extremes take aim at the duality of California-and in a larger sense our nation-with poverty and opulence, racism and race baiting, and hope and fear tugging side to side. It is weighty stuff but Lowery and company know better than to drag it down with dogma, offering the hard realities of everyday life with neither judgment nor assumption;

an auto parts warehouse before being reborn in its current incarnation. Working closely with The Orange Peel has been Ashley Capps, the founder and driving force behind AC Entertainment. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, AC Entertainment may be best known as the organizers of Bonnaroo but their part of The Orange Peel’s success cannot be overstated. Nearly all the major shows that have come through The Peel have been booked via AC Entertainment, a mutually beneficial relationship that has paid dividends to the club, to Mr. Capps, and mostly to the music lovers of our area. While he might be best identified as a businessman, Mr. Capps is in many ways first and foremost a music fan, someone who has fulfilled his vision in channeling that passion into his life’s work. He is a tireless advocate for the arts who just happens to run a highly respected enterprise.

James Cassara: How did you come into this business? Was it something you intentionally set out to do or did it evolve out of other interests?

Ashley Capps: I’ve had a love for music for as long as I can remember along with a passion for sharing the music that I loved with others. So my career emerged from that. But I didn’t exactly set out to be in the music business really in fact, I tried almost everything else I could think of before I realized that music was going to my vocation. It happened pretty naturally and organically over a long period of time. JC: You book other venues in Asheville and have certainly been a strong force in the local entertainment scene. But The Orange Peel seems to hold a special place for you. Talk about that relationship, how you came to

they are what they are. Lowery is still one of our finest chroniclers of the American dream gone wrong (in that regard I consider him on a par with John Fogerty) while Cracker remains a band that deserve all the critical praise they receive. Berkeley to Bakersfield is among their most ambitious efforts yet, and quite possibly the best set of songs they’ve given us in two decades. ****1/2

Ben Rabb

Until It’s Gone

New York based folk rocker Ben Rabb packs a lot of punch into his debut EP, straddling a line between confessional rock and observational Americana with equal success. The gritty storytelling of “On The Fence” brings to mind primo John Mellencamp while Rabb’s

BY JAMES

work with them and what it brings to you.

CASSARA

that the audience has a wonderful, memorable evening. It’s hard work. There’s a lot of attention to detail, a lot of long hours, and it requires an ability to deal with curveballs – to handle the unexpected – with savvy and grace. The Orange Peel team sets the standard in that regard. They’re the best. We know when we book an artist at The Peel that they will be well taken care of and have a great experience in Asheville.

AC: Asheville was the first place where I presented a concert outside of my hometown of Knoxville…and that was back in 1985 at a venue on Wall Street called the Asheville Music Hall. I chose Asheville because it was a community with a great cultural legacy and appreciation for the arts. I didn’t do it again until 1991, when I officially formed AC Ashley Capps, founder of Entertainment. From that AC Entertainment. point on, we started presenting shows here frequently because, more often JC: I am certain a lot of people have no idea than not, the audiences were especially apprewhat’s involved in bringing an act to town. I ciative and also open to a rich variety of music. am equally certain no two days are alike. But During the 1990s, we booked a great club give us a basic breakdown of what AC does. called Be Here Now on Biltmore Avenue. It You have the promoter, booking agent, pubwas a great run with some amazing shows, licist, and any number of myriad individuals and during that time I really fell in love with involved. I’m curious as to how all those Asheville. Sadly, the club closed after the pieces fit together. owner endured an unfortunate sequence of AC: As the promoter or producer, we’re really personal setbacks unrelated to the club. For in the role of coordinating all of the players… a few years, we continued to present a lot of working first with the booking agents and shows in Asheville – from the club level to the the artists’ managers to book the shows, then Thomas Wolfe to the Arena – but we were planning and executing the marketing and really struggling to find a great club situation. publicity…there’s overseeing the ticketing and Then along came The Orange Peel. When the putting the show on sale...coordinating with plans were being formulated for The Peel, we artists’ touring personnel, the tour manager met with them and struck a deal, so we’ve been and the production manager, along with the booking all of the national acts that have played venue’s staff, the stagehands, security, caterThe Peel from the very beginning. ing…making sure everything’s as it should be The Orange Peel is not just a fabulous on the day of the show. club, but it’s a fabulous team of people. The For starters, we book about 1000 shows music business is about relationships, taking each year now plus the Bonnaroo Festival, care of artists and helping insure that they can perform at their very best as well as insuring continued on page 10

skill at painting pictures with words-witness the shattered hopes of “New York”- assert him as a songwriter to be reckoned with. Half a dozen songs, each one well thought out and compactly presented, makes for a fine introduction. ****

Pegi Young and The Survivors Lonely In A Crowded Room New West

It’s a fair question to wonder if Pegi Young could have made it this far in music without the association of her soon to be ex-husband-certainly being Mrs. Neil Young has helped her enlist the support of such “A” list musicians as legendary Muscle Shoals keyboardist Spooner Oldham, producer Niko Bolas, and bassist Rick Rosas-but the answer to such is neither here nor there.

Young does have the modest talent to assemble a perfectly listenable record and while the apocalyptically titled Lonely In A Crowded Room (written and recorded prior to their much publicized break up) may not set the world on fire, there’s enough here to warrant a bit of attention.The bass driven jazz/rock of “In My Dreams” sounds much like early Tom Waits while the mid-tempo “I Be Weary” fits nicely with her honest and unassuming way. The best moments are the cover songs, especially a cooled-down take on Irma Thomas’ “Ruler of My Heart” and the Tex/Mex flavored “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers”, both of which reveal the pleasant range of her voice. Oldham brings a sturdy laid back groove to the proceedings while the musicianship is (not surprisingly) first rate. Those moments help elevate Lonely In A Crowded Room to a slightly higher status, and while that may not exactly be a strong commendation I’d have to say it’s at least as interesting as Mr. Young’s latest, which says much more about Neil than it does about Pegi. ***

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 9

the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Big Ears Festival in Knoxville and there are a few new ones set to be announced here in 2015. We also operate and manage two historic theaters – the Tennessee and the Bijou. There are a lot of moving parts.

JC: Do you typically have much direct con-

tact with the artist? You and I are about the same age so I assume we grew up listening to much the same music. I can only imagine what it’s like to book an act you’ve long admired, to bring to the stage a band you loved during your formative years. How many times a day do you pinch yourself to see if you’re dreaming?

AC: It really depends upon the situation. I have some great friendships and close working relationships with some artists. Others I’ve worked with and never really met beyond perhaps a quick hello. I still have a deep love of music and great appreciation and admiration for artists and what they do. So yes, I have those “am I dreaming?” moments often. There’s an indescribable magic in great performances. JC: Compare the Asheville and Knoxville

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Donna the Buffalo

What’s the recipe? To be sure, it’s infused with more spices than you’ll find at a Cajun cookout by way of a southern-fried, rockin’ country old-time jamboree. Donna the Buffalo is Jeb Puryear (vocals, electric guitar) and Tara Nevins (vocals, guitar, fiddle, accordion, scrubboard), joined by David McCracken (Hammond organ, Honer Clavinet & piano), Kyle Spark (bass), and Mark Raudabaugh (drums). “It’s been really fun with this lineup,” Puryear says. “You get to the point where you’re playing on a really high level, things are clicking and it’s like turning on the key to a really good car. It just goes.” going on out there…it’s impossible for anyone to keep up with it all. But we try. I’m still a very active listener to new music…it’s in my DNA…I get a lot of help from my team but I definitely do my part too.

JC: Any near misses you would care to share;

artists that have so far eluded you for one reason or another? A couple of years ago there was a rumor that Jack Bruce was going to be playing The Peel. I have no idea if there was any substance to that but his recent passing made me play the “what if?” game.

AC: I love both Asheville and Knoxville, but they seem to me, quite different from one another, although they share characteristics as well. The most obvious difference in Asheville is that it is such a tourist destination, especially these days. But it has always had that rich cultural history too. Both cities have a great historic character to their downtowns, both have rivers; both have wonderful access to nature and the outdoors. One thing that Knoxville has that Asheville does not are the two remarkable historic theaters, both of which are very much world-class venues. But Knoxville doesn’t have an Orange Peel. As far as Dylan playing the Peel that was just Bob wanting to do something special. He does that regularly. We’ve worked with him a lot over the years, and the idea of doing a club show in Asheville came up one day, and we said “we have the perfect place!” That was quite a night too. But Dylan has also played the 1500 seat Tennessee Theatre twice in Knoxville and those were also unforgettable shows.

AC: Jack Bruce did almost play The Peel, with John Medeski, Vernon Reid, and Cindy Blackman Santana in Spectrum Road. They were going to do a gig before they played Bonnaroo but it didn’t pan out. At this point, I really can’t believe how many of the legendary artists I idolized, that I’ve had a chance to work with over the years…Dylan, McCartney, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Springsteen, Lou Reed, Johnny Cash…to name but a few… and so many more that I’m not thinking of right now. I find it especially rewarding to work with many of the great younger artists emerging as well. One of the aspects of this business that is so exciting is how new artists are continually making their mark and changing and revitalizing the art form. I love that. It keeps me awake and on my toes.

JC: Do you have a staff that helps alert you to up and coming bands? I’ve been fortunate to be sent an incredible amount of music for review purposes, but not a week goes by that I don’t stumble across a band and wonder how they managed to skirt under my radar screen. AC: I’ve got an amazing staff at AC that makes all that we do possible. And we’re all passionate music fans, and we turn each other on to new music all the time. There’s so much

ERIN SCHOLZE

Donna the Buffalo celebrate their 25th year as a band this month.

markets. Do they seem to offer up similar demographics? Both seem to benefit by geography, as they are within reasonable distance to much larger markets. Is that how you’re able to bring a Bob Dylan to a club which holds around 950 tops?

10 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

sound experience

‘Ashley Capps’ cont’d. from pg. 9

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JC: Where do you see the future of the Asheville area entertainment scene going, and how do changes in the music industry in general come into play? A month or so ago I saw Dave Mason at The Peel. Here is a genuine legend, a member of what I refer to as “British Rock Royalty” and yet he’s made himself accessible to his fans, coming out after the show and signing merchandise. That sure as heck never happened back in the 1970s! AC: Asheville has a great music scene and a

very knowledgeable and appreciative audience for music, so I see the scene continuing to grow. I think the biggest challenge in Asheville is venues. Asheville really needs some quality venues beyond the Orange Peel in

Donna the Buffalo

IF YOU GO: Donna the Buffalo with Driftwood on Friday, January 23. Doors open at 8 p.m.; show at 9 p.m. $19 adv.; $21 dos. 18+. The Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave., Asheville. Call (828) 225-5851 or visit www.theorangepeel.net.

order for the live entertainment and culture scene to develop. This is important for tourism and economic development and it needs some attention.

JC: Not wanting to toot our own horn but Rapid River Magazine has been covering the arts and entertainment scene in Asheville for 18 years. What place do you see local press as playing in the industry? No less an artist than Roseanne Cash once told me that good local coverage goes much further in selling tickets and merchandise than a write up in Rolling Stone. I was really taken aback by that. AC: I think the local press is important to foster and nurture a sense of community and to insure the health of that community…period. Its importance to arts and culture is paramount but it goes deeper. It’s disturbing to see the decline in the local press – especially the daily newspapers – but I think part of this has been fueled by out-of-town corporate owners who have sacrificed their commitment to the community in the ill-considered and myopic pursuit of short term profit, but in doing so they have sacrificed their sense of purpose and reason for being. I’m optimistic that there will be a resurgence of the local press led by truly passionate people committed to the communities in which they live…people who are determined to make a difference. JC: Anything else you’d like to add? I’d like to offer you my own thanks for not only taking the time to answer these questions but in bringing to Asheville so much great music. I’ve been able to see bands for the first time in years as well as catch new acts that I’d heard about. AC: Thanks for giving me the opportunity. I appreciate that. We love Asheville and the response of the audiences here have made it especially satisfying and rewarding to do what we do. It’s been a great relationship and one that we hope to continue to grow.

stage preview Food And How To Eat It

January at Asheville Community Theatre

NEW SKETCH COMEDY FROM THE MAGNETIC THEATRE

The loons who brought you the smash hit Sex and How To Have It are at it again!

This time, The Magnetic Theatre takes on another, ahem, sacred cow with Food and How To Eat It. From farmers’ markets to the trendiest restaurants, from your kitchen to test kitchens, from spaghetti and meatballs to tuna cones, and from pie-eating contests to monster food truck rallies – not to mention a little drinking and a soupçon of sex – this show has it all, including music, dancing, and lots and lots of laughs! Starring the hilarious Katie Langwell, the delightful Valerie Meiss, Magnetic veteran and Bernstein regular Glenn Reed, and our latest loon, the inimitable Scott Fisher. Magnetic Theatre Artistic Director Steven Samuels says, “It’s amazing that The Magnetic has developed two such strong sketch comedy writing and acting teams as those who bring us the Bernsteins and the

How To evenings. Together, they make the perfect one-two punch to drive off the winter blues!” This special engagement of Food and How To Eat It, the last production before The Magnetic moves into its new home in the River Arts District, is strictly limited. Don’t miss it! The Magnetic Theatre presents the world premiere of Food and How To Eat It. Written by Lisa Yoffee, and featuring Katie Langwell, Scott Fisher, Glenn Reed, and Valerie Meiss. Produced and directed by Steven Samuels. Sound design by Mary Zogzas; lighting by Jason Williams.

John & Jen in 35below A truly original musical honoring brothers and sisters and parents and children, set against the background of a changing America between 1950 and 1990. John & Jen is a gem of a show brimming with intelligence, wit and beautiful melodies. The show stars Mark Jones and Kelli Mullinix, who are reprising their roles from a previous production as well as producing this time around. John & Jen will be performed January 9-25 with performances Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. All tickets are $20 and are available by phone at (828) 2541320, online at www.ashevilletheatre.org, or in person at the ACT Box Office.

IF YOU Food and How To Eat It! ThursdayGO Saturday, January 8-10 and 15-17, at

7:30 p.m. At the BeBe Theatre, 20 Commerce Street in downtown Asheville. $18 advance; $21 at the door (plus tax and credit card charges.) For tickets, or more details, visit www.themagnetictheatre.org.

The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival

STILL WEIRD AND PROUD OF IT

It’s lucky number 13 for the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival!

This true Asheville oddity has been happening for 13 years, offering local and imported preforming artists the opportunity to create and showcase new, unique work. The festival features a variety of artists including actors, dancers, installation artists and theatre companies, Butoh dance, puppetry, alternative theatre, modern dance, and performance art. Presented by Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater, the 2015 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival takes place Thursday, January 22 through Sunday, January 25. Part of the fun of the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival is venturing out to the fabulous, often funky, arts spaces all over town which host the performances, installations, and several after parties. With so many shows to choose from, it is essential to plan ahead. Most shows will be performed at least twice during the four days of the festival. The full schedule will be posted online, and tickets will be available beginning January 5. Audiences will have many choices this year, with early and late shows at most of the venues: The Bebe Theatre, The Forum at Diana Wortham Theatre, The Odditorium and Mothlight in West Asheville, the LaZoom Bus, and the Toy Boat Community Art Space. Most show times are at 7 and 9 p.m. Each show runs about an hour, encouraging festival goers to see two shows a night.

BY JOCELYN

REESE

Tom Chalmers

FRINGE HIGHLIGHTS Joanne Tremarco and Chris Murray are coming all the way from England to share pieces that have been performed in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Joanne will perform, “Women Who Wank” at the Mothlight on Thursday, January 22 and Saturday, January 24 at 9 p.m. “Women Who Wank” is a genuinely remarkable piece of theatre, both for its thought-provoking content and for the originality with which said content is presented. Chris Murray will present “The Fig Leaf Wars,” a site-specific street theater piece, as part of the LaZoom Bus Fringe Tour. 7 p.m. on Friday, & Saturday, January 23 & 24, and 5 p.m. on Sunday, January 25. Fringers who attend the LaZoom Bus Fringe Tour should expect to get on and off the bus several times, as it will visit a variety of performances and installations. A Special Fringe Feature Twofer brings two new unique and diverse voices to the Fringe. Masha Dowell shares her story of being a black woman in America through many perspectives in her monologue, “Inner Her.” Paired with Masha’s powerful performance in this Twofer is a riveting tell all by Phillipe Coquet & Matthew Douglas Hensley. Through radical self-exposure, Phillipe and Matthew will cover topics that include sexual assault, HIV/AIDS, the relationship between libido

Storytelling Series Listen to This Chris Murray and Joanne Tremarco will travel from England to perform.

and creativity, brotherhood, and queer identity. This adult-themed show will premiere at the BeBe Theatre on Friday, January 23 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, January 25 at 5 p.m. Coming from St; Louis, Missouri, The Tesseract Theatre Company will present “My Alexandria” in which two actors portray more than thirty characters in an examination of the lives of African American soldiers who were sent to fight for France in WW1. Courage, pride, jazz, and the search for an identity are explored in this fast paced piece. “My Alexandria” will be presented at The Forum at Diana Wortham Theatre on Friday & Saturday, January 23 & 24 at 6 p.m. The Tesseract Theatre Company is dedicated to exploring themes of diversity in creative voices and casting. IF YOU The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival GO Thursday, January 22 through Sunday,

January 25. For a complete listing and schedule please visit www.AshevilleFringe.org or email info@ashevillefringe.org

Hosted by Tom Chalmers. In the vein of “The Moth” or “This American Life,” Listen to This features stories and original songs from locals. 2015’s first installment will be presented on Thursday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m. in 35below. Tickets are $15. Past installments of Listen to This are available for download at www.ashevilletheatre.org.

Register for Spring Classes Calling all students ages 7-17! Registration is now open for Spring Youth Production Classes. Productions include Seussical Jr., James and the Giant Peach, and Broadway Bootcamp. All classes end with a final performance on ACT’s Mainstage. For more information, or to register, visit the ACT website at www. ashevilletheatre.org. IF YOU For more information on GO any of the events at Asheville

Community Theatre, please visit www.ashevilletheatre.org. Asheville Community Theatre, 35 East Walnut St., Asheville. (828) 254-1320.

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 11

Web Exclusive Greg Vineyard makes this – A More Beautiful World! Read an interview with Greg Vineyard online by going to Kathleen Colburn’s blog, “A More Beautiful World,” at www.rapidrivermagazine.com “Greg’s work always make me smile. His monthly articles most often make me laugh. He brings us joy and a reason to keep our gigantic dictionaries.”

January publications throughout the country are filled with articles about New Year’s resolutions. What are yours in regard to your art career? How can you make changes that will fuel your progress? First, take some time to assess the pros and cons of 2014. Turn a sheet of paper sideways and create three columns with headings: Plus (+), Minus (-), and Goals. Jot down in the plus column those things that went well in the past year – production, sales, exhibits, events, awards, new customers, etc. Under the minus column, note what did not get initiated, was not completed, or simply did not go as planned. In the goals column, record what you want to accomplish in 2015. When you are finished, post this document in your studio where you will see it often. Below are some suggested goals for those who are just getting started. Talk to fellow artists and find out who/what they recommend in each category.

PHOTOGRAPHY Before a website is developed and prior to printing a business card, an artist must have good images. Some works can be adequately shot by amateurs, but in many cases (especially 3D works) it is wise to hire a professional and have a minimum of three current pieces

artful living

Stay On The Path

gREg VINEYARD

IT’S A WIDE AVENUE OF WONDERMENT

The boxes contained folder after folder of horribleishness, full of inexcusable habits – like MADE UP WORDS. This stuff, which I can only label “E for Effort,” is a reminder that I’ve apparently been putting pen to paper longer than I realized. I’m sure many of us have been toiling away at our creative passions since our earliest times, in school, at home, and hither and yon in coffee houses all over the world, providing glimpses of our future selves.

New Beginnings

I recently unearthed some of my old writings – and I mean REALLY old, like, from the 1970s. (Seals & Crofts who?)

THE BUSINESS OF ART “Happy New Year!” It’s a phrase that spurs us into thinking about change.

2015 BY

WENDY H. OUTLAND

documented. When possible, aim for a mix of vertical and horizontal images; having both formats increases your chance of publication whenever an ad or article is being laid out.

WEBSITE For first-timers that prefer the do-ityourself approach, a wide range of templates can be found online at sites such as Weebly and SquareSpace. Or you may choose to have a web designer in this area create a simple and clean site that will be easy for you to maintain.

BUSINESS CARD Most established artists have one, but often newbies don’t. You can order from a local printer or go online and have 100 cards from Vistaprint in your mailbox in just a few days. Overnight Prints is another good source. Your name (or company name) should be the largest text on the card. It is imperative that you include an attractive image of your work. Without that element, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Also remember to choose a clean, easy to read font and make your contact info large enough to be read by potential customers wearing bifocals!

The Business of Art is written by visual arts consultant Wendy H. Outland. Contact her by email to imwhoknowsart@gmail.com. With more than 30 years of arts administration experience, WHO Knows Art provides visual artists with career development resources and helps galleries and arts organizations function more effectively. Wendy H. Outland (“WHO”) is a qualified juror and curator, also offering personalized consultations and workshops. www.whoknowsart.biz

12 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

To launch a conversation about “paths,” I must consult … the Ginormous Webster’s Dictionary, which, shockingly, does not contain words like “horribleishness.” Go figure. Path: “a course of action, conduct or procedure.” And: “a route, course or path along which something moves.” With each passing decade, I can see that, at the core, I’ve been on the same creative path my whole life. While it has appeared in a myriad of forms of expression via the visual arts, design, art direction, and writing, my creative output has always centered on conveying concepts. Some have Wonderment, 2014. Illustration by Greg Vineyard been more strategic, like corporate creative services, and client branding and You know, because otherwise you’ll get identity work. Others more about editorial snarfed-up by a werewolf. Which ranks pretideation based simply on my experiences as a ty high on the “this is not what I had planned member of society, with all its psychological for today” meter. The good news is any path and sociological meanderings. can really be quite wide. I imagine walking I have ultimately come to realize that down a very broad avenue, with lots of room I have not strayed very far from the essence for wonderment, yet safe from wolves. And of my conceptual pathway. It’s the trail I am Zombies. Because getting all Zombie-fied is supposed to take, evidently, because it appears also highly distracting! I am always moving along it, even when I do Back to that old box of “bad” (if I were not actively notice. going to label it) writing… yet another definiHow does one uncover their path type? tion of “path” is “a way beaten, formed or Some suggestions: trodden by the feet of persons or animals.” In addition to our uncovering proof within 1) Dig through The Shtuffs. I am lucky to still our pasts of our own steadfast progression, have old boxes to sift through. (Some would there is also evidence of the many who have debate this. Strongly. But as a “self-historicgone before us, carving-out the way. May we archivist” I am simply helping out my future all continue to see our own efforts as valid, biographers!) You can also interview famin combination with appreciating those who ily and friends to find out about your hazy, have hacked away a bit to the left and a bit to creative youth. the right over time, giving us room to explore 2) Assemble a chronological portfolio. and grow. Not only will you discover patterns, but you may also encounter the genesis of current topics that were buried within old processes. Greg Vineyard is a marketing I have even found themes to revisit in new professional, and an artist mediums this way. and writer living in Asheville,

3) Take an intensive creative workshop – in any medium or craft. You will observe

thinking, working and creativity patterns that, especially when contrasted with a room full of others, reveal ways that you think, process and produce.

NC. ZaPOW Gallery carries his illustrations, prints and cards, www.zapow.com.

www.gregvineyardillustration.com

4) Meet with a peer group. Retreats, commu-

nication workshops, and meet-ups can provide some impartial, useful observances.

5) Engage in personal reflection. Meditation, journaling, sketching, and sharing with best friends can also allow insights to bubble-up to the surface. I’m fond of an old quote from American Werewolf in London: “Stay off the moor!”

Advertise with Rapid River Magazine Easy Monthly Billing Free Web Links & Ad Design Call (828) 646-0071

Ballroom!

Get some friends together and learn some moves just in time for Valentines day. Waltz? Foxtrot? Tango? Let Micaela show you how. Instructor Micaela Scobie teaches Ballroom dance every Monday, from 6-7 p.m. Most sessions are four weeks. Fee per session: $75/ Micaela Scobie couple or $40/individual. Minimum of six students required. Ballroom is a two-person dance, but coming with a partner is not required. Come prepared to have fun! Micaela Scobie, accomplished in American-style Ballroom dance, has competed in numerous regional events, receiving high honors. IF YOU Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 West GO State Street, Black Mountain, NC. (828) 669-0930,

www.blackmountainarts.org.

Black Mountain Events

Saturday, January 3 - Holiday Recycling Collection. 10 a.m to 1 p.m. at Hopey & Co., 3018 US Hwy 70 W. Accepting only styrofoam, packaging, and Christmas tree lights. Thursday, January 8 - Why Montessori Kindergarten? Presentation from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Swannanoa Valley Montessori School, 130 Center Ave., Black Mountain. Child care provided. RSVP (828) 669-8571

Junior Appalachian Musicians

Do you know a kid who may want to learn traditional music?

Invite them to the Black Mountain Center for the Arts on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. each week during the school year. The center holds classes in old time fiddle, banjo, and guitar in a fun group setting at affordable fees. Amazing instructtion from Cary Fridley, Ben Nelson and Meredith Watson. Homeschoolers welcome – this is great arts enrichment! Publicschoolers (3rd-9th grades), Owen district bus will drop you at the door. The next session runs from January 7 and continues through May 13, 2015 (with April 1 off for spring break). The 18-week series can be paid for in two installments of $90 each. Some scholarship assistance available.

BLACK MOUNTAIN Winter is a great time to explore. We’re rocking year-round! Warm and inviting shops. Art & craft galleries. Specialty shops, including furniture and antiques. More than 35 restaurants, 3 breweries, and music venues! Spend a few hours or stay a while at a cozy B&B, cabin, or cottage. We have just what you're looking for!

IF YOU Call (828) 669-0930 to sign up. Black Mountain GO Center for the Arts, 225 West State Street, Black

Mountain, NC. For more information, call (828) 669-0930, or visit www.blackmountainarts.org.

BLACK MOUNTAIN - 28711

Thursday, February 5 - Children’s House, 6-7:30 p.m. at

Swannanoa Valley Montessori School, 130 Center Ave., Black Mountain. (828) 669-8571

Thursday, February 12 - Elementary Open House. 6-7:30 p.m. at Swannanoa Valley Montessori School, 130 Center Ave. Black Mtn. (828) 669-8571 Saturday, February 14 - Valentine 5K Run, Kids Fun

Run, and Health & Wellness Expo. At Lake Tomahawk Park. Kids Fun Run around the lake begins at 9 a.m. 5K Race begins at 9:30 a.m. Expos include health screenings, activity demos, chair massages, and more. Contact Black Mountain Recreation & Parks, call (828) 669-2052, www.blackmountainrec.com

MV MS

Saturday, February 28 - Black Mountain Marathon &

Mt. Mitchell Challenge. One of the “Top Races” in the country. Begin in Scenic Black Mountain at 2,400 feet in elevation and run to the highest peak east of the Mississippi at 6,687 feet. Marathon is 22.6 miles and the challege is 40 miles. Visit www.blackmountainmarthon.com

MB MK MR

List provided by the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, 201 E. State Street, Black Mountain. (828) 669-2300, 1-800-669-2301, or visit www.blackmountain.org. MA

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 13

pg. 28

fine art INTERVIEW WITH

Sahar Fakhoury

Sahar Fakhoury, President of the Asheville Gallery of Art, is a figurative artist. She is inspired by body movements and expressions of people she encounters in her daily activities. Her mediums are oil paint, mixed media, collage, clay and other materials. At 26 years, the Asheville Gallery of Art (AGA) is the longest established fine art gallery in Asheville. In January and February, AGA is showcasing artists new to the gallery in the “New Kids on the Block” and “Who New?” shows.

INTERVIEWED BY

DENNIS RAY

or mixed media. Each artist has a different mood, which speaks to different consumers. This diversity is what sets us apart at AGA.

RR: There are so many great artists in the area- how do you choose artists for gallery membership? SF: AGA has a waiting list of juried artists

from this region. As attrition depletes the list, we call for 2-D artists to submit paintings for review. AGA’s demanding jury committee looks at paintings for quality, diversity in styles, and professionalism. There are no limits on style or medium, as long as the body of work meets the gallery’s high standards, and the artist has a contribution to make to AGA.

Rapid River Magazine: What can you tell us

about your new artists?

Sahar Fakhoury: Our newest artists are a great

addition to AGA’s family. They offer a variety of styles, from abstract to realistic landscapes, figures and still-life. Each artist has his or her unique painting technique that suits their medium, whether in pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolor

Asheville Gallery of Art 16 College Street in downtown Asheville Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (828) 251-5796 www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com

Buncombe Built

The Asheville Area Arts Council continues it’s Point of View, artists curate artists exhibitions with Buncombe Built, curated by Linda Go and Gar Ragland. In March of 2014 Go curated a one-night performance at the Altamont Theater for the Asheville Area Arts Council’s Creative Sector Summit. The concert, entitled “Buncombe Built,” featured instruments made, crafted, and manufactured in Buncombe County, and the inventors, makers, artisans, and musicians that made them.

SPACES OF PRODUCTION

A series of short-term residencies.

pg. 28

14 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

The chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts, Jane Chu, announced that the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design has been awarded an NEA Art Works grant to support their Spaces of Production program. Spaces of Production consists of a series of three, short-term residencies where diverse and established artists are invited to use the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design’s gallery to create and execute new art. For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, visit www.arts.gov. The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design is located at 67 Broadway Street in downtown Asheville. For more details please visit www.craftcreativitydesign.org

Kodakaster Duo 4 string Electric Canjo by Bill Radd.

In January of 2015 the Asheville Area Arts Council partners Go with producer and musician Gar Ragland, of NewSong Music, to translate this concert into a visual exhibition. Buncombe Built will display many of the county’s finest musical makers and their hand made instruments. The exhibition will also feature a compilation of audio samples and video exploring the makers’ creative process from beginning to end. Performances and educational demonstrations and workshops will take place during the exhibition. IF YOU Buncombe Built, curated by Linda Go GO and Gar Ragland. Opening reception

Friday, January 16, from 5-8 p.m. On display January 16 through February 28, 2015. Asheville Area Arts Council, 1 Page Avenue, downtown Asheville. Call (828) 258-0710 or visit www.ashevillearts.com.

New Look Coming in February! www.rapidrivermagazine.com

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fine art

New Year, New Faces, New Art

Asheville Gallery of Art celebrates the start of 2015 with two back-to-back shows featuring six new artists. “New Kids on the Block” runs January 1 through January 31, and features the works of Suzanne Nelson, Marion Vidal, and Pamela Winkler. “Who New?” follows February 1 through February 28, with works by Jane Molinelli, Juditta Musette, and Elise Okrend. All three artists featured in the January show, “New Kids on the Block,” paint in a representational style using oils and pastels. Suzanne Nelson’s paintings arise from a colorist tradition. She relishes the exploration of the effect of light on color, whether in the landscape, a still life, or on the figure. Artist Marion Vidal was trained in the style of Classical Realism but her interests have progressed to exploring aspects of Impressionism. She says of her work, “I use the power and beauty of color, movement, and subject matter to create visual stories.” Pastel artist, Pam Winkler, is drawn to the history of aging cars, doors, trains, signs, bottles, and many other items. In her work, she exaggerates lighting and contrast to bring depth to the objects and a theatrical sense often at odds with their common nature.

Max Patch, Elise Okrend, Pastel

Can Can, Suzanne Nelson, Pastel

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Asheville Gallery of Art New Members Bill Cole, Oil Elise Okrend, Pastel Juditta Musetta, Acrylic Jane Molinelli, Acrylic Mike Alonzo, Oil Marion Vidal, Oil Pam Winkler, Pastel Suzanne Nelson, Pastel

Tradition. Vision. Innovation.

Milepost 382 - BlueRidge Parkway, Asheville, NC 828.298.7928

Maine Snow, Mike Alonzo, Oil

“Who New?” presents three artist with diverse styles ranging from expressive to abstract to realistic. Jane Molinelli, contemporary, expressive artist, uses color, line, and mark to convey an emotion, memory, or experience. In this way, she believes she can best communicate to the viewer using the universal visual language we all share. Artist and musician, Juditta Musette, holds the heartfelt desire that each piece of art she creates is skillfully crafted while being infused with whimsy, irresistible insight, and delight. She says, “I am motivated to capture light and energy through textures and colors, while engaging with the mysteries of shadow feelings.” Elise Okrend, pastel artist, finds inspiration in her observations of the natural world. With a strong sense of light and an intense richness of color, Okrend says her intent is, “. . . to connect the viewer to a sense of healing and inner peace.”

Cloud Nursery, Juditta Musetta, Acrylic

Behind the Green Door, Pam Winkler, Pastel

IF YOU “New Kids on GO the Block” will be

on display at the Asheville Gallery of Art January 1-31. An opening reception takes place Friday, January 2, from 5-8 p.m. “Who New?” runs February 1-28 with a reception on Friday, February 6, from 5-8 p.m. The featured artists’ works, and works by the other 25 gallery members, will be on display and for sale during regular winter hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Asheville Gallery of Art is located at 16 College Street in downtown Asheville, across from Pritchard Park.

Michael Hatch

930 Tunnel Road/Hwy 70, Asheville, NC 828.298.7903

Contemplation, Marion Vidal, Oil

Betsy Morrill

Peter Chapman

Momento Mori, Jane Molinelli, Acrylic 26 Lodge Street, Asheville, NC 828.277.6222

Steven Forbes-DeSoule

WWW.CRAFTGUILD.ORG The Southern Highland Craft Guild is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Blue Barn, Bill Cole, Oil

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 15

R A P I D O C

U L

M B

R I V E R

Downtown

Shops, Galleries & Restaurants E

Find Unique + Local Art The Asheville Art Museum Shop is a great place to begin your exploration of fine arts and crafts. Both the gallery and the girt shop feature the crafts of many local artists. You’ll find beautiful jewelry, creative cards, art kits, sweatshirts, scarves and more! Plus, Museum members get 10% off all purchases.

Asheville Art Museum

2 South Pack Square, Downtown Asheville (828) 253-3227, www.ashevilleart.org 15

JANUARY 2014 New Kids on the Block Reception

Friday January 2 5-8 pm Show runs January 1-31, 2015

Winter Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Fall Foliage, oil

Santa Fe Railyard, pastel

Green, Orange, Violet, pastel

Marion Vidal

Pamela Winkler

Suzanne Nelson

“I use the power of color, movement, and subject matter to create visual stories for you.”

“I paint aging objects as they transform with increased textures and colors while revealing something of their past.”

“I paint scenes, people, and things – always for the challenge of sharing some visual or emotional discovery.”

ASHEVILLE GALLERY OF ART

16 College St., Downtown Asheville

16 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

828.251.5796

www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com

pg. 16

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Fabulous Downtown Asheville More of What Makes Asheville Special

CHERYL KEEFER PLEIN AIR ~ LANDSCAPES ~ CITYSCAPES

The Best Shops, Galleries & Restaurants

VaVaVooom! Boutique and Photo Studio

VaVaVooom is a woman friendly boutique in the heart of Downtown Asheville.

VaVaVooom 57 Broadway Street, Downtown Asheville

The shop sells upscale but affordable lingerie and apparel, jewelry and designs by local artisans. Store owner Lisa Ziemer is proud that many women who have been disappointed in the lack of choices at other stores are surprised and grateful to find a shop in Asheville that has gorgeous choices in lingerie for luscious sizes. Her philosophy is to provide a safe VaVaVooom carries haven for every woman, all ages, a gorgeous selection shapes and sizes. of lingerie. The store also features a woman friendly room to explore boudoir accessories for intimate playtime. This is a place where women are empowered, not devalued or degraded. Women, and those they love, will enjoy the safe and educational experience of exploring options that can enhance their experience of relationship.

828-254-6329 www.vavavooom.com Store Hours: 11-6 Monday-Thursday; 11-8 Friday-Saturday; 12-6 Sunday

“Evening Mist“

Wedge Studios . 28 Rp 129 Roberts St. River Arts District By appt. pg

Asheville Gallery of Art 16 College St. Downtown Seven Sisters Gallery Black Mountain

pg. 16

pg. 13

828-450-1104 • www.Cher ylKeefer.com

Photo by Catherine Vibert

VaVaVooom also houses a boudoir and beauty photography studio currently featuring the talents of award winning photographer, Catherine Vibert. “Boudoir and beauty photography is a gift, yes, for the one you love, but even more so, for yourself. It is empowering to see yourself through the lens of someone who sees you as the beautiful and powerful force of nature that you are,” states Catherine. January is the busiest time of the year for boudoir photography. Luxurious custom sessions include hair and makeup styling and two hours with Catherine. Her guidance and expertise will help you relax and feel confident. To have albums and print packages ready for Valentine’s Day gifting, sessions must be booked before January 20. After the Valentine’s rush, Catherine will be turning the studio over to another photographer in order to pursue her commercial and personal branding photography – documenting people and what they do for websites and social media, along with building photo rich websites that tell her clients’ stories. Call (828) 254-6329 to book a custom boudoir photography session with Catherine. A limited number of sessions are available in time for Valentine’s gifting.

pg. 16

“After the Storm” Porchoir painting by Rick Hills with handmade bark frame

pg. 16

1 Page Avenue ~ Historic Grove Arcade

pg. 16

Suite 123 ~ 828.350.0307

MtnMade807@aol.com

www.MtnMade.com

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 17

Advertise in Our Dining Guide

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LOCAL FOOD & DINING GUIDE

Your Passport to Discovering Excellent Food in Western North Carolina

~ Free Web Links ~ Free Ad Design

Weekly Vintage Banquet

Call now for a great deal! (828) 646-0071

Beginning January 4, and continuing through March 1, Lex 18 hosts a weekly vintage banquet celebrating the fifth season of Downton Abbey.

Fans of America’s favorite BBC series Downton Abbey are being invited to an intimate interactive vintage dinner banquet recreating the flavors, style and traditions of 1920s aristocracy. Each Sunday, sixteen lucky guests will be served by butlers, footmen and feted to a five course repast on fine china, silver and the expected luxury mimicking the Downton Abbey table settings. Lex 18 boasts an interior design style elegantly duplicating a 1920s upscale speakeasy and supper club. “We all

pg. 30

145 Wall Street

Downtown Waynesville

828.550.3610

BY JOSEpH

MALKI

watch Downton Abbey, as it celebrates the Gatsby and Vanderbilt era Lex 18 celebrates the of innovation elegance of the 1920s. and elegance. Our restaurant was designed to recreate Asheville’s own elegant prohibition era boom and it just seemed natural to have a party focused around our favorite show,” says Georgia Malki, partner and general manager of Lex 18. Reservations are limited to a total of 16 guests for each Sunday’s vintage banquet and Downton Abbey live showing. The experience spans from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sundays, beginning January 4 and ending on March 1, 2015 “The idea of going to a party and dressing up like Lady Cybill, being served a feast by footmen and catered to by butlers, is a once in a lifetime experience. Our establishment attempts to curate this part of history by bringing Appalachian life of the 1920s alive.” Since its opening, Lex 18 has received high praise for its food, spirits, nightly live jazz and romantic ambiance. Entertainment manager and partner Alan van de Kamp Grau who will also be playing the head butler explains, “Just like the advent of sports bars, Lex 18 is pioneering a new way to watch television. It’s like reality TV backwards, where the viewer is immersed in an actual epicurean and tangible reality while indulging in the visual or virtual spectacle of Masterpiece Theater’s finest show. We encourage our guests to get into the spirit of things and imbibe in a bit of theatre themselves.” He adds, “For downtown Asheville restaurants especially, Sunday evening is a special night and we continued on page 20

pg. 30

pg. 16

pg. 28

a Culinary Gi Shop 8 Town Square Blvd. Asheville, NC 28803 828-676-1678

asheville.oilandvinegarusa.com 18 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

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LOCAL FOOD GUIDE

Your Passport to Discovering Excellent Food

New “Brewginnings”

TEDD CLEVENgER

Do you enjoy drinking all the wonderful local craft beers, ciders, and wines?

Perhaps you’ve considered making your own but you aren’t sure how to go about doing it. Besides, it’s probably really difficult and expensive to make your own tasty beverages at home, right? Well, it’s not! Let Asheville Brewers Supply help you begin a new rewarding hobby in home fermentation! For more than 20 years we have been helping people learn the art, craft, and science of “making your own.” Imagine going to your fridge or cellar and proudly offering your guests a fine bottle of IPA, stout, or Pinot Grigio that you crafted in the comfort of your own home. They’ll be so impressed when you immediately evaporate their impression of homebrew as some volcanic frothy mess with a taste somewhat reminiscent of basements and vinegar. With two free homebrewing demos every month (one beginner and one advanced), we happily show you just how simple it is to make great beer with limited time, minimal equipment, and all at low, money-saving prices. If you enjoy wine, our wine kits make the complex and often baffling process a breeze to produce nearly any style of wine at insanely low prices and with extremely little labor time, and there’s no need to turn your toes purple stomping grapes!

GREAT FOOD! GREAT BEER! GREAT SERVICE! ANYWAY YOU LIKE IT! 33 Town Square Boulevard, Asheville • 828.651.8481

Whatever your beverage of choice, at Asheville Brewers Supply we can help you start and grow as a home-fermenter. This is our passion and joy, and we greatly look forward to meeting you! Call us at (828) 285-0515, visit us online at www.ashevillebrewers.com, or visit our storefront at 712-B Merrimon Ave., just north of downtown Asheville, in the same building as Swannanoa Cleaners.

Eclectic Homemade Cuisine Mon - Fri 11:30am - 2am Sat & Sun 10:30am - 2am Kitchen open until 1am Daily

Cheers to you and cheers to a wonderful new year!

Asheville Brewers Supply 712-B Merrimon Ave., Asheville (828) 285-0515 www.AshevilleBrewers.com

5 Affordable Go-To Restaurants

Everybody Loves Lists!

Whether it’s Favorite Movies or The 21 Best Fonts For Your Next Tattoo, lists are loved. Here’s my own little eat-out list of favorites (not in any particular order).

1. Sunny Point Café

The wait can be brutal, so go on offhours, but there’s a reason for that wait! A finalist on Good Morning America’s ‘Best Breakfast in America’, it’s stayed my favorite all-around restaurant in Asheville since they opened.

2. Bandido’s Latin Kitchen

Chef made, not your rice and beans. Go if you need a plantains fix. A hole-in the wall, priced really well. Don’t expect ambience, just great food!

3. Tod’s Tasties

Owned by upscale Table, Tod’s is an alter ego, casual and cozy with a hipster

777 Haywood Road, Asheville

SUSAN DEVITT

Bar & Grill · Pool & Billiards

pg. 28

(828) 225-9782

www.westvillepub.com

neighborhood feel. Everything is made fresh daily, sourced as local as possible. Inexpensive. Good menu, great food for any meal.

4. White Duck Taco

pg. 28

The original in the River Arts District is still my favorite for the best tacos in town and a soft landing on your wallet. If you like shrimp, MANY people will say the Bangkok Shrimp taco is the best they’ve ever had. Yep.

5. Rosetta’s Kitchen

Full-on Asheville atmosphere. Fantastic vegetarian comfort food! Incredible, creative menu with too many amazing options to choose from, you’ll never get bored. Some favorites: the tempeh Rueben and the Pad Thai. Never had a bad meal there.

Monday-Friday only. One coupon per check. Pizza of least value is free. Not valid with other coupons or discounts. Asheville location only. Expires 1/31/2015.

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 19

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LOCAL FOOD & DINING GUIDE

Your Passport to Discovering Excellent Food

‘Vintage Dinner’ cont’d from pg. 18

Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner Artisan Crafted Scrumptious Food Made Fresh with Local Ingredients Gourmet Sandwiches & Wraps • Desserts Homemade Soups Salads • Kids Menu Seafood • Steak Chicken • Pasta Pork Tenderloin Vegetarian

Espresso • Coffee Teas • Beer • Wine

Daily Food Specials Outdoor Dining pg. 28

Breakfast: Tues-Sat 8:30-10:30 am Hg Lunch: Everyday 11 am - 3 pm Dinner: Fri. & Sat. 5:30-8:30 pm • 828.692.6335

Live Dinner Music Fri & Sat Nights

536 N. Main Street • Hendersonville

hope our vintage banquets will really bump-up the class factor.” In true Asheville spirit, everyone can be treated like a Lord or Lady or at least a Vanderbilt. And yes, period costumes are encouraged.” Van de Kamp Grau suggests folks check out Vintage Moon, a block down on North Lexington Avenue. “They have an amazing collection of 1920s dresses. Gentlemen can simply wear a tux or suit and bow tie.” Lex 18’s historic late 1920s dining room will be set in a resplendent post-Edwardian era style, complete with all the finery inspired from this popular historic era. Centered under the main dining room’s golden ceiling, a 16-foot long banquet table will be lavishly dressed with period china and crystal. Footmen in tails and a head butler will serve guests a five-course banquet with cocktails, wines and champagne (spirits and wine are optional additions). This banquet is made all the more fabulous by an interactive cast of actors portraying Asheville’s version of the Crawley family members, guests and

ASHEVILLE IN TOP 10 Top-10 Cities for Best Restaurants and Healthy Eating Establishments 1. New Haven, Conn. 2. Scottsdale, Ariz. 3. Boston, Mass. 4. ASHEVILLE, NC. 5. Traverse City, Mich. 6. Berkeley, Calif. 7. Boulder, Colo. 8. Burlington, Vt. 9. Omaha, Neb. 10. Washington, DC. from www.Livability.com

The head butler will serve guests a five-course banquet.

Bring in this Ad and We’ll Take

15% Off Your Order Excluding Alcohol 1 Coupon Per Table

(828) 236-9800 Open 7 Days a Week

50 Broadway ~ Asheville, NC pg. 16

Specialt y Pizzas • Spring Water Dough • Salads Vegan Soy Cheese, and other Vege tarian Options!

Delicious Hoagies & Pretzels Fresh-Baked Calzones Wireless Internet Access!

20 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

Everyone can be treated like a Lord or Lady, or at least a Vanderbilt. their gossipy servants. The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a vintage period cocktail hour. During the cocktail hour guests will Lex 18’s historic late 1920s dining room will be set in a be treated to a 15-minute resplendent post-Edwardian era style. presentation by WCQS comparing 1920s music, theatre screen. A short intermission will arts, fashion and culture of Asheville allow for a Downton Abbey classic cofand England. fee and tea service along with a digestive At 7:30 p.m. the butler will anliqueur selection including sherry, port, nounce dinner and guests will be escortcognac, curacao, or brandy. ed to the dining room to find Downton The Lex 18 team is producing these Abbey footmen at the ready to serve an ticketed events in cooperation with exquisite five-course meal resplendent Western North Carolina’s public radio with fine wines and champagne. This station WCQS. Membership Director dinner affair includes tableside butler Michelle Keenen acknowledged that, service, beautiful china, silver platters, “Our classical and jazz musical programcrystal and the leisurely feast classic of a ming has a wonderful intersection with grand manor. fans of Downton Abbey.” During dinner, guests will interacWCQS representatives will be also tively experience the characteristic wit be on hand at the banquets to present brief and sarcasm of Asheville’s version of the stories about the parallels between Asheville Crawley family. Guests will witness and and England’s cultural and social post WWI be drawn into petty jealousies, titillating history at the beginning of each banquet. conversations and scheming ambitions while overhearing secrets among the family and the servants – all delicious IF and dangerous, set against the backdrop YOU The Vintage Banquet begins at 6:30 of the aristocratic farms, quaint villages GO p.m. All inclusive dinner theatre and the large estates of post WWI Yorkseats, which include cocktails, wine, champagne and liqueur are $83. Dinner shire, England and Asheville. and theatre only seats are $56. At 9 p.m. champagne and dessert will be served and the curtains will Tickets are available at www.Lex18avl.com part for the live broadcast of a Season 5 via Brown Paper Bag Tickets. Lex 18, 18 episode of Downton Abbey on Lex 18’s North Lexington Ave., downtown Asheville.

Healthy, Good Thoughts

I’ve been thinking about sleep and slowing down.

We know it’s important to get plenty of sleep. We also know it’s not always easy or possible. Well, I’ll play the role of your caring, best friend here when I say – please make this a priority in your life. It’s a really, really good thing. Many of us have busy, full lives that may make healthy changes challenging. I encourage you to play with slowing down. Try it intentionally for a few minutes as you do your evening walk, or as you approach the checkout

KATHLEEN COLBURN

lines in the grocery store, or as you walk to your front door after work. You’ll enjoy how it feels, I promise. You will see more, hear more, and feel more! Kathleen is a whole foods personal chef with more than 30 years of experience. She is Rapid River Magazine’s copyeditor and a freelance editor available for a variety of literary projects. She can be reached by email: rrshortstories@gmail.com. Visit her website: www.aptitudeforwords.com.

artful living

Behead Yourself! “It was as if I had been born that instant, brand new… there existed only the Now… It took me no time at all to notice that this nothing, this hole where a head should have been, was no ordinary vacancy, no mere nothing. On the contrary, it was very much occupied. It was a vast emptiness vastly filled, a nothing that found room for everything: room for grass, trees, shadowy distant hills… I had lost a head and gained a world. Here it was, this superb scene, brightly shining in the clear air, alone and unsupported, mysteriously suspended in the void… utterly free of ‘me,’ unstained by any observer. Its total presence was my total absence… There arose no questions, no references beyond the experience itself, but only peace and a quiet joy, and the sensation of having dropped an intolerable burden.” ~ from On Having No Head by Douglas Harding

Born in 1909, Douglas Harding was a British philosopher and mystic.

He trained and worked as an architect, lived through the WWII years in India, and while there, spent time trekking the Himalayas. His life-long passion was exploring the true nature of the self, searching for an answer to the question, “what am I?” He wrote a number of books, principle among them, The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth (1952) and On Having No Head (1961), and conducted workshops throughout his latter life on his insights concerning non-dual consciousness. Harding credited a breakthrough epiphany to his discovery in 1942 of a most unusual drawing, a “self-portrait” by the Austrian philosopher and physicist, Ernst Mach. Unlike usual self-portraits that are oriented as if the artist is looking in a mirror, Mach’s self-portrait was looking out from the artist’s left eye. Mach was lying on a lounge, looking out a window at mountainous terrain in the background. There were his legs and feet, his torso, his left arm and hand, but no

head. There was even the contour of the left side of his nose in the right side foreground. Mach seemed to be making the comment that who we are, the “self,” that is the subject of the drawing, is our experience of consciousness in the moment. We are not our face, not our head, as are generally invested with our identity. This insight registered fully with Harding and was followed by a particularly powerful experience of this perspective while he was hiking in the Himalayan foothills. The excerpted quote atop this column is from Harding’s description of the experience. What, for Harding, was at first an intellectual epiphany grew into the realization of the full implications of this re-locating the sense of self from inside the head looking out, to his experience in consciousness, to that which was the seeing of the constantly changing content of the moment in environment and mind, and that did not itself ever vary or react to this shifting content. He realized that all our emotional identification with what is happening inside our “head” in

Making a Choice is a Choice

“Mavis, what are you going to order?” June sat drumming her fingers on the table.

“Oh, June,” Mavis shook her head at the menu. “I don’t know what to do. You know how I’m struggling with my weight.” She folded the menu in resignation and tossed it on the table. “I guess I’ll just not eat anything. No, wait. I know what I’ll . . . Oh, June, what’s the use? You know how I have tried every New Year’s to lose weight and every year I always fail.” The tears started to fall. “Mavis, honey.” June reached across the table and patted her on the arm. “Just choose something.” “But I don’t have any choices,” she cried softly. “Everything is fattening or tastes like cardboard or is expensive. I don’t have any choices.” “Hmmm.” June retrieved her arm and

folded her hands in front of her. “Do you remember what Alexis said last week . . . about doing the housework?” “Yes.” Sniffle, sniffle. “She told us that she had to do the house cleaning in the evening because she didn’t have any other choice. She said that Harold goes to work early and comes home late and the kids are at school all day and frequently in after school activities. And it just fell to her to get the house work done when she got home.” “Yes?” June looked directly across the table at her friend. “And what did you tell her?” “Ummm. I said that . . . she could choose to share the housework on weekends with the others in the family (sniffle) because they live there, too.” “Did she have a choice?” “Yes . . . but she couldn’t . . . see it.” Mavis sat up a little straighter, drying her eyes.

BILL WALZ

perception, thought and emotion was a profound error. The world, and we, happen in consciousness – simultaneously, as a single event. That is all. It may be that several major sensory organs and the brain that functions as an information manager are located in the head, but the consciousness that is the true experiencer is unlocatable other than in the experience itself. We seem to be – in essence – a portal of consciousness into the manifested world, and this makes it not really “my” consciousness, for consciousness is an attribute of the universe of sentience. It isn’t personal. Harding realized and experienced that he was simply this portal of body and mind for consciousness. He called it “The best day of my life.” Consider that you too have had such experiences and they were the best experiences in your life. However, you probably didn’t really notice them, at least not in the way that Harding did. You probably paid no attention that the best experiences in your life were pure and non-dualistic, without any sense of a mediating “self” - they were in a sense, “no-head” moments. There was no sense of “me” evaluating or only partially experiencing while the mind wandered elsewhere. These were moments in which what was “out there” in experience took over completely. Body, mind and environment became connected within the totality of experience. You were not to one side, separate and evaluating, while the experience and environment were over there. “You” were “it.”

Perhaps, like Harding, it was while hiking in the mountains, or perhaps it was while looking at a loved one, or listening to beautiful music. It can happen in ordinary moments in everyday life when a sudden clarity occurs. It might be stimulated by the sight of birds flying, children playing, the sound or feel of wind. You perceptually step out of being separate from what you are experiencing and become the act of seeing, hearing, feeling, experiencing. Thought stops. The usual sense of being a separate self, called “me,” evaporates. However, because the sense of “me” evaporates, there is no intellectual “me” to notice, evaluate and integrate the experience. There is only a feeling of complete well-being. Body and mind fall away. Language becomes inadequate. There is just this experience of fullness, completeness that is inexplicable. Then –– it passes. We come back to body and mind, to “me,” to our “head.” The moment may go completely unnoticed as anything special, for we are programmed by our society not to notice such occurrences or inquire into their meaning and implication. The experience is passed off as a pleasant moment, perhaps even denigrated as our being “lost” in continued on page 28

MAX HAMMONDS, MD

“You’ve read all the magazine articles,” June bored in. “What do you need to do to lose weight? What are the choices?” “Well . . .,” Mavis searched her memory. “I can eat more salads. I can substitute fruit for other foods. I can use a smaller plate. I can avoid snack foods. I can . . .” “Whoa, whoa.” June held up her hand. “Pick just one, girl. You’re trying to choose too many options at once and they’re overwhelming you.” June shook her head. “Pick just one and do it this week. Then next week, make another choice and add it to the first one. Go slow.” “Do you think I can?” “Did Alexis get her family to help with the housework?” “Uh . . . yes. Yes, she did.” Mavis pondered a moment. “Okay, hand me that menu.”

Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 21

Reel Take Reviewers:

 - Fantastic  - Pretty darn good  - Has some good points  - The previews lied  - Only if you must

CHIP KAUFMANN is a film historian who also shares his love of classical music as a program host on WCQS-FM radio. MICHELLE KEENAN is a long time student of film, a believer in the magic of movies, and a fundraiser for public radio.

M- Forget entirely For the latest REVIEWS, THEATER INFO and MOVIE SHOW TIMES, visit www.rapidrivermagazine.com

Illustration of Michelle & Chip by Brent Brown.

Questions/Comments?

BRENT BROWN is a graphic designer and illustrator. View more of his work at www.brentbrown.com.

Happy New Year!

We scaled back this month to enjoy the season with our families, but we’ll be back in February with our Best Films of 2014 and our predictions for the Oscars.

If you wondering what’s worth seeing, there’s a fairly decent array from which to choose. Unfortunately there’s one less lighter feature in the running with Sony’s cancelled release of The Interview in the wake of cyber hacks and terrorist threats from a miffed North Korea. Who knew a Rogan/Franco bromantic comedy could raise the ire of a communist dictator? However it’s released, we’re hoping the film, “from the western capitalist pigs who brought you Neighbors and This is The End,” is simply laugh-your-butt-off funny. And now back to the films that are not inciting international incident… some family friendly features, one real spook fest, and, of course, the onslaught of titles vying for Oscar gold. Here’s a quick look at some of the films that will be playing in Western North Carolina in January.

COMEDIES & FAMILY FARE Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Larry (Ben Stiller) spans the globe, uniting favorite and new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever. Just good, plain, popcorn matinee fun.

Paddington The beloved storybook British bear gets his big screen debut and it looks pretty darned adorable.

You can email Chip or Michelle at reeltakes@hotmail.com

SPOOK FACTOR Woman in Black: Angel of Death As if WIB 1 wasn’t spooky and devastating enough, the folks at Hammer Films decided to bring her back for a second round of haunting and she’s allegedly meaner than ever. This go ‘round the time frame is WWII; children are being sent from war ravaged London to the English countryside to keep them safe… safe that is until the Woman in Black returns. Be forewarned, it will no doubt be beautifully filmed but will not be for the faint of heart.

OSCAR BAIT The Gambler We’re supposed to be impressed by how much weight Bradley Cooper gained for American Sniper and how much weight Mark Wahlberg lost for The Gambler. There are times when it just seems like a gimmick, and this is one of those times. The Gambler, which is a remake of the 1974 film, was not yet screened at press time, but we’re betting the dark horse that the story of an English professor with a gambling problem will pay decent dividends.

Foxcatcher Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum deliver terrific performances in the psychological drama from Bennett Miller based on the true and tragic story about Olympic gold medal winning wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz, and their relationship with multimillionaire John du Pont. Foxcatcher is getting high praise from some critics, but,

22 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

performances aside, we thought the pacing was off (suspense is not built through tedium). There will definitely be some well-deserved acting nominations on this one, but over all we give it a “meh.”

Jessica Chastain in A Most Violent Year Year.

A Most Violent Year Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle and Sienna Miller stars as Taya Renae Kyle in American Sniper. Photo: Keith Bernstein

American Sniper Clint Eastwood directs Bradley Cooper in the true story of Navy Seal Chris Kyle. American Sniper should appeal fairly well to mainstream audiences. It’s well made and Bradley Cooper turns in a hefty performance. One of us liked it just fine, but one of us expected more from Eastwood and thought it played out more like a made for TV movie.

Selma Selma chronicles three pivotal months in the Civil Rights movement in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led an epic march from Selma to Montgomery in a fight to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The film is directed by Ava DuVernay and stars David Oyelowo as Dr. King. At press time the film had not been screened. It’s also being primed for award glory this season. From our perspective, we think priming the world for a film about the power of peaceful protest is more relevant than promoting the race for Oscar gold.

This searing crime drama is set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically the most dangerous year in the city’s history. From acclaimed writer/director J.C. Chandor, and starring Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), this gripping story plays out within a maze of rampant political and industry corruption plaguing the streets of a city in decay. J.C. Chandor’s third feature examines one immigrant’s determined climb up a morally crooked ladder, where simmering rivalries and unprovoked attacks threaten his business, family, and – above all – his own unwavering belief in the righteousness of his path. With A Most Violent Year, Chandor journeys in a bold new direction, toward the place where best intentions yield to raw instinct, and where we are most vulnerable to compromise what we know to be right.

The Imitation Game At press time we had yet to see The Imitation Game but are anxiously awaiting a screening. The buzz is that Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a tour de force performance in this bio pic about Alan Turing, the British mathematician who broke the Enigma Code during WWII, but who was later prosecuted by the British government for being gay. The Imitation Game will be on a lot of ‘Best Films’ lists for 2014, and Cumberbatch will likely garner an Oscar nomination. Movies continued on page 23

The Pardon

Married independent filmmakers Tom Anton and Sandi Russell are screening their second feature film, The Pardon, a 1930s and ’40s crime drama, on Tuesday, January 13.

The Pardon exemplifies our universal need to be loved and to be forgiven, portrayed in the unlikely but true story of Toni Jo Henry (Jaime King), a woman tried for the crime of murder in 1942 in the state of Louisiana. The Pardon screens 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 13 at the Grace Centre. Parking is plentiful and there is graduated seating to provide the best viewing experience. A Question & Answer period with the filmmakers will follow the screening. “Grace Centre is a great venue for us. They have been very generous in providing a large screen and a state of the art projector to screen our films,” Anton says. Based in Brevard, former New Orleans residents Anton and Russell have been promoting their film throughout Louisiana and have recently retained Shoreline Entertainment to assist in securing a distribution deal. The period drama stars Jaime King (Pearl Harbor, Hart of Dixie) as Henry. John

Movies continued from page 22

film reviews

“John was great to work with,” director Anton said during a promotional visit to Baton Rouge. “He’s the most humble actor and he gave it his all. It was a joy working with John, Jamie King and T.J. Thyne (TV’s Bones). We had a great cast and crew.” Jason Lewis, whose credits include Mr. Brooks, The Jacket, Brothers and Sisters and Sex and the City, co-stars as Claude “Cowboy” Henry, the boxer who falls in love with and marries Henry after they meet in a Louisiana brothel. “The story intrigued us,” Russell said. “So we started to research it. We got our hands on court docuThe Pardon stars John Hawkes as Horace “Arkie” ments. We read the court transcripts. Finnon Burks, and Jaime King as Toni Jo Henry in the And because it was such a sensationtrue story of a woman tried for murder in 1942. al story, it got a lot of news coverage at the time of the crime.” Like Anton and Russell’s 2006 film, the Hawkes, an Oscar nominee for his role in New Orleans-set romantic drama At Last, The Winter’s Bone, and co-star with Helen Hunt Pardon is based on a true story. in last year’s much-acclaimed The Sessions, “When you have a film based on a true co-stars as Henry’s accomplice, Horace “Arstory,” Anton said, “people are like, ‘This really kie” Finnon Burks. happened?’ There are so many interesting stoHawkes won the 2013 Independent Spirit ries in real life that you just can’t make it up.” Award for his role in The Sessions, beating Russell adds, “Toni Jo’s story is a story of Bradley Cooper, star of the Oscar-winning hope, a story of love and a story of redempSilver Linings Playbook. tion, as she discovers the true strength within herself and, with the help of a priest, Father Richard (TJ Thyne) is able to face her life with a calm and peace that defies explanation. Anton and Russell have more film projects in the works. “I’m pinching myself that I get to do this,” the 60-year-old Anton said. “It’s a passion. All my friends are getting ready to retire but I’m just starting.” IF YOU The Pardon, Tuesday, January 13 at 7 GO p.m. at the Grace Centre, 495 Cardinal

Inherent Vice Inherent Vice marks the Paul Thomas Anderson’s seventh feature film and the first adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel. Essentially it’s Sam Spade in the acid-dropping 70’s and it’s PTA’s idea of a comedy (this is from the director of There Will Be Blood, The Master and Boogie Nights). It’s a stylistic film with a great cast that is meant to probably be experienced more than understood.

Reese Witherspoon stars as Cheryl Strayed in Wild.

Road in Mills River, just South of the Asheville Airport. For more information or to reserve tickets, call (828) 885-5354 or go to www.wncfilmsociety.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $10.

hero Louis Zamperini who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a plane crash in WWII, only to be rescued by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. It’s beautifully filmed but getting mixed critical reviews. Bottom line, Unbroken is an amazing story and it’s a crowd pleaser.

Unbroken

Wild

Directed and produced by Angelina Jolie, Unbroken is the film adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s best selling book by the same name. It’s an epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyer’s Club and The Young Victoria), Wild is the film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s thousand mile trek on the Pacific Trail and her journey of self realization, healing and survival. Reese Witherspoon plays Strayed and she may just be hiking her way to another Oscar.

Plenty of Parking!

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Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 23

COPYEDITING &

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SHORT STORY WRITERS WANTED

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Rapid River Magazine is looking for writers to contribute to the online edition’s short story section. We’re accepting submissions of a variety of works including flash fiction, articles, travel journals and short stories in more than 20 genres. Writers are encouraged to submit works that have been properly edited. All submissions will be reviewed for appropriateness and quality. If editing is required, the writer has the option of working with the section editor. Submission guidelines and special editing rates are available at www.rapidrivermagazine.com. Rapid River Magazine’s copyeditor, Kathleen Colburn, is editor and curator of the section. Please contact her with questions and submissions by email to rrshortstories@gmail.com Kathleen is a freelance copyeditor available for a variety of literary projects. Visit her website, www.aptitudeforwords.com

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authors ~ poetry ~ books

The Poet’s Voice

THE CUSP OF THE YEAR

Look back: What have we learned from history? (Why do we have to repeat our screw ups?) Look ahead: Follow a path through “the yellow woods.”

In November, my husband and I visited my hometown, Richmond, VA. We went to a book sale at a Lutheran church. A three pound volume followed us back to Asheville, the second edition of The Christian Almanac: A Book of Days Celebrating History’s Most Significant People and Events, edited by George Grant and Gregory Wilbur, and published by Cumberland House, Nashville, TN, in 2004. When you read the following list of births, deaths, celebrations, and commiserations, ask yourself, “Are we moving ahead here? Have we learned ANYTHING?” These are not in logical order. I’m a poet, remember, and yes, I CAN write in form. Sestinas are my favorite. It’s numbers that have a problem with me. Hence, the lack of chronology. January 1 - the day we make resolutions, vows, and consider vision.

1915 - Thomas Merton, author and Trappist monk was born in France. 1865 - Robert E. Lee named general in chief of all Confederate Armies. 1933 - Adolf Hitler named chancellor of Germany. 1919 - Theodore Roosevelt died. 1867 - Thomas Wolfe met with editor, Max Perkins to discuss Look Homeward Angel.

a poem by lucille clifton i am not done yet as possible as yeast as imminent as bread a collection of safe habits a collection of cares less certain than i seem more certain than i was a changed changer where i have been most of my lives is where i’m going

1882 - Pooh Day. Author A. A. Milne was born on January 18. 1967 - First Super Bowl. If you don’t remember, the Packers beat the pants off the Kansas City Chiefs. 1756 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on the 27th. 1935 - Elvis was born on the 8th. 1735 - Paul Revere, patriot and master silver smith was born. 1892 - The first immigrants arrived at Ellis Island. More than twelve million immigrants passed through this portal during the sixty-two years of its operation. “We are all immigrants.” ~ Jim Moore 1900 - Pucinni’s Tosca debuted in Rome. 1915 - Congress rejected a referendum to give women the right to vote.

407 - St. John Chrysostem died. He was known as the golden tongued orator.

1847 - The U.S. Marines captured Los Angeles from the Mexicans.

Salons at Malaprop’s Bookstore

Relationship Enneagram Series

For many of us, why relationships work or don’t work remains a mystery. We find ourselves repeating patterns that limit our potential. In this series, the Enneagram will be used to explore each type’s focus of attention, world view and false-core driver and how these impact relationship. Ways we over-protect our hearts and the gifts we bring to others and the world will be discussed. The series will continue on the first Tuesday of each month.

Meet The Shadow Salon

Wednesday, January 14 at 7 p.m. with Andrea Olson Andrea Olson is back with a new salon! This series will use the book Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of

24 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

CAROL pEARCE BJORLIE – THE pOET BEHIND THE CELLO

Year 404 - The last gladiator match was fought in the Roman Colosseum.

Tuesday, January 6 at 7 p.m. with Sandra Smith: Intro & Type 3 Panel

Your Book Advertised Here

Human Nature as a guide for exploring the personal and collective shadow, shadow work, and how to navigate the shadow instead of letting it run rampant. The first session will focus on the Prologue and Introduction. These events are free and open to the public and will meet the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.

Meet The Shadow Salon

Wednesday, January 28 at 7 p.m. with Andrea Olson Andrea Olson will focus on Part 1: What is the Shadow from the book Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature. IF YOU Malaprop’s Café & Bookstore, 55 GO Haywood St., downtown Asheville. For

more information call (828) 254-6734 or visit www.malaprops.com.

1967 - Marian Anderson debuted at the Metropolitan Opera. She was the first black singer to perform at this most prestigious venue. 1540 - King Henry VIII married his fourth wife, a six month ordeal. 1965 - T. S. Eliot died in London. 1924 - A stone sarcophagus was discovered in Luxor Egypt by Howard Carter. It revealed a solid gold coffin and the mummy of the boy pharaoh, King Tut.

1521 - On January 3, Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. This launched the Protestant reformation. 1870 - Virginia rejoined the Union. 1961 - President John F. Kennedy held the first live presidential news conference on radio. It was beamed coast to coast. 1938 - Hats off to Benny Goodman! When black members of his band were refused entrance to Carnegie hall, he cancelled the gig. The managers of the venue gave in. 1935 - Aviator Amelia Earheart began her trip from Honolulu to California. 1956 - When asked by a Newsweek editor about free verse, Robert Frost snapped, “I’d just as soon play tennis without the net!” 2014 - The word is moving into the future. I heard it from ten-year-old voices at a recent Soulspeak Slam. Oh, if only I’d been aware of my voice at age ten! Patrick Henry will have the last say: “Books and friends should be few but good.” (1736 - 1799)

Reader, may your year be filled with wonder! I want to meet you all, writers, dreamers, readers and listeners. We need each other. Contact Carol at bjorlie.carol@yahoo.com

POETRIO Sunday, January 4 at 3 p.m. Readings and signings by three poets at 3 p.m. This month will feature Lenore McComas Coberly (For I Am Mountainborn), David T. Manning (Soledad), and Ross White (How We Came Upon the Colony).

IF YOU GO: Malaprop’s Bookstore & Cafe, 55 Haywood Street, downtown Asheville. Call (828) 254-6734, or visit www.malaprops.com.

authors ~ books ~ readings

The Face of War, A Soldier’s Lament

What is the meaning of war? Anthony Guidone searches for answers in his book, The Face of War, A Soldier’s Lament.

War has impacted the way Guidone defines it. He uses the art of photography juxtaposed, literally, under his own musings, his own poetry and a few quotes by famous people to pay homage to fellow soldiers. Each turning of the page leads to a different story, and each

Flashes of War

Flashes of War is a terrifically wellpaced, well-told collection of short fictional vignettes about the toll war takes on soldiers and civilians.

Two boys secretly dream of being soccer stars at a Kabul stadium where they previously witnessed public torture, a ghost cannot let go of his surviving friend in arms, a returning U.S. soldier struggles with the realities of life outside the military, a little sister is determined to join her big brother on the battlefield, a jihadist is also a pragmatist. These characters and more grace this volume of short stories that capture personal moments of fear, introspection, confusion, and valor in one collection spanning nations and perspectives. Author Katey Schultz grew up in Portland, Oregon, and is most recently from Celo, NC. She is a graduate of the Pacific University MFA in Writing Program and recipient of the Linda Flowers Literary Award from the North Carolina Humanities Council. She lives in a 1970 Airstream trailer bordering the Pisgah National Forest. Flashes of War is her first book. Schultz published an earlier chapbook, Lost Crossings: A Contemplative Look at Western North Carolina’s Historic Swinging Footbridges. Doug Stanton, author of New York Times bestsellers Horse Soldiers and In Harm’s Way says, “Katey Schultz has written an amazing book. What emerges from these stories is a chorus of voices – American, Afghan, Iraqi – and this chorus enlarged my sense of a war that has defined an American decade. Flashes of War is the work of a bold, ambitious, and brilliant young author who is writing stories few others in American fiction have really yet tackled.” Flashes of War, written by local author Katey Schultz. Paperback, 200 pages, published May 2013. ISBN #1934074853.

REVIEW BY

pATRICE TAppE

photo with its own verse will evoke a different reaction from the reader. Guidone puts his artistic talent to good use. His verses often sit astride the photographs like a child’s open-eyed assessment, poignant and poetic. There are multiple messages, not just those of pain, death, suffering and despair–all of which are negative (and expected) towards war. In this vein one might recall Salvador Dali’s work, similarly titled, “The Face of War,” which depicts only one tone and nothing more. Dali’s decaying skull only sees and speaks death. Guidone, on the other hand, invites the reader to consider war in a less negative fashion and to quietly reflect on war’s aftermath using such images as: A white dove floating. A woman’s red jacket mirrored in the reflected blackness of the Vietnam Memorial Wall as she searches for a name.

SWORDS IN THEIR HANDS

A face turned upward pleading for the end of sorrow. Little white slabs sticking out of the earth– much like popsicle sticks put there by a child’s hand. On the blank page opposite, simple words mesmerize: “You were more than a name to me.” Many of the most poignant and revealing moments are Guidone’s photography, visual moments that reveal the shape of a world, a point of view, an argument about life and war. Guidone’s accompanying poetry then remains somewhat at the margins, like an echo through a mountain valley, sonorous and fleeting. To place an order for The Face of War, A Soldier’s Lament, send an email to soldierslament@gmail.com. Include your name, address, and telephone number. The Face of War, a Soldier’s Lament, written by Anthony Guidone. Hard cover. Self published, 2014. ISBN #978-o-615-98456*8

JANUARY

PARTIAL LISTING

We host numerous Readings & Bookclubs, as well as Poetrio! Visit www.malaprops.com

READINGS & BOOKCLUBS Thursday, January 1 from 12 to 5 p.m. New Year’s Day 25% off sale. Shortened hours. Saturday, January 10 at 7 p.m. ANDREW LAWLER, Why Did the Chicken Cross the World: the Bird that Powers Civilization. Sunday, January 11 at 3 p.m. TED M. ALEXANDER, The Fall of Summer, 1960s. Tuesday, January 13 at 7 p.m. MEAGAN SPOONER & AMIE KAUFMAN, This Shattered World, follow-up to These Broken Stars. Thursday, January 15 at 7 p.m. MEGAN MAYHEW BERGMAN, Almost Famous Women. Friday, January 16 at 7 p.m. JENNIFER NIVEN, All the Bright Places, friendship. Monday, January 19 at 7 p.m. SARAH ADDISON ALLEN, First Frost. Tuesday, January 20 at 5:30 p.m. PAUL MILLER, editor of The Imaginary App. Tuesday, January 20 at 7 p.m. CHRIS SCOTTON, The Secret Wisdom of the Earth.

Peace It slows down to stillness, and I wonder where it all came from and who for. I cherish the dark night for its grace is helpful to me in my times of need. Where does the light stop ceasing. Where does it begin. The end finishes close to the beginning. Her name calls me through the pain, and I laugh, sit, and know grace from above.

Hendersonville author Dave Richards was named a finalist in the “General History” category of the 2014 USA Best Book Awards by USA Book News for his first book, Swords in Their Hands: George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy. Published by Pisgah Press, Dave Richards’s 386-page book tells the story of an event that can best be described as the closest thing to a military coup that America has ever experienced. As the Revolution nears success, George Washington’s officers in the Hudson Highlands, unpaid for months or

poem by Lisa Jones

even years, fear that they will never get their back pay and postwar pensions. In Philadelphia, one political faction wants Congress to have real taxation authority so it can obtain the revenue needed to pay the army; another insists that only the states should retain the power of the purse. Swords in Their Hands: George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy, written by Dave Richards. Pisgah Press, 2014. Paperback, 400 pages. ISBN #0985387580

Wednesday, January 21 at 7 p.m. TIM FEDERLE, Hickory Daiquiri Dock, cocktails. Friday, January 23 at 7 p.m. DEIDRE FRANKLIN, Pinups for Pitbulls. Saturday, January 24 from 12 to 4 p.m. READ-A-THON PARTY! Benefit for the National Book Foundation. Tuesday, January 27 at 7 p.m. TIM JOHNSTON, Descent, family mystery. Wednesday, January 28 at 7 p.m. JEANIENE FROST, Bound By Flames, the third Night Prince book. Thursday, January 29 at 7 p.m. MATT KEPNES , How to Travel the World on $50 a Day, budget-friendly travel wisdom.

55 Haywood St.

(828) 254-6734 • 800-441-9829 Monday-Saturday 9AM to 9PM Sunday 9AM to 7PM

pg. 16

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Friday & Saturday, January 2 & 3

Asheville Playback Theatre

An evening on death and dying in collaboration with Death Cafe. Improvised theater, enhanced by live music. No scripts, no elaborate sets or costumes. Stories are provided, on the spot, by random audience members, and transformed into extraordinary events. We intend to elicit a sense of the deep value of sharing our stories, openly, with each other in a context of collective acknowledgement and appreciation. Come and watch or participate. $10 for adults; $5 for youth. 8 p.m. at NC Stage, downtown Asheville. For more details call Robert (828) 273-0995 or visit www.AshevillePlayback.org

Tuesday, January 6

Ceramic Art Exhibit

The Odyssey Community Art Gallery opens a new show celebrating the ceramic art of Kate Gardner, Denise Baker, and other gallery members. Open Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 238 Clingman Ave., Asheville.

How to place an event/ classified listing with Rapid River Art Magazine Any “free” event open to the public can be listed at no charge up to 30 words. For all other events there is a $14.95 charge up to 35 words and 12 cents for each additional word. 65 word limit per event. Sponsored listings (shown in boxes) can be purchased for $18 per column inch. Deadline is the 19th of each month. Payment must be made prior to printing. Send to: 85 N. Main St, Canton, NC 28716; call (828) 646-0071; or email ads@rapidrivermagazine.com to place your ad. – Disclaimer – Due to the overwhelming number of local event submissions we get for our “What to Do Guide” each month, we can not accept entries that do not specifically follow our publication’s format. Non-paid event listings must be 30 words or less, and both paid and non-paid listings must provide information in the following format: date of event, title, description and time, cost, location, and your contact info. Please do not type in all caps. Any entries not following this format will not be considered for publication.

what to do guide

Thursday, January 8

Diana Wortham Theatre

Pretty Faces Film Premiere

All female ski film celebrates women who thrive in the snow. Fundraiser benefitting SheJumps, a non-profit working to increase the participation of women in the outdoors and Girls on the Run of WNC. Cataloochee Ski Area will be giving a free midweek ski pass to everyone who purchases a ticket. Raffle with great prizes, and more! Admission: $12 in advance; $15 at the door. Tickets at pf-asheville. ticketleap.com. Screening at 7 p.m. at The Millroom, 66 Asheland Avenue, Asheville.

Friday, January 9

David Novak as Buckminster Fuller

David Novak as R. Buckminster Fuller

Noted Asheville storyteller performs R. Buckminster Fuller on the Supine Dome at Black Mountain College. 4-4:45 p.m. Held at the Omni Grove Park Inn in the Heritage Ballroom, Sammons Wing. Part of The Best of Our State celebration. Music, history, humor, storytelling, art, and food, January 9-11. For more details visit www.ourstate.com. Photo: Jen Lepkowski

Saturday, January 10

Second Saturday Event

The Odyssey Cooperative Art Gallery joins the River Art District’s Second Saturday Event. Demonstrations, refreshments, music, and a showcase of ceramic arts. 238 Clingman Ave., Asheville.

Saturday, January 10

Appalachian Pastel Society Swap and Shop Meet

An array of art materials and supplies, books, paintings, videos as well as paintings by a variety of artists. Works in oil, acrylic, and pastel at bargain prices. Demonstration by landscape artist Paul deMarrais. 10 a.m. to noon at Grace Community Church, 495 Cardinal Dr., Mills River.

Saturday, January 10

Taylor Martin’s Album Release Celebration

Honest and raw tales of love, barroom nights, and heartache, overlaid onto a tapestry of stringed instruments, B3 Hammond, drums and horns. Martin’s new album, Heartache or Bust, features Stuart Duncan, Cody

Saturday, January 17 – Shana Tucker, 8 p.m. Original cellist, jazz/soul/folk. Thursday through Saturday January 22-24 – Martin Dockery’s Wanderlust: From Here to Timbuktu. 8 p.m. in The Forum. Saturday, January 24 – Jeff Daniels and the Ben Daniels Band, 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday, January 30 & 31 – Aquila Theatre Company in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Friday, January 30; Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Saturday, January 31, 8 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the theatre’s box office at (828) 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com.

January 14, 28 & February 11, 25

Canvas & Corks Classes

Art MoB offers a fun new way to get together with friends, share a bottle of wine, or other sorts of bubblies, and paint away. We offer bachelorette parties, girlfriend’s night out, date nights, and special occasions. We will even come to you! Cost is $35 and includes all supplies. Classes are held on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. Call (828) 693-4545 to reserve your spot. Art MoB Studios and Marketplace, 124 East 4th Ave., Hendersonville. www.artmobstudios.com

ner includes wines selected by the Weinhaus staff. 6 p.m. Cost is $80, all inclusive. Please call the Weinhaus for reservations at (828) 254-6453.

January 15 - February 21

Full Circle Arts Call for Artists

Animal Crackers will explore our relation to the animals around us. Images may be of pets, domestic animals, wild animals, large or small. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Humane Society of Catawba County. Intake of art is Thursday & Friday, January 8 & 9 from 11-5 p.m., or Saturday, January 10, 10-4 p.m. Judge and juror is Thomas Thielemann. Awards: First prize $100, Second prize $75, Third prize $50. Opening reception Thursday, January 15. Full Circle Arts is located in downtown Hickory at 42-B Third Street NW. For more details call (828) 3227545 or visit www.fullcirclearts.org.

Symphony Talk

Asheville Symphony Orchestra Music Director Daniel Daniel Meyer Meyer discusses the symphony’s next concert. 3 p.m. in the Reuter Center. Free. www.olliasheville. com, (828) 251-6140.

p.m. Tickets: Regular $30, Student $25, Children 12 and under $15; Student Rush Day-of-Show (with valid I.D.) $10. Diana Wortham Theatre, 2 South Pack Square, Asheville. (828) 257-4530 or www.dwtheatre.com.

Saturday, January 17

Richard Shulman Concert

Melodious and soothing sounds that woo and delights the soul. Free concert in the library’s meeting room, 3 p.m. Donations welcomed. Waynesville Public Library, 678 South Haywood Street in Waynesville. (828) 452-5169

Sunday, January 18

One Leg Up

Gypsy jazz band performs at 3 p.m. in the meeting room. Free; donations accepted. Canton Public Library, 11 Pennsylvania Avenue. (828) 648-2924.

Saturday & Sunday, January 17 & 18

The Nile Project

Friday, January 16

Drawing Discourse

UNC Asheville’s sixth annual national juried exhibition of contemporary drawing opens with a lecture by juror Val Britton at 5 p.m. in Humanities Lecture Hall and an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. at S. Tucker Cooke Gallery in Owen Hall. Free. art.unca.edu or (828) 251-6559.

Friday, January 16

John Anderson Exhibit

Opening reception from 4-7 p.m. John is a member of the Watercolor Society of NC and the Southern Watercolor Society. He is also a member of Whiskey Painters of America which began in the 50’s and only allows 100 members. Come find out what they are all about. Art MoB Studios and Marketplace, 124 East 4th Ave., Hendersonville. (828) 693-4545, www.artmobstudios.com

Saturday, January 17

Thursday, January 15

Shana Tucker

Wine Dinner

At Chestnut restaurant. Owners Joe Scully and Kevin Westmoreland of Corner Kitchen fame will prepare a unique meal designed to satisfy the most discriminating palate. Chestnut is located directly across the street from the Aloft Hotel on Biltmore Avenue. The restaurant features local and seasonal flavors to create uniquely American cuisine. The coursed din-

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Friday, January 16 Kilby, Aaron Ramsey, and others. Show at 8:30 p.m.; doors open at 5 p.m. Admission: $8 advance, $10 at the door. Limited tables available with dinner reservaTaylor Martin tions. Theaterstyle and balcony seating available on a first come, first served, basis. Isis Music Hall, 743 Haywood Road Asheville. For more details, call (828) 575-2737, or visit www.isisasheville.com

Shana Tucker Photo: Lei Rivera Photography

Through well-crafted lyrics, lingering melodies, and compositions that blend humor and gravity, cellist and jazz/soul/folk vocalist Shana Tucker is a work of art, an original gumbo of grace and class. 8

Artists from the 11 Nile countries make music that combines the region’s diverse instruments, languages and traditions, while educating and making a social impact. Join LEAF, RiverLink, UNCA at New Mountain for two days of music and workshops with a percentage of proceeds supporting LEAF Community Arts programs. Doors open at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. Concert held at New Mountain Asheville, 38 N. French Broad Road, Asheville. More details at www.newmountainavl.com.

Tuesday, January 20

Islands in the Highlands

Music Video Asheville submission kick-off party! Warm up to an island beat and authentic Caribbean food. Find the director of your video, get discounts on VIP tickets, or just enjoy the reggae stylings of Bruckshot. Meet others in the music and film industry, brainstorm your next Music Video project, or sign up to volunteer. Free party takes place at New Mountain Asheville, 38 N. French Broad Road, from 6-9 p.m. Music Video Asheville is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 at Diana Wortham Theater. Details at www.musicvideoasheville.com

JANUARY EVENTS ~ ANNOUNCEMENTS ~ OPENINGS ~ SALES 26 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

Thursday, January 22

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

what to do guide

Best in Show

by Phil Juliano

Maps Into Art Workshop

Live Music at The Green Room Café

The Green Room Café

Callie & Cats

by Amy Downs

536 North Main, Hendersonville (828) 692-6335 www.thegreenroomcafe.biz

Live Music at Bogarts Waynesville’s favorite steakhouse offers the best steaks in town, as well as sandwiches, fresh salads, homemade soups, and a wide variety of desserts. Live Old Time/Bluegrass music on Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. featuring local favorites and a few travelers.

Sunday, January 25

Brush Sales Event

Corgi Tales

by Phil Hawkins

Monday, January 26

Bogart’s Restaurant & Tavern 303 South Main St. Waynesville, NC (828) 452-1313 www.bogartswaynesville.com

William Matthews Poetry Prize

Soaring Stories

Deadline: January 15

With Regi Carpenter and Tom Chalmer. A diverse repertoire of world stories, folktales, myths, music and personal stories. All ages. Doors open 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Tickets: $8 adv.; $10 d.o.s. At the SOL Bar at New Mountain Asheville, 38 North French Broad Avenue. For more details, visit www.newmountainavl.com.

First Place: $1,000. Second Place: $250. Third Place: publication in the Asheville Poetry Review, and a reading at Malaprop’s. For full details visit www.ashevillepoetryreview.com.

Dragin

by Michael Cole

White Horse Black Mountain Monday, January 5 – Take 2 Jazz Series with Dr. Bill Bares, piano, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 10 – The Red Herring Puppets family show, 2 p.m. Puppetry Slam adult show, 8 p.m. Sunday, January 18 – Amici Music, 2 p.m. Asheville Jazz Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 24 – Richard Smith, Chet Atkins, guitar, Julie Adams, cello, 8 p.m. Sunday, January 25 – Master puppeteer Andrew Periale, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 29 – Ciggy Pop & Friends, Folk and Boombap, 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 30 – Bayou Diesel 8 p.m. Every Tuesday – Irish Music 6:30-8:30 p.m. Open mic with Ryan Gore at 8:45 p.m. Both are free.

Friday & Saturday from 6-8 p.m. Artisan crafted scrumptious food made fresh from local ingredients. Signature dinner entrees, gourmet sandwiches, soups and salads, breakfast, and baked treats. Beer & wine, Fair Trade, locally roasted, espresso and coffees, and an assortment of teas.

Saturday, January 24

Featuring visiting international artist Anita Stewart. Free! Great prices on wonderful brushes and other art supplies. 2 to 4 p.m. Arrowhead Gallery and Studios, Old Fort.

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Keynote address by Byron Hurt, award winning documentary filmmaker. 7 p.m. in UNCA’s Lipinsky Auditorium. UNCA celebrates the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from January 19-23. For workshops, film screenings and volunteer work days visit msp.unca.edu, cesap. unca.edu or call (828) 258-7727.

Use maps to strengthen your work. A great way to increase your creativity while sharpening art skills. Sunset made of maps. The Led by Anita Stewart sky is the ocean in this piece. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $100 includes supplies. To register call (828) 668-1100. Call or email Lorelle Bacon for details (828) 595-6007, lorelleartist@hotmail.com. Arrowhead Gallery and Studios, 78 S Catawba Ave, Old Fort, NC. (828) 668-1100 or visit www.arrowheadart.org.

Arrowhead Artists and Artisan League Every Sunday, 2-4 p.m. For those interested in painting, drawing, pastels, or other media. Materials provided free of charge for the first two sessions. To continue, join the league for $25 per year. At the Arrowhead Gallery & Studios, 78 Catawba Ave., in Old Fort. Contact Helen Sullivan at helensullivan@wildblue.net.

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CLASSES ~ AUDITIONS ~ ARTS & CRAFTS ~ READINGS Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 27

Find It Here

Interactive Maps are on our website! www.RapidRiverMagazine.com/maps A-1 Music Warehouse www.mymusicwarehouse.com

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Kirk’s Collectables (770) 757-6814

Asheville Gallery of Art www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com

Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe www.malaprops.com

Asheville Symphony Orchestra www.ashevillesymphony.org B & C Winery (828) 550-3610

Mountain Top Appliance www.mountainviewappliance.com

Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce www.exploreblackmountain.com Bogart’s Restaurant www.bogartswaynesville.com Brixx Pizza, www.brixxpizza.com BT’s Burgerjoint www.btsburgerjoint.com

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artful living

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Cheryl Keefer www.CherylKeefer.com

The Green Room Café www.thegreenroomcafe.biz

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the moment. It does not occur to us, as it did for Harding, that these might be moments in which we “find” ourselves. Asian spiritual traditions have taken notice of such moments in a way the West does not, and have examined these moments as glimpses into the true nature of what we are. Zen poetry seems odd to us because it isn’t narrative or creatively intellectual, but rather, represents a moment experienced in consciousness. Asian religions hold at their core, beneath any cultural overlay of ritual and myth, the realization of “I Am” – this moment in the Universe. There is no personal God acting like a human. There is the Universe – all One – with perfect harmony and balance, within which, an individual with limited sensory and intellectual capacity emerges as a gateway for the consciousness of the One that manifests as many. Our bodies are individual, our minds are individual; what is it, however, that experiences this body and mind? This is consciousness, and

Points of Light www.pointsoflight.net

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Black Box Photography www.blackboxphoto.info www.doteditions.com

‘Behead Yourself’ cont’d from pg. 21

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is not consciousness our primary experience, looking out from this body and mind? Is this consciousness not the kernel of self, and yet, can consciousness really be individual? How is my consciousness different from yours? It is more like sunlight that shines on everything without discrimination, the same sunlight everywhere. Inner Perspective by Ernst Mach, an My body Austrian physicist and philosopher. is unique. My mind is unique. My historical We exist at many levels context is unique. My positioning of organization. within concentric circles of human social organization is unique. The great mystical question has always been: How is what is experienced as “my” consciousness different from the consciousness of any other person or even any sentient being? The great mystical realization is that this moment in consciousness is “a vast emptiness vastly filled, a nothing that found room for everything… utterly free of ‘me,’ unstained by any observer. Its total presence was my total absence.” The contents of consciousness are unique to physiological and psychological differences. What the contents arise within – consciousness – is universal. This is the core of Asian theology, and its implications fully realized are completely liberating. Along with Harding’s epiphany of headlessness, in his search for the answer to the great question, “What am I?” he had intuited that we exist at many levels of organization. We are not just this person, we are also the atoms, molecules, and cells in chemical and electrical interactions that construct this person known as “me.” We are also our social interactions, and positioning within circles of humanity from family to the totality of the species. We are also the relationship of humanity to all life and physical phenomenon on this planet. We are also within a solar system, a galaxy, a galaxy cluster, the known Universe and unknown Universes – all of which co-arise, we might say, as a single Life-force. Is there a beginning? Is there an end? Certainly not in any conventional human sense of those words. What are we? Not head, Not mind, Not body. We have to realize, that as Buddhism emphasizes, our essence is empty of self. We are nobody that has a somebody with which to move through and experience the manifested world. This realization is a great relief, like “having dropped an intolerable burden.” Yes, we have personal lives that are to be experienced and managed, with a full range of human emotional and intellectual challenge. And…. It really isn’t personal at all. All the comings and goings, the great parade of phenomena that is the world perceived and mentally processed, is really only superficial and secondary to the purity of our primary experience and source: this moment in awareness - consciousness. The orientalist Alan Watts summed up this Asian theological/existential insight well: “Who we are is the Universe looking into itself from billions of points of view.” The head and body with its senses and brain is only the portal. This was Harding’s insight as well. Let go of living in your head, just be this expericontinued on page 29

fine art

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Exhibition of Illustrations by Biljana Kroll ON DISPLAY AT MARS HILL UNIVERSITY’S WEIZENBLATT GALLERY

As a little girl growing up in Macedonia, Biljana Kroll loved listening to her grandmother tell and read fairytales and folk tales.

TERESA BUCKNER

Kroll lists Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, Arthur Rackham and Virginia Frances Sterrett as illustrators who have influenced her work. Kroll is Even as a a 2004 graduThe Princess and the Pea The Little Mermaid Vasilia by Biljana Kroll child, Kroll began ate of Mars Hill by Biljana Kroll by Biljana Kroll creating pictures University and a that illustrated the current adjunct fantastical stories in her mind. faculty member, She received a bachelor’s degree in Fashion “Imagining and making those worlds come alive on paper and Interior Merchandising at Mars Hill, and later obtained a was one of my favorite past times. I have many fond memories master’s degree in Graphic Design from Savannah College of of reading exciting stories filled with magic, mystery and mythiArt and Design. Recently, she completed her MFA degree at cal creatures,” she said. Marywood University. Today, Kroll is an artist who is inspired by those memoWeizenblatt gallery is free and open to the public, open ries and creates illustrations for children’s books which are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. during the works of art. academic year. Weizenblatt Gallery, in the Moore Building at Mars Hill Mars Hill University is a premier private, liberal arts instiUniversity will feature Kroll’s work in its first exhibition of the tution offering over 30 baccalaureate degrees and one graduate spring semester, from January 12 through February 26, 2015. degree in elementary education. Founded in 1856 by Baptist The public is invited to an opening reception on Tuesday, Janufamilies of the region, the campus is located just 20 minutes ary 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. north of Asheville. Kroll said that everywhere she goes, she collects inspiration from architecture and gardens, especially nautical, art deco and IF art nouveau elements. “I believe in mixing the old with the new; YOU Works by Biljana Kroll. Opening reception Tuesday, mixing ink and graphite techniques with digital means of color GO January 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Weizenblatt Gallery, application. My visual storytelling doesn’t end with the image, I located in the Moore Building at Mars Hill University, On pay special attention to any lettering incorporated in the design display January 12 through February 26, 2015. For more details which I hand-draw as well,” she said. visit www.mhu.edu. pg. 28

‘Behead Yourself’ cont’d from pg. 28

ence, now. See! I mean it. Look away from this page. See what you are looking at in this moment – really look and see. This selfless gaze isn’t “daydreaming.” Allow the peace and profundity of it. Recognize in this selfless gaze the source of love, this connectedness that makes Life and your life truly alive. This is your true-self-portrait. You can live there, for now you know it’s you. As the mystic Sufi poet, Rumi, exhorted: “Behead yourself! ... Dissolve your whole body into Vision: become seeing, seeing, seeing!” Bill Walz has taught meditation and mindfulness in university and public forums, and is a privatepractice meditation teacher and guide for individuals in mindfulness, personal growth and consciousness. He holds a weekly meditation class, Mondays from 6:30-7:30 p.m., at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood in Asheville. By donation. Information on classes, talks, personal growth and healing instruction, or phone consultations at (828) 258-3241, e-mail at healing@billwalz.com. Learn more, see past columns, video and audio programs, and schedule of coming events at www.billwalz.com

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Vol. 18, No. 5 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — January 2015 29

WILD ABOUT

pg. 30

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WAYNESVILLE

Sensational Musician, Mean Mary James

Art by Margaret Roberts

Known internationally for BY KAY MILLER lightning-fast fingers, haunting vocals, and intricate story songs, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist “Mean Mary” James travels the genres of folk-rock, bluegrass, and blues with banjo, fiddle, and guitar.

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30 January 2015 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 18, No. 5

The Tennessean calls Mean Mary a “startling talent.” Anything from ghost pirates to demon guitars could romp through a Mean Mary show. Born in Alabama and raised in Florida, Mean Mary was a musical prodigy. She could read music before she could read words, and she co-wrote songs at age five. She recorded her first album at age six. By age seven she was proficient on the guitar, banjo, and violin, and entertained audiences across the U.S. In spite of her hectic schedule, Mean Mary made time for her studies and at age nine, she aced a state required test at a twelfth grade equivalency level. Based in “Mean Mary” James Nashville, Tennessee, Mean Mary plays 11 instruments and is known for her alluring story songs, incredible instrumental speed, and rich voice that can travel from deep emotion to sparkling trills. She is also an award-winning book author, and the fun loving star of the Nashville TV show, NeverEnding Street. For more information about Mean Mary, visit www.meanmary.com. The Classic Wineseller, Waynesville’s premier retail shop, small plate restaurant, and intimate live music venue presents local, regional, or national talent each week on Friday and Saturday nights. The retail shop opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The kitchen opens at 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, serving small plate and tapas-style cuisine. Visit www.classicwineseller.com for additional information about wine dinners, tastings, and weekly live music events. IF YOU “Mean Mary” Saturday, January 3 at 7 p.m. GO Tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased

by calling (828) 452-6000. Full dinner and drink menu will be available during the show. The Classic Wineseller, 20 Church Street, Waynesville. For more details, please visit www.classicwineseller.com

fine art

Art in the Park Grant Opportunity

Works are sought to enhance public spaces and highlight the role of local artists within the community. The Asheville Art in the Park Arts & Community Grant is available to qualifying committed artists in Western North Carolina. Individual artists, small unincorporated groups of collaborating artists, creative thinkers and doers are eligible to apply. All applicants must have been a resident of Western North Carolina as of July 1, 2014, and be at least 18 years of age. Projects that have already taken place are not eligible.

Creative placemaking in Asheville.

GUIDELINES

• Compliments the surrounding environment

A strong application includes responses to many, but not necessarily all, of the following, unless indicated: • Provides or enhances an economic development opportunity for an individual artist, group or project • Supports or enhances and existing municipal plan or local strategic goal • Will take place or be presented in public (Strongly Suggested) • Addresses or ameliorates a social issue • Builds community and/or encourages community participation • Enlivens an underused or underappreciated public space • Creates neighborhood identity • Displays excellence in craftsmanship and design (Required)

• The relationship of the project to community need is well defined (Required) • Applications should be written with a particular project in mind (Required) • Feasibility of proposed project and likelihood of completion one year from date of first grant distribution check. (Required) Check out works by past recipients at www.ashevillearts.com to see what kinds of projects took place under this funding. The Arts council will be happy to answer any questions that you might have regarding this opportunity. All questions should be directed to Jodi John Pippin via email to jodi@ ashevillearts.com or call (828) 258-0710. Deadline: January 15, 2015. Downloadable versions of the application and guidelines are available. For complete information about the Asheville Art in the Park Grant please visit www.ashevillearts.com.

Asheville Area Arts Council 1 Page Ave. Suite 143A, Asheville

www.exploreasheville.com/asheville-arts-alive

Monday - Saturday 10-6 Info@ashevillearts.com, (828) 258-0710 www.ashevillearts.com

pg. 16

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par of Bill Pre

PURCHASE OF A NEW STAIRLIFT! EXPIRES October 31, 2014

1-800-315-6235 *Certain restrictions apply.