August 2013 Rapid River Magazine

HART Moves Forward with Stage II. PG 8

Interviews Nancy Silver, Fine Artist

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Mark Tomczak, Chef and Owner of FRESH Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta

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Robert Tipsword, Chef and Owner of West Asheville’s Zia Taqueria PG 38

Local Favorites STORM Rhum Bar & Bistro O’Charley’s Revitalization

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Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes in the Asheville Salt Cave PG 21

The Conjuring • Girl Most Likely • The Lone Ranger • Pacific Rim • Red 2 • The Way Way Back

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R HISTORIC BILTMORE VILLAGE

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SPECTACULAR BILTMORE VILLAGE INTERVIEW WITH TERRI KARLSSON, CO-OWNER OF

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The Tree and Vine

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The Olive Tree and the Grape Vine are ancient symbols of peace, sustenance, and merriment.

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The Tree and Vine’s primary products are fine, extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars – fruits of the olive tree and the grape vine.

Guests are invited to taste all of their olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Your favorites are then poured into an attractive bottle featuring a bar top cork with a wine-bottle type foil as a final seal.

INTERVIEWED BY

little about The Tree and Vine.

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Terri Karlsson: We’re a totally

independent store featuring the freshest olive oils, and very old balsamics, Mediterranean and locally sourced foods. We have a wonderful selection of Mediterranean wines and wine accessories in our Asheville store, as well as olive oil skin care products.

DENNIS RAY

RRM: What are some of your most popular oils and vinegars?

TK: Our 18 year old traditional bal-

samic is the most popular product.

Our Aulente Sicilian oil is the most popular estate olive oil, with Laconiko Greek Oil coming in a close second.

RRM: Not all olive oils and vinegars

to health and the Mediterranean diet. Olive oil is a natural anti-inflammatory which is important because many diseases are the result of inflammation.

RRM: How do your products vary

TK: : All of our oils are extra virgin,

TK: This summer we are featuring

but our estate oils are the highest quality of extra virgin with very low acidity.

We source each product individually, visiting many olive oil estates each year to select products. Our balsamics come from Italy, of course, with the exception of a couple of white balsamic style vinegars.

RRM: What are some of the health

benefits of using olive oil in cooking or baking?

TK: Numerous studies have been

performed on the health benefits of olive oil showing a reduction in cholesterol and other cardiovascular benefits, including stroke prevention. A recent study with a very large sample size showed a very strong tie

Village Art & Craft Fair

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The Village Art and Craft Fair takes place August 3 & 4.

New Morning Gallery and Bellagio sponsor the annual fair which takes place on the grounds of the Cathedral of all Souls in Biltmore Village.

In its 41st year, the Village Art and Craft Fair continues a long tradition of bringing high-quality crafts to Biltmore Village. The fair hosts 125 artists from 17 states, representing the full spectrum of craft media — jewelry, ceramic, wood, fiber, metals, two-dimensional art and more.

The craft fair is a great opportunity to encounter new artists and to talk with crafters one-on-one. Most exhibitors are not represented at New Morning Gallery,

2 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

Terri and Paul Karlsson, owners of The Tree & Vine.

are created equal. Tell us a little about your selections.

Rapid River Magazine: Tell us a

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with the seasons?

a lemon white balsamic which goes great on fruit or vegetable salads when something light and refreshing is needed.

We have also just received a Greek seasoning olive oil which has lemon, chives, pepper and oregano.

It’s perfect for chicken, fish or vegetables. We’ve had a very positive response from both of these new products. Our basil oil and aged traditional balsamic combination is always popular in the summer as our “caprese cocktail.”

The Tree and Vine in Biltmore Village

22 Lodge St, Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 505-4049 www.thetreeandvine.com

so visitors are sure to find new treasures along with a few old favorites.

Over the years, our reputation as one of the finest craft fairs in the area has spread (along with the ubiquitous cat posters and T-shirts).

Thousands of shoppers from all over the southeast arrive to stroll through the fair, discovering unique gifts for friends, family and themselves!

IF YOU The annual Village Art GO and Craft Fair on the

2013 Village Art and Craft Fair artwork by Sharon Vintson.

grounds of the Cathedral of all Souls in Biltmore Village.

August 3 & 4. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.

For more information please visit www.newmorningnc.com.

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BILTMORE VILLAGE Just Ducky CHILDREN’S BOUTIQUE STORE

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Just Ducky Retail Stores offer classic children’s fashions and unique gifts, just perfect for the children in your life!

Founded by a mom in 1980, Just Ducky Originals offers classic children’s clothing that can be customized to create a one-of-a-kind outfit.

Choose from a wide range of fabrics and styles. Add a monogram, trim and button of your choice and you have an outfit as unique as your child!

Our distinctive Spring and Fall Collections feature the perfect mix of trendy and classic fabrics to choose from in m... any styles including capris, dresses, bubbles, bloomers, tunics, shortalls, rompers, swimsuits, and much more!

Just Ducky’s line includes shoes and accessories, girls clothing size 6m-14,

boys clothing size 6m8, custom-designed outfits, coordinating outfits, monogrammed outfits and gifts for children and babies.

Just Ducky children’s and infant clothing can be purchased at our Biltmore Village store, online at www.justduckyoriginals.com, or on Facebook during our Flash Sales every Tuesday and Thursday from 4-9 p.m.

Just Ducky 10 All Souls Crescent Historic Biltmore Village (across from the Biltmore Estate) Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 277-7084 www.justduckyoriginals.com Mon-Sat 10-5:30; Sun 1-5

Allanstand Craft Shop at the Folk Art Center

Milepost 382 Blue Ridge Parkway | Asheville, NC Open Daily 9am-5pm | 828-298-7928

Guild Crafts

Fresh Mex and Tequila Bar

Now Serving WeekenD BruncH 10 Biltmore Plaza (828) 505-7682 BC

cantinabiltmore.com

OpEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

Catering and Private Dining

930 Tunnel Road/Hwy 70 | Asheville, NC Open Mon.-Sat.: 10am-6pm | 828-298-7903

Supporting mountain artists and setting the standard for fine crafts since 1930.

Shop online: www.craftguild.org The Southern Highland Craft Guild is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

work shown: Jim McPhail

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 3

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fine art Southern Highland Craft Gallery Opening in Biltmore Village

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The Southern Highland Craft Guild, with headquarters at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC, has a rich heritage. The Guild was formed in 1930 to promote mountain craftspeople so that they could make a living, and so that the region’s rich craft history would continue and thrive.

For the last 83 years the Guild has successfully done this through educational

Photo: Diana Gates Photography

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APRIL NANCE

outreach, exhibitions, the Craft Fairs of the Southern Highlands, and through craft shops. Continuing this tradition of excellence, the Southern Highland Craft Gallery will be opening this summer in Biltmore Village in Asheville, NC. The Guild purchased the Biltmore Oteen Bank Building, 26 Lodge St. last year and has been renovating the space over the last several months. The building was completed in 1928. An article in the Asheville Citizen-Times dated March 9, 1928, describes the building, “The exterior of the structure is of brick, trimmed with Indiana limestone. It is a monumental design of the Georgian period, the Corinthian order being employed on the façade.”

The Southern Highland Craft Gallery is proud to occupy this beautiful space, bringing to it modern innovations while staying true to its rich history.

‘Craft Guild’ continued on page 12

PG. 36

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we love this place The Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival

RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE Established in 1997 • Volume Sixteen, Number Twelve

AUGUST 2013

www.rapidrivermagazine.com

Publisher/Editor: Dennis Ray Marketing: Dennis Ray, Rick Hills Managing Editor: Beth Gossett Poetry Editor: Carol Pearce Bjorlie Staff Photographers: Liza Becker, Kelsey Jensen, Keli Keach, Erica Mueller Proofreading: Diane Levy Layout & Design: Simone Bouyer Accounting: Sharon Cole Distribution: Dennis Ray CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: James Cassara, Michael Cole, Amy Downs, Beth Gossett, Max Hammonds, MD, Phil Hawkins, Gretchen Howard, Phil Juliano, Kate Justus, Chip Kaufmann, Michelle Keenan, Eddie LeShure, Peter Loewer, Sean McNeal, Marcianne Miller, Lisa Nance, April Nance, T. Oder & R. Woods, Dennis Ray, David Simchock, Greg Vineyard, Julian Vorus, Bill Walz, Daniel Weiser, Stephanie Wilder.

2 Unique Shops

The Tree and Vine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Just Ducky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Asheville Therapeutic Salt Cave. . . 21

2 Fairs & Festivals

Village Art & Craft Fair. . . . . . . . . . . 2 36th Annual Sourwood Festival . . . . 6

4 Fine Art

Southern Highland Craft Gallery . . 4 Nancy Silver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Folk Art Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 AnTHM Galleries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Art in Autumn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

7 Columns

David Simchock – Photography. . . . 7 Greg Vineyard – Fine Art . . . . . . . . 13 Carol Pearce Bjorlie – Poetry. . . . . 14 Books – Marcianne Miller . . . . . 14-15 James Cassara - Music . . . . . . . . . . 16 Eddie LeShure - Jazz. . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Bill Walz - Artful Living . . . . . . . . . 23 Peter Loewer – The Curmudgeon . 28 Max Hammonds, MD – Health . . 33

INFO

8 Performance

Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine is a monthly publication. Address correspondence to info@rapidrivermagazine.com or write to: Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine 85 N. Main St., Canton, NC 28716 Phone: (828) 646-0071 www.rapidrivermagazine.com

17 Music

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, August 2013, Vol. 16 No. 12

HART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 NC Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 AmiciMusic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Steel Magnolias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

we hope to continually raise the bar of world class entertainment while keeping ticket prices reasonable,” adds Charlie Gerencer.

The five-day multi-venue festival spotlights more than 40 of the nation’s funniest up-and-coming and established comics. Major TV network casting agents, talent bookers, and comedy club owners come to discover stand-up comedy’s next crop of rising talent.

“Our goal is to showcase world class comedians to Asheville in a non-competitive format,” said Charlie Gerencer, festival producer and production company executive.

Previous Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival performers have appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and starred in their own half-hour Comedy Central specials.

“The Asheville community has supported us as this small idea has grown which has grown into a record setting event,” said Greg Brown, festival producer and standup comedian. “We’ve received six years of support from Asheville, we’ve been embraced by the national comic community, and we have grown into one of the largest comedy festivals in the country. In return,

SPECIAL SECTIONS Biltmore Village . . . . . . . . . . . PGS 2-3 River Arts District. . . . . . . . PGS 10-11 Downtown Asheville . . . . . PGS 19-21 Black Mountain . . . . . . . . . PGS 30-31 Weaverville + Northside . . . . PG 29 Waynesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 32

The festival begins Tuesday, August 13, with the “Local Laughs for Brother Wolf” charity show at The Altamont Theatre. All door proceeds from the show will be donated to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.

On Wednesday, August 14, the festival features Boston Comedy Festival and World Series of Comedy winner, Landy, at the Altamont Theatre. On Thursday, August 15, the festival heads up the mountain to Highland Brewing Company for the widely popular Laugh Your Asheville Off Showcase featuring Jen Kober from Curb Your Enthusiasm and Anger Management.

The Diana Wortham Theatre plays host to the LYAO Famous Showcases on Friday and Saturday, August 16 & 17. In addition, The Altamont Theater will present the LYAO Live at the Altamont Theatre late Friday night, after the Diana Wortham show, with Irish comedian Mick Thomas. The festival continues to add depth with the addition of Ryan Singer’s “Flick My Clip” comedic shorts at 5 p.m. at the The Altamont Theatre on Saturday, August 17.

For more information and the full schedule visit www.laughyourashevilleoff.com

www.RapidRiverMagazine.com

Superchunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The Revivalists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

19 Local Favorites

STORM Rhum Bar & Bistro. . . . .

FRESH Wood Fired Pizza . . . . . . .

Zia Taqueria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

O’Charley’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Like Us On Facebook Win monthly prizes to area restaurants and attractions!

19 31 38 39

24 Movie Reviews

Chip Kaufmann & Michelle Keenan.. 24

On the Cover:

Asheville’s Therapeutic Salt Cave Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary.

PAGE 21

34 What to Do Guide

™

Best in Show by Phil Juliano . . . . .

Callie & Cats by Amy Downs . . . .

Corgi Tales by Phil Hawkins . . . .

Dragin by Michael Cole . . . . . . . .

Ratchet & Spin by T.Oder, R.Woods

35 35 35 35 35

Distributed at more than 390 locations throughout eight counties in WNC and South Carolina.

First copy is free – each additional copy $1.50

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 5

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summer festivals 36th Annual Sourwood Festival

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The Sourwood Festival fills Black Mountain with wholesome entertainment for both adults and children in August each year.

and unique arts and crafts and there will be something to please every palate with BBQ and vegetarian faire, custom-crafted ice cream and funnel cakes and jellies. Summertime favorites include the sausages and corn on the cob.

Add to that the honey and bee demos as well as the gourmet sourwood honey — you don’t want to miss this event!

More than 30,000 people from all over America will be in attendance at the festival which grows in popularity each year.

Music, dancing, arts & crafts, super food, kid’s rides and games, face painting and more in a no alcohol environment make it the perfect event for you and your entire family.

With about 200 vendors you will A perfect event for the entire family. discover lots of local

Celebrating 10 years of “Callie & Cats” in Rapid River Magazine! You’ll find your favorite comics every month in the What to Do GuideTM

Got Talent?

The Sourwood Idol Contest is an amateur singing competition that was added to the

So you think you can sing? Got what it takes to be an IDOL? festivities in 2005. It opens the annual festival on Friday, August 9, at 7 p.m.

Why not give it a try? Winning contestants will receive: First place $200; Second place $100; Third place $50.

The contest is free to enter and offers cash prizes. Contest is for individual singing performances only. Application deadline is August 6. Visit www.sourwoodfestival.com for more details.

IF YOU 36th Annual Sourwood Festival, GO Saturday, August 10 from 9 a.m. to

8 p.m. Sunday, August 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sourwood Idol Contest – Friday, August 9 from 7-10 p.m. Free Admission. Cash Prizes. More details at www.sourwoodfestival.com.

Mountain Dance and Folk Festival The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival runs from Thursday, August 1 through Saturday, August 3, downtown at the Diana Wortham Theatre.

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Held 7 p.m. nightly, the festival formally showcases an amazing repertoire of mountain performers – old-timers as well as the newest generation of bluegrass and mountain string bands, ballad singers, big circle mountain dancers and cloggers – who share music and dance that echo centuries of Scottish, English, Irish, Cherokee and African heritage.

Audiences at each of the three performances will see an extensive line-up of the best musicians, ballad singers and dancers; each evening features at least four dance teams from the very young to the young at heart. The popular and long-standing house band the Stoney Creek Boys returns

to perform each evening. And each night of the festival features both well-known musicians and new talent alike, representative of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and its continuing traditions.

The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival is presented by Asheville’s Folk Heritage Committee which also produces its sister event, Shindig on the Green, a free gathering held each year at Pack Square Park on the Bascom Lamar Lunsford stage. Both events rely on the generosity and shared talent of the region’s finest old-time musicians and mountain dancers.

Activation Music and Arts Festival

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The Activation Music and Arts Festival is a co-creative moment celebrating the best of the music and arts scene in the regional southeast. The festival is dedicated to providing a collaborative atmosphere between

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musicians, artists, and participants, and will feature an eclectic mosaic of musicians and artists from across the region.

Activation shines the spotlight on upand-coming talent across artistic genres and mediums. Artistic synergy, exclusive musical jam sessions, and impromptu sets are some of the unique and special characteristics of the festival.

In addition to a roster of incredible musicians such as Empire Strikes Brass, The Fritz, Vertigo Jazz Project Michael Garfield, and Medisin, festival goers will delight in witnessing

IF YOU Tickets (Regular $20; Children 12 GO and under $10) for the Mountain

Dance and Folk Festival are available from the Diana Wortham Theatre box office: (828) 257-4530 or online at www.dwtheatre.com.

For more information call (828) 258-6101 x345 or visit www.folkheritage.org.

live art being created from an array of visual artists, interactive installations, healing yoga, and daytime workshops.

Weekend passes and camping are currently $30 at www.ActivationFestival.com.

This is an 18+ event unless with parent or guardian. Kids 12 and under are free with purchase of weekend pass.

IF YOU Activation Music and Arts GO Festival, August 9-11 at the High

Country Motorcycle Camp, 756 Stoney Fork Rd., Ferguson, NC 28624.

Tickets are $30 adv. $40 d.o.s. For more information call (828) 406-3500 or visit www.activationfestival.com

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Photography Tips & Tricks It’s Not a Numbers Game

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How many times have you heard someone say, “If I take enough pictures, one of them is bound to be a good one!”

A gazillion times? More than that?

I understand where folks are coming from when they say this, but it isn’t exactly the best way to approach photography if you are truly passionate about the craft, or you at least want to get the most out of the fancy digital camera that cost you a paycheck or ten.

Creating great photos, and doing it on a consistent basis, should not require a whole lot of luck. It should be done with skill, and with intent.

A wise man once said, “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”

This is quite a profound quote, and it is totally relevant to photography (even though I highly doubt that Seneca had a Nikon or Canon DSLR in mind when he said it).

If all you are doing with your camera is cranking off a ton of shots on fully-automatic settings, with hopes that one of them is a winner, then you are relying to much on Lady Luck, and not enough on your own creative technique, not to mention the full potential of your gear. Wouldn’t it be nice to take only half of those shots, or even a quarter of them (or less), and still get that one great one – or, better yet, more than one – to show your friends?

Wouldn’t it be nice if when someone asked you “how” you created that great shot, you could actually explain how you set up your aperture, shutter speed and ISO, your lens, and your

BY

DAVID SIMCHOCK

accessories? How about if you could relate your rightbrain thought process as to how you came up with the composition of the frame? Wouldn’t that be the sign of a truly great photograph, created by a truly great photographer?

You will not achieve greatness if you are playing BB King Photo by David Simchock the numbers game, and simply hoping for the best.

Greatness will come from taking a “holistic” approach to photography.

Does high-end gear help? Sure it does, but it’s not the only thing you need! You also need to know how to use the gear, including all of those confusing buttons, dials and menu options. Is that Kids in Vietnam Photo by David Simchock enough? Nope!

You need to understand the fundamental in photography than light. mentals of composition as well.

If you integrate all of those facets of the craft, and shoot with total intenAre we there yet? tion, then you won’t need to use the Not quite. Even if you have shot-gun approach. In fact, if you’re reyour act together with your gear, ally good, you won’t be surprised with technical knowledge, and composihow impressive your results are. You’ll tion, you need to understand light. know before you even click the shutter For, there is nothing more fundathat you are on the path to greatness.

Oh, and sure, a little “luck of the moment” is always nice, but as Seneca suggests, what good is being within that moment if you are not prepared for it? A competent photographer will be prepared, and they will get the shot, even if they capture only a single frame.

Looking for more insight?

Check out the got f-stop? photo blog: www.gotfstop.com

David Simchock is a professional photographer and instructor based in Asheville’s River Arts District.

Central Park, NYC. Photo by David Simchock

For more about David, including his popular Vagabond Vistas Photo Tours, visit www.DijonCreative.com.

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 7

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captivating performances

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HART Moves Forward with Stage II

One year ago, on opening night of HART’s production of “La Cage Aux Folles” the theater announced its goal of raising one million dollars to construct a second main stage as part of the Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House.

Many thought the goal impossible and even the Board set a $100,000 threshold that had to be met by November of last year.

But HART’s patron’s stepped forward and the threshold was met by the end of August.

Since that time the success of the capital campaign has been phenomenal. Nearly two hundred people have made contributions.

In March a major gift from Daniel and Belle Fangmeyer doubled the total raised up to that time ensuring the projects eventual success. That was followed by a challenge gift from Ned and Suzie Allen of $50,000 through the Community Foundation of Central Florida. HART matched the Allen challenge within two days with a gift from Vesta Hrnciar, a long time HART patron.

Any thoughts that the new performance space, now to be named the Daniel and Belle Fangmeyer Theater, might not happen were put to rest. Steve Lloyd, HART’s Executive Director agreed with the HART Board that construction shouldn’t begin until there was at least $600,000 in cash and pledges.

The hope was that this could be achieved by Fall. On Thursday, July 11 the total raised was right at $525,000. On Friday, opening

night of HART’s production of “Brigadoon” Susie and John Harmon stepped forward with a pledge of support totaling $75,000 triggering the green light for Stage II. HART’s fund raising efforts have succeeded so quickly that the hold up now is the completion of the architectural plans and arrangements with contractors. On Tuesday, July 16, 2013 the HART Board of Directors will make the decisions as to the timetable for going forward but it now appears that the new theater space could be completed sometime next year.

The consequences for Haywood County are huge. HART is the number one attraction in Waynesville according to TripAdvisor and HART conducted an economic impact study that revealed that because half those attending HART performances are visitors to the community the theater has a $2.4 million annual impact on the area economy. The problem for both HART and the community is with the limitations of the single performance space at the Performing Arts Center the group must close for up to three weeks between shows, handicapping the theater’s bottom line but also making it very difficult to promote the theater as an area attraction.

The new Fangmeyer Theater will double HART’s performance weeks and potentially double the economic impact on the community. Restaurants, for example, will be able to plan for a regular preshow dinner crowd throughout the summer. Hotel and B&B owners can offer theater packages.

NC Stage: 2013-14 Season THE BOGEYMAN, BOOK CLUBS, LITTLE LEAGUE, AND SADOMASOCHISM

North Carolina Stage Company’s (NC Stage) 12th season begins in September with a world premiere of a true story and ends in June with a conversation with one of Hollywood’s most prolific costume designers.

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“The Bogeyman is real.”

Opening the season is the world premiere of Stalking The Bogeyman by Markus Potter.

P otter. The play follows the true story of journalist David Holthouse and how he deals with confronting the man who raped him as a child. Will it end in murder? Contains adult situations and strong language.

The play runs September 18th - October 13th. Tickets for Stalking The Bogeyman will be available August 19.

“Book Club is a place that is safe… safe in a healthy way.”

A Danish filmmaker wants Ana’s book club to be the focus of his new documentary

in The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarías.

Just like a good book, the characters develop right before your eyes and just like a good documentary, the characters are far from perfect. The Book Club Play runs October 23 through November 17.

“I have to redeem old Scrooge?”

The story of Ebenezer Scrooge is familiar to a lot of people. The story of Jacob Marley, however, is one only few know. Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol by Tom Mula tells the tale of Jacob Marley and his attempt to redeem his old business partner Scrooge. This encore production is presented by Ensemble Theatre Company,

8 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

The potential benefits to the community as HART grows are significant.

HART is one of Western North Carolina’s most successful arts organizations, winning awards for its productions and regularly playing to full houses.

Almost 80% of HART’s budget comes from ticket sales. The group has never operated at a financial loss. Its summer musical productions play to thousands of patrons. HART’s home has played host to performances by Folkmoot USA, the Haywood County Arts Council’s Haywire lawn concerts, January Jazz, Razzle Dazzle Saturday, the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival, The Smoky Mountain Brass Band and numerous other events to benefit the community. HART donates its parking lot to the Haywood County Farmer’s Market and each winter its lobby to the AARP for free tax service.

The new space will include a flexible 150 seat theater, about half the size of HART’s current auditorium along with a Bistro/Café to be operated before and after performances. The theater can be reconfig-

having sold out a number of performances in December 2012. The play is one of two special events this season and runs December 11-29.

“Winning is fun. Losing stinks.”

One dad wants his son to know the value of winning, the other wants his son to know the value of trying. When they are both coaching the same little league team, a power struggle ensues, and the result is Rounding Third by Richard Dresser, starring Charlie Flynn-McIver and Scott Treadway. The play opens on January 29 and runs through February 23, 2014.

“I’m like perfect for the part.”

In Venus In Fur by David Ives, a playwright finds the perfect actor for his new play. But is she too perfect? This play deals with power dynamics, blurs the lines between reality and fiction, and has been called funny and provocative. Contains adult situations and strong language. Venus in Fur is produced by Immediate Theatre Project and runs March 19 through April 13, 2014.

ured and will have a full kitchen allowing the group to do dinner theater and cabaret in addition to plays and can also be used for receptions and other events. Rest rooms have been designed to also serve the Haywood County Farmers Market.

Though the interior will be completely different from the current theatre the exterior will be a close match, continuing the barn style created by architect Joe Sam Queen for the original facility. Queen and his daughter, architect Sarah Queen are responsible for the design of the new theater.

To make a contribution to the project send your donation or pledge to HART Stage II, PO Box 1024, Waynesville, NC 28786

“I hung up mid sentence when i heard you were waiting.”

The legendary costume designer Edith Head is brought back to life in the second special event of the season: the one-woman tour de force A Conversation With Edith Head by Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen.

The show closes out the 2013-2014 season and gives us a look into the world of one of Hollywood’s most influential costume designers. This Special Event production opens on May 14 and closes on June 8, 2014.

IF YOU Tickets can be purchased at the GO NC Stage box office Monday -

Saturday from 12 noon until 5 p.m., by phone at (828) 239-0263, and online at www.ncstage.org. General admission prices range from $16 to $28. Student tickets, $10 each with valid ID. North Carolina Stage Company, 15 Stage Lane in downtown Asheville. For more information call (828) 239-0263 or visit www.ncstage.org.

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late summer SIZZLE

AMICIMUSIC PRESENTS

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“Violin Voyage� and “Jazzical�

AmiciMusic, the award-winning chamber music organization dedicated to performing chamber music in intimate venues and nontraditional spaces, will perform two exciting programs in August.

VIOLIN VOYAGE First up is “Violin Voyage� featuring Rachel Patrick, a phenomenal young talent from Indiana who has already won numerous competitions and prizes in her career.

A graduate of University of Michigan and Indiana University School of Music, Ms. Patrick will team up with pianist Daniel Weiser, the founder and Artistic Director of AmiciMusic, for a musical journey around the world, with stops in Germany, France, Spain, Argentina, and America. Music by Beethoven, Saint-Saens, de Falla, Piazzolla, and William Grant Still.

There are three venues for Violin Voyage: Thursday, August 1 at 7:30 p.m. – White

Horse Black Mountain. $15 for adults/$5 for students and children. Tickets available at the door. For details and reservations, call (828) 669-0816 or visit www.whitehorseblackmountain.com Friday, August 2 at 7 p.m.

– House concert at the home of Janis and Tom Crothers at 921 Sunlight Ridge Drive in Hendersonville. Seating is limited and reservations required. $35 pp includes light food and wine and an incredible mountain view.

For reservations contact Lea Kibler, flute Dan Weiser at daniel@ amicimusic.org or at (802) 269-0856. Pay via check or credit card. Pay online at www. amicimusic.org.

Saturday, August 3 at 2 p.m. – House concert

at the home of Kristie and Doug Doll at 309 Mountain Laurel in East Asheville (Buffalo Mountain). Reservations required. $35 pp includes light food and wine that will be specially paired with the music that is played. To reserve, contact Dan Weiser at daniel@amicimusic.org or at (802) 3690856. Pay via check or credit card. Pay online at www.amicimusic.org.

Byron Hedgepeth

and pianist Dan Weiser performing Claude Bolling’s fantastic cross-over Suite #2 for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio, along with some music by George Gershwin.

There are two venues for Jazzical: Saturday, August 3 at 8 p.m. at Freeburg

Pianos, 2314 Asheville Hwy. in Hendersonville. This is a new performance venue that will be a superb new home for AmiciMusic concerts, with an intimate sized-hall perfect for chamber music. Tickets will be $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $5 for children/ students. Tickets available at the door or online at www.amicimusic.org. Reservations by contacting Dan at (802) 369-0856 or e-mail daniel@ amicimusic.org.

Phone number for the venue is (828) 697-0110.

FINE JEWELRY & DESIGN STUDIO

www.jewelsthatdance.com

CloissonĂŠ earrings

+D\ZRRG 6W Äš $VKHYLOOH 1& Äš Äš +RXUV 0RQ 6DW

Sunday, August 4 at 4 p.m. at Congrega-

tion Beth Israel, 229 Murdock Avenue in Asheville. In addition to the great musical program, Rachel Patrick the afternoon will feature delicious Creole cuisine in an elegant New Orleans-style cabaret setting; a silent auction of one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras masks created by local artists; and the dedication of the Museum Without Walls interpretive panel.

Tickets are $25; $18 for children under 18. Reservations are strongly encouraged.

Send a check to Congregation Beth Israel, or pay online at www.bethisraelnc.org. For more details call (828) 252-8660.

AmiciMusic is a professional chamber music organization dedicated to performing the highest quality music in intimate venues and nontraditional spaces.

JAZZICAL AmiciMusic will combine Classical and Jazz when they present an encore performance of a “Jazzical,� featuring Grammyaward winning bassist Eliot Wadopian, flutist Lea Kibler, drummer Byron Hedgepeth,

Eliot Wadopian

Daniel Weiser, founder and Artistic Director of AmiciMusic

For more information please visit www.amicimusic.org

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ASHEVILLE’S RIVER ARTS DISTICT The River Arts District Artists (RADA) is a 175+ artist member strong collective who provide high-quality, affordable art. RADA is just down the hill from Patton Avenue, and is easily accessible from downtown, West Asheville and the Biltmore.

One will also find several delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner options, the Asheville Area Arts Council, and a variety of unique businesses, all sharing a growing community that features amazing art down every street, in every building.

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RIVER ARTS STUDIO BUILDINGS

More information on the River Arts District is available by calling (828) 280-7709, or visit www.riverartsdistrict.com.

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* The Wedge Studios * Roberts Street Studios * Odyssey Center * Jonas Gerard Fine Art * Noble Forge * Pink Dog Creative * 352 Depot * 362 Depot * Glen Rock Depot * Studio 375 Depot * Northlight Studios * The Lift Studios

* David C. Stewart Fine Art * Switchyard Studios * Tannery Studios * Riverview Station * Warehouse Studios * Curve Studios & Garden * Cotton Mill Studios * Riverside Studios * Galaxy Studios * Hatchery Studios * Phil Mechanic Studios

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10 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

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INTERVIEW WITH FINE ARTIST

Nancy Silver

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Rapid River Magazine: Tell us a little about yourself.

Nancy Silver: Originally from

New York City area, I was exiled to New Cincinnati OH for many years. As a Level One Trauma Charge Nurse and First Responder on the regional medical team for major disasters, I escaped into art and music and found a new life.

Art began with sand sculpture, progressed to clay masks, and on to painting. I left the ER and sang for my supper as a Cantorial Soloist while studying art.

I studied sculpture with Margot Gotoff in her Cincinnati studio and painting at Northern Kentucky University under Kevin Muente, with extra gratitude to Hollis Hammonds for drawing and Marc Leone for painting,

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pershaps tapping into my musical side.

I agree with painter Clyde Aspevig who said “painting is silent music.” I also am drawn to interior and exterior imagery that reflects the Works by Nancy Silver. Photo: Keli Keach Photography passage of time, with elements left behind speakRRM: What inspires you to creing silently for voices long gone. ate each day?

RRM: You work in various mediums from pottery to painting. Which is your favorite?

NS: I prefer the color and flow of

painting, as well as its portabilty and immediacy. On the other hand, while my painting style is realistic, my masks tap into an alternate personality, so I enjoy the visit.

RRM: Having grown up in

New York what drew you to the River Arts District here in Asheville?

NS: I was living in the mid-

west for several decades and no longer had contacts in the New York area. As much as I love New York City, it’s both very expensive and complex. I wanted this to be the last move ever, and knew Nancy Silver. Photo: Keli Keach Photography it had to be near a coast or in mountains somewhere (havI escaped to Asheville in 2010 ing gone to college in mountains), and via the unguarded exit and began near a reasonably sized city. painting full time in Cotton Mill I love the unspoiled mountain studios where I acquired two amazplaces but I am a city girl after all. The ing mentors, Mark Henry, and John River Arts District was a critical piece Mac Kah. in my choice. As I hoped, the RAD Painting is a process of learning has become a source of friendship and to see. I realized my early work was mentors since my move. A wondertoo inclusive and began to narrow ful surprise has been the thriving jazz my focus, finding the real story in a community in Asheville, both for composition is often told in a very friendships and entertainment. Dursmall part. ing my first visit to Asheville I knew it I love painting the lyrical was a welcoming community. quality in water, trees and grasses,

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NS: Years ago, I discovered that

making art (even bad art at first) was one of the few occupations when I could be still with no awareness of time passing (there is a reason I worked ER all those years and not an office job).

A painting begins with a very intimidating blank white space, even when I already have an image to paint. Then come the stages of sketching out composition, points of view, lighting that is often a frustrating trial and error session.

Somewhere along the process of moving from sketches to color, atmospheric perspective, beginning details, there’s an almost magical moment when I can see what this painting can become. I love that stage. That’s what keeps me coming back. It’s a “Wow, I did this?” moment.

Learning how to draw and paint is a life-long learning adventure, and I can sing along with Ella as I go.

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Nancy Silver Fine Art Cotton Mills Studio in the River Arts District Studio F (2nd floor) Studio open to visitors nearly every day.

828-713-8994 www.nancysilverart.com RP

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 11

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The Asheville Area Arts Council presents a group exhibition of ceramics entitled “Pots That Pour.” The exhibition, curated by Leah Leitson, ceramics professor at Warren Wilson College, will showcase ten clay artists.

The hand builders and throwers from Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina use a variety of clay bodies and firing techPorcelain Teaset by niques.

Susan Filley “Pots That Pour” features work by Margaret Bohls, Charity Davis-Woodard, Susan Filley, Bill Griffith, Nick Joerling, Suze Lindsay, Linda McFarling, Kent McLaughlin, Ellen Shankin, and Gertrude Graham Smith.

IF YOU GO: Opening reception Friday, August 2 from 6-9 p.m. On display from August 2-31 at the Asheville Area Arts Council Gallery, 346 Depot Street in the River Arts District. For more details call (828) 258-0710 or visit www.ashevillearts.com.

‘Craft Guild’ continued from page 4

The concept of tradition and innovation will also be seen in the artists’ work represented at the gallery. To be a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild artists must prove that they are masters of their craft through a rigorous jury process.

The membership represents traditional and contemporary artists living in the mountain counties of nine states from Maryland to Alabama.

Visitors to the gallery will not only be able to learn about the rich craft heritage of the region, they will also learn about artists who are stretching the boundaries of their craft with modern, innovative techniques. A wide range of work will be sold in the gallery including pottery, glass, wood, jewelry, fiber, metal, paper, mixed media and natural materials.

To learn more about the Southern Highland Craft Gallery and the Craft Guild, visit www.craftguild.org, or call the gallery, (828) 277-6222.

After opening, hours for the gallery will be: January through March, 10-6; April through December, 10-7; Sundays 12-5.

Wood Day and Other Events at the Folk Art Center

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The Folk Art Center will host its annual celebration of wood crafts at Wood Day on August 10th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Demonstrations include carving, coopering, wood turning, furniture design, dovetail construction and Shaker-inspired boxes.

Hands-on activities will be provided for children. The Thirteenth Annual Carve-Off Competition will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. For the Legendary wood carver Tom Wolfe will be among the contest, participants have two hours Southern Highland Craft Guild members demonstrating to turn a simple block of wood into during Wood Day at the Folk Art Center. a work of art. Carvers must sign up by 12:30 to participate.

While at the Folk Art Center be sure will be on display through September 8. to visit, “The Wow Factor! SHCG New Admission to Wood Day and the Folk Member Exhibition” in the Main GalArt Center is free. The Folk Art Center is lery. The show features the work of newly located at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge juried members from 2010 to the present.

Parkway in east Asheville. Headquarters to Artists were encouraged to submit pieces the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the that reflect a wow! or aha! moment in their Center also houses three galleries, a library, creative career. Visit craftguild.org for a Allanstand Craft Shop and a Blue Ridge complete list of participants. The exhibition Parkway information desk and bookstore.

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APRIL NANCE

Fyreglass Glass Studio

IF YOU The Folk Art Center is located GO at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge

Parkway, just north of the Hwy 70 entrance in east Asheville, NC. For more information, call (828) 298-7928 or visit www.craftguild.org.

Visionary Sculptor Susan Silver Brown

The Bender Gallery is proud to anChagall and Dali have been major influences nounce the representation of visionary as well as Georgia O’Keefe, Frida Kahlo sculptor Susan Silver Brown with the arrival and Francesco Clemente. With her art, of five of her exquisite cast lead crystal and Susan confronts our struggle with existence, bronze sculptures. Her bold use of color, temporality, impermanence, love, and loss. intricate detailing and provocative subject She does this by interconnecting animal and matter yields a body of work that is both man, nature and god energy. visually stunning and spiritually moving.

Between their sheer beauty and ethereal Susan began her career at UCLA as an imagery, Susan’s sculptures are sensuous ancient and African/Oceanic Art historian. and thought provoking. For instance, HolShe has always been interested in mythololow Heart’s Flyaway depicts interconnected gy, anthropology, and why art is so essential male and female figures sharing a single in society. Her philosophical studies quickly hollow heart. Surrounded by birds which metamorphosed into a pasare symbolic of eternal life, sion for art. Prior to working their countenance is one of in glass, she had a lucrative happiness and serenity. On 15 year career creating small the back of the sculpture are scale sculptural wearable art. two butterflies adorned with An extensive traveler, glass eyes, connoting divine she became inspired for her providence and foresight. body of work while on a preThe base of the sculpture is historic cave art expedition to a nest of twigs embellished Lascaux, France amidst cave with bronze leaves. paintings from 25,000 years Celestial Cocoonings ago. The artist considers her is about becoming who you journey of being an artist an were meant to be in life “intoxicatingly passionate” by reinventing your hisone and describes her body tory. It consists of a pair of work as “Ethno-Primiof sculptures made up of tive Surrealism”. It draws two billowy clear cocoons. heavily on Buddhist thought, Three half bird - half man Jungian psychology and figures sit at the base of Daydream Believer

by Susan Silver Brown shamanism. The surrealists each cocoon. Bird-men are

12 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

a famous motif of Easter Island and further the rebirth imagery of the work. Birds are twice born; once from the mother and once from the egg. On top of each cocoon rests a bust, one male and the other female. The male wears an elaborate headdress while the female is bedecked with jewels and palm fronds. Each figure is trimmed with flowers and shells and a bird rests on top of each of their heads.

Susan has lived in the desert southwest for over 25 years and works out of her studio in Scottsdale, AZ. The sculptures, which can take up to six months to complete, are made using the lost wax process which is very similar to the bronze casting process.

She begins by sculpting a piece in clay and then makes a series of molds in which to cast the crystal. The molds, which can weigh up to 500 pounds, take special equipment to transport and maneuver into her large kiln. After casting, each piece is then cleaned and finished with painstaking care using dental equipment, diamond tools and sandblasting apparatus.

IF YOU The Bender Gallery, 12 S GO Lexington Avenue in Asheville,

next door to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. More information is available at www.thebendergallery.com.

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Creating a Textural Landscape A VISIT WITH JOEL COLE IN WEAVERVILLE

Jane Austen has overtaken my world.

A life rich with the textures borne out of experience and hard work.

I know, you’re so used to me referencing science-fiction that this is a total one-eighty. But in addition to my love of All Things Trek, there’s another side: I grew up in an old house, amidst tons of books, surrounded by casual gardens of irises, poppies and wild carnations.

Due to the persuasions of Austen, an English country garden setting has pervaded my thoughts, and I have been talking to my rescue cat in (bad) prose, with an (even worse) British accent. But he is the sensible one, caring not for the status of my dowry, nor to hear about my prospects.

I was admittedly shocked upon entering Joel Cole’s yard in Weaverville, NC. Joel is an accomplished artist on several fronts, who it turns out is not full of pride about his activities. I didn’t learn until the end of my visit that I was standing in one of the “Best Small Gardens in Buncombe County.” I felt like I was suddenly on Austen’s Bennett family grounds - there was a casual elegance

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to it all, reflecting Joel’s seemingly limitless green thumbs.

Out front, dragonflies zoomed and danced over a square pond full of reeds, lilies and more, with frogs echoing here and there from within. Along the back, beautiful plants and flowers of all types caught my eye for as far as I could see. I thought the yard ended here, but it was really just a living partition, concealing two more large areas, one planted in quadrants, the other quite open, both thickly lined with more plants, shrubs and trees, with an occasional small statue appearing amidst it all.

There was such a variety of color, line, shape and flow. And an evident love of nature. Joel has found that balance of blending a little structure with a lot of letting plants do what they do, providing really interesting visual moments along the way. Joel explained that the back yard was once just a typically large, flat plane, which just kept

BY

GREG VINEYARD

evolving over the decades.

As we crouched down in the Japanese Zen garden, he pointed out a cicada carapace, which had been buried these past 17 years. I think about how it is only twelve cicada cycles back to Jane Austen’s heyday, and how everything’s connected.

Joel pointed out several plant groupings, examples of how the juxtaposition of textures is his desire.

He likes his garden to have all these contrasting surfaces, explaining that this makes it all more visually interesting throughout the year. As an artist, I am prejudiced toward patterns and designs, so I get this, and began re-looking with this revised visual parameter, realizing that, despite an appearance of randomness, there is indeed something very intentional also going on here. This man has created fields of texture!

His art studio space sits like a fairy tale house amidst all this greenery, with large abbey-like windows on one side that take in a bit of the yard. In addition to painting, Joel draws incessantly, and he shared with me a typical sketch of a fantastical building. He

AnTHM Summer Happenings

AnTHM Galleries of Black Mountain proudly hosts a unique artsy social experience around a number of our region’s up and coming — from established artists and musicians, to what’s new and tasty in local brews, regional wines, and flavorful foods.

This series, running seasonally from May 1 to October 31 each year, will no doubt be a popular addition to the hive of cultural activities happening in the exciting town of Black Mountain.

FROM THE OUTSIDER, IN

See expanded art collections from local AnTHM artist Nancy Moore with 3D Found-Object Folk Artworks from Alan Kaufman, along with the full summer art event, “From Outsider, In” featuring a rare collection of works by nationally renowned self-taught artists.

Enjoy “Artini” drink specials, live music, dinner specials, and a meet and greet with area artists. New works featured in the Elbow Gallery by the Swannanoa Valley Fine Art League. The patios are open!

July through September 1 with a special reception, Friday, August 2, from 6-9 p.m.

AnTHM Gallery at the Monte Vista Hotel in partnership with Marcia Weber Art Objects of Montgomery, AL, present a rare and unusual exhibit of one-of-a-kind works of art created by self-taught artists throughout the United States.

This two month exhibit focuses on contemporary folk and outsider artists whose works and creative methods are often shaped by available found materials and isolated lifestyles, which place them outside the mainstream of American fine art. Marcia Weber has enjoyed a close personal relationship with many featured artists in this field while actively collecting their art for more than twenty years.

Weber’s exhibitions have been presented by her gallery in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and now Black Mountain. Enjoy musical performances, storytelling, one-onone exhibit tours with Cappi Macsherry, show curator, and special menu selections

by The Palate restaurant.

IF YOU GO: August 2, from 6-9 p.m. Free

IF YOU GO: Viewing is Tuesday-Sunday, 11

“FIRST FRIDAY” AT THE MONTE VISTA HOTEL

and open to the public. Monte Vista Hotel, 308 West State Street in Black Mountain.

(828) 669-8870, (828) 419-0049, www. anthmgallery.com.

a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit www.anthmgallery.com for detailed exhibit information. On display through September 1, 2013. Monte Vista Hotel, 308 W State St, (828) 419-0049.

Red by Joye Ardyn Durham

WORKS BY LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER JOYE ARDYN DURHAM AnTHM Gallery at the Monte Vista Hotel presents the work of award-winning local photographer Joye Ardyn Durham.

Joye’s work exemplifies and captures the mood and look of mountain beauty in September and October.

Joye has been involved in photography for over 45 years and is owner of the Gingko Tree Gallery in Black Mountain. Her images are used worldwide in an abundance of uses. She photographs nature, landscapes, and fine art as well as portraits, dogs, and family events.

IF YOU GO: Opening reception Friday,

September 6, from 5:30- 8:30 p.m. Monte Vista Hotel, 308 W State St, (828) 419-0049.

Textures from Joel Cole’s garden.

explained that he starts with a staircase, and invents and improvises as he draws upward, imagining what it might be like if he lived inside. I can see how this creative process is very much akin to how his gardens developed, edging ever outward.

As we chatted on the north porch after my tour, surrounded by more plants in hangers, we were waxing philosophical about life’s journey, and Joel said: “My … life IS a garden – I guess it’s a parallel.” In a life rich with the textures borne out of experience and hard work, one where Joel Cole has settled into a comfortable peace, this ready acknowledgement of how simple it can all be is an important reminder to keep striving for a clean dove-tailing of Doing and Being.

Seeing the world through another creative person’s eyes can be quite invigorating.

There is inspiration to be found in all sorts of creative meetings, and I was lucky enough to get to see Cole’s multi-faceted output, from drawings to paintings to faux-finishes in his house to what I now think of as “The Jane Austen Garden.”

We’re lucky in Western North Carolina to have an abundance of both national parks and back yard mini-park experiences.

I am reminded to keep cultivating my art, planting ideas, and to strive to stay present, so that I can see where my… (ahem!)… emmagination may take my senses.

Greg Vineyard is an artist, writer and creative consultant in Asheville, NC. ZaPOW Gallery in downtown Asheville carries his illustrations, giclees and cards (www.zapow.com).

Find his clay works at Gallery 262 in Waynesville and at Taupe Gallery in North Wilkesboro. www.gregvineyardillustration.com

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books ~ poetry ~ readings

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The Poet’s Voice

Go Fish

Woods were my father’s sanctuary.

Where a small tributary trickled into the James River, he sat on the bank still as a monk, his fishing rod at attention. The line pierced the surface of the water, the worm lurked in the cool shallows. This is where the big bass fed.

I learned to be quite here. I was happy to sit near him, playing with the tin can of worms. He called me his Monkey-Doodle.

His name was Oscar.

My father didn’t attend church, but his spirit was nourished in these woods just down the steep hill from Confederate breastworks. My brother and I used to find minnie balls in the thin summer grass.

Near where my father fished, the Union Army built a pontoon bridge to cross the “rivah” to Richmond. The battle of Deep I want to meet you all, writers, dreamers, readers and listeners. We need each other. Contact Carol at thepoetsvoicerr@yahoo.com

Fred Bahnson Reading & Booksigning Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith by Brevard resident Fred Bahnson (Simon & Schuster, 2013, 273 pp), is one of the most exciting spirit-based books I’ve ever read. I loved this book.

“Soil is a portal to another world,” Bahnson says, and those of us who believe privately that gardening is our religion agree completely. As if he were walking the liturgical calendar, Bahnson, director of the Food, Faith, and Religious Leadership Initiative at Wake Forest University School of Divinity, spends the revolving seasons in a different kind of growing environment, learning from the various gardeners how many vines lead to God. Don’t miss this event.

IF YOU GO: Meet Fred Bahnson, author of Soil and Sacrament Wednesday, August 14, at 7 p.m.

Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, (828) 2546734, www.malaprops.com.

BY CAROL PEARCE BJORLIE – THE POET BEHIND THE CELLO

Bottom was fought on these banks. When my father fished here, it was silent enough to hear history.

Fifty years later I consider the silence, sanctuary, and stillness of those woods and know these conditions as essential in my writing life.

I’ve discovered a bridge between prayer, poetry and, yes, fishing. It is the bridge of Attentiveness. To attend, means to stretch.

I don’t imagine attentiveness a languorous yawn, but a mentally and spiritually vigorous workout. My mentor, Jim Moore writes, “In sitting still, we are working.” He and my father are two of the most passionate sitter’s I’ve known.

Lu Chi, a Chinese writer of the third century composed Wen Fu: The Art of Writing. It is translated by Sam Hamill, and published by Milkweed Press, 1991.

It (writing) is like being adrift in a heavenly lake, or diving to the depths of the seas.

We bring up living words like fishes hooked in their gills leaping from the deep.

One August morning, while mowing the lawn for my sixteenth birthday party, my father collapsed, and died two days later. Grief began to write for me, poems in green ink filled my notebook. I found an inner sanctuary where words insisted on their song, a sad song, but the voice continues.

I pull up lines, reel them in, tangled and slippery, and spread them out to make sense of them, or see if they make sense of me.

This summer I will carry my writing self down to the French Broad River. You come too. Bait your mind with attention, and words will leap on the shore beside you, alive, radiant, singing.

Writer, go fish.

REQUIEM FOR OSCAR He grew up on a tobacco farm, worked for Phillip Morris and got all the cigarettes he could smoke free. He was rarely without one in the corner of his mouth, or in his hand.

Two major heart attacks did not stop him.

A nurse found him standing on a toilet seat blowing smoke into a vent.

I remember him being carried upstairs in a chair by medics when he came home from the hospital.

He was not to climb hills, or stairs, or smoke.

He did all three.

He lived three years, longer than predicted.

Why did he die so close to my sixteenth birthday?

So that grief would put words in my mouth?

Grief did. I wrote in green ink for a year.

My handwriting changed: my letters, thick, round, open, empty.

Chimes from A Cracked Southern Belle

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WRITTEN BY SUSAN REINHARDT

Susan Reinhardt is not your average Southern belle.

And now, after 9-1/2 years of offagain/on-again toil, Oh, yes, she’s gorgeous all she’s published her right, though she sometimes first full-length work whines about her butt which really of fiction—a riveting, is not that big. And of course she brilliant, charmpeppers all her hilarious puting, wicked, and downs with “Bless your hearts.” hilarious, I mean hilarious novel, She’s had enough real-life appropriately titled, Chimes heartache to make Scarlett O’Hara from A Cracked Southern Belle. look like Pollyanna, but with true Am I jealous of this woman? Of Susan Reinhardt belledom, she applies an extra dab Photo: Randy Whittington course not, my Yankee transplant of pink frosted lip gloss, pushes up butt, swear to Mother Mary, is her Wonder bra, twists a fly-away teeny-tiny—Lawsy, I’m not jealous—Susan highlighted tress back in place and marches Reinhardt is my role model! bravely into tomorrow.

Reinhardt swears only 20% of the novel In addition to being a full-time belle, is autobiographical. No doubt, Lucinda Reinhardt is also a widely popular newsManning, the proverb-spouting, sweet-napaper columnist, working for more than tured mother who insists on believing that 25 years with the Asheville Citizen-Times her two grown daughters are still virgins, where she makes fun of the secrets of her is based on her beloved real-life mother, own life, along with the antics of her loopy Peggy. And then there’s Aunt Weepie, surely family. She’s the author of three side-splitting non-fiction works including Not Tonight Honey, Wait Until I’m a Size 6, active “…riveting, brilliant, in many charities, mother of two (one in charming, wicked and high school, another in college), and happy wife to husband #2. Did I mention the nichilarious…” est gal on the planet, too?

14 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

REVIEWED BY

MARCIANNE MILLER

based on Aunt Betty whose antics have enlivened years of the newspaper columns. (Reinhardt insists that Aunt Betty, unlike Aunt Weepie, does not go to funerals and bawl up a storm graveside to get free meals afterwards.)

Two years ago, in Asheville, Dee Manning’s extraordinarily handsome preacher husband, Bryce Jeter, revealed to the world the monstrous side that he heretofore showed only to her—he tried to stab her to death and run her over with the church van in the Bi-Lo parking lot. Her daughter Miranda was too young to remember the incident.

But son, Jay, does remember and has more nightmares than any 7-year-old genius should have.

Now age 38, Dee walks with a painful limp and uses extra foundation to cover up her 15 scars. To be near her mother, she’s settled into hometown Spartanburg, SC, and moved into an affordable apartment that her mother refers to as a white trash hovel. She gets a job helping out at the local old-folks home (which is full of unforgettable lovably goofy characters), and another job cleaning toilets at the local radio station, which eventually leads to another job as a radio ‘Chimes’ continued on page 28

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authors ~ books ~ readings Postcards from Peru

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WRITTEN BY THOMAS RAIN CROWE

As readers of this column know, I am a big fan of Tuckasegee writer Thomas Rain Crowe.

Like real postcards, these are written specifically to one person, with reference to that person’s history A man of indefatigable enand individual pasergy and many accomplishments, sions. Unlike real he’s authored 30-some books— postcards, they poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, weren’t dashed off including his extraordinary in haste, but exmemoir, Zoro’s Field, about his quisitely polished four years living alone in a cabin later to bring out in the woods. He’s an editor, a Thomas Rain Crowe Crowe’s inimitranslator, a publisher, an envitable detailed lyricism. Thirdly, ronmental activist and a musician. is the appendix, which consists of short bios Last month he was awarded the prestigious of the 11 people who received these “postGeorge Scarborough Prize for Poetry at cards.” The list is as inspiring as the poetry. the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival at These people, widely flung and wildly interLincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, esting, leads me to wonder—how does one Tennessee. person acquire so many fascinating friends?

Crowe’s latest work has a unique Subject for another book, I hope. history—it’s a partnership with another high-achieving North Carolinian—visual artist Robert Johnson, who lives in Celo and “…how does one Asheville. Their publication is the result of person acquire so many collaboration between two unlikely entities—a Brazilian publisher—and the North fascinating friends?”

Carolina Arts Council.

Postcards from Peru is a surprisLastly, and most apparent, is the art ingly short book, only 63 pages. A cursory on the front and back covers by Robert glance might indicate that it’s a collection Johnson, whose own trip to Peru in 2011, of poetic memories from Crowe’s springinspired these images. He traveled the time trip to Peru in 2003. And that it is, but country making sketches and then came it’s much more. The book has four distinct home to North Carolina to create a series of parts. There are the poems, of course, 13 Peru paintings. On the front cover, framed of them—pulsating and deceptively simple by a stone arch and vibrant plants and birds, like all Crowe’s poetry, brief and brilliant is a high, moody view of Machu Picchu. On contemplations that only a poet of his keen the back is a child-like surrealistic vision of observation skills and depth would discover.

Peru’s night sky, peopled by starry-birds and Secondly, there are 11 “postcards,” pithy other Inca creatures. Johnson’s work, like prose pieces that Crowe wrote to artist and Crowe’s, is happy and effervescent, always writer friends in the U.S. and abroad. steeped in reverence for Nature At the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in downtown Asheville, in a specially prepared upstairs gallery, on August 24, Crowe and DOWNTOWN BOOKS & Johnson will be giving brief talks about their collaboration. Many of Johnson’s other NEWS CELEBRATES paintings, including covers for other books, 25 YEARS OF BUSINESS will be on display.

Many years ago, I was going to move to No other bookstore in Asheville Peru with a journalist friend who planned to holds that distinction. Downtown cover the Shining Path revolutionary movebooks appeals to the casual reader and ment for the American press. I extensively the ardent book collector. They buy researched Machu Picchu, but I’d never books (money/trade) two days a week, read anything as moving as Crowe’s descripFridays and Saturdays, 10-4. They tion of it. This is from his “postcard” to also carry an array of magazines. They Michael Davitt (1950-2005), the Irish poet. are open every day, which means that “Dear Michael, You wanted me to as of July 1, 2013 they will have been write to you from great heights and from open 9,125 consecutive days! someplace with a view of God. I have found IF YOU GO: Downtown Books and this place for you and I must write….at the News, 67 N. Lexington Ave. For highest point in this small Inca city …there details call (828) 253-8654 or visit is a piece of sculptured stone they called the www.downtownbooksandnews.com. ‘hitching post of the sun.’ The curanderos

REVIEWED BY

MARCIANNE MILLER

“It’s wonderful to…witness the fierce and momentary arc of life’s splendor. The verve!”

priests were in charge of hitching the sun with a spiritual rope to insure the dawn and dusk, each day, until another solstice, and its constant orbit of the Earth…when I place my hands just above the surface of the sacred stone, I can feel the heat – a wave of kinetic pulse coming from the rock. This heat is not something that has collected here from the cloud-covered sun, but is born in the earth…The Quechua guide took me aside to tell me this… after I had taken my tingling hands away from the hitching stone…here there is much alive that we can’t see. It’s alive in the rocks and in the air.

It’s alive in me.”

To Will Harlan, editor of Blue Ridge Outdoors, published in Asheville, Crowe writes about the treeless Ballestas Islands, off the coast of Peru, that are home to thousands of exotic birds and other wildlife and includes a huge “maternity beach” for sea lions that is a “bacchanal for bawling babes.”

“Dear Will,” Crowe writes, “…It is wonderful to be here. To witness the fierce and momentary arc of life’s splendor. The verve!”

One of my favorite quotes is in Crowe’s “postcard” to Barbara Ann Carver-Hunt, a visual artist world-known for her goddess images, who lives now in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. “Dear Barbara Ann, All those archetypal goddess totem animals you put in your paintings— they are living here in Peru! The mythic birds, the half-horse-halfcamels, the sea creatures with fur and silk, and the multi-colored snakes—all here!”

Postcards from Peru by Thomas Rain Crowe. Art by Robert Johnson. Published

by Sol Negro Edições, Brasil (2013), 63 pp.

AUGUST

We host numerous Readings & Bookclubs, as well as Poetrio!

PARTIAL LISTING Visit www.malaprops.com

READINGS & BOOKSIGNINGS Saturday, August 3 at 1 p.m. CAROLYN TOBEN, Recovering a Sense of the Sacred: Conversations with Thomas Berry.

Wednesday, August 7 at 7 p.m. FRED BAHNSON, Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith.

Thursday, August 8 at 7 p.m. SARAH DESSEN, The Moon and More, coming of age, young adult fiction.

Friday, August 9 at 7 p.m. JENNA BLACK, Replica, young adult Sci-Fi. Saturday, August 10 at 7 p.m. SUSAN REINHARDT, Chimes from a Cracked Southern Belle; hilarious and offbeat.

Sunday, August 11 at 3 p.m. JEFF ALT, Get Your Kids Hiking; safety, gear, fun.

Wednesday, August 14 at 7 p.m. JOHN VAN KIRK, Song for Chance; a life of music.

Thursday, August 15 at 7 p.m.

JAY ERSKINE LEUTZE, author of Stand Up That Mountain: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail, in conversation with D.J. GERKEN, Managing Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Thursday, August 22 at 7 p.m. MARISHA PESSL, Night Film, a brilliant thriller.

Saturday, August 24 at 2 p.m. ROBERT MORGAN, The Road from Gap Creek.

Saturday, August 24 at 7 p.m.

KEITH FLYNN of the Asheville Poetry Review hosts a reading by the 2013 William Matthews Prize Recipients.

Wednesday, August 28 at 7 p.m. NATHAN BALLINGRUD, North American Lake Monsters: Stories, and MARLY YOUMANS, A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage.

Thursday, August 29 at 7 p.m.

MEDEA BENJAMIN, Drone Warfare: Killing

by Remote Control.

55 Haywood St.

828-254-6734 • 800-441-9829

Monday-Saturday 9AM to 9PM PG. 36 Sunday 9AM to 7PM M

IF YOU Book Launch and Art Opening GO for Postcards from Peru, Saturday,

August 24, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery, 38 Biltmore Ave., Asheville. For more details call (828) 251-0202, or visit www.bluespiral1.com.

Marcianne Miller is an Asheville writer/reviewer. She can be reached at marci@aquamystique.com.

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 15

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spinning discs CD Reviews

by James Cassara

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As with last month there’s been an unusually broad sampling of new music on my desk. This time around I am focusing on a few long time favorites who are still out there making records. And as long as they are, Rapid River Magazine readers are encouraged to buy records at your local music shops. Most towns our size would love to have such a great assortment of record stores!

Rory Block Avalon: A tribute to Mississippi John Hurt Stony Plain Records On the fifth installment of her “Mentor Series,” which previously dedicated albums to Robert Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Son House, Rory Block pays tribute to Mississippi John Hurt.

With the exception of one original tune, the appropriately titled “Everybody Loves John” the album is wholly comprised of songs written by or closely associated with him.

As a teenager the now 64-year-old Block met Hurt in her native Manhattan where the legendary blues icon was playing one of the many small clubs devoted to blues and folk.

That meeting, along with her father’s friendship with blues historian and acoustic guitarist Stefan Grossman, was a pivotal moment in her life. She began to study his songs, his distinct finger picking technique, and his interest in diverse styles of music. Hurt may have called himself a bluesman, but he readily embraced folk, jazz, Appalachian country songs, flamenco, music from Africa, and popular tunes of the era.

For this session Block chose ten classic songs in Hurt’s repertoire including “Candy Man,” “Frankie & Albert,” “Got the Blues Can’t Be Satisfied,” “Richland Woman Blues,” “Spike Driver Blues,” “Stagolee,” and “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor.”

As with her other tribute releases the interpretations are honest, respectful, and impeccably performed. As such it’s not only an enjoyable release on its own terms, but its greater purpose may be in leading a new generation of curious listeners to investigate the original recordings made by a classic American blues musician. ****

Various Artists Ghost Brothers of Darkland County Hear/Concord Music Sometime the best of intentions, a project that seems so promising in theory, simply doesn’t pan out. Such is the case with Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, County the accompanying soundtrack to a play written by suspense master Stephen King.

With John Mellencamp writing the songs and T Bone Burnett as the music director you’d think this would be a slam dunk. Add singers that include Americana icons Dave and Phil Alvin, Taj Mahal, Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Elvis Costello, and Roseanne Cash; along with relative new16 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

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comers Neko Case and Ryan Bingham, and you’ve got a promoter’s dream come true.

Unfortunately this overly complex story-set in rural Mississippi and revolving around the lives of feuding brothers and the associated sibling ghosts–doesn’t translate well from the stage: it’s too dependent on visuals and character interaction to stand on its own, meaning that the songs, in and of themselves, fail to either convey the subtleties of the narrative or the propulsive thrust of the plot.

Long time Burnett cohorts Jay Bellerose and guitarist Marc Ribot provide an ethereal backdrop-Ribot’s guitar work is particularly keen and haunting- but that doesn’t keep Ghost Brothers from feeling strangely detached, regulated to a curious souvenir on par with a program book that might be gorgeous to look at but adds nothing to the experience. **1/2

The Definitive Doc Watson Sugar Hill Records Trying to compile a “definitive” summation of Doc Watson’s career is a bit like presenting The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).

The best you can hope for is a sampling deep and wide enough so that anyone who has somehow not yet been exposed to the prodigious and staggeringly influential work of Watson (or the Bard) hears enough that they want more. In this case much more, as it seems impossible to imagine anyone listening to this sampler and not thinking “now I know what the fuss is all about.”

With 34 tracks spanning two discs and 105 minutes, The Definitive Doc Watson barely skims the surface. Watson recorded more than forty albums and had been performing more than two decades before his 1961 debut. Given those challenges this collection does a remarkable job of capturing the essence of a man who, along with Merle Travis and Chet Atkins, was one of the most influential folk/country guitar players of the latter half of the twentieth century.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing such flat picking romps as “Black Mountain Rag” or “Ragtime Annie” then you’re in for a genuine treat. Even if these songs are familiar touchstones of your life the chance to revisit them in such elegant surroundings is not to be missed. As Derek Halsey so eloquently states in his fascinating liner notes, “You may never hear your favorite Doc Watson song.” Whichever one has most recently penetrated your consciousness might likely be the most loved at that moment. *****

Lisa Loeb No Fairy Tale 429 Records Lisa Loeb’s career can roughly be divided into the subtle, introspective side of her music (as best typified by “Stay (I missed you)”) and her knack for writing insidiously catchy pop ditties like “I Do”. Nearly two decades after “Stay”, her first and biggest hit, Loeb lets go of her singer/songwriter inclinations and goes straight for the party hat.

Co-produced by Chad Gilbert, best known as the vocalist for the gospel entourage New Found Glory, No Fairy Tale presents a less conflicted, more confidant Loeb, relishing in the hook a minute ennui of relationships gone good, bad, and good again as well as the sheer joy of falling in love even when you know it’s headed for disaster.

Gilbert’s lead guitar is placed front and center while the clean and precise arrangements allow Loeb to showcase her vocal dexterity. Her lyrics are more sharply focused than ever-listen to how on “The 90’s” she adroitly skewers her own years as an MTV ingénue-which may be due to her wisely bringing in such collaborators as Maia Sharp, Morgan Taylor, Marvin Etzioni.

For her part Loeb seems fully engaged in the proceedings, romping through such joys as “Married” and the title track as if she hasn’t a care in the world. It’s lightweight in all the best ways and while No Fairy Tale isn’t the most sophisticated or deeply personal album she’s ever made, it is darn sure, from start to finish, the most enjoyable. ***1/2

Mavis Staples One True Vine Anti Records Following on the success of their Grammy Award winning collaboration You Are Not Alone, Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy again pair up for an album designed to showcase Staples astounding vocal skills while allowing Tweedy to have a bit of “for once I’m not the center of attention” fun.

Not wanting to mess up a winning formula much of One True Vine sounds as if it were recorded alongside its predecessor even if the tone is somewhat different.

Tweedy’s son Spencer (who is all of 17!) handles the drums while Tweedy himself takes over bass duties. The cover choices are somewhat more reserved, with Staples dem‘CD’s’ continued on page 17

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sound experience ‘CD’s’ continued from page 16

onstrating the quieter side of her powerful voice, meaning that One True Vine is not as immediately arresting as was You Are Not Alone. Which only adds to its intrigue: it’s an album to smolders long after the fire has burnt most brightly.

The early Funkadelic hit “Can You Get to That” is among the most inspired moments-Tweedy and guest vocalist Donny Gerrard circle the chorus with an odd bit of doo wop goofiness-while their recasting of the Staples Singers’ classic “I Like the Things About Me” (now known as “I Like the Things About You”) trades in the familiar guitar buzz for a pumped up and deliberately out of tune bass line that crackles with excitement.

Tweedy contributes three tunes of his own-songs that would have been out of place on a Wilco album but sound perfectly natural here-and Nick Lowes’ lovely “Far Celestial Shore” adds to an already tasty stew. One True Vine may lack the surprise and punch of You Are Not Alone but one can only go to the well so many times. Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples-a generation apart but closely connected-continue to be a match made in musical heaven. ****

Dave Davies I Will Be Me Cleopatra/Purple Pyramid Music Since suffering a major stroke in 2004, Dave Davies has engaged in a bit of melancholy combined with a heavy dose of indignation. As well he should, as history continues to under write his contributions to The Kinks (second only to The Beatles in my pantheon of bands) even while antics of brother Ray continue to grab the headlines.

As witnessed in the marvelous 2010 documentary Do It Again: One Man’s Quest to Reunite the Kinks Dave is no longer bitter. He’s long since come to terms with Ray’s insecurities and while one can sense the sadness he feels over their severed relationship he’s resigned to accepting the current state of affairs. Thus, I Will Be Me finds him in a more reflective mood, looking back through rose colored glasses at what was and what might have been.

He kicks off the album with “Little Green Amp,” a strident rocker that combines several Kinks songs-primarily “All Day and All Of the Night” and “Destroyer”-into a four and a half minute history of the band.

It’s followed by the wistful “Living in the Past,” in which Dave sings of the pleasures and pitfalls of nostalgia, but moves to more tender and romantic territory with “The Actress” and “When I First Saw You.” The second of those is both a paean to his wife and a declaration of his longstanding (and widely public) belief in mysticism, inter-di-

Superchunk

BY JAMES

CASSARA

While many bands might stake such a claim for my money, no group better captures the spirit of 1990s American indie rock than Superchunk.

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The pride of Chapel Hill, NC, Superchunk followed the do-it-yourself ethic to the letter; they operated by their own rules, largely ignored whatever trends were dominating the moment, and rejected all major-label advances in favor of the unlimited freedom afforded by owning their own company, the highly successful Merge Records.

The way in which they did business and their refusal to operate on any terms other than their own, helped create a blueprint for many bands that followed.

And while their resistance to the overtures of the music industry may have deprived them of the wider audience their music deserved (and the income that goes with that), one gets the sense that had they to do it over, they wouldn’t change a thing.

Superchunk was formed in 1989 by singer/guitarist McCaughan, bassist Laura Ballance, drummer Chuck Garrison, and guitarist Jack McCook. Initially named Chunk they added the “Super” prefix in order to avoid confusion with a similarly named New York City jazz band. McCaughan and Ballance jointly owned the fledgling Merge Label, and using what meager savings they had released the band’s first single, the immediately engaging “What Do I” later that year.

Months later “Slack Motherf*cker”, a blistering tirade inspired by a lazy Kinko’s co-worker, became one of the definitive indie anthems of the era, leading to the release of their self titled full length album. Suddenly Superchunk found themselves at the forefront of a new and promising movement.

As the success of acts like Nirvana and Pearl Jam put Seattle on the musical map, industry heads scrambled to locate the next alternative rock hotbed. Chapel Hill, home to The Mayflies, Archers of Loaf, Polvo, and others, became the

mensional travel, and UFOs. Your appreciation of which will be entirely dependent on your own acceptanceor at the least your ability to set skepticism aside- of such things. But there’s no denying the sincerity Dave brings to the table.

He does have a tendency towards pedantic distraction and at times the healing nature

consensus choice, and Superchunk was tapped as the Next Big Thing.

The quartet (with guitarist Jim Wilbur replacing McCook) Superchunk live, Friday, August 23 at the Grey Eagle. quickly became engaged in a major-label added a few songs to Comedy Central’s bidding war; they defiantly stuck to their repertoire of hipster sounds for the most guns, remaining on Merge for their brilliant part Superchunk took a back seat to 1991 sophomore effort No Pocky for Kitty, other endeavors. But times change and which thanks to a distribution deal with at some point we often move forward to Matador Records was able to reach a large go back. audience.

In 2010 Superchunk announced Pairing with Matador was another they would embark on a major tour in brilliant move on Superchunk’s part: The support of an album of all new material. larger label would handle the business side Majesty Shredding was a triumphant of things while the band would concentrate return, a four star release from a band on making music. Tossing Seeds, a collecthat many had forgotten. The soon to be tion of singles and odd tracks, followed soon released I Hate Music is already gatherafter. The band took most of 1993 off but ing tremendous press and promises to returned a year later with the superb On the reflect the next chapter of the band’s Mouth, highlighted by the singles “Mower” re-emergence. and “The Question Is How Fast.”

But playing to appreciative audiencIn addition to their relentless toures has always been the band’s forte, and ing and recording schedule, McCaughan while Superchunk can easily fill larger released his own solo album (1994’s I Hope venues, playing at the Grey Eagle is right Your Heart Is Not Brittle) as well as formup their alley. It affords them the oping his side project Portastatic. Yet even as portunity to road test the new songs, to media attention shifted to other climes and chat with some old friends, and to follow styles Superchunk forged ahead, adoptthe same “we do it our way” attitude that ing a schedule roughly equaling two tours has served them well for more than two and one album per year. After the 1996 EP decades. Why mess with a good thing?

Laughter Guns and the full length Indoor Living they again went on hiatus, returning in 1999 with Come Pick Me Up. IF By 2001’s Here’s to Shutting Up the YOU Superchunk, Friday, August band had begun to lose steam. While still a GO 23, with opening act The fine album of its own right, it was becomParting Gifts. Tickets are $14 ing clear that Superchunk needed a break. in advance, $16 day of show for this With the exception of the double disc Cup all ages event. Doors open at 8 p.m., the show starts at 9 p.m. The Grey Eagle, of Sand, another collection of singles, odd 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville. For more tracks, and discards, the four band meminformation please call (828) 232-5800 bers largely went their separate ways. While or visit www.thegreyeagle.com they contributed to various soundtracks and

of his intent and the intensity of his guitar playing-this is, after all, the guy who virtually invented heavy metal-doesn’t quite click.

But there’s a fierce determination to I Will Be Me helps balance its shortcomings.

At age 66, grateful to still be among us, Dave Davies seems to have at last found some inner peace. ***1/2

Roger McGuinn The Folk Den Recordings This is less a review and more a public service announcement continued on page 18

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 17

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sound experience Womansong Gets Unhinged!

Womansong, Asheville’s premier women’s chorus, presents “Unplugged & Unhinged,” a cabaret of solos, trios, ensembles, and the entire chorus.

The concert will feature Broadway show tunes, blues, as well as jazz and contemporary pop pieces. The full chorus will perform a few hits from the 60’s and 70’s.

IF YOU GO: Saturday, August 24, 7:30

p.m. at the Center for Spiritual Living, 2 Science of Mind Way in Asheville, NC 28806. Tickets ($12), are available from Womansong members, online at www.womansong. org and at the door.

‘CD’s’ continued from page 17

but devotees of The Byrds, quite possibly greatest band this country has ever produced, will thank me. From early on McGuinn was as much a student and historian as he was performer; his love of early folk recordings helped shape the band’s distinctive sound and served to chart the course for much of his own solo work.

Beginning in 1995 McGuinn has shared, at the rate of one per month, free downloads of his personal recordings of mountain music, sea shanties, chain gang songs, cowboy tunes and southern spirituals on his website, The Folk Den (www.ibiblio. org/jimmy/folkden-wp). Essentially, the project is a history of folk music’s evolution over the last few centuries. Each post features personal anecdotes about the composition’s history and/or his first introduction to it – often with lyrics and chord progressions.

It’s a mighty impressive project – both musically and personally – though, it should be noted that the fidelity is not always studio quality. But McGuinn’s trademark twelve-string Rickenbacker has

never sounded better and his voice has only gained character with age.

To date McGuinn has offered up 213 songs, adding up to an astounding ten hours worth. The Folk Den Recordings are part musical narration, part entertainment, and all wonderful. ****

Levon Helm Ain’t In It for My Health DVD The lucky few able to be present at the sold out screening (a second show had to be added) at The Fine Arts movie theater of Ain’t In It For My Health, director Jacob Hatley’s up close and personal look at the life and music of Levon Helm, were treated to something singular. In attendance was North Carolina singer/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett, whose song “Anna Lee” was featured on Helm’s Grammy Award winning comeback album Dirt Farmer.

Dossett performed the song, talked about how it came to be noticed by Helm,

WNC Jazz Profiles: Rich Willey

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“Rich Willey is a damn fine musician…an excellent trumpet player with great chops, great ideas, excellent reading skills and amazing dexterity on both trumpet and bass trumpet. His singing is not too shabby either. He’s everybody’s pal!” ~ Bandleader, drummer & vocalist Russ Wilson

If you’ve been around the jazz scene here for any time at all, you’ve likely encountered Rich Willey. As a bandleader, Rich presents music with highly versatile groups ranging from quartet to sixteen-piece big band — performing Latin, swing, Dixieland or bebop styles, employing some of the premier musicians in WNC. Firmly rooted in the jazz tradition as a player and composer, he draws upon the wellspring of bebop with contemporary freshness. His compositions and arrangements are thoughtful and substantial, yet always accessible and listenable, combining a solid sense of swing with an overriding concern for melody.

“Growing up in Florida, I started playing trumpet in 6th grade and writing music in 10th. I enjoyed the bands of Count Basie and Woody Herman, but when I heard Charlie Parker I knew then and there that I wanted to learn how to improvise. I graduated from Clearwater High School in 1973 and joined the Army as a trumpeter and went to the US Navy School of Music. That was the first time I’d been around so many excellent play-

ers. It’s where I learned how to practice, and even though I’d had my charts played by my high school stage band, that’s where I started learning how to really write and arrange.”

When Rich left the Army in 1977, he joined a funk/disco band and toured the U.S. for about a year before going to North Texas State University in the fall of 1978 to study composition and arranging.

“This made the Navy S.O.M. look like kindergarten as I was now surrounded by many great players! Possibly my biggest influence as a composer is Frank Zappa, although I love the music of Stravinsky, Hindemith, Rimsky-Korsakov, Bach, and many other non-jazz composers, including Lennon and McCartney.”

Rich was active on the New York scene in the 1980s to the mid-1990s, handling a wide range of Latin and jazz gigs, most notably backing up legendary vocalist Mel Tormé.

“Coming up in Philadelphia in the early 80s, jam sessions were about encouraging and seasoning younger players, but in New York, they were mostly about slicing you to ribbons and trying to thoroughly humiliate

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and nearly stole the show. But not quite, as this audience was plainly there to show their appreciation and adoration for the late Mr. Helm, whose singing and drumming were the heart and soul of The Band, and whose Ramble concerts-shows promoted to (in part) help cover his medical expenses as he courageously fought the throat cancer that eventually took his life-helped renew his faith in a music industry that had thrown him aside.

Shot during the course of two-plus years, the film is a mostly satisfying glimpse into Helm’s struggles-from Arkansas hillbilly to backing Bob Dylan to worldwide fame but not wealth. His bitterness towards Robbie Robertson, who in usurping the role as band leader and principal songwriter, made millions while leaving the Helm and others virtually destitute, is evident as is his affection for his late band mates Rick Danko and Richard Manual.

As such Ain’t In It for My Health is a bittersweet portrait, at times tough to watch but always fascinating. It’s as complicated as is Helm himself. Set to be released on DVD later this year I highly recommend it.

Rich Willey Photo: Frank Zipperer

any up and coming player.” He finished his M.M. in jazz performance in 2001 at the renowned Manhattan School of Music.

“Rich Willey plays beautiful jazz and I’ve always enjoyed playing with him. On a recent recording project, I wanted Rich to play the introduction for a tune and it was so perfect, I told the engineer to kill my vibraphone track and let Rich just blow over the whole thing. Sweet notes, melodic, swings hard — that’s Rich Willey!”

~ Percussionist Paul Babelay Rich spent the fall of 2001 on tour playing second trumpet with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau. He has performed with many other great musicians, including Hank Mobley, Lionel Hampton, Chris Potter, Brad Mehldau, Cecil Bridgewater, Natalie Cole, The Temptations, James Moody, and Jon Hendrix…to name but a few. In 2001, Rich and his New York quintet re-

EDDIE LESHURE

corded Gone With the Piggies, a striking collection of brilliantly conceived and impeccably performed tracks including four of his own distinctive compositions.

That year also saw the formation of the partnership between Rich Willey and Bob Bernotas into Boptism Music Publishing.

Rich moved to WNC in April 2002 and resides in Candler. He is a trumpet and music appreciation instructor at Clemson University, jazz band director at Gardner-Webb University, and has taught trumpet and jazz combos at UNC-A. He is the author of numerous practice and music study books.

“Rich really sets the tone, so to speak, for any situation where he’s involved. He brings a level of musicianship and attitude to the bandstand that is inspiring for the audience and the other musicians in the band. We are truly fortunate that Rich calls Asheville home.”

~ Bassist Mike Holstein www.boptism.net

Eddie LeShure is a jazz radio host, currently offthe-air, who encourages all readers to enthusiastically support local jazz.

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Downtown Asheville Discover the Best Shops, Galleries & Restaurants

More of What Makes Asheville Special

STORM Rhum Bar & Bistro

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STORM Rhum Bar & Bistro is a unique dining and bar experience offering an exceptional new-world approach to classic food and drink.

At STORM, they believe the most interesting places—whether in some exotic corner of the world or right in your own back yard—can inspire creativity, imagination and ideas. Places with an authentically original style draw the most intriguing people, stimulate lively conversation and become a backdrop for the unexpected.

In fact, the interior of the restaurant reflects the gathering of personal treasures from a gentleman who has traveled those four corners and has displayed a collection of his favorites.

Chef Owen McGlynn was recruited from High Cotton Places with an authentically in Greenville, SC, by native original style attract the most Ashevillian Tom Israel to bring intriguing people. this same sense of style to the food offerings. His love of butchery and use of all elements fare and integrating it into seafood, pork, of each animal is a cornerstone of the beef, fish and poultry dishes allows the STORM menu. He creates all of his menu to be revamped weekly. Pork belly, own charcuterie, an original menu item sweetbreads and duck round out the and STORM staple, which is also his menu. personal favorite.

STORM’s outdoor patio lends itself McGlynn loves living in the mounto large parties and transitions from the tains, where the four distinct seasons summer through the autumn and winter lend themselves to creating relationships with our large outside fireplace. with a wide variety of fresh vegetable and Their late night dining menu is meat farmers. Sampling local seasonal served hot until 1 a.m. every evening.

Regular dining menu is served Sunday through Wednesday from 5-10 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 5-11 p.m. The bar is open each evening, with a generous selection of rhums and a wide variety of other spirits being served from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m.

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STORM Rhum Bar & Bistro 125 S. Lexington in Downtown Asheville (828) 505-8560 www.stormrhumbar.com Owen McGlynn, STORM’s Executive Chef.

To make reservations visit www.opentable.com

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More of What Makes Asheville Special

The Best Shops, Galleries & Restaurants

The News Gallery

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Downtown Books & News is also a gallery!

We are very pleased to call ourselves the News Gallery, and invite you to see what we have hanging.

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For 25 years we’ve offered you an open environment to read and explore. Perhaps you go into bookstores with the intention of purchasing exactly what you want — you know before you go in exactly what you want to learn. Maybe you have an intricate reading list for that education, too.

We too, are excited when we can help you find exactly what you’re looking for. But maybe you don’t know what you’re looking for and you’d like to sift through strange ephemera and the out-of-print goodness that literature left behind. One great way to buy books is to accept a randomly perfect book when you see it. Come in to Downtown Books like a sponge and you will not regret it.

Downtown Books and News is packed with accidentally brilliant finds. Discover things you never knew existed!

IF YOU Downtown Books and News, 67 N. Lexington Ave. GO For more information call (828) 253-8654 or visit

www.downtownbooksandnews.com.

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More of What Makes Asheville Special

Asheville’s Therapeutic Salt Cave Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary

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Did you ever notice how we are drawn to the ocean?

When we are there we breathe easier, we relax, and we rejuvenate our body and our mind. This is the essence of Salt Therapy.

A visit to the Asheville Salt Cave will provide guests with 45 minutes of pure relaxation and rejuvenation as all five of their senses are engaged by the healing power of nature. Being in the cave for 45 minutes is equivalent to being at the ocean for 4 days, without the pollution.

Although manmade and constructed next to other downtown storefronts, the all-natural Asheville Therapeutic Salt Cave resembles the Polish salt mines from which it’s 20 tons of salt was extracted, deep beneath the earth’s surface and is by far the purest salt available on Earth, uncontaminated by any toxins or pollutants. It’s unique microclimate, which co-owner Jodie Appel keeps between 68 and 72 degrees and 50% to 60% humidity, creates a soothing oasis in which the mind can relax and the body can reach an elemental balance and begin to heal itself.

Asheville Salt Cave is the first and only of its kind to be built in the United States. Other salt caves all use some materials not found in nature, thus creating breeding grounds for bacteria. Asheville Salt Cave has taken

OUR NEW NAME We are no longer using the name SolA and are now known as Asheville’s Therapeutic Salt Cave.

We are the same family owned and operated business, with knowledgeable and friendly staff waiting to assist you with all your Salt holistic needs.

the initiative to incorporate all natural and sustainable features to ensure a microclimate free from bacteria Asheville Salt Cave’s unique microclimate creates and pollutants. No a soothing oasis. artificial resins, gypsum or plaster were used in it’s construction.

Unlike salt rooms that use halo-generators or other mechanical or artificial means of “spraying salt,” the salt in our cave regenerates and grows because of the natural ionizers (two water features), Visit the Salt Market for unique salt products found within the and gift items. cave, along with it’s cell phones, etc.” She says the salt constant humidity and temperature. cave helps the immune system be We chose the natural water better prepared to fight off potential method of feeding our cave because illness. salt oxidizes mechanical parts which Asheville Salt Cave offers class then spays unhealthy oxides into the sessions which enhance the experienvironment. The water features ence in the cave. Some of them are contain a saturated solution of water Children’s Quite Play Sessions, and salt called Sole (pronounced SoCommunity Acupuncture, RestorLay) which is the same concentration ative Yoga, Digeridoo Meditation, found in the primal sea, embryonic Crystal Bowl Sound Healing, to fluid and our bodies. name a few.

The salt in the cave is different We offer additional spa serfrom ordinary table salt. When your vices (massages, facials, waxing and body is depleted of any of the trace Energy Readings), in our Healing minerals, and stress is placed on it, Arts Room by our professional staff disease sets in. As the 84 trace minerof Massage Therapists, Esthetician als found in our salt are inhaled and and Energy Healer. We also offer absorbed into the body, the body’s PH Couple’s Massages inside the Salt is leveled and returns to the healthy Cave. state of homeostasis. Water and salt Please call for details and class are the essence of life. Absorption of schedules. All cave sessions and spa the sole and 84 trace elements can services are by appointment. help promote healing.

“Even if you’re healthy, the cave emits negative ions that counteract the Asheville Salt Cave excess of positive ions that deplete our 12 Eagle Street immune system,” Appel explains. “It Asheville, NC 28801 balances out the electromagnetic smog that we are bombarded by on a daily (828) 236.5999 basis through the use of computers, www.solasaltcave.com

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noteworthy Steel Magnolias

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AT ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE

The iconic Southern play Steel Magnolias was written by Robert R obert Harling as a tribute to his sister, Susan.

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The play captured the hearts of audiences across the globe, but especially those living in the South. It premiered off-Broadway in 1987 and has been performed ever since. According to Robert Harling in a recent interview in Garden and Gun magazine, there are at least 17 authorized translations of the script – including ones in Japanese, Chinese, French, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian.

Steel Magnolias centers on the relationships between Truvy, M’Lynn, Shelby, Annelle, Clairee and Ouiser, six Southern women in northern Louisiana. The stage version takes place entirely in Truvy’s beauty parlor.

The story begins on the morning of Shelby’s wedding and covers events over the next three years, including Shelby’s decision to have a child despite having Type 1 diabetes and the complications that result from the

decision. Each woman possesses a strength that is mirrored and upheld by the others, and their friendships are buoyed by laughter and Clairee (Joan Atwood), Ouiser (Carla Pridgen), M'Lynn (LaNita grounded with Cloniger), Shelby (Kristen Ballard), Annelle (Ashleigh Millet) and tears.

Truvy (Cary Nichols) are as strong as steel and yet can bruise Asheville easily in the iconic Southern play Steel Magnolias.

Community Theatre’s production of Steel Magnolias is directed by Michael Lilly who has directed many area shows over the IF past several decades. Steel Magnolias YOU Steel Magnolias, Friday, GO August 2 through Sunday, stars Cary Nichols as Truvy, Ashleigh August 18, with performances Millet as Annelle, LaNita Cloninger on Friday and Saturday nights at as M’Lynn, Joan Atwood as Clairee, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at Carla Pridgen as Ouiser, and Kristen 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $22 Adults, $19 Ballard as Shelby.

Seniors/Students, $12 Children.

Creating Truvy’s salon is veteran Asheville Community Theatre, scenic designer Jack Lindsay. “When 35 East Walnut Street, downtown Jack designs a set, the audience always Asheville. For more details: (828) 254gasps as the curtain rises,” said Susan 1320; www.ashevilletheatre.org.

Harper. “His sets are truly works of art!”

New Juice Bar Opens at Vanuatu Kava Bar

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Beginning mid-August, local herbalist and avid juicer Abe Ramat will be managing a juice bar at the Vanuatu Kava Bar in downtown Asheville.

Located at 15 Eagle St. just off Biltmore Ave., the kava bar will be home to the first juice bar in town to use a low-speed masticating juicer.

This means the juice is not aerated or heated, resulting in a product with superior taste and nutrition. What’s more, the menu will feature exotic and seasonal selections far beyond what you’ve come to expect at a juice counter.

provides Abe the opportunity to operate out of an established location while increasing hours and traffic for the kava bar.

Abe also intends to pre-juice some items for the kava bar to sell after 4 p.m. (until midnight most nights), including juices blended with various herbs and extracts. “We are very excited about giving him the opportunity to start out and build here,” says Keely, “we can’t wait for him to get started.”

Photo: Jerry Nelson

Smoothies, fruit nectars, and superfood add-ons such as chia seeds are soon to follow.

Abe plans to use organic products and partner with local farms whenever possible. “I’m Fresh juice will be available excited to be offering this to Tuesday through Saturday from the community,” says Abe, 8 a.m. until 4 p.m feeding the likes of sweet potatoes, watermelon, and bok choy into his juicer.

Fresh juice will be available Kava bar owners Keely Flow and Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m.

Andrew Procyk are pairing up with until 4 p.m., including, in keeping their friend and patron in this co-venwith the tropical theme, fresh coconut ture which promises to be a win-win water straight from the shell (you can for both parties. The arrangement literally drink right out of a coconut).

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About Vanuatu Kava Bar Vanuatu Kava Bar does not serve alcohol. They serve a variety of herbal teas, including the relaxing herb known as kava which is central to most South Pacific cultures. The kava bar has been open since 2010, and in its current location since 2012. It offers live music Friday nights and is a great conversation spot.

Vanuatu Kava Bar 15 Eagle Street Downtown Asheville (828) 505-8118 www.vanuatukavabar.com

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artful living Relationship Unless and until you access the consciousness frequency of presence, all relationships, and particularly intimate relationships, are deeply flawed and ultimately dysfunctional.

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The most important thing to say about relationship is that all there is is relationship.

And A nd with that, in line with what Eckhart Tolle tells us, the requirement for healthy relationship is presence, not just physical presence, no, there must be conscious presence, presence with the characteristic of connected consciousness energy, and for there to be connected consciousness energy, there must be interest, concern, the experience of connection, even love.

First, let’s examine the statement, “all there is is relationship.” From the moment we wake in the morning till we go to sleep at night, and even in our sleep in the form of dreams, we are relating to ourselves, are we not? We are experiencing the multidimensionality that marks the reality of every person. Always, arising in the awareness that is our essence is the content and experience of our mind, our body and our circumstances. Then, with every object we encounter, every person, every phenomenon of Life, there is the relationship of “me” with what we are encountering and experiencing, while simultaneously we experience the mind deciding what it thinks and feels about what we are relating to.

With what and who we focus upon and relate to, our relationships tend to be utilitarian. We are concerned whether we like or dislike “this,” will we benefit or be harmed by “this?” This is generally called a subject (me) – object (it or you) relationship, and is hardly conducive to high quality relationship. By focusing only on the utility or threat of the contents of our experience, we fail to experience the true and deep connections that are possible.

And then there is all that we do not focus on, that with which we appear not to be in relationship – but of course, not relating is relating and it is the poorest quality of relating. If typically, we live in a rather narrow focus, say 10% of what is present in any given moment (and that is generous), then 90% of what is available to us goes generally unnoticed.

If we call what we focus upon our life-interest or circumstance, and it is in the foreground of our consciousness, then this background that goes unnoticed is Life itself. That these poor-quality relationships dominate our lives is diagnostic of why we struggle as individuals, as families, as groups, even as a species, to make sense of Life and to manifest peace and well-being.

As for our relationship with ourselves, we are seldom in true conscious presence

~ Eckhart Tolle with the experience of ourselves. Our thoughts, emotions, sensations, perceptions, the phenomenon of awareness in which all experience occurs, mostly go unnoticed.

They are the water we fish swim in. Only when the experience is troubling, do we pay attention and then usually only with thought, which is the poorest medium to process and understand our experience.

We think about what troubles us, but this does us little good, weaving ever more complicated and tangling webs of confusion.

We may pay a counselor or therapist to help us think about our experience, and if the counselor or therapist is any good, they will direct us to our feelings, and ultimately to our intuition, which means really connecting with the experience in our totality, and perhaps we will have an insight, and we will thank the therapist without really noticing that the feeling and intuition is ours. The presence, insights and actions of the therapist simply led us to that which is already within us.

Sometimes, on our own, we will tune into our feelings, and into the silent presence behind our swirling thoughts and emotions, into the realm of intuition, and an insight will lead us to some clarity. We take a walk, a bath, listen to some music, chop some wood, go for a drive, pet our dog or cat, maybe we meditate. Out of this no-activity of the mind can arise knowing, called insight or intuition, an intelligence far deeper and wiser than thinking, and perhaps, insight will lead even to peace in the midst of turmoil. This accessing insight is never new. We knew about it all along, we’ve done and experienced the arising of insight, of peace, before, but we had forgotten.

So it is with personal relationships. We all know what is happening when relationships are clear, fulfilling, and flowing. We are in “the vibrational frequency of presence.” We also all know what is happening when a relationship is in conflict and difficulty. We are in our defensive separateness.

Again, we may go to a relationship counselor, and the counselor, if any good, will bring us into shared presence, - and we will think

BY

BILL WALZ

the therapist is a genius when what they did was bring us into what we always had and knew as the secret to a fulfilling life and relationship – into shared presence - but we had forgotten.

Our culture tells us we are our thoughts and emotions, never that we are intuition, the mind’s “vibrational frequency of presence.” Never in our schooling is this dimension, the source of true intelligence, pointed out and cultivated. This lack of recognition and development of intuition, of silent presence, as the source of wisdom, of true intelligence, of knowing and of love, is a great tragedy.

We all know that when a close relationship descends into argument and conflict that resolution and healing occur when either through insight or exhaustion, we drop whatever has separated us and we re-approach each other in genuine presence. But we forget that relationship exists and thrives only in shared presence.

Everything about our culture emphasizes our individuality and our right to competitive assertion, so, over and over again, we fall back into self-absorption, separateness, and argument.

Most relationships have us existing on parallel planes of shared activity and interest where the communication and contact is superficial, the conscious presence that is the life-blood of true and healthy relationship mostly neglected and forgotten. Only occasionally and usually accidentally do we come into full presence, and it is these moments that sustain any relationship.

sphere of our physical presence and circle of interest. We communicate at people, seldom truly with people, let alone rise to the level of “communion.” communion.” Why not?

No one ever teaches us to bring to the level of consciousness the realization that all that is beautiful happens through presence and communion, through the dissolving of separateness to experience oneness, love.

Oh, our religions suggest it, but we generally prefer the religious instructions that are moralistic and sectarian to the teachings of brotherhood, forgiveness, union, love, and mystical presence. We think the real world is competition and self-absorption. And, sadly then, this is the world we create. But this way lays madness, what Buddhism calls “egoic delusion.”

Our relationship with Nature, with Life, and even with Spirit, is likewise impoverished by our forgetting that it is in the moments of deep presence, possibly, of awe and wonder, where the sense of self dissolves into “the vibrational frequency of presence” that all that is meaningful happens, ‘Relationship,’ continued on page 33

“True communication is communion – the realization of oneness, which is love.” ~ Tolle With ourselves and with our loved ones, moments of communion, of true presence, are rare. So much more so with those we have casual, little or no personal association with. Humanity suffers because we labor under the delusion that there is a me and you, us and other, with mutually exclusive interests and needs. We never consider the anonymous people who flow by our person every day, much less those outside the Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 23

Reel Take Reviewers:

∑∑∑∑∑ - Fantastic ∑∑∑∑ - Pretty darn good ∑∑∑ - Has some good points ∑∑ - The previews lied ∑ - Only if you must M- Forget entirely

CHIP KAUFMANN is a film historian who also shares his love of classical music as a program host on WCQSFM radio.

MICHELLE KEENAN is a long time student of film, a believer in the magic of movies and a fundraiser for public radio.

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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.

Monthly Reel

Inspired by Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger Ranger,, our Chip Kaufmann has written an epic article about The Lone Ranger at 80. So I’ll keep this month’s cinematic thoughts and ponderings short, sweet and to the point.

1. I want to be Helen Mirren when

I grow up. The 60-something Brit actress gets seemingly sexier and more badass with every picture and every passing year. This summer she re-teams with co-stars, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary Louise Parker and Brian Cox for the sequel to Red. It’s not particularly great, but it is great fun.

Who doesn’t want to be Helen Mirren when they grow up!

2. This is the year of the teenage boy

– on the heels of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and MUD, Hollywood delivers another solid coming-of-age story in The Way Way Back Back.

3. There is absolutely no reason why

The Lone Ranger isn’t a box office hit.

See Chip’s review!

4. The documentaries 20 Feet from

Stardom and The Summit are not to be missed. We didn’t review them but assure you that they are worth your time and money. See them while you can.

5. This soggy summer has been good

for one thing – going to the movies.

6. RIP James Gandolfini and Dennis

Farina.

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

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

The Conjuring ∑∑∑∑ Short Take: Low budget supernatural thriller has old school scares a –plenty but it just misses out on being an all time classic.

REEL TAKE: My feeling on overly

explicit horror films and torture porn, in particular, is well documented. So when I found out that this latest “based on real life events” movie was directed by James Wan, the man who started the Saw franchise, you can just imagine my enVera Farmiga discovers that a child’s music box is the thusiasm. Well everyone deserves a key to an evil spirit in The Conjuring. second chance and, in this instance, Mr Wan has crafted a quality old it is so well crafted that it can be enjoyed school horror film that only goes astray at on subsequent viewings for that reason the end. That still doesn’t keep it from being alone. Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga as the one of my more enjoyable horror movie Warrens head up a cast of largely unknowns experiences in recent memory. who are extremely effective in their perforBased on an account by real life paramances. The 5 young girls of the family are normal investigators Ed & Lorraine Warren especially noteworthy as each manages to concerning a family in Rhode Island, The convey a sense of their own character.

Conjuring is proof yet again that when The film was shot for less than $20 properly crafted, what you don’t see can million and most of it was filmed not in have a more unsettling effect on your movie Rhode Island but in Wilmington NC with psyche than what you do. My personal the local university, UNCW, providing experience has been that when you hear the classrooms for the Warrens’ paranorguys turn to their dates afterwards and say mal lectures. It exceeded its budget on the that the movie wasn’t that scary, then you opening weekend and is poised to do very, know it was. I can tell male nervous laughter very well. As the majority of this summer’s from female nervous laughter and there was $100 million dollar plus blockbusters tank plenty of it at the showing I attended. at the box office, maybe Hollywood will The story is basically a reworking of finally live with the fact that overall you can The Amityville Horror. When the Perconsistently make more money on a smaller rons, a working class couple with a family budget movie that is smartly promoted. of young girls, moves into a 100+ year old The Conjuring, while a very good house in Rhode Island, strange things began movie, is not without its flaws. At 2 hours to happen. First an unseen presence pulls at it could use a little trimming especially in the girls’ legs then a boarded up basement is the climax which is overdrawn. After 90 discovered. Bruises began to appear on the minutes of subtlety, it’s a shame that the mother and cold spots with the smell of defilmmakers focused so much on an Exorcist cay are found all over the house. The Warlike ending. As this was based on a “real life” rens are called into investigate and discover experience, most of the people involved that not only has the house been cursed, but would be dead if it happened the way it’s the evil force behind it is the most malevodepicted here. Also the title makes no sense lent they have ever encountered. as no conjuring of any kind ever takes place.

To say any more would be to give away Still the movie is highly atmospheric and too much and I certainly don’t want to do should please most fans unless you prefer that. When a film is as well crafted as this Saw to Insidious. one is, the less you know the better although

24 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

Rated R for sequences of disturbing violence and terror.

REVIEW BY CHIP KAUFMANN

Girl Most Likely ∑∑1/2 Short Take: A once promising playwright finds herself ousted from her fashionable Manhattanite social circle and back in the arms of her estranged but Jersey Shore family.

REEL TAKE: I fully expected to really like

Girl Most Likely Likely.. I was anticipating a small, quirky, sharp-witted comedy. Instead the filmmakers delivered a well intended but meandering comedy wannabe. It’s an incredible waste of a great cast. Even the most dedicated Kristen Wiig fans may be annoyed while they patiently wait for her character to get her head out of her [you know what].

Wiig plays Imogene, a once promising New York playwright who finds herself unceremoniously dumped by her high society boyfriend and their Manhattanite social circle. In complete denial and possessing a flair for the dramatic, Imogene stages a suicide attempt. But instead of returning her to the loving arms of her Dutch boyfriend, she’s turned over to the care of her estranged mother Zelda (Annette Benning), a tacky Jersey shore broad and casino junkie.

Uncomfortably welcomed back at the ‘Movies’ continued on page 25

Kristen Wiig in the disappointing Girl Most Likely.

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childhood home she tried so hard for forget and leave behind, Imogene is reunited with her sweet (albeit slightly off), hermit crab loving brother (Christopher Fitzgerald), and meets her mother’s strangely suspicious new boyfriend (Matt Dillon) and a hunky young Backstreet Boy impersonator (Glee’s Glee’s Darren Criss) who’s renting her old bedroom.

Oblivious to the fact her Dutch boyfriend (she refers to him as being Dutch all the time – it’s the reason he didn’t marry her, some kind of continental thing) has moved on and that none of their high society friends want anything to do with her, Imogene doggedly tries to get back to her New York life.

Meanwhile, a subplot involving her allegedly dead father (used primarily as yet another tool to hammer it into to her head that high society doesn’t want you, the salt of the Earth, Jersey Shore people do) threatens to derail everything. It’s really hard to root for a somewhat unlikable character that is too old to be so truly stupid and unsympathetic.

The moral of the story is well worn territory; Never forget where you come from never forget what really matters and who really loves you. With better material and direction, the film could have been really good.

They manage to pull off a few running jokes, and Imogene does eventually learn her lesson while still pursuing her dreams, but ultimately Girl Most Likely lacks the empathy and genuine laugh factor of truly good comedy.

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.

REVIEW BY MICHELLE KEENAN

The Lone Ranger ∑∑∑∑1/2 Short Take: Gore Verbinski’s reboot of the venerable Western hero has been seriously misunderstood by most critics and undervalued as a result by audiences and that is unfortunate as it has so much to offer.

REEL TAKE: Anyone who has read more

than a few of my reviews knows that I am often at odds with most critics over their view of certain films but never in my 35 years as a film reviewer have I come across as many wrongheaded reviews as I have concerning The Lone Ranger. A 27% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes is unbelievable. Reading some of the reviews left me wondering if they had seen the same movie I had. The Lone Ranger is not Gigli and doesn’t deserve this kind of critical mauling.

The Lone Ranger IS a remarkable movie on many different levels, and I say that as one of those critics who was prepared to hate it. From the trailers I was expecting a Western version of the Pirates movies. I had even derogatorily nicknamed it Pirates of the Purple Sage. What I got instead was a movie that was loaded with references to other movies while being true to itself. It does have some issues mainly

Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer are Tonto and The Lone Ranger.

with the length (149 minutes) but the sheer exuberance of the whole enterprise more than compensates.

The movie opens in the manner of Little Big Man (1970) where an aged Tonto (Johnny Depp) in the year 1933 (the year The Lone Ranger made its debut on radio) recalls his history to a young boy dressed as the Ranger. It then goes back half a century to the building of the transcontinental railroad and a direct reference to John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962) with Eastern lawyer John Reid (Armie Hammer) naively planning to bring justice to the Wild West.

Before long he meets a younger Tonto, survives a pre-planned massacre, and winds up seeking revenge not justice although he thinks otherwise. This is just the beginning of a series of adventures that culminate in him becoming the Lone Ranger. Our first few glimpses of Tonto make him seem like a Native American Jack Sparrow (our expectations) but Tonto’s back story adds a whole new dimension to the character and reveals the subtle shadings of Depp’s performance.

There are a number of fine character portrayals throughout the film from William Fichtner’s heart eating villain to Helena Bonham Carter’s bordello madam with a heart of gold and a leg of ivory. Special mention should go to the always excellent Tom Wilkinson doing his best Jason Robards impression (a reference to Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West – see this month’s DVD picks) as a visionary but ruthless railroad baron who will let nothing stand in his way.

While there are movie references galore throughout The Lone Ranger Ranger, there are two men who cast the longest shadows over the film. One is the aforementioned Sergio Leone whose flashback narrative style and black sense of humor can be seen throughout and the other is Buster Keaton. All the breathtaking locomotive action scenes in the last third of the film recall his silent classic The General and with Depp being such a big Keaton fan, this comes as no surprise.

There are even references to the

ill-fated 1981 remake The Legend of the Lone Ranger but Verbinski, like Quentin Tarantino, uses the past to illuminate the present without sacrificing his own goals as a moviemaker. His combination of the grim (and some of it is very grim) and the humorous along with the truly epic nature of the film were not what the critics or Disney expected. They basically wanted a franchise starter and they didn’t get it. So forget the critics and go see The Lone Ranger and make up your own mind.

This quirky film deserves to be a hit and it would serve Disney right if their tax write off strategy came back to bite them you know where.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence and some suggestive material.

REVIEW BY CHIP KAUFMANN

Pacific Rim ∑∑∑1/2 Short Take: Guillermo del Toro’s blockbuster version of the old Japanese monster movies definitely has its moments but it could have been a lot shorter and would have benefitted from a much smaller budget.

REEL TAKE: For those of us who grew up

in the 1950s and 60s, Japanese kairu films were a staple of Saturday matinees and later Saturday afternoon TV. Kairu is Japanese for large monster and Japan cranked out a slew of these movies after the unexpected success of the original Godzilla (1954). Godzilla is easily the most famous but there were others including Mothra and Rodan. Eventually the various monsters fought each other and later became good guys defending the Earth against aliens.

More than half the fun of seeing these films was watching guys in rubber suits wipe out obviously miniature buildings and toy cars. We knew they weren’t real but we were far more innocent and forgiving in those days. I actually had a friend who dreamed of being the guy in the rubber suit just so he could get paid to destroy things. Last but not least let’s not forget the dreadful English dubbing that was a mainstay of these mov-

ies. “Oh, rook! A mahn-stuh!!” became a favorite catchphrase.

Well it turns out that Guillermo del Toro was one of those kids and now that he’s rich and famous, he decided to recreate the Japanese monster movies of his youth.

The monsters featured in Pacific Rim are even given the generic name of kairu. But with a budget of $180 million and a running time of 131 minutes, something vital has been lost in the upgrade. That something vital is the element of fun. The film features a decent storyline and some intentional humor but it’s also relentless with its never ending battle sequences and, as a result, I wound up not having much fun at all.

The story, for those of you who actually want one, concerns an attack from a race of giant monsters that emerge from under the Earth’s crust in the Pacific Ocean. When conventional weapons fail to stop them, we come up with a really giant version of the old Rock’em Sock’em robots and they do the trick. These giant machines, known as Jaegers, defeat the Kairu at first and when the threat is perceived to be over then they are decommissioned. When hordes of Kairu launch an all out assault, the Jaegers are brought back to make a last stand.

With the notable exception of Raymond Burr in the first Godzilla film, the Japanese monster movies featured no name casts. Del Toro keeps that tradition alive in this film as the two leads (Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi), the comic relief (Burn Gorman, Charlie Day), and the supporting cast are not exactly household names. The only well known actor is Ron Perlman who has been in most of Del Toro’s movies and here he has what is essentially a glorified cameo.

However it is Idris Elba, as the leader of the robot squadron whose word is law, who makes the biggest impression.

Pacific Rim is a fun movie that is full of Guillermo del Toro’s signature black humor and an undeniable love of the material. It is well staged, well performed, and for the most part well paced. It deserves to do better at the box office than it will and it could have if the budget had been more in line with the subject matter. Unfortunately, from my perspective, I’m now too old for the overuse of CGI that is employed here. It’s a shame that we have to be so literal these days. I miss using my imagination. It was a lot of fun to make more out of something less.

Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi action, violence throughout, and brief language.

REVIEW BY CHIP KAUFMANN One of the Jaegers, or monster fighting robots, depicted in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim.

‘Movies’ cont’d on page 26

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 25

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Red 2 ∑∑∑1/2 Short Take: Retried CIA operative Frank Moses and the gang come out of retirement again to fight bad guys and save the world.

REEL TAKE: Based on Warren Ellis’s

acclaimed DC Comics graphic novels, Red was a sleeper hit in 2010 and has won legions of fans in television broadcasts since. Red 2 brings former CIA top secret assassin, Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) out of retirement once again and re-teams him with his band of aging government hired

guns. Everyone from the original, with the exception of Morgan Freeman (for obvious reasons), reprises their roles.

Most sequels fail to live up to their predecessors or to expectations and hype. In the case of Red 2, I thought we might just be pleasantly surprised. The good news is if you enjoyed Red, you’ll certainly enjoy Red2.

The bad news is the plotline that brings them back together to pit them against the bad guys and save the world, has too many twists for its own good and has a few too many bombastic action sequences in which scores of extras are carelessly killed off as collateral damage.

Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: “Once Upon a Time in the West”

August DVD Picks

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Sergio Leone’s 1968 Western Once Upon a Time in the West is a multicharacter, multi layered film. The principal story concerns the expansion of the railroad into new territory as presided over by a greedy railroad baron who uses a merciless killer to do his dirty work for him. Leone’s unconventional storytelling, using ever increasing flashbacks, and the offbeat casting of Henry Fonda as the merciless killer disturbed audiences and critics and doomed the film upon its initial release (the same thing appears to be happening to the new Lone Ranger as well).

This is the movie that launched Charles Bronson’s international career.

It also features bravura performances from Jason Robards, Italian character actor Gabriele Ferzetti, and a wonderful turn from Claudia Cardinale (the only time a Leone film featured a heroine).

There’s also a slew of cameos from such American character icons as Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Keenan Wynn, and Lionel Stander.

The iconic opening titles sequence lasts for 13 minutes with only one sentence being spoken. It cuts back and forth between a speeding locomotive and three men waiting for its arrival and the man (Charles Bronson) aboard it. Leone utilizes numerous close-ups of the men’s faces in place of dialogue. Once seen it can never be forgotten. It ends in a typical Leone showdown with three guns against one with the one prevailing.

Bronson then meets up with notorious outlaw Cheyenne (Jason Robards) who’s wanted for murdering Claudia Cardinale’s family. Only he didn’t do it. Henry Fonda did pretending to be

Robards. Bronson decides to help Cardinale & Robards. It turns out that he and Fonda have a history going back many years and this is the reason for the flashbacks. It all leads to a climactic showdown that isn’t what you expect.

Paramount cut over 40 minutes from the movie removing most of the character motivation and dumped it into theaters where it fared poorly and disappeared before its revival some years later thanks to VHS and later DVD. Now it’s back, uncut, and even available on Blu-Ray. If you’ve never seen West then you should even if you don’t like Westerns. It’s not a typical Western. It’s a psychological drama in a Western setting.

The Sapphires (2012) A few months ago I had the distinct pleasure of whiling away a couple of hours at a screening of The Sapphires. Unfortunately, being a monthly publication, the timing of the screening and the limited run of the film at one local theatre prevented me from running a review of it. When I saw that the little-seen film was coming to DVD on August 6th I knew I had my DVD pick of the month.

Inspired by a true story, The Sapphires follows the journey of four young singers in Aborigine girl band in 1968. As with

26 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Sir Anthony Hopkins star in Red 2.

Michelle Keenan’s Pick: “The Sapphires” the Civil Rights movement in the US during the sixties, times were volatile in Australia for the Aborigine. As the story goes here, the girls (three sisters) leave the rural mission where they live to attend a talent contest. Clearly heads and tails above the closest competitor, the girls are jeered and booed and lose.

As it turns out however, Dave Lovelace (Chris O’Dowd), the drunken Irishman serving as emcee, really does know a thing or two about music and talent, and these girls are the real deal. Meanwhile, one of the girls sees an advertisement for entertainers in Vietnam; Dave agrees to manage them and safely escort them to perform for the U.S. troops. They also enlist a lighter skinned cousin, who is living (off the reservation so-to-speak) as a white person, to complete the group.

With racial tension and the Vietnam War as the backdrop, some might wonder how this could be a feel good, comedy. Recall Good Morning Vietnam and you’ll get the idea. The Sapphires is a solid story with a heart of gold and a whole lot of soul – music that is! Chris O’Dowd’s comic presence is in top form, but so too is his warmth and compassion. Even though he is the outsider, he becomes the glue in the story of these young women and in their lives. The Australian actresses who make up the group are played by Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsell, Jessica Mauboy and Sharri Sebbens are mostly unknowns to Americans, but may after this that’ll change.

Written by Tony Briggs, the son of one of the members of the real group, The Sapphires is meant for pure enjoyment. Little happens that will surprise you, but it will delight you.

The original film did not fall prey to these trappings; ergo keeping its tongue-in-cheek comic tone fully in tact. That said, Red 2 is a whole lot of fun and has enough going for it (the charisma of its actors) that it’s easy to overlook its flaws.

This go ‘round, Frank is easing into retired life with his girlfriend Sarah. While he marvels at the simple joys of shopping at Costco, Sarah longs for a life of adventure, now that she’s had a taste of danger and Frank’s previous life. Fortunately for Sarah, Marvin (John Malkovich) shows up and soon they’re on another wild ride and fighting for their lives. This of course brings the cool-as-a-cucumber MI 6 agent, Victoria (Helen Mirren), on the scene as well as her Russian lover Ivan (Brian Cox). Red2 also welcomes Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta Jones, David Thewlis, Byun-hun Lee and Neil McDonough to the action.

Hopkins looks like he hasn’t had this much fun in years and David Thewlis deliciously proves there’s no such thing as small part.

Director Robert Schwentke, who directed Red Red, was unable to due the honors this time. Apparently he was already booked for RIPD; from the sounds of which, may his career RIP. In his place is Dean Parisot, director of such pictures as Galaxy Quest and Fun with Dick and Jane. Parisot gets comedy, as do the film’s writers, Jon and Erich Hoeber (can you say, “You sank my Battleship!”), but while many of the film’s comedic moments roll naturally, some seem like they were trying just a little too hard.

Fear not though, the combined talent and built in camaraderie of Willis, Malkovich, Mirren, Parker, Cox and Hopkins transcends mediocrity.

For me the Red movies are pure entertainment and a delightful distraction from the real world. This sequel is worth watching, and I have a feeling they may try to squeeze another one out before their asskicking days are truly behind them. But let’s hope Bruce “how many times have I died hard” Willis will be able to say goodbye to Frank Moses more readily than he’s been able to with John McClane.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language.

REVIEW BY MICHELLE KEENAN

The Way Way Back ∑∑∑∑ Short Take: A familiar but warmly satisfying coming of age story of a lonely, awkward teenage boy on a summer vacation with his mother and mother’s less than likeable boyfriend.

REEL TAKE: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the

creative team that brought us The Descendants, make their directorial debut with one of this summer’s most unexpected and understated treats, The Way Way Back Back. It’s not what I would deem a great film, or an impor‘Movies’ continued on page 27

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film reviews

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The Lone Ranger at 80

It has been 80 years since The Lone Ranger made his debut on radio.

Ranger 55 years since Clayton Moore & Jay Silverheels last rode off into the sunset, and 32 years since an ill-fated attempt to the resurrect the character, The Legend of the Lone Ranger disappeared right after hitting the local multiplex. Now Disney has released a new version (reviewed this issue) which will focus on Tonto as portrayed by Johnny Depp. This version shows not only how the character is viewed differently today, but how we as a society have changed since he first came on the scene.

The Lone Ranger began life as a radio show back in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression. A symbol to give the down and out some hope was needed and as there were no superheroes yet (Superman and Batman don’t appear until the end of the decade), the Lone Ranger was essentially it.

The story of John Reid, sole survivor of an ambush of Texas Rangers, and Tonto, an outcast Indian (no Native Americans back in “those thrilling days of yesteryear”), made them an ideal pairing right from the start.

With his white horse, white hat, black mask, and silver bullets, the Ranger was an

BY

CHIP KAUFMANN

errant knight who had come to save the day aided by his faithful squire Tonto who was a carryover from the days of James Fennimore Cooper. Until the rise of Hollywood, the movies had mostly viewed Indians as a noble race of people who were mistreated by almost everyone. While they couldn’t be heroes themselves, the White hero would have been lost without them.

The radio dramas were half hour morality plays where good always triumphed over evil. This is what was needed during the dark days of the Depression and it was what the society of the time expected and demanded. World War II would shake up the status quo for a bit but afterwards prosperity brought things back to business as usual and the 1950s were a decade where, on the surface, everything was black and white and determined to stay that way.

The TV incarnation of The Lone Ranger fit right into this mindset. Clayton Moore, a veteran of B movie serials, was perfectly cast as the Ranger. He could ride, he could express himself well when he had to, and he never killed anyone. He also

Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheel as The Lone Ranger and Tonto from the popular 1950s TV show.

looked good in his powder blue suit and his black mask. Jay Silverheels was clearly an Indian but in his full buckskin regalia and simple headband, he became a positive symbol of Native Americans for White audiences.

The TV show ran for 8 years from 1949-1957 and was the first Western specifically written for television. Moore & Silverheels also appeared in two feature length films, The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958). By the 1960s Westerns had outgrown the simple good-vs-evil scenarios that were the Lone Ranger’s stock in trade and so after a few commercials, he and Tonto rode off into the sunset although they continued to make personal appearances.

Fast forward through the turmoil of the late 1960s and the Vietnam War into the 1970s were the Western had radically changed and the shy but heroic guy with a white hat and a code of honor was long gone having been replaced by a morally ambiguous loner typified by Clint Eastwood who became the good guy because he killed fewer people than the bad guy. The analogy between Vietnam and what the Government had done to Native Americans almost a century earlier became the subject of numerous revisionist Westerns. Notable examples were Little Big Man and Soldier Blue (both 1970) and Ulzana’s Raid (1972).

In 1979 producer Jack Wrather, who owned the rights to the Lone Ranger charac‘Lone Ranger’ continued on page 28

Theatre Directory ‘Movies’ continued from page 26

tant one, but it is a tenderhearted delight.

The opening sets the tone for the movie. Duncan, a quiet and awkward 14 year old, is sitting the back, the way back, of one of those big old wood paneled station wagons (the kind with last seat facing the back window). This in and of itself creates nostalgic feel even though the film takes place in present day.

Duncan and his mother, Pam (Toni Collette), are traveling with her boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and his teenage daughter to Trent’s beach house on the Massachusetts coast for the summer. During the drive (while the ladies are dozing), Trent asks Duncan on a scale of 1 to 10, what he consider himself. Baffled by the question, but in attempt to answer, he says, “I don’t know – I guess a 6.” Trent tells him he thinks he’s a 3.

Who does that?!

After reaching “Riptide” (the name of Trent’s beach house), Duncan is introduced to an array of characters. The pretty teenage daughter of a hilariously obnoxious and ever-soused, recently divorced neighbor, tells Duncan, “This place is like spring break for grown ups.” Eager to escape the overbearing eye of Trent and the juvenile antics of the adults, Duncan takes off on a girl’s bicycle and eventually finds himself at a water park managed by a kooky character

Liam James in The Way Way Back.

named Owen (Sam Rockwell). Laid back, likeable and in near-constant comic monologue, Owen takes Duncan under his wing and gives him a job. At Water Wizz, Duncan finds a place among the assorted oddballs that work there (including Faxon and Rash in very fun bit parts). This is where the film really takes off.

Knowing straight away that Trent is a grade A Jerk obviously doesn’t bode well for his and Pam’s relationship. The film in fact holds little mystery. It is familiar coming of age, teen angst territory and it is quite predictable, but none of that detracts from the story or our enjoyment of it. Instead, Faxon and Rash delve into the humanity of their characters in a way that evokes empathy and reminds us we’re all a work in progress.

Sam Rockwell, who consistently deliv-

ers top grade work in small but consistently top grade films, soars in this role. Faxon and Rash’s witty dialogue couldn’t have been delivered with more impeccable timing and less pretense. He brings good natured affability, compassion and a magnetic charisma to the film.

Liam James plays Duncan with an unapologetic vulnerability and awkwardness. Cast against type, Carell delivers a subtle but effective performance. Likewise, Toni Collette’s character could have just been the generic mom, but instead you get the real sense that she’s struggling between protecting her son from certain painful facts and finding her own path. Allison Janney as the boozy neighbor and the rest of the supporting cast turn in fine performances.

Part of what really sets this film apart is the nostalgic feel of summers past. This will resonate particularly with anyone who grew up in the 70s ma 80s. The Way Way Back may be the sleeper hit of the summer and a very enjoyable respite from some of summer’s bigger, louder offerings.

Rated: PG-13 for some thematic elements, language, some sexual content and brief drug material.

REVIEW BY MICHELLE KEENAN

Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company Movieline (828) 254-1281 www.ashevillepizza.com Beaucatcher Cinemas (Asheville) Movieline (828) 298-1234 Biltmore Grande 1-800-FANDANGO #4010 www.REGmovies.com Carmike 10 (Asheville) Movieline (828) 298-4452 www.carmike.com Carolina Cinemas (828) 274-9500 www.carolinacinemas.com Cinebarre (Asheville) www.cinebarre.com The Falls Theatre (Brevard) Movieline (828) 883-2200 Fine Arts Theatre (Asheville) Movieline (828) 232-1536 www.fineartstheatre.com Flat Rock Theatre (Flat Rock) Movieline (828) 697-2463 www.flatrockcinema.com Four Seasons (Hendersonville) Movieline (828) 693-8989 Smoky Mountain Cinema (Waynesville) Movieline (828) 452-9091

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BY

PETER LOEWER Illustration by Peter Loewer

editorial about the continued fall of North Carolina.

“I looked at my watch just to make sure,” replied Curmudgeon, “of how much time I would be forced to wait until the ditzy person on the other end realized there was a sucker on the line. I actually counted two minutes. Then I heard a voice in my ear that asked ‘Are you the owner of this business that I am talking to?’”

“Don’t you know?” I asked her. “‘Well, how should I know until you tell me?’ she answered.”

“Well,” I said, “I would assume that since you are making this call and Are you the owner of this you actually have my number on a screen in front of you, that you should business that I am talking to? know who I am.” “‘I called,” she said, her voice now “It’s still about—how do I begin? Well, charged with steely dignity, ‘to tell you that let’s start with your imagining that your it’s imperative that you act right now to lock phone chooses to ring at the same time down this latest low-interest loan to protect you are four rooms away, trying to use the yourself from future cost increases.’” vacuum cleaner to restore a bit of couth to “What card do you represent?” I asked. your living room rug, while you struggle Silence on the line. to pull the vacuum—I admit—by the cord, “So I asked if she was calling from over the hump of a smaller rug that covers Rumania or perhaps the suburbs of Peschthe floor area where my wife’s cousin—you katonia—I think it’s in southern—” know her, Ethyl Roman from Cinci, who “At this point she raised her voice and gave us the rug many years ago when we said: ‘Well, I never—’” moved here from Knoxville—spilled a small “‘No, I doubt it—’ I said and hung up.” bottle of India ink on the floor—” he paused “No, never do that,” said Mrs. Storefor breath— “and you soon learn that finally keep. retrieving the phone, there is nobody at the “I don’t remember, but I thought there other end except a lot of office noise and was a good reason.” distant voices never loud enough to hear “So what do I do?” asked Curmudgeon. properly—so you hold on and wait.”

“Go for a walk,” said Cityfella, “and “How long?” asked Cityfella, who had forget the rude awakenings of American come down to the store for his reserved commerce in the 21st Century.” copy of The New York Times Times—now “Call waiting,” said Storekeep. often in short supply since it ran the great “Where,” said Curmudgeon, “I don’t have a phone in my hand.”

“Not here,” said Mrs. Storekeep, “if you use the call waiting service you can see who is calling—” “And what if I don’t know the number?

So I will be forced to add another level of service to the already rising costs of having a telephone in today’s Wonder World of Commerce?”

“Don’t answer,” said Cityfella. “Just let it ring until the Robot gets tired of holding the line.”

“It’s a Robot?” asked Curmudgeon. $49/Month “Forget it,” said Cityfella, “I’m going for a walk.”

In Print

Your Book Advertised Here

& Online!

Call (828) 646-0071 Today www.rapidrivermagazine.com

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Hold On and Wait

“A month or so ago I marched in here and said that I was as mad as hell,” said the Curmudgeon as he walked into the General Store, and as often is the case when anger takes hold of his psyche, his complexion began to get highlights of pink and his eyebrows started to wiggle about like free-ranging caterpillars.

“What about this time?” asked Storekeep.

“Telephones!”

“Any particular member of the great telephone industry?” asked Mrs. Storekeep who was tidying up the already beginning to be mauled Hostess Twinkies, now back in service to salute the thickening waistline of most Americans.

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Peter Loewer has written and illustrated more than twenty-five books on natural history over the past thirty years.

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trusted, and heroes as well as villains are capable of the most unspeakable cruelties. ter, forbid Clayton Moore from wearing Enter Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp the mask and costume in public. He was fresh from their wildly successful Pirates making a new version and wanted to start of the Caribbean franchise. They want from scratch. Fair enough but this move to do a new version of The Lone Ranger turned into a public relations disaster as and because of Pirates, Disney gives it the Moore sued and won and resumed his green light. This time the focus will be on personal appearances.

Tonto, played by Depp, and it will be not only a different take but a cinematic salute to great Westerns This time the focus will be on of the past.

Tonto, played by Johnny Depp.

Well The Lone Ranger Ranger, with an unbelievable budget of $250 The negative publicity was so million, opened last month to withering great that the 1981 Legend of the Lone reviews and audience indifference. Those Ranger sank without a trace. It’s a shame who have gone to see it have enjoyed it because this version is not nearly as bad but there just haven’t been enough of as its reputation would suggest. While them. the new Ranger, Klinton Spilsbury, It’s a remarkable movie which is behad absolutely zero charisma, Tonto, as ing unfairly dismissed but, on the other played by Michael Horse, was a liberhand, it’s no longer about the Lone Ranger ated character whose Native American and what he originally stood for. In this wisdom saves the day. age of sensory overload it’s about what It’s now over a generation later and multi-million dollar CGI can make the no one under 40 knows who the Lone character do. I wish I still had my Lone Ranger is or was. The 21st century is a Ranger “action figure” from 1958 (yes, I universe away from the simplistic black had one and a school lunch box too). It and white outlook when he first started. was just a plastic horse and a plastic man Now comedy is routinely mixed with with my imagination doing the rest. drama, figures of authority are not to be

‘Chimes’ continued from page 14

host talking about what it means to be a mother these days.

Dee’s desire is to get her nursing degree and work with newborns and the dying, people at the extremities of life.

In the meantime, she keeps trying to do what the older belles insist is the only way a woman can get on with recovery— get herself a new man. But Dee feels like she’s walking through molasses.

No matter how many times her therapists insist that she remember the details of her near-death experience she can’t. Nor can she bear to tell anyone about the nightmare of her honeymoon– why oh why, did she choose virtue over lust and not sleep ahead of time with the one man she said “I do,” to? What a Woman of Bad Choices! Dee must get it all together–and right soon—because there are threats her psychotic ex-husband is going to get out of prison early–and kill her for good.

Sounds funny, huh? But it is. When you’re not weeping at an incident on one of the pages of Chimes Chimes— let’s face it, there are many abused women in real life and they do find one another and share tales—you are laughing out loud.

Reinhardt doesn’t spare anyone in this novel, not Baptists, or single men, or therapists, or 104-year-old

Judy Ausley’s column, Southern Comfort, returns in next month’s issue.

“Reinhardt doesn’t spare anyone in this novel, not Baptists, or single men… or wellmeaning mothers.” ladies trying to get their driver’s license renewed, or radio audiences, or prisons that don’t do their jobs, not even wellmeaning mothers.

The only thing more funny than reading Reinhardt’s writing is seeing her in person. This month you’ll have two chances. Gossip says there might be special guests at each book signing.

And there will be belle-treats for everyone who’s smart enough to buy a book.

Knowing how entertaining Susan Reinhardt is, I’d plan on being at both events!

Chimes from A Cracked Southern Belle, written by Susan Reinhardt. Grateful Steps Publishing (2013, 374 pp.) www.susanreinhardt.com www.gratefulsteps.org IF YOU Friday, August 2, at 7:30 GO p.m., before Steel Magnolias.

Asheville Community Theatre 35 E. Walnut, downtown Asheville.

For information: (828) 254-1320, www. ashevilletheatre.org.

Saturday, August 10 at 7 p.m. Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café. For information: (828) 254-6734, www.malaprops.com

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Wonderful WEAVERVILLE

+ NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORS

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The Weaverville community comes together on the 3rd Saturday of each September for Art in Autumn, extending a hearty welcome to both artists and visitors.

Art in Autumn caters to the juried artists who vie for 114 selected spaces.

This years’ judge, Mr. Lee Davis, brings a wealth of artistic knowledge from his years of teaching pottery and sculpture.

The event is a rewarding treat, with a roster of artists exhibiting spectacular work.

The 6,000+ visitors who grace Main Street during Weaverville’s Art in Autumn festival continue to exceed expectations.

Come enjoy a day of dazzling art, friendly folks, trendy shops and restaurants and blue grass music.

Beth Gaudreau

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Mangum Pottery

Photo: Erica Mueller

IF YOU Art in Autumn will be held Saturday, GO September 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Main

Street in downtown Weaverville. For more information visit www.artinautumn.com.

WEAVERVILLE - 28787

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Jewelry by Jen Doherty

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cluding rustic antique furniture, folk art, and fine art. They also carry Greenbee locally made green cleaning products to keep your castle clean.

Trying to Squeeze Into a Round Hole?

Welcome to the world of Stephanie Wilder!

Wilder opened Chifferobe Home and Garden because she couldn’t find the sort of unusual stuff she wanted for her rustic/modern/green/ offbeat/cabin/cottage. If you, like Wilder, cannot be contained in just a brief description, stop by Chifferobe where you’ll find unique home decor, in-

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Mark Tomczak drives up Old Fort Mountain every morning from the lush valley farmland that seasonally supplies his restaurant with fresh greens, herbs, produce, meats, cheeses and flowers.

“As a slow food, farm-to-table eatery,” Chef Mark says, “we take pride in getting as much from local farmers and farm cooperatives as we can. My wife and I have always fed our family with local, seasonal and sustainable food that we grow ourselves or get from neighbors, and we knew that other families want to eat that same wholesome goodness. We offer that at FRESH.” Examples of local suppliers include Round Mountain Creamery, Foothills Family Farms, Sprout Farms, Mountain Food Products, and more.

In addition to fresh and local food, FRESH offers vegan and gluten free alternatives.

“Our daughter was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance as an infant, and as she grew up, her dietary needs kept us from going out to restaurants because she had so few options,” says co-owner, Courtney Smith. “We decided when we opened to cater to those in our

situation.” The kitchen staff at FRESH is skilled at making salad dressings, soups, desserts and sauces from scratch so they can assure customers about ingredients in each dish. FRESH offers gluten free crusts for all specialty pizzas, gluten free dessert, and even gluten free beer.

An imported Italian wood-fired oven turns out powerhouse pizzas with toppings that include arugula, Kalamata olives, wild mush-

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rooms, local goat cheese, smoked salmon, and locally cured meats.

Pizzas are offered in 12-inch rounds that are perfect for sharing, but many patrons prefer to order one all to themselves.

“Our patrons love the Scarface, featuring savory Italian sausage, pepperoni, and spicy salami with mozzarella and homemade red sauce. The Fungi is also a much-requested pizza featuring three different types of wild mushrooms, goat cheese and fresh basil.” The Tuscan salad is ‘FRESH,’ continued on page 37

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Homestyle Gastropub Fare 19 Beers on Tap Live Music Open 11-10 10-12 Bar Menu

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(828) 357-5656

207 West State Street Downtown Black Mountain PG. 30

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www.thetrailheadrestaurant.com

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 31

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On Friday, August 2, from 6-9 p.m. enjoy a stroll through working studios and galleries along Waynesville’s Main and Depot Streets. Explore the open air and delights of this vibrant community. Galleries will stay open late and a handful of fabulous restaurants will serve up a fantastic evening.

Sherrye Perry, creator and owner of Gypsy Bee Brand, will showcase her products at Twigs and Leaves Gallery Friday, August 2, from 6-9 p.m. Piano music by Dr. Bill Stecher and hors d’oeuvres. Twigs and Leaves Gallery, 98 N. Main Street, Waynesville. Open Monday through Saturday 10-5:30; and Sunday 1-4. Call (828) 456-1940 or visit www.twigsandleaves.com.

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KEL TANNER: A SOLO EXHIBITION Paintings and jewelry by Kel Tanner. Reception Friday, August 9 from 6-9 p.m. On display August 7 through September 2, 2013. Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86, 86 N. Main Street, Waynesville.

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32 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

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healthy lifestyles Can Kids Get Healthy and Delicious Food at School?

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The United States struggles with childhood obesity from the second grade upwards. Part of the problem identified is unhealthy food, served at home, at food outlets, and at school.

A second problem is lack of practical knowledge of what constitutes health and delicious food and how to prepare it.

Japan has been addressing these problems for several decades with remarkable results. Childhood obesity rates in Japan are among the lowest in the world, declining for the last six years, and there is almost no malnutrition in children. In addition, Japanese live on average to 83 years of age, the highest in the world, according to the World Health Organization. How have they accomplished this?

Part of the answer lies in the culture, part of the answer is in education, and part of the answer is a collective decision to make healthy and delicious food at mealtime in school a priority for everyone.

Part of the success is in the food itself. The food served is like the food served at home, not like at a sporting event – which means the parents and the culture are taken into account. The meals are made from scratch on-site

REIKI CIRCLE AT THE SMILING EYE The Smiling Eye is a new studio / classroom located at 191 Lyman Street, Studio 210, in Asheville’s River Arts District. We offer an ever-changing variety of classes and groups in an atmosphere that is comfortable, structured, and supportive Readings, discussion, Q&A on Traditional Usui Reiki as taught by R. Sorensen (1921-2011). Simple teachings and practices for centering yourself in love as a way of life. An especially helpful support for the writer/artist who works alone and/or from home.

Meets weekly, Tuesday evenings through August 13, 2013, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Leader: Beth DeLap, (828) 768-1145. Formal meeting begins at 5:45 and ends at 6:45. By donation.

IF YOU GO: The Smiling Eye,

191 Lyman Street, Studio 210, in Asheville’s River Arts District.

– which means no prepared, frozen, reheated food. The menu is balanced in type and nutrients: rice, vegetables, fish, and soups – just like at home.

Thus the food is nutritious, familiar, and relatively inexpensive since it is all locally grown.

How do the schools and the government function? Healthy and delicious school lunch menus have been a priority for the Japanese government since the end of World War II. While the government has set minimal nutritional guidelines, except for educational efforts, it intervenes minimally in the local school planning.

Each school district has a nutritionist who plans the school menus and who is heavily involved in the educational efforts at school. Additionally, the schools allow no vending machines in the school and children in grade school cannot bring food from home or from outside.

How do the children react?

They make charts and posters of healthy dream lunch menus to hang on the walls, based on their nutritional education. They wear white caps and lab coats and take turns serving the food to each other, eating in their classrooms communally,

‘Relationship’ continued from page 23

and where true religious experience can occur. Many times in life we have experienced this. It is why we seek out experiences in Nature that are so vast and overwhelming that we forget ourselves – at the sea, on a mountain, in the desert. It is why we go to a great cathedral, or attend spiritual rituals.

But it is not the sea, the mountain, or the desert, the cathedral or the ritual that is spiritual. It is our own deepest self in pure presence that is spiritual, for it is indeed Spirit, but we forget this.

It can happen in our own front yard with our dog, with a bird, a flower, a cloud in the sky. It can happen with family members and friends, with total strangers, if we remember it is who we are at our deepest level.

It is in the “vibrational frequency of presence,” with ourselves, with our family, with our friends and acquaintances, with our dog or cat, with the strangers whose path we cross, even with the unknown peoples of the world, and with Nature, both small

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MAX HAMMONDS, MD

The secret to good nutrition in school meals. everyone with the same food.

In support of these efforts, the parents pay about $3 per meal to subsidize the lunch program at school and they teach their children to eat the food they are served.

As a result, the children quickly learn to accept the education, the nutrition, and the foods. In fact, the food is so popular that children frequently ask for the same food at home, fostering the production of full color cookbooks published by the local school districts.

What’s the take-home message for the United States or for your local situation? The secret to good nutrition in school meals is cooperation between the parents, the schools, and the government.

For US public school systems, this is hard because of cultural diversity and general lack of cooperation between parents and schools. But in private school settings with a more homogeneous attitude toward the importance of nutrition and a greater control of class room educational opportunities, these lessons could be easily adopted and implemented. How important is nutrition for your child?

and vast, that knows “the peace that surpasseth understanding.”

It is called communion. It is called love. It is true Presence. Practiced at levels of subtlety and ubiquity, it is what heals us, our relationships, and it can heal the world.

Bill Walz has taught meditation and mindfulness in university and public forums, and is a private-practice meditation teacher and guide for individuals in mindfulness, personal growth and consciousness.

He holds a weekly meditation class, Mondays, 7 p.m., at the Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood. 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 and schedule of coming events at www.billwalz.com

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 33

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Saturday, August 3

Friday, August 9

August 10 & 17

Southern Appalachian Photographers Guild Exhibit

Anything Goes – Everything Shows

Sexy Masquerade Fundraiser

Intro to NXT Robot Programming

Works by five well-respected professional photographers. Opening reception from 6-8 p.m. On display through September 15. Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W. State Street. For more details call (828) 669-0930 or go to www.BlackMountainArts.org

Mail art exhibit. Opening from 6-9 p.m. The Courtyard Gallery, 109 Roberts Street, Asheville’s River Arts District. For more details call (828) 273-3332 or visit www.ashevillecourtyard.com.

For Trademark Dance Team. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Club Eleven on Grove in downtown Asheville. Free lesson with Asheville SalsaSuave at 10 p.m. All levels of dancers are welcome. Salsa, Bachata, Merengue. $7, ages 18+. For more details call (828) 674-7062.

Workshop for students 9-14 and their coaches. Hands-on introduction to programming the Lego NXT robots for the 2013 FLL Robot Competition.

No prior experience required. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., $25. Attendees must bring pre-built NXT Flex-Bot Robot. For details email olliasheville.com or call (828) 251-6140.

Friday, August 2

Scene Around Asheville and WNC Opening reception for Al Junek from 5 to 8 p.m.

Watercolor and pastel paintings.

Toward Long Shoals, Asheville GalPastel by Al Junek lery of Art, 16 College Street in downtown Asheville.

(828) 251-5796, or visit www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com.

Saturday, August 3

Asheville Masonic Temple Centennial Celebration Program on the Blue Lodge, which is the core of all Masonry 2 p.m.

The presenters include Rick Patton, DDGM, and Shawn Cole, DDGL. The presentation will be followed by a reception and tour of the building.

Asheville Masonic Temple, 80 Broadway, downtown 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. Email Beth Gossett at: ads@rapidrivermagazine.com Or mail to: 85 N. Main St, Canton, NC 28716. Call (828) 646-0071 to place ad over the phone.

– 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, time, brief description of your event, and any contact information. Any entries not following this format will not be considered for publication.

Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Breathtaking images of Brazil. The Flood Gallery, in the Phil Mechanic Studios building at 109 Roberts Street, in Asheville’s River Arts District. (828) 254-2166, or www.floodgallery.org.

Monday, August 5

Fundraiser featuring Billy Jonas

Friday, August 9

Kel Tanner: A Solo Exhibition Opening reception from 6-9 p.m.

On display from August 7 through September 2, 2013. Gallery 86, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville, NC. More details at www.haywoodarts.org.

Saturday, August 10

Wood Day

A delicious vegetarian buffet dinner and a show featuring award-winning songwriter and whimsical repercussionist Billy Jonas. Activities for all ages. Proceeds go towards the Africa Healing Exchange’s trauma healing pilot program. From 5:30-8 p.m. at Avenue M in Asheville.

For more details call (828) 333-4960 or visit www.africahealingexchange.org

Annual celebration of wood crafts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Demonstrations include carving, coopering, wood turning, furniture design, dovetail construction and Shaker-inspired boxes. Hands-on activities for children.

Carve-Off Competition 1-3 p.m.

Participants have two hours to turn a simple block of wood into a work of art. Sign up by 12:30 to participate. At the Folk Art Center, just north of the Hwy 70 entrance in east Asheville. For more details call (828) 298-7928 or visit www.craftguild.org.

Thursday, August 8

Saturday, August 10

Sunday, August 11

Appalachian Brass Quintet Part of Pan Harmonia’s Sunday @ 5 series, 5 p.m. at the Altamont Theatre. Vibrant popular music and classics. $12/advance at www.panharmonia.org/shop; $15 at the door; $5 students. The Altamont Theater, 18 Church St., downtown Asheville.

Sunday, August 11

Folktales and Foolishness A tell-off hosted by the Asheville Storytelling Circle. Free and open to the public. 6 p.m. at the Buncombe County Recreation Park, Round Pavilion #3. Bring chairs or blankets for seating. 72 Gashes Creek Road adjacent to the WNC Nature Center.

For more details call (828) 581-4603 or (828) 467-9955.

LEAF’s Benefit of Culture

Family Rafting Trip

Sunday, August 11

6 p.m. at Highland Brewing in Asheville. The Stooges Brass Band and Empire Strikes Brass perform. Additional performances include the LEAF Jazz Band at Delta House, circus acts, and more to create a family-friendly miniLEAF atmosphere! www.theleaf.org

On the Nantahala River from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants must be at least age seven and weigh at least 60 pounds. $50 per person; $45 for members of the Waynesville Recreation center.

Register by calling (828) 456-2030.

Visit www.townofwaynesville.org

Secrets: Freeing the Hidden Story

Thursday August 8

Saturday, August 10

Fundraiser for the Big Love Fest

A Mid-Summer Night’s Mardi-Gras

Live music by Pleasure Chest. Raffle of incredible prizes. 5 p.m. at The Bywater, 796 Riverside Dr., Asheville.

Details at www.ashevillegrown.com.

New Orleans Dixieland in the outdoor courtyard at 5:30 p.m. followed by dance lessons. Lousiana Cuisine served

by Trailhead Restaurant from 6 until 8:30 p.m. Lively music, dance, and merriment. $12, all ages. At the White Horse, 105c Montreat Road, Black Mountain. (828) 669-0816, or visit www.whitehorseblackmountain.com

Friday, August 9

Bring Us Your Best Exhibit The Arts Council of Henderson County presents an all media visual art exhibition. Awards reception from 5-7 p.m. Hosted At Odds, by

by Blue Ridge Walter Arnold Community College, 180 West Campus Drive, Flat Rock, in the Technology Education & Development Center. Details at (828) 693-8504, or visit www.acofhc.org.

August 10-11

Sourwood Festival Black Mountain’s free and family friendly event. Kids Fun Park with rides. 200 Vendors. Live entertainment. Saturday 9-8 p.m. Huge fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. Sunday 9-5.

Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, (828) 669-2300, visit www.sourwoodfestival.com

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Saturday, August 3 Cibele Leonetti Exhibition

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DVD Presentation, celebration and fundraiser at 6 p.m. at Jubilee! in downtown Asheville. Performance followed by a community dialogue.

Proceeds benefit Community Choreography Project. $10 at the door. Call (828) 658-1217 or visit www.communitychoreography.com

Thursday, August 15

Park Rhythms Free outdoor concert begins at 7 p.m. at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mtn. Swayback Sisters performi Appalachian Folk, Old School Country Soul. Food available for purchase. Blk. Mtn. Recreation & Parks, (828) 669-8610.

Thursday & Friday, August 15 & 16

outrageous antics of the Turpin family.

By David Bottrell and Jessie Jones. Box Office Hours Monday-Saturday 1-5 p.m. Call (828) 456-6322 for reservations. Tickets available online by visiting www.harttheatre.com. Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville, NC.

Wednesday, August 21

Under Construction: Society, Gender, and Body A participatory exhibition that questions how and why we construct gender. Opening reception at 5 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Student Union Intercultural Gallery. On display August 12 to September 13. Hours and more details at cesap.unca.edu or (828) 251-6991.

Thursday, August 22

Black Mountain Center for the Arts Jazz Series Jazz pianist and composer Michael Jefry Stevens and bassist Zack Page perform George Gershwin, Cole Porter, plus a few original compositions at 7:30 p.m. No reservations. $10 donation at the door. BMCA, 225 W. State Street in Black Mountain. For more details call (828) 669-0930 or go to www.BlackMountainArts.org

Friday, August 23

UNC Asheville Annual Art Faculty Exhibition Studio art faculty exhibit their current work in the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery in UNC Asheville’s Owen Hall.

Opening reception 6-8 p.m. Free and open to the public. Exhibit on display 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays through September 17. Call (828) 251-6559 or visit http://art.unca.edu.

Friday & Saturday, August 23 & 24

La Reina A theatrical production incorporating a collage of ancient texts, modern dance, baroque costuming, puppetry, circus arts, and a live, electronic soundtrack.

Performance by nine actors and four musicians under the direction of Aaron Beck. At the Diana Wortham Theater.

Tickets at www.dwtheatre.com

Saturday, August 24

Blue Ridge Rollergirls

Downtown Independent Groove (DIG) Festival takes place at multiple venues in downtown Asheville. Details and lineup at www.facebook.com/ DIGFestival

Ranked number 13 in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association South Central region, BRRG’s are gearing up for the WFTDA South Central tournament in November. At the U.S. Cellular Center. Details by visiting www.blueridgerollergirls.com.

August 16 – September 1

Tuesday, August 27

DIG Festival

Dearly Departed Hard core southern comedy at its best.

You will laugh yourself silly with the

Save the French Broad Concert Concert featuring Steve Earle. Help clean up and protect the French Broad

AUGUST EVENTS ~ ANNOUNCEMENTS ~ OPENINGS ~ SALES 34 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

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what to do guide 1st Friday Gallery Walk

Best in Show

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by Phil Juliano

The Downtown Asheville Arts District hosts First Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. every month through December. More than 25 galleries and museums in downtown Asheville will host receptions and exhibitions. Complimentary trolley service during the event. Park at the Asheville Visitors Center and hop on!

Ten Cent Orchestra Chelsea Lynn La Bate

downtown Asheville from 6-8 p.m., free.

Friday, September 27 – Isis Music Hall,

Dragin

by Michael Cole

Since its founding in 1893 as the Young Men’s Christian Institute, the YMI has been a hub of African American culture in Asheville. Next month a celebration will be held for the 120th anniversary of the iconic institution including the following events:

YMI Block Party – August 23, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., south Market Street

Callie & Cats

by Amy Downs

“Block” area; DJs, food vendors, dancing and fun, free admission.

Founders Gala – August 24, from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. Music and hors d’oeuvres;

various descendants of founders of the YMI will be recognized. Call (828) 257-4540 for tickets or visit www.ymiculturalcenter.org

I Am The Appalachian Trail Video Contest

Every Friday and Saturday

at the Classic Wineseller Corgi Tales

by Phil Hawkins

Deadline: Sunday, September 15 A nationwide search for the best fanmade video about the Appalachian 2012 winner Hector Reyes Trail (A.T.). ConMiller with his wife. testants will submit video shorts, no longer than three minutes, emphasizing the many ways that they are connected to the Trail. To vote or submit a video, visit www.facebook.com/ATHike.

More details at www.appalachiantrail.org.

Every Sunday

Asheville Art Church A Sunday morning sanctuary for the creative spirit. Come write, paint, draw, craft, and more. We’ll start with an invocation, offering warm-ups and prompts. This is not an art class, tt’s an incubator for creativity. Services are held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Asheville Area Arts Council. $10-$20 donation. For more details visit www.ashevilleartchurch.org

The Mountain Heritage Center is looking for Food Trucks and Vendors for the 39th annual Mountain Heritage Day on Saturday, September 28 on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. The festival encourages homemade style foods from any cuisine. Applications are available by calling (828) 227-7129 or for more information visit www.mountainheritageday.com.

8:30 p.m., $10. 743 Haywood Rd., Asheville. For details call (828) 575-2737 or visit www.isisasheville.com.

YMI Celebration

Seventh Avenue Local Farmer’s Market

Food Trucks and Vendors Wanted

Contemporary songwriting meets a chamber orchestra.

Thursday, August 22 – Pritchard Park,

Sunday, September 1

Live music, kitchen serves small plate fare at 5:30 p.m. 20 Church St., Waynesville. (828) 452-6000, or visit www.classicwineseller.com.

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Music by Chelsea Lynn La Bate.

www.DowntownAshevilleArtDistrict.org

9-2 p.m.

Hendersonville’s local farmer’s market and organic, all natural market held in conjunction with the annual apple festival. Maple Street in front of the Historic Train Depot. The Apple Valley Model RR Club will also be open for tours of the depot and the train displays.

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Friday, September 6

River. Doors open at 8; show at 9 p.m. Ages 18+. Tickets: $24/advance; $26/day of show.

VIP tickets are $50 and include a meetand-greet with Steve Earle, great local food, SweetWater beer, and a reception in PULP at 6:30 p.m. More details at www.theorangepeel.net and www.wnca.org.

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Ratchet and Spin

by T. Oder and R. Woods

Artists Wanted Colorfest! Art & Taste of Appalachia is looking for artists of all mediums to participate in a fine art festival to be held on October 5, 2013 in Dillsboro, NC. Selected works will be displayed from September 5 until October 5 and also featured on colorfestartblog.com.

To apply go to www.spiritofappalachia.org or call (828) 631-4587 for more details.

www.jackiewoods.org • Copyright 2012 Adawehi Press

CLASSES ~ AUDITIONS ~ ARTS & CRAFTS ~ READINGS Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 35

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find it here AmiciMusic www.amicimusic.org

Charlotte Street Computers (828) 225-6600

Glass Onion www.glassonionasheville.com

Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe www.malaprops.com

O’Charley’s www.ocharleys.com

TPennington Art Gallery www.tpennington.com

AnTHM Gallery www.anthmgallery.com

Chifferobe

www.chifferobehomeandgarden.com

Grace Carol Bomer Fine Art www.gracecarolbomer.com

Miya Gallery www.miyagallery.com

Oil & Vinegar Asheville

Trailhead Restaurant

Arrowhead Gallery & Studios www.arrowheadarts.org

The Chocolate Fetish www.chocolatefetish.com

HART Theater www.harttheatre.com

Points of Light www.pointsoflight.net

On Demand Printing www.ondemandink.com

Tree & Vine www.thetreeandvine.com

Asheville Salt Cave www.ashevillesaltcave.com

Cottonmill Studios www.cottonmillstudiosnc.com

Hearn’s Bicycle (828) 253-4800

Mangum Pottery

Octopus Garden www.theOG.us

Twigs and Leaves Gallery www.twigsandleaves.com

Lorelle Bacon Fine Art www.lorellebacon.com

Double Exposure Giclee www.doubleexposureart.com

High Country Style (828) 452-3611

Mine & Yours Consignments

www.mineandyoursconsignments.com

Potter’s Mark www.pottersmark.com

Updraft Fine Art Gallery www.updraftgallery.com

Biscuit Head Restaurant www.biscuitheads.com

Downtown Asheville Art District

Isis Restaurant & Music Hall www.isisasheville.com

Morning Sky Pottery (828) 273-5317

Soapy Dog www.thesoapydog.com

Village Art & Craft Fair www.newmorningnc.com

BlackBird Frame & Art www.blackbirdframe.com

Explore Black Mountain

www.ExploreBlackMountain.com

Jewels That Dance www.jewelsthatdance.com

Mountain Top Appliance

www.mountainviewappliance.com

Southern Highland Craft Guild www.craftguild.org

WNCAP www.wncap.org

Black Mtn. Iron Works www.BlackMountainIron.com

Faison O’Neil Gallery www.faisononeil.com

Julia Fosson Fine Art www.juliafosson.com

Mellow Mushroom (828) 236-9800

The Spice & Tea Exchange www.spiceandtea.com

Zia Taqueria www.ziataco.com

Bogart’s Restaurant www.bogartswaynesville.com

Fresh Wood-Fired Pizza www.freshwoodfiredpizza.com

Just Ducky www.justduckyoriginals.com

Nancy Silver Art www.nancysilverart.com

Storm Rhum Bar & Bistro www.stormrhumbar.com

Cafe 64 www.cafe-64.com

Frugal Framer www.frugalframer.com

Cheryl Keefer www.cherylkeefer.com

Newbridge Cafe www.thenewbridgecafe.com

Susan Marie Designs www.susanmariedesigns.com

The Cantina www.cantinabiltmore.com

GD Whalen Photography www.gdwhalen.com

Karen Keil Brown www.karenkbrown.com

North Carolina Stage Company www.ncstage.org

Town Hardware & General Store www.townhardware.com

www.DowntownAshevilleArtDistrict.org

WEAVERVILLE +

HAYWOOD ROAD

www.mangumpottery.com

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36 August 2013 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 16, No. 12

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The Revivalists

One of Asheville’s most popular dance parties gets a boost of rhythm and blues when The Revivalists, a seven piece New Orleans based R&B band, plays the August 16 edition of Downtown After Five.

Blending soulful, syncopated rock and earnest songwriting with their energetic live performances the band, in the midst of the summer festival route (including multiple sets at Bonnaroo) are most eager to keep things rolling.

Touring in support of their recent release City of Sound (produced by Ben Ellman or Trombone Shorty fame) the band has shared stages with everyone from Dr. John, Gov’t Mule and Galactic to Rebirth Brass Band, JJ Grey & Mofro and Trombone Shorty.

‘FRESH’ continued from page 31

the most frequently requested salad with a blend of spring greens, arugula, local goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and toasted pecans served with a light lemon-parsley vinaigrette.

During the summer tourist season, weekends are jam-packed in the small, cozy dining room and the outdoor seating is always filled.

FRESH offers seasonal specials such as the summer grilled peach salad, or the beet and fennel salad with balsamic glaze as well as fresh mussels, specialty pasta dishes and as always, daily wood-oven baked bread. FRESH has recently added dessert parfaits its array of homemade desserts.

In June, international student counselors working at Montreat’s summer program from Milan, Italy, told Mark, “This is the best food we have had since we left home!”

FRESH was voted into “Best of WNC” last year, early into its second year of operation and again in 2013.

“We are proud to nourish both body and soul for our local fan base, tourists, and those who travel regularly from as far away as Jackson county to the west and Burke and McDowell counties to the east to sample some of the best authentic Italian pizza in the region.”

FRESH Wood-Fired Pizza 100 South Ridgeway Avenue, Black Mountain, NC 28711 (828) 669-6999 www.freshwoodfiredpizza.com

BY JAMES

CASSARA

It’s the perfect mix for an outdoor party, the sort of main street throw down that would do the Crescent City proud.

Speaking of which the band, comprised of vocalist David Shaw, guitarists Zack The Revivalists perform Friday, August 16 during Feinberg and Ed Williams, Downtown After 5 on Lexington Ave. drummer Andrew Campanfor what promises to be a great way to elli, bassist George Gekas, and the wrap up August. marvelous horns of Rob Ingraham and Michael Girardot, wrap up their IF twenty-three city tour (including a YOU Downtown After 5, trio of shows in Banglore, India) at the GO presented by Harmony legendary Tipitina’s Uptown in their Motors, Friday, August 16, home city. But why wait until then? from 5 to 9 p.m. Where North Come on out to Downtown after Lexington Avenue meets I-240. Visit Five (www.ashevilledowntown.org) www.ashevilledowntown.org

Artisan Catering & Deli

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Artisan Restaurant & Lounge features the work of Mary Catherine Cozens through September.

Cozens is an artist and teacher of preschool, a local resident of Swannanoa, and an MA Art hopeful at Western Carolina University. She has 14 works in watercolor, pastel, and ink/marker on display in the restaurant through September 30, 2013.

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Rapid River Magazine Our Monthly Magazine is iPad, Nook, & Kindle Friendly! www.issuu.com/rapidrivermagazine

Liza Becker Photography

Works by Mary Catherine Cozens are on display at the Artisan Restaurant & Lounge in Enka-Candler.

IF YOU GO: Artisan Catering & Deli, and Artisan Restaurant & Lounge, 1390

Sand Hill Road in Enka-Candler just off the Smoky Park Highway. Call (828) 665-3800 for more information.

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Growler Filling Station

Beer City, USA just got even better.

Asheville Growler will fill growlers for from 20 handpicked craft beers! Using a counter pressure filling system, customers will be able to have their growlers filled with the same technology used by their favorite breweries, keeping their beer fresh for up to 3 weeks from original fill date.

Don’t own a growler? No problem! Asheville Growler carries many different types of growlers that will suit your

needs. “Growlers are a fantastic way for craft beer lovers to take home hard-to-find beers in a convenient package” says Sean McNeal, owner of Asheville Growler. “And with advances in growler and growler filling technology, it just might be the best way to purchase beer.”

Asheville Growler provides a welcome service to the craft beer loving people of Asheville. Fresh craft beer is now available. Located at 660 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville Growler provides easy access and plenty of parking.

Asheville Growler, 660 Merrimon Avenue

Landscapes • Portraits • Weddings Birthdays • Anniversaries • Belly Bumps Natural Lighting • 828-713-4147

www.lizabeckerphotography.com lizabeckerphotography@gmail.com

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 37

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local favorites INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT TIPSWORD, CHEF AND OWNER OF WEST ASHEVILLE’S

Zia Taqueria

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RT: It is a blend of flavors

Chefs and Owners, Robert Tipsword and Kevin W. Grant, opened Zia Taqueria Asheville in 2013 in the spirit of the original location in Charleston. Even though the fixed menu is nearly identical, both locations serve unique specials year-round.

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INTERVIEWED BY DENNIS RAY

Rapid River Magazine: Tell us a little about Zia Taqueria and the symbolism of your logo.

Robert Tipsword: Zia is a neighborhood-friendly Taque-

ria that serves New Mexican, Southwestern, Tex-mex and authentic regional Mexican cuisine. The symbol ultimately meaning balance has a lot of history to it. Relative to our food, we are always striving for a perfect balance of taste, texture, and aroma. We also find balance in all the different generations and cultures that have created these regional flavors and the way they have come together on our menu.

RRM: What exactly is New Mexico style cuisine?

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from Spanish and Native American cultures that has been perfected over the course of 400 years in New Mexico, and these days in all different parts of our nation. At the center of it all is the New Mexican chile, in both red and green varieties — both piquant pods are an essential ingredient for cooked sauces in traditional New Mexican Robert Tipsword. dishes.

Photo: Kelsey Jensen Differences that separate New Mexico dishes are the way the foods are prepared and the use of spices and sauces. Also the dishes usually have more meat and fewer beans. You may also find different items on the menus such as fish tacos and shrimp quesadillas.

The foods are usually named the same as the dishes in Mexico. Burritos, chimichangas, tacos, and others consist with the same ingredients. The key difference being the use of New Mexican chile. The reason New Mexican Chiles are like no other in the world is the Southern New Mexico climate has 350 days of sunshine each year! Chiles crave warm, dry weather and warm soil to reach full flavor potential.

Some Mexican dishes that have a different taste in New Mexico include chorizo. It is a sausage that is spicy, being seasoned with red chile and garlic. Traditionally used for breakfast, our house-made New Mexican chorizo is used in an egg taco and on top of our Huevos Rancheros.

RRM: What was the inspiration behind creating this wonderful restaurant?

RT: In the beginning, it was obviously the concept, but then

when I moved here in 2011 many counter parts developed — the biggest being the beautiful historic ranch building that once served traditional Mexican food and even some American food. It was an amazing canvas to start with and gain more inspiration from. Asheville, as well, was a huge inspiration with its love of art, casual grace and amazing produce.

We are fortunate to have a lot of very talented friends and family around us who all contributed, making this restaurant what it is. The Patrons and Staff have continued with their inspiration to keep the space evolving more every day.

Traditional New Mexican cuisine. Photo: Kelsey Jensen

RRM: Tell us a little about your menu. What are some of your most popular dishes?

RT: Our menu consists of Appetizers, Soup and Salad, ala

cart Tacos, Tortas, and Enchiladas which all serve as a vessel for our proteins. We also have specials every day. Popular items include Shredded Carnitas Enchiladas with New Mexican Red Hatch Chile Sauce, Authentic Baja Fish Taco and Chipotle Marinated Grilled Fish, New Mexican Pollo Verde Platos, and Chocolate Tres Leches Cake.

If you would like to learn more about New Mexican chiles, and how buying them helps our nation’s economy, visit www.nmchileassociation.com.

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521 Haywood Rd., Asheville NC 28806 828-377-9393, www.ziatacom.com

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local favorites O’Charley’s Revitalization Looks to History to Inspire Its Future

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A fresh advertising campaign, new look and “free pie” aim to reconnect O’Charley’s with its American heritage while moving the classic restaurant forward.

“passion for food” that O’Charley’s does and is unwilling to make any sacrifices in pursuit of what he wants.

“In an effort to re-establish an identity for O’Charley’s, we felt that it was important to tap into the strong heritage of the brand and demonstrate how they share the O’Charley’s has begun airing television renewed connection to American values,” advertisements across its footprint featursaid David DeMuth, co-CEO, president, ing a new spokes-patron and slogan that pay Doner. “O’Charley’s is all about authentic homage to the classic restaurant’s heritage as hand-crafted American food that brings “An American O’riginal” since 1972. It is the people together, this repositioning helps to latest component in the continued revitalshowcase that.” ization of O’Charley’s which has brought This fresh advertising approach the brand back to its roots in order to take it goes hand-in-hand with the reimagined into the future.

O’Charley’s restaurant concept that was first introduced in late 2012 shortly after O’Charley’s acquisition by American Blue Ribbon Holdings.

The new concept, which continues to be unveiled across the country, reinforces O’Charley’s status as a member of the communities it serves by featuring more expansive, open and inviting floor plans, updated and brightened interiors and O’Charley’s now features a more expansive, open and inviting exteriors, as well as a new floor plan, and an updated and brightened interior and exterior. clearer and more noticeable brand mark.

Along with the new restaurant concept Authentic, hand-crafted, came a new menu which focused on American classic entrees and Southern favorites American food. and introduced award-winning signature pies such as Double-Crust Peach, Southern Pecan, French Silk, Country Apple and “We have a genuine enthusiasm and Ooey Gooey Caramel. The popularity of passion for service and food and we want these pies lead to the development of a midthat to come across clearly in everything week reward for guests dubbed “Free Pie O’Charley’s does,” said Hazem Ouf, presiWednesday.” dent and chief executive officer of Ameri“The program is as it sounds, with can Blue Ribbon Holdings, who sparked the purchase of an entrée on Wednesday, O’Charley’s revitalization after acquiring O’Charley’s guests are entitled to a free the Nashville-based restaurant in the spring slice of their pie of choice. This showcase of of 2012. “We’ve drawn from O’Charley’s gratitude is a continuation of the American robust history as a quintessential American ideals O’Charley’s has looked to for inspiraRestaurant with Southern roots to set the tion while moving the brand forward,” stage for a new O’Charley’s that wears its added Ouf. passion to serve and passion for food on its For more information on O’Charley’s, sleeve.” visit www.ocharleys.com or visit its FaceUp next for O’Charley’s is a new adbook page at www.facebook.com/ocharvertising campaign, developed by Doner in leysfans.

Detroit, set to reinforce that passion and further reconnect O’Charley’s with its American heritage while tapping into heightened appreciation in society for American ideals O’Charley’s and American made products. The result is 2 Kenilworth Knolls a fresh take on restaurant television advertisAsheville, NC 28805 ing that introduces both a new slogan, “An (828) 281-0540 American O’riginal,” and a new spokes-pawww.ocharleys.com tron – Brock Roland. Brock shares the same

AUGUST EVENTS AT THE WEINHAUS Tuesday, August 13

Friday, August 30

Private dinner at Salsa’s Farm 44. Eclio Dumon from the Argentine winery, Achaval Ferrar, will present a line up of highly rated red wines. Farm 44 is the personal working farm of renowned local restaurateur Hector Diaz. Limousine service from downtown can be arranged for a moderate additional fee. Time: 7 p.m.

Price: $75 all inclusive. Please call the Weinhaus for reservations at 254-6453.

Friday Night Flights presents Spanish Delights. Please join us for a wonderful evening in our new Cork & Keg bar area.

The price is $10 for four tasting pours.

Gourmet light fare is available from The Cheese Store of Asheville for an additional $6.

Time is 5:30-7:30 p.m. Held at The Weinhaus, 86 Patton, Ave. Asheville.

The Weinhaus, 86 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC (828) 254-6453

Bring in this Ad and We’ll Take

15% Off Your Order Excluding Alcohol 1 Coupon Per Table

(828) 236-9800

Delicious

Open 7 Days a Week

Hoagies & Pretzels Fresh-Baked Calzones

50 Broadway ~ Asheville, NC Specialt y Pizzas • Spring Water Dough • Salads Vegan Soy Cheese, and other Vege tarian Options!

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Wireless Internet Access!

Vol. 16, No. 12 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — August 2013 39

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Advertising Works!

“

Rapid River Magazine is so embedded in Asheville’s art scene and so it felt very natural to advertise in the magazine. I did so with no specific thought except to just help get my name out there. I was so surprised to see how many people read Rapid River Magazine and came to my studio to see the work after the interview. I had several sales relating directly to the interview and the images. Thank you Rapid River Magazine.

”

~ Julia Fosson Encaustic Art

Julia Fosson Encaustic Art The Hatchery Studio #201, River Arts District 1 Roberts Street, Asheville NC 28801 (860) 930-8166, www.juliafosson.com

Advertise with Rapid River Magazine Free Web Links, Ad Design, Easy Monthly Billing

(828) 646-0071

www.rapidrivermagazine.com