17 minute read
15 years and counting for Asheville jam band
Papadosio.
Just like the days
Papadosio celebrates milestone with Haywood drive-in show
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
In its 15 years together, Papadosio has remained on a steady, upward trajectory as one of the premier jam-bands currently roaming the innovative and ever-evolving live music scene.
Formed while college students in Ohio, the entire quintet pulled up its stakes those many years ago and headed for Western North Carolina on a whim. In search of fresh start, the ensemble eventually put down deep roots in Asheville, personally and professionally.
A heady blend of jam-rock and electronicfusion, the melodies contain very intricate and free-flowing soundscapes, these sonic peaks and valleys that transform the listener (from wherever they’re standing and whatever they’re pondering) into new realms of thoughts and emotions, and interactions with others who seek new and ancient truths alike — especially in the midst of a live performance, something signature to the Papadosio brand of gyration and improvisation.
If anything, the band is a celebration of what it means to truly be alive and in the moment, to connect with strangers of the night who become lifelong friends, and what it feels like to chase after your dreams in real time — a deeply-held sentiment and long-term vision not lost on Papadosio keyboardist Billy Brouse.
Smoky Mountain News: When you look back — from the beginning to where you’re at right now — what do you think about the idea of 15 years of touring, creating and wandering?
Billy Brouse: It sounds weird, but it does feel like yesterday. And when people say time is a flat circle, it feels like it’s still happening. It’s been so many years that it’s hard to talk about.
It’s hard to quantify how much we’ve done, because it never stopped until this [past] year [with the shutdown]. I’m grateful that we’re able to do it for that long.
And I can’t explain it to anyone [about] what that’s like, unless they’ve done it. It’s kind of like trying to explain how you felt at your summer camp when you were 10 — you went for the first time, and you didn’t want to go
Want to go?
Hosted by the Asheville Music Hall, the 2021 drive-in concert series will kick off with a special two-night performance by Papadosio (jam/fusion) at 6 p.m. April 9-10 at the Smoky Mountain Event Center (aka: Haywood County Fairgrounds) in Waynesville.
The show will celebrate not only the 15th anniversary of the inception of Papadosio, but also the 10th anniversary of the Asheville Music Hall.
One- and two-day car passes are now available for purchase. These performances will follow any and all local/state Covid-19 safety standards. All concerts adhere to social distancing protocols.
For more information on this show and others in the drive-in series (and to buy tickets), please go to www.ashevillemusichall.com and click on the “Live Music Calendar” tab.
home, but you did want to go home. You know what I mean?
It’s this weird, magical place that only a few people have — and that’s a cool bond to have. Looking back on it, it’s this really action packed [thing], almost like a movie trailer in my mind of all the crazy stuff, all we’ve done and been through. And we’re proud of that.
SMN: It feels like time is all one moment, you know? It’s a combination of everything, just one big image of something.
BB: That’s exactly what it is. It’s all happened, all at once to me now. A lot of times when I think back, I can see really bright lights, which is kind of cool, but kind of confusing. It’s been a big blinking, flashing stage all over the world pretty much.
SMN: What do you remember most from those early days? What really sticks out when you think about those first couple of years?
BB: I remember how gung-ho we were about it — no matter what the outcome.
Sometimes you tell people you’re in a band and you’re going to do this full-time, and they [don’t seem to take you seriously]. And I would try to say, “No, this is what we’re doing. You don’t understand.”
From the very beginning we were like that. You just go, you just live [that life of a musician] a hundred percent [to achieve your dreams] — there’s nothing else happening.
In those early years, you have to do everything, even if it’s playing at an Indian restaurant at 130 BPM (beats per minute), dance music to a crowd of people who didn’t necessarily want to hear it. Or when we played St. Patrick’s Day at this packed bar and they ran out of Jameson early into the show — that crowd was not stoked in that moment. [Laughs].
But, you know what? You’re up there “doing it” now. Sometimes that made us new fans. And if it didn’t, it definitely made us stronger because we have those moments where we remember what it was like in the beginning [to now playing to large, enthusiastic audiences].
SMN: It’s one of those things where you, at some point early on, probably had a conversation with yourself — whether consciously or subconsciously — that hell or high water, this is what you’re going to do. And everything else is just details.
BB: Oh yeah. We sat down and had that conversation. That’s probably the only serious moment I had at college. I graduated from college, but that was the moment when we sat down and talked about [doing this] — it was more serious than any term paper I had.
I can’t believe it, but we’re still going. And there was never a question [that we wouldn’t do this]. I never thought for a minute about [doing another job]. My brain doesn’t work that way.
SMN: Persistence and determination makes all the difference. That’s why you’re still in the band 15 years later.
BB: Right. I’ve had plenty of people ask me, “What do you do when you go on tour?” And I’d tell them that it’s a contest in being uncomfortable. And if you can be uncomfortable for 10 years — and sometimes it’s longer — then it will pay off depending on how long you’re uncomfortable and grinding it out. You’re not delusional. You’re going “after it.” You just need a little bit of that [discomfort] and then it’ll work out — you’ve just got to go after it, man.
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD
Look in the mirror, who do you see? Someone familiar, surely not me
The sound of thunder and a heavy rain awoke me from a deep slumber. Opening my eyes, I relaxed into the king-sized bed and stared up at the 19th century moldings on the ceiling. Looking out the large bedroom window, I could see a transit bus parked below and a Starbucks sign on the building at the corner.
For a moment or two, I didn’t know where I was or if I was still dreaming. But, I quickly collected my thoughts and remembered I was at an AirBnb in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, and that I was in town for my dear friend’s birthday shenanigans.
I’m hungover from the adventures of Friday night. And yet, there’s still Saturday evening ahead of us. Atop the nightstand is a mess of dollar bills that used to be $20s and receipts from bars scattered around Market Square and Gay Street. My clothes smell like cigarettes from the atmosphere of the Preservation Pub. My head throbbing from the nightcap of Proper Twelve Irish whiskey at Clancy’s Tavern.
Now it’s Saturday afternoon. Lazy and dreary. My good buddy (the birthday boy) is sprawled out on the couch watching golf on a giant TV. I’m on the laptop at this enormous dining room table, once again trying to make sense of this weekend and these situations that I find myself in at seemingly every turn along the road of life.
The AirBnB (aka: “The Shamrock Suite”) is right above Clancy’s and next door to the majestic Tennessee Theatre. Gay Street is bustling with locals, tourists and college kids from the nearby University of Tennessee. In the nine years or so that I’ve called Western North Carolina home, I’ve also been roaming the main drags and side streets of this wildn-out city.
My best friend went to college here at UT. His family and all of his friends live here. When he used to live in Waynesville, we’d head over the mountains to Knoxville on the weekends and rage downtown with his friends, maybe even raid the fridge at his parents’ house. Eventually, he returned to Knoxville, which he now calls home with his wife and daughter.
Back then, we were all in our late 20s and early 30s. All single and running around in search of whatever anyone else our age was seeking: cheap drink specials, mischief and, if we were lucky, perhaps the love of a significant other. Some of us were luckier than others, and others either faded into the background of your existence or are still on the top of your daily text message conversations.
Back then, it was tailgating at UT football games, bouncing between bars along Central Street, maybe even some karaoke if the mood was right. Concerts at the Bijou Theatre, The Mill & Mine and at the Thompson-Boling Arena. Run around the college haunts surrounding campus, Cool Beans or some fraternity party at a once nice-looking house — now just a shell of empty beer cans and seemingly bad decisions made in blurry haste of trying to impress your peers in the midst of the midnight showcase of alcohol tolerance.
Right now, the cheap futons, couches and floors that I used to wake up on have been traded in for an AirBnb that costs more per night than my rent (and bills included) for one month. The cheap drink specials and Taco Bell runs after the bars closed have been swapped out for bottles of fine wine and farm-to-table dinners at places where dress codes are enforced (sorry, no UT jerseys or band T-shirts in here, sir).
Right now, those beloved faces that used to belly up to the pub counter with me, used to scream at the UT football games with me, are still around, still living their respective lives and such. But, it seems all we are these days are a bunch of text messages over state lines — either answered in a timely fashion or forgotten and gathering dust, only to fall down your text conversation scroll into the depths of conversational purgatory.
I’ve returned to Knoxville for the weekend, but it feels like this town is deserted. My phone calls and messages to the Knoxville crew are all for nothing. They have dinner plans with their wives. They’re watching their kids. They’re too tired from work all week to want to come out and play. They’re doing lawn work Saturday afternoon and “might be able to meet up later.”
What happened to all those oncerowdy faces? I can’t be the only one left that still aims to tame the night, whether it be in the realm of live music or running away from that ticking clock towards the unknown horizon. When did we all become so responsible, and with calendars filled up? When did we stop answering phone calls and returning messages? I refuse to let any and all faces familiar and beloved slip between my fingertips like the sands of time in an hourglass.
I suppose when you spend your life on the road, those left behind keep moving along in their own ways and means. You circle back from time to time to see those faces familiar and beloved, where everything has changed ever so slightly. Several years pass and the entire landscape, physically and emotionally, has shifted to where you’re still “you,” but feel like a stranger in a strange land.
The sound of thunder and a heavy rain awoke me from a deep slumber. For a moment or two, I didn’t know where I was or if I was still dreaming. I’m hungover from the adventures of Friday night. And yet, there’s still Saturday evening ahead of us — running away from that ticking clock towards the unknown horizon.
Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
Preservation Pub, Knoxville. (photo: Garret K. Woodward)
• Open call for artists to sell their work in the
Carriage House Gift Shop at the historic
Shelton House in Waynesville. 757.894.2293.
• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8 to 10 p.m. every Thursday.
Free and open to the public. www.balsamfallsbrewing.com.
• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Russ Wilson & Hank Bones (jazz/acoustic) April 1. All shows begin at 6:30 p.m. Reservations required. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com. • Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.
Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Eric Alan Barker (classic rock) April 3 and Shane Meade (singer-songwriter) 8 p.m. April 10.
All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Arnold
Hill (rock/indie) 8 p.m. April 9. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com. and Isaac Corbitt (soul/acoustic) April 10. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. www.nantahalabrewing.com.
• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.456.4750 or www.facebook.com/waternhole.bar.
• Advocates for Animals of WNC will host an
Easter photo shoot for pets and children (or both) from noon to 6 p.m. April 3 at the
Innovation Station in Dillsboro. Plenty of outdoor activities throughout the day, too. Music by Kim Smith. Small raffle items will also be offered.
ALSO:
• The Rootless Kitchen has opened inside the 828 Market on Main in Waynesville. The menu is inspired by travels that the owner has taken over the years. The menu offers sandwiches and wraps, with many options for vegetarians. www.facebook.com/828marketonmain or Instagram @828MarketOnMain.
• There will be a free wine tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m every
Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.
• The “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing
Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky
Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first-class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.
Haywood ‘Juried Artist Exhibit’
The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will host an upcoming exhibition featuring original art from 12 local artists. The 2021 “Juried Artist Exhibit” opens on April 2 and will run through May 1. Each of the exhibiting artists went through an extensive jury process and they’re are delighted to have their work in the gallery. Artists included in this exhibit: Joan Bazzel, Mel Bennett, Linda Blount, Barbara Brook, Melba Cooper, Wendelyn Cordwell, Mary Decker, Peggy Duncan, Gayle Haynie, Alice Herring, Ilene Kay, Jo Ridge Kelley, Betsy Meyer, Deb Parmele, Amy Shahparast, Jennifer Sharkey, Debbie Skelly, Cheryl Summey, and Lisa Townsend.
The HCAC believes that original art by local artisans can be both affordable and collectable. For more information about the HCAC, visit www.haywoodarts.org.
It’s time for the annual “Airing of the Quilts” at the Appalachian Women’s Museum (AWM) in Dillsboro. In the interest of safety, the “Airing of the Quilts” will be virtual this year except for one drive-by hanging quilt show.
“Airing of the Quilts” will be a monthlong event with various types of materials released online. Content will be available on www.appwomen.org and release of the content will be announced on Facebook.
An airing of the Monteith sisters’ quilts will take place Saturday, April 3, which will be a drive-by only event. Mark your calendars to drive past the Monteith House (100 West Hometown Place, Dillsboro) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to see their quilts and those of the AWM board members airing on the porch and balcony of the house.
You may choose to view the quilts from the parking lot across the street. They will not be allowing visitors to the house per COVID-19 restrictions.
Please participate in April’s airing by sharing photos of your quilts, old or new, made by you or someone else. Exhibitors hoping to show their quilts in next year’s inperson “Airing of the Quilts” may send in a photo this year as a preview.
You can send your photo in two different ways: upload your photo to their Google Drive Folder or email your photo to events@appwomen.org.
When you upload or email your quilt photo, please include a short history of the quilt. The photos and histories will be compiled and posted to the AWM website.
William Rogers (far left).
Interested in metal art?
A new grant from the Center for Craft is supporting an effort to share traditional metal working techniques with the western North Carolina community.
The grant was awarded to William Rogers of Rogers Metals and two Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians enrolled members who have been working with him for the past six years.
James Wolfe, from Big Cove, and Snowbird resident Nathan Bush met Rogers when he was teaching hammered copper on the Qualla Boundary. Now both former students will have a chance to extend their own experience to teaching.
The grant provides funding for a series of introductory workshops available to the community at no cost. The three-hour workshop courses will begin in late April and extend through May.
Each workshop is open to anyone interested in learning more about hammered copper or blacksmithing. Class openings are limited due to COVID protocols. A prospective student will work one-on-one to learn techniques of working either copper or steel from Wolfe and Bush, who will teach at Rogers Metals studio in Cullowhee.
Class space is extremely limited and will be filled on a first-come/first-serve basis. To sign up for a class, contact rogersmetals@gmail.com.
Lake Junaluska Easter festivities
All are welcome to celebrate Easter with an outdoor sunrise service at the Lake Junaluska Cross and a contactless Easter breakfast buffet at the Lakeside Bistro on Sunday, April 4, at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center.
The sunrise service will begin at 7 a.m. at the outdoor amphitheater below the Lake Junaluska Cross and is open to the public for in-person worship. The service also will be streamed live on Lake Junaluska’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lakejunaluska.
A brass quintet will provide music and the speaker will be the Rev. Gina Gilland Campbell. Campbell is an ordained United Methodist clergywoman and an adjunct faculty member at Wesley Theological Seminary, where she teaches classes in worship, preaching, pastoral leadership and the formation of Christian leaders in an increasingly interfaith world. She has a strong personal connection to Lake Junaluska and serves as a member of Lake Junaluska’s Board of Trustees.
Service attendees are encouraged to dress warmly for cool mountain morning temperatures, and are asked to bring masks and observe social distancing. In the event of rain, the service will be held at Memorial Chapel. Check lakejunaluska.com/easter for possible schedule changes.
Following the service, Lake Junaluska also will host a sumptuous contactless Easter breakfast buffet at the Lakeside Bistro inside The Terrace Hotel from 7:30 a.m to 10 a.m.
The menu features crustless quiche, Southern chicken and Belgian waffles, carved honey glazed ham, French toast, Applewood smoked bacon, sausage, Southern biscuits and gravy, homestyle grits and more. The cost is $32 per adult, $16 per child age 4 to 12, and free for children age 3 and younger. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 828.454.6662.
After the holiday breakfast, the Lakeside Bistro will reopen from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the regular menu of modern Southern cuisine and special Sunday brunch items.
For more information about Lake Junaluska programs and events, visit www.lakejunaluska.com.
Dillsboro Easter Hat Parade
The famous Easter Hat Parade will return to the streets of downtown Dillsboro at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 3.
Bring your finest Easter bonnet and dress up the smiles on everyone’s face by joining in and walking in the parade. In keeping with the times and the pandemic, participants should plan to wear a mask. And if you do not participate in the parade, you can simply do as hundreds of others do: come to Dillsboro and watch the array of folks strolling “down the avenue” in their finery.
Registration for the parade starts at 11 a.m. Brenda Anders, coordinator for the event for the last 30 years, has taken the joy of Easter just a little further.
“The first couple of years, the number of participants in the parade were less than 24,” Anders said. “But, the event has grown, to where we have had over 200 hat contest entries in our parades through the years.”
The prizes for the hat contest are simple and mostly handmade. The categories are ever-changing, but include the largest, smallest, most outrageous, best use of fresh flowers, hat that traveled the farthest, youngest and, of course, best dog.
The Easter Bunny will also be onsite for photos. 828.506.8331 or www.visitdillsboro.com.
