avant-garde Archive
15 May 2023
30 Days Out, May 2023 #2: Jonny Couch, Acid Mothers Temple, Sierra Ferrell, Randall Bramblett
Four nationally-touring acts are among the live music highlights in Asheville in the coming 30 days. Go see ‘em, and support local artists as well. Artist: Jonny Couch Venue: Fleetwood’s […]
30 Mar 2023
Avant Garde in WNC: Okapi
Okapi is the duo of Lindsey Miller (cello) and Scott Gorski (upright bass). Originally based in Chicago, they launched Okapi in 2012. While the couple describes their project as a […]
29 Mar 2023
Avant Garde in WNC: Tashi Dorji
Experimental guitarist-composer Tashi Dorji is initially nonplussed when asked how receptive Asheville audiences have been to his brand of avant garde music. “I don’t consider what I do ‘entertainment’ music,” […]
28 Mar 2023
Avant Garde in WNC: Min Xiao-Fen
Min Xiao-Fen relocated to Asheville from New York City in 2020. By that point she was already an in-demand, world-class musician. Min’s primary instrument is the pipa, an ancient lute-like […]
27 Mar 2023
Avant Garde in WNC: It Might Get Weird
Asheville and all of Western North Carolina is home to a wide array of musical styles. Though Asheville is rightly seen as a hotbed of bluegrass and a magnet for […]
21 Feb 2023
Hundred Word Reviews, February 2023 Part Two
More capsule reviews. All new releases. Get ‘em while they’re hot. Ward White – Ice Cream Chords When I reviewed Ward White’s 2021 album The Tender Age, I was struck […]
12 Feb 2023
Album Review: Bruce Licher — Exploratorium
Bruce Licher is guitarist in post-punk band Savage Republic; that L.A.-based group has flown well under the commercial radar. But they came to my attention years ago when I read […]
03 Jan 2023
Steve Hillage: Ten Albums That Changed My Life (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… Steve Hillage continues a discussion of some of his favorite albums. Pink Floyd – Ummagumma (1969) I could’ve easily chosen Piper at the Gates of Dawn, […]
02 Jan 2023
Steve Hillage: Ten Albums That Changed My Life (Part One)
The following is a significantly more in-depth version of a short piece I edited for Goldmine Magazine . — bk Steve Hillage is one of those special musicians whose influence […]
22 Nov 2022
Album Reviews: David Javelosa – Atomic Odyssey! and Modern Work Volume One
David Javelosa is an inspired musician whose work is primarily synthesizer-based. But his bent, whimsical and playful approach to music results in sounds that are far from the “serious” kind […]