interview Archive
07 Apr 2023
Asheville Music Venues in a Post-pandemic World, Part 2
Continued from Part One… Guarded optimism While most indications suggest that the worst of the pandemic is now history, the teams that run local music venues don’t want to get […]
06 Apr 2023
Asheville Music Venues in a Post-pandemic World, Part 1
In March 2020, music and entertainment venues across the U.S. closed their doors; virtually overnight, concert halls and clubs went from having a full schedule to turning out the stage […]
02 Apr 2023
Interview Roundup: Beatle-Adjacent
I’ve never interviewed any of the Beatles. What I have done – and which may be of some interest to the Beatlemanaic-inclined readers of this site – is speak with […]
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 […]
21 Mar 2023
The Shiny, Timeless Pop of Tchotchke
There’s a strong classic pop sensibility running through the songs on Tchotchke, the self-titled debut album by the New York City trio. The three musicians admit as much. “I grew […]
20 Mar 2023
Interview Roundup: The Residents
People sometimes like to joke about The Residents. “Play their records to get your overstaying guests to leave” and such. They’re willfully weird, tauntingly transgressive, aggressively amelodic. Or so goes […]
19 Mar 2023
Interview Roundup: Joe Satriani
It’s one thing to be a technically superb guitar shredder. Lots of axe-wielders can claim that title. But just because one can execute blindingly difficult runs on the six-string doesn’t […]
17 Mar 2023
Interview Roundup: Yes
One day not along ago, I decided to amuse myself by counting up just how many members — present and/or former – of Yes I have had the pleasuring of […]