Reverend Horton Heat tearing the roof off early in show with “The Party in Your Head.”
Later in the evening they slowed things down to play some requests like “Where in the hell did you go with my toothbrush.”
This was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. My son Mars is a huge fan and was at first super-excited when he found out Reverend Horton Heat was coming to The Orange Peel, then distraught when he saw it was not all ages. I convinced him to start contacting people, which led to him eventually to Bigsy of the RHH road crew. Bigsy made sure we could get in, and for that he will always be the man.
The whole show was great. One highlight was that it was Jimbo’s birthday. Road crew member Hoss brought a cake on stage, then after the candles were out proceeded to sing Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” while Horton Heat shredded. Well done Hoss! I started to record that too but the crowd got to moshing and we were in the middle of it.
Jim Heath, the Reverend and Jimbo hung out after the show and Mars was able to get their autographs and chat briefly. They have had a huge influence on him and are the reason he has mowed a lot of grass to get a hollow body guitar, and he now has an upright bass in his sights. I had printed the email from Bigsy, because I wanted to be sure I could get the boy in, and Mars got it autographed by Jim and Jimbo.
Tonight I was on a bike ride with my pal Brian and we came across this family of bears. Bent Tree Rd is a popular route for cyclists, and apparently black bears. Undeterred, we followed this mother and her cubs until they scrambled up the bank, and then finished our ride.
We also saw two white squirrels in the same area. Nuts!
My pal Kevin (Circle K) and I went to the sold out Chris Cornell show at The Orange Peel in Asheville. I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know it was going to be a solo acoustic set. He performed solo work, songs by Temple of The Dog, Soundgarden, and Audioslave. He also did several covers including songs from Mother Love Bone, and, “Billy Jean” by Michael Jackson. I decided I would catch just one song on video and it turned out to be this one. Another interesting thing from the show is that Cornell, for two songs, used instrumental vinyl records as accompaniment. He had a turntable to the side, would put the needle on, sing the song, and then take the needle off. Nice.
Talk about DIY! OK, I will. This is my long lost cousin (probably) Terri Sigler. Not only has she learned the complex art of glass blowing she has managed to build her own studio completely from scratch. And from scratch includes her skill set. She had to research how to design it, then learn the various trades to construct it, from welding to electrical.
In the video above she and an intern are making Christmas ornaments at a recent studio open house. In the video below takes us on a tour of the glass blowing shop she built.
We stopped by an open studio/holiday sale to see our friends Judith and Terri in action. Judith’s specialty is bookmaking, and she also repairs old books. People want this type of high level craft in their lives. Look how popular the the DodoCase for the iPad has become. Now, if only Judith had something I could link to… We gotta get her goods online!
I’ve never done a corn maze before. Hickory Nut Gap Farm is a popular one near us in Asheville. I would say the maze, the farm animals, the barn, and pumpkin patch are great for families with young kids. We enjoyed it with our teenagers, but it’s a pretty low-key experience. Of course the short drive out there is beautiful. And who doesn’t like goats? Especially micro goats.
Mars just finished another week at Rock Academy here in Asheville. At the finale concert the kids tore the roof off with an eclectic mix eight cover songs. Mars recommended this Riptides cover from their instrumental record Mental Therapy. Very surf rock and I love it. Notice Mars’s attention to stage presence. He’s fun to watch, because he looks like he’s having fun.
The kids also did a great cover of Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon.” Dig the laid back drum solo around the two minute mark. That kid rocks steady! Mars was not in this one. Read the rest of this entry »
We love the waterfalls in NC. The falls at Dupont Forest are some of our favorites, and they’re close to Asheville. These videos are from “High Falls” which is at the top of the park. As a special treat we had some extra family members with us yesterday, Jolly, Phil, Ellie and Dillon.
On the other side of the falls there is a sweet looking natural slide. There were some college-age kids zooming down it but I didn’t manage to catch them in motion. It looked like it was hard on the backside, but worth the pain. Well, maybe at that age.
Bye bye Mr. President. I hardly got know you. POTUS Obama and posse left just in time for him to deliver a eulogy at the memorial service for the 29 men that died in the coal mining accident earlier this month in West Virginia.
Those drivers really put the “motor” in motorcade. Hammer down through my neighborhood. My house is just a few doors down from this intersection. Once they started closing streets everyone figured they were about to depart. It turned into a regular block party. My (favorite) neighbor, who will remain nameless walked back to her house and mixed up some mimosas for the adults and lemonade for kiddos. Here’s to you President Obama. Don’t be a stranger.
P.S. Thumbs up for the Asheville Police Department, at least the guys at this intersection. They were, very, serious when it was called for, but the rest of the time they were chatting with the crowd and giving out various APD trinkets to the all the kids.
My daughter caught this on the Flip cam. Jump to the end to see President Obama tee off, then speak to us as he drove by. This is the golf course at Grove Park Inn. The tee is right by our back yard. We get to hear people yell “fore” and less polite things all day.
Then Paris walked down a few houses to catch him again. Unfortunately, that’s when he decided to walk back to our group and shake hands with everybody. So Mars and I got the introduction and handshake, but no video. Paris gets a handshake in the video below, but only her hand is on camera. ;) Fun day.
Want to know what it's like to have brain surgery? Well here's the long version of my experience. Complete with pictures and videos! Read all about the Brain Surgery Experience.
