Jonathan Scales — Plot/Scheme (Pre-release)

Steel drums? Jazz? Sounds like Jonathan Scales has put together the music chocolate and peanut butter to come up with some ear candy that’s delicious and nutritious. Maybe there are other folks doing the same thing but how’s a virtual hermit like me to know? Sounds fresh either way, and I dig it. I got my copy from Andy, but you can check out the same songs at Mr. Scales MySpace page. Straight outta Asheville y’all!

JonScales.com

Kenpo Joe Comes to Asheville

My son Mars and I got to work out with Master Joe Rebelo a couple weeks ago. He has more than a dozen black belts in various degrees and disciplines, and he also the official historian for Kenpo and our art, TAI. Our instructor Derek Croley, Croley’s Martial Arts Center, does a great job getting martial arts big shots to visit and put on seminars. Master Rebelo is a pretty entertaining guy and high-energy to say the least. Mars liked it so much he got “Kenpo Joe” to sign his belt. And we did get schooled, but not as much as the black belts in the class. Near the end of the seminar Rebelo called me up to demonstrate something, on me that is. Mercifully, he changed his mind before I got there, told me to sit down, and called on a young black belt instead. Then, he proceeded to twist and contort the guy’s arms, said “you don’t scream much do you?”, and performed another move that elicited a hilarious squeal.

“Everybody’s wearing a cup, right?!”

KenpoJoe.com

Kevin Shelton’s Skateboard Collection at The Push Gallery

This one if for my main man Bennie. He was the first guy I knew to have a “serious” skateboard. It was a Kryptonics Krypstick with gnarly see-through pizza deck grip tape, Tracker trucks, and some sweet green Kryptonic wheels. He was cool enough to let me use it to commute to summer school one year in junior high. It was slower than riding my bike but I really wanted to show off that board, even though it belonged to Bennie.

Asheville’s Kevin Shelton has quite a collection of cool boards too. And he’s not just a collector; he once was pro and road for Walker skateboards. Thanks to Push Skateshop Kevin’s collection is on display in their gallery. The gallery, which is probably bigger than the skateshop, regularly has art exhibited, paintings, sculptures etc., but this collection really combines the twin forces of art and skating like nothing else. I didn’t even know about it until I started talking to Rob, the owner, when he was helping out at my son’s skateboard camp last week. He helped Mars learn some new things. Maybe I can get him to coach me.

I took a ton a pics of this collection and had a difficult time picking these few. Shelton also has quite a collection of vintage snowboards and land luges on display, but the skateboards are what do it for me. Here are some of my favorites.

Asheville Living — Horseback Riding at the Biltmore Estate

We finished a major renovation project on the house this week. So, we took a break and my daughter Paris and I rode the horses around the yard for a while. From the back the house looks a lot like the Biltmore estate.

Paris’s horse was named Dusty and my trusty steed was called Cowboy. I decided to change my name to Horse for the day just to keep things weird. Our guide told me that Cowboy was a little slow and that I would have to kick him pretty often to keep him moving. Then, she said “I’m not exaggerating.” And she wasn’t. Homeboy, I mean Cowboy, was lazy. It took about 20 minutes until we came to an understanding of who was the real cowboy. After that we’re were trucking along just fine. It’s good to be back in the saddle. Yee haw!

Balkan Beat Box (w/Golem) — Live at The Orange Peel, Asheville

Copenhagen, London, Paris, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, New York, ASHEVILLE! That’s not just where Balkan Beat Box is touring, it’s what they sound like. They’ve been here a couple times before, but this is the first time I’ve seen them. It was an excellent show. And maybe I’m guilty of grade inflation lately, or maybe I don’t get out enough, but I thought this show rocked. Even the crowd rocked. This stuff is just so fresh, fresh, fuh-resh. I’ve been listening to their first, self-titled album constantly for the last few months, through their web site. I finally got around to buying it at the show, along with their brand new release Nu Med. I’m not going to try to explain the sound. Just go to their site. I recommend beginners start with “Cha Cha” and then maybe “Try Rai (Shushan).”

They came out on the dance floor with drums and saxophones to get the show started. Excellent! Then, they made their way to stage and by the second song, “Cha Cha”, (which Tomer Yosef did a lot of rapping on, unlike the studio recording) the entire crowd was jumping up and down. I have never seen so many people going off with their own crazy dance moves. Maybe the music demands inventive steps.

Opening act Golem also put on a solid show. I enjoyed them but I didn’t already know their music. After a while it all started blending together. But their playing and stage presence were great.

“When you hear the chicken… make some noise!”

Art Deco — Detail from Asheville Music School

Asheville has more than its share of Art Deco architecture, a good thing. There are a number of reasons for this. I would guess that the main reason is that the town was blossoming into a popular mountain resort in roughly the same period the Art Deco style was developing. That probably attracted architects like Douglas Ellington to come do their thing, or things.

This pic is from the corner of the Asheville Music School. It’s right down the street from my house and my kids take guitar lessons there. The building is not that exciting, but these pilasters are definitely handsome. There are a half dozen or so spread across the façade. The center strip appears to be bronze and terminates at the top with a light fixture. Those blue lights are a nice little surprise in the evening.

Toubab Krewe — Toubab Krewe

Toubab Krewe -- Toubab Krewe

• Artist: Toubab Krewe
• Title: Toubab Krewe
• Year: 2005
• Format: CD
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 2007 – Secondspin.com
• Keeper: Yes

These guys are the business. Toubab Krewe are making music that takes more effort than some dudes getting together and just jamming. They use a lot of African instruments that you probably have never heard of, and probably couldn’t find someone to teach you, at least in this country. And somehow this all came together right here in Asheville, NC. My favorite, I think, is “Devil Woman.” You can hear it and three other songs at ToubabKrewe.com. There’s even more stuff at their MySpace page. (Be sure to check out “Buncombe to Badala”)

This type of instrumental music is not for everybody, but it is for cool people. Think about that. Thanks to another local musician, Andy John, for turning me on to this.

Asheville Living — Dupont State Forest Waterfalls

This weekend the Sigler households joined forces and went a-hiking out at Dupont Forest. It’s less than an hour away and there are a bunch of waterfalls. The trip took us on increasingly rural looking roads with few cars in sight until we arrived at a parking lot jam-packed with tourists and a lot of out of state license plates. But there’s enough forest and waterfalls for everyone. Everyone that’s up for some serious uphill hiking that is. And we were. I decided I wanted to get close to one fall to feel its most awesome powah. I went barefoot and let me tell you it was cold man, cold!

There’s more about Dupont Forest at this unofficial site.

Asheville Living — Bele Chere Festival 2006

So we’ve been living here in Asheville, NC for two or three months now. I must say that I’m digging it more and more. This weekend was the big Bele Chere Festival. Some of the locals seem tired of it, but we thought we would check it out. We’re close enough to walk downtown, which is nice, because parking was not easy. There was a lot of the usual carnival-type stuff, a lot of art, crafts, and music on a number of stages. But I think the coolest bits were the street performers on the periphery.

Young women with tattoos, dreadlocks, nose piercings, and cowboy boots playing fiddle and banjo on the street? Awesome. Could be any day in Asheville.

A joking juggler or juggling comedian? This guy was pretty funny, even if he did bust on me, twice. There’s a large crowd right behind me.