Since their founding in 2006 the 17 piece Asheville Jazz Orchestra has become western North Carolina's premier big band. Their mission is twofold. First, through recreating the swing era hits of the 1930s and 1940s the AJO strives to rekindle an awareness of this rich and innovative jazz style. Secondly, the AJO considers it vital to help the big band tradition evolve through performing works by contemporary composers and arrangers. Whether they're playing your favorite big band era hits at their monthly swing dance or performing a brand new composition written by a band member in a formal concert, the AJO is dedicated to both preserving and advancing the uniquely American art form of jazz. The musicians who perform with the AJO rank among some of the finest jazz musicians in the area. Band members bring their experiences performing with luminary groups such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Mel Tormé, When Swing Was King, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadian's, and Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau. They also bring their performing experiences into the classroom, teaching music to ages ranging from middle school students at North Buncombe and Owen Middle Schools to adults at Mars Hill College and the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The AJO regularly performs educational music festivals, most recently at the Patton High School Jazz Festival and the upcoming Western Carolina University Trumpet Festival.
Thursday, July 29, 2010. 8pm. $10. Advance tickets available online only.
Clem Snide began in Boston in the early 1990s. It was there Eef Barzelay and good friends Eric Paul and Jason Glasser first performed under that moniker. The band dissolved when Eef Barzelay moved to New York where he briefly dabbled in the Sidewalk café anti-folk scene before reconnecting with Glasser to reform the band and begin work on their first record “You Were A Diamond”. Their artistic partnership would become the backbone of Clem Snide, and would produce two of the bands seminal records, “Ghost of Fashion” and “Your Favorite Music”. Described by Robert Christagau as “true American deadpan” Clem Snide garnered critical acclaim for their unique brand of “art country” and enjoyed a brush with mainstream success when their song “Moment in the Sun” was chosen as the theme song for the NBC show “Ed”. In 2002 Glasser relocated to France with his family and Eef carried on recruiting old Boston friend, multi-instrumentalist Pete Fitzpatrick and his cousin Brendan to complete work on the bands fourth record, “Soft Spot”. In 2004 Eef moved to Nashville and recorded their fifth record “End of Love” between there and New York. With the addition of Nashville bred drummer Ben Martin the band did extensive touring for the next couple of years which culminated in their return to Mark Nevers studio in Nashville to begin work on “Hungry Bird”. Sadly, personal and financial strains overshadowed the record's completion and the band dissolved. Barzelay, eager for a clean slate struck out on his own, releasing two solo records, “Bitter Honey” and “Lose Big”, and created the score for Sundance award winning film “Rocket Science”. During the “Rocket Science” sessions Barzelay discovered musicians Tony Hamel and Roy Agee, and was inspired to, with their help, complete the abandoned “Hungry Bird”. “Hungry Bird” is very much a Clem Snide record. It ambitiously swings between illusory folk, dark apocalyptic dirge, and a rare spoken word performance from Pulitzer Prize winning poet Franz Wright. Lyrically Barzelay continues his quest to unearth the contradictions inherent in faith, love, and the future. Although, it is the record that almost killed Clem Snide it is also the record that convinced Barzelay that the band must go on.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010. 8:30pm. $8 advance / $10 day of show. Advance tickets available online and at our local outlets, Orbit DVD and Harvest Records!
Jill Andrews has been a musician all her life: from her first original tune in kindergarten - a ditty about the letter P - to the stage at Fillmore East. Jill picked up a guitar for the first time when she was 19; armed with only three chords, she had all she needed to create deep and soulful songs with lonesome melodies and haunting lyrics.
In 2003, Jill teamed up with Sam Quinn to create the everybodyfields—it was an undeniable musical union. And the face of Tennessee's roots music would never be the same. The everybodyfields played Bonnaroo and Floydfest, honkytonks, bars, and theaters from coast to coast. Paste Magazine listed them in their "Best of What's Next" issue in September 2008, saying that they "straddle old and new, bitter and sweet, desperation and transcendence with an arresting command." Jill's taking that arresting command into her new solo project, but the themes will be familiar, and fans who've fallen head over heels for her material can expect that signature alt-country, roots-rock sound to deliver and grow.
Her songs will warm you like a winter quilt - or chill you to the bone. Either way, when you hear Jill Andrews sing, you will remember it.
Saturday, July 17, 2010. With Brian McGee. 9pm. $10 advance / $12 day of show.
Ten years in, the four gentlemen that form Chatham County Line have a lot to reflect on. Sold out shows in the US and overseas, appearances on national Radio & TV, four solid selling records, and four really dirty suits. "We want to be the band that puts on the most professional show in the business of what we do" reflects singer/guitarist/writer Dave Wilson. "I get tired of going to a show and the band stands around on stage doing nothing for 40% of the gig, if you're there for us, we are gonna prove we are there for you."
It is that sincerity of showmanship and professionalism that has led to countless miles on the road for CCL. "We've wore out two vans by now and I've actually worn out a few ties as well, you ever hear of someone wearing out a tie?" asks John Teer, mandolin, fiddle and high tenor singer for the band. It is this sweat equity that has fans driving hundreds of miles to catch Chatham County Line at work on the road.
9pm. $10 advance / $12 day of show. Thursday, July 8, 2010. Tickets on SALE NOW!
It is hard to remain indifferent in front of this band. You feel trapped by their music, drunk with it.
Every performance by MARAH is an explosion of vitality, energy and authentic passion for pure, un-distilled rock&roll. Their melodies are so wonderful that they almost hurt, hitting you with well-aimed blows of honesty. Getting through them is entering a magical universe of deep lyrical poetry, across which parade the dark side of the street, the soul’s emotions and dreams. Stories that scratch the surface looking for deeper meanings, that go right through your skin and broaden your heart.
Without a break, without respite, they knit a moving visceral rock which they spit from deep inside, making bitterness turn out beautiful if you truly feel it. Without renouncing the freshness of present time, they integrate their chords together with ancestral roots which they re-invent time and time again, shaking your blood and soul to the point of distorting your senses. The result is a sort of gorgeous music they generously give away to make the world look more inhabitable to us, with more room for goodness and beauty.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010. 8:30pm. $10. Advance tickets on sale NOW!
One of the most celebrated country-folk performers of her day, singer/songwriter Iris Dement was born on January 5, 1961, in rural Paragould, AR, the youngest of 14 children. At the age of three, her devoutly religious family moved to California, where she grew up singing gospel music; during her teenaged years, however, she was first exposed to country, folk, and R&B, drawing influence from Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell. Upon graduating high school, she relocated to Kansas City to attend college.
After a series of jobs waitressing and typing, Dement first began composing songs at the age of 25. Honing her skills at open-mic nights, in 1988 she moved to Nashville, where she contacted producer Jim Rooney, who helped her land a record contract. Dement did not make her recording debut until 1992, when her independent label offering, Infamous Angel, won almost universal acclaim thanks to her pure, evocative vocal style and spare, heartfelt songcraft. Despite a complete lack of support from country radio, the record's word-of-mouth praise earned her a deal with Warner Bros., which reissued Infamous Angel in 1993 as well as its follow-up, 1994's stunning My Life. Her third LP, 1996's eclectic The Way I Should, marked a dramatic change not only in its more rock-influenced sound but also in its subject matter; where Dement's prior work was introspective and deeply personal, The Way I Should was fiercely political, tackling topics like sexual abuse, religion, government policy, and Vietnam. In 1999, she collaborated with country man John Prine on his album, In Spite of Ourselves. Dement recorded four duets with Prine that earned her a Grammy nod the following year.
Saturday, June 19, 2010. 8pm. $25 advance / $27 day of show. Advance tickets available NOW at Harvest Records, Orbit DVD and The Grey Eagle after 5pm.
The 19-year old from Kent, Ohio first performed with her family band One Way Rider at the age of eight. At age 15, she recorded her first album "White Lies" in her brother's bedroom, printing only 100 copies. One of those copies fell into the hands of Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. After an introduction, Mayfield and Auerbach hit the studio, laying the foundation of her debut album "With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt."
The album was produced by Auerbach and recorded over a two-year span in his home studio in Akron. "With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt" features Mayfield on acoustic guitar and vocals, Auerbach on a variety of instrumentation and Mayfield’s brother (David) on upright bass. Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken and Frank McElroy provide vocal harmonies on the track “I’m Not Lonely Anymore.” Says Auerbach of the recording experience, “I think she’s dark and moody in a mysterious way, not unlike Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.” He adds, “I’m just always really excited to make music with her.”
In 2007, Mayfield lent her voice to the track “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be” on The Black Keys’ album, Attack & Release, making her the first guest vocalist to appear on any record released by The Black Keys. Jessica has also opened up a number of shows for folk rock sensations The Avett Brothers, who have recorded a video of her song “For Today”.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010. w/ Among the Oak & Ash. 8:30pm. $10. TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
