Donna the Buffalo on Fox News at noon in Birmingham Alabama

Donna the Buffalo appeared live on Birmingham’s Fox News at Noon today. They are performing at WorkPlay this evening.

Check out the video here:

http://www.myfoxal.com/global/category.asp?c=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=151721&topVideoCatNoB=169550&topVideoCatNoC=130699&topVideoCatNoD=169551&topVideoCatNoE=104817&clipId=4662527&autostart=true

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Amelia’s Mechanics Performs at the Pisgah Brewery on Saturday, April 10th with Jim Avett opening the evening

Amelia's Mechanics

Amelia’s Mechanics is fronted by Greensboro, NC singer-songwriter’s Molly McGinn and Molly Miller, and backed by a talented group of musicians out of Nashville, TN.  Despite what the oil-and-iron name might suggest, the women of Amelia’s Mechanics swap that toughness for a more urban, sophisticated take on Americana music, using luxuriating harmonies and classical swells to temper their lyrical frustrations with love and life. The instrumentation and vocal harmonies of Amelia’s Mechanics result in a genre-busting sound best described as “vintage country with a moonshine concerto.”

The band released their debut album “North, South,” produced by Jim Avett (father of The Avett Brothers) in February of 2010 to critical acclaim and embarked on an inaugural spring tour to the delight of audiences all across the southeastern United States. Amelia’s Mechanics will begin recording a follow-up album this summer in Asheville, NC at the wonderful Echo Mountain Studios (whose client list includes Smashing Pumpkins, The Avett Brothers, Band of Horses) with the Asheville-based, Grammy-winning producer Steven Heller and fellow Greensboro, NC singer-songwriter Laurelyn Dossett at the helm. A release date has not yet been set for the new album, so stay tuned to their website for more info.

Amelia’s Mechanic’s  “combines elements of rock, folk and country into a warm conglomerate that touches the soul” ~ Review by Jeff Hahne, Editor, Creative Loafing Charlotte

Show details at a glance:

Amelia’s Mechanics
Jim Avett opens
Pisgah Brewery
Saturday, April 10, 2010

All ages, $7
Doors 7pm, show 8pm
828-669-0190
150 Eastside Drive
Black Mountain,NC 28711
www.pisgahbrewing.com

Check out their interviews prior to the show:

• 98.1 The River’s Homegrown with Ash Davis on Sunday April 4th in the 6 o’clock hour.  http://www.981theriver.com/Homegrown/3190197

• MAIN.fm at 5pm on Friday April 9th with KP Whaley.  http://www.wpvm.org/

Links to Amelia’s Mechanic’s Music:
Lala: http://bit.ly/9XJVmr
iTunes: http://bit.ly/bmP0aX

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Archive: Mountain Xpress reviews Galen Kipar Project’s new album “The Scenic Route”

Check out this review in Asheville’s Mountain Xpress of Galen Kipar Project’s newest album, The Scenic Route.

SoundTrack Web Extra

by Alli Marshall on 03/29/2010

http://mountainx.com/ae/2010/soundtrack_web_extra4/

The last thing I wanted to hear on a sunny afternoon, winter still too close to have forgiven it for its chilly insult, is a song that begins, “October snow is coming down.” But the lead track to The Galen Kipar Project‘s new record, The Scenic Route is luminous and warm; Kipar’s vocals as light and syncopated as water cascading over rocks.

Actually, water is an adroit descriptor for an album rife with liquid references. “Rushing Over My Bones,” “The Shore Rushed By” and “Riversong” — and those are just the song titles. “It’s silent up here, silent as water freezing,” he sings on “How I’ve changed.”

…there’s a sense of sea change. Seasons, natural metaphors, moody meditations allude to darker stirrings beyond the album’s first buoyant offering…

Each song on Routes is carefully orchestrated and worked with the tender care of a master painter at his easel. Kipar elevates this eight-song collection far beyond standard singer/songwriter fare, wringing emotion and texture from each song and adding layers of interest with rich, resonant percussion and an intricate dance of string tones. He pushes the envelope of how many sounds can be introduced without reducing the sum to a fuzzy, sonic snarl. In each moment the symphonic result is shined to a high gloss and, despite more than one turn through the soul’s dark night, Kipar never loses sight of the bright warmth with which he begins the journey of this CD.

If Galen Kipar’s The Scenic Route — a name which at first seems vague, but, on closer examination, proves apt — is not a work of mastery, it’s damned close. Learn more at galenkipar.com.

—Alli Marshall, A&E reporter

READ the complete review here: http://mountainx.com/ae/2010/soundtrack_web_extra4/

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Get ready for some Keller and the Keels this Spring & Summer!

Keller Williams & Larry and Jenny Keel, Keller and the Keels, are proud to get you all pumped up for the release of their 2nd studio album ‘Thief‘ which is due out this spring! Official accurate statements forthcoming!

Look out for wild youtubes, press conferences, and stuff to show everyone what this project is all about! Plus, there’s a sweet sweepstakes that’s going to be launched to promote the release of ‘Thief’… You won’t believe what the winner gets!

Show-wise, here’s the first round list of great big fun events Keller and the Keel’s are gonna be performing at this spring and summer:

April10 ~ Greenfield Lake Amphitheater ~ Wilmington NC
May 22 ~ Smilefest Reunion ~ Pinnacle NC
June 17 ~ Telluride Bluegrass Festival ~ Telluride CO
June 17 ~ Sheridan Opera House ~ Telluride CO
July 4 ~ Grateful Fest at Nelson Ledges ~ Garrettsville OH
July 11 ~ All Good Fest ~ Masontown, WV
Aug. 13 ~ Targhee Bluegrass Fest ~ Alta WY

*

That’s it for now! More wacky and interesting things to be announced as the world turns… Stay tuned

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Archive: Keel Family Function returns to LaFayette

Here’s a great writeup about the upcoming Keel Family Function in CatwalkChatt.com :

Keel Family Function returns to LaFayette

by Matt Ledger

Cherokee Farms will come out of winter hibernation, with a musical menagerie known as the second annual Keel Family Function on the weekend of April 2-4.

Early campers will be able to set up on April Fool’s Day, with Soul Grass Rebellion providing music at 9 p.m.

Friday’s acts will begin at 5 p.m. and serenade campers to sleep during the wee hours of Saturday morning.

The lineup of artists has increased from 17 acts last year to 22 this year.

Last year’s inaugural concert featured Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, the namesake of the event.

Jeff Mosier, Caroline Pond, Ralph Roddenberry, and Lefty Williams are just a few of the artists returning from last year — excited about the springtime return to LaFayette.

“We anticipate some great musical energy and fusion among the artists all weekend long,” Thomas Helland, the event’s coordinator, said.

The highlight of last year’s concert for Donna Hopkins was playing in the “Eye of the Dawg” showcase, which had nearly a dozen players jamming together in the round acoustically.

Digital Butter of Chattanooga will add an electorinca sound to the upcoming concert, during the late-night hours, along with Zoogma of Oxford, Miss.

The soulful funky sounds of 3rd Stone, from northern Florida, is a “blend of rock, afro-beat, reggae and funk rhythms into a highly addictive sonic stew that is sure to make your body move,” according to Helland.

Ashville, N.C., will be well represented with Josh Phillips Folk Festival, Virginia Dare Devils, Soulgrass Rebel-lion, and Caroline Pond making the trek over I-40.

The Ragbirds of Ann Arbor, Mich., will be traveling the furthest for this gig, bringing an international flavor that combines Celtic fiddling, African drum beats with Middle Eastern, Gypsy, and Americana stylings.

Future plans for the Keel Family Function are to develop into an annual spring pilgrimage for roots music lov-ers, and “maintain a similar explosive musical energy to Harvest Fest while creating a path all its own,” Helland said.

READ the full article and the schedule click here:  http://www.catoosanews.com/view/full_story/6823864/article-Keel-Family-Function-returns-to-LaFayette?instance=home_news_lead_story

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Photos: PhilanthroPEAK LIVE in Asheville

Here are some snapshots that I took at PhilanthroPEAK Live on Saturday March 20th at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, NC.  PhilanthroPEAK is the title of the forthcoming Asheville outreach documentary being produced by Concepts4Charity (C4C).  The film tells a story of a community taking action by discussing ideas for developing grassroots projects in Western North Carolina, while also promoting the goodwill and concerns of the local community. For more info visit concepts4charity.org

Shay Amber & Gabriel Shaffer's clay work shop!

Jenny Greer

Eliza Sydney

The Secret B-Sides

Jar-E

Underhill Rose

Aaron Woody Wood

Filmmakers David Bourne & Kurt Mann in action filming Aaron Woody Wood

Aaron Price & Kellin Watson

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Archive: Concept4Charity promotes nonprofits and arts with film

PhilanthroPEAK Live starts at 5pm tonight, Saturday March 20th, 2010 at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville! Film, Music, Art, Mon-profits, and more… Read more about it n the Blue Banner Article below:

Charity promotes nonprofits with film

By Alex Hammond / Staff Writer

UNCA’s Blue Banner www.thebluebanner.net

rahammon@unca.edu

The PhilanthroPEAK Live concert at the Diana Wortham Theatre involves several bands, cameras, a cut rate for students and filming a unique documentary.

“This year, Chris’ idea originally was to develop a film that would show us building relationships in the community, as we’re trying to develop a program in Asheville,” said Kaleem Clarkson, the director of Concepts4Charity.

C4C is a national charity dedicated to the promotion of other charities. Their next production is the PhilanthroPEAK documentary, which deals largely with area nonprofit organizaitions and the artists and musicians involved with them, said Chris Gaspar, the vice president of operations of C4C.

“We’re like a PR company for nonprofits,” he said.

Asheville has a lot of nonprofits, but little in terms of promotion for them, Gaspar said. Filming a documentary on those organizations seemed like a perfect chance to build relationships and to promote an area that gets less media coverage than it should, he said.

“I thought that this place is not really getting covered,” Gaspar said. “We want to introduce Asheville to a larger base.”

Gaspar wants to build another office here, Clarkson said, so they started production and started raising funds to move a pilot program from Massachusetts to the mountains.

“He (Gaspar) felt that it was time to build a physical presence in Asheville. Most of our physical presence has been in Massachusetts and Sacramento,” Clarkson said.

Funds raised at the concert Saturday will go toward a program starting at Asheville High School named Hip-Hop Culture, Gaspar said.

“We basically pick a benefactor, we work with the local talent and the local venues,” Gaspar said.

Clarkson said the program offers several disciplines, including break dancing, poetry or songwriting.

“What we do with Hip-Hop Culture, plain and simple, is we provide kids the chance to select a discipline. They practice that discipline twice a week after school,” Clarkson said.

Students learn the history of hip-hop as well as the techniques. At the end of the semester, they participate in a talent show, according to Clarkson.

“We got the confirmation from the principal that we could start a pilot program,” he said.

One of the filmmakers involved with the PhilanthroPEAK project, David Bourne, is a local who worked with Gaspar on a prior project, A Call to Action. He said the documentary is well on the way to finishing shooting.

“We’re still in production, so we are probably about three-quarters of the way through the project. We’ve filmed in a cabin in Leicester and we have filmed in a hot-air balloon,” Bourne said. “In my balloon, I was interviewing a naturalist who works for a regional nonprofit called the WNC Alliance, and he was able to talk about the region’s biodiversity.”

The unique shooting situation caused some equally unique problems, Bourne said.

“The major challenge was doing an interview when the balloon had to be inflated at different intervals. The balloon blast would go off, and we would just have to have them repeat the last thing they said, just start over,” he said.

Filming in a balloon was a way the filmmakers offered a different take on the area, Bourne said.

“Of course, being up in a balloon you get all kinds of perspective that you can’t get on the ground,” he said.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.thebluebanner.net/mobile/charity-promotes-nonprofits-with-film-1.1270081

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Larry Keel and Natural Bridge has a fun weekend in store to celebrate the Spring Equinox!

Photo by Bright Life Photography

Thursday night in Charlotte, NC at the Double Door Inn

The audience at a Larry Keel performance is not simply being entertained, instead, they are having their hearts and brains happily steamed in a boiling cauldron of blazing instrumentation and BRAND NEW original sounds. Driven jamming is linked in flawless cohesion to brilliant and multiple variations. This band is anything but ordinary! A band of kindred spirits who share a common musical vision.

MORE INFO: http://www.charlottecultureguide.com/event.php?id=7806

Friday night 3/19 at the New Earth Music Hall in Athens!

A two-time national flatpick champion, Keel is known for his guitar style and a low, soulful voice. Also performing: Crawford-band Efren, which released its debut, “Thunder and Moan,” late last year. The evening will be the public’s first chance to taste Iron Tankard Old Stock Ale, the first of four beers in Terrapin’s “Georgia Theatre Sessions,” a limited series of ales brewed to raise funds for the reconstruction of the Theatre.

Terrapin Beer Co. will release the first of its “Georgia Theatre Sessions” brews at a benefit concert for the theater March 19.

At 7 p.m., Terrapin’s Iron Tankard will be tapped at New Earth Music Hall. The old stock ale is named after the iron swimming pool that was housed in the Georgia Theatre when it first opened as a YMCA. BorderHop Trio and Larry Keel and Natural Bridge will play at at 9.

Iron Tankard is the first of four beers in the “Georgia Theatre Sessions” series. Each beer takes on a name from a different era in the building’s life.

READ MORE: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/031810/mar_592140577.shtml &  http://onlineathens.com/stories/031110/mar_582889242.shtml

Saturday3/20  at the Pour House in Charleston, SC

Springing Ahead

The Pour House presents a two-day season-change session

by Brian Sewell

On Saturday, Larry Keel will play two sets on the main stage. A bluegrass guitar virtuoso with a fierce flatpicking style, Keel is guaranteed to entertain. With Natural Bridge, his amply capable band of pickers, Keel’s music bridges the gap between traditional bluegrass and contemporary Appalachia.

The Atlanta-based duo of Jeff and Johnny Mosier work Americana stylings and folk music traditions into tasteful tunes. They’ll welcome acclaimed fiddler and mandolinist David Blackmon as well. All three are members of the ensemble Blueground Undergrass.  ~Charleston City Paper

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/springing-ahead/Content?oid=1844877

If you are in the south and wanting to hear some kickass flatpickin, a strong and steady bass, with some fiery mandolin and banjo; get your bum in gear and head out to one of these shows!

LARRY KEEL on the Web

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Archive: PhilanthroPEAK wraps filming with a six-hour multimedia extravaganza March 20th at the Diana Wortham Theatre

Raising awareness for the cause — and the arts, and the music

PhilanthroPEAK wraps filming with a six-hour multimedia extravaganza

by Dane Smith in Vol. 16 / Iss. 34 on 03/17/2010

Mountain Xpress

http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2010/031710raising_awareness_for_the_cause

Last year, Chris Gaspar had an inspired idea: to spotlight the diverse and thriving philanthropic movement in Asheville through the eyes of local artists, musicians, business people and activists. The result: PhilanthroPEAK, a documentary highlighting the efforts of local outreach programs and the people who drive them. The hope, Gaspar says, is not only to raise awareness for the various causes, but also to introduce Asheville to a national audience.

Now, with the shooting phase (which has been underway for about a year) drawing to a close, Concepts4Charity is hosting a six-hour fundraiser — PhilanthroPEAK Live — at the Diana Wortham Theatre, featuring live music (Aaron Price with Kellin Watson, Woody Wood, Jar-e, Underhill Rose, The Secret B-Sides and Jenny Greer of Jen and the Juice), comedians Scotch Tomedy, visual artists, theatrical performances, interactive displays from the Bob Moog Foundation and a ceramics demonstration by local author and artist Shay Amber. Local nonprofits will also be on hand with information about their organizations. Basically, says Gaspar, this is the “capstone event,” complete with film crews on hand to capture the entire evening.

Now, with the shooting phase (which has been underway for about a year) drawing to a close, Concepts4Charity is hosting a six-hour fundraiser — PhilanthroPEAK Live — at the Diana Wortham Theatre, featuring live music (Aaron Price with Kellin Watson, Woody Wood, Jar-e, Underhill Rose, The Secret B-Sides and Jenny Greer of Jen and the Juice), comedians Scotch Tomedy, visual artists, theatrical performances, interactive displays from the Bob Moog Foundation and a ceramics demonstration by local author and artist Shay Amber. Local nonprofits will also be on hand with information about their organizations. Basically, says Gaspar, this is the “capstone event,” complete with film crews on hand to capture the entire evening.

The film itself features many of those artists, performing and speaking about causes they support. PhilanthroPEAK Live headliner Kellin Watson says she’s grateful for the opportunity to raise awareness for such a wide range of causes, two of which are especially close to her heart.

“I’ve always been a big supporter of breast cancer awareness,” Watson says. “I’ve lost a friend, and then both my grandmothers had breast cancer, so that was something that was always important to me. And also, the music in public schools programs are something that I’m always behind, because there was such a cut in funding in the last eight years. And that’s what Concepts4Charity seems to be about, putting it back into schools.”

…

Read the full article here: http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2010/031710raising_awareness_for_the_cause

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Archive: Kent, Ohio inspired by Arts2People’s Asheville Mural Project

Art Spark

Posted by daver in City Living on March 12, 2010 | no responses

http://www.kent360.com/2709-art-spark.html

My mention of the Haymaker Farmer’s Market interest in an art mural on the columns beneath the Haymaker Bridge earlier in the week sparked a fair amount of interest from folks.  People seemed to feel that the Market was on to something good and they were letting me know that we (aka the City) needs to do more to promote public art projects like this since art runs deep in Kent’s DNA — both formally with the art education programs and professional galleries like the KSU Gallery and the McKay Bricker Gallery, and at the other end of the spectrum with a glom of  indie artists randomly found around town doing their own thing in unexpected places (like streetcorners or at the Professor’s Pub).

I tend to agree that the City needs to do whatever it can to advance the arts — both the formal and informal forms of creative expression.  I don’t make that statement to be politically correct or for some philanthropic agenda, rather if we’re serious about selling the Kent experience as an eclectic mix of characters, places and sensory stimuli then art has to be part of the community conversation and stake it’s claim at the alter of eccentric Kent.  The adjectives and descriptors of art — quirky, surprising, confusing, thought provoking, and even shocking — also happen to pop up when talking about many aspects of Kent so in that regard art resonates and even amplifies the Kent ethos (or milieu for the high brow artists among us.)

Our efforts to market the Kent lifestyle is not unique to us — it’s the core of a lot of city development efforts.  Those bold Texans in Austin have taken it so far as to proudly adopt the tag line “Keep Austin Wierd” in a national campaign to be the world headquarters of everything odd.  You can’t help but admire the lengths they’ve gone to realize their aspiration — the video of the 6′4″ cowboy walking down the street in his raw hide boots and matching thong did me in but clearly they have no fear in embracing their unique sense of style.

Another ambitious city that has embraced the off-beat is Asheville North Carolina.  They’ve carved themselves a unique place in the mountains of North Carolina that is equal parts hippie and hill-billy – and it works really well.  Great art, great street scene, great restaurants and a surprising mix of people of all kinds of dispositions.

It turns out that Asheville is one of the sources of inspiration for the Kent art mural project that has been adopted by the Haymaker Farmer’s Market.  They’ve got their own infrastructure art thing going on.

Here’s a few good links to learn more about the Asheville project

Asheville Story Archives

Kent still has a long way to go to catch Asheville but it’s nice to know that we’re in good company.

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