The asheville current Issue 1 Version 2

T h e

A s h e v i l l e C u r r e n t

v o l u m e 1i s s u e 1

CORY THOMPSONCory’s two biggest fans are his mother and his roomate’s cat. One of them looks at his articles every day, and the other is his mom.Editor-in-Chief • 21 • Apex, NC

KATELYNN WATKINSKatelynn punctuates professionalism with high-fives. She is the youngest married staffer and the only one to work at a drug store.Features Editor • 21 • Asheville, NC

TED KENDRICKTed likes rafting and drinking beer with his cat. But that’s everybody on the staff. Except the people without cats.Music Editor • 23 • Birmingham, AL

BRANDON BOUCHILLONBrandon claims to be a professor but he’s young enough to be a student. His greatest joys are cheesecake and his daughter.Magazine Adviser • 29 • Lubbock, TX

Thank you so much for supporting The Asheville Current. We’re trying something different.

The Current is for the community, by students. We want to bring well-written, topical stories to the

greater Asheville whole. We want to highlight the hard work and community service that holds the

fabric of this community together. We want to be that fabric. We want to be a sweater.

about

staff

KAREENA GARDNERKareena is a pirate lass with a heart of

expensive steak cuts. note: Does not have a cat, but does have a pet rock.

Design Editor • 20 • Durham, NC

BRIAN VUBrian breaks the stereotype every day. His cat

is named after an alcoholic beverage. His only weakness is pizza.

Photo Editor • 20 • Boone, NC

/TheAshevilleCurrenT@AvlCurrenT

3The Asheville CurrenT issue 1, volume 1

mArCh 8, 20152 The Asheville CurrenT issue 1, volume 1mArCh 8, 2015

The Ashevillage IdiotBy Ted KendricK, Music [email protected]

I.

As a preface to many statements condemning

the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, there reads a preface.

It says something like: “I abhor violence” or “there’s

no reason for which a person should ever kill another

person.” I wouldn’t argue with these people. It’s hard

to dispute idealism. But I wouldn’t make one of these

claims myself. It’s not that I don’t agree with the senti-

ment, I would just feel silly saying it.

I’ll say something different. I understand vio-

lence. I know the reasons why people become hostile,

and how aggressiveness can vary from person to per-

son. I understand how tempers work – and how they

break. I understand that aggression is as fundamental

to the human whole as hunger or libido. Humans are

animals. We can be provoked. To question the ag-

gression of the men who attacked Charlie Hebdo is to

doubt their humanity.

I respect the capacity for violence in the beast of

man. Charlie did not.

This is the first reason I am not Charlie Hebdo.

II.

In 1942, a Supreme Court Justice defined

fighting words. Fighting words, he said, are “those that

by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an

immediate breach of the peace.” 1

A year earlier, the cop tried to prevent the side-

walk pulpiteer from preaching. The street preacher, a

man named Chaplinsky, called the cop “a damned

fascist” and a “g-d-damned racketeer.” The cop arrest-

ed Chaplinsky for breaching the peace, and the case

wormed its way to the Supreme Court.

The court sided with the cop – and the Supreme

Court ruled that “fighting words” were not protect-

ed by the 1st amendment. They mentioned the other

types of speech unsupported by the first amendment –

the “lewd and obscene, the profane and the libelous.”

They described everything that Charlie Hebdo

seems to be. If you don’t believe me, go look at the

2012 cartoon of the prophet naked with his butt in the

air.2 It’s lewd. This is obscenity. In Islam, where depic-

tions of Muhammed are prohibited, these are fighting

words.

This is Charlie, and I am not.

III.

So where’s the disconnect? In America we’ve

known that a certain kind of language starts fights.

We’ve known it since the 40s. We’ve had a “fighting

words doctrine” banning it. So far, the only people

putting the law to work are cops trying to outlaw flag

burning and jackets that say “fuck the draft.” The cops

failed on both counts, by-the-way, as the Supreme

Court said an “ordinary person” had to believe the

words would start a fight. Where are the “ordinary

people” of France – the ones who saw this attack com-

ing?

There’s actually a more strict law about fighting

words in France. The Pleven Act of 1972 explicitly

prohibits incitement to hatred, discrimination, slander

and racial insults.3 Why, again, was Charlie Hebdo al-

lowed to print what they did? Why did it sell?

Was it because the cartoons were satire? They’re

certainly not in the tradition of Horace, the famed Ro-

man satirist who criticized social vice through gentle

humor. Nor am I content to testify that these cartoons

are in the other style of satire, that of the Roman satirist

Juvenal who used exaggeration and parody to make

those in power look foolish. Orwell’s wrote “1984”

written in that style. Tell the 54 individuals arrested in

France for the crime of “apologizing for terrorism” after

the attack that the Charlie Hebdo cartoons picked on

the people at the top of the ladder. 70% of the prison

population in France is Muslim. I don’t see the Muslim

population in power. I see something else.

I see a publication picking on those who would

be struck down for speaking up.

I see a government selectively protecting of the

dignity of the minority groups they favor.

I see a people in distress – scared, persecuted,

and ripe for provocation.

I see threatened animals, back against the wall

and teeth bared.

I see what Charlie didn’t live long enough to un-

derstand.

With coke-bottle glasses and the girth of

a strip club bouncer, Alex Perry, 22, looks like he

could be the nerd or the bully, depending on the

day. He’s big enough to be the type of man who

might order two steaks at a restaurant. Today, he’s

scarfing down a Caesar salad.

He smiles at a waitress. He frequents the

Five Points Restaurant, a greasy neighborhood din-

er near UNC Asheville. Since he moved to the city

over 10 years ago, the women working at the diner

helped raise Perry.

At that time, Perry lived with his mother

on Lee Street - about five minutes walking distance

from the university. The house was the last stop on a

long series of moves, and the last place Perry lived

with his mother.

“My mom had a mental break when I was

6,” Perry says. “She kind of checked out and started

playing spades in her office. When she came out,

she would yell and scream at dad and me.”

Perry’s family fell apart as his mother be-

came increasingly paranoid and addicted to drugs.

She began using cocaine and methamphetamine.

By the time the struggling family moved to Ashe-

ville, Perry’s father had completely stopped associ-

ating with the family.

When Perry was 12, his mother hit him for the

first time. Then she walked out of the front door, and

said she would never return.

“It was normal for her to just walk out and

say she was done with me,” Perry says. “She’d be

crashing off of meth or coke or whatever and would

leave until she could find some more. She would

normally bring back ice cream to make it all okay. It

worked. I was 12.”

This time, Perry called a friend. He says he

was young, and he was scared. Someone told the

authorities. The Department of Social Service picked

Perry up the next day on his way to school.

In the space of one day, Perry says he joined

the legion of children in America’s foster care sys-

tem. As of 2012, 400,000 American kids live in fos-

ter or group homes, according to statistics kept by

the Department of Health and Human Services.

Perry stayed with the Buncombe County DSS

from age 12 to age 21, when he aged out of the

program. He bounced from foster family to group

home and back. Some of his time he spent on the

run, living with his mom’s friends. He missed several

years of school. The DSS placed him with all man-

ner of people.

Raised by the village: foster care in Asheville, NC

Photo by Brian Vu - Photography Editor

College graduate and former foster child Alex Perry stands next to his roommate’s van.

By cory Thompson

[email protected]

features

4 The Asheville CurrenT issue 1, volume 1mArCh 8, 2015 5The Asheville CurrenT

issue 1, volume 1mArCh 8, 2015

opinion

Je ne suis pas CharlieBy cory Thompson

[email protected]

We choose not to run a depiction of Muhammed.

“I tried to shoot for families without biologi-

cal kids my age,” Perry says. “I remember learning

not to ask for toys when the biological kids do. You

would never get the toy and you would label your-

self as ‘one of those kids who asked.’ You would la-

bel yourself as a burden.”

All the while, Perry says the DSS built a case

against Perry’s mother in court. He was too young to

understand the process - but the procedure is stan-

dard across all DSS cases.

A defense attorney advocated for the mother,

and the prosecutor worked to prove her incompe-

tency. In Perry’s case, the final ruling revoked her

right to raise children. One person, the guardian

ad litem, spoke directly to Perry and fought for his

needs.

“The GAL program’s whole purpose is to pro-

vide advocacy to abused and neglected children in

court that will get them into safe permanent homes

as quickly as possible,” says Jennifer Nehlsen, dis-

trict administrator of the Guardian ad Litem program

of Buncombe county.

Nehlsen administered the GAL program for

the last 12 years. She is also a foster parent.

“We advocate for what we believe is in the

kids’ best interest,” Nehlsen says. “We also represent

to the court what the child wants as they state their

needs.”

North Carolina instituted its GAL program in

1983. Each state has its own program. In Buncombe

county, 175 volunteers cover the district. Nehlsen

says most are retired mothers and grandmothers.

Nehlsen says in a typical DSS case, which lasts

anywhere from 12 to 15 months, the GAL meets

with the child once a month to hear the child’s re-

quests. The child’s wishes are passed to a lawyer

unaffiliated with DSS or the parents and expressed

directly to the judge.

Nehlsen says children represented by GALS

tend to have better outcomes in court, move through

the system more quickly, and do better in school.

These youth prove less likely to end up in the ju-

venile justice system. Sometimes, she says, it’s the

advocacy in the courtroom helping the children.

Other times, it’s the one-on-one interactions with

the guardians.

“Our unoffical role is to be a positive adult

in these children’s lives. An adult that is there when

they say they’re going to be there, and does what we

say we’re going to do,” Nehlsen says. “A lot of these

children haven’t had trustworthy adults in their lives

up to that point. The most important thing is to give

these kids attention.”

According to the Adverse Childhood Expe-

riences (ACE) Study, there’s a strong relationship

between a person exposed to abuse or household

dysfunction during childhood and the risk factors as-

sociated with the leading causes of death in adults.

Guardian ad Litems serve as a role model and men-

tor. Nehlsen says the volunteers remind foster kids

that there are good people in this world.

“My guardian ad litem was great,” Perry says.

“He treated me like his grandson. Once a month

he would take me out and we’d have lunch and he

told me I could change the world. He made me feel

great.”

Perry’s GAL, Rubin Feldstein, retired. There’s

a new guard of GAL volunteers now. Richard Hy-

man, a 21-year-old GAL from Wilmington N.C.,

approached the work through UNCA’s psychology

department.

“I’m a counterbalance for the negative effects

of the system,” Hyman says. “There’s a lot of legal

protection for the parents but my position is the only

one that looks out for the kids.”

Still, this protection exists only for kids who

make it into the system. An uncountable number fall

through the cracks. Alana McLaughlin, a 31-year-

old ex-Special Forces operator and blacksmith, says

she can’t imagine foster care being any worse than

her childhood.

“I had terrible parents,” McLaughlin says.

“They abused and neglected me. They didn’t believe

me when I told them I was being violated by the

youth pastor. They were the type of people to go to

church five times a week, and I was stuck in their

house.”

McLaughlin went to school with bruises.

She says she picked up the lessons through osmo-

sis, and was identified as intelligent by one of the

teachers. DSS came, and quickly left. She says she

became an atheist at age 8.

She lost God, her parents favorite pastime,

and she lost hope.

“When I was young, I wanted to be all

manner of things,” McLaughlin says. “I wanted to

be an artist, an archaeologist, a dancer. Nobody en-

couraged my dreams. I never thought I had a future.

Nobody told me I had one.”

McLaughlin says she felt she deserved a

mentor.

“It was like that hero of your own Disney

story thing,” McLaughlin says. “Cinderella has her

fairy godmother and Snow White has the seven

dwarfs and everybody’s got somebody. I figured I

should have had somebody but it never really co-

alesced.”

Tammy Shook, a social work program

administrator in Buncombe county, understands

there’s not enough people in the system to meet the

needs of every child.

“Not everyone can foster or adopt children

but everyone can do something,” Shook says. “We

all have to be positive adults. We need to take care

of the kids flitting at the edges. Adults need to check

in more often. As adults, we have a responsibility to

the kids in the community.”

Shook heads a program called “Yes - I

Can Do That for a Child!” which allows communi-

ty members to pay for children’s expenses. Soccer

leagues, piano lessons, and other extracurricular ac-

tivities appear on a website which allows for com-

munity members without the time to adopt to still

benefit a child.

“Take this salad for instance,” Perry says. “I

wouldn’t eat salad as a kid. I was extremely picky.

But during one of the better times, when my parents

were trying to work things out, it was such a good

time that I wanted to eat my vegetables.”

Want to make a difference? Call (828) 250-

5868 to buy a kid a soccer league membership.

Contributed by Alana McLaughlin

McLaughlin works at Northern Cressent Iron.

features features

“Cinderella has her fairy godmother and Snow White

has the seven dwarfs and everybody’s got somebody. I

figured I should have had somebody but

it never really coalesced.”



What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker.

That was the case for Rob Tison.

Kelly Tison sits at a table in her seemingly

ordinary suburban home, gently thumbing her

ring finger. A band of pale skin is distinguishable

where, shielded from the effects of the sun, a

wedding band once rested for 17 years.

“We met in August of 1994 and got mar-

ried in February of 1995,” Kelly says. “Then we

were together ever since.”

But Kelly never imagined the love of her

life would suddenly fall victim to a life-ending

disease, leaving her and their two children to

pick up the pieces.

Her worst nightmares became a reality.

“It happens so fast you hardly have time

to process any of it while it’s happening,” Kelly

says. “One day everything is okay, and the next

day your life is changed forever.”

Seventeen years after exchanging their

vows, Rob was diagnosed with amyotrophic

lateral sclerosis, often referred to as Lou Geh-

rig’s disease. It is an illness for which there is no

cure, according to the ALS Association website.

“You know it exists, but you think ‘it’s nev-

er going to happen to me,’ or ‘why should I help

people who have that?’ or ‘why should I donate

to that?’” Kelly says, ticking off the assumptions

on her fingers.

She recalls the moment when she real-

ized something was seriously wrong with her

husband’s health. He was on medication for

an overactive thyroid, but started encountering

complications. He drove to the emergency room

after experiencing what he thought was a stroke.

Soon after, his speech and muscle abili-

ties deteriorated significantly. Kelly remembers

Rob struggling to perform a pull-up at the play-

ground, a previously unchallenging feat.

Kate Bell, Kelly’s confidante and a long-

time family friend, remembers when their hus-

bands would sit on the porch drinking beers.

Rob always appeared healthy to the outside

world, Kate says. He was a competitive athlete

who enjoyed participating in bicycle races and

marathons, with no need to train beforehand.

“To see somebody going from so strong to

Disease deteriorates muscles, familyPhoto by Kelly Tison

Kelly, Sydney, Rob and Tyler Tison capture a moment on one of Rob’s last family vacations.

By Avery riggs

[email protected]

featuresfeatures

8 The Asheville CurrenT issue 1, volume 1mArCh 8, 2015

so weak,” Kate says, trailing off.

According to the ALS Association website,

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease, and when

motor neurons degenerate it results in muscle

weakness. When muscles no longer receive the

messages required to function, they begin to at-

rophy and the patient eventually dies.

“It’s such a traumatic disease to watch,”

Kelly says. “Muscles just die, and all the sudden

someone can’t use their hands or walk or eat. To

watch somebody just waste away like that while

knowing exactly what is going on.”

Above all else, Rob was a devoted hus-

band and father who loved his family more than

anything, Kate says. He made sure this was felt

even after he was unable to speak due to the

disease.

When he was first diagnosed, Rob would

take the family on special trips to ensure they

had positive and uplifting memories to cherish

later.

“You know that song that goes ‘Rocky

Mountain climbin’, and skydivin’? We did all of

that,” Kelly says. “He says it was kind of a gift

because it made him realize how much he ap-

preciated his family and he wanted to spend as

much time with us as possible.”

After nearly 14 months of painful MRIs,

nerve conduction studies, and spinal taps, doc-

tors ruled out all other possibilities leaving ALS

as the final culprit, Kelly says.

The only thing left to do was fight.

“We did a lot of research on trying to find

ways that could keep him healthy for as long as

possible,” she says.

Kelly drove Rob to Duke University once

a month for him to receive infusion therapy. His

body was injected with riluzole. It’s the only

drug approved for ALS patients by the Food and

Drug Administration, according to the ALS As-

sociation website, and its delivery is an all-day

process. While it’s not a treatment that stops or

reverses ALS, it slows its progression.

After the trial period ended, Rob’s doctor

tried to grant him compassionate use, but the

drug company denied the request, Kelly says.

“So there is something that you know is

helping and you stay stronger for longer, but you

... She looks at her hands, rubbing the place her

wedding ring used to reside.

features



My phone alarm goes off at 8 p.m. to tell me tonight is the night. My entire body shakes. My teeth chatter like castanets. It is time to go up on stage and perform a few songs I had written for open mic night.

I was walking downtown with my Seagull Entourage guitar, thinking about ev-erything that could go wrong. I could forget my own lyrics. I could hit a wrong note. But the worst thing that could happen? I finish a song perfectly, and I hear nothing but silence followed by polite applause.

I soon arrive at the place hosting the open mic. It is one of those “cool bars” whose name is also the address - Four College. It has been hosting open mics since 2009. I got there at 8:30 p.m. Open mic started at 7 p.m. The place was practically empty.

Thank God.The emcee approaches me asking if I’m

going to perform. I say, “Yes. Where do I sign up?” The emcee smiles and explains to me that he doesn’t do sign-up sheets.

“I got rid of those quite a few years ago,” he said. “It is all about the flow of the evening. We play it by ear.”

What?“So when will I perform?” I ask.“Oh you’ll be on after these guys.” He

points to three men who were sitting with their wives and kids.

I thank him and took a seat at the bar. Now my insecurities are taking over my nervousness. I start hoping the band before me isn’t too good. No one wants to follow someone who got a standing ovation. There’s a reason why more popular bands close the show.

The band before me turns to go up on stage. They introduce themselves and start playing. Their music is comfortable-sounding poppy music.

I think I can follow that, but I don’t want the audience to think my lonely acoustic gui-tar sounds empty, especially compared to a

full band.As they’re playing, the emcee comes up

to me again. He leans over and says, “Do you mind if we do an interlude before you get on?”

Cool! The audience can have a little break. Now, it won’t feel like I’m following a full band.

“I don’t mind at all,” I say.“Cool,” he says. “Thanks.”The band finishes playing. The emcee

comes up on stage and tells a young wom-an in the audience to join him. She looks as confused as I do. The emcee calls out to the

Lessons in love and life on Four College Ave.By drew heinz

Contributor [email protected]

Photo by Leslie Frempong

Drew Heinz plays guitar and sings in local open mics.

can’t have it.”

When the trial ended, Rob’s health seemed

to spiral downwards faster than ever.

Between doctor visits and trips to Duke,

Kelly witnessed other ALS patients’ distress. Pa-

tients would experiment with homemade con-

coctions of bleach and other toxic substances.

“People with ALS get so desperate,” she

says. “They will try any drug no matter what.

If it’s going to burn their insides out when they

drink it, they will still try it because there’s noth-

ing else left anyways. You will try anything.”

Some patients are participating in clini-

cal trials of drugs that hold promise, but there

has yet to be a breakthrough. In addition, these

drugs have not yet been approved by the FDA

and are only approved for experimental tests in

clinical studies.

“You are giving up the last few good years

of your life to participate in something exper-

imental,” Kelly says. “And what’s scary is that,

what if that’s going to make you feel worse? And

a lot of them do.”

Kelly also wrestled with her own desper-

ation to prolong her husband’s life. She says it

seems like it’s always the good people who are

affected, not mass murderers or prisoners.

Although Kelly and Rob tried to stay posi-

tive, the tension created by the disease affected

their relationship.

Kelly remembers an instance when her

husband lashed out.

“I remember Rob saying ‘I wish you had

it,’” she says. “But at the same time, I know that

he thinks that I didn’t understand what he was

going through. And I didn’t. There’s no way I

could understand completely.”

Two years, six months, and two days after

Rob’s diagnosis, Kelly’s world changed forever.

“This week will be two years since he

died,” Kelly says.

Kelly’s gaze is steady as she looks over her

shoulder at her 15-year-old daughter watching

TV in the next room.

“You just have to show them that it’s okay

and we’ll get through it,” she says, quietly now.

“And it sucks, but you still need to go on living

your life, and be happy, and do the things that

you want to do. And not feel bad that your dad

isn’t getting to do them with you. But think of

him while you’re doing it.”

Since her husband’s passing, Kelly’s out-

look on life has changed.

She appreciates every day, and is finally

able to discuss her experiences without pining

over them, she says.

“It’s not easy every day. But I certainly try

to appreciate people more,” Kelly says.

She looks at her hands, rubbing the place

her wedding ring used to reside.

features

music reviews



features

dishwasher to “do his thing.” The dishwasher guy approaches the woman and goes down on one knee.

“You’re the love of my life,” he mum-bles. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”Oh crap.The woman kisses her new fiancé. They

walk offstage to be congratulated by friends, family and strangers.

Now, I’m on stage with my insecuri-ties kicking in full-force. The dimly lit bar suddenly turns into a bright and bold Dis-

ney fairy tale, where everyone lives happily ever after. Meanwhile, I’m the mood-killer, playing a song about a person strung-out on coke.

I would love to play happy love songs, but I don’t have any happy love songs. Any songwriter knows that a negative song is eas-ier to write than a positive one.

Here goes nothing.“Hi, I’m Drew and I write … songs,” I

said looking down. I hit the first note on my guitar and away

we went.

The maximum number of songs one can play is three. After I played my third, I was asked to play two more.

After my set, I hop offstage with my in-securities feeling flushed out. I order myself a victory beer from the bar and take a victory sip.

The band I judged so harshly approach-es me to tell me how much they liked my set.

“Thanks,” I say. “I liked your set too!”I see a girl eyeing me from across the

room.Maybe I should propose.

Photo illustration by Brian Vu - Photography Editor

In 2012, Here Come the Morbids gave us our first taste of the Mor-bids sound; Angry white boy jams with sarcastic song names like “Com-plicated Dance Moves” and “It’s Funny ‘cause its Poisonous.” The EP was brimming with raw guitars and chaotic vigor and wordplay, but was sa-distically short. A good EP leaves you wanting more.

Morbids follow up release comes two years later with their LP, Re-lentless Ceiling. The album offers eight tracks; two of which are newer and tighter versions tracks off Here come the Morbids. It’s clear; Morbids went for quality over quantity. The album’s run time is just over a half hour, but Relentless Ceiling delivers quite an earful. Each song is expertly choreographed, and leads the listener on so many unpredictable swings in rhythm and mood. Thirty minutes of Morbids is borderline overwhelm-ing.

The Morbids sound defies immediate categorization. The band cer-tainly has its roots in 90s post punk, but contains elements of psychedel-ic and progressive rock. Morbids has incorporated these elements, and modernized them. Relentless Ceiling songs are ripe with an intense ag-gressive momentum that carries through the length of the album. Songs like “No Anatomy” and “Poisonous” are rollercoasters of complex guitar riffage, harsh vocals, and abrupt shifts in tempo. This energy builds until, without warning, the band slips into smooth melodic breakdowns. No two members ever play the exact same melody, and the drummer fol-lows the guitars with remarkable energy and precision. The album has its sweet spots too with tracks like “Strange Synesthesia” and “Halloween Penance”(has a groove in ¾ waltz timing, and the band pulls it off). The songs begin in beautiful dark surreal melodies, building in volume and intensity to an uproarious climax.

A glance at the liner notes indicates the song’s lyrics got as much at-

tention as musical compositions. Lyrics are respectably articulate, delving into psychological, political themes. On the most part the group’s songs are co-written by Edward Madill (guitar) and Matt Kotarba (bass). Though each member’s creative style has their own definitive qualities, the com-bination of all four members makes for a unique and cohesive end result.

Morbids is very much a band’s band, the music is not the most ac-cessible. The songs are strange and too experimental for radio, but that could be a compliment. The songs are chaotic, but not messy. The album is ground to a healthy amount of experimentation. Despite its inherent chaos, the result is cohesive.

By Tyrell lucus

[email protected]

Morbids: Relentless Ceiling (2014)



Asheville’s Doomster has been serving up a steady dose of Indie Powerpop since 2011. The upcoming release of Future Ath-letes will be the groups third release fol-lowing their Riders ep (2012) and nine song Lp“D” (2014). The band is fronted by song-writer Robin wood, joined on the mic from time to from spasmodic drummer Corey Walker.

The Doomster sound is an indie-surf /punk-rock hybrid. Clean melodic guitar leads alongside grinding chords operate Doomster

like a punk band. The music is high energy, and maintains a solid pop sensibility.

Doomsters most recent Lp “D”, cranks out a relentless stream of grinding up-tem-

po pop songs coupled with Wood’s throaty vocals, which sounds to be comprised of equal parts David Byrne(Talking Heads) and Jello Biafra(Dead Kennedys). The album is packed with straightforward power pop songs, which feature spot on pacing, dynam-ics, and structure. On the whole, however, the Doomster doesn’t seem to be striving for new territory. 70% of the songs off “D” fea-ture the identical upbeat tempo, and simi-lar approach to vocal and instrumentation. The flaw in “D”s delivery lies in Doomster’s tied and true songwriting formula. The songs blend together, offering little to set Doomster apart from its sound-alike’s.

By Tyrell lucus

[email protected]

Doomster: D (2014)

Last year, Gene Simmons from KISS falsely declared that “rock is finally dead,” but that’s probably because he never heard Andrew Scotchie and the River Rats, a band that has transformed from its debut in 2011 as a guitar and harmonica busking duo to a full-fledged rock, funk, and southern soul band. “Soul and Sarcasm”-- the Rats’ first and only studio produced album-- hits hard with “Set My Soul Free,” displaying their tight musicianship made obvious by its complementary rhythm and sharp brass sections, declaring that rock and roll itself--

not dead at all!-- will do the soul freeing. Scotchie’s vocals are slightly reminiscent of Jack White, but venture into more funky territory in the second track’s “Broken-hearted” where the band makes some real stanky sounds, both poignant and pungent in the twangy harp and muted trumpet solos. “Neighbors”-- the fourth track-- is about noise complaints from next door (a frequent obstacle faced by garage bands), but the album never slows down, ending with “I Don’t Worry” which is a straight-up party. These are tunes that would make Grandma take out her hearing aids for a sec and send her back in time to the music of her youth. The River Rats honor the heri-

tage of Asheville and the Appalachians in this way-- probably why Scotchie has since become one of Asheville’s favorite sons.

Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats: Soul and Sarcasm (2012)

By Ted KendricK

Music [email protected]

reviews reviews

The Hermit Kings are the next big sensation in Asheville thanks to their

weekly performances at the Isis Music Hall’s “Free for All Fridays.” A four

person band composed of three Zacks-- all of varied spelling-- the Hermit

Kings display a variety of indie rock motifs with firm psychedelic undertones.

Their first track “Walkdown” begins with precisely that-- a musical

walkdown-- in a slow, sneaky and bluesy sort of way with vocals reminiscent

of The Antlers, Dr. Dog, and Glen Hansard of The Frames, not “so awkward

and absurd” as the lyrics would suggest. “Cutting the Stairs in Half” is carried

by an upbeat bass in a song that feels similar to The Strokes. “Aberdeen”--

track three-- plays up the band’s whistling talents while “Broke” breaks out

the xylophone, both techniques that are somewhat a cliche in indie music.

The fifth track “Prisoner” displays a rich bass groove accompanied by my fa-

vorite lyrics of the album, “Black and White, the groom stands at the altered

state of mind” before breaking down into a Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-in-

spired rift that transforms into a nod to Irving Berlin’s classic “Puttin’ On the

Ritz” (1930).

Does the album fizzle out in the end? Perhaps, since the sixth and

penultimate track-- “The Fight”-- begins slow and dreamy with traditional

blues chords that might have served the album better if slotted a bit sooner.

The seventh and final track has a slow start too, but ultimately breaks down

heavily in the chorus, and like everything else that must end, we are left with

the appropriately titled “Skeletons.”

The Hermit Kings: Loose Tooth (2013)By Ted KendricK

Music [email protected]

Only two songs defy Doomster’s char-acteristic formula; Forced and Savings, a pair of instrumental tracks, which open and close the album. These tracks, wich feature ac-cordion and bizarre percussion and are the most interesting tracks on the album.

Doomster is scheduled to release their second Lp in March of this year. So what can

we expect the next installment of Doomster? A teaser track on Doomster’s Bandcamp site can give us some idea. The Teaser entitled Midwestern Battle Plain begins with the strongest surf punk edge then what we have heard from Doomster so far. Wood seexms to have grown into his vocal style very com-fortably, delivering with even greater intensi-ty and conviction. The band maintains their

power pop roots until the drums segway in-to…a dance beat? This transition is actually very cool, and switches up the rhythm into and modernizes their indie sound. This track shows an evolution in Doomster as they experiment with different styles in a single track. We can only hope the rest of the al-bum expands on this theme of variation and experimentation.see Doomster page 15

from Doomster page 14

Documents

The asheville current Issue 1 Version 2