Award winning singer/songwriter Tokyo Rosenthal announced today that in light of the hard economic times the world over that he would offer free downloads of his original recording, “Mister Tell Me ‘Bout The Great Depression”. This is being done in conjunction with Rosenthal’s record label, Rock & Sock Records and is available on Rosenthal’s web site (www.tokyorosenthal.com). The song also appears on Tokyo’s latest CD, “Ghosts”, which recently was #5 on The Euro Americana Chart, and has received rave reviews and airplay the world over.

Rosenthal’s tune documents the causes for the economic turmoil that has become a global phenomenon. “It was inspired by the stories my grandfather, ‘Poppy Jack’, used to tell me about the 1929-1939 Depression,” said Rosenthal. “But this song is about now. And it’s futuristic. Picture a young man sitting on the door step of his neighbor asking what happened back in 2009-2010. Hopefully he’s not saying 2009-2019!”

Critics such as No Depression said, “It’s a song for these times, for all time, and big thanks to him for writing it.” Americana UK was even more direct as they said,”Epic!, This song truly has balls”.

Rosenthal felt that offering the tune at no charge was the best way to get his message across and at the same time make it affordable to all who want to have it and pass it on. “I hope people the world over take advantage of this opportunity and both like the song musically and relate to some if not all of what I’m saying,” Tokyo added.

Rosenthal, along with Charlie Chamberlain on mandolin and guitar, just completed his fourth tour of the United Kingdom and his planning a 40 city US Tour beginning in late August. For more information log on to www.tokyorosenthal.com and www.myspace.com/tokyorosenthal.

Thanks to Erin Scholze, of Dreamspider Publicity, for this press release.

With its high concentration of jams, venues and talented musicians, it’s no small wonder that Asheville continues to extraordinary musical acts that are widely successful on regional and national levels. One such band is Dehlia Low. Their sound is reminiscent of early roots country, with gentle tugs from their modern stamp upon original bluegrass numbers. We caught up with them at Merlefest 2010, where the band made its debut performance at the nation’s gold standard in Americana music festivals.

Check out the band online at dehlialow.com.

Photo Credit: Thorne Anderson

LAAFF
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Labor Day Weekend
All Local ~ All Original

11am – 9pm
~ FREE and Kid Friendly~
director@lexfestasheville.com
North Lexington Ave.
Asheville, NC 28801
www.arts2people.org
www.lexfestasheville.com

Join us in the annual FREE end-of-summer celebration of Asheville’s artistic and musical communities, The Lexington Ave Arts and Fun Festival. LAAFF is entering our 9th year of filling three blocks of N. Lexington Ave in downtown with all local art, food, beer, music, street performers, and random acts of creativity. LAAFF takes place on Sunday, September 5th, 2010.

LAAFF has become the showcase event for all types of talent on multiple stages and performance areas including rock and roll, indie pop, funk, folk, ragtime, reggae, world beats, singer-songwriters, bluegrass, old time, African drummers, clowns, magicians, contortionists, belly dancers, modern dancers, vaudeville actors, break dancers, hula hoopers, and more. LAAFF has grown over the years to become known as Asheville’s largest independent street festival with upwards of 12,000 in attendance.

LAAFF is an experience the whole family can get into. Kids will love making art, dancing, getting their faces painted and having fun all day long. Kids are also in on the act showing off their breakdancing, parading, and making music. The big “kids” will enjoy the ever popular bicycle jousting, local brews provided by the Asheville Brewers Alliance, an eclectic culinary and artistic experience, as well as the new big people game: Big Wheels for Big Kids. There will be lots of fun new vendors as well as old favorites with a ton of variety.

Created specifically for LAAFF by Co-Founder Michael Mooney, LAAFF’s ever popular Bicycle Jousting is always a mainstay attraction! This is a fun and safe bike joust where contestants are armored up with foam and helmets. The sit upon bike with banana seats and wheel with elliptical hubs which make the bike bounce up and down like riding on a horse. Each contestant holds a long pole with a boxing glove on the end..If they can reach each other they try and joust the other off the bike. It is extremely fun to watch and a great activity that Michael created as an event at LAAFF. To see the gear in advance go to Pack Place’s Front Gallery… will you dare to ride?

LaZoom Tour Bus hosts a rolling LAAFF theatre for the day! If you just want to enjoy an easy going ride… LaZoom has traveling sideshows with a variety of acts (Including kids acts and adult only acts) throughout the day in 40 minute loops around Asheville. This is set up as an affordable way to fundraise at LAAFFwith extra entertainment to the festival.

Various arts schools and organizations have in the past teamed up to create the LAAFF Kids area. There is always face painting and a chill out zone for parents with babies who may need to sit down and relax, breastfeed, or change a diaper.

As part of an ongoing commitment to improve and expand the role of the Lexington Avenue Arts Festival in the community, greening efforts and more emphasis on environmental issues will continue to increase. The core principle of being an all local event has been a foundation of the festival’s efforts to support local artists, musicians, restaurants, and non-profits. For instance, using water sales as a way for local non-profits to raise funds and involving the Asheville On Bikes organization to host a bike corral, encouraging participants in the festival to ride bikes, use public transportation, and carpool to limit their impact. Reducing waste has always been an important goal, and last year composting was added to the recycling and reuse efforts. Many of the food and beverage vendors are now using compostable cups and utensils. The festival will continue to include local non-profits, especially environmental and arts organizations and hopefully will showcase renewable energy in LAAFF’s to come. For more info email greening@lexfestasheville.com.

LAAFF also has a great merchandise area with LAAFF T-shirts, water bottles, and performer merchandise. 100% of performer merch proceeds goes back to the bands themselves. There is also a silent auction to raise fund for Arts 2 People of which some donated items are avaible to see on our “silent auction” page of this website. We accepting items up through the morning of the festival each year. Email vending@lexfestasheville.com if you would like to donate or be a vendor at the event.

LAAFF relies on community support to ensure our success each year. LAAFF is a volunteer driven event, with a core staff, put on by and for the community. Your tax-deductible contribution ensures the ongoing successes of this much anticipated yearly Asheville celebration.

To get involved email director@lexfestasheville.com for info on how to plug in. For publicity inquiries please email dreamspider@gmail.com.

LAAFF on the Web:
www.lexfestasheville.com
www.facebook.com/lexfest
www.twitter.com/lexfest
www.myspace.com/lexfestasheville
LAAFF on You Tube

###

~Erin Scholze

828-776-6248
Dreamspider Publicity
www.dreamspider.net
Dreamspider@gmail.com

Representing diverse clientele that value uniqueness with a funky edge  ///  Donna the Buffalo, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Mad Tea Party, Galen Kipar Project, Afromotive, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, and Dehlia Low

WHEN: June 15, 10:00 AM
WHERE: WV State Capitol Back Steps Near Fountain, Charleston, WV

CONTACTS
West Virginia
Bo Webb – 304-237-2688 or 304-854-7104
Chuck Nelson – 304-923-5854 or 304-934-0399
Maria Gunnoe – 304-989-9581 or 304-245-8481

Virginia
Jessie Dodson – 571-274-1115

Kentucky
Martin Mudd – 859-963-5574

Washington DC
Kate Rooth – 704-516-0092

WHAT: On June 15 at the capital in Charleston, WV, coalfield residents and allies from across Appalachia will announce Appalachia Rising a mass mobilization set for September 27 in Washington DC. They are calling for thousands to join them in demanding the Obama Administration abolish surface mining and invest in sustainable economic diversification in Appalachia. Groups aim to mobilize thousands from across the country for a dignified day of action in DC to increase public pressure on elected officials and regulators to ban surface mining.

Speakers at the press conference will include:
Bo Webb, Naoma, WV, Veteran
Vernon Haltom, Coal River Mountain Watch
Chuck Nelson, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, retired UMWA coal miner
Maria Gunnoe, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner
Gordon Simmons, West Virginia Labor History Association
Lorelei Scarbro, Coal River Wind Project
Mickey McCoy, Inez, KY
Laura Steepleton, Climate Ground Zero
Andrew Munn, Mountain Justice
Amber Whittington, Colcord, WV Student Environmental Action Coalition
Reverend Edington, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charleston
Larry Gibson, Kayford Mountain, Mountain Keepers

WHY: The movement to abolish surface mining, in particular mountaintop removal coal mining, has grown tremendously in the last year with hundreds of thousands of advocacy emails, dozens of nonviolent protests resulting in hundreds of arrests, and growing national media attention from the New York Times to the Colbert Report. Recently, the EPA passed strict new guidelines for coal operators practicing mountaintop removal, and even Senator Byrd has recognized national opposition to the practice and voiced concerns about its impact on communities. Despite this progress, mountaintop removal continues to damage and displace coalfield communities throughout southern and central Appalachia

Many see 2010 as the defining moment in the effort to abolish mountaintop removal. With upcoming hearings for the Clean Water Protection Act and the Appalachian Restoration Act as well as midterm elections, coalfield residents and their allies are mobilizing a national call to stop surface mining once and for all.

Every day, across Appalachia, MTR coal companies are literally blowing the tops off the mountains: clear-cutting forests, wiping out natural habitats, poisoning rivers and drinking water, and eliminating entire ecosystems. Not only are these mountains lost forever, but the heritage and the health of families across the region are being sacrificed for a mere 7 percent of the nation’s coal.

Coal companies use MTR mining methods because it allows for almost complete recovery of coal seams while significantly reducing the number of workers required. Appalachia has a wealth of clean energy resources that can be developed to provide new jobs and tax revenues, including wind, solar, low-impact hydro and sustainable biomass. This development can especially support rural areas, which are the hardest hit by the declining economy.

Appalachia Rising is calling for the abolition of surface mining, a just transition for coalfield communities, and renewed investment in a prosperous and just economy in Appalachia.

www.appalachiarising.org

Statements

Bo Webb:
“It is very obvious that a Massey Energy controlled legislature here in WV is not going to protect our state nor our citizens from mountaintop removal plundering for profit. We have worked long and hard to raise America’s awareness of this injustice, this insane crime that continues to eliminate our mountains, our communities, and our people. Now it is time for Congress to hear the voices of the victims of mountaintop removal!”

Lorelei Scarbro:
The time has come when we all must ask what is the price of a ton of coal. If you use coal fired electricity, then you should know. If you ask the mountain community resident in Appalachia who lives with the atrocities of mountaintop removal coal extraction, I am sure the price will be higher than if you ask a coal executive. All that we have is being sacrificed for thirst for electricity, including the people we love.

Vernon Haltom:
“Mountaintop removal threatens real human lives, communities, and local economies in Appalachia, but our state regulators and politicians have turned their back on us. The federal government has only taken half measures and tentative steps. We are going to Washington, DC, to demand justice for the people and to let them know that we are not merely expendable populations.”

Mountain Party
Appalachia is rising to defend our communities that are being systematically decimated, rising to oust those who divide us by turning brother against brother and sister against sister while they fleece us of our labor and of our birthright to a better family life and to a better community life where we can live without fear of the mountains being pushed down upon us, while the creeks and rivers, filled with what were once majestic mountains, flow with the poisons of reckless de-construction of the earth.

The Mountain Party of West Virginia challenges the leaders of the Democratic Party and of the Republican Party to join us in serving the people of West Virginia, rather than playing their historical roles of absolutely enabling the enslavement of the people and the theft and destruction of the environmental life support system the people must depend on to sustain them. The Mountain Party of West Virginia challenges the other two political parties to stop serving the economic and environmental rapists who hide behind the veil of corrupt politics- driven by dirty money and dirty elections- and to help bring forth a new kind of politics in the new Appalachia that is rising around us.

Thanks to Andrew Munn of Mountain Justice for this press release.

The pickings have never been slim on the campus of Wilkes Community College over the last weekend of April, and this year was of no exception. Merlesfest 2010, presented by Lowe’s, served up yet another heaping helping of some of the finest acoustic musicians across a wide spectrum of roots music categories. It’s what separates Merlefest from mere-fest – the difference between experiencing a weekend chock full of musical genius and simply enduring another four days of prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Merlefest has become the national gold standard in acoustic music festivals. This year’s aggregate attendance would suggest that its name remains yet untarnished, with initial figures exceeding 76,000 people over the extended weekend in Wilkes County, N.C. The festival kicked off with a record-setting number of attendees on opening day, and forged ahead through the remainder of the weekend, leaving in its wake three more days of large, enthusiastic crowds estimated to be in the top three of festival history. Chalk it up to a supercharged schedule of artists or four entirely rain-free days, but attendance of this magnitude ought to be expected when the weekend is bookended with Taj Mahal and The Zac Brown Band on Thursday evening and The Avett Brothers closing on Sunday afternoon. The interim sealed the deal, offering no shortage of talent splayed across fifteen stages stationed around campus.

The regulars were all there. Doc and Richard Watson, Sam Bush, Peter Rowan, David Holt, the Kruger Brothers, Pete & Joan Wernick and other Merlefest favorites made appearances throughout the weekend. Doc and his friends performed the classic Docabilly set on Saturday evening at the Watson Stage, which was well-attended as always. It was followed by the crowd-favorite Tribute to Merle set, a showcase of songs and special stories in memory of festival namesake, Eddy Merle Watson.

The remarkably legendary Doc Watson was given an honorary Ph.D. from the Berklee College of Music upon that very stage that evening, which will be added to his already impressive list of accolades.

Merlesfest 2010 was not at all lacking in the way of onstage collaborations. Festival attendees flooded the Hillside for The Hillside Album Hour, featuring the Beatles’ album “Abbey Road” performed by The Waybacks and a host of friends, most notably Sarah Dugas, Shannon Whitworth, Byron House, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, and Elvis Costello. Over at the Watson Stage, the highly-anticipated “An Evening of Bluegrass and Banjo” performed by Steve Martin and Asheville’s very own Steep Canyon Rangers proved both surreal and extremely entertaining to an excited crowd on Saturday evening. Later that night, Merlefest fed the fire with The Midnight Jam at the Walker Center, hosted by Zac Brown and featuring The Duhks, The Greencards, Peter Rowan and several other late-night pickers. The Lee Boys and The Travelin’ Mccourys contributed a stellar performance on Sunday afternoon, which brought together one of America’s finest African-American sacred steel ensembles and the sons of traditional bluegrass legend, Del McCoury for an unforgettable collaboration.

Merlefest is reputed to span the genre and generational gap, offering a little something for young and old, the hippie and hipster alike. This year’s lineup featured an ever-increasing emphasis placed upon the “plus” side of Merlefest’s trademark “traditional-plus” description, a termed coined by Doc Watson himself to express the festival’s commitment to celebrating a wide variety of musical styles. From the Celtic and world music sounds of Scythian, The Duhks and Great Big Sea to the Newgrass, New Wave and New Hip sympathies of Missy Raines, The Greencards, and Elvis Costello and The Sugarcanes, Merlefest 2010 left no stone unturned.

Since its founding in 1988, Merlefest has proven itself as an industry leader in the business of identifying rising stars on the acoustic music front. Some of the best and brightest in the vast catalogue of Americana music have cut their teeth amongst the many Merlefest stages, many of these artists having experienced the charmed existence of venturing from the smaller, tucked-away performance spaces scattered about campus to the more sizeable venues like the Watson, Cabin, Hillside or Americana stages from one year to the next – or less. One such band is Asheville’s Dehlia Low, who in their debut Merlefest appearance shared the Americana Stage on Saturday with such distinguished acts as Cadillac Sky and The Wilders, then wowed the mainstage audience on Sunday afternoon with a terrific performance upon the Cabin Stage. Other notable Merlefest success stories include The Belleville Outfit, who appeared on Thursday and Friday, and Bearfoot, a band from Anchorage, Alaska who appeared on Friday and Saturday this year.

Asheville made a fine showing at Merlefest 2010. Other local acts to grace the stages at Wilkes Community College included the “Bent Acoustic Country” outfit, Johnson’s Crossroad, and Shannon Whitworth, founding member of the acclaimed
acoustic quartet, The Biscuit Burners.

The music arrived upon the Wilkes Community College campus with its typical entourage of concessions, merchandise vendors, heritage crafts demonstrations, jam sessions, music education workshops and performance contests. The services were clean and hospitable, with such amenities as portable flush-toilet facilities, information tents, lost and found services and an R&R tent offering refuge from the heat. All of this added to the welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere that keeps music-lovers returning to Wilkesboro each year in the last weekend of April. And if Merlefest 2010 is any indicator of things to come, then they’ll surely be back for more next year.

This Album of the Week comes to us from Asheville’s very own small-scale symphony, The Galen Kipar Project. The Scenic Route was recorded locally in the Land of the Sky at Echo Mountain Studios and mastered in New York City by Richard Morris Mastering. His fourth release in five years, this album is sure to be recognized as Kipar’s finest work to date.

The Galen Kipar Project will make a special appearance on “An Evening with Fret Knot Radio Hour” at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe on May 25th, 2010. Just days later, on May 29th, Galen will also be performing a CD pre-release party at The Lexington Avenue Brewery.

EPISODE STATUS: available for free download via iTunes

Visit The Galen Kipar Project on the web at  to find out how you can purchase of copy of this vibrant album for yourself.

Photo credit: Sean Cuddy



Published: 05/24/10

Episode Five is a live recording of our event, “An Evening with Fret Knot Radio Hour,” hosted by Malaprop’s Bookstore & Cafe in historic downtown Asheville, NC. This event was recorded before a live audience on April 28th, 2010.

Featuring:

• interview and musical performance by Now You See Them
• interview and performance by author, poet, musician Allan Wolf
• interview with Asheville GreenWorks representative Allison McGehee

Many thanks to our special guests and listeners for making this such a memorable event. Jacob Waller was our field recording tech. Our next live recording will take place on May 25th. Check out our schedule for more details.

Status: available for download via iTunes