The band recently released its second album, Revealing Secrets. (Read a review here. Read a review of Lewis’ first album, Under the Rug, here.)
Lewis has gone through a lineup change since its Asheville inception (and it existed pre-Asheville as the project of front man Matt Call). The current band includes Call on guitars and vocals
The MoDaddy’s show was vivacious, engaging and marked by kinetic energy despite a smallish crowd (an unexpected inch of snow fell that evening).
Songs included mostly originals, but also select Jeff Buckley covers (Call noted that Buckley is the one musician over who Lewis bonds) and an excellent, rocked-out version of Bob Marley’s “Concrete Jungle.”
“These are some shots I took in spring of 2009 and re-edited. Don’t ask me for the exact location of the roads,” says Longboard Mike on the blog http://longboardnow.com
“Skateboarding in the Asheville, North Carolina area takes on a new dimension with endless miles of winding mountain roads, Longboard Mike writes. “All of the riders in this video are expert riders with boards and equipment that IS NOT for sale in local stores. DO NOT grab your cheap … and head to the top of your nearest hill in flip-flops and boardshorts. You might survive a few times but sooner or later you WILL pay the price in flesh and blood,” he adds.
The video and more comments are posted here: http://longboardnow.com/longboard-asheville-mellow-downhill-run/
I’d say mellow music, SKETCHY FAST downhill runs. Road rash HURTS, ya’ll! As does colliding with trees or (shudder) cars. Even yappy little dogs hurt when you’re riding two-inch wheels at 25 m.p.h.
I’m an old motorcyclist. The guy in the black in the back appears to be (a) able to control his trajectory and (b) wearing sensible protective gear. The other guys remind me (in terms of gear) of many of the bicycle riders I see running 40+ MPH downhill on the parkway in their short shorts and styrofoam helmets. High speed slides on rough dry asphalt can flat grind your flesh down to your bone. A friend of mine found this out the “hard way”. Her loss of flesh was a good testament to ATGATT. Fortunately she was wearing a full converage helmet because she ended up sliding FACE DOWN. The helmet was destroyed but her face was uninjured. The griding down of flesh to bone took place on knees and toes.
You must be a Triumph rider! Only they worry as much about losing a little flesh. Smart folk, they are. I agree with T100C,
Just laid down my GS the other night going 50. Thank goodness for gloves, helmets, and armored jackets!
Devon, true indeed. I bought the T100C new in ’70 and still have it.. Nowdays it works about as well as my body does — so I log most miles on the DR650 and some on the newer TU250 and a few on the T100C just to verify that it (like me) is still alive.
I produced this video. Thanks for the interest and comments. I would like to say that we only ride on open roads when appropriate safety measures have been taken. We scout the road, communicate with established signals, wear helmets rated for high-speed impacts, etc. Our equipment is designed for rough roads and high speeds. We’re running 70mm-90mm wheels and wide trucks with special bushings or spherical bearings. Some of these set-ups cost upwards of $500. Most importantly we practice our skills on closed pavement. We use two different methods of braking- the foot-brake and pendulum slide. We can come to a complete stop in a very short distance in a controlled manner.
Downhill longboard is the type of longboard that is usually chosen by professionals, those who would love to cruise through hills and even flatlands. This type of longboard is usually very fast and it can be too fast for some people who are just beginners.
Southeastern fly fishers will get a specialized expo geared towards the region’s fly-fishing opportunities. The Hunter Banks Co and other area fly-fishing shops are putting on an expo Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8 at the WNC Ag Center just south of Asheville. The expo will be held in the center’s new livestock exhibition hall.
Exhibitors will include all major fly-fishing venders, local fly shops, guide services, fly-tying instruction booths, area lodges and private water representatives.
Fishing instructional sessions include presentations by noted author Beau Beasley on Virginia Trout Streams, South Holston River guru Tim Landis on fishing that river and Abby Jackson on fishing the Soque River at Blackwater. Other presentations will feature fly-fishing techniques on the Davidson River and in the Smoky Mountain National Park. Renowned fishing author Jim Casada will also make a special appearance and be available for book signings.
In addition, the WNC Fly Fishing Expo will host the 3rd Annual Fly Fishing Film Tour on Friday evening, Nov. 6, at the Asheville Community Theatre, for $10.
Buncombe commissioners to consider $50,000 for Mountain Bizworks microloan program | Mountain Xpress
As Mountain Bizworks continues to restructure its services, Buncombe commissioners are considering a plan to give the influential local business nonprofit $50,000 toward a new microloan program.
The Buncombe County funding would be used to leverage $300,000 from the federal Small Business Association Microloan Program. Mountain Bizworks would use the funds to make at least 25 microloans to small businesses in Buncombe County over the next year, according to its report.
The idea is for the nonprofit to funnel the money to low-income entrepreneurs who need relatively small sums of money they can’t get through traditional banks.
“We’re committed to supporting small businesses and this is a real way to do it,” says Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Ellen Frost, who helped put the plan together.
Interest rates will range from 7.5 to 11 percent. As borrowers repay the initial loans, proceeds will go back into the fund and be available for other loans.
“If it’s successful, it could be something we really expand in the next year or two, after we try it out on a smaller scale,” says Commissioner Brownie Newman, who also helped draft the plan. “If we make some initial investments, we think we can really expand what’s available.”
In recent years, the county has given millions of dollars in incentives to large international manufacturers like GE Aviation and Linamar to help lure them into expanding local operations and creating jobs.
“When some of the bigger manufacturing projects come in, we’ve really gone to bat for those … People often ask what’s the county doing for small businesses,” says Newman. “I think that’s a really good question, so we’re trying to put some ideas forward for what the county can really do to support and foster the small business sector in the community, which is really where the majority of jobs will be created in the future. We think that the county can really start doing more to support that really important part of our business community.”
In order to receive microloans, local entrepreneurs will have to meet a series of criteria developed by Mountain Bizworks to mitigate risks. The organization has loaned more than $7 million to small businesses since 2007, and has had a loan loss rate consistently under 2 percent, it reports.
“There’s risks to this. I don’t think you can ever fully eliminate that,” he says. “But I think the benefits to the community in terms of more small businesses, more jobs – I think in the big picture, this will be a financially good thing for the community, and ultimately that all comes back to the county in terms of tax revenues and things like that.”
Mountain Bizworks downsized this winter after suffering from a liquidity crisis. It cut more than have its staff and dropped a number of educational programs. The leaner organization is in the process of refocusing on business lending and states in its county request: “with the support of partners like Buncombe County, Mountain Bizworks can continue to meet its mission of creating economic opportunity by helping small businesses start, grow and create jobs through lending and learning for many years to come.” It also predicts that its administrative costs will decrease from 18 percent to 15 percent. Buncombe County guidelines recommend that nonprofits it partners with limit administrative costs to 12 percent.
The board will meet at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 1, in the commissioner’s chambers, located at 200 College Street, suite 326. A short pre-meeting review of the agenda will begin at 4:15 p.m.
Environmental stewardship covers a wide variety of topics, from water conservation and water quality management, to management practices that keep playing surfaces healthy, problems in check, and wildlife habitats thriving. It is Mount Temples aim to provide a quality golfing experience to its members and guests in an environmentally sustainable manner.
It is our aim to reduce the use of expensive pesticides and fungicides. At all times Mount Temple aim to carry any and all cultural practices that help maintain high quality turf grass, with chemical treatment always kept to a minimum.
-Fertilisation programs are designed to be minimalistic in nature to provide the plant with enough feed to reduce stress, thus reducing pesticides and fungicide inputs.
Pesticide and fertiliser use is kept to the minimum required to maintain high quality turf grass. Only approved products shall be applied to the course. All products shall be stored in a secure appropriate facility in the maintenance compound.
Mixing of chemicals is only permitted at the wash area and no products are added to the sprayer until a full system check has been carried out on all equipment.
All packaging associated with pesticides and fertilisers are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.
Natural spring water used and is tested by the local authority which reduces the need for council water.
Every effort is made to recycle as much waste as possible. Card board, paper, plastic bottles etc are placed in bins for collection. Broken tree limbs and damaged trees are chopped and used in the fireplace in the clubhouse, heating the radiators in the clubhouse. Grass clippings are spread on the course and act as a natural fertiliser.
Mount Temple Golf Club is home to many wildlife species, most notably rabbits, hares, pheasant, badgers, falcon, cranes, water hens and ducks. Several areas of the course are designated as zero maintenance practices. These include: