AhA MoMents Moog Music And shuffle MAgAzine teAM up for the first seAson of AhA AVl concerts by Alli MArshAll One of the most legend-worthy local rock shows of the year belongs to Ahleuchatistas. It was a midweek performance. The beer was cold. And free. And then, because the instrumental duo rocked so hard, a speaker caught on fire. The show was the sixth installment of Moog Music Inc.'s AHA AVL series, a showcase of WNC-based bands that perform in Moog's Broadway Street building, in front of video cameras and an enthusiastic, invite-only crowd. (Want to be on the list? Email aha.avl@moogmusic.com.) Last fall, Moog Music debuted the performance space in its retail store. The inaugural AHA AVL band, playing in September, was electronic/hip-hop group Two Fresh (they returned in March for a short set before playing the Orange Peel). According to Moog Music's senior marketing and brand manager, Emmy Parker, the AHA in AHA AVL “is like, ‘Aha!’ What you say when you find something you've been looking for. So it stands for discovering Asheville.” The musical discoveries have included, to date, Ben Lovett, Kovacs and the Polar Bear, RBTS WIN, The Critters, Naked Gods, Soft Opening, Alligator Indian, Sonmi and Doc Aquatic, all local acts (except for Naked Gods, from nearby Boone).
rAzor & blAde
wednesdAy, Aug. 8 7 p.M.
doors open At 6 p.M. &
close At 6:45 p.M. inVite only.
curtAins wednesdAy, sept. 12. for An inVitAtion, contAct AhA.AVl@MoogMusic.coM
perforMAnces Are At
160 broAdwAy st.
leArn More About AhA AVl At MoogMusic.coM/AhA-AVl; View the Videos At shuffleMAg.coM.
“We wanted to help Asheville-based artists gain exposure throughout the Carolinas, and at the same time deliver content to an outlet that was 100-percent dedicated to independent artists in the Carolinas,” says Parker, who, through Crissa Requate of Mason Jar Media, reached out to Shuffle magazine to host the AHA AVL-generated videos on its website. Shuffle is based in Charlotte and covers the indie music of North and South Carolina. “We were immediately excited,” says Shuffle's publisher and general manager, Brian Cullinan, who calls Moog “an iconic music brand and positive element in Asheville's music community.” The first group of videos (Kovacs, RBTS WIN and the Critters) landed on the Shuffle website in February — according to the magazine's online and contributing editor, Bryan Reed, the RBTS WIN video has been a favorite with viewers and the footage from the Two Fresh March show is the
40 AUGUST 8 - AUGUST 14, 2012 • mountainx.com
AhleuchAtistAs (shAne perlowin on
guitAr And ryAn oslAnce on percussion)
rocked so hArd, A speAker ignited.
photos courtesy of Moog Music most-viewed. “It definitely speaks well to their popularity and influence,” he says of the bands. “We always see a little bit of a bump in traffic when we post the videos, and I know, anecdotally, that people look forward to them.” Reed adds that Shuffle has been striving to do more with video content. “AHA AVL is one of the avenues we're working to accomplish that,” he says. (Another is Shuffle's quarterly "Take One" series, including Charlotte's Andy The Doorbum and the Charleston, S.C., band Company.) “I'd like to see our video site continue to grow,” says Reed. “Having so many good bands to film helps a lot.”
When asked what his favorite video has been so far, Shuffle's music editor, Jordan Lawrence, says, “Gotta go with Naked Gods. They played 'Shaq & Diane,' a ‘guitarmony’propelled highlight from their latest LP, and they used a Minimoog to add this weirdo synth flourish to the beginning. It sent the song spiraling in a twisted, psychedelic direction, which I was definitely into.” (Bands get to test-drive Moog equipment for their sets; Sonmi went to far as to compose a new song using the borrowed instruments.) Shuffle has had a hand in choosing the AHA