Harrah’s given naming rights — See STORY, Pg. A6
WNC man died saving others, lauded as hero Riley Howell
See EDITORIAL, Pg. A10
Peter Noone
Herman’s Hermits star still shining — See INTERVIEW, Pg. B1
LLE I V HE AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER
June 2019
Vol. 15, No. 07
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BCGOP ‘coup’ alleged; issue sent to panel for final verdict
Bernie Sanders brings campaign to AVL
By JOHN NORTH
john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com
REYNOLDS — An impassioned dispute over whether the Buncombe County Republican Party must follow the stricter North Carolina GOP Plan or Organization versus the freer Buncombe County GOP Plan of Organization — afer much verbal wrangling — was addressed May 20 by a narrow 18-16 vote of those in attendance on a motion by Ken Hawkins, sending the issue to the NCGOP’s Arbitration Committee, with an agreement among those present that whatever that panel decides on the matter is final. The action followed two hours of angry or emotional outbursts by those accusing BCGOP Chair Jerry Green and the BCGOP Executive Board of executing a silent, nonviolent coup d’etat by unfairly imposing the NCGOP Plan of Organization on the BCGOP, stripping other party leaders and members of a vote on anything other than proposed expenditures exceeding $250. Green and the executive board remained calm and expressed conciliatory sentiments, but as the discussion heated up, apparently to no avail at one point, several attendees walked out en masse in apparent disgust. The issue was addressed during a meeting that drew about 50 people to the conference room at Reynolds Volunteer Fire Department. See BCGOP “COUP,” Page A9
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders became the first Democratic candidate for president to visit the Western North Carolina mountains during this campaign cycle when he spoke before a crowd of more than 2,000 people May 17 at Salvage Station in Asheville. A story about Sanders’ visit to Asheville appears on Page A3.
Special photo by T.J AMOS
Special photo by DYLAN MORRIS
Muslim-Marxist ‘axis’ could wreck U.S., speaker says The first in a series of two stories
HENDERSONVILLE — A national threat is posed by Muslim jihadis working with Marxists, Chris Gaubatz told a gathering of about 50 members of the Asheville Tea Party and their guests on the afternoon of May 17 in Hendersonville’s City Operations Center. The address marked Gaubatz’s return to Western North Carolina after addressing similar topics in the area on Feb. 12 and 13, in Skyland and Hendersonville, respectively. His talk in Skyland, which the Daily Planet covered, prompted profuse criticism of Chris Gaubatz the newspaper for covering what Ibrahim Hooper dismissed as an “Islamaphobe.” Hooper is national communications director and spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations. Originally, Gaubatz also was scheduled to
speak May 16 at Skyland Fire Department in Buncombe County, and the next day in Hendersonville, but Jane Bilello, chair of the ATP and ATPAC, said she decided to cancel the Skyland appearance and consolidate to just one talk — for those in Buncombe and Henderson counties — in Hendersonville. Gaubatz spoke in Haywood and Transylvia counties the next day and night. In his Hendersonville address, Gaubatz spoke on “Experiences Undercover in the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas” and “Red-Green Axis: Exposing the Left Working With Jihadis to Undermine Our Nation” — and other topics. Besides speaking, before and after his talks he sold and signed copies of “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America,” a book written by U.S. investigations special agent Paul David Gaubatz, (Chris’ father) and investigative journalist and Hoover Institute fellow Paul Sperry. The book tells of Paul Gaubatz’s training of his son (Chris) to work undercover, posing as a Muslim convert, and tells of the evidence that Chris Gaubatz uncovered. See MUSLIM-MARXIST AXIS, Page A8
‘Islamaphobe’ spouting ‘lies,’ top Muslim spokesman counters From Staff Reports
Once again, former U.S. undercover agent Chris Gaubatz, who returned to speak in the area in mid-May, was branded an “Islamaphobe” and “a hater” by Ibrahim Hooper, who is national communications director and spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations, better known as CAIR. Asked for his response to some of Gaubatz’s assertions during his May 17 speech in Hendersonville, Hooper said in a March 26 telephone interview with the Daily Planet, “This is the guy who said, ‘Islam is evil.’ He has the right to be a bigot.” Hooper, who is an American convert to Islam, noted that “there have been Muslimmajority nations for centuries,” where, he said, the religious minorities have lived in peace “for
centuries,” just as there have been non-Muslimmajority countries, where Muslims have been allowed to live in peace “for centuries.” He also contended that, in the Koran (the Islamic sacred book), “there is no compulsion for Muslims to re-establish the caliphIbrahim Hooper ate,” a political-religious state under the dominion of Muslims, contrary to Gaubatz’s assertions. Regarding Gaubatz’s claims that there is a real threat of jihad against the United States (radical Muslims waging a holy war in the name of Islam), Hooper said, “It’s just making things up out of whole cloth.” See CAIR RESPONSE, Page A3
A2 — June 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet
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Asheville Daily Planet — June 2019 — A3
Sanders stirs up backers with fiery Asheville speech
Sen. Bernie Sanders
From Staff Reports
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders fired up a gathering of his supporters during a midday rally May 17 at Salvage Station, a riverfront event space in Asheville’s River Arts District. The Democrat presidential candidate addressed more than 2,000 people, castigating what he termed the hypocrisy of Republicans, while declaring his campaign to be one of love and optimism. His Asheville speech marked his first public appearance in the
CAIR response
Continued from Page A1 As for Gaubatz’s contention that CAIR is a front group for a Hamas organization, Hooper said, “If you accept his bizarre conspiracy theories, why am I talking to you now?” He elaborated by noting that, if CAIR was part of Hamas, he would be in big — possibly fatal — trouble for speaking with its critics, or with news media seeking a response. Hooper reiterated that people like Gaubazt “are haters.” He also noted — again — that Gaubatz has tweeted, “When you understand the threat, you understand that there is no such thing as ‘radical islam’ [sic], just islam. [sic],” using the hashtag “#IslamIsTheProblem.” During the brief interview, the CAIR official said he found it “interesting” that Gaubatz continues to focus his speaking engagements in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee — and is addressing gatherings of “older” conservatives. On the lighter side, Hooper said he once offered to help Gaubatz in his purported plan to get married. (As Gaubatz said in his talk, that was part of his pose as a Muslim convert who had fallen in love with a Muslim woman.) At that point, Hooper said that someone should ask Guabatz about “his friend” John Guandolo, the founder of UnderstandingtheThreat.com. Hooper said that Guandolo had caught flak for voicing his view recently that “7-11 clerks and hotel managers” are all Muslims. (Guandolo, a 1989 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, took a commission as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He served with 2d Battalion 2d Marines as an infantry platoon commander in combat Operations Desert Shield/Storm. (From 1991-1996, he served in 2d Force Reconnaissance Company as a platoon commander, sssistant operations officer, and the unit’s airborne and diving officer. (During this time, he also deployed to the Adriatic/Bosnia. He served for one year as the unit leader for the CINC’s In-Extremis Force, directly reporting to a combatant commander in a classified mission profile. (Guandolo was a combat diver, military free-fall parachutist, and a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School.) In a Feb. 14 press release, CAIR stated, “In the past, Gaubatz joined his former employer and fellow anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist John Guandolo in smearing American mosques and claiming the Black Lives Matter movement is funded by ‘enemies’ of America.” CAIR bills itself as “America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.”
state for his 2020 presidential bid. Asheville also was the first stop on his recent campaign swing through the Southeast. He is also the first Democratic candidate for president to visit the mountains during this campaign. “Now, I was told coming to North Carolina wouldn’t make much sense. It was a Republican state. Doesn’t look like that today,” Sanders said, according to Asheville’s television station WLOS News 13. “Salvage Station owner Danny McClinton said the initial maximum
capacity was placed at 2,000 people but an approved amendment allowed the venue to increase that number to 3,500. He said more than 3,300 people were in attendance,” WLOS reported. “Western North Carolina is a place that has served Sanders well. He won the 2016 presidential primary, defeating Hillary Clinton with 62 percent of the vote. She earned 35 percent. Of the 80 precincts that make up Bucombe County, he won all but three, losing by 12, 21 and 53 votes in those contests,” WLOS noted. The Vermont senator, who is of-
ficially an independent but caucuses with Democrats, called President Donald J. Trump the most dangerous president in modern history. Sanders’ own campaign opposes what he called ugly anti-U.S. sentiments, such as racism and sexism, he said, as he explained how his administration will be based on the principle of justice for all. Sanders criticized recent anti-abortion efforts by Republican legislatures in Georgia and Alabama, who, he contended, are “denying women the right to control their bodies.”
A4 — June 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet
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Asheville Daily Planet — June 2019 - A5
‘So what are we doing?’ Duke Energy official reviews local plans By JOHN NORTH
john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com
A representative of Duke Energy gave an update on the utility’s producton plans for the region during a breakfast meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners on May 3 in UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center. About 50 people attended the session. In his update, Duke District Manager Jason Walls began by asking, rhetorically, “So what are we doing?” “Modernizing the Asheville power plant,” he said, in answering his own question. To that end, Walls noted that Duke is retiring the Asheville coal units, which have a capacity to generate 376 megawatts, as it constructs “a clean natural gas-fired combined-cycle plant ,” which can generate up to 560 megawatts. As a result of the community’s energy-reducing efforts, Walls also said the utility has put on hold plans to build a 190 megawatt peaker plant — a gas-fired plant to accommodate increased electricity production during peak demand times — until at least 2032. He also said solar production equipment is “to be installed on available flat land by the 2022 timeframe.” Next, Walls asked, again, rhetorically, “Why do this?” In ewaponaw, he pointed what he termed the “significant” environmental benefits from the projects, including a 97 percent reduction of water withdrawal. Walls also said the Duke’s projects will offer economic benefits — most notably that “this is basically a $950 million capital investment — that equates to almost 1,000 construction workers at the site over the last two years.” Further, he pointed out that, “natural gas, as a fuel, is cheaper than coal.” He asked, “Can you imagine building a power plant in 18 months? And then install solar, once coal ash is excavated from the project? By state law, Duke’s Asheville coal plant has to be retired by 2020, Walls said. At that point, Walls asked, “How has construction gone in the last 18 months?” In answer, he said, “Booming, but wet. As with any power plant construction, there is float in the schedule.” Walls added, “We forecast a need for 490 megawatts per year” of power for the area. “A couple weeks ago, from looking at the forecast from last fall, we now know we don’t need the peeker power plant till 2032... We’ve been able to work (well) with Asheville and Buncombe County over the past few months.” Through “the Blue Horizons Project…. we’re able to make reduce power demand at certain times... That’s all been done because of the collaboration we’ve been able to experience” with community leaders and residents, Walls said. During a question-and-answer session that followed, a man asked where the natural gas pipeline that serves Asheville originates. “The natural gas line comes up (to Asheville) from Mill Spring, South Carolina,” Walls replied. Another man asked, “So you’ve got no place to store up natural gas?” “Actually, we have” a place to store natural gas,” Walls responded. The same man asked, “How long does that (backup gas supply) last?” “We’re cautious to say we have this much supply,” Walls answered, citing the need to be vague because of security concerns. “But we could run the unit for a long time.” CIBO member Mac Swicegood asked, “What are you going to do with the transmission line?” “Now that we’re moving forward with a new substation at the old Volvo lot (off Patton and Clingman avenues in downtown Asheville), we will have downtown really set up” to meet its energy needs, Walls replied. A man asked, “Will you need additional rightof-way as you do transmission line work?” “Sometimes so, sometimes not,” Walls
replied, as the Q&A was ended to give time for the meeting’s other scheduled speakers. Next, Phillip Woolcott spoke on behalf of the Flatiron building hotel conversion project in downtown Asheville. Woolcott, who Jason Walls lives in Charleston, S.C., grew up in Asheville in the 1970s and early ‘80s,” before moving to Charleston for business opportunities. “I have been looking for just the right opportunity to bring me home to Asheville,” he told the CIBO gathering. “The Flatiron Building has done just that.” While he and others have “spent a lot of time” to devise a way to make the Flatiron building self-sustaining, “the hotel proposal was not very well-received, particularly downtown,” Woolcott noted. “So we didn’t take that lightly. “But a hotel is the only use that will work to preserve that iconic building... We’re just in need of City Council’s approval on May 14” for the plan to advance to the renovation stage. “I think there are a lot of people who would like to see that building preserved,” Woolcott said. “We’re very excited about that project,” despite “the pushback we’ve received.” (At the May 14 meeting of Asheville City Council, a developer pulled his application to turn the historic Flatiron building into a boutique hotel after realizing a majority of council members would vote against it. By pulling it before the vote, it leaves open the possibility of resubmitting it down the road. (At least for now, the building, owned by Russell Thomas, will remain as it is. Right now, the Flatiron is used as office space.) A third speaker, Thomas E. “Tom” Hartye, director of the Metropolitan Sewerage District; said he was speaking in place of MSD board Chair Jerry Vehaun, who missed the CIBO meeting because he came down with “a bug.” Hartye prompted laughter from the crowd when he quipped, “We’re sort of ‘the out of sight out of mind utility’ — and that’s a good thing,” More seriously, he said, “As you know, some of our storms are getting more and more ferocious,” causing more problems for the MSD.
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He noted that the MSD’s capital improvements program includes “major interceptors” an upsizing of the “large mains for a 50-year growth horizon” and providing “wet weather storm surge equalization.” Hartye also told of plans for treatment plant upgrades and sewer collection system rehab/replacement. “We’ve completed about 18,000 feet of pipe along French Broad River at Biltmore Estate,” Hartye said. “We’re rehabbing the existing pipe. It’s in a good structural condition. We’re going to line the inside of it.” He also said that MSD is “doing a plant headworks project in Woodfin. Construction cost will be about $10 million. We are completing it right now... We’ve done about $47 million at the plant in last few years. Even more is coming up.” Through state House Bill 758, “we serve Cane Creek Water District. Their waste comes to us. In 2017, they requested to come into our system and we rejected that. Their system is 60 miles versus ours of 1,000 miles,” Hartye said. However, he noted, “A while back, (state) Rep. (Chuck) McGrady (R-Hendersonville) submitted a bill, wherein MSD approval at the outset would not be required. Under his bill, it would go straight to the state.... It’s in committee at this point, and then we can see where it goes.” During a Q&A session, Swicegood asked, “our slideshow shows you don’t have anywhere to grow. It would seem that your best bet would be to relocate.” “Not necessarily,” Hartye replied. “Just because we have a challenge doesn’t mean we can’t” make the site work. An unidentified man asked, “We know the tourists are wearing out our sidewalks and roads — are they also wearing out our sewer system?” As the crowd laughed (including Hartye), Hartye replied, “Yes, if you don’t throw them down there….” A final speaker,. David Melton of City of
Asheville Water Services Department, said, “It’s been a busy month for our customers — and us — as well,” with the wet weather. Among system improvements he discussed was the North Fork transmission waterline bypass project “In 2004 with the floods, we had both of our supply lines wash out and we had no way to get water to the city,” Melton said. “With this, we’re putting the lines behind the river... On March 27, repairs were made. Then we had a line blow out in the River Arts District. Then we flushed for about two weeks... On Good Friday, we had Bee Tree Road line wash out... This pipeline is 1910s or 1920s era. So finding fittings to fit 1910 pipe is … keeping us busy... We’ve been flushing out our lines in the last few months to get back to the water quality you’re used to. “Emergency situations are where we really found out where we need to improve our communications.. People have signed up for our email alert... Of course, we use social media and press releases... We have a training center for our maintenance personnel.. We’ve got 34-35 employees in our water maintenance dept. During a Q&A that followed, Swicegood lamented, “Now we’ve got Bee Tree. Both times, the water that was treated for those lines” came out brown. “How do you all address that? That’s the big lines....” “It’s all part of all those plans,” Melton replied. “We try to figure out what to do when... The Bee Tree washout can’t be predicted. But we have funds to cover it.” Swicegood then noted, “But those problems have been around for 15 years — and we’re just getting ready to spend money on them?” “It’s hard to replace it all at one time,” Melton answered. When CIBO chief and emcee Buzzy Cannady tasked, “Are you getting enough money to keep the maintenance where it needs to be?” Melton responded that he is receiving adequate
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A6 - June 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet
Asheville awards arena naming rights to Harrah’s on $5.7M bid
From Staff Reports
Asheville City Council voted 6-1 on May 28 to award its second-ever naming rights agreement of the city-owned Civic Center to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, which is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, ”Once the new contract goes into effect, the U.S. Cellular Center will be renamed the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville,” Asheville television station WLOS News 13 reported. Meanwhile the Asheville Citizen Times
noted: “It is a five-year proposal worth $3.25 million, and up to $5.75 million with mutual extensions for the rights to some 180 million annual impressions which come from having its name plastered on the building as well as in advertising, ticket stock and venue uniforms.” The first city naming rights pact was — and is — with U.S. Cellular. It expires on Dec. 31, 2019. That nine-year agreement is valued at $1.35 million, or about $150,000 a year. The only other offer besides Harrah’s was from U.S. Cellular, which bid about $1 million for a five-year extension of its cur-
rent naming rights contract. “Only Councilwoman Julie Mayfield voted against the Harrah’s bid, citing a desire to find a more compatible corporate partner for the city’s culture,” the Citizen Times reported. “The Harrah’s offer drew criticism from local tourism officials, who argued the Harrah’s brand was ‘inconsistent’ with Asheville’s identity.” A week before council’s deciding vote, the Asheville Downtown Commission voted 6-1 in favor of Harrah’s bid, which followed on the heels of the Civic Center
Commission’s previous 3-2 vote in favor of U.S. Cellular’s return proposal. Meanwhile, Chris Corl, general manager of the U.S. Cellular Center, said in a news release, “We are very excited to embark on this new adventure with Harrah’s Cherokee. As part of the new agreement, there are several new fan experience initiatives that we will be able to bring into fruition. The Harrah’s Cherokee brand has a strong, supportive position in Western North Carolina, and we are excited to be a part of that relationship.”
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Faith Notes Send us your faith notes
Please submit items to the Faith Notes by noon on the third Wednesday of each month, via email, at spirituality@ashevilledailyplanet.com, or fax to 252-6567, or mail c/o The Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490. Submissions will be accepted and printed at the discretion of the editor, space permitting. To place an ad for a faith event, call 252-6565.
Saturday, June 1
“ONENESS” PROGRAM, 10 a.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 5th Ave W., Hendersonville. The Walter E. Ashley Lecture Series will feature a presentation on “Oneness Versus Separatedlness” by the Rev. Ed Bacon. His address will discuss the notion that “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Merton had at the center of their writing and living the conviction that the universe is construced as an interdependent whole.” Bacon recently was named a “Soul Teach” by Oprah The Rev. Ed Bacon Winfrey on her “SuperSoul 100” list, a list of “100 awakened leaders who are using the voices to elevate humanity.” An Episcopal priest and the author of “8 Habits of Live,” Bacon is billed as a national vboice on issues of the oneness of all creation, rethinking Christianity as non-bigoted, science-friendly and love-based, as well as promoting faith and justice for all, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Lectures are $25 each, or $75 for all with lunch included. DAILING LIVING PROGRAM, 1 p.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 5th Ave W., Hendersonville. The Walter E. Ashley Lecture Series will feature a presentation by the Rev. Ed Bacon on “...if the path of Jesus is about love and oneness, not fear and separateness, then what does that mean about our daily living, our life of prayer and our responsibility to seek first the ‘kingdom of God?” Lectures are $25 each, or $75 for all with lunch included
Sunday, June 2
SANCTUARY PROGRAM, 9 a.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 5th Ave W., Hendersonville. The Walter E. Ashley Lecture Series will feature a presentation by the Rev. Ed Bacon on “What Does It Mean to Be a Person of Prayer.” Lectures are $25 each. SANCTUARY PROGRAM, 10:30 a.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 5th Ave W., Hendersonville. The church’s Sunday worship service will feature a sermon by the Rev. Ed Bacon.
Asheville Daily Planet — June 2019 - A7
Friday, June 14
SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT, 7-9 p.m., 1 Sandburg Hall, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville. The UUCA will screen a yet-to-be-announced film. After the screening, a discussion will be held. All are welcome and admission is free.
Monday, June 17
SUMMER VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Reems Creek Beech Presbyterian Church, 4 Sugar Cover Road, Weaverville. The summer VBS will begin at 5:30 each evening (June 17-21) with a light supper for all. The opening session begins at 6 p.m. “We will have fun with songs, lessons, crafts and play time,” a press release from the church noted.
Sunday, June 23
MOUNTAIN JEWISH FESTIVAL, noon-4 p.m., Agudas Israel Congregation synagogue, 505 Glasgow Lane, Hendersonville. The synagogue will hold its third Mountain Jewish Festival, which is open to anyone interested in learning about and experiencing Jewish culture, as well as tasting some traditional foods. All foods were baked “in house” by Balabusta Bakers, a press release stated. Items available for sale will include mandelbread, hamantashen, rugalach, matzah ball chicken soup, kugel (noodle pudding), braided challah along with freshly made traditional egg cream soda and more. In addition, pastrami and corned beef sandwiches will be available. Food will be available for purchase and to consume under the tent while listening to traditional music by Penny White, singer-song leader; Joel Helfand, klezmer music, Daniel Sage and others. A sanctuary tour will be offered, including a look at the Torah and a questionand-answer session with Rabbi Rachel Jackson. Attendees also are invited to experience a Jewish wedding at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. All attendees will receive a free buidebook, which features the synagogues history, holiday expalnations and recipes. Admission is free.
Saturday, June 29
RACIAL HEALING PROGRAM, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Unity of the Blue Ridge, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road, Mills River. A program, “Story Medicine for Racial Healing,” will be led by Meta Commerse. She wll give an overview of the ancient indigenous work of story medicine. “Understand and awaken to the race-based oppression inherent in today’s social climate,” Unity noted in an event promotion. “Engage in dialogue with exercises that liberate and move us toward truth and healing.” The program, which costs $25, will be limited to 40 participants. Refreshments will be provided. Attendees must preregister and pre-pay at the Unity Bookstore.
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A8 — June 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet
Muslim-Marxist axis Continued from Page A1 Bilello, who, as per her usual practice made a pitch for the tea party movement in general and the ATP in particular, called for volunteers and spoke of the need for more pilitical activism than conservatives traditionally have practiced. “We’re 1,400 (names) on our email list — and growing,” she said of the ATP, as she stood under a banner of the AshevilleTeaParty.org that featured the slogan: “Taxed Enough Already!” Bilello stressed that “we don’t get behind all Republican candidates. We want to make sure they can ‘walk the talk.’” Regarding Gaubatz, Bilello triggered applause when she said, “Today we’re here with this incredible guy.” As the audience clapped, Gaubatz smiled back at the crowd. Bilello added, “We (the ATP) don’t sit around. We’re 10 years old. Most of the tea parties in the state have disappeared, but we’ve stayed the course. “With that,” Bilello said, “I’m introducing this wonderful guy. He put his life on the line” for the United States. “He went undercover....” She ended her introduction by interjecting, in a reference to Gaubatz’s efforts, “I don’t know if you know that President (Donald) Trump has said he wants to get Hamas declared a terrorist group.” The crowd again applauded. Gaubatz spoke for 75 minutes and then fielded questions from the audience for about 30 minutes. He began by noting that he first needed to take a deep sip from a can of Red Bull energy drink, as “I drove nine hours from Clarksville, Tenn., before I spoke to a group in Raleigh” — and then made the four-plus-hour drive to be at the afternoon talk. Regarding his address, Gaubatz warned, “If this is uncomfortable, that’s fine, as we’ve had people lay down their lives for us. “Also, I’d like to say thank you to Jane here in... Is this Asheville? (“No,” some of the attendees responded, laughing). Bilello gently noted that Gaubatz was speaking in Hendersonville, at which point Gaubatz, who smiled and never lost his cool, said glibly, triggering more laughter, “Here in ... the USA, you have a a great activist” in Bilello. “It’s at the local level where it’s at. “I will tell you right off the bat… Everybody always wants to know what they can do about it (keeping the U.S. on course). I’ll tell you right now… if you’re spending all your free time on the Drudge Report (website), reading what senators are eating for lunch, of watch Fox News (on television)... but you don’t know what’s happening on the local level, and we do know everything happening in Washington, D.C., we’ve got it totally flipped around. “Unfortunately, what I’ve seen is a lot of good people — conservatives — check Drudge, watch Tucker (Carlson on Fox) at night, and ignore their local community… Any spare time you’ve got, let’s funnel it into the local level. So if you’re motivated after my talk, please get involved on the local level.” At that point, Gaubatz added, “Conservatives getting organized is like herding cats, right? We have to be organized and active all year, every year....” “Okay,” he said, “Where am I going to go today? We’re talking about Marxism and jihad, so there’s lot to talk about. “The Muslim Brotherhood’s sole purpose when established in 1928 in Egypt was to restore the caliphate.... “I went undercover for six months, with CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, so that’s my expertise.” (CAIR’s website says the organization’s “vision is to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding” and its mission “is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.) Gaubatz told the crowd, “What I started
to realize, you take jihad out of the picture. Let’s pretend for a few seconds that 9/11 never happened... How is it that the most powerful, best-trained fighters in the world, that we (the United States) have crushed them overseas for years, yet we haven’t won any of those wars? “You begin to assess the enemy based on who they say they are. They all say the same thing: they’re waging jihad to establish sharia. (Sharia is defined as Islamic canonical law based on the teachings of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet (Hadith and Sunna), prescribing both religious and secular duties and sometimes retributive penalties for lawbreaking. It has generally been supplemented by legislation adapted to the conditions of the day, though the manner in which it should be applied in modern states is a subject of dispute between Islamic fundamentalists and modernists.) Gaubatz asked, “How in the world are we going” to be successful “if our leaders in Washington aren’t studying jihad? “We’re have some real problems off a far left movement that has been working to subvert this nation for decades, “even back in the ‘30s and ‘40s....” Gaubatz then suggested that conservatives read the 1957 book “Bending the Twig: The Revolution in Education and Its Effect on Our Children” by Augustin G. Rudd. For more than a dozen years, Rudd “studied our (U.S.) school systems” ... and concluded in 1956 that we’ve already lost our schools.. He concluded that we’ve completely lost our public schools to the Marxists.” Gaubatz said that Rudd’s finding that American public education generally is “denigrating our Founding Fathers” is a practice that continues today. “The fact that we spend more time on social studies and social issues than on reading, writing and arithmetic” backs up that assertion, he said. More than a half-century ago, “We (the U.S.) stopped putting an emphasis on history, geography and civics. Instead, time is put on talking about social theory.” In Rudd’s study as laid out in his book,“if you do all this, he concluded, then you get what we got today,” Gaubatz said. “I would challenge you to look up the Community Party’s website and read it. And compare it to the Democrats running for office now. I can’t find any difference between the CPA and the DNC (Democratic National Committee).” Gaubatz added, “We’re divided today because we have two competing interests (what he termed the”etablishment Republicans” and the Democrats). One (side) is President Trump and his ‘Make America Great Again,’” and on the other are the others, fueled by the Muslim-Marxist axis. “It’s no coincidence that both sides (the fought him tooth and nail. It’s no surprise the Democrats have opposed him.... “I travel around the Southeast — for right now — speaking to conservatives. Those of us who are conservatives absolutely have to clean up our house.... “President Trump needs us in our local communities to work hard. “I’d argue that many conservatives are getting close to what’s going on,” but there is much more they need to learn.” Gaubatz then asked, “How many of you” — if called upon — “could give a two-minute talk to five people about Hegelian dialectics — dialectical materialism.?”Two people raised their hands. (Gaubatz’s reference was to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), who was a noted German philosopher.) Regarding Hegelian dialectics, Gaubatz said, “Hegel was a philosopher from Germany.,” who developed a theory that, “out of two opposing ideas, you synthesize those two ideas to something new. So if you have a truth and an un-truth, whatever that new is… It’s still an un-
truth. When you watch CNN, I want you think about that…. That’s how you get where we’ve gotten today. There’s no free speech on college campuses. There are no conservative voices on campuses. That is the result of compromising on a truth…. When you talk justice and apply it to Marxist theory, you get social justice.” Next, Gaubatz spoke of his experiences as an undercover agent for the U.S. State Department. “I would be the last person in the world to go undercover with Hamas,” he said. “My father was a ‘spy catcher.’ He had a phenomenal career. We had a good life... My story really is his story. I’m grateful to be in his life. I really am. “When 9/11 happened, it changed a lot of people’s lives. It changed the whole trajectory of the country in many, many ways. After the 9/11 tragedy, “My Dad came out of retirement . He was an Arab linguist. He’d go into villages and gather information... My father was part of a small team that got Jessica Lynch’s family out” of Iraq in 2003. Regarding his criticisms of Islam, Gaubatz emphasized, “That doesn’t mean there aren’t good, decent human beings who are Muslims. But that doesn’t change what the doctrine says. In a nutshell it says: ‘The world is divided into two parts — the house of Islam and the house of war. And that all houses need to be converted into the house of Islam.” He then prompted laughter from the audience when he quipped, “Do you want to know what an ‘inter-faith dialogue’ is? A pastor, priest or rabbi tells a Muslim cleric how good Islam is — and the cleric says how good Islam is.” Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi “was the most active Muslim in the United States” in the 1990s., Gaubatz said. “He was an advisor to Vice President Al Gore. No other Muslim spent more time advising the government on Capitol Hill in the 1990s than him.” He added that Rahman al-Amoudi, an American former Muslim activist known for founding the American Muslim Council, pleaded guilty to financial and conspiracy charges in 2004, which resulted in a 23-year prison sentence At that point, Gaubatz noted that “CAIR, oh, by the way, is the organization that doesn’t want you to hear what I have to say. Of course, they don’t want me to speak... “This is why I’m a huge supporter of President Trump. We dodged a major bullet when we elected President Trump.” (Gaubatz’s praise of Trump triggered applause.) During his talk, Gaubatz castigated former President George W. Bush for, in his view, pandering to Muslims immediately after 9/11. “President Bush was the commander in chief” during and after 9/11 and, as president, “it is his responsibility to udnerstand what victory looks like and to understand the enemy,” but
he failed in that mission. “Even though I get called every name in the book for what I’m doing, I don’t care. We’ve got people willing to go overseas to lay down their lives for our country — and we don’t know what victory looks like.” Turning back to his experiences as an undercover agent, he said, “So how did I go undercover? “My background was (with a) check and credit card company for a Fortune 500 company — not fighting jihad. “So my Dad became my handler in an undercover project, where I spent six months….. We had a legal team behind us... So I did a fake conversion in Falls Church, Va., where Anwar Awlaki was the imam. “My cover story was that I meant a Muslim girl in college and I wanted to marry her... The imam said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this, as there is no going back? His undercover work was done in 2007 and, “as a ‘convert,’ I could get by without knowing a lot. Everything I learned about Islam, I learned from Islamic scholars... I went to hours of lectures.” Changing subjects, he then turned to what he termed “the red-green axis — the Marxists working with the Muslims... By the way, I’m Christian. I did a fake conversion, I’ll say that one more time.” Gaubatz said that CAIR goes to great lengths to orchestrate its actions, with an emphasis on “how to talk to the media.” He added, My very first day going undercover with CAIR, I, all of a sudden, discovered I had a wire hanging out of my shirt.” Fortunaely for him, Gaubatz said, CAIR officials did not notice his wire. “We — my father and I — knew that CAIR was offering an internship. I had to be a good intern, if was going to be successful. These were really long days. We didn’t want it to seem that I was too eager because they would look into my background. “I changed my name, obviously, for the project. They didn’t know that. “One guy (with whom he interviewed at CAIR) suggested he should be an intern at CAIR. Because he liked me, he never did any of the proper background checks. Oh, by the way, for any organization that you’re part of, follow your security protocol procedures because they’re there for a reason. “So I started to do an internship. I started to hear the same complaint on phone calls.” Because he was more energetic than the other interns, Gaubatz said, “I was given access” to records.
— By JOHN NORTH/Daily Planet
EDITOR’S NOTE: The second — and last — part of this story will appear in next month’s Daily Planet.
BCGOP ‘coup’
Continued from Page A1 Afterward, BCGOP Secretary Loretta Reynolds noted in an email to the Daily Planet that “the BCGOP Executive Board was elected at the 2019 County Convention and when we realized that the BCGOP Plan of Organization did not get approved at the convention, the 10 of us tried to correct the problem. “We knew the NCGOP Plan of Organization does not allow for precinct chairs to have the opportunity to vote,” Reynolds wrote. “We only wanted to correct that so that we all have a voice. We were not trying to make the situation worse. We want everyone to be involved.” However, former BCGOP Parliamentarian Dorothea Scott Alderfer noted in a separate email to the Daily Planet that “the only legal, compliant, forthright course of action to ‘address’ what has occurred in the BCGOP is to call for reinstatement of the BCGOP Plan or Organization, as voted on at Convention in 2018, as amended in January 2019 and as on file at the NCGOP — RRR — Feb. 7, 2019.” Alderfer added in her email, “The present and future BCGOP Leadership may amend the BCGOPPOO in compliance with requirements outlined in the NCGOPPOO (p.9) and BCGOPOO (Article VII).” Regarding Alderfer, Green, the BCGOP chairman, said in a telephone interview May 28 with the Daily Planet that Alderfer recently resigned as parliamentarian, but remains a member of the local party. “Parliamentarians don’t usually discuss the issues,” so, Green said, he presumes Alderfer resigned her post “because she wanted to discuss the issues.” Green said the decision by the BCGOP Executive Board to follow the NCGOP’s Plan of Organization for this year was simply a matter of following the state party rules, which requires such a path if a local party fails to have its own county Plan of Organization approved. In the BCGOP’s case, Green said he thought it certainly was the result of an oversight — and not an intentional ploy to strip all but Executive Board members of power. He added, “A lot counties just follow the NCGOP plan, but “many of them have only six or eight precincts,” while the BCGOP has 80 precincts. Green said the BCGOP Plan of Organization “is a little freer” than the NCGOP plan. Specifically, it allows precinct chairs and vice chairs, club presidents (such as the BCGOP Men’s Club and BCGOP Women’s Club), team leaders and others to vote on various matters. In contrast, the NCGOP plan is “very strict.” After the oversight was discovered, the BCGOP Executive Board determined in January that the local party would have to follow the NCGOP plan and “filed it with the state in February,” Green said. At the Reynolds meeting, “we were trying to get everyone on the same page. At this point, we didn’t have a parliamnetarian,” as Alderfer, who was present, had resigned — and her replacement has yet to be named, he said. As for the vote to turn the matter over to the NCGOP Arbitration Committee, Green said in the interview, “Let’s do it and work it out. We can still work it (the NCGOP plan) to give people some more lattitude.” And, at the next convention, early next year, Green said the BCGOP intends to make sure it files within the deadline so it can return to using its own Plan of Organization. Green said he expects the NCGOP Arbitration Committee, which he said is clogged up with other pressing work at the moment, to decide on the BCGOP matter within a month. In concluding his interview with the Daily Planet, Green emphasized, “I do think Republicans understand that it’s been our goal to stay focused on the election in 2020. If we have to get this behind us, let’s do it now.” At the Reynolds meeting, an unidentified woman asked near the beginning, “I don’t understand why we don’t get to vote. Why it’s being told to us without any input or vote.”
In response, 11th District GOP Chair Aubrey Woodard said, “Well, that is the decision of the committee that looked at this. If you’d like, we could forward this to the arbitratration commission.” An unidentified woman said, “You had mentioned that this isn’t the first time.” “That’s right,” Woodard said. “At your convention, you accepted the North Carolina plan” because the Buncombe County Plan of Organization was not adopted. When a woman charged that “the entire BCGOP Executive Committee, given a quorum, voted by two-thirds to make some changes” in the BCGOP plan in January, Green replied, “I think what you’re saying is correct ... We’ve been out of compliance for a number of years. My plan is if we can’t do it this way, we have a meeting like this.” Republican Ken Hawkins then asserted, “Mr. Chairman I’d like to make a motion… I’d like to move” that those in attendance vote
Asheville Daily Planet — June 2019 - A9
on which Plan of Organization to follow. “I’m a college graduate — and I’ve read the N.C. Plan or Organization. And there’s nothing in there that says the BCGOP must adopt the (N.C.) Plan of Organiation.” “I think the motion is out order,” Green calmly reiterated. “When you make a motion to override what the state is asking us to do, you’re out of order.” Executive Committee Fremont V. Brown III interjected, “I think what everybody’s forgetting… We adopted a plan. We adopted the NCGOP plan as our plan. If we adopt another plan, we will be out of compliance with what we voted for.” Green lamented that “we’re spending our time fussing over things like this. As others mumbled their disagreement with Green, an unidentified woman said, “We’ve got to do what the bossman says.” At that point, Hawkins said to Green, “Sir, there’s a motion on the floor. It’s been
seconded. There’s been discussion. It needs to be voted on. We deserve a vote on this matter, here and now.” As the discussion continued, a man stood up and said, angrily, “You don’t have a voice! You don’t have a vote! You don’t need to give them your money!” as he and at least four others stormed out of the meeting. Green eventually agreed to hold a vote, but Hawkins interjected, “Division of the house!” Green then relented and said, “We’ll do it by standing,” as several of those who had walked out returned to cast a vote. “As a point of order,” Green said, “if someone leaves the floor,” that individual is not allowed to return and vote later. One of the returnees said they were just “taking a break.” After the 18-16 vote in favor of turning the matter over to the NCGOP Arbitration Committee, the attendees agreed, that, by unanimous consent, the BCGOP should send the problem to the arbitration committee for a decision.
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A10 — June 2019 — Asheville Daily Planet
The Daily Planet’s Opinion
Riley Howell: WNC man ranks as hero in attack
F
ittingly, a North Carolina police department has honored — as a hero — a college student from Western North Carolina who was killed when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom. As has been widely reported, the family of UNC Charlotte student Riley Howell was awarded the Civilian Medal of Valor posthumously May 15 from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Howell’s parents, siblings and girlfriend accepted the award on his behalf — and received a standing ovation. Earlier, he had been buried with full military honors. The 21-year-old Howell, an ROTC cadet from Waynesville, was a graduate of Asheville’s T.C. Roberson High School who also attended Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College before attending UNC Charlotte. He was shot — at least three times, according to his partents— while tackling the shooter who is accused of killing him. Howell’s move is credited with saving lives. Also killed in the April 30 attack was 19-year-old student Ellis R. Parlier. Four other students were wounded. “‘The chief said no one was shot after Riley bodyslammed him,’ said his mother, Natalie Henry-Howell,” The New York Times reported. The NYT’s May 6 story Riley Howell also aptly pointed out, “Mass shootings have their perpetrators and their victims. And then there are those, Mr. Howell now among them, who risk their lives in some combination of strength, cunning and bravery in an effort to save others and themselves.” In the aftermath, police charged 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell with two counts of first-degree attempted murder and other offenses in the shooting. In saluting Howell as a hero, we are proudly reprinting below the ending from Maureen Miller,’s blog, which appeared in the May 7 edition of the Waynesville Mountaineer: “Yes, Riley Howell has the heart of a hero. His life here may have ended, and we feel it’s much too soon; but he lives on — in all those whose lives were impacted by this beautiful soul. And as someone close to him recently said, he did that — made life more beautiful, whether in a small-town elementary school, a large high school, a corner cafe or on a diverse university campus. And though I have no photograph to prove this morning’s beautiful moment, seeing the family of geese as they walked across the wooden dock — the Western North Carolina sunrise behind them — I know that, for a brave boy-man named Riley, the sun will never again set and he, too, has risen to new life having stepped into a glorious new day. “Thank you, Riley Howell, for being someone who we can all hope and pray to be more like. Thank you for having the heart of a hero. May it beat on in all the lives you touched, in all the lives you saved.”
Letters to the Editor
N.Y. Mayor de Blasio’s bid for presidency? Foolish
W
hy do people in high office enjoy making fools of themselves? Take New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, for instance. It’s bad enough he’s done such a poor job for his constituents (if he has any left) and he actually thinks he has a chance of becoming president of these United States. Following in the footsteps of the current occupant in the White House, Mayor de Blasio has to quickly learn from the traits of PresiBill de Blasio dent Donald Trump... You know — lying, cheating, tweeting misinformation, draft-dodging, etc., to make a formidable candidate. Bandleader Les Brown had a hit record honoring the N.Y. Yankees’ great Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak and the title was “Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio.” There’s a line in that tune that goes: “Joe, Joe DiMaggio, we want you on our side.’ How about we paraphrase that line thusly: “Bill, Bill de Blasio, We DON’T want you on our side!” That about does it, folks. Herb Stark Mooresville
Repro rights backers urged to expand vasectomy rights
The reproductive rights movement needs to redouble our efforts to expand youth vasectomy rights, last I heard, below age 23. We must recognize that just because some youth would like to have children someday; that does not mean that such desires always are, or ever will be, their first priority; or that later possible regrets about infertility are either more important or legitimate than either of the two opposite regrets, unwanted children or abstinence. Alan Ditmore Leicester
Dem fears his party might win election for Trump
I want to preface my letter by stating that I consider myself to be “on the side” of minorities as I happen to be one myself and have experienced my share of the prejudice and discrimination that minorities (and women) face a great deal more of than I do on a daily basis. I fear that Donald Trump will probably win re-election because we Democrats might win it for him. Most of the national Democrats seem to believe that they ALWAYS have to over-reach, go overboard, and go to ridiculous extremes to defend, be on the side of, and make lame excuses for, all members of minority groups (and illegal immigrants) because they need their VOTES and want their votes one day. It is my belief that this puts-off a lot of the undecided and “moderate” voters who will determine which party wins in 2020. Take the current example of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who happens to be a Muslim. For her to casually and flippantly dismiss the tragedy of what happened on 9/11 by saying that “Some people did something” was totally morally WRONG. It was WRONG of her to trivialize and minimize the horror of what happened. It was disrespectful and highly insensitive. She came across as being unpatriotic and not loyal to the USA. Plain and simple. Why can’t Democrats admit that? I agree with many of her liberal/progressive views, but I don’t give her a “pass” for those offensive remarks. No one should. If we Democrats stopped pandering and grovelling for votes and, instead, focused primarily on fighting for our federal government to do MORE to help the lower and middle classes with their economic and financiaL struggles and problems, as our allies do, we would EASILY defeat Trump and win the Congress. Stewart B. Epstein Rochester, N.Y. • EDITOR’S NOTER: Epstein, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Congressman Chris Collins, R-N.Y., for the seat that represents western New York. Collins was the first sitting U.S. representative to endorse Donald Trump for president of the United States, and he served on Trump’s presidential transition team.
History waits to see what way we go
W
hen Harry Truman left office in 1953, he and Bess went to Union Station and took a train home to Missouri. It was assumed that he would occupy an obscure line in the list of presidents, with the likes of Millard Fillmore and John Tyler. But history had other ideas. Today, Truman is regarded as a great president, both by liberals and conservatives, up there with the Roosevelts. The Roman emperor, Caligula, is also being re-evaluated. A Cambridge University professor has argued, in writing and on BBC television, that the few sources we have on Caligula were, at best, passing on gossip. History doesn’t see through bifocals. It pays no mind to the current events we bother about. History takes a long view. Oh, don’t you wish you could see how history will see the times we live in now? Did Germans have these uncertain feelings in the 1930s? Some did, but the giddy crowds waving Nazi flags and shouting
Lee Ballard “Victory! Hail!” were unaware that they were sowing the wind that would bring on the whirlwind. That’s where we are. There are various alternative scenarios that might be, but we see darkly. Meanwhile, our churning gut tells us we’re on a tightrope over a roaring deluge. The wind being sown in America today swirls around our president. He is not guided by right and wrong. He considers himself above laws, rules of civility and ethical conduct ─ and the U.S. Constitution. He feels he can do and say anything, openly, and pay no price. His tweets are vile beyond any civilized measure. He’s more juvenile than a man, more schoolyard bully than leader.
But his moral failings, even his most preposterous lying, won’t necessarily impact our future. A person of integrity can replace him and fumigate the White House. No, Trump’s festering legacy can be more devastating: the decline of Congress as a coequal branch of government, the reeking corruption all through the executive branch, his splitting off a loyal base for himself as “us versus them,” our diminished place in the world, and the subjugation of the once-grand Republican Party to be his accomplices. Our Founding Fathers hoped, as James Madison put it, that those elected by the people would be “patriotic and just, chosen due to their virtues.” But just in case, they built devices into the Constitution to remove those who badly fall short of those qualities. Ah, but they assumed that members of Congress, who would do the removing, would themselves be virtuous and patriotic people, the ones Madison wrote about. Today’s Republicans are anything but. Far from checking Trump, they enable him.
History looks backward and separates the good, the bad and the indifferent. Living in our own prehistory, we feel fear. How will it end? If Trump is defeated in 2020 — and he leaves office peacefully ─ the swamp of Trumpism can be drained and the city on a hill lit bright once again. But if he wins another term, people I trust say our Constitution can go defunct, especially if federal judges turn partisan. How decisive the next 18 months will be! Who will emerge as heroes of democracy and who, the villains? Will Republicans find courage and patriotism? Will Trump wrongdoings be uncovered that are too awful even for his base? Or will the Democratic challenger fail badly and Trump be reelected? No, that must not happen! It must not happen! Trump must be defeated. The winner writes history, as they say, and that must not be Trump. • Lee Ballard, who lives in Mars Hill, has a website at Mountainsnail.com.
Asheville Daily Planet — June 2019 - A11
Commentary
The Candid Conservative: Our wacky world is wrecking women
“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.” — Timothy Leary
The problem
M
odern man has much to be thankful for. Topping the list comes the sweeping success of the progressive feminist movement. Thanks to this nagging juggernaut, men have never had it better. First came the belief that sex was a casual act indifferently attached to emotion. That bit of modernistic cynicism was then unleashed by the reproductive usurping powers of the pill. The result – men were freed to rent women instead of commit. The inventor of the pill must have been a man. Next came legalized abortion for those times when the pill didn’t cover the bases. Yes, abortion was and is hyped as a women’s reproductive rights thing, but what it really amounts to is a way for men to avoid the consequences of thoughtlessly applying our thing. Technology has been great for men. Free porn is so available as to have become an addictive ready replacement for real relationships. In the face of the competition, recent generations of women have taken to sexting and nude selfies in an oft-desperate attempt to find sure love. It doesn’t work, but men sure appreciate the gesture. My favorite bit of social silliness is the feminist movement’s confusion of the rightful pursuit of gender equality with the idea that women should be like men. What more could a guy ask? Women have thus become as sexually debased, selfish and stupid as we are. Hooray for progressive feminists! No, not really – in fact, the deconstruction of women in America is a tragedy.
Plan B
I recently had a special opportunity to speak to a philanthropic women’s club. Amidst our culture’s pervasive submission to liberal dogma, that’s not an everyday invite for a Christian conservative psychologist. I was determined to take full advantage of the 45 minutes and violate every warped code of progressive dogma I could. What follows is the first 10 of “Twenty Skills Women Need in a Crazy World.” If you’re a woman – or a Daddy or other good guy who likes the idea of uplifting women – it might be worth a few moments. In 21st century America – the female gender needs all the help it can get. Women Civilize the World – practice. It’s my pleasure to start with the best of the 20. Without women, the world would be a muddy mess. There are lots of ways women take us higher but my favorites are your capacity to create softspots in the middle of chaos; the way you make men be better men by our having to become so to earn your graces; and, yes, that other thing – you populate the planet. Treat life responsibly – never seriously. Though seeming to share common ground, these agendas are antagonistic. There is so much absurdity, tragedy and harshness in life that being serious about all it will burn you out, make you angry or otherwise sour your joy. In contrast, being responsible keeps you in the game, but preserves your flexibility, positivity and brain cells. If you’re not laughing – a lot – at the nonsense of life, you may need a skill reset.
Carl Mumpower Endorsement by others is jelly – your inner truth is the biscuit. Women get tricked all the time into needing the culture – or the men in their life – to validate what they know, do, or are. That’s a form of self-applied duct-tape. It’s a skill to resist focusing on what other’s think or say about you and to concern yourself mostly with what’s true about you. Jelly without the biscuit is a sticky mess. Your love and your example are your two best power tools. We all need to matter, but women in today’s world are finding some pretty foolish ways to do so. Anger, naked selfies and gender exchange may be popular current ways to find some mojo, but they’re the equivalent of riding on bald tires. Working to expand your love skills and your personal life-model will reliably take you further, longer than social fads and distraction therapy. Grow your head, heart, hand and spirit – every day. Life is nothing if not a classroom. We are put here to get better and make the world better – not for the soulless pursuit of our own personal pleasures. To do that you have to grow all of you – all the time. The head, heart, hand and spirit are like the four points of a compass. Go to each of these places every day and see what you can do to expand yourself a little at a time. You never get to stop no matter how accomplished, learned, or old you get. Growth is as important to life as breathing. Don’t be ashamed to learn from the smartest guy on the planet. When asked by God what he wanted, newly minted King Solomon made a selfless request – wisdom. Out of that fulfilled gift came a very simple equation for a successful life – live in God’s stated will and devote yourself to the what might be called the 4—L’s. Solomon contended that everything that falls outside of laboring loving, learning and living (as in maturely celebrating the gift of life) was reliably tainted with vanity. The corruptive influences of 21st century progressive values affirm the wisdom of his conclusion. Depression and anxiety are messengers. Don’t look now, but in the age of a mental health professional on every corner and a gazillion psychoactive medications, anxiety and depression are on the rise with women. One view on the why is
LETTERS The Asheville Daily Planet invites Letters to the Editor of 200 words or less. Please include your name, mailing address, daytime telephone number and e-mail address. For more information, call (828) 252-6565. Send mail to: Letters, Asheville Daily Planet P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, NC 28814 Send e-mail to: letters@ashevilledailyplanet.com
that anxiety and depression are actually the psychological equivalent of physical pain that warns us against the dangers of a hot stove, spider bite or alcohol inflamed pancreas. A & D can thus be considered angels attempting to guide us to reconsider our lifestyle and learn new and better coping skills. That’s one reason psychoactive medications are so notoriously ineffective – knocking out the messenger is the same as giving a Stage 4 cancer patient pain-killers and claiming a cure. Pick your poison – spills, pills or skills? There are no reliable ways to dodge the fact that life is hard and everyone faces a solid share of challenges. In a culture that is foolishly encouraging women to become more like men, is it a surprise that their lives are paradoxically becoming foggier? Male or female, it’s our choice to let our hardships spill all over the place – take pills to cover the symptoms of our misery – or learn new skills to address the hurdles. Per usual, the hardest option is the best option. Skills are tough to learn, but they represent hope. Anger, fear, shame and selfishness are addictive and destroy the container that holds them. Modern living is increasingly conducive to these four forces of harm. We’re mass producing angry women almost as fast as we’re producing immature men. Fear far too often serves as the hidden life filter for far too many women. Shame, as a by-product of foolish life scripts is a similarly rampant female reality. Selfishness, not surprisingly, is the deadly cave that becomes the hiding place of the thus
afflicted. Thankfully there are antidotes to these modern-day harms. The best way to kill anger is with liberal doses of forgiveness – deserved or not. Fear loses its traction when faced with the courage of action. Shame finds no home in a heart of rededicated maturity and love. Selfishness withers on contact with an attitude of gratitude. Ladies, those are life changing skills The darkest place in the universe is inside us. In the age of self-service, women are smart to give this sanctuary extra reflection. Your unique gifts were not meant to be locked away or smothered in the twilight of an armored heart. The temptation to turn inward is natural in a hard world. Women must always be pushing their gaze outward to new opportunities to grace the world. A dollar bill under a mattress has to be taken out and invested to grow in value. Women who turn inward for sanctuary are more surely captured in a prison than secured in their fort. Thus, we have the first 10 of 20 skills for women struggling to survive the traps of a progressively confused culture. We’ll hit the next 10 ... next month. Yes, I understand we’ve just violated a library full of political correctness codes. Thank you for your indulgence. The female gender is simply too important to passively watch the left suck out your life force…. • Carl Mumpower, a psychologist and former elected official, is the past chairman of the Buncombe County Republican Party. He can be reached at drmumpower@aol.com.
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Sister knives
My sister dates super hot guys, but she’s always telling me that looks aren’t what matter and I should go for a man who’s stable and reliable. Is she looking out for me? How come she doesn’t follow her own advice? It seems weirdly hypocritical. — Puzzled Charmingly, the men your sister picks for herself look like they could work in strip clubs, while men she picks for you look like accountants who’ve invested in strip malls. Welcome to “the Juliet effect,” as named by evolutionary scientists Robert Biegler and Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair. In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Juliet’s mom — let’s call her Mrs. Capulet — was working her own agenda in giving her daughter advice on who to marry. Mrs. Capulet was pushing her daughter to go for Count Paris, a boringly stable rich guy from a good family. Juliet, of course, only had eyes for Romeo, the off-limits hottie, whose family was basically the feuding Italian Hatfields to the Capulet’s McCoys. It turns out that Shakespeare was something of an intuitive evolutionary psychologist. Parents do want the best for you -- uh, that is, except when what’s best for you diverges with what’s best for them. The same goes for your siblings. These fun intra-family conflicts are called “parent-offspring competition” and “sibling competition” by evolutionary psychologists. Biegler and Kennair researched the way these evolved conflicts play out over “transferrable” versus “non-transferrable” qualities in a woman’s partner. Transferrable qualities are those that could directly benefit the children of a woman’s mother or sister — for example, a man’s ability to provide food, shelter, and/or “protection against predators or enemies.” (High status, too, would be transferable, because of the power and perks that come with it.) Nontransferrable qualities, on the other hand, are those — like hottiehood — that suggest a man has good genes, which would directly benefit only his female partner’s own children. Accordingly, Biegler and Kennair found that moms and sisters wanted hunks for themselves but would steer their daughter or sibling to the stable guy with resources. Granted, this probably isn’t a conscious move on their part — all “gotta make her believe the rich troll is her soulmate.” However, you should be conscious when seeking advice from your family members about a guy that there could be mildly nefarious ulterior motives at play. Sure, your sister wants the best for you — the
LETTERS The Asheville Daily Planet invites Letters to the Editor of 200 words or less. Please include your name, mailing address, daytime telephone number and e-mail address. For more information, call (828) 252-6565. Send mail to: Letters, Asheville Daily Planet P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, NC 28814 Send e-mail to: letters@ashevilledailyplanet.com
The Advice Goddess
Amy Alkon
Syndicated Columnist
best Ugly Dave you can get who owns hotels and a plane, so she can take free luxury vacations with the recently paroled soulless hunks of the world.
As fade would have it
I was dating this guy, and it was super intense. He is a big believer in soulmates, and he said he thought I was his. Of course, I was excited, and it all seemed really romantic, and then poof! He was gone. Ghosted me. What makes somebody think simply disappearing is an okay way to break up? — So Upset
over time” and take work; you don’t just bump into your perfect partner in a train station and go off on the 6:07 to Happilyeverafter. In line with this view of relationships as a gradual process of working out conflicts, the researchers found that romantic partners with stronger growth beliefs were 38.4 percent less likely to indicate that ghosting is okay. However, people with destiny beliefs, like your “Fate or bust!” ex, were 63.4 percent more likely to find it acceptable to take the disappearo way out. But interestingly, Freedman and her colleagues note that “high scores on destiny do not equal low scores on growth,” which means somebody can believe both in soulmates and in working to improve relationships. (Also, even soulmatehood devotees can understand that another person is a person, with feelings.) In other words, don’t assume that anybody who believes in
soulmates will disappear without explanation -- going from an exuberant “Babe, you complete me!” to a silent “Boy, am I glad I didn’t give you my key!” • (c.) 2019, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol. com (advicegoddess.com). Weekly radio show: blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon
TO REPORT AN ERROR
The Asheville Daily Planet strives to be accurate in all articles published. Contact the News Department at news@ashevilledailyplanet.com, (828) 252-6565, or P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490.
“Love is in the air” is not supposed to mean your new boyfriend disappears into it like a fine mist. Welcome to the dark side of the “We’re soulmates!” thing. It turns out that a person’s beliefs about the underpinnings of a successful relationship can affect how they end things — whether they tell you it’s over or just ghost you (wordlessly vanish from your life). There are “destiny beliefs,” which, in their strongest incarnation, involve believing in fate and soulmates — the notion that people in relationships “are either meant to be together or they’re not,” as social psychologist Gili Freedman and her colleagues put it. “Growth beliefs,” on the other hand, involve the notion that “relationships grow
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Entertainment
Special Section PULLOUT
& Calendar of Events
B1
Asheville Daily Planet — June 2019
‘Revolver’ album salute packs house
Peter Noone is still performing full tilt at age 71.
Herman’s Hermits’ lead singer still rocks; to perform at SMCPA
By JOHN NORTH
F
john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com
Special photo courtesy of SCOTT WOODY/ISIS MUSIC HALL
The Asheville Music School’s annual benefit show, featuring a performance of every song on the Beatles 1966 album “Revolver” (spanning four hours), drew a full house on May 2 at Isis Music Hall in West Asheville. The show was the seventh annual Sound Effects concert to benefit AMS. The school’s teaching artists, along with advanced students and special guests, such as Justin Ray (trumpeter in Michael Bublé’s band), formed the all-star band to perform the album that many music critics and fans regard as The Beatles’ best, with songs including “Taxman,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and the
groundbreaking “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Sound Effects musical director Ryan Reardon noted that “the Beatles were getting less interested in performing live, and more interested in exploring the possibilities of using the recording studio as a musical instrument.” The “Revolver” album was released at the “height of Beatlemania, around the time of (Beatles’ singer-guitarist John) Lennon’s famous ‘more popular than Jesus’ quote.” Reardon said. “It’s exciting not only to re-create this innovative music in a live setting, but also to share these historic moments in music with our students.”
RANKLIN — Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone will perform their hits and those of other British Invasion bands at 7:30 p.m. June 28 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts. In a May 28 telephone interview with the Daily Planet, Noone, 71, speaking from a golf course in Santa Barbara, Calif., voiced his enthusiasm about returning to Franklin, where he has performed several times, noting that “it’s beautiful country” with friendly people. “We don’t have a setlist for the show — it’s what it is that night,” Noone, the group’s lead singer, said. “Of course, we have to do the hits — and that takes up most of the show. But we respond to the audience,” otherwise, to perform other songs it most prefer.s “We know 300 songs,” but obiously cannot perform them all at the SMCPA. He added that “I’m Into Something New” always is paired with “Wonderful World” — and that “I’m Henry the VIII” is paired with “There’s a Kind of a Hush.” Further, Noone asserted, “I make fun of songs. Then we might do a Monkees’ song. We do a Rolling Stones’ song. And people sing along. When we do a Beatles song, like ‘All My Loving,’ everyone sings along at the top of their lungs.”
See HERMAN’s HERMITS, Page B7
Show proves to be fitting tribute to Hank Williams, Patsy Cline
By DAVE ROWE
Special to the Daily Planet
F
LAT ROCK — Two of the greats were given their due recently at the Flat Rock Playhouse. “Hank Williams and Patsy Cline Country Royalty” a tribute show to the two country music legends, ran there May 2-12 to near-capacity crowds, The show started off with a batch of Hank Williams’ classics sung by 10-gallon-hatted tribute artist Jason Petty, Backed by a tight five-piece band, he in a close-to-the-real-thing voice, opened the show by singing “Hey, Good Lookin’.” Petty went on to preface “” Move it on Over” with his opinion that the song marked “the invention of rockabilly.” Released in 1948, the record was Williams’ first hit.. “Lovesick Blues” came soon after and Petty reported that it was the song that made Williams a national star. “He sang it the first time he was on the Grand Ole Opry and they had him do eight encores. They wouldn’t let him leave the stage,” Petty said. The song stands out also in that Williams performed it and recorded it, but did not write it — most of the songs he sang were originals. “What Hank loved doing most was writing songs,” Petty said. “He stuck pieces of paper in his hat band and in his wallet. He had the fattest wallet in Nashville.” Petty, at one time a member of Nashville’s Music Row scene, relayed an incident where a prospective producer introduced Williams to an attractive young woman, then shut him off in a room to see if he could then come up with a song. The result — in rapid fashion — was “I Can’t Help it
If I’m Still in Love With You.” “You Win Again” according to Petty, was written one day after Williams learned that his wife Audrey was having an extramarital affair. “She was the love of his life,” Petty noted.”When that marriage ended, it was the beginning of the end.” Hank Williams and Patsy Pain medication and Cline were saluted at Flat alcohol probably were Rock Playhouse show. bigger factors in the demise of Williams ,who at age 29 died of heart failure. Petty reported the death came in the back seat of a Cadillac while Williams was on his way to play a 1953 New Year’’s Day show in Canton.Ohio A mournful version of “”I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” followed, as the FRP crowd reacted with near silence. “Sing Sing Sing,” a Williams gospel song came next — and things seemed to brighten up. Things brightened up more when tribute artist Katie Deal took over the stage to spotlight Patsy Cline. In cowgirl garb, she started off singing an upbeat number called ”Honky Tonk Merry Go Round.” After that, she sang her rendition of “Walking After Midnight,” the song that in 1948 first put Cline on the charts. Then came the gospel classic “Just Another Closer Walk
With Thee.” Next, Deal sang a rock ‘n’ roll song Cline recorded called “Got a Lot of Rhythm in My Soul,” followed with “Strange,” a rhumba that was the B side of a Cline single. This, said Deal, proved Cline could handle many different styles. Country, though, was Cline’s mainstay and in a voice that was solid country but not as expressive and big as Cline’s Deal, sang “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,“ “Sweet Dreams” and other Patsy Cline standards. Cline didn’t write songs; Deal said, noting that it was the way she delivered them that made her special. “She could personalize a song. She could make iit feel like you were having a conversation with her.” The first woman elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Cline, paved the way for younger female country artists, Deal said. In Deal’s view, Cline also helped broaden country music’s overall appeal. For instance, in the early 1960s, Cline adopted “The Nashville Sound,” with “it’s orchestras and full-blown choruses,” Deal explained. “ It got people, who’d never listened to country music before, listening. In 1964 at age 30, Cline died in a private airplane crash. Her recording of “Sweet Dreams” was released shortly following the tragedy. In evening dress , Deal closed her portion of the two-hour show with an emotive reading of the song “Sweet Dreams.” The grand finale came with the reappearance onstage of Petty. He jumped into “I Saw the Light,” the best-known of Williams’ gospel songs. He urged members of the mostly grey-haired crowd to clap and sing along — and many did.
B2 — June 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet
Calendar
Send us your calendar items
Please submit items to the Calendar of Events by noon on the third Wednesday of each month, via e-mail, at calendar@ashevilledailyplanet. com, or fax to 252-6567, or mail c/o The Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 288148490. Submissions will be accepted and printed at the discretion of the editor, space permitting. To place an ad for an event, call 252-6565.
Saturday, June 1
NEIL SIMON’S “PROPOSALS” STAGE PRODUCTION, 2 and 8 p.m., Leiman Mainstage, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Greenville Hwy., Flat Rock. The FPR’s final performance of the Neil Simon show “Proposals” wll be performed June 1. Regarding the show, FRP stated, “A family divided. A family returning home. Healing and redemption in a heartfelt and hilarious ‘dramedy’ by one of America’s most prolific playwrights. An American family sitcom. Rediscover the love!” For tickets, which are $48 to $54, visit flatrockplayhouse.org. ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Nuance Quartet will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets. “MY BIG FAT ITALIAN WDDING MURDER!” SHOW, 6 p.m.,The Center for Art & Inspiration, downtown Hendersonville. The show “My Big Fat Italian Wedding Murder!” will be performed. The CAI noted that the show is “not appropriate for children under 13.” For tickets, visit www.thecenterai.com. MARTY STUART CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin. Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives will perform in concert. Regarding the show, the SMCPA noted, “The gospel-singing, bluegrassplaying, ‘Hillbilly Rock-’ making superstar, Marty Stuart, is a Grammy-Award winner and a platinum recording artist. Widely recognized as one of the most important roots musicians in America, Marty possesses a showman’s zest for every conceivable flavor of country music. Hits include ‘Tempted’ and ‘This One’s Gonna Hurt You.’ Marty and His Fabulous Superlatives consistently delight audiences across the country with sold-out shows year after year, including performances at the Grand Ole Opry and Madison Square Garden.” For tickets, which are $28, $35 and $38, visit greatmountainmusic.com. “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY” STAGE PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., main stage, Hendersonville Community Theatre, 229 S. Washington St., Hendersonville. The HCT will present Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-winning play, “August: Osage County,” through June 9. The production examines the dark underbelly of an American family plagued by addiction. HCT noted that the play is recommended for mature audiences, due to references to alcohol and drugs, adult and sexual situations and strong language. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. “THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY” PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., HART Theatre, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. HART will perform “The Bridges of Maidson County” through June 9. Showtimes are
at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays. For tickets, visit harttheatre.org. “HELLO, DOLLY!” PERFORMANCE, 8 p.m., Concert Hall, The Peace Center, 300 S. Main St., downtown Greenville, S.C. The Broadway musical “Hello, Dolly!” will be performed through June 2. The June 2 showtimes are 1 and 6:30 p.m. This 2017 revival is directed by four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks (Sister Act) whose talent has brought ‘Hello, Dolly!’ back into the limelight.” For tickets, visit peacecenter.org.
Sunday, June 2
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 2-6:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. TheFrench Broad Trio will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs.
Thursday, June 6
CHEROKEE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL, noon, Happy Holiday RV Village and Campground, 1553 Wolfetown Rd., Cherokee. The three-day annual Cherokee Bluegrass Festival will run from noon10:30 p.m. June 6- 8. Open stage will be from 11 a.m. until noon daily. The June 6 lineup will feature Jonah Riddle & Carolina Express, the Baker Family, the Little Roy & Lizzy Show, Feller & Hill and the Bluegrass Buckaroos, Rhonda Vincent (queen of bluegrass and eight-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year) with her band, the Rage, and Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out (male vocalist SPGBMA and IBMA). The June 7 lineup will include Amanda Cook & Kennesaw Ridge, Deeper Shad of Blue, the Malpass Brothers, Sideline and Audie Blaylock & Redline. Also, from 8 to 9:30 p.m. June 7, Dailey & Vincent (Grand Ole Opry and IBMA Entertainers of the Year) will perform. The June 8 lineup will include Carolina Blue, the Crowe Brothers, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, the Grascals, and the Farm Hands. Performing from 3:45-5:15 p.m. June 8 will be Mike Snider of the Grand Ole Opry. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs, with no high-back, high-seat chairs or rockers allowed. Security will be on duty and “this is a family show,” a press release noted. “The show will go on, rain or shine, under a large tent. Daily tickets are $45, while three-day tickets are $90. Tickets will be available at the gate, or they may be ordered online at www.adamsbluegrass.com. HENDERSONVILLE PRIDE DAY PROCLAMATION READING, 5:45 p.m. City Hall, 145 5th Ave E., downtown Hendersonville. Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk will read a proclamation, declaring June 15 as Hendersonville Pride Day, the first of its kind in Henderson County. The June 15 event will be a day of commemoration, of food, fun and festivities, and a day for the community to celebrate inclusiveness and diversity, according to the organizers. The commemoration will begin at 7 p.m. June 14 with a Movie Night, during which the 120-minute film, “Stonewall Uprising,” will be screened at the Center for Arts & Inspiration, followed by an open discussion and fellowship. The center is located at 125 S. Main St. Seating is first-come, first-served. On June 15, a potluck picnic in Patton Park will be held from noon to 2 p.m., including games for children. Beginning at 2 p.m., several inspirational speakers will address the gathering. At 3:30 p.m. and, again, at 7 p.m., the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus will present its Stonewall Concert at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 900 Blythe St., Hendersonville. The concert is free, but because seating is limited, tickets are required. Tickets may be obtained online at 222.fcchendersonville.org/upcomingevent.
See CALENDAR, Page B3
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Calendar of Events Continued from Page B2
Friday, June 7
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The French Broad Playboys will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets. MUSIC ON MAIN STREET CONCERT/DANCE, 7-9 p.m., parking lot next to Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., downtown Hendersonville. The Ashevillebased band Tuxedo Junction will open the annual weekly Music on Main Street summer concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. Admission is free. “HANDS ON A HARDBODY” STAGE SHOW, 7-9 p.m., Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St., downtown Asheville. The show “Hands on a Hardbody” will be performed June 7-30. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 pm; Sundays. Additional Thursday performances will be offered at 7:30 p.m. June 20 and June 27. For tickets, visit AshevilleTheatre.org. “SOUTH PACIFIC” MUSICAL PRODUCTION, 8 p.m., Leiman Mainstage, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Greenville Hwy., Flat Rock. The FRP will perform Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic “South Pacific” through July 6. A promotion stated that it features “a glorious score about conflicting family values during World War II.” Showtimes are 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. For tickets, which are $25-$58, visit flatrockplayhouse.org
Saturday, June 8
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. Joseph Hasty & Centerpiece Jazz will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets. JUMP OFF ROCK MUSIC FESTIVAL, 5-8:30 p.m., Jump Off Rock, 4433 Laurel Park Hwy., Laurel Park. The Jump Off Rock Music Festival will feature the Asheville-based band Dashboard Blue. The five-piece band states on its website that it “plays a wide variety of music including rock, rhythm and blues, 1950s, disco, funk, pop, beach, Motown, country and the classics.” Attendees are urged to “pack a picnic. Bring coolers. Bring chairs.” For tickets, which are $10 each, visit online at www.friendsoflaurelpark. org or visit live Laurel Park Town Hall, Hendersonville Visitor Center or Crate Wine Market & Project. BLOCK PARTY ON MAIN CONCERT/DANCE, 6-10 p.m., South Main Street (between Allen and Caswell streets), downtown Hendersonville. The iconic “party band of the South,” the Swingin’ Medalions, will headline the Block Party on Main Street summer concert about 8 p.m. The opener will be Rock and Roll Reunion. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. Admission is free. BILTMORE PARK OUTDOOR CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Cecil Park (the green space in front of Hickory Tavern and Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, Town Square, Biltmore Park, Asheville. A band, to be announced, will perform in an outdoor concert. Admission is free.
Sunday, June 9
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 2-6:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Clay Lunsford Trio will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs.
Monday, June 10
MONDAY NIGHT LIVE CONCERT SERIES, 7-9 p.m., parking lot, Visitor Information Center, downtown Hendersonville. The series will feature the Johnnie Blackwell Band playing classic rock. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs, but pets, alcoholic beverages, coolers and backpacks/totes are prohibited. Admission is free.
Thursday, June 13
“TWELFTH NIGHT” PERFORMANCE, 3 and 7:30 p.m., Kenilworth Center, 4 Chiles Avenue, Asheville. Venture Shakespeare will present “Twelfth Night” at 3 and 7:30 p.m. June 13-15. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $5 for students.
Friday, June 14
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. Elliott & the Untouchables will
Asheville Daily Planet - June 2019 - B3
perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets. MUSIC ON MAIN STREET CONCERT/DANCE, 7-9 p.m., parking lot next to Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., downtown Hendersonville. The Asheville-based band A Social Function will perform in the Music on Main Street summer concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. Admission is free. BILLY RAY CYRUS CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin. Billy Ray Cyrus will perform in concert. Regarding Cyrus, the SMCPA stated, “Born in Flatwoods, Kentucky, Billy Ray Cyrus, known for his country singing, hunky good looks and mullet hairstyle, has enjoyed a mulit-layed performance career as a multi-platinum selling recording artist. He has scored a total of eight top-10 singles on the Billboard Country Songs chart. His most successful album to date is his debut Some Gave All, which has been certified 9 Multi-Platinum in the United States and is the longest time spent by a debut artist at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured the breakout hit, ‘Achy Breaky Heart.’” For tickets, which are $38, $43, $48 and $55, visit greatmountainmusic.com.
Friday, June 14
MARTIN AND LEWIS TRIBUTE SHOW, 7:30 p.m., The Center for Arts & Inspiration, downtown Hendersonville. The Martin and Lewis Tribute Show, which salutes the former iconic comedy duo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, will be held June 14-16. Other showtimes are 2 and 7:30 p.m. June 15 and 2 p.m. June 16. For tickets, visit www. thecenterai.com. “IN THE ASSASSIN’S GARDEN STAGE SHOW, 7:30 p.m., The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot Street, River Arts District, Asheville. Asheville playwright David Hopes’ play “In the Assassin’s Garden” will be performed June 14-30. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays. For tickets and information visit www.themagnetictheatre.org or call 239-9250 for info only. DARREN KNIGHT COMEDY PERFORMANCE, 9 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Resort. Darren Knight will perform his Southern Mama Cledus T. Judd Comedy Experience show. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com.
Saturday, June 15
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. Firecracker Jazz Band will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets.
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Sunday, June 16
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 2-6:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Bee Zees will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets. MOODY BLUES TRIBUTE SHOW, 7:30 p.m., Isis Music Hall, 743 Haywood Rd., West Asheville. The Lost Chord/The Moody Blues Tribute Band will salute the 50th anniversary of the Moody Blues album “On the Threshold of a Dream” with a performance of every song. For tickets, visit www.IsisAsheville.com
Thursday, June 20
RHYTHM & BREWS CONCERT SEREIS, 5:309:30 p.m., South Main Street (in front of Wells Fargo Bank), downtown Hendersonville. The concert series will be headlined at 7:30 p.m. by Travers Brothership, with Big Daddy Love serving as the opener at 5:30 p.m. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. Admission is free. LAKE TOMAHAWK CONCERT SERIES, 7-9 p.m., Lake Tomahawk, Black Mountain. Trent Blisson will perform country music in the concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. Admission is free.
Friday, June 21
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The band One Leg Up will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. MUSIC ON MAIN STREET CONCERT/DANCE, 7-9 p.m., parking lot next to Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., downtown Hendersonville. The Ashevillebased band Emporium will perform. Attendees are urged to briing lawnchairs. Admission is free.
See CALENDAR, Page B6
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Calendar
Continued from Page B3
Friday, June 21
DOWNTOWN AFTER 5 CONCERT, 5-9 p.m., North Lexington Avenue (near the I-240 overpass), downtown Asheville. The DA5 series feature Tameca Jones as the headliner at 7 p.m. The opener at 5 p.m. will be the Secret B Sides. Food and beverages are available for purchase. Admission is free.
Saturday, June 22
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The band Rock and Roll Reunion will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets.
Sunday, June 23
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 2-6:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Michael Stevens Trio will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets.
Monday, June 24
CONCERT ON THE QUAD SERIES 7-9 p.m., Quad, UNC Asheville. The band Metal! will launch the annual summer series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blanets. Picnics also are welcome — or food and beverages may be purchased at the event site. Pets and alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Admission is free.
Thursday, June 27
DEMOCRAT WOMEN’S DINNER/PROGRAM, 5:30 p.m., pavilion, Western Residence of the Governor, 45 Patton Mountain Road, East Asheville. The Democratic Women of Buncombe County will hold its monthly dinner meeting. Registration will begin at 5:15 p.m., followed by dinner at 5:30 p.m. and a program at 6 p.m. Entertainment will be provided. Attendees are being urged to carpool. Reservations are required for the catered dinner, which costs $15 for members and $18 for non-members, by emailing buncombedemwomen@gmail.com by June 20. LAKE TOMAHAWK CONCERT SERIES, 7-9 p.m., Lake Tomahawk, Black Mountain. James Hammel will perform jazz, pop, blues and original music in the outdoor concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. Admission is free.
Friday, June 28
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Stormy Weather Quartet will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets. MUSIC ON MAIN STREET CONCERT/DANCE, 7-9 p.m., parking lot next to Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., downtown Hendersonville. The Gotcha Groove will perform in the Music on Main Street summer concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. Admission is free.
HERMAN’S HERMITS STARRING PETER NOON CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin. Peter Noone, lead singer for the iconic Britist Invasion group Herman’s Hermits, will perform in concert. Regarding Noone, the SMCPA noted, “Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone is a multi-talented entertainer, who has been delighting audiences nearly all his life. He was born in Manchester, England, where he studied voice and acting at St. Bede’s College and the Manchester School of Music and Drama. At the age of fifteen, Peter achieved international fame as “Herman’s Hermits”, lead singer of the legendary Sixties pop band Herman’s Hermits. His classic hits included: ‘I’m Into Something Good’ ‘Mrs. Brown, you’ve Got A Lovely Daughter,’ “‘I’m Henry VIII, I Am,’ ‘Silhouettes,’ ‘Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat,’ ‘Just A Little Bit Better,’ ‘Wonderful World,’ ‘There’s A Kind of Hush,’ ‘A Must To Avoid,’ ‘Listen People,’ ‘The End of the World’ and ‘Dandy.’ Ultimately, Herman’s Hermits sold over 60 million recordings. In all, 14 singles and seven albums went gold. The Hermits were twice named Cashbox’s Entertainer of the Year. As Herman, the photogenic Noone graced the cover of nearly every international publication, including Time Magazine. He performed on hundreds of top-rated television programs and appeared with such luminaries as Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin and Danny Kaye. Nowadays, accompanied by his band, Herman’s Hermits, Noone consistently plays to sold-out venues the world over.” For tickets, which are $25, $30, $35 and $40, visit greatmountainmusic.com.
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Saturday, June 29
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 4-8:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Gypsy Swingers will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs and/or blankets. RICK STRICKLAND BAND DANCE, 7-10 p.m., Asheville Ballroom & Event Center, 291 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville. The Rick Strickland Band, as part of its 10th anniversary tour, will perform Carolina beach/shag music during a dance at the Ballroom. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. “MURDER ON THE HIGH C’s” SHOW, 7 p.m., The Center for Arts & Inspiration, downtown Hendersonville. The show “Murder on the High C’s” will be performed June 29-30. The June 30 show will begin at 4 p.m. For tickets, visit www. thecenterai.com.
Sunday, June 30
ASHEVILLE BANDSTAND CONCERT SERIES, 2-6:45 p.m., Antler Hill Village square, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Moon and You, a duo, will perform. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs.
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Herman’s Hermits Continued from Page B1 Noone was born in Manchester, England, where he studied voice and acting at St. Bede’s College and at Manchester School of Music and Drama. At the age of 15 in the mid-1960s, Peter achieved international fame as lead singer for Herman’s Hermits, an iconic British Invasion band. The group’s classic hits included: “I’m Into Something Good” “Mrs. Brown, you’ve Got A Lovely Daughter,” “I’m Henry VIII, I Am,” “Silhouettes,” “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat,” “Just A Little Bit Better,” “Wonderful World,” “There’s A Kind of Hush,” “A Must To Avoid,” “Listen People,” “The End of the World” and “Dandy.” Ultimately, Herman’s Hermits sold more than 60 million recordings. In all, 14 singles and seven albums achieved gold status. Moreover, Herman’s Hermits twice was named Cashbox’s Entertainer of the Year. As far as his music career is concerned, Noone told the Daily Planet, “I was ‘busy’ from (age) 13... So I’ve been around a bit.” So how did the group get the name of Herman’s Hermits? “We were playing in a pub in England,” Noone replied. “And I was doing a Buddy Holly impersonation. I was wearing hornrimmed glasses” and Holly’s unusual outfit. As the show proceeded, “The pub owner asked, ‘What’s he doing?’” Noone said one of the bystanders replied, “Obiously, (a) Buddy Holly” impersonation and tribute. Afterward, the pub owner approached Noone and quipped, ‘You look like Herman from the ‘Bullwinkle Show’” on television. With a laugh, Noone said the pub owner meant “‘Sherman’ — not ‘Herman.’” Regardless, “everybody in his band laughed. “Then, the pub owner turned and said, ‘And as far of rest of you, you should call yourself, — given their mod appearancea — “like ... the bloody Hermits.” And that’s how band names came to be in the ‘60s,” Noone said. Just for that night, the group, finding the pub owner so amusing, called itself Herman and the Bloody Hermits, but later shortened it to just Herman’s Hermits, Noone said. As for his elevation to world-famous pop star status at age 16 (with the 1965 No. 1 hit “I’m Into Something Good,” Noone said, “I think I was overeducated for the position. I didn’t take advantage of anyone.” He chuckled when he recalling those occasions where a woman would approach him, Noone said he thought it was because she really loved him, which he gladly accepted, and not for other reasons. Noone said he avoided many of the vices that claims the lives of other music stars. And that “it took me 30 years to get to AA,” a reference to Alcoholics Anonymous. He added that he is proud that he has “not been a drinker for 24 years.” As for the 1960s, he said, “I grew up in a period when women became emancipated.,” adding that society was loosening up in its treatment of minorities, too — and the era’s music reflected that societal revolution. “And I think the Beatles were a cultural revolution.” He added, “In my little world, I saw things getting better. “ Noone told of being raised in humble economic circumstances. “My family grew up on one sugar sandwich, as a treat,” which he and his siblings thought was fine because “we didn’t know that we were poor.” And what is Noone’s favorite song by Herman’s Hermits? “‘I’m Into Something Good,’ he quickly replied. “Because I was just (age) 16 when it was recorded. It went straight to No. 1.” However, he quickly added that “I like equally ‘There’s a Kind of a Hush.’ With a chuckle, Noone noted that when he and his group perform that song, it always works out that he can sing the first words, “There’s
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Above left is an album cover of “Herman’s Hermits Greatest Hits,” while to the right is a concert that included go-go girls. a kind of a hush” followed by the fired-up British Invasion bands chose to base their Noone said he stays fit with weight-lifting audience members singing back to him the music off various American musical icons, such and other athletic activities and, as for his next part of the lyric, “all over the world.” as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cook, future as a performer, “I think 10 more years His favorite musical genre remains that of Mddy Waters and Muddy Waters, he said. — that’s the motto of the band.” the British Invasion era (mid-1960s). Ironi“We went for the pure, beautiful simplicHowever, Noone joked, “People should buy cally, he said, “The British Invasion — it’s ity of Buddy Holly... Herman’s Hermits is a a ticket (to the SMCPA show) because we (Herall American music.” country band, you know.” man’s Hermits) might not last 10 more years!”
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B8 — June 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet