‘Live at the USO:’ it’s a swinging WWII romp
Busker zones ‘explored’
— See Review, Pg. B1
City lawyer’s email to brewer: Conflict?
— See Story, Pg. A4
— See Story, Pg. A7
ILLE V E H AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER
October 2015
Vol. 11, No. 11
An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE
Pokey LaFarge rocks Asheville Pokey LaFarge, the most successful former Asheville busker, performed with his five-piece band and rocked a full-house audience at Grey Eagle Music Hall in Asheville on Sept. 18. During the first set, he and his band played an extended version of his major hit, “Central Time.” After a brief break, he returned for a second set and performed a few songs solo. Then, his band joined him for the rest of the set. After LaFarge and his group finished the show, the crowd clamored for an encore, so they returned to perform Bob Wills’ “Far Away” and Ray Charles’ “Let’s Go Get Stoned.” Several years ago, after busking solo briefly and unsuccessfully in Asheville, LaFarge returned to St. Louis, where he eventually developed into a nationally known musical figure. The group is thought to be “artfully dodgy ambassadors for old-time music, presenting and representing the glories of hot swing, early jazz and ragtime blues” and have “made riverboat chic cool again,” Stephen Thompson of NPR recently said. The nickname “Pokey” reportedly was coined by LaFarge’s mother, who would scold him to hurry when he was a child.
Photo courtesy of the Asheville Citizen-Times/John A. Zara
This married man flirts (but that’s it)
Q: -- I’m very attracted to my co-worker — a self-described “happily married man.” We are “friends,” but he always has a warm hug, an interesting YouTube video, or a poem or short story he’s written to share with me. He has taken me to lunch and has done work for me gratis. If I have car trouble, he connects me to a mechanic and sees I get great work for a great price. Twice he’s told
The Advice Goddess Amy Alkon
me, “I love you.” The second time, I responded, “I love you, too, and if you weren’t married, I’d take you on!” He then responded, “Previous commitment!” I’m confused as to what’s going on in his head. There has been no sex, and he hasn’t asked for any. — Huh?
Want to know the answer?
See ADVICE GODDESS, Page A6
Coffee, tea or ... sex in W. AVL? 2 entrepreneurs’ posts of trysts trigger outrage
From Staff Reports
Waking Life Espresso on Sept. 17-18 temporarily closed its one location at 976 Haywood Road in West Asheville, following regular protests in front of the business, sparked by recent revelations that owners Jared Rutledge, 31, and Jacob Owens, 27, boasted of sexual conquests of local women — including customers — via misogynist Internet posts and podcasts under a pseudonym. The men have not been charged with a crime by Asheville police, but the mistreatment of the women with whom the duo were sexually involved has prompted wide condemnation as an affront to women in the community. The two men have since issued lengthy apologies, admitting to degrading the women in their postings. Some infuriated critics have even suggested the two men, both Asheville natives, leave the city permanently and at once. In the aftermath, Mountain BizWorks, a local business support group, asked on Sept. 22 that the coffee shop return a loan intended to support the launch of a second location at 89 Patton Avenue, the former site of Artetude Gallery. Patrick Fitzsimmons, executive director of Mountain Bizworks, said the decision to terminate the agreement came without any trouble from the Waking Life owners, who also terminated their Patton Avenue lease. Fitzsimmons called the actions of the two men “deplorable.” Also on Sept. 22, another nonprofit, Our VOICE, said it would reject any donations given to it by Waking Life. As the protests ramped up, Rutledge and Owens had offered to give proceeds from their business to help the local rape crisis center, which declined the offer because the center felt the two men were trying to buy redemption and questioned their sincerity. See SEX, Page A8
How to make U.S. great, again? Author-prof offers a way forward First in a series of two stories
over the U.S., knocking out the power grid, rendering digital and mechanical devices By JOHN NORTH useless and leaving the nation defenseless. john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com Forstchen addressed the gathering of 1,000 preppers (aka “survivalists”) — SALUDA — The United States is mired in billed as “the largest outdoor preparedness a slump and “the question is, how do we make event in the country” — for 15 minutes. America great, again,” William R. “Bill” Forstchen He then fielded questions for an hour. said during his keynote address Sept. 19 at Prepper Bill Forstchen The Montreat College history profesCamp 2015 at Orchard Lake Campground. “It’s going to be up to us, working from the bottom sor gave the keynote address last year and was up, to rebuild America after the darkness hits,” Forst- introduced as “almost the father of the prepper movement” for his impact with his 2009 book, “One chen said, referring to a number of looming catastrophies, especially — as he said later — the probability Second After” (a New York Times bestseller), and his many speeches to, and encouragement of, preppers. of an enemy in a tanker ship in the Gulf of Mexico detonating an electromagnetic pulse in a scud missile See FORWARD, Page A9