20 minute read
A&E
A&E Between midnight and the dawn
Graham Sharp of Steep Canyon Rangers
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD S TAFF WRITER
Celebrating two decades together this year, the Steep Canyon Rangers have evolved from a group of budding musicians in a college dorm room at UNC Chapel Hill into one of the marquee string acts in the country.
Proud residents of Brevard and Asheville, the sextet have become cultural ambassadors for Western North Carolina and greater Southern Appalachia. Along the way, the band has not only topped the Billboard charts with hit albums and singles, they’ve also garnered a Grammy and awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), including “Entertainer of the Year” (2011) alongside the group’s longtime collaborator, the great Steve Martin.
And yet, accolades and recognitions aside, what really matters to the Rangers is being able to connect, whether it be with a friend, neighbor or stranger alike. It’s about taking the power and magic of live music and using it as a force for positive, tangible change. It isn’t wishful thinking. More so, it’s finding common ground through the universal language, where barriers get broken down and hands are used to help instead of pointing fingers.
For Rangers singer/banjoist Graham Sharp, the current state of affairs — at home and abroad — has brought a lot of things full circle in not only his life, but also in what he chooses to radiate back out into the world through the simple melodic vibration of wire and wood.
Smoky Mountain News: How have you been dealing with the pandemic and shutdown of the music industry, personally and professionally?
Graham Sharp: I’ve literally never been home for this long of a stretch of time since college. You know, it’s taken some adjustment, but it’s been good. I feel this long period of kind of exhaling a little bit, trying to catch my breath, and that’s been really good creatively. And getting in a rhythm with the family and stuff like that. It’s so weird to say right now with how shitty the world is, but with these parts of it, I feel really grateful for it.
SMN: Well, whether consciously or subconsciously, we’re all trying to find silver linings in “this,” whether they appear or not. We know that they’re out there, and they’ve been revealing themselves during this time.
GS: Yes. And this has probably been the case for a lot of people, just thinking through your priorities a little more. I was talking to [my friend] yesterday. We were writing and sit
Steep Canyon Rangers. (photo: Sandlin Gaither)
— Graham Sharp, Steep Canyon Rangers
ting together, just talking about the whole urge to make everything bigger and bigger and more and more, and how that can be kind of distracting from what’s really important in what you’re doing. Seeing things through a different lens for a little while is probably good for a lot of people in a lot of ways, you know?
SMN: The Rangers are a heavy touring band. Has this current reality justified or repurposed what it is you love about music?
GS: We just got back together the other day for our first rehearsal. So, I don’t know if I felt myself approaching the music with the band differently than I remember approaching it four months ago. You know, it’s interesting, for as much music as I’ve been making — by myself and in isolation — when I got back together with the group, I felt more than anything that I wanted to just settle into the group, to keep time with a group of people, to not stand out and play flashy solos — to be at its most basic, to be part of the music.
SMN: It’s the idea of being present and appreciating the fact that you’re in that realm.
GS: Yeah, exactly. Just being at the very root part of that creation and focusing on the most basic elements of it — keeping time and keeping tone. With having all that time away, I’m looking forward to what that brings to the band.
SMN: With the Rangers album, “Arm in Arm,” coming out in October, the recordings and the title were decided before the pandemic. What does that title mean to you when you apply it where we are in August 2020?
GS: Maybe it’s idealistic merging on foolish. But, I think that’s what music is here for — to throw out possibilities. Like when John Lennon was singing, “imagine all the people.” Sure, he was singing it to a broken, angry world in a broken, angry moment. But, that’s even more reason to get out and say it.
Want to go?
The Steep Canyon Rangers will host its “Drive-In Tour” on Aug. 27 (Brevard), Aug. 28 (Mills River) and Aug. 29 (Burnsville).
Social distancing protocol will be in place to ensure safety. Attendees can enjoy the show from their cars. Live music will be performed onstage, broadcasted in real time on a big screen, and transmitted through a short-range radio station.
The performances are free and open to the public. But, to attend, you must RSVP your vehicle by visiting www.steepcanyon.com and clicking on the “Tour” tab. Donations will be accepted for the Can’d Aid organization, which will gift the funds to the TUNES program that provides musical instruments and education to underserved youth.
As well, Wicked Weed Brewing will donate $10 for every copy of the Rangers’ upcoming “Arm in Arm” album sold through the Yep Roc Store (up to 2,000 albums). Proceeds will go to the Haywood Street Welcome Table, an Asheville nonprofit providing quality dining for those living on the streets. For more information, visit www.yeproc.com.
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD
Wake now, discover that you are the song that the morning brings
On Aug. 9, 1995, I was 10 years old and living in an old farmhouse on the Canadian Border of Upstate New York.
With my entry into fifth grade just around the corner, I was starting to wind down another curious and carefree North Country summer of swimming, bike riding and backyard shenanigans.
At some point that afternoon, I remember my mother coming into my bedroom and telling me the news: “Jerry Garcia died today.” Lead singer and guitarist for The Grateful Dead, Garcia had finally succumbed to his longtime health issues to pass away at just 53.
I was stunned and saddened, this thought that it couldn’t be true, seeing as I was hoping to finally see the Dead live next summer when they would once again roll through the northeast. Even at 10, I was already deep down the rabbit hole that is the music and culture of the Dead.
The summer before (1994), I was at a family barbecue at my grandparents’ camp on Lake Champlain. Back then, my Aunt Chrissy was dating Al (or “Uncle Al” to me). He worked on the border with my dad and was a huge old-school Dead Head. At the barbecue, he sported this hat with the initials “GD” embroidered on the front, a small teddy bear on the back.
“What does your hat mean?” I asked Al. “It’s the Dead. Have you ever listened to them?” “Nope.” He directed me to his car nearby and turned on the stereo. Soon, the swirling, soothing sounds of “Fire On The Mountain” echoed out of the old Volkswagen Jetta. For some cosmic, serendipitous reason, the tone and feeling just pulled me in — I wanted to hear more.
A few days later, at the now-defunct Ames Department Store, I headed over to the music section and saw the Dead’s “Skeletons From The Closet” album in the CD section. The cover art was wild, so much so I wondered if my mom would even buy it for me seeing as there was a skeleton smoking a joint plastered across the front. But, she did.
Throwing the album onto my small bedroom stereo, “The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)” erupted out of the speakers. I’d never heard anything like the Dead. It was joyous and mysterious, rollicking and adventurous, welcoming and nurturing. I was a kid, but I felt such a genuine kinship and emotional attachment to the sounds filling my ears. In hindsight, what a song title to kick off the eternal quest that is being a Dead Head, eh?
From there, it was asking for Dead Tshirts for Christmas and my birthday (of which my Catholic school nuns were none the wiser of what I was wearing into the classroom). It was picking up any and all Dead albums that I didn’t own whenever I had some allowance money or when Aunt Chrissy and Al wanted to encourage my love of the Dead by playing some of the band’s live performances when I would visit.
After Jerry died, it sparked this trajectory of my life and aspirations that I’m still riding on to this very day. The music of The Grateful Dead taught me compassion and understanding of others. It exposed me to the lore of the open road and what it means to wake up in the morning and head out the door in search of adventure, whether near or far. When you listen to the Dead, you begin to understand not only the endless possibilities of the universe, but also of yourself and your place in it.
Oh, and the friendships. The countless soul brothers and sisters I’ve crossed paths with that now are beloved fixtures in the landscape of my existence, all coming together from a common love and lifestyle that was, and still is, championed by the Dead and its followers. Simply put, when you meet a Dead Head, you already know they are inherently a good soul, one of the highest vibrations of love and light.
And now? Exactly 25 years ago Jerry left us, where I’m still discovering things I adore and admire about the Dead. I’m still wandering and pondering this wide, wondrous world, happily interacting with folks from all walks of life and never once losing my childlike wonder of anything that catch my eye — isn’t that what “it’s” all about anyhow?
At age 35, I’ve crisscrossed the country not only in search of new horizons, but also chasing down the next Dead show (in whatever form the band has taken on over the years) — from Maine to California,
Michigan to Tennessee, and seemingly everywhere in-between. With the Dead, it’s about connecting with that next experience, which, like clockwork, fills up your spiritual tank to once again enter society with an overflowing sense of gratitude.
It’s been a quarter-century since we lost you, Jerry. But, your legacy and that of the music itself is stronger than ever — this message of hope and connectivity that’s seemingly at a premium these days when one gazes out the window. And to you reading this right now, throw on some “Eyes of the World” (Hartford, 10/14/1983) and just let the music play.
Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
Open call for artist grants
Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply for grants to support their professional and artistic development through a partnership of the North Carolina Arts Council and Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center.
Artist Support Grants will be distributed to eligible applicants by Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in the following counties: Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Swain, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Applications for the grants are available at www.coweeschool.org. The deadline is Sept. 30. Grants will range in awards from $500 to $1,000.
encouraged to apply to support a range of professional and artistic development including the creation of work, improvement of business operations, or expanding capacity to bring work to new audiences. Artist fees are also allowable expenses. Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply.
Informational online workshops with the N.C. Arts Council will be held via Zoom at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, and at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19. To learn more, visit www.coweeschool.org/nc-arts-council.
Artist grants now available
Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply for grants to support their professional and artistic development through a partnership of the North Carolina Arts Council and Asheville Area Arts Council, Haywood County Arts Council, Arts Council of Henderson County, Tryon Fine Arts Center, Rutherford County Recreation, Cultural, and Heritage Commission, and the Transylvania Community Arts Council.
Artist Support Grants will be distributed to eligible applicants by Haywood Emerging or established artists are
County Arts Council in the following counties: Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford and Transylvania.
Applications for the grants are available www.haywoodarts.org/grants-funding. The deadline is Sept. 30. Grants will range in awards from $500 to $1,000.
Emerging or established artists are encouraged to apply to support a range of professional and artistic development including the creation of work, improvement of business operations, or expanding capacity to bring work to new audiences. Artist fees are also allowable expenses.
For information, visit www.haywoodarts.org or call 828.452.0593.
Cashiers Designer Showhouse
The annual Cashiers Designer Showhouse will run through Sept. 5 at 144 Cove Drive in Highlands.
Interior designers representing the Southeastern region will not only bring trending design to Cashiers, but will again create the magic that is the Cashiers Designer Showhouse.
Leading area landscapers are involved in redefining the areas surrounding the home and in turn creating serene and evocative late summer mountain gardens for showhouse strolling.
Throughout the week, showhouse attendees will admire the work of the talented designers; enjoy a variety of workshops, book signings and panel discussions from beloved creatives across the country.
Admission is $30. For more information, visit www.cashiershistoricalsociety.org/ showhouse.
Part of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville, the Kids at HART program will offer classes in acting, directing and musical theatre dance.
Registration is currently underway. Classes will run Sept. 14 through Nov. 16. In November, HART will hold registration for spring classes.
Classes will begin virtually via Zoom and will transfer to the theatre as soon as it is deemed safe to return to face-to-face instruction. Classes have a minimum number, so tell your friends.
To register, visit www.harttheatre.org or visit the Kids at HART Facebook page. If you need further information, email Kids at HART at kidsathartwvl@gmail.com.
Haywood Arts annual meeting
The Haywood County Arts Council will hold its annual meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, online utilizing Zoom.
Attendees will be asked to complete a survey, so that the organization may have the necessary feedback for planning of the upcoming year’s activities. The annual meeting will also celebrate the 2019-2020 successes and kickoff the new fiscal year’s initiatives.
The meeting is open to the public and an RSVP is required. Please RSVP by emailing director@haywoodarts.org or by calling 828.452.0593 to provide your email address.
The Shelton House.
Shelton House receives grant
Located in Waynesville, The Shelton House has received a $7,154 NC CARES Humanities Relief Grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council.
This emergency grant funding was provided to North Carolina cultural organizations experiencing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are grateful to be one of 59 organizations the North Carolina Humanities Council selected for this funding,” said Dannehl Strautz, museum director of The Shelton House.
Sarah Jane League, Shelton House board chair noted that this important funding will support the employment of two Shelton House employees enabling The Shelton House to continue with operations and support the “Blue Ridge Heritage: Weekend Arts and Crafts Fair” scheduled for Aug. 22-23, as well as the continued preservation of the historic home and collection.
The NC CARES Humanities Relief Grant funding was provided to the North Carolina Humanities Council by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress in late March.
The $2.2 trillion CARES package included $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities, nearly $30 million, or a total of 40 percent, of which was sent to the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils, including the North Carolina Humanities Council, to distribute to local cultural nonprofits and programming.
The North Carolina Humanities Council www.nchumanities.org is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information on The Shelton House, go to www.sheltonhouse.org.
• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host
Tyson Leamon 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host
Tennessee Champagne 1 p.m. Aug. 22 and
Silas Reed 7 p.m. Aug. 28. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. www.nantahalabrewing.com.
• The Haywood County Arts Council “Artist
Member Show” will be held through Aug. 29 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in
Waynesville. Featuring 42 artists, the show is a celebration of our community, allowing locals to share their great work at the height of the summer season. www.haywoodarts.org. • The “Haywood County Medical Exhibit: 1870-1950” will be held at The Shelton
House in Waynesville. The showcase will run through October. Admission is $7 adults. $5 students. Children ages 5 and under free.
Admission includes Shelton House. 828.452.1551 or www.sheltonhouse.org.
• The Great Blue Farms Brunch & Blooms will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays through Sept. 12 at 1101 Briartown Church
Road in Nantahala/Topton. Admission is $75, which includes a tour, ALSO: brunch, all flowers, supplies and container to take home your floral masterpiece. To register, visit www.greatbluefarms.com or call 828.508.1502.
On the shelf Two for the price of one
When I find an author I like, I usually get on a roll reading several of their books. Such was and has been the case with Sue Monk Kidd. I started off with her most recent novel The Book of Longings, then went to the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva and borrowed a copy of The Mermaid Chair, another novel. Still wanting more, I branched out into some of her nonfiction as I wanted to get into the author’s head. To do this, I went to the library again and read the book she wrote with her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, titled Thomas Crowe Writer Traveling With Pomegranates. Having already reviewed The Book of Longings in this paper, in this review I’m going to try and flush out two birds with one drone.
Both books deal with the primary subject of mother-daughter relationships, but in very different contexts and environments. The Mermaid Chair is set for the most part in the present day on an imaginary island (Egret Island) off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, that is inhabited by the Gullah people. Traveling With Pomegranates is really a travel memoir which takes the reader to such distant countries and cultures as France (several locations), Greece (Athens, Delphi, Eleusis, Crete) and Turkey (Ephesus, Patmos). In The Mermaid Chair, Kidd is dealing with an aging mother who is in a state of depression bordering on mental illness. In Traveling With Pomegranates, the mother is trying to understand herself as well as to assist her daughter who is going through the gauntlet of becoming a full-fledged and independent woman. In both books and in both cases, surrounding circumstances play a major role in the unveiling of the mother-daughter theme.
Off the Atlantic coast of Charleston, Jessie has come to stay with her mother who had been the cook for a local Catholic monastery and where she meets Brother Thomas and where the “mermaid chair” is a mythic cultural tradition and a kind of Gullah Mardi Gras. In this environment and while taking over some of the duties at the St. Senara Abbey for her mother, Jessie’s attraction to Brother Thomas grows, as does his for her. Hence the conflict and the moral dilemmas for both parties as this relationship develops and becomes an uncontrollable and yet infectious love. In this sense The Mermaid Chair, as wonderfully written by Kidd, is one of the most compelling love stories I’ve ever read. The fact that it’s set in a beautiful tropical landscape only adds to the luxurious emotions generated by the author for these two middle-aged lovebirds.
Meanwhile, and while traveling with pomegranates (which is a Greek fruit delicacy and used here as a metaphor for the goddess of harvest and fertility — Persephone — while at the same time being the goddess of the underworld and a lovely girl attracting the attention of many gods), both mother and daughter delve into the mythos of the respective cultures they visit in an attempt to define themselves during new physical and social stages of their lives.
While in Athens, Kidd imagines Persephone in this quote from early in the book: “I think of Persephone eating the fruit in the underworld. How the flesh splits open to reveal a small, secret womb and the seeds spill out like garnets.” Everywhere the two of them go, there are ‘seeds’ spilling out from their subconscious creating a mythical path for them to follow and to understand on their physical and psychological journey to mythic parts of their relationship. As a male, I almost felt like an intruder reading this book, so intimate and revealing are the back and forth journal entries from both mother and daughter.
Back at the ranch on Egret Island, the Shakespearean “food of love” is playing on. And on and on it goes until their love plateaus and both Jessie and Thomas reach a catharsis at the crossroads of their escalating
relationship. As Kidd so elequently puts it in the mind of Jessie: “I felt amazed at the choosing one had to do, over and over, a million times daily — choosing love, then choosing it again, how loving and being in love could be so different.”
While Jessie is going through this aha moment in The Mermaid Chair, daughter Ann, in Pomegranates, is going through her own moment of clarity and realization. “I wonder, instead of retreating and hiding, instead of pining for the way it was, what if I accept the way it is? This strikes me as both
the most obvious thing in the world and the most profound,” she muses. This awareness comes to her while visiting the ancient site of Eleusis and the historic archeological site of the Eleusian Mysteries where female rites and rituals occurred for centuries when Greece was a matriarchy. As mother Sue fixates on and peruses the physical and mythic history of the Virgin Mother Mary to answer her deepest questions, daughter Ann is, little by little, enlightened about her new identity as a grown woman and about the process of ‘letting go’ as we, the readers, enjoy the travelogue and the banter between the two along the way.
In both of these books it’s about meaningful interior dialogues, certainly, but it’s also about “location, location, location” as they say in the cinematic world. And we get plenty of both from Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter as we travel through the rich landscape of their lives and across the physical and cultural landscapes of the planet Earth.
Thomas Crowe is a regular contributor to the
Smoky Mountain News and is the author of the award-winning nature memoir Zoro’s Field: My
Life in the Appalachian Woods. He lives in the
Tuckasegee community in Jackson County and can be reached at newnativepress@hotmail.com .
Join us for our first Virtual Author Discussion
Author Ron Rash will be discussing his new book Tuesday, August 25 th at 3PM
"In the Valley: Stories and a Novella Based on Serena." now available in store!
TO REGISTER CALL OR EMAIL blueridgebooks@ymail.com
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