I saw Malcolm Holcombe tonight at the Grey Eagle. It was awesome. It was so great to see him with his $hit together. He is a very talented man and it is a great thing to see him doing so well. He is a different man than the one I knew 10 years ago…They are saying good things about him and his new album “Gamblin’ House”recorded by our local Echo Mountain. I got it tonight but have not yet heard it.“Hundred Lies” (100$ on Amazon)will always be in my top Five…He is a true Asheville Freak.

I’ve just started playing with the guitar again, and Jonny makes me all wet.

Rock.

Just downloaded Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” from their site. You can download DRM-free tracks (160kbps, so pretty good sounding) for whatever you want to pay. So, while they’re not technically giving it away, I think they’re really on the right track as far as music goes. They’re letting the fans have the music with the understanding that the fans will support them…

I think this means the music industry is passing away. That’s a good thing. Music is finally going to be back in the hands of the artists and the fans, and control by marketing teams and advertising “gurus” will be all but eliminated. I’m hoping music will be good and pure and available. Everyone from Billy Joel to the dude on the corner with the saxaphone and the hat full of change should be able to put out whatever they want - and not have to worry about the consequences of pleasing their label.

And so FreakinAsheville and FreakinUniverse. It’s free - it’ll always be free. Both literally and figuratively. We want to give it away, and we know that it’ll support us. It’s our platform to have fun and express ourselves - and we want to give that ability away, too.

So - enjoy. Go grab some good tunes (oh yeah - it’s a good record, too) and make something cool today.

FreakinAsheville.com - all Moog all the time.

From the Citizen Times (gotta be good for something…)

ASHEVILLE — The Bob Moog Memorial Foundation is getting some help from Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan in its effort to preserve Moog’s archives.

Moog — whose eponymous synthesizer was used by legends such as the Beatles and The Rolling Stones — was a world leader in electronic music. He died in 2005, leaving early prototypes of some of his synthesizers and theremins, reel-to-reel tapes, schematics and sheet music in a warehouse in Leicester.

“Some of it is in pretty bad shape,” said Michelle Moog Koussa, Moog’s daughter and president of the foundation. “A lot of it was moldy. We’ve been able to rescue some of it, but there’s a lot left.”

Corgan, lead singer of the alt-rock band Smashing Pumpkins, which recently played nine nights at The Orange Peel in Asheville, has been an admirer of Moog for many years.

He announced last week in a letter to the foundation that he is asking fellow electronic music enthusiasts to help preserve the Moog archives.

“Speaking personally, I believe Bob Moog to be one of the great visionaries of our time,” the letter says. “His ideas far transcend use in just music, and to this day continue to have impact in everything from rock to rap to quantum physics.”

Moog moved to Asheville in 1978, and his company, Moog Music, still exists on Riverside Drive. He was given the Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement in 1970 and a 2002 Grammy Tech Award.

After Moog’s death, his family created the foundation, whose charter seeks to continue to herald his unique contributions in the form of awareness and scholarship. The Bob Moog Foundation, also hopes to establish the Bob Moog Museum, dedicated to his life and vision in music.

Original story here

Pulled from the Orange Peel site. Moog was a pioneer and genius. Check it out. It’s Thursday, November 15th at

“Interactivity Inspires Creativity”
The mission of the Bob Moog Foundation is to document, celebrate & teach innovative thinking. Join us in our benefit event, “Enter the Mind of Moog,” as we transform the Orange Peel into an interactive tour through the life and collective work of synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog. Attendees will be able to see, touch and hear the Moog legacy through six display “modules.” Three modules will guide the viewer through distinct eras of Moog’s career with displays rich in historical photos, enlightening narratives, original Moog instruments and hand-selected audio recordings. The remaining three modules will be interactive instrument stations where attendees will experience the mind-blowing sonic capabilities of Moog instruments. With the help of “neurotransmitters,” technically knowledgeable guides, guests will have a chance to play Moog theremins, Moogerfoogers (effect pedals) and Moog synthesizers.

“Channeling Creativity into Song”
Throughout the evening attendees will have the opportunity to see and hear the effects of Moog instruments as if in a recording studio. A diverse array of local musicians, some with national followings, will perform individually on stage to separately record a portion of a song using different Moog equipment. After all the musicians have completed their portion, the finished song will be played back for everyone to enjoy.

“Creating Support”
The Foundation will hold a silent auction throughout the evening. The auction will feature a vast array of items that are relevant to the Moog legacy, whether it be a Moog instrument, a photo from Bob’s archives, or a poster signed by a well-known Moog musician. A raffle will also take place throughout the evening giving everyone an opportunity to take home a piece to remember from the event. Proceeds will benefit the Foundation and support preservation of the Moog archives.

Additional information / Contact: Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director 828.683.7261 or michelle@moogfoundation.org

Orange Peel tickets and info CLICK HERE

From last weekend’s sweaty, flailing mosh pit at the Crank County show, I still have quite a few huge bruises.  Generally, if you’re the sober one in the pit, somehow all the rubbery, bouncy drunks fall on you–they leave unscathed, you leave looking like you’ve been beaten with a lead pipe.
I have a huge bruise on each arm.  I have a bruise on my left shoulder.  I have a bruise on my right boob, and I remember the exact moment of it, because after that smashing blow to the cleavage, I had to request that the gent in question stop heaving himself into my decolletage with such force.  He complied, thank goodness, or I might have a matched set of cleavage bruises today.
I’m not complaining, mind you.  I could’ve moved out of the crazy action and into a tamer zone at any time, but I chose to stay in and […]

Original post by kat

Hott with two t’s, hell yeah!
This fine evening, let’s reflect upon the latest offering from Kid Rock, So Hott.
Normally, I am not a Kid Rock fan.  I know his music when I hear it, and I don’t dislike it, but I’ve never been moved to buy anything of his.  I don’t turn Kid Rock off when he comes on the radio, but I also don’t normally turn it up either.
Then along comes So Hott off his upcoming release Rock n Roll Jesus.  Oh me oh my…some reviewers of this little ditty have called this song lyrically weak.  I, however, deem it to be straight to the point and pretty darn great–I shan’t print the lyrics here, just know that the language has to be edited for radio play–and we all know that my opinion is the only one that matters in all things.
This song is nassssssssssssssty.  Everything about it will […]

Original post by kat

Friday night was fun, ya’ll!  Where were ya?  All the hot action was going down at Fred’s Speakeasy with a crazy lineup of Automanic, Luxury Pushers and Crank County Daredevils.  Thanks to my bro being fashionably late as always, I missed most of Automanic’s set.  Luxury Pushers were super cool (hunt ‘em down on myspace) although I really wanted to give their guitarist a blood transfusion and a peanut butter sandwich; I could pick my teeth with that boy…but any band that opens their set with a few lines from “America” by Neil Diamond is ok in my book.
The crowd was happy as hell it was Friday, friendly and mostly drunk.  There was dancing and flailing for Luxury Pushers, which if you know Asheville’s music scene like I do, is insane–seldom will Ashevillians get up and show love to the headlining band, nevermind the opening bands. 
The bathroom at Fred’s is haunted.  […]

Original post by kat

The Rocket Club people have been working at it pretty darned steady at opening there across from Image 420 on Haywood Road. This local music venue on the other side of I-240 promises affordable drinks, great music and no attitude. They even gave the building sidewalks (and imbedded their logo into it as seen above). I’ll keep you informed!

Or, keep your eye on their site.

Then name THIS tune and no looking it up:
 Promises are sh*t. We speak the way we breathe.

Original post by kat

I’ve been too f’ing sensitive lately.  So today’s song lyrics are much beloved to me, uplifting, full of good cheer.  Name that band, and don’t cheat by googling the lyrics, weasels:
And when I get your blood I rip your throat
Your blood I rip your throat
I want your blood, I rip your throat
To drink some blood
or how about this one:
 Black dress moves in a blue movie
Graverobbers from outer space
or:
They pick up every movement
They pick up every loser
Don’t cheat! Name that band, for extra love name each tune.  The first person to get it right gets…well, I guess that depends who’s the first person to get them right what I’d give them…

Original post by kat

We’ll start this new tangent with a lyric…mainly because I don’t want to go back to the previous post and explain anything…so we’re off on a new subject.
Oh, I used to be confused
But now I just don’t know
Since you left I’ve been watching
Blue skies come and go
a-ha, The Blue Sky
One summer when I was a teen, I met Johnny P. at an Urban Spelunkers show.  A little bit skate rat, a little bit poet, very much a bad boy that was loved by few and disliked by many.  Smitten smitten smitten.  He was living with Kevin, the local dead ringer for Judd Nelson; I don’t remember why exactly Johnny was holed up at Kevin’s house since it’s been around 20 years, but it would seem that Johnny had some kind of trouble at home.  And we spent some time together, hung out on the long, leisurely teenage days, and then he was leaving, […]

Original post by kat

Last.fm (yeah - that’s the url) is really frigging cool. I’m sure I’m a little late to hop on the bandwagon, since I normally seem to be, but it’s a great free, legal service to listen to some great music.
Great, of course, is subjective. What I find great is generally considered horrible by most - mildly annoying at best.
But, the gist is that you hop on, type in a band and you listen to that band’s tunes (and they have some very, very oddball stuff) as well as bands that are “tagged” as being in the same genre. I went and typed in Black Flag, got to listen to Damaged and Room 13, then the next song was Chartered Trips by Husker Du, followed up by Gang Green, Fear and a little Dickies thrown in for comic relief.
The sound quality is exceptional (as exceptional as 20+ year old recordings get) […]

Original post by jimdiggitydog