Day 6: Blue Ridge Mountain High

We headed off to Asheville full of home-shot venison. Around midway we stopped for lunch – our first real taste of barbecue this trip (which had better darn well not be our last). We went to a place recommended by a friend of Hunter’s, and were well rewarded. It was phenomenal. Even Gabriel (who was skeptical at first) loved it – not greasy at all, lightly sweet and nicely smoky, with a profound tang of vinegar and pepper – and balanced out by honest-to-goodness East Carolina slaw. A barbecue sandwich for the ages. Allen and Son was the name of the place, in case anyone is interested and in the area.



Once in Asheville, we took in the sights for a minute – gorgeous landscape, and what looked like more record stores, vintage clothing shops and art galleries per capita than any town I’ve ever been in. Drum circles on the corners. A hippie paradise nestled right in the Blue Ridge mountains.

We met up with the legendary Juan Holladay, ate some veggies (for which thank heaven) and went to the show. The show was a hell of a lot of fun – Juan played a great set (dude can SING) and then his friend Lucy came on and played. Her songs (and especially lyrics) were very cool, and she’s just starting out, which made it extra impressive. Then we played, and had a lot of fun doing so.

(Live MP3 - Gabriel doing "When I Was a Young Girl" - http://econo-graphics.com/superdupersecret/WhenIWasAYoungGirlAshe.mp3 )

After the show, we went out for a couple beers with Juan and his friends Mary and Kathy. We met up with a couple of New York musicians at the Bobo Gallery – Charles-Theodore Zerner and Chris Volpe – who were passing through Asheville in the opposite direction, towards Winston-Salem. We caught a little bit of their set – good stuff.



(Us looking like goofballs - blurry too!)



(With the awesome Asheville folks - Juan Holladay center, with blue shirt)

Went to sleep at Juan’s magnificent pad out in the country, woke up, ate an outstanding breakfast of Huevos Rancheros at the Sunny Point Café, then tooled around town for a bit, to a guitar shop, a cool record store, and a fantastic ice cream parlor.



(The house!)

We also got some bad news – our friend Alex was hit by a car riding his bike in New York on Monday night. He broke several bones but is expected to make a full recovery, and is still in the hospital. We’re thinking of him very much, and you should toss him a prayer if you’re that way inclined.

Til’ we meet again,

J