Why I Love Asheville

I love Asheville, North Carolina!

I have been making the 90-minute drive to hang out in this "weird" little town for several years now. The food is incredible, the activities that are available are more than a person, or a group of people can do in a month of weekends.

Then there are the micro-breweries. And while there are far too many to mention, and honestly more than I've had time to even visit at the time of this posting, here are a few links to some of my favorites....

Urban Orchard This is the only cider pub in town. They have a variety of craft ciders that will appeal to various levels of sweetness and bitterness.

The Wagon Wheel This is a dueling piano bar which I have a great affinity for. It is a Veteran owned business which will always get my first dollars. It's a fun time, especially with a room full of half-inebriated people willing to pay to have their college fight song belted out!

Sierra Nevada Brewery This is not a micro-brewery, but is the most amazing brew house that I have ever been to! You can do a self-guided tour or a FREE 90-minute tour and tasting; even get to smell hops and rub them on your hands.

Asheville Brewing Company This one is a local favorite with its outdoor, hippie vibe and smorgasbord of IPA brews. Also has movie night

Please go check out Asheville when you get a chance!

Where Did All The Rock Bands Go?

I'm sitting here listening to Fall Out Boy's new album......and I'm sick to my stomach.
I find myself wondering, "Where did all the rock bands go?" I mean ROCK bands. The ones that bring it on every song; the ones who make you want to break your neck because you're bangin' so hard.
I grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, the Hair Bands that dominated the 80's, etc. Rock was rock, PERIOD. It did not conform to the standards of the day according to which way the wind might be blowing on a given day. It was, in point of fact, founded on the principle of being rock plain and simple. If you didn't like it, fine. Change the radio station.

Fast forward to 2018 ( and even a few years prior). Maroon 5 was a good band by nearly anyone's standards of musicianship. Aaaaaaaaand then they sold out. Their singles began to sound more like Demi Lovato's music than their own. The drummer was replaced with a drum machine (an offence that is utterly inexcusable to me personally), and Adam Levine's vocals could easily be replaced with the flavor-of-the-day-teeny-bopper on the local top 40 station. Ugh!

Now I hear F.O.B.'s new release and it literally sound like the single Despacito, only with English vocals from Patrick Stump. (I still am puzzled how a song that is nearly 90% Spanish makes 11-year-old girls attempt to sing it at the top of their lungs)
It's not that the songs aren't catchy......it's just that the songs are too catchy. When I listen to them, it feels as if this particular song was recorded and produced for the sole reason of getting it on the radio. I suppose that's the ultimate goal in the end; to sell a crap ton of records so the band mates can get rich. Then do a world tour and charge upwards of $1000 pre seat to get even richer. (Not a rant on capitalism; get all you can get)

I just need my rock bands to be rock bands again. Until that time, I guess that I will continue onward with my "oldies" in the hair band and heavy metal genres.