Writer's Notebook - James Rafferty Blog

Writer's Notebook: The Blue Road

In the past year, our family has gotten exposed to a different part of the country.  My oldest son chose to attend school in the western part of North Carolia and it's given us a chance to see that area and get exposed to the local culture in and around Asheville.  Last June, my son and I attended an outdoor rock concert set up under Interstate highway 540, a program known as Downtown After Five.  The scene attracted a broad range of people, ranging in age from babies to octogenarians, but everybody seemed to be having a great time.  I blogged about that experience in my post Downtown After Dark.  

The highlight of that concert was the amazing musicianship of Randall Bramblett.  At that show, Bramblett played very soulful tenor and soprano sax backing up blues guitarist Geoff Achison.  I decided I needed to hear more of Bramblett's music.  I looked him up on Google and discovered that he's a highly respected singer-songwriter, though he is not well known outside of the American South.  I took a quick listen on Itunes to his latest album -- Now It's Tomorrow -- and decided to buy it.  It's been a favorite album on my Ipod ever since.  For some reason, the Itunes Genius feature picked out one particular song, Blue Road, and plays it more often than the others.  Blue Road is the story of the narrator's up and down experiences with a woman named Ginnie Lee.  Bramblett keeps saying he can't forget about her and wants to take her on the Blue Road.  

I'm not exactly sure, but I have a hunch the Blue Road just might be referring to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a two lane road that winds through the mountains for hundreds of miles.  On my last trip out of Asheville, my son and I followed a winding dirt road and eventually made it up the parkway.  We'd planned ahead, so we brought along a picnic lunch and sat ourselves down at one of the first overlooks.  The scene looked like this as we look over the shoulder of my son Jason:  

 

We'd finally made it to the Blue Ridge Parkway and this first view just offered a taste of what lay ahead.  

The Blue Ridge truly is a mountain road and follows a series of switchbacks which bring your car to higher and higher elevations.  A little further up the road, the views were even more spectacular, as we could look down to see the clear green waters of a river threading it's way through the valley against a backdrop of the Blue Ridge mountains.    

 
Writing in my journal at the time, I had the following impressions.  A glassy lake cuts through between ridges -- edged by sandy shorelines, like a mustard outline of the flat waters.  Above, curling humps and brazen points catch my eye.  The more distant hills fade into overlays of blue.  The scent of burning firewood wafts across to us from the visitor's center, while a flag flutters and bucks in the early May winds. 

Here's a shot of Jason drawing the scene in his sketch book:  

 

And that was just the beginning of what we saw that day.  Just ahead, a mountain ridge and tunnel pointed the way forward.  

 
Call it the Blue Road or the Blue Ridge Parkway, but this road offers views which quickly outstrip the adjectives one might apply to capture it.  If you're in western North Carolina, you'll want to go out of your way and see for yourself the many views available from this roadway as it follows a twisting path through the mountains.  Bring along a picnic lunch and take your time. 

For me, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Randall Bramblett are examples of the fine differences available when we choose to explore new territories.  In these places, we'll often find new geographic and cultural touch stones.   

Have you been to the Blue Ridge Mountains?  What were your reactions?  

Have you experienced regional artists that have exposed you to different worldview? 

It's summer and it's a fine time to stretch out, to find those new places and open yourself to novel influences. 

Writer's Notebook: Downtown After Dark

I'm fresh back from a trip to Asheville, North Carolina.  We found it to be a remarkable cultural center that is conducive to producing art at the highest level.  

Friday night was all about music.  Three groups played on an impromptu stage set up under the I-240 overpass on Lexington Avenue -- all powered by a massive solar panel.  The series is called Downtown After Five. 

My son and I arrived around six thirty and the events were already in full swing, led by a group called Brushfire Stankgrass, which included electric banjo and guitar in their instruments.  The first impression was of a bluegrass group, but they quickly went beyond direction into an electric fusion more reminiscent of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.  The mix in the audience also surprised me -- ranging in age from the young people you'd expect to see at an outdoor concert to many people in my own fiftyish baby boomer age group ... and beyond.  

 

Here is a shot of Brushfire Stankgrass in action.  

 

The banjo player and lead guitarist were both fine musicians and drove the band and the audience to very high energy levels.   They built songs step by step, increasing intensity until the solos reached a crescendo with a flurry of notes, before returning to the basics of melody and swinging rhythm.  

They ended around eight and we started thinking about dinner, but one group remained.   Twenty minutes later, an Australian guitarist, Geoff Achison took the stage and played two acoustic blues numbers.  Geoff can belt out a blues effectively, with a vocal approach reminiscent of Eric Clapton, but his guitar playing offered more flash than substance on these first two songs.  He then strapped on his electric guitar and his drummer and bassist joined to complete a power trio.  The trio sound kicked up the energy level, but Achison still played erratically and his body weaved around the stage as if he were hoping to get inspired by the movement.  

Another element was needed and arrived a few minutes later in the person of musical virtuouso Randall Bramblett.  Bramblett normally leads his own band, but tonight he played the role of sideman on soprano and tenor sax.   Achison said, "We're just jammin", but Bramblett's sax fills and solos gave the music much needed depth.  Song after song, Randall continued to elevate the music and really got the crowd dancing in the streets.   His energy pulled up the rest of the band and Achison had fine moments himself when he and Bramblett traded licks on material crossing the gamut from funky blues to shuffles to boogie and even reggae.  The quartet put on a great show and kept us boogying in the streets until darkness fell.  

Here is a shot of the band with Achison on guitars and vocal, and Bramblett on soprano sax.  

 

I wouldn't mind seeing Achison again; I sensed he's better than he showed this night and we got glimpse of that during his crossfire exchanges with Bramblett.  As for Bramblett, I'd love to see him again and see what his band is doing these days.  He played with soul and clarity.  This guy is a major musical talent.   He's touring across the South this summer.     

We had two other encounters with brilliant artists the next day in Asheville.  I'll write about that in another post.