Inside this episode with your host, Mitch Hampton

I grew up with both bookstores and record stores.

Some of the first albums I bought were, aside from being large physical objects with quite elaborate artwork, were bought as part of the exploration inside of the record store.

More often than not this involved ten year old me talking to older people about the new Return To Forever or Weather Report album or what this direct to disc Dave Brubeck album was all about.

I loved speaking with Morgan Markowitz; this episode represents the most direct connection to how I learned about the arts in general and the importance of those physical spaces intended for public enjoyment that some of us call “third place”.

To love music was for sixty plus years to be involved in one way or the other with some record store

More on the wonderful Earth River Records

Asheville's largest selection of Vinyl, Tapes & CDs with over 20,000 items both new and used!

A second-generation vinyl legacy handed down from father to son! The first Earth River was based in Rochester, New York in the back of a headshop in 1968 and run by OG Owner Franklin Markowitz. Throughout the 70s & 80s the shop (and Franklin’s huge vinyl collection) moved out west and based operations in Newport Beach, California. Franklin’s family grew & Earth River Records expanded to multiple shop locations in Coos Bay, Eugene & Corvalis, Oregon.

In the 90s & 2000s the shop was passed to Franklin’s son Morgan and moved to Seattle, Washington.

Earth River Records finally landed in Asheville, North Carolina in 2021. Coast to coast, we've got the most! Can't make it to the shop? Check us out on Ebay and Discogs. We carry audio equipment, cassette tapes, CDs, DVDs, hundreds of vintage posters, signed memorabilia & more!

We want to express our deep gratitude to each and every one of you. Western North Carolina and Asheville took another unprecedented hit from Helene. Those of us lucky enough to have made it through depend on our immediate community to survive here. And we have survived! We are still here because of YOU! (And sheer luck! The roof almost blew off our building. But it didn't!)

The wonderful folks at Siam Thai fed the Woodfin community (and us) delicious food for free when our neighborhood was hungry. Mercy Chefs set up a kitchen two doors down. Travelling linemen, firefighters and responders came in looking for music and movies. Countless friends and customers reached out, checked in and helped each other.

We weren't sure if the shop would make it in the wake of so much destruction and grief. But you kept our doors open! When the power came back on without internet service, suddenly all of this physical media had relevance again. People still needed to hear music, watch a comforting movie or play an old videogame. The whole town was transported back to pre-internet days.

We are humbled and proud to be North Asheville's community record store!

Earth River Records wishes you and yours all the best this year.

See you soon!

Links to everything Earth River Records

Website ( it’s fab): www.earthriverrecords.com

Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/str/earthriverrecords

Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/seller/EarthRiverRecords/profile

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earth_river_records/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthriverrecords/

#herbiehancock #andywarhol #music #recordstore #1970s #1980s #1960s #1950s #janefonda #exerecise #aerobics #jazz #rock #velvetunderground #loureed #stankenton #junechristy #thefourfreshman #cassettetape #8track #vinyl #spokenword #comedy #archive #antique #thriftstore #debbieharry #blondie #1979 #peaches #samgoody #towerrecords #samgoody #easylstening #heavymetal #deathmetal #rap #hiphop #countrymusic #folkmusic #longplaying #digital #analog

#mitchhampton #IsaiahBerlin #romanticism #TomStoppard #arts #culture #podcast On this, the sixth episode of our miniseries on Isaiah Berlin and Romanticism, I continue to emphasize prose style and conclude the subject of the art of letter writing - with a couple of examples from Berlin's extensive correspondence with the then young Polish political philosopher and dissident Beata Polanowska-Sygulska at the end of Berlin's life. In addition I will include the beginnings of a discussion of the Germans Hamann and Herder and their significance for arts and letters from the 19th century all the way to our present day.

#MitchHampton #piano #podcast #soloperformances

In this Solo Episode for our main episode in November, I simply sit at the piano and tell stories of my journey over the decades with different aspects of music and art - from the 1970s through 2013 when I developed my solo piano concept.

There is a moment in the Joe Penhall/David Fincher Netflix series Mindhunter when character Bill Tench displays the various so-called “Manson girls” in their before Manson periods, exemplars of suburban, middle or apple middle class female life at the time, looking like valedictorian photos of which at least one was and then displays the figure of Charles Manson’s at his most wild eyed and hirsute, and asks "how did those girls end up with him?" Part of being a human being in the world in general but the social world in particular is internalizing semi-formal rules about what is predictable or even inevitable in human behavior, as well as the sorts of identities and the boundaries that go into defining any identity. These internalizations involve experience with was is considered common and well as deeply ingrained beliefs about human nature. For a time, the Manson case appeared to obliterate many of these beliefs about the social world and, above all, was one of those singular criminal events that brought us face to face with some of the worst capacities in the human being, especially if we had forgotten or never known such capacities. Because it is such an outsized crime in 20th century History it seems only inevitable that further research and evidence, such as the incredibly hard work of Tom O’Neill, for example, would be added to the case. Yet most of the facts of the case remain unchanged while there is wide speculation and research into motives and sensibilities. I relished having Deb back on the show for this episode, perhaps our longest one to date. She brings a no nonsense, almost scientific attitude towards the case. In preparation for this episode I read more than I had ever before when first encountering the crimes, especially Ed Sanders’ The Family, which for me was a revelation. We do hope we can add to halloween spirit with this one.

Inside this episode with your return co-host, Madame B and her bio

Madame B (aka Deb) grew up in Chicago in the 1970s, when life was a blur of Donny Osmond posters, Saturday-night roller rinks, and the occasional hooky day at Oak Street Beach. By age 11, Deb was nose-deep in Helter Skelter, Vincent Bugliosi’s account of the Manson Family Murders, the first in a long, ever-growing stack of true-crime books that would shape her lifelong obsession. The combination of the long shadow of the Vietnam War, Watergate, and now serial killers hiding in plain sight created the perfect storm for a morbidly curious and (more than slightly) weird kid.In this episode, she and Mitch go deep into the Charles Manson saga, far beyond the tabloid clichés and acid-fueled headlines. They dig into how the hippie dream went sideways, how the Family drifted through California communes and ended up crashing at Beach Boy Dennis Wilson’s house, and how Doris Day factors into the story in a way most people aren't aware of. They unpack the drugs, the psychological manipulation, and the charisma that let one scrawny ex-con play Jesus Christ, Satan, and wannabe rock star all in the same breath — the whole acid-drenched cocktail that turned "peace and love" into paranoia and bloodshed.They also shine a light on the women of the Family and how smart, searching, lonely girls from the suburbs ended up becoming feverish disciples of a clownish charlatan twenty years older than them who had spent the overwhelming majority of his adult life in prison. And because history loves to repeat itself, Deb and Mitch draw parallels between the cult tactics of the Manson Family and today’s influencer culture and political extremism — the online “families” built around ego, control, and blind devotion, where the charisma comes with a ring light instead of a guitar.For Madame B, true crime isn’t about glamorizing the freaks. It’s about seeing how ordinary people get pulled into extraordinary evil, and learning to recognize the next Manson when he inevitably starts his own podcast.

#acting #LynneJebens #NewYork

One of the most important goals in this podcast is to have some kind of eclecticism, variety or diversity in the kind of artistic and cultural matters we try and cover.

Lynne Jebens' episode certainly is a paramount example of this. Going into this episode, the first with a talent agent on our sows I had no idea we would be discussing being on the road with a Southern Rock band, the musical stylings of Bix Beiderbick, and the Joseph Mankiewicz masterpiece All About Eve all in the same episode! But this is an inevitability when you spend anytime at all with Lynne Jebens.

With close to 40 years in the talent industry, Lynne Jebens gives the essentials on what an Actor must do in order to be successful in the business. Lynne is one of NYC's most respected agents who gives truly usable, incisive critiques. She works in all legit areas (film, TV and theater) as well as commercials.

I certainly hope you enjoy listening to us at least as much as we enjoyed creating this episode.

Lynne's Bio

An agent for over 30 years who was a former actor and director, Lynne is one of NYC's most respected agents who gives truly usable, incisive critiques. She works in all legit areas (Film, TV and Theater) as well as commercials.

Recent or Upcoming Broadway/Tours: & Juliet, A Beautiful Noise, Ain’t Too Proud, Aladdin, Annie, Back to the Future, Beauty and the Beast, Beetlejuice, The Book of Mormon, Boop!, Cabaret, Chicago, Clue, Come From Away, Dolly, Floyd Collins, Funny Girl, The Great Gatsby, Hadestown, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hell's Kitchen, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, The Lost Boys, Mean Girls, MJ, Moulin Rouge, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Notebook, The Outsiders, Peter Pan, Pirates: The Penzance Musical, Redwood, Shucked, Six, Smash, Some Like it Hot, Wicked, The Wiz.

Recent Film/TV: American Horror Story, And Just Like That, Beth and Don, The Blacklist, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Blue Bloods, Brass Tactics, Bull, Chicago Med, Christmas With You, City on a Hill, Daredevil: Born Again, Dear Edward, Dexter: Resurrection, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Eleanor the Great, Elsbeth, The Endgame, The Equalizer, Etoile, Ever’s Blueberry, Evil, FBI, Feud: Capote and the Women, The Friend, Full Circle, Genie, The Gilded Age, The Girls on the Bus, Godfather of Harlem, The Good Fight, Goosebumps: The Vanishing, Gossip Girl, Happy Gilmore 2, The History of Sound, The Holdovers, Hondo, Imaginary Friends, Jigsaw, Kaleidoscope, The Knowing, Law & Order (all of them), Let the Right One In, Manifest, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, New Amsterdam, Notice to Quit, Only Murders in the Building, The Other Two, Poker Face, Power: Raising Kanan, Queens of Christmas, Random Acts of Flyness, Servant, Severance, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Succession, Summer of 69, The Watcher, Your Friends & Neighbors and Zero Day.

Besides Broadway and Tour, this office also books clients in numerous NY and Off-Broadway shows and every AEA regional theatre in the country.

A truly caring agent who LOVES her actors.

With close to 40 years in the talent industry, Lynne Jebens gives the essentials on what an Actor must do in order to be successful in the business. Lynne is one of NYC's most respected agents who gives truly usable, incisive critiques. She works in all legit areas (film, TV and theater) as well as commercials.

I certainly hope you enjoy listening to us at least as much as we enjoyed creating this episode.

Links to wonderful interviews on Lynne's works:

https://www.nycastings.com/being-professional-and-prepared-an-interview-with-talent-agent-lynne-jebens/

Art in Healing From Crises: A Conversation with Shelley McKechnie

Inside this episode with your host, Mitch Hampton:

It feels as if all of us who live in Western North Carolina were affected in so many various ways by the Hurricane Helene in 2024.

Pulling back into the largest focus it is a truth that some of the best works of art in history were created from and forged in the most difficult of circumstances. I was most impressed by all of the artwork collected in our guest Shelley McKechnie's wonderful volume on the experience.

To me it is a form of artwork of sorts to collaborate with the many people in the volume and to make decisions as to what will be included in such a book. Now a year later than that storm, and during which so many people have been so helpful and healing during this period, I found my conversation with her an indispensable one for our podcast.

Link to this magnificent book: www.hawcreekpress.com

More about Shelley McKechnie and her wonderful work:

Shelley McKechnie’s career sits at the intersection of the arts, business, and community development.

She's run three companies, held leadership positions in others, led a global nonprofit organization, and worked as a photojournalist and editor.

She has written more than 100 by-lined articles for national magazines and edited and published Stronger than the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, a regional bestseller which landed on several categories of national "best new release" lists on Amazon.

In partnership with a Gambian community organization, she started and ran an entrepreneurship program for teen girls in West Africa that's now led by program graduates.

Shelley holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA in English from Cornell University. In 2015 she was selected for the inaugural class of Presidential Leadership Scholars, a joint initiative of four presidential libraries providing intense 6-month training and mentorship for established civic change-makers, and lifelong membership in an active and growing alumni association.

She enjoys long-distance bike riding and is working to expand the greenway network in North Carolina. She lives in the mountains of Asheville, NC.

#galleryatflatrock #ashevilleartmuseum #prose #literature #literaryart #climatechange #hurricane #hurricanehelene #sept2024 #sept2025 #painting #wnc #editor #northcarolina #riverartsdistrict #publishing #sculpture #music #theater