My Favorite Uncle

Last week I caught the all-female string band collective Uncle Earl at the Gravity Lounge (a really cool little music room) in Charlottesville.

When the foursome started singing their pre-bluegrass, front-porch story songs, it made the atmosphere feel pastoral and simple. Their angelic harmonies had the crowd in awe; voices you don't often find in the burgeoning contemporary old-time movement. Each gal took a turn in the spotlight, offering sweetly authoritative, yet distinctly different rotating vocals that float gracefully over the musical mix of the old Celtic world of fiddle reels with post-modernly sheened original songwriting.

Before the show I reviewed their new CD, "Waterloo, Tennessee," for a local paper. The disc was produced by of all people former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. I confess I had no idea JPJ had any interest in string bands, but he certainly touched this one up in all the right places, adding hints of folk rock and blues to the equation.

They'll be back in the region for Merlefest at the end of April. If you're into the new school, old-time thing, I recommend checking them out.

Happy Trails,

J.F.

Calling All Gear Addicts...Here's Your New Crack

I hate to blatantly endorse any company, but Steep and Cheap (steepandcheap.com) is too great for me not to gush on it. In case you haven't heard, it's a relatively new website that posts one piece of outdoor gear at a time and sells its entire stock of the single item at a ridiculously reduced price until its gone. Within the past couple of weeks I've grabbed a Dakine ski bag for 20 bucks and pair of vegan La Sportiva shoes for just under 30. Right now I'm barely resisting some Spy shades that are on sale for 70 percent below retail. I refresh the site at least three dozen times a day, salivating in anticipation of the next deal. Sad, I know, but if you happen to have any gear whore tendencies like me, this site could save your wallet--and your marriage. My wife threatened separation after the fifth box arrived at the house last month. Luckily one of them contained two brand new Mountain Hardwear Wicked Ts in a female size small (at $11 a piece it was a no-brainer!) and suddenly all was right in my house again. I know there are more of you out there that can't resist a gear deal. Check it out, but be warned...it's addictive.

Happy Trails,

-J.F.

Bonnaroo Buzz

As I jump into this year's festival guide (coming out in the May issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors), I can't get away from one fest that has the music world buzzing. Tickets for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival go on sale tomorrow. Despite a hefty price in the range of $200 (That's my car payment, dude!), they are expected to go fast for this annual blowout that brings 80,000 to a dusty, middle-of-nowhere farm in Central Tennessee. The line-up has its usual lot of heavyweights from jam nation (Widespread Panic and Bob Weir's Ratdog) and neo-indie rock gods (White Stripes and Franz Ferdinand), but the biggest story this year is the headlining slot being filled by The Police. That's right, uber millionaire and self-declared tantric sex master Sting has decided to step away from the vein of adult contemporary and make peace with his old mates for a lengthy summer tour with most stops in big-city arenas and stadiums. Apparently Bonnaroo can make anyone come to the Dirty South.
-J.F.

Clear Cut Need for Revision

This week the the U.S. Forest Service started its revision process for the 1.1-million acre George Washington National Forest in Western Virginia. Last revised in 1993, federal law requires the agency to update the plan at least every 15 years. The forest has long been a target for commercial logging, and according to a press release sent out by Virginia Forest Watch, the agency’s preliminary draft revision sites upcoming potential harvest at as much as 21 million board feet a year. That's five million more than what's been clear cut annually over the last five years.

“The numbers only tell part of the story,” says Sherman Bamford with VFW. “What matters in large part is where the logging is happening, and lately a lot has been happening in environmentally sensitive areas or in places that people care about.”

A coalition of conservation groups--including VFW, the Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center, and The Wilderness Society--is speaking up for ecological restoration as the revision unfolds, hoping to take wild forest areas away from a path of logging (in many areas cutting old growth trees that are over 150 years old) and roadbuilding and toward management that is consistent with growing public support for water quality, recreation, and wilderness.

“The Forest Plan revision offers a rare opportunity for meaningful ecological restoration,” says David Hannah of Wild Virginia. “Occurring as it does in a very fragmented and changing landscape, the GW is one of the few places in the eastern United States where large areas of mature forest, and populations of native species they are home to, can be restored.”

If you agree and want to speak up for the George, public meetings start in March. Here is a schedule:

March 5 - Hot Springs Presbyterian Church - Hot Springs, VA

March 6 - Rockbridge High School - Lexington, VA

March 7 - National Gurad Armory - Woodstock, VA

March 8 - Alleghany County Governmental Complex - Covington, VA

March 10 - Rockingham County Government Office Building - Harrisonburg, VA

-J.F.

Bridging the Gap

I spent my Sunday night in front of the boob tube, watching the final day of action at the Winter X Games. Although the biggest story of the day was the final score nail-biter that found Shaun White being dethroned in the Superpipe by Steve Fisher, I noticed something even bigger--the crowd. The eleventh running of the games brought over 76,000 spectators to Aspen to freeze their buns off as they watched the action slopeside. It was the event's best attendance to date. White's recent Olympic Gold Medal and escalating celebrity are obvious catalysts for the growth, but whatever the cause, this is a sign of good things to come. Adventure sports are finally starting to get some of the mainstream respect they deserve. In a time when arenas are struggling to fill seats, I see a bridging of the gap between famous and fringe. Maybe sports fans are looking for a new alternative--tired of greedy, overpaid basketball players or a National Hockey League that loves the game so much that it cancels an entire season because the dollars aren't right. Maybe it's because the snowsports industry has embraced a sense of urbanization and finally started to remove its stuffy, cost-prohibitive stigma. Either way it's great to see these adventure athletes getting the cred they deserve.

-Jedd Ferris

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