Josh Carpenter & Angie West
August 17, 2007 @ 7:00pm


Angi West and Josh Carpenter have been playing quietly in people's living
rooms for nearly two years now: Their modern take on folk music steadily
lulling fans to pack more and more tightly into the small spaces they tend
towards. Though their styles differ greatly, there is something underneath,
something primeval that binds their work and complements each other.
Perhaps, as Angi mused, it is their shared love of Beethoven and Bach, or
the fact that both were reared on the Beatles, or that both studied
classical music at UNCA. Or perhaps it is simply the obvious love each has
for music that emanates from them when they perform. Whatever the reason,
this combination is not one to be missed.
Angi West
Angi West, a native to Cullowhee, NC, began studying violin at age 7 and
classical voice at age 13. She received a BA in classical vocal performance
from UNCA and went on to the Berkley School of music to receive a
professional songwriting certificate. When asked what her music sounds like,
she replies, "It is genuinely me, it is a mixture of my Appalachian
heritage: my falling in love with the classical voice and the melodies it
taught me, and my love of a good pop song - the Beatles- something that
relates to everyone, seamlessly. My music is based on the integrity of each
song as its own entity." She cites Glen Gould, Nina Simone and Patty Griffin
as three of her musical influences.

Josh Carpenter
Josh Carpenter, also a NC native, studied classical piano at UNCA and has
been in a huge assortment of bands and groups, including The Dickens,
Chinaski Warlords, Piedmont Charisma, Smegmatics, Drugmoney, The Makeout
Room, Sugar and the Plums, MANBAND, On the Take, The Nein, Hey Neighbor, the
Sexpatriates, The Victuals, The Bite, Dirty Pink, Chops, and the UNCA
Percussion Ensemble, among others. He has played nearly every conceivable
instrument in these bands including guitar, piano/keyboards, drums, bass
guitar, accordion, harmonica, cow bell, and banjo. When asked why he plays
music he responds simply, "I've been playing [music] since I was six and it
never occurred to me not to." Though he doesn't think his music sounds much
like them, he cites influences as diverse as Beethoven, the Beatles, the
Zombies, Elvis Costello, the Kinks, 1967, JS Bach, and XTC. "I think of my
own music as a repeated attempt to rewrite 'This Year's Model,' 'Rubber
Soul,' and 'Odyssey and Oracle.'"
Sonic Experience Series
The SONIC EXPERIENCE Series was created to showcase musical styles that
don't often have the benefit of a traditional venue. We have selected
talented musicians from the WNC area and from as far away as Brazil and
India to perform jazz, classical, experimental, folk and world music and
enhance Asheville's live music scene. To take place Friday, Aug. 17th at 7pm
in the Flood Gallery located in the Phil Mechanic Bldg. on the corner of
Clingman Ave and Roberts Street, a block past the Grey Eagle. Cost, $10.