House of the Rising Songs Asheville Band Fifth House Comes to Boone this Weekend By Jeff Eason Mixing different genres of music has always been a specialty of bands coming from Asheville. Lately, no one has done it better than the foursome known as Fifth House. With a style that is influenced by acts such as Parliament, Stevie Wonder and Alan Holdsworth, the band is quickly becoming one of the favorites in our neck of the woods. Fifth House guitarist Corey Bullman and bassist Rob Heyer jam out at a show in Chapel Hill. The band will perform Thursday and Saturday in the High Country. Photo submitted. Fifth House will perform two shows in the High Country this weekend. On Thursday, April 21st the band plays a free show at Murphy’s in Boone starting at 10:30 p.m. On Saturday, April 23rd the band will appear at Café Portofino in Boone starting at 10:30 p.m. Admission is $3. Fifth House combines the rugged bluesy Southern Rock tradition with a more experimental progressive rock mindset. That means they are as much fun to dance to as they are to sit back and listen to. Think of the southern funkiness of the Black Crowes blended with improvisational skills of a top-notch jam band. The talented quartet features drummer and vocalist Mike Ashworth, bassist Rob Heyer, keyboardist Kevin Scala and guitarist and vocalist Corey Bullman. The members of the band started playing together over four years ago but took an unexpected hiatus after a successful stint opening for bands such as The Jaimee Tomas Band, The Royal We, and Big Radio. Now they have reformed with a reinvigorated sense of purpose. Fifth House recently completed a five-song demo that shows off its considerable live capabilities and demonstrates what it can accomplish in the recording studio as well. Unlike a lot of jam bands on the scene today, Fifth House establishes itself as one of the best songwriting combos around. After the song is perfected, the band weaves musical rings around it by letting Scala and Bullman do their things on keyboards and guitar. The song “I Can Feel It Coming On” combines funky Meters-style rhythms with some of the catchiest vocal hooks committed to tape in a long time. The band’s spring/summer 2005 tour is being sponsored by Rogue Ales and the band is set to appear at a number of prestigious venues and festivals including the 2005 Mountain Sports Festival in Asheville April 29-May 1. Fifth House was also recently featured on WNCW-Spindale’s “Local Colors” broadcast, giving folks in western North Carolina a taste of their unique sound. For more information on the band’s appearance at Murphy’s, call (828) 264-5117. For more information on the band’s appearance at Café Portofino, call (828) 264-7772.