Culture watch

SeepeopleS spelled backwards is SelpoepeeS

Love them or hate them, the jam-techno-experimental-rock-whatever band SeepeopleS are one of the most critically recognized groups to call Asheville home (after the stealthy and elusive Reigning Sound, of course). Fronted by Will “I appear to play everything from which sound can be made” Bradford, the band recently announced that they will be releasing their third (and most badly named) album in March of 2007. Apocalypse Cow Vol. 1 was recorded at Chillhouse Studios in Boston with Will Holland (producer of the Pixies’ live reunion albums in 2004), and will be released on the band’s own Razcalz Recordz. The album’s release will be followed by a tour, although no details on the extent of the tour — they’ve traditionally stayed close to home with East Coast stints — have yet been announced. For more info, visit www.seepeoples.com.

WCU A-Go-Go

There’s been a lot of interesting news coming out of Western Carolina University in recent months, making the once-humble college in the stick seem like a veritable media hub. This is particularly true when it comes to publishing. For instance: Western’s reigning literary heavyweight champ, Ron Rash, was recently awarded the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for his third novel The World Made Straight; psychology professor Bruce Henderson released Teaching at the People’s University, a book based on his experiences with academic prejudice in regional colleges; criminology professor Laura Myers was recently elected to serve a second term as editor of the Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology (or the JKBPJJP for short); and WCU’s staff psychologist June Wytock recently saw her first work as an editor fly off the shelves and go into a second printing. (Granted, they’d only printed 50 copies of the manual, but with a catchy title like Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Students with Eating Disorders in a University Setting, the thing is a guaranteed bestseller. WCU’s plans to print at least 100 in the second run.)

Unto These … Cast Recordings

The powers that be have finally heard our voice, and have released the definitive cast recording of Unto These Hills … a retelling (for this reporter, no more buying low-fi bootlegs off of shady men who hang out at bus stops). The outdoor musical, which has been in production for more than half a century, conveys the increasingly grim history of the Cherokee. For such a seemingly dismal topic, it appears to have plenty of fans — chances are those folks also won’t mind shelling out the $17.55 for the chance to listen to their favorite song without having to brave the outdoors. Check it out at www.cherokee-nc.com.