When did our collective fascination with all things futuristic (mod boots, The Jetsons, hovercraft) grow stale, and nostalgia for a distant, golden past kick in? We’ve barely embraced Bluetooth technology—meanwhile, a hipper generation of hipsters is scouring eBay for rotary-dial telephones and the portable record players once found in junior-high language labs. “I think we […]

“Rue McClanahan has also played witches and bitches, killers and drunks,” that actress reminds us in her tell-all memoir, My First Five Husbands … And the Ones Who Got Away (Random House, 2007). Still, she’s best known as sex-pot Southern belle Blanche Devereaux from TV’s The Golden Girls. And, as often happens, many fans confuse […]

When Asheville Ballet reprises its 2000 performance of Porgy and Bess this week at Diana Wortham Theatre, many in the audience may be unaware of the story’s local roots. Porgy, the novel, was started and finished in Hendersonville, where Charleston writers Dubose and Dorothy Heyward owned a summer home. Dubose’s book was lauded as “the […]

Last year, Thames & Hudson published an endearing little book called David Hockney’s Dog Days. In the preface, the famed ‘60s pop artist writes: “I make no apologies for the apparent subject matter. These two dear little creatures [a pair of dachshunds] are my friends. They are intelligent, loving, comical, and often bored. They watch […]

Insert Gangsta-Rap Reference Here Tired of hearing about new albums by local bands that feature an all-star group of Asheville musicians? Tough, ‘cause I’ve got one more for ya. Folky, jazzy “hipster swing” group Jen and the Juice appear to be nearly ready to release their latest recording, the five-song EP Fruits. The album is […]

• They’re doing it again! Despite all the unnecessary red tape they waded through last year, Arlene and Robert Winkler are organizing another river-park sculpture exhibit. Let’s hope they’re rewarded with more cooperation from the city this time around. • Time again for the Doors of Asheville fundraiser. Neighborhood Housing is such a worthy cause, […]

When controversial American Idol contestant Sanjaya sang his teary farewell, he cleverly improvised “Let’s give ‘em something to talk about … other than hair.” While Bonnie Raitt may not get it, chances are Aussie rocker Andrew Stockdale—front man of Wolfmother—shares the sentiment. Wolfmother is more than just arena rock with curly locks. Known for his […]

Going into the 2007 season, Director Taryn Strauss had loaded the bases, having previously coached the Scapegoat Theatre Collective productions of Everything in the Garden, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and The Exonerated. Now, like any pinch hitter worth the name, she has blasted one over the fence. The company’s current production of Richard […]

Silver-haired and bearded, sporting jeans and a cowboy hat, Tommy Erdélyi is a living-legend punk in Farmer’s Market clothing. Tommy Erdélyi is shadow of his former self, but maybe that’s a good thing. illustration by Ethan Clark Only the true fan would be able to squint and see in 55-year-old Erdélyi the features of his […]

Will The Hellsayers Be The Next Big Thing In Antwerp? Asheville-based dark-Americana group Wayne Robbins & The Hellsayers have long been a local favorite, combining Neil Young-esque vocals with a haunting, slightly psychedelic ambience. In fact, when their 2004 debut album The Lonesome Sea was released, it seemed the band might just become one of […]