[PLEASE NOTE: Information listed here was accurate as of March 16, 2005. Please call the studio to verify information.] There are cheaper recording rooms in town staffed by better spellers, but Collapseable Studios in West Asheville enjoys the hippest reputation. From old-school gospel to experimental surf rock, there’s a local studio ready to commit your […]

[PLEASE NOTE: Information listed here was accurate as of March 16, 2005. Please call the venue to verify information.] Ready to break into the local-music scene? Here’s the lowdown on what the area’s best-known open mics have to offer. Sundays • Sweet Heaven, 35-B Montford Ave. (259-9848) — Folky, family-friendly entertainment kicks off at 7 […]

Still got rhythm: Crazy for You has proved to be a musical with nine lives. Just because a musical is corny doesn’t mean it shouldn’t get a second chance. “They do that a lot, take an old musical and rewrite the book, then go to the composer’s catalogue to refresh it,” points out Joey McKneely, […]

“It’s important to learn the principles Nathaniel teaches,” explains a character in Dr. Michael Mamas’ new book, The Golden Frog (1st World Publishing, 2004). “But what’s most important about Nathaniel’s teachings can’t be boiled down to a handful of facts or concepts,” the rationale continues. “It’s more about the effect those teachings have on you.” […]

“I’ve heard a lot of crap from different towns and record labels …,” says Aaron Price. The failure of these places to offer up solid compilation CDs is what he’s lamenting. It’s a test the local multi-instrumentalist thinks he’s aced with Peaks & Curves: Music from Asheville, produced by Price and Bill Reynolds at Price’s […]

When I was in seventh grade, I worshipped Norwegian one-hit wonders A-ha. As in, I got teary when said hit made it to Casey Kasem’s top slot. By the time I was a junior, my tastes had improved to slinky post-punk Love and Rockets. But since then, it’s been a long wait for a crush-worthy […]

“We’ve been accused of genre whiplash,” admits vocalist Rani Arbo — front woman for the strenuously inventive roots group daisy mayhem (note attention-grabbing lowercase letters). Think African box drum with fiddle. Think spooky spirituals with layered harmonies. The band’s latest CD, Gambling Eden (Signature Records, 2003), ranges from the raucous, rhythmic “Stewball” to the watery, […]

Around here, you can’t really talk about Arts and Crafts-era antiques — those signature simple-yet-durable pieces — without bringing up the Grove Park Inn. The stone giant perched on Sunset Mountain is intimately linked to this town’s identity. “In 1913, the Grove Park was furnished with Roycroft chairs,” relates author and historian Bruce Johnson during […]

Voodoo funk craftsman Dr. John is enjoying his golden years like many of his contemporaries: drifting around the sunny Caribbean on a cruise ship. Cue the swanky lounge music. However, the musician who, three decades ago, growled “Right Place, Wrong Time,” hasn’t traded his feather headdress for Bermuda shorts. Nope, he — along with blues […]

“I think anybody who’s in the public light deserves to be made a parody of at one time or another,” opines Jason Williams, director of Plaeides Productions’ latest show, Matt & Ben. It’s the play’s namesakes — A-list actors Matt Damon and his trusty sidekick, Ben Affleck — who are the butt of the joke […]

“I live in fear of a reporter asking me, ‘Who do you think you are?’” jokes Susan Jane Gilman, author of the newly released Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless. A former journalist herself, Gilman can easily imagine the sorts of questions she’ll have to field — but […]

Okay, there’s plenty of brain-cell-deteriorating fodder to be found in the world of major motion pictures. But then there’s the controversial likes of The Passion, along with other praying-man’s films like Contact, Seven Years in Tibet, The Little Buddha and even (if you read between the battle scenes) Star Wars. But producer Stephen Simon (Somewhere […]

In Argentina, a generation of children grow up orphaned when their parents mysteriously “disappear.” In the West Bank, Palestinian youngsters attempt to cope with life in refugee camps. In India, widows live out their lives without status or respect. Heartbreaking events, sure — but they’re tragedies nevertheless destined to slip under the radar of our […]

Having it Both Ways: Alison Krauss claims AC/DC as an influence, but her new direction is simply AC … as in Adult Contemporary. Alison Krauss is suddenly, and somewhat inexplicably, a hottie. The once-pudgy teenage fiddling virtuoso who wore PTA-mom bangs (brunette, mind you) is now a petite blonde glamour-puss gliding along the red carpet […]

“I built a bonfire, metaphorically, in the dark,” begins poet, traveler and organizer Pasckie Pascua in a recent interview. His story is about the figurative blaze that came to be known as the Traveling Bonfires — a moveable feast of music and poetry now based in Asheville. But it also starts with a very literal […]

It’s January. The evergreen that looked so glorious last month is now shedding needles on the carpet, the brown landscape has lost its romance — and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that you’re facing three long months of thermal underwear and Friends reruns. Don’t despair. Just because you can’t hop the next cruise ship to Aruba […]