Asheville-based punk-jazz-avant garde band, the Ahleuchatistas have re-released their 2004 recording, "The Same and the Other" on the Tzadik label.  Take 5 correspondent Laura Blackley interviewed the band recently and an excerpt of the interview is included below.

Be sure and read the full interview on the Take 5 website. 

Question: Who are Ahleuchatistas?

Answer: (In addition to Perlowin), Derek Poteat plays bass, and Sean Dail plays drums.

Q: What are their individual backgrounds?

A: Sean started singing in punk bands when he was a teenager. Later, he moved to guitar then drums. He says he’s always wanted to be a frontman, so he plays the drums like he is. Derek has a background in rock and jazz, mostly improvisation-based rock. I started out in rock, and later studied jazz heavily.

Q: Tell me about the record.

A: It’s actually a re-issue of a recording we did in 2004 on a small D.C.-area label ... it’s been remastered and we’ve added five bonus tracks. It’s more improvisation-based music. It’s interesting because you can hear our musical process on the recording and how we’ve developed (since we started doing this). The new stuff really rounds out the record a lot. The tracks really work well at the end of the record.

...........

Q: What inspired you to start a band?

A: We just wanted to make something that we thought was exciting and interesting. We didn’t realize that people would enjoy it the way they did. We had overwhelming support here in Asheville. Angora Sound put out our first record, we got some good critical attention, and we started leaving town and playing shows. (In the five years we’ve been together), we’ve gone overseas and toured Europe — Germany, Italy, Austria and Amsterdam, which was great, and we’ve toured the United States.

 CLICK HERE to read the full article and interview.

In early 2007, five of the Asheville areas finest bluegrass pickers joined forces to form a true all-star bluegrass band called Balsam Range.   All five musicians were from Haywood County and all had a wealth of experience and a common vision for the sound they wanted to create,  and their sound gelled quickly.   On the strength of their individual musical resumes, big things were expected from the band.   But no one expected them to achieve their current level of success so quickly.  Although barely a year old, Balsam Range has garnered consistent high praises from bluegrass fans and from the media and performed a numerous festivals.

This weekends appearance at a local festival on the same bill with the top names in bluegrass music today is a fine honor and perfect cap to the inaugural year for Balsam Range.

Balsam Range will appear as one of the headline acts at this weekends Bluegrass First Class Festival at the Crown Royal Plaza resort here in Asheville NC.   They share top billing with stellar bands including Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, J.D. Crowe and the New South, IIIrd Tyme Out, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, and Doc Watson.  

As a special treat, Balsam Range will perform with bluegrass legend Tony Rice on Saturday February 23rd.   Tony Rice is perhaps the most influential guitar player in the past 4 decades of bluegrass music. His appearance and performance with Balsam Range will certainly be a highlight of the festival.   

Widely acclaimed as one of bluegrass music's true stylistic innovators, and perhaps the greatest acoustic flat-picked guitarist since Clarence White, Tony Rice has a distinctive style of playing which countless young musicians have attempted to emulate for the past 30 years. He is a master flatpicker of traditional acoustic bluegrass but also helped create the newgrass and jazz grass sounds of more recent years.

So you say there's nothing new on the radio anymore?  You say radio is dead?  Same for music TV?
Well if you're tired of the same old radio/tv formulas, why not try something new of the local variety.  Local radio and public-access television are bringing something fresh to the airwaves and helping local listeners discover new  local bands each and every week.

Dont Miss These Great Opportunities to Hear Local Music on the Radio and See Local Music on the Television.  The Asheville Music Scene commends these stations for featuring our local musicians and hopes to see even more local-focused music programming in the future.

Thursday  2/21 

11pm on URTV (Cable Channel 20)

Mount Dungeon
Asheville Underground Music TV
with your host Matt Howard

A weekly broadcast with performances by a vast array of Asheville area musicians.
The  show is filmed live against a bluescren.  Then the Mount Dungeoneers work their
creative magic and comeup with unique backdrops for each weekly show making something
which is musically entertaining and visually spellblinding.  In typical Asheville fashion,
Mount Dungeon is a multi-media extravaganza which feeds the senses on
multiple levels.  The public is welcome to visit the URTV studios
where taping occurs each Saturday afternoon.
Contact Mount Dungeon via their wesite for more information. 

www.mountdungeon.com  

  This weeks episode features:
The MAD TEA PARTY

 
www.themadteaparty.com

Live in Studio-B
with your host Martin Anderson

Studio B is where the live music happens.
Under the supervision of WNCW's own golden-eared audio engineer,
Dennis Jones, Studio B is the station's state-of-the-art recording facility that hosts
regional, national, and even international artists. WNCW broadcasts
performances and interviews live on just about any given day.

www.wncw.org  

Featuring
Velvet Truckstop

www.velvettruckstop.com

9pm on WNCW 88..7

  Local Color
with your host Kim Clark

Spotlighting emerging artists from all over the WNCW listening area,
with a focus on those who are pushing the envelope just a bit.
Live performances, official releases, demos, exclusive
in-studio performances and well-crafted interviews
make for enoyable listening.

www.wncw.org  

THIS WEEKS FEATURED ARTIST
Charlotte band
The New Familiars

http://www.myspace.com/thenewfamiliars  

and lots of recent tracks from

various local Asheville Musicians 

Sunday  2/24 

7pm on WNCW 88.7

Local Color
with your host Kim Clark

Spotlighting emerging artists from all over the WNCW listening area,
with a focus on those who are pushing the envelope just a bit.
Live performances, official releases, demos, exclusive
in-studio performances and well-crafted interviews
make for 2 hours of enjoyable listening.

www.wncw.org  

THIS WEEKS FEATURED ARTIST
Chuck Brodsky

www.chuckbrodsky.com  

9pm on 105.9

Local Licks
with your host Bad Ash

Rock and Roll with an Asheville twist comes your way every week when
Bad Ash  hosts the 2 hour Local Licks broadcast  focusing attention
on a variety of Asheville area bands with an emphasis on ROCK. 
Local Licks features interviews and tracks from any number
of greater local bands each and every week and has
word of mouth has quickly made this one of
Asheville's favorite 2 hours on the radio.

Local Licks has really reached out to the local music community
and local musicians have responded.   Listen to Local Licks and
you are going to here some amazing much which you haven't
heard about in our little town.  You're gonna find yourself
wanting to get out to hear live local music as Bad Ash
helps you in your discovery of the newest and best
on the local rock scene.  Ash has quickly
become a favorite local DJ and you
learn more about this ball of fire
on the airwaves at her blogsite :

www.105.9themountain.com

 

THIS WEEKS FEATURED ARTIST 
Stankface
in hour one

www.myspace.com/stankfaceband

and Southern Rockers
Velvet Truckstop
in hour two

www.velvettruckstop.com