Rock Band Cullowhee to Reunite for Revitalization Effort
Hometown favorites to play Sept. 18, 2010 at WCU
The mountain rock band Cullowhee, named for the community where its sound was born, will reunite for a show at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, in the Coulter Recital Hall on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
The show will benefit the efforts of the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavour. The nonprofit organization is working to revive the "Old Cullowhee" community adjacent to Western's back entrance. Specifically, the concert will raise money toward a $15,000 roadside sign made of native stone and cedar.
"Music about the Cullowhee community and created in Cullowhee is a rich part of the history of this place," said Christopher Blake, co-chair of CuRvE, the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavour and assistant professor of English at Western Carolina University. "We are excited that Cullowhee - the band – will return to Cullowhee - the community – to share music, laughter and memories with us once again."
Cullowhee the band traces its roots to the 1970s, when disco and arena rock were king. What began as a folk trio evolved into a six-man mountain rock band featuring former WCU students Terry Edwards, Mike Clark, Sandy Flynn and Thom Jenkins, as well as Fred "Rick" Hubbard and Woody Jenkins. The band wrote and performed music including "Smokey Mountain Feeling," "Old Man of Sylva" and "Peace on the Mountain." Cullowhee last toured in 1984.
"We were proud of where we came from," said Flynn, who grew up on Buzzard's Roost in Cullowhee. "We called our music 'mountain music,' and spread the name 'Cullowhee' around the country and world, playing to audiences from 10 to 20,000."
Tickets are $15 at the door. Advance tickets are $12 for general seating and $20 for seats reserved in the front rows, and can be purchased by mail if postmarked by Sept. 13, 2010. Advance tickets will be held at will-call at Coulter Recital Hall. Mail checks, payable to Cullowhee Revitalization Inc., to Cullowhee Revitalization Inc., P.O. Box 1322, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723. Tickets for students are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.
Reconnect with the group at www.cullowheeband.com or www.myspace.com/cullowheemountainrock. Read more about the Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavour, or CuRvE, at www.gocullowhee.org.
For more information about the band or to arrange interviews, contact Gayle R. Andrus, the band's business manager, at (770) 638-3222 or gandrus@mindspring.com. (Download the news release from Gayle R. Andrus.)
For more information about the concert or Cullowhee Revitalization organization, contact CuRvE co-chair Christopher Blake, at (828)227-3920 or blake@email.wcu.edu.
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