CLIMATE STRIKES P26 JUNGLE BOYZ P30 ANIMAL SOUNDS P40
MAKING ART AT THE END OF THE WORLDÂ P24
LIVING
paradise never sounded So Good.
Tickets On Sale Now the oak ridge boys oct 5 we will rock you oct 18 dane cook oct 24 theresa caputo nov 2 rascal flatts nov 7 zz top nov 8
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i love the 90’s nov 14 jim gaffigan nov 16 three dog night nov 21
Live Music
Friday & Saturday Nights Starting at 9 pm in 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar and at 10 pm in Margaritaville! Visit margaritavilletulsa.com for a complete schedule.
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October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
WINESDAY
AT THE TAVERN H A L F- P R I C E B O T T L E S O F W I N E E V E RY W E D N E S DAY
4 PM - CLOSE NO ST R INGS. J U S T D E L IC I O U S , H A L F - P R I C E W I N E .
TAV E R N T U L SA .C O M
THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
CONTENTS // 3
LIVING THING P24
October 2 – 15, 2019 // Vol. 6, No. 20 ©2019. All rights reserved.
BY JEZY J. GRAY
Making art at the end of the world
PUBLISHER Jim Langdon EDITOR Jezy J. Gray
FOR THE KIDS P26
ASSISTANT EDITOR Blayklee Freed DIGITAL EDITOR Kyra Bruce
BY BLAYKLEE FREED
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Madeline Crawford
Youth global climate strike comes to Tulsa
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Georgia Brooks, Morgan Welch PHOTOGRAPHER Greg Bollinger AD SALES MANAGER Josh Kampf
ENDLESS BUMMER P28
CONTRIBUTORS M. Molly Backes, Cydney Baron, David Blatt,
BY SUSIE CAGLE
September Dawn Bottoms, Jessica Brent, Susie Cagle,
2019 was the warmest summer in modern history
Barry Friedman, Greg Horton, Jeff Huston, Fraser Kastner,
THE ‘JUNGLE BOY’ OF TULSA
Matt Carney, Charles Elmore, Angela Evans, Molly Thrasher The Tulsa Voice’s distribution is audited annually by
Member of
P30
BY M. MOLLY BACKES
Local wildlife advocate offers more than snake selfies
“Jungle Boy” Solofa Halley with his son, Denahi. | SEPTEMBER DAWN BOTTOMS
FOOD & DRINK
NEWS & COMMENTARY 7 WHERE IT COUNTS B Y DAVID BLATT
Why the Census is a really big deal
8 THE BLUE DIVIDE B Y BARRY FRIEDMAN
TPD on TV
10 DROP BY DROP B Y FRASER KASTNER
Tulsans grapple with leaving religion behind
12 SAY IT LOUD B Y JESSICA BRENT
Lowood offers fine dining without the pretense
18 GRAPE EXPECTATIONS BY GREG HORTON Domestic Pinot Noir breaks down stereotypes
There’s something in the water
11 LIFE AFTER BELIEF B Y CYDNEY BARON
16 FIRE AND SPICE BY ANGELA EVANS
All Souls celebrates National Coming Out Day with storytelling
MUSIC 40 ANIMAL INSTINCT B Y JEZY J. GRAY
43 SING IT AGAIN B Y KYRA BRUCE
13 ALL-ACCESS B Y TTV STAFF
Surveying Tulsa sidewalks for a safer city
Avey Tare, down to Earth
MOJOFest carries on the legacy of Tulsa music
TV & FILM
32 TELL IT LIKE IT IS B Y ANGELA EVANS
Spoken word auteur Shane Koyczan on verbal vulnerability
33 FRESH INK, FRESH START B Y BLAYKLEE FREED Tattoo transformations for the formerly-incarcerated
34 GUARD HAVE MERCY B Y MATT CARNEY
1603 S. Boulder Ave. Tulsa, OK 74119 P: 918.585.9924 F: 918.585.9926 PUBLISHER Jim Langdon PRESIDENT Juley Roffers VP COMMUNICATIONS Susie Miller CONTROLLER Mary McKisick DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Amanda Hall RECEPTION Gloria Brooks
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Sizing up the Thunder’s 2019-2020 roster
ETC. 6 EDITOR’SLETTER 36 THEHAPS 42 MUSICLISTINGS 46 ASTROLOGY + SUDOKU 47 THEFUZZ + CROSSWORD
CLIMATE STRIKES P26 JUNGLE BOYZ P30 ANIMAL SOUNDS P40
MAKING ART AT THE END OF THE WORLD P24
44 OVER THE RAINBOW B Y JEFF HUSTON Zellweger outmatches the melodrama of Judy
44 PAIN AND GORY B Y CHARLES ELMORE 4 // CONTENTS
ARTS & CULTURE
The Tulsa Voice is published bi-monthly by
Bliss is a death-metal blast beat of horror filmmaking
LIVING THING
ON THE COVER Artist and chemist Tyler Thrasher PHOTO BY MOLLY THRASHER
October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
CONTENTS // 5
editor’sletter
I
n the new PBS documentary, Octopus: Making Contact, Alaska Pacific University professor David Scheel poses a trippy but meaningful question: “Do octopuses dream?” A clip from the film shows a sleeping female octopus pulsing with color—from ivory white to burnt orange, vivid yellow-green, and back again. During her waking hours, this is a form of camouflage against predators. At rest, it hints at the possibility of a rich inner world we might call the subconscious mind of the mollusk. This issue of The Tulsa Voice is full of stories about our connection to the flora and fauna of our environment. You’ll meet local artist Tyler Thrasher, who blends science and art to document our disappearing biosphere by crystallizing the carcasses of cicadas, beetles, snakes and
scorpions with chemical solutions he cooks up in the back of the STEMcell Science Shop on Admiral Boulevard (pg. 24). Next you’ll meet “Jungle Boy” Solofa Halley, whom you may have seen strutting through downtown Tulsa with a python around his neck. Featuring photography by September Dawn Bottoms and prose by M. Molly Backes, you’ll learn how this local animal advocate went from being fascinated by snakes to becoming one of their biggest defenders, traveling the country to educate others about these misunderstood creatures (pg. 28). You’ll also hear from young people in Tulsa and beyond who are mobilizing for a serious response to the climate crisis threatening all life on earth. We’ve got a dispatch from the Tulsa chapter of the youth-led Global Climate Strike that rocked
Guthrie Green on Sept. 20, along with the complete transcript of 16-year-old environmental warrior Greta Thunberg’s historic speech to the U.N. Climate Action Summit (pg. 26). That’s followed by an illustrated feature from The Guardian’s Susie Cagle, who breaks down the alarming climate data on Summer 2019— the hottest on record—which cooked Pacfic Coast mussels in their shells and pushed our planet even closer to the brink of mass extinction (pg. 28). We’ve also got a Q&A with David Portner (aka Avey Tare), co-founder of the psychedelic art-pop band Animal Collective, whose latest release is an audiovisual exploration of coral reef habitat loss (pg. 40). I talked to the Baltimore native about his connection to nature, climate anxiety and recording on the banks of the Amazon River ahead of
RECYCLE THIS Cardboard, Newspapers and Magazines
his band’s Oct. 7 performance at Cain’s Ballroom. Before we part, consider the dreaming octopus. Whether these cephalopods are actually able to achieve the REM sleep of humans is debatable, but Dr. Scheel is clear about a more primal and urgent connection to these alien creatures of the deep—a lesson we should apply to all living things in this beautiful, bonkers world we’re in danger of losing forever. “You look at them, and you feel like they’re looking back,” he says. “That’s not an illusion. They are looking back.” a
JEZY J. GRAY EDITOR
NOT THAT Costumes and Accessories
Cardboard, newspapers and magazines are perfect for recycling, but costumes and accessories are NOT acceptable for the blue recycling cart.
LEARN MORE AT 6 // NEWS & COMMENTARY
tulsarecycles.com October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
okpolicy
WHERE IT COUNTS Why the Census is a really big deal by DAVID BLATT for OKPOLICY.ORG
THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
S
ept. 17 was Constitution Day, marking the day 232 years ago when the 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia formally adopted the United States Constitution as the supreme law of the land. Among the primary duties assigned to the federal government by Section II of Article 1 of the Constitution is to conduct an “actual Enumeration” of the population “within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years” for the purpose of apportioning representation and taxes. Originally, only free individuals were counted as full persons for the purposes of the Census. “Indians not taxed” were excluded entirely, while enslaved individuals were counted as threefifths of a person. It took until 1860 for Indians to be included in the Census and passage of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery in 1865 for the threefifth provision to be rendered obsolete. A national Census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The next decennial Census will take place in 2020 and preparations are well underway for the big event. A lot rides on a full and accurate Census. These numbers determine the apportionment of congressional seats, the drawing of legislative and congressional districts, and the allocation of billions of dollars of federal funds. Communities count on census data to plan for residents’ needs, including housing, schools, roads and emergency services, while businesses use the data to decide where to make investments and open stores. The upcoming Census was embroiled in controversy over the Trump administration’s efforts to add a question inquiring into residents’ citizenship status, which was widely expected to discourage participation by non-citizen populations. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the inclusion of a citizenship question and the question will not appear on the 2020 Census. Federal law
forbids the Census Bureau from sharing personally identifiable information with other parts of the government. Beginning in March 2020, the public can begin completing the Census online at 2020census.gov, by mail or by phone, leading up to National Census Day on April 1. Throughout June and July, census takers will go door to door to count people who have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. Population data from the Census will be released by Dec. 31, 2020 to allow for Congressional seats to be apportioned and for states to begin drawing new legislative and congressional maps; full Census data will be available in 2021. There are many efforts underway in Oklahoma to ensure a complete Census count in 2020. Gov. Stitt recently hosted a kickoff event for Oklahoma’s statewide Complete Count Committee, an effort involving state, tribal and local governments and many community partners working together to spread awareness about the census. Many cities have created local Complete Count Committees, while the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy is heading the Count Me In coalition, alongside municipal and county governments, the Oklahoma Center for Non-Profits and the Oklahoma Policy Institute. The Census Bureau is continuing to reach out to community organizations to partner in efforts to spread awareness of Census 2020 and encourage full participation. Community organizations are encouraged to sign up to become official Census partners. You can stay up-todate with Census Bureau news by following @uscensusbureau, sharing content through social media channels and signing up for information at census.gov. Over 230 years ago, the authors of the American constitution understood the importance of the Census. The Census is no less important today. a
David Blatt is the former executive director of Oklahoma Policy Institute. NEWS & COMMENTARY // 7
The blue divide TPD on TV
by BARRY FRIEDMAN
I
t’s mandatory when writing about policing in America— especially on incidences of police brutality—to immediately accompany your remarks with the proviso that most cops are professional, conscientious and good public servants. Omit the caveat and you’ll be be accused of turning your back on the men and women in blue and embracing anarchy. So, let’s stipulate that most cops, certainly most locally, would not say, “Fuck your breath” to an unarmed suspect who has been shot, as Tulsa deputy Joseph Byars told a dying Eric Harris in 2015. But while I’m stipulating, let’s change the noun from cops to surgeons and see what happens. Still going through with your cardiac catheterization procedure, you know that while most surgeons in the OR are competent and professional, some are racist goons who won’t operate on black and brown people—or, if they do, don’t follow standard medical procedures. I bring this up because the Tulsa Police Department has once again agreed to be part of A&E’s Live PD, a show which follows police departments of various American cities on their appointed rounds, complete with gritty, if staged, realism. Wasn’t too long ago that TPD distanced itself from such nonsense. Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan declined to renew the department’s contract with the show in 2016 after a season’s run with the Gang Unit because “he felt like it
8 // NEWS & COMMENTARY
WE ARE TWO CITIES, OF TWO MINDS, WHEN IT COMES TO POLICING. was not in the best interest of the department,” a spokesman said at the time. (Tulsa World)
For his part, Mayor G.T. Bynum was also against it before he was for it. “I supported the cancellation of Live PD previously because I felt the presence of a television camera crew served as a distraction for our officers in the field. I have since come to appreciate that our training staff greatly values the footage from the show as it allows them to teach from real life scenarios at our academy. (Tulsa World)
Please. Filming a traffic stop at 41st and Mingo, while area residents gawk and officers try not to stare into the camera, is as much a “real life scenario” as the dinner scenes in Blue Bloods. To see what else may be going on here, and to talk policing in general, I contacted former Tulsa
Police Chief Drew Diamond, who ran the department from 1987-1991; Sgt. Brandon Watkins, a 22-year veteran of the force; and Marq Lewis, founder and community organizer at We The People Oklahoma. Diamond doesn’t like—and has never liked—such shows. “I was the first chief who, when FOX launched COPS in the 80s, refused to allow them to fi lm TPD. I took a lot of heat nationally and locally, but it was the right decision and I would do the same today. Either you are providing police service or entertainment for profit.” Brandon Watkins, meanwhile, says the show is nothing to get worked up over. “This is much ado about nothing in my opinion,” he says. “I’ve been on The First 48 [a similar show, also on A&E] and have had their cameras following me around for the past year. You really forget they’re there and it doesn’t change your behavior any.” Debatable. Have a camera crew follow you around work and
see if it affects your job performance. Moreover, Diamond says if your goal is to have a birds-eye view of a police officer’s life, do it right. “Get a news crew. Get a reporter in the car, and then I would be more inclined to believe they were showing what a police officer goes through.” As for Lewis, he echoes Diamond’s point. “This is not educational,” he says. “It’s exploitive. It’s entertainment for those not in those communities featured.” Lewis’s bigger problem with Live PD is its contract with the city. “It’s the stuff that doesn’t make it to show that I’m concerned about. They have access to confidential information forever.” He’s right. From the Restricted Free Agent (RFA) contract between Big Fish Entertainment (A&E) and the City of Tulsa: “All film, videotape, still photographs and other visual and/or recordings or representations … shall be the sole and exclusive owner of the Material with the right for the full period of copyright … Throughout the universe, to use and re-used, an unlimited number of times … by all means and in all media.”
Throughout the what? Considering Tulsa doesn’t receive a dime from the deal, why do it? Watkins says it will help with morale. “Officers want to be taken seriously. There’s a feeling of not wanting to be seen as fl ippant.” October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
There may be something else involved, though—the refurbishing of a department. [Human Rights Watch] investigations found evidence of racial bias in policing outcomes including stops, arrests, allocation of court debts, and use of force. There is evidence of racial bias in the descriptions of the treatment of Black people by police an in the difference described about policing in primarily black parts of North Tulsa.
That is from a 216-page report by Human Rights Watch, an organization that investigates cases of alleged abuse all over the world, which came to Tulsa to investigate the killing of Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man, by then-Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby in 2016. Its report, ‘Get on the Ground!’: Policing, Poverty, and Racial Inequality in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is an indictment on Tulsa’s inability to address, serve and protect its black citizens. More troubling, HRW discovered we are two cities and of two minds when it comes to policing. Human Rights Watch found that, beyond the statistical disparities of treatment by police of the different races, black people nearly all had personal experiences of abusive policing, ranging from extreme violence towards themselves or family members, to more mundane harmful interactions like unnecessary traffic stops, coercive searches and intimidating encounters. Black leaders reported that fear of police and experience of mistreatment by police are facts of life in their communities.
TPD, not surprisingly, took issue with the report. In a Tulsa World article published Thursday, Deputy Police Chief Jonathan Brooks called it “misguided” to say racial disparities are evidence of bias or profiling without knowing the entire story. Brooks said police must acknowledge and THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
address community concerns by “drilling down” deeper into data to find root causes of disparities.
Mayor Bynum fouled back his response. During a community meeting, after the Shelby verdict, he dismissed those who brought legal action against the city. “Whether hearings are serious fact-finding sessions by city councilors or PR stunts by trial lawyers suing the city, we are going to stay focused doing the hard work of making Tulsa a place of equal opportunity for everyone,” he said. (Tulsa World)
Worse, instead of chastising TPD for this needless death— warning such actions by its officers will no longer be tolerated— the mayor issued a greeting card. “I see how hard our police officers are working to be better every day than the department was the day before,” he said.
(Shelby, by the way, acquitted on manslaughter charges, has since found work in the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office. Terence Crutcher is still dead.) “I do absolutely think we’re missing something about what it means to be African American or Hispanic,” Watkins says. “When I first heard the terms implicit or unconscious bias, I didn’t understand it. … The same is for ‘white privilege.’ I can’t claim to have a perfect handle on the concept, but the explanations I’ve read make sense to me and I’m trying and willing to learn.” Diamond, too, sees and feels the racial disconnect. “You get the kind of policing the community tolerates. If the minority community doesn’t get the style of policing it wants, it doesn’t have the political clout to undo it, so that’s why you get lawsuits and protests,” he says. “If the Tulsa Police Department policed the white community at the same level of disrespect as the black community, it would change pretty quickly. The idea that you have to accept a level
amount of civil rights and human rights indignities in order for me to protect you, then what you’re saying, as a police officer, is ‘I don’t believe my own oath.’” Lewis, an African American, says the goal of understanding, the goal of improvement, is to get closer to the problem. “Many of my allies,” the term he uses for his white friends, “never understood racism until they were with me.” While saying this is not solely the fault of racially biased policing—“The police cannot be psychiatrists. They cannot solve the social, economic problems but they can be a voice within their departments”—he nevertheless wants more than PR fixes. “The basketball things TPD does in the community is not enough.” One of the fascinating aspects on the HRW report is its examination of the mindset of officers. They fall into two groups: warriors and guardians. The warrior intimidates citizens, minorities especially, to unquestionably accede and fear their authority. The guardian, on the other hand, views him or herself as an essential part of the neighborhood— one who protects and serves, not one who demands worship and slavishness. Jenkins says the political pull on cops from both sides misses the point. “The right uses us as props and the left uses us as the boogeyman,” he says. Perception, it seems, is one thing—reality is another, and public relations yet a third. From the report: Tulsa Police Department’s pattern of aggressive stops for minor or non-existent violations, coerced consent to search, enforcement of failure-to-pay and other low-level warrants, and elevation of force levels as outlined above, demonstrates that this mindset is prevalent.
TULSA’S ONLY MODERN JAZZ CLUB DuetJazz.com
UPCOMING SHOWS
downstairs
Collective Improv with Clark Gibson October 2
John Scofield October 3
sold out
Chuscales, Spanish Flamenco October 4
Sofia Viola, Argentinian Folk October 5
Rick Cope and the Jazz Standard Band October 9
Grammy Nominated October 10
Mezclave October 11
BRD Trio October 12
Tim Shadley Trio October 16
Shelby Eicher October 17
Grady Nichols October 18
But it makes great television. a
For complete citations, visit the hyperlinked version of this article at thetulsavoice.com. NEWS & COMMENTARY // 9
environment
Drop by drop There’s something in the water by FRASER KASTNER
N
early 30 million Americans get their drinking water from systems that violated the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule from Jan. 2015 to March 2018, according to an analysis of EPA data. The Sept. 2018 report from the National Resource Defense Council noted the vast majority of these were monitoring and reporting violations, meaning officials failed to adequately monitor their water and report problems to the government and consumers. Of that 30 million, 5.5 million received water from systems that exceeded the EPA’s Lead Action Level, past which additional steps are mandated to lower lead levels. This crisis of infrastructure has struck Tulsa County. Four Tulsa County water systems serving nearly 60,000 people violated the Lead and Copper Rule between Jan. 2015 and Oct. 2018. Jenks Public Works Authority, Bixby Public Works Authority, Shadow Valley Mobile Home Park in Bixby and Sleepy Valley Mobile Home Park in Owasso all committed Lead and Copper Rule monitoring and reporting violations between these years. The Shadow Valley and Sleepy Valley water systems have since been deactivated. Water sanitation and management is a complicated process. In Tulsa, for example, water is drawn from local lakes: Lake Spavinaw, Lake Eucha and Lake Oolagah. The water is then processed either at the Mohawk or A.B. Jewell water treatment plants. Next, it’s treated through a sequence of processes. Large debris is fi ltered out first, followed by a process known as flocculation where aluminum chlorohydrate and a cationic polymer are used to coagulate impurities into larger chunks, which are then removed.
10 // NEWS & COMMENTARY
Four Tulsa County water systems serving nearly than 60,000 people violated the Lead and Copper Rule between Jan. 2015 and Oct. 2018.
The water is then fed through a fi ltration system composed of sand and granulated activated carbon to remove bad tastes and smells. Fluoride is added to protect against tooth decay, as well as a small amount of chlorine to kill any bacteria that may have wiggled through the treatment process. After these additions, the water is deposited in subterranean storage tanks called clearwells, where sodium hydroxide is added to manage corrosion of pipes. Ammonia is added as it leaves the treatment plant in a process called chloramination where ammonia binds to the chlorine in the water, preventing dangerous byproducts from forming while in the distribution system. Corrosion management is a major issue for many municipalities. Many cities were built with lead water pipes. If a city’s water is not monitored very carefully, these pipes can corrode and taint drinking water. The effects of this are severe and far-reaching. In adults, exposure to lead can result in high blood pressure, memory problems, headaches, reduced sperm count, miscarriages,
stillbirths and premature births. Children exposed to lead poisoning can suffer from developmental delays, difficulty learning, hearing loss and seizures. Fortunately, the City of Tulsa does not have any lead water mains, meaning pipes carrying water from treatment plants to neighborhoods are not in danger of leaching lead into drinking water. City service lines, smaller pipes that carry water from the main to a home’s water meter, and private service lines, which carry water from the meter to your tap, may still contain lead. Repair crews have been replacing lead city service lines since the 1980s, but the City acknowledges “it is difficult to determine the remaining number of lead service lines in our water system.” Further, private service lines are the responsibility of the property owner. Lead and copper are hardly the only things to be concerned about in our drinking water. Last year, the City of Tulsa conducted tests on more than 32,000 water samples, monitoring the presence of nearly 30 possible contaminants from a variety of sources. While Tulsa has been lucky
enough to avoid serious contamination, not all of Tulsa County has been so fortunate. In 2013, Broken Arrow Municipal Authority exceeded safety standards for Coliform bacteria, which is present in human and animal feces. Jenks Public Works Authority has had five Coliform violations since 2012, with the most recent being in 2015. Since 2014, Collinsville has exceeded acceptable Haloacetic Acids levels, byproducts of water sanitation processes, 11 times. The list goes on. Also of concern is the Trump administration’s repeal of the Waters of the United States rule, a mandate passed by the Obama administration expanding the legal definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. Repealing the rule means farms and agribusinesses near smaller bodies of water will have fewer restrictions concerning farming techniques and crops, and will no longer require EPA permits for the use of potentially harmful pesticides and fertilizers. These chemicals do not simply go away. Rather, they enter the water supply and make clean drinking water that much harder to attain, costing local municipalities more money. Lastly, one of the documented effects of climate change on our region is greater aridity and more drought. According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, when drought affects a region “the remaining water can have higher concentrations of chemicals and solid particles, lower dissolved oxygen levels, and a higher density of germs that cause infectious diseases.” Keeping our water clean is already difficult enough. Aging infrastructure, deregulation and climate change will only make safe drinking water harder to come by in the coming years. a October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
onfaith
LIVE ON STAGE!
Rhonda Dorle founded the Tulsa chapter of the Recovering from Religion support group in 2012. GREG BOLLINGER
LIFE AFTER BELIEF Tulsans grapple with leaving religion behind
THEY’VE BEEN MUSLIM, CATHOLIC, Jehovah’s Witness and Baptist—now they’re all recovering from religion. “If you’re one of the many people who have determined that religion no longer has a place in their life, but are still dealing with the after-effects in some way or another, Recovering From Religion may be the right spot for you,” said Rhonda Dorle, organizer of the Tulsa chapter. Dorle understands the struggle of “coming out” as a non-believer, especially in the Bible Belt. Seeking a community of like-minded people, she found her way into multiple Atheist groups in the Tulsa area. In one, Dorle found herself leading a book club review of The God Virus by Dr. Darrel Ray, founder of Recovering from Religion. Dorle spoke to her club, and the seed for a local chapter of RFR was planted. By the summer of 2012, it was up and running. “The primary focus of Recovering From Religion is to provide ongoing and personal support to individuals as they let go of their religious beliefs. This transitional period is an ongoing process that can result in a range of emotions, as well as a ripple effect of consequences throughout an individual’s life,” she said. “RFR is made up of people who have all given religion our best shot, but we can’t bring ourselves to accept the unacceptable any longer. We are recovering from every imaginable religion: Baptists, Mormons, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindus, Muslims, Lutherans, Pentecostals, evangelicals, and many more.” She said everyone comes with their own set of questions, concerns and experiences. “We had one young man join that is Christian. He came in with a stack of church bulletins and a lot of questions. THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
He said, ‘With everything going on in the world—I’m Christian, but the people I know aren’t the type of Christian that I want to be,’” she said. “He had questions and wanted to ask us what we believe.” She said this person and many others just want a safe place to ask questions. “They say when they go to their church, they’re told ‘Stop questioning. You have to have faith.’ But they’re looking around the world, and the way they’ve been told to believe is not being reflected by the Christian individuals surrounding them. So we give them a place to talk about it.” Dorle said she was honored to watch the recovery of another member whose transition has been more than spiritual. “Her journey has been leaving religion and realizing who she is. … The issues she was hiding from childhood, feeling like ‘I’m a woman trapped in this body and nobody understands and I’m too afraid to talk about it because my religion says I shouldn’t.’ She decided a few months later to come out as herself and she’s been so happy. She’s an independent, confident woman.” For those considering attending, Dorle said, “Know that you won’t be judged. Everybody is going to be respectful of whatever you want to talk about. If you just want to sit and listen, that’s fine, too. Know that you’re surrounded by individuals who have similar stories or are going through the same situation and understand.” —CYDNEY BARON
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NEVER ALONE:
How Spiritual Ideas Work in Us Monday, Oct 7th at 7 pm 3620 S Lewis Ave.
Hosted by First and Sixth Churches of Christ, Scientist christiansciencetulsa.com/lecture
Tulsa’s independent and non-profit art-house theatre, showing independent, foreign, and documentary films.
RECOVERING FROM RELIGION Gypsy Coffee House, 303 N. MLK Jr. Blvd. Last Sunday of every month, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. NEWS & COMMENTARY // 11
lgbtq+
Bonita James (left) and Norm Demoss are two of the friendly faces members of the LGBTQ+ community can expect at All Souls Coming Out Stories on Oct. 9. | GREG BOLLINGER
Say it loud All Souls celebrates National Coming Out Day with storytelling by JESSICA BRENT
O
n Oct. 11, we celebrate National Coming Out Day, also known as the day when all your out gay friends jokingly post on social media that, surprise, they are gay! But the day serves a larger purpose in the ongoing fight for equal rights and protections. The Human Rights Campaign explains the reason for the season this way: “One out of every two Americans has someone close to them who is gay or lesbian. For transgender people, that number is only one in 10 … When people know someone who is LGBTQ, they are far more likely to support equality under the law.” Even if your friends’ posts about National Coming Out Day seem lighthearted, their journey to coming out was probably bumpy at best. Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community has a two-part coming out story. First, there is coming out to yourself. This is often a slow journey of self discovery, not 12 // NEWS & COMMENTARY
unlike the putting together of a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle with no picture for reference and pieces hidden across many years. Clues may be found in reruns of Roseanne, close readings of Fried Green Tomatoes and early Ani DiFranco albums, but it can take a long time for the full picture to come into focus. Or maybe that’s just me. Then, there is coming out to people close to you. Saying it out loud is the part where you risk rejection. No one likes this part. In movies, this is a difficult conversation over the dinner table. In real life, it’s family members finding out before you’re ready. It’s you letting them find out because you’re not ready or equipped to have the difficult conversation. It’s family members shutting down or shutting you out. And it’s you pretending not to care. Or maybe that’s just me. All Souls Unitarian Church will hold space for these deeply personal coming out stories on Oct. 9. Members of the LGBTQ+
community are invited to share their stories of coming out, whether they are stories of coming out in years past or they are stories of coming out in real time. The event is free and open to the public, but it is not a Moth Radio Hour-type spectator event. “It is intended for members of the LGBTQ+ community to connect with each other,” Bonita James says. “It will be in an intimate setting.” James, director of communications at All Souls, expects the stories will cover the gamut of human experiences. So often, coming out stories are fraught with painful rejection, estrangement and wounds that don’t heal. But they are also stories about discovery, falling in love and finding acceptance within a community. In planning the event, the fi rst of its kind at All Souls, James was forced to reckon with her own coming out process. Her story, she thought, was fairly anticlimactic. Her parents were
accepting when she came out to them. She fell in love and was recently married. Everything was great. But as she reflected on those earlier years, before she came out, she realized she didn’t always have it so good. She remembered being outed by classmates before she had even acknowledged to herself that she was gay. For James, putting the puzzle together was the most painful part of coming out. “It’s a moment of bravery knowing I’m sharing my story,” James says. National Coming Out Day honors the bravery of LGBTQ+ people who have come out, those still in the process of coming out, and the allies who stand with them. a
COMING OUT STORIES All Souls Unitarian Church 2952 S. Peoria Ave. 7–8:30 p.m. Free and open to LGBTQ+ community October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
streetwise
1326 E 3rd St | 918-592-3382 gardendeva.com
Face A Face Trunk Show Nov 1st & 2nd 2020 Utica Square | 918-743-6478 hicksbrunson.com
Advocates of all abilities take to the streets during the 2018 Access Tulsa event. | JARED BUSWELL
ALL-ACCESS Surveying Tulsa sidewalks for a safer city
IT WASN’T UNTIL SHE HAD CHILDREN THAT Rabyne Eckstein realized something wasn’t right with Tulsa streets. Pushing her kids in their stroller along her familiar jogging route drew the city’s access inequality into sharp relief. “I discovered how incomplete our sidewalks really were. … [They] would just end in grass, or there wouldn’t be a curb cut, and sometimes there was mud so thick on top of the sidewalk itself that the wheels would get stuck,” she said. “Trying to access Tulsa with my kids and a stroller made me realize how inaccessible our city could be for a person with a disability or a physical challenge.” The experience pushed Eckstein to reach out to Tulsans who too often struggle to access the city in ways many take for granted. “I have working legs and arms and I was able to physically get around those obstacles where other people might not have been able to,” she said. “So obstacles for me were just an inconvenience with my kids, but for other people, that’s not the case.” For people with physical challenges, inaccessibility is more than an inconvenience—it’s a matter of life and death. “If they roll off an incomplete curb cut into traffic, they could die,” Eckstein said. “If they’re blocked by a sign, like a construction sign, it could keep them from getting their prescription or groceries or catching the bus to get to work.” She started Access Tulsa as an awareness-raising program. The organization coordinates meet-ups during which groups THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
take to Tulsa’s sidewalks to survey accessibility. “Basically we do a street view, like a Google street view, on the sidewalks and then we share that data with the city to help them improve accessibility,” Eckstein said. This year’s event takes place on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. It starts at 2439 E. 11th Street, formerly home to Fuel 66. “I chose this year’s route because it is near the kind of the main hub of where all the services for people with physical challenges,” Eckstein said. “You have the Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges, the Murdock Villa, which is a home for people with physical challenges, all right there. And yet that corner, at 11th and Utica, all four of those corners aren’t even accessible.” Access Tulsa has already changed the landscape of the city. In 2014, they fought to have sidewalks installed on both sides of Riverside Drive near the Gathering Place. Just last year, their event at Utica Square resulted in new sidewalks and curbs. Beyond building awareness around the city’s infrastructure inequities, a big part of the project is to make sure people have fun. “A lot of people with physical challenges are kind of isolated,” Eckstein said. “I wanted to … get people with and without physical challenges together to get them out to have fun and go through the city … to be around other people and be a part of something that definitely has an impact, a huge impact, for people with individual challenges to help them gain access to our city.” —TTV STAFF
M E N S W E A R
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TULSA SMALL BUSINESS SUMMIT Presented by
Featuring a keynote presentation from
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Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center 6808 S. 107th E. Ave. | Tulsa, OK 74133
Learn more and purchase tickets at tulsasbc.com/summit
YOUR PARTNER IN PROSPERITY
NEWS & COMMENTARY // 13
Oklahoma Tribes Are
COMMITTED to Oklahoma Schools
AS A VITAL PART OF THIS STATE, NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES ARE COMMITTED TO BUILDING THE BEST POSSIBLE EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR ALL OKLAHOMANS. Oklahoma is home to these tribal nations, so their commitment to supporting education here is second to none. Since 2006, tribal nations have generated over $1.3 billion to support Oklahoma schools. But they do even more every day, working quietly to help meet the needs of teachers, principals and students in their local communities.
“We’ve all suffered in this state in regard to funding. We’ve relied on the tribes so much more the past few years. We got almost $10,000 in school supplies this year.” JERRY McCORMICK Superintendent, Anadarko Public Schools
“They’re not just donating backpacks and school supplies just to tribal members, it’s all the children that need a helping hand.” TROY EVERETT Vice President, Canton Chamber of Commerce
“Transforming higher education is one thing, but transforming an individual student’s life is something else, and there could just not be more valuable partners for higher ed than our tribal partners.” MARTHA BURGER President, Oklahoma City University
UnitedForOklahoma.com
Oklahoma Tribes Are
INVESTED in Oklahoma Schools
in Contributions to Oklahoma Education
in ADDITIONAL, VOLUNTARY
Through Exclusivity Fees in 2017 Alone—
CONTRIBUTIONS to Oklahoma
ENOUGH TO FUND THE COMPLETE
Education Programs, Schools
SALARIES OF 2,194 TEACHERS, MORE
and Scholarships in 2017
THAN 4 IN EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT*
“We can look across the state and see towns that have lost their schools and eventually that causes the erosion of that community. Allowing the partnerships we share with the Kiowa Tribe to help our students flourish, from athletics to academics ... it allows our school to stay strong.” RANDY TURNEY Principal, Carnegie Middle School
“I was Gov. Fallin’s Secretary of Education. Every time there was a large education initiative, the tribes were there saying, ‘how can we help?’” NATALIE SHIRLEY President and CEO, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma Secretary of Education (2015-2018)
* Calculation based upon current average Oklahoma teacher compensation of $53,600 SOURCES: Oklahoma State Department of Education and National Education Association
Committed to mutual respect, shared strength and productive partnerships that benefit every Oklahoman.
citybites
Fire and spice
Lowood offers fine dining without the pretense by ANGELA EVANS
T
he fire crackles and hisses as a wave of warmth and an incense of smoky meats waft over guests sitting at the chef’s table surrounding the open kitchen at Lowood, the latest addition to the East Village restaurant scene. Where most kitchens are considered “back of house,” at Lowood, it’s front and center. Executive chef Ian Van Anglen has given life to many kitchens and menus during his long stint in Tulsa, and he’s most recently responsible for curating the most exciting bar menu in town over at Hodge’s Bend. The menu and the experience at Lowood are a culmination of his work over the years. “We wanted to bring big city fine dining like you see in New York, Chicago, or LA, but totally without the pretention,” Van Anglen said. “People don’t need to be scared of it and we are super down-to-Earth. And if you have a question, just ask your server because we have an incredibly smart and well-versed staff.” The kitchen is fi lled with utilitarian, almost steampunk-inspired implements. An old school, manual meat slicer with a giant hunk of cured meat stands at the ready at the corner of the chef’s table. An industrial pasta extruder lies in wait for the next day’s fresh pastas. But it’s the Argentine wood-fired grill that creates all the drama. The chefs manipulate the two aluminum crankwheels above the levitating grill fi lled with meat. This allows the chefs to adjust the height of the cooking surface with the ever-changing mood of the fire below. It allows the ultimate in heat control: the woodfire crackles and spits flames as dissipating grease sprinkle upon hissing flames below.
16 // FOOD & DRINK
Lowood’s detailed yet playful approach to New American cuisine sets them apart from the pack. GREG BOLLINGER
All the charisma isn’t restricted to the kitchen. Four certified sommeliers are on staff, and on any given night, as many as two will be roaming the floor, cradling bottles like precious cargo as they float from table to table. The wellrounded wine list reflects the welltuned eye, a treat to oenophiles and wine-curious types alike. The mood at Lowood is jovial. Guests along the 20-seat chef’s table interact with one another, a somewhat unusual phenomenon given Oklahoman’s seeming distaste for shared dining tabletops. It almost has a colloquial diner feel, where kitchen staff and wait staff alike chat up guests seated at the bar. The antique space, which was formerly a terrazzo tile manufacturer and showroom, is still brimming with deco charm. Simple banquettes with table-
top seating line the outer walls, framing a large dining space with rugged wooden tables. The unfi nished elements add a coziness, a non-pretentious air, which gives breath to Lowood’s approach to dining. If the kitchen is the pounding, utilitarian heart of Lowood, the menu is its philosophical soul. Created by a guy who “worked with a lot of Italian chefs and really likes pasta,” the Lowood menu boasts intriguing selections from beginning to end. And if you want to start the meal with a bang, you can’t overlook the Black Arancini. “We’ve created a monster with that,” Van Anglen said. “I have always found arancini super boring, so I wanted to do something that was really different.” Van Anglen’s black arancini is a dramatic and much-needed
departure from arancini ancestors. The dish arrives with four matte black orbs atop a lagoon of grass-hued Italian verde. Charcoal activated house-made rye breadcrumbs create the mantle, while the interior is bubbling with molten compound shrimp scampi butter. The rice is infused with squid ink, giving it an equally goth-like appearance with a delicate bite, while the verde sauce brings a welcome brightness. As I savor my arancini, Van Anglen pulls a truffle larger than a softball out of a bag, marveling at its size and the possibilities. Lowood regularly has truffles flown in from Italy, to ensure that they are always on the menu. And nowhere do they shine more than on the luxurious gnocchi with fontina cream sauce. Gnocchi is one of Van Anglen’s specialties, and these are extraordinary. Fresh pasta options will change regularly, but the playful bucatini, and reginette—pasta shaped like diminutive lasagna noodles—really slurps up the sauce. Since Lowood is open until 11 p.m., they will have late-night pasta specials. After 9 p.m., folks can get a steamy bowl of fresh bucatini or reginette for only $8. Lowood’s detailed yet playful approach to New American cuisine is sure to become a regular haunt for those want a satisfying, inventive meal but without all the pomp and circumstance. Lowood is open Monday through Saturday 5 p.m.–11 p.m. and is still putting together its bar menu, which will be especially targeted to those who work in the industry. “Now, when someone gets off work late, they know they can come somewhere and enjoy a nice, handmade pasta, real ingredients and a nice glass of wine without breaking the bank,” Van Anglen said. a October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
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FOOD & DRINK // 17
downthehatch
Grape expectations Domestic Pinot Noir breaks down stereotypes by GREG HORTON
T
here’s a scene early in the 2004 fi lm Sideways, where its wine snob protagonist is dismayed at a question posed by his clueless sidekick about a single-vineyard, 100 percent Pinot Noir: “How come it’s white?” “Oh, Jesus. Don’t ask questions like that up in wine country,” he responds. “They’ll think you’re some kind of dumbshit.” Fourteen years after the release of the fi lm that famously spiked sales of Pinot Noir, its white variation is still a bit of an odd concept for many consumers— but not for Barnaby Tuttle, owner and winemaker at Portland’s Teutonic Wine Company. “After Riesling, Pinot Noir is my favorite white wine,” he said. According to Tuttle, people have expectations related to wine that have nothing to do with how good it tastes. “I just want wine to taste good,” Tuttle said. “So when I made Seafoam White, I left Pinot Noir off the label.” Available by the glass at Oren, Seafoam is in fact a white Pinot Noir. That’s not as exotic as it sounds; it simply requires bleeding off the juice before contact with the skins tints the juice red. The result is an acidic, dry wine with all the funkiness we love in Pinot Noir. White Pinot Noir, which chills nicely in the late summer and early fall, has more body than lighter whites. “I wanted a Muscadet-style wine that works with oysters and seafood,” Tuttle said. “Teutonic is an urban winery, so it sort of defies some ideas about what wine ought to be. We make wine that pairs with whatever food comes into Portland, and we’re not really worried about the rules about what a wine is supposed to be.” The Pear Blossom Vineyard is in the Columbia Gorge American Viticultural Area (AVA) on the 18 // FOOD & DRINK
Wonderwall from Field Recordings is available by the glass at The Tavern. | GREG BOLLINGER
southern edge of Washington, and Tuttle thinks it’s the best place in Washington to grow Pinot Noir. “The Willamette Valley people won’t like me saying this, but it rivals the Pinot Noir from their Oregon AVAs,” Tuttle said. Tuttle makes wines from the Willamette Valley, too, including the Crow Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir, a much more traditional approach to Pinot, but one that still takes a little chill very well— an important attribute in Oklahoma’s late summer heat. For the perfect transition from summer to fall, Teutonic also makes the Laurel Vineyard Rosé of Pinot Noir, another Willamette Valley wine. Kitchen 27 at the Philbrook Museum of Art is pouring Raptor Ridge Pinot, a long-time favorite among Oklahoma wine drinkers. Scott and Annie Schull started the
Newberg, Oregon winery in 1995, and they’ve been regular visitors to Oklahoma over the years, especially around events like the Philbrook Wine Experience and Oklahoma Wine Forum. The Barrel Select from Raptor Ridge is a blend of wine from nearly all the vineyards Raptor Ridge works with. “Scott Schull tastes through 14 or 15 different barrels throughout the aging process, and chooses the wines that are presenting best young. Those go into the Barrel Select blend,” said Alex Kroblin, co-owner and found of Thirst Wine Merchants. This is also the last year when Raptor Ridge’s Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir will be available. The winery has stopped working with the vineyard, but Kroblin said the new Temperance Hill Vineyard Pinot, which is taking the place of the Shea, is already in the state. The certified organic vineyard
gives conscientious wine drinkers another stellar option. For the first time ever, Elk Cove has released their Clay Court Vineyard Pinot Noir in Oklahoma. Adam Campbell’s Oregon wines have been mainstays on wine lists in the state for a long time, and we’ve had access to a couple of his single vineyard selections, so the addition of the Clay Court is a chance to try one more of Campbell’s big, beautiful Chehalem Mountains Pinot. On the lighter side, The French Hen has Solena Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley on their by-the-glass list. Still very much an Old World style, the Solena has bright red fruit, cola and anise in a light-bodied Pinot that works best with a slight chill. The acid helps it stand up to nearly any food pairing in spite of the light body. California Pinot Noir, which as a rule is typically fruitier than the Pinot from their northern neighbors, is better suited to wine drinkers who like a more New World-style wine: higher alcohol, richer fruit, and a rounder body. A pleasant exception to that amped up style is the Lola Russian River Pinot Noir, and like the Teutonic, it’s by the glass at Oren. Seth Cripe’s style at Lola is more restrained, but still fruit-forward, so the Russian River Pinot is full of red fruit flavors, but it’s tempered by earth, tea and cedar. Wonderwall from Field Recordings is available by the glass at The Tavern, and it’s a straightforward California Pinot Noir. The Paso Robles fruit is dense with fig, plum and cherry, but the signature Pinot cola and tea notes are also present. It’s an easy drinking wine that pairs well with food or works well on the patio. Like all good Pinot, it takes a chill well, too. a October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
MojoPoster(18x24) - Updated 9.12.19.pdf 1 9/12/2019 3:52:30 AM
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BLUE DOME DISTRICT ◼ 114 S ELGIN FOOD & DRINK // 19
Each of Tulsa’s breweries has a story...
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October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
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FOOD & DRINK // 21
Not just an ordinary bar
TELL US WHAT YOU’RE DOING So we can tell everyone else Send all your event and music listings to voices@langdonpublishing.com
Join us for the tastiest Chicken & Waffles in Tulsa! 18 East M. B. Brady St. 918-588-2469 cazschowhouse.com
Everyone is Welcome. Everyone is Creative.
21 E M.B. Brady St 918-585-8587
Hardesty Center Tulsa Arts District
FIRST
TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP
FRIDAY
woodyguthriecenter.org
FIRST FRIDAY HOURS /// 6-9PM
ORDINARY ELEPHANT & K.C. CLIFFORD SATURDAY, OCT. 5 • 7pm
SIHASIN SUNDAY, OCT. 6 • 7pm
ARCHER STUDIOS
109 N. MLK, JR. BLVD. E.
SCOTT MULVAHILL FRIDAY, OCT. 12 • 6:30pm address 102 EAST BRADY STREET, TULSA, OK
303 N. MAIN ST.
ROY BOOK BINDER SATURDAY, OCT. 26 • 7pm
Join us at both our Archer and Cameron Studio locations for open studios, group exhibitions, pop up performances and more.
74103
Free and open to all.
phone 918.574.2710
email INFO@WOODYGUTHRIECENTER.ORG 22 // TULSA ARTS DISTRICT GUIDE
CAMERON STUDIOS
@TulsaArtistFellowship #TulsaArtistFellowship
October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
Open Tues. - Sat. 11am - 7pm 217 E. Archer Historic tulsa Arts District (918) 619-6353
Arrive Early. Stay Late. The Tulsa Arts District is home to retail and service shops, restaurants, bars, clubs, galleries, museums, parks, private businesses, residences and historic music venues. Plan to arrive early and stay late in the Tulsa Arts District! Featuring First Friday Art Crawl
facebook.com/TulsaArtsDistrict @TulArtsDist
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THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
TULSA ARTS DISTRICT GUIDE // 23
LIVING CRYSTALLIZED SNAKE SKELETON BY ARTIST TYLER THRASHER.
THING
24 // FEATURED
MAKING ART AT THE END OF THE WORLD BY JEZY J. GRAY PHOTOS BY MOLLY THRASHER SINCE 1970, THE NUMBER OF BIRDS in North American skies has plummeted by nearly 3 billion. The findings published last month in the journal Science were dubbed a “full-blown crisis” by the National Audubon Society, but the numbers closer to the ground are just as disturbing. With researchers sounding the alarm of an impending “insect apocalypse,” monarch butterfly populations—for whom Oklahoma is a crucial migration path—have dropped by 90 percent over the last two decades due to habitat loss. This is life in the anthropocene. That’s the million-dollar word scientists use to describe our current geological age of human activity. As climate predictions grow grimmer, promising far-reaching and unimaginable consequences across the planet, the quiet disappearance of the world’s flora and fauna serves as an eerie harbinger of a slow-motion mass extinction. Tyler Thrasher’s art lives within that lopsided relationship between humans and the environment, but his preservation instinct looks a bit different than most conservationists. The 26-year-old artist and chemist documents a biosphere in decline through organic, crystalline sculptures that are both delicate and imposing—natural and otherworldly. Put more bluntly, he’s known in Tulsa and beyond as “the guy who crystallizes dead shit.” The carcasses of rhinoceros beetles, cicadas, snakes, scorpions, shoreline crabs and more litter Thrasher’s custom-built studio in the back of his longtime friends’ STEMcell Science Shop on Admiral Boulevard. He’s been working here as the retail store’s “scientist in residence” since last October, when the shop outgrew its space in The Boxyard and moved to the Kendall Whittier neighborhood. Vats of chemical solutions line the west wall of his fully-functional lab: some with submerged corpses of insects sprouting crystalline growths, others opaque with mystery sludge caused by various air-to-solution reactions. “I’ll prepare a solution and soak the insect. Then as the water evaporates and the whole thing cools down, those ions can slow down enough to start re-forming those October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
bonds. And those bonds are what start to make the base of the crystalline structure,” Thrasher explains. “My job is to put, say, a cicada between those micro-crystals. And so when they fall onto the cicada and attach to it, they’ll start to form these electrical currents that pull in more molecules and enhance that crystal structure.” Thrasher pulls out a finished work: a pastel orange-pink crab covered in shimmering off-white crystals. It looks like a creature from a dream, ghostly and beautiful. But where others might see subconscious fantasies of another world, Thrasher sees a science project. “The crabs are a lot of fun because they have all these joints and crevasses where crystals can get in and nucleate,” he says. A broad grin stretching across his face, Thrasher’s joy in the process is palpable and infectious, bringing his high-altitude scientific ambitions down to earth where they can be appreciated as tangible objects of beauty and wonder. “I get [specimens] from all over. When it’s cicada season, my wife and I will go climb trees and get the little cicada shells, or I find them dead on the sidewalk before the ants get to them. I work with entomologists that send me their old collections. I’ve had people send me their old drawers and they’re like, ‘Here. I’m doing nothing with these dead bugs.’ People send me skulls and dead bugs all the time,” he says with a laugh. “They just kind of, like, come to me.” Thrasher trades the sparkling dream crab for a jet-black scorpion encrusted in crystal clusters, its barbed tail curved in striking position, along with a coating of what looks like a fine gray dust. “This is one of my favorite crystals: iron ammonium sulfate. The iron will oxidize, so you’ll get these crusty impurities that I enjoy, because it looks more like a found object than this clean, pristine lab-grown thing.” This tension between the immaculate and the imperfect, between chaos and control, is part of what makes Thrasher tick. On this front, his work strikes a delicate balance. “I can take these insects and submerge them, and when I pull them out, I have no idea—I mean, I can get pretty close and assume what’s happening in the vats—but sometimes it’s almost completely unpredictable: how large the crystals are, how many there are, what the piece looks like,” he says. “I can put five pieces in the same vat and they’ll all come out a little different. So there’s definitely a sweet spot between predictable controlled science and art, where you just let it go and enjoy the outcome.”
Thrasher’s curiosity was sparked while earning his BFA in computer animation at Missouri State University—“which I don’t use at all,” he’s quick to point out. In his free time, he taught himself about science and the environment during frequent caving and hiking excursions throughout the Show-Me State, which boasts 6,300 recorded caves and counting. THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
The labyrinthine rock formations of our neighbors to the east are where Thrasher first felt the pull of the natural world. His maiden underground excursion to Skylight Cave, a submerged “lava tube” about three hours east of Tulsa, lit the spark that would carry him to dunk his first cicada in a bath of copper sulfate a half-decade later. “The whole time I was down there, I was thinking, ‘How many people have been in this cave? How far back does it go?’ We saw a tunnel that had collapsed and broken down, and the guide said this part hasn’t been mapped because no one could get past this breakdown. And I’m thinking, this cave could go on for five more miles and no one knows it!’” That spirit of exploration, of re-mapping the boundaries of what’s possible in science and art, drives Thrasher’s work to this day. He points to a 16-foot-long articulated python skeleton which will be submerged in a custom-built vat to produce the largest work of his career. After that, he hopes to create the world’s first opalized insect, a project currently in its developmental stages. Thrasher retrieves a specimen jar containing a submerged cicada, sporting patches of the hydrated amorphous form of silica, lending a subtle, psychedelic sheen to the prehistoric bug. “I’m finding my approach towards the natural world has drastically changed— from college, when I seemingly didn’t know to give a shit,” he says. “I started getting into this work and learning more about insects. I’m not an entomologist at all. Had no prior knowledge of insects. But I knew I wanted to work with them in this series. So I found myself learning about their cycles and their importance.” Triggering that same wonder and curiosity about the natural environment, especially for younger generations, is a big part of Thrasher’s goal as an artist. “Looking at the world, and how we’re severely fucking it up—I keep thinking of all these kids. They come in here, and they see art and chemistry and science together. They see something they may have never seen before,” he says. “It sparks their curiosity, and then they’ll ask me, ‘Do you just do this for fun?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ And then it kind of shows that science is something that is accessible. You can do crazy exciting things with it. Which I think is a segue for young curious minds and kids to care about science—to care about insects.” As we surrender more and more of our natural world to the jaws of the climate crisis, Thrasher’s crystallized creepy-crawlies take on a new shade of reverence—a sort of elegy for a vanishing ecosystem, urging us to slow down, observe the environment around us, and consider our place within it. “These are things most people kind of just trot right over,” he says, gesturing to the specimens scattered throughout his workspace. “I want to pull this stuff out and show people, ‘Look how fucking cool the world is!’” a
ABOVE: “WHEN IT’S CICADA SEASON, MY WIFE AND I WILL GO CLIMB TREES AND GET [THEIR] SHELLS.” BELOW: TYLER THRASHER AT STEM CELL SCIENCE SHOP ON ADMIRAL BOULEVARD. FEATURED // 25
HUNDREDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE TURNED OUT FOR THE GLOBAL CLIMATE STRIKE AT GUTHRIE GREEN ON SEPT. 20. PHOTO BY KYRA BRUCE
FOR THE KIDS YOUTH GLOBAL CLIMATE STRIKE COMES TO TULSA • BY BLAYKLEE FREED
“CHANGE IS COMING— WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.” That was 16-year-old Greta Thunberg’s message to world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York on Sept. 23. The Swedish activist—who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on a twoweek voyage to deliver her urgent plea— inspired global climate strikes on Sept. 20, led mostly by young people, with more than 4 million participants worldwide. In Tulsa, hundreds gathered in the drizzle at Guthrie Green in conjunction with the strike. Youth easily outnumbered adults 2:1. Gathered beneath the pavilion on the north end of the park, advocates took turns speaking, delivering an urgent unified message: Combating climate change is a battle for survival, and young people will bear the brunt of its impact. “It just seems like it’s just progressively getting worse ... the government doesn’t seem like they’re wanting to listen to us right now,” said Booker T. Washing26 // FEATURED
ton High School freshman Alex. “I hope in the future they listen to the protest and actual science.” Many striking students shared this hope. Fellow BTW student Mikah had climate data pulled up on her phone, ready to share “facts on facts on facts” with whoever needed to hear. “Personally I think [lawmakers] should speak more about the facts … sooner or later we’re all just going to die out if they don’t change,” she said. Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences student Gavin agreed that politicians are not doing enough to address the crisis, taking special aim at those actively working against progress. “I went to DC recently and met with our Sen. Jim Inhofe and he has a whole book called Global Warming: America’s Biggest Hoax,” Gavin said. “He’s just so socially disconnected and doesn’t talk to anyone and just stays in his dim-lit office and has been there the past 50 years doing nothing.” Kids are concerned about the planet they’ll inherit, but also about the planet they are leaving to future generations. “I
have a little brother, and what’s going to happen when he gets older?” a student named Shatayia said. “Is he going to be able to do the stuff that I used to do when I was little?” Judy, who heads the Booker T. Washington environmental club with fellow student Leah, said the climate crisis forces her to balance future life plans with the prospect of environmental catastrophe. “It’s upsetting because you think like if I want to have kids or whatever, particularly you think about the world they’re going to live in … How’s [climate change] going to affect that?” Leah said it’s the government’s job “to set regulations for big companies of how much they can pollute.” But despite the fact that 100 companies are responsible for 71 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, Judy pointed out that individual choices, like cutting back on waste, can make a difference. “[Using] reusable water bottles, for sure,” she said. “I quit using makeup wipes. I’m trying to go on to other systems of makeup removal. It’s just small things that you don’t think about.”
Tulsa Public Schools excused absences for the students who participated in the strike. “As educators, we have made the commitment to help prepare our young people to be active and engaged members of our democracy,” TPS communications director Emma Garrett-Nelson wrote in an email to The Tulsa Voice. “We would hope that Tulsa Public Schools students feel empowered to advocate for their beliefs and values. While we cannot lead or otherwise encourage students to strike, we honor their First Amendment rights to protest in a peaceful manner about an issue that is so important to our community.” After taking turns speaking, the crowd turned to the sidewalks, marching the square block surrounding Guthrie Green. Climate change is not a lie! Do not let our planet die! they chanted. While the young people striking for climate action made no bones about the severity of the crisis, currents of perseverance coursed throughout. For students like Leah, actions like this are an opportunity to harness the power of collective action. “We’re just trying to get people involved and excited about what we can do.” a October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
GRETA THUNBERG’S REMARKS AT THE U.N. CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT SEPT. 23, 2019 / NEW YORK CIT Y This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!
SHATAYIA (LEFT) AND MIKAH DEMAND CLIMATE ACTION WITH THEIR PEERS. PHOTO BY KYRA BRUCE
A HANDMADE HANDMADE SIGN WERE ON DISPLAY AT THE SEPT. 20 CLIMATE STRIKE. PHOTO BY KYRA BRUCE
You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight. You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe. The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50 percent chance of staying below 1.5 degrees [Celsius], and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control. Fifty percent may be acceptable to you. But those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist. So a 50 percent risk is simply not acceptable to us — we who have to live with the consequences.
THE NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY WAS A COMMON THEME AT THE YOUTH-LED ACTION. PHOTO BY BLAYKLEE FREED
To have a 67 percent chance of staying below a 1.5 degrees global temperature rise—the best odds given by the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]—the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on January 1st, 2018. Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatons. How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just ‘business as usual’ and some technical solutions. With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8 1/2 years. There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is. You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you. We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not. Thank you.
THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
FEATURED // 27
ENDLESS BUMMER 2019 WAS THE WARMEST SUMMER IN MODERN HISTORY BY SUSIE CAGLE
AS THE FALL EQUINOX STRIKES, MARKING THE OFFICIAL END OF SUMMER, THE GUARDIAN’S SUSIE CAGLE OFFERS AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO WHAT THE HOT SUMMER MEANS FOR THE FUTURE.
28 // FEATURED
October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
THIS STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN THE GUARDIAN. IT IS RE-PUBLISHED HERE AS PART OF THE TULSA VOICE’S PARTNERSHIP WITH COVERING CLIMATE NOW, A GLOBAL COLLABORATION OF MORE THAN 220 NEWS OUTLETS TO STRENGTHEN COVERAGE OF THE CLIMATE STORY. THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
FEATURED // 29
THE ‘JUNGLE BOY’ OF TULSA LOCAL WILDLIFE ADVOCATE OFFERS MORE THAN SNAKE SELFIES BY M. MOLLY BACKES • PHOTOS BY SEPTEMBER DAWN BOTTOMS
SOLOFA HALLEY OF JUNGLE BOYZ EXOTICS
30 // FEATURED
October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
It’s Friday night in the Arts District. The sidewalks are crowded with people in varying degrees of formal dress, at varying levels of sobriety, and the hum of conversation mixes with music from different bars to create a pleasing cacophony. Suddenly, a scream cuts through the night. “Oh my god! Is that a snake? Can I touch it?” A crowd gathers to investigate. Most of them are young, most have been drinking; all are holding smartphones. At the center of the cluster stands a young man, wearing a shirt that says Follow Me, with a fourfoot-long python wrapped around his neck. This is Solofa Halley, 26, Tulsa’s self-styled “Jungle Boy.” For those who live or work in the Arts District, Halley is a familiar sight. He’s out there most weekend nights, sundown to bar time, posing for people’s selfies and answering questions. He’ll even let you wear the snake yourself—for a price. And for many denizens of social media, where clicks and likes are a kind of currency, the five bucks Halley charges is nothing when weighed against the opportunity to thrill your Instagram followers with a snake selfie. The combination of snakes and social media has proven to be so valuable, in fact, that Halley has built an entire business around it. “I make about $20 an hour when I’m out with the snakes,” he said. “That’s here in Tulsa. When I’m in Miami, I make at least $50.” A few years ago, he discovered that he could charge much more in other cities, and now he and his snakes spend part of the year on the road. “Spring Break and Carnival bring thousands of people to Miami, and that’s thousands of people who might like to hold a snake and get a cool picture taken with him,” Halley said. He also travels to Austin for the South by Southwest Festival, New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and New York. A recent video on his YouTube channel offers a glimpse into these trips: Wearing his nine-foot-long reticulated python Dionysus, Halley strolls through a boot store, poses with a group of giggling tourists, stands still while a woman touches Dionysus with a nervous hand, and carefully lifts the snake from his own neck and drapes it across a man’s shoulders. For people brave enough to wear them, the snakes seem to act as a living Snapchat filter—another way of trying on an image that isn’t quite your own. Halley and his menagerie also do more formal photo shoots. Through Instagram, he connected with a number of reality show stars who recognized the attention-grabbing potential of Halley’s animals. In 2018, he traveled to Chicago for a shoot with Katherine “Cobra Kat” Fullerton of VH1’s tattoo shop reality series, Black Ink Crew: Chicago. It was a success, one which Halley used as leverage to make other reality show connections. In 2019, he did a photo shoot with Kenisha “Tip Drill” Myree and a music video with Diana de los Santos, better known as Amara La Negra, both from VH1’s Love & THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
Hip Hop: Miami. The music video, which features rapper DJ Kool, opens with a shot of Halley’s ball python Cupcake as it slithers across an ornate throne. According to Halley, DJ Kool was “scared of the snakes most definitely, but mad cool.” Each celebrity shoot elevates Halley’s business profile, increases his follower count, adds to his portfolio, and garners networking opportunities that lead to other gigs—and the difference is clear. In just two years, Halley has gained nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram. “When I started, I wouldn’t hear back from most of the people I reached out to,” Halley said. “Now, at the very least, I’ll get a response, even if they’re not interested. Now my name is out there, and they’re reaching out to me.”
IT ALL STARTED WITH A SNAKE
Growing up in Gilcrease Hills, Halley was surrounded by animals. His family’s proximity to the woods meant they frequently saw wildlife—including deer, coyotes, and even bobcats—in their backyard. Halley loved them all. The family had dogs, too, but as a kid, the most exotic animal Halley ever had was a pet rat. That all changed one day in 2011, when he was 18. “It all started with a snake,” he said. “I was at my mom’s apartment watching Animal Planet, and one of her neighbors put his snake in a little container out in the hallway while he was cleaning the cage, and I just thought it was so cool.” That afternoon, he went to a pet store and asked if he could hold a snake. They gave him a few to hold, and he decided to buy a corn snake. Soon he went back for more, quickly acquiring a boa constrictor and a ball python. “That’s when I started walking out in public with them. I saw people walking their dogs, and I thought, I’m going to walk my snake.”
At the time, Halley was bouncing from job to job, mostly in the food industry. After graduating from high school at 16, he trained in the culinary arts through Tulsa’s Job Corps Program, but his heart wasn’t in it, and he found it difficult to keep a job for more than six months. “I had a hundred jobs. I worked everywhere in Tulsa,” he said. Meanwhile, his collection of pets was growing, as he adopted other snakes, lizards and even insects. But it wasn’t until 2015 that he realized he could make money with them. Halley and his friend Amber took some snakes to Mayfest, just for fun. “Back then, I was just doing it for the attention. Everybody wanted to take a picture... you know, girls would talk to me,” Halley laughed. They got so much attention that Halley’s friend got frustrated. It was a hot day and she wanted to get something to drink, but people were stopping them every few feet to ask about the snakes. Finally, Amber lost her temper. “When the next person asked to touch the snake, Amber said in this loud voice, ‘Five dollars!’ And everybody around us just broke out five dollars,” Halley remembered. By the end of the night, they had made over $300. “I was like, I can make money doing this?” Halley started brainstorming ideas for a business. If he could make money with the snakes, he thought, maybe he could also make money with some of his other animals—the gecko and the bearded dragon, the frogs and the turtles. He came up with the name Jungle Boyz Exotics and started advertising that he was available to do school and daycare visits, all while still working his restaurant day jobs. “A lot of it I had to figure out on my own,” Halley said. “People gave me business ideas, but it’s kind of a different ballgame when there’s a snake
involved. A lot of the time I just have to roll the dice, take chances, and see what works.”
CROCODILE HUNTER OF SNAKES
Today, Jungle Boyz Exotics, which has expanded to include more than 150 animals, earns enough to be Halley’s full-time job. But for him, it’s more than a business—it’s a form of advocacy. Every time someone stops to ask him a question about the snake around his neck, Halley has an opportunity to educate them. He believes that the chance to get up close and personal with a python can help people to overcome their fear of snakes. “A lot of people are afraid of snakes, and they don’t even know why. I want to help break that for people,” he said. School visits provide Halley with a chance to ease that fear in a younger audience. “I teach kids not to fear snakes, but to respect them. They’re wild animals, but they have minds just like we do.” He talks about how snakes are good for the environment and why they make great pets. To explain why an animal might bite when it’s surprised or disturbed, Halley encourages children to put themselves in the snake’s place, and imagine how they would feel if a giant reached into their house and pulled them out. “I tell kids, ‘If you see a snake, just leave him alone. Maybe he’s on his way to work, and you’re making him late. I would bite you too, if you made me late for work.’” Halley dreams of creating a wildlife refuge in Africa to protect animals from poachers, but in the meantime, he plans to continue expanding his business in order to reach as many people as he can. “I want to be like Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, but with snakes. I want to teach everyone in the world about them.” a
“I WANT TO BE LIKE STEVE IRWIN, THE CROCODILE HUNTER, BUT WITH SNAKES,” SOLOFA HALLEY SAYS. “I WANT TO TEACH EVERYONE IN THE WORLD ABOUT THEM.”
onstage
Tell it like it is Spoken word auteur Shane Koyczan on verbal vulnerability by ANGELA EVANS
F
rom the days of ancient Greece to the beat poets of the 60s, the spoken word has been a mainstay of human expression. Today’s modern take on heady soliloquies come in all forms, bending words and rhythms to evoke emotion from audiences. Shane Koyczan is considered one of the best modern spoken word artists in the world, and he will be performing on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at the Lorton Performance Center thanks to the efforts of OK So, Tulsa story slam and ahha Tulsa. Koyczan hopped on a call to chat about what he does and what Tulsans can expect from his upcoming performance.
ANGELA EVANS: How would you describe what spoken word is, or what it is like to someone who has never experienced it before? SHANE KOYCZAN: I try to take people through the range of their own emotions. I think a lot of the times these days you’re not allowed to be emotional, or you are only allowed to be emotional in your own space and time. What I’m trying to do is give people permission to feel their feelings. I think people are surprised by the level humor in the show, despite talking about dark things like depression. I use humor to get through depression in my life. When someone wants a definition of what a spoken word show is, I think it’s a little bit of storytelling, a little bit of comedy, and little bit of rhythm, but it’s all passion and feeling. I think in a lot of ways emotion is a lot more honest than the things we say. EVANS: How did this start for you? 32 // ARTS & CULTURE
KOYCZAN: There’s a bit of both. There things that are directly my own stuff. And sometimes you encounter a story that’s just amazing. I think one thing that people forget about inspiration is that it’s not generated from inside you. It’s an outside force. It’s the world putting that thing in front of you to inspire you. Inspiration requires your participation. EVANS: My biggest takeaway from your work is that hope is implied. Is hope something that you feel like you have, that it originates from you, or that it is like your own personal pep talk?
Spoken word artist Shane Koyczan comes to the Lorton Performance Center in Tulsa on Oct. 9. COURTESY OF FLEMING ARTISTS, INC.
KOYCZAN: It started out of loneliness. It started by not having anyone to talk to, and my grandmother putting a notepad and pen in my hand, saying, ‘You can talk to this, then.’ I got started through journaling and keeping diaries. EVANS: Around what age did you realize that you wanted or needed to share these words with others? KOYCZAN: I knew from a very early age that words were going to play a role in my life. I didn’t know how. When you are you in school and you tell people you want to be a writer, a lot of people try to talk you out of it. School has a very specific agenda—to make you a functioning human in society. With art, there is no real set path to become an artist. If you want to
be a doctor or lawyer, then you take these classes. Being an artist is a little bit like walking off the plank hoping that you’re going to be able to swim when you hit the water. EVANS: What types of themes inspire you? KOYCZAN: I wouldn’t say that themes inspire me. I would say that themes happen to me. They happen to all of us every day, whether we are dealing with loss, depression, grief. There’s a whole range of things that occur. Life is chaotic. Life is bumping you all the time. A lot of the times what I’m writing about are the things that I’m going through. EVANS: Is a lot of your writing very personal, or do you use other people’s stories or situations?
KOYCZAN: I think for me a lot of times I’m trying to bolster my own spirits. There’s a line that one of the heaviest things you’ll have to lift is your own spirits. I feel like if you are born in the dark, you have to find ways to make your own light. EVANS: You also have given your voice and your words to graphic novels, animation and music. Did you ever think that there would be so many divergent paths available to you as a spoken word artist? KOYCZAN: One of the things about art in general is that it’s malleable. It can find its way into different genres and styles. Collaboration is such an important part of art and I love to collaborate. When that synergy starts to occur and you’re trading ideas back and forth, it’s very exciting. a
SHANE KOYCZAN: SPOKEN WORD ARTIST Lorton Performance Center – University of Tulsa Oct. 9, 7 p.m., $23 oksotulsa.org October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
artspot
FIRST FRIDAY
Shapeshifting: Towards Being Seen, explores the stories behind the evolving tattoos of five previously-incarcerated women. | MELISSA LUKENBAUGH
FRESH INK, FRESH START Tattoo transformations for the formerly-incarcerated TATTOOS AREN’T AS CONTROVERSIAL AS they used to be—even in Oklahoma, where tattooing was outlawed until 2006. Teachers, nurses and plenty of other upstanding members of our society have them. But what of those whose ink is old and faded, with the shaky line work of a stick-andpoke? For those inked individuals, the judgment remains. The Tulsa Artist Fellows behind the Atomic Culture curatorial platform have partnered up with a New York artist to explore this, telling stories of local women who have been incarcerated—through their tattoos. Malinda and Mateo Galindo make up Atomic Culture. Together, the married couple works to collaborate with artists to tell local stories. “Part of our thing is just researching and understanding histories of the place we’re at,” Mateo said. “We come from different places. I come from New Mexico. She comes from New York … When we’re at a place, we have to kind of figure out hidden histories, or histories that are overlooked or erased, and use art to unearth them.” Stories like how Oklahoma incarcerates more women than anywhere else in the world. With that sobering fact in mind, Atomic Culture reached out to New York artist Tamara Santibañez to collaborate. “Tamara has been working within the incarceration system in New York on a lot of different projects and also is an amazing tattoo artist,” Malinda said. The project, Shapeshifting: Towards Being Seen, explores the stories behind the evolving tattoos of five women. The team reached out to Resonance Women’s Center and Still She Rises to find women interested in participating. THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
“We asked them, about two months prior to Tamara coming, to choose a tattoo that they had—it didn’t have to be from being incarcerated—that they wanted to change or rework,” Malinda said. “They were in a conversation with Tamara for about a month … sort of getting to know each other. … She did about one a day while she was here, and she did them all in one sitting.” Santibañez interviewed the participants before and after. Mateo, who recorded audio for the interviews, said the women who got their ink behind bars discussed using sharpened staples and cartridge printer ink to get the job done. “So the stories about the things they would do and go through to get a tattoo, and then for them to carry this stigma around with them. It was really interesting to see that before and after,” Mateo said. The result is a multimedia installation pairing before and after photos with audio from the interviews. Shapeshifting: Towards Being Seen is on display through Oct. 23 at Tulsa Artist Fellowship’s Archer Studios in the Tulsa Arts District. The studios are locked from the outside, but visitors can stop during First Friday when the exhibition’s doors will be open, or by appointment. “You don’t know how [these women] got there, how they got inside. So it’s like, are you highlighting a really bad person?” Mateo asked. “What does that mean to give someone a new life if they’re really bad? If you don’t deserve it, well what is that? Can there be a space for that moment of empathy regardless of what they did?” — BLAYKLEE FREED
OPEN STUDIOS // SARAH AHMAD
TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP OPEN STUDIOS // 6-9PM ARCHER STUDIOS // 109 N. MLK, JR. BLVD. E CAMERON STUDIOS // 303 N. MAIN ST.
Join us for open studios and engage with Tulsa Artist Fellows! Artistic disciplines include photography, poetry, painting, sculpture, graphic novels, multimedia and more.
FIRST FRIDAY PROGRAMMING INCLUDES: ARCHER FIRST FLOOR LOBBY // SHAPESHIFTING: TOWARDS BEING SEEN // Curated by Atomic Culture featuring Artist Tamara Santibañez
ARCHER WINDOW INSTALLATION // RAFAEL CORZO
Organized by Julie Alpert Red Sculpture // Redhead with Fleckles or the Erotic Dreams at the Astral State Expanded (2019) Black Sculpture // Reflexion of Glory and the Historical Accumulate (2019)
THE FUTURE WITHOUT YOU Special Preview Performances // 7 & 8PM <<THE FUTURE WITHOUT YOU, directed by Carl
Antonowicz, is a live, staged reading of six science fiction stories by Ignatz-winning cartoonist Sophie Goldstein. The show makes its Tulsa debut October 24; 7PM at the Tulsa City-County Library’s Central Branch and stars Kara Bellavia, Javier Sagel and Tizzi.
NO COMPLY AT CAMERON // Organized by Eric Sall
No Comply at Cameron is a multifaceted event featuring an exhibition of original art inspired, influenced and made by more than 25 skateboarders past and present; a live skateboard demo and session in the Cameron parking lot (SHRED THE SHED!); live music and local skate video screenings.
FREE AND OPEN TO ALL. With the belief that arts are critical to the advancement of cultural citizenship, Tulsa Artist Fellowship supports both local and national artists while enriching the Tulsa community. Find out more www.tulsaartistfellowship.org ARTS & CULTURE // 33
sportsreport
Guard have mercy Sizing up the Thunder’s 2019–2020 roster by MATT CARNEY
W
ho knew that managing a basketball team could reach the level
of high art? For most other general managers in the NBA, depending on your salary cap situation and the general makeup of your roster, trading for Chris Paul is a not unreasonable basketball move. For Thunder GM Sam Presti, however, it’s something more akin to da Vinci putting the fi nal scratches of ink on Vitruvian Man. By trading away the franchise’s heart and soul in Russell Westbrook over the summer, Presti in return received the player who 14 years ago made professional basketball a viable enterprise in Oklahoma City in the fi rst place. (Remember the Oklahoma City Hornets?) It was a perfectly cyclical exchange of assets, if your intent was to signal to the universe that the fi rst era of Thunder basketball had reached its conclusion. The beginning of the next era, however, likely will only feature Paul as a footnote. The Miami Heat have reportedly already shown keen interest in the 34-year-old’s services. Presti will likely spend the season (or remainder of the preseason) listening to offers for Paul and trade him to a contender in order to add to his pile of future assets and hand the franchise’s reigns over to second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for good. Or he may not! Either way, the Thunder’s top priority for the immediate future is Gilgeous-Alexander, whose floor appears quite firm and whose ceiling is potentially Westbrookian. After all, you don’t win NBA Championships without NBA All-Stars—and NBA All-Stars are not in ready supply. When you’re in a small market like the 34 // ARTS & CULTURE
Thunder you have to develop elite talent yourself, or else hope for the rare opportunity to trade for a disgruntled one. (Although Paul George may have just proven that to be an “easy come, easy go,” proposition.) Promising young players need tons of playing time to develop their skills, particularly at point guard, where one requires an extraordinary sense of patience and calculation to bend NBA defenses to their will. Paul has it now. Gilgeous-Alexander flashes potential. Just 21 years old, the 6-foot-6 Kentucky product—who came to OKC along with Danilo Gallinari and about a billion future draft assets for Paul George—is the most promising young player to join the Thunder’s roster since James Harden. Near-impossible to rattle and a terror off the bounce, Gilgeous-Alexander’s enormous wingspan allows him to guard both backcourt posi-
tions as well as small forward. He’s got all the tools to become a two-way disruptor at the All-Star level. It’s a unique combination of skills that should enable Presti to chase talent in future drafts, rather than draft players to fit a particular position or role to complement him. He’s also ready to make meaningful contributions right now. Clippers coach Doc Rivers not only kept Gilgeous-Alexander in his playoff rotation this spring against the Warriors, he continued to start him. Rare for rookies, practically unheard of for rookie point guards. And Gilgeous-Alexander played really well considering that the Clippers’ defensive scheme eventually called for him to switch between Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson (at age 20). I went back and rewatched the series—you might recall the Clippers won two games as an 8-seed, a feat nobody predicted—
to prepare for this column; and hoo boy, Thunder fans should be really high on this kid. He scored 25 points in Game 4, feasted on Andrew Bogut and only turned the ball over five times in six games, impressive considering how often Draymond Green, a bona fide defensive genius, guarded him. And outside of the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox, I don’t think I’ve seen a young point guard communicate as much on the floor as GilgeousAlexander did. He’s always talking to his teammates. And did I mention that he hit half his threepoint shots in the series? Moving forward, I’d be curious to see how GilgeousAlexander operates in the pick and roll. He didn’t run much of it in the playoff series against the Warriors, instead initiating their offense with a lot of dribble handoff action with Danilo Gallinari on the right wing. (It’ll be interesting to see if Billy Donovan runs this year’s Thunder offense similarly.) Meanwhile, Gallinari should space the floor nicely for Gilgeous-Alexander and Steven Adams work as an alley-oop tandem. To wrap this thing up, I’d like to push back against the phrase “rebuild,” which I’ve seen thrown around a lot this off-season. This Thunder roster isn’t bad. It’s definitely not going to win a championship, but they could fight for a bottom-tier playoff spot this year, even in a loaded Western Conference. It all depends on Presti and when or if he decides to move the assets that don’t fit the new Thunder championship timetable, such as Gallinari, Paul and perhaps even—gasp!—Steven Adams. I personally hope that Adams adopts Oklahoma as his new ancestral home and lives here forever. a October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
October 12-13
South Tulsa’s Largest Art & Craft Festival Saturday 8am - 6pm Sunday 8am - 5pm
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10900 S Louisville Ave, Tulsa, OK 74137 Oklahoma’s Premier Handcrafted Arts & Goods Live Music Kid Fun-Zone Petting Zoo Food and Coffee Vendors & More! Benefiting Teen Challenge Adolescent Centers
For More Information Visit brushcreekbazaar.org
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1778 UTICA SQUARE | 918-624-2600 THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
…stop by our store for everything from bakery treats to comfy beds to Halloween hats and more. Your dog is welcome, too.
OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY, 10-6 ARTS & CULTURE // 35
CATS Oct. 9-13, Tulsa PAC Chapman Music Hall, celebrityattractions.com Celebrity Attractions and Tulsa PAC Trust present Cats, the world famous musical based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot. The PAC describes it as “the story of a tribe of felines called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as the ‘Jellicle choice’ to decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.”
MATTHEW MURPHY
MUSIC FESTIVAL
SHOW
Wine, Jazz and World FETE is a free three-day celebration of jazz, reggae, folk, wine, Latin food and more. Exclusive events at Duet are an extra cost, but the main party is free and open to all. Guthrie Green, Oct. 3-5, okrootsmusic.org
Animal Collective comes to Cain’s Ballroom to deliver their art-pop sound through new and old songs. Read a full interview with co-founder Avery Tare on pg. 40. Oct. 7, cainsballroom.com
BALLET
SHOW
During first Friday, Tulsa Ballet descends on Guthrie Green for a free dance performance by both Tulsa Ballet II and Tulsa Ballet’s Main Company. Bring a blanket, picnic and a friend. Oct. 4, tulsaballet.com
Jenny Lewis makes a stop at the historic Cain’s Ballroom with openers Cherry Glazerr. You’ll want to be there early if you want a good spot, there’s sure to be a line. Oct. 9, Doors open at 6:30 p.m., cainsballroom.com
SPEAKER
DANCE
Magic City Books hosts An Evening with Rachel Maddow at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center. Our very own resident columnist, Barry Friedman will open for Maddow with a little stand-up. Oct. 5, 7 p.m. magiccitybook.com
Kizomba Dance Nation takes over Chimera to teach the people How to dance Kizomba. This dance class/ social is open to everyone of every dance level. Oct. 11, chimeratulsa.com
FULL EVENTS CALENDAR: THETULSAVOICE.COM/CALENDAR 36 // ARTS & CULTURE
October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15, 2019
ARTS & CULTURE // 37
EVENTS
Chad Prather // 10/11, 8 p.m., Brady Theater, bradytheater.com
Movie Night: Crazy Rich Asians // 10/2, 7 p.m., Gathering Place, gatheringplace.org
Midnight Joker Comedy Club: Pauly Shore // 10/11-12, 8 p.m., Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, hardrockcasinotulsa.com
Movie in the park // Movie TBD, 10/3, 7:30 p.m., Guthrie Green, guthriegreen.com Oil Painting 101 // 10/3, 6 p.m., Ahha Tulsa, facebook.com Community Conversation With Aliye Shimi // 10/3, 1:30 p.m., Philbrook, philbrook.org Black Wall Street Gallery Grand Reopening // 10/4, 6 p.m., Black Wall Street Gallery, facebook.com Welltown Oktoberfest // 10/4-5, 4 p.m., Welltown Brewing, facebook.com The Starlite Game Show // 10/5, 9 p.m., Starlite, facebook.com Pinball Tournaments // 10/5-6, 10 a.m., The Max Retropub, facebook.com
THE 5TH ANNUAL TULSA AMERICAN FILM FEST Oct. 9-13, Circle Cinema, circlecinema.org The Tulsa American Film Fest is back to deliver more independent films for the fifth year. The fest focuses on new independent works, and focuses on Latino American, Native American, Oklahoma-based and student filmmakers. The fest offers screenings of regionallyrelevant classics, panel discussions featuring professionals from across the industry and fun parties each evening.
An Evening with Rachel Maddow // 10/5, 7 p.m., Union Multipurpose Activity Center, facebook.com Book Club with Magic City Books // 10/6, 2 p.m., Gilcrease, gilcrease.org Legends of Pro Basketball // 10/6, 12:30 p.m., Tulsa Dream Center, gatheringplace.org Real Lord of the Flies: The Robbers Cave Experiment // 10/7, 7 p.m., IDL Ballroom, facebook.com Extreme Faith: An Evening with Noah Milligan // 10/8, 7 p.m., Magic City Books, facebook.com Think & Drink // 10/10, 6:30 p.m., Heirloom Rustic Ales, heirloomrusticales.com Tulsa Artist Fellowship October Writers’ Project // 10/10, 6 p.m., Central Library, facebook.com Garden Workshop: Vegetable Harvesting & Seed Collecting // 10/10-12, 1:30 p.m., Philbrook, philbrook.org Whitty Books Workshop // 10/10, 5:30 p.m., Whitty Books, facebook.com
DANCE
Blue Dome Jivin’ was born from an inside joke that came to fruition. This swing dance party goes from Oct. 11-13 at The Oklahoma Swing Syndicate, who are also the sponsors that bring the event to life. facebook.com
MEMOIR
Catch Busy Phillips on Oct. 12 to celebrate the paperback release of her New York Times bestselling memoir, This Will Only Hurt A Little. Will Rogers High School, magiccitybooks.com
ALBUM RELEASE
Graveyard Party release their debut EP through Cult Love Sound Tapes at Chimera on Oct. 12 with help from locals The Daddy O’s, OKC friends LCG and the X, and Spinster.
Elise Paschen with Joy Harjo, Todd Fuller, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish // 10/11, 7 p.m., Magic City Books, facebook.com Book Reading At Whitty Books For Tulsa American Film Fest // 10/11, 12:30 p.m., Whitty Books, facebook.com
The Wax Masters Record Show occupies the back room of Chimera during their vinyl brunch. Vendors come to sell vinyl, CDs, tapes, posters, shirts and memorabilia. Oct. 13, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., chimeratulsa.com 38 // ARTS & CULTURE
Evan Hughes Stand Up Comedy Night // 10/11, 9 p.m., Vanguard, thevanguardtulsa.com Jose Luis Zagar tour hecho en Mexico 2019 // 10/12, 9 p.m., El Coyote Manco, facebook.com Tulsa Night Live // 10/12, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, rabbitholeimprov.com Comedy 101 Graduation Showcase // 10/13, 7 p.m., Loony Bin, tulsa.loonybincomedy.com
PERFORMING ARTS Brown Bag It: Mosaic Trio // 10/2, 12:10 p.m., Tulsa PAC - Westby Pavillion, tulsapac.com War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast // 10/4-13, 6 p.m., Broken Arrow Community Playhouse, bacptheatre.com Tulsa Ballet on the Green // 10/4, 7:30 p.m., Guthrie Green, guthriegreen.com ReVue Girls Drag Show // 10/5, 10:30 p.m., The ReVue, facebook.com Debussy’s Images // 10/5, 7:30 p.m., Tulsa PAC Chapman Music Hall, tulsapac.com RIOULT Dance New York // 10/5, 8 p.m., Tulsa PAC - John H. Williams Theatre, tulsapac.com Panel Discussion “What the Butler Saw” // 10/6, 2 p.m., Ahha Tulsa, facebook.com Doktor Kaboom // 10/8-9, 4 p.m., Gathering Place - Reading Tree Stage, gatheringplace.org Shane Koyczan Spoken Word Artist // 10/9, 7 p.m., Lorton Performance Center, facebook.com Lysander Piano Trio // 10/11, 8 p.m., Ahha Tulsa, facebook.com The Drowsy Chaperone // 10/11-15, 8 p.m., Tulsa PAC - John H. Williams Theatre, tulsapac.com Drop Dead Gorgeous // 10/12, 10:30 p.m., The ReVue, facebook.com Lysander Piano Trio // 10/12-13, 3 p.m., Tulsa PAC, tulsapac.com
41st Annual Brush Creek Bazaar // 10/12-13, 8 a.m., 10900 S Louisville Ave, facebook.com
We Will Rock You // 10/18, 8 p.m., Paradise Cove, riverspirittulsa.com
Wax Masters Record Show // Buy, sell and trade records, CDs, tapes, memoribilia and more! 10/13, 11 a.m., Chimera, facebook.com
SPORTS
Migrant Mother, Migrant Gender: A Lecture with Dr. Sally Stein // 10/13, 2 p.m., Gilcrease, gilcrease.org Thelma’s Drag Brunch // 10/13, 1 p.m., The ReVue, facebook.com Scifi /Fantasy Book Club: The Luminous Dead // 10/14, 7:30 p.m., Whitty Books, facebook.com
TU Women’s Soccer vs Temple // 10/3, 7 p.m., Hurricane Stadium, tulsahurricane.com TU Men’s Soccer vs USF // 10/5, 7 p.m., Hurricane Stadium, tulsahurricane.com ORU Women’s Soccer vs Denver // 10/6, 1 p.m., Case Soccer Complex, oruathletics.com TU Women’s Soccer vs UCONN // 10/6, 1 p.m., Hurricane Stadium, tulsahurricane.com
COMEDY
OKC Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks // 10/8, 8 p.m., BOK Center, bokcenter.com
Open Improv Jam // 10/2, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, rabbitholeimprov.com
TU Men’s Soccer vs ORU // 10/8, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field, tulsahurricane.com
Insult Attack! // 10/3, 8 p.m., Renaissance Brewing Co., facebook.com
ORU Women’s Soccer vs South Dakota St. // 10/10, 7 p.m., Case Soccer Complex, oruathletics.com
Ladies First Comedy Show // 10/4, 8 p.m., Juicemaker Lounge, facebook.com Dan Chopin // 10/4-7, 8 p.m., Loony Bin, tulsa.loonybincomedy.com
VINYL SALE
Busted! // 10/11, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, rabbitholeimprov.com
Silly Humans // 10/4, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, rabbitholeimprov.com Whose Line Rip Off Show // 10/5, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, rabbitholeimprov.com Valarie Storm // 10/9-12, 8 p.m., Loony Bin, tulsa.loonybincomedy.com Comedy Night at Mainline: Blue Dome Social Club // 10/10, 8 p.m., Mainline, facebook.com
Tulsa Oilers vs Kansas City // 10/11, 7:05 p.m., BOK Center, bokcenter.com Tulsa Oilers vs Allen // 10/12, 7:05 p.m., BOK Center, bokcenter.com Tulsa Hurricane vs Navy // 10/12, TBA, Chapman Stadium, tulsahurricane.com Tulsa Oilers vs Rapid City // 10/13, 4:05 p.m., BOK Center, bokcenter.com ORU Women’s Soccer vs North Dakota St. // 10/13, 1 p.m., Case Soccer Complex, oruathletics.com October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
Chamber Music Tulsa presents
DEBUSSY’S IMAGES
Tulsa Symphony October 5
RIOULT DANCE NY
Choregus Productions October 5
BRANFORD MARSALIS
Tulsa PAC Trust October 6 CATS
Celebrity Attractions with Tulsa PAC Trust October 9-13 THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
FRIDAY, OCT. 11, 2019 Ahha Tulsa – 8 p.m. An intimate concert experience featuring works by Cohen, Debussy, and Liszt. Arrive early for complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres!
Theatre Tulsa October 11-20
LYSANDER PIANO TRIO
Chamber Music Tulsa October 13
&
TICKETS INFO ChamberMusicTulsa.org | 918.587.3802
TULSAPAC.COM
/
918.596.7111 ALL EVENTS/DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
ARTS & CULTURE // 39
musicnotes
“I want to live my life in line with the way nature moves,” says Animal Collective co-founder Avey Tare. | MADELYN ANDERSON
Animal instinct Avey Tare, down to Earth by JEZY J. GRAY
“I
want to be like water,” David Portner—a.k.a. Avey Tare—bleats on the bubbling title track of Animal Collective’s 2008 EP, Water Curses. That was more than a decade ago, but the sentiment still animates the work of the 40-year-old Baltimore native and the psychedelic art-pop outfit he co-founded in 2003 with childhood friends, Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) and Josh Dibb (Deakin). Over the last 16 years, Animal Collective has grown a massive global audience through restless experimentation, blending pop elements with harsh electronic noise and the living vibrations of nature. The result, at once primitive and futuristic, sometimes sounds like a demonic ghoul feasting on the innards of a Beach Boys melody. Getting lost in Animal Collective’s druggy swirl of deep-sea beats, erratic mutations and tape-delayed acoustic samples offers what music writer Simon Reynolds 40 // MUSIC
once called “the kind of strippeddown, bullshit-free communion you can experience with cats and dogs.” I talked to Portner before the band returns to Cain’s Ballroom on Oct. 7.
JEZY J. GRAY: Tangerine Reef [2018] is an audiovisual album about coral ecosystems. Can you walk me through that project and how it came together? DAVID PORTNER (AVEY TARE): Colin [Foord] and Jared [McKay] who do Coral Morphologic had been old Animal Collective fans, and we became instant fans of their work. They do installation-oriented videos in public spaces to raise awareness about coral. They have a really cool studio in Miami. They use blacklights and do macro photography to get these close-up shots of coral and other smaller microorganisms in the
ocean. And they do it all in tanks in their studio. There was this performance called Coral Org y happening in Miami and we decided to try out something there and do kind of a specialized Animal Collective-meets-Coral Morphologic performance … We just sort of took that element and kind of projected the Coral Morphologic stuff on the wall in the studio as we were playing. And we developed this piece that could sort of be a little bit freeform, and a little bit … written out. Improvised music has always been a big part of our creative process. I think for some listeners, the lines are often blurry as to when we’re actually improvising and when we’re not improvising. And we kind of like it that way. GRAY: You also recorded an EP [Meeting of the Waters] along the Amazon River as part of Viceland’s Earthworks documentary series. Can you talk about that?
PORTNER: The sentiment behind it is certainly similar. I mean, we’re all very Earth-conscious people and very concerned about our environment right now. So we kind of do what we can. I think for us … the way we feel we’re best doing that is through the music. Getting people to feel things and hear things. And show how important things like the sounds of nature are. That sort of thing is important to our music. And as the planet diminishes—I guess that’s a dark way of looking at it [laughs]—that might not be as possible, you know? So things like Meeting of the Waters and Tangerine Reef are definitely our attempt at raising awareness, but also to make music in sort of foreign environments to us. I feel like that’s kind of, in a way, what we’ve liked to do from the beginning of Animal Collective. It’s an element that kind of set us apart, and the thing that brought us to make music that was less traditional. October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
GRAY: Your music has always seemed to have something to say about nature. Where does that come from? PORTNER: Our pastime in high school basically was just hanging out in nature … where we could listen to music and learn how to appreciate music in different environments. And just start to feel out, really—it’s more of an intuitive thing—how certain music sounds good in certain environments, and other kinds of music sound good in other environments. How I want to live is more in line with the way nature moves. Finding parallels in nature to human life—because we are all connected; we are a part of nature. And we have seasons too, just like fall, winter, spring. That kind of thing. And this whole idea of my writing, and how I want to be like water … that just comes from the experience of spending a lot of time in nature and noticing things. Being more of an observer, really, and wanting to mimic that in my own personal life. GRAY: Are you anxious about climate change? PORTNER: I mean, I go back and forth … For me personally, the way I want to play a part is by making sure I feel like I’m living right by nature and doing things like getting plastic out of my life as much as possible. And being aware of my carbon footprint, so to speak. We’re doing that with Animal Collective on the upcoming tour, trying to figure out how we can go on tour and make the smallest footprint possible and make sure we’re doing right. The other side of that is, you know, it is a dark, confusing and often frustrating topic and sometimes it’s hard to delve so much into it. Because things aren’t looking very good, you know what I mean? But it’s important in life to be positive and stay positive, and sometimes dwelling on it too much can just lead to a dark outlook. THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
Avey Tare of Animal Collective | MADELYN ANDERSON
GRAY: Merriweather Post Pavillion turned 10 this year, which is wild to me. I imagine that’s true for you too. PORTNER: [Laughs] Oh yeah, yeah. For us, it’s been sort of a series of records that become earmarks for us year after year. When I bring it up to friends, they’re like ‘10 years ago? That’s crazy.’ I just had that conversation with a friend of mine. Yeah, it’s so wild. GRAY: What’s the biggest difference between now and then, in terms of how you approach making music together? PORTNER: I think in a way over the past couple years we’ve kind of come full circle, to where we were maybe more earlier on. Where we’re just trying to find more time to do various projects and solo projects. And I feel like for a while, we got caught up in pushing and touring as a band called ‘Animal Collective.’ And I don’t necessarily think when we originally started that was our goal really. … We’re just trying to have space for all the stuff we want to do. GRAY: To that point, let’s talk about your solo work. Cows on Hourglass Pond [2019] is really beautiful. I’ve been listening to it all day. PORTNER: Oh, thanks! GRAY: Can you tell me a little
about making it, and how it fits into your discography? PORTNER: Every record I do, and Animal Collective too most of the time, comes from hearing kind of a sound in my head and sort of heading in that direction. … Or maybe some of the songs come first and then I’m sort of like, ‘OK. I see this. This is the direction things are going.’ … My sister [Abby Portner] and I, who often collaborate—she does visual work for a lot of Animal Collective stuff and my solo stuff. We got an opportunity to do a show together in Copenhagen for a documentary festival [where] I started writing all these songs. Most of which are on Cows, and some of which are actually going to come out on an EP I’m going to put out later in the year. My previous solo record, Eucalyptus, didn’t really translate to the live experience. It was more of an intimate acoustic kind of bedroom record. I wanted this stuff to [have] more of the live sound that I was doing at the time and have been doing for the past couple years. … I recorded the songs in my studio at home, on tape. Wanting to record a record on tape just kind of took me back to the way we started Animal Collective. It was kind of a turn back to that style of doing things. GRAY: How did your collaboration with [The Grateful Dead’s] Mickey Hart come together?
PORTNER: I think he had been aware of Animal Collective stuff for some years. … I feel like we were on his radar. And me just being a huge Grateful Dead fan from when I was young. They were the fi rst band that I really latched onto, maybe in the fourth or fifth grade with their Greatest Hits. And then, you know, I moved into being a kid who liked to go see them. I went to seven or eight Dead shows, luckily enough, in the early 90s. Aside from just being able to collaborate on his music … he was sort of a mentor in a way. We talked about writing and lyrics, and being able to also sing Robert Hunter lyrics which had never been sung before. To go through a notebook of Robert Hunter lyrics, who recently passed away a few days ago. Yeah, it just blew my mind. I’m happy to say I feel like I’m a part of that fabric that is The Dead, you know? That world. GRAY: Your show here in Tulsa is the first of your fall tour. You’ve played Cain’s Ballroom before, right? PORTNER: Yes, we have. Early on during the Painting With cycle. It was great. I love it there. It’s an awesome venue—so much history. I love early country music. I’m excited to get back there. GRAY: What can people expect this time around? PORTNER: We have a lot of new songs we’ve been working on, which is kind of typical for us, that I’m very excited about. But we’re also going to play a bunch of old songs, so I think it’s just going to be a mix. We have a lot of songs to play. So I feel like from night to night sets will be kind of different. We’ll be keeping it simpler on the visual side, but there will be a visual element too. GRAY: We’re looking forward to having you back. PORTNER: Yeah. Looking forward to being there. a MUSIC // 41
musiclistings Wed // Oct 2 Bleacher Bums – Lab808, AshFree – 8 p.m. BOK Center – Heart, Joan Jett and the Blachearts – 7 p.m. Cellar Dweller – Desi & Cody – 8:30 p.m. Colony – Tom Skinner Science Project – 8 p.m. Duet Jazz – Collective Improv with Clark Gibson – 9 p.m. The Joint – Bert Kreischer – 8 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Dement – 9 p.m. OK Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays – 7 p.m. Soundpony – Labadie House, Children of October – 10 p.m. Track 5. – Rose Leach Band – 7 p.m. Tulsa State Fair Main Stage – Rival Sons – 8 p.m.
Thurs // Oct 3 BOK Center – J Balvin – 8 p.m. – ($40 - $132) Colony – Seth Lee Jones – 9 p.m. Dead Armadillo Brewery – Desi & Cody Happy Hour – 7 p.m. Duet Jazz – John Scofield – 8 p.m. – ($50) Guthrie Green – Wine, Jazz and World FETE – 12 a.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – DJ 2 Legit – 9 p.m. Riffs – Dante Schmitz – 4 p.m. Riffs – DJ Mib – 5 p.m. Riffs – Big Daddy Band – 7 p.m. Soundpony – Susans, Klazo, Hummin Bird – 10 p.m. Track 5. – DJ Demko – 5 p.m. Track 5. – Ned LeDoux – 8 p.m. Tulsa State Fair Main Stage – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – 8 p.m. Vanguard – Judah and the Lion, Flora Cash – 8 p.m. – ($32.50) Vintage Wine Bar – Grammy Nominated ft. Mason Remel and Malachi Burgess – 8 p.m.
Fri // Oct 4 BOK Center – Lauren Daigle – 7:30 p.m. – ($25 - $85) Cain’s Ballroom – Snarky Puppy, Breastfist – 8 p.m. – ($35 - $50) Colony – Vinyl Happy Hour – 4 p.m. Colony – Rachel Bachman and the Better News Bears – 10 p.m. Dead Armadillo Brewery – Zen Dogs – 7 p.m. Duet Jazz – Tulsa’s Wine, Jazz, and World FETE Presents Chuscales- Spanish Flamenco – 9 p.m. – ($20) Fassler Hall – Lessons in Fresh Presented by Clean Hands – 10 p.m. – ($5) Gathering Place - Gather Round Stage – Live Art & Music with Daniel D. – 3 p.m. Gathering Place - QuikTrip Great Lawn – Daniel D. – 6 p.m. Hunt Club – RPM – 8 p.m. Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – C-Plus Born in November – 6 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Radio Nation – 9 p.m. Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Jesse Alan – 10 p.m. Max Retropub – DJ Jeffee Fresh Mercury Lounge – Ryan Wilcox and the Sunday Shakes – 8 p.m. Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – Local Drip & Underground Collective Presents: T-Town Throwdown – 9:45 p.m. Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – Earslip Happy Hour – 7 p.m. The ReVue – A Little Bit Country – 10 p.m. Riffs – Kalo – 5:30 p.m. Riffs – DJ 2 Legit – 6:30 p.m. Riffs – Dance Floor Riot – 9 p.m. Sabores Tulsa – Strictly Latin Night – 10 p.m. Soundpony – DJ Why Not?! – 10 p.m. Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m. Track 5. – Haywire – 8 p.m. Tulsa State Fair Main Stage – Chris Janson – 8 p.m. The Tulsan Bar – DJ Oreo – 10 p.m. Vanguard – Fall Back: A Local Songwriter Showcase – 8 p.m. – ($10)
Sat // Oct 5 Bad Ass Renee’s – Dope Patrol, Haggardz Hellraizerz, Carcinogen Daily, 6th Gear – 8 p.m. Barkingham Palace – Okay Crawdad, Joey Henry, Humminbird, Celebrity Sex Tape – 9 p.m. Blackbird on Pearl – Mike Hosty – 9 p.m. Cain’s Ballroom – Corrosion of Conformity, The Skull, Mothership, Witch Mountain – 7:30 p.m. – ($20 - $35) The Church Studio – MOJO Fest – 4 p.m. – ($25) Colony – Brooks Hubbard Band, Taylor Atkinson – 10 p.m. 42 // MUSIC
Dead Armadillo Brewery – BRD Trio – 8 p.m. Duet Jazz – Sofia Viola-Argentinian Folk – 10 p.m. – ($15) Gathering Place – Red Baraat – 6:30 p.m. Gathering Place - Gather Round Stage – Live Art & Music with Daniel D. – 3 p.m. Gathering Place - QuikTrip Great Lawn – Daniel D. – 6 p.m. Hunt Club – Dave and the Haters – 8 p.m. Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Steve Liddell Band – 6 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – The Get Down Band – 9 p.m. Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Tom Basler – 10 p.m. Max Retropub – DJ Ali Shaw Paradise Cove – The Oak Ridge Boys – 8 p.m. Riffs – Jacob Dement – 5:30 p.m. Riffs – DJ Mib – 6:30 p.m. Riffs – Zodiac – 9 p.m. Soul City – Blues Society of Tulsa Solo/Duo Competition – 7 p.m. – ($10) Soul City – Chanda Graham – 8 p.m. Soundpony – Soul Night – 10 p.m. Spinster Records – Second SaturDAZE – 6:30 p.m. Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m. Track 5. – Asphalt Cowboys – 8 p.m. Tulsa State Fair Main Stage – Whiskey Myers – 8 p.m. The Tulsan Bar – DJ Skibblez – 10 p.m. Vanguard – 1st Verse, DIALTONE, Yung Trunkz, Micki Ronnae, YungxHalloween, Sneak the Poet – 8 p.m. – ($10 (21 and up free)) The Venue Shrine – Road to Rocklahoma – 7 p.m. – ($10) Woody Guthrie Center – Ordinary Elephant, K.C. Clifford – 7 p.m. Yokozuna Blue Dome – Darku J at Yoko’s 10 Year Anniversary Block Party – noon
Sun // Oct 6
Cain’s Ballroom – Bad Suns, Lily, Ultra Q – 7:30 p.m. – ($20 - $35) The Chalkboard – Steve Lidell – 11 a.m. Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing – 10 p.m. Heirloom Rustic Ales – Witness Protection, Dr Freeman – 1 p.m. Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Chris Clark – 5 p.m. Los Cabos - Jenks – The Fabulous Two Man Band – 5 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens – 9 p.m. Mass Movement Community Arts – Bloom., Amnita, Silver Age, The Others Like Us, Charlotte Bumgarner – 7:30 p.m. – ($7) Tulsa State Fair Main Stage – Liz Moriondo – 4 p.m. Tulsa State Fair Main Stage – La Fiera De Ojinaga – 4 p.m. Woody Guthrie Center – Sihasin – 7 p.m.
Mon // Oct 7 Blackbird on Pearl – Open Mic – 8 p.m. BOK Center – Billie Eilish – 7:30 p.m. – ($40 - $100) Cain’s Ballroom – Animal Collective, Dustin Wong, Takako Minekawa – 8 p.m. – ($30 - $45) Colony – Jared Tyler Presents Saugeye – 9 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Andrew Harmon – 9 p.m. Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – Chris Foster – 8 p.m. Soundpony – The Randys – 10 p.m.
Tues // Oct 8 Cain’s Ballroom – Tyler Childers, Caroline Spence – 8 p.m. – ($36 - $61) Colony – Chris Lee Becker – 6 p.m. Colony – Chris Combs Trio with Special Guests – 9 p.m. Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic – 7 p.m. Juicemaker Lounge – RHE, Ayilla Soulrstar, Ausha K., Janea Leafwing – 8 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Greg Dragoo – 9 p.m.
Wed // Oct 9 Cain’s Ballroom – Jenny Lewis, Cherry Glazerr – 8 p.m. – ($27 - $30) Cellar Dweller – Desi & Cody – 8:30 p.m. Colony – Tom Skinner Science Project – 8 p.m. Duet Jazz – Rick Cope and the Jazz Standard Band – 8 p.m. – ($5) Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Dement – 9 p.m. OK Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays – 7 p.m.
Soundpony – Knipple, Out of Town – 10 p.m. Track 5. – Rod Robertson – 7 p.m.
Thurs // Oct 10 Colony – Seth Lee Jones – 9 p.m. Duet Jazz – Grammy Nominated ft. Mason Remel and Malachi Burgess – 8 p.m. – ($10) Hunt Club – Michele Warren and David “Soupbone” Thomas – 8 p.m. Kendal Whittier Main Street – Casii Stephan at Kendal Whittier After Five – 5:30 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – DJ 2 Legit – 9 p.m. Riffs – Nick Whitaker – 4 p.m. Riffs – DJ Mib – 5 p.m. Riffs – Nighttrain – 7 p.m. Soundpony – Bodeen – 10 p.m. Track 5. – DJ Demko – 5 p.m. Track 5. – Jason D Williams – 8 p.m. The Tulsan Bar – Weston Horn – 7 p.m. Vintage Wine Bar – Grammy Nominated ft. Mason Remel and Malachi Burgess – 8 p.m.
The Tulsan Bar – DJ Skibblez – 10 p.m. Vanguard – Corusco, Fox Royale – 8 p.m. – ($10) Woody Guthrie Center – Scott Mulvahill – 8:30 p.m.
Sun // Oct 13 Bad Ass Renee’s – Maximus, A Beautiful End & Dark Matter – 8 p.m. Cain’s Ballroom – The Raconteurs, The Casualties of Jazz – 8 p.m. – ($69 - $90) The Chalkboard – Steve Lidell – 11 a.m. Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing – 10 p.m. Hunt Club – Preslar Monthly Music Showcase – 8 p.m. Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Steve Lidell – 5 p.m. Los Cabos - Jenks – The Fabulous Two Man Band – 5 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens – 9 p.m. Soul City – Jacob Dement – 9 p.m. – ($7) Soundpony – Underground Collective – 10 p.m. The Venue Shrine – A Benefit for Larry Spears – 2 p.m. – ($10) Whittier Bar – Cortege, Grass Giant, Constant Peril – 9 p.m.
Fri // Oct 11
Mon // Oct 14
Colony – Vinyl Happy Hour – 4 p.m. Colony – Wink Burcham – 10 p.m. Duet Jazz – Mezclave – 8 p.m. – ($13) The Fur Shop – The Erase, InGhosts, AlterBlood, Tyler Griese, Dead Union – 8:30 p.m. Hunt Club – BC and the Big Rig – 8 p.m. IDL Ballroom – Headbangers Ball ft Codd Dubz & Algo – 9 p.m. – ($18) Imperio – Calibre 50 – 9 p.m. The Joint – Air Supply – 8 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens – 9 p.m. Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Ayngel & John – 10 p.m. Mass Movement Community Arts – Weird Bird Show! Jazz, Noise, Metal Abomination: Without Adjectives, Pluto Rouge, Get-Apt, Infinate Crustacean – 7 p.m. – ($7) Max Retropub – DJ Kylie Mercury Lounge – Go Go Rillas – 8 p.m. Riffs – Scott Keeton – 5:30 p.m. Riffs – DJ 2 Legit – 6:30 p.m. Riffs – Empire – 9 p.m. Soul City – The Haymakers – 9 p.m. – ($10) Soundpony – DJ Spencer LG – 10 p.m. Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m. Track 5. – Tucker Beathard – 8 p.m. The Tulsan Bar – DJ Good Ground – 10 p.m. The Venue Shrine – TN Jet – 7 p.m. – ($10)
Ambassador Hotel Tulsa – Cocktail Concert: All That Jazz – 7:30 p.m. Colony – Jared Tyler Presents Saugeye – 9 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Andrew Harmon – 9 p.m. Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – Chris Foster – 8 p.m. Soundpony – Night/Blush – 10 p.m. Vanguard – Matt Maeson, The Technicolors – 8 p.m.
Tues // Oct 15 BOK Center – Baby Shark Live – 6 p.m. – ($25 - $65) Colony – Chris Lee Becker – 6 p.m. Colony – Chris Combs Trio with Special Guests – 9 p.m. Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic – 7 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – Greg Dragoo – 9 p.m. Vanguard – Masked Intruder, The Bombpops, Tightwire – 8 p.m.
Sat // Oct 12 Bad Ass Renee’s – Agony Inc., Arjuna, Endfall, Miss Misery – 8:45 p.m. – ($5) Cain’s Ballroom – That 90’s Party – 8 p.m. – ($15 - $40) Chimera – Graveyard Party EP Release with Spinster, LCG and the X, The Daddyo’s – 8 p.m. Duet Jazz – Brd Trio – 8 p.m. – ($10) Elephant Run – Ragdoll – 12:30 a.m. The Fur Shop – White Collar Sideshow, Solidify, XIII Minutes – 8 p.m. Gathering Place - QuikTrip Great Lawn – Maddie & Tae – 6:30 p.m. Hunt Club – Straight Shot – 8 p.m. Margaritaville - 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar – The Downbeat – 9 p.m. Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Purple Nation Duo – 10 p.m. Mass Movement Community Arts – SHOTS Anniversary Show: Embracer, Weathered, Vagittarius, Damion Shade, Give Way, Feral Ghost – 6 p.m. Max Retropub – DJ AB Mercury Lounge – The Well – 8 p.m. Riffs – Barrett Lewis – 5:30 p.m. Riffs – DJ Mib – 6:30 p.m. Riffs – Replay – 9 p.m. Skyline Event Center – Sawyer Brown – 7 p.m. Soul City – Travis Linville – 9 p.m. – ($10) Soundpony – Shivery Shakes, Dull Drums – 10 p.m. Swamp House – Pat Cook – 7 p.m. Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m. Track 5. – Mark Chapman Band – 8 p.m. Tulsa Time Event Center – Pushloop, Partywave, Jesse Strange, Noizmekka – 11 p.m. – ($20)
Send dates, venue and listings to kyra@ Langdon Publishing. com October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
musicnotes
Sing it again MOJOFest carries on the legacy of Tulsa music
become part of the legend of the music that came out of Tulsa.” All MOJOFest proceeds go to The Day Center for the Homeless and The Church Studio Music Foundation. Bell thinks this is a fitting homage to Leon Russell’s legacy. “Leon had a very charitable heart ... he was always there to support so I feel like it’s appropriate to raise money for the homeless in Leon’s house, if you will. There’s something very powerful and spiritual about that. I think we’ll feel his presence, approval and support. I really do,” she said. — KYRA BRUCE
Marcy Levy singing at the last MOJOFest | JAMES BASS
MARY AND JAMIE OLDAKER DIDN’T HAVE a typical wedding. They rented out Bohemian Pizzeria for the ceremony and took over Tulsa’s East Village for a public reception filled with food, drinks, friends and music. They wanted to share the celebration with the whole town. Thus, MOJOFest was born. “For the first one it was just, ‘Anybody come.’ We sent invitations all over. And we said, you know, ‘If the public walks up, come on! Come have a good time,’” Mary said. Jamie, a world-renowned drummer who has collaborated with J.J. Cale, Leon Russell, The Gap Band, Eric Clapton and more, was more than happy to oblige. “I had to remind Jamie during the first one, ‘This isn’t Live Aid—this is our wedding reception,’” Mary said. Since then, MOJOFest, an acronym of the couple’s initials, has grown to be more than just a celebration of Mary and Jamie’s love for each other. Now in its third year, it’s also a celebration of their love for Tulsa and its rich musical heritage. “Everyone playing this festival has something to do with Tulsa,” Jamie said. “We will always have Tulsa music involved with [MOJO] to help promote the legacy and the new bands coming up.” This year, MOJOFest will be held at the legendary Church Studio and the surrounding block. Performers will include Ann Bell and the Gospel Hour, John Fulbright and Friends, The Golden Ones and more. The location is significant to Jamie and performer Ann Bell because they each have so much history in the walls of the studio. They both worked there with Leon Russell when he owned it, while the “Tulsa Sound” was beginning to catch fire. “Oldaker and I came in right when the Tulsa Sound was being birthed. We were a part of that. We were some of the youngest members of that crew … talk about being at the right place at the right time,” Bell said. “The years I spent in the Church with Leon recording and stuff were just some of the most magical, unbelievable moments from my life because I knew, even though I was young, I had a sense that what we were doing would last for decades and would THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
MUSIC // 43
onscreen
Renée Zellweger in Judy | COURTESY
OVER THE RAINBOW Zellweger outmatches the melodrama of Judy
IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHO THE real Judy Garland was, you need to see her life onstage, not off. That ironic point is made (albeit unintentionally) by Judy, a new biopic which focuses primarily on the final months of Garland’s life. Renée Zellweger stars as the legend who died too soon—at age 47, of an accidental barbiturate overdose—in a transformative performance that transcends the film’s weaknesses. When the story stops trying to tell us everything about Garland and simply lets Zellweger show us, that’s when Judy is truly revealed. The opening act portends a laborious slog. Based on the stageplay End of the Rainbow, director Rupert Goold and screenwriter Tom Edge give us exactly the kind of tragic conventions we expect from the life of a child star: overworked, overmedicated, body-shamed and psychologically manipulated. Heavy-handed flashbacks of abuse at the hands of cartoonishly boorish studio mogul Louis B. Mayer (Richard Cordery) are intercut with late-1960s Judy: pill-popping, broke, on divorce No. 4, fighting for custody of kids from husband No. 3, and an all-around trainwreck whose star is fading. The first 20-ish minutes depict a formulaic variation on the kind of Hollywood cautionary tale we’ve seen countless times before. A more economical approach could’ve condensed these banalities to one sequence or conversation, possibly even a few concise, sharply observed lines. But when Garland finally arrives in London for a series of concerts that would prove to be her last, Judy becomes more 44 // FILM & TV
focused and compelling, at times mesmerizing, and a showcase for the best performance of Zellweger’s career. The film still falters occasionally into dysfunctional melodrama (namely with the shyster who would become her fifth husband), but when Garland is in her element—whether while soaring on her iconic talent or being sabotaged by her vices—Zellweger shows us more than any amount of exposition ever could. This becomes profoundly clear in the first London stage number, one which Goold presents through a single, unbroken full-song take. What the entire first act was toiling to convey is finally made authentic—and moving—in that one uncut moment of Judy baring her soul through music. Zellweger does a far better job carrying the weight of Garland’s troubled life than the movie ever does sensationalizing it. The only effective subplot outside of the theatre is a fictional one involving a closeted gay couple that Judy befriends after a show. These two men never existed, but concocting them is exactly the kind of license that a biopic should take, especially when needing to condense the essence of a person. The two men are fully formed as well, not mere catalysts, which helps to humanize Garland even more. As each onstage sequence illuminates Garland further, I found myself wishing for a more ambitious approach to the material, such as a dramatized concert movie or an all-out musical. Fittingly, it’s on the stage where the film crescendos, giving Judy the poignant, cathartic well-deserved encore life never did. — JEFF HUSTON
Bliss | COURTESY
PAIN AND GORY Bliss is a death-metal blast beat of horror filmmaking
FOR THE LONGEST TIME, EVERY OCTOBER, a group of friends and I would welcome the arrival of fall weather—not with a huge cup of pumpkin spice goodness or our favorite cable knit sweater, but rather 30 days crammed with horror movie madness. Our programming would run the gamut from high-art (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) to beautiful shlock (Street Trash) and a lot in the middle (Salo comes to mind). There was nothing we wouldn’t submit for our viewing (dis)pleasure. Every so often, we would queue up an entry from the newer wave of horror films by the likes of Ty West (House of the Devil) or Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard (You’re Next). One such filmmaker to pop out of the bunch was Joe Begos. His first film Almost Human was a riff on Carpenter’s The Thing that felt more direct rip-off than homage to the 80s horror classic. But there was a style and tenacity that showed promise. Begos has made good with his third feature film, the scuzzy, 16mm death-metal infused vampire tale Bliss. Bliss is a coke-snorting, drop D-tuned psychedelic horror film that’s equal parts tale of bloodsucking mayhem and a Darkthrone album—and I am here for it. In the neon-soaked Los Angeles of Bliss, artist Dezzy (Dora Madison) comes down with a wicked bout of creative block. Her agent fires her on the eve of a major gallery show, sending Dezzy into a panic. Certain she’s painting what will be her
masterpiece, she soon seeks out the aid of chemical inspiration. No slouch, Dezzy opts for the harder, more transcendent batch of drugs her dealer dubs “Bliss.” A few bumps of the nose candy finds Dezzy embarking on a drug-fueled night of LA excess and debauchery. Awakening from a blackout with a wicked hangover, she’s astonished to find her work-in-progress improved and a thirst for blood that will go unsatiated until she’s finished. Shot on glorious 16-millimeter film, Bliss feels like the kind of grimy horror movie you’d discover after a night of voracious searching at the local video stores of yore. Begos spins a wicked 88-minute psychedelic, blast-beat driven tale of Hollywood vampires that feels right at home with the pulpy bloodlust fare like Katheryn Bigelow’s After Dark and Tony Scott’s Hunger. Born out of a bit of autobiographical struggle, Begos directs his film with a frenetic and economic frenzy that adds to the drug-fueled mania of Dezzy’s descent into vampiric madness. Using practical locations and in-camera bloody effects elevates Bliss above the perpetual flood of schlocky Blumhouse rip-offs and corny haunted house films laden with bad CGI ghosts and jump-scares. The film feels like it was made from a place of a little desperation and an unsatisfied hunger for creative expression by the filmmaker himself. — CHARLES ELMORE October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
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THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
FILM & TV // 45
free will astrology by ROB BREZSNY
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Every time my birthday season comes around, I set aside an entire day to engage in a life review. It lasts for many hours. I begin by visualizing the recent events I’ve experienced, then luxuriously scroll in reverse through my entire past, as if watching a movie starring me. It’s not possible to remember every single scene and feeling, of course, so I allow my deep self to highlight the moments it regards as significant. Here’s another fun aspect of this ritual: I bestow a blessing on every memory that comes up, honoring it for what it taught me and how it helped me to become the person I am today. Dear Libra, now is an excellent time for you to experiment with a similar celebration.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Depression is when you think there’s nothing to be done,” writes author Siri Hustvedt. “Fortunately I always think there’s something to be done.” I offer this hopeful attitude to you, Scorpio, trusting that it will cheer you up. I suspect that the riddles and mysteries you’re embedded in right now are so puzzling and complicated that you’re tempted to think that there’s nothing you can do to solve them or escape them. But I’m here to inform you that if that’s how you feel, it’s only temporary. Even more importantly, I’m here to inform you that there is indeed something you can do, and you are going to find out what that is sooner rather than later. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “How inconvenient to be made of desire,” writes Sagittarian author Larissa Pham. “Even now, want rises up in me like a hot oil. I want so much that it scares me.” I understand what she means, and I’m sure you do, too. There are indeed times when the inner fire that fuels you feels excessive and unwieldy and inopportune. But I’m happy to report that your mood in the coming weeks is unlikely to fit that description. I’m guessing that the radiant pulse of your yearning will excite you and empower you. It’ll be brilliant and warm, not seething and distracting. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I envision the next twelve months as a time when you could initiate fundamental improvements in the way you live. Your daily rhythm twelve months from now could be as much as twenty percent more gratifying and meaningful. It’s conceivable you will discover or generate innovations that permanently raise your long-term goals to a higher octave. At the risk of sounding grandiose, I predict you’ll welcome a certain novelty that resembles the invention of the wheel or the compass or the calendar. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Modern literary critic William Boyd declared that Aquarian author Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was “the best short-story writer ever,” and “the first truly modern writer of fiction: secular, refusing to pass judgment, cognizant of the absurdities of our muddled, bizarre lives and the complex tragi-comedy that is the human condition.” Another contemporary critic, Harold Bloom, praised Chekhov’s plays, saying that he was “one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre.” We might imagine, then, that in the course of his career, Chekhov was showered with accolades. We’d be wrong about that, though. “If I had listened to the critics,” he testified, “I’d have died drunk in the gutter.” I hope that what I just said will serve as a pep talk for you as you explore and develop your own original notions in the coming weeks. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Pisces-born Dorothy Steel didn’t begin her career as a film actress until she was 91 years old. She had appeared in a couple of TV shows when she was 89, then got a small role in an obscure movie. At age 92, she became a celebrity when she played the role of a tribal elder in Black Panther, one of the highest-grossing films of all time. I propose that we make her one of your inspirational role models for both the coming weeks and the next twelve months. Why? Because I suspect you will be ripening fully into a role and a mission you were born to embody and express. ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1956, the U.S. federal government launched a program to build 40,000 miles of high-speed roads to connect all major American cities. It was completed 36 years later at a cost of $521 billion. In the com-
Place the numbers 1 through 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.
NOVICE
ing months, I’d love to see you draw inspiration from that visionary scheme. According to my analysis, you will generate good fortune for yourself as you initiate a long-term plan to expand your world, create a more robust network, and enhance your ability to fulfill your life’s big goals. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus-born Youtube blogger Hey Fran Hey has some good advice for her fellow Bulls, and I think it’ll be especially fresh and potent in the coming weeks. She says, “Replacing ‘Why is this happening to me?’ with ‘What is this trying to tell me?’ has been a game changer for me. The former creates a hamster wheel, where you’ll replay the story over and over again. Victimized. Stuck. The latter holds space for a resolution to appear.” GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “The soul has illusions as the bird has wings: it is supported by them.” So declared French author Victor Hugo. I don’t share his view. In fact, I regard it as an insulting misapprehension. The truth is that the soul achieves flight through vivid fantasies and effervescent intuitions and uninhibited longings and non-rational hypotheses and wild hopes— and maybe also by a few illusions. I bring this to your attention because now is an excellent time to nurture your soul with vivid fantasies and effervescent intuitions and uninhibited longings and non-rational hypotheses and wild hopes. CANCER (June 21-July 22): I know people of all genders who periodically unleash macho brags about how little sleep they need. If you’re normally like that, I urge you to rebel. The dilemmas and riddles you face right now are very solvable IF and only IF you get sufficient amounts of sleep and dreams. Do you need some nudges to do right by yourself? Neuroscientist Matthew Walker says that some of the greatest athletes understand that “sleep is the greatest legal enhancing performance drug.” Top tennis player Roger Federer sleeps 12 hours a day. During his heyday, world-class sprinter Usain Bolt slept ten hours a night and napped during the day. Champion basketball player LeBron James devotes 12 hours a day to the rejuvenating sanctuary of sleep.
MASTER
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Actor and dancer Fred Astaire was a pioneer in bringing dance into films as a serious art form. He made 31 musical films during the 76 years he worked, and was celebrated for his charisma, impeccable technique, and innovative moves. At the height of his career, from 1933 to 1949, he teamed up with dancer Ginger Rogers in the creation of ten popular movies. In those old-fashioned days, virtually all partner dancing featured a male doing the lead part as the female followed. One witty critic noted that although Astaire was a bigger star than Rogers, she “did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and while wearing high heels.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, you may soon be called on to carry out tasks that are metaphorically comparable to those performed by Rogers. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your number one therapy in the coming weeks? Watching animals. It would be the healthiest thing you could undertake: relax into a generously receptive mode as you simply observe creatures doing what they do. The best option would be to surrender to the pleasures of communing with both domesticated AND wild critters. If you need a logical reason to engage in this curative and rejuvenating activity, I’ll give you one: It will soothe and strengthen your own animal intelligence, which would be a tonic gift for you to give yourself.
“Privilege is when you think something is not a problem because it’s not a problem for you.” t h i s w e e k ’ s h o m e w o r k // T E S T I F Y AT F R E E W I L L A S T R O L O G Y. C O M . 46 // ETC.
October 2 – 15, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE
THE FUZZ THE TULSA VOICE SPOTLIGHTS: TULSA SPCA
2910 Mohawk Blvd. | MON, TUES, THURS, FRI & SAT, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 918.428.7722
LEON is very excited to meet other dogs, sometimes a little too much, so needs a well-matched play mate. He loves walks (and runs) on a leash, seeking out new sights and smells. Leon would love an active home and promises to be a smart boy. Leon is about 1 year old.
ACROSS 1 “Angie Tribeca” star Jones (Hint: Read 9-Down before proceeding!) 8 “Are you?” reply (Sunday) 12 Flinty French wine 19 Fandom makeup 21 First square number (Monday) 22 Like some music and lights 23 “Heaven forbid!” 24 Part of UCSF (Tuesday) 25 Sometimesplucked music piece 26 Tater ___ 27 Spanish for south 28 Opposite of exo(Wednesday) 30 Cut off 31 Unreturnable serve 32 Put back to zero 34 Tabula ___ (Thursday) 35 ___ Plus shampoo 36 Declaration of defeat (Friday) 38 Went down a chute 41 DuVernay of film 42 Ghana’s capital 45 Campus areas (Saturday) 48 Bella Swan portrayer Stewart 50 Noted Apache leader 53 Window coloring (Sunday) 55 Solution for contacts 56 Sporting chants 57 Cable 59 Actress Fisher (Monday) 61 Pepe’s surname 62 Hi-___ image 63 Intense enthusiasm (Tuesday) 65 Gift getter 67 Flee secretly 69 Wavy trig function (Wednesday)
71 Firing 75 Made a choice 77 Places for massages (Thursday) 79 In favor of 80 Cricket’s sound 83 Train transit (Friday) 85 ___ large (obvious) 86 Apt first name for the last name Moss? 87 Like a director’s cut, usually 89 Some lights, briefly (Saturday) 91 Cold look 93 Tax return examiner 95 Beach trees (Sunday) 97 Dog-___ (well-worn) 98 Trident-shaped Greek letter 99 The Chi-Lites’ “Have You ___ Her” 101 Boy sopranos’ voices (Monday) 104 Coral habitats 106 Sculptor Hardison or playwright William (Tuesday) 109 Not halal 110 “Don’t know yet,” on schedules 113 Certain sausages, informally 115 Achilles’ weak spot (Wednesday) 116 Up to, in ads 117 Turn sharply 118 Night lights? 120 Prefix for lateral (Thursday) 122 Kind of 124 Seattle has a wet one 125 Trade-___ (Friday) 126 Yo-Yo Ma and others 127 Persists with 128 Mouse-sighting yelp (Saturday)
ALIA wants to be the center of your world. Alia was an absolute lady in her last home, doing well with house training, hanging out in her crate, chewing on appropriate toys and lounging on the furniture. Alia would do best as an only-child, is about 1.5 years old and weighs about 46 lbs.
129 “TMI!” DOWN 1 Indian condiment 2 Like some committees 3 Struck down, old-style 4 Golfers turn theirs 5 Fury 6 Less sparse 7 Evoke 8 Plea at sea 9 You might gain a day when you cross it (as all answers crossing this one do) 10 Dryer brand 11 Repairs, as fences 12 Apt place to wear kitten heels 13 Med. care option 14 Elementary lessons 15 ___ curl (arm exercise) 16 Give 15%, say 17 Step in 18 Go from square one 20 Therapy topics 29 Extra NBA periods 32 “The Last Jedi” director Johnson 33 LGBT activist Milan (sounds like “teak”) 36 Natural hairstyles, for short 37 “Gloomy” guy 39 93-Across employer 40 Regional language 42 Ancient market 43 A-lister, e.g. 44 Plant related to mustard 46 Company behind many princesses 47 NBC sketch show, briefly 49 Aerodynamic 51 “This is too much”
52 54 58 60 63 64 66 68 70 72 73 74 76 78 80 81 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 100 102 103 105 107 108 110 111 112 114 117 119 121 123
Black Star rapper Slight amount Talk smack about Artwork made from small pieces Endearing children, to a Brit Neatens Very mean Welsh dog ENE opposite “Alas, it looks like ...” ___ Dame Avarice Hosp. figures Producing rainbow colors, say Rebuts a hater Twist on a game R&B star whose name contains a period Swiss peak Grade school orgs. Caviar Camera type (Abbr.) “Does this ___ weird to you?” Share with your followers, in a way “Doesn’t impress me much” Research ctr. in Bethesda Pickling solutions Hands-over-ears syllables Step heavily French nines Lamp spirit In need of massaging One-ups Wedding garment Mmes., in Spain Wedding garment ___ snail’s pace Shaming sound Foxlike, in a simile
The Tulsa SPCA has been helping animals in our area since 1913. The shelter never euthanizes for space and happily rescues animals from high-kill shelters. They also accept owner surrenders, rescues from cruelty investigations, hoarding, and puppy mill situations. Animals live on-site or with foster parents until they’re adopted. All SPCA animals are micro-chipped, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and treated with preventatives. Learn about volunteering, fostering, upcoming events, adoptions, and their low-cost vaccination clinic at tulsaspca.org.
BENDER is an excited boy ready to meet his forever family! He’s lived with another dog his size and done well but can be a little much for calmer dogs. Bender would love a family who plays with him and trains him to be the best smash-faced boy he can be! Bender is about 30 lbs.
UNIVERSAL SUNDAY CROSSWORD TIME TRAVEL By Erik Agard, edited by David Steinberg
© 2019 Andrews McMeel Syndication THE TULSA VOICE // October 2 – 15, 2019
MAZZIO is a small black-andorange shorthair with beautiful markings. She’s feisty and will love to play with you! She’s 2 years old and looking for a forever home. Mazzio has been spayed, vaccinated, FeLV/FIV tested, microchipped, and is current on parasite prevention.
10/6 ETC. // 47
FRIDAY
AIR SUPPLY
10.11
THURSDAY
10.17
8PM
THE CHARLIE 8PM DANIELS BAND
SATURDAY
10.19
EXPERIENCE HENDRIX
8PM
TURN IT ON, TURN IT UP SCAN TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Schedule subject to change.
Pleas e re cycle this issue.