Return to live music by Oklahoma Gazette

FREEEVERYOTHER W EDNESDAY|METRO OKC’ SI NDEPENDENTBI W EEKLY|JULY21 ,2021

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INSIDE COVER COVID-19 darkened stages across the nation, but venues are roaring back into action this summer. By Matt Dinger & Brett Fieldcamp Cover by Phillip Danner

NEWS COVER Return of live music Chad Whitehead Column 10 Melanie Jennings profile 12 Chicken-Fried News 12 Film Review 4 8

EAT & DRINK 14 Gazedibles

ARTS & CULTURE 16

Sunny Days Mural Festival Esports leagues 20 Calendar 18

MUSIC 24 27

Lotus Circle Media Live music

THE HIGH CULTURE 28

Strain reviews

FUN 30 31

Puzzles sudoku | crossword Astrology

VOL. XLIII NO. 05 PUBLISHER | Bryan Hallman bhallman@okgazette.com EDITOR | Matt Dinger mdinger@okgazette.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR | Phillip Danner DIGITAL MEDIA & PRODUCTION COORDINATOR | Kendall Bleakley SOCIAL DESIGNER | Berlin Green ADVERTISING advertising@okgazette.com 405-528-6000 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Saundra Godwin | sgodwin@okgazette.com Christy Duane | cduane@okgazette.com Melissa Griffin | mgriffin@okgazette.com ACCOUNTING/HR MANAGER Monique Dodd | mdodd@okgazette.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Patrick Hanscom | phanscom@okgazette.com CONTRIBUTORS Jacob Threadgill Brett Fieldcamp Trevor Hultner Chad Whitehead Evan Jarvicks Jerry Bennett

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J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1 | OKGA Z E T TE .COM COV E R S TORY

By Matt Dinger & Brett Fieldcamp Illustrations by Phillip Danner

After being one of the first industries to collapse last spring, live music is roaring back. Show promoters and venues are reporting some dates later this year are already ten bids deep. The 2022 calendars are filling up with concerts. The wheels on the buses are finally going round and round once more. Nowhere has the building excitement more apparent than the Tower Theatre. The first two nights of its Don’t Call It A Comeback concert series were packed, with younger and older audiences flocking in and out of the venue, spilling over into Ponyboy, its adjacent bar and second, smaller stage. The lines for drinks were back. The “pardon mes” and “excuses mes” were next, protecting the earned beverage with their bodies as they passed through the hundreds of others inside the venue. And, finally, the ringing ears are back too.

When the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic finally began to set in for Americans, it was the concert venues and performance centers that were the very first to see nationwide cancellations and closures, in many cases even before there were official mandates to shutter them. On March 13, 2020, two days after Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz turned OKC into ground zero for the NBA shutdown, Chad Whitehead helped make the decision to close the doors of the Tower Theatre for the near future. As the talent buyer and operating partner of the historic theater, he had already overseen the booking of a potentially massive spring and summer concert season that evaporated almost overnight. Twelve days later, Governor Kevin Stitt officially shut down all bars, clubs, and venues in the state. Just a few blocks east of the Tower, Jon Jackson was only about a month into his new residency as the booking manager for the hard rock hotspot Blue Note, where it was business, as relatively usual until word of the shutdown

came from the governor’s desk. “It seemed like almost every venue in the country had already come to a halt,” Jackson said. “Blue Note got shut down shortly after and I was there to clean up the mess. We knew there was no way to safely book because we didn’t clearly understand the situation. No one did.” When the Governor’s Office decided to begin reopening just a few weeks after it forced closures, Blue Note was happy to open its doors and resume bar duties, even under the initially strict distancing and curfew orders. As summer approached and lobbying intensified to extend bar hours, and with both patrons and music fans feeling impatient and thirsty for distraction, Jackson and the Blue Note management agreed to resume booking and hosting live bands. “I was incredibly nervous for the safety of our staff and patrons. Something I needed to consider was part of my staff had been without work for nearly four months and they were ineligible for unemployment benefits as contractors. With the majority of every business shut down and no one hiring, where were my staff to turn? … We required masks on during shows and temperature checks at the door to enter. We also made musicians bring their own vocal microphones. We were

very fortunate to not have to shut down because of an outbreak the entire time. I didn’t really advertise much at all during this period because we didn’t want to be a super spreader event.”

With the Tower’s entire slate postponed, and Ponyboy’s doors shuttered just two days later, the question quickly became how to stay relevant and productive in a community that had just had the wind knocked out of it. By the following week, “Live from Ponyboy” became one of the state’s first real platforms for legitimate virtual concerts. “I think that was a really significant run, because all of us, in OKC at least, were pretty much in a state of shock,” Chad Whitehead, talent buyer for the Tower Theatre, said. “Everything was closed, everybody didn’t know what they could do or

what they couldn’t do, and so we saw really good numbers there.” As many in the music world would soon learn, however, attempting to keep up that level of interest in onlinestreamed virtual concerts eventually proved difficult as the isolation wore on. Subsequent runs of virtual events from Ponyboy were done largely just to provide work for the theater staff that Whitehead glowingly calls “the best techs in the business.” “That was not a cash-positive series at all,” he says, “but our techs work on a show-by-show basis. If there’s no shows, there’s no work, and that was pretty painful.” It was in that same spirit of consolation that Whitehead also launched “Scene Skeleton” in the autumn of 2020. Conceived as a way to impart evervaluable insider industry advice directly to up-and-coming artists, the online video series helped to serve as a bridge between the long, quiet pandemic period and the bustling, renewed activity that Whitehead always knew would be just around the corner.

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“There’s always a lot of information about the music business that you don’t know until you learn it, and you learn it the hard way.” On the road to its full-capacity shows beginning again in August, Ponyboy also now hosts in person events once more like the Load Inn, a music industry insiders night hosted once a month. Next door, the stage lights and soundboard are also already back in action.

After the Tiger King madness died down, Luke Dick entertained Oklahoma City with his documentary on the Red Dog Cafe streaming through Hulu, so it’s only fitting that his band Hey Steve was the first headliner to hit the stage for Tower’s comeback series. But it’s also fitting that lofi beach rock Oklahoma City band Husbands rounded out the first night on stage. Waiting in the wings for more than a year, local bands are also setting practice schedules and show dates once more. Speak, Memory played its EP release show on July 16, more than a year after the record was completed, guitarist Tim Miller said. The recordings were made in December 2019. Speak, Memory played its last pre-pandemic show at the Blue Note in late January, a benefit for friend and fellow musician Jake Stinson, whose band Giant Stride also played the release show at 89th Street Collective. The EP release show took place at the same time as the Tower show, bringing in a crowd of about 100 people. “We got a decent crowd that came out, and all the bands did well. Couldn’t ask for anything more,” Miller said. “It felt pretty good just being able to play with the guys as well as feeling the energy from the crowd. Just hearing everyone clap and yell. They were super excited to see us. It was a really good feeling. It’s nice to feel that again.” They’ll be doing more local dates as the year goes on but they are ready to hit the road with the new EP. “Chad from Tower and I, we talked a couple of months ago and he was telling me, if we ever wanted to play Ponyboy to hit him up, so I like to think maybe sometime this fall we’ll probably play there, but I think at the moment, we’re kind of focusing on trying to play more out-of-state shows just because I think we played Oklahoma to the ground at this point,” Miller said. Likewise, other touring acts region6

Rubble of | Photosby Den (https://instagram.com/bookofx)

al and national are setting road dates, DCF Concerts co-owner Jamie Fitzgerald said. DCF produces live music in Oklahoma and Kansas. “We love Tulsa, but Oklahoma City is definitely where the heart is and where we are. We do Tulsa and we also have a stake in The Cotillion in Wichita,” she said. Notable venues in which they hold concerts are Diamond Ballroom, Chesapea ke A rena a nd Zoo Amphitheatre in Oklahoma City and the BOK Center and Tulsa (formerly Brady) Theater. The day after the Oklahoma City Thunder game, DCF held its last fullcapacity show at the Tulsa Theater. The rest of the year they held some distanced red dirt band shows at the Diamond Ballroom, Fitzgerald said. DCF was not among the 8,141 small venues and operators as of Friday afternoon that had been approved for grants, she said, but they have been in close contact with the Small Business Administration and expect to receive some fiscal relief. “What’s beautiful about the small venue operator grants for promoters and venues is that all that money pretty much immediately goes right back into the community. It has to be spent on music, for staff, for improvements for the greater good … We can put in offers on artists that we might not have been able to.” In the meantime, DCF is preparing for its growing slate of concerts for 2021 and 2022, among them the sold-out Foo Fighters performance at the Zoo Amp.

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But Fitzgerald knows that the future is still risky. On the same night Foo Fighters are scheduled for Oklahoma City, DCF is also putting on Lil Baby at the BOK Center in Tulsa, but most of the big arena shows, of which DCF does 10 to 15 a year, are slated for next year. For now. “I do feel it’s imperative to know that this could happen again if we can’t get to a high vax rate. Foo Fighters canceled their L.A. gig for the 17th and we have Foo Fighters here on August 6. That was COVID. The reason they canceled were people in their camp testing positive,” she said. But at present, the live music business is booming once more. Saturday night at Tower Theatre was just a little less hectic than Friday, Stephen Tyler, manager partner, said. Since the shows were not ticketed, attendance numbers were not available. “It’s completely because we have those sponsors coming on board, some of them with actual dollars, which is essentially how we built the budget for the musicians. So to not have to cover that whole thing on our own to make their fee allows us a little bit of peace of mind to know that as long as some people show up and have a good time, we’re gonna make some money and do decently well. “We’ve theorized that all of this lack of things to do, with people being cooped up for the last couple of years, would have resulted in some excitement, pent up desires to get out there and experience that sort of energy again. I would say we underestimated that a little bit.

People were definitely interested in getting out and getting back to that world of live music. There was an energy in that building the other night, and I got multiple people, including yourself, commenting about it, that it was something they haven’t felt or experienced in a while and they’ve kind of forgotten that it was so such a strong, strong energy coming out of a room like that, when you’re actually there with a bunch of other people and you’re listening to that music and you’re feeling it in your chest,” Tyler said. The series continues until it culminates with the Tower’s anniversary show on Aug. 7. Tickets are still available for its first full-capacity show on Aug. 12 with Shakey Graves. In the meantime, Tyler is continuing to plug along with Beer City Music Hall, a live event that is expected to have its first shows in December. Whitehead has hinted that Hey Steve may be returning for one of the first performances there. “We’ve got a whole month of music left in front of us leading up to our anniversary party, so really, it’s kind of scary to think that it might only go up from here,” Tyler said.

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The concert business is a tricky one. The risks are intimidating and you’re only as good as your last month of shows. It takes a unique set of wild-eyed professionals to cut it in this business, and I’m proud to count myself among them. Bringing Tower Theatre to life with our team has been my greatest honor. Keeping it going through a pandemic has been my hardest labor. We all have memories of those early days of the pandemic, especially the one when “OKC” and “COVID” were in every newscast across the country. Our calendar fell apart. Months of work, gone by the end of the week. Instead of a weekend of sold-out shows, it was a quick succession of cancellations and reschedules. And the worst memory of all: giving our staff the terrible news that Tower Theatre was going dark. No shows meant no work. The majority of our staff was relegated to food pantries and the unemployment line through no fault of their own. Weeks before, I had been in New York City meeting with agents, lining up what would have been Tower’s best year yet. Artists like Tig Notaro and Kamasi Washington were selling out Tower Theatre. More big names on the schedule quickly became ghosts. Agents had been laid off, tour busses decommissioned. Everything was in limbo. Over the summer, awkward questions dropped off into uncomfortable silences. The Paycheck Protection Program, shout outs on social media, merch sales and the City of OKC’s venue-specific grant kept us tethered to the slim chance that we could survive. Publicly, we kept a stiff upper lip lest the bank get nervous and ticket holders get antsy. Privately it was a game of Frogger trying to avoid financial death. Hope was our medicine, but it was also our poison. The show must go on! Modifications were made to the HVAC, seats were removed and Tower’s capacity reduced to a trickle. In September we brought back a handful of small live shows: symbolic victories that meant a lot to the 8

team and community, but did little to solve our financial situation. Those shows were shortlived, and as the infection numbers skyrocketed, we canceled the remainder of our tattered calendar. As the holidays approached, our last hope was the Save our Stages grant program. When the pandemic started, independent venues banded together in a grassroots lobbying effort that made its way to Congress. Music fans across the country contacted elected officials on our behalf. Congresswoman Kendra Horn co-sponsored that legislation and, against all odds, Save Our Stages made it into a relief package. $15 billion dollars was earmarked for venues in late December 2020. Tower had a path forward, and rescue was on the way. Or so we thought. As winter turned to spring, we waited and watched, expecting the venue’s grant to move as quickly as other relief programs had. Instead it was radio silence from the Small Business Administration, who had been tasked by Congress to execute the venue grant. Gaming our cash flow became a weekly puzzle. A fresh round of PPP brought relief, but by May, many on our remaining team volunteered to skip or reduce their paychecks. We were announcing concerts for the fall, but didn’t have the cash to advertise those shows, pay deposits or rehire staff. Finally, the program launched. My partner, Stephen Tyler, had spent days collecting the required data, over 150 separate documents, to prove that Tower was a venue and that we had suffered catastrophic financial losses. We were ready to apply the minute the portal opened, which is also the moment the application site crashed. By lunchtime, they had scrapped the portal altogether and independent venues across the country were back in the dark. As emotional and stressful as 2020 had been, early 2021 was far worse. So many sac-

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Chad Whitehead Talent Buyer for Tower Theater | Photo Chelsea Banks

rifices had already been made to stretch us to this point and we were out of options. Finally, on Friday, June 18, about 3 p.m., Tower Theatre received word that we had been awarded our grant, more than a year after we ran out of money. By Tuesday of the following week, the grant money finally hit our account. No more wondering, no more waiting: for the first time in over a year, Tower Theatre could look toward the future with confidence. We’ve all endured sadness and isolation beyond what we thought we could bear. I’ve heard from so many friends who miss live music because it offers relief and helps us process those pains. Venues were the first to close and the last to reopen, and we’re saying thank you with a month of free concerts at Tower Theatre and Ponyboy. Please join us from July 16 to August 7 for Don’t Call it a Comeback. We can laugh, cry, commiserate and enjoy live music together again. See the lineup, RSVP and get your free tickets at www.towertheatreokc.com and please … Don’t call it a comeback!

SCAN THE QR CODE FOR Tickets to “DONT CALL IT A COMEBACK” SERIES

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a l c Ro o L

al Heart

G , l s ob t o

By Brett Fieldcamp

Oklahoma native Melanie Jennings is on the front line of foreign humanitarian efforts with USAID.

“ D o n’ t c o m e. D o n’ t c o m e.”

Get your groove on at Patricia’s!

LINGERIE • ADULT TOYS • BDSM & FETISH ITEMS • LOTIONS • NOVELT Y GIFTS & CARDS 615 E. MEMORIAL, OKC • 405-755-8600 10

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8009 W. RENO, OKC • 405-792-2020

Vice President Kamala Harris’s words to the staggering numbers fleeing Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras have rung a dissonant chord in the ears of the people charged with coordinating aid to the crisis. Organizations like USAID are designed for “international development,” a difficult-to-define objective that amounts primarily to addressing the root causes of the same issues fueling the masses fleeing natural disasters, rampant crime, and economic collapse in the region, but a big part of that objective undoubtedly relies on a level of understanding and compassion that the relief workers bring to the job from their own pasts and experiences. For one woman, herself the child of an immigrant, that experience began right here in Oklahoma. Del City native Melanie Jennings has been with USAID since 2019, but honed her skills for foreign aid and relief work through tenures with AmeriCorps, the Red Cross, FEMA, and even a time in Switzerland with the UN. Her resume speaks for itself, but her exposure to disaster, and to the efforts of the people working to provide help, extends much further back to an historically dark day in OK. “The definitive moment was the tornado outbreak of May 3rd, 1999,” Jennings says. “I distinctly remember the sound the tornado made as it lifted and went over my house not realizing just how lucky we were. Seeing all of this at 12 years old was intense and something I’d never forget for the rest of my life. I don’t think I necessarily knew I wanted to pursue aid work then but I knew I wanted to pursue a career that helped people recover from disasters like this, especially my community.” Growing up first in Del City and then Moore during her teenage years, the community of which she speaks could often feel like two separate worlds in

conflict. Jennings’ mother emigrated from the Philippines and has worked throughout her life to instill in Melanie a deep reverence and love for that part of her heritage, something that can still be very tricky in suburban Oklahoma.

Melanie Jennings | Photo provided

“It made me hyper aware at an early age that I was different,” Jennings explains. “However, I think that made me a more resilient and understanding person. It’s connected me to folks with similar lived experiences. It’s taught me to be more compassionate overall with a deep respect for other cultures and diversity.” Humanitarian work and foreign aid, then, seemed like the perfect outlet both for Jennings’ desire to assist with disas-

Melanie Jennings with colleagues | Photo provided

ter relief and for her urge to explore and support diversity among cultures. Returning home from an extended period of what she calls “intense culture shock” working for the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, Jennings found herself among FEMA’s ranks, battling the dual hardships of a rampant and relentless hurricane season (including Maria’s devastation across Puerto Rico) and a woefully underprepared presidential administration seemingly more concerned with its own image than with actual relief efforts. When a spot with USAID opened up, she jumped at the chance to return to aiding development among the struggling nations and cultures of the world, and to get away from the growing politicization and scapegoating surrounding FEMA at the time. With USAID, Jennings has been able to focus more on coordinating funds and supplies to many of the world’s most fragile nations, but also to learn about and better understand the cultural specificities in those areas, including a serendipitous assignment overseeing the greater Pacific region that includes her mother’s home nation. Now that the reigning politics have changed, and the pendulum has swung back to a less isolationist foreign policy, Jennings feels that the importance of America’s relief work is being more appreciated. “This administration has been very supportive of our humanitarian efforts and has been involved in raising awareness on some key displacement and migration issues in certain parts of the world,” she says. “It honestly has made it easier to provide assistance globally with a supportive administration.” So if the new administration’s attitudes regarding humanitarian work

are so much warmer, what are we to make of the VP’s seemingly blunt and callous statements in Guatemala? In Jennings’ opinion, there is a wide gulf between supporting foreign aid and relief and fully understanding the emotional complexities at the heart of humanitarian work and mass migration issues. “I believe it could be handled with much more compassion and understanding,” she says. “I think that’s what is particularly missing from the current state of immigration in the US. We have to understand why it is happening and what is causing people to leave their homes.” That commitment to the humanity behind disaster can be overwhelming, but Jennings is adamant that it remains at the heart of her work. Once again, she says this comes back to her home state and its own difficult and destructive history. “I was working for the Red Cross after the 2013 Moore tornado. I found myself in a similar position as the 1999 event, standing on a street with houses either gone or completely destroyed, but this time in a position to provide support and assistance to my community. That’s when I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.”

*Jennings would like to make it clear that her opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of USAID or any other organization with which she has worked*

Melanie Jennings with colleagues | Photo provided NEWS OKGA Z E T TE .COM | J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1

chicken friedNEWS

There’s an empty throne in the palace of The Tiger King. Joe Exotic, which is how he will forever be known henceforth because nobody can keep up with his changes in last name, is apparently back on the market. After announcing his divorce from Dillon Passage this spring, he announced on the 4th of July that he is opening up applications for “The Bachelor King.” “Dillon has made it clear that Joe will always be in his life and they will always love each other, but may not continue to be his husband after all that has happened, so the opportunity to start a romantic relationship with the now famous Joe Exotic, the Tiger King, is open for discussion, as Joe is going to waste no time in getting started with his new life when released,” according to a news release. Joe Exotic won his appeal and will be resentenced following his conviction of

attempting to murder-for-hire that bitch Carole Baskin, which w ill likely shave at least a few years off his sentence. But wait, there’s more. Also coming this month is Joe Exotic’s cannabis brand, which includes not only joints and gummies, but a cannabisinfused seltzer named “Tiger’s Piss.” Is there anything more 21-century America than Joe Exotic? We think not. Maybe sleeping on Mattress Mary’s old mattress was aiming too low. If, or when, he gets out of the clink, we should put that sumbitch in the White House. Hell, his platform’s less crazy than Trump’s was. Winners (yes, plural) for The Bachelor King will be announced Oct. 6, according to the press release.

We get high, they go low Sen. Jim Inhofe, being 100 percent on-brand as the out-of-touch legacy politician that only the Republican Party can breed (seemingly with family members), rolled out his “newest” pet project: securing billions of tax dollars to fight … eye roll please … illegal weed. Medical cannabis is legal in this and 36 other states. Recreational use of cannabis is legal in 18 states and Washington, D.C. Another 13 states have decriminalized it. Hell, it’s even legal in Guam. But nevermind that. Senator Jimmy is here to save y’all from another of his fictitious enemies, this time to the tune of $4 million. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, who used to be notorious for its scary stories of the devil’s lettuce, has been pretty quiet since medical legalization. The bureau made a full-time career of arch-nerd Mark Woodward, who has proudly proclaimed to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of grade school children that he has never touched the stuff. That curriculum hasn’t aged well.

Calls for stronger enforcement of illegal cannabis grows by the industry went unanswered for years, but now that there’s money for the taking, they’re suddenly at the ready and up for the task of cutting down wacky tobacky once more. Curious. I guess it’s not pork legislation if you’re using it to fatten up the pigs.

FILM REVIEW: MANDIBLES

A scene from MANDIBLES, a Magnet release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing. 12

J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1 | OKGA Z E T TE .COM CHICK E N FRIE D

From Quentin Dupieux, the man who brought us tales of killer tires and misbehaving police officers, comes his new film, Mandibles. This time Dupieux tackles a tale of two men and their oversized housefly companion, a 74-minute madcap journey that’s equal parts laughout-loud funny and headscratchingly surreal. Two pals, Jean-Gab and Manu, come across the fly, who they dub “Dominique,” in the trunk of a car handed off to them by a mysterious, and quite possibly, nefarious stranger. Attempts to train the Musca domestica go hilariously awry. This is Dupieux’s fourth feature in a row in French, after his original trio of English language features (Rubber, Wrong and Wrong

Cops). Fans of this film will want to check out his previous feature, Deerskin (currently available on HBO Max), as well as earlier works Wrong (currently available on Hulu) and, of course, Rubber (available for free on Kanopy and Hoopla with a Metropolitan Library System card). Mandibles screens July 23 through July 25 at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

A v a il a bl e E x cl u s iv ely a t R o b o t H o u s e.s t o r e CHICK E N FRIE D OKGA Z E T TE .COM | J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1

GAZEDIBLES

Hot 7 We’re using this space to highlight “Hot 7” restaurants that are earning buzz, either because they just opened, have new menu items or just generally have big things in store for 2021.

Harvey Bakery and Kitchen 301 NW 13th Street theharveybakery.com

The bakery concept from the owners of Hall’s Pizza Kitchen will open its brick and mortar location on 13th Street this fall. Until then, you can get a taste of what’s to come at a series of pop-ups. Follow on social media for locations, but a July 3 pop-up at Plenty Mercantile featured housemade bacon sandwich on brioche, a wood-fired bagel sandwich, as well as blackberry-walnut and bacon, chive and onion bagels, and a chocolate praline croissant.

Rendezvous Pizza

No Bone Vegan

Region-specific dishes have become some of the most popular food trends in the country. Rendezous Pizza is offering one of the newest sensations, Detroit-style pizza, in addition to the ever-popular New York thin crust. Detroit-style pizza distinguishes itself by baking a thick, buttery crust in a deep pan until the crust, cheese and toppings caramelize. It’s finished with dollops of red sauce and oregano. Rendezous offers 11 Detroit-style pizzas and eight New York-style, but customers can customize their own.

Chef Paden Weatherford is taking over the top floor of the Parlor OKC food hall, already owning the Bad Nonna’s Italian concept and Scissortail Sammies. He has added a vegan-friendly concept, No-Bone Vegan in June, which is currently operating on Saturday and Sundays out of the Scissortail Sammies location at Parlor. No-Bone is offering “pulled pork” made from jackfruit and “vrisket” and plant-based burnt ends made with seitan. The pulled pork as well as sides are all gluten-free.

27 E. Sheridan Ave. rendevouspizza.com 405-724-9439

11 NE 6th Street parlorokc.com 405-295-4740

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Trompudo’s Tacos

5804 S. Western Ave. Instagram.com/trompudos_tacos

This taqueria has gained so much word of mouth since opening inside Calvillito No. 3 (location listed above), that they’ve already secured its own brick and mortar location at 6015 S. May Ave., with a move coming soon. In the meantime, Trompudo’s al pastor is cut to order from its large, spinning trompo that can fill a taco, burrito, mulita, quesadilla or torta using special bread from the Calvillito bakery. Trompudos is also offering asada and saudero, chips with white queso and crispy fries that can be a vehicle for any of their fire-roasted meats.

Frida

500 Paseo Drive Fridasouthwest.com 405-683-7432

FRIDA immediately established itself as one of the best fine-dining restaurants in the city. Its foundation of southwest flavors brought many patrons to the restaurant, but its monthly specials from chef de cuisine Quinn Carrol keep them coming back. This month’s feature is lobster empanadas served with ancho chile hollandaise, smoked tomato corn salsa, chimichurri, goat cheese and green chile butter.Other specials include brisket burnt end sopes, sweet potato and black bean enchiladas, and a dark chocolate molten cake.

Venn Pizza on Britton

Jones Assembly

915 W. Britton Road

vennpizza.com 405-849-5973

901 W. Sheridan Ave. thejonesassembly.com 405-212-2378

If you’re not familiar with the Britton District of Oklahoma City, it’s a link to the city’s past while also showing its future. There are still signs of the former village of Britton while also becoming a bustling district, highlighted by Venn opening last month. Operated by the same folks that turned New State Burgers into the one of the best in the city, Venn is offering expertly made cocktails, 12 specialty pizzas , which includes “The Nomad,” which pays homage to the city’s first pizza purveyor with their classic fried pepperoni pie.

It’s a sign that things are returning to normal now that the Jones Assembly is hosting shows again. If you’re headed to hear some tunes, or just want to hang, the Jones unveiled a new summer menu this month featuring, among others, fresh takes on ceviche, a bright and summery salmon salad; spinach, artichoke, oyster mushroom and charred snap pea wood-fired pizza. End a meal with sweet corn dulce de leche-filled okie fried pies, which comes with a whiskeypecan crumble and passion fruit sorbet.

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he first of its kind in the state, the Sunny Dayz Mural Festival is a public art event celebrating femaleidentifying and non-binary artists. “Sunny Dayz seeks to uplift and support artists who have been subjected to inequity based off of age, race, and gender. Our core values include a commitment to equitable opportunity and wages, dedicated wall space to “newbies” regardless of age, and the initiation of our high school mentorship program that seeks to empower and educate self identifying women and non binary high school students interested in the arts,” according to its website. Sunny Dayz Mural Festival founder Virginia Sitkes said the idea had been in her head for years but she was able to make it a reality this year. “An all-female mural festival is something I’ve wanted to do for a couple years now. Just kind of didn’t have the right

tools, I guess, or it just wasn’t like the right time. And then back in December, I hopped on the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate Board. February was our first meeting because it took a little holiday break and I pitched the idea,” she said. Just six months later, the first festival will be Aug. 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Britton District, 925 W. Britton Road. “The first week of May is when we kind of launched Sunny Dayz to the public. And then, about a week later, our applications for artists went live. For the future, it’s going to be open to anyone. However, it was just Oklahoma artists this year due to COVID and due to budget and timeframe. A week after it launches, we put out the application and that’s when we opened for two weeks. And we got 89 responses,” Sitzes said. Here is a look at four of the 37 artists who will be represented with live work on 33 walls during the festival.

A Place to Call Home | by Marium Rana

Marium Rana neon cactus paradise screenprint on dyed paper 2020 | Virginia Sitzes

Virginia Sitzes Virginia Sitzes painted her first mural in 2019. “It was actually on a dumpster for Scissortail Waste Solutions,” she said. “And then about a month later, I participated in the Mural Fest 66 in Miami, Oklahoma and OMS puts that on as well. Later that year, I participated in Plaza Walls and then also, Chisholm Creek had these semi-temporary, big wooden panels that were blocking construction and so that was a group of us who painted there as well. And so 2019 was kind of the year I was able to enter into more public art stuff.” Also a founding member of Art Group, communal art has always been a focus of Sitzes. “I’m a printmaker, mostly, and also a painter. But with print, you’ve always got print shops with multiple people working and lots of print exchanges and collaborations going on. And so I kind of got the same feels and vibes with mural festivals. You’re creating this awesome commu-

nity of artists working together and hanging out having fun,” she said. Process and product are inseparable in Sitzes’ work. “I don’t do a lot of hyper-realistic stuff. It’s a lot of abstract expressionistesque, I guess. Very process driven, and so tons and tons of layers. The idea for the past few years I’ve mainly been playing with is all these layers of life. What do we choose to try to cover up? What peeks through and no matter what we do to try to cover it up? And kind of just reflecting on what I made at specific times, so kind of putting pieces in a context and then learning and discovering things from there,” she said. Sitzes’ is featured in the Print on Paseo exhibition in the Paseo Arts Association Gallery until July 31. One of her two pieces in it won “best in show.” Opening a week after Sunny Dayz, the Connect:Collect Print Exchange & Print as Object exhibition will open until October 15. The opening reception will be Sept. 10 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Oklahoma City University Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery.

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Marium Rana first got involved in the Oklahoma City metro arts scene through Momentum when it was in Norman, she said. “I had a pretty ambitious project in mind for a few years. It was to do three, 20-foot double-sided paintings and so I got accepted to be one of the spotlight artists for that,” Rana said. “I come from Florida, in St. Petersburg and Tampa, where street art is pretty big and I’ve done a couple of murals myself. I’ve done one in Joshua Tree, right outside of the Joshua Tree Art Gallery, I had an artist residency there, so I did that and then I did a mural in Tampa. I did one in college, in a restaurant. So I knew it was something that I really loved. I love painting miniatures, and I also like painting murals. It’s these two parts of my personality where I like to do work that is like small whispers and very personal and then I also like to do this large work that has to be seen and is begging to be noticed, and so those two parts of myself exist. And I enjoy taking a break from each one and, you know, going and doing small works and doing larger works.” Born and raised in Long Island, New York, Rana uses both her Pakistani heritage and her American upbringing as inspiration for her work. “The name of the artwork is going to

be LETTING GO. And within this year and a half, a lot of life changes have happened. I’ve become a mother for the first time. Both of my grandparents passed away. I moved to Oklahoma from Florida. I just had a lot of change in my life, and I realized in order to embrace this change, I really had to let go of some parts of myself from before. And so this work is going to be reflective of my Pakistani heritage,” she said. While visiting Pakistan, her grandmother passed away on Valentine’s Day and her grandfather died of COVID-19 in April. “A lot of loss was happening around, as we’ve had friends that have passed to COVID, and so I realized there’s a lot of like, breaking of the previous self happening during quarantine. And during this time,I was like, ‘I just need to, like, go with life.’ Go with things and let things go as they’re happening. Understand it, and process it and not fight against the current. And so this work is about that. And the way that I reflect that is through kites … [Family members] were flying kites from the garden [of her grandparents’ home] and that was that moment of serenity and peace that I want to replicate in this mural,” she said. Her next mural will be for Plaza Walls in October, Rana said, and her work will be featured at Oklahoma Contemporary during an exhibition in January.

Scan the QR Code with your smart phone for more information about Sunny Dayz Mural Festival.

“What Are You?” 23x19” colored pencil, gouache, acrylic and paint-pen on paper, 2020 | Josephine P. Morrison Lans

Untitled | Kalee Jones W.

Kalee Jones W. Sunny Dayz will be the third mural Kalee Jones W. has created. “I’m a spontaneous composer. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, I just started going around with color and getting really into it and something emerges,” she said. “I would lie in the grass, cup my hands around my eyes, and gaze up into the clear blue void called “sky.” With my back to the earth, I imagined that what I saw before me was all that ever existed; I was suspended in the overwhelming universe, at peace within its infinite non-embrace. As an artist I approach my canvas with this same wonder. The blank surface mirrors the eternal sky I found comfort in as a child and I am free to meddle in ‘“all that ever existed,’” according to her artist’s statement. She met Kris Kanaly of the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate through the coffee shop where she then worked. Her first mural was in Plaza Walls. “That was crazy cool, because it was just like I do on canvas. I applied the

same process. I used the spray rig and experimented with spray paint on that one. Then I moved over to the El Reno wall, it has been for a good five years or something, maybe not that long, but close to that, so I’d really changed or evolved or something. And again, it was not preconceived then the same thing happened and, in the end, there’s a painting,” she said. Jones is still debating whether she’ll take a spontaneous approach or will plan out her Sunny Dayz mural. She’s considering a painting in the style of her hand motif series. Her acts of creation mirror those of many creation myths. “In the beginning, there was nothing. Something emerges. It needs something to relate to. That happens and that creates relationships which feeds a reaction and the universe is formed. And I feel like I kind of go into that place. I have my paints and then there’s the blank canvas, which is the void and I just start creating this cosmic fabric and moving it around and these vocabularies happen, a story comes out and of its own little universe. Each one’s different,” Jones said.

J o s e p h i n e P. Morrison Lans Josephine P. Morrison Lans has had a 20-year career in art in Oklahoma. After going to college in Kansas City and living in Australia, she returned to local art in 2015. She also was one of the artists involved in the first Ahha installation in Tulsa during 2018. “Everyone finds that thing that just grabs them, and it grabbed me. It’s a horrible sort of cliche to say all children do art and I just kind of kept doing it, but that’s true,” Lans said. “My grandmother was an artist. So I had a very rich, very rich environment in which to see art regularly. But when we went on a trip to Santa Fe, going in and out of galleries all day with my parents, I realized that that was a viable option for life and I have not turned away from that since.” She has painted several indoor murals leading up to Sunny Dayz, so she applied. “I’m preparing by doing smaller mock ups of what I plan to do for my wall space, which is four by eight feet.

And I’ll probably be painting in acrylic. I’m not as experienced with spray paint, so I’m going to stick with the devil I know … For a mural, it’s pretty modest. But I am relieved. I’ve not done anything outdoors before and it is happening in the first week of August, so I’m glad it’s not much bigger than that,” she said. Based in Tulsa, Lans will also be doing a print series with Flash Flood Prints in September and an upcoming group show in Albuquerque. She spent the pandemic making art, so there will be many new pieces to be exhibited in the near future. “I take a lot of inspiration just from my own interactions with the world, so I think a lot about how I internalize experiences and what that means in regards to the human condition. Right now, I’m making a lot of work about my womanhood and my motherhood. I have a four year old. Since he’s been born, thinking about how that fits into my individuality and either builds it up or negates it. That’s a really interesting thing for me to play around with in my mind, and then with visual symbols,” she said.

ART S & CULTURE OKGA Z E T TE .COM | J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1

The story of OU Esports’ rise starts with a single question:

ell is

he h What t

By Trevor Hultner

Mike Aguilar wasn’t trying to change the academic world or flip established industries on their heads in November 2016. As a technology strategist for the University of Oklahoma’s Central IT department and the Honors College, he was simply trying to answer the questions his boss asked, including how OU could use it upon returning from a summit held by Amazon. At the time, fewer than 25 universities across North America had groups dedicated to playing video games competitively with any kind of institutional support; the only Power Five Division I university in the mix was the University of Utah. In Oklahoma, only two other higher learning institutions, Roger’s State and the Northeast Technology Center in Claremore, had an Esports club. Since there’s value in data, Aguilar talked to them. “For the next six months, all I did was reach out to other energies (primarily Esports and gaming clubs at universities) that were elevating at the time,” Aguilar said. Esports has been a major part of the video game industry for decades, and professional teams and players have been playing games like CounterStrike and Call of Duty at tournaments for years. Additionally, different game genres have different draws: there are entire Esports communities built up around competitive fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Super Smash Bros., sports games like Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL and character shooters like Blizzard’s Overwatch. Esports receives cover-

age everywhere from small niche gaming outlets to ESPN and The New York Times. Esports as an industry is looking to hit $1 billion in revenue in 2021, according to industry financial watchdog Newzoo. And yet, collegiate Esports has only recently taken off. According to Aguilar, more than 275 universities in 2021 have Esports clubs with institutional support, eleven times more than in 2016. And yet, as late as 2020, reports in journals like EdTech were reporting on Esports as only just escaping novelty status into something more serious. With the deck stacked like this, Aguilar needed to make a plan if an Esports team at OU was going to make an impression. In April 2017, he held a Q&A session and League of Legends tournament to gauge interest. “Registrations for it filled up in less than five minutes,” he said. He was able to find his student leaders, including the first OU Esports student president, Jack Counts, and vice president, Alex Tu, at this initial meeting. Counts and Tu were no strangers to the prospect of running an Esportsfocused club; both are involved in Get Rect, a League of Legends-centric regional game club covering Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, and were organizing tournaments for the game prior to their participation at OU. “[We] got involved with [Aguilar] and had the idea to, you know, get started somewhere. You have to start somewhere,” Counts said. “So we made an interest club, which just anybody with 10 people can make an interest club on OU’s campus, but that’s where we got started, and we made a constitution,

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and found a few core people that were interested that came out to that first event that Mike put on, and that responded to some flyers we put out. And from there, it kind of just became a game of, we need to create programming to let people know we exist.” Aguilar, now working with a core group of students from across campus, came up with three metrics all activity the group did would be run through. “The first one was, what was the student pulse?” Aguilar said. “What were they willing to do? What are they passionate about? What were they willing to take ownership of? How easy was something to motivate them for?” The second metric is the university mission: “What’s the mission coming out of the president’s office, to find our organic ways to tie in and integrate to the university instead of just being a growth on the university surface?” Finally, Aguilar said, there was the focus on what the Esports and video game industry more broadly was doing. The nascent club focused on what kind of staff the various teams and tournament organizers in Esports were hiring, rather than just simply doing something just to do it. “We’re galva-

nizing all three to make sure that whatever we’re going to build, there is a place for it, not just say that we’re going to do it just to do it, but literally intentionality from day one.” From there, the Esports Club has exploded into a multifaceted organization with different teams focusing on different games, groups working on shoutcasting and production design, a full-fledged news outlet, community outreach and charity work, and an official designation from OU as a competitive club with access to the OU logo and branding. They built six “pillars” around the organization: leadership, community, media and news, production, streaming entertainment, and intercollegiate Esports. “Every single one of the six pillars is designed to be both autonomous and collaborative,” Aguilar said. On top of that, this spring the Esports and CoCurricular Innovation Department, the Esports Club’s official home at OU, announced the creation of a suite of Esports scholarship opportunities: The Forest Dayne “Solidus” Sharpe Scholarships for Gaming and Esports Energies. In a post about the new memorial scholarships on the Sooner Esports website, OU Esports Media Director Derek Snow wrote, “OU stands out not just because it has esports scholarships. Rather, OU Esports stands out because of what specifically they are funding. […] In essence, the Esports department plans to not only give scholarships to its competitive players, but it aims to give funding to all of its other non-com-

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Oklahoma University Esports Team | Photos SoonerEsports.org provided

petitive pillars.” He continued, “Esports is an entire industry, not just its competitive members, and the department reflects this in its pillars and its funding.” Aguilar is no longer a technology strategist with Central IT. In the ensuing four years, he has become the Director of Esports and Co-Curricular Innovation. What used to be a small “passion sweat project” is now much larger. This fall, Aguilar will teach the first class on an Esports-related topic in the University’s history, a one-hour practicum for Creative Media Production majors called “Live Event Production.” His mission is not just to bring games to the OU campus, but raise the profile of gaming in the metro community as a whole. The way he puts it, he wants people to think of video games like they think of athletics - a venue where young people can build structure in their lives, learn valuable soft skills in addition to the hand-eye coordination refinement they get from gaming, and create healthy habits as they transition into adulthood. Additionally, he wants to erase the toxicity endemic to modern gaming. “I want to make Call of Duty less toxic in 10 years from now,” he said. “When I get [...] traditional athletes that come into our ranks from the football program, softball program, you name it, they are getting 14, 15 years of mentorship before

they get to me. In Esports, they’re not. I’m getting an 18-year-old with their habits already formed. They have no soft skills, very few. And they don’t understand personal branding, they don’t know how to restrain themselves on social media, the epitome of the keyboard warrior, and Call of Duty is the personification of that. More than almost any other title. So that means that if we have a six-year-old who is losing their head on Minecraft or Roblox, why are we not providing them the same mentorship opportunity?” That’s why, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aguilar and the OU Esports Club helped the Oklahoma City Police Athletics League host online Rocket League tournaments after the organization had to shut down its inperson programming. And it’s why this summer, they are holding two Overwatch-themed Esports camps in conjunction with US Sports Camps, one of the largest sports summer camp organizations in the US. And with news of a possible venue in the works - one that would, according to Aguilar, house facilities for all of the pillars represented in the club, including production studios for shoutcasters and a space for student reporters and video editors to work - the future is looking bright for gaming in the metro, and OU Esports is lighting the torch.

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FREE CONCERTS celebrating 8 5 y e a r s o f To w e r T h e a t r e ! FREE with RSVP at www.tower theatreokc.com

ART S & CULTURE OKGA Z E T TE .COM | J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1

CALENDAR are events recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

FILM

SEPTEMBER 18

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers The apparently comatose Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) is being transferred from one hospital to another, but he wakes up when the ambulance crew talk about his surviving niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris). After slaughtering his attendants, Myers sets out to find his one living relative who is, fortunately, being cared for by a kind and resourceful foster sister named Rachel (Ellie Cornell). Meanwhile, the ever-cautious Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) remains on the killer’s path. (1988), 7 p.m. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-2353456, rodeocinema.org. FRI, July 23 PIG Living alone in the Oregon wilderness, a truffle hunter returns to Portland to find the person who stole his beloved pig. Starring Nicolas Cage. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-235-3456, rodeocinema.org. Opens Friday July 23

SALIVA

POWERMAN 5000 AUTHORITY ZERO KIRRA THE NORMANDYS HIGHWATER GAMBLE 357 THE WORLD OVER KATELYN MYERS FAR BEYOND STRANGE

SEPTEMBER 19

EVERCLEAR

THE NIXONS SISTER HAZEL EVE 6 HOOBASTANK TANTRIC LIVING COLOUR TRAILER PARK NINJAS WHEATUS DOM MCCLENNY

wheeler park | okc

honeymoonfest.com

SONIC Summer Movie Nights: Labyrinth (celebrating 35 years!) Bring lawn chairs or a blanket and picnic, or enjoy offerings from a variety of local food vendors, activities, and entertainers. The fun begins at 8pm, films screen at 9pm., Wed., July 21. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com. WED, July 21 SONIC Summer Movie Nights: Spies in Disguise Bring lawn chairs or a blanket and picnic, or enjoy offerings from a variety of local food vendors, activities, and entertainers. The fun begins at 8pm, films screen at 9pm., Wed., July 28. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com WED, July 28 SONIC Summer Movie Nights: Fantastic Mr. Fox Bring lawn chairs or a blanket and picnic, or enjoy offerings from a variety of local food vendors, activities, and entertainers. The fun begins at 8pm, films screen at 9pm., Wed., Aug. 4. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. WED, Aug 4 Summetime Summertime follows the intersecting stories of 27 youth spoken word poets over a single day in Los Angeles. The director’s ground-breaking vision began at a poetry showcase where performers from across the City of Angels recited fearlessly personal texts about themselves, their communities, and their relationship to their city., Wed., July 21 and Thu., July 22. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-2353456, rodeocinema.org. WED & THU, July 21 & 22 Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 with Bill Moseley OKC’s Horror Con (7/24-7/25) is bringing the immensely talented - Bill Moseley to Oklahoma City! Mr. Moseley will be attending a screening of the 1986 horror classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 on Sunday, July 25th at 8pm! At the conclusion of the film, he will be doing a Q&A session, signing autographs, and taking pictures!, Sun., July 25. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-235-3456, rodeocinema.org. SUN, July 25

HAPPENINGS #FullMoonOKC Bike Ride sponsored by OU Health Bring your bike for a one-hour, 6-to 8-mile leisurely ride through the downtown Oklahoma City area under the light of the full moon. Meet up at the bandshell stage on the Devon Lawn. Route announced that night at the meetup by race coordinator Steve Schlegel., Fri., July 23. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.org. FRI, July 23 Art of Brunch Don your sunscreen, diva glasses and floppy hats — the Art of Brunch is back! The annual summer party you’ve been patiently waiting for returns to our new downtown campus Saturday, July 31. Join us for a curated brunch menu from some of Oklahoma City’s hottest eateries, bottomless mimosas and themed cocktails and mocktails. Complete with Gram-worthy photo opps next to epic decor, DIY art projects and the most stylish outdoor shindig in town, the Art of Brunch is the not-to-miss event of the season!, 9:30 a.m. Sponsor Hour | 10:30 a.m. VIP and General Admission entrance $150 VIP | $100 General Admission. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 11 NW 11th St., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org SAT, July 31

Beat the Heat and Drop The Beat Summer Block Party Join Factory Obscura and fill 9th street with a futuristic disco dance party! There will be live

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music, art activity stations, and a costume contest with a cash prize! Come dance the night away! This outdoor block party is free for all ages., Sat., July 24, 9 p.m. Factory Obscura, 25 NW 9th St., factoryobscura.com/ events/beattheheatanddropthebeat. SAT, July 24 Bend, Beats and Brew Bend, Beats & Brew is our bold unorthodox attempt to work our way through altered and challenging states of consciousness while accompanied by deep hypnotic beats., Join us Friday July 30 at the Plymouth Building as we partner with OK Cider Co, Core4 Brewery, RACE Dance Collective, internationally acclaimed DJ Krama & world class Yoga Instructor Cindy Espinoza. 5, Fri., July 30, 7-8 p.m. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, fb.me/e/5I2R9TUJH. FRI, July 30 Cool Zoo Exotic Animal Exhibit Cool Zoo, an interactive and educational wildlife travel exhibit, featuring hands-on encounters with exotic animals, will be headlining this weekend’s Repticon exhibition. The event will take place on July 24 and 25 at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds., Cool Zoo will present the Oklahoma community with one-of-a-kind, animal experiences for pet lovers and exotic hobbyists alike. Notably, “Jake from Snake Farm,” Cool Zoo’s eight foot long, lovable, Columbian Red Tail Boa Constrictor will be in attendance. Guest will have the chance overcome their fear of snakes and survive the giant snake encounter for a nominal fee., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. OKC Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd, 4076036504, coolzoo.org/contact. SAT & SUN, July 24 & 25 Dino Safari Be in awe as you trek through the Zoo’s Pollinator Garden to discover life-sized animatronic dinosaurs that demonstrate movement and sounds like the prehistoric creatures. See them roaring and breathing right before your eyes! This new immersive experience connects guests to many of their favorite dinosaurs through 15 one-of-a-kind animatronic displays and 8 skeleton replicas. Learn how dinosaurs evolved over time and where they roamed as well as what the OKC Zoo is doing to fight extinction of Oklahoma’s beloved lizard, the horny toad, also known as the Texas horned lizard., Through Oct. 31. The Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, 405424-3344, okczoo.org. Through Oct 31 Early Explorers Toddlers and preschoolers explore science through hands-on, come-and-go activities that can be easily replicated with everyday items found at home. Early Explorers is perfect for young scientists with short attention spans. Included in general admission - $18.95 adults/$14.95 children/seniors, Wednesdays, 10-11 a.m. through July 27. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-6026664, sciencemuseumok.org. WED, July 27 Fungus & Microbes & Rot, Oh My! Recipes for Successful Composting Do you want to learn how to make that beautiful, rich, black substance we call “gardener’s gold”? David and Allen have been building compost piles for many years, and have a profound appreciation for rot! David will show participants the composting operation at CommonWealth, and the elements that make it a success. Allen will demonstrate different methods for building a successful home compost pile., Instructor: David Braden, compost master and co-founder of CommonWealth Urban Farms, Allen Parleir, coordinator of Closer To Earth and co-founder of CommonWealth Urban Farms, $10 per workshop, $15 per couple/pair, unless otherwise noted., Sat., July 24, 11 a.m.-noon. CommonWealth Urban Farms, 3310 N. Olie Ave., 405-5241864, commonwealthurbanfarms.com/garden-school. SAT, July 24

Hearts of Space The Myriad Gardens will host a meditation event on the Devon Lawn featuring music from NPR’s “Hearts of Space”, a program featuring ambient and ethereal sounds intended to sooth and calm. Awake OKC will begin the evening by leading the group through a guided meditation. Bring a blanket or mat and relax while enjoying the beauty of nature., Thu., July 22. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com. THU, July 22 Make Ready Market This outdoor market will include a curated assortment of locally made items including, clothing, flowers, skin care products, jewelry, art, vintage, live music, and the Holey Rollers food truck. Come get some fresh air and support your local makers., Sat., July 24, 10 a.m. Field Study Clothing, 220 NW 13th St, Ste. 12, (405) 399-0097, facebook.com. SAT, July 24 New World Comic Con New World Comic Con is a family friendly comic book convention in OKC! Our goal is to spotlight local talent, comedy community, creators, and artists in and around the OKC metro., NWCC will have a Costume Contest, Quick Draw by Local Artists, and a panel featuring Literati Press!, Tickets available at the door:, 13 & up: $7, 6-12: $5, 5 & under: Free $7, Sat., July 24, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Oklahoma State Fairgrounds; Oklahoma Expo Hall, 3213 Wichita Walk, 405-7217634, okstatefair.com. SAT, July 24 Nutella “Breakfast with Animals” “Breakfast with Animals,” a 10-event series occurring across the

Wheeler Summer Concert Series A night of music under the Ferris Wheel lights! Enjoy live music from WoRm, Nia Moné, and Shawn Reidy. Come hungry! Frisbee Burger, Eli’s Soul Food, and Hawaiian Snow food trucks will be serving up some delicious eats! Grab a beer from The Big Friendly beer bus. You can cap off the evening by strolling through the night market of pop-up shops on the lawn. Shop from Uptown Jerky Co, Lucky Lulu, BekahSometimes, Selva, and OKC Soda Co. Wheeler Ferris Wheel single ride tickets will be half priced all evening! FREE, Fri., July 23. Wheeler Ferris Wheel, 1701 S. Western Ave., 405-655-8455, wheelerdistrict.com. FRI, JULY 23 | Photo provided. nation from June until September, will allow families to start their day off right by eating a delicious meal alongside spectacular animals like hippos, giraffes and cheetahs. The star of the menu with be pancakes with Nutella, which will be complimented with other menu items that vary by zoo, including fruit, breakfast pizza, hash browns and more. Guests will be able to have private chats with Zookeepers at various exhibits to hear anecdotes, exciting facts, and what their furry, scaly or feathery friend might eat to start their own day. 50$, Saturdays, 8-11 a.m. through Aug. 31. The Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, 405-424-3344, okczoo.org. SATURDAYS Outdoor Adventure Show Shop Oklahoma’s best selection of outdoor equipment, adventure gear, and recreational activities and find canoe & kayak retailers, tents, camping gear, fishing equipment, sports items, and more. You’ll even see airstream trailers, boats, bicycles, and recreational vehicles. Find information on Oklahoma’s best outdoor walking & hiking trails, sports leagues, river tours, and camping sites. Head out and see what the great outdoors has to offer!, July 24-25. Scissortail Park, 300 SW Seventh St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. SAT & SUN, July 24 & 25 Sherlock Holmes - The Exhibition The great Sherlock Holmes has summoned you – and his is an invitation not to be refused. In Sherlock Holmes – The Exhibition you will be transported into Sherlock Holmes’ London to solve a mystery in a world newly introduced to his groundbreaking methods. This interactive experience will delight audiences of all ages as it showcases areas of forensic science that enabled Sherlock Holmes to solve crimes, and brings to life the historic underpinnings of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s rich and vibrant stories., Through Sept. 6. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org/sherlock-holmes. Through Sept 6.

Storytime Science At Storytime Science children read a story and follow it up with a fun, hands-on scientific activity related to the book. Included in general admission to museum, Tuesdays, Saturdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m. through July 26. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. TUESDAYS & SATURDAYS, through July 26

FOOD Anniversary Cookout Celebration Everyone is welcome! Join us for this family-friendly event at Earlywine Park Small Pavilion (South OKC, off May Ave). We’ll grill up some hot dogs and burgers for lunch (including veggie dogs if that’s your style), socialize, have a silent auction fundraiser, some outdoor fun and games, and celebrate our progress in bringing awareness of instant-runoff voting to Oklahoma voters! Free, Sat., July 31, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Earlywine Park, 3101 SW 119th St., 405-928-9596, eventvesta.com/events/6916.

SAT, July 31

Eid Al-Adha Community Block Party! Do you love food trucks? A dunk tank? Live music? Then come to CAIR Oklahoma’s Eid Block Party on July 30th from 6-8 PM! We will have balloon twisting and face painting for kids, live music, food trucks and much more!, This event is free and open to the public. We will be in the parking lot of the United Founders District off of NW Expressway & N. May Avenue. Free, Fri., July 30, 6-8 p.m. United Founders Neighborhood, 3000 United Founders Boulevard, 4058878354, cairoklahoma.com/ event/eid-al-adha-block-party. FRI, July 30 Free Tea Day at McAlister’s Deli Free Tea Day is on Thursday, July 22nd at McAlister’s Deli! Guests can enjoy one free 32 oz. glass of tea., The offer is valid instore, in-app and through the McAlister’s website on 7/22/21 only., Terms & conditions apply: https://www. mcalistersdeli.com/sweet-sips-terms-and-conditions, Thu., July 22, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. McAlister’s Deli, 3221 NW Expressway, 2143733400, mcalistersdeli.com/sweetsips. THU, July 22 Midtown Cool Down On the third Wednesday of June, July, and August, participating Midtown restaurants and bars will be providing a special happy hour menu featuring over-the-top, tropical, or fruit-forward drinks from 4pm to 6pm for Midtown Cool Down., third Wednesday of every month. through Aug. 18. Midtown OKC, NW Eighth St., 405-235-3500, midtownokc.com. WED, July 21

OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park Oklahoma City’s largest outdoor market features an all-made and grown-in Oklahoma producer-only marketplace providing access to more fresh products to serve the community. Located at the corner of Oklahoma City Boulevard and South Robinson Avenue, the Scissortail Park Farmers Market will be open, rain or shine, every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. through October. Scissortail Park, 300 SW Seventh St., 405-445-7080, cissortailpark.org/osu-okc-farmersmarket-at-scissortail-park. SATURDAYS Time to Let the Good Times Roll, Fat Tuesdays of the Summer are Back! Razzoo’s Cajun Cafe®, known for giving the taste of the French Quarter with a fun and festive experience, isn’t waiting until next year to celebrate its favorite holiday. That’s right— Fat Tuesdays of Summer* are back with all-day deals until the end of the season. Guests can grab a bite of the bayou for just $5 every Tuesday., Razzoo’s Fat Tuesday $5 Popcorn Shrimp, Rat Toes, Boudin Balls and Fried Pickles satisfy everyone’s Cajun cravings, whether you are dining in the restaurant or at home. For the perfect pairing, enjoy $5 frozen Hurrycanes and Mari Ritas. Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. through Aug. 31. Razzoo’s Cajun Cafe, 1340 W Memorial Dr, 3056312283, razzoos.com. TUESDAYS

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1

J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

YOUTH Summer Thursdays Spend your summer with Oklahoma Hall of Fame for Free Family Fun every Thursday in June and July! Enjoy FREE admission and celebrate our Summer Thursdays beginning at 10:00 am each Thursday!, Thursdays. through July 29. Oklahoma Hall of Fame Gaylord-Pickens Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 405-235-4458, oklahomahof.com/summer-thursdays. THURSDAYS

PERFORMING ARTS 3rd Act Theatre Company’s Drunk Classics: Hamlet w/ Pirates Hamlet w/ Pirates is a doozie! Where else can you see Hamlet, Ophelia, Rosencrantz (and Guildenstern!) and PIRATES all on one stage? One performer will be voted on by the audience to consume a few “adult beverages” before the show begins. When the curtain rises and the story starts, audience member donations drive the action as they choose “rules” for selected actors to follow for the rest of the scene OR until another donation is made and a new “rule” takes effect!, Roughtail Brewing Company, 320 W Memorial Rd. FRI, July 23 | Anthem Brewing Company, 908 SW Fourth St., 405-6040446, anthembrewing. com. SAT, July 24

spit verses, not germs (Masks are encouraged). Free, Wed., July 21, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Ponyboy, 423 NW 23rd St., (405)314-2789, ponyboyokc.com. WED, July 21

ACTIVE Wheeler Criterium Wheeler Crit is Oklahoma City’s premier cycling festival located in the Wheeler District. The event is hosted on Tuesday nights starting in the summer and ending in the fall. Spectators line the streets to cheer on Oklahoma’s top cyclists. This year will be the first time the cyclists ride through Wheeler District. Races take off at 5:30 p.m. Wheeler Ferris Wheel, 1701 S. Western Ave., 405-655-8455, wheelerdistrict.com/crit. TUE, July 27 Yoga Tuesdays an all-levels class; bring your own water and yoga mat, 5:45 p.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUESDAYS

colors and expressive brushstrokes, Scholder created radical new imagery of modern-day Indigenous life., Wednesdays-Sundays. through Nov. 7. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com/visit/events/scholder. Through Nov 7. A Life in Looking: The Creighton Gilbert Collection Through themes of religion, architecture, allegory, portraiture, and humor, A Life in Looking: The Creighton Gilbert Collection explores a collection built on seven decades of expertise by this impressive scholar, educator, and connoisseur., Tuesday-Sunday through Dec. 31. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma Through Dec 31 The Painters of Pompeii This historic presentation of the art of painting in ancient Rome will be presented exclusively at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art before returning to Europe., Wednesdays-Sundays. through Oct. 17. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com/visit/events/ pompeii. Through Oct 17 A room with a View: Scenes of the Italian Countryside Artists from around the world have long been captured by the enduring appeal of the Italian countryside. Its sweeping vistas, at times sprinkled with ancient ruins, make for an enticing subject for artists in a variety of mediums. American artists in particular traveled to Italy throughout the nineteenth century to study not only the great masterpieces of ancient and Renaissance art, but also to sketch and paint the campagna, or countryside, basked in a beautiful glow., WednesdaysSundays. through Nov. 7. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405236-3100, okcmoa.com/ visit/events/room-with-aview/. Through Nov 7

Art AfloatShowboat Concert Series Art Afloat is bringing local artists together to take over the Bricktown Canal every Thursday night, to be called the Art Afloat Showboat Concert Series., Thursdays. Bricktown Water Taxi, 111 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, bricktownwatertaxi.com. THURSDAYS

Beethoven and Friends Guest pianists Heather Conner and Jill Screening of the Stop Motion Animation Jantzen join Brightmusic Film MELK This film was Chamber Ensemble in created during our June four concerts August Summer Programming 3, 5, 7, and 10 at First made for our Mentorship Baptist Church in Students., ARTSPACE midtown Oklahoma City. hosted 15 teens daily for Brightmusic responded Reserve your free timed ticket to experience the inauthree weeks to create this to the pandemic with free masterpiece! The class virtual concerts streaming on gural exhibition in our Artist-in-Residence Studio and Gallery. Using light, sound and digital was taught by local artist Youtube and Facebook for the film projection, Flight explores the physical, architectural and cultural residue of the 1921 Tulsa Nicole Emmons and was previous season, and we look Race Massacre into the present. Timed with the 100-year commemoration of the massacre, provided at no cost to our forward to live concerts at this students. Please join us to new venue, which has plenty Flight incorporates archival material with digital video, digitized 35-mm film footage, threeof space for socially distant channel sound, and vinyl. The artist provides multiple points of entry and angles of refraction, celebrate their hard work at the premiere screening seating. The festival continues offering an unfixed sense of what is varying parts history, impressions, analysis, and reverie., of MELK; a heartfelt stop last year’s global celebration This exhibition is made possible by a grant from the Mid-America Arts. Mondays, Wednesdays, motion short about a of Beethoven’s 250th birthday Fridays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. through Oct. 26. Oklahoma rural family in the 70’s alongside a diverse array of other works by contemporary Contemporary Arts Center, 11 NW 11th St., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org. OPEN that makes contact with a stranger from another composers, women, and NOW | Photo by Trayson Conner/provided. world. Thu., July 22, 6-7 African-Americans like the p.m. Artspace at Untitled, 1 king of ragtime, Scott Joplin., VISUAL ARTS NE Third St., 4058159995, 1ne3.org THU, July 22 Tue., Aug. 3. First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, 1201 N. Robinson Ave., 405-232-4255, fbcokc.org. TUE, Art Moves Art Moves artists have adjusted from daily Waterless litho workshop with Samantha Kick-

Crystal Z Campbell: Flight

Aug 3

Gabriel Iglesias Gabriel’s stand-up comedy is a mixture of storytelling,, parodies, characters, and sound effects that bring his personal, experiences to life. His unique and animated comedy style has, made him popular among fans of all ages., Mon., July 26. River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway, Tulsa. 918-299-8518, riverspirittulsa.com. MON, July 26 Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute Concert Watch the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain top-performing high school students perform classical and chamber music., Wed., July 21. Scissortail Park, 300 SW Seventh St., 405-445-7080, scissortailpark.org. WED, July 21 Patio Peepshow by Terre Rouge Patio time at 51st Street Speakeasy!, Thursdays 8:30p-11:30P., Come & go private performances., A true carnival red light style, vintage private peepshow with all local cast members!, Responsibly see your favorite local artists behind the glass in a social distanced, contact free, outdoor, environment., $2 Tokens sold walk up at event., $5 weekly burger special., No tickets needed, come and go. 2, Thursdays, 8:30-11:30 p.m. through Aug. 27. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-463-0470, fb.me/e/48rXuc7Q3. THURSDAYS

Red Dirt Poetry Open Mic Red Dirt Poetry is back! Our first post pandem-MIC will be at Ponyboy! Everyone will get 6 minutes to get their expression on. We are a poetry mic but musicians, storytellers and comedians are also welcome. Let’s swap haikus, not cooties — and

downtown performances to online streaming. Help us support our local artist by joining us weekdays at Arts Council Oklahoma City’s facebook page for livestreaming performances and demonstrations from artist homes or studios!, Art Moves is an Arts Council OKC initiative that provides free arts events each workday from Noon-1:00. Events previously took place in various downtown locations and may include artist demonstrations or musical performances. The daily line-up features a wide range of artistic mediums including musical and theater performances, live art demonstrations, short film selections, and more, Mondays-Fridays, noon. artscouncilokc.com/art-moves. Daily ArtNow 2021 Organized by Guest Curator Helen Opper, ArtNow 2021 presents a dynamic group of Oklahoma-based artists whose works respond to the complexities of contemporary culture, reflecting the vibrant diversity of contemporary art in Oklahoma., Mondays, Wednesdays-Sundays. through Sept. 13. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 11 NW 11th St., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org/exhibitions/upcoming/artnow-2021. Through Sept 13 Fritz Scholder: Beyond Stereotypes After relocating to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for a teaching position, American artist Fritz Scholder (Luiseño) stated he saw one too many over-romanticized and generalized depictions of Indigenous people “looking at the sunset.” With his Indian series, started in 1967, Scholder sought to replace the tourist-approved narratives perpetuated by white artists with the realities he witnessed every day. By combining realism and spirituality with vivid

ingbird Come and learn waterless litho with local artist and educator Samantha Kickingbird. All participants will leave with a print and knowledge on how to create waterless litho’s on their own. All supplies will be provided! Ages 16 and up are welcome., Get your tickets today! 55, Sat., July 24, 12-4 p.m. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 4058159995, 1ne3.org. SAT, July 24 We Believed in the Sun Honoring the significant legacies of the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma City, We Believed in the Sun pairs Ron Tarver, a nationally recognized artist born in Oklahoma, with Ebony Iman Dallas, an emerging Oklahoma artist. The exhibition is organized in consultation with Advisory Council members from the Clara Luper Center for Civil Rights and the Oklahoma Historical Society. Free timed ticket required., Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 11 NW 11th St., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org/exhibitions/upcoming/webelieved-in-the-sun. Through Sep 20

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space For OKG allows, although we strive live music to make the listings as see page 27 inclusive as possible. Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail them to Listings@ okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1

By Evan Jarvicks

Where is the local music scene? Conventional knowledge finds it in the small coffee shops and dive bars of a city, but savvier minds find it on the internet. As social media has taken gig posters from record store windows to digital feeds over the years, the challenge to stay engaged with new bands in the Oklahoma City area has evolved. Thankfully, Circle Lotus Media is here to help. Circle Lotus Media is a central Oklahoma-based digital platform designed to bridge the physical and virtual music communities through online showcases of local independent artists. Since launching in the pandemic summer of 2020, the multimedia group has quickly gained an underground

reputation for its weekly “CLM Live!” multi-cam livestream concerts on YouTube, curated Spotify playlists, and monthly “Release Roundup” of new Oklahoma music singles and albums. Its latest milestone, a new compilation album featuring over a dozen live recordings from the “CLM Live!” series will be released July 23 for digital download and physical cassette tape. All profits will go to the Homeless Alliance. “We’ve got rock, heady alternative, fast-paced punk, live band hip-hop, pop vibes, smooth singer-songwriter stylings, and more,” said David Joachims, chief operating officer of Circle Lotus Media. “14 tracks from 14 different Oklahoma artists.” The project takes inspiration from other recent local music compilations like SixTwelve’s Building Together fundraising record, Factory Obscura’s Mix-Tape cassette series, and Not Alone, OK, a suicide prevention benefit album organized by alt-punk band Grandpa Vern, who also appears on CLM Live! Vol. 1. Late in 2020, we started multi-track recording our live shows directly, and since then we’ve had all these recordings of great local artists that I thought would be cool to use in some way,” Joachims said. There is no shortage of source material. Circle Lotus Media has kept up with its weekly livestreaming schedule for a full year now, featuring a range of acts from established artists like hip-hop emcee Jabee to up-and-comers like indie singer-songwriter Keathley. The scope of these shows have been as intimate as the recent solo acoustic performance by Ch r i s Jone s of T he David Joachims chief operating Flycatchers and as extravaofficer | Photo provided gant as The Magic Munchbox

J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1 | OKGA Z E T TE .COM MUS IC

Variety Hour. The latter featured local funk-fusion band Magic Munchbox in a bonkers livestream concert complete with prerecorded skit commercials and Eric Andre-style absurdist breaks in format. The nuts and bolts behind these live events come with many variables which often go unseen, and that Circle Lotus Media has managed to produce dozens of them is remarkable. No other music organization in Oklahoma City has done livestreaming concerts so consistently despite arguably having more resources. There is one major differentiating factor, though. Where most livestreams in 2020 came as a response to the COVID-19 quarantine, CLM Live! was always part of the plan. “I came up with the original idea a couple years ago,” said Mylo Sonder, founder and CEO of Circle Lotus Media. “After being in the music scene for almost 10 years now, I started to see a pattern in how hard it is to grow an audience without some sort of online presence, so I wanted to figure out a way to not only help my bands but to build the community as a whole. I want the artists we have on our platform to walk away with a good representation of who they are so they can use that in building their fanbase, or even help with things like booking shows.” As live music continues to return to in-person venues in 2021, CLM shows no sign of slowing its digital efforts. “Livestreaming isn’t going anywhere but, we have changed our regular show schedule a bit from Friday nights to Sunday nights to accommodate for the increasing amount of going out,” said Joachims. “Regardless, something we always want to emphasize is that the shows are performed live but they are on Youtube forever after that - so if you can’t catch it live, you can always watch it there later!” “We’ve also been working on content outside of just the livestreams,” Sonder adds. “We have our Venue Spotlight and Fireside series we’re looking to expand on, and also we’ve recently updated to a more mobile rig so we hope to lease our skills out to other live events, like Color of Art which we worked on with Original Flow at Scissortail Park. We also are opening up our studio for artists to come record with our in-house engineer Caleb Gray. We try to keep ourselves very busy.” Doing all of this on what Sonder calls “a budget of duct tape and shoestring” only adds to the workload, but thanks to a dedicated team of eight and growing, CLM is up to the task.

The group’s tireless generosity for its community shows at every level, including its latest effort. When presented with the problem of how to manage the funds of CLM Live! Vol. 1, the team turned it into a selfless opportunity. “Especially given the past year, we would’ve loved to use this to bring in some money for the artists that we’ve worked with, but on a project like this,

Mylo Sonder, founder and CEO of Circle Lotus Media | Photo provided

that gets exponentially more complicated with the amount of people involved, copyright, etc.” Joachims said. “We wanted the money to go somewhere local, and we think the Homeless Alliance does valuable, practical, and tangible work for an incredibly underserved and overlooked community.” Ultimately, whether in-person or online, community is a theme that runs deep in Circle Lotus Media. “Our name comes from this idea of the three pillars of a local music scene - artists, venues, and fans - are all needed for local music to thrive and grow,” said Sonder. “We have so much planned for the future but whatever we do we want to raise this community along with us.” CLM Live! Vol. 1, the debut compilation tape from Circle Lotus Media, will be available for purchase at circlelotusmedia.com and at local storefronts including Factory Obscura’s Gift Shop and Plaza District’s Dig It! Boutique July 23.

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J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1 | OKGA Z E T TE .COM

These are events recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

THURSDAY, JUL. 22 Greenbeard/ PaychoticReaction/ MerryWalkers, Blue Note. Spotlight Concert with Arts Council OKC: Latin Mojo Band, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. Trey Lewis and Justin Andrews, Cowboy Ranch. Country

FRIDAY, JUL. 23

Don’t Call it a Comeback: Vandoliers w/ Jason Scott, Tower Theatre. Giovannie & The Hired Guns, Diamond Ballroom. Faster Pussycat + Enuff Znuff, Whiskey Nights. Live at Mix-Tape with Jose Hernandez, Factory Obscura. Live from the Lawn: Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Scissortail Park. New Orleans-style zydeco Louie’s Lakeside Summer Concert SeriesSponsored by Parrish DeVaughn, Louie’s Grill & Bar. VelvetJ’s/ StoneTide/ Shift, Blue Note.

SATURDAY, JUL. 24

Amoney Fresh’s Birthday Celebration!, Blue Note Lounge. BF Amon & the Creatures/ BT LCSG 2$lick/ S. Reidy Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, Cain’s Ballroom. Western Swing Don’t Call it a Comeback: Old Man Saxon w/ Ayilla, Tower Theatre.

Edgar Cruz, Conscious Community Cafe & Co-op. Hosty, The Deli. Electric Speakeasy 90s-00s Dance Party, 51st Street Speakeasy. Sunday Twilight Concert Series: Talk of the Town, Myriad Botanical Gardens. Jazz/Swing Sunset Sundays, Kindred Spirits.

FRIDAY, JUL. 30

AmandaCunningham/ Amanda Howle/ Elecktra, Blue Note Lounge. Don’t Call it a Comeback: Bobby Sessions w/ Jabee, Tower Theatre. Ecstatic Dance OKC Urban Sanctuary, Film Row. Sam Riggs, Diamond Ballroom. Summer Sizzler featuring Kyle Dillingham & Horseshoe Road, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewing Company.

SATURDAY, JUL. 31 Costanzas/ RR Williams/ Rad Habits, Blue Note. Cursetheknife with Money, Free Beat Experiment, and DJ Cool Guy, 51st Street Speakeasy. Don’t Call it a Comeback: Thunder jackson w/ Wildermiss, Tower Theatre. Louis The Child, The Criterion. With K.Flay and Evan Giia

SUNDAY, AUG. 1

Don’t Call it a Comeback: Ottoman Turks w/ The 40-Acre Mule, Tower Theatre. Hosty, The Deli. Electric

OCT 20 Johnnyswim, The Jones Assembly

AUG 13 Josh Abbott Band, The Jones Assembly

OCT 21 Lord Huron, The Jones Assembly

AUG 17 Kesha, The Criterion

OCT 21 The Wild Feathers, Cain’s Ballroom

AUG 20 Kody West, Yale Theater

OCT 21 Joe Bonamassa, Tulsa Theater

AUG 20 Chris Tomlin, Kari Jobe + Bethel Music, Zoo Amphitheatre

OCT 22 Nahko and Medicine for the People, Cain’s Ballroom

AUG 21 Samantha Crain, Tower Theatre

OCT 29 Asleep at the Wheel, Cain’s Ballroom

AUG 26 Moon Taxi, The Jones Assembly

OCT 29 Chase Rice, 7 Clans Casino + Resort

AUG 28 My So Called Band, Tower Theatre

NOV 3 Walk The Moon, Cain’s Ballroom

SEP 9 Blue October, Tower Theatre

NOV 4 Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Cain’s Ballroom

SEP 11 Sammy Hagar & The Circle, River Spirit SEP 15 Toadies and Reverend Horton Heat, Cain’s Ballroom SEP 16 Toadies with Reverend Horton Heat, Diamond Ballroom

NOV 17 Thundercat with special guest Channel Tres, Cain’s Ballroom

SEP 19 The Wood Brothers, Tower Theatre

NOV 18 Black Label Society: Doom Trooping Over North America, Diamond Ballroom

SEP 20 The Wood Brothers, Cain’s Ballroom SEP 24 Drive-By Truckers, Scissortail Park SEP 26 Pixies, Cain’s Ballroom SEP 26 Avatar, Diamond Ballroom SEP 28 Colony House, The Jones Assembly SEP 29 Dropkick Murphys and Rancid “Boston to Berkeley II”, Zoo Amphitheatre

OCT 13 Josh Abbott Band, The Jones Assembly

Void Vator/ Holy Death Trio/ Dire Gnome, Blue Note.

NOV 9 Dr. Dog, The Jones Assembly NOV 15 Chvrches with special guest Donnal Missal, Cain’s Ballroom

Z-104.5 The Edge: Summer Shindig, Cain’s Ballroom. K. Flay and Cliffoiver

Erick Taylor, The Wilshire Dive Bar.

NOV 5 Walk The Moon, The Jones Assembly

SEP 16 AJR, Zoo Amphitheatre

OCT 2 Koe Wetzel, Zoo Amphitheatre

TUESDAY, AUG. 3

Don’t Call it a Comeback: Spunk and Friends, Ponyboy.

AUG 12 Jason Isbell, Cain’s Ballroom

Sunday Twilight Concert Series: Banda Lamento Show De Durango, Myriad Botanical Gardens. Regional Mexican (Tamborazo)

Elizabeth Turner, Belle Isle Restaurant and Brewery.

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OCT 5 Omar Apollo, Tower Theatre

OCT 15 NF, Zoo Amphitheatre OCT 18 X Ambassadors, Cain’s Ballroom OCT 19 Mat Kearney, The Jones Assembly

MAR 14 Kaleo, Cain’s Ballroom MAR 15 Kaleo, The Jones Assembly MAR 21 Leif Vollebekk, Tower Theatre Live music submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible. Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail to listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

OCT 20 Mat Kearney, Tulsa Theater

MUS I C OKGA Z E T TE .COM | J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1

Strain name: Purple Kush Grown by: Elite Cannabis Acquired from: Stars and Stripes Date acquired: July 12 Physical traits: various shades of green with purple Bouquet: sweet and sour

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Review: This one picked itself the moment I put my face near the jar. A very pungent sweet and sour aroma reminiscent of good Pie strains immediately sold me. The taste is much sweeter than the scent, but it does pack a Kush-strength wallop with it. On each outing with this one, the smoke went right to my brain, locking in a powerful high that definitely slowed me in my tracks, but didn’t outright put me on my ass. There does seem to be a plateau early with this one, similar to other purple strains I’ve experienced, so do your thing but don’t expect quantity to outweigh quality when it comes to the high here. So, that being said, those who don’t actively enjoy the act of smoking or like to get where they’re going quickly will get their bang for their buck with this strain.

Strain name: Mandarin Punch Grown by: Giddy’s Farm Acquired from: Giddy’s Premium Cannabis Date acquired: July 12 Physical traits: light green with hints of purple Bouquet: lightly fruity Review: If you know who Jayson Emo AKA Giddy Up is, then you probably know his shop too. If you don’t, well, both High Times and Oklahoma Gazette have written extensively about him. Mandarin Punch was his choice for a review strain. Enough said. Purple Punch and its crosses are among my favorites anyway, with their sandy-textured nugs due to extensive trichomes and faintly sweet taste. A good Purple Punch is great cannabis and his run, crossed with Mandarin Cookies, hits the exact notes I was looking for. Calming without being soporific and uplifting without making your thoughts wander too far, Mandarin Punch is fun to overdo. A smooth, tasty

smoke without the regret of going too far. Also of note are his Garlic, Sunday Sunset and another personal favorite, Orange Kush Cake. Giddy is pulling rooms down regularly, so check the shelves often for drops.

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PUZZLES NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE | I’VE GOT A FEELING … By Howard Barkin | Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz | 0718 1

73 Apt anagram of GIFT 75 Brownish-gray 19 20 21 22 76 Jester’s emotion after the king’s laughter? 23 24 25 26 79 Like Ignatius J. Reilly in ‘‘A Confederacy of Dunces’’ 27 28 29 80 English-speaking 82 A fan of 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 83 Dionysian ritual 37 38 39 40 41 84 Ashleigh ____, 2019 French Open champion 42 43 44 45 46 85 Apathetic 87 Duchess of ____ (Goya 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 model) 88 One-named winner of 54 55 56 57 58 59 the 2021 Grammy for Song of the Year 60 61 62 63 89 Notation on a party invite 90 Wild horse’s emotion? 64 65 66 67 94 Huge tub 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 97 One who’s able to rattle off digits of pi, perhaps 77 78 79 80 81 99 Wine: Prefix 100 Like Eeyore 82 83 84 85 101 Hard-to-please type 102 Result of a snow day 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 105 Eddie Murphy’s org. in ‘‘48 Hrs.’’ 94 95 96 97 107 Lifelike video game, for short 98 99 100 101 102 103 108 A mighty long time 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 109 ÷ and †, in typography 110 Cat’s emotion while 111 112 113 114 sitting in its human’s lap? 114 Stuck 115 116 117 118 115 Brazilian beach made famous in song 119 120 121 122 116 Coming or going 117 Hits the paper airplane icon, perhaps ACROSS blues album ‘‘Riding 53 It’s full of hot air 118 PC support group With the King’’ 54 Mongolian shelters 1 Like ‘‘American Pie,’’ 119 Blocks ‘‘American Psycho’’ and 30 Take the next step in an 55 Novice window washer’s online relationship emotion? ‘‘American Beauty’’ DOWN 58 Scathing review 7 Proposed portrait for the 31 Actress Blanchett 33 Scotland’s ____ Lomond 59 Complete set of showbiz 1 Fired up $20 bill 2 Quiets down 35 Winter Olympics maneuver awards, for short 13 Like sports fans who 3 Wheel of Fortune’s place 36 Some H.S. yearbook staff 60 Clownish paint their faces, say 4 Airport info, for short 18 Drink with tapioca pearls 37 Bacteriologist’s emotion 61 Really play that saxophone 5 Lesser-known song upon a new discovery? 62 Egypt’s Sadat 19 Peach relative 6 Kind of tire 40 Jess’s best friend on 64 Powerhouse in international 21 Run off (with) 7 Pay with a chip-based TV’s ‘‘New Girl’’ men’s ice hockey 22 Upbeat sentry’s emotion? credit card, perhaps 43 Glib 66 Haul away 24 Many, informally 8 As much as 44 Maker of Regenerist skin 67 Art gallery tour leader 25 Regarding 9 Actor Wilford of ‘‘The cream 68 No. 46 26 More, on a music score 45 Any member of BTS, e.g. 69 Modern reading option ... Natural’’ 27 Auspice 10 Old-style copies 47 Pellet shooter or where to read it? 28 King’s collaborator on 50 What Kit Kat bars come in 71 ____ Building, Boston’s 11 Easy as pie the Grammy-winning 12 Column of boxes on a 51 ‘‘I’m glad to hear it’’ first skyscraper

Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute).

SUDOKU EASY | N°24904 Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9. www.printmysudoku.com Grid n°24904 easy

9 9 4 1 5 3 8 6 3

3 4 2 1 6 3 2 8 30

J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 1 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

9 4 1

questionnaire 13 ‘‘Chill out!’’ 14 Hair loss 15 Evil genie’s emotion? 16 ____ facto 17 ‘‘MacGyver’’ actor Richard ____ Anderson 18 Subpar athletic effort 20 Cable option for film buffs 23 Relentlessly competitive 29 Death Valley was once one 32 The Gettysburg Address, e.g. 34 Massage therapist’s substance 37 Some recyclables 38 Jumping the gun 39 Turn over 41 One might take you in 42 Gusto 43 Finished a hole 46 Justin Timberlake’s former group 47 When said three times, hit song for 46-Down 48 Famous toon with a Brooklyn accent 49 Farmer’s emotion during a dry season? 50 As compared to 51 Eat (at) 52 Commercial lead-in to Clean 56 Responded to the alarm 57 New Mexico art hub 60 One of his paradoxes claims that two objects can never really touch 63 Home mixologist’s spot 65 Interior design 66 Big name in lawn care 67 Oppose 69 Silk Road city near the East China Sea 70 What ‘‘10’’ might mean: Abbr. 71 Sleeping spot for a guest, maybe 72 It’s way above the recommended amount 74 Youngest recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2010) 75 Apply sloppily 77 St. Cloud State University’s state: Abbr. 78 Laze 79 Follow 81 Identified, in Ipswich 86 Birth-control options 87 Rescue dog, e.g.

88 Estrogen or testosterone 91 Move from aisle to window, maybe 92 Recent delivery 93 Took steroids, informally 94 Brio, to Brits 95 Staves off 96 Auditory: sound :: gustatory: ____ 98 Bursts in on 101 Willem of the ‘‘Spider Man’’ series 102 Delicious food, in modern slang 103 Theatrical award 104 Nobel pursuit?: Abbr. 106 Putin’s parliament 111 N.Y. tech school 112 Castle door destroyer 113 Actor who was once crowned ‘‘America’s Toughest Bouncer’’

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 0704, which appeared in the July 7 issue.

T A C O S

A L O H A

L A M E

E R A S

C O B R A

U P T O P

A L P O

F O O D

R A N B Y

O R C A

T M O B I E L A V E I A N M A T A T R O M I N I E S A S S S P A P E L I L A C L A E M D S

O G R E O R E L N F U S E Y B E A L K A N O N E L O N E D R A N S N D A T E E A T T C Y C A H S A N A A N D S I T E E A B P R A I S T I S M S O A P R O P R G O R E Y A E T N A

B F S F T S O N G E O A S D E L O M M A G Y E S N O

U S E D C A R

A L U M N A

R E S E A T

R E A S E S

T E E C U M A T E M E D P S A R A M I R A E L R A I E A S O U R E M E X E S T

I S L E S I D S E S T E S

H A V A N A N

T H I L R O S G T A T N R C A M O P O N O G M G R A A N C T O E S V F I D E C U R H E N E S S

M O C K

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E R A S E

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A M O R

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A R E N A

A S S A Y

VOL. XLIII NO. 05 Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers. The cash value of this copy is $1. Persons taking copies of the Oklahoma Gazette from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution. Please address all unsolicited news items (non-returnable) to the editor. For subscription inquiries, email kbleakley@okgazette.com

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY - WEEK OF JULY 22 Homework: Send me an oracle you’d like to receive for the first week of September. ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Author Valerie Andrews reminds us that as children, we all had the “magical capacity to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unselfconsciously to the soughing of the trees.” Oh, how I would love you to be able to recover even a fraction of those talents in the coming days. My reading of the current astrological potentials tells me that your chances of doing so are much better than usual. Your ability to connect with the eternal child and wise animal within you is at a peak.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Taurus singer Barbara Streisand has a shopping mall built below her large home. Its purpose isn’t to sell consumer goods to strangers but rather to stash her precious belongings and show them off when friends come over. Among the storefronts are an antique store, doll shop, costume shop, and candy store. The coming weeks would be an excellent time for you to start building a shopping mall beneath your home, too, Taurus. If that’s too expensive or complicated, here are alternatives: 1. Revitalize your appreciation for your treasured possessions. 2. Acquire a new treasured possession or two that will inspire you to love your life even more than you already do. 3. Reacquaint yourself with the spiritual powers that your treasured possessions arouse in you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

The Dalai Lama says there are core similarities between science and Buddhism. Both keep searching for ever-more complete versions of the truth. Both employ firsthand observation and experimentation to do that noble work. If they find new information that contradicts previously held versions of the truth, both are willing to discard them. Now that you Geminis are entering the Deep Questioning Phase of your astrological cycle, I’d love you to make generous use of

the Buddhist/Scientific approach. More complete versions of the truth will be available in abundance in the coming weeks—if you’re alert for them.

appreciate the good times more intensely. I suggest you borrow from her approach right now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

Nobel Prize-winning author Albert Camus wrote, “Great feelings bring with them their own universe”—which he said may either be degraded or splendid, selfish or generous. I love that he allowed for the possibility that great feelings could be positive and noble. So many renowned thinkers focus on negative and ignoble states of mind. In accordance with current astrological potentials, Libra, your task is to cultivate feelings that are splendid and generous. These sentiments should exalt you, uplift you, and empower you to spread transformative benevolence to those whose lives you touch.

Cancerian artist Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656) achieved the impossible: She became a supremely skilled and renowned painter in an era when women had virtually no opportunities to become artists. Many aspects of her work distinguished her from other painters. For example, she depicted women as having strong, agile hands and arms. In Artemisia’s world, the power of women’s wrists, forearms, and fingers signifies their ability to put their mark upon the world, to accomplish strenuous practical tasks with grace and flair. If I were going to paint images of you in the coming weeks, I would also portray you as having strong, agile hands and arms. I suspect you’ll have potent agency to get things done—to adeptly manipulate the material world to serve your ideals. (Thoughts about Artemisia’s hands come from art historian Mary D. Garrard.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

“Once upon a time”: That’s your phrase of power these days. What do I mean by that? I’m suggesting that you will strengthen your problem-solving abilities by engaging in playful pretending for the sheer fun of it. I’m predicting that you will boost your confidence by dreaming up amusing magical stories in which you endure heroic tests and achieve epic feats. And I’m proposing that you will fine-tune your ability to accomplish practical feats if you regard your robust imagination as crucial to your success.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Virgo singer-songwriter Fiona Apple says she’s not religious. On the other hand, she regularly kneels on the ground and announces to whatever great power might be listening, “Thank you for my problems, and I send my love everywhere.” She’s sincere. She regards her sadness and her challenges as being equally important to her happiness and success. The difficulties teach her what she didn’t even realize she needed to know, and make her

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

“How can you hold on to something that won’t hold still?” asked Scorpio poet Benjamin Fondane. In general, you Scorpios have more talent than every other sign of the zodiac at doing just that: corralling wiggly, slippery things and making them work for you. And I expect this skill will be especially in play for you during the coming weeks. Your grasp on the elusive assets won’t ever be perfect, but it will be sufficiently effective to accomplish small wonders.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Sagittarian Calvin Trillin is a witty writer with a good imagination and a flair for inventive language. But back in school, he confesses, “Math was always my bad subject. I couldn’t convince my teachers that many of my answers were meant ironically.” You Sagittarians are authorized by the cosmic powers-that-be to borrow your style and attitude from Trillin in the coming weeks. So you shouldn’t be fixated on mathematical precision and fastidious logic; your task is not to be conceptually impeccable and scrupulously sensible. Rather, you have a license to be extra lyrical and lush and rhapsodic and humorous and irrepressible.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

In 2011, an eBay seller produced a 19th-century photo

that he said proved Capricorn actor Nicholas Cage is a time-traveling vampire. Although the character in the image did indeed resemble the Oscar-winning star, he rejected the theory, and emphatically declared that he is not a time-traveling vampire. Maybe that all sounds absurd, but I must tell you that you may soon have to deal with people’s equally inaccurate and off-kilter theories about you. My advice: Don’t take it personally. Simply correct others’ misimpressions and rely solely on yourself for definitive ideas about who you are.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

I’ve assembled excerpts of love poems for your inspiration. Why? Because you’re entering the Intensified Intimacy Phase of your astrological cycle. Consider using the following riffs as inspiration when you interact with loved ones. 1. “I profess the religion of love; it’s the belief, the faith I keep.” 2. “Holding your hand, I can hear your bones singing into mine and feel the moon as it rolls through you.” 3. “Raw light spills from your eyes, utterly naked, awakening an intoxicating shimmer of adventure.” 4. “I ask you please to speak to me forever.” (Poem fragments are from Ibn ‘Arabi, Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, Herman Hesse, Sara Eliza Johnson, Alejandra Pizarnik.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

An Australian witch named Michelle Clinton praises the joys of a “moon garden.” It features flowers and plants that reveal their full beauty after dark. Among the flowers that bloom at night are evening primrose, angel’s trumpet, and Dutchman’s pipe cactus. As for the flowers whose aromas are most potent after the sun sets: night-blooming jasmine, garden heliotrope, and honeysuckle. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will have resemblances to a moon garden in the near future, Pisces. Be alert for opportunities to glow and grow in the dark. (More: tinyurl.com/LunarGarden)

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes /daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY - WEEK OF JULY 29 Homework: Send descriptions of your wildly hopeful dreams for the future.

drawn to discover what’s out there without knowing yet if we have the courage to face it.” — Pema Chödrön

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

What does it mean to feel real? Some people have a hard time doing that. They have such false ideas about who they are that they rarely feel real. Others are so distracted by trivial longings that they never have the luxury of settling into the exquisite at-home-ness of feeling real. For those fortunate enough to regularly experience this treasured blessing, feeling real isn’t a vague concept. It’s a vivid sensation of being conscious in one’s body. When we feel real, we respond spontaneously, enjoy playing, and exult in the privilege of being alive. After studying your astrological potentials, Aries, I suspect that you now have an enhanced capacity to feel real.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

When she was a child, author Valerie Andrews visited her secret sanctuary at sunset every day for seven years. She lay on the ground among birch trees and aromatic privet plants, feeling “the steady rhythmic heartbeat of the earth” as she basked in the fading light. I’d love for you to enjoy the revitalizing power of such a shrine. The decisions you have to make will become clear as you commune with what Andrews calls “a rootlike umbilicus to the dark core of the land.” Do you know of such a place? If not, I suggest you find or create one.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

I suspect that your immediate future will be a patchwork of evocative fragments. You may be both annoyed and entertained by a series of flashing attractions, or an array of pretty baubles, or a hubbub of tasks that all seem at least mildly worth doing. Chances are good that they will ultimately knit together into a crazy-quilt unity; they will weave into a pattern that makes unexpected sense. In the spirit of the spicy variety, I offer three quotes that may not seem useful to you yet, but will soon. 1. “Isn’t it possible that to desire a thing, to truly desire it, is a form of having it?” — Galway Kinnell 2. “It is not half so important to know as to feel.” — Rachel Carson 3. “Like all explorers, we are

A Tumblr blogger named Cece writes, “The fact that you can soak bread in sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla, then butter a pan and fry said bread to make a meal is really liberating.” I agree. And I share this with you in the hope of encouraging you to indulge in other commonplace actions that will make you feel spacious and uninhibited. You’re in a phase of your astrological cycle when you’ll thrive on doing day-to-day details that excite your lust for life. Enjoying the little things to the utmost will be an excellent strategy for success.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Leo poet Renée Ashley articulates a perspective I recommend you adopt. She writes, “I’m drawn to what flutters nebulously at the edges, at the corner of my eye—just outside my certain sight. I want to share in what I am routinely denied, or only suspect exists. I long for a glimpse of what is beginning to occur.” With her thoughts as inspiration, I advise you to be hungry for what you don’t know and haven’t perceived. Expand your curiosity so that it becomes wildly insatiable in its quest to uncover budding questions and raw truths at the peripheries of your awareness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

“There are many things in your heart you can never tell to another person,” declared Virgo actor Greta Garbo (1905–1990). “It is not right that you should tell them,” she concluded. “You cheapen yourself, the inside of yourself, when you tell them.” I presume Greta was being melodramatic. My attitude is the opposite of hers. If you find allies who listen well and who respect your vulnerability, you should relish telling them the secrets of your heart. To do so enriches you, deepens you, and adds soulful new meanings to your primary mysteries. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to seek this wise pleasure in abundance.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Now is a fantastic time to seek out effervescent

socializing and convivial gatherings and festive celebrations. If you surround yourself with lively people, you’ll absorb the exact influences you need. May I suggest you host a fun event? If you do, you could send out invitations that include the following allures: “At my get-together, the featured flavors will be strawberry chocolate and impossibly delicious. There’ll be magic vibrations and mysterious mood-enhancers. Liberating conversations will be strongly encouraged. Unpredictable revelations will be honored. If possible, please unload your fears and anxieties in a random parking lot before arriving.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Scorpio author Andrew Sean Greer writes, “As the Japanese will tell you, one can train a rose to grow through anything, to grow through a nautilus even, but it must be done with tenderness.” I think that’s a vivid metaphor for one of your chief tasks in the coming weeks, Scorpio: how to carefully nurture delicate, beautiful things as you coax them to ripen in ways that will bring out their sturdiness and resilience. I believe you now have an extra capacity for wielding love to help things bloom.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Suggested experiments to try soon: 1. Remember a past moment when you were touched with the sudden realization that you and a person you’d recently met were destined to fall in love. 2. Remember a past moment when you kissed someone for the first time. 3. Remember a past moment when someone told you they loved you for the first time or when you told someone you loved them for the first time. 4. Allow the feelings from the first three experiments to permeate your life for five days. See through the eyes of the person you were during those previous breakthroughs. Treat the whole world as expansively and expectantly as you did during those times.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Capricorn poet Kenneth Rexroth was shirtless as he strolled along a rural road. To his delightful amazement, a fritillary butterfly landed on his

shoulder, fluttered away, landed again, fluttered away—performed this dance numerous times. Nothing like this had ever happened to him. Later he wrote, “I feel my flesh / Has suddenly become sweet / With a metamorphosis / Kept secret even from myself.” In the coming days, I’m expecting at least one comparable experience for you. Here’s your homework: What sweet metamorphoses may be underway within you—perhaps not yet having reached your conscious awareness?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

“Each time we don’t say what we want to say, we’re dying.” Aquarian artist and singer Yoko Ono said that. I will add a further nuance: Each time we’re not aware of the feeling or experience or situation we want, we’re dying. And these will be key themes now that you’ve entered the “I KNOW WHAT I WANT AND I KNOW HOW TO ASK FOR IT” phase of your cycle. The most healing and vivifying thing you can do during the next six weeks is to be precise about your desires.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

In 1829, Piscean author Victor Hugo began work on his novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He had other projects, though, and by September 1830, he had made scant progress on Hunchback. Growing impatient, his publisher demanded that he finish the manuscript by February 1831. In response, Hugo virtually barricaded himself in his room to compel himself to meet the deadline. He even locked his clothes in a closet to prevent himself from going out. For the next five months, he wore only a gray shawl as he toiled nonstop. His stratagem worked! I recommend you consider trying a somewhat less rigorous trick to enforce your self-discipline in the coming weeks. There’s no need to barricade yourself in your fortress. But I hope you will have fun taking stringent measures. Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes /daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

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