free every wednesday | Metro OKC’s Independent Weekly | march 7, 2018
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inside COVER P.4 As he prepares to leave office after
14 years, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett looks back on the city’s progress during his tenure and its potential for the future. By Laura Eastes Photo by Mark Hancock
NEWS 4 Cover Mayor Mick Cornett
6 State the status of Oklahoma women 8 Health Oklahoma Tobacco
Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET)
10 Chicken-Fried News
EAT & DRINK 13 Review El Primo Loco
14 Feature Kwan’s Kitchen
16 Feature Jimmy’s Round-Up Cafe &
Fried Pies
18 Gazedibles St. Patrick’s Day
ARTS & CULTURE 20 OKG shop spring break 22
Mind, Body, Spirit
23 Art Momentum 2018
24 Theater Junie B. Jones: The
Musical at Lyric at the Plaza
Center Music Hall
Box Theatre
Oklahomans and the War in Vietnam at Oklahoma History Center
26 Theater Finding Neverland at Civic 27 Theater The Good Doctor at Jewel 28 Culture Welcome Home:
29 Community Children Reading to
Dogs at Metropolitan Library System
giving circle
Norick Downtown Library
30 Community Impact Oklahoma 31 Books Shea Serrano at Ronald J. 32 Calendar
MUSIC 35 Event Culture Cinematic at VZD’s
Restaurant & Bar
36 Event The Black Angels at Tower
Theatre
37 Live music
FUN 38 Puzzles sudoku | crossword 39 Astrology
OKG Classifieds 39
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NEWS
COV E R
Mick Cornett marked 14 years of serving Oklahoma City as mayor last week. The popular mayor who has overseen an economic resurgence in Oklahoma City leaves office next month. Photo Mark Hancock
Leaving a legacy
Oklahoma Gazette sizes up the 35th mayor of Oklahoma City’s 14 years in office. By Laura Eastes
When Mick Cornett took office as Oklahoma City’s mayor on March 2, 2004, there was no Devon Energy Center dominating the city’s skyline, nor was there a National Basketball Association (NBA) team playing to sold-out crowds in a newly minted downtown arena. There was water in the Oklahoma River, but no developments of note lined its banks. No one was envisioning swapping the Crosstown Expressway for an urban park and convention center and ultimately attracting luxury hotelier Omni. From the early days, Cornett aspired to lead differently from his predecessors. He inherited a public works program reviving a city that suffered an oil market crash in the 1980s and an act of domestic terrorism in 1995. The city’s self-esteem was riding high on the success of the original Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) Plan and its second-installment, MAPS for Kids, was beginning to bring massive infrastructure repairs to more than 70 schools in Oklahoma City. These seeds of resiliency blossomed in a city newly confident in dreaming big. As mayor, Cornett’s job was to cultivate those seeds’ growth. He began on an early March morning 14 years ago. “MAPS got it all started. No question,” Cornett said in his office at City Hall. “Since the vote in 1993, we’ve never stopped planting seeds. … We kept doing things that we thought would help later. We haven’t been focused on, ‘What do we do now, and how fast can we do it?’ We have always been about, ‘Let’s do it right, invest for the future and invest in ourselves.’” Few could have ever imagined the economic resurgence Cornett would oversee 4
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during his four terms in office. Multimillions invested by the municipal government paved the way for private development to grow a booming downtown. Economic incentives poured 100,000 additional jobs into the city’s economy. The city’s population ticked upward as people of all ages were attracted by low-cost living and the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene. The addition of a professional sports team brought a sense of community and overflowing pride. “I know the last five years have been pretty good, and the last 10 years have been extraordinary,” Cornett said. “The next five, the next 10 are probably going to be better. You look at the streetcar and the convention center, and then you get into the private-sector development, the millennials continuing to move into this city, the businesses getting started. There is every reason to believe that it is going to get better. That’s because we kept planting seeds.”
Passionate voice
Cornett, known affectionately as Mayor Mick to constituents, frequently tells luncheon crowds in Oklahoma City, reporters from national publications and mayors from other cities, “No city has come further faster than Oklahoma City.” It’s a statement that goes unchallenged for good reason. Next month, Cornett leaves office with a legacy that has been heavily shaped by his efforts to land an NBA team, which was later named the Oklahoma City Thunder, and his focus on promoting healthy lifestyles. He once challenged citizens to join him in dieting, and they responded by losing a cumulative 1 million pounds. He has spent plenty of time in the national limelight,
sharing Oklahoma City’s renaissance story, highlighting the Thunder, the city’s health initiatives or its signature MAPS program. His name appears on a number of lists, including Politico’s 50-person list of “thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics in 2015.” Newsweek named him one of the five most innovative mayors in the country. Oklahoma Gazette readers selected Cornett as Best Community Leader in 2016. As president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Cornett showcased the city to some of America’s most renowned mayors. In late 2016, Cornett had a sitdown with President-elect Donald Trump on the needs and desires of America’s cities. “If you had to sum up Mick Cornett in three words,” Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee said, “it would be character, confidence and the chemistry to get others alongside him and helping out.” And he pairs those qualities with a “passionate voice for Oklahoma City,” said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “He is willing to listen; he is willing to change his mind. Once the vision is clear, his leadership style is very strong. You want to listen to him. You want to follow him.”
Legislature. Before departing the station, Cornett had to ask for directions to City Hall. Any hard feelings toward his boss for the council assignment were soon dissolved as the meeting was called to order. “What I saw from city government was relevant,” Cornett said. “They were talking about parks and streets, all of these things with substance. I knew where they all were because I had grown up here. I thought it was fascinating.” Public service was a good fit for Cornett. He joined the council dedicated, passionate and engaged, demonstrating a commitment exceeding the traditional view of a council member as a “part-time job.” Oklahoma City has a long-established council-manager form of government, where the city manager oversees the day-to-day operations and the nonpartisan mayor and council have weaker powers based on the municipal charter. However, Williams said, no one in Oklahoma City ever viewed Cornett’s commitment to the city as part-time. “He was always ready to go and do what needed to be done,” Williams said. “He never used the excuse, ‘I don’t have time.’ He totally committed to the job. He was the mayor 24/7.”
Humble beginnings
About a year ago, Cornett announced he would not seek another term. He leaves office next month, passing the gavel to mayor-elect David Holt, a state senator and Cornett’s former chief of staff. “He has given us more of his life than anyone else ever has in this city,” Holt told Oklahoma Gazette in a January interview as he campaigned for mayor. “We should be eternally grateful for him. I certainly am. I think he has been an integral part of building a city that I would be happy to spend my life in and building my family in.” In his last year in office, Cornett has pushed an ambitious to-do list, sending three proposals, which included investing over $1 billion into the city’s infrastructure, to voters who responded favorably. Meanwhile, progress continued on the voter-endorsed MAPS 3 projects and the council approved a public financing agreement with Omni as the future convention center hotel. There are lesser-known projects, like Cornett’s efforts to gather the mayors of Warr Acres, Bethany and Yukon to discuss the beautification of Route 66. In late May 2017, Cornett announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for governor. To keep Oklahoma City on track, his advice for the next mayor and those to follow is simple: Keep planting seeds. Look for the next opportunity in what’s beginning to bloom. “I was able to grow an idea based on what others had accomplished,” Cornett said. “I think the Omni Hotel is an example. If you don’t have MAPS 3, you don’t have a convention center and you don’t have Omni Hotels and the $150 million coming into this city. Be thinking about where we go from here. You should always be asking, ‘Now what?’”
Cornett emerged from a crowded field in Oklahoma City’s mayoral race in 2004 to succeed Kirk Humphreys. His name recognition rose as a first-term Ward 1 council member but also from his 20-year career in local sports and news journalism. He once wrote a sports column for Oklahoma Gazette. To transition from councilman to mayor, Cornett researched what mayors in America and beyond were facing and
There is every reason to believe that it is going to get better. That’s because we kept planting seeds. Mick Cornett how they were creatively tackling issues. “Every day, I Googled the word ‘mayor,’” Cornett said. “I would spend sometimes 30 minutes, sometimes three minutes to get an idea of what every mayor in the world was dealing with. … You can’t allow yourself to get caught up in what you are doing or what you are building in your city. The way our system works, the city manager and staff are running the day-to-day operation. The mayor and the council are able to look out for the long-term agenda and vision of what the city can become. I spent a lot of time looking forward.” His passion for public service was inspired the first day he entered the Oklahoma City Council chambers as a reporter for KOCO in the late 1990s. He was covering the council after his boss turned down his pitch to cover the
Powering down
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NEWS Chelsey Branham seeks to represent a portion of northwest Oklahoma City, Edmond and The Village in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Photo Laura Eastes
whether it is a white women sharing her husband is being sent to a war she doesn’t understand or a black women sharing her story of fear for her son encountering police or an indigenous women sharing her story of engaging with non-indigenous men who sexualize her through stories and narrative of Pocahontas, we need to believe them far before it is a trend with national attention,” Adams said. “Believe them, value them and affirm them.”
S TAT E
Run for office
Equality in focus
Women’s issues are surging in Oklahoma amid a national conversation around equality. By Laura Eastes
Calls and emails to the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition in Oklahoma City have surged for months amid a renascent push for women’s rights. The messages include women sharing their experiences with sexual assault or discrimination and women expressing their desires to get involved in the renewed battle for equality. Liz Waggoner, the coalition’s executive director, said the #MeToo movement compelled Oklahoma women to no longer be silent about the sexual harassment, violence or discrimination they’ve experienced. Perhaps just as important, women are asking what can be done to turn the hashtag into action, improving the lives of women and girls. “The #MeToo movement shows that women are not alone in this,” Waggoner said. “And when we rise together and unite, things can change.” The Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, the state’s leading advocacy organization for women and girls, sees the national conversation as a hopeful moment, one that could bring lasting change in a state that ranks towards the bottom in areas that affect women’s lives. Oklahoma’s female incarceration rate is twice the national average and nearly half of women have experienced intimate partner violence. The state ranks fourth in the nation for women killed by men, only 14 percent of state legislators are female and the gender wage gap is wider than the national average. Clearly, women and their male allies have their work cut out for them. The issues aren’t easy, and it takes starting small. An example of starting small is Sen. Kay Floyd’s Senate Bill 1581, which calls for creating up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for state employees. The coalition backs the Oklahoma City’s Democrat’s legislation as paid leave can be a gamechanger for families struggling to pay 6
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their bills and serving as a caregiver to an ill child, spouse or elderly parent. The legislation, if passed and signed by the governor, could serve as the stepping stone toward the Legislature establishing a paid family leave law providing eligibility to private sector workers, which states like California, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin have done. For the third year in a row, the coalition is supporting pay transparency legislation to make it easier for women to learn how their wages compare to their male co-workers. Pay transparency is viewed as a small step toward gender pay equality in a state where women are paid 73 cents for every dollar paid to men. “Women are coming to the front,” she said. “Now, women are realizing that when we use our voice, people listen and it encourages others to do the same.”
Beyond a protest
Thousands of women and their allies assembled at the state Capitol on a Saturday in January for the second annual Women’s March on Oklahoma. March organizers like Maurianna Adams saw an opportunity to build a singular day of protest into a sustained movement. The issues voiced by marchers didn’t just touch on sexism, but also racism and classism. While volunteers passed out voter registration forms, speakers pontificated on what the crowd could do next. One of many suggestions was to share personal stories, which can motivate the public and policymakers to enact policy change. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, women’s stories have strength. The phrase “believe women” has clout beyond stories of sexual violence. “If someone shares their story, Liz Waggoner hopes to improve the lives of Oklahoma women and girls through her work at the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition. | Photo Gazette / File
Across the nation and in Oklahoma, there is an unprecedented surge in first-time female candidates running for offices at the local, state and federal levels. One such candidate is Chelsey Branham, a Democrat seeking to flip a traditionally Republican House seat in a northwest Oklahoma City district. Branham’s motivation to seek the House District 83 seat came from repeated instances where she saw state lawmakers represent the interests of a few over the interests of their constituents. A Sally’s List-trained candidate, Branham has been actively campaigning for 18 months and knocked more than 3,000 doors. While the women seeking public office encourage Branham, she said the trend must continue. Research supports that elected women make the most effective lawmakers, from their abilities to reach across party lines and form coalitions to successfully ushering bills through the legislative process. Branham has first-hand knowledge of the effectiveness of female legislators through her advocacy role for the YWCA Oklahoma City. “The reason we don’t have more women in office is a complicated issue,” Branham said. “One reason is that women don’t run and haven’t. Running for office is not fun and not glamorous. It’s hard. Women are often the primary caretakers. …These are the people we need to run. Those who understand the difficulties and knowledge of life.”
Using their voices
Yes All Daughters began as a grassroots group with a Facebook page and a call for Norman High School students to walk out of class in late November 2014 to protest the bullying and treatment of sexual assault victims. Parents and community members joined the students and called for the district to implement protections for survivors of sexual assault and rape after several students came forward accusing a male student. The walkout spilled into Norman streets, lasted for hours and captured the attention of the media and district leaders. Yes All Daughters’ leaders earned a meeting with Norman Public Schools’ leaders resulting in the creation of a task force to review the district’s policies and procedures for sexual assault victims. Months later, Yes All Daughters crafted legislation with Rep. Claudia Griffith, D-Norman, that required schools districts to develop rape and sexual assault prevention programs for students and staff. The governor signed the legislation in June 2015. A few months ago, Stacey Wright, founder of Yes All Daughters, and Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, sat around her kitchen table drafting legislation to provide for professional development of consent and healthy relationships for public teachers and administrators. A year ago, state lawmakers defined consent under the law. The 2017 proposed legislation is called Lauren’s Law, named after Lauren Atkins, a Norman teenager who came forward last fall to share her own experience with sexual assault. The perpetrator later told Atkins they were unaware of the state’s consent law. Last week, Lauren’s Law, or House Bill 2734, passed a House committee on a unanimous vote. “A lot has been invested in domestic violence prevention, but little has been invested in sexual violence prevention,” Wright told Oklahoma Gazette two days after the bill passed the House committee. “We know based on the recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that these lessons have to start early. It doesn’t have anything to do with sex or dating relationships. It’s about boundaries, interpersonal skills and conflict resolution.” Since it’s founding on Nov. 9, 2014, Yes All Daughters has sought to prevent sexual assault and to help those who are survivors. So far, their energy has been focused on legislation as the group sees an opportunity for the state to provide relationship education in public schools. In recent months, the organization has seen an uptick in visits to its Facebook page. People are listening and lending support. A year ago, a similar bill on healthy relationship education backed by Yes All Daughters never received a hearing. “We are riding a really big wave this time,” Wright said. “We did before because of the momentum of that moment. This is different. I don’t think it is going to go away like it has other times.”
Stomp Dance demonstrations welcome the new season.
SEEDS
SPRING Planted together, the THREE SISTERS (corn, beans and squash) help each other grow.
THREE SISTERS CELEBRATION MON DAY-S U N DAY | M A R CH 19-2 5 Join us as we greet the planting season with Stomp Dance demonstrations and Traditional Games. Enjoy the Butterfly Garden, Water Pavilion, new Inkana Bridge and an outdoor table at the Aaimpa' Café!
Cultural instructors share their art with visitors.
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NEWS
The
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Meeting needs In Oklahoma County, TSET funds work to place physicians in medically undeserved communities like Spencer. By Laura Eastes
Sheleatha Taylor-Bristow doesn’t mince words about the impact of the Oklahoma Medical Loan Repayment program for physicians to practice in medically underserved areas of the state. Taylor-Bristow, a primary care physician at Community Health Centers’ Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center in Spencer, said without the program, “I wouldn’t be able to stay here.” The loan repayment program makes it possible for rural communities to attract doctors who might otherwise pass up the small town for big city positions, or select a more lucrative practice setting to pay off their student loans quicker, she said. During her residency, TaylorBristow learned about Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center, which is a community-based health care provider that receives funding from the Health Resources and Services
Administration to provide services in underserved areas. Originally from Oklahoma City but with family ties to the Spencer area, Taylor-Bristow was intrigued by the opportunity to provide care for people who were vulnerable to financial shocks and poverty. The patients, because of difficulty accessing quality healthcare, come to the clinic seeking treatment for a wide range of diseases at all stages, which fascinated the young doctor. Signing up to serve the public meant earning an income lower than private practice, which worried TaylorBristow, who comes from a disadvantaged background and looked to student loans for accessing higher education and ultimately medical school. After listening to a speaker from the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians present on the state’s medical loan program funded by the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), Taylor-
Sheleatha Taylor-Bristow practices family medicine at Spencer’s Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center. She completed the Oklahoma Medical Loan Repayment program funded by TSET. | Photo Laura Eastes
Bristow had found a way to serve those in great need, while also helping to reduce her debt load. “You are able to have your student loan debt reduced while practicing in a setting where you are able to help the underserved, which is desperately needed in Oklahoma,” Taylor-Bristow said. “In Oklahoma, we need to increase the number of physicians, not just providers. That’s the buzzword. Providers. We need physicians. In these underserved medical areas, physicians get the education, the training and the experience they need.”
Loan repayment program
According to the Ok la homa Department of Health, only one of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, Kingfisher, is not designated as a Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Area. While a majority of Oklahoma County is not classified as a health professional shortage area, outside the cities and the populated suburbs there are fewer clinics. For rural residents, particularly those with lower incomes, transportation to medical appointments can be a barrier. In 2012, TSET and the Physician Manpower Training Commission launched The Oklahoma Medical Loan Repayment program to connect primary care physicians with patients in rural and underserved areas, which are designated as having too few primary care providers. The program requires physicians to treat SoonerCare patients, or those enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, and to refer tobacco users to the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline for free cessation coaching. TSET, where the settlement money from tobacco producers was put in the early 2000s, is committed to improving the health and quality of life for all Oklahomans. TSET grant funds serve as the state match for the program, which received federal health care dollars through the Oklahoma Health
There is an opportunity to have a positive influence and impact. Sheleatha Taylor-Bristow Care Authority. Participating physicians must serve in a medically underserved area for a minimum of two years. Physicians are eligible for student loan repayments up to four years and can reach a total of $160,000, so long as the physician continues to practice in the rural community. “The program creates a partnership
in rural and underserved areas that help to increase access to health care and address Oklahoma’s shortage of doctors,” said John Woods, TSET executive director, in a press statement. “Increasing access to primary care and preventative services will help Oklahoma make healthy choices and live longer healthier lives.” According to TSET, more than 112,000 patient visits have been conducted by physicians participating in the program. More than 1,250 patients have been referred to the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline.
Committed physician
After completing her residency requirement, Taylor-Bristow arrived at Mary Mahoney practice family medicine in July 2013. There, TaylorBristow treats patients of all ages but specializes in prenatal care and women’s health. Her patients range in age from newborns to elderly women. “I absolutely love what I do,” TaylorBristow said while seated inside Mary Mahoney, 12716 NE 36th St. “I love the relationships I have with patients. … I’ve established long-term relationships with my patients. I get to see kids grow up, thrive and succeed. I helped shape and mold them as their physician. There is an opportunity to have a positive influence and impact.” Taylor-Bristow explained beyond her patients, she likes the work at Mary Mahoney, which is an all-encompassing health center offering comprehensive primary health, oral health, mental health, and pharmacy services to clients. Additionally, local nonprofits work closely with the clinic to provide other services to clients. Infant Crisis Services’ BabyMobile makes visits to meet with young parents and young toddlers for formula, diapers and food. Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma and a local attorney set up a medical-legal clinic once-a-month on Saturdays. “You get to focus on all determinants of health,” Taylor-Bristow said. “I can pick up the phone and call one of our behavioral health specialists, who can give a patient treatment immediately or at least set up an appointment for later that day. It is beneficial for the patient, but also for their overall health.” Last summer, Taylor-Bristow completed the loan repayment program through TSET, becoming one of the first physicians to do so. In July, TaylorBristow will reach six years of service at Mary Mahoney. She plans to continue treating patients at Mary Mahoney. “The program is beneficial not just for the physicians with the loan repayment, but for the entire community with a focus on improving the health of Oklahomans, but especially those that are underserved,” Taylor-Bristow said.
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chicken
friedNEWS The curious case of the GPS tracker
This week on “Who planted the GPS tracker on the state lawmaker’s truck?” could be Oklahoma’s version of As the World Turns. You might remember the intriguing case highlighted in an earlier Chicken-Fried News, but for those who missed the episode — er, story — State Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, was alerted about a tracking device placed under his truck by a private investigator. McBride, a proponent of the oil and gas industry, blamed it on The Wind Coalition. Court records show that Texas political consultant George C. Shipley, who goes by the nickname “Dr. Dirt,” hired the investigators, according to The Oklahoman. An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent said in a court affidavit that an Internet search showed that the Wind Coalition and Shipley’s office share an address in Austin. When contacted by The Oklahoman, coalition president Jeff Clark said it has never hired Shipley or his company for any reason and they haven’t shared the same 15-story building since 2012. That’s exactly the kind of thing we would expect Jeff Clark to say — that or his back-from-the-dead twin brother that’s only here to spoil the wedding of his ex-lover. It’s so hard to tell the difference between politics and soap operas.
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No touching!
Everyone’s heard the saying “You can look, but you can’t touch.” While that phrase is commonly heard around strip clubs and museums, it’s not heard at airport security lines. In fact, federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents look and touch. For instance, all Chicken-Fried News reporters can recount similar encounters with TSA agents after their flagged carry-on bags were searched and produced a regular-sized sunscreen bottle. (We’ve pleaded to save the Coppertone. Doesn’t anyone care that redheads get melanoma more frequently?) Our unpleasant experience with TSA doesn’t come anywhere close to traveler Sandor Iron Rope, a member of the Native American Church of North America. According to a federal lawsuit, in 2015, Iron Rope went through security at the San Antonio International Airport. Iron Rope, who traveled with a gourd rattle, a staff, an eagle feather, an eagle-bone whistle and a feather fan — all religious items, alerted TSA agents of fragile religious items
in his carry-on bag. Further, he asked agents not to touch them, as members of the church believe spiritual energy is preserved within certain religious items and can only be handled by followers, according to NewsOK.com. The request fell on deaf ears. The items were touched and “roughly handled,” Iron Rope’s lawsuit said. TSA’s actions resulted in Iron Rope filing the lawsuit in which he claimed a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and his Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search and seizure) and Fifth Amendment (equal protection) rights were violated. In January, a settlement was reached. Under the agreement beginning later this month, TSA officials at Will Rogers World Airport and four other American airports must avoid touching religious objects. Also, religious objects must be placed in bins without other items, NewsOK reported. Further, the legal settlement requires TSA to work with Iron Rope and church members to produce an education video to explain the new guidelines. Chicken-Fried News is hoping for a reenactment video in which one
TSA agent yells “No touching!” just as a rookie TSA agent moves their hand toward religious objects. We think TSA should binge-watch Arrested Development on Netflix and pay particularly close attention to the prison scenes with George Bluth and his family. Maybe, just maybe, Ron Howard will be available to serve as the narrator. He does have Oklahoma ties!
Gnomatter what
Edmond is known by locals as a lot of things: a great place to raise a family, the home of two cherished universities, the place your out-of-town friend says smells like McDonald’s french fries, but then you get to tell them that they’re actually catching a whiff of the nearby dog food plant. But should Oklahoma City’s northern suburb be known as one of the most artistic towns in the United States? According to the travel company Expedia, yes. In an annual listing of cities with a population of less than 1 million, the travel site gave Edmond the honor due to
its works of public art and its outlets for the performing arts, including The Conservatory for Classical Art, Armstrong Auditorium and HÜE Fine Art Studio Gallery. Other listed cities in Edmond’s size category include Santa Fe, New Mexico; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Berkeley, California. It’s not that Edmond isn’t artistic. We at Chicken-Fried News just don’t think the resident soccer moms need more to humble-brag about. We can just hear them now: “Oh, it’s so hard to keep track of all these pesky city honors these days. Top suburb, top school system, best places to live, all 12 of my four children’s combined student of the month awards — which I hear is probably a family record — and now most artistic town? I can’t even keep it all straight.” Exactly how valid is a list of art cities from a site whose parent company Travelocity’s mascot is a literal cliché of yard décor? The Roaming Gnome might like Edmond, but we hear lawn flamingos love Guthrie.
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review
EAT & DRINK
Chicken craving
El Primo Loco delivers flame-grilled chicken quickly with local charm. By Jacob Threadgill
3601 S. Western Ave. pollosasadoselprimoloco.com
following, and for good reason, but it’s ultimately a great hamburger, which can be found lots of places, especially here in Oklahoma.
What works: The stewed pinto beans are spicy and savory.
Chicken chains
El Primo Loco
What needs work: The green sauce could use cilantro. Tip: The mole chicken is a good value.
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley of southern California during the 1990s when the “valley girl” stereotype was pervasive in pop culture. To this day, I still insert “like” subconsciously into conversation. But I appreciate the years I lived in Los Angeles because I met a lot of people from different cultures and it influenced my worldview for the better, but the ennui suffered by a teenager in LA is similar to that of many youths around the country. We were all pretty bored on Friday nights in high school, driving around with our friends, looking for something to do. Quite often, this meant hanging out at a local fast food restaurant. I remember the time a friend ate a 10x10 at InN-Out and finished it off with a milkshake. In-N-Out is the California fast food franchise that has the biggest cult
As the chain has expanded over the last decade, even into nearby Dallas, I found that my own personal mystique around the franchise has dissipated. Instead, the southern California chain that dances in my dreams is El Pollo Loco. Started in Guasave, Mexico, in 1975 by Juan Francisco Ochoa, El Pollo Loco expanded across the border in 1980. With a focus on flame-grilled chicken, the drive-thru quickly attracted the attention of investors, and its American ownership has changed hands several times over the decades. There are over 430 El Pollo Loco locations, primarily in California and Arizona, but they’ve made their way into Texas. It’s usually one of my parents’ first stops when they visit California these days, and they’ve even joked about bringing the franchise to Tennessee, where they now live, but the chain’s eastward expansion shuttered by 2012.
Local flare
Imagine my surprise the first time I saw locally owned El Primo Loco at its flag-
ship 3601 S. Western Ave. location. Complete with a drive-thru window and an open-flame charcoal and mesquite grill, it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to El Pollo Loco since leaving Los Angeles 13 years ago. I made a few inquires to get the story of El Primo Loco over the last few weeks, but I’m still hazy on its history. However, its success is apparent, as there are three El Primo Loco locations along with a food truck. As much as I enjoy the consistency of a well-run fast-food franchise, the corporate uniformity brings an inherent staleness with it, like standing water. It was somewhat refreshing to find that the menu inside the Western Avenue El Primo Loco had made a few recent additions added with colored paper and markers. Although steak and al pastor tacos are promoted with large photos on the menu, the chicken is the star at El Primo Loco, as evident by the 7-foot-tall fiberglass chicken welcoming guests through the front door. I order the No. 1 combination, which is half a chicken that is butterflied and grilled on an open flame alongside onions. The plate is served with traditional yellow rice and stewed pinto beans. I added a medium horchata from those ubiquitous dispensers that serve horchata and other fruit-flavored drinks, and the total came to $13. Since the Western Avenue location is a drive-thru, it had the meal ready to go upon order in a food warmer. The chicken is wrapped in heavy paper along with the grilled onions. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see the food was prepared before order, but I realize that convenience is the name of the game for what appeared to be a two-person operation at lunchtime. I would’ve preferred the chicken to be a few degrees warmer upon opening the paper, but it was by no means cold or even lukewarm. The chicken was expertly cut, with no excess fat on the breast, leg and wings. The rice was slightly mushy, if not unremarkable, but El Primo Loco’s signature flame-grilled chicken with rice, beans and tortillas | Photo Jacob Threadgill
The El Primo Loco on S. Western Avenue features a drive-thru window. | Photo Jacob Threadgill
the pinto beans were interesting. I used the huge packet of corn tortillas to make tacos, which were accompanied by a green sauce that tasted like an avocado cream that was good but would benefit from a cilantro kick.
Mole might be peak sauce. Stewed with tomatoes, onions, jalapeños and pork fat, they were much better than the average beans at a Mexican restaurant, but there weren’t many actual beans. There were large strips of pork skin floating in the soup, which added plenty of flavor, but I’m not going to eat it until it’s fried into chicharrón. My second visit to an El Primo Loco was a takeout dinner trip to the 501 N. Rockwell Avenue location. Connected to a gas station, there is no drive-thru window, and the food is prepared to order. I got the mole estilo poblano because I’ve never seen the luxurious mole sauce on a quick-service menu. Mole might be peak sauce. The numbers of ingredients used in the slow-simmered chile and cocoa-based sauce differs from chef to chef, but there is a depth of flavor not matched in many other sauces. The combination plate included rice and beans, and I found the offering much better than the Western Avenue location. There was no pork skin floating in the beans, and it was plentiful. Even the rice was firmer and had more tomato flavor. I found the mole a great value for its price ($9) for a quarter chicken stewed in the complex sauce. While it wasn’t on the level of a high-end mole, it was tasty and convenient. After a few trips to El Primo Loco, I will continue to support local business, but my El Pollo Loco craving hasn’t exactly been scratched. Perhaps the upcoming Pollo Campero Guatemalan chain at 1412 NW 23rd St. will satisfy my craving. Visit pollosasadoselprimoloco.com. O kg a z e t t e . c o m | m a r c h 7, 2 0 1 8
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EAT & DRINK
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F e at u r e
Kim and Pak Kwan | Photo provided
Dream achievement
Kwan’s Kitchen combines traditional Chinese dishes with European training in a dramatic setting . By Jacob Threadgill
Growing up in a family of chefs in southern China specializing in Cantonese cuisine, chef Pak K. Kwan was instilled with the idea that greatness must rise from the bottom. Kwan’s bottom was at the original Fung’s Kitchen on 23rd Street, where he and his wife Kim resorted to the familiar lunch buffet to turn a profit. It was a long way from the opulent hotels Kwan worked at in China and certainly the fusion kitchen of Cheng’s Garden in Belgium, where Kwan trained in European cuisine while serving dignitaries and celebrities. As the Kwans built a customer base at Fung’s Kitchen, moving from a rented space to their own building at 3425 N. Classen Blvd., Pak Kwan dreamed of providing Oklahomans more than traditional Cantonese dishes. “The fire of wanting to do more fueled us to work really hard for seven years not to let the dream die,” Pak Kwan told Oklahoma Gazette through a translator. The dream comes to fruition with Kwan’s Kitchen at 3031 W. Memorial Road in the former Fox & Hound Bar and Grill location. The work of a 14-month renovation overseen by architect Wister Wu transports guests as they walk into an entry courtyard complete with a glowing waterfall, a glass-enclosed koi pond and blooming cherry trees. “It is beyond words, and I’m on cloud nine every day,” Kwan said. “It is a dream come true.”
Inside a dream
The 15,000 square-foot restaurant with multiple private dining rooms and 14
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event space opened Feb. 26. The menu finally allows chef Kwan the opportunity to infuse his European training into Cantonese cuisine. The recent popular Netflix documentary series Ugly Delicious hosted by chef David Chang explores, among other things, the misguided search for “authenticity” in food. Chang tells viewers that they should be more concerned that a dish should taste good rather than its authenticity. “We don’t want to shock people into thinking we are experts in French or European food, but we are experts at our own southern Chinese cuisine,” Kwan said. “The idea is that we’re trying to marry the concepts. You’ll get traditional things with a little twist of Europe flavor. I’m trying to be playful and creative.”
You’ll get traditional things with a little twist of Europe flavor. Pak K. Kwan It is the first Chinese restaurant in the city to offer bisque, and the French influence can be seen elsewhere on the menu. Salmon is baked with white wine curry and served with caviar ($28); crispy flounder is served with crème fraîche creamed corn sauce ($18); and black truffle and black garlic are added to chicken fried rice ($22).
Other dishes are more subtle and playful on the fusion of cuisines. Classic sweet and sour chicken gets the added boost of Champagne ($15). “The Champagne cuts through the orange and delivers different taste that texturizes the meat differently too,” Kwan said. There are also the dishes close to Kwan’s heart that he wants to elevate from American ubiquity and present a taste of his home. Fung’s Kitchen has introduced Oklahoma City diners to dim sum on the weekends, but a chef’s choice of bite-sized dumplings are available at Kwan’s Kitchen every day. Just as Fung’s Kitchen has a giant case of crispy Peking duck overlooking the dining room, Kwan’s Kitchen has an even bigger commitment to the dish. The dish takes days to prep, and Kwan heard customer feedback that the supply could not meet demand. “The process makes the dish so highly wanted,” he said. “I want to make sure the Peking duck is prepped in such a way that people can have the duck without the bones and have the texture and taste that you want. It’s what I care about the most.” To cater to Oklahomans that like to hunt and to take advantage of local connection to game, Kwan added quail to the menu in a fried rice dish with lo mein. “It’s not something that done at other Asian restaurants,” Kwan said.
Power of love
Kim and Pak Kwan began dating in China, but he had the opportunity to train in Belgium, which meant two years without seeing each other due to visa restrictions. He traveled to China once a year to visit her, but during his seven-year stint in Belgium, Kim immigrated with her family to Oklahoma. Kim Kwan moved to Oklahoma in 1996, and Pak followed in 1999. Kim’s brother Danny Ha operated Dot Wo Garden, where the couple worked together when they reunited. She encouraged him to pursue his dream of pushing Chinese food beyond traditional conventions.
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neW store location! Dim sum is avaialble daily at Kwan’s Kitchen as an appetizer. | Photo provided
“I saw potential in Kwan, and I wanted him to be successful,” she said. “She is my driving force,” he said. The couple opened the first Fung’s Kitchen in 2004 and made their way up to Classen Boulevard. They had their eyes set on Memorial Road because they desired to have a restaurant that could match the large big-box stores along the highway. Every time Pak drove his kids to the mall, he would look for openings along Memorial Road. When the former Fox & Hound location became available, he saw the sign before it even was posted to the multiple listing service (MLS). “This is not the end of the journey; it is only the beginning,” he said. “Once Kwan’s Kitchen is on a successful track, we want to grow and build. We want to be different and create new things.”
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Cherry trees line the courtyard entrance of Kwan’s Kitchen. | Photo provided
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f e at u r e
EAT & DRINK
Country hospitality
Going on 30 years, Jimmy’s Round-Up Cafe attracts crowds with customer service.
JABEE AND WORM
By Jacob Threadgill
The familiar voice of Jimmy Collins bellowing, “Welcome to Jimmy’s! How are you doing?” is part of the reason Jimmy’s Round-Up Cafe & Fried Pies has become a southside institution while attracting customers across the region for giant yeast rolls and fresh country cooking. Every customer who walks through the door at 1301 SW 59th St. receives a hearty greeting from Collins. On the off chance he’s not there, a server will fill in. “I recognize faces. I’m not good with names,” Collins said, noting that he knows if it’s a customer’s first visit or not when they walk in; this opens the door for an icebreaker. “‘What are you hungry for? I didn’t recognize your money — I mean your faces.’ They get a kick out of it. It’s my line for first-time customers.” First-time customers receive a free fried pie with their first meal and get a card for a free half-order of chickenfried steak (which is the size of a large dinner plate) or catfish dinner to be redeemed within 10 days. On their second visit, customers get a coupon for a free breakfast. Customer appreciation and service is the hallmark of his cafe’s success, Collins said. Collins opened his eponymous cafe in 1989 after getting his start with Tulsabased United States Beef Corporation, the largest Arby’s Restaurant Group franchisee, operating over 365 restaurants across the country. “I learned how to control a restaurant through the point-of-sale system: food costs, labor and sales. I was blessed,”
HEAR
CONTEMPORARY CONVERSATIONS
Share at the Showroom: Fairgrounds Edition
Jabee and WoRm Free discussion and performance 6 p.m. Thursday, March 15 Fairgrounds Learn more at bit.ly/OCShowroom.
oklahomacontemporary.org | 405 951 0000 | @okcontemporary 3000 General Pershing Blvd. | Oklahoma City, OK 73107
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Collins said. “They could take over a franchisee that isn’t working and make it successful.” Collins developed the recipes for the menu, which doesn’t cut corners, and cooks everything made-to-order. He developed the technique for the cafe’s famous yeast rolls that expand to softball size and are brushed with a glaze and served with cocoa-infused cinnamon butter.
You name a town, they come because country people who like country food will drive. Jimmy Collins He periodically posts a photo of himself to Facebook holding a giant pan of yeast rolls, which he says garners business from all over the region. Twitter includes mentions of Food Network’s Guy Fieri telling the celebrity chef to visit Jimmy’s Round-Up for its giant yeast rolls. “It’s very skilled,” Collins said of the roll process. “We don’t machine-press them. It makes a horrible dinner roll. I pinch mine off [and they rise because of it].” When Collins meets out-of-state customers, he said that 99 percent of the time, they’re coming because they saw a photo of the rolls on Facebook. “On a Sunday, I might have 15 to 20 tables of people that have driven at least two hours to get here: Comanche, Woodward, Duncan. You name a town, they come because country people who like country food will drive.” Renee and Mike Owens make the drive from Tuttle to eat at Jimmy’s Round-Up multiple times each week. “You always get what you want, and it’s very good,” Renee Owens said. “I love their chicken strips, but I love it all, to be honest. We’ve eaten here for so long that we’ve tried everything.” The top-selling entrees at Jimmy’s Cafe are the chickenfried steak and the catfish dinner,
now open:
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benefiting above A large portion of chicken-fried steak is larger than the plate at Jimmy’s Round-Up Cafe. below Fried pies have been a hit since they were added to the menu. | Photos provided
the latter of which was added to the menu about 12 years ago and now nearly rivals the Oklahoma staple on the menu. Collins said the key to a tender chicken-fried steak is not to allow the meat to sit in coating before it hits the fryer. “The blood absorbs the flour, and that leaves you with a tough, tough chicken fry,” he said. Just as servers mimic Collins’ enthusiasm with customers, the kitchen staff now handles all the recipes he developed. “We don’t have staff turnover unless I want it,” he said, noting that his cooks have stayed with him for at least 14 years. He credits the kitchen staff — Humberto Ochoa, Alberto Cervantes and brothers Saul and Alfredo Marin — for preparing made-to-order food as quickly as possible. A walk back into the kitchen shows that Collins isn’t lying when he says everything is battered and fried toorder. Chicken-fried steak and strips are reserved for one fryer, French fries and okra go in another, while catfish gets its own section. On the opposite side of the kitchen, a converted doughnut fryer is used to service the giant left Photos of Jimmy Collins with pans of his yeast rolls shared on social media bring in customers from around the region. | Photo provided
fruit- and crème-filled fried pies. Collins added fried pies to the menu about seven or eight years ago, he said, building off the tradition started in the Arbuckle Mountains. It took six months of experimentation in the kitchen to develop the recipe. “The [fried] pie was the most difficult thing to develop and put on the menu,” Collins said. “You have to get the right texture where it doesn’t fall apart or blow up in the fryer.” A few years ago, Collins considered moving from the 59th Street location, but instead he invested in a remodel of the current location. He said business is up 38 percent since the remodel. “That is insanity in my business. If anybody else could be in the same location for over 29 years, going on 30 in June, and were up single digits, they would be dancing in the street,” Collins said. Even during a midweek lunch, the restaurant is operating at capacity, but there is hardly a wait, as tables turn quickly. “When the line is out the door on the weekend and I see someone walking away to the car, I’ll go tell them that if I can’t get a table within 15 minutes, I’ll buy you a meal,” Collins said. “I’ve never had to buy a meal.” Visit jimmysroundupcafe.com.
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1116 N Robinson Ave. OKC | 405.601.9234 @nicsplacedinerandlounge O kg a z e t t e . c o m | m a r c h 7, 2 0 1 8
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g a z e di b l e s
eat & DRINK
Being green
Whether you’re looking for Irishthemed food, drink or both to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, there are a variety of options in the Oklahoma City area. Dig into corned beef or get an authentic boxty (Irish potato pancake). Of course, there is plenty of green beer and Irish whiskey to go around for the adult crowd. By Jacob Threadgill | Photos Gazette / file
Saints
The Bleu Garten
Black Raven Pub
Throughout the rise of 16th Street Plaza District, Saints has provided Irishinspired pub food, cocktails and beer. The menu includes Irish classics fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash and house-cured corned beef (available Friday and Saturday only).
Midtown is a hotspot on March 17. Head to The Bleu Garten for live Irish music and access to food trucks beginning at 11 a.m. While you’re hanging out at the beer garden and food truck park, you can also walk over to James E. McNellie’s Public House, where they will hold St. Paddy’s celebrations inside and outside its Midtown location.
The drive down Highway 62 to Choctaw for a trip to the Black Raven might be the closest thing in Oklahoma to a trip to Ireland. The authentic Irish pub hosts traditional Irish music on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s a fair warning to those who try to avoid bagpipes. The menu includes Irish staples like salmontopped boxty.
1715 NW 16th St. saintspubokc.com | 405-602-6308
original drinks, great food, cozy interior BRUNCH HOURS
Saturday & Sunday 10am—3pm
2227 ExCHaNgE avE StOCkyaRdS City, (405) 232-0151
www.mCCliNtOCkSalOON.COm 18
M A R C H 7, 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m
301 NW 10th St. bleugarten.com
14471 NE 23rd St., Choctaw theblackravenpub.com | 405-390-1400
Republic Gastropub
5830 N Classen Blvd. republicgastropub.com | 405-286-4577
The green beer will be flowing at Republic for St. Paddy’s Day. Republic has a tremendous beer selection on tap and in bottles. Get an Irish Guinness or Smithwick’s on tap. Order a Guinness blonde lager or a Murphy’s stout to get Irish beer by the bottle. The menu includes updates to classics like a corned beef Reuben and Scotch eggs.
TapWerks Ale House & Café
121 E. Sheridan Ave. facebook.com/tapwerks | 405-319-9599
The beer list at this Bricktown establishment is as long as it is varied. There is a good selection of Oklahoma’s growing local beers and foreign imports. The food menu includes staples like a hearty beef stew made with Ireland’s most famous export, Guinness. You can also get fish and chips made with Pacific cod dipped in Marshall Atlas IPA beer batter.
Blackbird Gastropub
Stag Lounge
Open since 2011 at Campus Corner’s western edge, Blackbird is Normanbased Good Life Dining’s innovative gastropub. The eclectic menu features pizzas and salads, but it also features a few Irish-inspired dishes like a beerand-truffle oil shepherd’s pie and ample ale-battered fish and chips. The Irish poached bangers with truffle oil mash is an update on a classic favorite.
The location in Deep Deuce went through a name change and once again allowed cigar smoking on the premises over the last year, but the constant has been its superior spirit collection, particularly whiskey. With a selection over 300 varieties, whether it is whiskey from Ireland, whisky from Scotland or the spirit crafted elsewhere in the world, Stag is likely to have it in stock.
575 S. University Blvd., Suite 110, Norman gldining.com | 405-928-5555
228 NE Second St. stagokc.com | 405-606-7171
Name brands you can’t find anywhere in Oklahoma!
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Spring staycation
Boutique - Gifts - Patio - Home shopp i n g
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Schools across the state will head into spring break at some point this month, but not everyone will be packing up for a beach getaway or visiting grandparents who live far away. Though one’s spring break might include zero travel plans, there is still plenty of fun for families to have without leaving the state. Oklahoma Gazette breaks down several fun options for children and parents of children within the 405 area code. By Ben Luschen | Photos Bigstock and provided
905 N. Broadway Ave., Oklahoma City in Automobile Alley, next to Hideaway Pizza
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Shoppes at Northpark | 122nd & N. May 405.936.0030 | Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 10-4
14402 N. Lincoln Blvd., Edmond elevationtp.com 405-463-3335
March is always a time to spring forward on the clock, but those who visit Elevation Trampoline Park can take that old adage to a literal extent. Imagine a wide-open gymnasium, but the wood floors have been replaced with large, paneled trampolines. The young and young at heart can literally bounce off the walls. In addition to general, freestyle jumps, guests can enjoy trampoline basketball, dodgeball and launch themselves into a giant foam pit.
Sam Noble Museum
2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman samnoblemuseum.ou.edu 405-325-4712
CELEBRATE
LGBTQ+ PROGRESS
Political Gestures
An evening of overtly political drag performances Free performance Recommended ages 16+ 8 p.m. Saturday, March 17 Fairgrounds Learn more at oklahomacontemporary.org.
oklahomacontemporary.org | 405 951 0000 | @okcontemporary 3000 General Pershing Blvd. | Oklahoma City, OK 73107
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•Elevation Trampoline Park
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Most museums have some kind of spring break programming, but Norman’s Sam Noble Museum features a Spring Break Escape lineup packed with things to do. March 19-23, young visitors can engage in scavenger hunts, participate in arts and craft demonstrations, meet real-life scientists and take in concerts by the likes of Mike Hosty and Sugar Free Allstars. But anyone who would rather go through the natural history museum is still more than welcome to do so. Through April 29, guests can enjoy the exhibition Celestial Siblings: Parallel Landscapes of Earth and Mars, which illustrates the uncanny similarities between our home and the red planet.
Full Circle Bookstore 1900 Northwest Expressway fullcirclebooks.com 405-842-2900
Without keeping a close eye on the clock, just about any trip to Full Circle’s cav-
ernous nooks of towering bookshelves can turn into an unplanned mini vacation. Grab a complimentary cup of coffee or let a barista craft you an upgraded joe at the bar as you peruse the shop’s wide selection. Full Circle carries just about any kind of title one could imagine, from teen fiction to political essays. The bookstore is also known for its diverse collection of books about the state and works by local writers.
Three Graces Day Spa 7108 N. Western Ave. threegracesspa.com 405-840-3223
The kids might be on vacation from school, but that doesn’t mean parents cannot take a short break from their children as well. Prayers of tranquility are always answered at Three Graces, be it through massage, its day spa or its many beauty services. The elegantly decorated Nichols Hills space can be counted as 4,000 square feet of sheer luxury and pampering. The spa is open five days a week (closed Sunday and Monday), and reservations can be made online.
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•Science Museum Oklahoma
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•The Boarding House 124 W. Oklahoma Ave, Guthrie theboardinghousellc.com 405-466-8146
Though some parents might be tempted to put their newly liberated children up for room and board somewhere far away from home, Guthrie’s Boarding House is no inn. Still, most people who visit the unique gaming lounge wish they could have the whole night to explore the many board and card games housed between the walls of its finely decorated interior. A snack and coffee bar keeps patrons energized as they ponder their next logical chess move or make their way through the Clue mansion. For those not interested in gaming, The Boarding House also keeps a special room full of vintage vinyl records.
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2020 Remington Place sciencemuseumok.org 405-602-6664
Spring break might mean time away from the physical school building, but it does not also have to mean time spent away from learning. Science Museum Oklahoma merges science with fun, opening minds to whole new worlds of wonder. A new exhibit titled Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami, debuts Friday. Space is still available in some of the museum’s spring break camps, including Innovators: Build & Destroy, which guides campers through the construction of different machines and contraptions.
Jewelry, Gifts & whimsy on the Paseo
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Come see us! 3rd Friday of each month!
Food Prizes Entertainment Give-a-ways! 4pm-8pm
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Mind, Body, Spirit
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Dr. Andre Clewell
Free lectures March 9-11 Free Lectures on:
Clairvoyant Investigation in Matter Eco-Spirituality Planes of Existence The Obligatory Pilgrimage What Happens When I Die?
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Cannabis Dispensary
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6233 NW Expressway Oklahoma City, OK. 73132 405-720-1112
ARTS & CULTURE free gallery hours 2-6 p.m. Sunday, with spotlight artist talks scheduled to begin immediately afterward at 6 p.m.
ART
Dome home
Forward thinking
The area’s best young art talent gathers inside historic Gold Dome for Momentum 2018. By Ben Luschen
The annual event is still days away from its premiere, but Momentum 2018 already set a gold standard. Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s yearly curated exhibition for local artists age 30 and younger is moving its showcase to Oklahoma City’s historic Gold Dome this year. Momentum returns 8-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday at the distinct and currently unoccupied landmark, 1112 NW 23rd St. Krystle Brewer, OVAC’s executive director, said the event began nearly two decades ago to serve student and young artists. It has since grown into one of the city’s most anticipated annual exhibitions each year. “It’s become this prestigious art exhibition when initially, it was meant to be a much more pop-up, grassroots kind of thing,” Brewer said. This year’s show features more than 75 total pieces from 46 competitively selected artists. Three of those artists are Momentum’s spotlight artists, who receive a $1,000 stipend and free curatorial guidance to complete a series of works for the exhibition. This year’s spotlight artists include current University of Central Oklahoma student Chris Schultz, recent Oklahoma State University graduate Brenna Baer and Oklahoma Baptist University alumna Marissa Raglin, who is also currently artist-in-residence at Skirvin Hilton Hotel. Sterling Smith, OVAC’s programs and events manager, said a lot of work went into selecting this year’s field of Momentum artists. “It was a lot more competitive this year,” Smith said. “We had 196 artists
This year, Momentum moves from last year’s 16th Street Plaza District to historic Gold Dome. Photo Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition / provided
apply. That was close to 600 individual pieces that our curators had to sort through. Narrowing it down to 76 was very, very competitive.” A few Momentum artists will come away with one of several cash prizes totaling $1,000, including a viewers’ choice prize for which each guest can vote. Part of the reason Momentum has gained such local popularity is that it’s as much of an experience as it is an art show. Guests can enjoy music from DJ and producer Samuel Reagan and synthpop band Haniwa during Friday’s event while experimental ukulele looper Jarvix and hip-hop group Original Flow and The Fervent Route perform Saturday. Food trucks will be parked outside on both nights. Guests can win prizes in a variety of raffles, including a new golden egg raffle that guarantees players at least a $30 prize for a $20 mystery egg. This year, Momentum’s planning committee is working on introducing an interactive and immersive art installation partly inspired by the popular Factory Obscura installation Shift, which recently closed at Current Studio. Brewer said their installation is still in its planning stages, but she is excited about the project’s potential. “It’s one of those things where you have a bunch of artists working together and you’re kind of holding your breath like, ‘What is this thing going to look like?’” Brewer said. In addition to the two-night main event, guests can also enjoy Momentum’s
Momentum’s Gold Dome arrival presents a rare opportunity for most guests to see inside the OKC landmark. Most of the show’s participating artists have likely never been inside the space, as its main floor has not been open to the public for most of the last three decades. The building was first constructed in 1958 as a Citizens State Bank. Most recently, plans for a Natural Grocers to move into the space were abandoned. The Prohibition Room restaurant and lounge was open for a few years in the building’s north-facing lobby but closed in 2011. Smith said the wide-open space is ideal for Momentum’s needs. The show will only occupy the Gold Dome’s first floor. Temporary gallery walls will be brought in. “[The building] is very round,” Smith said. “There are circles everywhere, even on the floor.” In some past years, finding enough parking to support Momentum’s crowd of visitors has been a challenge. The Gold Dome, however, includes a parking lot onsite. “When we got Gold Dome and they had their own parking lot, it was like, ‘Oh, awesome!’” Smith said. “We haven’t had that recently.”
Initially, it was meant to be a much more pop-up, grassroots kind of thing. Krystle Brewer Momentum changes sites every year to spotlight a new area of the city. Brewer said she hopes the surge of attention will be a good thing for the Gold Dome and its future. “One excellent outcome,” she said, “would be that it draws people to the space and people can see the potential of the space and it would draw attention from potential tenants.”
‘Geeking out’
Raglin was thrilled when it became clear that her turn as a Momentum spotlight artist would come inside the historic Gold Dome. “Oh man was I geeking out because I’m a huge fan,” she said. “From an architectural standpoint, it was one of like four geodesic domes [when it was built], and we had it here in the city. For the doors to be open for us and [for guests] to see something like that, I think from the location alone people are going to freak out and they’ll just have to come and see it.” In addition to her status as a spotlight artist, Raglin is also chairing this year’s Momentum committee.
“I decided to say yes to everything,” she said with a laugh. Raglin’s first experience as a Momentum artist was in 2015. She said it was very helpful in her progression as an artist, showing her the proper way to exhibit and promote her own work. “Once I showed there, I continued to have success in other galleries and group show invitations,” she said. “As far as what Momentum did for me, it was very much a springboard effect.” Raglin and Momentum’s other spotlight artists received curatorial guidance from Dallas Museum of Art’s assistant curator of contemporary art Anna Katherine Brodbeck. In addition to Momentum’s Gold Dome events, spotlight artist work can be seen at 21c Museum Hotel through June.
Young talent
For many of Momentum’s participants, there is a big learning curve for a major gallery exhibition. Brewer said Momentum does not hold any artist’s hand through the process, but they are very patient and instructive in the process of getting all the artists’ exhibits ready. Before each year’s show, OVAC hosts a workshop for Momentum artists that shows them basics like how to wire their own work and the best way to photograph one’s art. “You don’t necessarily know how to take professional photos of your work or what to do with your artist statement,” Brewer said. Another reason people go to Momentum is to check out the art talent of tomorrow. Several big local art names, including Dylan and Amanda Bradway, have passed through Momentum in its 17-year run. Brewer said it is also a great opportunity to purchase art. “I feel like a lot of people who are trying to build or start an art collection will go to Momentum specifically to pick out works to buy because they tend to be on the lower end [in price],” she said. “These are artists who are just beginning their careers.” Brewer said the quality of young art talent in the state is impressive, which is evident in the fierce competition for Momentum selection each year. The executive director gives credit to the state’s strong arts institutions that give young artists a framework for success. “I think part of that goes to having strong art programs around the state,” she said. “The artists that are submitting to Momentum, it’s through the encouragement of their professors and the community.” Visit ovac-ok.org.
Momentum 2018 8-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday Gold Dome 1112 NW 23rd St. | ovac-ok.org | 405-879-2400 $10-$15
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T H E AT E R
ARTS & CULTURE
Elementary emotion
Lyric Theatre’s upcoming production of Junie B. Jones: The Musical highlights the trials of elementary school. By Ian Jayne
First grade is a time full of firsts: classes, changes and friendships. For years, elementary-age students have had a fictional everywoman with whom they could (literally) commiserate about these new experiences: Junie B. Jones. The titular character of Barbara Park’s children’s books now comes to life onstage in Junie B. Jones: The Musical running through March 25 at Lyric Theatre, 1727 NW 16th St. Tickets are $25-$40. Call 405-524-9312 or visit lyrictheatreokc.com. Comprised of events drawn from four of Park’s books, Junie B. Jones: The Musical begins as Junie starts first grade and grapples with a series of life changes. Her friend Lucille won’t talk to her, and Junie experiences vision problems and can’t read the board. Consequently, she has to wear glasses, and although she’s mortified in the short-term, her trademark purple frames become an indispensable part of her iconography. “It’s her growing up,” said director Ashley Wells. “I love the books myself. When I had little kids,
they really enjoyed them. It’s fun when you’ve read something to actually see it come to life.” Junie B. Jones will run at Lyric partly because of the success of another book-tostage production last year, James and the Giant Peach. It was Lyric’s first Theater for Young Audiences (TYA) production and has inspired an initiative to put on a TYA show each year. “We can reach that younger audience and give families an opportunity to bring their [children] that they might not normally take to the theater,” Wells said. In addition to themes of change and growth, young viewers can also watch Junie as she learns to accept herself and others as well as things that might be hard or frustrating. “How do you deal with disappointment when you’re not picked for the kickball team or when you’re not good enough? How do you deal with that?” Wells said of the show’s thematic arc. Perhaps unlike her audience, Junie learns and expresses through song, such as in “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Make Lemonade,” a tune that demonstrates the musical’s blend of realism and optimism. Just as the show spans a wide range of Junie’s experiences, so too do the musical’s songs reflect a similar variety. They pull from various genres such as country, ragtime, rock and doo-wop, Wells said. “It will appeal to everybody. Adults will hear the different genres, whereas the kids are just going to think it’s fun,” she said.
Musical melodrama
Although the songs are accessible and kid-friendly, Wells said the harmonies are intricate and require a great deal of work from the six-person cast. With sixteen characters, the show also presents challenges when it comes to blocking, timing and quick costume changes. “We will have boys playing girls, girls playing boys,” Wells said. “It’s fun for Micah Marine plays Herb in Junie B. Jones: The Musical. | Photo KO Rinearson / Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma / provided 24
from left Kristin Küns plays Junie B. Jones and Mahalia Gronigan plays Mother in Junie B. Jones: The Musical. | Photo KO Rinearson / Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma / provided
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the actors and for myself, as the director, to help them find that different character and how [to] make that switch.” Bringing the world of first grade to the stage also required Wells to work closely with the design team at Lyric for costumes and set pieces, using the books as reference points.
So much of it just has to come from the inner child and allowing yourself to have fun. Kristin Küns In order to preserve a kind of realism but also create the feeling of the largerthan-life world that first grade can sometimes be, Wells said the show plays with scale. “Everything is just a little bit overlarge, a little bit overemphasized,” Wells said. “Brighter colors, more patterns on costumes; the glasses are maybe just a little bit bigger than they would actually be.” Kristin Küns, who plays Junie B. Jones, will wear a large, red-orange wig and lots of brightly colored clothes to bring the character to life. “I have stars on my outfit and just every color in the rainbow. It’s like a neon party. It’s so cool to see the costumes on all of us because it puts us back into that world,” Küns said. Beyond the costuming, Küns said that the role of Junie also required a
youthful physicality. “With a role like this, I think so much of it just has to come from the inner child and allowing yourself to have fun and being connected to the playfulness of your spirit,” Küns said. “She’s very physical—getting in touch with your body and being physical with the character, I think that helps bring forth emotion as well.” Küns, who studied acting at Oklahoma City University, grew up reading Park’s books. As a self-professed ornery and imaginative child, Küns found Junie relatable — something she can now channel into her performance. “She was that person I looked to in my childhood. I was a very distracted child in school,” Küns said. “I was always daydreaming. … I felt a personal connection to her.” A personal connection to Junie B. is no doubt one of the primary reasons for the book series’ enduring legacy spanning over two decades, from 1992 to 2013. For Wells, the musical encapsulates the childhood tendency toward melodrama. “When you are a first-grader, everything is the best it ever was,” Wells said. “Every event is the best thing ever, and every stumble or fall you take is tragic, of epic proportions.” Junie, as a precocious first-grader, might feel everything strongly, but that’s partially because the world she encounters isn’t always positive. The show, because it highlights extremity, validates the difficulties of entering the world as a young person. “She speaks her mind. She says exactly what she thinks, and she’s very authentic to who she is,” Wells said. “Not everything’s rosy for her in the show. You see her disappointments, and you see her getting in trouble, and you see kids not being nice to her.” But Junie begins the lifelong process of learning about herself, of forging friendships (as with her new pal Herb) and adjusting to the world as seen through a different lens. “In this time and age,” Wells said, “it will be fun to see a young girl learn how to maneuver first grade.” Visit lyrictheatreokc.com.
Junie B. Jones: The Musical through March 25 Lyric at the Plaza 1727 NW 16th St. lyrictheatreokc.com | 405-524-9312 $25-$40
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ARTS & CULTURE Lael Van Keuren stars as Sylvia Llewellyn Davies in the touring Broadway musical Finding Neverland. | Photo Jeremy Daniel / provided
think musicals heighten all aspects of a character’s creative life onstage.”
T H E AT E R
Natural fit
Reclaiming innocence
Finding Neverland gives OKC audiences the story behind the Peter Pan fantasy. By Ben Luschen
Unless one is already familiar with the 2004 film starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, it can be hard to know for sure what the Finding Neverland stage musical is about. OKC Broadway brings the former Broadway production’s national tour to local audiences. Lael Van Keuren, who plays the musical’s female lead, Sylvia Llewellyn Davies, said many assume the show is another telling of the classic Peter Pan story or some other take on the 1904 fantasy by J.M. Barrie. “I’ve had some audience members say they thought it was a Michael Jackson musical because of the title Neverland,” Van Keuren said in a recent Oklahoma Gazette interview. “I do think a lot of people haven’t seen the movie and they come in not knowing what to expect, and I think that’s incredible too, because we’re going to take you on a journey.” Like the film of the same name, the musical version tells the story behind the story. Barrie is a writer who has just seen his most recent play flop. He befriends sickly widow Davies through a chance meeting and forms a close bond with her and her four sons, George, Jack, Peter and Michael. He uses his experiences with the family as the basis for a new play about a boy in a magic land who never grew old. But as he grows closer to the family, others begin to question the nature of Barrie’s relationship with the Davies and try to force them apart. Young actors Turner Birthisel, Tyler Patrick Hennessy, Colin Wheeler and Conner Jameson Casey play four brothers in Finding Neverland, a musical telling the story behind the creation of Peter Pan. | Photo Jeremy Daniel / provided 26
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Finding Neverland runs TuesdayMarch 18 at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave. Tickets are $33.51$108.54. Van Keuren said the stage version and the movie version are very similar. Some lines from the musical are close, if not complete, duplicates of the movie dialogue. The biggest differences are the added musical numbers in the stage show, which Van Keuren feels enrich character development. Plot is progressed with the help of a beautiful score by Take That lead singer Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy. Finding Neverland also features expert choreography performed by dancers Van Keuren said are some of the best in the industry. The stage version replicates the film story but frames it in a starkly new way. “It’s similar, and it’s not,” she said. “[Audience members] are going to be seeing new character developments. I
When Finding Neverland began its offBroadway national tour in October 2016, Van Keuren was in the cast as an understudy to Davies’ character and a member of the ensemble. She worked through her contract with the production for several months, and when her time was up, she returned to her New York home to pursue other auditions and opportunities. A few months passed and Van Keuren’s agent called saying the show wanted her as the female lead for the tour’s next leg. The actress was both elated and shocked by the news. “In my mind, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Well, of course I’ll audition,’” she said, “but never in my wildest dreams did I think they would make me the offer and bring me out as one of the leads. Needless to say, I’m beyond thrilled to be here.” Van Keuren remembers seeing the Finding Neverland movie for the first time as a DVD rental a short time after its original run in theaters had concluded. “I haven’t seen it since then, believe it or not,” she said. “But it left an impact. I just remember it being so wildly creative and beautiful. I think we’re all kind of fascinated with how this came to be — the story before the story.” Years later, the actress went to a show on Finding Neverland’s original Broadway run, which included actor Matthew Morrison as Barrie, Laura Michelle Kelly as Davies and Kelsey Grammer as producer Charles Frohman, who served as Davies’ inspiration for Captain Hook. Van Keuren never could have guessed that she’d be playing Davies herself one day, but she always felt a connection to the character. “I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, wow; I understand this woman,’” she said. “Getting to speak her lines and sing her songs, right away, it felt like a fit. She’s so heart-first, and I think she just wants the best possible life for her children.” Van Keuren stars opposite actor Will Ray in the production’s current version. The actress said she particularly enjoys
the dynamic between the Barrie and Davies characters. “They share such a sweet, simple, but totally inspiration-driven connection,” she said. “That was really, really cool to explore with the actors that play opposite me.”
Feeling wonderful
Van Keuren now lives in New York but grew up in neighboring New Jersey — just close enough to still see Broadway shows with her family. Theater was the focus of Van Keuren’s life nearly from the beginning. She remembers deciding life on stage was her calling at age 7. “I know that sounds crazy,” she said, “but I was like, ‘No, this is it.’” In addition to theater, it is also fair to say that van Keuren was raised on Peter Pan. As a child, she he was obsessed with a 1955 television production of the story starring actress Mary Martin, watching the VHS tape over and over again. It registered in her young mind that there was an actress portraying a young boy, but it did not strike her as anything unusual. “I think I just kind of accepted it,” she said. “I thought, ‘Oh, she’s playing an eternal child and she happens to be a boy named Peter.’ I don’t think I thought anything of it — it was just, ‘Yup, this is how it is.’” Like many other children, Van Keuren was also a big fan of the 1953 Walt Disney animated version. Many Finding Neverland cast members got their starts in different stage variations of Peter Pan, which is a school and community theater staple across the country. Pan has been portrayed by many actresses through history, even in its earliest stage versions. Van Keuren said it’s a testament to a child’s innocence and capacity for acceptance that the portrayal is rarely brought into question. Finding Neverland attempts to echo a similar sentiment. “It’s the theme of our show, just the open, childlike wonder,” Van Keuren said. A bit of childlike wonder is good to keep in one’s heart and spirit at any time, but Van Keuren said Finding Neverland’s message is especially needed in a time of endless, dark news cycles and cynical polarization. “Part of the reason I got into theater is the joy of being able to take an audience away for two and a half hours,” she said. “I love that there is a hopefulness and a fearlessness in this show that comes from when you just leap.”
Finding Neverland 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-March 15, 8 p.m. March 16, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. March 17, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 18 Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. okcbroadway.com | 405-297-2264 $33.51-$108.54
T H E AT E R
Simon-izing Chekhov
Jewel Box Theatre takes on Neil Simon’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s short stories, The Good Doctor. By Jeremy Martin
Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple pits roommates with opposing attitudes about cleanliness against each other, creating comedic sparks from the friction. As the TV adaptation of the hit Broadway play and movie famously asked in its introduction, “Can two grown men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?” Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, meanwhile, is an intense meditation on jealousy and unrequited love famous for inspiring and fulfilling the writer’s maxim “One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off.” Simon’s The Good Doctor, playing at Jewel Box Theatre through March 25 and not to be confused with the current medical drama of the same name, offers an odd couple of its own: Tony-winning comedic playwright Simon adapting several short stories written by Russian author Chekhov. Though the two writers don’t initially seem to have much in common, director Richard Lemin said he thinks Simon felt a kinship with Chekhov because though both are celebrated, they were often overshadowed by their contemporaries. “It turns out that during his lifetime, Mr. Chekhov was apparently not very appreciated by the other writers,” Lemin said. “Everybody said, ‘Oh, Chekhov is fine, he’s charming, he’s clever, but [Fathers and Sons author Ivan] Turgenev is better. And Neil Simon kind of felt the same way. He had hit after hit on Broadway, but the critics always said, ‘Oh, he’s good, but he’s no Woody Allen,’ and they compared him to other authors. And I think he just had this affinity for Chekhov, and Chekhov had some of these really bizarre little stories, and Simon simply took the original stories and kind
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of mainstreamed them for an American audience.”
Challenging surprises
Lemin, who has been working with Jewel Box since 1983, has his own affinity for Simon. While casting the original production of The Good Doctor in 1973, recent widower Simon met actress Marsha Mason who would be his wife for the next decade. Lemin, while directing Simon’s The Star-Spangled Girl for Jewel Box, met actress Deborah Franklin, whom he married in 1986 and recently cast in the upcoming production of The Good Doctor. Lemin, who has directed or acted in productions of several of Simon’s plays, said the playwright has a gift for finding the humor in potentially sad circumstances.
He really does get down to what really affects people’s lives. Richard Lemin “I think Neil Simon, despite the fact that he is a master at crafting jokes, he really does get down to what really affects people’s lives,” Lemin said. “You’ve got people who are struggling with ordinary things, and instead of being incredibly tragic, they turn out to be very funny.” A key to understanding the connection between Simon and Chekhov, Lemin said, is expressed by The Good Doctor’s title character, the narrator and a stand-in for Chekhov, who worked as a physician for much of his life. It’s a role Lemin once played himself. “The writer talks about at one point, H H H H H H H H H H H H HH H H HeadquarterS for H winter family ClotHing H Family snow ski wear - casual-security H H oilField workwear - military-HuntinG H cHildrens beautiFul jackets - warm canvas H coveralls - bibs - jackets - kids to kinG sizes H H H Prices hard to beat H H This is a famous men's big & Tall sTore up To 10xl H we help fiT you & TreaT you like a neighbor H H Tremendous selecTion - laTesT sTyles H H skiers, we have what you want! H H H Hivis & Frc clothing - lots to see H ouTdoormen's paradise H H SamSbeStbuyS.com H H H Sam’S BeSt BuyS H 2409 S. Agnew • 636-1486 • M-SAt 9-5:45 cAll AheAd Sun 1:00pM to 4:45pM H H H H H H H H H H H H H H HH
‘One of the things that people laugh at, I’ve never understood this, is people laugh at pain,’” Lemin said. “But the reason people laugh at pain is because somebody else is suffering, and they’re laughing because it’s not them. So that’s kind of one of the things I think underlies all of Chekhov’s works and this particular work with Neil Simon. He’s just taking ordinary situations and showing how absurd they can be if you take them to that conclusion.” The title role will be played by Don Taylor in the upcoming production, and Franklin, Karen Garlitz, Chris Harris, John Ferguson, Chip Chappelle, Clint Kubat, Shep Edwards, David Patterson, Amandanell Bold and Allyson Rose, who also serves as assistant director, round out the cast. Most of the actors play at least two different roles throughout the play’s nine scenes, Lemin said, and the nature of the production requires a minimalistic approach because the Jewel Box’s layout does not allow for sets to be rapidly redressed for each new setting. “To me, the actual biggest challenge is the fact that there can’t be any scenery,” Lemin said, “because the scenes change every 10 or 15 minutes, this is basically just the actors and maybe a chair or table and then their talent.” Though Chekhov’s most famous plays — Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard and The Seagull — are intense dramatic works examining depression and despair, Lemin said
David Patterson, Deborah Franklin and Chip Chappelle star in Jewel Box Theatre’s production of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor. | Photo James Beckel / provided
the author’s short stories, which Simon used as the basis of The Good Doctor, are typically lighter-hearted works more comparable to the stories of O. Henry, albeit with a darker sensibility. “There is what they call the Chekhovian twist in every one of the stories,” Lemin said. “In fact, the very first scene in The Good Doctor is a scene called “The Sneeze,” and it’s about a young man who commits a faux pas — he actually sneezes on somebody in public, but the problem is in his mind, he can’t let it go. He keeps thinking about it over and over and over again, and it keeps growing and growing and growing until it literally drives him crazy. And that’s the twist at the end when the writer says, ‘And here’s how this all resolved itself,’ and the audience just gasps and thinks, ‘Oh no. That’s so weird. You never would have saw that coming.’”
The Good Doctor 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through March 25 Jewel Box Theatre 3700 N. Walker Ave. jewelboxtheatre.org | 405-521-1786 $20-$25
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ARTS & CULTURE A replica of the Huey helicopter Oklahoma native Bob Ford flew while on combat duty in Vietnam | Photo Jacob Threadgill
The exhibit follows Oklahomans as they go into combat, including husbandand-wife duo Al and Merline Lovelace, who met on at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas and both requested assignment in Vietnam. Merline worked in Saigon while Al was sent to Da Nang for a year. There is a large interactive Huey helicopter simulator surrounded by stories of American soldiers in combat, like Walker, who had the unenviable task of “tunnel rat,” responsible for underground search-and-destroy missions.
C U LT U R E
Vietnam evacuation
History revisited
The Oklahoma History Center exhibit Welcome Home explores the impact of the Vietnam War on Oklahomans. By Jacob Threadgill
The stories of native Oklahomans who fought in the Vietnam War intertwine with the stories of Vietnamese refugees who have settled in Oklahoma City in a special exhibit on display at Oklahoma History Center through Nov. 6, 2019. Welcome Home: Oklahomans and the War in Vietnam is the culmination of a year’s worth of work by the history center’s staff and a steering committee comprised of Vietnam refugees and service veterans. Work began on the exhibit after history center director Bob Blackburn received the memoir Black Cat 2-1: The True Story of a Vietnam Helicopter Pilot and His Crew written by Bob Ford of Shawnee Milling Co., which put efforts in motion, said Larry O’Dell, director of special projects, and co-curator Nicole Harvey. Ford arranged for a replica Huey helicopter to be shipped to the history center from Texas. Crews had to remove windows along the museum’s south side so the helicopter could be assembled inside the center. It hangs over the exhibit’s entrance, where guests are somberly greeted with the names of the nearly 1,000 Oklahomans who died during the 10 years of U.S.-involved conflict.
Telling stories
“We didn’t want to focus on the geopolitics of the war,” Harvey said. “It’s about focusing on the personal stories. … Oklahoma is a land of immigrants, whether it was the Trail of Tears or people from Europe.” The exhibit opens by focusing on Oklahoma families before the war, including Ford, but also introducing Billy Walker, who hailed from the all-black The names of Oklahomans who died during the Vietnam War are listed outside the entrance to the Welcome Home exhibit. | Photo Jacob Threadgill 28
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town of Clearview; Wes Studi, a member of Cherokee Nation; and Cheyenne Nation member Harvey Pratt, among others. On the other side of a façade transformed to look like downtown Saigon, guests are introduced to Vietnamese people who now make their home in Oklahoma. The history center staff hoped to get detailed family histories of those members but was reminded of the ramifications of war. “Quite a few of the folks had more than one parent who was from what was then North Vietnam,” Harvey said. “Depending on the family situation, they were cut off. There is not a whole lot of knowledge of their past for some of them because they were cut off from the lineage and something we didn’t take into account.”
The majority of U.S. combat troops left Vietnam at the beginning of 1975, leaving behind special forces and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) to stave off the advancing North Vietnamese. Instead of installing a contingency evacuation plan for the eventual fall of Saigon, U.S. leadership under the control of South Vietnamese ambassador Graham Martin ignored intelligence, as detailed in the recently released Ken Burns Vietnam documentary The Vietnam War and the 2006 New York Times best-selling book The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency. By the time North Vietnamese victory was inevitable, the U.S. barely had time to get its own personnel out of the country, let alone the millions of South Vietnamese it swore to protect. “They didn’t want to hear about it because any type of [evacuation] plan would concede that we had been defeated,” Harvey said. ”It was a political battle rather than thinking of the humanity of getting people out.” The escape for South Vietnamese started with people like Loc Le, who used family wealth and political connections to get out before the fall of Saigon, but even for them, it was perilous — they survived on a small fishing boat in inter-
national waters for days before being picked up by a large merchant ship. Mai Ly Do’s family had multiple failed pick-up opportunities by helicopters during the hectic late-April fall of Saigon. Do eventually made it aboard a merchant ship, but the crew revolted while at sea and returned to Vietnam, and her family jumped off the ship with a barge in sight. Do was lucky to be picked up by the barge, which packed refugees “like sardines.” As hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese were thrown into reeducation camps, those looking to escape did not stop in 1979. Efforts continued for the next decade for people like Hugh Do, who tried to escape with his mother multiple times but always got caught. Eventually, she put him by himself on a boat of strangers in 1980. Do spent two years in a Singapore refugee camp because of a clerical error. Refugee stories in the exhibit are available through an interactive video display. “Larry and I did the interviews, and half the time, we were crying. There were so many harrowing stories, and what was interesting is that they were unique and similar at the same time,” Harvey said. “The Vietnamese refugees’ stories were the most affecting part of the project to me, just to see how patriotic they are now,” O’Dell said.
New beginnings
Welcome Home ends by highlighting the impact made by veterans and Oklahoma City’s thriving Vietnamese community, which is one of the top-20 largest in the country. Le became the founder of Jimmy’s Egg restaurant, which now has over 50 locations. Mai Ly Do established a Vietnamese-language public radio station in Oklahoma City for U.S. news, and the network now has 14 stations. Hugh Do established a dental practice in Tulsa. Walker still resides in Clearwater, where he works with the State of Oklahoma as a disabled veterans outreach specialist. Studi became a successful actor, landing roles in everything from The Last of the Mohicans to Avatar. Pratt had a distinguished career in law enforcement, including working for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Al and Merline Lovelace have retired from the military, and Merline has become a successful writer, publishing more than 100 romance novels. Oklahoma History Center is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Admission is free-$7. Visit okhistory.org.
Welcome Home: Oklahomans and the War in Vietnam 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays through November 2019 Oklahoma History Center 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive okhistory.org | 405-521-2491 Free-$7
ARTS & CULTURE
Co m m u n i t y
Brianna Montalvo reads to Charley the dog and her owner Jerry Nickell at The Village Library. | Photo Jacob Threadgill
Canine confidence
The Reading to Dogs program at Metropolitan Library System gives kids a reading boost. By Jacob Threadgill
The Children Reading to Dogs program has been available at Metropolitan Library System (MLS) for over a decade, allowing children learning to read in a nonjudgmental setting to improve their skills. It’s the kind of program a child might go to without even realizing its potential impact. Oklahoma City native Allison Miller, 12, was rummaging through an old box of items when she discovered a bracelet with the phrase “Tatum loves reading” that she thought she lost years ago. Suddenly, the memories of being a second-grader at Stone Ridge Elementary School in Piedmont and meeting Tatum the Labradoodle at Belle Isle Library came flooding back. “Tatum means the world to me,” Miller said. “The more I worked with Tatum and her owner, the more comfortable I felt attempting to read. Beforehand, I struggled in comprehending the academic work I was given. … I felt that more so when I was attempting to read. I felt like I was being judged by the teachers when I would attempt to read and mess up.”
For Christmas, Allison’s mother Diane reached out to Tatum’s owner, Carrie Caporal, who sent the family an up-to-date photo of the dog with Santa Claus. After Allison Miller found the bracelet, she began to talk about the fond memories of Petra Mather’s book Herbie’s Secret Santa.
If the parents will get them here four or five weeks, it’s like they jump over a hurdle. Jerry Nickell Diane Miller found a copy of the book on Amazon and surprised Allison with it on Christmas. “She was almost in tears when she found the bracelet,” Diane Miller said. “Her room is filled with books now. It’s amazing to see how far she’s come. She told me, ‘I didn’t realize it until now that the love of reading I have to this day is because of reading to Tatum since I felt comfortable reading to the dog instead of a person.’”
Reading in action
Charley the 11-yea r-old Airedale terrier, a cer ti f ied therapy dog through Human Animal Link of Oklahoma Fo u n d a t i o n (HALO) has
been helping children read at The Village Library each Wednesday since 2009 with her owner Jerry Nickell. It’s one of five programs the duo visits in their free time each week. Charley and Nickell also go to an assisted living home on Thursdays, Will Rogers World Airport on Saturdays and a heart hospital on Sundays. The Village Library is the first place Charley visited after receiving his therapy dog certification, and Charley and Nickell have returned over the years, as Nickell views the program as a helping tool during a critical time for child development. “It’s one of the unfortunate hardships of growing up, [that] for some of those kids who make mistakes, and their classmates laugh or make fun, they shrink into a shell,” Nickell said. “If they get behind in reading, they get behind in every subject. If the parents will get them here four or five weeks, it’s like they jump over a hurdle. Their confidence kicks in. We had a little girl last year, and her mom brought her every Wednesday for seven months, and she went up four grade levels in her reading skills.” Reading to Dogs events occur multiple times a week at MLS branches. Visit metrolibrary.org.
OCU PRESENTS 2018 FILM SERIES
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Dir. by Julian Schnabel,
France/USA
, ,FEBRUARY SUNDAY 2pm SUNDAY MARCH 184thth@@2pm FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Meinders Auditorium | NW 27 & N McKinley For more information visit okcufilmlit.org
In its 36th year, OCU Film Institute presents films on the theme “Picturing Reconciliation” for more info www.okcufilmlit.org
Therapy dog
Nickell discovered HALO after Charley finished a successful career as a show dog. Looking for an outlet for Charley’s natural friendliness, he signed him up for a training program. Compared to the more stringent training to become a service dog, which can take as long as two years, Nickell said, therapy dogs can pass for certification in a few months, depending on how quickly they adapt. “Therapy dogs are trained for assisted living facilities or hospitals,” he said. “They can’t eat anything because medicine could be fatal; training keeps them safe. A service dog should never be petted because they’re working and it could distract them, but therapy dogs exist to be petted.” Over the last few years, Nickell has noticed an uptick in the number of unlicensed therapy dogs, sometimes referred to as emotional support dogs, especially at airports. Nickell said to be aware that online companies offer what looks like certification vests and cards for a fee but do not provide any actual obedience training. “We had a dog at Will Rogers [World Airport] a month ago try to attack Charley,” he said. “No trained therapy dog would ever exhibit that kind of behavior.” Only 19 states have fines in place for unlicensed therapy dogs, Nickell said, and Oklahoma is not among them.
$5,000 vs. $19,000 The difference between providing treatment over incarceration for those convicted of drug possession. Saving Oklahoma $14,000 makes sense and cents.
Treatment works.
We care.
Contact your Representative today.
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Co m m u n i t y
ARTS & CULTURE
Thurs - sIN NIghT DrINk specIals jam sessIoNs w/ BreNT kruger & joN murchIsoN (No cover)
Fri & Sat - $10 bucketS during gameS
mar 23 jacksoN TIllmaN mar 30 th casper mcwaDe rd
home oF the true country weStern 401 S. Meridian like uS
ChiSholMSSaloon
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scOTT HunT Wed, March 14
jusTin HylTOn thurs, March 15
TrOy alan Fri, March 16
abbigale dawn sat, March 17
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MaTT sanders Weekly events Mondays
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Tanner Miller 405.928.4550 30
m a r c h 7, 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m
Group giving
One of Oklahoma’s giving circles has funded 24 projects in 12 years, directing nearly $3 million into local charitable organizations. By Laura Eastes
On the exterior of a large van that delivers formula, food and diapers is the message “No baby should go hungry.” It’s more than a message; it’s the mission of Infant Crisis Services. For 34 years, the local nonprofit has provided life-sustaining formula, diapers and food to babies and toddlers in need through health departments, early childhood centers and WIC offices. In recent years, Infant Crisis Services has taken its primary program on the road, aiding parents and their children who are unable to travel to the organization’s northeast Oklahoma City location. Called the BabyMobile, the van first rolled through Oklahoma County as an outreach effort in 2013, said Miki Farris, executive director of the nonprofit. Two years later, Infant Crisis Services’ BabyMobile began crossing county lines to locations in Logan, Canadian and Cleveland counties. The BabyMobile brought services to babies and their parents who might have no other community resources to help in times of crisis. The supplies received $100,000 in financing from Impact Oklahoma, a nonprofit philanthropic giving circle. Impact Oklahoma’s women members provided seed money to local nonprofits seeking to make catalytic change in the Oklahoma City metro area. “What Impact Oklahoma did for us is help us to know that we could expand beyond Oklahoma County,” Farris said.
“We could reach a lot of babies that weren’t being reached by going to these outlining counties.” The success of the BabyMobile outside Oklahoma County spawned the gift from Edmond’s Santa Fe High School, which last year raised money to finance the second van. Now, an Infant Crisis Services’ BabyMobile can be spotted in Oklahoma, Logan, Canadian, Cleveland, Seminole and Lincoln counties. “I don’t think we would be where we are today with two BabyMobiles going to six counties without Impact Oklahoma,” Farris said.
Giving circle
Impact Oklahoma members — women of different backgrounds, ages and professions — pool their money to make grants to local nonprofits. The idea is that one large contribution can have an immediate impact. “If 100 people get together and each gives $1,000, we can all make a catalytic change for a nonprofit,” said Jilian Larimore, Impact Oklahoma’s executive director. “That’s what our gifts do.” The organization dates back 15 years and awarded its first grant of $106,000 to Special Care, Inc. in 2005. During her time with Impact Oklahoma, Larimore has witnessed the organization’s grants thrust strong ideas into action. Some grants support the expansion of established programs; others
Jilian Larimore, executive director of Impact Oklahoma, stands inside one of Infant Crisis Services’ BabyMobiles. | Photo Laura Eastes
allow new programs the chance to start. Members are heavily involved in selecting the grant recipients. Since Impact Oklahoma’s inception, nearly 1,000 women have served as members, Larimore said. “They’ve quietly given a thousand dollars at a time, which has dropped $100,000 grants into the community,” Larimore said. “They are leaders in banking, finance, engineering, medicine and in education. They recognize the needs, and they want to make a difference. They’ve been doing it for 13 years.” Impact Oklahoma’s giving circle model is on the rise in the United States, according to a new report, The Landscape of Giving Circles / Collective Giving Groups in the U.S. The report estimates that giving circles have engaged at least 150,000 donors nationally, contributing up to $1.29 billion. The number of these giving circle networks, which typically represent diverse communities, faiths, cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds, has tripled since 2007.
Local impact
Impact Oklahoma members are required to give $1,000 annually for membership with 100 percent of those dues going toward the organization’s grants. For some members, the dues are part of their annual philanthropy. Others view them as a thoughtful and sacrificial gift, demonstrating willingness to give up something to meet the needs of those less fortunate in their community. Others opt to give more, contributing to the organization’s operational costs. Since 2011, at least two grants of $100,000 are annually awarded to the nonprofits they choose. Membership money over $200,000 is given as gifts to other nonprofits. Impact Oklahoma has awarded grants to Infant Crisis Services, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Calm Waters, Positive Tomorrows, YWCA, FaithWorks of the Inner City, City Rescue Mission, Peaceful Family Solutions and more. Members seek to fund programs that fall into categories of community, family, health and wellness, education and culture. The benefits go beyond the receiving nonprofits. Members get a taste of philanthropy, reviewing grant applications, connecting with local nonprofit leaders and learning about the various needs of central Oklahoma charities. The organization is in its final month of membership recruitment with its 2018 awards announced at an April meeting. As of February, Impact Oklahoma had received 95 applications for grants. “It multiplies gifts in a way that you otherwise couldn’t do,” Larimore said. “We end up with these dynamic, fully functioning programs reaching our community.”
Shea Serrano Photo Metropolitan Library System / provided
B OO K S
is there’s a production company called Jigsaw Productions out of New York, and they do a bunch of documentary stuff. Somebody there saw the book, and that person thought it would be a good idea to try and make it into a TV show. Then they get in contact with me and the agent and ask about the rights. Then they try to come up with a TV show and sell that TV show. But it was the production company that got The Roots involved. They were like, ‘We need somebody to put their name on this to give it some sort of weight.’ The Roots is known as a smart rap group, and they’re all entrenched in rap history. So it just made a lot of sense to get them in.
Ball points
Writer Shea Serrano visits OKC to talk best-sellers The Rap Year Book and Basketball (and Other Things). By Ben Luschen
There is no shortage of writers in this world eager to tell anyone in earshot about how writing is, has always been and will forever be their undying passion. But this was far from the case for The Ringer staff writer Shea Serrano. His original muses were a pile of unpaid bills and screaming newborn twins. Serrano is most known as the author of 2015’s The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated and Deconstructed and 2017’s Basketball (and Other Things), a book that attempts to answer a number of whimsical sports questions, like ‘If 1997 Karl Malone and a bear swapped places for a season, who would be more successful?’ and ‘Was Kobe Bryant a dork?’ Both books were collaborations with illustrator Arturo Torres and also bestsellers on The New York Times’ list. The Rap Year Book is being adapted into an AMC documentary series produced by famous Philadelphia rap band The Roots. The San Antonio-born science teacher turned prolific pop-culture wordsmith hosts a writer talk, Q&A and autograph session 2 p.m. March 17 at Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, 300 Park Ave. Before becoming a full-time staff writer at Grantland and The Ringer, Serrano started freelance writing for Houston-area publications as a way of supplementing his family’s income. His hustle to bring in more and more writing money eventually turned into an outright new career. In a recent phone interview, Oklahoma Gazette got Serrano’s take on the Thunder’s postseason outlook, getting his book turned into a major television
OKG: Which came first for you, your love for hip-hop or basketball? Serrano: Definitely basketball. You don’t even get to listen to hip-hop until you’re later on in middle school, maybe. It wasn’t a thing that was just on the radio all the time when I was growing up. It was the mid- or late-’90s when it really got played on the radio in San Antonio. So before then, you know, you start playing basketball in elementary school.
series and stumbling into the profession that would change his life forever. Oklahoma Gazette: One of the interesting parts about Basketball (and Other Things) is that it’s a book about basketball that actually discusses the sport in the same way most fans talk about it. Is that the concept you were going for? Shea Serrano: Yeah. When I’m talking with my cousins or buddies about basketball, we’re never going over, ‘Oh, this guy’s PER (player efficiency rating) is this many points higher’ or whatever. It doesn’t work like that. That’s not how people talk about basketball who aren’t statisticians. OKG: Do you have any thoughts on this year’s iteration of the Oklahoma City Thunder? It’s a pretty unique team. Who even knows if the team will look the same past this season? Serrano: Yes, you all have a very interesting team there because it seems like they should be really, really good when you just look at the pieces that y’all have. And sometimes, when it’s all clicking together, that’s exactly what they are — they look unstoppable. Other times, you go, ‘Oh, these guys are out of here (the playoffs) in the first round.’ I can’t think of too many other times where there was a team that was both of those things at the same time — both insanely terrifying and one where you kind of hope you get these guys in the first round. OKG: How did The Roots get involved in producing an AMC series based on The Rap Year Book? Serrano: The way that that happened
Basketball (and Other Things) | Image provided
OKG: Where did basketball start for you? Was that something you were introduced to at a young age? Serrano: That’s probably something where you grew up in San Antonio and the Spurs are the only major sports franchise, so that just gets pumped into you. But also, you just start playing it, and you can always tell if you like a thing or don’t like a thing pretty quickly. With basketball, that was just something I enjoyed. When I first started playing, it was just part of gym class or whatever. It felt good to finally get the ball in the hoop because it seemed like it was a million feet high in the air. Then your friends start playing and you start learning about actual three-on-three games or playing at the park against strangers. There’s always a new level for you to get to.
OKG: What about writing? Did you also start early with that? Serrano: No. Writing is a thing I did because we needed extra money. My wife and I were both teachers. She had gotten pregnant with twins, and the plan was that she was going to have the babies in the summer and we would have the summer to get our feet under us and then the school year would start again and we’d be ready. But four months into the pregnancy, she had some complications and she couldn’t work anymore. So, all of a sudden, we just had the income of one teacher coming in, which is certainly not enough to pay the bills of a family of four. I was trying to find ways to bring in some extra money. I was trying to get a waiter job and grocery store job, but each time I went to an interview, they’d tell me that they weren’t going to hire me because I had a full-time job. I realized I needed something that I could just do from home. I just Googled work at home jobs, and writer was one of them. So I was like, well, I guess I’ll just do that then. I was just researching on the internet about how do you get people to give you money to write stories. I learned about freelancing, and I learned about pitching stories and I figured out how to track down editors. You screw up a whole bunch in the beginning, but you can feel yourself figuring it out. OKG: At some point, you had to make some transition where you were like, ‘OK, from this point on, I’m going to put all my time and energy into pursuing this,’ right? Serrano: Yeah. The way that happened is that I was keeping track of, ‘Hey, this is all the money I’m going to make teaching.’ I was making like $48,000 a year. And then I was like, ‘OK, I just need to make $500 a month in freelance money.’ And I got good at that, so then I moved it to $1,000. And then $2,000 or whatever. It got to a point where, eventually, I was making more money freelancing than I was teaching. So then I said, ‘Well, what happens if I just focus all of my time on this?’ Then Grantland showed up and offered me a writing contract, and that was a little bit of stability. … I did that for a year, and I liked it a lot. I liked not having to send out invoices and keep track of everything. We worked out a full-time contract, and that was only in 2015 when that happened. I left teaching that summer.
You Got Game with Shea Serrano 2 p.m. March 17 Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library 300 Park Ave. | metrolibrary.org | 405-231-8650 Free
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These are events recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.
BOOKS Read for Adventure, the OKC Zoo and Metropolitan Library Systems have partnered to publish the children‘s book, Our Day at the Zoo and to create a community Read for Adventure program enabling readers to check out the new book from any of the 19 Metro Library locations, through March 31. Metropolitan Library System, 300 Park Ave., 405231-8650, metrolibrary.org. MON OU Poetry Reading, join native of southwest Louisiana Brent Newsom whose poems have appeared in The Southern Review, The Hopkins Review and more as he reads his poetry, 7 p.m. March 7. University of Oklahoma, 660 Parrington Oval, Norman, 405-325-0311, ou.edu. WED Second Sunday Reading, features former Oklahoma Poet Laureate Dr. Benjamin Myers with light refreshments; the event is free and open to the public, 2 p.m. March 11. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. SUN Art Adventures, bring your young artists ages 3 to 5 to experience art through books with related art projects, 10:30 a.m.-noon Tuesdays through June. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. Dodge City, Tom Clavin signs his bestselling book about the taming of the Wild West, set in Dodge City, the most depraved and criminal town in the nation, 6:30-8 p.m. March 13. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. TUE
HAPPENINGS Brown Bag Lunch Series: “Over My Dead Body!”: Native Americans, Borders, and the Transnational North American West, join Andrae Marak, dean of college of arts and sciences at Governors State University, as he discusses transnational borders, noon-1 p.m. March 7. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-4782250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED Raising Resilient Oklahomans, a summit to build resilient communities across the state of Oklahoma featuring national experts Dr. Robert Anda, cofounder of the ACEs Study and Dr. Susan E. Craig, renowned author of Trauma Sensitive Schools, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. March 7. Hilton Garden Inn Edmond, 2833 Conference Drive, Edmond, 405-486-4955, hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com. WED
Lewis & Clark Revisited, explore the journey made by the Corps of Discovery through journal entries, works of art, historical photos, and more, and learn about what became of the corps members and the people they met, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Thursdays. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-744-5868, education.okstate.edu/olli. THU Unlocking the West, an overview of Glenn D. Shirley Western Americana Collection full of documents, photographs, movie memorabilia, books and magazines with a variety of guest speakers, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursdays. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-744-5868, education. okstate.edu/olli. THU Big Data Analytics Conference, a crossindustry conference exploring the management and strategic impact big data can have on a company or organization, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. March 8. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. THU Beer and Bierstadt, celebrate the return of Albert Bierstadt‘s preeminent Emigrants Crossing the Plains, a reflection on the American West‘s grandiose size and spectacle, 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. March 9. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. LIVE! on the Plaza, join the Plaza District every second Friday of the month for an art walk featuring artists, live music, street pop-up shops, live performances and more, 7-11 p.m. March 2. Plaza District, 1618 N. Gatewood Ave., 405-3679403, plazadistrict.org. FRI Oklahoma City International Auto Show, drive the latest models from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and more such as Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Durango and Fiat 124 Spider; must be 18 or older with a valid driver‘s license, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. March 9-10, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 11. Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd., 405948-6700, okstatefair.com. Conference for Women, a free event for women ages 15 and up with workshops on health and wellness, legal matters, relationships and more, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 10. Metro STEM Academy, 1901 Springlake Drive, 405-595-4319, metrotech.edu. SAT A Cinderella Story, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. hosts a free prom dress giveaway with new and gently used prom dresses, cocktail dresses and accessories, ranging in size XS to plus size, for young ladies who cannot afford to attend their proms, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 10. Rose State College, 6420 SE 15th St., Midwest City, 405-733-7673, rose.edu. SAT See You Saturday, learn about inspirational Oklahomans who make our state great with interactive exhibits and free admission, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 10. Oklahoma Hall of Fame, GaylordPickens Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 405-2354458, oklahomahof.com. SAT Planning and Planting Your Garden, get pro tips for successful gardening such as what to plant and when to plant it for beautiful blossoms with this free seminar, 6 p.m. March 14. Will Rogers Garden Center, 3400 NW 36th St., 405-943-0827, okc.gov/recreation. WED Brown Bag Lunch Series: My West, Theodore Waddell discusses his life and art including reflections about the people and life experiences which have influenced his work throughout the years, noon-1 p.m. March 14. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED LGBTQ Allyship in Practice, a lecture examining current LGBTQ concepts and issues and develop an awareness of biases and recognize heterosexual and cisgender privilege, noon-1 p.m. March 14. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-3552 okdhs.org. WED
Oklahoma Gardening School: Designs to Nurture Nature & Ourselves Attend this symposium featuring speakers who demonstrate how to design a nurturing landscape for wildlife and ourselves. Pack a lunch or purchase one there for a full day of gardening tips 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday in Devon Energy Auditorium at Devon Tower, 333 W. Sheridan Ave. Tickets are $25-$70. Call 405-445-7080 or visit myriadgardens.org. SATURDAY Photo Myriad Botanical Gardens / provided
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The Orchid & Poetry Show, an orchid show curated by Nate Tschaenn, director of horticulture and resident orchid expert features exhibits inspired by poetry, through March 24. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-4457080, myriadgardens.com. Tracing Your Roots, students learn how to search for their heritage online, how to obtain free resources that are available for research, and how to access materials located in the Oklahoma Historical Society, 10 a.m.-noon Tuesdays. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-522-0765, okhistory.org. TUE Museum Theory and Practice, explore the research, preservation, management and interpretation of historical and cultural resources through the University of Central Oklahoma‘s graduate program in museum studies, through April 27. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org
Graphic Novel Writing Workshop, for ages 9-18, Victoria Jamieson, author/illustator of Roller Girl and All’s Faire in Middle School, teaches you how to create your own graphic novel, 2-3 p.m. March 13. Southern Oaks Library, 6900 S. Walker Ave., 405-631-4468, metrolibary.org. TUE Kid Inventor, design, test and build unique creations using a variety of materials and technologies such as Legos, string, paper and more, through March. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.
PERFORMING ARTS Crumbs from the Table of Joy, a play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage about an African-American teenage girl and her family in 1950 Brooklyn, New York, 7:30 p.m. March 8 and 8 p.m. March 10-11. Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 405-232-6500, carpentersquare.com. FRI Tuesday Noon Concerts, a series presented by OU School of Music and the museum features 30-minute concerts during the lunch hour, noon-1 p.m. Tuesdays. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/ fjjma. TUE
Oklahoma Cine Latino Film Festival With a new record on film submissions, the Historic Capitol Hill board and sponsors invite you to witness local and international talent at Oklahoma Cine Latino Film Festival. Featured filmmakers hail from the United States, South America and Spain. The festival is 5:30-10 p.m. Friday at OCCC Capitol Hill Center, 123 SW 25th St. Tickets are $20$25. Call 405-632-0133 or visit historiccapitolhill.com. FRIday Photo Historic Capitol Hill / provided
FOOD Syrup Sunday, enjoy a buffet-style serving of cinnamon roll pancakes or crunchy French toast, scrambled eggs, coffee, juice and pecan wood smoked bacon from local restaurant Syrup, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. March 11. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. SUN The Lost Ogle Trivia, for ages 21 and up, test your knowledge with free trivia play and half-priced sausages, 8-10 p.m. Tuesdays through November. Fassler Hall, 421 NW 10th St., 405-609-3300, fasslerhall.com. TUE
YOUTH Easter Bunny Photos, celebrate Easter with the kids by taking a photo with the Easter bunny in Macy‘s court and take home a memento, March 9-31. Penn Square Mall, 1901 Northwest Expressway, 405-8412696, simon.com/mall/penn-square-mall. FRI Lint Roller Print Patterns, an early learning program for ages 15-36 months to explore the themes of rhythm and pattern with art making, 10-11 a.m. March 10. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT
Contemporary Dance Oklahoma, examines the creative range of modern dance, featuring choreography that is abstract, mood-inspired and narrative while exploring the human condition, 8 p.m. March 9, 10 and 3 p.m. March 11 Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, 563 Elm Ave., Norman, 405325-4101, theatre.ou.edu. OU Jazz Gala Concert, is part of the Sutton Concert Series that features guest saxist Dr. Russell Haight with OU Jazz Bands with director Jay Wilkinson, 8 p.m. March 8. Sharp Concert Hall, 500 W. Boyd St., Norman, 405-325-2081, ou.edu. THU
Broadway Revue, features candy-pink costumes, straw hats and colorful ribbons with jazz and theatrical dances opening to the Starettes dancing to “The Trolley Song,” 8 p.m. March 8-9, 2 p.m. March 10. Oklahoma City University Campus, Kirkpatrick Auditorium, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405-208-5000, okcu.edu. THU Music of the Civil Rights Movement, The Ambassadors‘ Concert Choir performs a diverse blend of music of all genre and many cultural traditions classical, spirituals, jazz, gospel, patriotic music, hymns, Broadway show music and popular music, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 10. The Auditorium at the Douglass, 600 N. High Ave., 405-601-9565, auditoriumatdouglass.com. SAT The Centennial Rodeo Opry, an evening of live music and the best performers representing country, folk, blues, gospel, rock, bluegrass and more, 6 p.m. Saturdays. Centennial Rodeo Opry, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-297-9773, ohfo.org. SAT OKC Improv, enjoy weekly performances of improvised comedy theatre on Oklahoma City‘s premier platform for improv, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Noir Bistro & Bar, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-208-4233, theparamountokc. com. Suicide Girls: Blackheart Burlesque, for ages 18 and up, this burlesque is full of pop culture references, a high-energy indie soundtrack and a sexy choreographed strip tease, 8:30 p.m. March 11. Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S. Eastern Ave., 405677-9169, diamondballroom.net. SUN
ACTIVE
Explore It!, answer all your questions of what, why and how about the natural world we live in, 11:30 a.m.-noon Saturdays. Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 405-325-4712, samnoblemuseum.ou.edu. SAT
OSU Hall of Fame Classic, Oklahoma State University hosts softball teams Purdue, Drake, Connecticut, Saint Francis University and Pacific, March 9-12. ASA Hall of Fame Complex, 2801 NE 50th St., 405-424-5266, asasoftball.com. FRI
Caring Bunny, offers a subdued environment to participate in the bunny photo experience for families that have children with special needs, 10:30 a.m.-noon March 11. Penn Square Mall, 1901 Northwest Expressway, 405-841-2696, simon. com/mall/penn-square-mall. SUN
Yoga in the Gardens, an all-levels class led by Lisa Woodward from This Land Yoga; class participants should bring a yoga mat and water, 5:45 p.m. Tuesdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens. com. TUE
Discovery Time, a program for preschool and elementary-age kids with a hands-on activity of stories, crafts and discovery table specimens, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 405-325-4712, samnoblemuseum.ou.edu. SUN
Learn-to-Swim Program, giving residents of all ages and financial situations the opportunity to learn to swim with proper technique and basic water safety at their own pace offered by the King Marlin Swim Club, ongoing, Lighthouse Sports, Fitness and Health, 3333 W. Hefner Road, 405845-5672, marlinswimamerica.com. SAT
OKSeed Walkups, visit the gardens and learn all the amazing things seeds do to survive and how we depend on them, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, noon3 p.m. Sundays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com.
VISUAL ARTS
Little Sapling Series, enjoy songs, games and interactive fun for the whole family exploring the world of gardens with mud pies, observing caterpillars and more, 10-11 a.m. every other Tuesday. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE
After Hours, consists of a select group of professional’s artwork created after hours with Arden Barrett, European fashion buyer; Arjan Jager, Sr. urban designer and planner; George Benard, division director of ER at Saint Anthony and more, through April 1. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com.
continued on page 34
go to okgazette.com for full listings!
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calendar C alendar
continued from page 33 Beginning DSLR Photography, gain fundamental skills for using a digital single-lens reflex camera and editing software with your own camera and laptop, 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-2363100, okcmoa.com. SUN
Botanical Watercolor Painting, learn how to create watercolor paintings working with silk flowers and live flowers with teaching artist Kiana Daneshmand, 6-9 p.m. Thursdays. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU
CAPAS, an exhibit featuring work by visiting artist Morgan Page bringing her family heritage to life with photography, video, collage and textiles, through March 30. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, Rm. 202, Norman, 405-325-2691, art.ou.edu. CONTINUUM, features 3-D sculptural work ranging from pop art teapots to abstract totemic sculptures, all exploring the diversity of ceramic art, through March 29. Melton Gallery, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 405-974-2000, uco.edu. Dale Chihuly: Magic & Light, the galleries incorporate a unique design that features a three-dimensional approach to viewing some objects in the collection of glass art, through July 1. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. Decomposition: Discovering the Beauty and Magnificence of Fungi, the kingdom of fungi is on display at SMO‘s smART Space Galleries exploring the uses, benefits and beauty of fungi, through Aug. 12. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. Do You See What I See? Painted Conversations by Theodore Waddell, explores Waddell‘s abstract expressionism like never before by redirection the visitor‘s attention to the importance of what they do not see rather than what they do see on the canvas, through May 13. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.
Life in Motion Take a journey with marionettes that celebrates the richness of life through humor, pathos, classic music and poetic insight. This show is suggested for audiences age 16 and over. The performance is 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Bruce Owen Theatre at Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May Ave. Tickets are free$15. Call 405-682-7579 or visit occc.edu. Thursday Photo Oklahoma City Community College / provided
Fine Print! Posters from the Permanent Collection, arranged chronologically and thematically with five topics: artists, entertainers, patriotism, products and ideas reflecting the twentieth century‘s conflicting values, through May 27. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.
Powdered Graphite, highly detailed graphite works by artist Haley Prestifilippo depict ambiguously narrative scenes in which animals are trapped in moments of upheaval and uncertainty, through April 1. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com.
Fragmentary Stories, Alicia “Saltina‘“ Marie Clark uses charcoal, graphite and paint to tell historical stories from her Native American roots, through March 31. Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo St., 405525-2688, thepaseo.com.
Prairie Moderns: The Artwork of Don Holladay, focuses on figurative and non-objective images that convey isolation with pieces originating from the printmaking process, through March 16. Nesbitt Gallery, 1727 W. Alabama Ave., Chickasha, 405-416-3524, usao.edu.
Fringe at the Art Hall, hosts artists of Fringe Women Artists of Oklahoma providing various fine art mediums and provocative concepts to our communities, through April 1. Art Hall, 519 NW 23rd St., 405-231-5700, arthallokc.com. Generations in Modern Pueblo Painting: The Art of Tonita Peña and Joe Herrera, documents and celebrates in particular the art of Tonita Peña (1983-1949), the only female Pueblo painter of her generation, and the work of her son, Joe Hilario Herrera, through April 8. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-3253272, ou.edu/fjjma. Jardin do Amor/Garden of Love, view works by Skip Hall with mixed-media drawings of tattoo expressive patterning, looping graphic lines and kinetic scribbling creating a sensual and sensory experience, through March 23. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. My Wildest Dreams, features Broken Arrow artist Micheal W. Jones; an artist from a young age, his paintings are created using water media, March 9-April 27. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. FRI
OETA Foundation Festival Oklahoma Programming 2018’s iteration of OETA Foundation Festival, which airs during OETA’s annual spring membership drive, showcases Bee Gees, The Beatles, local culture, art and more through March 18. Featured programming includes Mosaic Oklahoma, a series featuring Oklahoma culture and landmarks, which premieres 7 p.m. Wednesday; Art of the Cowboy: The Best of the Best, a documentary reality series about ranchers and cowboys, which airs 7 p.m. Thursday; Osiyo: The Untold Stories of the Cherokee People, showcasing the everyday lives and history of Cherokee people, airs 7:30 p.m. Friday; and more. Call 405-848-8501 or visit oeta.tv. WEDNESDAY-WEDNESDAY, THROUGH MARCH 18 Photo OETA / provided
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New Works, showcases color and black-andwhite photography taken by Renee Lawrence during a recent trip to New Mexico as well as mixed-media works inspired by Native American dancers, through March. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com. OFF-SPRING: New Generations, explore the development of both personal and group identity, childhood, family, history, and gender politics through sculptures, paintings, photographs, and videos, through Apr. 2018. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. OKecoScapes, an exhibit by Douglas Shaw Elder observing the cycles of nature with an abstract perspective contemplated through experiential art making, and resulting in raw and organic finished drawings and carvings, through April 1. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com.
Space Burial, an exhibit using satellite dishes as a burial object for a space-faring culture and facilitates the dead‘s afterlife journey to the stars, through April 8. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. Spring Sampler Tour, view works by Native American artist Jerome Tiger, landscape painter Theodore Waddell as well as unique collections from the museum‘s vault, Saturdays and Sundays through March 31. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-4782250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. Wake, a multisensory installation created by Grace Grothaus and Rena Detrixhe to animate water with waves through recorded audio, through March 31. Oklahoma Contemporary Showroom, 1146 N. Broadway Drive, 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org. Works on Paper, features works with a range of visual qualities, subject matter and printmaking techniques as well as works by former artists in residence, through March 17. [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-6665, 1ne3.org. THU
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 them to listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.
Paper Lantern Workshop, learn how to design a paper lantern with an environmentally friendly printmakign technique with artist in residence Emma Difani, 1-4 p.m. March 10. [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-6665, 1ne3.org. SAT
go to okgazette.com for full listings!
For okg live music
see page 37
event
MUSIC
Grand theatrics
OKC’s Culture Cinematic returns to its jazz roots with an eye on art and experimentation. By Ben Luschen
Culture Cinematic has existed since at least 2010, shifting musical identities at least once or twice in the process. But only in the last few months has the Oklahoma City-based jazz fusion band honed in on the identity that might be its truest form yet. A recent lineup change and shift in approach saw its proper debut in November, when Culture Cinematic acted as the house band for the Oklahoma Hip-Hop Festival-sponsored event The Next Movement: A Tribute to the Legendary Roots Crew, which paid homage to the Philadelphia hip-hop band and Jimmy Fallon support group. “That was really fulfilling,” said TJ Haverkamp, Culture Cinematic’s keyboardist and founding member, “because if you look at the history of jazz and hip-hop and just live instrumentalism, The Roots have been relevant for 25 or 30 years now. It was fun to step in those shoes a little bit.” Culture Cinematic’s current roster includes Haverkamp, saxophonist Boris Connally, bassist Kangwa Mundende and drummer Don Eisenberg. The band uses a rotational cast of vocalists that often includes emcee Spence Browne and singer Lacy Saunders. Haverkamp has a hard time defining Culture Cinematic’s sound, which is exactly the point of the group. The band represents elements of traditional jazz, funk and hip-hop with a special emphasis on merging the old with the new. Haverkamp said the band sounds like something different almost every time they play. “What we’re trying to do now is always push the boundaries,” he said. “What we’re doing now goes with some of what we wanted in the beginning, which is a combination of technique — being proficient on your instrument — and technology.” Conna lly, who has k now n Haverkamp since the two studied jazz theory together at the University of Central Oklahoma, said a person once described the band’s sound to him as “deep jazz” — a term that, in this case, has less to do with a certain type of sound and more to do with the Culture Cinematic concept. “When you think of jazz,” Connally said, “you think jazz is very improvisational — it moves and it flows. If you took jazz and thought of it as more of a concept, it’s that we are evolving and moving and changing.” The saxophonist said he wants to keep fans and audience members in suspense, wondering where the band will go next.
“I never wanted to be categorized or pigeonholed into one type of music,” he said. “Keep it moving; keep them guessing.”
Band foundation
Haverkamp was once a member of the band Ice Water, which also featured local guitarist Jeff Mims. After that band split, the two wanted to keep up their working relationship, so they began throwing together collaborative gigs that combined their instrumental playing with laptop samples for a unique, new-meets-old aesthetic. “Instead of always advertising TJ and Jeff, we decided we would be Culture Cinematic,” Haverkamp said. Mims eventually got married and left the project to focus on other things. Haverkamp kept pushing and eventually met Eric Harris while the two were both teaching at UCO’s Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM@UCO). They became the new core of Culture Cinematic for several years. Harris started a metal-jazz fusion side project called Local Man Ruins Everything, which began to pick up more and more steam locally. Eventually, Harris left Culture Cinematic to put all his attention into Local Man, leaving Haverkamp with another opportunity to reform.
I never wanted to be categorized or pigeonholed into one type of music. Boris Connally When Haverkamp was ready to relaunch Culture Cinematic in 2016, he reached out to Connally, with whom he had previously played in the band Brother Enoch. Though Connally is nearly 50 and has been playing saxophone since he was in high school, he is fairly new to the local music scene. Connally served in the military for 14 total years — six in the reserves and eight in active duty. In 2004, he started taking classes and going to school full-time at UCO, getting his undergraduate degree in music education. He met Haverkamp while working on his graduate degree, which he earned in 2008. Connally said Haverkamp is responsible for getting him his start in local gigging, suggesting he play shows with him while they were going to school together. When he was invited to join
above Emcee Spence Browne often joins Culture Cinematic as a featured vocalist. below Culture Cinematic’s November tribute show to The Roots helped launch a new chapter in the band’s history. | Photos SIKE Photography / provided
Culture Cinematic, he was excited about the group’s open musical potential. “I was able to explore a different side of things that was more diverse in many ways,” he said. “There are no restrictions on what we do. We just kind of explore music from a standpoint of jazz and we expand from there.”
Captured sound
Some bands have one clear leader who steers the group’s musical direction. In Culture Cinematic, each member has their own artistic visions that they would like to realize through the band, and Connally said everyone tries their best to accommodate that. They approach every new idea like it has merit. “If one person takes the lead,” he said, “it’s not a compromise for us to follow after what they’re doing because all of us are interested in exploring.” Culture Cinematic has recorded one EP and one LP. Haverkamp said he has come to realize that neither is a good representation of the band’s live sound. “That’s caused me to really retool the equipment I use and the approach I’m taking to sound design,” he said. In a general sense, Culture Cinematic is like the meeting of hip-hop producer J Dilla and traditional, instrumental jazz. Haverkamp’s digital effects, samples and keys are textured and anchored with skilled live performances. A lot of the band’s past recordings have been mixed in a way the band feels was too smooth and polished. “If you hear us live,” he said, “we get into a lot of frequencies and upper harmonics that might pull the ear in a way you’re not going to hear on either the
EP or the LP that we’ve released.” Culture Cinematic is in the process of recording new material that more closely resembles its ideal sound. As of now, the planned album has no scheduled release date.
Art first
Culture Cinematic is, if nothing else, versatile. Band members are as comfortable putting their own spin on classics by The Roots as they are playing corporate company Christmas parties. But moving forward, the band would like to make sure each show they play is, in some way, fulfilling. “We’re not just trying to be a cover band or a reading band, which is not a knock against anybody in the city,” Haverkamp said. “I’ve lived here seven years, and I told myself I’m not going to be in my 50s and 60s playing those types of gigs.” With a talented group of players armed with their own creative visions, Culture Cinematic now has a lot of new tricks up its sleeve. Haverkamp wants to pull each and every last one for fans to see. “The idea is to play shows where art is first and foremost,” he said. Visit facebook.com/culturecinematicokc.
Culture Cinematic & Combsy 8 p.m. Saturday VZD’s Restaurant & Bar | 4200 N. Western Ave. facebook.com/culturecinematicokc 405-602-3006 $10
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event
MUSIC
Taking flight
Austin’s The Black Angels launch their latest tour run at Tower Theatre. By Ben Luschen
The Black Angels’ death march has come to a halt, and the Austin psychrock quintet now turns to Oklahoma City to launch its next campaign. The band spent a good portion of 2017 on its Death March Tour promoting its fifth full-length studio album Death Song, released April 21. If these references are starting to sound familiar, it’s because the band’s name and album title are both direct references to Velvet Underground’s song “The Black Angel’s Death Song.” The Black Angels’ Death March Tour has technically concluded, but the band is still high on its recent LP and ready to launch a new, highly anticipated coheadlining tour with Atlanta “flower punk” garage rockers Black Lips. The Birds and the Bees Tour actually begins its run of shows in OKC with its first gig 8:30 p.m. March 20 at Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St. Black Angels’ vocalist, bassist, guitarist and keyboardist Alex Maas managed to fit an interview with Oklahoma Gazette into a busy schedule that, in addition to promoting the band’s latest album, includes balancing duties with his newly formed band MIEN, a super group that includes The Horrors’ Tom Furse, Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir and The Earlies’ John Mark Lapham. Maas said he is raring to go at the start of every tour run. “Usually, it’s like, ‘Oh, shit! Here we go,’” Maas said. “There’s only way to do it, and that’s just dive in. If you start looking at how long the tour is or whatever, you get to be like, ‘Oh, man.’ But you just have to get in there and take it one show at a time.” In addition to the band’s entrancing psych-rock sounds, The Black Angels are known for songs addressing political issues and questioning longstanding conventions of society. Its debut LP Passover was released in the fog of the Iraq War in 2006 and includes an 18-minute restyled cover of Jimmy Cliff’s
Death Song | Image provided 36
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“Vietnam” titled “Call to Arms.” Death Song carries a similar social conscience, with songs warning of blind nationalism and greed. The album feels relevant to the modern political climate, but Maas said many of its songs were actually written in 2014, two years ahead of the 2016 presidential election. “I felt like they were kind of current then, and I still feel like they’re current now,” he said. “At the end of the day, we just want to make music that encourages people to think for themselves and challenges them in new ways.” Maas said the lyrics’ unchanged timeliness is a reminder that the world did not just recently plunge into corruption or darkness. There is an odd comfort in knowing that mankind has almost always been a mess yet still trudges onward. “It’s not some new, fresh thing,” Maas said. “Our world has been mental and nutty for the past 2,000 years.”
We just want to make music that encourages people to think for themselves and challenges them in new ways. Alex Maas
Cultural connections
At a young age, Maas would make frequent trips to his grandfather’s ranch in Lampasas, Texas, about 70 miles northeast of Austin and more than 200 miles from his original hometown of Houston. Though he was not Native American himself, his grandfather would tell him stories of the area’s great Native history. He remembers finding old arrowheads all over the ranch property. The Black Angels have paid frequent homage to Native culture and music throughout the band’s history. For Maas, the bond is highly personal and deeply related to his family’s longstanding respect for the people who first inhabited the continent. Maas’ parents owned a plant nursery in Houston and frequently played Native music in it. The musician’s father was a collector of ancient artifacts and pottery from a wide variety of cultures, including many Native items from pre-Columbian eras. His dad would buy arrowheads in bulk at auctions, and the two of them would go through the collection one by one, identifying each type of arrowhead and which tribe made it and talking about
The Black Angels Photo Alexandra Valenti / provided
the tribe’s cultural traditions. Maas has long been fascinated with Native music as well. He relates to the kind of Native musicians who are not classically trained but have learned through their ancestral heritage and take inspiration from the world around them. “They’re singing about the Earth,” he said. “They’re storytelling about how to survive and how to live and how to die.” Death Song includes the track “Comanche Moon,” which is told from the perspective of a Native warrior fighting for survival against colonialists. There are other points in the album where different rhythms feel like they were inspired by Native music. Because of the way white European settlers treated and killed off many of the continent’s native inhabitants, Maas said he feels almost obligated to pay homage to Native culture in some way. “It’s more of a fascination with their history and their demise, which is unbearably hard to comprehend and fascinating in the saddest way,” he said. While direct genocide against Native people no longer exists in this country, Maas said many powers still refuse to accept some cultural traditions as valid. “It’s still happening,” he said. “The Native American culture is still getting stepped on, and they’re not being acknowledged. There’s upward trends, but it’s still a travesty.”
Other levels
Most of The Black Angels’ music comes layered, not just lyrically, but musically. Maas said the band intentionally packs a lot into its songs because those are the types of songs the members enjoy themselves. “Those are some of my favorite records whenever you’re discovering new stuff about the record all the time,” he said. Maas enjoys crafting songs that can be taken to mean different things when thought of from different perspectives. “If you’re writing in archetypes,” he said, “a lot of time, you’re writing in double, triple, even quadruple speak where you’re thinking about multiple things at once.”
On a tune like “Comanche Moon,” for example, there is the historical significance on the song’s surface level and deeper undertones about power’s general lack of respect for different kinds of people. By writing on multiple levels, The Black Angels underscore the universality of a lot of society’s ills and the idea that many of the planet’s problems come from longstanding flaws encoded in human nature. Maas said just about every detail in the band’s songs has some kind of identifiable purpose, either to the track’s narrative or to its musical structure. “That’s the goal for me and our band, to really think about every little thing,” he said. “You’re not just throwing a bass line on there; you’re thinking about it, comparing the tones, asking, ‘Does this sound better with that?’”
Paying tribute
The Black Angels have never been shy about their influences, be it The Velvet Underground, Native culture or anything else. The group is more open than some other bands would ever be. “Some bands want to keep their influences in their pocket because they’re secret to them and they think that no one can find out who they are, like [their influences] come from a magical box they found in the desert,” Maas said. It might seem like Native music and culture would have a hard time jelling with electric psych-rock, but Maas said his style of music is a direct derivative of what was played by others centuries ago. “My whole thing is psychedelic music has always been around,” he said. “If you go by my definition, it’s been there since the dawn of man.” Visit theblackangels.com.
The Black Angels: The Birds and the Bees Tour 8:30 p.m. March 20 Tower Theatre 425 NW 23rd St. | towertheatreokc.com 405-708-6937 $25-$28
LIVE MUSIC These are events recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.
WEDNESDAY, 3.7 Blake Lankford, The Bluebonnet Bar, Norman. COUNTRY
SUNDAY, 3.11 Act of Defiance/Shattered Sun, The Ruins Live.
METAL
Barf Bag Bitter Bites/Judy and the Jerks/Rolex and more, 89th Street - OKC. PUNK Celtic Jam, Full Circle Bookstore. INSTRUMENTAL Ellis Paul, The Depot, Norman. FOLK
Jason Scott/Ben Brock, JJ’s Alley. SINGER/
Jackson Howard, Red Brick Bar, Norman. SINGER/SONGWRITER
THURSDAY, 3.8
Michael Kleid’s Touch Of Sax, Flint. POP
SONGWRITER
Bob Schneider, The Blue Door. POP Clint Hardesty, The Bluebonnet Bar, Norman. ROCK
Ohmme, Opolis, Norman. ELECTRONIC Sleep Signals/Cold Kingdom, The Root. ROCK
John Calvin Abney, The Deli, Norman. FOLK
Slow Caves/Oak House/Decent Criminal, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK
Lumpy and the Dumpers/Squelch/Royal Brat and more, 89th Street - OKC. PUNK
Tess Remy-Schumacher/Michael Staudt, All Souls’ Episcopal Church. INSTRUMENTAL
Shooter Jennings/The Black Lilies, Tower Theatre. COUNTRY
MONDAY, 3.12
Vince Staples, The Jones Assembly. RAP
FRIDAY, 3.9 Aaron Newman Duo, Newcastle Casino. COUNTRY Ashley Wineland, Remington Park. COUNTRY BC & The Big Rig, The Root. ROCK
Sat, MaR 10
josh abboTT band w/ roger creager Sun, MaR 11
flogging molly
w/ jon snodgrass & friends, scoTT h. biram thuRS, MaR 15
excision w/ liquid sTranger, dion Timmer, monxx fRi, MaR 16
granger smiTh w/ earl dibbles jr. fRi, MaR 23
jeezy w/ Tee grizzley
A Different Breed/Better Friend, Blue Note Lounge. METAL
Sat, MaR 24
Glass Mansions/Troy Petty, Red Brick Bar, Norman. POP
thuRS, MaR 26
Limp Wizurds/Psychotic Reaction/Post Producers, The Deli, Norman. ROCK
tuES, MaR 27
frank fosTer w/ denny sTrickland sylvan esso w/ suzi analogue k. flay w/ yungblud
WEDNESDAY, 3.14
thuRS, apRil 5
Benjamin Carter/Modulated Spiral Groove, Mooney’s Pub and Grill, Norman. ROCK
Amarillo Junction, JJ’s Alley. COUNTRY
fRi, apRil 6
Dirty Red and the Soul Shakers/Brujo, The Bluebonnet Bar. BLUES
Guantanamo Baywatch/Tracy Bryant/Adult Books and more, Opolis, Norman. INDIE
Jaimee Harris, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman. FOLK
Harlem River Noise, The Deli, Norman. FOLK
Little Bandit/Lord Buffalo/Dead Horses and more, Tower Theatre. ROCK
SINGER/SONGWRITER
Justin Hylton, The Bluebonnet Bar, Norman.
corey smiTh w/ kody wesT
william clark green w/ corey kenT whiTe tuES, May 8
scoTT bradlee's PosTmodern jukebox Tulsa ok
Midas 13, JR’s Pub & Grill St. ROCK
423 norTh main sT
TickeTs & info cainsballroom.com
March 8 SHOOTER JENNINGS March 9 & 10 405 pITSTOp March 16 DAN LAyuS March 20 THE BLACK ANGELS March 21 COLTER WALL March 22 THE DEAD SOuTH April 2 DWEEzIL zAppA April 7 REvEREND HORTON HEAT April 10 RED April 13 RED RADIO CITy Tickets and Info TOWERTHEATREOKC.COM @towertheaterokc 405-70-TOWER | 425 NW 23rd St. OKC
Miranda Lambert/Jon Pardi/Sunny Sweeny, Chesapeake Arena. COUNTRY Mojo Thief/Cosmic Wool, The Deli, Norman. ROCK OddFellas/Redwitch Johnny, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK
Paxton Pennington/Brother and the Hayes, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. SINGER/SONGWRITER Randall Coyne, Grand House. JAZZ Ravens Three, Full Circle Bookstore. FOLK Roger Creager, Graham’s Central Station. COUNTRY Starset/Palisades/Grabitz & Year of Locust, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK Tamagotchi Teenage Dirtbag/Deviant/ Skeleton and more, 89th Street - OKC. PUNK
The Captain’s Son, Your Mom’s Place. INDIE Tyler Wilhelm, Okie Tonk Caf√©, Moore. ROCK Yung Pinch, OKC Farmers Public Market. HIP-HOP
SATURDAY, 3.10 Aaron Watson, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COUNTRY Bryce A Dicus & the Mercenaries, Brewskeys. COUNTRY
Dan Martin, Lazy Circles Brewing, Norman. FOLK Frequency Jones, The Deli, Norman. ELECTRONIC
Frontier Folk Nebraska Frontier Folk Nebraska is not from Nebraska and doesn’t play folk music, but it is visiting the OKC metro. Hear the rock band from northern Kentucky’s new EP Foolish Frank 7 p.m. Monday at Red Brick Bar, 311 E. Main St., in Norman. Call 405579-6227 or visit facebook.com/pg/ frontierfolknebraska. Admission is free. monday Photo Frontier Folk Nebraska/provided
Functional Polly, Full Circle Bookstore. INSTRUMENTAL
Helen Kelter Skelter/Calliope Musicals/Walker Lukens and more, Tower Theatre. ROCK Humanoids/Fancy/Blue Dolphin and more, 89th Street - OKC. PUNK Layken Urie, Whiskey Barrel Saloon. COUNTRY Mad Hatter/Trip G, The Venue OKC. HIP-HOP The Brothers, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ROCK The Okie Tramps, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK
The So Longs, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK
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.
Whiskey Meyers, The Criterion. COUNTRY
go to okgazette.com for full listings!
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puzzles New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle LETTER RECYCLING By Will Nediger | Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz | 0225
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91 Gets back together 92 Extras 93 Nickname of Duke basketball’s Mike Krzyzewski 94 Huggable 95 Challenge for a college-bound student, maybe 96 Medical inserts 97 ____ Creed (Christian statement of faith) 101 Actor Davis 103 Lead role in Boys Don’t Cry, 1999 105 Neeson of Schindler’s List 106 Fostered 108 Ballot hanger 111 X 112 Dojo surface
New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers Puzzle No. 0218, which appeared in the February 28 issue.
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free will astrology Homework: What would the people who love you best say is the most important thing for you to learn? Testify at Freewillastrology.com. ARIES (March 21-April 19) The men who work on
offshore oil rigs perform demanding, dangerous tasks on a regular basis. If they make mistakes, they may get injured or befoul the sea with petroleum. As you might guess, the culture on these rigs has traditionally been macho, stoic, and hard-driving. But in recent years, that has changed at one company. Shell Oil’s workers in the U.S. were trained by Holocaust survivor Claire Nuer to talk about their feelings, be willing to admit errors, and soften their attitudes. As a result, the company’s safety record has improved dramatically. If macho dudes toiling on oil rigs can become more vulnerable and open and tenderly expressive, so can you, Aries. And now would be a propitious time to do it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) How will you celebrate
your upcoming climax and culmination, Taurus? With a howl of triumph, a fist pump, and three cartwheels? With a humble speech thanking everyone who helped you along the way? With a bottle of champagne, a gourmet feast, and spectacular sex? However you choose to mark this transition from one chapter of your life story to the next chapter, I suggest that you include an action that will help the next chapter get off to a rousing start. In your ritual of completion, plant seeds for the future.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) On April 23, 1516, the
Germanic duchy of Bavaria issued a decree. From that day forward, all beer produced had to use just three ingredients: water, barley, and hops. Ever since then, for the last 500+ years, this edict has had an enduring influence on how German beer is manufactured. In accordance with astrological factors, I suggest that you proclaim three equally potent and systemic directives of your own. It’s an opportune time to be clear and forceful about how you want your story to unfold in the coming years.
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Health
CANCER (June 21-July 22) What’s your most
frustrating flaw? During the next seven weeks, you will have enhanced power to diminish its grip on you. It’s even possible you will partially correct it or outgrow it. To take maximum advantage of this opportunity, rise above any covert tendency you might have to cling to your familiar pain. Rebel against the attitude described by novelist Stephen King: “It’s hard to let go. Even when what you’re holding onto is full of thorns, it’s hard to let go. Maybe especially then.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) In his book Whistling in the
Dark, author Frederick Buechner writes that the ancient Druids took “a special interest in in-between things like mistletoe, which is neither quite a plant nor quite a tree, and mist, which is neither quite rain nor quite air, and dreams, which are neither quite waking nor quite sleep.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, inbetween phenomena will be your specialty in the coming weeks. You will also thrive in relationship to anything that lives in two worlds or that has paradoxical qualities. I hope you’ll exult in the educational delights that come from your willingness to be teased and mystified.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) The English word “velleity”
refers to an empty wish that has no power behind it. If you feel a longing to make a pilgrimage to a holy site, but can’t summon the motivation to actually do so, you are under the spell of velleity. Your fantasy of communicating with more flair and candor is a velleity if you never initiate the practical steps to accomplish that goal. Most of us suffer from this weakness at one time or another. But the good news, Virgo, is that you are primed to overcome your version of it during the next six weeks. Life will conspire to assist you if you resolve to turn your wishywashy wishes into potent action plans -- and then actually carry out those plans.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) In the 2002 film Spiderman,
there’s a scene where the character Mary Jane slips on a spilled drink as she carries a tray full of food through a cafeteria. Spiderman, disguised as his alter ego Peter Parker, makes a miraculous save. He jumps up from his chair and catches Mary Jane before she falls. Meanwhile,
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Scorpio mathematician
Benoît Mandelbrot was a connoisseur of “the art of roughness” and “the uncontrolled element in life.” He liked to locate and study the hidden order in seemingly chaotic and messy things. “My life seemed to be a series of events and accidents,” he said. “Yet when I look back I see a pattern.” I bring his perspective to your attention, Scorpio, because you are entering a phase when the hidden order and secret meanings of your life will emerge into view. Be alert for surprising hints of coherence.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) I suspect that in
July and August you will be invited to commune with rousing opportunities and exciting escapades. But right now I’m advising you to channel your intelligence into well-contained opportunities and sensible adventures. In fact, my projections suggest that your ability to capitalize fully on the future’s rousing opportunities and exciting escapades will depend on how well you master the current crop of wellcontained opportunities and sensible adventures. Making the most of today’s small pleasures will qualify you to harvest bigger pleasures later.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) If you saw the
animated film The Lion King, you may have been impressed with the authenticity of the lions’ roars and snarls. Did the producers place microphones in the vicinity of actual lions? No. Voice actor Frank Welker produced the sounds by growling and yelling into a metal garbage can. I propose this as a useful metaphor for you in the coming days. First, I hope it inspires you to generate a compelling and creative illusion of your own -- an illusion that serves a good purpose. Second, I hope it alerts you to the possibility
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he grabs her tray and uses it to gracefully capture her apple, sandwich, carton of milk, and bowl of jello before they hit the floor. The filmmakers say they didn’t use CGI to render this scene. The lead actor, Tobey Maguire, allegedly accomplished it in real life -- although it took 156 takes before he finally mastered it. I hope you have that level of patient determination in the coming weeks, Libra. You, too, can perform a small miracle if you do.
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that other people will be offering you compelling and creative illusions -- illusions that you should engage with only if they serve a good purpose.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) I do a lot of self-editing
before I publish what I write. My horoscopes go through at least three drafts before I unleash them on the world. While polishing the manuscript of my first novel, I threw away over a thousand pages of stuff that I had worked on very hard. In contrast to my approach, science fiction writer Harlan Ellison dashed off one of his award-winning stories in a single night, and published it without making any changes to the first draft. As you work in your own chosen field, Aquarius, I suspect that for the next three weeks you will produce the best results by being more like me than Ellison. Beginning about three weeks from now, an Ellison-style strategy might be more warranted.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) According to my
assessment of the astrological omens, you’re in a favorable phase to gain more power over your fears. You can reduce your susceptibility to chronic anxieties. You can draw on the help and insight necessary to dissipate insidious doubts that are rooted in habit but not based on objective evidence. I don’t want to sound too melodramatic, my dear Pisces, but THIS IS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY! YOU ARE POTENTIALLY ON THE VERGE OF AN UNPRECEDENTED BREAKTHROUGH! In my opinion, nothing is more important for you to accomplish in the coming weeks than this inner conquest.
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 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
Principal Engineer, International Product Support - Dell USA L.P. is seeking a Principal Engineer, International Product Support at our Oklahoma City, OK facility to design, configure, implement, and resolve complex multivendor network solutions for specialized infrastructure systems including Core, Distribution, and Edge Components with consideration for performance, availability, maintenance and growth. Design, configure, implement and resolve new network technologies such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), Open Networking (Cumulus, Big Switch, ONIE), Wireless Captive Access Management, Advanced Network Security Firewalls, and/or Network Convergence (FCoE, NPAR, DCB, iSCSI). Req. 003483. To be considered for the opening, please send resume with requisition number to: jobs_dell@dell.com. No phone calls please. Workforce diversity is an essential part of Dell’s commitment to quality and to the future. We encourage you to apply, whatever your race, gender, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or veteran status.
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