Fantastic Fable

FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY | METRO OKC’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY | MAY 2, 2018

Fantastic fable Perpetual Motion Dance travels to new dimensions in its first story-based production.

By Jeremy Martin P. 27

OKC MARGARITA WEEK MAY 6 - 12

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inside COVER P. 27 Perpetual Motion Dance presents its first original narrative production, the sumptuous fantasy Cora’s Door, at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center.

By Jeremy Martin Cover photo Britt’s Eye View Photography / provided

NEWS 4 Metro 23rd Street revitalization in

Bethany

7 City recycling changes in OKC 8 City home-sharing ordinance 10 Chicken-Fried News

EAT & DRINK 13 Review The Manhattan OKC

14 Feature Noodee / Okie Pokie 17

OKC Margarita Week

20 Feature tequila history

22 Gazedibles grilled cheese and

paninis

ARTS & CULTURE 24 OKG Shop Mother’s Day

27 Cover Cora’s Door by Perpetual

Motion Dance at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center

28

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

29 Art In the Principles Office: Tom

Ryan the Art Student at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 30 Theater Glenn Miller Orchestra

32

at Armstrong Auditorium Mother’s Day Gift Guide

33 Marijuana Herban Mother 34 Community Cinco de Mayo

celebrations

35 Calendar

MUSIC 37 Event Mallory Eagle at Tower

Theatre

album and runs for office

38 Feature Tyson Meade releases new 40 Event L.A. Witch at Opolis 41 Live music

FUN 42 Puzzles sudoku | crossword 43 Astrology OKG Classifieds 43

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NEWS Bethany’s elected leaders and civic leaders are engaged in discussions about how to revitalize the NW 23rd Street corridor that runs through their small municipality in northwest Oklahoma County. | Photo Laura Eastes

with people coming together, and we are getting community support. We are doing this not just for the businesses but also for the citizens. That pride in community is coming back.”

METRO

Business backing

Think Bethany

The small municipality’s NW 23rd Street corridor is poised for revitalization. City leaders and businesses are leading the charge. By Laura Eastes

For much of the past few decades, Bethany’s NW 23rd Street corridor has been a place where only the locals go, with grocery stores, open-air shopping malls, gas stations, medical offices and a school. There’s little to brag about with vacant commercial buildings falling into disrepair and a lack of upkeep and appearance.

The number of locals who venture out of Bethany, taking their dollars elsewhere for dining, shopping and familyfriendly entertainment, is notable. It is a sore subject among Bethany residents, who otherwise enjoy small-town living in Oklahoma’s largest metropolitan area.

When KP Westmoreland became mayor of Bethany last year, he arrived at City Hall committed to revitalizing the city’s distressed commercial corridors, with a priority on NW 23rd Street. With more than 50 percent of Bethany sales tax coming from businesses along NW 23rd Street, Westmoreland got to work speaking with council members about what could be done.

What had been done before came a decade earlier, when Bethany City Council endorsed a plan to paint blue lines on the streets to remind residents they had entered or left Bethany and to spend their dollars in the municipality.

These days, the border between Oklahoma City and Bethany serves as an unofficial marker separating progress and no progress.

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Five months into his term, Westmoreland launched his economic vision publicly when a crowd of 50 people arrived at Western Oaks Tower, the tallest building in the 5.2 squaremile municipality in northwest Oklahoma County. On the top floor, where the well-known Captain’s Table r e s t a u r a nt once operated, Westmoreland delivered a motivational speech on what was possible in Bethany, asking the crowd to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows onto NW 23rd Street.

“Don’t look at what it is; look at what it could be,” Westmoreland recalled telling the crowd in July. “I tried to cast hope for the future of revitalizing this area. Imagine families walking along the sidewalks. Imagine visitors going into restaurants and stores. I really pushed that revitalization was possible on 23rd Street in Bethany.”

The message was well received as it kicked off Bethany Vision 23, in which business and community leaders — sometimes 30-40 people — met to discuss what was missing along NW 23rd Street, what could be done and how to turn the commercial corridor into its own unique district, attracting locals but also bringing visitors to Bethany.

“I don’t know how many flip charts full of notes we’ve captured,” said Jeff Knapp, Bethany’s vice mayor who represents the NW 23rd Street corridor area on the council. “The mayor cast the vision. We have positive momentum

To transform a commercial corridor into a destination with its own unique brand takes work. In the last nine months, Bethany leaders, through Bethany Vision 23, have shown their willingness to commit to the effort.

Olde Orchard Restaurant owner Amy Conrady Franklin is one of many business owners along NW 23rd Street to attend the meetings. While the restaurant has maintained a steady stream of customers since 1974, looking out its windows, it’s easy to spot vacancies, especially in Western Oaks Tower, currently for sale.

“It’s taken a toll on the area,” Conrady Franklin said. “It’s time for the rejuvenation. It’s going to happen.”

Conrady Franklin sees positive signs, like high school friends returning to the area and buying homes in neighborhoods near NW 23rd Street. She sees an advantage for shoppers and businesses with the city’s sales tax rate.

When combined with the state rate, Bethany’s sales tax rate is 8.5 percent.

That rate is lower than neighboring Oklahoma City, which holds a sales tax rate of 8.625 percent in Oklahoma County and 8.975 percent in Canadian County.

“Bethany is a livable community,” Franklin said, listing amenities like a short commute to OKC’s downtown, the airport and Lake Overholser.

The city is also home to two colleges, a strong public school system, parks and one of the top libraries in the Metropolitan Library System.

We are doing this not just for the businesses but for the citizens.

Jeff Knapp Jason Sargent is the owner of Go Print USA, a sign and print shop that moved to Bethany’s Cooper Plaza 14 months ago. Sargent said there is healthy foot traffic along NW 23rd Street for businesses.

At Bethany Vision 23 meetings, leaders discuss the connectivity with streets and sidewalks, beautification efforts, desired district character, ways to attract people and how to foster social activities and events.

The next step is recruiting new businesses to the corridor, Sargent said.

“Bringing in new businesses to be that second wave of excitement,”

Sargent said of the next steps. “We are starting to see that. A couple of people are interested in starting businesses and starting them on 23rd Street.”

Bethany’s assets

Oklahoma City’s Windsor District, where stakeholders committed to revitalizing efforts over the last 17 years along OKC’s portion of the 23rd Street corridor, has been instrumental in motivating Bethany leaders. Last October, Bethany Vision 23 invited Windsor pioneers, which included Oklahoma City Councilman Larry McAtee, to a meeting to share their revitalization story. Among the many pieces of advice, Westmoreland remembers being told to “find good leaders and get out of their way.”

“Essentially, I’ve taken that advice,” Westmoreland said. “We have this group; now let’s try to get out of their way. We don’t want to slow them down.”

The City of Bethany contributes greatly to the effort. In its Comprehensive Plan 2030, city staff identified the NW 23rd Street corridor as a top city asset and said it “should be nurtured for future development to ensure existing revenue continues to grow.” The plan identifies challenges such as street infrastructure with the scarcity of sidewalks attributing to a lack of walkability in the area as well as opportunities like affordable commercial property.

Westmoreland envisions the city investing in a streetscape project leading to the installation of sidewalks, black lampposts and district markers.

The city’s fiscal year 2019 budget is the council’s first chance to designate funding toward the revitalization efforts, and Westmoreland explained there will be some funding earmarked for street improvements along NW 23rd Street.

Through Bethany Economic Development Authority, the city is contracting with Center for Economic Development Law, an Oklahoma Citybased firm that has worked closely with OKC and other cities on redevelopment and revitalization projects.

City and business leaders acknowledge their efforts have produced little to show at this point. There are many signs of progress, Westmoreland said, like what he referred to as a “serious buyer” eyeing the Western Oaks Tower.

While leaders acknowledge all good things take time, they don’t want revitalization efforts that take decades.

“You can cast a vision, but you have to have people who want to make it a reality,” Westmoreland said. “One man can’t do it all. A couple of council members can’t accomplish a whole lot.

It takes the business owners who show up every day, unlocking their doors and providing a service to this community.

The fact that they’ve come together, I believe, is what’s going to make it a success.”

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NEWS

CIT Y

The City of Oklahoma City transitions to a new recycling plan in July allowing municipal households to switch from 18-gallon blue bins to 96-gallon green carts for curbside recycling service. | Photo Laura Eastes

Big green

City of Oklahoma City rolls out a new recycling plan that benefits household residents and the city.

By Laura Eastes

For more than two decades, Oklahoma City residents have recycled aluminum cans, glass jars and bottles, plastic tubs and bottles, paper and more in 18-gallon recycling bins placed at the curb.

While arguably national and local perceptions about recycling have changed since 1994, the City of Oklahoma City records household participation in its “Little Blue” recycling program at 23 percent. City staff sought to uncover the barriers keeping residents from recycling.

“We found in our research that having the Little Blue program was an impediment for some people,” said Jennifer McClintock, public information officer at the city’s utilities department. “They didn’t want to recycle because [the bin] wasn’t large enough or they didn’t because it was an open bin that contributed to trash blown around the neighborhood.”

Such feedback was key in designing the city’s new recycling program. In July, Oklahoma City transitions its curbside recycling program from a dual-stream, manual collection system with an 18-gallon blue recycling bin to a single-stream, automated collection system with a green 96-gallon recycling cart with a lid. The city’s recycling plan

comes with a goal of increased participation.

The new carts are already popping up in Oklahoma City neighborhoods as crews drop them at the curbside in anticipation of the new services. By the end of the month, 195,000 carts will be delivered. The city anticipates serving 192,000 of its 202,000 household customers. About 7,200 rural recyclers moved to the curbside recycling program as part of the new plan.

Whether you fill it with the right stuff or not is the challenge.

Maureen Turner “Once we went to the public with the idea of larger cart recycling, it was overwhelming with between 70 to 80 percent [of respondents] very supportive of transitioning away from Little Blue,” McClintock said. “Now, the opinions and feedback from the public have been overwhelmingly positive. They aren’t even using them yet.”

City benefit

It is well known that recycling programs

produce environmental benefits. In Oklahoma City, where the city’s population is growing and is estimated to reach 810,000 residents by 2040, recycling is crucial to reducing landfill intake, said McClintock.

“Our population is growing around 1.3 percent annually,” she said. “We want to be able to sustain those landfills and not look at other options, those two options being either a new landfill, which would be very costly and politically a little contentious, or transport all the trash outside of the city and move it to another location — again, costly.”

There are other benefits for the city, including improved employee safety.

Under the current program, employees run house to house, manually emptying the blue bins into the trucks. A new fleet of recycling trucks will arrive in June; this fleet will look similar to trash trucks with a mechanical lifting arm to pick up the green recycling carts.

Waste Management Service’s Materials Recovery Facility, where OKC’s recyclable materials are processed, will undergo renovations to allow for a single-stream system. Once complete, the recyclables will be sorted by machine. The items are later sold.

Tulsa’s experience

In 2012, the City of Tulsa rolled out its residential curbside program in which residents placed recyclable materials in 96-gallon blue recycling carts. Six years later, 109,000 households are recycling, according to Maureen Turner, manager of Tulsa’s Reuse and Recycle Systems and a board member of Oklahoma Recycling Association.

“One of the biggest challenges we had — and I think Oklahoma City will see it as well — is when you have a 96-gallon cart, it is very convenient to fill it up,” Turner said. “Whether you fill it with the right stuff or not is the challenge. It takes several years of education.”

In the first six months of the Tulsa program, recycling crews were finding metal ironing boards, glass mirrors and aluminum car parts, among other things, in the carts. Those items were not accepted, as they didn’t meet the collections requirements.

In addition to public awareness and education efforts around the new program, Tulsa recycling leaders connected with neighboring municipalities.

Together, the Tulsa metro communities agreed to recycle the same materials, which lessened the chance of confusion among residents who lived in one community and worked in another, Turner said.

As new residents move in, Turner and her staff stand ready to pass along literature about the recycling program and answer any questions.

“The most successful recycling programs — the ones that have been around for 10 to 15 years or longer — its participants don’t remember not recycling,” she said. “At the beginning, everyone remembers a time when they didn’t recycle or barely recycled.”

Just the facts: • The City of Oklahoma City’s recycling program with the Little Blue bins continues until June 1. The new large green carts are being delivered now.

• Oklahoma City households will not receive curbside recycling services during the month of June to allow for the city to transition into the new program.

• In July, the recycling program will resume with the new large-cart recycling service. There are four categories of items that can go into the green cart: aluminum and steel, office paper and newspapers, plastics No. 1-7, and glass jars and bottles.

Additionally, cardboard, such as shipping boxes, and paperboards, such as milk and food cartons, will be accepted. Plastic bags are not accepted. Items need to be placed loosely inside the cart with the lid closed.

• Under the new recycling program, curbside pickups move to bi-weekly collections rather than the current weekly pickups.

Visit okc.gov/recycling or call 405297-2833.

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NEWS

CIT Y

Airbnb, an app that allows homeowners and renters to rent out rooms of their homes or their whole home for short-term visitors, is popular in Oklahoma City with more than 300 listings. | Photo Laura Eastes

Home talks

The City of Oklahoma City is designing broad regulations for the home-sharing industry.

By Laura Eastes

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The City of Oklahoma City is seeking to do what many other American cities have tried in recent years: regulate the home-sharing industry.

It’s no easy task to write an ordinance that allows homeowners to generate extra income by renting their homes through Airbnb, HomeAway, FlipKey and others while also creating a mechanism to cut down on so-called “bad actors” who abuse the home-sharing model. U.S. cities with home-sharing or short-term rental ordinances have produced mixed results, like Austin, where city leaders passed such tight restrictions and later went on to fight a lawsuit.

After three years of work, Oklahoma City’s proposed ordinance to legalize home-sharing is making its way through City Hall. The Oklahoma City ordinance seeks to regulate short-term rentals in owner-occupied listings and whole-home listings and provides tools for enforcement, should home-sharing guests cause nuisances, according to Laura Johnson, an assistant city manager that oversees Development Services.

The city is not trying to prevent use of home-sharing sites but place a “mechanism where it has enforcement in the event that problems and abuses arise,” Johnson said in a late April meeting of the Urban Development Committee of the Planning Commission, which is charged with reviewing the ordinance and sending a recommendation to the Planning Commission.

The ordinance faces pushback, particularly from residents of Historic Preservation Districts, which are often

located near desirable commercial districts that attract out-of-town guests.

Residents in Heritage Hills and Jefferson Park are expressing concerns about investors renting or buying homes to list on home-sharing platforms as well as travelers creating unwanted neighborhood activity through parking, noise, parties and damage to homes.

What is home-sharing?

Home-sharing, also known as shortterm rental, has become a big part of the growing sharing economy, a term used to describe the collaborative system in which owners rent out something they are not using, such as a car, house, bicycle or clothing to a stranger, or provide a service to a stranger.

Big names in the sharing economy include Uber, Lyft, Zipcar, TaskRabbit, PoshMark, and Airbnb, which began in 2008 when a trio of young adults

Under Oklahoma City’s proposed home-sharing ordinance, hosts or owners must meet the following conditions to operate:

• The rental of the entire home or bedroom(s) may not exceed 30 consecutive days per renter/ guest.

• The owner/host shall be required to comply with any applicable building or fire codes adopted by the city.

• The owner/host must obtain a home sharing license.

• All applicable fees and taxes must be collected and paid.

decided to rent out air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment as a way to earn some extra money. A decade later, Airbnb lists nearly 5 million rentals both nationally and internationally, serving 300 million travelers.

Through Airbnb, users with extra rooms or homes to rent create profiles to post information about their spaces on the internet. Travelers seeking accommodations in an area view the various profiles to find one that meets their needs. Airbnb collects a portion of each night’s stay while the host nets a majority of the payment.

Home-sharing services can be a cheap alternative to hotel rooms and provide travelers with accommodations that go beyond traditional hotels.

It has become a lucrative business. A recent study from Inside Airbnb, an independent website that tracks and monitors the company’s listings, found that in Los Angeles, regardless of neighborhood, it takes an average of 83 nights per year to earn more on Airbnb than renting to a renter for one year.

Airbnb returned more than 300 lodging options in Oklahoma City during a search on April 30. According to the company, 11,000 guests used Airbnb in Oklahoma City in 2016.

Airbnb, as well as other home-sharing programs, are viewed as helpful to residents and travelers alike.

Airbnb provides an affordable way for people to visit the city and gives visitors the chance to experience neighborhoods they might otherwise miss.

Laura Spanjian “Home-sharing helps families in Oklahoma City use what’s typically one of their greatest expenses — their homes — as a way to earn a little extra money to help make ends meet,” Laura Spanjian, Airbnb’s public policy director for Oklahoma, wrote in an email to Oklahoma Gazette. “At the same time, Airbnb provides an affordable way for people to visit the city and gives visitors the chance to experience neighborhoods they might otherwise miss. With more than 40 percent of Airbnb guest spending done in neighborhoods in which a guest stays, this delivers an economic boost to businesses that have not traditionally benefitted from tourism.”

OKC’s version

Currently, Oklahoma City does not exactly regulate home-sharing, as its zoning laws don’t allow for short-term rentals. A few years ago, the city posted home-sharing requirements on its website, including the $24 hotel-motel license and levying a 5.5 percent hotel

tax. The requirements went largely unnoticed. Oklahoma City Council instructed city staff to craft an ordinance to regulate home-sharing.

The proposed ordinance establishes home-sharing as a conditional use in all zoning districts, PUD (planned unit development) and SPUD (simplified planned unit development) that permit single-family residential. Under the ordinance, local property owners can rent out their homes or rooms to visitors on a short-term basis not to exceed 30 days. Further, the owner or host is required to comply with “any applicable building or fire codes adopted by the city,” obtain a home-sharing license and pay all applicable fees and taxes.

City staff purposefully drafted a broad ordinance in hopes to avoid possible litigation from home-sharing services. The city is also concerned about state leaders using preemption to strip municipalities of their capabilities to address home-sharing, Johnson said.

State legislators in Tennessee and Indiana proposed bills to override local municipal decisions in home-sharing and short-term rentals.

Like other ordinances, code enforcement is compliant-based. Following a complaint against a home-sharing property, an inspector from the Development Services Division would investigate violations sent to the municipal counselor’s office. After review, municipal charges could be filed against the resident with the possibility of losing the home-sharing license.

What is driving other cities to consider home-sharing regulations is absent in Oklahoma City. In cities like Boston and New Orleans, city leaders sought restrictions to protect affordable housing after finding that homesharing listings were linked to rent increases. Other cities, including Stillwater, pushed ordinances as a means to collect local taxes.

Both the City of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma Tax Commission reached an agreement with Airbnb to ensure the company collects sales and statecollected lodging taxes. Last September, Airbnb began collecting the 5.5 percent hotel occupancy tax for Oklahoma City.

Spanjian, of Airbnb, said the proposed regulations “allow [the] community to continue sharing their homes to make ends meet.” The company is committed to working with the city “to ensure [its] hosts and the city recieve the full economic benefits of home-sharing.”

The city’s Planning Commission most recently debated the ordinances’ merits at a special meeting of the commission’s Urban Development Committee April 26. The ordinance will be revisited for discussion during a special meeting May 10. The ordinance is still several steps away from coming before Oklahoma City Council.

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chicken

friedNEWS

Selfie intimidation

Oklahoma became the latest state to put a roadblock in the way of taking selfies in the voting booth — because why would it want to do anything that attracts young voters to the polls?

Gov. Mary Fallin’s first veto of the Legislative session came last week as she nixed a bill sponsored by Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Depew, that would’ve allowed voters to take cellphone photos of themselves with completed ballots and publish them on social media.

“I am concerned how this potentially opens up the voting process for voter intimidation and propaganda electioneering,” Fallin said in her veto message.

A tale as old as time. Who can forget the first time you were offered money to vote for a candidate, but only if there is proof that the whole world can see? Who knew the only way to prove that you’ve successfully engineered an election is by refreshing your Twitter feed?

If the state follows up on Fallin’s edict to enact a law prohibiting photography in the voting booth, they might be hearing from lawyers with social media app Snapchat, which filed an amicus brief in New Hampshire supporting the state’s decision to overturn a ban on such photos.

“It is precisely because a ballot selfie proves how a voter has exercised [their] franchise that it is an unmatched expression of civic engagement,” Snapchat’s brief said, according to The New York Times. “There is, simply put, no substitute for this speech.”

The 2018 statewide elections figure to be highly contentious following the unfulfilled demands of the teacher walkout, and the last thing the GOP wants to do is incentivize young, more progressive-leaning voters to the polls.

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To the rescue

Teachers, Restore Oklahoma Now has got your back.

Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite!, the group backed by former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, does not.

The Coburn-endorsed group has likely been the cause of nightmares and sleepless nights for the state’s teachers. We at Chicken-Fried News can only imagine the number of teachers who wake up in a cold sweat after Coburn and crew crash their sweet dreams of being financially stable by launching an initiative petition to undo the tax raises in House Bill 1010xx. Bye bye, $450 million earmarked for teacher raises. Who wouldn’t wake up screaming?

Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite! wants to do just that. At a Capitol news conference two days after the House approved the historic revenue package to increase taxes on cigarettes, motor fuels and oil and gas production, they shared initial plans to launch a ballot initiative, according to NewsOK. Now, Restore Oklahoma Now, which was formed by some of the state’s oil producers to restore the gross production tax to 7 percent on new wells with proceeds providing a teacher pay raise, is focusing its efforts to fight against

such campaigns.

“We will be at the forefront of any effort to defeat a move to renege on the school/teacher funding package,” Mickey Thompson, executive director of Restore Oklahoma Now, said in a press release.

The group has abandoned its effort to raise the gross production tax to 7 percent through the statewide ballot in November, it stated in a press release.

“We believe the presence of our initiative petition was a significant factor in the ultimate legislative compromise,” Thompson said. “We view HB1010xx as a reasonable start.

However, any effort in this or a future Legislature to reintroduce a reduced GPT will be met with a new initiative petition, or perhaps a veto referendum, to protect funds for public education and other state services priorities.”

It sounds like Restore Oklahoma Now deserves a gold star!

Picking winners

Seven months ago, Baker Mayfield was brazenly planting a University of Oklahoma (OU) flag onto the Ohio State University football field, making

himself an enemy of the Buckeye State. Now the OU Heisman Trophy winner is returning to Ohio as Cleveland’s next great hope.

Mayfield was drafted No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Browns in late April’s National Football League (NFL) draft. Though no big-name prognosticators pegged Mayfield as the top pick in the weeks leading up to the annual player draft, the selection was only a mild surprise as word of the Browns’ preference spread in the 24 hours before the event began.

Congrats to Mayfield, but it has to be bittersweet taking on professional sports’ most hexed job.

Think we are exaggerating? Try asking Tim Couch, Ty Detmer, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Ken Dorsey, Brady Quinn, Bruce Gradkowski, Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brandon Weeden, Thaddeus Lewis, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel,

Connor Shaw, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Robert Griffin III, Cody Kessler, DeShone Kizer or Kevin Hogan.

That is to say every starting quarterback the Browns have had since reentering the NFL in 1999. For comparison’s sake, the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots have only had two main starters since then. Heck, there have only been four U.S. presidents since that time, and they’re required to reapply every four years.

Will Mayfield finally be able to bring a little consistency — or even a few wins — to the Cleveland Browns?

No one is more confident than the former OU quarterback. In March, Mayfield told reporters at the NFL’s draft combine that he could turn the team around if given the chance.

“If anybody is going to turn that franchise around, it would be me and put it in the right direction,” he said. “They’re close. They’re very close. They have the right pieces. I think they just need that one guy, a quarterback to make that difference.”

There seemed to be no limit to what Mayfield could do as the starting quarterback at OU. But turning around pro football’s version of the Bad News Bears might be his biggest challenge yet.

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EAT & DRINK The crabcake is one of a few holdovers from Rococo on The Manhattan OKC’s menu. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

we’re making magic with the food we are doing,” Rinehart said.

To expedite meals in a small space, Rinehart installed a powerful oven that allows the crabcakes to be baked with a slightly charred topping in about two minutes. Long before Rinehart moved to Oklahoma, he was the culinary director at Legal Sea Foods, one of the nation’s most revered seafood restaurant chains. Legal Sea Foods’ clam chowder has been served at every White House inauguration since Ronald Reagan’s first term. Rinehart helped open Legal Sea Food locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. “In the ’90s, I helped [Legal Sea Food] redo their old style of a crabcake, so when I came to Oklahoma and saw what everyone was serving, I said ‘I will take it one step further.’ The Rococo crabcake is legendary from coast to coast,” Rinehart said. “People that live in Baltimore will come [to Oklahoma City] just for that.”

REVIEW

Manhattan experience

Off night

The Manhattan OKC executes Rococo favorites but struggles when venturing outside familiar territory. By Jacob Threadgill

The Manhattan OKC 210 Park Ave., Suite 150 themanhattanokc.com | 405-605-5300 What works: The crabcake lives up to its Rococo legacy.

What needs work: Staff was overwhelmed on a Monday.

Tip: Check out lunch specials or prepackaged box lunches.

Chef Bruce Rinehart has built a culinary empire in Oklahoma City since bringing his East Coast-style seafood restaurant Rococo to two successful locations.

Rinehart is a five-time best chef winner of Oklahoma Gazette’s Best of OKC reader poll.

The Manhattan OKC, Rinehart’s newest restaurant, opened at 210 Park Ave., Suite 150, in a prominent corner of Oklahoma Tower about a year ago.

Its large windowed walls overlook the “Raven and the Apple” sculpture that was moved to its current location in the courtyard in 2016 from a small downtown park on Robinson Avenue.

The nearby raven has been incorporated into the Manhattan logo, which

takes its name after the 14 varieties of the Manhattan cocktail on its menu.

Rinehart has turned daily cooking duties over to chef de cuisine Disty Simpson, and the duo devises daily dinner specials in addition to a few fixed items, including a few Rococo favorites.

“When we started The Manhattan, the idea was that we weren’t going to do anything Rococo,” Rinehart said.

“During construction, it was like, ‘Can we get a crabcake? Can we get a Love Salad?’ I’m going to give the guests what they want.”

The crabcake and Love Salad are joined by blue cheese cookies and a smoked salmon appetizer on the menu.

The cozy restaurant seats about 10 at the bar, 48 at tabletop locations and about 20 on the patio, which Rinehart said is set for expansion this year.

It’s a small space, but it is warm and inviting. I quite enjoyed the tables made with reclaimed Kentucky barn wood, but the small space has logistic concerns for the back-of-the-house staff.

“We have hardly any kitchen, so

I started my Manhattan experience with the crabcake, which is plenty big enough for two people, to see how it compares to the Rococo classic and was very pleased. I had no issue paying market price ($21) for the modern take on the classic dish. Served almost as a deconstructed crabcake, the filling is loosely bound together between large servings of fresh crab.

Far too often, I’ve eaten a crabcake and wondered where the crab was located between breadcrumbs and Dijon mustard. I really enjoyed the contrast in textures developed from the crispy topping and the softer bottom that was complemented by a spicy rémoulade.

When it came to the rest of my meal, I had trouble making a decision. The dinner menu that evening was largely new American, but nothing that I would consider particularly comforting or inventive. There was a pan-roasted filet ($34) with whole mushrooms and red wine demi-glace with wilted spinach

and roasted potatoes, “Lazy-man’s” lobster ($30) with hand-picked lobster sautéed in butter and served with seasonal vegetables, roasted pork tenderloin with a horseradish and panko crust ($22) and penne pasta with chicken breast and grape tomatoes in a white wine and butter sauce ($18).

I ordered off the specials board and went with pork tenderloin medallions covered in an apple cider glaze and served with rice and honey-glazed roasted carrots ($24), and my dining partner ordered Cajun blackened scallops to be served with a side of pasta ($15, plus $5 for the pasta).

The scallops arrived without the pasta and were a sign of service to come.

They were fresh and well cooked, tender in the middle, and the Cajun seasonings didn’t overpower the natural scallop sweetness, but the accompanying spinach was still bitter and couldn’t be eaten with the mollusk. The side of pasta arrived the same time as my pork.

The pork medallions were pretty much inedible. I made it a few bites before tapping out on the overcooked tenderloin. The apple puree was cloying, and the tenderloin was far too tough.

“What happened to your pork — and I knew it as soon as you said it — is that they put it in that oven, and they’re not supposed to,” Rinehart said. “Now I can go back to the staff and reiterate some things.”

It turns out that I caught the restaurant on a bad night. There was only one server for the entire restaurant, and Rinehart said Simpson was off for the evening.

“Monday is my one night, sadly, when I’m a little exposed due to personnel,” he said. “It was my understanding that they were stretched and not ready to have the level of business they had.”

Even the best restaurants in the world have bad days. After talking to Rinehart, I’d be more than willing to give The Manhattan OKC more chances.

Its lunch specials are priced well, and the house-cured pastrami is made with a 10-day process that sounds tempting for the next time I’m downtown around lunchtime.

The Manhattan OKC is located at 210 Park Ave., Suite 150. | Photo Jacob Threadgill O kg a z e t t e . c o m | M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8

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EAT & DRINK

529 Buchanan Ave. Campus Corner Norman

A WING TAVERN WITH LIVE MUSIC MON: Closed THU: Throwback Thursdays!

TUE: $2 Beer/$2 Shots /$2 Sides Wings, Fries & Pint $10 All Day Karaoke @9 FRI/SAT: Happy Hour 3p-7p, Live Music WED: Poker Night! $5 Pitchers/Free Pool SUN: $4 Mimosa & Bloody Marys Get Delivery using OrderUp or Postmates!

Brunch Food (12p-5pm)

FREE PARKING | All ages until 10 pm

Join Us for a

RIO POR DO SOL during Margarita Week

May 6-12

Make your Reservations today for

Mother’s Day

May 9th!

405-525-9779 cafedobrazilokc.com 440 NW 11th & Walker

Nic’s Place

Now serviNg LittLe Nics! see you sooN.

1116 N Robinson Ave. OKC @nicsplacedinerandlounge 14

M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

F E AT U R E

Like us on Facebook! normanchickenwings.com 405-310-3728

Fresh start

Okie Pokie and Noodee concepts open in old Guernsey Park location. By Jacob Threadgill

The disappointment that came with the January announcement of the closing of Guernsey Park didn’t last long as owner Truong Le quickly converted the building into two concepts: Okie Pokie, which opened in late March, and Noodee, which held its soft opening April 16.

Okie Pokie became the first of three high-profile poke restaurants — two of which are concepts by California celebrity chefs — to open on 23rd Street this year. While the Hawaiian dish poke — marinated raw fish with fresh vegetables — is riding its wave of national momentum into Oklahoma City in 2018, it’s actually a concept Le began to develop in 2014.

Producers from the CNBC reality television show Restaurant Startup that asked restaurateurs to pitch concepts to potential investors contacted Le, but he said the show was canceled after he did initial production interviews. The concept remained a nugget of inspiration.

“My intention was not to open it here. I was hoping Guernsey Park would continue to do what it was doing back then in 2014 to 2015,” Le said. “It was booming.”

Guernsey Park opened in 2012 and was one of the first of a new wave of fresh, from-scratch restaurants in the Uptown 23rd District. Over the years, the menu expanded, but its fromscratch commitment led to rising food costs.

“It became an issue for trying to control labor and food costs,” Le said.

“It was our first restaurant, and we didn’t know what we were getting ourAt 2418 N. Guernsey Ave., Noodee and Okie Pokie are separate restaurant concepts inside the old Guernsey Park location. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

selves into by doing everything from scratch.”

The menu expansion included separate menus, a more casual lunch menu with fusion foods like sushirittos and more experimental dishes during dinner, which Le said confused customers. Guernsey Park’s fusion ethos is still on full display at its sister restaurant Covell Park, 1200 W. Covell Road, in Edmond.

“We figured it was better to close down and rebrand,” Le said. “You can dress however you want. You don’t need a special occasion to come here.”

Split decisions

The Guernsey Park building has been turned into two separate restaurants.

Downstairs, where Guernsey used to

Not just your AverAge CheesesteAk truCk!

left A Noodee bowl with ramen, grilled pork and pork broth. right Troung Le is the owner of Covell Park, Okie Pokie / Noodee, Chick N Beer and the upcoming Collective Kitchen and Cocktails. | Photos Jacob Threadgill

prepare fresh sushi, customers form a line behind Okie Pokie’s counter, where they can choose from a few pre-selected bowl options of tuna, salmon or tofu with vegetables and sauces or build their own bowl, which is served in an ergonomic to-go container. They can dine in the restaurant or take it on a stroll.

In the main entryway and in an upstairs dining room, customers dine at Noodee, which is a custom bowl concept ordered tableside. Guests choose a corresponding noodle (udon, ramen, rice or egg) with a broth base (pork, chicken, spicy seafood, vegan or beef). The bowls are topped with grilled skewer of protein (steak, pork, shrimp, hoisin tofu, chicken, fried coconut shrimp, fried tofu or mushrooms), an over-medium egg and a choice of selection of vegetable toppings.

Since the Okie Pokie concept only requires fresh food, all of its prep work can be done in the morning, freeing up the kitchen to turn out Noodee bowls.

Le is hoping customers embrace the freedom of choice at both restaurants.

“We wanted to do something no one

else has done, which is kind of scary,” Le said. “We want you to be completely comfortable with the menu, pick whatever you want and not feel bad about the chef. A lot of places won’t let you ask for A1 sauce. Everyone has [their] own way of eating and different taste buds. Have fun and play with the menu.”

With his newest concept, Le is cognizant of the limited parking space on Guernsey Avenue, which also houses his other restaurant Chick N Beer. Okie Pokie / Noodee is currently open 11 a.m.-4 p.m., closing when Chick N Beer is at its busiest time.

“I don’t want to hurt my own business by having this place packed out,” Le said. “If I hear from enough people that they don’t mind parking and walking here, I’ll consider [opening at the same time].”

Chick N Beer business starts to die down around 9 p.m., and Le said he wants Okie Pokie and Noodee to become a late-night option for patrons leaving the district’s bars. Okie Pokie and Noodee will be open 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Friday and Saturday nights.

“There aren’t that many late-night options [in the city],” Le said. “You’re eating fast-food at that point. We want you to relax, have cocktails, a bowl or just hang out and have an appetizer. I don’t think Oklahoma has that market yet.”

WWW.facebook.com/phillmeupcheesesteaks | WWW.phillmeupokc.com Family owned and operated since 2014

Collective future

Okie Pokie and Noodee are billed separately, but they share a point-of-sale (POS) system, which Le said is a good dry run for his newest concept, The Collective Kitchen and Cocktails, which is slated to open in Midtown in late 2018.

Located at 308 NW 10th St., The Collective is part food hall and part restaurant incubator. There will be a big cocktail bar at the center of the 12,000 square-foot building that will be surrounded by seven microkitchens.

The Collective will provide marketing, signage and equipment for the kitchens without money down and will take a gross percentage of sales each month. All the chefs have to do is bring a few knives and desired pots if they want, Le said.

By comparison, opening a food truck puts you at the mercy of unpredictable Oklahoma weather and the bills associated with the truck upkeep.

Converting a building to open a restaurant costs an average of $250,000, Le said, which means taking out a loan or bringing in partners. Chefs will be able to take home profits their first month in The Collective.

“It allows chefs to do what they love.

You don’t have to worry about the front of the house or toiletries and bills in general,” Le said. “What if they do well and want to go off? That’s great. It’s good for us to incubate successful business owners, and then we get to evolve.”

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8

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OFFICIAL TEQUILA OF OKC MARGARITA WEEK 2018 MAY 6-15 ELJIMADOR.COM

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M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

MAY 6 - 12 SEE THE MARGARITAS Enter to win awesome prizes Snap a photo and tag @okgazette #OKCMargaritaWeek #OKCFoodWeek

Official Tequila of OKC Margarita Week

Supporting sponsors

OKCMargaritaWeek.com O kg a z e t t e . c o m | F E B R U A R Y 2 1 , 2 0 1 8

1

STRAWBERRY SRIRACHA MARGARITA Yucatan Taco Stand Tequila Bar & Grill

Photo Mark Hancock

ORIGINAL FROZEN MARGARITA Texadelphia 405-208-4000 200 S. Oklahoma Ave., Suite 110

405-604-5384 100 E. California Ave., Suite 110

Gold tequila, orange liqueur and natural agave nectar.

El Jimador Silver Tequila, Cointreau, agave nectar, fresh squeezed lime juice, strawberry and a dash of Sriracha. Served with a lime and in a Tajín-rimmed glass.

www.thesocialorder.com

www.yucatantacostand.com/ bricktown

Photo provided

EL JIMADOR STRAWBERRY JALAPEÑO BEARITA Lost Highway Bar

BOMB POP MARGARITA Mama Roja Mexican Kitchen

405-601-5606 | 1613 N. May Ave.

405-555-5555 9219 Lake Hefner Parkway

El Jimador Tequila, strawberries, jalapeños, Cointreau, simple syrup, sweet and sour, splash of OJ, splash of sprite, fresh lime juice garnished with of lime wedge and a strawberry. Spicy and refreshing, just like Lost Highway Bar. $8.

Strawberry puree, Mama’s frozen margarita, Blue Curacao, sugar rim. www.mamaroja.com

www.losthighwaybar.com Photo provided

Photo provided

JALAPEÑO MANGONADA MARGARITA Mama Rita’s Mexican Kitchen

GREEN APPLE GLACIER On the Border 5 OKC metro locations Pucker up for Hornitos Plata shaken tableside with green apple puree.

Cointreau orange liqueur and fresh citrus mix, poured over an over-sized ginger cherry ice cube.

405-608-0825 | 2610 W. Memorial Rd. Barrel-aged Patrón Reposado, freshly squeezed lime juice, Patrón Mango Liqueur shaken to perfection with fresh jalapeños and mango puree.

www.ontheborder.com

www.mamaritasmexican.com Photo provided

Photo Mark Hancock

ROASTED HATCH CHILE TOP SHELF MARGARITA Power House

2824 MARGARITA Rococo 405-528-2824 2824 N. Pennsylvania Ave.

405-702-0699 | 1228 SW Second St.

This refreshing margarita starts with El Jimador Tequila. Next, we’ve added in freshly squeezed lime juice and fresh orange juice and topped it off with a splash of Joel Gott Cabernet 815. Enjoy it in a martini glass with coarse sea salt on the rim.

Oversized and made with El Jimador Silver, which we house-infuse with an assortment of dried chiles, including Hatch, this top shelf margarita is rounded out with Grand Marnier, Cointreau, our house-made ancho habanero simple syrup and always freshly squeezed lime juice.

www.rococo-restaurant.com

www.powerhouseokc.com Photo Tiffany Blaisdell

okcmargaritaweek.com | M AY 6 - 1 2 2

F E B R U A R Y 2 1 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Photo provided

EL JEFE MARGARITA Abuelo’s

PLATINUM MARGARITA Abuelo’s

Bricktown – 17 E. Sheridan Ave. North OKC – 3001 W. Memorial Road

Bricktown – 17 E. Sheridan Ave. North OKC – 3001 W. Memorial Road

The boss of all margaritas: smooth and strong, a blend of ultra premium Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila, Agavero Orange Liqueur and fresh citrus, topped with a grilled orange.

Herradura’s El Jimador Silver, Agavero Orange, fresh citrus and a kosher salt rim. www.abuelos.com

www.abuelos.com

Photo provided

Photo provided

RIO POR DO SOL (SUNSET IN RIO) Café do Brasil

MANGONADA Chelino’s Mexican Restaurant

405-525-9779 440 NW 11th St.

405-235-3533 Several metro locations

Hibiscus-tinged lime juice is a sweettart introduction to this quaff, but the surprisingly spicy rim of hibiscus-andchili-flaked salt, plus the generous pour of tequila, bring it to the big leagues — from fruity and floral to a true heavy hitter.

Not your typical mango margarita! Our Mangonada boasts south-of-the-border tastes including sweet, salty and spicy!

Rimmed in lime and Tajín and filled with chile chamoy mixed with mango margarita! Enjoy this new drink through a candied straw today!

www.cafedobrazilokc.com

www.chelinos.net Photo Mark Hancock

Photo provided

CRANBERRY MARGARITA Coyote Ugly

DISCO NAP The Jones Assembly 405-212-2378 901 W. Sheridan Ave.

405-602-8452 121 E. California Ave.

El Jimador Tequila, Cointreau, lime, sage syrup, blackberry.

Gold tequila, triple sec, sweet and sour and cranberry juice.

www.thejonesassembly.com

www.coyoteuglysaloon.com/oklahoma

Photo provided

Photo Aaron Snow Photography / provided

TOP SHELF FUZZY Fuzzy’s Taco Shop

LIL’ FRUITY MANGO MARGARITA HiLo Club

405-602-3899 Multiple locations — Moore, Bricktown, Chisholm Creek, Edmond

405-843-1722 1221 NW 50th St.

Fuzzy’s Patrón Reposado Barrel Select Tequila, Patrón Citrónge, fresh lime and lemon juices, Fuzzy’s signature salted rim.

Corralejo Añejo, Grand Marnier, Patrón Mango, splash of OJ, fresh lime with a cherry on top. Strong, fresh and fruity, just like your HiLo friends. $7.

www.thesocialorder.com

www.hilookc.com

Photo provided

Photo provided

okcmargaritaweek.com | M AY 6 - 1 2 O kg a z e t t e . c o m | F E B R U A R Y 2 1 , 2 0 1 8

3

EAT & DRINK

You can Quiche my lunch

405-840-3047 7408 N. May Ave OKC labaguettebistro.com

LocALLy

oWNed gourMet

Burger

F E AT U R E

restAurANt

Agave life

In celebration of the margarita, Oklahoma Gazette explores the history and styles of tequila.

By Jacob Threadgill

3600 N. May Ave

(NW 35th and May Avenue)

405-917-1711 pAttyWAgoNok.coM

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M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

As we’re gearing up to celebrate Oklahoma Gazette’s OKC Margarita Week, it only makes sense to begin a discussion by taking a look at the drink’s main ingredient: tequila.

Much like how true champagne can only come from the Champagne region of France, Mexican laws dictate that tequila must be made with at least 50 percent blue agave from the state of Jalisco, and a few limited regions in four other states.

Tequila is split into two categories: 100 percent blue agave and tequila mixito. Of the 100 percent blue agave group, there are four varieties: silver (unaged), reposado (aged between two months and less than a year), añjeo (aged one to three years in oak barrels), and the rare extra añjeo (aged longer than three years and created in 2006).

Many popular brands like Jose Cuervo Gold meet the bare minimum 51 percent blue agave to classify as tequila, and the rest is usually filled with cane sugar-based rum, which is responsible for nasty hangovers.

If a distilled spirit is made outside the designated areas in Mexico or uses an agave plant other than agave tequilana, then it is considered mescal, which is responsible for the apocryphal notion that tequila bottles have worms.

It’s actually a marketing gimmick used by tequila’s cousin, mescal, and

it’s not actually a worm, but rather a moth larve called a gusano de maguey.

In the 1950s, former art student Jacobo Lozano Páez added the gusano to a finished bottle of mescal in attempt to differentiate from tequila in the U.S. market, according to Anthony Dias Blue’s The Complete Book of Spirits.

Mescal has made a comeback in the U.S. market in the last decade, which has seen its profile rise alongside celebrity-owned tequila brands and small-batch, artisan distilleries.

“Mescal has been a trend, but it’s been more on the bar side than retail,” said Michael Berry, manager at Grand Cru Wine & Spirits, 9275 N. May Ave. “Sammy Hagar is the OG of celebrity tequilas.”

Hagar’s Cabo Wabo has been joined by the likes of George Clooney’s Casamigos, which the actor sold for $1 billion in 2017, and Código 1530, which boasts country music legend George Strait as an investor.

Both Berry and Stan Stack, owner of Beau’s Wine Bin & Spirit Shoppe, 2810 W. Country Club Drive, said that Sauza Tequila is among the top-selling brands in Oklahoma City but Patrón and Don Julio are contenders at a higher price point.

While cheap tequila is associated with lime wedges and salt needed to cut the harshness of a tequila shot, Stack said that shouldn’t be the case for 100 percent

Photo Bigstock.com

Cooking with tequila As with most spirits, the best way to achieve its flavor after the liquor has burned off is through a marinade.

Pork tenderloin is one of the best cuts to use with a marinade because its lower amount of fat means it is easy to dry out. A marinade alleviates those concerns.

I’m sharing a recipe that my dad consistently made for our family growing up, and I’ve made it many times over the years as an adult.

2 limes 1/2 cup tequila 1/4-1/2 cup of chopped cilantro 3 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cracked pepper 1 sliced jalapeño (take out the seeds and membrane for less heat) 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1-pound pork tenderloin Mix the first eight ingredients

blue agave tequila.

“All you need to do is chill and sip the nice ones,” Stack said. “I’ve got tequilas in excess of $100, and I order [bottles] for people during Christmastime that are upwards of $400. Twenty-four years ago, if they told me they had a $400 bottle of tequila, I would’ve said, ‘Good.’”

While tequila must be produced in Mexico, it is possible to support Oklahoma in search of the perfect margarita. Viejo Cancun is a 100 percent blue agave and organic tequila that is owned by an Oklahoman, and it’s available at 13 retail locations in the city and nine restaurant bars. It is also distributed to Oregon.

For making your own margarita, Stack recommends forgoing triple sec.

“The perfect margarita uses Grand Marnier or Cointreau,” Stack said.

“We’ve made it a different deal with triple sec to make it more inexpensive for club drinkers.”

OKC Margarita Week

The inaugural Oklahoma Gazette OKC Margarita Week runs May 6-12 at 15

together and pour them over tenderloin in a plastic bag and let it marinate eight hours or overnight.

Bake it in the center of the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour or until the internal tem-

May 13

Patio iS oPEn!

BourBon St. Cafe Riverwalk | Bricktown

100 E California | 232.6666 | BourbonStCafe.com

perature reads 145 degrees. You can also grill on medium heat about 10 minutes per side.

participating locations, each concocting its own special margarita for the occasion. El Jimador is the official tequila sponsor of OKC Margarita Week.

Readers have a chance to win gift cards to participating locations each day of Margarita Week by participating in a social media photo contest. Take a picture of your margarita while checking into the location on either Facebook, Instagram or Twitter while tagging @okgazette with the hashtags # O K C M a r g a r i t aWe e k and #OKCFoodWeek for a chance to win.

Photo Bigstock.com

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8

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g a z e di b l e s

eat & DRINK

Panini press

Is there a more aesthetically pleasing act than splitting open a sandwich and seeing how far the melted cheese can stretch from end to end? These seven eateries in the Oklahoma City area will assist you in setting a new cheesestretching record.

Café Bella

Belle Kitchen

The Mule

This loveable cafe is much more than its 200 varieties of coffee, smoothies and boba drinks. It offers full breakfast, po’boys and banh mi, salads and a healthy selection of panini and grilled croissant sandwiches. Its two varies of paninipizza sandwiches are unlike anything else in the city. The Bellaroni tops salami and pepperoni with bell peppers, onions, provolone and marinara.

There is no place to hide in a simple three-ingredient grilled cheese. If any of the ingredients — cheese, bread and butter (or mayo; don’t knock it till you try it) — is off, the whole sandwich is ruined. Go to Belle Kitchen, which uses house-made brioche bread (special because it contains extra butter) as the base for its classic grilled cheese. Fresh bread is also used for its Cuban and Rueben sandwiches.

It would be impossible to compile this list and not include The Mule, a restaurant that has devised its whole menu around grilled cheese sandwiches. The Macaroni Pony (mac and cheese with pulled pork inside cornbread) and its take on the classic Croque Madame are among its most popular, but did you know you can get a salad and grilled cheese at the same time? Its Caesar salad comes topped with grilled cheese croutons.

9018 S. Pennsylvania Ave. cafebellabistro.com | 405-691-9018

By Jacob Threadgill | Photos Gazette /file

7509 N. May Ave. belle-kitchen.com | 405-233-0230

Kids Meal

4.99

Pakistani/Indian Cuisine Wraps, Entrees, Combos, Buffet, Dine In, Delivery, Online Order

OKLAHOMA CITY

EDMOND

4104 N. Portland Ave

301 S. Bryant Ave.

405.601.3454 Daily Hours:

405.341.8888 Sun-Thurs

(39th & Portland)

11:00am-9:00pm

22

(2nd & Bryant)

10:30am-9:30pm Fri-Sat 10:30am-10:00pm

M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

CHeese NaN 4621 N. May | OKC | 778-8469

1630 N. Blackwelder Ave. themuleokc.com | 405-601-1400

The Lobby Cafe & Bar 4322 N. Western Ave. willrogerslobbybar.com 405-604-4650

Manchego cheese gets its name from the specific breed of sheep in Spain that supplies the milk for the cheese. Its buttery texture is on full display at The Lobby, where it is the co-star of its extra melty grilled cheese along with white cheddar. Manchego also makes an appearance with sautéed shrimp and crab salad on grilled Tuscan bread. Get the grilled chicken sandwich if you’re looking for melted Brie.

Elemental Coffee Roasters

The Healthy Hippo

Uptown Grocery Co.

Elemental has seamlessly made the transition from coffee-only to expanded breakfast and lunch options thanks to an inventive menu that doesn’t hold back on the nutrients and cheese. Get the C’est La Brie for an elegant hamand-cheese or try its take on a turkey Reuben, the Costanza, which includes Gruyere cheese.

This mobile food truck is active in the Shawnee area and Oklahoma City, particularly on the weekends. Don’t let the name fool you because there is plenty of both ooey and gooey goodness on its signature sandwich, the Hippo Panini: sourdough bread with goat cheese, pesto, spinach, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.

Don’t forget about this trendy store fulfilling more than your grocery needs when you’re in Nichols Hills or near its Edmond location, 1230 W. Covell Road.

The cafeteria section of the store includes robust paninis, pizza and sushi.

Get a chicken Parmesan, an Albuquerque Turkey or build your own. Either way, it will only cost you $6.

815 N. Hudson Ave. elementalcoffee.com | 405-633-1703

Rediscover ROCOCO Spring / Summer Fling 2018 Menu Choice of: -Salad Starter -Entree -NY Strip -Salmon -Fancy Mac & Cheese -Seasonal Vegetables

Mobile food truck thehealthyhippo.com | 405-585-7486

9515 N. May Ave. uptowngroceryco.com | 405-242-6080

Try our

Jalapeño Mangonada Margarita

during Margarita Week May 6-12

$20.18 Changing menu

inspired by Chef Jason Dinner: Mon-Wed

It’s a love affair only at

2824 N Penn | 405.528.2824 12252 N May | 405.212.4577 rococo-restaurant.com

2610 W. Memorial Road | Oklahoma City 73134 Across the turnpike from Quail Springs Mall 405-608-0825 | www.mamaritasmexican.com O kg a z e t t e . c o m | M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8

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SHOP

Smashing Sale!

607 nw 28th suite f, okC (405) 628-7621 | smashbanGles.Com wed-sat 11am to 6Pm | sun noon to 4Pm

Jewelry, Gifts & whimsy on the Paseo

shopp i n g

50% Off Double J Saddlery leather bracelets Mid Century Modern Coffee Mugs $9.99

Mum’s the word

Not much is absolutely certain in this world, but one thing we can guarantee is that everyone reading this has had a mother. If you are lucky enough to still have a mom or motherly figure in your life, then you should already know how important it is to show your appreciation. With Mother’s Day coming up May 13 (go ahead; we’ll wait for you to add a reminder to your phone calendar), here are several local shops properly equipped to put a smile on her face.

By Ben Luschen | Photos by Ben Luschen and Gazette file

New Spring Line!

10%off Items with this ad!

chuesck out

9705 N May Ave Ste.120 | The Village, OK 73120 woodsmantrading.com | 405-286-0614 Mon-Thurs 9AM-6PM | Fri-Sat 9AM-7PM

•The Vintage Ladye 3709 N. Western Ave. thevintageladye.com 405-225-1080

Let’s hear it one time for all the moms with an existing appreciation for the vintage chic. Eponymous shop owner Ladye keeps her small Western Avenue storefront chock-full of nostalgic treasures. The Vintage Ladye is a treasure chest of ’80s and ’90s clothing for women and men. But the shop has more to offer than just throwback suede jackets and floral pattern shorts. A wide selection of jewelry and handbags complement some select pieces of yesteryear decor. At a relatively low price point, The Vintage Ladye is a place to find a unique gift on a limited budget.

You bring the dress, we do the rest!

The Most Celebrated Wedding Venue in Central Oklahoma!

All remaining 2018 dates take $2,018 off!

11900 N Council Road Oklahoma City, OK 73102 RoseBriarPlace.com 405-603-ROSE 24

m ay 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

La Baguette Bistro 7408 N. May Ave. labaguettebistro.com 405-840-3047

Is there anyone out there who does not like La Baguette? We are not quite sure if it is even possible, which is why the French bistro and bakery is a nearly fail-proof gift option for Mother’s Day. Your mother is a sweet lady (from what we’ve heard, at least), so it’s only natural to celebrate her sweetness with one of the bakery’s fine cakes, pastries or macarons. Or consider grabbing a reservation for one of the hottest Mother’s Day brunches around.

Cayman’s Clothiers 2001 W. Main St., Norman shop-caymans.com 405-360-3969

For years, Cayman’s has been known as a Norman clothing staple, and little has changed regarding that reputation. The store carries a number of well-known brands, including Tory Burch, Kendra Scott, Rustic

Cuff, Sam Edelman and rag & bone.

But in recent years, Cayman’s has developed into a more well-rounded store. Inside, shoppers will find a good selection of furniture and home decor alongside a mix of lifestyle-oriented inventory.

Le Visage Spa & Wellness 3700 W. Robinson Ave., Norman levisagedayspa.com 405-321-3223

Give Mom a little break from her daily child-wrangling duties with a trip to Le Visage Spa & Wellness.

It’s a place where she can take off her many dutiful hats and get lost in a relaxing massage or body polish. A hydradermie facial or paraffin hand treatment will have her feeling properly restored and pampered. The client is always Le Visage’s No. 1 priority, so any mother can feel free to bask in the spotlight of attention and custom comfort that can’t quite be replicated at home.

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If one were to just buy their mom a bar of Dove soap, it might lead her to believe one was making a statement on her personal hygiene habits. But buying her one of the fine handcrafted soaps from Local Lather is a whole other animal. A stop by its Penn Square Mall south entrance booth reveals a rainbow of colorful, fragrant suds-makers and lotions. All of Local Lather’s products are made with sustainable, allnatural ingredients, so no one has to leave the shower feeling environmentally dirty.

Waters Edge Winery

•

712 N. Broadway Ave. wewokc.com 405-232-9463

Oklahoma does not have the strongest reputation as a wine-producing state, but sampling the locally made wines at Waters Edge Winery might alter some preconceived notions.

Good fermented grapes are not the only reason Waters Edge makes for a good Mother’s Day stop. The shop prints custom wine labels with several mom-centric designs available. It also sells wine-flavored ice creams with flavors like red raspberry chardonnay and chocolate cabernet. Talk about a great pairing!

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ARTS & CULTURE

Cora’s travels

Perpetual Motion Dance expands its installation work at Meow Wolf into an epic fantasy.

By Jeremy Martin

Dancing in a multiverse allowed Perpetual Motion Dance to discover a new dimension of possibilities.

Completing a six-day residency in the surrealistic interactive art installation Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico, gave the performers in the local dance company inspiration for their latest production, Cora’s Door, which runs Thursday-Sunday at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd. Artistic director Michelle Moeller said the company’s December residency at the New Mexico attraction, a 20,000 square-foot immersive multimedia exhibit operating in a former bowling alley purchased by A Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, required Perpetual Motion’s dancers to perform in an unfamiliar atmosphere and engage audiences in a new way.

“We saw just how smart our dancers are and how creative they are in nontraditional settings,” said Moeller, who also serves as dance department chair at the University of Central Oklahoma.

“They are make-it-work kind of people.

They will always make it happen even if it’s not an ideal performance environment; they will always bring their creativity forth. ... They’re just a really smart, really strong group of dancers and choreographers.”

This newfound confidence boost emboldened Perpetual Motion’s choreographers and dancers to develop their first narrative program. Like Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return — which Moeller cites as the company’s inspiration, along with Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Cora’s Door is Perpetual Motion Dance’s first story-based production. | Photo From Britt’s Eye View Photography / Perpetual Motion Dance / provided

Time and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth — Cora’s Door tells a family-friendly story about inter-dimensional travel.

Creative creatures

The format of House of Eternal Return required the Perpetual Motion dancers to create characters in varying environments, which they began adapting into their own storyline.

“Cora, who discovers that her parents are dimension-traveling, goes to follow them and find them, and she ends up wandering through these different realities,” Moeller said. “And each space, each reality, has its own set of rules and fantasy creatures. In dance, for us, we don’t really follow a strict narrative the way that a play might. We like for it to be a little bit more surrealist where there’s a story to follow and you can see all of the characters develop, but [it] also leaves some room for imagination to make up your own kind of chooseyour-own adventure. There’s still definitely more of a story line than we have ever done in any of our Perpetual Motion shows before. ... But anything that’s told through dance is going to have subjective experiences.”

The characters in Cora’s Door include forest dwellers Moeller describes as “something between Ewoks and the little creatures in Labyrinth with the red fur” and other fantastical creatures, each with their own style of choreography and set in their own distinct environments and musical soundtracks.

“There’s kind of a forest scene, there’s one that is a little bit more geometric that looks very abstract, and then we have another world that has kind of really cool little mermaids that aren’t like really specific mermaids, but we look at them

more as sea-based creatures,” Moeller said. “Each world really has its own set of rules as far as movement and choreography go, so if you’re in this sort of Ewok-forest-creature world, the movement is going to be very anamorphic and low to the ground. The costuming has a really earthy, almost camouflage look to it, and then the music we chose is really specific to each realm.”

The show’s forest creature land features didgeridoo music, the mermaid and sea creature world features work with aerial silks and the “animal heads” world shows off the dance company’s more diverse aerial work.

“The ‘animal head’ world is really geometric and there’s some black light involved, and the aerial pieces they’re doing are on metal apparatuses,” Moeller said.

Engaging audiences

Cora’s Door, still being developed at the time of this interview, is the most difficult production the company, which has specialized in original collaborative works since it was founded in 2002, has attempted since it began performing annual shows in 2006, but Moeller said she thinks the fantasy elements and narrative framework will make it more accessible to younger audiences.

“It’s definitely the biggest artistic challenge we’ve taken on as far as cos-

Cora’s Door delves into the imagination of a girl exploring family secrets. | Photo From Britt’s Eye View Photography / Perpetual Motion Dance / provided

tuming and makeup and narrative, and it’s really a push into more of a fantasy realm than Perpetual Motion has been in before,” Moeller said. “But I feel like the audience is really going to grab onto it and enjoy it. I think it’s going to be something that adults and children can engage with. It has some elements of suspense, but nothing in it is scary or inappropriate for a younger audience.”

The goal, Moeller said, is to attract an audience that might not be familiar with modern dance and might have a harder time relating to more abstract performances without alienating the fan base Perpetual Motion has cultivated in the past.

“It’s a way for people to connect to art and dig in without it being overwhelming,” Moeller said. “I think for us, it’s a good way to engage new audiences and also give the audiences who have been really loyal to us something new.”

Tickets are $10-$20. Visit perpetualmotiondance.org.

Cora’s Door 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center 3000 General Pershing Blvd. perpetualmotiondance.org | 405-951-0000 $10-$20 O kg a z e t t e . c o m | m ay 2 , 2 0 1 8

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Mother’s Day

1.

Gift Guide 2.

5.

mom

The woman who loves you unconditionally from birth.

The one who puts her kids before herself and the one who you can always count on above everyone else.

10.

6.

7.

3.

8.

9.

4.

1. Cafe do Brasil | M o t h e r ’ s D ay at C a f e d o B r a s i l | C a f e d o B r a s i l | 4 4 0 N W 1 1 t h | 4 0 5 - 5 2 5 - 9 7 7 9 | c a f e d o b r a z i l o k c . c o m 2. Raspberries N Creme | R i bb o n C a k e | R a s p b e r r i e s n C r e m e | 2 9 2 5 L a k e s i d e C i r c l e | 4 0 5 - 7 5 5 - 3 5 6 0 | r a s p b e r r i e s nc r e m e . c o m 3. Naifeh Fine Jewelry | J u d e F r a nc e s P r o v e nc e b a ng l e s i n 1 8 k t y e l l o w g o l d w i t h d i a m o n d s a n d g e m s t o n e s | 9 2 0 3 N . P e nn s y l va n i a A v e . | 4 0 5 - 6 0 7 - 4 3 2 3 | n a i f e h f i n e j e w e l r y. c o m 4. Rococo | M o t h e r ’ s D ay B r u nc h at R o c o c o | R o c o c o R e s ta u r a n t & F i n e W i n e | 2 8 2 4 N .

P e nn s y l va n i a A v e . | 4 0 5 - 5 2 8 - 2 8 2 4 | 1 2 2 5 2 N . M ay A v e . | 4 0 5 - 2 1 2 - 4 5 7 7 | r o c o c o - r e s ta u r a n t. c o m 5. Mama Roja’s Mexican Kitchen | T h e F r e s a M a r g a r i ta | M a m a R o j a’ s M e x i c a n K i t c h e n | 9 2 1 9 L a k e H e f n e r Pa r k way | 4 0 5 - 3 0 2 - 6 2 6 2 | m a m a r o j a . c o m 6. Smash Bangles | H e a r t a n d A r r o w N e c k l a c e | Sm a s h B a ng l e s | 6 0 7 N W 2 8 S t. , S u i t e F | 4 0 5 . 6 2 8 . 7 6 2 1 | s m a s h b a ng l e s . c o m 7. Shelly’s Aesthetics | Fa c i a l T r e at m e n t s a n d S k i n C a r e | Sc h e l l y ’ s A e s t h e t i c s | 1 2 0 2 8 N . M ay A v e . | 4 0 5 - 7 5 1 - 8 9 3 0 | s k i nc a r e o k c . c o m 8. Women’s Health Boutique | N u r s i ng B r a s f o r M o m | W o m e n ’ s H e a l t h B o u t i q u e | 1 2 0 6 2 N . M ay A v e . | 4 0 5 - 9 3 6 - 0 0 3 0 9. Lexi Photo | B o u d o i r M i n i S e s s i o n s | L e x i H o e b i ng P h o t o g r a p h y | 4 0 5 - 2 6 4 - 3 3 3 1 | l e x i h o e b i ng . c o m 10. Redrock Canyon Grill | ​S o u t h w e s t & Am e r i c a n S t y l e C u i s i n e f o r M o m | R e d r o c k C a n y o n G r i l l | ​9 2 2 1 L a k e H e f n e r Pa r k way | 4 0 5 - 7 4 9 - 2 5 5 6 | 1 8 2 0 L e g a c y Pa r k D r i v e , N o r m a n | 4 0 5 - 7 0 1 - 5 5 0 1 ​ | r e d r o c k c a n y o ng r i l l . c o m O kg a z e t t e . c o m | m ay 2 , 2 0 1 8

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art

ARTS & CULTURE

Ryan revisited

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum follows up on its exhibit about Western artist Tom Ryan with a second one focused on his artistic education. By Ian Jayne

It’s no great surprise that education is often the catalyst for great artistic production, whether it means following in the technical and precise footsteps of one’s forbearers or branching out in aesthetic rebellion. For acclaimed Western artist Tom Ryan, it’s a little of both.

The exhibit In the Principles Office: Tom Ryan the Art Student runs through Nov. 11 at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St. Tickets are free-$12.50.

In the Principles Office opened April 7, just a week after the museum’s previous exhibit about Tom Ryan’s early work ended.

“Really, with that earlier exhibit — the cartoons and comics — they collectively provide a glimpse into Ryan’s life, hopefully giving a new perspective on Ryan and art in general,” said Kimberly Roblin, director of Dickinson Research Center and curator of the museum’s archives.

Ryan, a member of Cowboy Artists of America, donated a large collection of his works and notes to the museum, which has enabled the two exhibitions to more fully present Ryan’s pieces in context.

“The inspiration for this was really to take that next step in Ryan’s life,” Roblin said. “The earlier exhibit focused on his childhood and when he was a young adult, and this picks up when he’s about 30 and goes to the Art Students League.”

Unlike Ryan’s earlier comedic cartoons about his experiences at a Wisconsin Jesuit school and his time in the U.S. Coast Guard, the works on display in Principles Office reveal an artist in the midst of a formal education, enthralled by the possibilities of expression. Roblin said that one of the main themes behind the exhibition is that art is not easy; even those artists who have natural talent frequently attend schools and devote large segments of time to their careers.

After studying at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts and The American Academy of Art in Chicago, Ryan moved to New York City, where, in 1951, he began at the Art Students League of New York.

There, Ryan worked closely under Frank J. Reilly, an artist and instructor whose distinctly technical approach garnered acclaim within the school.

“Frank Reilly was known as one of the best illustrators and teachers,” Roblin said. “I’ve heard there were waiting lists to get into his courses that Ryan was lucky enough to get into.”

Reilly’s training furnished Ryan with a distinctly analytical approach toward the technicalities of artistic work, Roblin said.

“The main principle, really, that Frank Reilly taught is that you can’t create what you don’t understand,” said Roblin. “He really focused on a disciplined, mathematical approach to producing accurate and realistic images.”

In the Principles Office reflects Reilly’s highly organized approach, featuring four main topics: light and shade, painting the model, structure and anatomy and perspective, Roblin said.

The exhibit features a combination of originals and facsimiles, including around 25 pages of Ryan’s notes and paintings on canvas. Attendees will be able to access Ryan’s other notes through a touchscreen.

“The notes oftentimes look more like math and science: ratios, variables, angles,” Roblin said. “They don’t necessarily look like art at first glance.”

The exhibit — like its predecessor, focused on Ryan’s earliest works — provokes questions about artistic process that aren’t always apparent. By showcasing pieces that were assignments or notes from coursework, the exhibit expands the persona of the artist and reveals the layers of artistic creation.

Ryan took art very seriously and was willing to devote the time and the practice towards it.

Kimberly Roblin In addition to Ryan’s notes, Roblin said the museum also has his assignments from art school — or, as Reilly preferred to call them, “problems.”

“We have some images on canvas that Ryan did in a course where he was practicing painting,” Roblin said. “Ryan took art very seriously and was willing to devote the time and the practice towards it, and that was something that Frank Reilly believed as well.”

Museumgoers will be able to see how Ryan learned and worked through various artistic principles through pieces on display such as “Perspective Notes” and “Perspective Assignment,” but also through fully finished pieces such as Ryan’s portraits of “Woman” and “Man.”

Understanding art

For Reilly — and subsequently for Ryan — artistic talent resulted from the combination of determination, thinking knowledge and hard work, Roblin said.

Although Ryan had already attended

“Woman” by Tom Ryan | Image Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

“Man” by Tom Ryan | Image Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

“Nun” by Tom Ryan | Image Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

“Perspective Assignment” by Tom Ryan | Image Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

other artistic programs, Reilly’s tutelage provided him with a foundation for his future endeavors.

“When you look at his later works, you can see those influences,” Roblin said.

Much of the museum’s collection of Ryan’s work consists of small drawings, sketches and prefatory works, “because he wanted to get every detail.”

Of all the principles that Ryan learned from Reilly, light, shade and perspective had the most impact, Roblin said. Regarding these principles, Ryan went so far as to type sets of notes that he kept for reference.

The exhibit includes multiple light and shade assignments that depict various subjects: a nun, two men and a waiter and “Reflections, Light and Shade Assignment,” an assignment that focuses on geometric shapes and technical understanding. In addition to front lighting and other techniques, Reilly’s approach also highlighted a different kind of understanding.

“You can’t create what you don’t understand, and the more you know of an object, the better you understand it, the better you can draw it,” Roblin said. “I think the same is true of observation and how we interact with art. The more we know about someone’s art and the process, and the more we understand, the better and richer our appreciation.”

Visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

“Reflections, Light and Shade Assignment” by Tom Ryan | Image Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

In the Principles Office: Tom Ryan the Art Student 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 11 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1700 NE 63rd St. nationalcowboymuseum.org | 405-478-2250 $35-$45

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29

ARTS & CULTURE

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Playing on

Glenn Miller Orchestra has endured since the bandleader’s death and brings big-band favorites to Armstrong Auditorium. By Jeremy Martin

They scored 11 Top 10 hits and starred in a feature film that year, but Glenn Miller disbanded his chart-topping orchestra in 1942 to enlist in the Army.

As head of the Army Air Force Band, Miller modernized military music and played for troops in Europe during World War II, but two years later, on a flight from London to Paris in advance of a Christmas concert, his transport plane disappeared over the English Channel, never to be found. Almost 74 years later, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is scheduled to perform May 10 at Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S. Bryant Road, in Edmond.

“So how’s this still going?” said Nick Hilscher, band director and lead male vocalist in the current iteration of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. “I think the music was so popular that the band started playing without Glenn as the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1946, and apart from it not being in existence for a short period in the mid-1950s, the Glenn Miller Orchestra actually has been going all of these decades, presenting this music … touring about 48 weeks on average every year and still doing about five shows per week. So it’s a thing that’s been around for decades and keeps going.”

The orchestra, carrying on in the tradition of a band first founded in 1938, has gone through many personnel changes in the past 80 years.

“Though the music goes back to the late ’30s, early ’40s, it’s not a band that’s made up of World War II generation folks,” Hilscher said. “It’s made up of primarily 20- and 30-something-yearolds, and we present the music with that same kind of vivaciousness, the same kind of passion that those guys were doing when all this started. And I think that that’s one of the reasons why the band keeps going on.”

Currently, the musician who has played with the orchestra the longest 30

M ay 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

is lead trombonist George Reinert III, hired more than 25 years ago. Hilscher, who first joined the orchestra in 1998 as a vocalist, was born in 1977 and grew up listening to Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. He first discovered his love of big-band jazz and swing at the age of 11, when he saw 1954’s The Glenn Miller Story starring Jimmy Stewart. For Hilscher, Miller’s music is a way to connect to the past.

“I think that we are always going to interpret what we hear musically according to the time, the place, the culture in which we live,” Hilscher said, “but … with Miller specifically, who was recording actually a good bit of new stuff during that period, it is hard for me to separate myself though from the context of the Second World War when I hear a lot of his music because that is the time in which it was written. So, you know, I can’t just be singing ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ for example and only think about my current relationships. It definitely harkens back to that time period. A lot of those songs were love songs of the era, so there is that context.

They expressed things a little bit differently than we do today, maybe even more poetically.”

Posthumous performance

Despite Miller’s death, the Army Air Force Band played its scheduled Christmas concert in 1944 and continued performing through 1945. Stateside, at the request of Miller’s widow Helen, the Glenn Miller Orchestra re-formed in 1946 under the direction of saxophonist and vocalist Tex Beneke, a founding member of the original band who sang lead on “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” the world’s first gold record.

“Tex was there during the civilian years,” Hilscher said. “He was there in 1938, when Glenn started the band. He was there when Glenn broke it up in 1942, so I think he was doing things the way that Glenn did, but then, in 1956,

Glenn Miller Orchestra performs at Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium May 10. | Photo Michael Cairns / Wet Orange Studio / Glenn Miller Orchestra / provided

when the band was re-formed under the direction of Ray McKinley, although Ray was there and was Glenn’s drummer in his Army Air Force band, Ray took it in the direction that I think big-band ensemble music was going. … The way that they actually approached the notes changed. … And then as we get into the 1970s, it started to go in a direction that, for me personally, I’m not crazy about, but it continued on to kind of take on the way that big-band music was going at that time.”

As the current director, Hilscher said he wants to give audiences something similar to the excitement and energy of the orchestra’s original performances.

“One of my passions is to go back and try to present it not as a copycat orchestra of the one that Glenn led, but trying to present it and capture what they were doing because what they were doing was new to them,” Hilscher said. “And I think that we’re now about three generations removed, four generations removed almost, you know, I have kids and it was their greatgrandparents who were in their 20s when they were listening to this stuff. … My kids certainly have a connection to this orchestra because it’s what their dad does, but most people are not born into this or teaching their kids about it. So I want the people that come to our shows and have never heard this to feel or hear something that’s a little truer to the way that it was originally.”

Approximately 75 percent of the band’s current set lists come from the songs the original orchestra played, Hilscher said, which includes hits such as “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” “Little Brown Jug,” “Tuxedo Junction,” “A String of Pearls” and “Moonlight Serenade.” The rest of the setlist is made up of era-appropriate big-band songs including songs made famous by Frank Sinatra. Since he first began singing with the orchestra 20 years ago, Hilscher said the average age of the audiences has changed.

“When I joined the band in 1998, I would say that 95 percent was World War II generation,” Hilscher said.

“Now, it’s probably 5 percent, and the majority of people are Baby Boomers and younger. I’m usually pretty surprised that we have kids who were my age when I got into this, like 10-yearolds, and they’re fans and they’re coming and they want their parents to bring them. I just think that’s pretty awesome.”

List your event in 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.

Submit your listings online at okgazette.com or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com.

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Glenn Miller Orchestra 7:30 p.m. May 10 Armstrong Auditorium 14400 S. Bryant Road, Edmond armstrongauditorium.org | 405-285-1010 $31-$71

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31

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

MOM: The woman who loves you unconditionally from birth.

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Our cakes make a lovely gift and a tasty treat!

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Package # 1 Includes: 1 ) The choice of the Ribbon Cake, The Strawberry and Banana Dream Cake or the Raspberries n Crème Cake.

2 ) Twice the amount of regular flowers including premium flowers. Premium flowers include roses, gerber daisies, tulips, hydrangeas, mums, solidago, wax flower and more.

15 person cakes add $15.00 to the regular price of the cake.

20 person cakes add $25.00 to the price of the cake.

Package #2 Includes: 1 ) 15 person cake with premium flowers and a medium flower arrangement for $110.00 2 ) 30 person cake with premium flowers and a larger flower arrangement for $150.00 Package #3 Includes: 1 ) Flower arrangement Only. Small $55.00 Large $75.00

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ARTS & CULTURE

m a r i j ua n a

Herban Mother carries many different CBD-infused products in liquid, topical, vapor, edible and other forms. | Photo Ben Luschen

Power plant

Herban Mother finds success selling CBD-infused products while keeping big plans for the future.

By Ben Luschen

Editor’s note: This article is part of a series examining cannabis and cannabinoids in Oklahoma leading up to the June 26 medical marijuana referendum.

For decades, the only reality Hector Najar knew was one with unrelenting back pain. The first time he felt any kind of relief from the degenerative disc disease and chronic arthritis in his back and neck was on a visit to the High Times Cannabis Cup festival in California.

A vendor approached Najar and asked him where he hurt. Najar, a United States Air Force veteran, told him all over his back and all the time.

The vendor sprayed cannabidiol — or CBD oil — solution on his back, and within 15 seconds, Najar felt total relief.

“I bought a bottle of that, and I brought it home,” Najar said. “I hoarded that; I needed it. And my products do the same thing today.”

With his wife Mary, Najar owns Herban Mother, a Paseo Arts District shop at 607 NW 28th St. that sells CBD-infused oral, topical and vapor products. CBD, a compound found in cannabis, is often used for pain relief and other health-related issues.

Current Oklahoma law permits the sale of CBD products, which do not get users high. Voters will hit the polls June 26 to decide on State Question 788, which would allow the full legalization of medical marijuana and products that include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound that gets marijuana users high but is also used for health and medicinal purposes.

Through a process some call the entourage effect, the healing properties of CBD products are said to be enhanced through the presence of THC — particularly when treating inflammation.

THC also has several uses that are distinct from CBD. There is a lack of federal research on

the health claims attributed to CBD products, but Najar has read international studies on the compound’s healing properties and could not be any more sold on its legitimacy. He claims that use of his own CBD products have totally eliminated his chronic back pain and have led to him canceling scheduled surgeries. He also regularly sees the effect his products have on customers.

“We see people that come in here who have been in pain for over a decade and they’re on a cocktail of pharmaceuticals for pain management,” he said. “They look me in the eye and say, ‘It doesn’t work.’ And when they use my product, they say it works.”

Najar said a look at his store’s clientele, which includes many elderly, veteran and blue-collar patrons looking for relief, could erase suspicions about the use of his products.

It’s time to give cannabis its due diligence.

Hector Najar “I don’t have 20-year-olds coming in here on Friday nights saying, ‘Hey, it’s Friday night; we want to get high!’” he said. “Ain’t nobody getting high here.

Our customer base is sick and needs help. I am here to help; I am not here to get you high or stoned.”

Lifestyle change

Six years ago, the Najars were practically living out of a suitcase. Hector worked for AT&T, setting up broadband networks around the country. They travelled everywhere, and the vast majority of their meals were either from sit-down restaurants or fast-food drive-thrus.

However, Mary became sick. She was diagnosed with several digestive conditions, including gluten intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome. One day, her pain was so bad that she was rushed to a hospital emergency room, where a doctor suggested that she make some significant changes to her diet.

From that day on, the Najars were devoted to changing their lifestyle. They started growing their own food at home.

Within six months of changing their diet, Hector lost 150 pounds and Mary lost 125.

The couple grew so much produce that they began selling it at various local farmers markets under the name Herban Gardens. They made so much from selling fruit and vegetables that Hector quit his AT&T job. He began attending Platt College, hoping to one day become a chef and own his own restaurant.

The Najars soon became aware of how seasonally dependent their source of income was, though.

“Summers went great selling our produce,” Hector said. “Winters, not so much.”

As a full-time student, Hector Najar did not have time for another job. As an alternative to selling produce, Mary, a licensed esthetician, began extracting essential oils from their culinary herbs for use in a new line of natural skincare products the couple began selling as rebranded Herban Mother at a Farmers Public Market booth at 311 S. Klein Ave. Their formulations were designed to soothe the pain of skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, and customers loved them. Hector said it was always his goal to incorporate CBD into the products. CBD was first made legal in Oklahoma in 2015, with the list of allowable products expanded in late 2017.

Fast growth

Shortly after Herban Mother began selling CBD-infused products in December 2016, it contracted with Can-Tek Labs as a manufacturer. Before that, the Najars made all their products by hand in their own kitchen.

With Can-Tek’s assistance and the opening of Herban Mother’s online store, business was booming. Hector said their Farmers Public Market booth was only open for a few hours on Saturday, but that was all they needed to pay all their bills.

“I would come home and my phone would not stop ringing,” he said. “We saw a demand for this product. Even when we came home on a Saturday afternoon, my phone would just continue to ring.”

Business was going so well that Najar told his wife that he thought it was time to expand into a brick-and-mortar.

Najar applied the business training he received from Platt College to opening Herban Mother’s Paseo storefront in November 2017.

The Najars pawned and sold nearly all their valuable possessions to afford

Herban Mother co-owner Hector Najar opened his Paseo Arts District brick-and-mortar location in November 2017. | Photo Ben Luschen

their permanent location. It was a risky move, but it paid off. Herban Mother has never taken out a loan and is planning to open up a second location in The Village by the end of the month.

Past time

Najar’s mother died of a glioblastoma brain tumor. After her death, Najar read several international studies indicating that CBD and THC might be useful for treatment of the tumor. The method is not Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested or approved and, therefore, not legal in the U.S. The storeowner feels the government is egregiously behind on its research for CBD and THC’s effect on major diseases like cancer.

“It’s time to give cannabis its due diligence,” he said. “Let’s start doing the necessary research so we can get this to the people that need it.”

If SQ788 does pass, Herban Mother will begin selling THC-infused products while continuing to offer CBD-only options to those who prefer them. It is Najar’s goal to eventually open up a dispensary, though he said such a move would become unnecessary if recreational marijuana becomes a federal reality.

Najar will wait until he has a pulse on national momentum toward recreational legalization before taking any steps toward evolving his business. But regardless, an approved SQ788 will mean THC products will be sold at Herban Mother.

“The bottom line is our product works without the THC,” he said. “But when we do introduce the THC, it is going to bring about that synergetic effect and it is going to make it that much more beneficial.”

Visit herbangardensllc.com.

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ARTS & CULTURE

commu n it y

Friday’s event in Calle Dos Cinco features a salsa tasting competition, a traditional Mexican dress show, food trucks and vendors. | Photo Calle Dos Cinco / provided

Dos celebraciones Oklahoma City is home to two Cinco de Mayo festivals this year. By Jeremy Martin

On May 5, 1862, an army of about 2,000 volunteers successfully defended the besieged Mexican city of Puebla from an invading French force three times their size. Cinco de Mayo celebrations honor the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, but local organizers faced a battle of their own planning this year’s celebration.

Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads, which hosted past years’ festivals, closed in October, and Robert Ruiz, president of Scissortail Community Development Corporation, said the event’s planners were forced to find a new venue for the celebration with just a few months’ notice.

“These festivals have been going on for so long that they’ve become a tradition,” Ruiz said, “and the Hispanic community really has come to expect these opportunities to be able to share in tradition and culture. So it was definitely something we felt a high urgency to continue. So the next question became, ‘Where can we find a new home that could be a stable place, a place that we can reestablish these events and look to the long term?’ That was a process.

It was quite a long process in such a short timeframe, too.”

Organizers considered many loca-

34

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tions before deciding to partner with the City of Oklahoma City to hold this year’s celebration in Wiley Post Park on Sunday. Ruiz said the new arrangement is a three-way partnership between Scissortail CDC, the city’s parks department and Sister Cities OKC. One of Oklahoma City’s sister cities is Puebla, Mexico, a relationship Ruiz said could help OKC have “the most official Cinco de Mayo festival in the United States.”

“We are the only city in the whole country that has that relationship with Puebla, Mexico,” Ruiz said. “A lot of times, we’ll bring delegates or consult with people in Puebla. We definitely have visions of growing, bringing more people up from Puebla, not just delegates or representatives from the municipality, but also artists, musicians, dancers, culinary artists. … The hope, too, is that as we grow the festival we’ll be able to bring up some traditional elements of their celebration in Puebla to Oklahoma City, where there almost might be a kind of simultaneous mirror celebration in both municipalities.

It’s going to take a little while to get there, but I really think it would be a unique experience, not only for people in Oklahoma but people from the entire region.”

Ruiz said the celebration’s organizers might be unable to bring in delegates from Puebla this year because the search for a new venue left them less time to secure funding for the festival.

“The challenge was it was such a short time frame that we didn’t get to do our usual lead-up with sponsors and all these other things, but we’ve been very grateful because a lot of people have stepped up very quickly to support the event,” Ruiz said. “We have to underwrite the event because it’s a free community event, so it depends hugely on the participation of sponsors and on people not only supporting the event but understanding the vision of what it can be and helping it in its growth.”

This year’s sponsors include Tinker Federal Credit Union, Alterra Home Loans, Supermercados Morelos, Burritos Tin-Tan, Mexican Cultural and Humanities Association of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Latino Cultural Center.

Updated park policies will allow vendors to serve 3.2 percent-alcohol beer to adult festivalgoers. Outside food and drinks will not be permitted, but vendors will be selling many items on-site. Parking is available across the street, and festivalgoers are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. Based on past festivals, Ruiz predicted that between 15,000 and 20,000 people will attend the celebration.

“I really love the Wiley Post venue because I think it will be a friendly venue for people from all over Oklahoma City to come and maybe experience something that they haven’t experienced before and maybe get a little bit of perspective,” Ruiz said. “The other reason we do these festivals for this community is that we’ve seen all around the country where Hispanic communities that have grown very quickly tend to have kind of a negative outcome when the kids grow up very culturally assimilated, they lose connections with cultures and traditions, and so there’s this gap that gets created between them and their parents that can lead to bad outcomes. As a community development corporation, it’s very important for

us to maintain those strong ties, and one aspect of that is being able to have shared experiences and be able to relate with each other through culture and those traditions.”

Visit facebook.com/scissortailcdc.

Calle Dos Cinco

Anyone looking to start celebrating earlier is also invited to the fourth annual Cinco de Mayo celebration at Calle Dos Cinco in Historic Capitol Hill, beginning 6 p.m. Friday. The free event includes a salsa-tasting competition ($25 to enter with proceeds benefitting the League of United Latin American Citizens Student Council), a traditional Mexican dress fashion show and kids’ activities. The band Conjunto SinLey is scheduled to perform, and a mural by local artist Sergio “Tank” Ramirez will be unveiled. Food trucks and art and clothing vendors will be on-site.

Promotions coordinator Miriam Ortega said her favorite part of the festivities is the fashion show because it connects many generations.

“You get to see people of all ages,” Ortega said. “We do have a 1-year-old signed up to showcase a dress this year, so I’m excited to see her in a stroller with her parents and just how they take pride into that and showcase it to the community and the people that you see everyday, people that you meet every day come and be part of this, to come together to celebrate this cultural event.”

Visit historiccapitolhill.com.

Cinco de Mayo en Calle Dos Cinco 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday Calle Dos Cinco in Historic Capitol Hill 319 SW 25th St. historiccapitolhill.com | 405-632-0133 Free

OKC Cinco de Mayo 2018 1-10 p.m. Sunday Wiley Post Park 2021 S. Robinson Ave. facebook.com/scissortailcdc Free

calendar are events recommended

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

Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com.

FRI-SUN

Happenings 2018 Most Endangered Places Unveiling a reception that highlights the need to protect Oklahoma’s historic treasures and support the mission of Preservation Oklahoma, 5:30-7 p.m. May 7. The Douglass at Page Woodson, 600 N. High Ave., 405601-1989, preservationok.org. MON 2018 Parish Festival features live music entertainment, bingo, gift shops, Louisiana-style crawfish, seafood, drinks, varieties of Vietnamese American food menus, games for children and more, 3 p.m.-1 a.m. May 4, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. May 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. May 6. Free admission. Saint Andrew Dung-Lac Catholic Church, 3115 SW 59th St., 405-922-8487, archokc. org. FRI-SUN Ask A Lawyer Day Oklahoma Bar Association offers free legal advice to the public, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. May 3. 800-456-8525, okbar.org. THU Cocktail Cruise this evening offers stunning views of the downtown skyline with cocktails; all ages are welcome, 8 p.m. $20 adults and $15 seniors and children 12 and under. Regatta Park Landing, 701 S. Lincoln Blvd., 405-702-7755, okrivercruises.com/ specialty-cruises. FRI-SAT The Cowboys of Color Rodeo a one-day event bringing together a diverse competition of rodeo, 5-9 p.m. May 5. Oklahoma State Fair Park, 3220 Great Plains Walk, 405-948-6700, okstatefair.com. SAT

First Friday Gallery Walk Come on out to The Paseo Arts District’s First Friday Gallery Walk with over 20 galleries and 80 artists. This month’s walk features an opening reception for the exhibit Hardline featuring works by Jason Wilson accompanied by live music by folk duo Casey & Minna and food trucks galore. The walk is 6-10 p.m.

Friday in the Paseo Arts District, 3022 Paseo St. Call 405-525-2688 or visit thepaseo.org. FRIDAY Photo Paseo Arts Association/provided

Books John Bramblitt a lecture and book signing with internationally acclaimed artist and author John Bramblitt, 11 a.m.-noon May 5. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT Mother’s Day Book Club celebrate Mother’s Day by reading Tell Me More and discussing it with our moms, 7-9 p.m. May 9. Commonplace Books, 1325 N. Walker Ave., 405-534-4540, commonplacebooksokc. com. WED

Dancing in the Gardens join instructors from Clips n Hips for salsa lessons with music by D.J. Red Handed, food and drink, 7-10 p.m. May 4. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com. FRI An Evening to Remember: A Night of Stars an evening of food, entertainment and imagination benefitting CASA of Oklahoma County, 6-8 p.m.

May 4. 75.00. Aloft Hotel Downtown-Bricktown, 209 N. Walnut Ave., 405-713-6456, okcountycasa.org/ etr/. FRI Irrigation and Water Conservation Workshop get inspiration for your garden and learn about outdoor Oklahoma plants, 10 a.m.-noon May 5. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/. SAT Living History Performance: Abraham Lincoln a history of the 16th president who came from a log cabin and ended up in the White House, 10:30-11:30 a.m. May 8. Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, 620 N. Harvey Ave., 405-235-3313, oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org. TUE Media Mixer an evening of culture and culinary arts with sushi chef and teacher Matt Joplin discussing his personal experience in the culinary field, 7-9 p.m.

May 3. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. THU Meet Me at Main bring your lawn chairs and appetite for an evening of trucks, vendors, music and beer, 6-10 p.m. May 4. Free to enter. Events at 10 West Main, 10 W. Main St. Suite 135, 405-494-9504, eventsat10westmain.com. FRI OKC Garden Fest 2018 features herbs, perennials, annuals, native plants and more with activities

Film

Security is Not Possible: The Human Element a cyber security conference covering the need to adapt business strategy to protect sensitive business and personal information, 9:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. May 3.

Hilton Garden Inn, 2809 Northwest Expressway. THU The Washington Color Painters and the Legacy of Paul Reed a panel discussion with Jean Reed Roberts and Deedee Wigmore exploring a group of artists active in Washington D.C. in the 1950s and 1960s, 6 p.m. May 2. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. WED

Food Bend & Brews: Beer Yoga join This Land Yoga for one hour of beers, beermosas and yoga of all levels, 11 a.m. Sunday. Stonecloud Brewing Co., 1012 NW First St., stonecloudbrewing.com. SUN Broadway & Brew sample beers from local breweries and enjoy food from local restaurants with a preview of Lyric Theatre’s upcoming season, 7-11 p.m. May 4. Boathouse District, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd., 405-552-4040, broadwayandbrew.com. FRI 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 Nov. 13. Fassler Hall, 421 NW 10th St., 405-609-3300, fasslerhall. com. TUE Turkish Cooking Classes learn new recipes, meal ideas and creative cooking tips with people who love to cook, 2 p.m.

May 5. Raindrop Turkish House, 4444 N. Classen Blvd., 405-702-0222, raindropturkishhouse.org. SAT Wednesday Night Trivia put your thinking cap on for a night of trivia, beer and prizes with Geeks Who Drink, 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Anthem Brewing Company, 908 SW Fourth St., 405-604-0446, anthembrewing.com. WED

Youth Art Adventures Bring your young artists ages 3-5 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., 405325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE Drop-In Art: Springtime Collographs open to all ages to learn about the art of collograph printing from Teaching Artist Erin Latham, 1-4 p.m. May 5.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT

Painting in the Gardens: Folky Friday celebrate Cinco de Mayo by paying homage to Frida Kahlo with painting, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. May 5. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/. SAT

Coco (2017, USA, Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina), an animated comedy following musician Miguel as he travels to the Land of the Dead, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

May 5. Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405-7086937, towertheatreokc.com. SAT

Saturdays for Kids: Cowboy Cooking explore Dutch oven cooking in the 21st century and make your own cowboy apron to take home, 10 a.m.-noon May 5. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. SAT

Ismael’s Ghosts (2017, France, Arnaud Desplechin), a filmmaker struggles with his new screenplay when a former lover shows up, 8 p.m. May 3.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU

Zama (2017, Argentina, Lucrecia Martel), a period piece about a loyal officer of the Spanish crown awaiting his transfer to Buenos Aires, 5:30 p.m. May 4 and 6, 8:30 p.m. May 5. Oklahoma City Museum of

River Tours (Narrated) this fully narrated tour also offers a fun and informative look at historic and contemporary landmarks along the Oklahoma River, 6-7:30 p.m. $15-$20. Regatta Park Landing, 701 S. Lincoln Blvd., 405-702-7755, okrivercruises.com/ specialty-cruises. SAT

Little Sapling Series an hour of songs, games, and interactive nature fun for toddlers to learn about the world of gardens, 10-11 a.m. Tuesday. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/. TUE

WED

The Sacrifice (1986, Sweden, Andrei Tarkovsky), an award-winning film about faith, familial love and personal commitment set on beautiful islands on Sweden’s southern coast, 8 p.m. May 4 and 5:30 p.m.

May 5. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI-SAT

Rhythm Restoration Food Drive donate groceries to help fill the shelves of Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, through May 11. Caliber Collision, 8216 Northwest Expressway, 405-621-1613, calibercollision. com. THU-FRI

Explore It! get your questions answered about what, why and how about the natural world we live in, 11:30 a.m,-noon Saturdays. Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., 405-325-4712, snomnh. ou.edu. SAT

Reading Wednesdays a story time with naturethemed books along with an interactive song and craft-making, 10 a.m. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. through Aug. 1. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com.

Mysterious Object at Noon (2000, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul), the director’s debut, a hybrid of documentary and fiction interviewing local residents in the Thai countryside, 5:30 p.m. May 3. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU

for children and demonstrations about gardens, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. May 5. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com. SAT

Sonic Free Family Day Take the family on a free visit to Oklahoma City Museum of Art with the theme Shape, Color and Pop! Enjoy music by Sugar Free Allstars, create art and explore the galleries. The fun-filled day runs noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the museum, 415 Couch Drive. Call 405-236-3100 or visit okcmoa.org. SUNDAY Photo Oklahoma City

Summer Camp Contemporary keep kids creative and learning in camps featuring visual arts, music, hip-hop, fiber, clay, performance, robotics and more, through August 10. $100-$215 per camp. Go green and save $5 by enrolling online., MondaysFridays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. through Aug. 10. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org WED-FRI

Performing Arts Alice in Wonderland travel down the rabbit hole into Lewis Carroll’s classic works, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 8 p.m. May 4 and 3 p.m. May 5 University Theatre, 500 W. Boyd St., 405-325-4101, theatre.ou.edu. FRI-SAT

El Reno Burger Day Festival This annual festival features a car and motorcycle show, games, rides, food, beer, wine and an 850-pound fried onion burger. Live music will be played by Dalton Cyr, Jason Young and A Thousand Horses. The festival is 5:30-10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at El Reno Main Street, 119 S. Rock Island Ave., in El Reno.

Tickets are free-$10. Call 405-2628888 or visit elrenoburgerday.com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY Photo bigstock.com

Always a Bridesmaid a comedy follows four friends from their early years to and their four weddings, 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2:30 p.m.

Sundays. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave. THU-SUN

The Little Mermaid this performance is reimagining the classic tale of a young mermaid who dreams of living above the waves, through May 5., Through May 5. The Pollard Theatre, 120 W. Harrison Ave., 405-282-2800, thepollard.org. FRI-SAT The Music of ABBA features hits such as “Waterloo,” “Mamma Mia,” “Take a Chance on Me” and more performed by Arrival from Sweden, 8 p.m. May 4-5.

Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-2972264, okcciviccenter.com. FRI-SAT

Active AutismOklahoma PieceWalk & 5K support the thousands of local individuals and families impacted by autism, 8 a.m.-noon May 5. Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S Mickey Mantle Drive, 405-218-1000, okcballparkevents.com. SAT Barre3 in the Gardens a free outdoor fitness class mixing athleticism, grace and the latest innovations designed to balance the body, 7-8 p.m. May 7. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/. MON Beer + Yoga bring your mat for some yoga with Fusion Fitness and get your first beer free, 2 p.m.

Saturday. Lazy Circles Brewing, 422 E. Main St., 405310-5364, lazycirclesbrewing.com. SAT Edmond Family Bike Ride get the family together and bring your bikes for a day outside getting active, 1-5 p.m. May 6.

Arcadia Lake, 9000 E. Second St., 405-517-2909, edmondok.com/parks. 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, Through Dec. 31. Lighthouse Fitness (Front), 3333 W. Hefner, 405-845-5672, marlinswimamerica.com. SAT-TUE Yoga in the Gardens bring your mat for an all-levels class with Lisa Woodard from This Land yoga, 5:45 p.m. Tuesdays, through Sept. 11. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405.445.7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com. TUE Yoga with Art Relax and stretch in contemporary art-filled spaces with yoga instructed by This Land Yoga, 10 a.m. Saturdays. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. SAT

Visual Arts Apichatpong Weerasethakul: The Serenity of Madness features films by award-winning artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul who was born in Thailand and earned a master of fine arts degree in Chicago., Through June 10. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com.

Museum of Art/provided

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | m ay 2 , 2 0 1 8

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Tell him you’re not involved, you’ve Evolved patriciasgiftshop.com

CALENDAR John Bramblitt Family Workshop open to those with vision impairment or are blind to enjoy painting activities and tours of exhibits, 2-4 p.m.

May 5. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT Letting Go of the Wheel introduces a new artist from Weatherford, Texas, Carolyn Bernard Young, a registered Choctaw artist featuring sculptural and hand-built vessels. CMG Art Gallery, 1104 NW 30 Street, 405-808-5005, cmgartgallery.com.

Beats & Bites Listen to live country music by Stillwater-band Jason Boland & The Stragglers. The outdoor evening includes food trucks, vendors and more. The event is 6-11 p.m. May 12 at Riverwind Casino, 1544 Highway 9, in Norman. Call 405-322-6000 or visit riverwind.com. MAY 12 Photo Koch Communications/provided

lingerie • adult toys • BdsM & Fetish iteMs • lotions • novelty giFts & cards 615 e. MeMorial, oKc • 405-755-8600

8009 W. reno, oKc • 405-792-2020

Chromatic Ritual features paintings and fused glass creations by Fringe: Women Artists of Oklahoma with a portion of sales to The Homeless Alliance, March 29-June 1. (fringeokc.com), Through June 1. Verbode, 415 N. Broadway Ave., 405-7577001, verbodegroup.com. THU-FRI 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.

Dylan Bradway graphic designer and co-owner of DNA Galleries displays his artwork, Through May 6. DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16th St., 405-525-3499, dnagalleries.com.

FRi, May 4

Kyle Reid & the low Swinging ChaRiotS FRi, May 11 JohN calviN abNEy

FRi, May 18 bEau JENNiNgs & ThE TigErs

The Experimental Geography Studio University of Oklahoma professor Nicholas Bauch and his Digital Geo-Humanities class combine new media art with scholarship in geography. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 Pershing Blvd., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

Hardline perceptual artist Jason Wilson uses inspiration from his grandmothers’ quilts. Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo St., 405-525-2688, thepaseo.com.

FRi, May 25 saMaNTha craiN

Life and Legacy: The Art of Jerome Tiger One of Oklahoma’s most celebrated artists, Jerome Tiger, produced hundreds of works of art and won numerous awards throughout the country. Celebrate the life and legacy of this remarkable painter, Through May 13. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.

The New Art: A Milestone Collection Fifty Years Later Features 52 works including paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings; it is a collection that has shaped the museum and Oklahoma in the art world, Through May 13. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com.

Optical Delusions Hilary Black Waltrip’s exhibit that displays the interplay of technique and expression combined elegantly to lead the viewer through a spiritual journey, Through May 5. Sandalwood & Sage, 322 E. Main St., 405-366-7243.

OU School of Visual Arts Student Exhibition features student works in multiple mediums, including photography, drawing, video, sculpture and painting, Through May 13. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Photoproxy Oklahoma artist Jordan Vinyard uses performers by situating them as caricatures of humans interacting with technology to examine current culture and human behavior, Through May 13. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org.

Rose State: Images of Community students in Rose State Community College’s art history program curate an exhibition of photos sourced from their communities. Free. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-9510000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

Seasons on the Prairie features the vibrant watercolors of Oklahoma City artist Deborah Burian known for her unconventional florals, May 4-29.

Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-6017474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Sportopia Paul W. Waddell looks at Oklahoma’s sports culture and its contributions on art culture and the community, Through May 13. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org.

Strange Creatures: The Feature Films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul offers a deeper understanding of Apichatpong’s unique, interconnected cinematic worlds and a fuller appreciation for his multi-media artistry, May 3-31. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-2363100, okcmoa.com.

Transitions features graffiti and street art that celebrates Native American culture by artists Yatika Starr Fields, Hoka Skenadore and Josh Johnico, Through June 30. Exhibit C, 1 E. Sheridan Ave., 405767-8900, exhibitcgallery.com.

broughT To you iN parT by

okczoo.org | 2101 NE 50th okc | Every Friday in May! 5:30-8:30pm

Welcome Home: Oklahomans and the War in Vietnam explores the impact of the war on Oklahoma families as well as the stories of Vietnames families relocated to Oklahoma, Through Nov. 6, 2019. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org/historycenter.

Yerma The last National Theatre Live production of the season, Yerma is set in London and stars Billie Piper as a woman who wants nothing more than to have a child of her own. Enjoy this encore presentation pre-recorded and rebroadcast in high-definition. The screening is 6 p.m. Sunday at Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater at Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May Ave. Tickets are $15. Call 405-682-7579 or visit tickets.occc.edu.

SUNDAY Photo Oklahoma City Community

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.

For okg live music

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M ay 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

EVENT

MUSIC

Deeply rooted

Country singer-songwriter Mallory Eagle sets a release show for Red Dirt Home. By Ben Luschen

The title of country singer-songwriter Mallory Eagle’s debut album, Red Dirt Home, could be taken as a clear nod to the famously iron-stained soil of her home state. And, of course, it is that.

But Red Dirt Home, which was officially released in February, and its album-opening title track were also written with a more particular place in mind. Tucked away in rural Weatherford are several dozen acres of land that have been in Eagle’s family for generations.

Her cousins have a big, beautiful farmhouse there, and the land is also where she keeps Misty, her cute but stubborn American Paint Horse.

The land is marked by breathtaking hills, a miniature canyon and plenty of wooded areas to explore.

“Even though I never met my greatgrandparents, this was their land,” Eagle said. “I feel a presence of their spirit, and it’s a warm feeling.”

Her connection to the land and her family was a powerful muse in the early stages of writing the album. Though Red Dirt Home was released almost three months ago, it finally gets an album release show 9 p.m. May 10 at Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St. Guitarist and singer-songwriter Adam Duran opens the concert. Tickets are $10-$12.

The wide-open landscape plays perfectly with Eagle’s traditional country sound and the introspective lyrics found on her debut. Her dad, visual artist and illustrator Cameron Eagle, would play a lot of bluegrass and classic country around the house when she was growing up. Many photos of Eagle as a baby or young child are in cowboy hats and overalls. She remembers her family taking many trips to historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa and watching her mother and father two-step.

All of that has played a role in the artist Eagle is today.

“I think it’s just years and years of having that around me that just rubbed off,” she said. “But I put my own sound to it. I want it to be as organic as possible.”

Eagle said it is not her goal to replicate any one kind of sound. Rather, her music is a reflection of what’s in her heart.

“I could be making a jazz album,” she said. “It’s whatever comes straight from the heart. I want people to feel something.”

Eagle wanted her first album to be a reflection of who she is and from where she comes. Oklahoma is an indelible part of that identity.

“Red dirt is in your blood,” she said.

“If you’re from here, Oklahoma is always home, no matter where you go. And when you meet other Oklahomans outside of

here, you have an instant connection.”

Musical upbringing

Eagle’s dad took her to Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival every year growing up, even before she was born.

“I was literally listening in the womb,” Eagle said. “Banjo was a part of my heartbeat.”

In school, Eagle was always involved in vocal and choir classes. For several years, she even competed in a youth opera program.

“They were always commenting about how I had an Oklahoma accent in my German aria,” she said. “I was like, ‘Well, I don’t really know if I can iron that out, but we’ll try.’”

That early operatic training still comes in handy today. Eagle said the competitions taught her a lot about breathing and control. She does not have a problem with vocal reach.

“I can just belt something no problem and it doesn’t hurt at all,” she said.

Despite her early interest in classical music, Eagle’s musical goal was always in other areas. In high school, she joined the bluegrass band Cimarron Station as a vocalist. They played her first paid gig when she was 17, and since then, she has been hooked on the idea of professional musicianship.

“I was like, ‘Oh, OK. This could be a thing for me,’” she said.

Red dirt is in your blood. If you’re from here, Oklahoma is always home, no matter where you go.

Mallory Eagle

Starting strong

Last year, Eagle graduated with an associate’s degree from the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma (ACM@UCO). She also recorded Red Dirt Home in the school’s second-floor recording studio with production help from Caleb Earl Gray.

Much of the album was written and recorded while Eagle was planning a move to Nashville to attend another music school and find a nesting place in the country music hotbed. Red Dirt Home was intended to be her musical foot in the door of the new city. She was scheduled to move before the album would be totally finished, but things did not turn out the way she planned and her move was postponed.

“The school didn’t work out for me, so I stayed and finished it through all the mastering and everything,” she said.

“I’m really glad I did that because I really got to play it all out.”

Amazingly, considering the quality of her debut, Eagle did not have much proper guitar or songwriting experience before her time at ACM. But an innate musical desire pushed her to quickly learn.

Red Dirt Home has a classic country sound, but Eagle’s lyrics come from a youthful perspective. There are moments of sass, like on “No Cash” and “Cheers to the Bottle,” but also moments of self-aware reflection and angst.

The first song Eagle wrote for the album was “Beauty or Beast,” a crossroads song that came after a fight the songwriter had with her parents. Eagle was living at home at the time and, as she now admits, was not treating them well or with the respect she would others.

“My mom said something to me about, ‘You need to figure out who you are,’” she said.

Eagle remembers immediately going to her room and tearfully writing out the song, plucking at her guitar. At the time, she was not even sure which chords she was playing.

Though Red Dirt Home was released a few months ago, Eagle thinks it is an ideal time to hold a release show.

“It’s given time for people to listen and digest,” she said. “Now they might know the songs a little better when they come.”

Mallory Eagle | Photo Parker Slack / provided

Forever home

Eagle’s original Nashville plans might be derailed, but the country mecca is still in her future. She plans on moving to the city this summer, with her album release show functioning as a prelude to her eventual goodbye.

The coming move has given new meaning to Red Dirt Home. While Eagle might be physically moving, she will never be able to leave her home state behind.

“I almost get a little emotional about it,” she said. “I do love it out here, but of course, I have to go out and chase other opportunities and see what can happen.

But I always have this to come back to, and that’s a really reassuring feeling.”

No matter where music takes Eagle, she plans on taking a proverbial piece of red soil with her.

“There is something special about Oklahoma,” she said. “There’s so much talent, and it’s such a beautiful state.”

Mallory Eagle album release show 9 p.m. May 10 Tower Theatre 425 NW 23rd St. towertheatreokc.com | 405-708-6937 $10-$12 21+

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8

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OKC’s Newest NightClub & lOuNge thur-sat 8pm tO 2am

LIVE MUSIC May 3rd

Drive

May 10th

replay May 17th

avenue

May 24th

Stars

May 31st

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Happy HoUr Check out our FB or website for details CoMIng 12000 North may ave. OKC, OK In May 73120 the shoppes at Northpark SMokE-frEE! 38

M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

F E AT U R E

MUSIC

Nuclear option

Tyson Meade takes a detour into the political arena following the release of his newest solo album. By Ben Luschen

He is often called the godfather of alternative rock music, but if a few things go in his favor this year, Tyson Meade could soon be called something very different: United States Congressman.

In April, Meade — most known as frontman of the late-1980s and ’90s bands Defenestration and Chainsaw Kittens, which have been cited as influences to seminal groups like The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana — officially filed as a Democrat to run against Republican incumbent Steve Russell for the seat in Oklahoma’s Fifth Congressional District. Meade is one of five Democrats vying to run against Russell, including Elysabeth Britt, Tom Guild, Kendra Horn and Eddie Porter.

A primary election will be held June 26. The general election is Nov. 6.

Meade’s surprising candidacy in the district came right around the vinyl release of his newest solo album Robbing the Nuclear Family, which is the follow-up to 2014’s Tomorrow in Progress. Prior to that, Meade was on musical hiatus for a decade while teaching English in China.

Robbing the Nuclear Family made its debut in record shops as an official Record Store Day release and will be made available on digital formats at a later date.

Needless to say, 2018 is stacking up as a busy year for Meade. Oklahoma Gazette

recently caught up with the musician to talk about his newest release and his decision to pursue political office.

Oklahoma Gazette: When did you begin working on the album?

Tyson Meade: Usually, when I have enough songs for an album — give or take a few — I would just stop writing and focus on the release. But I was still in China when I finished [my last album]. I just kept writing songs, and they weren’t far enough along to be on Tomorrow in Progress. Half of [Robbing the Nuclear Family] I wrote during that time. This switch just sort of went off in my head after not making music for so long. So I started working on it five or six years ago, but I put those songs aside. But when I started working on this album later, I knew those songs would become the cornerpieces of it.

There are a lot of songs about how I really hadn’t found home yet. In China, I was still trying to figure out where my home was and if I had a home. Leaving the United States for basically 10 years and then coming back, it was like my home had changed so much and I had to go through this culture shock or aligning myself to the culture that I had left.

It’s odd that I’m in the political arena now because the new record is so universally political. There were a lot of

Tyson Meade | Photo Gazette / file

things happening at the time with rights to same-sex marriage and all of that. At the time, it was like this new dawn of equality that I don’t think we had seen since the ancient Greeks or something.

OKG: Universally political is a good way of putting it. The album is not totally political, but there are a lot of political elements to it.

Meade: Yeah. A lot of it is looking at myself politically and finding out what do I believe. I don’t know if it really comes across on the album, but it’s about trying to understand the opposing view as well. A lot of my family is very aligned with Trump America, and I try to understand that viewpoint and it’s really hard. They’re like, ‘Well, we don’t like everything he does, but we’re completely behind him.’ I’m like, ‘Why?’ OKG: What does the album title Robbing the Nuclear Family mean?

Meade: A friend and I were talking about some of my dangerous liaisons of sorts. I was telling him how things seemed to go with me romantically, or however you want to say it. He said, ‘You’re not robbing the cradle; you’re robbing the nuclear family!’ I thought it was a brilliant term, and I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to write a song around that.’ And then also it’s my whole political stance, sort of tongue-in-cheek.

The other side sees anyone who’s not man and wife, they see them as, ‘They’re going to come and rob our home and make our husbands homosexual.’ It’s this ludicrous argument, and you can’t argue with them because they really believe that as fact.

I know a lot of people who want to move forward and be a more progressive state.

Tyson Meade OKG: You said you wrote a lot of these songs five or so years ago. But the world has changed a lot since then.

Meade: Exactly. And in Oklahoma, you get this bird’s-eye view of the change.

I love Oklahoma and I love the people in Oklahoma, but I know a lot of people who want to move forward and be a more progressive state. There are people who are afraid of progress and want to hold it back, as we’ve seen from Mary Fallin and the [state] legislators.

OKG: When did you first think of running for U.S. Congress?

Meade: I just saw the teachers organizing and taking a stand. You could say, ‘Oh, well, they lost,’ but in the big picture, they didn’t because I feel like they got people’s attention. Now people like me and more people have registered for office than in

many years. But seeing this educated group of people and all they want to do is help children and raise the future — shame on Mary Fallin and the legislators for marginalizing them. First, it got me angry, and then I thought, ‘Well, I can do something.’ Then I was presented with the idea of running for Congress. Some people were like, ‘Well, why don’t you run at a local level instead of a national level?’ And my response is that this is national and I’m a national artist. Once we get past primaries, I’ve already got people across the country ready to pick up the fight. I know we can make this a massive campaign. I’m the face of it, but everyone not being represented is the voice. I’m the servant and the messenger.

OKG: Could you have ever imagined in your Chainsaw Kittens days that you would be running for national office?

Meade: I couldn’t have even imagined it a month ago. No; never. But it’s one of those things where my heart won’t give me a choice. My heart is telling me, ‘You have to do this. If you don’t do this, you’re as bad as the opposite side because you’re not taking a stand and just letting your home state suffer.’ As you know, all the people here have been so good to me. I feel like I owe the people something and it’s just me trying to figure out a way to do something good.

OKG: Has there been anyone who told you that you shouldn’t use your celebrity to try and get into office?

Meade: No one has said that to me because I think everyone knows that I’m coming from a pure heart, like I’ve always done with my music. The Kittens, we were always that band on the periphery that everyone wanted to see get as big as The [Smashing] Pumpkins or The Flaming Lips, and it just didn’t happen.

It was great because I got to live and teach abroad for several years and have all these adventures I wouldn’t have had as a lifer rock ’n’ roller. Most of the people who know me know that when I do something, it’s not for any sort of real gain other than the experience of doing it. But I think that’s a valid question because I ask myself that.

OKG: Do you think this album put you in the mindset to run for office?

Meade: Yeah, I think so. Everything that’s happening around me musically and my whole environment, it all contributes to what I’m doing at the time. … Everything I do just leads to the next thing, and I never know what the next thing is. That’s the thing about my latest passion — it’s also educating me.

I’m carrying this book of the Constitution around and I’m learning a lot that I didn’t know. I feel like the selfish reason that I’m doing this is that I’m expanding my mind, more than anything. I would encourage everyone to do that, no matter what age.

Live Music Calendar 2018

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May 4-5, 2018

LIVE MUSIC

Friday Night: A Thousand Horses • Jason Young Band • Dalton Cyr Saturday: Jason Young Band • Dalton Cyr • Edgar Cruz and more!

Friday: Gates open at 5:30pm

Festival Entry: $10 in advance, $15 at the gate Kids 5 and under FREE

Saturday: 10:00am to 5:00pm Free Festival Entry

For more info and tickets visit elrenoburgerday.com

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8

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MUSIC

event

L.A. Witch | Photo Mono Photo Studio / provided

Dark art

L.A. Witch returns to Oklahoma to cast its spell on Opolis. By Ben Luschen

The members of garage rock trio L.A. Witch are known as true road warriors.

Their reverb-laden tunes filled with dark and moody 1960s and ’70s callbacks have taken them to every corner of the country and overseas multiple times — a great accomplishment considering their self-titled debut album was released just seven months ago.

This week, the band returns to Oklahoma for the first time since its album release, playing 9 p.m. Monday at Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., in Norman.

L.A. Witch is hoping its return visit to the state is not as nerve-racking as the last.

“We thought we were going to die,” said Sade Sanchez, the band’s guitarist and charmed vocalist.

Though L.A. Witch has been lucky enough to see much of the world through mu sic , t he L.A. Witch’s selftitled debut album | Image provided 40

M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Southern California natives got their first taste of Oklahoma tornado season during a visit to Norman last year.

Bassist Irita Pai said she had been in places where there were tornado watches issued but not actual warnings.

“This was the real thing,” Pai said.

“It touched down in the city of the gas station where we were.”

As sirens wailed outside, Sanchez was cooped up inside a bathroom stall.

She was literally sick from the stress of the nearby twister — not even well enough to pick up her phone and text friends or family about her situation.

“I got really sick, and I thought I was going to die,” Sanchez said. “I was on the bathroom floor, throwing up. I was like, ‘Damn, this sucks! I’m going to get sucked by a tornado, and I feel like shit.’”

Luckily, the tornado never ended up striking the gas station or sucking up the L.A. Witch crew.

Finding their way

Though L.A. Witch toured for around three years before releasing its debut album, the recording aspect of being a band was never on the backburner.

Drummer Ellie English said it just took a while before the band got everything right. L.A. Witch recorded its album three times before arriving at the final version.

“We were touring at the same time we were recording, so the songs would evolve on the road,” English said. “We would come home and listen to the recordings, and it was like, ‘Oh, well this song kind of changed now.’”

L.A. Witch began five years ago. Pai had been jamming with some friends and was introduced to Sanchez through them. The two formed a trio with another drummer, but when that drummer left the band, Sanchez reached out to English, who had played in bands with her previously.

Recording its almost entirely selfproduced debut while balancing a relentless tour schedule proved to be quite a challenge. Furthermore, the band imposed a very high standard for itself.

It was hard for Sanchez to not get caught up in the permanence of its first release.

“The majority of [the recording process] was really a lot of suffering and struggle because you have all this pressure on you,” she said. “It’s such a permanent thing, and you’re totally aware of that. You want to put something out that you’re going to be happy with for the rest of your life.”

For a long time, the bandmates were aiming for perfection, but as the months went by, they began to realize that music — and particularly rock music — is not ab out ac h iev i ng p er fec t ion .

Understanding that was a liberating feeling, and soon, recording turned into a more enjoyable and informative process.

Sanchez is relieved to finally have an album out and have a tangible accomplishment under the band’s belt. The debut makes the band seem more legitimate in the eyes of some listeners.

You don’t really feel like a band until you have a record.

Sade Sanchez “Obviously, there is YouTube and Spotify and stuff like that,” Sanchez said, “but really what you want is something you can hold on to and listen to on a record player.”

The album did more than increase L.A. Witch’s credibility among fans. It raised the band’s confidence in itself.

“You don’t really feel like a band until you have a record,” Sanchez said. “It’s almost like you don’t have anything to show for it.”

Diverse sound

L.A. Witch does not hide from its ’60s and ’70s garage-rock feel. Sanchez credits her parents for bringing her up around that kind of music. But while

the band might be rooted in The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath and producer Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, L.A. Witch is more than a tribute to past eras.

“A lot of people do tend to put us in that category,” Sanchez said. “We’re influenced by so many different genres of music as well, but I would say our roots as a band are definitely within that realm.”

There are a lot of psychedelic and shoegaze influences from bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre and My Bloody Valentine on the debut. The song “Untitled” carries an intriguing mix of country and psychobilly influence inspired by Jeffrey Lee Pierce. “[Pierce] came from a really blues, rock, punk kind of background,” Sanchez said. “The Gun Club (of which Pierce was the founding vocalist and guitarist) was a big influence, and that song is an example of that influence.”

Self-made story

Sanchez is noticing something different at L.A. Witch shows. Since they put out their debut record, fans have actually started singing along to their songs.

“Now you know that if people are at the show, it’s probably because they’ve heard the record before, and that must mean that they liked it,” she said. “For us, it’s kind of a little bit of confidence for the band and it’s cool to see that happening.”

L.A. Witch comes from a do-it-yourself punk mindset that still pays dividends even as it works with the successful Seattle-based Suicide Squeeze Records label. Sanchez recalls the band’s early days before they could afford to order proper shirts and merchandise. On at least one occasion, they went to a thrift store and found the cheapest possible shirts and spraypainted their own designs onto them for resale to fund their tours.

“We always found a way to make it work,” Sanchez said. “I think that is kind of the mentality you have to have when it comes to any form of art. The money is not always going to be there.

Sometimes you’re fortunate to have that, but as long as you’re passionate about it, you’re going to find a way to make it work using whatever resources you happen to have.”

L.A. Witch has worked hard to get where it is today. But it was a labor of love every step of the way.

“This band is our baby,” Sanchez said.

“It’s what we’re all really passionate about.”

Visit facebook.com/lawitches.

L.A. Witch w/ Creep City 9 p.m. Monday Opolis 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman opolis.org | 405-673-4931 $10-$12

LIVE MUSIC These are events recommended

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

Saturday, May. 5 Born in November, Bedlam Bar-B-Q. R&B Brian Jones & Misfit Cowboys, Remington Park.

COUNTRY

The Cake Eaters, Bluebonnet Bar. ROCK

Wednesday, May. 2 Blake Lankford, Bluebonnet Bar. ROCK

Dirty Red & The SoulShakers, Red Brick Bar. ROCK Kali Ra/Jarvix/Skyy Webster, Tower Theatre. ROCK

Carly Pearce/Walker Hayes/Danielle Bradberry and more, Riverwind Casino. COUNTRY

Kenaima, 89th Street Collective. METAL

The Midtown Men, Mitchell Hall Theatre. POP

Miss Brown To You, Full Circle Bookstore. JAZZ

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Newcastle Casino.

Parker Millsap, Sooner Theatre.

Thursday, May. 3

Priests/Mellow Diamond, Opolis. PUNK

BLUES

Buddy South, The Bleu Garten. COUNTRY Drive, The Liszt. COVER Rich Aucoin, The Root. INDIE Richard Shindell, The Blue Door.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Stephen Baker, Bluebonnet Bar. INSTRUMENTAL

Friday, May. 4 Brandi Reloaded, JR’s Pub & Grill. ROCK Brian Lynn Jones, Remington Park. COUNTRY The Cleverlys, Tower Theatre. BLUEGRASS David Lindley, The Blue Door. INSTRUMENTAL Jessica Tate/John Rouse, Bossa Nova Caipirinha Lounge. JAZZ John Bomboy, Bluebonnet Bar. ROCK Kent Fauss, One-52 Bar & Grill. COUNTRY Parker Millsap, Sooner Theatre.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Psychotic Reaction/Limp Wizurdz, HiLo Club. PUNK Rich Aucoin, Opolis. INDIE Steve Crossley, Louie’s Grill and Bar. R&B Tyler Lee Band, Iron Horse Bar & Grill. COVER Uncle Blue, McClintock Saloon & Chop House.

BLUES

Zach Sprowls, Full Circle Bookstore. FOLK

May 17 ApOCAlypTiCA May 18 COOp SHOWCASE May 22 FREnSHip

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Tish Hinojosa, The Blue Door. FOLK Tyler Lee Band, Iron Horse Bar & Grill. COVER Wakeland, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. ROCK

Sunday, May. 6 Direct Connect Band, Elmer’s Uptown. BLUES Elizabeth Speegle Band, Bedlam Bar-B-Q. JAZZ Hosty, The Deli. BLUES Will Payne Harrison, Red Brick Bar. COUNTRY

Monday, May. 7

May 25 AMERiCAn AquARiuM June 2 HORSE THiEF W/ JOHn CAlvin AbnEy

June 3 bluE OCTObER June 12 THE bACOn bROTHERS

Fort Defiance, JJ’s Alley Bricktown Pub. COUNTRY

June 13 SOb x RbE

Sherry/Brain In the Sky, Red Brick Bar. POP Smokepurpp/Larry June, Tower Theatre. RAP

Tuesday, May. 8 The Big News/Jerk!/Damones, Blue Note Lounge. PUNK Hosty, JJ’s Alley Bricktown Pub. BLUES

Tickets and Info TOWERTHEATREOKC.COM @towertheaterokc 405-70-TOWER | 425 NW 23rd St. OKC

Wed, May 9

Dylan STewarT thurs, May 10

clinT HarDeSTy Fri, May 11

Mike Mcclure / Dylan STewarT sat, May 12

abbigale Dawn Wed, May 16

gabe MarSHall thurs, May 17

STepHen baker Fri, May 18

eric McDaniel & caleb Mcgee sat, May 19

HOney blue Wed, May 23

cHriS lee becker thurs, May 24

clinT HarDeSTy Fri, May 25

iSSac Mcclung sat, May 26

brenT nere & aarOn SawHeb Web, May 30

TrOy alan Weekly events Mondays

Open Mic w/caleb Mcgee tuesdays

Tanner Miller 405.928.4550

LSD and the Search for God, Opolis. ROCK

Wednesday, May. 9 Black Veil Brides/Asking Alexandria/Blessthefall, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK Dylan Stewart, Bluebonnet Bar. COUNTRY Hosty, The Lobby Cafe & Bar. BLUES

fri, may 4

junior brown w/ bonnie bishop Sat, may 5

beach house w/sound of ceres tueS, may 8

scoTT bradlee's posTmodern jukebox thurS, may 10

dr. dog w/ son liTTle

mon, may 14

fleeT foxes w/ amen dunes Wed, may 16

Annie Oakley After suffering personal loss, local guitarist and songwriting twin sisters Sophia and Grace teamed up with violinist Nia Personette to form Americana band Annie Oakley. Its latest EP Lunar Manor Sessions was released February 2017. Annie Oakley hits the stage 8 p.m. Sunday at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. Call 405-524-0738 or visit bluedoorokc.com.

jimmY eaT world w/ The hoTelier, microwave 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.

SUNDAY Photo provided

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

thurS, may 17

The sword w/ The shelTer people Sun, June 03

missio w/ blackillac

mon, June 04

minus The bear w/ The new TrusT fri, June 15

roberT earl keen Tulsa ok

423 norTh main sT

TickeTs & info cainsballroom.com O kg a z e t t e . c o m | M AY 2 , 2 0 1 8

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puzzles New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle PLUSES AND MINUSES

By Ross Trudeau | Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz | 0422

ACROSS

88 Broody genre 89 Racy film 1 Bedbug, e.g.

5 “Police Line — Do Not Cross” 91 FEMA offering 94 Cartoonist Thomas material 95 Beaut 9 Gay ____ 96 Was harder for the bronco 14 Blemish for a straight-A

buster to hold on to? student 101 High flier 19 R.p.m. indicator 102 Firstborn 20 Having gone tit for tat 103 University of Illinois city 21 Florida city whose name 104 Lumbering, say

ends with two state postal 106 In days of yore abbreviations 107 “Same with me” 22 Humiliate 109 Subjects of an apartment 23 Makes eye contact before restriction undressing?

111 Actresses Field and Hawkins 26 Hoosier hoopster 113 Rarity in a Polish name?

27 Expatriate 115 Like the digit “0” in 2018?

28 Wide-eyed type 118 Iowa senator elected in 2014 29 “What ____ thou?”

119 “… but I could be wrong” 31 One of five permanent

members of the U.N. Security 120 Reynolds of Deadpool 121 James who was nominated Council for a 1967 Grammy for “Tell 32 One reading up on infant care, Mama” maybe 122 Hives, e.g.

34 Equilibrium 123 Forte’s opposite 36 Minor setback 124 Old flames 38 Butts 125 Balance 39 Parent wearing your

Superman costume?

DOWN 42 Year abroad 1 All-too-common V.A. 43 The sun, for one diagnosis 44 “Party Up (Up in Here)” 2 Corroded

rapper, 2000 3 Fall guy 45 Bugs’ cartoon pursuer 4 Loses intentionally 46 Org. with evening meetings 5 What the classics stand 47 Book after Jonah 6 Selma director DuVernay 49 “Get ____” 7 Southernmost Ivy 51 Root beer brand since 1937 8 Hyphen’s longer cousin 54 Script suggestion about 9 Agricultural locale that’s

starting the fight scene? weed-friendly?

60 AFL partner 10 Down’s counterpart: Abbr.

61 The “A” of IPA 11 Trail mix bit 62 Ocean buildup 12 Title city in a 1960 #1 song 63 Willa who wrote My Ántonia 13 “Don’t panic” 65 Mean-spirited sort 14 Event for Jesus described in 68 Richard Gere title role

Matthew 3:13-17 69 Eat a little here, a little there 15 Kegler’s org.

70 Greek god of sleep 16 Popular Mexican folk song 72 Take for granted 17 Depletes 76 Early Chinese dynasty 18 It’s a wrap 77 Black ____ 24 “Uhh …”

78 Ballet choreography?

25 Positioned 84 Sport 30 Lambaste 86 RR ____ 33 Auto-repair chain 87 Widening of the mouth?

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movement, say 72 Part of a stockyard 73 Dungeons & Dragons, e.g., for short 74 T-shirt size: Abbr.

75 First name on the Supreme Court 76 Monsoons 79 Draws 80 Treeless plain 81 Put on an act?

82 February birthstones 83 1899 gold rush destination 85 Be absolutely awesome 90 Makes potable, in a way 91 Wall St. worker

35 Boxcars half 37 Looped in, in a way 38 Skipper, informally 40 Places for conductors 41 Kind of tide 43 Breakfast order at a diner 48 Giggle syllable 49 The New Yorker cartoonist Chast 50 Tip of the tongue?

52 Number between nueve and once 53 Put out 55 Make 56 Politician inducted into the

Automotive Hall of Fame 57 Trunk 58 Tally, in Britain 59 Vituperated 64 Orbitz booking

Digital Media & Calendar Coordinator Hannah Meeske

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92 Probably will 93 Supergiant in Cygnus 96 A state of rapture 97 Notable whose name is an

anagram of GALORE 98 Some arm bones 99 Journalist Fallaci 100 Emotionally developed 101 ____ whale 105 Bacon runoff 108 Cockeyed 110 Boundary between the earth

and the underworld, in myth 112 RBI or HRs 114 The “e” of i.e.

116 III or IV, maybe 117 When doubled, a 2010s dance craze

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

Sudoku very hard | n°34503 Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9. www.printmysudoku.com

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New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers Puzzle No. 0415, which appeared in the April 25 issue.

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free will astrology Homework: What’s the most important question you need an answer for in the next five years? Deliver your best guess to me.

Freewillastrology.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) I hate rampant

consumerism almost as much as I hate hatred, so I don’t offer the following advice lightly: Buy an experience that could help liberate you from the suffering you’ve had trouble outgrowing. Or buy a toy that can thaw the frozen joy that’s trapped within your out-of-date sadness. Or buy a connection that might inspire you to express a desire you need help in expressing. Or buy an influence that will motivate you to shed a belief or theory that has been cramping your lust for life. Or all of the above! (And if buying these things isn’t possible, consider renting.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) These days you have an enhanced ability to arouse the appreciation and generosity of your allies, friends, and loved ones. The magnetic influence you’re emanating could even start to evoke the interest and inquiries of mere acquaintances and random strangers. Be discerning about how you wield that potent stuff! On the other hand, don’t be shy about using it to attract all the benefits it can bring you. It’s OK to be a bit greedier for goodies than usual as long as you’re also a bit more compassionate than usual.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) I bet that a healing

influence will arrive from an unexpected direction and begin to work its subtle but intense magic before anyone realizes what’s happening. I predict that the bridge you’re building will lead to a place that’s less flashy but more useful than you imagined. And I’m guessing that although you may initially feel jumbled by unforeseen outcomes, those outcomes will ultimately be redemptive. Hooray for lucky flukes and weird switcheroos!

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Born under the

astrological sign of Cancer, Franz Kafka is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s major literary talents.

Alas, he made little money from his writing. Among the day jobs he did to earn a living were stints as a bureaucrat at insurance companies. His superiors there praised his efforts. “Superb administrative talent,” they said about him. Let’s use this as a take-off point to meditate on your destiny, Cancerian. Are you good at skills you’re not passionate about? Are you admired and acknowledged for having qualities that aren’t of central importance to you? If so, the coming weeks and months will be a favorable time to explore this apparent discrepancy. I believe you will have the power to get closer to doing more of what you love to do.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) If you really wanted to, you

could probably break the world’s record for most words typed per minute with the nose (103 characters in 47 seconds). I bet you could also shatter a host of other marks, as well, like eating the most hot chiles in two minutes, or weaving the biggest garland using defunct iPhones, or dancing the longest on a tabletop while listening to a continuous loop of Nirvana’s song “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” But I hope you won’t waste your soaring capacity for excellence on meaningless stunts like those. I’d rather see you break your own personal records for accomplishments like effective communications, high-quality community-building, and smart career moves.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Isaac Newton

(1643-1727) was among history’s three most influential scientists. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) has been described as the central figure in modern philosophy.

Henry James (1843-1916) is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in English literature. John Ruskin (1819-1900) was a prominent art critic and social thinker. What did these four men have in common?

They never had sex with anyone. They were virgins when they died. I view this fact with alarm. What does it mean that Western culture is so influenced by the ideas of men who lacked this fundamental initiation?

With that as our context, I make this assertion: If you hope to make good decisions in the coming weeks, you must draw on the wisdom you have gained from being sexually entwined with other humans.

cLASSIFIEDS

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) “Every so often, a painter has to destroy painting,” said twentieth-century abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning.

“Cézanne did it. Picasso did it with Cubism. Then Pollock did it. He busted our idea of a picture all to hell.” In de Kooning’s view, these “destructive” artists performed a noble service. They demolished entrenched ideas about the nature of painting, thus liberating their colleagues and descendants from stale constraints. Judging from the current astrological omens, Libra, I surmise the near future will be a good time for you to wreak creative destruction in your own field or sphere. What progress and breakthroughs might be possible when you dismantle comfortable limitations?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Mayflies are aquatic insects with short life spans. Many species live less than 24 hours, even though the eggs they lay may take three years to hatch. I suspect this may be somewhat of an apt metaphor for your future, Scorpio. A transitory or short-duration experience could leave a legacy that will ripen for a long time before it hatches. But that’s where the metaphor breaks down. When your legacy has fully ripened -- when it becomes available as a living presence -- I bet it will last a long time.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) When a critic at

Rolling Stone magazine reviewed the Beatles’ Abbey Road in 1969, he said some of the songs were “so heavily overproduced that they are hard to listen to.” He added, “Surely they must have enough talent and intelligence to do better than this.” Years later, however, Rolling Stone altered its opinion, naming *Abbey Road* the fourteenth best album of all time. I suspect, Sagittarius, that you’re in a phase with metaphorical resemblances to the earlier assessment. But I’m reasonably sure that this will ultimately evolve into being more like the later valuation -- and it won’t take years.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) According to my analysis of the astrological omens, love should be in full bloom. You should be awash in worthy influences that animate your beautiful passion. So how about it? Are

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) “Life never gives you

anything that’s all bad or all good.” So proclaimed the smartest Aquarian six-year-old girl I know as we kicked a big orange ball around a playground. I agreed with her! “Twenty years from now,” I told her, “I’m going to remind you that you told me this heartful truth.” I didn’t tell her the corollary that I’d add to her axiom, but I’ll share it with you: If anything or anyone or seems to be all bad or all good, you’re probably not seeing the big picture. There are exceptions, however! For example, I bet you will soon experience or are already experiencing a graceful stroke of fate that’s very close to being all good.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) “Enodation” is an old, nearly obsolete English word that refers to the act of untying a knot or solving a knotty problem. “Enodous” means “free of knots.” Let’s make these your celebratory words of power for the month of May, Pisces. Speak them out loud every now and then.

Invoke them as holy chants and potent prayers leading you to discover the precise magic that will untangle the kinks and snarls you most need to untangle.

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.

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May your natural intoxication levels continue to rise.

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