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TAKING BACK OUR STREETS Livable Streets Summit highlights the social good in sustainable development and active mobility.
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10 WAYS OUR CITY CAN BECOME A CYCLING CAPITAL!
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CONTENTS 29
19
4
ON THE COVER
As our city grows, so does the value of family- and commuter-friendly bike travel. In this issue, Oklahoma Gazette examines this weekend’s Livable Streets Summit, 10 ways to make our city more freewheeling, how high school students help maintain our Spokies bikeshare program and groups like Kidical Mass. Stories by Ben Felder. P. 4, 5, 6 and 35. On the cover: Jonathan Dodson, an organizer behind the Livable Streets Summit, which runs Thursday-Saturday.
NEWS
44
LIFE
LIFE
4
Cover: Livable Streets Summit
26
Culture: Flatiron Gateway
35
Cover: Kidical Mass
5
Cover: street suggestions
28
Health: Oklahoma nutrition
35
Active: The See Spot Run
6
Cover: Emerson Spokies program
29
Community: Sunbeam building
36
Sudoku / Crossword
8
News briefs
30
Health: Damon Lane
39
10
Chicken-Fried News
32
12
Commentary, Letters
Community: Moore Community Renewal Center
Music: They Might Be Giants, Summer Breeze Concert Series, 39th Street Jazzy Fest, event listings, music reviews
33
Visual Arts: young professionals
45
34
Performing Arts: Kathleen Madigan
Film: Rattle the Hocks, Isabelle’s Garden
46
Astrology, Classifieds
LIFE 14
OKG picks
19
Food & Drink: The George, Craft Beer Festival, Roma’s Gelato, food briefs, OKG eat: vegetarian
MISSION STATEMENT Oklahoma Gazette’s mission is to stimulate, examine and inform the public on local quality of life issues and social needs, to recognize community accomplishments, and to provide a forum for inspiration, participation and interaction across all media.
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Robust roads As roadways dominate more and more of our shared city space, the community and its developers must think about how to make them safe and friendly for everyone. OKC will create 62 miles of new bike lanes.
By Ben Felder
livable Streets Summit
city’s affluent majority.
5:30 p.m. Thursday Sandridge Auditorium 123 robert S. Kerr Ave.
Getting real
11:30 a.m. Friday OU design Studio 800 W. Sheridan Ave. 5:30 p.m. Friday The Pump 2425 n. Walker Ave. 7 p.m. Friday Sandridge Auditorium 123 robert S. Kerr Ave. Summit registry at oklahoma.uli.org/event /uli-oklahoma-livable-streets-summit $25-$35
livable Streets & Bike Tours 9 a.m. Saturday City Pres 829 nW 13th St. register for the bike ride at oklahoma.uli .org/events Free
Jonathan Dodson’s bike ride along Broadway Avenue was disrupted by the sound of hate. “You goddamn n-----,” Dodson recalled hearing before turning to see a white man yelling at a black pedestrian walking along the street. After calling the police, Dodson met a woman who said she witnessed the incident, but she did not share Dodson’s concern for the pedestrian. She said she was afraid for the driver’s safety. Dodson eventually found the man who was verbally assaulted. “He was at peace. He was calm. It seemed as if this was not the first time for him,” Dodson said. “I will never forget the moment, and it was not even me that was accosted or defamed.” One of Oklahoma City’s central streets served as the stage for racism as Dodson also realized that the quest to build better streets for pedestrians and cyclists can not only be geared to the
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“This week, where the theme is about bicycles and livable streets, [I want] us to set aside the notion of spandex, whistles and water bottles,” said Dodson, an organizer behind this week’s first Livable Streets Summit in Oklahoma City, which runs Thursday-Saturday. “A lot of times, cyclists are viewed as 30-something white guys, and I’m guilty as charged. But biking in our city has taught me a lot about my own whiteness and the insulators I have that do not allow me to experience solidarity with the poor and the marginalized.” Demographics on cyclists in Oklahoma City do not exist, but national studies indicate that many African-American and Hispanic cyclists who ride a bike to work do so out of necessity and they live in neighborhoods where pedestrian and cycling infrastructure is lacking, according to People for Bikes. “As we share space, we realize the things that divide us racially and socially are really material conditions that lead us to dehumanize the other,” Dodson said. “Biking and walking inherently humanize the transportation experience, leading us to humanize those we did not previously understand.” As city leaders discuss building more cycling infrastructure, such as bike lanes and bike repair stations, the geographic location for biking framework in America is often in more affluent neighborhoods, where cycling might be a choice rather than a necessity for getting to work. “I don’t really use the bike lanes [in downtown],” said Michael Ray, an African-American who was waiting for a bus with his bike at the downtown transit center. “In my [northeast OKC] neighborhood, I ride on the sidewalk or on the street … It would be nice to have the kind of bike lanes they have here in
my own neighborhood.” The Community Cycling Center in Portland, Oregon, conducted a series of surveys in 2012 that found potential African-American cyclists expressed a fear that drivers would be hostile to them. The research showed that it is a fear that no other ethnic group expressed. The same report also showed that many minority groups in Portland viewed bikes as a symbol of gentrification. Understanding these perceptions is an important step in creating livable streets for all, said Jeff Risom of Danish firm Gehl Architects, who will talk about the relationship between social science and design during his keynote speech at the summit. “We also have to think about ... the culture, about appealing to people’s comfort, appealing to safety, appealing to understanding some of the barriers that keep people from getting on their bike and then addressing them,” said Risom in a 2014 interview for the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative. “It’s actually a culture issue, it’s a sociological one, it’s one about decisions and behavior more than any type of engineering.”
Equity infrastructure
Surveys might show a cycling class divide in Portland, where 6.1 percent of commuters are cyclists, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. In OKC, only 0.2 percent of commuters are on a bike. While other cities might have a discrepancy between bike infrastructure between affluent and low-income neighborhoods, OKC lacks significant infrastructure in both. Recent efforts by the city to expand the use of bike lanes seems to indicate an equitable distribution. Last year, the Oklahoma City Council approved a plan to build 62 miles of bike lanes that
will be located in nearly every section of the city. The highest concentration of new lanes will be in Midtown and downtown, which are affluent communities, but also in the central business district, a destination for many of the city’s cycling commuters. New bike lanes in the northeast and south — areas with high minority populations — could help improve many streets that the city rated as “extremely poor” bike routes in a 2008 study by the city, the most recent data available. Another challenge for OKC is that the prominent African-American and Hispanic communities in the south and northeast are separated from the central business district by highways, railroads and the Oklahoma River. “It’s a pretty significant barrier,” said Jessica Scott, who crosses railroad tracks and an interstate on her commute from Midtown to the Capitol complex. It would be quicker for Scott to take 23rd Street from one side of Interstate 235 to the other, but that route is not bike friendly. “I kind of meander my way through Heritage Hills and Mesta Park and cross (I-235) at 16th Street,” Scott said. “I had to really make the conscious decision to want to ride to work and find the safest route to work.”
It’s actually a culture issue, it’s a sociological one, it’s one about decisions and behavior more than any type of engineering. — Jeff Risom
Bottom line
Dodson said he hopes this week’s conference is not just a get-together for the city’s growing cycling community, but also an opportunity to explore ways to make local streets and public spaces truly livable for all people. He also hopes the more inviting streets are, the more interaction the community will have with one another, especially those who might come from different sides of the track. “If Gil Penalosa, who recently spoke at the University of Oklahoma’s [Institute for Quality Communities] Conference, is right and 20 percent of OKC is public space and 70 percent to 90 percent of the public space is streets, we have to rethink the public realm and include streets as shared space,” Dodson said.
Here are 10 ways OKC can help build more livable streets: A cyclist rides along 39th Street.
By Ben Felder
1. Protected lanes
Protected bike lanes offer cyclists dedicated pathways that are separate from vehicle traffic lanes. “It’s getting to the point where if your city doesn’t have a protected bike lane yet, it’s being left behind,” wrote Angie Schmitt in a 2013 article for Momentum Mag. Schmitt also reported that the number of protected bike lanes in America doubled in 2013 and at least 32 cities have some type of protected bike lane. Integrating the concept throughout Oklahoma City could help encourage more cyclists, especially on busy thoroughfares like Classen Boulevard that serve as a gateway into downtown.
2. Repair stations
In recent months, free bike repair stations have arrived in OKC. They offer cyclists the opportunity to perform minor tune-ups while away from home. The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments recently awarded nearly $40,000 in grants to city communities for the construction of repair stations.
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“The bike racks that we currently have are about 10 years old, so this will allow us to replace some broken ones and have more places for bike parking,” said Kristen Vails, former director of the Plaza District Association, one of the grant recipients. Increasing this program could help encourage cycling across the city.
3. Sidewalk size
The bigger the sidewalk, the more space people have to walk and interact. Construction projects like the one currently underway on Western Avenue increase the width of often-congested sidewalks, especially in this popular business and restaurant district. The larger sidewalks along five blocks of Western Avenue also will boost patio dining by making room for 200 chairs and add 5,500 more feet of walkway, according to the Institute for Quality Communities.
4. Pavement markings
Pavement markings, such as bike boxes, shared lane markings, sharrows and colored bike lanes, can be easy ways to provide additional biking paths while also increasing awareness among motorists.
“[Pavement markings] increase perceptions of safety, help guide bicyclists and motorists and provide official, visible recognition that bicyclists are legitimate users of the road,” according to a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
5. Rideshare options
Increasing the number of Spokies bike share stations, especially building them in neighborhoods outside of downtown, could encourage more users and also promote biking between districts.
6. Time signs
Signs in downtown and neighboring districts that show how many minutes it takes to walk and bike could encourage less driving. Biking or walking from the Uptown 23rd District to downtown might seem daunting to some, but a sign that states it’s a 10-minute bike ride or 30-minute walk could promote alternative ways to get around.
7. Shower facilities
The city could offer incentives for new businesses downtown to provide shower facilities
m a rk ha n cock
Freewheeling city for bike commuters who don’t want to arrive to their desks dripping in sweet.
8. Law enforcement
The city council recently reviewed a proposed law that would have increased restrictions on cyclists, which the cycling community said was hostile to bike riders. The law was not approved, but the city could look for ways to encourage stricter enforcement of laws requiring motor vehicles to give space to cyclists or not park in designated bike lanes.
9. Bike racks
A great bike lane doesn’t mean much without a place to park bikes. The city has added many more racks downtown in the past several years, but even more are needed — not just downtown but in surrounding districts.
10. Citizens’ voices
It’s important for citizens who value cycling in the city to speak up, especially as the city approaches a new bond issue in 2017. Reaching out to city officials is a great way to ensure the cycling community is represented while large projects are being planned.
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Joshua Vaught helps ruben Cervantes, 16, repair a bicycle wheel at emerson High School.
Life, cycle Emerson High School offers classes to mentor and teach youth about bicycle repair in partnership with the city’s Spokies program.
By Ben Felder
Great Grilled Cheese Challenge
Delicious food & shopping
While flipping through an education magazine recently, Oklahoma City Public Schools board member Laura Massenat saw an article about a bike program for high schoolers in Baltimore. “I immediately knew we had the people to do it here,” she said. Inspired by the article, Massenat soon gained project approval from district leadership and reached out to community leaders. She said the timing was perfect. Earlier this year, Emerson High School launched a bicycle repair class that gave students an opportunity to work four hours each week on bikes while earning credit for a character education course. “We are using a bicycle and the conversation through working on a bicycle to mentor these kids,” said Steven Charles, executive director of Rocktown Youth Mentoring, the organization overseeing the program. The school offers the setting, Rocktown offers the mentorship training and the city’s Spokies bikeshare program offers the bikes.
Life skills
Join us May 30, 2015 • 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hosted on the grounds of the Sheraton Midwest City Hotel at the Reed Conference Center
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Josh Vaught, the director of Spokies, leads the class by helping students learn the basics of bike maintenance. “For the kids that are here, I’ve seen them grow and got to know them,” Vaught said. “High school kids tend to be more interested in cars than bicycles, but a lot of them can’t afford cars. They can a bicycle, especially if we help them maintain it themselves.” Vaught said the class typically
sees three to five students who work on bikes they will keep at the end of the course. The class also performs maintenance on bikes in the Spokies system. Charles said class size will likely grow, especially considering it was established just before the last round of class registration closed. There also is interest in establishing similar classes in other schools. “The students enjoy working on them, taking them apart and figuring it out. The mentoring part is the most important part to me,” Charles said. “We want them to be able to ride it to school or work. We want them to be in shape, and we want them to learn a skill.” Vaught said learning how to repair a bike might allow some students at Emerson, which has a high percentage of low-income students, to affordably maintain their own bike, which they will be given at the end of the class. “We are hoping within the next week to get their bikes all tuned up and ready to go, and we are also able to use the Spokies bikes [to work on],” Vaught said. “We take kids to a [Spokies] station sometimes and work on bikes there or check the bikes out to take a ride.” The program is also forming a relationship with Wheeler Criterium, a weekly bike-racing festival. “We are also encouraging them to come to the Wheeler Crit and introduce them to that type of bike culture,” Vaught said. “A lot of our mentors are from that style of cycling, but mostly, we have mentors that are really more into helping kids than cycling.”
Ga Re TT FI S Be C K
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NEWS Briefs m a rk ha n cock
by ben felder
Charity shopping
Arts awareness Julia Kirt (pictured at left) said one of her missions at Oklahomans for the Arts (OFTA) is to promote the idea that art and culture should be accessible to everyone. “I really felt like we showed that the arts are not partisan,” Kirt, OFTA’s executive director, said about this year’s Oklahoma Arts Day at the Capitol, held last week. The day included speeches from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, booths from arts and culture organizations and opportunities to meet with legislators about the importance of arts funding. Artists also performed May 5 in the Capitol rotunda, an aspect new to this year’s Capitol Day. State funding for the arts has decreased 26 percent since 2009, and Kirt said it is important to remind lawmakers how important arts and culture is, especially in education. “They are going to have to make a decision on what they want to fund, but I feel like we’ve made a good case,” Kirt said. With a handful of bills targeting arts funding and programs last year, Kirt said this legislative session only included one such bill that failed to move past committee. The arts community also celebrated the announcement that the Art in Public Places program will move under Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC). “It’s a great program,” said Joel Gavin with OAC, who said more details about the reorganization would be announced in coming weeks.
Best OKC
ga rett fisbeck
Supporting local makers of handcrafted products while also assisting area-based charities is the mission of Givitt, an online store. “We started by putting together a network of local artists, makers and brands and putting their products on our site,” said Tristan Torres, a co-founder of Givitt (pictured at left), which launched last November. “We then give people the chance to pick the nonprofit they want to support with 10 percent of the purchase price.” There are nearly 15 businesses and nonprofits to mix and match. For example, when Givitt (givitt.com) shoppers purchase an OKC-themed t-shirt from statebased Opolis Clothing Company, they also can choose to donate to local blind aid nonprofit NewView. “You see cause-related marketing everywhere because people are saying, ‘That’s important to me,’” Torres said. The nonprofits listed on Givitt say the donations and heightened community awareness make it a socially responsible and appealing platform to be part of. “This is a great way to not only support local businesses, which is great in its own way, but also support really good nonprofits,” said Lindsey Harris with City Care, a local nonprofit that works with at-risk and impoverished families that is also included on the site.
Quotable provid ed
Oklahoma City isn’t Portland, and that’s okay. That was the message from Aaron Renn (pictured at left) of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research who was a keynote speaker at the Mayor’s Development Roundtable last week. “You would be far better off being the best Oklahoma City you could be rather than the poor man’s Portland,” Renn said. “Places like [OKC] are now in the game for business and residents like you never were before.” Renn remarked that second-tier cities like OKC, Nashville and Indianapolis compete with larger cities like Chicago and New York in new ways. While NYC is still America’s premier urban center, Renn said, new technology and the spread of specialty businesses has set the groundwork for places like OKC to offer high-quality urban lifestyles. However, while Renn remarked on OKC’s recent success in downtown, he said challenges remain with continued development just outside the urban core. A lack of sidewalks, transit infrastructure and medium density is a challenge in the urban neighborhoods outside of downtown Oklahoma City, Renn said. Other points made by Renn: >> OKC should consider ways to attract the 30- to 45-year-old demographic that is moving out of many cities. Renn said OKC can offer downtown amenities that are hard to find in larger cities. >> Outer suburbs need attention, as they are not at the level of other cities. >> “If your parks, your schools, your streets and your crime levels are terrible, that [cool downtown] stuff doesn’t matter,” said Renn, offering advice to keep close attention to aspects of urban life that can be overlooked in the quest for new stadiums and skyscrapers. >> “Oklahoma City is just now starting to emerge as a great American city,” Renn said. “Your glory days are still ahead of you.”
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“For tonight, the takeaway for me was just hearing ideas and what was important to this particular community that I could not have even guessed. And had I not been here, I wouldn’t have known.” Those were the thoughts of Joy Hofmeister, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction, after attending a forum this month hosted by the Douglass Mid-High School Parent Teacher Student Association. Also in attendance were several lawmakers from northeast OKC, which has a large African-American population. Hofmeister spoke with a hospitable audience that was eager to share its frustrations regarding the public school system, particularly the state’s role in it. Sen. Anastasia Pittman, Rep. Mike Shelton, Rep. George Young and former Sen. Connie Johnson also participated in the panel, along with school board member Ruth Veales. The Democratic lawmakers said a history of policies that have reduced African-Americans’ achievement, followed by a current state of unawareness, have created major problems in urban education. “You may have 20 or 25 urban legislators [in the state Legislature],” Young said. “All the rest of them ... are ranchers and farmers. They don’t get what we go through.”
By the numbers 72. That’s the number of hours a woman will have to wait in Oklahoma before receiving an abortion. Gov. Mary Fallin signed House Bill 1409 into law last week, which increases the time from 24 to 72 hours for voluntary and informed consent. The law also requires facilities that perform the procedure to add a web link from their websites to a state webpage called A Woman’s Right to Know. “It will allow for more time to consider medical risks as well as explore alternatives to abortion, such as adoption,” Fallin said in a media statement.
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CHiCKEN CKEN Hard drive
Adim O’Dwyer, a 23-yearold Bethany woman, was arrested recently after she was accused of attempting to rob a jogger at gunpoint. O’Dwyer approached a jogger by driving up to him in her car as she pulled a firearm and demanded his wallet, Oklahoma City police Lt. Brent Green told NewsOK.com. She then led cops on a high speed chase as her 3-year-old child was unrestrained in the back seat. One, runners aren’t often flush with cash, so what was she hoping to find? Two, what in the heck was she thinking? Three, seriously, WTF? Police arrested her on complaints of “robbery with a firearm” and “possession of an offensive weapon while committing a felony,” as well as “aggravated attempting to elude a police officer, child abuse, driving while privilege suspended and resisting arrest,” reported NewsOK.com.
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FRiED NEWS Whew!
Pastors across Oklahoma can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing they can’t be forced to perform same-sex weddings, thanks to a new law that gives Oklahoma churches a right they already have. Apparently, you can never be too fastidious when it comes to protecting our civil liberty, so our government intervened to pass another law. “I am proud to join our Legislature in taking a strong stand in defense of religious liberty and the freedoms awarded to all American citizens by the U.S. Constitution,” said Gov. Mary Fallin in a media statement. No longer do we have to worry that a same-sex couple will ask someone who shuns the sanctity of their relationship to officiate anything on the most important day of their life. Because, logically, that would be a total disaster ... for a pastor.
Oh my!
Oklahoma is rapidly becoming a disaster buffet. Last Wednesday unleashed a veritable smorgasbord of crises, both natural and manmade, as severe thunderstorms dropped more than a dozen tornadoes on the state, along with widespread flooding. But the frightening evening took a bizarre turn when reports spread that wild animals from the Tiger Safari in Tuttle were on the loose after the park was hit by a twister. Nearby residents were encouraged to stay in their homes. For 30 glorious minutes, the Internet was abuzz with talk of a “#tigernado” and who in god’s name was playing Jumanji. Pictures from the film Life of Pi also were liberally shared. It turns out residents needn’t have worried. The escaped animals were rounded up quickly, before they had the chance to take over seats on the city council or amend upcoming school bonds to include bulk raw meat purchases.
Heart light
Say what you mean and mean what you say. That old adage couldn’t be more apropos than it is with the public trust and rational guidance needed of our state legislators. Rep. Calvin Cooley (R-Oklahoma City) is a man of his word. He recently voiced his displeasure with proposed raises for Supreme Court justices, appellate court judges and their employees. He said, as a Christian, he’s pissed off at justices because of decisions they made regarding reproductive choice. Indeed, a no vote for Senate Bill 548 was appropriate. He voted his conscience. That’s good. However, the proposal passed anyway and returns to the Senate for a final look-see. But he didn’t stop there. He then threatened selfimmolation, saying that if he wasn’t a Christian, he would pour gas all over his sharply tailored suit and set himself alight to “protest the evil in that building,”
meaning the devil’s work of those godless justices across the street. Because, you know, that’s how any rational non-Christian would deal with their feelings of exasperation.
Strange love
Jealousy can make some people do crazy things. Especially if it’s 26-year-old Tulsa woman Shaynna Smith, aka Shaynna Sims. She was recently arrested after attacking her husband’s “lifelong female friend” … at her funeral, according to NewsOn6.com. Smith was charged with five felonies, including “illegal dissection” of a corpse and first-degree burglary. The victim’s family called police when they noticed that Smith had her hands inside the casket during the services. Police allege she cut the face and hair of the deceased woman and smeared
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her makeup. The family alleges Smith also stole the woman’s shoes, according to NewsOn6.com. Smith was on a deferred sentence in the assault of another woman, an ex-girlfriend of her husband, whom Smith attacked at a courthouse.
Primitive pirates
You thought you were the king or queen of using your cool older cousin’s ID in high school, but you had nothing on these guys. Bradley Irwin, Michael Laird and Tiffany Burghart were pulled over on the southside for swerving into oncoming traffic April 24, but this was no routine traffic stop. NewsOK.com reported that police found “more than 100 car keys, 17 driver’s licenses and identification cards, five Social Security cards, 10 credit cards, income tax returns, ignition removal equipment and lock pick sets.” Unsurprisingly, there was also weed, meth and prescription pills in the car. If you’re going to go on a burglary spree, you
might as well go all-out, right? The joy riders were arrested for “drug possession, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools and possession of a counterfeit ID,” according to NewsOK.com. That’s right; only one fake ID. Amateurs. Everyone knows you have to have backups.
attention he received for his brave stand against restaurants that run out of sour cream welcome, apparently. He took down the post and he and Clark are no longer friends on Facebook. Wait ... that’s all it takes to get rid of relatives on social media? If you need us, we’ll be stiffing a waiter at Cracker Barrel.
Penny pincer
Driving triangle
To err is human. To post about it on Facebook is divine ... for everyone else. When a customer at a local Joe’s Crab Shack posted a photo of a $71 dinner tab with the gratuity replaced by “Find Sour CREAM,” it earned the ire of his cousin, Dustin Clark, who helped the post go viral. Clark went to the venue to meet the shafted waitress and gave her a $20 tip. “Ten dollars for the meal and $10 for having to deal with rude people,” he wrote. His thrifty, dairy-loving cousin did not find the
Geez, Oklahoma. You suck at driving. Admit it: You are probably reading this right now from behind the wheel of your car. Using national transportation accident data, the website TruthFinder.com recently ranked Oklahoma as the fifth worst state for driving. The same site ranked Texas No. 19. Nineteen? Really? Have they been to Texas? North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming took home the top four spots, creating a type of triangle of driving danger in America’s northern frontier.
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COMMENTARY
P ROVI DE D
Small steps, big city BY DOUG SERVEN
He put down his cup of coffee, looked me in the eye, and asked, “Wait. Do you mean literal sidewalks?” I did mean literal sidewalks. It was the Thursday of Holy Week, so I wore my pastor’s collar, something not ordinarily required by our Presbyterian tradition. This group gathered for coffee and to discuss race-related issues and work on being friends together. I’d just finished talking about the upcoming Livable Streets Summit bike conference and how we might start somewhere, like working together on better sidewalks and pathways in Oklahoma City neighborhoods. It wasn’t a metaphor. It wasn’t a slick preacher’s illustration. I wasn’t trying to Jesus juke anyone. I was talking about sidewalks. Christianity has always cared about physical places and spaces. Our worldview contains the theology of
place: God cares about this world. This world isn’t all there is, but it’s important. He created it. He entered into it. He’ll make all things new one day. I’ve been learning to develop this sense of care for a place and its people. I grew up in Missouri and first moved to Oklahoma when I worked in Stillwater after college. I rooted for Oklahoma State University, wore orange and ate at Eskimo Joe’s. After seminary, I moved to Norman to work at the University of Oklahoma (OU), so I switched to crimson and cream and Classic 50’s Drive-In. I had a clearly delineated space as a campus minister at and for OU. I wanted to love the students and their stories. Their stories became mine. When I moved to OKC to start City Pres in 2011, I carried that same mindset. This is my city. I’m proud of what it’s proud of, promote what is good in it and grieve for its brokenness and needs. I care
about the milk bottle landmark, Gold Dome, Plaza District, Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, Festival of the Arts and, of course, the OKC Thunder and everything incredible that’s going on. I’m also here to help Emerson High School, the homeless, the lonely and those hurt by injustice and racism all around us and in our own hearts. Along with the normal programs and activities of our church, I started walking and biking. My single-speed fixie isn’t anything fancy. I walk around the neighborhoods of our church, greeting people and praying for them even if they don’t know I am. That has limited my scope. It has made me much more aware of traffic patterns and weather forces. It has connected me more to both the built and natural terrain. I now think of how difficult it is to walk across Classen Boulevard to get to church. We installed
Opinions expressed on the commentary page, in letters to the editor and elsewhere in this newspaper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ownership or management.
bike racks at our church so people could ride and park there if they wanted to. I have troubles, too. I’ve fallen off my bike. I’ve gotten yelled at. I’ve gotten rained on. I’ve gotten hailed on. I’ve gotten my shoelace caught in the gears. I’ve gotten to know which places have good bike racks and which don’t. But I’ve also met new friends and had new conversations. I’ve felt more a part of my city when I’m not flying by in my own bubble and my own world with my own climate control. I feel even more connected to this place, to these people, to these stories. It means we need better sidewalks and pathways all over our city because we want the best OKC we could envision. We’re for mercy, justice and love. We’re for people, especially those who need help. Sidewalks and pathways are small steps, but not unimportant. It’s a metaphor, after all, but we could start there. Doug is a pastor at City Presbyterian Church in Midtown who lives in the Gatewood neighborhood.
LETTERS Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to jchancellor@ okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette. com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification. Told ya
George Orwell predicted these things in 1948 via his classic novel 1984, but we did not heed his warning. Now, a constant state of war has wealth being transferred from the working class to corporations and the wealthy. While we run around, chasing our tails, being afraid of communism, socialism and terrorism, the militaryindustrial complex (Dwight Eisenhower warned us about it, too) actually controls our nation, leading us into an oligarchy where ordinary folks have no control. We pay taxes to fund our wars while 40 percent of U.S. corporations and the wealthy pay little or nothing. Trickledown economics? Our money is actually “trickling up.”
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We had best forget petty party politics. False issues built on “fear and hate” are being used to set us one against the other. We need not worry about socialism; the most contented people in the world live in northwestern Europe, where the safety net is immense and everybody pays fair taxes to support it. Fascism and oligarchy are the real threats to America, and fascist oligarchs are doubtlessly manipulating us. There is still time, but time is growing short. — Frank Silovsky Oklahoma City Costly decisions
I’m really concerned about OG&E’s $1.1 billion compliance plan, and I think other Oklahomans should be too. The plan could mean a 15 to 20 percent increase on our utility bills. That’s the largest rate hike in Oklahoma history. A jump like that would be hard on so many Oklahomans and could be devastating for small business, poor families and the elderly on fixed incomes. Worse still, the plan locks in continued reliance on dirty coal shipped in from Wyoming. Why does a utility that
touts being a leader in wind energy believe that continued pollution and harm to our health are things Oklahomans can bear? Customer money would be better invested in local Oklahoma energy resources, like our wind power, than coal plants, which will only become more costly. Prices for renewable energy are decreasing, and these resources are becoming competitive with fossil fuels and saving customers money in Oklahoma and Texas. But, as far as I can tell, OG&E isn’t planning to acquire any Oklahoma-based wind energy as a part of this plan. OG&E
needs to clean up its act. Oklahomans deserve better. — Donna Clifford-Jones Norman Strike!
A few people from my nursing home went to an Oklahoma Dodgers game on a Sunday. The best part of the game for me was finding a baseball lost in the stands. I want to thank the female employee for helping me get it. (I’m the ugly guy in the wheelchair.) Imagine my surprise when I looked at the Rawlings National Pacific League ball and it said “Made in China.” — Scott Preston
MBA-HEALTH CARE | MBA | MSM | 100% ONLINE | 405.491.6628 | snu.edu/mba-msm
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405.491.6628 Southern Nazarene University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, color, national or ethnic origin, marital status, or disability in the recruitment, admission, and treatment of students or access to university programs or activities including the operation of all university programs, activities, services and employment. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies including Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Age Discrimination: University Provost, Southern Nazarene University, Bresee Hall, 6729 NW 39th Expressway, OK 73008, 405-491-6300
O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | M AY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | 1 3
OKG picks are events
recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.
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Book Signing, author Devyn Dawson will sign Killing Me Softly, a story of heartache and love, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m., May 16. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT
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The Writing Workshop, discussions include writing for teens, family matters in memoirs, professionalism and a panel discussion on the concepts of self publishing and marketing, 9 a.m, May 16. Norman Public Library, 225 N. Webster Ave., Norman, 701-2600, pioneerlibrarysystem. org. SAT
NORTH
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FILM Dazed and Confused, (US, 1994, dir. Richard Linklater) the adventures and mischief caused by incoming high school and junior high students in the late 70’s, 7 p.m., May 13. Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. WED
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Meet Nicest Nazi Author, meet Christiane Brant Faris, author of The Nicest Nazi: Childhood Memories of World War II, a reflection on her childhood under the regime of Aldof Hitler, 6 p.m., May 14. Bethany Library, 3510 N. Mueller Ave., Bethany, 789-8363, metrolibrary.org. THU
11/18/14 1:15 PM
Are you between the ages of 18-30? Are you not currently enrolled in college classes? Do you have internet access? Can you travel to Edmond? If the answer to all these questions is “Yes,” please consider going to the web address below to participate in a research study being conducted at the University of Central Oklahoma that examines how religiosity impacts different psychological factors
Driving Miss Daisy, one night cinema event offering fans the chance to see the popular stage production shot during the play’s Australian tour, 7:30 p.m., May 14. AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial Road., 405-7552406, amctheatres.com. THU To See the Sea, (CZ, 2014, dir. Jirí Mádl) for his tenth birthday, Thomas gets a digital camera and starts to record the world around him seeing moments of joy and disappointment through a child’s eyes, 5:30 p.m., May 15. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI R.E.M by MTV, archival footage from the MTV vaults; tells the story of thirty years of the band from their early days to stadium tours around the world including TV performances, award show appearances, clips from live concerts and more, 7:30 p.m., May 19. Cinemark Tinseltown, 6001 N. Martin Luther King Ave., 424-0461, cinemark.com. TUE
Sweet Rods & Rides Car & Bike Show Rev your engines and cruise on down, as the sixth annual Sweet Rods & Rides Car & Bike Show returns to Sugar Creek Casino, 5304 N. Broadway Ave., in Hinton. There are multiple car entry categories, a casino poker walk, trophies and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. concerts by The Legends of Rock and Roll, a tribute act featuring Buddy Holly and Richie Valens. The event roars to life 10 a.m. Saturday. Call 542-2946 or visit sugarcreekcasino.net.
Saturday
Rebel Without a Cause, (US, 1955, Nicholas Ray) classic James Dean film returns to the big screen for Tuesday Night Classics, 7 p.m., May 19. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno Ave., 231-4747, harkinstheatres.com. TUE
39th Street Jazzy Fest, family friendly music festival featuring over 15 bands, motorcycles, food, drinks and a kids zone, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., May 16. 39th St. Jazzy Fest, 39th St. & Pennsylvania Ave., 778-6375, jazzyfest.com. SAT
Desperate Homicides, Whodunit Dinner Theater presents dinner and a comedic murder mystery play involving the audience, 6:30 p.m., May 15. Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, 1309 S. Agnew Ave., 236-0416, cattlemensrestaurant.com. FRI
HAPPENINGS
History Comes Alive River Cruise, characters will reenact history through the eyes of those who created it; each week holds a new topic and character, 11:30 a.m., May 16. Exchange Landing, 1503 Exchange, 702-7755, okrivercruises.com. SAT
Cheese and Rose, celebrate the arrival of spring with a tasting of rose wines paired with cheeses from around the world, 6:45-8:15 p.m., May 15. Forward Foods, Norman, 2001 W. Main St., Norman, 321-1007, forwardfoods.com. FRI
FOOD
Saturday Cooking Class, make delicious Spanish chicken with chickpeas, 1 p.m., May 16. Buy For Less, 3501 Northwest Expressway, 946-6342, buyforlessok. com. SAT
Buffalo Bash, an evening of live entertainment, cocktails, dancing and other fun surprises, 5:30-8:30 p.m., May 14. Red Earth Museum, 6 Santa Fe Plaza, 427-5228, redearth. org. THU Indie Trunk Show, a local-only show for artists, crafters, recyclers, small businesses, and organizations in the OKC metro area; handmade goods, vintage decor and accessories, repurposed furniture and much more, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., May 16. Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd., 948-6700, okstatefair.com. SAT
Art After 5, enjoy the Oklahoma City skyline along with live music by Born in November, friends and cocktails on top of the OKCMOA, 5-11 p.m., May 14. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa. com. THU
Good People
Participants can earn $20 in iTunes or Barnes & Noble gift cards for approximately 1 hour of their time.
This play tells the story of Margie, a blue-collar Bostonian who loses her job at the local dollar store and is desperate to find help. That doesn’t sound so funny, but playwright David Lindsay-Abaire brings his signature touches of humor and drama to this tale about struggle and hope. It kicks off 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., and runs through June 6. Tickets are $5$20. Visit carpentersquare.com or call 232-6500.
*iTunes and Barnes & Noble are not sponsors of this study
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PROVIDED
Visit bit.ly/1CcKKky or scan this: to learn more about the study and begin participation!
This study has been approved by the University of Central Oklahoma’s Institutional Review Board (#13153). Please contact Dr. Caleb Lack at clack@uco. edu or 405-974-5456 with any questions.
Hop Jam Beer and Music Festival, a craft beer festival with live music featuring Hanson, The polyphonic Spree and other talented musicians, May 17. The Brady Arts District, 17 W. Brady St., Tulsa, thebradyartsdistrict.com. SUN
Friday-Saturday, ongoing
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America’s Road: The Journey of Route 66 America’s Road: The Journey of Route 66 shares the history of one our country’s most storied and fascinating highways through Aug. 29 at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, 1400 Classen Drive. Experience photographs and music, as well as eight original watercolors by Caryl Morgan that were created for this event and will be available for purchase. The museum is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $5-$7 and free for children 5 and younger. Visit oklahomahof.com.
Wednesday-Saturday, ongoing Vegan Summer Cooking, learn to make summer favorites vegan style, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., May 19. Natural Grocers, 7001 N. May Ave., 840-0300, naturalgrocers.com. TUE
YOUTH Kindness Safari, a scavenger hunt booklet which features interactive kindness activities inspired by animals, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., May 16. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo.com. SAT Knotted Friendship Bracelets, create knotted friendship bracelets perfect to give to friends, 10 a.m.-noon, May 16. Michaels, 5012 N. May Ave., 942-8920, michaels.com. SAT Little Big Chefs, cure your sweet tooth and make delicious caramel apples, ages 5-8, 2-3 p.m., ages 9-12, 3:30-4:30 p.m., May 17. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. SUN Art Adventures, young artists are invited to experience art through the book A Piece of Chalk by Jennifer A. Ericsson, 10:30 a.m., May 19. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
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SATURDAY, MAY 23RD: 11:00-12:00 .U.S. Grant High School Honor Guitar Ensemble 12:15-1:15 ...100 Bones Trio 1:30-2:30 .....Alan Orebaugh’s Stupid Guitar Tricks 2:45-3:45 .....79Au 4:00-5:00 .....The Paseo Street Walkers 5:15-6:15 .....Jahruba & the Jah Mystics 6:30-7:30 .....Nebulae 7:45-8:45 .....Em & the Mother Superiors 9:00-10:00 ...Costello 10:15-11:00 .DJ Krama SUNDAY, MAY 24TH: 10:30-11:30 .Sam Kahre 11:45-12:45 .RJ Ballard 1:00-2:00 .....Howard Brady Band 2:15-3:15 .....Audra & the Whippoorwills 3:30-4:30 .....Edgar Cruz 4:45-5:45 .....Grizzly Mojo 6:00-7:00 .....The Dirty Little Betty’s 7:15-8:15 .....Bread ‘n’ Butter Band 8:30-9:30 .....Helen Kelter Skelter 9:45-11:00 ...Bungalouski MONDAY, MAY 25TH: 10:30-11:30 .Wess McMichael & The Ravens 11:45-12:45 .The Mills Band 1:00-2:00 .....Southbound Mule 2:15-3:15 .....The Groove Offensive 3:30-4:30 .....The Unlikely Blues Band 4:45-6:00 .....Camille Harp
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39TH ANNUAL PASEO ARTS FESTIVAL MAY 23, 24 & 25, 2015 Saturday & Sunday, 10a-8p Monday, 10a-5p
OVER 80 JURIED ARTISTS, LIVE MUSIC & FOOD FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE AVAILABLE 36TH & N. WALKER AT FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT www.thepaseo.org Come out and enjoy a refreshing beer at The Mustang Beer Garden area and enjoy more great live acts throughout the day.
NORTH STAGE (Picasso’s) SATURDAY, MAY 23RD: 11:00-12:00 .Southern Rift 12:15-1:15 ...Stone Jam 1:30-2:30 .....Jaesen Pemberton 2:45-3:45 .....Stephen Salewon 4:00-5:00 .....Annie Oakley 5:15-6:15 .....North Meets South 6:30-7:30 .....Chase Kerby 7:45-8:45 .....The Hey Diddles String Band 9:00-10:00 ...Jack Fowler SUNDAY, MAY 24TH: 11:45-12:45 .Ashley Getz 1:00-2:00 .....Chris Lashley 2:15-3:15 .....Will Gardner 3:30-4:30 .....Audra Elizabeth 4:45-5:45 .....Sammy Butler 6:00-7:00 .....13 Seeds 7:30-8:30 .....Opaque Radio MONDAY, MAY 25TH: 12:00-12:45 .Tess Rabon 1:00-2:00 .....Grant Adams 2:15-3:15 .....Flowers of Edinburgh 3:30-4:30 .....Melanie Tucker *Check website for up-to-date schedule. www.thepaseo.org
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Sing-a-Long Sound of Music This touring phenomena started way back in 1999 in the U.K. and now travels the globe. With more than 10,000 performances since then, the only one you’ll likely see is under the stars Saturday at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave. A pre-show party starts with a fan participation vocal warm-up at 8 p.m., with the film screening at 9 p.m., when the hills come alive with the sound of you singing along. Don’t know all the words? Don’t worry; the show has subtitles. It’s like karaoke for musical buffs. Admission is free. VIP paid seating is available for $25-$250. Visit facebook.com/singalongaokc.
Saturday
PERFORMING ARTS
VISUAL ARTS
Carl Strong, stand up comedy, 8 p.m., May 13-14; 8 & 10:30 p.m., May 15-16. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 239-4242, loonybincomedy.com. WED-SAT
Artist Market at Classen Curve, local artists are featured in pop-up gallery showcases within the stores in Classen Curve; live music and entertainment, food trucks, games, kids activities and more, 6-9 p.m., May 14. Classen Curve, 5825 NW Grand Blvd., classencurve. com. THU
Native American Play Festival, one-of-a-kind festival featuring readings, Native singers and dancers, storytelling, food and other cultural events, 8 p.m., May 14-16. Civic Center Music Hall, CitySpace, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2584, okcciviccenter.com. THU-SAT Rising Starr: Kay Starr, Life in Song, written and directed by Broadway Tonight director Greg White, Ph.D., Rising Starr offers a look into the life of Oklahoma native Kay Starr and her musical legacy , 7:30 p.m., May 15-16; 2 p.m., May 17. UCO Mitchell Hall Theater, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 974-2000, uco.edu. FRI-SUN Fault Line, original concert of modern and aerial dance created by Perpetual Motion Dance in collaboration with filmmaker Kyle Van Odsol, 8 p.m., May 15-16; 2 p.m., May 17. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 951-0000, oklahomacontemporary. org. FRI-SUN
ACTIVE OKC Barons vs. Utica Comets, Western Conference semifinals of the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup playoffs, 6 p.m., May 13. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. WED ZumbaJam, 90-minute Zumba workout to start out your Saturday, 9-10:30 a.m., May 16. PACER Fitness Center, 5520 N. Independence Ave., 949-3891. SAT West Fest, family friendly event which includes a 5K run, car show, craft and vendor fair along with carnival games, yummy food and drinks, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., May 16. Putnam City West, 8500 NW 23rd St., 787-1140, putnamcityschools.org. SAT
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AS YET UnNAMED, exhibit of original drawings from the sketchbooks of Norman artists, O. Gail Poole. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org. Emphasis on a Colour Environment, art by painter and curator Amena Butler who investigates color and ways hues in differing compositions impact our environment. Urban Roots, 322 NE 2nd St., 297-9891, urbanrootsokc.com. Expressions of Spring, new work by three colorful expressionists, Jami Tobey, Theresa Paden and Bonnie Teitelbaum. Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 604-6602, kasumcontemporary.com. FRINGE’s Annual Group Show, a collective of contemporary women artists in fine arts media. The Project Box, 3003 Paseo St., 609-3969, theprojectboxokc.com. From Earthsea To Fantasy: A Literary & Visual Exploration of the Genre, exhibit in celebration of the National Endowment for the Art’s Big Read Selection: The Wizard of Earthsea featuring artists A.K. Westerman, G. Patrick Riley and Earthsea Art Submissions. Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., Norman, 360-1162, mainsite-art.com. Get Into The Middle, a one night art and cultural benefit program about the positive portrayal of the Middle East, 6:30-9:30 p.m., May 16. The Chouse, 717 W. Boyd St., Norman. SAT
OKC Dodgers vs. Iowa Cubs, professional baseball game, 7 p.m., May 16, 18-19; 2 p.m., May 17. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, 218-1000, . SAT
Ghost Towns: A Photographic Exploration of Claudette Torneden, photographer fascinated with history through art records images of the social climb and disappearing generations; she explores many of the state’s historical sites and ghost towns documenting remaining history. Red Dirt Gallery, 13100 N. Colony Pointe Blvd. #113, Yukon, 657-6207, reddirtartists.com.
Trailhead OKC, six-mile group hike in and around Oklahoma City with a picnic in Bicentennial Park afterwards; view sites such as Deep Deuce, Flat Iron, Uptown, Overholser Mansion and more, 3 p.m., May 17. Bicentennial Park, 500 Couch Drive, 297-3882. SUN
Jðqígácút: Tipi With Battle Pictures, exhibit of a historical tipi dating back to 1833 and also seen in the 1920 silent film, Daughter of Dawn. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 521-2491, okhistory.org/ historycenter.
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Premiere on Film Row It’s baaaaaaaaack! This popular monthly, family-friendly block party runs 7-10 p.m. Friday along W. Sheridan Avenue between Dewey and Shartel avenues. It’s free, and you can see local art, film screenings, live music from Airport Road and comedy from Chandler Watson while gorging yourself on fare from popular area food trucks. Visit filmrowpremiere.com.
Friday May Daze Spring Show, exhibit featuring new works by multiple gallery artists. The Purple Loft Art Gallery, 514 NW 28th St., Suite 400, 412-7066. Outta the Ball Park, exhibit featuring painter Nancy Park and her works full of emotions ranging from humor and passion to compassion and joy along with a mix of photography and digital art by Alan Ball. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com. Political Cartoon Collection, collection consisting of 51 original newspaper cartoons from 1903 to 1950. University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 974-2000, uco.edu.
Two Views, photography exhibit featuring works by Carl Shortt Jr. and Don Risi. In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, 3005-A Paseo St., 525-2161, inyoureyegallery.com. Warhol: The Athletes, a series of ten portraits of famous athletes commissioned by Andy Warhols friend and collector Richard Weisman; exhibit represents represents Warhol’s career and the interactions that would occur between the arts and sport worlds in the decades to follow. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com.
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Totems Workshop, experience on of the oldest forms of art and create your own leather mask with Oklahoma artist G. Patrick Riley, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., May 16. Paseo School of Art, 3110-A N. Paseo St., 205-8990, paseoschoolofart.com. SAT
Trail of Tears Art Show, longest running Native American art show in Oklahoma featuring a variety of authentic Native American art. Cherokee Heritage Center, 21192 S. Keeler Drive, Park Hill.
Oklahoma Youth Orchestras auditions Have you ever wanted to learn how to play Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor? Well, if you’re an adult, too bad. If you’re a student in grades six through 12, dude dude, you are so lucky right now. Public, private and homeschool youth are welcome. Auditions are Saturday-Monday. To register and find audition times and For OKG requirements, visit oyomusic.org/join or call 232-1199.
music picks
Saturday-Monday
see page 43
O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | M AY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | 1 7
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liFe Food & driNK
Blue cheese burger
photoS By Ga rett fI S Bec k
Tower power The George Prime Steakhouse tempts business lunch and bar crowds with elegant and affordable new menu additions. shrimp cocktail
By GreG elwell
The shrimp are so big that if they weren’t on a plate, they’d be attacking Tokyo and fighting Ghidorah. “Those are U-10s,” said Kevin George, owner of The George Prime Steakhouse, which sits high atop Founders Tower, 5900 Mosteller Drive. That means it takes less than 10 of them to make a pound. They’re sometimes called “extra colossal” shrimp. And they taste amazing. Hit with a dash of lemon oil, this shrimp cocktail ($11.99) is found on The George’s new Bar Bites menu. Focused on smaller portions and lower prices, it’s a nice way to experience the stunning restaurant on an everyday budget. “We are trying to be more than just the anniversary and birthday place,” George said. “We want to bring people in to enjoy themselves.” The more people who see The George, the more who will love it, he said.
From this view, there’s plenty to love. Formerly home to Nikz at the Top and The Eagle’s Nest, the 360-degree reach of The George allows diners to take in the whole city. Every seat offers a unique vantage point, whether it’s gazing out over downtown, watching the lights twinkle in the neighborhoods or the activity on Lake Hefner. “There’s not a bad seat in the house,” George said. At 9,000 square feet, the layout of the restaurant feels luxurious. Ample tables give guests room to breathe and take in touches like the wine walls and works by local artists. The bar also offers a playful turn on the classic tavern staple chicken strips with their curried chicken ($9.99). Marinated strips of chicken breast are dyed yellow and deep red with curry and grilled, giving them distinct identities. The yellow curry, more subtle, pairs well with honey. sesame seared ahi tuna
The spicier red curry is best with the apple yogurt. All are moist and flavorful. Just because a diner chooses the bar doesn’t mean steak is off the table. On the contrary, there’s a version of steak frites with a 5 oz. prime filet and steak fries ($26.99), a beef carpaccio with olive oil and fresh arugula ($13.99) and even a few burgers. George said the new menu was crowd-sourced, in a way. Founders Tower is a residential space, and he heard from those closest to the venue that it would be nice to come up for a lighter meal. Much of what made it on the menu was chosen because of support from residents. The fare is also tied heavily to the beer menu, George said. Though the restaurant sells more wine, he was very deliberate in choosing the beer list. In addition to a few national mainstays, the restaurant chose more local brews and smaller, regional beers that aren’t available at every bar.
Lunch rush
“Lunch was always in the cards from day one,” George said. “When we first opened last June, we felt the kitchen wasn’t quite ready to handle both services.” Almost a year later, after bringing on and training more staff, the restaurant now serves a lunch menu that ranges from the expedient to the extravagant. In addition to a selection of prime steaks, customers can dig in to a plate filled with prime burgers. Made with chuck and supplemented with steak
trimmings, they are cooked to perfection. The blue cheese burger ($13 with a side) mixes flavors like a fine Meritage wine. Maytag blue cheese, jalapeños, sautéed mushrooms and thick, crisp bacon accompany a gorgeous mediumrare patty on a beautifully buttered Prairie Thunder bun. “This is a great business lunch menu,” George said. “Since we’re right off Northwest Expressway, we wanted something for a quicker lunch. We still have prime steaks and other entrees on the menu, but not everyone wants a big meal for lunch.” One light option is actually hiding on the appetizer menu: sesame seared ahi tuna ($12). Served with a yuzu vinaigrette, thinly sliced pineapple and an arugula salad with pistachios, it’s a satisfying dish that doesn’t weigh down the stomach. If you have room saved up, George said there’s nothing more popular on the dessert menu than the apple cider caramel doughnuts served with a house-made spiced vanilla ice cream ($12). The bread and butter at The George will likely always be the fine dining crowd, which has come to expect dinners as irresistible as the views. But to the owner — a man with a clear affection for the space and the menu — it’s important to share his restaurant with everyone. “Atmosphere, food and service. That’s what makes us special,” he said. “There’s room for all of us here.”
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From Mayerling to Sarajevo Thursday 7:30 p.m.
Beer brouhaha
This popular festival showcases dozens of craft brews, special editions and longtime favorites. By GreG HorToN
Czech That Film Festival May 15-17 To See the Sea Friday, 5:30 p.m. Krasno Friday, 8 p.m. Clownwise + Q & A Saturday, 5:30 Icing Saturday, 8:30 p.m. Fair Play Sunday, 2 p.m. For movie descriptions and ticket sales visit
OKCMOA.COM
ATTENTION TREND SETTERS Join us for our Spring/Summer Tasting Event
May 28th, 2015 from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm in the unique, urban setting of the ISTVAN GALLERY in west Mid Town OKC
Grooms & Brides-To-Be, Social & Corporate Event Planners & Home Entertainers This is your opportunity to experience what 35 years in the Off-Premise Catering Services can bring to your events!
Call today to reserve your spot to enlighten all of your senses with the Tastes of Aunt Pittypat’s Catering & Chef Christine Dowd 405.942.4000 Space is limited & you must reserve a spot in order to attend Don’t let the FOOD be your LAST decision when planning your event! Make your CULINARY CHOICES memorable & your guests will thank you!
This is what Style Tastes Like!
www.auntpittypatscatering.com – facebook.com/appokc
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oklahoma Craft Beer Festival 1-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. saturday Tapwerks Ale House 121 e. sheridan Ave. oklahomacraftbeerfestival.com 319-9599 $20-$35 Note: Guests must be 21 with valid id
As it heads into its fifth year, Oklahoma Craft Beer Festival now has a theme: innovation. Organizer Greg Powell wants people to know that this is more than just a festival where you can sample more than 200 brews. He said there is a lot to know about how that sip you just took is crafted, who makes it and why. Choosing which to taste first from the expanding beer list might feel like a whole lot of decision-making. Powell said he hoped to make it easier, as he also asked brewers to bring along their one-offs and specialty beers. “I want people to be able to try beers they wouldn’t normally try or may not get to try ever again,” Powell said. “We are trying to focus on the memorable, special beers.” TapWerks Ale House, 121 E. Sheridan Ave., hosts the event again this year. Powell is general manager at TapWerks and works closely with local brewers and brokers to bring patrons what he believes are the best local and national craft suds available. Expanding a palate requires risk, he said, and one-off beers are a good way to do it, especially at a festival where all samples are covered by the cost of the ticket. Last year, the festival featured 252 beers, and Powell believes the number will be similar this year.
Barrel-aged brews
Bourbon barrel (or whiskey or cognac) aging has been popular for a few years now, and there will be several limited-production brews aged in barrels, including Black Mesa Brewing Company’s Cognac Barrel Aged
Double ESB (Endless Skyway Bitter). It is aged in Rémy Martin cognac barrels and packs a wallop. Anthem Brewing Company will offer several barrel-aged beers, including Uroboros Stout, which is aged in bourbon barrels and brandy barrels; Bourbon Barrel Golden One, a Belgian pale ale aged in bourbon barrels; and Pappy Burleson wheat wine ale, named for beer savant and local beer supporter Randy Burleson. The alcohol content of The Pappy offers a hearty pat on the back at over 16 percent. Marshall Brewing Company out of Tulsa will have a barrel-aged beer: Black Dolphin Russian imperial stout. Marshall also will offer its special version of This Machine India pale ale called Pineapple Express, which debuted in March and is made with fresh pineapple and Citra hops. Powell said there will also be a surprise firkin — a small, 41-liter keg — that will be revealed at the event.
Fresh tastes
The festival also welcomes two of Oklahoma’s newest breweries, Iron Monk out of Stillwater and 405 Brewing Co. out of Norman, which will offer samples of their brews. Powell said nearly every Oklahoma brewery will be there, as will more than a dozen out-of-state breweries, including Founders Brewing Co., Goose Island Beer Company, Green Flash Brewing Company, Left Hand Brewing and Tallgrass Brewing Co. Some of those will have special beers, too, and Powell said beer geeks are looking forward to Goose Island’s Vanilla Rye, which makes its statewide debut at this fest. For those looking to balance brews with a bit of sustenance, four food trucks will be on hand. After guest response to past years’ festivals, Powell decided to forego live music this time around. He said patrons wanted more opportunity to speak with the brewers, and band noise was cited as a distraction.
m a rk ha n coc k
liFe Food & driNK
p hotos by Ga re tt fisbe c k
Yes, please The best word you might hear from a restaurant owner this year is ‘No,’ especially if it’s from Angelo Caprilli. Fresh gelato varieties at Roma’s
By Greg Elwell
“The customer is always right” is not a phrase with which Angelo Caprilli always agrees. That’s not to say the owner and mastro gelataio of Roma’s Gelato Café Espresso & Panini, 301 S. Bryant Ave., in Edmond is not accommodating. Indeed, everyone who walks through the door of the small restaurant is greeted as a friend. His courtesy and fastidiousness make each visit a joyful occasion. The door to his kitchen is open. He hides nothing. He proudly tells customers that he doesn’t use a single drop of high fructose corn syrup in his gelato. But he will not put prosciutto on that Caprese panino ($6). Part of it is that prosciutto di Parma is not cheap. This dry-cured, thinly sliced ham is a delicacy from Parma, Italy. But more to the point, it doesn’t work with the mix of mozzarella and freshly sliced tomato. When it’s pressed into a panino, the texture is all wrong. In Angelo we trust. As should you. Order the Parma ($8.08) and you’ll understand why. This is an incredibly simple sandwich: prosciutto di Parma and Brie layered between two pieces of oiled bread and grilled between the plates of the panini press.
“Maybe I’ll just have a small serving of this full-bodied Italian ice cream” is the wrong thing to say.
[insert drool emoji] (Editor’s note: No.) (Writer’s note: What do you mean, “No”?) (Editor’s note: Greg, we have been over this. I’m not going to start printing emojis in the paper.) (Writer’s note: But —) (Editor’s note: No.) It’s, uh, it’s delicious. I ate mine so quickly that Angelo was rightly worried about my health.
Caprese panino
Roma’s Gelato Café Espresso & Panini 301 S. Bryant Ave. | romasgelato.com | 708-6111 What works: Gelato, panini, coffee ... the works. What needs work: It’s a bit hidden in a large shopping center. Tip: It’s closed on Monday, so that’s not a good day to go.
A mixture of strawberry mascarpone, espresso and biscotti gelatos at Roma’s Gelato Café Espresso & Panini in Edmond.
When you order the tuna panino ($9.93) — which you absolutely should order — accept the extra napkins you are offered. The tuna you’re about to eat is the
kind packed in olive oil. It’s messy and perfect, and it will make you happy. It’s the sandwich version of a hug. With tomato, mayo, salt and pepper, it’s another simple preparation that is
exactly what it needs to be. Get a little wild while you’re there. Try the pizzaiola sandwich ($6), which includes anchovies. And get the primavera ($6) with boiled eggs. You will not be sorry. Unless you don’t leave room for gelato. Then you will be very sorry. “Maybe I’ll just have a small serving of this full-bodied Italian ice cream” is the wrong thing to say. If you order a small gelato ($3.33 with up to two flavors), you’ll be looking forward to going back up to the counter with your tail between your legs to order another in a few minutes. Survey the dining room. Do you see the number of people making weird sex faces as they eat their mascarpone and wild strawberry gelato? Can you hear the soft moans every time a bite of biscotti gelato meets their tongues? These are not people who ordered a small. These are people who want to enjoy life by eating Italian ice cream so decadent they are willing to drive to Edmond to get it. What you want is a large ($4.85) with your choice of up to four flavors. Yes, you will order panna cotta with black cherries; you will order almond, dark chocolate, espresso ... you will get a second cup because there are more flavors and you will want to taste them all. Or you could get a medium ($4.16). You know. Whatever. If Edmond is too far, there is good news for you. Roma’s sells its gelato to a few other metro-area restaurants. In Edmond, it’s at Signature Grill, 1317 E. Danforth Road. In Oklahoma City, it’s at Stella Modern Italian Cuisine, 1201 N. Walker Ave. In Moore, find it at Luigi’s Italian Bistro, 2701 S. Service Road, and in Norman, eat it at Benvenuti’s Ristorante, 105 W. Main St. But you should definitely go see Angelo. Eat a panino. Drink a cappuccino. Make weird faces and noises as you eat that gelato he makes so well. Because it’s always right to be a customer at Roma’s, even when he has to tell you no.
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food briefs
m a rk ha n coc k
by Greg Elwell
Meat matters Extensive renovations are happening at 2920 NW 63rd St., formerly a Hunan Garden, to make way for The Meat Market Refectory, said co-owner and executive chef Steve Spitz. The new restaurant, bar and market will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. “Breakfast and lunch will be very casual,” Spitz said. Dinners will be more upscale, featuring prime steaks, organic vegetables and European-style cocktails. Spitz promises a host of traditional American favorites, including chickenfried steak and Santa Fe pork with green chiles. Each morning, the restaurant will roast organic free-range chickens, whole bone-in turkey and bone-in hams. “When people order a sandwich, they get meat carved off the bone, not pressed deli meat with a bunch of preservatives,” he said. All meats, as well as a house-made sausage with a recipe that dates back to Spitz’s grandfather, will be available in the market. The restaurant, which will have three private dining rooms and a coffee and juice bar, is scheduled to open Aug. 1.
Nepal fundraiser Edmond restaurant Mt. Everest Cuisines, 1169 E. Second St., will hold a fundraiser to benefit victims of the April 25 Nepal earthquake, which killed more than 7,000 people. Mt. Everest, a Nepalese and Indian restaurant, is planning a buffet meal from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday to raise money for Laxmi-Pratisthan, an aid organization dedicated to education, community development and healthcare needs in Nepal. Manager and Nepal native Krishna Adhikari said the cause is dear to him. He emigrated to the U.S. in 2007. The restaurant opened earlier this year and has drawn visitors from across the state and region seeking Nepalese cuisine.
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Vine cut The Vine Italian Cafe, 10004 NE 23rd St., will close at the end of May, owner Chris Attanasi said. The family-owned and run business was 10 years in the planning and stayed open for half a decade, but with other professional responsibilities demanding time (including a baby on the way), the mother-father-daughter team made the difficult decision to shut the doors. Open only two hours a day for four days a week, The Vine already had a unique business model, but it worked for the owners and their loyal customers. The restaurant’s last night is May 30, the same as its opening date. Details of specials will be posted to the restaurant’s Facebook page. The family is also open to seeing its “entrepreneurial dream” live on with others and invited interested parties to visit The Vine before it closes. MARK HANCOCK / file
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liFe Food & driNK
Hoboken hooked
center Trey Woods at his shop, Hoboken Coffee Roasters, in Guthrie. right A fresh muffin and egg at Hoboken Coffee Roasters.
This former tire shop-turned-cafe in Guthrie is now a community hub. By ANGelA BoTZer
With sacks of coffee stacked in corners, stylish metal chairs and rough-hewn wooden tables, Hoboken Coffee Roasters, 224 S. Division St., in Guthrie is a comfortable, creative space for conversation and coffee. It took years of focused work by husband-and-wife owners Trey and Mallory Woods to perfect their vision for the cafe and roastery. “We held all kinds of jobs in order to remain in Guthrie while we worked and saved toward the shop,” Trey said. “I drove a school bus, Mallory worked as a nurse’s aide and in a bakery and at one point, we both worked at a snow cone stand.” The pair first met in 2007 over java while at Oklahoma State University and then moved to Oregon, where they studied coffee culture and roasting techniques. In 2010, they sold what they could (including their car), shipped a high-end espresso machine to Guthrie and biked more than 2,000 miles home. They
If you don’t have the gift of being personable, of liking people, then you don’t have the gift. These folks do.
— Robert Hayes
settled into Willie’s Tire building, an empty warehouse in the town located just north of Edmond. “When we first started working here, it was a mess with no electricity, plumbing, heating or air conditioning,” Trey said. It was risky, but there was promise. “When Mallory saw the ceiling, we decided the place was perfect. They don’t make ceilings like this anymore,” Trey said of the beautifully aged wooden beams above him. Mallory grew up in Guthrie and
has always been fascinated with its abundance of Victorian-inspired architecture. Trey was born in Bethany. Their shop is filled with local antiques and design elements influenced by their time spent in the American Northwest.
Courteous coffee
Monday is coffee roasting day for the Woods, and their machine is a big, topof-the-line Diedrich from Idaho. “I can do a 10-pound batch of coffee in 10 to 15 minutes,” Trey said. The beans are sourced from Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders in Southern California, Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee from Guatemala and direct-trade farmers. “Our focus was to create great coffee in a great atmosphere and form a space where we get to know the local people,” Trey said. Robert Hayes is one of those people. He’s a self-proclaimed daily regular. “I come here because not only do I
enjoy a good cup of coffee, I enjoy the ambiance,” Hayes said. He also comes in to enjoy the array of vinyl albums the Woods play on an old-fashioned turntable. A horse-trainer by trade and a Guthrie native, he said he keeps coming back to Hoboken because of its friendly owners. “Your gifts will make room for you,” Hayes said, paraphrasing the book of Proverbs from the Bible. “If you don’t have the gift of being personable, of liking people, then you don’t have the gift. These folks do.” There’s more than coffee and hospitality here. The couple also creates and sells baked goods — including muffins, cakes, cookies and biscotti — and offers teas, including chai latte. “Saturday is our busiest day. People relax with coffee on the patio,” Trey said. “We get a lot of outsiders stopping here before going antique shopping.” Visit hobokencoffeeroasters.com.
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Veggie rage Bust those stereotypes. Not all vegetarians are hippies. Sure, notable lovers of peace, like Mohandas Gandhi and Punk’d star Dax Shepard don’t eat meat, but did you know the Hulk is a vegetarian? (You don’t get that green without lots of kale.) Rob Zombie might love gore, but he doesn’t love eating animal flesh. So if stereotypes make you angry, well, don’t get angry. Just eat vegan and vegetarian finds that are all the rage.
The earth Cafe & deli
wholly Guacamole Kitchen
309 s. Flood Ave., Norman 364-3551
9015 se 29th st., Midwest City 610-6594
Easy, vegetarians. Don’t lose your tempeh. But if you do, you’ll be happy to know that The Earth has some delicious tacos to help you refill your crucial tempeh stores. You’ll be singing “Soy to the World” in no time.
Nursing your wounds after the latest evening spent at vegetarian fight club, where the first rule is ‘Don’t talk about how much you miss bacon’? Then soothe your aches and pains with the avocado enchiladas at Wholly Guacamole Kitchen. Creamy, cheesy and delicious, they’ll get you ready for your next battle with your split personality.
— by Greg Elwell, photos by Garett Fisbeck and Mark Hancock
Picasso Cafe 3009 Paseo st. picassosonpaseo.com | 602-2002
Being a vegan cowpoke ain’t easy, pardner, but if you’d rather herd cattle than eat them, Picasso Cafe has your number with the “chickenfried” portobello mushroom topped with vegan soy gravy and served with a side of fries. Best of all, it’s light enough that you’ll be quick on the draw for your next showdown against Meaty Mel and the Clogged Artery Gang.
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The Loaded Bowl theloadedbowltruck.com 802-9599
“What’re you looking at, Mac?” you sneer at passersby. The last thing you need when you’re ticked off is some looky-loo gawking at your dinner. But they can’t help but wonder how good vegan macaroni and cheese from a truck could be. Hint: If it’s from The Loaded Bowl, it’s pretty damn good.
Haiget’s Restaurant & Catering 308 W. Edmond Road haigets.com | 509-6441
If you’ve never tried Ethiopian food, the yemsir wot from Haiget’s will have you seeing red. How you made it this far without digging into this spicy red lentil stew with a handful of injera bread is a mystery even science cannot solve.
The Red Cup
Cafe Antigua
3122 N. Classen Blvd. theredcupokc.com | 525-3430
1903 N. Classen Blvd. 602-8984
Ease that angry vegetarian streak the way smart Italians have for years: with a mouthful of these balls. And at The Red Cup, in addition to serious hippie cred (not that we’re calling you a hippie!), you can enjoy those balls without meat and on top of a big bowl of perfectly cooked noodles.
Ay, ay, ay. If your meat-free existence has got you hot under the collar, you might be in the market for huevos motuleños at Cafe Antigua. A stack of corn tortillas stuffed with black beans and topped with a couple of eggs, zesty chirmol sauce and cheese, this dish has the spice you need stay sizzling.
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LIFE CULTURE
Ironed out
M A RK HA N COC K
The Flatiron Gateway Building is the latest OKC landmark to be restored.
BY LOUIS FOWLER
— Rand Elliott
Many of the most famous Flatiron buildings were erected in cities such as New York City, where the most iconic, the Flatiron in Manhattan, built in 1902, popularized the structure shaped like an old-fashioned clothes iron, and most of the buildings have been around since the mid-19th century. The need for Flatirons in the metro was formed by the traffic patterns and trolley system in the 1920s during Oklahoma City’s early development, Elliott said. C.F. Meadors designed and developed the Flatiron Gateway Building in 1924, and it helped grow the mostly German immigrant district into a thriving area of commerce. Elliott believes that his current work on the building is a continuation of what Meadors set out to accomplish.
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P ROVI DED
Managing to escape Oklahoma City’s Urban Renewal phase in the ’60s and ’70s — in which buildings were razed in the name of progress — the Flatiron Gateway has sat vacant for the past 27 years. The building’s survival is due to what Elliott refers to as changing attitudes about the classic architecture of OKC. “Demolition is kind of a last resort these days, as opposed to first choice,” Elliott said. “[Demolition] is much more on people’s radar screen and is scrutinized much more than it was at one time, and I think that’s really positive. With the renovation in full swing, the Flatiron will become the headquarters for PLICO, an insurance company that insures physicians. Elliott plans on the building offering around 70,000 square feet of office space on five levels, three levels of parking integrated inside the building and retail offerings to be set up on the ground level of the northeast corner. Contemporary additions to the modernized beautification of the building include a five-story glass elevator, a south-facing outdoor deck, “postcard views” of the surrounding neighborhoods and most festively, “celebration lighting,” Elliott describes as “vertical LED lights that will change colors with the season (including the NBA season, with game days in Thunder blue).” “What we feel like we have to opportunity to do is … between the
block where I am in the Harding building (35 Harrison Avenue), and that particular block, there’s really an opportunity to jumpstart The Flatiron District and really take a step forward,” Elliott said.
District creation
Elliott and his team are adamant that their mission is more than just renovating a building or creating new office space. They hope to bring retail shops and businesses back to the area and create a new district: The Flatiron District. They hope to bring urban revitalization to the area in the same way the Plaza District and Midtown projects have reinvigorated their respective areas of town. Noting that the neighborhood
MARK HANCOCK
Demolition is kind of a last resort these days, as opposed to first choice.
above The Flatiron Building at NW Fifth Street and Harrison Avenue undergoes renovations. at left A rendering of the finished Flatiron Building.
P ROVI DED
Over the past year, Oklahoma City has garnered an impressive array of architectural saviors determined to make sure that the metro’s most classic buildings avoid dates with the wrecking ball. From the renovation of the iconic Tower Theatre and the Milk Bottle Building at NW 23rd Street and Classen Avenue, it seems Oklahoma City has entered a new era in structural preservation. Local architect Rand Elliott has recently announced plans to completely restore and revitalize the Flatiron Building — now called the Flatiron Gateway Building — at NW Fifth Street and Harrison Avenue. The team working on the building includes developer Chuck Ainsworth, Lingo Construction and Elliott’s own Elliott + Associates. The $3.5 million renovation of the building has already started, and Elliott said it’s poised to once again become the “gateway to downtown,” thanks to its easy accessibility to the area.
Rand Elliott
already has Urban Johnnie and Native Roots Market, Elliott believes that it is well on its way to returning to a selfcontained, self-sustaining area. “Harding Brothers Meat Company was the neighborhood grocery and retail, and if you saw historic photographs of this neighborhood, you’d see that there were gas stations and stores and laundries,” Elliott said. “You had these small pockets, which created these neighborhoods where you’d go to the store, you’d buy fresh produce, those types of things each day as opposed to shopping for a month or something like that. What we’re seeing are these pockets returning, and I think that’s a very significant thing happening today.” The actual district boundaries have yet to be defined, but this whole project has been one of Elliott’s dreams since moving into the Harding building in 1995. Every morning, he would look out the window and see this boardedup building across the street that, to him, held so much promise as a useful building and a sort of ambassador to downtown. And while the total project has taken longer than he first thought it would in the ’90s, his hopes that the neighborhood around it would develop and grow over time have occurred, making now the most perfect time to move forward and for the building to take its place as the “gateway into downtown” from the east and the latest in a growing line of Oklahoma City renovation success stories. “I think there comes a point when you just decide it’s time to do something, and if no one else is going to do it and there’s a desire — maybe no one else has the vision or they’re fearful of doing it or whatever reason — you have to mentally decide it’s time,” Elliott said. “This is all about local, organic growth, and that’s about as good as it gets.”
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Heart smart
The CDC and American Heart Association team up to change Oklahoma’s nutrition standards. BY LOUIS FOWLER
According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Oklahoma ranks 50th in the nation for fruit consumption and 44th for vegetable consumption. Eating fruits and vegetables could lower the risk of some cancers, diabetes, heart disease and obesity, all things that affect numerous Oklahomans on a daily basis. It’s these statistics that put the Sooner State at the top of the list when the CDC recently announced it was offering six funding awards to prevent chronic disease and encourage healthy lifestyles. The American Heart Association (AHA) was selected to help carry out the campaign. “The Oklahoma City market was selected to work on implementing local programs to improve nutrition and access to healthy options,” said Calley McGehee Herth, director of communications for the Oklahoma City American Heart Association. The AHA is best known for its recent efforts to improve the cardiovascular health of America, with a goal of reducing death from heart diseases and strokes by 20 percent by 2020. It is also known for its CPR training, popular heart-healthy cookbooks and outreach campaigns to fight obesity in children. “The American Heart Association wants everyone to understand the threat and to know that cardiovascular diseases are largely preventable,” Herth said. “Risks can be lowered by adhering to what we call Life’s Simple 7: not smoking, being physically active, maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a healthy diet, controlling blood pressure, controlling cholesterol and controlling blood sugar.” With the funding from the CDC, the AHA will strengthen and implement new local programs that are aimed to help reduce tobacco use and exposure, improve nutrition and increase physical activity.
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from left Calley Herth and Naomi Amaha with the American Heart Association on the fourth-floor rotunda of the Oklahoma Capitol. “[Oklahoma City was selected] to receive this grant in part due to [its] recent commitment to nutrition and healthy lifestyles,” Herth said. “The state as a whole has considerable lengths to go in order to see improvement in health, and that made the area a great place to put forth this effort. Given the market’s previous receptivity to adopting healthy changes and commitment to getting recommended exercise, we feel optimistic about the city’s population taking part in the upcoming changes.”
THE 15 MARKETS AND THEIR FOCUS AREAS: 1. Hartford, Connecticut: nutrition 2. Beaverton, Oregon: physical activity 3. Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George Counties, Maryland: nutrition 4. Bismarck/Mandan, North Dakota: nutrition 5. Incline Village/Washoe County, Nevada: Smoke-free 6. Oklahoma City: nutrition 7. Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania: nutrition 8. Providence, Rhode Island: nutrition and physical activity 9. Memphis/Shelby County, Tennessee: nutrition 10. Central Texas: Smoke-free 11. Houston and Fort Bend County, Texas: Smoke-free 12. San Antonio, Texas: nutrition 13. Hampton Roads, Virginia: nutrition 14. Kanawha County, West Virginia: nutrition and physical activity 15. Fox Valley, South-Central and Central, Wisconsin: nutrition and physical activity
M A RK HA N COC K
LIFE HEALTH
GA RE TT FI S BE C K
LIFE COMMUNITY
Facilitating family Sunbeam has helped youth and working-class poor for more than 100 years, and it is still expanding. BY ANYA ALVAREZ
In 1907, Sunbeam Family Services opened its doors to serve neglected children in the Oklahoma City area. Since then, it has expanded its services, reaching more than 8,300 people in the area last year. Its services include counseling, an emergency shelter for the elderly, foster parent placement and an early childhood education program for at-risk youth. Recently, Sunbeam relocated to a new campus that boasts more than 45,000 square feet. Erin Engelke, chief external relations officer at Sunbeam, said the new building allows them to reach even more people. It also feels more like a home, with a fireplace in the lobby and sitting areas in which members can converse. “Truly, Sunbeam is home to so many throughout the Oklahoma City area. Clients, staff, volunteers and donors are an extended family to each other,” Engelke said. Jim Priest, the CEO of Sunbeam, said its main mission is to serve the poor and working poor of central Oklahoma. “We serve people from cradle to crane. All ages and stages of life come through our doors,” Priest said. When Kerstin Gonzales, 19, received a Kia car from Thunder star Russell Westbrook, it was Engelke who had recommended her for the gift. “I knew she was the perfect recipient for the car. She has come such a long way, and she deserved it,” Engelke said. The video of Gonzales receiving the car went viral. However, while receiving the car was a weight lifted off
Mayor Mick Cornett talks with Erin Engelke during the grand opening ceremony of Sunbeam Family Services’ new campus. Gonzales’ shoulders after borrowing cars for years from friends, she feels more blessed with the family she has gained while at Sunbeam. After becoming pregnant at 14 years old, Gonzales dropped out of high school and moved in with her grandmother. Gonzales said that through the support of Sunbeam — it provided diapers, wipes, clothing and daycare — it was possible for her to attend Emerson Alternative Education High School. She graduates this month and hopes she will work at Sunbeam in the future. “I would love to be part of changing people’s lives like mine was changed,” she said. Oklahoma currently ranks first in the nation for women incarcerated and second for adults struggling with mental illnesses. In addition, parts of Oklahoma City have the highest childhood poverty rate, child abuse and neglect in Oklahoma County. Priest said these statistics highlight the reason Sunbeam is an integral part of the city. “We are in our 108th year of providing services to people,” Priest said. “We stand to not only be a provider of services, but also a preventer of need for those services by working on upstream solutions to the problems we face.”
Best in the West U.S. News and World Report has ranked Central as the top public regional university in Oklahoma on its Regional Universities: West category in its just-released Best Colleges 2015 list, labeling Central as a Tier One institution. We’re proud to be Oklahoma’s metropolitan university, serving as a smart investment for students looking for an innovative learning community rich with opportunities to transform their lives. Learn why more and more students are choosing to Live Central – schedule a tour today!
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA Edmond, OK • (405) 974-2000 • www.uco.edu TM
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Job Corps
LIFE HEALTH
Want to become part of a winning team, earning & getting a bi-weekly allowance while training? If your answer is “YES”, then call GUTHRIE JOB CORPS CENTER for more information.
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P ROVI DED
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Skin savvy Damon Lane recently battled cancer, but his story isn’t an uncommon one.
BY MARK BEUTLER
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Damon Lane first noticed a small bump on the side of his nose last summer. As KOCO-TV’s chief meteorologist, Lane covered the bump with makeup before going on the air. After about six months, the bump was still there and he knew something was wrong. “It was kind of like a pimple that would bleed,” Lane said. “Then it would heal about 90 percent and bleed again a few weeks later. Luckily, it was in my line-of-sight and not hidden on the back of my neck, so I was able to watch it and see it every day. I knew something wasn’t right and that it needed to be looked at.” Lane’s doctor performed a biopsy and called him with the results early the next day. “It was squamous cell carcinoma,” Lane said. “In February, I had surgery, which went in and removed all of the cancer. It was a little bit deeper than normal. As a result of that diagnosis, I now have a 50-50 chance of getting skin cancer again.”
No shade Outdoor Festival 10 a.m. − 4 p.m. Museum Open 10 a.m. − 5 p.m. (405) 478-2250 1700 NE 63rd St • Oklahoma City, OK
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Like many men, Lane says summertime always meant running around in a pair of shorts and no shirt, soaking up the sun. “But this type of cancer does not arise because of a single incident but
Damon Lane, pictured here with wife Melissa Newton, said his squamous cell carcinoma first appeared as a pimplelike lesion on the right side of his nose. rather a prolonged stretch of my life being outdoors,” he said. Not long after surgery, Lane was back on the air, sporting a bandage to cover the scar. Rather than try to hide his illness, he was open with viewers about what had happened, hopefully giving them some incentive to get checked. “It was very visible,” Lane said. “Some said I deserved it because I cut into one of their shows and ruined a day of programming for them. Seriously, though, the best advice I can give everyone is to go get checked, even if you think it’s no big deal.” Lane’s diagnosis was one of several types of common skin cancer; others include basal cell and the most deadly, melanoma. Dr. Lori Hansen is one of Oklahoma City’s leading cosmetic surgeons and has dealt extensively with skin cancer and post-surgery reconstruction. “Skin cancer treatment totally depends upon the cell type of the cancer,” Hansen said. “Some cancers are so characteristic in appearance
that the appearance alone can make the diagnosis.” The treatment for some cancers includes simple destructive methods like shaving, burning or freezing, Hansen said, but in some cases, surgery might be required. “If the doctor suspects melanoma, a full thickness biopsy must be performed in order to determine the best treatment for the best cure rate,” Hansen said. Anyone can develop skin cancer, Hansen said, but northern European races are more likely to develop it. Estimates show one in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer in the course of their lifetime. Even more frightening, statistics show that one person dies from melanoma every hour. “All skin cancers initially spread locally but can certainly spread throughout the body, although that is exceedingly rare with basal cell and very uncommon with squamous cell cancer,” Hansen said. Melanoma, on the other hand, is more likely to spread — first to greater depths and then into the
lymphatic system and to distant parts of the body. Hansen said the bottom line is that basal cell and squamous cell cancers are rarely fatal. In fact, they have a very good cure rate. But melanomas can kill you, especially if they spread to lymph nodes or elsewhere in the body. As warmer weather pervades the state, many will be shedding layers of clothes and spending copious amounts of time in the sun. Nationwide, the month of May is recognized as Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month. Hansen says you can still enjoy summer, but protection is the first key to staying safe.
Luckily, it was in my line-of-sight and not hidden on the back of my neck, so I was able to watch it and see it every day.
P ROVI DED
Damon Lane after his operation.
Deborah donated her ‘97 Toyota Tercel
TURN YOUR CAR INTO PROGRAMS YOU LOVE ON KGOU! You get free towing, a tax deduction and the great feeling that comes from doing something to support KGOU!
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— Damon Lane
Damon Lane in recovery.
“Wear sunscreen, hats and sun protective clothing,” she said. Sunscreen should be at least SPF 30 because it’s rarely applied thickly enough. There is SPF-rated clothing, too. She said a t-shirt only has an SPF of 5. “The second key is monitoring lesions and moles. In this day and age, one should seek the counsel of a dermatologist,” Hansen said. “Any mole that changes is one a doctor should see. Melanomas can occur pretty much anywhere, but at least you can protect your skin from sun exposure.”
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Active duty Serve Moore was created in the wake of the 2013 tornado, but its work expands past disaster relief. BY ALISSA LINDSEY
When the May 2013 tornado struck Moore, five local churches started a disaster relief organization called Serve Moore. It has brought a new Community Renewal Center to the recovering area. The center is now open and is home to Serve Moore, the Long-Term Area Recovery Committee of Central Oklahoma and the Moore office of the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center. “What we really see as our mission or vision is simply to mobilize people to love and serve central Oklahoma … by encouraging people to be a part of their community,” said Chris Fox, a team leader at Serve Moore and a pastor elder at Moore Community Church. As a team leader, Fox gets to meet with every volunteer team to share Serve Moore’s vision with them. The May 2013 tornado served as a call to action for pastors from Frontline Church, Moore Community Church, Love & Justice Church, Adventus Church and Covenant Life Assembly. Fox, along with the other pastors, recruited up to 500 volunteers on Twitter, but the next day, 3,300 volunteers arrived to serve. The City of Moore Parks & Recreation Department asked them to clean up the cemetery because Memorial Day was that weekend. From there, the volunteers created maps of areas in need and served six days a week for a month. To date, Serve Moore has mobilized almost 50,000 volunteers. For the spring and summer volunteer season, it has 600 volunteers lined up to serve in the community. “Serve Moore is based in partnership and teamwork. It’s based in people and organizations coming together to do something that’s bigger than the sum of their parts … and no single church could have made this
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Chris Fox points to a damage assessment from Moore’s March 25, 2013, tornado, plotted on a map at the Community Renewal Center. impact as big as it was,” Fox said. As a hub of community services, the center will offer access to disaster relief and community renewal for Moore and the surrounding communities. This includes a longterm recovery committee working across the entire disaster path, services from American Red Cross, case management services, disaster preparedness resources for small businesses and connections among the disaster relief community. In the future, the Community Renewal Center would like to add a free monthly medical clinic, a foster care agency, an Old Town Association and Keep Moore County Beautiful. With a 6,000-square-foot building, the possibilities are endless. In the past, the building has been home to the courthouse, the Moore branch of the Cleveland County Health Department and the police station. “When we can call tornado recovery completed, we want to be a community renewal source in central Oklahoma by helping anyone who needs that help,” Fox said. At that time, Serve Moore plans to turn its attention to the elderly and military families with active-duty spouses who need home repairs done. The organization also wants to start a project that would combine art and therapy for school-aged kids to create murals downtown. The Community Renewal Center is located at 224 S. Chestnut Ave. in Moore. For more information about Serve Moore or to volunteer, visit servemoore.com.
M A RK HA N COC K
LIFE COMMUNITY
LIFE VISUAL ARTS
Youth movement P HOTOS BY M A RK HA N COC K
Interest in the arts grows as young professionals expand their social, professional and fun-loving networks.
BY GREG HORTON
One of the downsides of the rapid growth our city has experienced over the past several years is the anonymity that comes from being new in a city or being surrounded by new faces. The circles in which we meet people are typically few — work, school, faith communities or lifestyle activities — and except for the latter, the circles do not guarantee common interests or even similar ages. Three professional organizations dedicated to the arts are helping negate this phenomenon by connecting Oklahomans with their neighbors around shared interests and similar ages. Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Museum of Art and Oklahoma City Ballet all have young professional groups that make space in their lives for networking, socializing and developing relationships around a passion for the arts. The newest of these organizations calls itself Moderns, and it’s made up of patrons of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive. The group has grown extraordinarily fast. It formed in July 2014 and has already reached
Kate Cunningham is a member of Moderns, a young professionals group affiliated with the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
230 members. Kate Cunningham, an account executive at Saxum PR and a member of Moderns’ steering committee, said membership in the group includes behind-the-scenes access and more. “Getting involved with the Moderns gives young professionals access to world-class art and VIP learning opportunities as well as the chance to network with fellow Moderns and other museum members,” Cunningham said. The theme of networking runs throughout all three groups, especially networking around members’ passion in particular forms of art. Tori Raines is also a member of Moderns, and the architectural historian acknowledges a love for the arts, even as she is not an artist herself. She calls herself “art-adjacent” and supports the group and the city. “There’s a sense of ownership and responsibility among young people to help educate the community about the exciting arts and culture happenings within OKC and beyond,” Raines said. “I love that groups like this one are springing up all over the city.”
Attraction
What art does for a city — other than making it more interesting — might be hard to quantify, but Raines believes that it helps make a city more beautiful to experience and attracts other young, creative professionals. “I see the arts and the flourishing young professionals scene as absolutely one of the reasons the city continues to attract young, vibrant, creative professionals who will only continue to help improve OKC with their presence and their ideas,” she said. Cynthia Nichols, a member of The Barre, the young professionals group associated with Oklahoma City Ballet, said young patrons also are important for the future of the arts. “Getting young people engaged in the arts is also about fundraising,” Nichols said. “We get the community involved and engaged, and they sustain interest and support in the future.” Nichols, a graphic design professor at Oklahoma State University, moved to the metro from Alabama after
from left Jenni Fosbenner, Cheryl Brashear and Allison Goodman, board members with Overture, OKC Philharmonic’s young professionals group completing her Ph.D. She has also found the young professionals group to be a good way to meet new people and develop relationships around her love for ballet. “I think ballet is an abstract idea for most people; they think of it as something they don’t want to attend, so we have parties and events that make it easier to experience the ballet,” Nichols said. “The group can help get people interested in ballet again.” Membership with The Barre includes tickets to three of the four shows every season, excluding only The Nutcracker. However, because of its support, Oklahoma City Ballet invited The Barre to attend the final dress rehearsal of The Nutcracker last year, meaning members of the group were among the first to see the stunning new sets that were purchased with help from Devon Energy. Ballet requires experiencing it to understand the unique storytelling power of dance and costumes, sets and expressive faces. Jessi Chapman attended the ballet regularly as a child because her mother liked it. Last year, she and her boyfriend attended the season-opening party at The Caliber in Automobile Alley. They both joined The Barre as a result of the party, and Chapman has rediscovered her love for ballet. “It was the people that made the difference,” she said. “Not only did we have a shared interest, they were all so kind and welcoming.”
Appreciation
Chapman is a junior at the University of Central Oklahoma majoring in fine art photography. She represents an important demographic target of young professionals groups because of her age
and interests and because she is a future contributor to the arts community. Like Chapman, many of us experience the arts very early in life, and at some point, perhaps we put down crayons or colored pencils and we never make the transition from The Nutcracker to “grown-up” ballet or modern dance. The young professional groups provide a segue from our forgotten artistic yearnings and clumsy first attempts to a newfound appreciation for the beauty and power of art as adults. The Philharmonic might have the most difficult task of all, as appreciating music for music’s sake is far less visual and attention-grabbing than dance or architectural tours. Overture is the Philharmonic’s young professionals group, and members have the option to purchase up to five “party packages” every season. The tickets admit members of Overture to an after-party that follows every performance. Jenni Fosbenner is a senior tax manager and a member of the board of Overture, and she said the group has a unique approach for the concerts: Members all sit together in one section of Civic Center Music Hall. The shared experience happens side by side, so the group gets to know each other very well. After the show, members typically attend themed after-parties. And while the networking is important, Fosbenner believes the arts make for a better city and better residents. “I think the arts are such a vital part of developing people into well-rounded individuals,” Fosbenner said. “They also open our minds and allow us to think about things. To have a great city, the city needs to have entertainment available to its citizens that stimulates all of the senses, and the arts do just that.”
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LIFE PERFORMING ARTS
P ROVI DE D
All ages Kathleen Madigan performs in Tulsa for a night of laughs that everyone can enjoy.
Kathleen Madigan
BY KORY B. OSWALD
Kathleen Madigan 8 p.m. Friday Brady Theater 105 W. M.B. Brady St., Tulsa bradytheater.com (866) 977-6849 $29.50-$35 Note: Doors open at 7 p.m.
Kathleen Madigan is one of the hardest working comedians in showbiz. It’s a cliché, but it’s true. And she is immutably cemented in the business at this point, having appeared on almost every talk show you can think of in addition to touring, releasing comedy albums and recording three hour-long live specials. “I don’t even remember where I’ve worked,” Madigan joked. But she remembers Oklahoma. She brings her quirky observations to Tulsa’s Brady Theater on Friday. Her first time to the state was for a Tulsa gig with stand-up comedian Ron White. They toured Tulsa like they were on vacation — something Madigan tries to do during her inaugural visit to any city. “We toured Oral Roberts University; we did the touristy things. We went to the big [Golden Driller statue],” she said. “But once you do all the touristy stuff in a town … you just start going back as a normal person.” And she keeps coming back. Why? Well, she’s quirky. Who else gets such a kick from oversized roadside tributes to oil and religion? The Golden Driller is 76 feet tall and touted as the fifth-tallest statue in the nation. Oral Roberts University is most famous for its 30-ton bronze sculpture called Praying Hands, which is also known as the largest praying hands statue on the planet. And Elvis played there once. Madigan recently spoke to the Gazette via phone from a tour stop in Detroit. In her most recent live special, Kathleen Madigan: Madigan Again, she said loves the city because it has a lot in common with her hometown, St. Louis — namely, the murder rate.
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“We usually flip-flop in No. 1 and No. 2 in murder. It’s usually Detroit and then St. Louis, which is why I feel so close to you people,” she said. “I understand the element that you live with that at any moment, shit could get weird.” Having started her career as a comedian more than 25 years ago, Madigan has made the rounds in comedy and established friendships with top comedians who have also taken her on tour and television. She made her fifth appearance on Ron White’s Salute to the Troops, airing soon on CMT. But it is her trademark stand-up humor that has taken her from every type of comedy club you can imagine to television and accolades. The long road is one she chooses. “It’s just been a slow, slow, slow build … I never had a giant leap where I got to skip a bunch of steps,” Madigan said. “I would prefer to do it this way. Sometimes the faster you rise is just as how fast you will fall.” Her comedy is a calm, perceptive summary of life and the aspects that go along with being an adult and an American citizen. She claims to love Obama because he is always reaching out to the people to contact their representatives. However, she admitted she’d like a little help knowing exactly who those reps are. “Because unless they’re hosting Shark Week or preparing for the end of the world, I am probably not familiar with their work,” she said on Madigan Again. Her jokes aren’t dirty because those jokes are tired. So are relationship jokes, she said, and they should be left to people like Ray Romano because he does them right. Madigan doesn’t delve too deeply into subjects. She casually sets herself up and delivers punch lines with a sly laugh. All of it combines to elevate her comedy to a funny, thoughtful place that her audiences connect with.
COVER ACTIVE
Cycling Mass M A RK HA N COC K
Family-friendly Oklahoma City cycling group Kidical Mass teaches both riders and the community about safety and health. BY BEN FELDER
As the traffic light turns red, cars traveling along Classen Boulevard come to a stop. A cyclist leisurely rides past the stopped motorists as they stare, followed by another and another and then a large group of cyclists. This is Kidical Mass, a local group that hopes to promote bike-friendly city streets and raise awareness of cycling as an activity for families and children. “It’s about teaching people how to ride a bike in the city and showing other people that there are families on bikes, that this is a real thing,” said Tom Peryam, Oklahoma City Kidical Mass organizer. “A lot of people kind of rule out [cycling] when they have kids
because they think it’s too dangerous.” Playing off the cycling term “critical mass,” it launched in 2008 in Oregon and has since grown to include over 50 cities across the country. Each group has its own goals. In Oklahoma City, which consistently ranks low for cycling infrastructure and riders, Peryam said he wanted his group to have fun while raising awareness. “This is to show people that in this city, you can get around on a bike,” he said. “It increases the visibility of people on bikes and makes motorists more aware that we are out there.” Nathaniel Harding joined in on a recent Kidical Mass ride and said he believes people here now want more
bikeable communities. “It seems we are finally starting to get to that point [where demand is growing] and the city is taking notice of it,” Harding said. Beyond the Kidical Mass ride, Harding sometimes cycles to work and to drop his daughter off at school. “There are some places [in the city] that have a bike lane,” he said. “But then there isn’t one and you kind of get stuck in the middle [of the road].” Kidical Mass rides are often short and offer some type of treat reward at the end. A recent one went from Mesta Park to the Plaza District, ending with visits to Roxy’s Ice Cream Social and Pie Junkie.
Anna Peryman rides with her daughter Marilee as part of a recent Kidical Mass ride in OKC. Peryam said outings aren’t competitive and the group stays together, meaning that if one person stops, everyone stops. Also, riding groups have continued in size and popularity. “We just started this in September to see what would happen,” Peryam said. “This just seemed like something Oklahoma City was ripe for.” For more information, find @KidicalOKC on Twitter or its group page at facebook.com/groups/ KidicalOKC.
LIFE ACTIVE
Live free
Matt Cowden
An annual run benefits animals in Guthrie and honors the memory of a resident. BY MARK BEUTLER
5 p.m. Saturday Guthrie theseespotrun.com $15-$30
Chris Cowden’s job regularly took him to the rural parts of Oklahoma, where, quite often, he would encounter a fourlegged friend in need of help. He would give it a ride back to town and get to work finding it a good home. “Chris had many friends and relatives, so it wasn’t unusual for any of us to be the recipient of a new pet,” said his older brother Matt. “He was very persuasive. He just couldn’t stand to see an animal suffer.” Cowden was an avid jogger and routinely hit the streets of downtown Guthrie, his hometown. One day in May 2008, he went out for a ride on his motorcycle and was involved in a fatal
crash. He died instantly upon impact. Matt and his sisters Teri and Suzanne spent the next several weeks consoling each other and grieving for their brother. Then they channeled that grief into something positive, a way to honor his memory. The idea they came up with was The See Spot Run 5k, 10k and kid’s fun run event that benefits Edmond’s Free to Live animal sanctuary. “We knew Chris loved to run and he loved animals, so this made perfect sense,” said Matt. “The run follows the actual route through Guthrie that Chris used to jog. Since we started, more than 3,000 runners from across Oklahoma have participated and we have raised more than $40,000 for Free to Live.” The 7th Annual See Spot Run will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday. “We changed the time to an evening run to enhance the celebratory aspect at
the finish line,” Matt said. “Food and drink will be available, and everyone is welcome. This is our way of honoring our brother’s memory and also increasing awareness about animal rights.” The run’s beneficiary, Free to Live, was established in 1984 and is Oklahoma’s largest no-kill facility. “We provide refuge to abused and abandoned animals,” said Matt Goodwin, Free to Live’s executive director. “Right now, we have over 300 dogs and cats in our facility. We work to get them healthy and then try to find them a safe, loving home.” Donations from events like The
See Spot Run are critical to keeping the sanctuary operating, and Goodwin says every dollar is put to good use. “Just like health care for humans, health care costs for animals continue to rise,” he said. “We do as much preventative care as we can and always spay and neuter each animal.” He added that all the funds received go to food, cleaning supplies and veterinarian costs. “We have a small staff that feeds and cares for the animals,” Goodwin said, “and then we also have volunteers who will come in and play with them and keep them company.” GAR ETT FISB ECK
The See Spot Run
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SuDOku/CROSSWORD SuDOku Puzzle meDium
Meet David
WWW.S UDOKU-P UZZLES .N ET
Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9.
“My joy in the process is two-part: I love to create and I love to create something I know will be as sentimental and unique as the owner.”
As a bench jeweler for over 30 years, David has been handcrafting precious metals to design unique jewelry, from bridal rings to anniversary gifts.
Come in today to meet David and find the perfect design for you.
NeW YORk TimeS CROSSWORD Puzzle ANSWeRS Puzzle No. 0503, which appeared in the May 6 issue.
S A G A L
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S O L T A A R K E K T E H Y C M A E S N E U S
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L E D I N O T D I S L P L A H E E P E T A A S H O D P S R A K A R A L I T T U N I O M Y S M T S S P O K A Z U C T O R P E N D R S E S
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E T R E
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exclusively at
Go to
okgazette.com/GWW to enter to win a pair of tickets:
CHASE RICE
Thursday, September 3, 2015 @ Diamond Ballroom
GAZETTE’S WEEKLY WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED EACH WEEK IN THE TABLE OF CONTENTS Printed winners have 7 days to claim tickets 3 6 | M ay 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e
ACROSS 1 Schnozzolas 6 More reserved 11 Mali, mostly 17 Variety of primrose 18 New York Giants founder who’s in the Pro Football Hall of Fame 20 Jacks or better, say, in poker 22 Philadelphia’s ____ Ross Bridge 23 Arctic hideaway? 25 Take for a ride 26 Higgledy-piggledy 27 Nonviolent protests 28 Mother of Hermes 29 Strikes 32 R&B’s Peniston 33 Restrained 34 Neck-stretching yoga position? 37 Haymakers? 38 Constellation next to Scorpius 39 Hound 40 Many a candidate, briefly 41 Hersey novel setting 43 Took over 45 Big win for a prominent TV financial adviser? 51 Where Bill and Hillary Clinton met, briefly 52 ____ Domenici, longtime New Mexico senator 54 Benefit offsetter 55 Old carrier name 56 ____ score (newborn health measure) 58 Original Beatles bassist Sutcliffe 59 Padre’s hermano 61 Something a GPS recalculates: Abbr. 62 Monk’s hood 65 Like makers of one-way street signs? 69 High point 70 Exclamation accented on the second syllable 71 Entry-level position, for short? 72 High-level, as a farm team 73 Bit of folk wisdom 75 Parts of a kingdom 77 Thai money 79 Certain bond, for short 81 Hardly Mr. Right 85 Environmen-talists’ concern in northern France?
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88 Classic joke target 89 Either half of a diphthong 90 1970s sitcom production co. 91 Eminem producer, informally 92 Dead end? 93 Descendant of a son of Noah 96 Igloo, e.g.? 101 Milton who led Uganda to independence 102 “The race ____!” 103 Melees 104 State that borders three Can. provinces 105 Locale of a 1984 industrial disaster 107 Shuffle, e.g. 108 Lend, slangily 111 One sending money from France or Germany? 114 Bayer brand 115 Winter vehicle 116 Sneak previews 117 Roman harvest goddess 118 Completely strip 119 Starting words of some 120-Across 120 See 119-Across
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DOWN 1 Some haircuts 2 C.O.O., e.g. 3 Communion spot 4 Fate 5 Sleeper, maybe 6 Takes part in a joint session? 7 Kaiser, e.g., for short 8 Jabbers 9 Beethoven’s Third 10 Whitewater enthusiast 11 Herr’s heirs? 12 Humans’ cousins 13 Brooder 14 Irregular 15 Adjust at Moody’s, say 16 Not so conventional 18 Petruchio’s task vis-à-vis Katharina 19 ____ sense 21 Herring relatives 24 Mini mints 26 Take ____ off 30 Beautified 31 Sandpiper’s domain 33 Whom the witches deem “lesser than Macbeth, and greater”
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O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | M ay 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | 3 7
3 8 | m ay 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e
life music
Fearless geeks They Might Be Giants boasts one of the largest and most eclectic music catalogues of any band in the world, with no sign of slowing.
s hervi N La i N eZ / p rovi ded
By GReG hoRToN
an evening with They might Be Giants 9:15 p.m. friday Diamond Ballroom 8001 s. eastern ave. diamondballroom.net 866-977-6849 $19 Note: Doors open at 8 p.m., and guests must be at least 14 years old.
They Might Be Giants (TMBG) released its independent, self-titled first album in 1986, five years after MTV debuted on U.S. cable stations. That was a long time ago, back when the channel still aired music videos and backed genres like college rocker, alternative and indie pop, which were eventually abandoned during the rise of grunge and hip-hop. All of it would later be abandoned for reality programming, and the network even dropped “music television” from its name. Regardless, it was a pivotal time for Brooklyn-based duo John Linnell and John Flansburgh. TMBG released its major-label debut, Flood, in early 1990. The album — and its idiosyncratic music videos — quickly earned a worldwide exposure and popularity with its eclectic, minimalistic instrumentation, nerdy lyrics and programmed drumbeats. Two singles, “Birdhouse in Your Soul” and “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” became careerdefining concert staples. “We weren’t really in synch with the whole grunge movement,” Linnell told Oklahoma Gazette in a recent interview. When rock turned to sloth and drug culture, the pair went in the opposite direction. “We added a full band for the John Henry project (the band’s 1994 album),” Linnell said. “We had always considered ourselves a duo.” It didn’t help the band, but it certainly didn’t stop it. As the distortion-laden hardcore punk and heavy metal-tinged “Seattle sound” swept from the U.S. into the U.K., even overseas press soon dumped its long-standing affinity for unconventional, well-played geek rock. “We had been very popular in the U.K., both with fans and the press,” Linnell said. “But it got to the point that fans there sort of hoped that all
They might Be Giants
acts would show up in plaid shirts with scraggly hair.” That still didn’t hinder TMBG, and its core fanbase only grew more loyal. In the era of landlines and answering machines, the band built an extensive song library with its Dial-A-Song shtick. Fans could call a Brooklyn phone number to hear music the duo played and recorded to its answering machine. By 2000, the program became a website with more than 500 songs. By 2006, it morphed into a podcast. Its catalogue proves that TMBG is one of the most prolific bands anywhere.
Child’s play
Around 2000, Linnell and Flansburgh also started writing children’s projects. It was a natural, if not unconventional, fit. Linnell reminisced about TMBG’s first independent release and its cartoonish cover by abstract and gamingthemed artist Rodney Alan Greenblat. “Our first album … looked like the cover of a children’s album,” he said. “In fact, Tower Records actually filed it under children’s music in their stores.” Flash forward almost two decades, and No!, Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s were critically acclaimed, best-selling, youth-driven albums. The latter earned TMBG a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children. TMBG does kid-friendly shows, but
Many of our fans have nothing in common with each other except liking us. — John Linnell
it’s careful to remind everyone that most of its tours are adult-oriented affairs. Longtime fans slam-dance and curse, and TMBG plays its roster of hits and new music, which isn’t always clean. Its Friday show at Diamond Ballroom is a PG-13-type affair, and the band recommends attendees be age 14 or older. Linnell said he and Flansburgh are working on another youth album and will tour for that later this year.
‘Feast or famine’
This is already a busy year for the band. Glean, its 17th studio album, dropped April 21, and it resurrected its dormant Dial-a-Song project, even as the pair plans the first leg of its U.S. tour. “It’s a bit feast or famine for us,” Linnell said. “We alternate between
writing and recording, and this year is definitely busier than last year.” Dial-a-Song can be downloaded from its website or streamed on iTunes. “The first four months of 2015 featured the songs that ended up on Glean,” Linnell said. “We are still recording one song a week so that at the end of this year, there will be 52 new songs available.” Fans can also stream the band’s catalogue via Spotify, and Linnell remains “an agnostic” about the sometimescontroversial streaming service. “I’m not angry like some people who want more compensation,” Linnell said. “The business has changed, and even bigshot artists are making less money, and no one makes very much anymore selling CDs or downloads.” They Might Be Giants is doing fine, though, and Linnell said it helps that the duo doesn’t don’t care much about getting rich or about pleasing everyone all the time. “We didn’t try to figure out what people wanted,” Linnell said. “We knew what we liked, and we avoided things we weren’t good at, so we decided to enjoy it even if we didn’t find an audience.” Linnell said he expects the Oklahoma City audience to be an eclectic one. “Many of our fans have nothing in common with each other except liking us,” he said.
O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | m ay 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | 3 9
The Steel Wheels
Summer swoon The Depot kicks launches its seasonal concert series with The Handsome Devils, The Steel Wheels, Kelly Willis, Mama Sweet and North Meets South. By Zach Jacobs
Summer Breeze Concert Series 7:30 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 23 Lions Park 1800 Northcliff Ave., Norman pasnorman.org 307-9320 Free
It’s tough to keep a good thing going for 15 years; ask any couple or antique car owner. This year’s Summer Breeze Concert Series marks the 15th year of The Depot as a live music venue. “We are very excited about this year’s lineup,” said Shari Ransley Jackson, The Depot’s executive director. “We have a committee ... that is very good at listening to the community and finding out what people want to hear.” Musical offerings this year include a combination of national and local acts. National acts include mountain music from Virginia’s The Steel Wheels, Kelly Willis from Austin and — in a Depot first-ever Members Choice Concert — Celtic FolkAmericana from The Elders out of Kansas City, Missouri. “We like to be able to draw a lot of people out to the park with a bigger name, and that helps bring crowds to the park to showcase some of the really incredible talent we’ve got here locally,” Jackson said. The series’ first performers — The Handsome Devils, a Normanbased quartet — have waited very patiently for their chance to play at Summer Breeze. Jackson said the group combines folk, rock, blues, rhythm and blues and jazz into a rootsy, Southern, Americana sound. “Those poor guys got bumped twice last year,” Jackson said. “Illness in the band caused us to reschedule, and then their reschedule date got rained out.” Other Oklahoma-based bands
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include psychedelic country from Mama Sweet, Americana from husband-and-wife duo North Meets South, jazz-infused hip-hop from Adam and Kizzie and Latin pop-rock from octet Tequila Azul.
Everyone welcome
The shows have remained free and open to the public for the past 15 years. Jackson credits The Depot’s supporters like Oklahoma Arts Council and Norman Arts Council for grants and other Norman-based donors who give generous support that helps make such a series possible. “I think that Summer Breeze is one of the best examples of the power of public funding for the arts,” she said. Still need motivation to take in a Summer Breeze show? “It’s the perfect way to end your weekend and recharge for your week,” Jackson said. “It’s you and 2,000 of your best friends in the park for a free show on a Sunday night in the summer, when the sun hits the edge of those trees and it’s nice and breezy outside but not smoldering hot.” These family-friendly concerts begin 7:30 p.m. every other Sunday from May 17 to Aug. 23 at Lions Park, on the corner of Flood Avenue and Symmes Street in Norman. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring comfortable seating and their favorite refreshments since no vendors are allowed. Pets are welcome. For more information, click the Summer Breeze Concerts link under “Our Programs” at pasnorman.org. Built in 1909, The Depot was a railroad station until passenger service ended in 1979, according to the venue’s website. In the ’80s, citizens helped restore the building, which was listed in the National Register of Historic places in 1991. In ’99, the venue resumed its
p hotos p rovi de d
life music
It’s just ONE phone call...
Start now. Train for a new career.
Kelly Willis
original use when passenger service was restored to Norman. Since 2003, the location has been opened to the Norman community as the railway station and a gallery and concert venue. Events at The Depot also include the Winter Wind Series, Whistle Stop Concerts, poetry readings and jazz performances. The venue also can be rented for community events. Art by Norman and regional artists also is exhibited throughout
We offer:
The elders
the year with bimonthly receptions, according to its official website. The gallery is free and open to the public.
may 17: the haNDSOme DeVIlS
July 12: NORth meetS SOUth
this quartet bends the spectrum of music from folk, rock, blues, r&B and jazz into americana. rootsy and laid back, these musical storytellers play honest music rife with hooks.
made in oklahoma, this band’s americana music is comprised of husband-and-wife duo Joie and John Johnson on vocals and guitar, respectively.
may 31: the Steel WheelS
July 26: aDam aND kIzzIe
this national act has played its mountain music to audiences across the United states. Based in the Blue ridge mountains of virgina, this four-piece string band combines oldfashioned music with original sounds and style.
auG. 9: teQUIla azUl
this rockabilly and “heartache-meetshonky-tonk voice” is sure to win you over. singer/songwriter Kelly Willis is a storyteller and musician who mixes country and rock and is noted for her “clear, unadorned vocal style and her fresh-faced beauty,” according to passnorman.org.
-Financial Aid available for those who qualify -Career Services and support available
Act Now. Call us today!
Summer Breeze Concert Series Schedule
JuNe 14: kellY WIllIS
• Dental Assistant • Medical Assistant/Phlebotomy • Associate of Science Degree in Nursing (LPN-RN) • Associate of Occupational Studies in Practical Nursing (RN-BSN) • Pharmacy Technician • Practical Nursing (LPN) • Surgical Technologist • Respiratory Care
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these two always give their best for their art. With his guitar skills and her voice, they merge the worlds of r&B, soul, jazz and hip-hop to form music that is both beautiful and emotive.
the band features adriana Brito on vocals, armando rivera on congas, Cecelia vargas on vocals, edgar salazar on bass, hector Lopez on guitar, ivan Castillo on vocals and guitar, paulo valles on drums and ricardo sasaki on keyboards. Come prepared to dance.
JuNe 28: mama SWeet
auG. 23: the elDeRS, a memBeRS ChOICe CONCeRt
its first gig at the deli in 2002 preceded its first album and started the group on the road to playing gigs outside the state with prominent regional acts. it’s labeled as many things: red dirt rock, southern americana, bluegrass funk and even psychedelic country. mama sweet’s second studio album, 21 echo was released in december.
Founded in 1998 with a passion for americana and Celtic folk, the elders meld both genres with storytelling and progressive, yet traditional, music, earning the band a varied international fan base. With six studio albums, four live albums and one complication album and three dvds to its name, the elders are sure to impress.
O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | m ay 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | 4 1
Get jazzed
m i C ha e L Coop e r / p rovi de d
life music
39th Street Jazzy Fest strives to revitalize a popular district. By louis foWleR
11 a.m-8 p.m. saturday NW 39th street and Pennsylvania avenue facebook.com/39thdistrictokc jazzyfest.com free
The organization that oversees one of Oklahoma City’s streets is throwing a family-friendly party to help revitalize a district that is rich in history but lacks mainstream recognition. As metro districts like Midtown and the Plaza continue to gain popularity for their block parties and concerts, 39th Street seems to be left behind. It’s an oversight that 39th Street District Association President Craig Poos looks to rectify with 39th Street Jazzy Fest, an all-day music festival for the whole family that looks to reinvent and reinvigorate the area. “Jazzy Fest is our effort to bring people that may not come down to 39th, just because they’re not interested in going to a gay bar or whatever it may be, and get them to see what we have done here and get some renewed interest from the city so we can work within the community,” Poos said. Inspired by Norman’s Jazz in June celebration, Poos, along with creative partner Ginger McGovern, wanted a bill that runs the gamut of music, covering genres as diverse as jazz, hiphop, rock and Americana. Jazzy Fest runs 11 a.m.-8 p.m. at at 2100 NW 39th Street and features music on two stages, as well as in a KidsZone area. The festival will have an emphasis on motorcycles and motorcycle culture, and there will be art and food vendors on hand. Popular music acts, including Jabee, Native Lights and Gregory Jerome, also will perform. At KidsZone, Oklahoma Children’s Theatre and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma will entertain and educate youth about the arts. Poos believes that if the
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Native Lights will perform Saturday at 39th Street Jazzy Fest. city and the public can get behind revitalization efforts, it could be the next big district, one that hearkens back to its Route 66 roots. It’s his hope that vacant buildings in the area soon will be filled with retail shops and restaurants. It’s a sentiment that local hip-hop act Gregory Jerome supports. He selected the event as his first festival performance of 2015. In addition to performing on the main stage, he also agreed to take part in the KidsZone, where he plans share what he knows about hip-hop culture. Poos hopes that encouragement for the area might even extend out into other districts and into the suburbs in order to build a strong support system that will keep the historic area thriving for years to come. “I think it’s a great way to establish an area that’s not necessarily recognized as a family area or neighborhood,” Poos said. “This is just the place to start to kind of help and maybe become friends with 39th Street in support, maybe becoming members of it so that we have the vocal strength … when we approach the city for improvements and the growth of the area.”
Gregory Jerome performs Saturday at Jazzy Fest. provided
39th street Jazzy fest
Chicago, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Catoosa. ROCK
Roy Lee Scott & The Flying Cowboys, Sliders. COUNTRY Rugged Grace/ShotGun Rooser, Grandad’s Bar. COUNTRY Street Kings, Oklahoma City Limits. VARIOUS The Demigs/Shivery Shakes, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK
Derek Harris, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ACOUSTIC
The RoofTop Dogs, Fort Thunder Harley Davidson, Moore. VARIOUS
Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO
The Stinnett Brothers, Bourbon Street Bar. VARIOUS
Hosty Acoustic, Captain Norm’s Dockside Bar. ACOUSTIC
The Wise Guys, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK
Indigo, Five Star Grille. VARIOUS
They Might Be Giants, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK
Jackson, Colcord Hotel. VARIOUS
Trent Tiger, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. ACOUSTIC
Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ
Trout Fishing in America/Dana Louise, The Blue Door. ROCK
Pink Martini/Storm Large, Brady Theater, Tulsa. VARIOUS Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER Will Mansour, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS
THURSDAY, MAY 14
SATURDAY, MAY 16 2AM, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK Amarillo Junction, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COUNTRY
Brian Lynn Jones & the Misfit Cowboys, Remington Park. COUNTRY
Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK
Caroline Spence/Kierston White, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER
Charles Scott Duo, Red Rock Canyon Grill. ACOUSTIC
Chad Slagle and Huckleberry Soul/Tanner Miller, Grandad’s Bar. VARIOUS
David Morris, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO JMSN, Kamp’s 1910 Cafe. R&B
pick
Cooder Graw, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY Daniel Jordan, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. ACOUSTIC Divided Heaven/Shut Up Matt Jewett, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK
Kierston White/Camille Harp/The Handsome Devils, The Deli, Norman. ROCK
Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks, Edmond. JAZZ
Phobia, 89th Street Collective. ROCK Rocky Kanaga, O Asian Fusion, Norman. ACOUSTIC Tyler Gregory, First National Center. FOLK
FRIDAY, MAY 15 Ali Harter Band/Cory Branan/The Lone Bellow, Myriad Botanical Gardens. SINGER/SONGWRITER
OKG
music
Kenny Chesney, BOK Center, Tulsa. COUNTRY
LUCKY, Colcord Hotel. COVER
Birds of chicago
Avenue, Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. COVER
Birds of Chicago/Smokey & The Mirror, The Blue Door. FOLK
Chase Bryant/Justin Adams, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. COUNTRY
Ga Bri e L JUde t-W e i N s he L / p rovi de d
LIVE MUSIC WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
Birds of chicago and smokey & the mirror Thursday
JT Nero and Allison Russell are Birds of Chicago, a folky, singer-songwriter Americana act is retuning to Oklahoma City for a concert 8 p.m. Thursday at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley Ave. Birds of Chicago plays more than 200 live shows a year and recently finished working on an upcoming album with producer Joe Henry. Smokey & the Mirror also performs. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Visit bluedoorokc.com.
Eldredge Jackson, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ Grant Stevens, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO
Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO
SUNDAY, MAY 17
LUCKY, Colcord Hotel. COVER
Aenimus/WRVTH/Shapist, 89th Street Collective. ROCK
Mayday By Midnight, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ROCK
Edgar Cruz, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. ACOUSTIC
MyRock, Red Rock Canyon Grill. ROCK
Howie Day, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER
Roy Lee Scott & The Flying Cowboys, Sliders. COUNTRY
Kam Brad, Colcord Hotel. VARIOUS
Justin Pruitt Duo, Five Star Grille. ROCK
Stephen Salewon, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe. POP
Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO
Amarillo Junction, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COUNTRY
The Flatland Band, Bourbon Street Bar. VARIOUS
Metro Strings, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC
Avenue, Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. COVER
The Recliners, Oklahoma City Limits. COVER
Mike Hosty ‘One Man Band’, The Deli, Norman. ROCK
Blame It On The Boogie/Branje, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS
What She Said, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK
Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER
Brian Lynn Jones & the Misfit Cowboys/The Mills Band, Remington Park. COUNTRY Christian Pearson/Gary Johnson, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO DJ Rodney Ladd, Colcord Hotel. VARIOUS DJ SIX, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. VARIOUS Drive, Thunderbird Casino, Norman. COVER Gentry, Kendell’s Bar. VARIOUS
Spoon/Sweet Spirit, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK The Handsome Devils, The Depot, Norman. ROCK
“Weird al” yankovic, Brady Theater, Tulsa, Tuesday
MONDAY, MAY 18 Alan Orebaugh and Friends/Steve Baker/John Calvin, The Deli, Norman. ROCK
Gregory Jerome, Myriad Botanical Gardens. HIP-HOP
Ali Harter Residency, Blue Note Lounge. SINGER/ SONGWRITER
Grizzly Mojo, 51st Street Speakeasy. VARIOUS
Conan/Samothrace/Mantar, 89th Street Collective. ROCK
Groove Merchants, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. COVER
Mat Kearney/Judah & The Lion, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. SINGER/SONGWRITER
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 “Weird Al” Yankovic, Hudson Performance Hall. VARIOUS Brandon Jackson, Colcord Hotel. COUNTRY Chevelle/The Used, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK Eagles, Chesapeake Energy Arena. ROCK Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Harumph/Annie Oakley/The Ozark Mountain Maybelles, The Deli, Norman. POP James Talley, The Blue Door. COUNTRY Mark Vollersten, Red Rock Canyon Grill. ACOUSTIC Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER The Weathermen, Baker St. Pub & Grill. VARIOUS
New Kids on the Block/TLC/Nelly, Chesapeake Energy Arena. VARIOUS
He Is Legend/Must Be The Holy Ghost, 89th Street Collective. ROCK
Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK
Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO
Mayday By Midnight, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ROCK
TUESDAY, MAY 19
Micky and the Motorcars, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY
“Weird Al” Yankovic, Brady Theater, Tulsa. VARIOUS
provid ed
Matt Blagg, Red Rock Canyon Grill. SINGER/ SONGWRITER
Randy Cassimus, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC
LUCKY/Shaun Suttle, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. COVER
Caleb McGee/Strange Machine, The Deli, Norman. ROCK
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.
O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | m ay 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | 4 3
life music ReVieWs [Peach]
“A and B Singles” | Single | aslancrawley.com facebook.com/musicbypeach | soundcloud.com/musicbypeach
Oklahoma Gazette first wrote about this band back in 2011, when it released a debut EP. It’s still making music and waves with its distinctive fusion of jazzinfluenced piano pop and moody lyricism. If you haven’t heard of [PEACH] before, that’s probably best. These singles represent a new cohesion, creative depth and maturity that’s best heard without preconceived notions. This jazz-rock fusion combines singer-songwriter Aslan Crawley on lead vocals and guitar, Loren Kalvin Dunaway III on bass and Connor Pruitt on drums. William Christion Pearson (keys, piano and organ) and
Stephen Keck (saxophone) joined the trio for “A and B Singles,” which was recorded and mixed at Bell Labs Recording in Norman. If you like quirky fusion acts like Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey or genre-defining lyricism and piano-based artists like Leon Russell, it’s totally fair to say you’re going to love this group. Don’t believe me? Then hear these guys play live. [PEACH] plays Saturday, May 23, at The Blue Note Lounge, 2408 N. Robinson Ave., with Paseo Street Walkers and Space 4 Lease. Cover is $5. Visit thebluenotelounge.com. — Jennifer Chancellor
costanzas
Bad Habits | EP | costanzas.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/the.costanzas
2015
This EP screams from its first note with its distinct blend of rockabilly and horrorpunk, especially on songs “Road Rage,” “Chupacabra,” “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” The lead track, “It’s a Good Day to Die (Another Day),” takes this Norman-based four-piece on a highspeed crash course with mayhem; its chant-worthy lyrics and combat boot-stomping rhythms hit hard
like a blinding, punk-rock crack to the jaw from the epicenter of a roiling mosh pit. The album is raw and loud and mixed with little to no subtlety, exactly as it should be. The entire six-song EP clocks in at a little over 10 minutes, making it an album you’ll listen to again and again. — JC
Graham colton
“Everybody’s Talkin’” | Single | soundcloud.com/graham-colton/everybodys-talkin
“Recognizing gReatness in the WoRkplace” Go to BestPlacestoWorkok.com to reGister | aPPly DeaDline is FriDay, may 22nD, 2015
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This tune is one of my all-time favorites, so of course I was skeptical last week when I saw that Colton had tweeted out his version of “Everybody’s Talkin’” to his fans. But I clicked. And, wow. The song, written by Fred Neil and first released in 1966, earned its spot in pop culture lore after Harry Nilsson’s version,
released in 1969, became the theme song to the film Midnight Cowboy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. Graham’s version is a study in the delicacy of vocal weight and control and is perhaps as moving as the version that made it a cultural mainstay. Well done. — JC
LIFE FILM
Sundance kid
Isabelle’s Garden
BY LOUIS FOWLER AND KORY B. OSWALD
Filmmaker Jeffry Palmer’s short film received accolades earlier this year as one of five winners in a Sundance Film Festival contest. Now, the movie is coming home for its Oklahoma premiere at this year’s deadCenter Film Festival. The short film, Isabelle’s Garden, is an examination of poverty in Southeastern Oklahoma. The short screens twice at deadCenter: 10 a.m. on June 13 and again at 12:15 p.m. June 14. Isabelle’s Garden follows a girl named Isabelle who lives in poverty. She shares her produce with people in her community. In return, they help her tend the garden. The movie fit in with the theme of the Sundance challenge, which focused on how people overcome challenges like extreme hunger and poverty in their communities. Palmer, who is Native American and has a wife and family who is Choctaw, said it was an idea that hit close to home.
“Since we’ve been married, we’ve noticed there’s a lot of small Choctaw towns that are very poverty-ridden, and we wanted to emphasize that and use that as our storyline,” he said. “But it’s not just this sad examination of what poverty is; it’s what’s inspiring about poverty and pulling yourself out.” It also has been accepted in the Moriland Film Festival in New Zealand and the Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival, and it was one of 24 films to be selected in the PBS Online Film Festival. “[After Sundance,] I just kind of allowed it to live its own life,” Palmer said. “I wake up some mornings and it will have Facebook likes or things going on from different people … and it just kind of motors along without me doing anything.” Originally from Carnegie, Palmer became interested in storytelling as a bored undergraduate who wanted to do ethnographic filmmaking. This passion
manifested itself in the late ’90s, when he started making shorts while earning his master’s degree in Native American Studies. After a stint in the University of Iowa’s film program, he said everything finally came together. Now a documentary filmmaking professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, Palmer also recently completed a short about Geronimo’s grave in Fort Sill and is working on two collaborative projects with other Oklahomans: a feature-length documentary and a movie. The full-length documentary is a collaboration with Native American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo about Kiowa rock guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, a legendary session-man during the ’70s who worked with just about every big name from The Beatles to Bob Dylan. “He was from Norman, and it’s kind of a bizarre ascension for this guy that had a sub story that was very much
P ROVI DE D
A short film helps a filmmaker give back to the community.
Native … among all of these very white rock ’n’ rollers,” Palmer said. “What’s interesting about Jesse Ed Davis is that he was Kiowa and Creek, and I’m Kiowa and Sterlin is Creek. So, it just made sense.” Palmer said he’ll finish the other movie, Sakthi Vibrations, this summer. Perhaps the biggest thing to come out of Sundance, Palmer said, was the opportunity to give back to the community that helped him win the contest’s $10,000 cash prize. “We donated the money immediately to the Chahta Foundation, a nonprofit Choctaw organization,” Palmer said. “We knew that it was going to go to a cause that deals with poverty. You’re doing a film about poverty and then someone hands you $10,000; I instantly wanted to have impact with that money, so we sent it down and now that money is going to a great cause helping the people we have in our film.” The Grahams
Locomotive love PROVID ED
A new album and documentary are inspired by the rails. BY KORY B. OSWALD
One thing Alyssa and Doug Graham love more than Oklahoma is each other. At least that’s the impression they give when discussing their new documentary and album, which was recorded in Norman and drops Tuesday. The Manhattan-based husbandand-wife duo has seen a lot in the last year, and it was mostly from an Amtrak train window. The pair traveled across the country, filming the documentary Rattle the Hocks, which chronicles their songwriting journey. The idea for the movie came about after the Grahams became obsessed with “The Farmer-Labor Train,” a Woody Guthrie song about unions making their way into the government. In the song, Guthrie imitates the sound of a train with his voice. It resonated with Alyssa and Doug, and neither could shake it from their heads.
“We decided … we had to get out and really live on the train to experience the sort of folk music that came out of the history of the American rails,” Alyssa said. “So we spent all of last summer, three months, riding the train.” The two rode every line that Amtrak offers, playing and writing music in cars, at stations, in recording studios and in venues from Memphis to New Orleans. Along the way, they amassed enough material for a new album, met with 10 producers and recorded with other musicians. After the summer on the rails, they rode the Heartland Flyer into Norman and met up with Tulsa-born producer Wes Sharon to record the record. That was also when they fell in love with the Sooner State. “It just hit us really hard in the soul,” Doug said. “The people we met are so genuine and so real, and they took such
good care of us.” Neither Alyssa nor Doug had been to Oklahoma before, but they both agree that the people they met while here are now family. That family includes Sharon, John Fullbright and members of Turnpike Troubadours and others who helped create Glory Bound, a double album that includes the live recordings from their railway tour and the studio album recorded at 115 Recording in Norman. While both albums have mostly the same songs, they are two completely different listening experiences because they feature two producers who record in very different ways. Sharon likes to record “on the grid,” building the session from the ground up as he isolates each musician to get every detail of their instruments, whereas Cody Dickinson, the producer on the railroad recordings, likes to gather the
band together, set up a bunch of different microphones and capture the live musical energy. The albums also feature different musicians on the repeating songs, Alyssa said. “This was really exciting to us because music is always moving and it’s always different,” Alyssa said. “We just like playing with as many cool, creative musicians as we can. Then the music becomes something different and outside of you, and that’s what our goal is.” Alyssa and Doug have been together since they were preteens in New York. They began playing music together as friends shortly after Alyssa turned 16 and have stayed together for 20 years. They are touring for the new album and hope to play in Oklahoma sometime in June. They wrote their last album, Riverman’s Daughter, along the Mississippi. Visit thegrahamsmusic.net.
O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | M AY 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 | 4 5
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Imagine that everything important you know is condensed into a single symbol or image. What is it? FreeWillAstrology.com. ARIES (March 21-April 19) The danger of resisting a temptation too strenuously is that the temptation might depart. I suggest that you prevent that from happening. Without throwing yourself at the mercy of the temptation, see if you can coax it to stick around for a while longer. Why? In my view, it’s playing a useful role in your life. It’s motivating you to change some things that really do need to be changed. On the other hand, I’m not yet sure that it should become anything more than a temptation. It might serve you best that way, not as an object of your satisfied desire.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) My astrological colleagues discourage me from talking to you Bulls about financial matters. “Most Tauruses know ten times more about the mystery of money than you will ever know,” said one. “Their excellent instincts trump any tips you could offer.” Another astrologer concurred, noting, “The financial advice you give Tauruses will at best be redundant and at worst simplistic.” A third colleague summed it up: “Offering Tauruses guidance about money is like counseling Scorpios about sex.” So although I’m shy about providing recommendations, I will say this: The next five weeks will be a favorable time to set in motion the plans to GET RICHER QUICKER! GEMINI (May 21-June 20) “Endings to be useful must be inconclusive,” wrote science fiction novelist Samuel R. Delany. I endorse that theory for your use in the coming weeks. Interweave it with this advice from playwright Sam Shepard: “The temptation towards resolution, towards wrapping up the package, seems to me a terrible trap. Why not be more honest with the moment? The most authentic endings are the ones which are already revolving towards another beginning.” In other words, Gemini, don’t be attached to neat finales and splashy climaxes. Consider the possibility that you can simply slip free
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) I suspect you are about to experience some prime contenders for The Most Unusual Adventures of 2015. Are you thoroughly prepared? Of course not. There’s no way you can be totally ready to adapt to unpredictable wrinkles and change your mind at a moment’s notice. But that’s exactly what will make these experiments so fun. That’s why they will be effective in building up your resilience and willpower. For best results, apply your nighttime thinking to daytime activities, and vice versa. Spend minimal time on responsibilities that don’t teach you noble truths about your fellow madmen and madwomen. Now here’s my big question: How can you tap into the extra power you will need during your rite of passage?
of the complicated past and head toward the future without much fanfare.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) In mythic terms, you should be headed for the winner’s circle, which is inside the pleasure dome. The parade in your honor should follow the award ceremony, and let’s hope you will be on the lead float wearing a gold crown and holding a real magic wand while being sung to by a choir of people you love and who love you. If for any reason you are not experiencing some version of these metaphors, I urge you to find out why. Or better yet, get busy on planning a homecoming or graduation party or award ceremony for yourself. From an astrological perspective, you have a mandate to be recognized and appreciated for the gifts you offer the world.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Many modern astronomers are allergic to astrology, but from my perspective there is no inherent conflict between the two fields. Four of history’s greatest astronomers were practicing astrologers, after all: Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Tycho Brahe, and Pierre Gassendi. One of my friends in college, a Scorpio woman named Martha Maiden, is a first-rate astrologer who got a degree in astronomy and became a top scientist at NASA. In the spirit of finding reconciliation between apparent opposites, I’m happy to say that you are now a virtual virtuoso in your ability to reconcile both apparent opposites and actual opposites. I invite you to use this aptitude with flair and daring.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) British Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley was a brilliant military commander. Renowned for his ability to beat larger armies, he also had great skill at minimizing loss of life among his own troops. His most famous triumph took place in 1815, when he led the forces that defeated Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo. In the aftermath, the French tyrant lost his power and went into exile. What was the secret of Wellesley’s success? “Bonaparte’s plans were made in wire,” he said. “Mine were made in string.” In other words, Wellesley’s strategy was more flexible and adaptable. As circumstances changed, it could be rearranged with greater ease. That’s the approach I recommend for you in the coming days.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Sagittarian Matt Stutzman competes in the sport of archery. He’s the world’s record holder for longest accurate shot, having hit a target 230 yards away. What makes his accomplishment so extraordinary is the fact that he was born without any arms. He holds each arrow in his mouth and grasps the bow with his right foot and the help of a chest harness. In the spirit of this armless archer, and in accordance with your current astrological omens, I invite you to initiate an attempt to triumph over one of your so-called disadvantages.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You may not be strong enough to take a shot at a daunting challenge that’s five levels beyond your previous best. But I think you are at least ready to try a tricky challenge that’s one level higher than where you have been operating. And that, in my opinion, is a more practical use of your courage. I think it would be a waste of your energy to get wrapped up in grandiose fantasies about impossible perfections. As long as you don’t overreach, you can accomplish small miracles.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Long before Lou Reed recorded the song “Walk on
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the Wild Side,” Nelson Algren wrote a novel titled A Walk on the Wild Side. It depicts the luxuriant depravity of New Orleans’ French Quarter in the 1930s. One of Algren’s most enduring bits of spiritual advice goes as follows: “Never, ever, no matter what else you do in your whole life, never sleep with anyone whose troubles are worse than your own.” What do you think of that, Capricorn? Even if you don’t regard it as a universal rule that you should unfailingly obey, I suggest you observe it in the coming weeks. For the sake of your mental hygiene, be extra discerning about what influences you absorb — not just in bed, but everywhere.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) The cosmos has authorized you to be hungrier than usual. You may also feel free to respond to your enhanced hunger with an extra aggressive quest to be fed. Therefore: Be voracious! Risk being avid, ardent, and even agog. Fill yourself up with pudding, pleasure, praise, peace, perks, and privileges. Anything else you’d like to engorge? If some unenlightened person questions your right to claim the biggest piece and the sweetest taste and the best fuel, inform them that your astrologer says you have ultimate permission. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Is there an interesting ally whose path rarely crosses yours? Do you draw inspiration from a like-minded dynamo who is not fully available? Has fate kept you and a friend from getting as close as you would wish? According to my reading of the astrological omens, relationships like these could become more substantial in the coming weeks. The dream of a more robust connection could ripen into an opportunity to actually collaborate. So be alert for the openings, and be prepared to do what’s necessary to go deeper.
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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