Entertainment blogging from The Oklahoman's Brandy McDonnell

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Greyson Chance performing tonight on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” on ABC

Edmond singer/songwriter/pianist Greyson Chance, 15, is part of the performance lineup of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013.”

Ryan Seacrest hosts the show, which will feature an all-star lineup performing 15 No. 1 hits. Along with Greyson, other performers for the West Coast party include Justin Bieber, Jason Aldean, Ellie Goulding and The Wanted.

In New York, Psy will join the recently announced 2012 American Music Awards winners, Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen, as well as Neon Trees, performing live in Times Square tonight on ABC.

Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas hosts the West Coast party, which includes previously announced performers Brandy, Flo Rida, Karmin, OneRepublic (which includes Tulsa native Ryan Tedder) and Pitbull.

The New Year’s festivities kick off at 8 p.m. ET with “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Celebrates Dick Clark,” a two-hour look at the amazing life of Dick Clark, hosted by Fergie and Jenny McCarthy. The special celebrates, through clips and reminiscences, the legendary television personality and producer who rang in the New Year for four decades and launched and nurtured the careers of countless artists. Ryan Seacrest also joins the hosts for a special appearance in honor of Dick Clark.

Beginning at 10 p.m. ET, Seacrest will host “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013” from New York, with Jenny McCarthy returning to interview the revelers in Times Square. Fergie returns to host the Los Angeles-based portions of the specials. The bi-coastal celebration will include more than 5 ½ hours of special performances and reports on New Year’s celebrations from around the globe, with Seacrest leading the traditional countdown to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

The complete lineup for tonight’s New Year’s Eve festivities on ABC:

8-10 p.m. ET — “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Celebrates Dick Clark”

10-11 p.m. ET — “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013”

11:30 p.m.-1:08 a.m. ET — “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013, Part 1”

1:08-2:12 a.m. ET — “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013, Part 2”

“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013” is a presentation of dick clark productions, inc, with Ryan Seacrest, Allen Shapiro and Orly Adelson serving as executive producers. Larry Klein produces.

-BAM

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Downtown Oklahoma City to ring in New Year tonight with 27th Annual Opening Night

Downtown Oklahoma City will bustle Monday night with the sights and sounds of roller derby girls crashing around a track, comedy fans shouting out suggestions to improv performers, and musicians of all tastes playing live.

For the 27^th year, Opening Night will transform downtown into a true variety show to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Organized by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City, the alcohol-free, family-friendly event will assemble more than 40 performers on 16 different stages across nine venues, with the festivities starting at 7 p.m. Monday.

“For one price, you get to go to all these different places and see a wide variety of performers that perhaps will be the first time you’ve ever had the chance to see them. So Opening Night makes the performing arts very accessible. That’s what’s wonderful about it,” said Arts Council of Oklahoma City Executive Director Peter Dolese.

To read more of my Opening Night 2013 preview, click here. Here is the performance lineup for the event:

GOING ON

Opening Night 2013

When: 7 p.m. to midnight Monday.

Where: Nine venues downtown.

Admission: Wristbands are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the event. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Wristbands are available at 7-Eleven Stores of Oklahoma, metro Homeland stores, MidFirst Bank locations, Science Museum of Oklahoma or at the event.

Information: Ö 270-4848 or Ö www.artscouncilokc.com.

Opening Night 2013 performance lineup

Albert Gray Eagle

Native American flute

Venue 6 – Crystal Bridge

7 and 8 p.m.

Al Good Orchestra

Jazz/Big Band/Dance

Venue 4 – Leadership Square

8, 9 and 10 p.m.

Alegria Real

Latin American

Venue 2 – Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, Lobby

7 and 8 p.m.

Allie Lauren

Indie Pop/Jazz

Venue 2 – Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, Auditorium, 4th Floor

7 and 8 p.m.

Aaron Newman

Acoustic Pop/Rock

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Lobby

9 and 10 p.m.

Brianna Gaither

Indie Pop

Venue 2 – Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, Auditorium, 4th Floor

9 and 10 p.m.

Bricktown Clowns

Clowns

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 3: Children’s Area

All night

David Thomas and the World of Magic

Magic

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 1

7:30, 9 and 10:15 p.m.

Edgar Cruz

Venue 9 – Devon building – Garden Wing

7, 8, 9 and 10 p.m.

Jamie Bramble

Acoustic Pop/Rock

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Lobby

7 and 8 p.m.

Justin Joslin

Acoustic Folk Rock

Venue 6 – Crystal Bridge

9 and 10 p.m.

Michael King’s One-Man Circus

Magic

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Lobby

8 and 10 p.m.

Michael Summers Jazz

Jazz

Venue 3 – Oklahoma Museum of Art, Lobby

9 and 10 p.m.

OKC Improv

Improv Theater

Venue 3 – Oklahoma Museum of Art, Auditorium

7, 8, 9 and 10 p.m.

OKC Roller Derby

Roller Derby

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 2

7 and 8 p.m.

OK City Chorus

Choral

Venue 7 – First National Center

8 p.m.

Oklahoma Youth Winds

Instrumental

Venue 7 – First National Center

7 p.m.

Miss Brown To You

Folk/Jazz Duo

Venue 5 – Bank of Oklahoma

7 and 8 p.m.

Science Museum Oklahoma

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 3:Children’s Area

8 p.m.

Shortt Dogg

Variety/Funk

Finale stage – Myriad Gardens

9, 10 and 11 p.m.

Society of Strings

Instrumental

Venue 7 – First National Center

9 p.m.

Son del Barrio

Salsa/Meringue

Venue 8 – Chase Tower

9 and 10 p.m.

Spaghetti Eddie

Children’s Music

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 3: Children’s Area

9 and 10 p.m.

Squirrel & Friends

Rock Fusion

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 2

9 and 10 p.m.

Hypnotist Steve Crawford – “Magic of the Mind”

Hypnosis

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Meeting Rooms 9-10

9 and 11 p.m.

The Ambassadors’ Concert Choir

Choral

Venue 4 – Leadership Square

7 p.m.

The Handsome Devils

Americana/Folk Rock

Venue 8 – Chase Tower

7 and 8 p.m.

Travis Wackerly & Honey Creek Pass

Bluegrass

Venue 5 – Bank of Oklahoma

9 and 10 p.m.

The Studio of Sooner Theatre

Musical Theater

Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 3

7 p.m.

Wayne McEvilly

Classical Piano

Venue 3 – Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Lobby

7 and 8 p.m.

Outdoor Visuals – Strolling Performers

Strolling street performers will be playing from 7 to 9 p.m. in downtown:

Aaron Newman

Acoustic Pop/Rock

David Bruster

Blues Saxophonist

Greg Northwood

Flamenco Guitarist

Local Honey

Bluegrass

-BAM

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New Year’s resolutions: For Oklahomans who want to become more cultured, opportunities abound

A version of this story appears on the cover of Monday’s Life section of The Oklahoman. To read more about tonight’s Opening Night festivities in downtown Oklahoma City, click here.

By the time the clock strikes midnight to launch us into 2013, it’s a safe bet that many Oklahomans will be resolving to make themselves better in the New Year.

After all, New Year’s resolutions are as much a part of the holidays as pumpkin pie (hence the ever-popular weight-loss declarations), lavish gifts (and the perennial vow to save and spend more wisely) and family gatherings (which may end with your adopting the overarching aim of “becoming a better person”).

If you’re looking to become more cultured in 2013, the key is exposure. Fortunately, free and low-cost opportunities to experience the visual, performing and musical arts are booming in Oklahoma City.

“You’ve got Lyric Theatre. You’ve got one of the finest symphonies anywhere around that you can go see amazing … performances all year round. Shakespeare in the Park at the Myriad Gardens is absolutely stunning. We really have a lot of performance opportunities,” said Peter Dolese, executive director of the Arts Council of Oklahoma City.

“Then there’s the First Friday (Gallery Walk) in the Paseo and the second Fridays in the Plaza District. You know, there’s four or five art openings every single weekend all year round it seems like.”

Aspiring art fans can get started on their quest to cultivate their cultural side before next year even starts, with the Opening Night New Year’s Eve festivities in downtown. The 27^th annual celebration features nine venues staging more than 40 performances, ranging from classical piano and Latin American dance to improv theater and American Indian flute.

All-inclusive Opening Night wristbands are $8 in advance or $10 at the event. For more information, go to www.artscouncilokc.com.

But the Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s mission to connect the community with the arts continues year round. Its free Festival of the Arts is a local rite of spring.

“We’ve got four stages from 11 in the morning ‘til 9 o’clock at night for six days, so there’s upwards of a couple of hundred performances,” Dolese said. “We have 144 artists in the booths, an additional probably 50 artists in the sculpture park.” … There’s a huge children’s activity tent where in the neighborhood of around 5,000 kids roll through there every year.”

In the summer, the Twilight Concert Series offers free Sunday night concerts, featuring performers making music in an array of genres The shows draw 500 to 700 people to the Great Lawn at the Myriad Botanical Gardens.

In August, the council will partner for the first time with the Oklahoma History Center for its annual Storytelling Festival.

“It’s workshops and performances. There will be a lot of workshops on the art of storytelling, using it as a communication tool … and how to collect family stories,” Dolese said.

In between, the nonprofit organization coordinates Art Moves, which brings 255 free lunchtime art programs to 14 different downtown venues over the course of the year.

“That’s happening downtown every day of the week, Monday through Friday at noon … 51 weeks a year,” Dolese said. “It’s always fun and always free.”

The program features visual arts demonstrations, live music and dance performances.

“The art demonstrations are hugely successful, actually, because people are working on their art, they’re accessible, people (in the audience) can walk up and ask them questions,” he said. “It’s very interactive.”

For residents who want to actually try their hand at creating art, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and City Arts Center are among the organizations that offer adult classes from drawing and painting to weaving and glassblowing. Costs range from $25 to $330.

“Oklahoma City is becoming a creative community,” Dolese said.

In Norman, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is celebrating a free new opportunity to share its fine permanent collection, special exhibits and educational activities.

Last month, the University of Oklahoma museum announced it is now offering free admission every day thanks to a new annual $60,000 gift from the OU Athletics Department. The museum is open Tuesdays-Sundays.

“We are very excited and grateful for this new chapter in the museum’s history and hope you will help us celebrate with a visit to the museum soon,” Director Ghislain d’ Humières said in an email.

-BAM

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Monday Catchy Quote No. 245

Happy New Year’s Eve! Here’s a catchy quote from a movie, TV show or other source to brighten the beginning of your week:

Bridget: It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.

- Click here to learn the source.

-BAM

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What to do in Oklahoma on Dec. 31, 2012: Randy Rogers Band at Cain’s Ballroom or Parker Millsap at Bluebonnet Bar

Happy New Year! Today’s featured events for ringing in 2013:

TULSA – Hear Texas country stars Randy Rogers Band with Kyle Park at 8 tonight at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main.

For more information, go to www.cainsballroom.com.

OR

NORMAN – Listen to red-dirt singer-songwriter Parker Millsap at 10 tonight at the Bluebonnet Bar, 321 E Main.

For more information, click here.

For many more New Year’s Eve events, go to www.wimgo.com.

-BAM

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What to do in Oklahoma on Dec. 30, 2012: Laugh with Rodney Carrington at the Grand Casino Resort

Today’s featured event:

SHAWNEE — Laugh with Tulsa comedian Rodney Carrington at 5 p.m. today at Grand Casino Resort, Interstate 40 at Exit 178. Information: 964-7777 or www.grandcasinoshawnee.com.

For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.

-BAM

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What to do in Oklahoma on Dec. 29, 2012: Hear Reckless Kelly at the Wormy Dog Saloon

Today’s featured event:

Hear Texas country band Reckless Kelly at 9:30 tonight at the Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan. Doors open at 6 p.m.

For more information, go to www.wormydog.com.

For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.

-BAM

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Best Bets for Dec. 28-31, 2012: Rodney Carrington, Mannheim Steamroller, Spaghetti Eddie, Parquet Courts and New Year’s Eve with The Departed and Jason Boland

Here are my picks for the top events happening in central Oklahoma over the next few days, as listed in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.

1. SHAWNEE — Laugh with Tulsa comedian Rodney Carrington at 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday at Grand Casino Resort, Interstate 40 at Exit 178. Information: 964-7777 or www.grandcasinoshawnee.com.

2. Keep in the holiday spirit with Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas tour, playing at 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Civic Center, 201 N Walker. Information: 297-2264 or www.okcciviccenter.com.

3. Hear local kindie rock duo Spaghetti Eddie play at noon Friday at Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52 Street. Information: 602-3760 or www.sciencemuseumok.org.

4. Listen to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based punk rockers Parquet Courts at 8 p.m. Sunday at Bad Granny’s Bazaar, 1759 NW 16 Street in the Plaza District. Information: 528-4585.

5. STILLWATER — Ring in the New Year with red dirt stars The Departed and Jason Boland & the Stragglers at 9:30 p.m. Monday at the Tumbleweed Dance Hall, Lakeview and Country Club roads. Doors open at 8 p.m. Information: www.calffry.com.

-BAM

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Downtown Oklahoma City’s Opening Night New Year’s Eve celebration showcases a variety of entertainment

For the 27^th year, Opening Night will transform downtown into a true variety show to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Organized by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City, the alcohol-free, family-friendly event will assemble more than 40 performers on 16 different stages across nine venues, with the festivities starting at 7 p.m. Monday.

“For one price, you get to go to all these different places and see a wide variety of performers that perhaps will be the first time you’ve ever had the chance to see them. So Opening Night makes the performing arts very accessible. That’s what’s wonderful about it,” said Arts Council of Oklahoma City Executive Director Peter Dolese.

Old and new

Opening Night 2013 will pair a new venue — the recently opened Devon Energy Center’s Garden Wing corridor adjacent to Nebu restaurant — with a familiar performer — local guitarist Edgar Cruz.

“The Devon atrium that has all the cool Christmas decorations right now will be open to the public, but then to get back to the performance space, you’ll have to have an Opening Night wristband,” said Opening Night director Christina Foss.

With his devoted fan following and his classical guitar style, Dolese expects the ever-popular Cruz will fill the four-story corridor in more ways than one.

“He’s kind of a New Year’s Eve tradition,” Dolese said.

Familiar favorites

Other returning favorites include the Ambassadors’ Concert Choir, OKC Improv and Dave Thomas, who is returning with his popular World of Magic.

“He brings a full-blown Hollywood-style, Vegas-style magic act,” Dolese said. “People just absolutely love that show.”

Revelers who long for a classic big band New Year’s Eve can hoof it to Leadership Square to hear the Al Good Orchestra.

“Most people like to bring their dates and go for a night of dancing,” Foss said. “There’s a whole space set up.”

Partiers who prefer a rowdier form of entertainment can cheer on the OKC Roller Derby skaters.

“You would not believe how much people love it,” Dolese said. “To me, roller derby is an art form, but it’s probably stretching it a bit. But it’s a lot of fun.”

Incoming additions

To keep the lineup fresh, organizers add a few new entertainers to the roster every year. Bluegrass band Travis Wackerly & Honey Creek Pass, rock fusion group Squirrel & Friends, songbird Allie Lauren and Latin American duo Alegria Real are among this year’s newcomers.

Classical pianist Wayne McEvilly also will make his Opening Night debut playing two sets in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s lobby. When they visit the museum, Opening Night attendees also get free admission to the exhibits, including the “American Moderns” traveling exhibition closing Jan. 6.

“We bring many new people into their venue,” Foss said. “It’s a really neat partnership to have with them, and it gives people another kind of avenue to see some more types of art.”

Fabulous finale

Of course, the countdown to midnight is the highlight of any New Year’s Eve festival, and the Opening Night finale has new sponsorship this year from The Oklahoman and NewsOK. For the second straight year, the traditional raising of the giant lighted ball will take place at the Myriad Gardens, where local R&B band Shortt Dogg will get people revved up for the final moments of 2012.

“Shortt Dogg is gonna be amazing,” Dolese said. “They’ve got that power to really just slowly build the energy and then crescendo at midnight. I think it’ll be a wonderful way to ring in the New Year.”

He said an estimated 70,000 people gathered last year at the Myriad Gardens to count down and watch the big fireworks display.

“You’ve got a Barons game that night, you’ve got a Thunder game that night, and you’ve got everybody partying all over the place … but people literally leave wherever they are and come there,” Dolese said.

By the time the fireworks herald the arrival of 2013, Dolese said he hopes attendees will be thoroughly entertained.

“It’s kind of amazing … you can walk outside where you’re seeing Shortt Dogg just tearing it up on the main stage (into the Crystal Bridge) to this tranquil, beautiful environment of trees and tropical plants and Albert Gray-Eagle playing his flutes,” Dolese said with a laugh.

“So really there is something for everybody.”

GOING ON

Opening Night 2013

When: 7 p.m. to midnight Monday.

Where: Nine venues downtown.

Admission: Wristbands are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the event. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Wristbands are available at 7-Eleven Stores of Oklahoma, metro Homeland stores, MidFirst Bank locations, Science Museum of Oklahoma or at the event.

Information: 270-4848 or www.artscouncilokc.com.

See the performance lineup after the break.

(more…)

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Interview: Red dirt singer-songwriter Tom Skinner returns to studio to make rare album, plays Wormy Dog tonight with Mike McClure Band

You can take Garth Brooks’ word for it.

“I know Tom Skinner well enough to say that making a record of his original recordings was not something he was easily talked into doing and hats off to McClure for getting it done. Tom is very private with his music because the stuff that he writes is extremely personal. This is a very, VERY special gift from Tom to all of his fans … of which I am one,” says the country music megastar in the press kit for Skinner’s self-titled album, released last month on upstart Oklahoma-based label 598 Recordings.

An elder statesmen of the red dirt music community, the Bristow native counts Brooks among his former bandmates and the aforementioned Mike McClure among his current cohorts. The Mike McClure Band, which features Skinner on bass and vocals, will play Friday night at the Wormy Dog.

Best known for fronting the seminal band The Great Divide, McClure also co-owns 598 Recordings and says Skinner “had more influence on what I do musically than anyone. He taught me how to be a musician.”

It’s appropriate, then, that McClure got to teach Skinner the fun way to make a record.

“Once I recorded a few records and it wasn’t near as much fun as I thought it would be, I just sort said ‘OK, I’m just gonna play live,’” said Skinner, who last recorded a trio of albums a decade or so ago for Binky Records.

“I always thought, well, I need to record one more at least before I die because I wanted to have a good one,” he added with a laugh. “Mac was kind of after me to do one, and when he got this record label thing going, that just kind of cinched it for me. It just kind of made me do it. And I’m really glad he did, actually, ‘cause I enjoyed working on this one. And I like it. I can listen to it without cringing up.”

The Oklahoma State University alumnus, 58, typically likens playing a live gig to the thrill of walking a high wire and working in a studio to the sterility of visiting a hospital. Working with McClure, who co-produced the album with the esteemed Joe Hardy (Steve Earle, Georgia Satellites, ZZ Top), set Skinner at ease, as did recording in his pal’s basement studio, dubbed “The Boohatch.”

“It wasn’t like any other studio I’ve been in before,” Skinner said with a laugh. “It’s kind of like a little museum/playhouse in there. Say for instance you’re working on a song and it’s not quite happening, man, take a break and play with something in there. Put a wig on. Put a hat on. You know, he’s got all kinds of crazy toys down there. You just distract yourself until you feel like you’re ready … and step up to the mic and go for it again.”

Along with his own songs, Skinner’s eponymous album features covers of fellow Oklahoma scribes, including Hoyt Axton’s “Gypsy Moth,” Randy Pease’s “I Love This Game” and Larry Spears’ “My Favorite Cup.” The Tulsa resident said he wrote a couple of new songs, including “Nickel’s Worth of Difference” with McClure and “Way Back When” with his son Jeremy Skinner, but he mostly worked from a master list of 30 tunes and no specific agenda.

“I’d sort of look down the list and see what I felt like playing at the moment,” he said. “A couple of days actually we were in there and I didn’t even bring my list with me. I’d left it somewhere else and I would just … play whatever I felt like. And that’s the way I do my live shows; that’s the way I’ve done everything.”

In addition to touring with the Mike McClure Band, Skinner has been conducting his Wednesday Science Project for about 12 years. While the Tulsa-based band has moved its weekly gig around from time to time, for the past year, he and his friends have been playing at The Colony.

Plus, Cody Canada & The Departed, the Red Dirt Rangers and Stoney LaRue are among the likeminded musicians who have covered Skinner’s songs and cited him as an influence.

“I really do appreciate the way those younger guys treat me ‘cause they treat me good, with respect. But it’s sort of baffling, too, because I wasn’t inventing anything,” Skinner said. “I just wanted to be John Prine or Graham Parsons real bad, you know, that’s all I was doing was imitating those guys and playing and having a blast. It wasn’t like I was in a lab making any secret thing up.”

While Skinner may be humble about his songwriting and influence, Red Dirt Rangers singer/mandolin player John Cooper lavishly praised both.

“Hey, man, Garth Brooks wanted to be in Tom Skinner’s band just like we all did. He was just persistent enough to keep at him until Tom finally said OK,” Cooper said. “You know, we all wanted to be Tom Skinner. The first time I saw Tom … I was just like ‘This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I want to do that with those guys.’ And I know Garth felt the same way — we all did.”

 

IN CONCERT

Mike McClure Band

When: 9:30 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Where: Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan.

Information: www.wormydog.com.

Tom Skinner’s Wednesday Night Science Project

When: 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday.

Where: The Colony, 2809 S Harvard Ave., Tulsa.

Information: www.thecolonytulsa.com.

-BAM

Mike McClure Band is, from left, Eric Hansen, drums and vocals; Mike McClure, lead guitar and vocals; and Tom Skinner, bass and vocals.

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