What to do in Oklahoma on March 20, 2010
Today’s featured event:
NORMAN – Hear country music star Gary Allan, whose new album “Get Off on the Pain” is one of my favorite records of the year so far, at 8 tonight at Riverwind Casino, 1544 W State Highway 9.
Search the country music category here on BAM’s Blog to read my recent feature on Gary Allan, his thoughts on Kings of Leon and my review of “Get Off on the Pain.”
For more information, call 322-6464 or go to www.riverwind.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Gary Allan talks about Kings of Leon, musical influences and being a country heartthrob
Country music star Gary Allan will play a sold-out show Saturday night at Norman’s Riverwind Casino.
Judging from my past experience seeing Allan playing live, the crowd will include many fervent female fans thrilled to watch the tattooed honky-tonk heartthrob.
In a recent phone interview, the California native said he doesn’t dwell on his sex symbol status.
“Well, I guess you just get by every day. Don’t ever feel sorry for me,” he said with a laugh. “No, I can’t think about things like that. That’s comical. That’s like reading your own press.”
The singer-songwriter last week released his eighth studio album, “Get Off on the Pain,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums list, behind Lady Antebellum’s chart-dominating sophomore effort, “Need You Now.”
Allan’s most apparent musical influence is the outlaw country of the likes of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, but hints of gospel, classic rock and alternative rock can be heard on “Get Off on the Pain.”
“I think I’m influenced by everything that I listen to, constantly. That’s what keeps it evolving for me,” he told me.
Lately, he has been listening often to alternative rockers Kings of Leon, which includes two Oklahoma City-born members.
“Those guys work for me. It’s just, it’s fresh,” he said.
“I listen to a lot of alternative stuff and a lot of very old country music,” he added. “If you were in my iPod, it would be Kings of Leon mixed in with some (Merle) Haggard and some (George) Jones and Waylon.”
“Get Off on the Pain” closes with the powerful stripped-down ballad “No Regrets,” which Allan co-wrote about the lasting grief over his wife Angela’s 2004 suicide. The star did few interviews in the years after his spouse’s death but decided to break his media silence in promoting “Get Off on the Pain.” He said he has found healing in writing songs about the tragedy and he is “in a good place with it.”
“I think it’s just I felt good enough to do it,” he said. “It’s good to let people you know that you’re OK. … I don’t really do a lot of meet-and-greets anymore ’cause I hear so many suicide stories. So, it’s good to get it out that you’re OK.”
- BAM
Gary Allan making music through the pain, playing Saturday show in Norman
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Gary Allan writes through the pain on new CD
Mainstream maverick Gary Allan confesses his love for dark horses, lost causes and wrong roads in the title track of his new album “Get Off on the Pain.”
While Oklahoman Brett James, Bill Luther and Justin Weaver penned the country-rocker, Allan feels “Get Off on the Pain” represents his raw, autobiographical brand of country music.
“To me, the road is such a relentless grind, but I love it. I get off on it,” Allan said in a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn. “Hanging out in the back of the pack with the dark horses, all that stuff sort of symbolizes who we are in this whole thing. My band, I think we’ve always felt like kind of the outsiders, but we get off on it. I think that sounds like I wrote that one. I wish I did, but they wrote it right at me.”
The tattooed honky-tonk heartthrob will play songs from his new album, which debuted last week, along with previous hits like “Smoke Rings in the Dark,” “Man to Man” and “Watching Airplanes” in a rowdy and rocking show Saturday at Norman’s Riverwind Casino.
“The whole reason I do this is to play live, that’s my rush, so bringing the band into someplace like Oklahoma where we know that they go nuts for us, yeah, that’s the whole reason I do it,” Allan said.
The modern-day country outlaw made his musical beginnings at age 12, playing with his dad’s band on the honky-tonk circuit in his native Southern California. As a youth, his strongest sonic influences were Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, four country music icons who sometimes performed together as the Highwaymen.
“When I really got turned on as a kid by country music, it was during the Highwaymen tour. That’s when country music really became like rock ‘n’ roll to me. I saw guys on the stage that weren’t jumping around or doing anything like that, but they had guitars and they were just dealing truth. And wow, how cutting and how bone-chilling that was for me. That’s when I just really knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.
With each of his eight albums, he has tried to convey “the emotions of the daily grind,” which he considers the essence of country music.
“I think they’re all personal. Especially in country music, you know, people want a glimpse into your life. So, I’ve definitely got stuff that’s right in the center of me,” he said.
“Get Off on the Pain” closes with the powerful stripped-down ballad “No Regrets,” which Allan co-wrote about the lasting grief over his wife Angela’s 2004 suicide.
“It talks about just where I’m at right now with it. You know, I’m in a good place with it, I sleep good at night, and I’ve got no regrets. I loved her the best that I could,” said Allan, who did few interviews in the years after his spouse’s death but broke his media silence in promoting “Get Off on the Pain.”
“No Regrets” isn’t the first song Allan, 42, has penned about his wife’s passing. His 2005 album “Tough All Over” largely addressed the tragedy.
“I think writing has healed me through that. When you’re able to take the emotions that you have and feelings and just kick them around on paper with your friends just from every angle, that gives you such a peace and such an ability to talk about that,” said Allan, who had to cut back on his meet-and-greets because of the heartache of hearing so many suicide stories before taking the stage.
Despite his outsider tendencies, Allan has found plenty of mainstream country success. Two of his last three albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and he has three platinum and four gold records on his resume. He credits his stubbornness with keeping him true to his own style in the Nashville music machine.
“When I came to town, I knew what I wanted to do and I didn’t let anybody deviate me from it. And I think that’s what created the long success for us. I’m real proud of that, that we’ve always just kind of done our own thing,” he said.
After 30 years of making country music, including 15 in Nashville, Allan feels he has learned from each song he has recorded.
“I think each album … we get a little bit better. You grow a little bit more as a person, you’re a little bit more mature, and I think you actually get better at the actual recording process,” he said.
“I think you learn life lessons with each song. But I don’t think that you learn life lessons on the road so much. It’s more of a big party out there on the road.”
In concert
Gary Allan
When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Riverwind Casino, 1544 W State Highway 9.
Tickets: Sold out.
Information: 322-6464 or www.riverwind.com.
-BAM
Randy Travis looks back on “Storms of Life” album nearly 25 years later
Country music star Randy Travis, who is playing shows in Tulsa and Concho this weekend, is in the planning stages of a 25th anniversary album to be released next year.
“Because of what it is, we just want to make it as special as we can,” he told me in a recent phone interview.
In 1986, the North Carolina native released his genre-altering debut album “Storms of Life,” which ushered in the neotraditionalist sound after the post-urban cowboy bust.
In our interview, Travis recalled that he started out with a three-single deal at Warner Bros., which meant the label was giving him three chances to make it big. He broke into the top 10 with “1982,” his second single; the label then re-released his first single, “On the Other Hand,” which initially fell off the charts around the 60s. The second time around, it became a No. 1 hit.
He still recalls rushing to finish “Storms of Life” with now-longtime producer Kyle Lehning, who told Travis that if he could sell at least 40,000 copies, they would get the chance to make another record.
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?,” he remembers joking.
“Storms of Life” went on to sell more than 3 million units. No joke.
Lehning isn’t the only collaborator Travis is still working with decades later. This weekend, he will take the stage with fiddler David Johnson, whom he has been performing with for 33 years. They started making music together back when Travis was playing the nightclub Country City USA in Charlotte, N.C.
Travis also credits God’s grace and good material for giving him a lengthy career.
“Heck, I don’t know, the grace of God, I guess,” he said with a laugh before getting more serious. “I was joking about the grace of God, the favor of God, but I do strongly believe in that. But to me, when you look at the beginning of a career, you can take a mediocre singer if you have a good enough song, you can have a hit. … The choice of material to start that career is one of the most important things.
“All right, then you gotta have everything else to go with that. You need to be able to sing, obviously, you need to know what you can sing, what you should sing, pick what you like. That sounds real simple, but when you start doing that, then you get into (wondering) ‘Let’s see, is that something radio would play?’ You’ve gotta fight to keep away from trying to figure those things out because that’s a losing battle.
“So choose what you love, sing what you truly love and only that. This is what I believe.”
In concert
Randy Travis
When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Interstate 44 East at Exit 240A, Tulsa.
Information: (800) 760-6700 or www.hardrockcasinotulsa.com.
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Lucky Star Casino Concho, 7777 N Highway 81, El Reno.
Information: (405) 262-7612 or www.luckystarcasino.org.
-BAM
Blake Shelton talks about breaking up with Twitter and mulling marriage to Miranda Lambert
Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton recently ended his committed relationship with Twitter – by deleting the microblogging application from his smart phone.
“After I guess almost a year of being on Twitter, about three weeks ago I woke up one morning, and I was looking at it like I did every morning, and I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to move on with my life. I’m addicted to this stuff.’ I can’t think in the morning because all I can do is get on there and think, ‘All right, I’ve got to think of something funny to say to start this day,’” he told the Associated Press.
Shelton, 33, significantly raised his profile over the past year through his colorful – and sometimes controversial – participation on Twitter. The day he deleted the mobile app, Shelton had more than 76,000 followers.
“I think people are so used to country artists, celebrities, just kind of playing the middle and really not being themselves out of fear, that it was refreshing to them to get on Twitter and see well Blake Shelton wrote, ‘Oh my god, I got so drunk last night I think my liver exploded …,’” he said. “They’re going, ‘This guy is crazy. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to write next.’ Over time they realized, ‘Man, all the guy is doing is joking around,’” he told the AP.
In a recent phone interview, the hunting enthusiast said he particularly enjoyed using Twitter to poke fun at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“Oh, yeah, that’s one of my favorite pastimes is making fun of PETA. Anybody that attacks my way of life, they’re gonna hear about it from me. And of course, you know that I love to hunt and I was raised in a part of the country where people depend on raising cattle as a big part of their living and the way they make it in this world. And when somebody attacks that, I’m gonna have some things to say about it,” he told me.
The Ada native still Tweets, but not as often without the mobile application. Since the release of his “Hillbilly Bone” album earlier this month, his followers have actually increased to more than 81,000, thanks, in part, to the success of the album’s title track.
His “Hillbilly Bone” duet with longtime pal Trace Adkins just reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Songs chart. It’s also nominated for vocal event of the year at next month’s Academy of Country Music Awards.
While Shelton has broken up with Twitter, he told the AP his relationship with fellow country star and his Tishomingo neighbor Miranda Lambert is solid. Shelton, who was divorced in 2006, said he is finally open to the idea of marriage again.
“Miranda and I have been together, it’s getting close to five years now,” he told the AP. “We’ve had our good years and our bad years and our really bad years. But I think right now, she and I have a stronger relationship than we’ve ever had, even in the early times when it was new and exciting, it still didn’t feel like it feels right now. We’ve been through a lot together, and we’ve toughed it out. It’s exciting to me.”
“Probably for the first time I can realistically say, I can see us being together forever,” he added. “I can see us getting married one day, maybe, where before you would never have gotten me to say something like that. As far as I’m concerned we’re definitely closer than we’ve ever been to maybe taking that step.”
-BAM
Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins take “Hillbilly Bone” to No. 1
Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton has taken “Hillbilly Bone,” his raucous duet with fellow star Trace Adkins, to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Aircheck (Mediabase) charts.
It becomes Shelton’s sixth No. 1 single. It also is nominated for vocal event of the year honors at the Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be handed out April 18 in Las Vegas.
“Hillbilly Bone” is the lead-off single to Shelton’s new album, which recently debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums list. It also became Shelton’s highest album debut on Billboard’s Top 200 chart to date, coming in at No. 3.
Shelton, an Ada native who now lives in Tishomingo, will celebrate his latest hit tonight as he plays his first headlining show at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Appropriately enough, the show is a sell-out.
In the NewsOK video above, see a clip of the hilarious “Hillbilly Bone” music video and hear a clip of my recent interview with Shelton.
-BAM
Justin Bieber bringing first headlining tour to Tulsa’s BOK Center
Teen star Justin Bieber will bring his first headlining tour to Tulsa’s BOK Center, the venue has announced.
The 16-year-old pop singer and special guest Sean Kingston will play the arena on July 6. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 27 at 10am
Tickets are priced at $41.50 and $51.50. They will be available online at www.bokcenter.com, at the Arby’s Box Office and all Tickets.com outlets, or by calling (866) 7BOKCTR.
Bieber announced his first headlining tour of North America as his millions of fans – mostly tween girls – count down the days until the March 23 release of his second album, “My World 2.0.” The “My World” Tour, presented by AEG Live and featuring Sean Kingston as special guest, will open June 23 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., and blaze a trail through more than 40 cities before wrapping up in Allentown, Pa., on Sept. 4.
“My World 2.0,” an album of 10 new songs, is the follow-up to the platinum-selling pop sensation’s debut album, “My World,” released in November. “My World,” which earned platinum status in just a few short weeks, contained Bieber’s first four Top 40 hits on the Hot 100, “One Time,” “One Less Lonely Girl,” “Love Me” and “Favorite Girl.” Justin is the first solo artist in history to send four songs from a debut album into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 prior to the album’s release.
Born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, Bieber is a multi-talented singer and a self-taught musician on drums, guitar, piano, and trumpet. To date, he has surpassed 150 million YouTube.com views (the first 50 million of them as an amateur starting in 2007, posting renditions of his favorite hip-hop and R&B songs). Also in 2007, his manager Scooter Braun introduced Bieber to the music industry in Atlanta. There he met multi-platinum superstar Usher, who signed the 13 year-old to his first professional deal and formed the RBMG joint-venture label with Braun and Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group.
For more information on the Tulsa show, go to www.bokcenter.com.
-BAM
New Releases for March 16, 2010
BAM is out sick today, so 3D is here to keep you updated on the new releases for this week. In movies, the new Disney fable “The Princess and the Frog” is out. Michael Lewis gives his perspective on the breakdown of the economy in his new book “The Big Short,” and Southern rockers Drive-By Truckers are releasing their new CD this week as well.
Here are the new releases in DVD, CD, and Books for March 16, according to Amazon.com.
DVDs:
1.) The Princess and the Frog
2.) Did You Hear About the Morgans?
3.) Ninja Assassin
4.) MST3K Volume XVII (includes: The Crawling Eye, The Beatniks, The Final Sacrifice, and Blood Waters of Dr. Z)
5.) Astro Boy
6.) Broken Embraces
7.) Armored
8.) The Fourth Kind
9.) South Park: The Complete Thirteenth Season
10.) Monk: Season Eight
CDs:
1.) “Big To-Do” by Drive-By Truckers
2.) “Under Great White Northern Lights” by The White Stripes
3.) “Here I Am” by Marvin Sapp
4.) “Highway Rider” by Brad Mehlclaw
5.) “La Raza” by Armored Saint
6.) “Imaginary Television” by Graham Parker
7.) “Parallels” by Fates Warning
8.) “Survival Story” by Flobots
9.) ” Otra Cosa” by Julieta Venegas
Books:
1.) “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” by Michael Lewis
2.) “Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1″ by Stephanie Meyer and Young Kim
3.) “Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel” by James Patterson
4.) “The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls” by L.J. Smith
5.) “Think Twice” by Lisa Scottoline
6.) “The Girl Who Chased the Moon: A Novel” by Sarah Addison Allen
7.) “Her Mother’s Hope (Marta’s Legacy)” by Francine Rivers
8.) “The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary” by Jeff Kinney
—3D
What to do in Oklahoma on March 13, 2010
Ali Harter
Today’s featured event:
Celebrate the release of Oklahoma singer-songwriter Ali Harter’s new CD “No Bees, No Honey” at 8 p.m. today at the Conservatory, 8911 N Western. The show also will feature Samantha Crain, Mayola and Jabee.
For more information, go to www.conservatoryokc.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Friday Featured Track for March 12, 2010: She & Him “In the Sun”
The song that has been on my brain the most this week:
- “In the Sun,” She & Him, from the upcoming album “Volume 2.”
For the second week in a row, I’m spotlighting the sunshiney indie-pop on duo She & Him. I can’t help it; the music just makes me feel good.
The music video from “In the Sun,” a track from the upcoming album “Volume 2,” was released this week and has been bopping good-naturedly through my head for days.
She & Him’s “Volume 2″ comes out March 23.
-BAM
