What to do in Oklahoma on May 29, 2011: Hear Motley Crue, Poison and more close out Rocklahoma 2011 in Pryor
Motley Crue
Today’s featured event:
PRYOR – Hear Motley Crue, Poison, Black Label Society and many other modern rock and ’80s hair bands on the final day of Rocklahoma. Music begins at noon=at the “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor.
Bret Michaels (AP file)
“We’re the originator,” Poison frontman Bret Michaels told The Oklahoman’s Gene Triplett in a recent phone interview from his Scottsdale, Ariz., ranch.
“The first year they did it, when everyone (in Poison) was a little reluctant to do it, I said I think we need a festival like this. In other words, we need a fun festival; we can all go play, have fun. And Poison was the first band to headline. We were the headliner for the first Rocklahoma, and it was hugely successful.
“And then we came back the second year, and I came back solo. … And that was unbelievably great. And I did a big dedication to the military that night, and it was awesome, and then I believe we skipped last year, and then we’re back this year with Motley on the closing night.”
For more information, go to www.rocklahoma.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Rocklahoma 2011 lineup announced
Crooked X
PRYOR — ” Rocklahoma” returns May 27-29 to kick off summer with one of the nation’s biggest Memorial Day weekend rock parties at “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor.
The fifth annual camp and music festival this year will feature a mix of classic and current rock artists, including Motley Crue, Staind, Whitesnake, Sick Puppies, Seether and Papa Roach.
Other acts in the initial lineup are Saving Abel, Skillet, Sebastian Bach, Black Label Society, Drowning Pool, My Darkest Days, Rev Theory, All That Remains, Escape the Fate, Cavo, The Gracious Few (featuring members of Live and Candlebox), Hail the Villain, Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights, Taddy Porter, Pop Evil, Crooked X, Texas Hippie Coalition, New Medicine and Art of Dying.
Others on the bill include Electric Touch, One Less Reason, Gypsy Pistoleros, Alias, Wildstreet, The Glitter Boys, Gunner Sixx, Black Tora, Mad Max, Aura Surreal, Firstryke, Aska, Pretty Little Suicide, Arena, Blue Tiger, Bad Things, Cutlass, Mock Star and more special guests to be announced.
General admission and VIP packages go on sale at 10 a.m. today at all Ticketmaster outlets and at www. rocklahoma.com. General admission three-day ticket prices start at $99.50. Fans can save by buying early, as ticket prices will increase in coming weeks.
Camping tickets may be bought by calling the ” Rocklahoma” camping office at (866) 310-2288, where fans can choose their exact campsite.
A detailed list of amenities included in VIP packages can be found at www.rocklahoma.com.
-BAM
BAM Column: Greyson Chance continues Oklahoma tradition of young rockers, from Collins Kids to Hanson to Crooked X
Above: Edmond Internet sensation Greyson Chance, 12, is following the tradition of young Oklahoma rockers to find early success. (Photo by Nate Billings/The Oklahoman) Below left: Lorrie Collins and her brother Larry Collins performed in the 1950s as the Collins Kids, becoming the first youngsters to play rock ‘n’ roll. (Photo from the Larry Collins Collection on loan to Oklahoma History Center) Below right: Tulsa trio Hanson, from left, Zac, Isaac, center, and Taylor, are shown at Radio City Music Hall in New York in this Feb. 25, 1998 file photo. (Associated Press photo) Below left: Coweta teens, from left, Josh McDowell, Jesse Cooper, Forrest French and Boomer Simpson are members of the band Crooked X.
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Youth rocker tradition continues
Web sensation Greyson Chance follows other successful state kids
In the past six weeks, 12-year-old Edmond Internet sensation Greyson Chance has earned innumerable comparisons to similarly floppy-haired YouTube discovery Justin Bieber, now 16.
For the rest of his young music career — and who knows how long it might last — Greyson will be linked to pop star Lady Gaga, whose hit “Paparazzi” he covered in the YouTube video that got him discovered, and Ellen DeGeneres, the talk-show host and “American Idol” judge who started a new record label just to sign him.
He also can be connected to such diverse performers as rockabilly pioneers the Collins Kids, pop stars Hanson and heavy metal rockers Crooked X, although those ties might not be so obvious outside his home state.
Greyson has joined the proud tradition of Oklahoma music stars who have skyrocketed to fame before they were old enough to drive a car, attend the prom or buy a ticket to a R-rated movie. It’s a tradition that dates back to the very beginnings of rock ‘n’ roll.
“In the ‘50s, rock ‘n’ roll was … a genre of music that was targeted towards young people because for the first time in the history of the world, young people had disposable income from the post-World War II prosperity. Now kids can go buy their own singles,” said Jeff Moore, co-curator of the Oklahoma History Center’s “Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock & Roll Exhibit,” on view through the end of the year.
Naturally, youngsters with that money burning holes in their pockets gravitated toward rollicking music made by kids like them. And the first kids to rock were the Collins Kids, the sibling duo of Tahlequah-born Lorrie and her two-years-younger Tulsa-born brother Larry.
Western Swing musician Leon McAuliffe discovered Lorrie’s singing talent when the 8-year-old won a Tulsa talent show; he encouraged her parents to move to California to seek their daughter’s musical fortune. For his part, Larry was 7 when he got his first guitar, a Stella from Sears, as a Christmas gift. As he jumped around playing the souped-up country music, his folks favored, the grown-ups at that holiday gathering laughed.
So, the boy took his guitar out back and shot it with a BB gun. Very rock ‘n’ roll.
“He is way more influential in rock ‘n’ roll guitar than he is given credit for because he’s the first kid playing rock ‘n’ roll. … In fact, he’s doing it in ’53, which is almost before rock ‘n’ roll is credited with really being a genre,” Moore said. “He’s doing these Chuck Berry moves before Chuck Berry.”
Fortunately, Larry didn’t do too much damage to his guitar, though he soon upgraded to a double-neck. From 1956-59, the Collins Kids were rockabilly regulars on ABC’s “Town Hall Party.” and Lorrie even dated Ricky Nelson. They penned their rock songs “Hot Rod,” “Whistlebait,” and “Mercy,” and after Lorrie left the duo to start a family, Larry carried on as a songwriter.
Credit Oklahoma’s young rockers: Many not only sing but also play their own instruments and write their own material. Case in point: Hanson
“People dog ‘MMMBop,’ which was written on that keyboard,” Moore said, pointing to an instrument in the exhibit. on loan from Taylor Hanson. “But the thing about it is, it was written on that keyboard. They wrote it. They wrote this hit.”
Isaac Hanson was 16; Taylor, 13; and Zac, 11, back in 1997 when they became breakout stars with the bubble-gummy “MMMBop.” Moore points out that the Tulsa brothers were even bigger than current sizzling trio the Jonas Brothers. Hanson scored a No. 1 hit in more than 30 countries, without the Disney Channel backing afforded the Jonases.
Although their white-hot popularity cooled, Hanson has continued writing and making music. over the years. The band is experiencing a resurgence with the Motown bounce of “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’,” the first single from their new album “Shout It Out,” due out Tuesday.
Coweta-based rockers Crooked X were just 14 when they zipped from suburban Tulsa obscurity to opening for the likes of Kiss, Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper. In 2007, the quartet won second place on the CBS “Early Show’s” “Living Room … Live!” talent contest, which led to a 2009 major-label debut album, MTV special and two “Rock Band” tracks. They wrote all 10 songs on their self-titled album.
During his second visit to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” last week, Greyson continued the tradition, performing his original piano-and-voice ballad “Broken Hearts.” Moore was impressed with the state’s latest rocker youth to catch the public’s eye and hearts.
“I like his sound. He’s not mimicking everybody else,” he said.
-BAM
From Gibsons to Garth Brooks’, National Cowboy Museum’s “The Guitar” exhibit showcasing variety of instruments
Curator Don Reeves show the artwork on a Gibson Elvis Presley tribute guitar on The guitar is part of the new exhibit “The Guitar: Art, Artist and Artisans” opening today at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. (Photo by Chris Landsberger/The Oklahoman)
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Exhibit brings music to the eyes
The only instrument whose master players gain “god” status takes center stage this weekend at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
The special exhibition “The Guitar: Art, Artists and Artisans” opens today, showcasing about 50 instruments, from historic models dating to the 19th century to elaborately tuneful tributes to music legends. The public is invited to a free preview of the exhibit from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the museum.
Guest curator Don Cusic hopes the show captures the imaginations of museum visitors, just like guitar-slinging heroes from Elvis Presley and The Beatles to Brad Paisley and Kings of Leon have ensnared the passions of music-loving teenagers.
“Guitars are cool,” said Cusic, a professor of music business at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. “The guitar is the most popular instrument in America; more people play the guitar than any other instrument. …
“The guitar is the basis of most of the records made today and what you hear on the radio.”
Just as the instrument’s musical influence runs the gamut from country and folk to rock and pop, the exhibit offers a wide range of specimens, from elaborately decorated Gibsons paying homage to Elvis, B.B. King and Les Paul to guitars played by country music stars Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn, Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold and Marty Robbins.
“Some of these guitars are used like a canvas for an artist,” said Don Reeves, the museum’s McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture. “Then, there’s the high artistic craftsmanship in the creation of some of these guitars, as well as the music these musical artists make.”
The exhibit includes millions of dollars worth of instruments and traces the iconic relationship between cowboys and guitars. Reeves pulls on thin cotton gloves as he gingerly lifts a simple wooden C.F. Martin, a rare early model from about 1840.
“Cowboys did not ride up the Chisholm Trail with these strapped on their back. The rough life a cowboy did not lend itself to this. What you had at most of the cowboy ranch dances were the banjos and fiddles. At the time, this was much more popular down in Mexico,” he said.
The show also includes new Gibson acoustic guitars that recreate historically significant models like the now-scarce Super 400 arch body.
“It was the guitar that Roy Rogers made famous as a singing cowboy,” Reeves said. “A lot of people when they think of the American guitar, they think of cowboys. They think they go together. What really created that were the singing cowboys of the 1930s and the 1940s on radio and then … movies and television.”
Many artists use the guitar as a canvas to honor the connection between cowpokes and the instrument. The Gibson Western Sky model is decorated with polychrome carvings of a bucking bronco and climbing roses, while El Reno resident Bobby Boyles, owner of Oklahoma Vintage Guitar, has loaned a Washburn on which he painted a praying cowboy.
On the other hand, Muscogee Creek artist Dru WhiteFeather honors his American Indian heritage through his artistic guitars adorned with paintings, tooled leather and beadwork.
Dallas artist Amanda Dunbar, 27, explores her love for bling through her line of Precious Rebels guitars, which are encrusted with colorful Swarovski crystals she painstakingly places to create intricate designs. A dozen of her guitars are arranged in a large shimmering chandelier that is a centerpiece of the show.
“I kind of like to bridge that gap between fashion and music and visual arts and sound and light,” said Dunbar, who plans to visit the exhibit, in a phone interview. “I just have such an appreciation for music that it just seemed like a really cool idea.”
Of course, no guitar exhibit would be complete without featuring favored instruments played by Oklahoma music stars. Gill loaned the museum the first guitar he ever remembers seeing, which belonged to his late father Stan, while Keith contributed a worn acoustic model he used as an up-and-comer playing the club scene. From Brooks, the exhibit includes a Takamine with his signature sound hole shaped like a guitar body.
“I am excited to have anything of mine in the Cowboy Hall of Fame. I believe I have a career because of the men and the women who wear the hat. This is truly an honor,” Brooks said in an e-mail.
On exhibit
“The Guitar: Art, Artists and Artisans”
Where: National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63.
When: today-May 9.
Preview: A free public preview is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Information: 478-2250 or www.nationalcowboymuseum.org.
-BAM
Weekend Warmup
Here is a preview of events happening in Oklahoma this weekend (Aug. 7-9):
- NORMAN – See the movie “Night at the Museum” Friday at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave. Doors will open at 7 p.m., and visitors will have access to museum galleries from 7 to 8:30. Galleries will close at 8:30 when the film begins in the museum’s Great Hall. Some seating will be provided, but visitors are welcome to bring pillows or blankets to make for more comfy seating on the floor if they would like. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase. Information: 325-4712 or www.snomnh.ou.edu.
- TULSA – Hear Keith Urban and Sugarland at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the BOK Center, 200 S Denver. Information: www.bokcenter.com.
Billy Squier
- NORMAN – Hear Billy Squier at 8 p.m. Friday at Riverwind Casino, 1544 West Hwy 9. Information: www.riverwind.com. Or hear him play “The Stroke,” “Lonely Is the Night” and more at 8 p.m. Saturday at WinStar World Casino, 777 Casino Ave. in Thackerville. Information: www.winstarworldcasino.com.
- Catch the Hush Hush Commotion CD release show with Vannadine, Berkeley to D.C. and Kidnap in Color at 8 p.m. Saturday at Bricktown Live, 103 Flaming Lips Alley. Information: 236-4143 or www.ticketstorm.com.
- Experience new art, refreshments and wine tastings at the monthly Paseo Gallery Walk from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Paseo Arts District. Information: www.thepaseo.com.
Lee Roy Reams plays Adolf Hitler in “Springtime for Hitler” from the Mel Brooks musical “The Producers.” Lyric Theatre is staging the musical. (Photo provided to The Oklahoman courtesy of The Muny, St. Louis)
- See Lyric Theatre’s staging of ”The Producers” at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Civic Center, 201 N Walker Ave. Information: www.lyrictheatreokc.com.
- THACKERVILLE – Hear Journey at 9 p.m. Friday at WinStar World Casino, 777 Casino Ave. Information: www.winstarworldcasino.com.
- Watch Ghostlight Theatre Club’s production of “Glengarry Glen Ross” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the theater, 3110 N Walker in the Paseo Arts District. Information: www.ghostlighttheatreclub.com.
A sign announces the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival. (Photo by Steve Sisney/The Oklahoman)
- RUSH SPRINGS – Take in a parade, rodeo, free watermelon and more all day Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Saturday at the Rush Springs Watermelon Festival in and around Jeff Davis Park. Information: (580) 476-9348 or http://home.flash.net/~mvincent/Festival.htm.
- Take in live music, vintage cars and bikes and kustom culture at the third annual Okie Twist-off Friday and Saturday. The event starts with the free pre-party with 3 Balls of Fire from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at The Prohibition Room, 1112 NW 23, No. 102, followed at 10 p.m. by the bar crawl at The Blue Note Lounge, Sauced Annex and Galileo. The Okie Twist-Off Car and Bike Show and Music Festival will be from noon to last call Saturday at 66 Bowl, 3810 NW 39, featuring Psychocharger, The Fortune Tellers, Glister and more. Information: www.okietwistoff.com.
Crooked X
- TULSA – Hear Coweta rockers Crooked X at 7 p.m. Saturday at Flytrap Music Hall, 514 E Second. Information: www.ticketstorm.com.
- TUTTLE – Check out the annual Tuttle Round-Up Club Rodeo featuring bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, team roping, barrel racing, mutton busting, calf scramble and breakaway roping. Events begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Schrock Park Arena, W Hwy 37, on the west side of town. Information: (405) 381-5410.
- ANADARKO – Take in a parade, arts and crafts, tribal dancing and more as the annual Anadarko Indian Exposition continues Friday and Saturday at the Anadarko Fairgrounds. Information: (405) 933-0171 or www.anadarko.org.
-BAM
Weekend Warmup
Crooked X
Here’s a list of some of the events happening around Oklahoma this weekend (July 17-19):
- TULSA – Listen to Oklahoma’s own Crooked X at the Flytrap Music Hall, 514 E Second St., at 7 p.m. Friday. Information: (918) 794-0238.
- Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Friday for Butcher Jones with Bleed The Sky at The Conservatory, 8911 N Western. Information: www.conservatoryokc.com
- Get in on the laughs at the first Improv Festival Oklahoma. Performances are at 7, 8:30 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at City Arts Center, State Fair Park. Workshops for beginners and advanced improvisers are offered both days. Information: www.festival.reddirtimprov.com.
Wade Bowen
- The Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E. Sheridan Ave., keeps it country Friday night when Wade Bowen plays there with Modern Day Drifter. Information: www.wormydog.com
- Eric Devries, Gene Williams, Tom Skinner and Greg Jacobs will play together Friday night at The Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley Ave. Information: www.bluedoorokc.com
Travis Linville
-NORMAN – Oklahoma singer-songwriter Travis Linville will play Friday night at The Deli, 309 White St. Information: www.thedeli.us
- The Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S Eastern Ave, hosts the English Indie rock band Gomez with The Republic Tigers at 7 p.m. Sunday. Information: 677-9169 or www.diamondballroom.net.
Early Beat
- NORMAN – Local band Early Beat, along with Followed By Static and PVC Street Gang, will perform at The Opolis, 113 N Crawford, at 9 p.m. Friday. Information: www.ticketstorm.com.
- MOORE – Those interested in acoustic, rock and pop music will enjoy the Kanaga CD release party Saturday at Dan McGuinness Pub, 1003 SW 19. Information: www.danmcguinnesspub.com
- Attend John Fullbright’s CD release party at The Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley Ave, at 8 p.m. Saturday. Information: www.bluedoorokc.com
Cory Morrow
- Listen to more great country music Saturday night when Cory Morrow will be at the Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan Ave. Information: www.wormydog.com.
- SHAWNEE – Hear comic Ralphie May at 8 p.m. Friday at Firelake Grand Casino off Interstate 40. Information: www.firelakegrand.com.
Scott H. Biram
- NORMAN – Scott H. Biram performs with El Paso Hot Button at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Opolis, 113 N. Crawford. Information: www.ticketstorm.com.
- NORMAN – Blues and rockabilly fans will enjoy Hosty Solo at The Deli, 309 White St., on Sunday night. Mike Hosty’s weekly show starts at 10 p.m., but plan to arrive early. Information: www.thedeli.us
Eleni Mandell
- TULSA – The Marquee, 222 N Main St., will have Eleni Mandell at 7 p.m. Friday. Information: (918) 254-2500.
- Hear Marcy Priest at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in downtown. The show is part of the Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s Sunday Twilight Concert Series. Information: www.artscouncilokc.com.
- After Marcy Priest performs, see a free screening of the classic film “Casablanca” at 9 p.m. Sunday at the Myriad Gardens. The film is part of the gardens’ Screen on the Green program and will be shown on the gardens’ Activity Plaza, adjacent to the Crystal Bridge. Information: www.myriadgardens.com.
Gary Allen
-MIAMI- Country musician Gary Allan will be at Buffalo Run Casino, 1000 Buffalo Run Blvd. at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Information: www.buffalorun.com.
-See Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park perform George Bernard Shaw’s “Misalliance” today-Saturday at 8 p.m. on the Myriad Gardens Water Stage in downtown. Information: www.oklahomashakespeare.com.
- Share your tales about traveling and finding adventure on the road at Istvan Gallery and OKC StorySlam’s monthly story slam. Registration for the competitive storytelling event will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, with storytelling starting at 7:30 at Istvan Gallery, 1218 N Western Ave. Information: www.myspace.com/okcstoryslam.
- BAM and 3D
Weekend Warmup
Jimmy LaFave
Here is a list of events going on in Oklahoma the weekend of April 17-19. Have an entertaining weekend!
- Hear singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave at 9 tonight at the Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley. Information: 524-0738 or www.bluedoorokc.com.
- See the terrific exhibit “Harlem Renaissance” before it closes Sunday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive. The museum will offer Last Call Friday from 5 to 8 tonight with guided tours, live jazz, coffee seminars and more. Information: 236-3100 or www.okcmoa.com.
Ali Harter
- NORMAN – Celebrate Record Store Day 2009 with live music from the Evangelicals, Other Lives and El Paso Hot Button from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Guestroom Records, 125 E Main. The Oklahoma City store, 3701 N Western, will have The Uglysuit, Ali Harter and Mayola performing from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Information: 701-5974 or www.guestroom-records.com.
- NORMAN – Catch New York-based indie rock band French Kicks with Mayola and Toil and Trouble at 9 p.m. Sunday at Opolis, 113 N Crawford. Information: www.okctickets.com.
- PRYOR – Listen to David Allan Coe, Jackyl, Crooked X and more this weekend at Bikelahoma 2009 at the Catch the Fever Festival Grounds. Gates open at 4 p.m. today and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Information: (866) 310-2288 or www.feverfest.com.
- Share your tale when the OKC StorySlam and the Istvan Gallery present their monthly story slam tonight at the gallery, 1218 N Western Ave. The theme this month is “Good Intentions.” Registration begins at 7 p.m., and storytelling starts at 7:30. Information: www.myspace.com/okcstoryslam.
Stoney LaRue
- MIAMI – Hear Stoney LaRue at 8 tonight at Buffalo Run Casino, 1000 Buffalo Run Blvd. Information: www.buffaloruncasino.com.
- Get in on Mad Maxx’s Spring Bash featuring Texas Hippie Coalition, xit 27, Seed of Doubt and Plow at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S Eastern Ave. Information: www.diamondballroom.net.
- View the exhibit “Jack Hill’s Circle of Friends” at Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo, before it closes April 30. The gallery is open noon to 4 p.m. today and Saturday. The exhibit features a diverse collection of artworks by the late Jack Hill, one of my favorite Oklahoma artists, and his artistic friends. His collection includes work from talented artists such as Kay Orr, Regina Murphy, Winnie Hawkins, Sue Moss Sullivan, and Elaine Alsup. Information: 525-2688 or www.thepaseo.com.
- Listen to the Sugar Free All-Stars at 10 tonight at 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51. Information: www.myspace.com/51speakeasy.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Feb. 9
Crooked X
Today’s featured event:
Hear rockers Blackstone Cherry with Coweta hard rock band Crooked X, Texas Hippie Coalition and Blank Stare tonight at the Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S Eastern Ave. Doors open at 7 p.m.
For more information, go to www.diamondballroom.net.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
