Paste suggests new state song
Indie magazine Paste published an article suggesting 50 new state songs.
The magazine’s suggestion for Oklahoma’s updates song shares the same name as our current track, but it was written by Bishop Allen.
The song has some very Okie friendly lyrics.
You’ve got eyes like Oklahoma
Learned to swim in Lake Texoma
Chances are you plan to leave too soon
Oklahoma that’s what Ill call you!“
It doesn’t have corn as high as an elephant’s eye, but it’s really catchy.
Also, Bishop Allen has spent some time in Oklahoma. The band recorded its album “Broken Strings” at Blackwatch Studios in Norman.
-Poppe
Norman Groovefest a sign of community, rights awareness
NORMAN — Kara McKee was 16 in 1996 when an old man handed her a basketful of flowers to pass out at Andrews Park.
“I got hooked,” she said. “That was when I knew I wanted to be a part of Groovefest.”
Patrick Mellon of The Gunship plays at Groovefest Sunday, April 27, 2008 at Andrews Park in Norman, OK. BY JACONNA AGUIRRE/THE OKLAHOMAN.
Ten years before that encounter, Norman resident David Slemmons was there organizing the very first festival.
The Bad Plus will change your life. Seriously.
Note: This story ran in LookAtOKC and WeekendLook in advance of Jazz in June on June 25-26.
New York City’s The Bad Plus delivers a complete brand of eclectic and innovative jazz by infusing the element of improvisational surprise, but don’t let the band’s tagline fool you. Just because they live amongst the world’s musical elite doesn’t mean their collars are starched white.
“We play with the energy of a working band, and I think in improvised music that’s something that’s rare these days,” drummer Dave King recently said over the phone, his children lunching in the background.
The trio is far from unaccustomed to headlining at jazz festivals (they play six between now and September) and like all great workingman bands, The Bad Plus earn a living by rolling up their sleeves and hitting the road, which happens to pass through Andrews Park for Norman’s Jazz in June on June 26.
Key to great seafood: Start fresh
Summertime is grilling time in Oklahoma, and there’s no better fish for grilling than salmon.
“It’s good on the grill; it’s good baked, broiled, and unless you overcook it, you can’t hardly mess it up,” said Ron Watkins, owner of Avalon Seafood Market at Wilshire and May.
Cooked fresh, it’s a meal fit for Poseidon, but Watkins says that many in the state lack a natural instinct for the preparation of fish.
Two weeks left!
This internship sure is flying by and so is this summer. I can’t believe it is the middle of July. Soon I will be in the humid-free weather of Wyoming and Montana.
I will be staying a week longer than my fellow interns because I’m attending the Native American Journalist Association conference in Minneapolis next week. So when I return from Minneapolis most of them will be gone.
For some reason this internship seems to be going by faster than any other I’ve had. I think it is because there are still so many story ideas I didn’t even get a chance to start. I’m planning to still cover some of them. I write for a blog in Montana and think these ideas will make good stories for that. With that said, some of the stories I have worked on here have been interesting.
I’ve never seen a closet with a hidden door before this summer. I shot video of the home of Murray Humphreys, second-in-command to Al Capone. Some of the most notorious mobsters in history probably hid out at this home outside of Norman. This house once had a silver dollar lined pool and a watch tower. Story of the Ages intern, Hannah Rieger, wrote the story and it is slated to run in August.
I’ve never met a man with more Route 66 tattoos than Ron Jones of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. During my first week at the Oklahoman I was searching online for story ideas and came across a small article on Jones. I traveled three hours north to Independence, Kansas to video and photograph Jones getting two tattoos. I dubbed him as Route 66’s tattoo man because he has over 80 Route 66 themed tattoos on his back, legs and arms.
Only a week after I interviewed him in Kansas, he inked one more on his knee. This project took me a while to finish because writing and editing the video at the same time was time consuming.
All Oklahoman interns were invited to attend the Intern OKC initiative this summer. This program reaches out to all the interns in the Oklahoma City area with the hopes we will decide to live and work here. To an intern this translates into free lunch. However, during one of these luncheons, I came across a story. One speaker in particular caught my attention. Justin Echols is a police officer with the Oklahoma City police department. Echols is pursing his passion for jazz music. But, not only is jazz his passion, he is really good at it.
I am currently working on a story detailing Echols’ journey after discovering this hidden talent. I hope to have this story done soon because next weekend he is traveling overseas to perform and attend workshops at an important international jazz festival in Italy.
Some other stories I hope to have finished in the coming weeks are a story on the Cherokee Youth Choir in Tahlequah. I just talked with the director of the group. They are on a bus right now headed to San Diego to attend a conference. I am also working on a story about seniors in the workforce. I also plan to travel to Catoosa, Oklahoma to shoot video of the Blue Whale of Catoosa for a story about this well-known Route 66 attraction.
So with about two weeks left in my internship, I still have a lot to work on.
Review: The Hold Steady bring bar room rock to another bar room
Note: This story ran online at Newsok.com early Saturday.
Sometimes, bands are specifically meant to be heard live.
For patrons of The Hold Steady’s Friday night show at the Diamond Ballroom, this became apparent midway through “Sequestered in Memphis,” the 12th song in a 90-minute set, when lead singer Craig Finn’s lyrical subject matter seemed more real than anything.
Photo by Nathan Poppe/The Oklahoman
“In bar light, she looked alright/In daylight, she looked desperate/That’s alright I was desperate too,” he sang as a gaggle of nearing-their-30s women danced, pointed and laughed to stage right.
New film starts production in Oklahoma
Famke Janssen wrote and directs the upcoming film "Bringing Up Bobby," which will be filmed in Oklahoma. (AP Photo)
This story ran on the front page of The Oklahoman today.
Filming for the motion picture “Bringing Up Bobby” began this week in Oklahoma.
Milla Jovovich, Marcia Cross and Bill Pullman star in the film written and directed by Famke Janssen.
Newcomer Spencer List, 12, plays Bobby.
“Bringing Up Bobby” follows a European con-artist named Olive (Jovovich) and her son, Bobby (List), who find themselves in Oklahoma after an escape effort. Cross plays the role of Bobby’s foster mother.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jovovich wrote about her participation on Twitter, “Hey guys! Been crazy! Came home 4 a day 2 get ready 2 go 2 oklahoma tonite 2 start my new film ‘bringing up bobby’! will keep u updated!”
First-time executive producers are Edmond native David Johndrow, 42, and his wife, Maryann Johndrow, of Johndrow Vineyards in Napa Valley. The couple join several executive producers. David Johndrow said the entire movie will be filmed throughout Oklahoma City and metro areas such as Edmond, Guthrie and Luther.
David Johndrow said the budget for the independent film hasn’t been finalized. He estimated the movie will create roughly 60 jobs for Oklahomans.
“The one thing about bringing a film to Oklahoma is that Oklahomans are so gracious to the arts,” David Johndrow said. “It’s a fun, interesting proposition.”
List’s publicist Kelly-Marie Smith said in an e-mail that Monday is List’s first day on “Bringing Up Bobby.”
The film is the first directing role for Janssen. She is best known for her performances as the psychic mutant Jean Grey in the “X-Men” trilogy.
David Johndrow said filming in Oklahoma is to conclude in late August.
Video: The Whigs covering Sparklehorse’s “Painbirds”
The Whigs visited the Diamond Ballroom last weekend in support of the Hold Steady.
I managed to grab lead singer Parker Gispert after the show and he decided to play “Painbirds” by the late Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse.
If you enjoy the song then don’t hesitate visiting NPR to listen to “Dark Night of the Soul,” a collaboration between Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse.
The Flaming Lips, The Strokes, Danger Mouse and even David Lynch make cameos.
Weird is good.
P.S.
Here are some shots from The Whigs’ set.
-Poppe
Story behind the story: Visiting the Bowery
A couple weeks ago, George Lang invited me to shoot an interview he was doing with Stephen Kovash.
Kovash used to work as a bartender at the now defunct venue called the Bowery. In the 1980s it was an awesome rock venue that supported a zany cast of people who really cared about music. Make sure to read the feature about it.
Everyone from the Flaming Lips to REM played the venue.
I had no idea what to expect from the interview. All I knew was that no one had really been down inside the Bowery for like two decades.
I set down all of my camera equipment and was exploring the dark, dusty venue when Lang started his interview with the former bartender. Kovash was giving Lang a tour and didn’t give me a heads up to start filming. Rightfully so because Lang is good at interviews because he pays attention well.
So I grabbed my gear immediately and started filming as much as I could.
The lighting wasn’t choice and every sound made in the Bowery echoed like crazy, but I wasn’t afraid to move around my camera and audio equipment for different shots and interesting angles.
I think my favorite thing about filming this interview was learning how important it is to be flexible. It would have killed the interview if I would have asked Kovash to find a chair or move around. I just captured what happened without interrupting the process.
I edited the video during my Fourth of July break, but it was worth it. I think it’s one of the best things I have put together.
Let me know what you think.
P.S.
Check out all these crazy old pictures from the venue.
-Poppe
Photo Slideshow: The Hold Steady at Diamond Ballroom
Here are some shots from The Hold Steady’s Friday evening show.
The nerdy frontman Craig Finn reminds of a guy working at Best Buy who suddenly inherits the soul of Bruce Springsteen. He rocked.
Also, check back soon for video and photos of the talented opening act The Whigs.
-Poppe
