Wednesday 19 Jun
 
 

Kanye West — Yeezus

Try as you might, but there’s no escaping Kanye West. Turn on the TV, radio, computer — hell, take a stroll downtown and you might see his mug projected on the side of a building. It’s an undeniable fact of life in 2013: Kanye West is bigger than Buddha, Krishna and The Beatles (today, anyway) and he’ll be the first to let you know about it.
06/18/2013 | Comments 0

John Moreland — In the Throes

With the soul of a poet and the look of a Sons of Anarchy extra, Tulsa’s John Moreland has been gifted the sort of gravely, booming voice that does Bruce Springsteen proud and a similar understanding of the universal human experience. It’s made for some fantastic records — both as a solo artist and with his dissolved Black Gold Band — and In the Throes is his best yet.
06/19/2013 | Comments 0

Jumpship Astronaut — Lights Burn Out

Oklahoma has never been the haven for electronic rock music that it is for country, folk and, as of late, psychedelic pop, but from the sound of Lights Burn Out, Oklahoma City upstart Jumpship Astronaut seems intent on changing that.
06/12/2013 | Comments 0

Various artists — Reaching Out

Like so many Oklahomans, the local music scene has responded with generosity and grace in the wake of last month’s tragedy in Moore. In the weeks since, droves of local musicians have banded together for benefit concerts and radio marathons to raise funds for the relief effort, and with extraordinary results.
06/04/2013 | Comments 0

Progress in Color — Get Well

It’s been a long, bumpy ride for Glenpool’s Progress in Color, which saw a record deal with Epic evaporate before even one record could come of it, but it’s led the outfit to where it was supposed to be.
06/04/2013 | Comments 0
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Injured police officer finds musical healing


Joanna Rus June 26th, 2008

A former Oklahoma City police officer and Army Reservist turned tragic circumstances into a profession.

Piano-Cop-SC

Sgt. Justin Echols joined the Army Reserve in 1998 and the Oklahoma City Police Department in 2001, and was serving as an undercover narcotics officer when the 95th Infantry Division was activated in 2003.

But everything changed one dewy morning that year.

Before Echols could be deployed to Iraq, he was in a horrific head-on car collision that permanently disrupted four disks in his back. Injured, dejected and unable to serve overseas with his fellow soldiers, he turned to musical healing.

"I was really in a state of depression after the car accident, and something inside me just decided to sit down and plink on the piano once every three or four months," Echols, 29, said. "I found the music very soothing."

PRACTICING ROUTINE
When Echols stepped up his practicing in 2006, he began playing up to six hours a day. It wasn't long before cramped fingers and sore forearms became a staple in his everyday routine.

Echols started taking lessons from Oklahoma City University's School of Music instructors and often performs publicly. After headlining several music events around the state in 2006, he contacted the general manager of the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown OKC just as recently renovated hotel prepped to debut its Red Piano Lounge.

The pianist was hired on the spot, and immediately started a practice and performance routine that began at 5 a.m. before work and resumed at 4 p.m. after. Echols said his schedule included double piano jobs at the Skirvin and Boulevard Steakhouse each night.

The musician now has repertoire of 50 to 60 memorized pieces and a standing 5 p.m. Monday gig at the Skirvin's Red Piano. He hopes to record and release his first CD this summer. —Joanna Rus

 

 
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