At a June 20 Greater Oklahoma City Chamber luncheon to tout local sports-themed economic development, Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner unveiled his most ambitious project to date: “The Ford Center NBC Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular.” The two-hour program will bring world-class athletes in both gymnastics and figure skating together in downtown Oklahoma City, with the […]
Charles Martin
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Folk rockers Shearwater find second time’s a charm
After recording songs for its critically lauded fourth LP, “Palo Santo,” the Austin, Texas-based folk-rock band Shearwater toured extensively … and noticed the songs began to change. They hoped re-recording five of the 11 tracks and re-issuing the album through Matador Records would reflect that. “We’d played the songs a lot live, so we learned […]
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Sugar Free Allstars playing to kids on library tour
The Sugar Free Allstars‘ quirky wit and bouncy melodies has been scoring adult fans throughout the state. But now with “Dos Niños,” their first album for kids, the Allstars are setting their sights to the under-5-foot crowd with a public library tour that will be hitting 24 libraries in two months. “The Arts Council (of […]
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Mooney Suzuki’s live act reminds what rock can be
New York’s The Mooney Suzuki roars with high-energy, British-Invasion attitude ” a hefty dose of The Kinks and The Rolling Stones with light brushes of contrasting acoustic roots. The key to a great show, front man Sammy James Jr. said, is to live in the moment. “You can’t preplan it out,” he said. “You might […]
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Women pilots taking to air in four-day race to Canada
In the morning hours on Tuesday, the sky above Oklahoma will be dotted with dozens of small planes headed north in the all-women Air Race Classic. Some 47 teams of pilots will be racing to Canada, where they’ll all be touching down no later than 5 p.m. Friday. A rich tradition of female pilots exists […]
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The Hold Steady gets personal in lyrics
With little to no love from radio or television, Hold Steady cracked the charts at 124 with its latest album, “Boys and Girls in America.” On this third disc, the self-described bar band rambles and soars through 11 tracks about drugs, infatuation and the complexities of young love. “One thing I love about Craig (Finn)’s […]
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Some roller derby players get dirty on the rink
In the highly physical realm of roller derby, where’s the line between being dirty and merely aggressive? “Apparently I have no idea!” said Tornado Alley Rollergirls’ Brooke Burleson, aka Victory Doll Sally Strych9. “I see myself more as a mean player than a dirty player. I actually don’t try to get penalties; it just happens. […]
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No singers wanted in Maserati
The members of Athens, Ga., four-piece Maserati forego vocals in favor of bringing their expansive melodies and muscular, yet intuitive percussion to the spotlight. They blend ambient rhythms and modern dance rock with a Seventies groove to create highly emotive tracks on its latest release, “Inventions for the New Season.” “When we have an idea […]
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George Benson hopes to keep jazz alive
George Benson already was one of the best guitar players in the history of jazz before he finally achieved his 1976 breakthrough with “Breezin’.” Currently he’s on tour with his latest album, the Grammy-winning “Givin’ It Up,” a collaboration with legendary vocalist Al Jarreau which includes covers of some jazz classics. By stocking up with […]
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Psych-rock Willowz bringing harder edge to shows
For better or worse, the garage-rock act The Willowz has been lumped in with the California psychedelic scene. “I think it’s heavily related to the way we look,” said vocalist and guitarist Richie James Follin. “We do occasionally do drugs, but we’re trying to make music we like to listen to and that’s not boring […]