Credit: Nathan Poppe Although less than two years old, the Oklahoma City Southern folk act Black Canyon already is a whole new beast. “Black Canyon has changed a lot over the past six months,” front man and founding member Jake Morisse said. “Things are getting a lot louder.” There’s a fairly simple explanation: Founding member […]
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Cusp — Nothing Proper
Cusp succeeds in the way that Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes do: creating songs that sound like concentrated moments of life rather than just pieces of art. There’s nothing artificial about Nothing Proper — only true beauty to relive in each passing song. Rapp studies vocal performance at ACM@UCO, and it shows. His […]
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Star trek
Most touring bands book years of shows in dingy rock venues, playing for few more than the members of other groups on the bill before getting the call up to the big leagues. On its debut road trek, Los Angeles rockers Stars in Stereo nabbed such a spot opening for post-hardcore favorites The Used. “It’s […]
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Slumber party
When it comes to membership, country music group Asleep at the Wheel is like a revolving door. “I’ve had a hundred people through this band,” said leader and founding member Ray Benson. “It’s been 42 years.” Playing Sunday at the Blackout Block Party fundraiser at Grady’s 66 Pub in Yukon, the Texas outfit has been […]
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Don’t Go in the Woods
The first feature as director for longtime fine actor Vincent D’Onofrio (Kill the Irishman), Woods is as ambling as the five young musicians — one of whom is blind — who drive their van to a forest for a songwriting retreat, where the following things are not allowed: booze, drugs, girls, phones and common sense. That […]
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Various artists — The Rock ’n’ Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher: Songs from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
Starring and written by Jack Roberts, the movie centers on an aspiring musician who moves to Tulsa to make it big singing karaoke. Naturally, the soundtrack dishes out a heavy dose of Oklahoma indie-rock heavyweights, and the album is a solid showing of all the talent the state has to offer. Ryan Lindsey’s airy, acoustic […]
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Aw, Swell
Jonathan Weiner When Nick Diener and his brother formed punk act The Swellers as teenagers, they didn’t know what they were doing. “When we were kids, we had these guitars and we wondered what it would be like to be rock stars. So we formed a band,” guitarist and singer Diener said. “I didn’t know […]
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Vesper recipe
With two albums surveying themes of hope, redemption in Jesus, and supernatural healing to their name, it’s no surprise that The Vespers are a band of Christians. But are they a Christian band? A closer look at the college-aged siblings’ output and business acumen suggests they’re aiming for the former. “When we got together, we […]
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Hey, Mon!
While his fellow students spent a week recovering from their rowdy spring breaks, Oklahoma City emcee Damon Johnson spent that time recording his debut mixtape, titling it 7 Days, of course. “I got back from spring break and told everyone I was going to put out a mixtape in a week,” Johnson said. “Starting that […]
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Evolution theory
Denton, Texas-based singersongwriter Sarah Jaffe broke through in 2010 with her first full-length album, Suburban Nature, boasting a beautiful sound, charming voice and lyrical wit, all evidenced by the single, “Clementine.” It won her spots playing shows with Norah Jones and The Old 97’s, so she could have just leaned on that sound for a […]