Now, the Oklahoma City man has completed quite the musical feat himself: writing 100 songs in 100 days. Songwriting has served as a stress reliever for him his entire life. After getting involved in drugs — “I could write a whole book on the effects of lacquer on a human being,” he wrote on his […]
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Soundcheck: Woody Awards nominations
Back after a long year of rocking and rolling, hipping and hopping, twanging and clapping, Oklahoma Gazette’s Woody Awards are once again calling for nominations. You may nominate up to three bands in as many of the categories as you wish by commenting on this article with your picks (see the example below). Please be […]
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Royal Baths — Better Luck Next Life
The two comprise Brooklyn’s Royal Baths, and their second record, “Better Luck Next Life,” shows an impressive self-assuredness, conviction and carefully crafted sound that seems only common among the calculating acts from New York these days (see: Sleigh Bells, Body Language). They’re also savage and unafraid of dissonant guitar noises, something they probably learned from […]
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Whiskey’s rebellion
Country rock’s Whiskey Myers is a month away from taking its act boatside on a ZZ Top-hosted cruise and music festival. The party will sail from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and make its way to the Bahamas, but the band plans to keep shenanigans to a minimum. Maybe. “I don’t know how crazy it’s going to […]
Posted inMusic
Whiskey’s rebellion
Country rock’s Whiskey Myers is a month away from taking its act boatside on a ZZ Top-hosted cruise and music festival. The party will sail from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and make its way to the Bahamas, but the band plans to keep shenanigans to a minimum. Maybe. “I don’t know how crazy it’s going to […]
Posted inMusic
Ray band
Keyboardist Ray Manzarek met his bandmates in The Doors at a Transcendental Meditation lecture, so pioneering 21st-century blues isn’t much of a stretch. Collaborating with slide guitarist Roy Rogers (John Lee Hooker) on the new “Translucent Blues” album, Manzarek serves as co-conductor of a rhythm section that includes bassist Steve Evans (Elvin Bishop) and drummer […]
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Get your Phil
Singer and blues guitar virtuoso Phil Brown was classically trained on the violin in his teens. His life as a session man required him to sit in on countless recording sessions. He was behind hits, too, writing songs for Cher and Pat Benatar. But recently, with his trio atop the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, […]
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Robert Johnson — The Centennial Collection
So when Robert Johnson’s “The Centennial Collection” was released, I jumped at the chance to reform my opinion on the genre via the greatest bluesman of them all. It features all of Johnson’s recorded output, just like the 1990 release, “The Complete Recordings,” but features different text in the included booklet. Forty-two tracks later, I […]
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Still Smokin’
There’s a reason why the best blues musicians from the ’60s and ’70s are still the best blues musicians today: They tend to get better with age. Texas-based guitarist Smokin’ Joe Kubek is a perfect example. His first album to land on the U.S. Blues chart came when he was in his 40s, and he’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
In the Army now
When all the elements of a play work in sync, the result can be a satisfying evening of theater, which is what you have in Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre’s current production of Neil Simon’s autobiographical “Biloxi Blues.” The show’s a rewarding pleasure. “Biloxi Blues” is the second play of Simon’s so-called “Brighton Beach” trilogy. We […]