Posted inMusic

RECAP: South by Southwest, day two

The Avenue on Congress — where the Buffalo Lounge was held — is several blocks from The Mohawk, where the dozens of people were injured by a drunk driver, two of them fatally. In retrospect, I remember hearing the sirens around the time everything went down, and I didn’t think for a moment that it […]

Posted inMusic

RECAP: South by Southwest, day one

Day 1 was a scorcher, at least according to the standard set by Oklahoma City’s frozen tundra. The high for the day peaked at about 83, but at times, it felt even warmer. Thankfully, The Buffalo Lounge had just the remedy. I arrived at the downtown Austin venue — this year at Avenue on Congress, […]

Posted inMusic

Skating Polly — Fuzz Steilacoom

The former is a startlingly authoritative, snarling take of Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse’s brand of punk-anchored “ugly pop,” a fully realized vision of doom and gloom showing just how lethal Skating Polly can be. The latter is a stripped-down, heart-tugging piano ballad on par with anything Regina Spektor has ever done, toying with lush […]

Posted inNews

Wish Lists

Jesse Jane Moore, adult film actress Q. If you were Santa, what would you give Oklahoma for Christmas? A. If I were Santa, I would give the families who’ve lost everything from the tornados their homes back, and I would rebuild Oklahoma to be a better place. Q. What was the greatest accomplishment for Oklahoma […]

Posted inMusic

The Best Local Albums of 2013

10. Johnny Polygon — The Nothing 2013 belonged to the introspective rappers — the ones who found their strength in going soft and whose heads, hearts and souls lay open for listeners to poke around in. Tulsa emcee Johnny Polygon tips open his brain like a cap on The Nothing, baring weed-soaked nuggets of self-truths that are […]

Posted inMusic

My name is ____

Cosmostanza  “We didn’t know what to call our band. We had a few ideas — although nothing was really sticking — but we both had a common love for Seinfeld. Then it hit me, and I envisioned George Costanza’s head in space. The name came from there, Cosmostanza. I called Raney (Aboud, bandmate) on the […]

Posted inMusic

A time to heal

As America learned of Moore’s utter devastation by the May 20 tornado, the news hit the two members of New Orleans-based Generationals especially hard. “Everybody is aware and thinking about what has happened in Oklahoma,” said Grant Widmer, lead singer and guitarist. “Tragedies like these are particularly resonant for us because of what happened to […]

Posted inMusic

Skating Polly — Lost Wonderfuls

But it’s not that these girls are so young, or even that they’re so good at such a young age. Rather, what makes Skating Polly — and its sophomore LP, Lost Wonderfuls — such an anomaly is how brazenly Mayo and Bighorse embrace their youth, weaving a playful, seemingly innocuous sense of melody through unabashedly […]

Posted inMusic

Norman Music Festival 6: Day 1

Best Case for a Main Stage Spot at Norman Music Festival 7:Horse Thief Sometimes you hear bands in a small room and know they won’t be playing there much longer. You definitely got that feeling watching Oklahoma City’s Horse Thief at Opolis Thursday night. The outfit didn’t rely on crowd favorites off Grow Deep, Grow […]

Posted inMusic

You go, girls

The Chloes are no strangers to Oklahoma. The Dallas-based quartet recorded much of their debut LP, Vanish, at Bell Labs Recording in Norman, and have made numerous trips up Interstate 35 for live shows in the metro, including a spot at last spring’s Norman Music Festival. The all-woman indie pop-rockers will rekindle their fledgling Sooner […]

Gift this article