Photo: Fonald Photography Too often, instrumental music gets wrapped up in technical gymnastics, a jumble of exhaustive and endlessly intricate guitar riffs and complex percussion patterns that stack up like a failed game of Tetris. For every Explosions in the Sky or Godspeed You! Black Emperor, there are a dozen acts more suited for musical […]
shows
Posted inArts & Culture
Funny fest
For the uninitiated, improv, or improvisational theater, is a form of live performance, usually comedic, in which everything is made up on the spot, often inspired by an audience suggestion. Clint Vrazel, OKC Improv cofounder and artistic director, said that when the organization began, only about five troupes were performing in the metro. “That number […]
Posted inMusic
Look who’s Tonking
Like a local Zelig, Friedman — whose father owned Horn Trader Music, where many local musicians got their start — was the mastermind behind Inner State Studio, which produced such acts as The Reverb Brothers, as well as being the brains behind the Acoustic Oklahoma online series. But at the height of his success, he […]
Posted inMusic
Them Hounds — Them Hounds
Given the parameters of what actually constitutes the blues, it’s easy to see why: There just aren’t that many variations of the genre’s 12-bar framework that retain that “bluesy feel.” Instead, its divergences usually come in the form of vocal variance and guitar solos, and Them Hounds thrive within these confines. Two things immediately jump […]
Posted inMusic
Sweet slumber
Adam Miller, the brains behind the Oklahoma City-based project This Is Sleep, doesn’t just embrace the oncedormant science of computer-based production; he revels in it. “There is a magic, no doubt, that comes with bands,” Miller said. “But as technology rises, the evolution of music and new kinds of music go along with that, it’s […]
Posted inMusic
New Zoo revue
3Horse Productions’ Michelle Colbert and Zoo Amp manager Russ Garrett Photo: Mark Hancock Michelle Colbert, president of 3Horse Productions, the new leaseholders, not only wants to allay those fears, but tout all the work that’s been done to make the venue bigger and better than ever. “We’ve done all kinds of great things out here. […]
Posted inMusic
Howard stern
OKC Downtown Airpark rendering He made a name for himself as a photographer for the likes of The Allman Brothers Band and Delaney & Bonnie. When the management of the latter refused to pay him, they instead offered him the opportunity to promote a concert for New Riders of the Purple Sage. Pollack accepted and, […]
Posted inMusic
Dewey decimate
Aka Jesse McDermott, Binns was born in New Mexico, but ended up in Lawton via a baseball scholarship to Cameron University. Although he still lives in Lawton, Oklahoma City is his musical home. “I kind of think of Dewey Binns as kind of a character I’ve created,” he said. “It’s definitely Oklahoma City-based, as far […]
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
The Flaming Lips — The Terror
In it, he detailed — with a vague, yet purposeful candor — the internal struggles endured by both he and his bandmates, ruminating on a metaphysical desire for control over one’s life and, conversely, the self-inflicted, masochistic chaos that can often accompany it. These pleas for understanding, he ultimately concluded, were nothing but exercises in […]