Rickey and Joella Bell Photo by Mark Hancock Bell and his wife, Joella, often find themselves living on the streets of Oklahoma City, but they don’t ask for pity. The 11-year vet knows the mistakes he has made and is working to right his wrongs. “We all put ourselves in these positions, and we have […]
up
Posted inNews
Reel jobs
On May 24 — the final day of this year’s session — the state House voted against extension of the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program, which provides incentives for qualifiying film productions that spend money on Oklahoma goods and services. Before the vote, House Democratic Leader Scott Inman of Del City called the Democrats in […]
Posted inMusic
Boyz to Men
The music made by Oklahoma City’s The Hitt Boyz isn’t exactly what founding members/guitarists Will Ogletree and Adam Thornbrugh intended: to be the next At the Drive-In or Mars Volta. Instead of fighting what came natural, the two decided to roll with the punches. “We wanted a high-energy, punk-rock band, but when we started writing, […]
Posted inMusic
Sun rises
Ska music might have fallen out of the public eye since its mid-’90s heyday when The Mighty Mighty Bosstones briefly flirted with mainstream success and No Doubt’s ska-adjacent songs dominated radio, but Oklahoma City outfit Sunny Side Up is working to make sure the last horn hasn’t sounded. While the sextet started out simply trying […]
Posted inMusic
Various artists — Never Give Up: Celebrating 10 Years of The Postal Service
With the 10th anniversary of Give Up — being celebrated with a re-release, festival headlining gigs and the first tour in nearly a decade, The Postal Service is right back at the forefront of indie music, so there’s no better time to pay tribute. Music blog Independent Clauses wrangled 22 different artists wanting to do […]
Posted inMusic
Mulling it over
Shawn Mullins Photo: Michael Wilson When a musician is widely known for one song and one song only, the relationship can be complicated. Folk rocker Shawn Mullins’ Grammy-nominated track “Lullaby” was inescapable as soon as it debuted in 1998, and he hasn’t had another song approach that level of success … but he loves the […]
Posted inMusic
Cosmostanza — Champs
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman” ,”serif”;mso-fareast-times=”” new=”” roman”;=”” mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:es-bo”=””> The gruesome twosome of guitarist Maxwell Moore and drummer Raney Aboud shows what it’s learned on the heels of August’s awesome Rad Vibes, yet knows to keep the things that made Cosmostanza so intriguing in the first place: sugary hooks, youthful energy. Champs […]
Posted inMusic
Milwaukee blues
An extended vacation hasn’t hurt What Made Milwaukee Famous’ performing prowess in the least, with the indie-rock act returning to form after the first few shows of its current tour, once it shook off the cobwebs. Yet the same can’t be said for everything. “The shows have been great in terms of playing. The attendance […]
Posted inArts & Culture
This Is 40
Opening Friday, This Is 40 tickles the travails of being rich, white and smug. Maybe a grown-up comedy isn’t in the cards for Apatow, whose best works (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) celebrate arrested adolescence. His latest is a generally messy affair: often uproariously funny, but uneven, overlong, largely improvisational, packed with F-bombs and hobbled […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Classic Albums: Peter Gabriel: So
To Classic Albums newcomers, the franchise delivers the “definitive authorised story” of a culture-shaking disc in feature-length form, relying on video clips, concert footage and many a talking-head interview from the talents who were there, on both sides of the studio glass. In this case, that includes Gabriel, other musicians, members of the tech team […]