The Tulsa Voice | Vol. 5 No. 23 by The Tulsa Voice

THE SAGA OF THE SWAMP RABBIT P10

GOODBYE TO ROY CLARK P34

N O V. 2 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; D E C . 4 , 2 0 1 8

VOL. 5 NO. 23

Cozy cuisine from Foolish Things Bar & Biscuit and other Tulsa comfort food destinations P17

paradise never sounded So Good.

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November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

Reserve a private party space or create the perfect holiday catering menu with the help of one of our wonderful restaurants. Tavern Bond Event Center Elgin Park Dust Bowl

McNellie’s (Downtown & South City)

Yokozuna (Downtown & Yale)

El Guapo’s (Downtown & Harvard)

Dilly Diner Fassler Hall

F O R B O O K I N G I N F O A N D C AT E R I N G M E N U S , C O N TA C T T I F FA N Y AT T I F FA N Y@ M C N E L L I E S . C O M . THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

CONTENTS // 3

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November 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

GET COMFY P17

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Madeline Crawford GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Georgia Brooks, Morgan Welch PHOTOGRAPHER Greg Bollinger

BY ANGELA EVANS

Plunge into some of Tulsa’s coziest cuisine

AD SALES MANAGER Josh Kampf CONTRIBUTORS Doyle Albright, Alicia Chesser Atkin, Jake Cornwell, Charles Elmore, Angela Evans, Barry Friedman, Valerie Grant, Destiny Jade Green, Greg Horton, Jeff Huston, Lynn Lipinski, Gary Mason, Jeffrey Metcalf, Gene Perry, Michelle Pollard, Andrew Saliga, Damion Shade, Zay Shaeffer, Brady Whisenhunt

The Tulsa Voice’s distribution is audited annually by

EAT BIG, SHOP SMALL P22 BY TTV STAFF

Local stops for post-holiday retailing

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Chicken biscuit from Foolish Things Bar + Biscuit | GREG BOLLINGER

1603 S. Boulder Ave. Tulsa, OK 74119 P: 918.585.9924 F: 918.585.9926 PUBLISHER Jim Langdon PRESIDENT Juley Roffers VP COMMUNICATIONS Susie Miller CONTROLLER Mary McKisick DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Amanda Hall RECEPTION Gloria Brooks

NEWS & COMMENTARY 7 HEAD COUNT B Y GENE PERRY

More work needed to count all Oklahoma kids in the 2020 Census

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

THE STATE WE’RE IN, PART VI

Send all letters, complaints, compliments & haikus to: voices@langdonpublishing.com

2018 midterm election edition

BY BARRY FRIEDMAN

10 THE SAGA OF THE SWAMP RABBIT BY DOYLE ALBRIGHT Decline of an ‘indicator species’ could mean problems for Oklahoma ecosystems

FOOD & DRINK THE SAGA OF THE SWAMP RABBIT P10

GOODBYE TO ROY CLARK P34

N O V. 2 1 – D E C . 4 , 2 0 1 8

VOL. 5 NO. 23

12 DINING BY THE DECADES B Y LYNN LIPINSKI New book serves up T-town nostalgia

14 HOLIDAY SPIRITS B Y GREG HORTON

Cocktails for surviving the most wonderful time of the year

16 PERSPECTIVE SHIFT B Y ANDREW SALIGA

A cocktail writer crosses the line

MUSIC

ARTS & CULTURE 24 HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS B Y BLAYKLEE FREED

Local talent shines in Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’

26 TILT ME BACK TO TULSA B Y BLAYKLEE FREED

The city’s pinball wizards at work and play

28 MY FAVORITE HUE B Y GARY MASON

Contact sheet

30 HELLO, HOLIDAYS B Y TTV STAFF

Stay warm with these seasonal activities

ETC. 6 EDITOR’SLETTER 32 THEHAPS 43 MUSICLISTINGS 45 FULLCIRCLE 46 ASTROLOGY + SUDOKU 47 CROSSWORD

34 ROY CLARK WAS A FRIEND OF MINE B Y JAKE CORNWELL

So long to a legend

36 LITTLE JAM, BIG IMPACT B Y ALICIA CHESSER ATKIN

New music series sweetens the pot for beleaguered school music programs

38 ‘FEEL THE FEELING’ BY JEZY J. GRAY

Gabriel Royal brings chamber pop R&B from the subway to the jazz club

40 OKIE ROYALTY B Y DAMION SHADE

Carter Sampson finds more than luck on her new album

42 THE POINT IS METAL B Y BRADY WHISENHUNT Blind Oath, on the supernatural path to heavy metal perfection

TV & FILM 44 HEIST AND LOWS B Y CHARLES ELMORE

Steve McQueen’s ‘Widows’ delivers a serviceable yet unfulfilling heist film

Cozy cuisine from Foolish Things Bar & Biscuit and other Tulsa comfort food destinations P17

ON THE COVER PHOTO BY JEFFREY METCALF Assortment of cocktails and dishes from Foolish Things Bar + Biscuit THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

45 WILD WOEFUL WEST B Y JEFF HUSTON

The Coens bring a biblical brand of Western to Netflix CONTENTS // 5

editor’sletter

n Raymond Carver’s short story “A Small, Good Thing,” a grieving couple is comforted after their son’s death by a lonely baker—played in the 1993 film adaptation (“Short Cuts”) by the great Lyle Lovett—who offers bread straight from the oven: “Eating is a small, good thing in a time like this,” he explains. The story, like grief, is more complicated than that. But I think about that line all the time. It struck me hard after my mom died, eating a Braum’s burger across the kitchen island from my dad in the house where I was raised, the always-on TV in the living room blaring one of the major network crime procedurals she watched religiously. Things fall apart—you can count on it—but eating is a small, good thing.

I’ve thought about it: My last meal would be six fried catfish filets, six hushpuppies, and six very cold beers, with a heaping side of slaw and fried okra. (I’d also take two burnt corner wedges of buttered cornbread, too, please, and one grilled jalapeno, and peach cobbler with ice cream.) My mom was the cook. Holidays were extra huge, but she made any family gathering into an event. She always sat down last—after a chorus of protest from the family—to make sure everyone had a full plate and enough sweet tea. After she died, our new family tradition became dinner at BG’s Catch—an all-you-can-eat fried catfish joint in Kingston. It’s a squat metal building in a gravel parking lot full of beat-up farm trucks with cow shit-covered mud flaps, and pristine F-350s so clean

you could lick the hood. The carpet inside is greasy and worn, with overhead fluorescent bulbs casting a sickly light on the sullen teens bussing tables and scraping plates into the industrial rubber trash cans lining the open dining area. It’s not mom’s kitchen, but has its charms. I get something close to that last meal ideal at BG’s—no beer, sadly—and I watch my nieces and nephews get older, get crushes, and learn Drake lyrics. (“I only love my bed and my mama, I’m sorry.”) Our time at the catfish buffet is a reminder that life crashes on, like an Okie tumbling from the back of a turnip truck in the heart of Chickasaw country. This issue’s cover story by Angela Evans is about comfort food (pg. 17). If food can’t offer comfort “in a time like this,” then what

RECYCLE THIS Aluminum and Steel Cans

can? It’s grim out there, but you can find love in a bowl of matzo ball soup from Jane’s, a Thanksgiving po’ boy from Lasalle’s New Orleans Deli, a hearty bowl of chili from Ron’s Hamburgers, or the gussied-up biscuits at Foolish Things Bar & Biscuit. Life is complicated and horrible. Food shouldn’t be. To borrow again from Carver’s lonely baker: “You have to eat and keep going.” a

JEZY J. GRAY EDITOR

NOT THAT Aluminum Foil

Throw foil away in the gray trash cart.

Aluminum and steel cans are perfect for recycling, but aluminum foil is NOT acceptable for the blue recycling cart.

6 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

LEARN MORE AT

TulsaRecycles.com November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

okpolicy

HEAD COUNT

More work needed to count all Oklahoma kids in the 2020 Census by GENE PERRY for OKPOLICY.ORG

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

ata from the U.S. Census is essential for deciding the distribution of billions of dollars in federal grants, helping private businesses make decisions about where to locate and expand, helping non-profits and public agencies target programs where they’re needed most, and making sure Americans have fair voting representation in state and national elections. For all of these reasons, it’s essential that Oklahomans are accurately counted in the 2020 Census. Unfortunately, Oklahoma contains many of the hardest-to-count Census tracts in the nation—areas where about one-quarter or more of households did not mail back their 2010 Census questionnaire. In particular, young children under five, who by estimates are about 7 percent of Oklahoma’s population, are undercounted at a higher rate than any other age group. Why are young children more likely to go uncounted? In Oklahoma and across the nation, poverty is highest among families with children, and poor households are the most difficult to count. Families may not understand that they need to list all members of the household on their Census form, and very young children are the most likely to be left out. That confusion is compounded for young children with complex living arrangements, such as those living in foster care, with grandparents, or with parents who are cohabiting but not married. Poverty and complex living arrangements for young children are also more common among Oklahomans of color, putting our state’s Black, Latino, and American Indian children at especially high risk of going uncounted. Besides these longstanding problems, changes in the upcoming Census threaten to make the undercount even worse. The 2020 Census will be the first time that the Census Bureau will ask most households to submit their forms online. However, about 17.3 percent of Oklahoma households had no Internet access as of 2017, and that’s concentrated among the

already hard-to-count low-income households. Also, for the first time, families will be asked about their immigration status on the Census form. The Trump Administration added this question at the last minute, going around the traditional, careful vetting process for any new Census question. Many are concerned that it could intimidate families from filling out the form. The Census has strong safeguards against any of its data being used to personally identify a respondent, but fear of this data being misused remains a challenge. Making sure we have a complete count in Oklahoma can’t be left to the Census alone, and past Census counts have commonly relied on a broad collaboration in local communities. Reaching everyone in the hardest-to-reach communities requires contributions from on-the-ground partners who best understand those communities. One good way to facilitate that collaboration is through a Complete Count Committee, which can combine the insights of government officials, health care and social service workers, educators, and private businesses to build local awareness of the Census. Several state legislatures have already formed Complete Count Committees, and establishing one for Oklahoma should be a high priority for lawmakers next year. A coalition including Mayor GT Bynum and the Community Service Council is also developing a Tulsa Regional Complete Count Committee for the metro area. In addition, you can speak to friends, neighbors, and others in your community about why it’s important to complete the Census form. Accurate Census data is an essential bedrock for our democracy and economy. We can all pitch in to make sure all Oklahomans are counted in 2020 and beyond. a

Gene Perry is Director of Strategy and Communications at Oklahoma Policy Institute (okpolicy.org). NEWS & COMMENTARY // 7

The state we’re in, part VI 2018 midterm election edition by BARRY FRIEDMAN

n the early 70s, there was a nationwide Volvo commercial featuring a man in his driveway, standing alongside a car that was not a Volvo. “Yes, sir,” he says to the camera, tapping the top of the car, proudly. “I’ve had 11 of these babies in the last 17 years.” He then stops, purses his lips, winces slightly, and says: “If the cars weren’t so good, why would I keep buying them?” Which brings us to the results of the 2018 election in Oklahoma. First, though, some thoughts from a president of the United States unafraid of the rain and a free press, Barack Obama. [Democracies] are like ocean liners: You turn the wheel slowly, and the big ship pivots. Sometimes your job is just to make stuff work. Sometimes the task of government is to make incremental improvements or to try to steer the ocean liner two degrees north or south so that, 10 years from now, suddenly we’re in a very different place than we were. At the moment, people may feel like we need a 50-degree turn; we don’t need a two-degree turn. And you say, ‘Well, if I turn 50 degrees, the whole ship turns over.’

For awhile, Oklahoma was that ocean liner, moving slowly, but seemingly inexorably, towards a saner future. Prompted by a raucous and courageous teacher strike last April, a strike that closed down schools for weeks—combined, perhaps, with their own guilt from years of neglecting education—legislators cobbled together, and the governor signed, a bill that funded a teacher raise, 8 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

OKLAHOMA VOTERS WALKED INTO FIRE HOUSES AND CHURCHES AND OTHER POLLING PLACES ON NOV. 6, STARED AT THEIR BALLOTS— HAVING LIVED THROUGH A DECADE IN WHICH THE GOP HUMILIATED OKLAHOMA NATIONALLY TWO, THREE TIMES A WEEK—YET STILL DECIDED TO GIVE REPUBLICANS THE KEYS TO STATE GOVERNMENT … AGAIN. among other things. To pay for it, taxes were increased. Read that last part again. In a state that requires revenue bills to be passed with a 75-percent majority in both houses, taxes were raised. The gross production tax went from two to five percent, cigarette taxes went up a buck, and there was a three-cent increase in the gasoline tax and six-cent increase on diesel fuel. Later in the session, an internet sales tax was passed. Instead of arguing the same old tropes about big versus small government, legislators here began grappling with trying to figure out just how much government we needed. Additionally, Democrats here were winning special elections, and Republican extremists were being ousted in primaries by Republican moderates. In June, voters passed Oklahoma State Question 788, which legalized the license, cultivation, use, and possession of marijuana for medicinal purposes, one of the most liberal medical marijuana bills in the country. This was all happening in Oklahoma.

The ocean liner, unmoored, was bellowing and belching and throwing off years of rust, and the great oddity of it all was that it was being done under (and often with the approval and encouragement of) the state’s GOP leadership. The “revolution,” if you can even call it that, was helped along by the very people who necessitated the need for such upheaval. It would be a mistake, though, to think it was a Kumbaya moment, as good friend of the column OK Policy Executive Director David Blatt explains. Republicans didn’t just suddenly wake up and decide they cared more about teachers and parents than about Tom Coburn and the OIPA [Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association]. What we saw was the result of years of hard work by grassroots groups, unions, and advocacy organizations to highlight the crisis caused by underfunding of our state services and to demand something be done about it.

It is a salient point. State Republicans, in agreeing to those tax increases, were admitting on some level they had failed at leadership, failed at education, failed at balancing the budget, failed, mostly, at governing. To satiate a boisterous state electorate—and certainly those teachers who had walked the Turner Turnpike from Tulsa to Oklahoma City and were now screaming outside their offices— they decided to play ball. Republican legislators heard from parents whose children were going to school four days a week in overcrowded classrooms; they heard from school-support personnel and state employees who hadn’t received raises in years; and they heard from constituents who were tired of being first in the nation in all the bad things (prisons, lack of healthcare) and last in the nation in all the good ones (education, responsive government). Republicans weren’t humiliated by their failures—they had and have too much power and hubris for that—but they were humbled, and when people and parties are humbled, they look for compromise. As it turned out, teachers didn’t get close to what they deserved and were mocked for what they wanted. Governor Fallin compared them to spoiled kids who want a better car1, but she signed a bill (something our governor-elect said he would not have done) giving them a raise and schools more funding. These teachers infused the state with energy, passion, and dare I say, optimism. Activism worked. Democrats ran candidates in places that weren’t used to seeing them. The question, then, that hovered over our enormous sky all summer and fall was this: Would Oklahoma voters make the GOP

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

pay for its disastrous handling of the state over the past eight years? Would there be a blue wave? On Nov. 6, we got the answer. Nah. The GOP actually gained seats in both chambers—two in the senate, giving it a 40-8 advantage, and four in the House, where it’s 75-26. All told, there are 11 new state senators and 46 new House members—103 of Oklahoma’s 149 legislators have four years of experience, or fewer. The Oklahoma congressional races for the House of Representatives went as expected, with the very big exception of OK5, where Democratic candidate Kendra Horn defeated one-term Republican incumbent Steve Russell. (I also want to give a shoutout to Tim Gilpin, here in OK-1— even though he lost—for running a serious campaign and reminding us on a daily basis that the GOP, whatever its form here in Oklahoma, is rotting from the top. A worthwhile service that.) However, while the state’s liberals and progressives, previously left for dead, are now breathing on their own, and the new legislative DNA in Oklahoma City appears to be more pragmatic than partisan, the takeaway from Nov. 6, 2018 is not good. Here’s why: Kevin Stitt beat Drew Edmondson by 12 percentage points. Even people who liked Stitt can’t tell you why. Here is what the editors of The Tulsa World wrote about him: Stitt would be working in a foreign environment. He’s never crafted a piece of compromise legislation; indeed, until he was a candidate, there is no evidence he ever voted in a governor’s race until his name was on the ballot.

Here’s what they wrote about Edmondson: Edmondson served 16 years as Oklahoma’s attorney general. His work led to the establishment of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, more than $1 billion

to underwrite Oklahoma health projects.

Their conclusion: The choice won’t be easy for Oklahoma voters, and we can make arguments either way; but on balance, we give the nod to Tulsan Kevin Stitt.2

For the love of selective amnesia, they just explained why it was an easy call. This wasn’t an editorial as much as it was a lazy, ingratiating sop to right-wing readers who threaten to cancel their World subscription every weekand-a-half. How embarrassing was Stitt’s 12-percent victory for Democrats? In 2014, Gov. Mary Fallin, at the height of her popularity—she was on the shortlist to be Trump’s vice presidential running mate, as frightening a thought as that is—beat State Representative Joe Dorman by only two percentage points more. Joe Dorman was no Drew Edmondson, but GOP supporters in state-wide races will vote for a bag of ball-peen hammers over any Democratic opponent. By the summer of 2018, though, Mary Fallin was the most unpopular governor in the nation, coming in at 17 percent favorability. (She had come a long way from her post-election victory dance of sitting in a tank and crushing a late-model Toyota to celebrate the first gun range in Oklahoma with an open bar).3 No GOP candidates running to succeed her wanted to be seen with her. This was, or should have been, a horrendous time for Republicans in Oklahoma. There were scandals, mismanagement, arrogance, botched executions, and tone-deaf legislators and legislation. Still, Kevin Stitt—an inexperienced, pro-Betsy DeVos4, Trump-channeling anti-vaxxer who would allow state-run faith-based adoption agencies5 to discriminate based on religious and lifestyle preferences—won by 12 percent. I got nothing. During his acceptance speech6, Stitt thanked his Heavenly Father,

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

who apparently is uniquely engaged in Oklahoma politics, for “putting me in this position,” which was the second-most preposterous thing about what he said, surpassed only by his fatherly pride when discussing how his 18-year-old daughter cast her first vote for governor this past election—which, coincidentally, was also her father’s first. Republican businessman Kevin Stitt, who has pitched his gubernatorial campaign on his outsider status, has voted in just eight elections since 2000, according to Oklahoma voter history records. None of those elections included the race for governor. 7

Oklahoma voters walked into fire houses and churches and other polling places on Nov. 6, stared at their ballots—having lived through a decade in which the GOP presided over budget disasters, gutted public education and social services, refused federal funds to expand healthcare to insure our own people, kowtowed to the rich and the elite, curtailed women’s rights, erected absurd religious monuments, and humiliated Oklahoma nationally two, three times a week—yet still decided to give Republicans the keys to state government … again. If they weren’t so good, why would we keep electing them? a

3) 4)

5) 6) 7)

cnn.com: Oklahoma governor compares teachers to ‘a teenage kid that wants a better car’ tulsaworld.com: Tulsa World endorsement: In the race for governor, Kevin Stitt is the better agent of change koco.com: Wilshire Gun becomes first range in state to sell alcohol tulsaworld.com: Political notebook: Edmondson, Stitt at odds over the meaning of ‘school choice’ newsok.com: Oklahoma gubernatorial candidates split on faith-based adoption bill youtube.com: Kevin Stitt speaks after being elected Oklahoma governor oklahomawatch.org: Political Newcomer in Governor’s Race Has Scarce Voting Record

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NEWS & COMMENTARY // 9

statewide

The saga of the swamp rabbit Decline of an ‘indicator species’ could mean problems for Oklahoma ecosystems by DOYLE ALBRIGHT

n 1979, President Jimmy Carter was fishing in his home state of Georgia when he was nearly attacked by a “killer rabbit” that attempted to board his boat. Thankfully, the rabbit never made it aboard, as Carter’s defensive use of his oar was enough to scare it away. When it was recounted to the Associated Press by Carter’s press secretary, the story became something of a viral sensation— an odd but memorable moment in his short presidency. In reality, President Carter was unlikely to be attacked, and the rabbit was not in fact a “killer,” but rather a swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus), the largest species of cottontail. They have webbed feet for swimming, and despite their size and relative abundance, are usually difficult to spot in the wild thanks to their effective camouflage and skittishness, making this high-profile encounter with a U.S. president all the more unusual. “Swamp rabbits are also pretty charismatic,” said Hayley Lanier, Assistant Curator of Mammals at the Sam Noble Museum in Norman. “They’re fairly similar to the eastern cottontail—the bunnies we see around much of Oklahoma—but these guys are larger and have more yellowish tones to their faces and rumps.” Lanier studies lagomorphs, the order to which all rabbits belong. She has been working with other scientists on revising the conservation assessment this year. The swamp rabbit lives throughout the south central U.S., its habitat stretching from Georgia to Oklahoma and north all the way to parts of Indiana. They make their homes in lowland hardwood forests, flood plains, marshes, and of course swamps through the eastern half of Oklahoma up to the cross timbers ecoregion.

10 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

The “charismatic” swamp rabbit (Syl vilagus aquaticus) can be found in portions of eastern Oklahoma | ZAY SHAEFFER

The cross timbers are a natural border between the forests of the eastern U.S. and the Great Plains that stretches from north central Texas through Oklahoma, including parts of the western Tulsa metro. Comprised mainly of blackjack and post oak, these woodlands mark the transition between environments and ecosystems, and represent the outermost edge of habitats like those of the swamp rabbit. It is a unique habitat befitting a unique creature. Although the overall swamp rabbit population is robust in the U.S., Oklahoma is one area where their numbers are apparently in decline. They once spread across a wide range throughout the eastern half of the state, but a recent Natural Heritage status report for the state lists the swamp rabbit at a rank of S3, meaning that they are now a species of concern. “Our best guess on their species status is they appear to be declining [in Oklahoma], but we don’t even know how much,” Lanier said. One thing that is known, however, is that there has been a dramatic decrease in where swamp

rabbits are found. According to a survey of mammals in southeastern Oklahoma published by Texas Tech University in 2012, it has been nearly 50 years since the last study targeting swamp rabbits in Oklahoma. Until there is a targeted study, the exact extent of the decline will likely remain unclear. Why should we care about swamp rabbits? After all, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists their status as “least concern” in terms of conservation overall. There are vast areas of the country where they still thrive. It’s important for the health of the ecosystem to keep up their numbers. “Because they are abundant now, we assume they always will be,” Lanier said. But that isn’t necessarily the case. Past experience shows us that destructive human activity can have disastrous effects on once bountiful animal populations. With that in mind, the fact that swamp rabbits are in decline at the fringes of their habitat is a worrying trend. Since Oklahoma sits at the edge of the swamp rabbits’ range,

populations in the state are particularly vulnerable. What once was an abundant population throughout the eastern half of Oklahoma has been reduced to small area in the southeastern corner. “We certainly have some populations in other areas, but we don’t have a good handle on how widespread they are in the state or just how rare they are,” Lanier said. “For example, I would guess that they’re not found near Norman now, although we’ve got good records of them in Cleveland County through 1959.” The U.S. as a whole has been losing its lowland forests and wetlands at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. geological survey, nearly two-thirds of Oklahoma’s original wetlands have been lost. Craig Davis is a professor and Bollenbach Chair of Wildlife Management at Oklahoma State University. He said that nearly all of the wetlands Oklahoma has lost are the types of bottomland hardwood forests swamp rabbits inhabit. “[They] are some of the more rare wetlands we have in the U.S. and probably worldwide as well,” Davis said. If all signs point to swamp rabbit populations in decline, it might mean declines in biodiversity— and further degradation of wildlife populations—but there are practical consequences for people as well. Wetlands provide was Davis calls “ecosystem services.” “They’re important for groundwater recharge,” Davis said. “They are critically important for alleviating flooding and for reducing flooding … so, they basically act as a sponge.” Davis points to the loss of wetlands combined with the channelization of rivers as two things that not only have a major impact on wildlife, but also on flood control. “We’ve lost all of that capacity to slow the flooding

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

down and more gradually release water into the river system,” he said. “We get much more devastating floods because we just don’t have the wetlands to capture all of that flood water.” When rivers and creeks breach their banks, these areas contain that excess water, which then permeates the soil and recharges the aquifer. If these habitats are gone, then the natural barriers to floods are gone too. By further degrading the natural systems that keep flood waters in check, we are both opening ourselves up to more natural disasters and eliminating wildlife habitat. According to a WWF report, wildlife populations worldwide were reduced by 60 percent between 1970 and 2014—and that trend is continuing—but it is unlikely that the swamp rabbit will be an early casualty of this loss. These rabbits are resilient, and their overall population is still healthy. Species, like whooping cranes, that rely on similar environments as the swamp rabbit are in more imminent danger. “As we lose more and more wetlands, a lot of those species that rely on wetlands decline as well,” Davis said. It’s disheartening to read about emaciated polar bears, or huge bleached swaths of the Great Barrier Reef. In these instances, people feel helpless to do anything. There is probably not much we can do about those things directly in landlocked Oklahoma. We can be mindful of our habits of consumption; we can support politicians and organizations that make environmental issues a priority. We can have the greatest impact, however, in our own backyard. When it comes to wetlands, Davis said, something everyone can do is to visit them, enjoy them, and protect them. “They’re not just something that’s an impediment to development, and a ‘cesspool’… they truly are amazing ecosystems that are critical, ultimately, to our survival.” Swamp rabbits are doing fine on a national scale, but in Oklahoma they are in trouble because their habitat is disappearing. That should worry us because it means we are not acting as good stewards of the natural world—and because the lives of animals are important, even those of a peculiar “killer rabbit.” a

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NEWS & COMMENTARY // 11

foodfile

The Italian Inn | COURTESY

DINING BY THE DECADES New book serves up T-town nostalgia by LYNN LIPINSKI Crystal’s Pizza and Spaghetti COURTESY

12 // FOOD & DRINK

he chrome soda fountain and the hostess stand fabricated from a turquoise 1957 Chevy made Tulsa’s Metro Diner a space out of time when it opened in 1984. The 1950s-style diner sat on historic Route 66, across from the University of Tulsa and within smelling distance of the Bama Pie factory. Its bright neon sign beckoned diners of all ages, bragging improbably that “Elvis Eats Here” despite his death in 1977. Elvis Presley conspiracy theories notwithstanding, the rock n’ roll icon did not eat at Metro—but generations of Tulsans did. They sipped milkshakes and chewed hand-breaded chicken-fried steak there for 22 years, in polo shirts with popped collars in the 1980s, flannel and denim in the 1990s, and cargo pants and puffy jackets in the 2000s. Rhys Martin, author of the new book, “Lost Restaurants of Tulsa,” laments that of the 44 restaurants featured, Metro Diner was the only one he actually ate at. Still, his lovingly-researched work, to be released by American Palate on Dec. 3, brings to life Tulsa restaurants of yore such as Molly Murphy’s House of Fine Repute, Casa Bonita, and the Golden Drumstick through photos and anecdotes from those who ate and worked there.

Martin, who grew up in Broken Arrow in the 1980s, traces the city’s dining history with as much passion as if he lived through six decades, telling the stories of the mostly family-owned restaurants that found success for a time despite liquor-by-the-drink laws, the oil bust, and an influx of chain restaurants. Colorful personalities fill the pages. Way before “Seinfeld” made the “Soup Nazi” a household name, 1960s Tulsa diners looking for great steaks drove to Al’s Hickory House at 81st Street and Memorial Drive. Now a bustling part of town, back then it was deep in the sticks. Being served by owner Al Saab was not a given. Diners entered through the kitchen, and if Saab didn’t like you, then no steak for you. In some cases, Tulsa’s restaurateurs dished as much drama as any episode of “Vanderpump Rules.” There was the time a disagreement grew so heated that Italian Inn chef Jack Reavis picked up owner Donald Funston and plopped him on the griddle. Or the time that a bass player hit just the right tone to crack the glass aquarium at Nine of Cups. Water poured on two suit-and-tie customers and left fish flopping on the floor as wait staff scrambled to rescue them. Author and photographer Martin is also a “roadie,” one of

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

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Pennington’s Drive-Inn in Brookside | COURTESY

a legion of Route 66 aficionados. He serves on the board of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and has travelled all 2,448 miles of the Mother Road, the nation’s first all-paved national highway connecting the Midwest to California. When he’s not working his day job at an engineering services firm, he’s often in his car looking to experience and photograph backroads and forgotten places. “Lost Restaurants of Tulsa” was born out of one of those experiences. In summer 2016, he heard that an Oklahoma City burger place called the Charcoal Oven had a date with the wrecking ball. He drove southwest for a final meal there, capturing the experience in photos and a blog. That caught the attention of an editor in Chicago. A few conversations later and the idea became a book contract. He spent the next 18 months researching and writing. Martin logged hours at the Tulsa Historical Society and Central Library and reached out to friends and family who helped run the restaurants from Tulsa’s past. “It was their stories that most interested me,” he said. Already, the book has garnered much attention, especially online with the 33,000+ people who haunt the Facebook group “You Know You’re From Tulsa If ” for

photos and memories of Crystal’s Pizza or Pennington’s DriveInn or cars cruising the Restless Ribbon in the 1950s and 60s. In response, Martin has organized several local events for people interested in the culinary history of Tulsa to share stories and some of the food such as Pennington’s famous black bottom pie and My Pi deep-dish pizzas. Since he began his research, Martin has been looking forward to the book release. “Not because this is a money-making project for me,” he said. “But because I get to share these family stories with the world.” He hopes to hear even more tales from those with firsthand experience, especially any stories about restaurants in Tulsa’s Greenwood District which proved hard to find for this edition. “Memory is a funny thing and it’s not always accurate, but the warmth of fond recollection is a beautiful thing to witness,” Martin said. a

LOST RESTAURANTS OF TULSA BOOK LAUNCH EVENTS: Sat. Dec. 8, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Tulsa Historical Society, 2445 S. Peoria; and Tues. Dec. 18, 6 p.m. at the Mother Road Market, 1124 S. Lewis.

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

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FOOD & DRINK // 13

downthehatch

he holidays are here, and mixed in with the giddy expectation of days off, time with family members (the ones we like) and tons of parties, comes the other realization that our lives are about to get crazy busy. A change in season means a change in flavors and spirits for the wind-down cocktails that get us through the holidays—especially the dinner table with the political uncle. “There’s a reason Starbucks releases the PSL this time of year,” Derek Hillman said. The general manager of Juniper is, of course, referencing the Pumpkin Spice Latte, the popularity of which has spun off a million derivative products. “Those are the flavors we start thinking about around the holidays: cinnamon, allspice, cloves.” Since most of our tables will feature sweet potatoes in one form or another for the celebratory meals, Juniper found a way to incorporate that flavor into a cocktail. The bartenders infuse Four Roses Bourbon with sweet potatoes and cinnamon. “The bourbon pulls a lot of those delicious fats and proteins from the sweet potato, and it adds the spiced seasonal components we all love,” Hillman said. “We add sweet vermouth and orange bitters to create the Yamhattan.” Yes, Yamhattan—the most perfect holiday cocktail name ever. This is definitely an editorial comment, but there should be an award for best cocktail names. The Yamhattan would win. It’s not just the mixers that change with the onset of winter. People tend to gravitate toward dark liquors and away from clear ones during this time of year. Gavin Hatcher, a bartender at Saturn Room, said that the holidays summon up a taste for mulled wine, spiced rum, a hot toddy, and an old favorite, boozy eggnog. “Some people still like the fruity components, but the fruits tend toward apples, pears and

14 // FOOD & DRINK

recent Giving Spirits fundraiser, MixCo bartender Hank Hanewinkel, III, won the popular vote with his hot toddy concoction, In the Cold, Cold Night. Hanewinkel is a Jack White fan—thus the name—and he often draws inspiration from song titles or lyrics. The basics of a hot toddy are simple: whiskey, lemon juice and honey. Hanewinkel started with Johnny Smoking Gun Whiskey from Two James Spirits, a Detroit distillery that recently arrived in Oklahoma via Provisions Fine Beverage Purveyors. This particular whiskey is made with blended Asian teas, adding a perfect seasonal note, and so Hanewinkel went with a Chinese five spice theme to make the hot toddy. The cocktail will be on the MixCo menu all winter. To help with your holiday entertaining, Hanewinkel and Hatcher offered a couple recipes that don’t require some kind of mixology certification to pull off. a Hot Toddy | COURTESY

HOLIDAY SPIRITS Cocktails for surviving the most wonderful time of the year

Of the rum, Hatcher said, “We use Crusoe Organic Spiced Rum but Sailor Jerry works well, too.”

by GREG HORTON cranberries, not citrus or tropical,” Hatcher said. The Old Fashioned Voodoo at Saturn Room draws on all these ideas. Hatcher calls it one of his favorite seasonal cocktails, and it’s finished with toasted coconut and nutmeg, two flavors popular this time of year. It begins with apricot brandy, Don Q Gold Rum and guanabana nectar—the fruit of a flowering evergreen tree. “Apricot is a great way to add flavor to any cocktail, but I love it in thicker, creamier style cocktails, and it’s really good with eggnog,” Hatcher said.

CABLE CAR FROM GAVIN HATCHER 1.5 oz Spiced Rum ¾ oz Cointreau ¾ oz Lemon Juice Shake and strain into cinnamon and sugar rimmed cocktail glass.

While various whiskeys and darker rums tend to dominate the seasonal menus right now, Juniper bartender Rachel Rector has created a winter cocktail with vodka. She infuses vodka with pears and then uses a quarter ounce of allspice dram in a delicious twist on the French 75 that she calls the Pear 75. Many Oklahomans grew up in religious traditions that forbade the consumption of alcohol, but a hot toddy was old school medicine, and so those flavors are nostalgic in the best way: comforting, nurturing, forbidden fruit. At the

HOT TODDY FROM HANK HANEWINKEL, III 1.5 oz favorite whiskey ½ oz fresh lemon juice ½ oz honey You can make simple syrup, too, by mixing sugar and water in equal portions and then heat them until the sugar dissolves. Experiment with different whiskeys and honeys for flavor variations, but typically it’s best to stay away from smokier choices like peated Scotch.

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

WHEN YOU LIFT UP ONE, YOU LIFT UP ALL Giving Back. It’s long been a cornerstone of our company and our employees. Whether it be through charitable giving or volunteering with an organization that needs help, our dedication to Tulsa has never been stronger: Nonprofit Contribution – $2 million in annual contributions to local Tulsa nonprofits in 2017. Learn For Life – Our employees are proud to teach financial literacy to children and through our program reached over 2,100 Tulsa kids in 2017. MLK Parade – A proud supporter and sponsor of Tulsa’s MLK Parade for 22 consecutive years. United Way – Over $1.7 million in annual contributions to the Tulsa area United Way. Bank of Oklahoma was honored to be named the 2017 Outstanding Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. More important, we are grateful to be part of Tulsa’s past, present and future.

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

FOOD & DRINK // 15

downthehatch

y personal rule is to keep work and play separate. As a cocktail writer, that divide isn’t only a metaphorical one—it’s a physical one. At Hodges Bend, it’s the white marble bar top constantly reminding me that as much as I have read or may know about what happens on the other side of the bar, I have never been there. I entered through the front door at 7:20 p.m., as I had hundreds of Friday nights before, except this time I was about to violate that personal rule. Five years of habit would dictate that I weave through the crowd, past the curvature of the bar and towards where its white marble surface straightens. I’d calmly sit in the stool that’s second from the left then order a Tobacco Old Fashioned and request the rum be upgraded from the standard Brugal to Kirk and Sweeney, the way Hodges Bend originally made them. Rather than obey habit, I went directly to the end of the bar. I couldn’t tell if the feeling in my gut was an adrenaline rush or anxiety. With a calculated level of apprehension, I waited to let the general manager, Logan Sweetwood, know that I was ready to begin my barback shift. Working as a barback is the first phase of a rite of passage towards becoming a bartender. Simply put: bartenders make the drinks, but it’s the barbacks who ensure they have what’s needed to maintain the uninterrupted flow. My shift began on a very busy Friday night at 7:30 p.m. I was jumping in with absolutely zero experience in the service industry and nothing more than a 15-minute crash course on my responsibilities. Sweetwood and I took a shot of cold brew coffee and I began my most basic task—maintaining the steady flow of glassware being cycled through the dishwasher. When you run out of a particular whiskey you can offer the guest an alternative, but if you run out of glassware that’s a different story. 16 // FOOD & DRINK

Behind the bar at Hodges Bend | GREG BOLLINGER

PERSPECTIVE SHIFT A cocktail writer crosses the line by ANDREW SALIGA It wasn’t until around 9 p.m. that I got the rhythm of cleaning, polishing, and stacking glassware down. It was much earlier when I learned the glassware coming out of the dishwasher is scalding hot but still must be set aside to dry and make room for incoming. In between dish cycles, I was also responsible for checking the levels of alcohol, juices, syrups, and ice at both of the wells. Emptying trash, restocking beer, and other miscellaneous tasks were also on my shoulders. Most of the night was a frenetic rhythm as if I were simultaneously juggling a bowling ball, chainsaw, and hot coal, all while

balancing a coupe glass on my head. Everything was constant but at different paces. While I didn’t feel overwhelmed at any point, I quickly realized that I was only doing the baseline tasks. A good barback is able to juggle these tasks and anticipate what is needed, while also interacting with guests. This is a level I was not able to achieve during a single shift. One attempt and Sweetwood swiftly asked that I continue to work while I converse. At 9 p.m. the rush still hadn’t slowed, and I took another shot of cold brew coffee with a few of the bartenders. Throughout the course of the night, we had three

parties of 15-20 people each, on top of the regular crowd. When you’re on the working side of the bar, you perceive the controlled chaos. It’s a system of clearly defined roles and deliberate communication that plays out like a well-choreographed dance. The staff ’s ability to perform this dance and deliver a hospitable experience to customers was impressive. It wasn’t until 10:30 p.m. that the pace slowed down. The slower pace meant that I could tend to putting away the stacks of clean glassware that had piled up, and start polishing the stemware. At midnight Sweetwood called all the staff to the end of the bar for a brief and mandatory pause to partake in a community shot. A tradition that “rallies the troops” to celebrate a successful night and assure them that two more hours of service is manageable. After a few groups looking for their final-stop pass through, I was cut at 1:30 a.m. I wadded up my bar towel and threw it into the bin before re-tracing my steps towards the entrance. I sat in the second stool from the corner of the bar and ordered my “shifty,” the complimentary drink earned after completing a shift without breaking any glassware. Any other night, the Penicillin cocktail I ordered would have been a nightcap, but under these circumstances, it wasn’t simply a well-earned drink. My appreciation for it increased. While I won’t claim that a mere six hours barbacking brought me to a level of grand enlightenment, I know that it taught me something. Although marble is known for its permanence, a statue carved from it is not limited to a single interpretation. Admiring art from a different perspective can lead to new discoveries and interpretations. Likewise, a marble bar top is not just a dividing line. It can be something to cross to gain an entirely new perspective and appreciation that wasn’t possible from the second stool from the corner. a

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

get

Plunge into some of Tulsa’s coziest cuisine BY ANGELA EVANS

ASSORTMENT OF COCKTAILS AND DISHES FROM FOOLISH THINGS BAR + BISCUIT PHOTO BY JEFFREY METCALF

comfy THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

FEATURED // 17

As Oklahoma

RON’S HAMBURGERS & CHILI

skies grow darker and temperatures plummet further each night, Tulsans

RON’S, GLACIER, LASSALLE’S: GREG BOLLINGER; JANES: MICHELLE POLLARD

start to scurry into their collective caves. Primordial cravings shift from a desire to blithely nibble on a crisp green salad, to fullon hankerings for bold, stick-to-yourribs food that can warm the coldest of demeanors. Luckily for icy Okies in Tulsa, there are triedand-true bastions of comfort cuisine, along with a few new faces standing at the ready to help you weather the winter. 18 // FEATURED

FOOLISH THINGS BAR & BISCUIT

If the concept of comfort food could be distilled into one item, the biscuit would be a top contender. A clever new eatery on Brookside— equal parts restaurant, floral shop, craft cocktail, and coffee bar—is showing the biscuit can be just as multi-faceted. The humble biscuit, rolled out fresh by grandmas for millennia, is both pastoral and artisan, and for a simple food, it is a finicky undertaking to create the perfect biscuit. Not quite a cake, but not quite bread, the pastry chef at Foolish Things Bar & Biscuit “workshopped” biscuits for months before concocting the right specimen for their flagship restaurant. The result is a fluffy, golden brown disc, with a distinct flakey crunch on the outside, and a well-structured, tender crumb on the inside. Sure, these biscuits are the perfect vehicles for a thick slather of butter and a drizzle of honey. But Foolish Things Bar & Biscuit asks, “Why not top the biscuit with a brown sugar and coffee-rubbed skirt steak? Or how about a beer-battered roasted tomato and roasted garlic aioli?” Other signature biscuits incorporate tra-

ditional flavor pairings and take them up a notch, like their classic sausage biscuit with local sausage and an expertly-poached egg, nestled atop arugula and topped with glossy zig-zags of house-made blueberry jam. Foolish Things Bar & Biscuit is open daily, 7 a.m. to midnight, and the shotgun-style space can easily transition from leisurely breakfast and cup of coffee, to cozy lunch spot, to a great place to top off the night with a comforting meal and nightcap from their robust cocktail list. 3524F S. PEORIA AVE. DAILY FROM 7 A.M.–MIDNIGHT

RON’S HAMBURGERS & CHILI

A place that declares itself the home of “the best Frito chili pie in the world” should capture the attention of comfort-food aficionados. Ron’s Hamburgers is a place where solace is granted in the form of a chili cheese burger—a gorgeously-greasy, onions-fried-in 100 percent beef burger with a crisp griddled char, smothered with cheese and Ron’s coveted crim-

son-red chili. There’s no getting around using a fork and knife with this bad boy, but for a burger experience like this, it’s worth fussing around with cutlery. On the ‘lighter’ side of things, you can always get a regular burger dressed as you please, or up the ante on spice with a sausage burger with a patty that is 50 percent beef and 50 percent breakfast sausage. And don’t divert thine eyes from the Spanish fries: Ron’s signature fresh-cut taters fried up with jalapenos and grilled onions. (Throw some cheese on top if you really want to do things right.) Ron Baber, founder of Ron’s Hamburgers back in 1975, passed away recently. Though he may no longer be with us, his legacy will live on in the bellies of content Tulsa burger fans. 1440 S. DENVER, 1545 S. SHERIDAN ROAD 8201 S. HARVARD, 6548 E. 51ST ST. 7119 S. MINGO ROAD MON.–SAT., 10:30 A.M.–8 P.M.

JANE’S DELICATESSEN

Stacked like a meaty skyscraper, the large pastrami sandwich at Jane’s Delicatessen is a formidable beast that will fill the void caused November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

by the onset of shorter days and longer nights. The pastrami, like all of their meats, is completely prepared in-house—brined in a mix of salt and spices like coriander, and mustard seed, with a touch of clove—then slow cooked to a ruby hue. A little taste of New York in Tulsa, the warm and bright interior of Jane’s Delicatessen is just the perfect antidote to dipping temps. Jane’s matzo ball soup is a hug for the soul, featuring dense matzo studded with herbs, floated in a crystalline chicken broth with a confetti of carrots, celery, and shredded chicken. Jane’s menu is packed with a plethora of signature sammies, all crafted with meats cured in-house and bread baked by their own pastry chef. Sure, you can get a classic pastrami or Ruben, but don’t sleep on their other creations like the Sir William, featuring a fat portion of ham, ooey-gooey brie and perfectly-pickled peaches. Fill up on one of their entrees or lackadaisically nosh on a pickle plate, create your own smorgasbord of meats and cheeses, or go for the bound salad board with your choice their house-made chicken salad, whitefish salad, egg salad, and more. Desserts are also top notch, with classics like whoopee cakes, chocolate pies, and colossal cinnamon rolls. 2626 E. 11TH ST. DAILY FROM 7 A.M.–11 P.M.

GLACIER BEAN TO BAR

Wintertime is the right time to add a little heat to the sweet by filling up a cup of decadent hot cocoa. But the choc-ologists at Glacier Bean to Bar will make you want to toss that packet of powdered Swiss Miss to the curb. Glacier has expanded beyond its trifling truffles to explore other chocolate-centric experiences at its Bean to Bar location in the Archer Building in the Tulsa Arts District. The hub of chocolate-producing operations churn out their nationally-recognized chocolates—which recently earned a full-throated recommendation from Forbes Magazine—while front of house is dedicated to a unique dessert experience. Their THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

JANE’S DELICATESSEN

famous truffles shine in a pristine dessert case alongside delicate slices of cake and frosty tubs of house-churned gelato. But to really toast your taste buds, give in to wanderlust and explore their buildyour-own hot chocolate options. A cup of their proprietary blend of smooth hot cocoa can be topped with your choice of fancy fixings like crushed candy cane, chocolate shavings, and candied hazelnuts. Or create your own hot choc-tail by adding a shot of Chambord or Crème de Menthe. The “bar” in Bean to Bar means there is a full list of chocolate spiked specialty cocktails, and even a beautiful artisan espresso machine that procures a pristine hand-pulled shot. 209 E. ARCHER ST. WED., FRI., SAT., 11 A.M.–10:30 P.M. SUN., 11 A.M.–6 P.M.

GLACIER BEAN TO BAR

LASSALLE’S NEW ORLEANS DELI

The opening salvo of the winter eating season is Thanksgiving, and Lassalle’s New Orleans Deli is combining all the flavors of the holiday into one sandwich. The Thanksgiving po’ boy is piled high with deep fried turkey, cornbread dressing, gravy, and a drizzle of cranberry sauce all packed between fresh bread from New Orleans. Served on Thursdays in November, the annual appearance always causes a frenzy, but it still doesn’t upstage the time-honored MVPs— the shrimp po’ boy and the savory beast that is their Muffuletta. Few things are more perfectly suited to combat an otherwise blustery day like a rich bowl of gumbo, and the Lassalle’s kitchen team works voodoo on theirs: a thick, dark amber broth studded with andouille and chicken. Lassalle’s decadent crawfish and corn bisque, red beans and rice, or crawfish etouffee are sure to lift your spirits when Old Man Winter blasts onto the scene. And if sweetness is what you crave on a cold day, then indulge yourself with Lassalle’s bread pudding with bourbon sauce or pecan pralines.

LASSALLE’S NEW ORLEANS DELI

15 W. 5TH ST. MON.–THURS., 11 A.M.–4 P.M. FRI., 11 A.M.–9 P.M. a FEATURED // 19

When the feast is ﬁnished, the business begins. The business of shopping, that is. The days after Thanksgiving are the busiest shopping weekend of the year, but that doesn’t mean you have to get swept away into the hoards breaking down the doors of the nearest big-box store. Here are some alternative ways to spend your Black Friday and Small Business Saturday while supporting local businesses.

CIRCLE CINEMA 10 S. Lewis Ave. Calling all movie buffs! Circle Cinema’s popular Black Friday movie poster and merchandise sale returns on Nov. 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Whether you’re looking for gifts for your film-loving friends, or you just want to beef up your own memorabilia collection, you won’t want to miss this cinematic sale. From indie sleepers to arthouse flicks, foreign language films, and major blockbusters, there’s sure to be a slice of movie magic with your name on it during this beloved holiday sale.

BUCK ATOM’S COSMIC CURIOS – BOHEMIA MOVEABLE FEAST POP-UP 1347 E. 11th St. Drop by your favorite mother road curiosity shop on Nov. 24 for the last iteration of Bohemia: Moveable Feast Caterers’ popup food truck at Buck Atom’s on Route 66. Featuring “French-a-Okie-Pino” fare drawing from the cuisines of France, Oklahoma, and the Philippines, this Small Business Saturday food event is one you won’t want to miss. When you’re done chowing down, you can browse the one-of-a-kind wares at Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios for the hardto-shop-for Okie in your life.

EAT BIG, SHOP SMALL Local stops for post-holiday retailing BY TTV STAFF PHOTOS BY GREG BOLLINGER

20 // FEATURED

CITY OF TULSA ANIMAL WELFARE 3031 N. Erie Ave. Looking for a new four-legged friend? The City of Tulsa Animal Welfare has got you covered. On Nov. 23 from 12–6 p.m., the shelter will host Black Friday at TAW in which all black-colored animals will be adopted at a discount. Whether they’re solid black, or just a little-bit black, you can take home a dog in need for $50 or a cat for $10.

BREWERY EVENTS Various locations Who doesn’t need a drink after being cooped up with family? (It’s a cliché for a reason.) Lucky for thirsty post-holiday revelers, Tulsa’s booming craft beer scene isn’t sitting this one out. Drop by Cabin Boys Brewery for their one-year birthday bash with food trucks and axe-throwing, or visit American Solera’s River West location for a special Black Friday blowout with new weather-appropriate barrel aged stouts, special bottle deals, a ping-pong tournament, and an afternoon tour at 2 p.m. Dedicated beer geeks won’t want to miss a special Black Friday bottle release celebrating 10 years of production at the Marshall Brewing Company taproom, or celebrate our new modernized alcohol laws with 20 percent off taproom purchases and new dark beers at the Black Friday sale and beer release party at The Willow Family Ales.

MOTHER ROAD MARKET 1124 S. Lewis Ave. Who doesn’t love handmade crafts by local artists? Be the hero at your Dirty Santa gift exchange with something one-of-a-kind from the Mother Road Small Business Saturday Market. The fun kicks off at 10 a.m. on Nov. 24 and runs until 3 p.m. on the Market’s covered patio. The event will coincide with the Winter Farmers Market in the rear parking lot, so you can pick up some fresh local produce to take home. When you’re done, be sure to pay a visit to one of the Mother Road Market eateries like Chicken & the Wolf, Big Dipper Creamery, or Trenchers Crustacean Station. November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

NOGOFF2018 Sixth Annual First Lady Competition Sunday, November 25th $50/Ticket Advance Purchase Only Living Arts Gallery 307 East Mathew Brady St. Sponsor Event 5pm Main Event 6pm

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SU 10AM-6PM • TU-W 10AM-8PM TH-SA 10AM-9PM

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For more information or to purchase tickets, visit nogofftulsa.com or Facebook.com/nogofftulsa. 21+ only.

Garden of Lights Castle Christmas anksgiving - New Year’s Day Honor Heights Park

anksgiving - New Year’s Day Castle of Muskogee

Beginning Saturday, Nov. 24 Details at VisitMuskogee.com

Fridays & Saturdays Nov. 30 - Dec. 29 6PM - 9PM Muskogee Civic Center

MyMuskogee Christmas Winter Skate Christmas Parade Saturday, Dec. 8th 5PM Downtown Muskogee

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

FEATURED // 21

DECOPOLIS

I AM YOGA TULSA

DECOPOLIS 502 S. Boston Ave. Grab a perfect gift for the young reader in your life at DECOPOLIS in Tulsa’s historic Deco District on Small Business Saturday. The shop will be hosting a book from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. signing with the authors of “Intertwined: A Witches Fable,” published by local press Oddball Publishing. Get your signed copy of this young adult fantasy novel featuring all-women lead characters, then be sure to check out the “FableRealm” upstairs where you can find toys, books, and gifts based on classic storybook fables. I AM YOGA TULSA 1604 E. 15th St. You don’t have to strike a warrior pose to survive holiday gifting. Join the folks at I AM Yoga Tulsa for their second annual Holiday Open House – Small Business Saturday event on Nov. 24 from 1:30–3:30 p.m. The fun will include pop-up booths from local vendors selling healthy and sustainable products, along with massage-by-the-minute, free hot cocoa, and yoga pass discounts to help you find your center during the holidays.

IDA RED

IDA RED 3336 S. Peoria Ave. Priding themselves on always having “a little of this and a lot of that,” Ida Red has been Tulsa’s source for unique gifts since opening as an outlet store for Cain’s Ballroom in 2008. Whether you’re looking for Okie apparel, retro candy stocking stuffers, locally-produced art and music, or just about anything in between, you’ll find something delightful at Ida Red. The eclectic boutique is currently saying goodbye to summer with 50 percent off Pop House popsicles, a deep clearance rack, and 20 percent off tees and tanks.

TURKEY MOUNTAIN

GARDEN DEVA SCULPTURE

GARDEN DEVA SCULPTURE 1326 E. 3rd St. Drop by Garden Deva Sculpture on Nov. 2324 for awesome deals at this unique art studio and metal fabrication shop. All in-store merchandise is 25 percent off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Black Friday, with a whopping 40 percent off from 9-11 a.m. and 25 percent from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the following day. Zoey Horner will be serving up live music on Saturday at the store’s new location on 3rd Street and Peoria Avenue. TURKEY MOUNTAIN URBAN WILDERNESS AREA 6850 S. Elwood Ave. Shopping not your thing? Come out to Turkey Mountain for a special OptOutside Black Friday Photo Scavenger Hunt. Hosted by the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition (TUWC), this outdoor event will give you the chance to unwind after the holiday with fresh air and beautiful scenery from 9 a.m. to noon. Teams of five to eight people will scour the area looking for the perfect shots to mark off their list during this friendly competition. Each team must have at least one TUWC member and one person over the age of 18. a

22 // FEATURED

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

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Culture  Cocktails  Galleries Open Late From family dinner debate prep to navigating icy roads, we’ve got it covered:

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gilcrease.org/gah

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

FEATURED // 23

onstage

(Inset) Ashley Surratt | COURTESY; Irving Berlin’s White Christmas 2017 National Tour Company | JEREMY DANIEL PHOTOGRAPHY

Home for the holidays Local talent shines in Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’ by BLAYKLEE FREED

few years ago, Karilyn Ashley Surratt drove by the old Tulsa school where her grandmother used to teach. It looked the same to her, except for the lack of students bustling in and out. This is the place Surratt first fell in love with dance. “When I drove by I could totally picture myself standing out front in my dance costume getting my picture taken before a performance,” she said. Now she’s returning to where her career started for the upcoming production of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” running Nov. 20–25 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. The show falls during a perfect time because it means Surratt gets to spend Thanksgiving with her family for the first time in a long time. Born in Oklahoma City, Surratt lived in Tulsa with her grandparents until age six, when her mother finished medical school, and the two moved to St. Louis for her mom’s residency. “I feel so connected to Oklahoma,” she said. “I feel almost more at home in Oklahoma than 24 // ARTS & CULTURE

ABOUT “WHITE CHRISTMAS” Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” tells the story of a song-and-dance team putting on a show in a magical Vermont inn who fall for a stunning sister act in the process. Based on the 1954 ﬁlm starring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, this stage adaption is full of dancing, laughter and—of course—plenty of snow. Featuring classic songs like “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “Happy Holiday,” “Sisters,” “Blue Skies,” and the beloved title song, “White Christmas” is a timeless tale of joy and goodwill that will leave the whole family feeling merry and bright.

I do in St. Louis because [I spent the] school year in St. Louis and the day school was out I was on a plane to Tulsa going to spend the summer with my grandparents on their ranch.” Her grandmother taught at Briarwood Elementary, which is also where Surratt met one of the most influential people in her life—a woman she knew simply as Miss Julie, who came after school and held dance classes for anyone who was interested. “She would put together these amazing Christmas programs and Valentine’s Day [programs]. We had a couple throughout the year,” Surratt said. “I remember my

grandmother sewing my costumes and putting glue on wands for the little ballerinas.” A year after graduating from Oklahoma City University with a degree in dance performance, Surratt booked three shows—one of them being “White Christmas,” a show she’s loved most of her life. She noted the choreography by Tony Award-nominated choreographer Randy Skinner brings the stage to life and cited a George Balanchine quote: “See the music, hear the dance.” “Skinner has mastered this in this show with how seamlessly the choreography lends itself to continuing the story and becomes

a part of the storytelling of this production,” Surratt said. That first show was in 2006. Surratt knew she wanted to perform “White Christmas” again, but in the 10 years to follow, she got a gig dancing with The Rockettes. “I’m so excited this is the show I’m coming back to Tulsa to perform.” “The final number [‘White Christmas’], visually, is beautiful,” Surratt said. “The entire cast is on stage. The ensemble is tap dancing downstage, the curtain lifts, and we come straight down the stage in a line. … It’s so magical to be a part of.” In addition to family reunions, Surratt also gets a chance to connect with former OCU classmates and other friends she’s met during her dancing career, including some of the cast members from her debut “White Christmas” performance in 2006. Surratt said the audience can expect a visually-striking and emotional show that will make you feel right at home during the holidays. “It just embodies the spirit of the holiday season,” she said. “I’m excited to share that with my home state.” a

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

presents

ni concert

Saturday, December 1, 7:30pm Tulsa Performing Arts Center

A true holiday favorite, this beloved comedy classic features composer John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Tulsa Symphony. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who’s accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves. Hilarious and heart-warming, Home Alone is holiday fun for the entire family!

www.guthriegreen.com

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

ARTS & CULTURE // 25

pressplay

Six of the 10 pinball machines light up The Max. From left: White Water, Family Guy, Deadpool, Total Annihilation, Dr. Who, and The Simpsons. | VALERIE GRANT

Tilt me back to Tulsa The city’s pinball wizards at work and play by BLAYKLEE FREED inball was on life support in 1999. As industries recalibrated for the seismic media shift of a new millennium, companies churning out pinball table renditions of popular movies, TV shows, and characters went bankrupt. As the machines blinked out of life one by one, there was no one to replace them. If you knew where to look— Chicago; Frisco, Texas; and Enid (yes, Enid, Oklahoma)—or more importantly, whom to ask, you could find warehouses rented for tournament nights on tables from the organizers’ personal collections. Invite only, of course. But the pinball machine at your favorite pizza place or movie theater? Busted for the 100th time with no chance of being repaired again. The games are notoriously hard to maintain, and no companies were making any new ones. Collectors were keeping the game alive, and thanks to them, resurgence was brewing. New and rebranded companies have tapped

26 // ARTS & CULTURE

into this enthusiasm and started making games again. The Max Retropub is known for its nostalgic video games from bygone eras, but in November, they brought in more pinball machines as part of their second-annual Pinballs to the Wall event. Now with a total of 10 machines, Tulsa’s arcade bar is a haven for novice and seasoned ballers around town. FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME Pinball tables are like classic cars. You have to regularly maintain and take care of them, clean them, and talk to them. That’s where Todd Johnson comes in. Johnson has a mind-blowing amount of arcade game knowledge, and it’s all self-taught. In 1999, Johnson and his brother starting tinkering with arcade games. Today, he often works 14-hour days doing repairs, though not all of them are games. Recently, he’s has been working on other computer-mechanical

systems, like radars. It’s all similar, though, he said. Pinball tables differ than other video arcade games because they have so many moving parts in addition to their computation. For every one problem he has with a video arcade game, Johnson said he has five more with a pinball machine. Johnson also said the decline of pinball’s popularity is partly because of the surge in game consoles. “No one really went out to arcades anymore to play games like that, but they realized that you can’t get that same experience. There are virtual pinball apps, but you can’t feel the real feeling of the machine and the lights, the glow, the ball.” All of the tables at the Max right now except for one (“Doctor Who”) belong to pinball enthusiast and collector Lucas DeWoody. Today, the machines he’s carefully collected are worth anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000, sometimes even more. Like a proud boat captain,

DeWoody refers to his machines as “she.” Though precious to him, he still wants to share these valuable games with the public. “I’m out of my mind in love with pinball and want to share it with people,” DeWoody said. In a sense, modern gaming has contributed to the pinball renaissance, according to DeWoody. People who enjoy playing pinball on the phones or tablets tend to seek out the tactile experience in real life, and the apps are good for learning how to play, how to score, and the rule sets. The difference between those and real-life pinball, though, is you can have two machines that look identical, but each will play differently than the other. “Every [machine] is a little different,” DeWoody said. “Everyone is balanced a little different.” PINBALL SORCERY: TIPS AND TRICKS That’s why they encourage everyone to come out and play, and to keep their eyes peeled for info

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

on an upcoming tournament. If you’ve never played on these machines before, you’re exactly like most people around town and have an equal shot at being the champion with the high score. “The first move I always tell everyone to learn is the dead flip,” DeWoody said. The dead flip is a tactic that gives you more control over your shot because you let the ball bounce off one flipper and catch the ball with the other, holding the flipper button until you decide the kind of shot you want to make, he said. “Then you can shoot it on your own terms.” One mistake novices make is panicking and hitting both flippers at the same time. “You should always be doing one flipper over the other,” Johnson said. Another tip the pinball wizards had was about nudging, as in physically nudging the table on one side. “Whenever the ball is coming down to drain on the out lanes, you nudge the game forward,” he said. “When you’re wanting it to bounce around the bumpers at the top, you may nudge it side-to-side.” But you have to be careful with the nudging or else the machine will freeze up with a ‘tilt.’ Johnson explained that the plumbob inside reveals when players are getting too rough. “There’s a long metal arm with a metal weight at the end. That arm is attached to a positive, and the ring around the weight is attached to negative, so when they touch together, it completes the circuit and that’s the ‘tilt.’” “It’s always swinging in there,” DeWoody explained. “So if it tells you to stop, let it settle down.” “Everything that makes up the game is so unique,” Johnson said. “And there’s a little bit of luck involved.” TILT ME BACK TO TULSA Growing up, I would spend hours playing Space Cadet pinball on my Windows 98, but I was never really good at the real thing. That changed after a few days of going head to head with my new spouse on our honeymoon. The Star Wars-themed suite we rented in Eureka Springs was above a toy store and was complete with a Star Wars pinball machine, ready for hours of free play. The Max has two Star Wars tables, neither the one I spent

Todd Johnson stands in front of the two Star Wars pinball tables Nov. 14 at The Max. | VALERIE GRANT

hours trying to master. Turns out the game I was playing, according to Johnson and DeWoody, was the worst of all the Star Wars tables made. At first I thought they were just being pretentious pinball gatekeepers, but then I played the two at The Max. For being made in the 90s, those games are extremely immersive, and the objectives are clear. Get good at hitting the ramps and loops on command, that’s all I’m saying. The newest of the pinball tables at The Max is Deadpool, which they unboxed new in the bar. Others include Ghost Busters, Total Annihilation, and a game called Black Hole which features two playing fields: one on top

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

that plays like a normal game and one on the bottom that reverses play so that you’re hitting flippers in the back, launching the balls toward you. Then there’s White Water, which is difficult if you don’t know how to nudge or land a good dead flip. It took me a hot minute to notice there was another flipper toward the top of the table in White Water. Hit that left button at just the right time, and the ball launches into Insanity Falls, which drops the ball right back by your bottom left flipper. Possibly the wildest game is Family Guy, which features a tiny “Stewie” pinball in the top right corner. If activated, you play this

mini-pinball exactly the same as the larger game it’s a part of, but it’s difficult because it’s so small. The other great thing about that game is Johnson modified the table so that a tiny one- or two-inch TV plays short clips from the show. With 10 machines, it’s easy to get entranced in the flashing lights and familiar sounds of pinball. With $2 Coors on tap ($1 on Mondays) it’s even easier. Get to know the games, each with its (or her, as DeWoody would say) own personality. And for the love of pinball, don’t panic and hit both flippers at the same time if you’re not sure which side to go with. That’s one habit I’m trying to kick. a ARTS & CULTURE // 27

contactsheet

28 // ARTS & CULTURE

November 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

MY FAVORITE HUE by GARY MASON

I’m going into my second year taking pictures. The main camera I use is an iPhone 6, but I’m also diving into shooting in film. I capture everything, whether it’s a candid of one of my friends or a candy wrapper on the ground. When I visualize something, I capture it and attempt to bring it to reality. Black Moon, an art collective I’m part of, recently participated in a “flash residency” at ahha Tulsa called The Artists Are In. The event was a scavenger hunt, where people had to find the artists stationed throughout the gallery and turn in their checklist for a prize. They gave me the photo studio for three hours. A few of my friends stopped by, along with some people I met for the first time, which made it even more fun. Here’s the final product. I call this project “My Favorite Hue.” a Contact Sheet is a place for local photographers to share their projects. If you’re interested in submitting, write to voices@langdonpublishing.com. You can follow Gary on Instagram at @nosamyrag.

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

ARTS & CULTURE // 29

PERFORMANCES In Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, the classic holiday tale comes to life onstage at Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Chapman Music Hall. Read more on pg. 24. 11/20–25, $34-$89, tulsapac.com

HELLO, HOLIDAYS Stay warm with these seasonal activities BY TTV STAFF

FESTIVALS Castle Christmas features drivethrough displays, activities, free family movies, train, pony, and camel rides, and unique merchants. 11/22–12/31, The Castle of Muskogee, okcastle.com For Philbrook Festival, the museum’s gardens sparkle with holiday decorations. There are also games, a LEGO village, train rides through the gardens, live music, and special events. 11/23–12/31, philbrook.org Winterfest opens with the Share the Light Tree Lighting Ceremony on 11/23, which will feature local musicians and a fireworks display. Winterfest’s outdoor ice rink and other activities will be open outside BOK Center through 1/6. tulsawinterfest.com

30 // ARTS & CULTURE

Elote Cafe will host its annual holiday night of Luchador-wrestling, Lucha Giving. 11/21, 9–midnight A 30-piece orchestra will join saxophonist Grady Nichols and vocalists Andy Chrisman and Kelly Ford in Falling In Love with Christmas. 11/27, 7 p.m., $25-$55, Tulsa PAC – Chapman Music Hall, tulsapac.com Watch 1990’s holiday hit “Home Alone” while Tulsa Symphony Orchestra performs John Williams’ score. 12/1, 7:30 p.m., $20-$80, Tulsa PAC – Chapman Music Hall, tulsapac.com

SHOPPING Dead Armadillo Brewery will host Handcrafted Market, with vendor booths from local makers, live music, fire pits, food trucks, and plenty of beer. 11/24, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., dabrewery.com Inspired by the 426-year-running holiday market in Nümberg, the German American Society of Tulsa hosts their annual Christkindlmarkt, where you’ll find unique gifts, German food and drink, craft making, and storytelling. 11/30–12/2, gastulsa.org Bixby Community Center’s 33rd annual Holiday Arts and Crafts Show will feature more than 70 vendors. 12/1, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., facebook.com/bixbycc

Browse homemade items, decorations, jewelry, and more at the Holiday Craft Bazaar at Buddy LaFortune Community Center. 12/1, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., facebook.com/ lafortunecommunitycenter The Native American Christmas Market will feature 30 vendors of Native art, jewelry, and gifts, as well as Indian Tacos, and more. 12/1, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Glenpool Creek Indian Community Activity Building, facebook.com/glenpoolcreeks Bixby’s 181 Ranch will host Christmas at the Ranch, where more than 60 local crafters, artists, and small businesses will have vendor booths. 12/1, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., 181ranch.com

LIGHTS Rhema Lights at Broken Arrow’s Rhema Bible College is the biggest holiday display around, boasting more than two million lights. 11/21–1/1, rhemalights.org Utica Square will hold their annual Lights On event, lighting 700,000 holiday lights throughout the shopping center. Julie Chin will host the evening’s activities, which include performances by Grady Nichols, the Tulsa Youth Cabaret, and Phil Armstrong. 11/22, 6:30 p.m., uticasquare.com Tulsa Botanic Garden’s Garden of Lights will have train rides, live music, and Santa sightings. 11/23–1/6 Guthrie Green will shine during Glow on the Green, which this year will feature “Rudolph’s Lounge” on the dock and “Reindeer Games” on the main stage Thursdays–Saturdays. The Green’s Lights On event will feature Mayor Bynum as its guest of honor. 11/25–12/24, guthriegreen.com

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve will glow under 750,000 lights for Wonderland of Lights, Fridays– Sundays, 11/29–12/22, $1–$6, woolaroc.org

OTHER Oklahomans for Equality will hold their annual Come Home for the Holiday Thanksgiving Dinner, a free community meal at Dennis R. Neill Equality Center. 11/22, noon–3 p.m., okeq.org The Tulsa Arts District Business Association will host the sixth annual First Lady Nog and Glogg Off, where bars and restaurants compete in making the best eggnog and glogg (mulled wine.) 11/25, 6–8 p.m., Living Arts, thetulsaartsdistrict.org See Martin Scorsesse’s classic concert film chronicling The Band’s final performance on Thanksgiving night in 1976 while enjoying a Thanksgiving meal provided by local restaurants at The Leftover Last Waltz. 11/25, 6–10 p.m., $40, Cain’s Ballroom, theleftoverlastwaltz.com Valkyrie will celebrate the oft-overlooked holiday that marks the end of alcohol prohibition at their fourth annual Repeal Day Party. 12/2, 4 p.m.–2 a.m., valkyrietulsa.com Tulsa Zoo will host Breakfast with Santa, which will include arts and crafts, animal chats, and train rides. 12/2 and 12/9, 9–10:30 a.m., $5-$29, tulsazoo.org Broken Arrow’s Rose District Ice Rink under the Pavilion at the District’s Plaza will is open through 1/6. facebook.com/rosedistrictrink a

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

“A HOLIDAY CARD COME TO LIFE!” - DAILY NEWS

Nov. 20 - 25 • TULSA PAC 918.596.7111 • CelebrityAttractions.com Groups of 10+ save! Call 918.796.0220 /BwayTulsa THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

ARTS & CULTURE // 31

THANKSGIVING BONUS! STORE CLOSED WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY FOR THANKSGIVING!

DEDUCT AN ADDITIONAL

20% OFF

ALREADY LOW SALE PRICES ON ALL IN-STOCK ITEMS - STOREWIDE!*

GREAT SALE DAYS! Friday 10-6 Saturday 10-6 Sunday 1-5 Monday 10-6

TERMS OF SALE

- ALL SALES FINAL. - ALL ITEMS SUBJECT TO PRIOR SALE. - NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES. - CREDIT CARDS WELCOME. - DELIVERY AVAILABLE.

Angry Axe will be featured at Gilcrease After Hours: Holiday Survival Expo | GREG BOLLINGER

GILCREASE AFTER HOURS: HOLIDAY SURVIVAL EXPO Fri., Nov. 30, Gilcrease Museum gilcrease.org/events Can you survive the holidays? This month’s Gilcrease After Hours is for the preppers. Navigate family debates, relax with some yoga and drinks, and throw some axes on Nov. 30.

EVENTS

Velly Vel & Friends // 11/24,

Aloft Tulsa, facebook.com/ Bigbellynall

IICOT Indian Taco Sale & Native Art Fair // 11/24, American

Legion Post 1, facebook.com/ events/485520471960800

6006 S Sheridan Road • Tulsa, OK 74145 PRICES SLASHED AGAIN - IMPORTANT READ THIS! Another big cut in prices! Our store is closed today and our staff is busy marking down prices on many items throughout our store. Don’t miss your chance to save!

GREAT STORE CLOSING SALE! SELLING OUT OUR COMPLETE & ENTIRE STOCK! √ LIVING ROOMS √ DINING ROOMS √ BEDROOMS √ SOFAS √ CHAIRS √ BEDS √ CHESTS √ SECTIONAL SOFAS √ TABLES √ SIDEBOARDS √ CABINETS √ LEATHER UPHOLSTERY √ BOOKCASES √ RECLINERS √ TV CONSOLES √ MATTRESS SETS √ LAMPS √ ACCESSORIES √ CHANDELIERS √ FOLIAGE

HUGE SELECTION Handmade • Hand Knotted

32 // ARTS & CULTURE

Tulsa Artist Fellowship Writers’ Salon //

Tulsa Oilers vs Kansas City Mavericks //

11/29, Central Library, tulsaartistfellowship.org J’Parle’ Reloaded: The Slam // 11/30,

Retro Grill & Bar, facebook.com/ JParleLlc

Six Degrees of Separation // 11/29-12/2,

Tulsa PAC - Liddy Doengest Theatre, tulsapac.com

COMEDY

Tulsa Oilers vs Wichita Thunder // 12/4,

BOK Center, tulsaoilers.com 11/27, Reynolds Center, tulsahurricane.com TU Football vs SMU // 11/24, H.A. Chapman Stadium, tulsahurricane.com

Expo Square - River Spirit Expo, usabmx.com

11/21, Loony Bin, tulsa. loonybincomedy.com Mike Merryﬁeld // 11/23-24, Loony

Bin, tulsa.loonybincomedy.com April Macie // 11/28-12/1, Loony Bin, tulsa.loonybincomedy.com

Comfort Creatures: Pizza Thanksgiving

Tulsa Oilers vs Allen Americans // 11/27, BOK Center, tulsaoilers.com

USA BMX Grand Nationals // 11/22-25,

Tulsa’s Funniest Person 2018 //

*Excludes prior sales, back orders, oriental rugs and other offers. All advertised items subject to prior sale. All merchandise sold “as is.”

11/25, BOK Center, tulsaoilers.com

TU Men’s Basketball vs UT Arlington //

PERFORMING ARTS

tulsa.loonybincomedy.com

SALE RESUMES FRIDAY AT 10 AM!

Tulsa Oilers vs Wichita Thunder // 11/24,

BOK Center, tulsaoilers.com

- SAVE -

60 80%

SPORTS

12/4, TU - Tyrrell Hall

Karlous Miller, Chico Bean & Friends // 12/2, Loony Bin,

ORIENTAL RUGS

Permit# N/A

Anna Badkhen: Making Memoirs //

// 11/23-24, Rabbit Hole Improv, rabbitholeimprov.com BDSC: The No-Holiday Holiday Show //

TU Women’s Basketball vs Abilene Christian // 11/28, Reynolds Center,

tulsahurricane.com Xtreme Fight Night 353 // 11/30, River

Spirit Casino - Paradise Cove, riverspirittulsa.com ORU Women’s Basketball vs Southern Utah // 12/1 , Mabee Center,

oruathletics.com ORU Women’s Basketball vs Central Christian College of Kansas // 12/3,

Mabee Center, oruathletics.com

11/30-12/1, Rabbit Hole Improv, rabbitholeimprov.com November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

E V E N T S @ T PA C

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas Celebrity Attractions with Tulsa PAC Trust Now - Nov. 25 Grady Nichols: Falling in Love with Christmas ALS Patient Services Outreach Nov. 27 Six Degrees of Separation World Stage Theatre Company Nov. 29 - Dec. 2 Home Alone in Concert Tulsa Symphony Dec. 1 Tulsa Festival Ringers PAC Trust Brown Bag It Series Dec. 5 Les Misérables (School Edition) Theatre Tulsa Dec. 7-16

TICKETS @ TULSAPAC.COM 918.596.7111

It’s back!

The best of Tulsa: music, arts, dining, news, things to do, and more.

Come find out what ’s happening. THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

ARTS & CULTURE // 33

musicnotes

Roy Clark was a friend of mine So long to a legend by JAKE CORNWELL n my office, stuck between magnets holding images of old baseball players and drawings from my son, there is a bumper sticker that reads: Johnny Cash is a friend of mine. I never met Mr. Cash, but always related to that sentiment that the “Man in Black” was a friend of the working-class poor man. Weaved around that souvenir are candid photos of my family and friends along with the Negro Leaguers and automotive trendsetters who have become extended kin. There, stapled among this mixed bag of lifetime memories, is a selfie of me and Roy Clark, the “Superpicker,” yucking it up. I treasure that image because it captures the essence of the many conversations Roy and I had, chewing the fat about baseball, racecars and hot rodding, Tulsa, music, and life. When I learned that Roy had passed away on Nov. 15, I sat and reflected on that picture and the indelible mark that he made on my life and the world at large. And I reminisced, because Roy Clark is a friend of mine. Anyone born before the George H. W. Bush administration will likely recall Roy mostly for his comedic role as the “grinnin’” cohost of “Hee Haw,” but that was only an nth of his talents. There wasn’t much Roy couldn’t master. He flew airplanes. He played a solid game of golf. Through his gift of music, he became an American diplomat who warmed the hearts of Soviet dignitaries and catalyzed the thaw that helped end the Cold War. If it had strings, Roy owned it, both literally and figuratively. His lightning-fast fingers’ rendition of “Malaguena” left us awestruck; his wit and snark fostered a comical new respect for Greyhound bus lines (“Thank God”); and when

34 // MUSIC

Roy Clark | COURTESY

he serenaded us with “Yesterday When I Was Young,” he captured with nostalgic clarity how fleetingly the years of life pass. Decades before I met Roy, I recall the countless times traveling into town when my dad or grandmother would point out the window saying, “There’s Roy Clark’s bus barn!” Dad often listed the people that he claimed to have seen make pit stops there, which included the likes of Reba McEntire and Alabama. Many of his stories were probably hyperbole or apocryphal at best, but Roy Clark’s name and fame was a constant point of conversation in the Cornwell household. Years later, I befriended Roy during my tenure as a music

industry apprentice under the tutelage of master country music impresario Jim Halsey, Roy Clark’s manager for nearly sixty years. Halsey afforded me the rare opportunity to work closely with Roy at the office and backstage at multiple events. The day I met Roy, I asked him to autograph a game-used Texas League baseball from a Tulsa Drillers ballgame. Because he was one of the original co-owners of the Drillers, Roy’s eyes lit up. As he penned his John Hancock on the sweetspot, I expressed my gratitude to him for helping save baseball in the Oil Capital. Roy averted the praise, quipping how lucky he felt because he had the chance to be a part of professional baseball.

In true campy Roy Clark fashion, he joked that deal-breaker, though, was whether or not he would be issued a uniform. “If I couldn’t play my way into the game, I was going to pay my way into the game!” he told me in jest. Indeed, Roy received his uniform and Tulsa got another baseball team. Baseball and hot rods connected us. We talked about the many times he watched the Washington Senators play in D.C.; when he saw the Negro League Homestead Grays take the field; when he almost became a major leaguer for the St. Louis Browns; and about the growing pains as an owner of the Tulsa Drillers after the stadium collapsed. Whether in his office or in the greenroom before of after a show, Roy and I were just a couple of fellas benchwarming and bench-racing talking about the “good old days” of Detroit steel and America’s pastime. Roy Clark was a friend of mine. The man who performed alongside Johnny Cash, played golf with Mickey Mantle, and entertained several presidents and diplomats also considered me a pal. For the kid who grew up in dire poverty to hear the man who used to visit us in our living rooms every Sunday evening call me by name was a treasure in itself. When I had the privilege to watch an Opening Day ballgame with the original Tulsa Drillers owners Roy Clark and Bill Rollings, that was the “it” moment in my life when I realized I had “made it.” Roy now joins his partner Bill on the roster in the sky, but their legacy lives on. With a banjo in one hand and a baseball in the other, Roy now gets to suit up and lace up his spikes for the best ballclub there is—in a place where the game and the music lasts forever. a

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

REAL COLLEGE RADIO

Tune into Tulsa’s eclectic, uniquely programmed, local music loving, commercial free, genre hopping, award winning, truly alternative music station. @RSURadio | WWW.RSURADIO.COM

Visit Dog Dish soon for the best selection of holiday gifts for your pets…

“I’m Squeakerless!”

SANTA PHOTOS! Mark your calendar now for

SUNDAY, DEC. 2 for pet photos with Santa!

11AM-1PM Saturday, November 24 is

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY! New from Fluff & Tuff

1778 UTICA SQUARE | 918-624-2600 OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY, 10-6

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

Visit us at Dog Dish and all the other small businesses located conveniently in Utica Square. MUSIC // 35

musicnotes

Little Jam, big impact

New music series sweetens the pot for beleaguered school music programs by ALICIA CHESSER ATKIN

he sorry state of Oklahoma’s public school arts funding is, of course, a national embarrassment. And like all policy issues, it has real-world, intersectional impact. Carlos Moreno had been hearing the stories for years: public school band rooms with no instruments, music departments slashed, orchestras and choirs gone silent. His daughter reported broken instruments over at Edison, where she goes to school. “My friend’s son was at Wright Elementary and wanted to be part of the music program there,” he said. “But they didn’t have anything to play on.” In a city that loves music as much as Tulsa does, he thought, every child should have a chance to learn to play. Moreno, a graphic designer at the Community Action Project and co-captain of Code for Tulsa, took action in quintessential Tulsa style: by organizing a gig that could give back. Earlier this year he teamed up with writer/producer/director Juan Reinoso, who recently returned to Tulsa after 25 years in New York City, and PR/marketing consultant Meg Sutherland, and the Tulsa Little Jam was born. Combining intimate musical performances with freewheeling interviews, the series showcases some of Tulsa’s sweetest talent in concerts at the Woody Guthrie Center’s 60-seat auditorium, filmed and recorded live, with all proceeds going to support music programs at local public schools. It’s become much more than a one-off event. In addition to giving help to local schools, the Tulsa Little Jam is turning out to be a powerful way to tell the stories of Tulsa music to the world. Reinoso, the show’s host and interviewer, described Moreno’s concept as “NPR’s Tiny Desk 36 // MUSIC

Briana Wright performs with her band Nightingale at The Tulsa Little Jam | LYNDON ALVAREZ

meets Austin City Limits.” So far there have been two Tulsa Little Jam events, each featuring three different bands, with more on the way. Acts range from well-known names like Casii Stephan to newer voices like Dane Arnold and the Soup—a group Reinoso was so impressed by that he ended up directing a music video for one of their songs after they performed at Little Jam. The idea is for each of the performance/interviews to be released as a freestanding podcast. “I was inspired by the sort of listening experiences that showcase the artist in a way that maybe you’ve never heard them before,” Moreno said. “I listen to

a lot of music podcasts and radio shows—KCRW and the like— and we wanted something like that multimedia experience for Tulsa.” “Because the project is not yet fully funded, the public hasn’t seen the real dream of what it’s going to be yet,” Moreno said. (There are some delicious trailers on Tulsa Little Jam’s Facebook page.) They’ve been paying the venue, the bands, and the crew out of their own pockets. Soon the producers hope to get enough sponsors that they can start releasing episodes, recording new ones, and maybe, Reinoso said, taking the show on the road to Austin, Chicago, Bentonville,

even New York, to raise even more to put back into those empty music room shelves. Here at home, Moreno hopes to bring in some hip-hop bands out of Oklahoma City, some jazz—maybe through the new Duet Jazz club downtown—and definitely some Latin bands. (“A Tulsa Little Latin Jam!” Reinoso exclaimed.) “Part of the idea is to give people a chance to hear something they might not have heard otherwise, with the kind of production quality Tulsa music deserves,” Moreno said. In the end, it’s all about keeping the music alive and thriving, now and into the next generation. While showcasing three Tulsa bands, decked out with gorgeous video and sound, that first Little Jam taping raised enough to donate $500 to Edison’s music program. “The more we make, the more we can give away,” Reinoso said. “All the gurus of education policy now are saying the important things are creativity, imagination, problem solving—not the information, but the synthesis of that information,” Moreno said. “The cuts in elementary music programs are a huge loss. Even if playing music isn’t your end-all beall, it’s still something that enriches your life. “Part of Little Jam is you’re seeing these great artists in Tulsa, but they got to be great artists because they learned to play the instruments,” Moreno continued. “They learned to play the instruments, by and large, as young people. If we don’t support the generation coming up, there won’t be any more Casiis or Dane Arnolds or Branjaes.” “It’s an amazing opportunity to give to the next person,” Reinoso said. “Otherwise, what’s the point?” a

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

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MUSIC // 37

Gabriel Royal | ELISEU CAVALCANTE PHOTOGRAPHY

musicnotes

he Huffington Post once called Gabriel Royal “Brooklyn’s best busker,” but the Tulsa native has bigger ambitions than playing cello for change on the L train platform. He’s currently touring behind his latest album, Miss Once in a Blue Moon, which was released on Sept. 7. The nine-song LP finds the hardworking cellist/vocalist straddling the line between jazz classicism and contemporary singer-songwriter sensibilities, delivering what he calls “grown up lullabies” with a neo-soul flourish. With influences ranging from Stevie Wonder and Burt Bacharach to Thundercat and Janelle Monae, Royal’s music marries soulful, chamber pop stylings with a sharp ear for the standards. I caught the ever-hustling artist on the phone during a tour stop in West Lafayette, Indiana, before his return to Tulsa on Nov. 23 and 24 for a two-night stint at Duet Jazz.

‘FEEL THE FEELING’ Gabriel Royal brings chamber pop R&B from the subway to the jazz club by JEZY J. GRAY

38 // MUSIC

JEZY J. GRAY: A lot has been written about your history as a street musician in New York. Is that something you’re tired of talking about, or does it still feel relevant to your story? GABRIEL ROYAL: [Laughs.] The reason I laugh is because I was busking in September before I hit the road! There’s no disconnect between me and busking. I go play in the subway when I need money—and I was in need of money before I hit the road in September. So yeah, it’s still relevant. I’m not just talking about it. I think people think it’s this glamorous thing. Like, I just talk about it because it sounds cool. I supported myself teaching school part time and playing in the subway. … So it literally saved me.

I mean, that’s where I actually got comfortable playing cello. Cause I played for years in an orchestra, and that’s very different from playing solo. And I wasn’t writing music on cello when I was playing in the orchestra. … The subway helped mature my cello playing. That’s where I started writing music for it. I had a band for years, and I played on the In the Raw patio for about three years, any time the weather permitted. … So I had played a lot and I had been writing for years, but I hadn’t been writing for the cello until I moved to New York and started playing in the subway. So it’s not a gimmick—I swear! [Laughs.] GRAY: How do you calibrate for an audience like that, versus one that comes to see you in a club? ROYAL: Well, it’s more challenging. [Laughs.] I mean, the club people, you know, they came to listen. Nobody cares about you on the subway. You have to grab their attention with the songs. So if nobody is actively listening, you have to convince them to. I’m playing acoustically with a cello in the subway, so the only way you can hear me is if people are quiet. So I drop the volume. I’m playing very quiet, melodic, soothing music that sort of asks for silence. As a teacher, one of the things they teach you is the louder you get, the louder your classroom gets. So I try to make a difference between me and the guys who are playing buckets, or playing saxophone, or they’re plugged in with a guitar. They’re loud as hell, and that keeps pushing up the volume. I’m playing more sensitive stuff, and most of the time people will quiet down to listen. … Sometimes you can come down on the platform and hear a pin drop, when I’m

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

playing. That’s something I’m proud of, but it doesn’t always happen. But more times than not, people listen. GRAY: When you left Oklahoma for New York, what did you imagine your life was going to be like—and how did that stack up with your actual experience? ROYAL: I was a full-time teacher in Oklahoma. I moved from Oklahoma City, where I was teaching high school and middle school visual art. So when I moved to New York City, it was really to continue teaching. I wanted to play music, but music has always been my side hustle. … I planned on just getting a teaching job and teaching full-time and playing my music on the side as usual. But when I got there, there was a hiring freeze for all arts—any electives: gym teachers, dance instructors, musicians, visual artists. They weren’t hiring anybody. So that forced me to look for other avenues of revenue. [Laughs.] So I was substitute teaching, and then I got my job with this spot called Wingspan Arts, a teaching collective that puts fine artists in schools, so I’ve been teaching an after school program for the last eight or nine years; and they were flexible enough to let me go out on my first tour with [Tulsa’s] Johnny Polygon in 2011. I did not expect to be doing what I’m doing now. I was planning on coming up here and just teaching and being happy with that for the rest of my life— because I was happy with that— but I got this opportunity, because this guy [Roberto Randow] saw me in the subway. … He was like, ‘Did you write that song?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah!’ He said, ‘You got any more?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I got hundreds of ‘em!’” … I found my manager in the subway. I found my entertainment lawyer in the subway. I’m signed with Columbia Artists, the classical music booking agency. When my manager promoted me to them, the guy who’s now my agent had seen my in the subway. He was like, ‘Oh my god. That’s the guy who plays at Bedford off the L train!’”

ROYAL: The first half is gonna be solo. It’s gonna be all cello, piano, vocals. Just me. And then my friend ... T.J. Haverkamp—he has a band called The Culture Cinematic, based out of Oklahoma City, and they’re gonna be backing me up. And I’m so happy about it. These guys are my favorite band. So the fact that they’re learning my whole second album is, like, more than honor to me. It’s huge.

GRAY: What are you going to do while you’re in Tulsa? Any places you have to visit when you’re in town? ROYAL: Soundpony, as far as my partying goes. [Laughs.] … They’re definitely my bar of choice when I’m back in town. In the Raw. I used to work there, so when I’m back I always gotta go get some sushi. The Brook—I still gotta get the chicken tenders there. And Taco Bueno, man! I just heard

they’re going through some financial issues, which makes me sad— because there’s a level of comfort I don’t have until I’m eating a crispy beef taco. [Laughs.] GRAY: Well thanks for taking the time, Gabriel. We’re looking forward to the show. ROYAL: Hey man. I’m looking forward to it. … This is going to be a first-in-a-lifetime show with this band. I’m really excited for it. a

GRAY: What kind of a performance can people expect at Duet? THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

MUSIC // 39

musicnotes

Okie royalty

Carter Sampson finds more than luck on her new album by DAMION SHADE

n the cover of her new album, Lucky, Carter Sampson looks a lot like her nickname, “The Queen of Oklahoma.” She’s sitting up straight with her legs crossed in jewel-studded red cowboy boots, a brown suede fringe jack—a black Stetson hat set back on her head, framing a wistful half-smile. In the painting, made by her brother (Stuart Sampson) she’s holding a golden horseshoe between her fingers like a talisman. She looks comfortable in her royal role. With the release of Lucky, Carter Sampson’s fifth studio album on Horton Records, Sampson cements her status as a songwriter to watch in Oklahoma. Sampson is a fifth-generation Okie from a musical family. Her dad plays guitar, and her mom sings in the church choir. Her grandmother taught piano lessons, but it wasn’t until Sampson auditioned for 8th grade choir and didn’t make the cut that she picked up a guitar. “I’m really grateful for that because for a lot of people the opposite happens after a rejection,” she said. “They don't ever sing again. They don’t ever pursue their passion or the thing that they love and maybe the thing they’re not very good at. I probably wasn’t very good at the time, but I had to get there some way.” Her professional path began at music business school in Oklahoma City, before she dropped out and moved to Boston. She learned to perform there from hours of busking on the subway. “I could literally play the same four songs over and over. Every ten minutes there’d be a new audience when the next train came,” she said. “For the last four or five years I’ve played over 200 shows a year. So I really learned to play by performing.” Lucky is an album that celebrates this counterintuitive journey. 40 // MUSIC

Carter Sampson, “The Queen of Oklahoma,” with her guitar | COURTESY

Sonically, the record combines Sampson’s Oklahoma musical roots with a singer-songwriter aesthetic reminiscent of Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons and even the late 60’s rock group the Flying Burrito Brothers. These songs are steeped in the mixed rock-and-country tone of California country music, but it’s the Oklahoma players who really define the sound. “I recorded the album with my buddy Jason Scott who through this process has become like my brother and one of my best friends,” Sampson said. “We started working in October of last year. I had written a lot of the songs last summer when I was on tour in Colorado. Jason and I went back to

Colorado and spent like 11 hours one day just polishing the songs.” They finished the album at Scott’s house in Moore. To fill out her studio backing band, Sampson called on a host of notable Oklahoma musicians. “Kyle Reed plays pedal steel in my band and is all over this album. Jared Tyler is one of my favorite Oklahoma musicians. John Calvin Abney played on it as well. Jack Waters is playing drums and James Purdy played a lot of drums on the album as well. Luke Mullenax was also playing electric bass and upright bass,” she said. Sampson also covers a song by Tulsa songwriter Kalyn Fay and a song from Oklahoma City artist Zac Copeland.

The focused performances on Lucky are matched by the natural quality of Sampson’s writing and voice. Many of the hooks feel effortless, and there’s an honest portrait of an artist who’s finally feeling complete. “I think this album comes from a lot of gratitude. The last two years have been really good and really crazy,” she said. “My last record, Wilder Side, really took off in Europe, and I did eight European tours in about a year and a half. These songs were me kind of stepping back from all that traveling and craziness and realizing how lucky I am to get to do exactly what I want to do.” Carter Sampson has reached a moment in her musical career where she can reflect on her life and still give back to the place where she grew up. Sampson helped found and directs Oklahoma City’s Rock & Roll Camp for Girls where she teaches 8-to-18year-old girls to play music. “In 2006, I volunteered at this music school in Portland and I got to teach nine-year-old girls to play electric guitar, and it was such a magical thing,” she said. “The whole time I was thinking how much my life would have different if I had something like that in Oklahoma. I think I took, like, four guitar lessons when I was in high school from this hunky greasyhaired dude who wanted me to learn to Metallica songs. To have a space where you can just be around other like-minded girls and women and play music and be supported like these girls were being was just such a cool idea to me.” Lucky is an album about a woman who loves her life, and who’s lived past enough to unhappiness to understand why. But as Sampson’s history of working hard and providing opportunities for others shows, there’s a whole lot more to it than luck. a

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 4, 2018

MUSIC // 41

musicnotes

THE POINT IS METAL

Blind Oath, on the supernatural path to heavy metal perfection by BRADY WHISENHUNT Left to right: Stu Hetherwood, Rob Gutierrez, Eric Miller, Jake Don’t, Mitch Gilliam | DESTINY JADE GREEN

“W

hen you listen to the best heavy metal, you’re looking at the facade of the church of Notre Dame,” Blind Oath guitarist Mitch Gilliam said. He’s a dude interested in big ideas, and he thinks heavy metal might just be the biggest one there is. “It’s really a fractal form of music. It’s incredible. It’s fucking brotherhood, it’s perfection,” he said. “And also, it’s expressing the willingness to burn it all to the fucking ground.” It’s been an auspicious three months for Blind Oath since their first gig opening for riff wizards Night Demon at the Vanguard last August. Next up, Blind Oath is set to play Mercury Lounge on Nov. 25, sharing a bill with metal scene vets Silver Talon of Portland, OR. Blind Oath’s only release to date is the four-song cassette EP, Demonstration MMXVIII, on Horton Records and Cult Love Sound Tapes, but they’re setting their sights on recording a full-length album. Gilliam’s brain is an insatiable, hyperadaptive, data-crunching anomaly, fueled by El Burrito and rock records, and sustained by the blood pumped from his puppy dog heart. He’s a prolific, virtuosic juggernaut of creative will, and 42 // MUSIC

Blind Oath is one of the creations he’s most pleased with. He began crafting sick metal riffs in his head as a way to help him fall asleep. “It was this weird form of meditation,” Gilliam said. “I would write the bass part, the drums, and the guitar and everything and visualize it.” He says this in such a casual manner, as if this epic twilight metal vision-boarding is something all of us know how to do. “I just had this vision of making this band,” he said. So he showed Rob Gutierrez what he’d written. Gutierrez was Gilliam’s bandmate in the metal cover band Dr. Rock Doctor, as well as the live karaoke act, Satanico & the Demon Seeds. “We call him ‘Dr. Rob’ for a reason,” Gilliam said. “He can learn any song on guitar in a pinch, and he was the impetus for turning my initial ideas into fullfledged songs.” Gilliam’s songs were so good they warranted starting a band, but he and “Dr. Rob” were still three musicians short. That’s when they began tapping their friends. Stu Hetherwood, who Gilliam describes as “a rare sort of drummer,” was recruited for his versatility and competence across numerous gradients of heaviness. Jake Don’t (née Jacob

Fuller) was enlisted to play bass, on the strength of his impressive technique. Eric Miller was chosen as the vocalist, and although he’d never been in a band before joining Blind Oath, his pipes had already caught Gilliam’s attention at Satanico & The Demon Seeds shows, where Miller was a known crusher of heavy metal karaoke. Musically, Blind Oath is a whirlwind of heavy metal styles. “Spectral Attack” opens with a churning, spiraling slurry of Ginsu-sharp hack-and-thrash. The precision-calibrated, spitfire shred leads of Gilliam and Gutierrez sound as if they’re melodically handcuffed to one other, a berserker battle cry of guitar-wielding rogues, enemies of the state ensnared in some futuristic, dystopian prison. The leads are so groovy and melodic at their core, imbued with that strange, aural umani that makes you sing along with a guitar riff like “Smoke on the Water,” even when you know damn well guitar riffs don’t have lyrics to sing along to. Just as this sub-eleven-second earworm of an intro sinks its nasty fangs in, the key changes, and then for five final seconds it shapeshifts into a launchpad for the song’s galloping, filthy main riff. The song is a scoundrel, dripping with crust-punk defiance.

It’s an exultation and call to arms, a foul sapling grafted from the spirit germ of great heavy metal. The song’s gruff, declarative vocals recall a striking connection to Rob “The Baron” Miller, singer for trailblazing anarcho-punks Amebix. Though both singers share last names and uncanny similar vocal mannerisms, Eric said he had never even heard of Amebix. Coincidence? Or are they both psychically linked via astral Miller Time? “This band is so marked by synchronicity,” Gilliam said, before regaling with more “Twilight Zone” moments, starting back when Blind Oath was little more than a twinkle in his third eye. Considering the amount of overtly occult-related content in the band’s lyrics, the fact that eerie paranormal phenemona follows them around seems pretty on-brand. But the point—the one Gilliam keeps coming back to—is that the point is metal. It’s both the message and the codec. Metal snugly encompasses the things in life he loves most, and since the mere thrill of playing metal picks up its own tab, he sees within it the magical essence. It all clicks. “I just wanna make the best heavy metal possible,” Gilliam said. a

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

musiclistings Wed // Nov 21 41 Brookside – Jake Dement Blackbird on Pearl – Wubby Wednesday Cain’s Ballroom – Texas Hippie Coalition – ($14-$16) Chimera – *Roger Jaeger album release w/ Jacob Everett Wallace Duet – Mike Cameron Collective – ($5) Ed’s Hurricane Lounge – Open Mic Fassler Hall – MONTU Hard Rock Casino - Riffs – Wayne Garner Mercury Lounge – Jared Tyler Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Shelby and Nathan Eicher – ($10) River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Stephanie Oliver & Johnny Mullenax Soul City – Don & Stephen White Soundpony – Cardio The Cellar Dweller – Grazzhopper The Colony – Tom Skinner’s Science Project The Vanguard – La Dispute, Queen of Jeans, NeoRomantics – ($18-$45)

Thurs // Nov 22 Hard Rock Casino - Riffs – Daniel Jordan, Orphan Annie Mercury Lounge – Paul Benjaman River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – DJ 2Legit Soul City – The Begonias Soundpony – Afistaface The Venue Shrine – Higher Education – ($5)

Fri // Nov 23 41 Brookside – Dan Martin Blackbird on Pearl – *Mike Hosty – ($5) Cain’s Ballroom – Leftover Turkey w/ Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Cody Canada & The Departed – ($18-$33) Duet – *Gabriel Royal – ($15) Dusty Dog Pub – James Groves Band Ed’s Hurricane Lounge – Rise Again, Sprout The Anti Hero, Dusty Grant Fassler Hall – Combsy Four Aces – Judge Parker Hard Rock Casino - Riffs – Dante and The Hawks, DJ and The Band IDL Ballroom – Casii Staphan & the Midnight Sun, Tea Rush – ($10-$24) pH Community House – Staghorn, Plastic Psalms, My Heart & Liver Are The Best Of Friends Retro Grill & Bar – Tammy Hamilton & The Wiseman River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Full Flava Kingz River Spirit Casino - Volcano Stage – Jesse Allen Soul City – Susan Herndon Soul City – Don White Band Soundpony – DJ WhyNot The Colony – *Chris Blevins Band – ($5) The Hunt Club – BC and the Big Rig The Rabbit Hole – Dane Arnold & The Soup, Colouradio, Oceanaut The Starlite – Pictures of You: Celebrating 40 Years of The Cure The Vanguard – My So Called Band – ($10) The Venue Shrine – SRV Tribute – ($8-$10)

Sat // Nov 24 41 Brookside – Bucky & Brady Bad Ass Renee’s – Doxy, Alloy, A Special Case, JB Blackbird on Pearl – *Whirligig – ($5) Cabin Boys Brewery – Roger Jaeger Cain’s Ballroom – Jason Boland & The Stragglers, John Fullbright – ($18-$33)

Duet – *Gabriel Royal – ($15) Fishbonz – EverFade Hard Rock Casino - Riffs – Travis Marvin IDL Ballroom – Dress To Kill (Kiss Tribute) – ($7) River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – DJ & The Band River Spirit Casino - Volcano Stage – Crystal Williams Scotty’s Lounge – Jake Marlin Soundpony – Pleasuredome The Colony – *Snobug – ($5) The Hunt Club – November The Vanguard – *Brainsgiving Bash w/ Grass Giant, Gadgets Sons, Tom Boil, She, The Serpent – ($10) The Venue Shrine – *Arkansas and Oklahoma All-Stars w/ Johnny Arredondo, Brad James, Isayah Warford, Paul Benjaman, Jesse Aycock, Jesse Dean, Dave Gesualdo – ($7-$10)

Sun // Nov 25 Bounty Lounge – Open Mic East Village Bohemian Pizza – Mike Cameron Collective Fassler Hall – Disco Brunch w/ Darku J Hard Rock Casino - The Joint – *The Ultimate Queen Celebration w/ Marc Martel – ($19-$39) Mercury Lounge – *Blind Oath, Speed Claw, Silver Talon Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Kay Benyarko Quartet – ($5-$20) River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens Soul City – Dustin Pittsley & Friends Soul City – Bruner & Eicher Soundpony – Big Ro TV The Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing The Colony – Singer Songwriter Open Mic Matinee w/ David Hernandez

Mon // Nov 26 Blackbird on Pearl – The Portal Hodges Bend – Mike Cameron Collective Mercury Lounge – Chris Blevins River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Travis Kidd Soundpony – *Wood Chickens, The Dull Drums The Colony – Seth Lee Jones The Colony – Ryan Browning - Happy Hour

Tues // Nov 27 Blackbird on Pearl – The Pearl Jam Brady Theater – Jewel – ($49.50-$69.50) Mercury Lounge – Wink Burcham & Jacob Tovar Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Depot Jazz and Blues Jams River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Faye Moffett Soul City – Tuesday Bluesday The Colony – Dane Arnold & The Soup The Colony – Deerpaw - Happy Hour

Wed // Nov 28 41 Brookside – Jake Dement Blackbird on Pearl – Wubby Wednesday Cain’s Ballroom – *CHVRCHES, lovelytheband, Flora Cash – ($35-$50) Duet – *Chris Combs, David Broome, and Nathan Pape – ($5) Ed’s Hurricane Lounge – Open Mic Hard Rock Casino - Riffs – Gary Morris Mercury Lounge – Jared Tyler Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Shelby and Nathan Eicher – ($10)

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Stephanie Oliver & Johnny Mullenax Soul City – Don & Stephen White Soundpony – T Town Throwdown The Cellar Dweller – Grazzhopper The Colony – Tom Skinner’s Science Project The Hunt Club – Ego Culture

Thurs // Nov 29 Duet – Zach Rhea – ($5) Hard Rock Casino - Riffs – Miracle Max, Empire Hard Rock Casino - The Joint – Celtic Thunder – ($45-$65) Mercury Lounge – Paul Benjaman River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – DJ 2Legit Soul City – The Begonias Soundpony – *Holy Knives, Oceanaut, New Time Zones The Colony – Jacob Tovar The Colony – Robert Hoefling - Happy Hour The Hunt Club – RPM The Willows Family Ales – *Cody Brewer

Fri // Nov 30 41 Brookside – Cale Lester Bad Ass Renee’s – Citadels, Forever in Disgust, Vilent Victim, The Beautiful Exchange, Omni Zero, Arjuna Cain’s Ballroom – Parker McCollum – ($15-$30) Colorfeed A/V – Sylvia Wrath, Graveyard Party, Planet What Duet – Ashlee Elmore – ($5) Hard Rock Casino - Riffs – Continuum, Jason Nelson Mercury Lounge – Travis Linville, Kala Ray River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens River Spirit Casino - Volcano Stage – Ayngel & John Soul City – Susan Herndon Soundpony – *Steph Simon, The Pheel$ The Colony – Paul Benjaman Band – ($5) The Hunt Club – Smunty Voje The Vanguard – Wither, The Normandys, Sign of Lies, Reliance Code – ($10) The Venue Shrine – Subkulture Presents – ($5)

Soul City – Dustin Pittsley & Friends Soul City – Bruner & Eicher The Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing The Colony – Singer Songwriter Open Mic Matinee w/ David Hernandez

Mon // Dec 3 Blackbird on Pearl – The Portal Hodges Bend – Mike Cameron Collective Mercury Lounge – Chris Blevins River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Travis Kidd The Colony – Seth Lee Jones The Colony – Ryan Browning - Happy Hour

Tues // Dec 4 Blackbird on Pearl – The Pearl Jam Mercury Lounge – Wink Burcham & Jacob Tovar Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Depot Jazz and Blues Jams River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Faye Moffett Soul City – Kalo The Colony – Dane Arnold & The Soup The Colony – Deerpaw - Happy Hour The Venue Shrine – The Dysfunctional Family Christmas Show – ($20-$100)

Your

VOICE For

Sat // Dec 1 Bad Ass Renee’s – Seven Deadly Sins, Spook, Omni Zero, Esc Ctrl Crow Creek Tavern – GogginThrash Duet – Edwin Garcia Latin Sextet – ($7) Hard Rock Casino - The Joint – Gary Allan – (SOLD OUT) Imperio – Grupo Laberinto, Revancha Norteña – ($40) Mercury Lounge – Atlantis Aquarius The Colony – Keathley, Rozlyn Zora, All For More – ($5) The Vanguard – Dead Metal Society – ($10-$20) The Venue Shrine – Kiss The Sky (Jimi Hendrix Tribute) – ($10-$15) Unit D – The Electric Rag Band

Sun // Dec 2 Bounty Lounge – Open Mic Brady Theater – *The Smashing Pumpkins – ($69.50) East Village Bohemian Pizza – Mike Cameron Collective Mercury Lounge – Brandon Clark River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens

Live Music Get the word out for upcoming live music shows Send dates, venue and listings to John@Langdon Publishing.com MUSIC // 43

Benifitting language arts in schools with a lesson in leadership using presidential rhetoric as our guide.

onscreen

Viola Davis in “Widows” | MERRICK MORTON, COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

HEIST AND LOWS Steve McQueen’s ‘Widows’ delivers a serviceable yet unfulﬁlling heist ﬁlm

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44 // FILM & TV

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WITH “WIDOWS”, THE FEMALE-DRIVEN heist film starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Neeson and Colin Farrell, Oscar winning British auteur Steve McQueen trades out his typical art-house, awards season offerings for more populist genre fare. And while McQueen delivers a very serviceable, sometimes even gripping thriller, “Widows” falls short of Its high art/genre entertainment aspirations, ultimately suffering from a languid, underdeveloped script. The film follows three disparate Chicago women (Davis, Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki) reeling from the aftermath of losing their husbands, lead by Liam Neeson, who die tragically in a heist gone wrong. These three women are forced to come together and pull off a highly complex score in order to repay the debt owed to crime boss, Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry). “Widows” endeavors to explore the nature of grief, loss, and identity in the wake of losing a spouse and taking the future into your own hands. As expected, the film features a great showpiece performance by Davis, who always gives 100% and who acquits herself admirably without much else to do throughout the film but grimace and carry around her cotton ball of a dog named Olivia. The real scene stealer here is Debicki, the towering Australian actress who has the meatiest role as a codependent trophy wife who not only has to settle up her abusive husband’s outstanding debt but also repossess her own autonomy in a chauvinistic world that can’t see past her stunning beauty. Unfortunately, these performances are

saddled with a plot that feels more perfunctory than intricate and we end up enduring over an hour of grief and handwringing before the thrilling “will they pull it off, or won’t they” heist kicks in. By then, there’s no real time to construct any real suspense around the heist, and while there are some interesting twists and double crosses it ultimately feels more rote than rewarding. From the outset, “Widows” promised to flip the heist film on its head. With its central gender swapping conceit and a powerhouse cast teaming up with one of our most interesting modern filmmakers, the film should have been a slam dunk, but the script, co-written by McQueen and Gillian Flynn—bestselling novelist of “Gone Girl” and “Sharp Objects”—feels like the end result of reading “Heist Films for Dummies.” There’s a whole political subplot with Colin Farrell and Brian Tyree Henry that belongs in an entirely different movie yet feels shoehorned into this already overstuffed film. Steve McQueen is masterful at crafting challenging arthouse fare that can be gorgeous to look at. Here he teams again with cinematographer Sean Bobbitt—who also shot McQueen’s “12 years a slave,” “Shame,” and “Hunger." With “Widows,” they display an obsessive eye for detail, filing the film with gorgeous high-rise apartments and gritty Chicago locations with drawn-out closeups that luxuriate in the individual grieving process of Davis, Debicki, and Rodriguez; but while the film is certainly a beautiful bauble to look at, in the end “Widows” feels more like frippery than an well-crafted gem of a film. — CHARLES ELMORE

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book” | COURTESY

A BRIEF RUNDOWN OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE CIRCLE CINEMA

Tim Blake Nelson in “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” | COURTESY

WILD WOEFUL WEST The Coens bring a biblical brand of Western to Netﬂix

THE COEN BROTHERS ARE THE BARDS OF cinematic quirk. For more than 30 years, Joel and Ethan Coen have imbued their brand of off-kilter filmmaking with an erudite flourish. Their command of language, wielded across genres, is marked by witty wordplay, poetic progressions, and a precise cadence their dialogue often requires. (Ethan is notorious for not allowing actors to change one solitary syllable.) In their new film, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” an anthology of six original Western short stories now playing exclusively on Netflix, they vaunt a folksy lore worthy of Twain and, at times—in the third chapter titled “Meal Ticket”—even Shakespeare himself. But with a darkly comic existentialism tinged with inescapable Providence, it’s the literary voice of Flannery O’Connor that this collection most powerfully evokes. Unlike most movie anthologies that loosely tie their stories together, there’s no connective tissue across these American West fables. Instead, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” gives us 15-to-20 minute Coen-flavored morsels, plus a second-tolast 45-minute saga called “The Girl Who Got Rattled.” Of all the tales here, that one—starring Zoe Kazan as a modest woman who finds romance on a wagon train—could’ve easily been fleshed out into a feature all on its own. Not that the other five are slight. Each anecdote strikes an inspired premise, then unfolds with whimsical irony, contemplative intrigue, or despairing ennui, all with the Coens’ farcical melancholy, before subversively packing their punches without overstaying their welcome.

They also have shocking bursts of violence, in true Coen fashion. Take, for example, the titular opening yarn about a sharp-shooting balladeer played by Coen veteran and Tulsa native Tim Blake Nelson. His howdy-ho cowboy crooner Buster Scruggs is like Gene Autry by way of Quentin Tarantino. Subsequent chapters hold a similar tension between the droll and the dreadful, jarring us with gallows humor and bloody consequences. There’s a violence deep in the human condition as well, with displays of harsh cruelty and, more helplessly, turns that are mercilessly unjust. As in their Job-like “A Serious Man,” the Coens simultaneously laugh at and lament the cosmic game that we are all pawns in, yet they also take a humble, reverent posture at the arrogant absurdity of expecting (or demanding) answers. The whole exercise allows them to work with a deep bench ensemble, too—Liam Neeson, James Franco, Stephen Root, Tyne Daley, and Brendan Gleeson among them. Perhaps the best surprise is singer Tom Waits who, with his weathered vocals and visage, plays an endearing prospector mining a picturesque mountain valley. The entire film is beautifully lensed, even if its digital canvas (a first for the Coens, who’ve always shot on celluloid) causes some lights and colors to hue flat or wash out. But no matter the setting or tone, these stories grapple with the same Flannery-esque themes of fortune and fate; sin and consequence; virtue and vice; truth and relativism; and life, death, and judgment. So too, it reckons, must we all. — JEFF HUSTON

THE TULSA VOICE // November 21 – December 4, 2018

OPENING NOVEMBER 21 GREEN BOOK Inspired by a true story, an African-American pianist in the 1960s Deep South hires a tough guy Italian from the Bronx to be his driver and bodyguard. As they navigate racism, they use “The Green Book” as a guide for establishments that are safe for black performers. A close bond forms between them. Winner of the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, it stars Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Lord of the Rings” trilogy). Rated PG-13.

SPECIAL EVENTS TREASURES FROM THE ATTIC: SALE EVENT This special Black Friday sale event is for movie buffs. Held in the art gallery lobby, the Circle will have a clearance sale for their deep archive of movie posters and merchandise, ranging from art house award-winners, foreign, and blockbusters. Many items are out of print or hard to find. Prices will vary per current market value of these classic items; sale will also include $5 bargains. (Fri., Nov. 23, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) GREEN BOOK: Q&A EVENT At the 2 p.m. screening of “Green Book” (see above) on Sunday, November 25, a special Q&A will follow with members of the Threatt family from Luther, OK. They will share stories about their family-owned Route 66 filling station that was listed in the “The Green Book.” (Sun., Nov. 25, 2 p.m.)

THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT This disturbing crime thriller shocked audiences at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. Matt Dillon stars as a serial killer in the 1970s who approaches each of his murders as a work of art. From controversial director Lars von Trier. (Wed., Nov. 28, 7 p.m) HOLIDAY CARTOONS SHOWCASE Free Saturday afternoon event, a 1-hour showcase in the Circle art gallery of classic holiday cartoon shorts. This will kick off the Kendall Whittier Christmas “Lights On!” event that night. (Sat., Dec. 1, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.) THE ROOM The “worst movie ever made” cult phenomenon returns for two late night weekend screenings, following last year’s sold out events. “The Room” is the infamous low budget movie made by the eccentric Tommy Wiseau. Dubbed “The Citizen Kane of bad movies,” it has become popular for its “audience participation” experience. The making of the “The Room” was depicted in the Oscar-nominated biopic “The Disaster Artist” directed by James Franco, who also starred as Wiseau. (Fri., Nov. 30 & Sat., Dec. 1, 10 p.m.) NT LIVE: ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA A new theatrical production of Shakespeare’s classic drama of the ill-fated couple, in this tragedy of politics, passion, and power. It stars Oscar-nominees Ralph Fiennes (“Schindler’s List”) and Sophie Okonedo (“Hotel Rwanda”). (Thurs. Dec. 6, 6 p.m.)

FILM & TV // 45

free will astrology by ROB BREZSNY

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): “ You have two ways to live your life,” writes spiritual teacher Joseph Vitale, “from memory or inspiration.” In other words, you can take your cues about how to live your life from what happened in the past, or else you can make your decisions based on what you’re excited to do and become in the future. According to my analysis, the next ten months will be an excellent time for you to fully embrace the latter approach. And it all starts now.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ve always got more help available than you imagine, and that’s especially true these days. Both people you know and people you don’t know may come to your assistance and offer extra support — especially if you meet two conditions: 1. you sincerely believe you deserve their assistance and support; 2. you clearly ask for their assistance and support. Now here’s more good news about the help that’s available. Whether or not you believe in spiritual beings, they, too, are primed to offer blessings and resources. If you don’t believe in their existence, I invite you to pretend you do and see what happens. If you do believe in them, formulate clear requests for what you’d like them to offer you. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In one of his poems, Arthur Rimbaud extolled the exquisite evenings when the mist soaked his face as he strolled, and he sipped that heavenly dew till he was drunk. Was he speaking literally or metaphorically? Probably both, if I know Rimbaud. Anyway, Aquarius, I’d love for you to engage in similar exploits. What are some natural adventures that might intoxicate you? What simple pleasures may alter your consciousness, nudging you free of its habits? Meditate with sweet abandon on how to free yourself through the power of play and the imagination. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It’s illegal to hunt animals in Kenya. But members of the Dorobo tribe circumvent the law to provide food for their families. As three or more Dorobo men wander out on the savanna, they wait for hungry lions to kill a wildebeest or other creature. Then they stride toward the feasting beasts in a calm show of force until the predators run away in confusion. The brave scavengers swoop in and swiftly remove a portion of the wildebeest, then coolly walk away, leaving plenty for the lions when they return to their meal. I bring this scene to your attention, Pisces, because I suspect that in the coming weeks you will have similar levels of courage and poise as you go after what you want. ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his autobiography On the Move, neurologist Oliver Sacks praised his friend Jerry’s curiosity and knowledge. “Jerry has one of the most spacious, thoughtful minds I have ever encountered, with a vast base of knowledge of every sort,” wrote Sacks, “but it is a base under continual questioning and scrutiny.” So willing was Jerry to question and re-evaluate his own assumptions that Sacks said he had “seen his friend suddenly stop in mid-sentence and say, ‘I no longer believe what I was about to say.’” That’s the gold standard to which I hope you will aspire in the coming weeks, Aries. As bright and articulate as you’ll be, you will have an even higher calling to expand your mind through continual questioning. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In recent years, a few pioneers have gotten microchips implanted under their skin. These technological marvels enable them to open doors and turn on lights with merely a wave of their hands, or receive up-to-the-minute readings on what’s transpiring inside their bodies. Now an additional frontier has arisen: people using do-it-yourself kits to experiment on their own DNA. For example, some have tweaked their genes so their bodies create more muscle than is natural. I would love for you to change yourself around in the coming weeks, Taurus, but not in these particular ways. I’d rather see you do subtle psychological and spiritual work. The astrological omens suggest it’s a favorable time for focused self-transformation. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Are you smart enough to take advantage of the fact that your best relationships would benefit from bursts of innova-

Place the numbers 1 through 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.

NOVICE

tive energy in the coming weeks? Are you brave enough to banish the ghost that still haunts your romantic life? Do you have the moxie to explore frontiers with collaborators who play fair and know how to have fun? Will you summon the curiosity and initiative to learn new strategies about how to enhance your approach to intimacy? I’ll answer those questions in your behalf: yes, yes, yes, and yes. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Would you agree with me that there are both boring, tiresome problems and fun, interesting problems? If so, read on. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’re at a fork in your path where you could either get further involved with a boring, tiresome problem or else a fun, interesting one. (I think you’ll have to engage with one or the other.) Of course, I’m rooting for you to proactively wrangle with the fun, interesting one. Here’s timely inspiration from Cancerian author John W. Gardner: “We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Jharia Coalfield in eastern India is a 110-square-mile reserve of underground coal. In some places, it’s on fire, and has been burning for over a hundred years. This isn’t a good thing. It’s wasteful and causes pollution. But now I’ll ask you to put aside that scenario, and imagine a more benevolent kind of steadily burning fire: a splendor in your soul that never stops radiating warmth and light; that draws from an inexhaustible source of fuel; that is a constant source of strength and courage and power. I’m happy to tell you that the coming months will be a favorable time to establish and nurture this eternal flame. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Marilyn Monroe, Georgia O’Keeffe, and President Franklin Roosevelt were direct descendants of the pilgrims who sailed from England to the New World on the famous Mayflower ship in 1620. I, on the other hand, am a direct descendant of a nineteenth-century Slovakian coal miner who toiled in the underground darkness. What about you, Virgo? Now would be a rich and provocative time to reconnect with your roots; to remember where your people originated; to explore the heritage that served as the matrix from which you sprouted.

MASTER

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to researchers who study animal behavior at two Italian universities, chickens can do arithmetic. The birds don’t even need to be trained; the skill seems to be innate. (Read details here: tinyurl.com/ChickensDoMath.) I’m wondering whether chickens born under the sign of Libra might even be able to do algebra in the coming weeks. According to my assessment of the astrological omens, the mental acuity of many Libran creatures will be at a peak. How will you use your enhanced intelligence? SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In March 2005, far more people than usual won big money in a regional Powerball lottery in the U.S. The average for each draw is four winners, but on this special occasion, 110 players were awarded at least $100,000 and as much as $500,000. The reason for the anomaly seemed to have been an oracle that appeared in a number of widely distributed fortune cookies. It provided five of the six winning numbers. Inspired by this crazy stroke of good fortune, and in accordance with the favorable financial omens now coming to bear on you, I hereby offer you six numbers to use as your lucky charms. Will they help you win a game of chance? I can’t be sure. At the very least, they will titillate and massage the part of your psyche that is magnetic to wealth. Here they are: 37. 16. 58. 62. 82. 91.

xHow could you change yourself in order to get more of the love you want? t h i s w e e k ’ s h o m e w o r k // T E S T I F Y AT F R E E W I L L A S T R O L O G Y. C O M . 46 // ETC.

November 21 – December 4, 2018 // THE TULSA VOICE

ACROSS 1 Domesticated pack animal 6 Liquor leftover in a glass 13 Dry gullies in rainy seasons 18 Like patchwork quilts 19 Least attractive 20 Got by somehow 21 Hide and seek (Pt. 1) 24 “Proposal” in a film title 25 It rolls in a casino 26 Drains completely 27 “___ you following me?” 28 Perfume emission 30 “Wanna” attachments 31 Joined a revolt 35 Trolley sound 36 Jump the ___ (start too early) 37 Non-PC Fed agent 41 Vice squad surprise 42 Use a delivery service 43 Like blankets 44 Be an agitator 45 Hide and seek (Pt. 2) 51 Pub staple 52 Wee nuclear power source 53 Book with legends 54 Completely intact, film-wise 55 Friend of Hamlet 57 Bellhop or heavy shopper, at times 58 Dele nullifiers 59 Lea 62 Lover of the beauty of art 65 Small cakes leavened with yeast 68 Echo-sounder on a sub

70 No less than 74 Waiting in the wings 75 Lox go-with 76 New Year’s Eve song’s end 77 Greek P 78 Hide and seek (Pt. 3) 83 Facial tissue soother 84 Depression between hills 85 Famous cookie name 86 Bird of peace 87 Complete groupings 88 Mass suffix 89 Get misty, like glass 91 For the time being 93 Feverish ailment 94 Race winner’s place 95 Waggle dance dancer 96 With less inside 100 Appomattox VIP 101 Shunned people 106 Hide and Seek (Pt. 4) 110 Shoe pad 111 Long-term hospitalization problem 112 Acts follower 113 Needing housecleaning 114 Knuckles under 115 Bottom-of-thebarrel bits DOWN 1 Claim on a home loan 2 Nugget for a detective 3 Real estate parcel 4 What pilgrims are drawn to 5 Stick firmly 6 Seek with bow and arrow 7 Goose ___ (zero)

8 Denzel Washington title role 9 “Barney Miller” star Hal 10 Pre-driving preparation 11 Black-ink entry 12 School support grp. 13 Small-waisted stingers 14 Collier’s entryway 15 Submarine builder 16 Cleese comedy mate 17 Rich-in-protein beans 18 Tire inflation letters 20 Thing that reminds of past events 22 Benz ending 23 Snubs 28 Thin cut 29 Gadget for a guitarist 31 Husband of Bathsheba 32 Sao ___ 33 Tread backer 34 “___ on a Grecian Urn” 35 Science subj. 36 Kiddie racer 37 Legal recipient 38 Make fine? 39 Western Alaskan native 40 Semiaquatic pets 42 Arrogant one 43 Shoe parts 46 Collection of info for a PC 47 Soul singer Redding 48 1964 film title Dr. 49 Ferret’s wet relative 50 Took stock? 56 Some army helicopters 57 Palindromic founding principle 60 Worth keeping

61 Unreliable scoundrel 63 Rutherford B. or Helen 64 Sicilian top-blower 65 Weighted lasso weapons 66 Like a feeble, elderly woman 67 Archie Bunker was one 69 Legendary name in boxing 71 Specialized vocabulary 72 Be rude in line 73 Type of painted pole 75 Showy technical skill 76 “Do NOT go further!” 79 Look that causes misfortune 80 Bothers persistently with trivialities 81 Obscene wares 82 Uniting words? 89 Handles third base 90 End of a threat 91 Explosive device 92 Minister or pastor 93 Young female horse 94 Outfield opportunities 95 Rear of London 96 Sir Geraint’s wife 97 It shows what’s cooking 98 Try to hit the flanker 99 Jog kin 101 Low bills 102 Point above the others 103 Rug variety 104 Change for c-notes 105 Air-leakage sound 107 Big-time degree 108 Electrically charged particle 109 Food morsel

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November 21 episode sponsored by the Dog Dish! ETC. // 47

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