The Tulsa Voice | Vol. 6 No. 21

DIVINING THE SPIRIT WORLD P18

REAL WITCHES OF TULSA P20

O C T. 1 6 – N O V. 5 , 2 0 1 9

//

VOL. 6 NO. 21

TULSA’ S MO ST HAUNTED

P24

paradise never sounded So Good.

Tickets On Sale Now we will rock you oct 18 dane cook oct 24 theresa caputo nov 2 rascal flatts nov 7 zz top nov 8

50th anniversary tour

i love the 90’s nov 14 jim gaffigan nov 16 three dog night nov 21 Cirque Musica dec 22

Live Music

Friday & Saturday Nights Starting at 9 pm in 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar and at 10 pm in Margaritaville!

Visit margaritavilletulsa.com for a complete schedule.

81st & RIVERSIDE • (888) 748-3731 • RIVERSPIRITTULSA.COM 2 // CONTENTS

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

WINESDAY

AT THE TAVERN H A L F- P R I C E B O T T L E S O F W I N E E V E RY W E D N E S DAY

4 PM - CLOSE NO ST R INGS. J U S T D E L IC I O U S , H A L F - P R I C E W I N E .

TAV E R N T U L SA .C O M

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

CONTENTS // 3

October 16 – November 15, 2019 // Vol. 6, No. 21 ©2019. All rights reserved.

IN THE CARDS

PUBLISHER Jim Langdon

P18

EDITOR Jezy J. Gray ASSISTANT EDITOR Blayklee Freed DIGITAL EDITOR Kyra Bruce

BY ALEXANDRA ROBINSON

Exploring alt-spirituality in Tulsa

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

SEASON OF THE WITCH

AD SALES MANAGER Josh Kampf

P20

CONTRIBUTORS Alicia Chesser Atkin, Cydney Baron, Stephanie Bayles, Becky Carman, Matt Carney, Charles Elmore, Angela Evans, Nicole Donis, Barry Friedman, Ashley Harvey, Jeff Huston, Fraser Kastner, Mason Whitehorn Powell, Alexandra Robinson, Joseph Rushmore, Jessica Vazquez, Jordan Williams

BY CYDNEY BARON

Samhain celebrates the thin veil between the living and dead

‘EVERYTHING HAS A SPIRIT’

The Tulsa Voice’s distribution is audited annually by

Member of

P22

BY BLAYKLEE FREED

The spooky-cool creations of local artist Stephanie Bayles

The Tulsa Voice is published bi-monthly by

1603 S. Boulder Ave. Tulsa, OK 74119 P: 918.585.9924 F: 918.585.9926 Katy Bruce teaches tarot and jewlery-making classes in Tulsa. | JOSEPH RUSHMORE

FOOD & DRINK

NEWS & COMMENTARY 7 UNFAIR SHAKE

B Y ASHLEY HARVEY

Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system is failing young people of color

8 ME AND MADDOW

B Y BARRY FRIEDMAN

Comedy and politics in South Tulsa

14 HOLY DIVER

BY ANGELA EVANS Seafood ‘evangelist’ Barton Seaver talks sustainability

16 AUTUMN EATS

BY TTV STAFF

10 UNDOCUMENTED, UNAFRAID

B Y JESSICA VAZQUEZ

Dream Alliance Oklahoma celebrates ‘10 years of resilience’

12 PERSONAL GROWTH

B Y FRASER KASTNER An introduction to cultivating your own cannabis

ETC. 6 EDITOR’SLETTER 30 THEHAPS 40 MUSICLISTINGS 46 ASTROLOGY + SUDOKU 47 THEFUZZ + CROSSWORD

Scary-good menu items for fall

MUSIC 34 TELL IT SLANT

B Y BECKY CARMAN Beau Jennings and the Tigers tell the rock ‘n’ roll truth on The Thunderbird

36 MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS

B Y JORDAN WILLIAMS

Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad ‘express blackness with sound’

ARTS & CULTURE 24 GHOST TOWN

B Y KYRA BRUCE Tulsa Spirit Tours tell the haunted history behind local landmarks

26 WRITING THE HEARTLAND

B Y MASON WHITEHORN POWELL

Jeanetta Calhoun Mish on the poetry of home

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

Theater activates history in a new play about the Osage murders

TV & FILM

DIVINING THE SPIRIT WORLD P18

42 PAY TO PRAY

B Y MATT CARNEY

REAL WITCHES OF TULSA P20

O C T. 1 6 – N O V. 5 , 2 0 1 9

//

VOL. 6 NO. 21

The Righteous Gemstones and the power of positive grifting

44 CLONE BORES

B Y JEFF HUSTON

This generic Will Smith thriller is the first High Frame Rate film to play in Tulsa

44 TIME CRISIS

B Y CHARLES ELMORE

TULSA’ S MO ST HAUNTED

Aaron Paul shines in this direct sequel to the hit AMC television series 4 // CONTENTS

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

FOLLOW US @THETULSAVOICE ON:

28 TRUE DETECTIVES

B Y ALICIA CHESSER ATKIN

38 FROM TURKEY TO TULSA

B Y MASON WHITEHORN POWELL Steve Gunn on The Unseen in Between

PUBLISHER Jim Langdon PRESIDENT Juley Roffers VP COMMUNICATIONS Susie Miller CONTROLLER Mary McKisick DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Amanda Hall RECEPTION Gloria Brooks

P24

ON THE COVER Tulsa’s Most Haunted ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHANIE BAYLES

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

CONTENTS // 5

editor’sletter

A

gainst all logic, it is— somehow—the middle of October. Here at TTV headquarters, we’re celebrating the end of the hottest summer in recorded history by biking to work, dressing like we mean it and ceremoniously switching our beer orders from session IPAs to boozy imperial stouts. Accordingly, our office playlists have gone from glitzy art-pop and trap bangers to wistful folk ballads and introspective songs of longing and despair.

“We’re all losing our leaves and becoming more withdrawn, so we can bloom and blossom in the spring.” That’s from a local woman named Bridget, a dedicated mom and business owner here in Tulsa who happens to also be a practicing witch. She talked to reporter Cydney Baron about Samhain, the witches’ new year beginning Oct. 31, when she says

6 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest and most permeable.

In this issue—our 20th of the year—you’ll learn about how Tulsans like Bridget celebrate the season of the witch (p. 20). Then we’ve got a debut feature from Alexandra Robinson about the gender politics of alt-spirituality and its appeal to Millennials looking for answers during this bleak moment in world history, which is darker and more disturbing than any Halloween ghoul or ghost story. Robinson talked to local psychics and tarot practitioners about their craft and its peculiar resurgence in American youth culture (p. 18).

We’ve also got a story on cover illustrator Stephanie Bayles, who sat down for a chat with TTV assistant editor Blayklee Freed about her spook-driven

aesthetic and taste for the macabre (p. 22). After that, digital editor Kyra Bruce takes you to the most haunted sites in the city, guided by the folks at Tulsa Spirit Tours whose mission to give locals a good scare intersects with a responsibility to stare head-on at the uglier aspects of our history (p. 24). We’ve also got the rundown on a few of the best fall menu items in Tulsa, from precious farm-to-table fare to pumpkin-spice gas station pretzels (p. 16).

Also inside: Dream Action Oklahoma celebrates 10 years of fighting for immigrant rights (p.

10); a new play at Heller Theatre investigates the Osage Murders (p. 28); resident columnist Barry Friedman takes the stage with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow (p.

8); a hunky celebrity chef fights for sustainable seafood (p. 14);

and State Poet Laureate Jeanetta Calhoun Mish talks writing the heartland before her appearance at the Nimrod Conference for Readers & Writers on Oct. 18–19 (p. 26). Plus a big fat music section featuring interviews with Beau Jennings (p. 34), Steve Gunn (p. 38) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest (p. 36).

That should hold you over for now. This issue is on stands an extra week, so don’t read it all at once. Until we meet again, remember to tip handsomely and call your mom. a

JEZY J. GRAY EDITOR

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

okpolicy

T

UNFAIR SHAKE

Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system is failing young people of color

by ASHLEY HARVEY for OKPOLICY.ORG

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

oday’s young people are committing fewer crimes, and fewer are being arrested, but there are still differences in how they are treated based on their race and where they live. The justice system will continue to be unfair to people of color unless lawmakers take deliberate steps to fix it.

Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system treats people differently based on the color of their skin.

Black youth are three times more likely to be arrested and six times more likely to be incarcerated.

Native American youth who are arrested are two and a half times more likely to be incarcerated than white youth.

There are also major differences in how often juveniles are arrested between counties. Arrest rates for juveniles are six times higher in Pottawatomie County than in bordering Seminole County. The most staggering discrepancy in arrest rates is for Kay County, which has juvenile arrest rates five times the state average.

We can’t fully comprehend the disparities Oklahomans of color face without acknowledging our state’s history. From forced resettlement of Native Americans to the Greenwood race massacre, the effects of our past are still present.

Oklahomans of color generally make less, have unequal access to quality education and medical care, and are more likely to live in communities that lack resources.

Black youth in Oklahoma are nearly six times more likely and Native American youth are two times as likely to live in concentrated poverty—neighborhoods where 30 percent or more of the population lives in poverty— compared to white youth.

Black students in Oklahoma are more than four times as likely to have a school-related arrest and six times as likely to be expelled compared to white students.

While school-related arrest rates for Native American youth are comparable to their white counterparts, the consequences for them are more severe given their

likelihood of incarceration once arrested. One in every 15 Black men in Oklahoma are incarcerated. And although Native Americans make up only 9 percent of our population, Native American women account for 12 percent of the Oklahoma’s female prison population.

Ripple effects of these disparities traumatize our youth, rip apart families and devastate communities. Disparities in arrest rates for youth of color are particularly high within rural communities. And just as in the adult system, people working within the juvenile justice system hold a great amount of decision-making power. Kay County’s staggering juvenile arrest rates, five times the state average, highlight the vast difference between counties.

Kay County has been previously highlighted for stark differences in adult felony fi lings, suggesting an overall punitive approach to justice.

Causes of racial and local disparities within the Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system are historical, complex and cannot be solved overnight. But if we fail to acknowledge our faults and begin to make progress towards solutions, we are failing our children and our state. When people are treated differently based on their race or geography, we all suffer.

The economic and emotional costs of incarceration for families within our state are devastating, even more so for families of color.

Progress cannot be made without data-driven conversations about race. In order to reduce racial disparity in juvenile justice, all youth-serving agencies need to incorporate a racial equity lens into every aspect of their work.

Only then can progress be made towards a system that is truly just for all Oklahomans. a

Ashley Harvey is the justice data analyst for Open Justice Oklahoma, a project of Oklahoma Policy Institute.

NEWS & COMMENTARY // 7

Jeff Martin and Rachel Maddow | CHRISTOPHER CREESE

Me and Maddow Comedy and politics in South Tulsa

by BARRY FRIEDMAN

I

am sitting on a laminated crate that holds audio equipment, on the side of the stage at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center (UMAC), watching the crowd fi le in. It’s about an hour before showtime. The Lorazepam has kicked in. I should have first checked with my doctor, who will be in the crowd tonight, to see if this was a good idea—especially before a show. I am counting back from 100 by seven, then up from one to 100 by six. It’s something I do from time to time to take my mind away from the moment.

65 … 58 … 51 … 44 … 37…

“Excuse me, sir …”

42 … 48 … 54 … 60 …

“Excuse me.”

A man, a technician from the facility, is standing over me.

“Sorry.”

“I think you knocked the cord out,” he says, pointing to the amplifier behind me. “Stage mic isn’t working. They made need it later.”

“I may need it later.”

I get up.

He plugs the cord back in.

I have been a comedian for 30 years and I’m only doing 10 minutes tonight—in my hometown.

Why can’t I calm down? What’s the big deal?

8 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

Rachel Maddow is the big deal.

There will be 3,500 people here tonight—not to see me, obviously, but they’ll see me whether they want to or not.

Comedy clubs, which I usually work, hold about 200. This will be my biggest crowd ever. Once, at Dangerfield’s in NYC, on Rosh Hashanah, I performed in front of three people at one table.

Another time, in Dewey, Oklahoma, at a bar with a message board out front that read Comedian and Beer. There were seven in the crowd.

My mind wanders.

Maddow will be so impressed by me tonight, she’ll invite me on the show. I put that out in the universe, because that always works.

She—and everyone refers to her as Rachel, as if she were a friend—is in Tulsa tonight to talk about Blowout, her latest book about the politics of oil and gas and its war against the rest of us. She is not here to talk about, though I’m sure it will come up, Trump or which Democrat she prefers in 2020.

I remember Bill Maher telling me a few years back that he loves coming to red states. The crowds, he told me, his crowds, are starving for a voice. You can

feel it tonight. Here we are, in the reddest state in America, in the wilderness, and Rachel is coming to see us.

When it was first announced, I asked Jeff Martin—if not for him, there’s no Booksmart Tulsa, no Magic City Books, no Rachel, for that matter—if I could introduce her.

He had a better idea.

“Why don’t you do some comedy beforehand? Fracking can be a pretty dry topic.”

“Standup? They’ll never go for it,” I say, thinking of Maddow’s people.

They went for it—or didn’t care one way or the other.

I write about politics, but I’m also a comedian. The two don’t always align. Writing is a monologue; comedy a dialogue. Preaching to the choir is easier than making it laugh.

I went to Michaels earlier in the week and bought a Styrofoam ball so I could recreate the moment Senator Jim Inhofe brought a snowball on to the senate floor to disprove global warming. I show Jeff the “snowball.” He laughs. He introduces me to Rachel’s literary agent and asks me to show it to her. She laughs, too, but not as hard.

I was going to open with it, but this morning, Trump called Senator Mitt Romney a “pompous ass”—I have to mention that first.

George Kaiser just walked to the VIP seats with a small party.

They are now being led back stage.

Maddow is undoubtedly in the Green Room.

I take a walk, circling the venue. It’s fi lling up.

“Start in about 10 minutes?”

Jeff asks, as I return to the side of the stage.

“Sure.”

A friend sends me a message that she’s excited to see Rachel.

I text her back that she’s going to see me, too.

NO WAY! She texts back.

“Ready?” Jeff asks.

“Yeah.”

He walks to the stage and gets a nice ovation. He talks of upcoming events and how excited he is, and then mentions how I’m a local political pundit. Local is an awful modifier.

“Please welcome Barry Friedman,” he says.

As I climb the stairs, I remember the two greatest pieces of advice I ever received: Tell some truth. Don’t suck.

Jeff and I shake hands. I put down my index cards, fake snow-

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

Members of the crowd at Rachel Maddow’s show hold up her latest book, Blowout. | CHRISTOPHER CREESE

ball, and look out at the crowd. I thank Jeff for setting this up, for Jeff for being Jeff, and then thank everyone for coming, especially those from midtown who have never been south of 51st Street.

I look at the snowball.

Not yet, I tell myself.

“Did you read that Donald Trump called Mitt Romney a pompous ass today? Astonishing, isn’t it, for how often do you find yourself in agreement with Donald Trump?”

I think I hear the crowd roar.

This is not going to suck tonight.

Now! I pick up the snowball and show it to the crowd.

“Oh, yeah, I brought this. Just in case any of you were wondering how early in the show I was going to do an obligatory Jim Inhofe reference.”

The crowd responds more like Jeff did than the agent.

“I got this at Hobby Lobby.

Four ninety-five it cost me. I was like, ‘Jesus!’ which I have to tell you is not what you want to be yelling out at Hobby Lobby.

People dropping to their knees, waiting for the rapture, while I’m waiting for an assistant manager to do a price check.”

Some truth. The only part of that that’s true is that was $4.95.

The joke wasn’t written until I said it.

Something tells me the sound in the arena is not good, for I see people straining to hear. Nothing I can do about it. If I stop and address it, ask about, commiserate with them about it, I kill my own energy. I am a guest here.

I do a joke about not going to the State Fair because I forgot to get a tetanus shot, and then one about Oktoberfest and how, for Jews, groups of Germans under a tent drinking beer is a tough sell.

Then this: “A guy came up to me once at a show and said, ‘You Jews killed our Lord.’ Look, we didn’t. And even if we did, he came back, so, in my book, no foul.”

None of this is sucking.

The crowd is with me but I need to stop talking about religion. Just then I see George Kaiser walk through the curtains from backstage and to his seat.

“Ladies and gentlemen, there’s Oklahoma’s oil man George Kaiser, who just went back to see Rachel.”

I want to do a kidnapping joke at that moment, but what if Kaiser has no sense of humor?

Wait … what do I care if he has a sense of humor?

“Actually the last anyone saw of Rachel, George was having her bound and gagged and thrown into the back of a waiting van.”

I can’t see if he’s laughing, but everyone else is.

It feels like I’ve been on 10 minutes. Two more quick jokes: The first one about Oklahoman Ayn Robbins, who co-wrote (I make sure to emphasize co-) “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from Rocky, which has like three words; the second about Carrie Underwood, Oklahoma’s American Idol winner, who received hundreds of thousands of votes the last night of the competition because Oklahoman had plenty of

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

free time to call in while the meth was cooking.

I think I got every joke in I wanted. I glance backstage. No sign of Rachel, which means she hasn’t seen or heard any of this.

I’m not getting on the show.

The universe is an ass.

I close with this: “Pete Seeger once said, ‘I’m not sure my participation in a benefit cause, march, or demonstration has been effective, but I can tell you one thing: being involved in these kinds of issues means that you’re involved with the good people with live hearts, live eyes and live heads.’”

Applause.

“So, if this all goes to shit next November—and it probably will—we’ll have each other. Well, we’ll have each other north of 51st. Good night. Enjoy Rachel.”

Jeff comes to the stage to thank me. Still no sign of Rachel.

I go sit in the front row in a seat reserved for me. After more announcements, Jeff brings out Rachel, who is on crutches, due to a broken ankle. She comes to the stage. Standing ovation. She talks about the book and Russian oligarchs. Thirty minutes or so in, she and Jeff move to the chairs set on stage, where he does a masterful job of interviewing her.

She talks about how Oklahoma democracy stopped the excesses of fracking and how motivated and touched she is by how our democracy worked. She asks us all to meet one another, make connection with each other.

She gets up, hugs Jeff, and carefully makes her way down the steps. The crowd erupts, as it should. She was mesmerizing. I wait a moment before heading to the Green Room. No Rachel. I walk the hallways. No Rachel.

I see Jeff.

“She’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“Left right after the show.”

Perfect.

I head back to my seat and see Kaiser, who has his hand outstretched, in the row behind me.

“Great show, Barry. Very funny. Even though a lot of it wasn’t funny funny. Biting. But it was funny.”

This makes me smile. Aside from everything else, it hits me at this moment: I had a better seat than George Kaiser. a

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Tim Shadley Quartet October 16

Shelby Eicher October 17

Grady Nichols October 18

Jenny Scheinman & Allison Miller’s PARLOUR GAME October 19

Steve Gunn October 20

Stephanie Oliver * Ladies Night * Ladies get in free October 23

Jon Rudnitsky Comedy October 24

Spunk Adams October 25

Annie Ellicott * Halloween Special * With costume contest October 26

Michael Engdahl October 30

Crystal Williams November 1

NEWS & COMMENTARY // 9

statewide

Undocumented, unafraid Dream Alliance Oklahoma celebrates ‘10 years of resilience’

by JESSICA VAZQUEZ

B

eing undocumented comes with a lot of baggage—fear, anxiety, chronic stress, trauma—but one of the biggest burdens is shame.

After spending most of his life hiding his immigration status from the world, Ivan Godinez Reyes found a place where he felt safe talking openly about his status. Safe enough that he eventually became one of the first Oklahomans to come out publicly as undocumented.

Just two years after Oklahoma passed what was at the time the harshest anti-immigrant law in the nation, HB 1804, he met the students who would establish DREAM Act Oklahoma (DAOK), an organization that is now an unapologetic voice for undocumented immigrants in the state.

“It was not very organized, but it was a lot of people who just wanted to do something,” Godinez Reyes said of those early years. “The fact that we’re still around is a huge accomplishment, especially in a state that does not welcome the kind of activism we bring and the kind of people we are.”

DAOK was born out of the Hispanic Student Association (HSA) at Tulsa Community College at a time when states were racing to see who could pass the most aggressive immigration law.

This year, the organization is celebrating their 10-year anniversary in Oklahoma City with a gala themed “10 Years of Resilience.”

“What’s happening now, we would have never thought that it could happen back then.

Talk about a rally at Fort Sill—I would have never expected that,” Godinez Reyes said, referring to DAOK OKC’s recent action against the detention of migrant

10 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

undocumented students at the time did not share their immigration status with friends or teachers. Some actively tried to hide it.

“Just the thought of talking about my status felt taboo,” Godinez Reyes said. “I tried to avoid it as much as possible.”

DREAM Act Oklahoma is celebrating 10 years of advocacy for immigrants in Oklahoma. | COURTESY

children, which brought together more than 400 people. “I would have expected 50 people max back in the day.”

Before DAOK, even some of Godinez Reyes’s closest friends didn’t know he was undocumented. Once at an HSA meeting, he listened carefully as his friends presented information on scholarships and financial assistance, excited to share valuable resources with their peers. When they offered sign-up forms and flyers, Godinez Reyes politely declined and left empty-handed. And he wasn’t the only one.

Kasey Hughart and Tracey Medina, the HSA executive

officers at the time, took notice.

They didn’t understand why students were turning down needed resources, but they soon learned some of their classmates did not have social security numbers, which meant they were undocumented. The absence of a ninedigit number locked their friends out of countless opportunities, inside and outside the classroom.

That was one barrier. Another: They didn’t know which of their friends were undocumented. In the early 2000s, before the youthled immigrant rights movement arrived to Oklahoma, there was a strong culture of secrecy and shame. Raised in fear, many

After they formed DAOK, Medina learned for the fi rst time that some of her friends—several of whom she had known for years—were also undocumented.

This included her best friend from Pre-K who, like many others, didn’t feel safe coming out until DAOK gave them a space of support.

In its early years, DAOK’s main focus was advocating for the DREAM Act and providing resources for undocumented college students. The group made multiple trips to DC to lobby for the bill, packed like sardines in vans with strangers from Texas who would become family before they even made it to their destination. For many of the students who made these 24+ hour drives to the nation’s Capital, the trips were transformative.

“It changed my life because that was the fi rst time that I met so many people from different places going through the same thing that I was going through,” Godinez Reyes said about his fi rst trip to DC in 2010.

It was during this first trip that Godinez Reyes found what he calls his “unapologetic and unafraid” voice. Surrounded by other youth who shared his struggle, he was in awe of their courage and boldness. They were not just lobbying for a bill. They were sharing their stories and demand-

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

ing dignity and respect as human beings. Godinez Reyes remembers how, on his first day lobbying at Capitol Hill, a 17-year-old high school student from Kansas showed them the ropes.

“She was probably the youngest of all of us and she was at the front, leading, demanding meetings—being assertive but not rude.

I was amazed that she had the confidence and passion to do that, and I’m here in my early 20s being afraid,” Godinez Reyes said.

“It was one of the first times I realized: ‘You have to do more.

You can do more. You no longer have to wait for things to happen and watch the news and see if the Dream Act passed.’”

Just weeks after Godinez Reyes returned home, the DREAM Act was brought to the Senate floor and failed by five votes. Several DAOK members, including Medina, were inside the Senate chambers when the bill died.

“It was the most terrible feeling ever. It was heartbreaking. I remember calling some of our Oklahoma people who were gathered to watch the vote on TV,” Medina said. “I remember calling them because I was in DC and just apologizing … It was a tough feeling to fail after trying so hard.”

Nonetheless, the fire inside Godinez Reyes was already lit and he threw himself fully at DAOK. They continued to hold small protests and banner drops to energize their volunteers and attract media attention, but as they worked to raise awareness around immigration issues, he and other members realized something was missing from the narrative: their stories.

“At the time, our advisers and those around us would advise against it. Obviously, they were afraid that something would happen to us,” Godinez Reyes said about his decision to share his immigration status in the media.

“But after coming back from that trip, it was kind of like, ‘It’s okay to be afraid, but you also have to come out. People have to know who you really are.’”

Although sharing his undocumented story publicly did not change any laws, it did make big

waves within the immigrant community in Oklahoma. Soon after, other activists in Tulsa and Oklahoma City began speaking openly about being undocumented and calling for change. As this happened, more and more students became interested in the organization and gravitated towards the safe spaces they created.

In addition to lobbying for national legislation in its early years, the organization was also active at the state legislature where anti-immigrant bills were still being introduced regularly. Most notably, when state Democrats in 2013 proposed a bill to limit in-state tuition to U.S. Citizens, the organization mobilized at the state Capitol and engaged students in Oklahoma City to defeat the bill. The organization regularly held community forums to discuss immigration bills and alleviate the community’s fear over potentially dangerous legislation.

In 2011, the organization established a chapter in Oklahoma City and Norman.

Although the Norman chapter was only active for a couple of years, DAOK still has a strong presence in OKC. Today, the organizations in Tulsa and OKC collaborate on projects but operate as separate organizations.

Since 2009, the organizations have expanded their focus from helping undocumented college students to advocating for all immigrants and speaking out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As the needs of their local communities evolved, so too have their work and mission. In Tulsa, DAOK has been working to end Tulsa County’s 287(g) contract with ICE. In Oklahoma City, the organization has been bringing to light how the Oklahoma City Police Department collaborates with ICE even without a 287(g) contract.

In recent years, the organizations replaced the term “DREAM Act” in their name to reflect their expanded mission. Currently, the organizations exist with different names: Dream Alliance Oklahoma in Tulsa and Dream Action Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

Nevertheless, they remain united in their mission to be an outspoken, unapologetic voice for a long-silenced population. a

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

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12 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

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With time, care and the help of experts, even a greenhorn can grow Oklahoma’s new favorite crop.

GREG BOLLINGER

PERSONAL GROWTH An introduction to cultivating your own cannabis

WHEN STATE QUESTION 788 PASSED, it became legal for cannabis patients to have up to six adult plants in their home.

But cultivating cannabis is no easy task.

While cannabis is a weed (and grows like one), best results come from carefully managing your plants’ environment.

Jesse Sims started using marijuana to manage his pain without opioids and eventually began growing it. Now he works in Tulsa as a home grow consultant, helping cannabis patients grow their own medicine.

His first piece of advice: Don’t go into it without research.

“You’ll probably want to do a little reading first,” Sims said. “It’s just not your typical plant.”

In the wild, cannabis tends to grow tall with lots of leaves and relatively small buds. By managing a plant’s soil content, water level and light exposure, growers can cause their plants to stay short and produce fewer leaves, reserving the plant’s energy for producing more of the much sought-after buds.

Most growers operate inside where it’s easier to control the plants’ environment.

While it is possible to grow pot in the unaltered Oklahoma climate, our unpredictable weather can severely hamper plant development. Sims says he has a few plants outside, but the recent humidity has kept them from reaching their full potential.

“They’re not finished and they’re not doing well because, well, the weather’s so weird. It’s too wet and it’s just not working,” Sims said. “But inside’s a different story.”

Still, growing cannabis inside requires a lot of time and energy. Carla Grogg is the owner of Grogg’s Green Barn, a gardening center in Tulsa. Her business hosts educational events for growers, and she’s had to learn a lot about cannabis in the last few years.

“I tell people [growing cannabis] can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be,” Grogg said.

Using living soil, rather than store bought potting soil, according to Grogg, can help those with busy schedules. It requires minimal input, rather than careful monitoring of soil nutrients like a commercial grower.

Growing indoors can be expensive as well. Grogg says a typical home grower can expect to spend about $1,000–1500 on equipment. However, one need not invest in a space-age aeroponics table to grow cannabis at home. “You can have one plant in a two-by-two tent. And I’m sure you could probably get that for $300 or $400,” Sims said.

Even experienced growers are still in the trial and error phase of their operations in Oklahoma. “The growers are, I hate to say it, but they’re going through hell this year,” Grogg said. “And some of them had great harvests, but they’ve had trial and error figuring this climate out.”

Growing cannabis is difficult, but it isn’t uncharted territory. With time, care and the help of experts, even a greenhorn can grow Oklahoma’s new favorite crop.

—FRASER KASTNER

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

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NEWS & COMMENTARY // 13

citybites

Autumn eats Scary-good menu items for fall

by TTV STAFF

T

he long, hot summer of 2019 is finally on its way out. That means cooler weather, stylish clothes and pumpkin spice everything, to name just a few. For Tulsa food freaks, it also means relishing the bounty of autumn through fall menus at your favorite local eateries. From Oktoberfest classics to elegant farm-to-table fare, you’ll find that perfect taste of the season at a Tulsa-area restaurant.

To help you get started on the journey to eat and drink your way across the city this fall, we’ve put together a quick-and-dirty guide to some of Tulsa’s most irresistible menu items of the season.

CURRIED PUMPKIN & COCONUT SOUP Grogg’s Green Barn 10105 E. 61st St. The Reserve at Grogg’s Green Barn hosts seasonal farm-to-table dinners with fresh organic ingredients carefully prepared by chef Andrew Donovan. But no need to reserve a chair for lunch, served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday– Thursday. The hearty curried pumpkin and coconut soup is the perfect primer for chilly weather, featuring shiso (a Japanese herb in the mint family) and a kick of chili oil. Pairs great with a Farmer’s Plate of country ham, white cheddar pimento cheese, deviled egg and garden pickles.

BASIC BECKY IMPERIAL STOUT Prairie Brewpub 223 N. Main St. Beer will always be the star of the show at Prairie Brewpub, and there are plenty of fall flavors in the tanks—like Basic Becky, a 14 // FOOD & DRINK

additions include the pumpkin cheesecake muffin and pumpkin QuikShake. If you can get over the inherent grossness of the word “snackle,” this seasonal gas station delicacy is what’s up.

THE MAPLE RIDGE Vintage Wine Bar 324 E. 1st St. Known for its impressive, globe-spanning collection of wines, Vintage Wine Bar is mixing it up this fall with a special cocktail sure to give you serious autumn vibes. The Maple Ridge is the perfect sip of the season with a balanced blend of bourbon, maple syrup, oloroso, chocolate and black walnut bitters. And with its gorgeous, ivy-accented patio in the heart of the Blue Dome District, Vintage Wine Bar is the ideal place to take advantage of the cooler weather while enjoying top-shelf libations.

CLOCKWISE: Grogg’s Green Barn’s Curried Pumpkin & Coconut Soup | GREG BOLLINGER; Esperance Bakery’s S’mores Croissant | GEORGIA BROOKS; Prairie Brewpub’s Basic Becky | GREG BOLLINGER

fudgy imperial stout with boat loads of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and coriander. But be sure to ask for a food menu when you saddle up to the bar.

Oktoberfest classics like freshbaked pretzels served with beer cheese and spicy mustard hit the bullseye for snacking essentials, and the maple pear salad is a nod to the season’s harvest with mixed greens, poached pears, toasted pecans, cranberries and fried goat cheese topped with maple vinaigrette.

PUMPKIN PRETZEL QuikTrip Multiple locations The Tulsa Voice office isn’t far from QuikTrip on Denver and 15th. This is convenient when our staff needs to gather tallboys for a cheap beer taste test, but it also means we eat more brisket tacos than any human being should.

Now, back for the third year, QT’s pumpkin pretzel is a soft doughy delight topped with cinnamon and sugar and stuffed with pumpkin spice fi lling. Other autumn

S’MORES CROISSANT Esperance Bakery 610 W. Main St., Jenks “If you bite into a croissant and you don’t make a mess, something is wrong.” That’s what Hope Alexander, owner and baker at Esperance Bakery, told TTV earlier this year when asked about the appropriate amount of butter for crafting her shop’s irresistibly flaky and crunchy croissant. Now she and her crew at Esperance are kicking things up a notch with gooey goodness of marshmallow and chocolate.

Boasting classic campfi re flavors, this s’mores croissant will have you ready to pack up your pup tent and light out for your favorite state park. a

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

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THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

FOOD & DRINK // 15

foodfiles

Holy diver

Seafood ‘evangelist’ Barton Seaver talks sustainability

by ANGELA EVANS

O

cean waters blanket 70 percent of the planet’s surface area and contain 97 percent of the Earth’s water supply—along with a multitude of fish, crustaceans and mollusks responsible for supplying billions of humans with nourishment.

That human element is upsetting the ocean’s inherent balance.

Barton Seaver, award-winning chef, cookbook author and selfdescribed “seafood evangelist,” is best known for picking up the mantle of seafood sustainability.

During the upcoming Seafood Party hosted by Heirloom Rustic Ales and Booksmart Tulsa on Oct. 27, Seaver will discuss the changing nature of seafood and how consumers can reverse the over-fishing trend simply by diversifying our eating habits.

“Not only is seafood a fascinating thing with which to cook, the narrative of how seafood connects us to our planet is as compelling from a human standpoint as it is from a culinary standpoint,” Seaver said. “Categorically, seafood as an ingredient is by far the most interesting of all to me, rivaled only by vegetables in terms of the breadth of diversity in character and culinary nuance, aroma, texture, taste, flavor.”

Despite the thousands of edible species in the ocean, consumers and the restaurant industry tend not to color outside the lines. As an “evangelist,” Seaver praises the range of seafood in his many cookbooks dedicated not only to recipes, but to the historical and geographical significance of each type of seafood.

“My last two books, The History of Seafood and The Joy of Seafood, really offer a concise narrative 16 // FOOD & DRINK

Chef and author Barton Seaver will be the guest of honor at Booksmart Tulsa and Heirloom Rustic Ale’s Seafood Party on Oct. 27. | COURTESY

about what all the different diversity represents from a culinary and cultural vantage point—what all these varieties mean to us as cooks and as citizens.”

In a restaurant industry that obsesses over the newest, rarest ingredient, the same enthusiasm for exploring alternative seafood is shockingly absent.

“It is odd that some will seek out some rare breed of tomato or heritage breed of pig, and yet when it comes to seafood, 90 percent of [what] we eat in this country come from only 10 species. Furthermore, 65 percent of what we eat only come from

three species—shrimp, tuna and salmon,” Seaver said.

The demand for such a narrow selection of seafood is creating disturbances not only in food supply, but economies upon which fishing depends. It also represents a senseless inflexibility on the part of restaurateurs and consumers.

“The way I look at it, if you say you like tuna, but only eat one species of tuna—only yellowfin or blue fin—it’s like saying you like pinot noir, but only like Meiomi,” Seaver said. “What about the rest of Sonoma or Napa or New Zealand? I mean, what about Burgundy?”

Seaver says “fish lost its identity” when large-scale industrial fishing developed in the 1950s and species-specific fishing was no longer en vogue. “As soon as seafood was cut into a rectangular brick, breaded, deep-fried and bathed in tartar sauce, it didn’t matter what that fish was. We lost our appreciation for whatever nuances and unique qualities each species offers,” Seaver said.

Seafood lovers have the power to help by exploring uncharted culinary waters.

“I like to ask people to think of seafood in culinary categories as opposed to being species-specific,” Seaver said. “If you like salmon, you also like all five wild varieties of salmon, and you probably also like arctic char and steelhead trout. This approach inspires confidence in seafood as a canon of cooking, not in terms of a species-by-species mentality.

As much as we have shirked the individual identities of seafood, I often say we sell the dish, not the fish.”

Chef Seaver will be the guest of honor for Heirloom Rustic Ale’s Seafood Party on October 27 from 3–6 p.m. at the Heirloom taproom located at 2113 E. Admiral Blvd. Seaver will give a brief presentation, and then will sign cookbooks and chat with guests about all things seafood. Two local chefs, Trey Winkle of Levain and Joel Bein from Rub, will be onsite selling fish and seafood dishes based on Seaver’s books.

And, of course, there will be an ocean of delicious brews flowing from Heirloom’s taps. The Seafood Party is free and open to the public. For more information, check out the event on Heirloom Rustic Ale’s Facebook page. a

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

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FOOD & DRINK // 17

The year 2019 has marked new and alarming milestones for humanity and the world, and the millennial generation doesn’t know where to turn in these trying times of climate change, ICE raids, political scandal and social media-induced ennui.

Beyond the heaviness of grandscale events outside of our individual control is the desire to grasp something tangible and gain a sense of power over the events of our own lives. Should we take the job we love and live with less, or go for the soul-crushing, high-salaried job in hopes of someday buying that house and the occasional avocado toast? Will we ever find love, get married and get grandma off our ass?

Should we, the conscious collective, end it all now, sell all our possessions and move to Thailand to teach English, or is there something our current challenge is trying to teach us, spiritually, that we’re missing?

Clearly, we’re looking to find the answer—the psychic services industry is worth $2 billion, growing steadily at 2 percent each year and becoming synonymous with wellness. No wonder the creators of the Motherpeace Tarot deck, a deck created almost 50 years ago, saw a 268 percent increase in sales in 2018.

We’re charging our crystals, calculating our birth charts and looking for the answers in the cards.

Trends and Traditions

In the cards Exploring alt-spirituality in Tulsa

By Alexandra Robinson ★ photos by joseph rushmore

18 // FEATURED

“My theory is that there’s truth in all forms of faith,” said Teresa Rose Hunt as we sat down to talk at her metaphysical shop, Spiritual Rose, in Midtown. We discussed her journey of becoming a fixture in Tulsa’s tarot and psychic scene over a few old decks of tarot cards topped with a clear crystal called Selenite for cleansing and protection. Teresa has been practicing magic, offering intuitive services and reading tarot for more than 30 years and has the wisdom to show for it: “You just have to look past the human ego we place in [that faith] to get to the truths.”

Hunt’s store is neatly organized with bins of tumbled and natural crystals, shelves of tarot decks, moon elixirs, holy water and potions. It contains ubiquitous beauty products like bath bombs and lotions among stacks of spell books and “tarot bibles,” and in the middle of the store is a room where Hunt offers tarot readings, palmistry readings, psychic readings, reiki healings, Akashic healing and more.

I ask her about the cultural moment these alt-spiritual practices are currently having. Tarot is practically mainstream, and one need only peruse Goop. com’s selection of “love potions” to see capitalism’s hold or search through any number of astrology and divination-dedicated Instagram accounts to discover the depth of impact this witchy zeitgeist has on the millennial generation.

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

(LEFT) Teresa Rose Hunt does tarot readings, palmistry readings, psychic readings, healings and more at her Midtown shop Spiritual Rose.

(BELOW RIGHT) Katy Bruce teaches tarot and jewelry-making community classes through her Instagram @prism_portal.

A Community for All “There is that new-age trendiness to it, but I feel like that’s just getting them in the door,” Hunt said. “And once they start educating themselves and talking to some of us old crones, they realize there’s so much more to it, something so much deeper. It’s one of the most openhearted, open-minded and loving groups of people you will ever meet. We care about the earth. We care about each other. We care about the planet, the solar system, everything. And we know that you’re just as valuable as I am, and we honor that.”

‘You’ll Believe [Godexx] is a Woman’

Cartomancy, or divination with cards, found its roots in 14th century Europe.

Historians believe the tarot originated in Islamic societies and was not used for divination, but simply as a deck of playing cards. It wasn’t until the 1700s that occult followers in England and France discovered the cards and adopted them as a divination tool. The Rider Waite Tarot Deck—which is considered by many to be the so-called “ur-deck” and uses cis-gendered archetypes which include kings, queens, priests, and priestesses—was first published in 1909. Today, there are as many difTHE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

ferent decks as there are tarot readers: decks that are inclusive; decks that use animals; decks that do not use living creatures in their depictions at all.

Though interest in alternative forms of spirituality are on the rise with many people exploring ancient pagan traditions of the world, the tarot, witchcraft, Wicca, astrology and other “New Age” spaces, there is skepticism in equal measure. This insistence on a strict adherence to rationality, science or patriarchal religion, it can be argued, is just that: patriarchal.

Indeed, women are twice as likely to seek psychic services as men. While the “witchy” movement is a space occupied by all genders and all kinds of people, those leading the way in its current resurgence are women, queer people, and those beyond the binary. As Sady Doyle of The Guardian puts it, “Embracing the witchiness, deciding you can know something about your life by looking at tarot cards and listening to your hunches, or trying to affect a situation by focusing your will on it, might be just a process by which women can come to trust themselves.” And that concept leaves the powers-that-be nervous.

Tulsa artist, teacher and tarot

reader Katy Bruce echoes Doyle’s sentiment. “A lot of people have been oppressed for a long time, and we’re trying to figure out how to liberate ourselves and each other,” she said on her way to pop up at an art market. Her business, which she runs via her Instagram @prism_portal and by teaching tarot and jewelry-making community classes and giving readings, is centered on the tarot-inspired jewelry she creates.

“I feel like that goes hand-in-hand with tarot because it gives us the power to have our connection with god or the higher being,” Bruce said. “We don’t have to go through the church. We don’t have to go through the patriarchal structures. We can have the direct connection. It’s empowering the sacred feminine and the different sacred spiritual energies and integrating them further into our society, which I think is necessary to get to the more balanced, matriarchal-type of society.”

Bruce went on to explain that the tarot is inclusive to all genders, a yinyang if you will; it includes the masculine and feminine energies that make up every living person. The cards are a tool to help us to connect with those energies within us at any given time.

A lifelong Californian, Vedic astrologer Lynn Bootes moved to Tulsa with her husband, an Oklahoma native, eight years ago. She found her new spiritual community here through Peace of Mind bookstore, where she regularly offers astrological readings to clients.

“I’m not surprised that there’s more interest [in alternative forms of spirituality] because we’re facing a lot of existential crises,” she said. “In the last year or so, we have been in a phase where most of the visible planets have been in one part of the sky… and when that happens, I call it the ‘Spin Cycle Out-of-Balance Phenomenon’—like when you wash a heavy, old rug in the washing machine and, in this process, it ends up loudly ‘thunking’ during its spin-cycle. It’s a loud, painful-sounding, and awkward moment in the process of becoming clean.”

Whatever the planets’ current alignment means for us in this moment, the community in Tulsa is here to offer spiritual support. Lynn re-settled in Tulsa eight years ago, a decision that was obvious to her after finding the community here so vibrant.

“There’s an awful lot going on and it’s way bigger than people think it is,” she said. “People say, ‘Oh, well this is the Bible Belt,’ but it’s fascinating, the strength of the undercurrent of alternative spirituality in Tulsa.” a FEATURED // 19

S E A S ON OF T H E W IT C H SAMHAIN CELEBR ATES THE THIN VEIL BETWEEN THE LIVING AND DEAD

BY CYDNEY BARON

W

itches and broomsticks go together like—well, witches and broomsticks.

Cackling around a cauldron, black hat-clad and broomstick in hand, Tulsa area witches brought lore to life on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Pagan Pride Day Festival—starting with a dance.

The choreographed spectacle originated with the women of Wolfshäger Hexenbrut (The Wolf Hunter’s Coven) in Germany, who perform a celebratory dance every year. It became a viral sensation when they paired it with the song “Schuttel deinen Speck,” a German reggae pop hit. Since then, the dance has been picked up by covens and pagans around the world, usually around Halloween, which is how it came to be performed at the Tulsa Pagan Pride event.

When the idea of performing the witch dance at this year’s event was proposed, event organizer Renee Walker instantly thought of a local practitioner

20 // FEATURED

named Kree to lead it. Kree had practiced in solitude for 20 years, but has recently gotten involved in the Tulsa pagan community. She was happy to oblige.

“To me this dance is just being able to have fun and laugh at ourselves and express ourselves in a way that people wouldn’t expect witches or pagans to do,” Kree said. “It’s being able to have joy and share that joy with others. I understand it could be seen as perpetuating that old crone witch stereotype, with the green skin and the warts, but that’s not what it is for us … I think for us it’s just celebrating what we are— what we’ve been.”

This is, after all, the season of the witch, she said.

Bridget, local mom and business owner, is another Tulsa witch relishing in the season. (Her last name is being withheld, since she’s not fully “out of the broom closet.”) Like many others, she will be celebrating Samhain when Oct. 31 rolls around, the third and final

fall harvest of the year.

“I love Samhain. It’s beautiful. It’s the witch’s new year, which is very fitting. It’s a visual representation of what’s going on inside everyone this time of year. We’re all losing our leaves and becoming more withdrawn so we can bloom and blossom in the spring,” she said.

“Samhain is a time to honor your deceased ancestors and to be grateful and show gratitude for everything they’ve helped you with throughout the year,” Bridget continued. “It’s a time to set out a table for them, a time to include them in your meals, a time to make it all about your ancestors who have passed on, especially those you have lost that year or who are your spiritual guidance throughout the year. It’s a way of giving back and giving thanks to them.”

She said Samhain at her house is a three-day affair with a ceremonial bonfire, a decadent feast and plenty of apple cider. “We set a place at October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

Tulsa area witches brought lore to life on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Pagan Pride Day Festival—starting with a dance. | NICOLE DONIS

the table for past loved ones. We set a place to honor my maternal grandmother … We put out pictures and meaningful memorabilia to honor her and those we don’t know are present.

We give offerings to them in the form of food, gifts from nature—pinecones, acorns, leaves.”

Bridget also explained how the month-long preparation for Samhain differs from Halloween. “It’s very meditative. It’s a lot more connecting with the spiritual realm. You can feel, as Samhain approaches, the veil thins and you are able to feel and communicate with your ancestors in the clearest way possible and that’s what makes it so beautiful,” she said.

“It shows you that there is only a thin veil between us and them … between life and death, and that we are all still connected on this earth. No matter if we’re living or dead, we’re all a part of this divine circle.”

While she celebrates Samhain, she sees the fun in Halloween. “Halloween THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

is great. It all comes from pagan customs. It’s the one day of the year that everybody gets spooky—not just us. As a Pagan, it’s the day here in the Bible Belt, where I fit in the most,” she said.

The original intention of spooky costumes, she explained, was to hide children from ghouls and ghosts by disguising them as one. “I only wish kids’ costumes didn’t cover their faces … ancestors want to see them. They can finally come. Great-great-great grandma can come see what greatgreat-great grandbaby is up to. They want to gaze on their beautiful faces.”

Sydney has been a practicing witch for about seven years and said she always looks forward to this season.

“This is the witch’s new year, where the colors of summer slowly turn to the cool darkness of winter.

It’s the time of death, but it’s not as scary as it sounds. Death is simply rebirth. It’s renewal, a new you,” she said. “This is when the goddess takes her long winter nap and the god of

winter comes and protects the earth she sleeps in. It’s a time for us to have fresh new starts and remember the loved ones and past ancestors we may not know. The veil is the thinnest during this time because of the transition of summer life to winter death.”

For Sydney, the celebration lasts a week and culminates in a feast for the whole family, both living and dead, on Oct. 31. She sets up an alter with offerings for relatives who have passed and lights candles for them, singing: Oh little flame that burns so bright, be a beacon in this night.

Light the path for all the dead that they may now see what’s up ahead.

And lead them to the Summerland and shine until pan takes their hands.

And with your light please bring them peace, so that they may rest and sleep with ease.

“Then once we get closer to the actual night, we make a big meal and set a place at the table for the ancestors we want to join,” Sydney said. “The food is all harvested from the garden, the last harvest. I serve apple cider. I bake some breads and pies, make a big meal—sometimes a roast or a hearty stew. I use a lot of herbs from our garden and decorate a lot with pinecones. Sometimes we gather the rest of our dried grass and flowers from the yard and make a little doll to put on the table for the dinner.”

After the meal, the doll is burned outside in a bonfire ritual. Sydney thanks her ancestors for joining them.

But this ritual, this season, is about more than honoring the dead. It’s about forging a new path ahead for the living.

“You write down all the old habits you wish to release and put them in the fire and watch them burn away from you and this lifetime. New start. New beginning. New year.” a FEATURED // 21

THE SPOOKY-COOL CREATIONS OF LOCAL ARTIST STEPHANIE BAYLES

BY BLAYKLEE FREED

THE ARTISTS IN STEPHANIE BAYLES’ FAMILY GO BACK GENERATIONS. In fact, she’s currently looking for the right spot to hang the fine, intricate illustrations from her great grandmother at her new garage apartment.

Bayles is an artist like her great grandmother and her two grandfathers.

“Ever since I was little, I was always drawing,” she says. “My family’s really artistic, so it was in my blood, you know?”

But even with the right genes, she’s overcome her fair share of self-doubt.

“I kind of stopped for a little bit because I didn’t feel like an artist,” she says.

“I was really discouraged. But I had ... a teacher [in high school] who was just kind of—he didn’t make me feel bad about what I was doing. He just really encouraged me. And then I was like, ‘OK, maybe I can do this.’”

She participated in a tech program in high school that gave her foundations for graphic design and rounded out her education with an art degree from Tulsa Community College. Now she shares her work with more than 47,000 followers on Instagram.

Inked images depict conjurings from her head—detailed houses she’s dreamt up, little ghoulish creatures that creep into peripheral view when you’re falling asleep. The spooky illustrations float between eerie and sweet, the perfect combination for Halloween.

“I’ve always just been a fan of really creepy things,” Bayles says.

“Halloween is my favorite season. Ever since I was little, I was just drawn to kind of dark things. I don’t know why.” That’s why Bayles was the ideal choice to illustrate the cover of this issue of The Tulsa Voice.

For her, drawing is intuitive. It’s less about technique and more about instinct. “I’ll have an idea or emotion and I’ll start sketching ... adding to it whatever I feel like it needs at the time,” Bayles says. “I’m not really thinking too much about the mechanics. I’m just thinking of emotions and feelings. And then it just comes out that way.”

Just in time for Inktober, Bayles broke down some of her major themes and inspirations for Tulsa Voice readers. Find out what makes this one-of-a-kind local artist tick, and follow her work at @guild_of_calamity. a

Grandpa’s camera

“Both my grandfathers were photographers. So I still have some of their cameras. And I used to shoot with them when I was in college.”

22 // FEATURED

Home

“I’m really inspired by nature. I love nature. Have you ever heard of earthships? There are these houses that they build out of recyclable materials, but it’s kind of like a living house. There’s gardens inside and they recycle their own water and everything. So I was really interested in going back into nature and being sustained off just your house and the environment within.

“I’m obsessed with houses … Finding a purpose or a place to belong.”

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

Fresh ink

Just last week Bayles’ cousin texted her a picture of a fresh tattoo of this piece. Sometimes it still surprises her that people like her work enough to get it permanently inked on their bodies. She doesn’t mind if you use her artwork for a tattoo as long as you credit her if you post a picture on social media.

“I’m not really in for the money. If someone likes my work, that’s awesome.

You want to get it on your skin? That’s cool.”

jack and Lola

Spooky-cute

Bayles has been drawing this dynamic duo since she was in high school. “I made a whole story about them,” she says. “It’s Jack and Lola, and they’re haunting this house. They’re just always up to no good.” She hopes to do something else with these characters in the future, like possibly featuring them in a graphic novel.

“That’s how I feel about myself,” Bayles says. “People ... a lot of times misinterpret me. And I’m just like, I’m not mean, I’m just misunderstood [laughs].”

These creatures are ghoulified versions of everyday objects. “I believe that everything has a spirit or an emotion behind it,” she says. “Like a house: It’s not just walls.

It actually has memories and things attached to it. So I often think, what if that spirit manifested, what would it look like?”

Mental health

Pendants

Curiology Ltd., a jeweler from the UK, contacted Bayles for a collaboration project. “[They] wanted to do limitededition Halloween jewelry using some of my designs, so they made them and send them to me.” The pendants are for sale online at curiology.uk.

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

Last summer, Bayles experienced a mental health crisis. “Previous to that, I was telling people how down I was and just like, not in a good place. And all I kept hearing was just, ‘Oh, no, you’re just an alcoholic’ or ‘Just be happy.’ When I was in the hospital, the only thing I had to do really was sketch,” Bayles says.

“I’ve been around so many people in my past that [said] don’t talk about that. You have to put on this face and be happy. And I hit a wall or some type or realization a few years ago like, no, I’m not going to pretend to be this happy person. I’m just going to be me. I’m going to put it all out there.”

FEATURED // 23

spooked

T

here’s no doubt Tulsa has a dark history. From the horrors of the 1921 Race Massacre to disturbing tales of hypnotized basement prisoners, bloodthirsty lynch mobs and psychotic murderers, ugly tragedies lurk beneath the surface of our beautiful city.

All this tragedy makes Tulsa ripe with paranormal activity, according to longtime paranormal investigator Teri French. Lauded for her storytelling abilities, French combined her natural talent with her passion for the paranormal to launch Tulsa Spirit Tours. Now in its 16th year, the tours take guests all around Tulsa to hear history, ghost stories and firsthand accounts of French’s paranormal encounters at Tulsa landmarks.

BRADY THEATER

tour, but once it wouldn’t start back up. While they struggled to get the bus going, one of the guests—who said she called Smith a “bitch” during the tour— exclaimed, “I’m sorry Carolann!”

Right after the apology, according to French, the bus started with no problem. “So we don’t shut the bus off there anymore,” she said.

THE GILCREASE HOME

The Brady Theater at 105 W. M.B. Brady St. in 1917 | COURTESY BERYL FORD COLLECTION/ROTARY CLUB OF TULSA, TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY AND TULSA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

GHOST TOWN Tulsa Spirit Tours tell the haunted history behind local landmarks

“Most of our tours start [here],” guide Chrissy Rust said. To tell the story of this haunted hotspot, Rust focuses on three key events: the death of Enrico Caruso, a performer who reportedly caught a cold at the theater which eventually killed him; a stagehand who fell to his gruesome death; and the theater’s history as an improvised concentration camp during the 1921 Race Massacre.

Unexplained sounds and eerie sensations have been reported in the 105-year-old theater. Is it the ghost of the Italian tenor Caruso? The victims of a grave historical injustice? Tag along with Rust to see why this is one of the most historical and haunted sites in Tulsa.

open and after hours. The staff have had countless encounters with paranormal activity,” Rust said. “We stop there in our pub crawl, and the bathrooms give us a lot of current stories.”

The Hunt Club has lived many lives. It was once The Regal Bar, adjacent to The Regal Hotel (now The Vanguard), then a mercantile.

Next, it was The Playboy Sandwich and Candy Shop, which Rust said was less of a candy store and more of a brothel—making it a prime candidate for a more “spirited” crowd. Just be sure to bring a bathroom buddy.

THE HUNT CLUB

THE HEX HOUSE

Another one of Rust’s favorite tour stops may also be your favorite drink stop. “[The Hunt Club] is a very active pub both when it’s 24 // ARTS & CULTURE

by KYRA BRUCE

Don’t get it twisted. This isn’t the haunted house attraction in Sapulpa—this Hex House is the real deal. It was once the home

of Carolann Smith, who kept two women as prisoners in her basement for seven years. Smith “hypnotized and mesmerized” her victims, according to firsthand reports, and assured them they would be rewarded in heaven for giving her paychecks from their day jobs. The women stayed in Smith’s unheated basement with nothing but wooden crates to sleep on while their captor lived in luxury above them.

Smith was eventually arrested for ration fraud after ordering a wartime ration book for her dog.

The prisoners were freed and the house was torn down, leaving only the basement, which was soon paved over and turned into a parking lot.

French said they used to turn the bus off at this stop on the

French is no stranger to paranormal happenings. She has investigated several Tulsa landmarks and come away with some chilling stories, but one stands out from the others. “The Gilcrease Home is my most memorable investigation,” she said.

That night, French and her team heard loud bangs coming from one room, but when they went to investigate, the sound moved to another room. “I’m not trying to chase you,” French pleaded with what she believes to be the spirit of Mr. Gilcrease. In response, an electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) recording shot back: I don’t care.

Later, French said, “I felt something swoosh up behind me and I heard very clearly a man say, You’ve worn out your welcome. All the hair on my body stood up.

As I went back to my crew, they were all packing up early because they were scared. They definitely wanted us out of that house.”

While the Tulsa Spirit Tours are replete with incredible ghost stories, French’s project is about more than a good scare. Her goal is to tell the unique history of Tulsa, warts and all. “We are doing this out of pure love for the history and ghost stories, and keeping them alive for future generations. We cover the not-so-pleasant history of Tulsa because it’s still our history, whether we like it or not.” a

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

SAT

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HOSTED BY SHANEL STERLING WITH DJ KONNECT

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NOVEMBER 1, 2019 5:00-11:00 PM LOCATION: This year the event will be held from Living Arts of Tulsa (307 E. Reconciliation Way), to Guthrie Green (111 E. Reconciliation Way).

FREE ADMISSION L iv ing A rt s o f T uls a w ill h av e A lta r s ( o f re nda s) , Fac e P a int in g, Su ga r S k ull Dec o ra t ing, Ch urr os , Da nc e Floor w i th DJ , a nd Ba rs .

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Email Contact: info@livingarts.org To find out more, please visit www.livingarts.org Visit our Facebook page @LivingArtsofTulsa!

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE // 25

bookworm

J

eanetta Calhoun Mish is the current Oklahoma State Poet Laureate, a two-year position she assumed in 2017.

The author of three collections of poetry and one book of essays, Mish currently travels the state teaching writing workshops and speaking about her craft. On Saturday, Oct. 19, she will participate in the Nimrod Conference for Readers and Writers on campus at the University of Tulsa.

MASON WHITEHORN POWELL: As Oklahoma’s Poet Laureate, could you talk about representing the state both as an individual and in your poems?

JEANETTA CALHOUN MISH: My family has been in Oklahoma, both sides of my family, since before statehood—both Native and non-Native. … For all its good and sometimes not-so-good, it’s still deeply my home. I breathe it. It runs in my blood. That’s the personal part.

And as a poet, one of the things I really like to let people know is how rich our literary heritage is.

I have a long ongoing research project into Oklahoma literary history, and now I’m partnering with a couple of people down at OU and we have a presentation, it’s called ‘Red Dust Poets.’ The first poem I found that was written about Oklahoma and written in the territories was back in the 1800s, so we’ve been doing this for a long time. People don’t associate Oklahoma with literature, and we have so much.

POWELL: Can you tell me about your poetic inspiration?

MISH: Most of my work is placebased. I grew up in Wewoka and spent the majority of my time at my grandparents’ farm out in the country, walking in the pasture with my grandpa, and so land and space and place and the culture and history—I’m not sure I could write without it. I told myself with my last book I was going to stop writing about Oklahoma and my family; that did not happen.

26 // ARTS & CULTURE

Oklahoma State Poet Laureate Jeanetta Calhoun Mish will participate in Nimrod Conference for Readers and Writers at the University of Tulsa. | GAY PASELY

Writing the Heartland

POWELL: Tell me about your teaching and speaking engagements.

Jeanetta Calhoun Mish on the poetry of home

by MASON WHITEHORN POWELL [Laughs.] There’s just so many stories to tell.

POWELL: Maybe you can help me settle a debate, or at least give your personal opinion: Is Oklahoma Midwestern, Southern, or Southwest?

MISH: Oh! Oklahoma is actually its own thing, but it’s definitely not Midwestern. Maybe in some of the wheat farming communities of northwestern Oklahoma, their culture seems to be a little more Midwestern. Where I’m from they used to call ‘Little Dixie.’ Down east of I-35 and south of I-40, that’s very much southern culture: southern food ways, mixes of southern people, Scots-Irish, African American, southern Natives.

MISH: It took me—I was 12—46 years to write that poem. It’s about the Girl Scout Murders, which I’m sure you’re aware of. I was at Campfire Camp and the backside of our camp at Fort Gibson butted up against the Girl Scout Camp.

They just brought the busses in and took everybody home. And there wasn’t cellphones or internet or anything, so we didn’t know what had happened until we got home. It was also a presente poem, like [Latinx communities] do for people who have passed. It’s to remind people these three girls were alive at some point.

I also think that event, those murders and the murders at Sirloin Stockade in the Summer of ‘78, I think those caused a very uncomfortable shift in the way Oklahoma thought about itself. It’s not like we never had crimes. It’s not like there weren’t murders. It’s not like there weren’t bad people, but those seemingly random acts of violence shoved us uncomfortably into a newer century and a newer understanding of what danger was.

I think they were really important to the Oklahoma psyche.

Of course, up here in the northeast a lot of the tribes originally were slaveholders—so there’s that part of southern culture—and fought for the confederacy. But my people’s language and food ways is definitely southern. I would say we’re our own thing, because people came from so many places.

Things are kind of smoothing out because the older language is being lost, the idiomatic language that I grew up with. People listen to TV now—I’m not going to make a judgment about that— although, I love the idiomatic language for my poetry. It’s intrinsically metaphorical.

POWELL: I was struck by your poem “That Summer…” How did that come about?

MISH: I love it. For one thing, I don’t take the highways. I roll my windows down and take the backroads and I catch poems all over the place. Everywhere I go, I’m so generously welcomed. I was in Hulbert yesterday, which is a tiny town due west of Tahlequah.

And I saw every single student from 7th grade to 12th grade, and we wrote poems together and they were fantastic, and every kid was engaged. … I am choosing schools that are number one, rural, because that almost always means underserved; and number two, that have high poverty levels.

I am going to be in schools next week that have poverty levels at 100 percent, and that’s what I chose, that’s what I want to do. … I’m hoping that poetry gives them a way when things are really bad—as it did for me—to put their feelings and thoughts in a way that helps them be resilient. a

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

FIRST FRIDAY

20 PERCENT OFF AT PREMIER TULSAAREA STORES. 10 PERCENT OFF FOOD, ANTIQUES AND FURNITURE.

OCT. 25– NOV. 3, 2019 BENEFITING FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES CARECARDOK.COM #CARECARDOK

OPEN STUDIOS // SARAH AHMAD

TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP OPEN STUDIOS // 6-9PM ARCHER STUDIOS // 109 N. MLK, JR. BLVD. E CAMERON STUDIOS // 303 N. MAIN ST.

Join us for open studios and engage with Tulsa Artist Fellows!

Artistic disciplines include photography, poetry, painting, sculpture, graphic novels, multimedia and more.

1326 E 3rd St | 918-592-3382 gardendeva.com

Face A Face Trunk Show Nov 1st & 2nd 2020 Utica Square | 918-743-6478 hicksbrunson.com

FIRST FRIDAY PROGRAMMING INCLUDES: ARCHER FIRST FLOOR LOBBY // SHAPESHIFTING: TOWARDS BEING SEEN // Curated by Atomic Culture featuring Artist Tamara Santibañez

ARCHER WINDOW INSTALLATION // RAFAEL CORZO

Organized by Julie Alpert Red Sculpture // Redhead with Fleckles or the Erotic Dreams at the Astral State Expanded (2019) Black Sculpture // Reflexion of Glory and the Historical Accumulate (2019) M E N S W E A R

THE FUTURE WITHOUT YOU Special Preview Performances // 7 & 8PM <<THE FUTURE WITHOUT YOU, directed by Carl

Antonowicz, is a live, staged reading of six science fiction stories by Ignatz-winning cartoonist Sophie Goldstein. The show makes its Tulsa debut October 24; 7PM at the Tulsa City-County Library’s Central Branch and stars Kara Bellavia, Javier Sagel and Tizzi.

THREADS O N

B O S T O N

3336 S. Peoria Ave. | 918-949-6950 208 N. Main St. | 918-398-6700 idaredgeneralstore.com

1701 S. Boston Ave. | 918-861-4994 threadsonboston.com

409 E. 1st St. | 918-382-PINT 7031 S. Zurich Ave. | 918-382-7468 mcnellies.com

South Lewis at 81st | 918-296-4100 TraversMahanApparel.com

NO COMPLY AT CAMERON // Organized by Eric Sall

No Comply at Cameron is a multifaceted event featuring an exhibition of original art inspired, influenced and made by more than 25 skateboarders past and present; a live skateboard demo and session in the Cameron parking lot (SHRED THE SHED!); live music and local skate video screenings.

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL. With the belief that arts are critical to the advancement of cultural citizenship, Tulsa Artist Fellowship supports both local and national artists while enriching the Tulsa community.

Find out more www.tulsaartistfellowship.org THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE // 27

onstage

From left: Actors Rick Luttrell, Jenn Thomas, Quinn Blakely, Andy Axewell, Courtney Meadows and Tim Hunter rehearse for The Deaths of Sibyl Bolton, | GREG BOLLINGER

True detectives

Theater activates history in a new play about the Osage murders

by ALICIA CHESSER ATKIN

H

ow can we know who we are if we don’t know the truth about those who came before us?

When Dennis McAuliffe Jr. published The Deaths of Sybil Bolton in 1994, the story of the murders of wealthy Osages in and around Pawhuska in the 1920s was largely unknown. It was certainly a mystery to McAuliffe, a Washington Post journalist who’d set out to investigate a conundrum in his own family: How did his grandmother, Sybil Bolton, really die? Kidney failure or a gunshot wound? Suicide or murder? He ended up unearthing a personal piece of American history that’s now coming into national consciousness thanks to new tellings and retellings, notably David Grann’s 2017 Killers of the Flower Moon (soon to be adapted for the screen by Martin Scorsese).

Playwright, director and Rogers State University professor David Blakely first talked with McAuliffe a decade ago about adapting his book into a play, and the idea came back to mind when Blakely became playwright-in-residence at Heller Theatre Company, a post he held until a few months ago. Expanded from his 2017 TATE Award-winning one-act Heller play “Four Ways to Die” (which McAuliffe and Grann both attended), the full-length work premieres Nov. 1 as The Deaths of Sybil Bolton.

28 // ARTS & CULTURE

“Blakely saw what no one else saw: that this story and the Osage Reign of Terror are meant for the stage,” McAuliffe said.

The play, which features eight actors (three of them Native) and a minimal set, doesn’t flinch from the theatrical challenge of portraying a history that layers facts and fictions like transparencies, some obscured and nearly wrecked by time. “Movies don’t do well going back and forth across generations,” McAuliffe said. “But on stage— I’ve learned thanks to Blakely— you can talk to people who’ve been dead for 60 years without being all M. Night Shyamalan.”

“The audience’s imagination is the special effect,” Blakely explained. “This story was written in 1994 and has since been updated, but it really starts back with Thomas Jefferson. So chronological order is not the way to tell it. The way is to bump into something and find out what it means, then bump into something else. We’re bringing the audience along on what is basically a detective story.”

The Deaths of Sybil Bolton tackles lies, thefts and erasures with both a micro and a macro lens. The main character Denny’s attempt to understand himself (Denny—a nickname for McAuliffe—is a hard-drinking Irish-American who’d only recently learned he was part Osage) overlaps with a search for the truth about what happened

in his family and those of the five dozen Osages killed for their land rights and inheritances. (“I look at playing Denny as really a member of the audience, since we are all learning as we go,” said actor Steve Barker, who also played the lead in the one-act version to the acclaim of McAuliffe and his family.)

“Where you see genius at work in Blakely’s writing is his explanation of Osage headrights and how that byzantine system of inheriting fractions of headrights—plus some crucial loopholes—all led to the murders,” McAuliffe said. “Only Osages fully understood how it worked. The killers also figured it out, and hid behind the details.

David makes it so visually understandable, I predict it will get ‘borrowed’ for the Scorsese movie.”

In his research and writing, Blakely “was adamant about being true to the story and the people,” McAuliffe said.

“This story is an Osage story and it’s for Osages,” Blakely said.

“But it is a story that needs to be told to white people. The shame that keeps his mother from telling stories about her Osage heritage is the same shame that white boys like me, or rather, not like me, continue to perpetuate—history being ‘our story’ in which we are the heroes.

“At the beginning of the play, it says history is a house made of stories. At the beginning, Denny’s house is a story that’s full of lies.

He’s trying to tell the story so we live in a house that’s full of truth.

I live in that house too.

“A playwright builds stories the same way an architect builds a building,” he continued. “This is a piece that starts as a thing in your brain and it ends up as a thing in your heart. My job is to bring all the strands together and convey them to the audience in a theatrical and emotional way, though it’s obviously a piece you’re supposed to think about.

“But it’s a piece where, when you think about it, you become outraged. I don’t know how we rally around it. But it’s our job to get the stories out there and help people walk in the world.”

McAuliffe agreed. “There’s an old saying in journalism: great stories bear repeating,” he said.

“The door is open—thanks to this play, and Grann’s book, and the upcoming movie—for more Osages to tell their Reign of Terror stories.

“I hope they do. Every family has a story. We need to hear them.” a

THE DEATHS OF SYBIL BOLTON Heller Theatre Company November 1, 2, 8, 9 at 7:30 p.m.

November 9, 10 at 2 p.m.

Lynn Riggs Theater at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center 621 E. 4th St. hellertheatreco.com/tickets

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

Chamber Music Tulsa presents

HARLEM

Quartet

WHAT THE BUTLER SAW

American Theatre Company October 18-26 CARMEN

Tulsa Opera October 25 & 27 LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Tulsa Project Theatre October 25 - November 3 GISELLE

Tulsa Ballet October 31 - November 3 BANDSTAND

Celebrity Attractions November 5

FRIDAY, NOV 8, 2019 DUET Jazz Club – 8 p.m.

LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE

World Stage Theatre Company November 7-17

This versatile and charismatic string quartet plays everything with panache! Hear works by Bolcom, Debussy, Gavilan, Gillespie, and Rodgers and Hart.

DRAGONS LOVE TACOS

Tulsa PAC Trust November 8

&

TULSAPAC.COM

/

918.596.7111

TICKETS INFO ChamberMusicTulsa.org

ALL EVENTS/DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

TULSA SMALL BUSINESS SUMMIT Presented by

Featuring a keynote presentation from

STACY BROWN Founder, Chicken Salad Chick THURSDAY, OCT. 24 7:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M.

Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center 6808 S. 107th E. Ave. | Tulsa, OK 74133

Learn more and purchase tickets at tulsasbc.com/summit

YOUR PARTNER IN PROSPERITY

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE // 29

HALLOWEEN HAPS Where to be on All Hallows’ Eve FAMILY FRIENDLY: THE CASTLE OF MUSKOGEE’S HAUNTED CASTLE HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL features several attractions ranging from kid-friendly to downright terrifying. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 26, prices vary.

THE TULSA BOTANIC GARDEN presents BOO-TANICAL a trick-or-treat party in the Children’s Discovery Garden! No scares, just fun! 10/31, 5 p.m.

Since your kids already love GATHERING PLACE, celebrate their favorite candy holiday at SWEETS AND TREATS. The playgrounds will be transformed into spooky wonderlands, and there will be plenty of candy to go around! 10/30, 10/31, 6 p.m.

Grab your kids and a blanket to see a double feature of CASPER AND GHOSTBUSTERS 2 at GATHERING PLACE! This is Gathering Place’s final movie night of the season so you won’t want to miss it! 10/25 MOTHER ROAD MARKET’S HALLOWEEN PARTY ON THE PATIO celebrates the season with trick-or-treating, a costume contest, Lyrical Sounds DJ and more! 10/30 Want to show off your furry friend’s costume? Animal Aid of Tulsa has just the thing for you! TRICKS FOR TREATS is a dog costume contest at NOTHING’S LEFT BREWERY with prizes for the first, second, and third place doggies! The ticket price includes a photo of your spooky pup, a beer and appetizer! 10/26, $25 RENAISSANCE BREWING COMPANY throws HALLOWEEN BREW BASH on Oct. 26. This party will feature a costume contest with prizes for the best adult and kid costume!

The TULSA KID’S CREEPY BREWERY CRAWL is a great way to celebrate with the whole family. Relax and have a beer while the kiddos trick or treat, get their spooky passports stamped at each location and do crafts! More than seven breweries are participating so there are plenty of choices! 10/23 THE BOXYARD will host their FALL FESTIVAL on Oct. 26. Bring the whole family to enjoy trick-or-treating, games with candy prizes, a corn hole tournament and NineOneSkate’s annual Halloween skate party!

HALLOWZOOEEN is the perfect stop for family fun! The Tulsa Zoo transforms into a spooky festival with haunted houses, candy stops, hay mazes, pirate ships, haunted trains and so much more! 10/26–10/31, $9 BROOKSIDE’S 29th annual BOHAHA will look a little different this year. They cut the parade and added entertainment zones to showcase businesses without having to close down the street! The event will still 30 // ARTS & CULTURE

be as fun as ever with trick-or-treating, kid’s zones, face painting, inflatables and more! 10/26 MOTHER ROAD MARKET hosts a KID’S HALLOWEEN PARTY where Chef Bill helps your children learn how to prep for their own party by creating healthy snacks, ghoulish desserts and practice some hands on creativity! 10/26, $25

NOT FOR KIDS: Rabbit Hole Improv will host NIGHT OF THE LAUGHING DEAD: IMPROV SPOOKTACULAR to add some laughs to all those scares.

Costumes highly encouraged. 10/25, $10 D&D fans unite! CRITS & GIGGLES is a night of spooky cosmic horror comedy for you from RABBIT HOLE IMPROV. Sit back and watch the cast try to make their way through a world of unknown terrors.

10/26, $10 AMERICAN LEGION POST 1 will show a scary movie on their lawn in addition to a party open to the public! Movie TBD but it will give you the chills. 10/26 TULSA TIME PAINT & SIP STUDIOS celebrate Halloween with “IT’S FALL” a public paint & sip event. All attendees will leave with a 16x20 fall themed canvas they paint!

10/25, $40 HOWL-O-WEEN is your chance to celebrate the season with your four legged friend.

PEARL BEACH BREW PUB invites you and your dog to a day of free food, dog costume contests, a dog comedy show and more!

10/26 Bring your friends to TULSA STAINED GLASS for this HALLOWEEN STAINED GLASS WORKSHOP. Each participant will leave with their own fall themed stained glass creation!

10/25, $50 The ninth annual CORKS & KEGS benefi ts the Sooner Tulsa Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Come in costume and try some beer and wine pairings in the historic CAIN’S BALLROOM. 10/25 JUICEMAKER LOUNGE presents A COMING TO WAKANDA HALLOWEEN: a party celebrating Coming to America and Black Panther!

Special performances by Beverly Ceasar, Sarah Nicole, Mrs Val, DJ Mike Mike and more! 10/31, $5 The circus is coming to town! PARANORMAL CIRQUE – BLACK UNIT comes to WOODLAND HILLS MALL from Oct. 31–Nov. 3 and they’re bringing the whole gang: acrobats, illusionists, mysterious creatures and much more. $20-$45

•

BY TTV STAFF

THE OKLAHOMA WITCHES BALL is a Halloween party like no other! DJ Rob Oncore will be spinning and expect more performances

by Lucy Furr, Suzy Spector, Jericho Dillard and Alistar Abulafia. The party starts at 12710 East State Farm Blvd S, don’t be late!

10/25, $20-$200 LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS will hit your horror fi x while making you laugh and dance! See the story of a meek floral assistant who stumbles across a new bloodthirsty plant that demands he feed it blood at the Tulsa PAC. 10/25–11/3, $15-$35 GUTHRIE GREEN celebrates the season with a special HALLOWEEN MOVIE NIGHT: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW! Get ready to twist and shout, and enjoy some food from their new onsite restraint, EnjoyaBowl! 10/31 ANDOLINI’S SLICED will also show THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW incase you didn’t get your fill of the time warp! The event includes trivia, a costume contest, two themed cocktails and a free appetizer with ticket purchase! 10/29, $5 HEAVEN AND HELL HALLOWEEN at THE REVUE will offer a costume contest, DJs, themed cocktails, giveaways and more!

Will you be heaven or hell? 10/31 THE REVUE will show THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW up close and personal with live performers. Costumes and audience participation are heavily encouraged!

10/25, $10 THE TULSAN BAR will host a HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY with themed drinks, door prizes, a costume contest, music and more! 10/26 THE HALLOWEEN BAR CRAWL is the self-proclaimed biggest Halloween event of the year! Sign up at WELLTOWN BREWING to get started and get ready for two free drinks, drink and food specials all night, professional photographers, a $1000 prize costume contest and more! 10/26, $20

MUSIC: INNER CIRCLE VODKA BAR delivers a pre-Halloween treat with Wotko, Arjona, Slackwave, Carcinogen Daily, Alan Doyle, Garrettheck, and Josh Yarbrough. 10/27 THE STARLITE hosts a pre-Halloween all night dance party. DJ Lynn K and DJ Afistaface will keep you dancing all night during DEVILS NIGHT. 10/30 MR. BURNS PRESENTS SOUNDPONY’S HALLOWEEN BASH with a costume contest and performances by Sp@des, Gangar, and Mr. Burns. 10/31

ANNIE ELLICOTT presents a Halloween Special at DUET JAZZ CLUB! The show includes a costume contest with prizes for the winner so come dressed to impress!

10/26, $15 DJ Afistaface teams up with WHITTIER BAR to deliver FANTASMAGORIA: HALLOWEEN GOTH PARTY. A night filed with music, dancing and plenty of costumes. 10/26 CAIN’S BALLROOM will host THE FLOOZIES: NIGHTMARE ON FUNK STREET WITH SUNSQUABI AND LATE NIGHT RADIO for a special Halloween show! Get there early to enjoy some Burn Co. Barbecue! 10/26, $23-$38 Put your costume on and get ready to party at BAD ASS RENEE’S for HALLOWEEN FRIGHT NITE! Featuring performances by Labadie House, Alterblood, Spook, Harnish, and The Salesman! 10/26, $5 MURDERFEST descends on CHIMERA with 16 bands who will deliver harrowing sets.

Expect performances by Piece of Mind, Constant Peril, and Creeping Death just to name a few. Also keep your eyes peeled for pre and post shows! 10/26, $20, $15 in costume The 5th BLACK MOLD HALLOWEEN BASH brings a night of spooky covers to THE VANGUARD. Expect performances by When the Clock Strikes as My Chemical Romance, The Future Babes as The Donnas, Men of Action as The Strokes, and Courtyard Kids as Blink-182. Don’t forget your costume!

10/19, $10 BARKINGHAM hosts their 6th annual ZOMBIE PROM with several bands covering everything from Operation Ivy, to Sum 41, to Against Me! Come in full zombie prom dress! 10/26 HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR 2: RESURRECTION takes over THE FUR SHOP for a night of live music, costume contests and more.

Performances by Spook, Arjüna, Garret Heck, ESC CTRL, and Kompulsive Child.

10/18 THE STARLITE transforms into a haunted dance party for HALLOWEEN HORROR: a horror movie themed dance party! DJs Robbo, Xylo, and Lynn K will guide the crowd through a night of dancing, and of course, a costume contest! 10/25

SCARY: HEX HOUSE - Tulsa TULSA SPIRIT TOURS - Tulsa THE NIGHTMARE – Tulsa PSYCHO PATH – Sperry INSANITY FARMS – Broken Arrow

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

Friday, Nov. 1st 5-11pm

g uth r i eg r een.co m THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November 5, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE // 31

EVENTS

PERFORMING ARTS

Women, Wine & Wings // 10/16, 7 p.m., Dead Armadillo Brewery

What the Butler Saw // 10/18–10/26, 8 p.m., Tulsa PAC - John H. Williams Theatre

Movie Nights: Avengers Endgame // 10/16, 5:30 p.m., Gathering Place

Pops - The Golden Age of Greenwood // 10/18–10/19, 7:30 p.m., Tulsa native Ernie Fields Jr., saxophonist and inductee into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, performs the music of his father., Van Trease PACE

FRIENDSHIP

Movie in the Park // 10/17, 7:30 p.m., Guthrie Green

Between Friends: An Evening of One Act Plays & Stories comes to Living Arts of Tulsa to deliver an evening of short plays and stories dedicated to friendship. Oct. 19, 7 p.m., $15, facebook.com

Ok, So Story Slam: Spooky // 10/17, 8 p.m., IDL Ballroom, $5 Garden Tour: Healing Plants/Deadly Plants // 10/17, 1:30 p.m., Learning about plants with either healing or deadly properties and stories about how they’ve been used, Philbrook, $14 True Stories: A Conversation with Jason Lee // 10/18, 7 p.m., Philbrook, $19

ANIMATION

All kinds of animations were submitted for the Tulsa International Animation Festival, from stopmotion to 3-D to cut-outs local and distant animators submitted their work to be shown at Liggett Studio during the fest! Oct. 19, 7 p.m., $5, facebook.com PERFORMANCE

Tulsa Artist Fellow Sophie Goldstein and director Carl Antonwicz come to Central Library to perform The Future Without You. A unique blend of comics reading, radio play and theatrical performance like nothing else you’ve seen. Oct. 24, 7 p.m. facebook.com

Lucy Furr Presents Trick or Tease // 10/19, 7 p.m., Lucy Furr brings the best burlesque performers to Tulsa for back to back shows, The Fur Shop, $12 The ReVue Ghouls // 10/19, 10:30 p.m., A very spooky drag show, The Revue MMP Dancing With the Dead // 10/19, 10 p.m., Moonlight Minx Parade and Kater Tot deliver a night of burlesque, The Starlite Booty Brunch Twerkshop: Slooow Motion // 10/20, 2 p.m., Mojo Movement Studios True Crime Book Club // 10/21, 7:30 p.m., Stop by this book club to discuss People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parr, Whitty Books TYPros Diversity in Education // 10/23, 6 p.m., Mother Road Market Movie Night: Pretty in Pink // 10/24, 8 p.m., Bring a blanket and a friend!, Guthrie Green

ASTROLOGY

What the Stars Say and Heirloom Rustic Ales team up to present Mercury Retrograde: What It Means & How To Survive It. Sick of being the only person in the room who doesn’t understand mercury retrograde?

This event is for you. Oct. 30, 6:30 p.m., facebook.com COLONIALISM

Gilcrease delivers Rethinking Colonialism in Mexico and the Americas: Past, Present and Future, a talk featuring scholars and community leaders from across the nation. Nov. 1, 9 a.m., $10–$35, gilcrease.org POP CULTURE

The Tulsa Pop Culture Expo Comes to the Woodland Hills Mall for some comic-con type fun! Celebrities like Bill Goldberg, Dean Cain, Yoda & Nick Maley will be in attendance, will you? Nov. 2–3, $39 –$100, tulsapopcultureexpo.com WORKSHOP

Narrative in Motion Workshop and Dance is a multi-layered event at Whitty Books. Writers will submit narratives which will then be turned into music by DJs. Then dancers turn that music into movement. Nov. 2, 1:30 p.m. facebook.com NARRATIVE

Philbrook hosts Things Change: Artists in Society a talk around the new ways artists engage their communities that center social impact and equity.

Nov. 3, 2 p.m., $19, philbrook.org

32 // ARTS & CULTURE

Movie Nights: Casper & Ghostbusters 2 // 10/25, 5:30 p.m., Gathering Place Young Blood by Dan Farnum Book Release // 10/25, 6:30 p.m., Magic City Books 11th Annual Spider Ball Halloween Party // 10/26, 9 p.m., Costumes required since there will be a $1,000 cash prize for the winner of a costume contest, IDL Ballroom, $15

Little Shop of Horrors // 10/24–11/3, 8 p.m., Tulsa PAC - Liddy Doenges Theatre, Carmen // 10/25–10/27, 2:30 p.m., Tulsa PAC Chapman Music Hall Choral Colors of the Continents // 10/26, 7:30 p.m., Choral Music from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Down Under, Cascia Hall Giselle // 10/31–11/3, 7 p.m., Tulsa PAC Chapman Music Hall The Deaths of Sybil Bolton // 11/1–11/2, 7:30 p.m., Dennis R. Neill Equality Center Classics - Mozart Prague Symphony // 11/2, 7:30 p.m., Van Trease PACE Bandstand // 11/5, 7:30 p.m., Tulsa PAC Chapman Music Hall

COMEDY Paul Hooper // 10/16–10/19, 8 p.m., Loony Bin Cody Ko & Noel Miller: Tiny Meat Gang Live // 10/17, 8 p.m., Cain’s Ballroom, $35–$135 Whose Line Rip-Off Show // 10/18, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, $10 Chris Fairbanks // 10/18, 8 p.m., The Fur Shop, $15 The Big Gay Improv Show: Halloqueen // 10/19, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, $10 Kevin Bozeman // 10/23–10/26, 8 p.m., Loony Bin Jon Rudnitsky // 10/24, 8 p.m., Duet Jazz, $15 Night of the Living Dead: Improv Spooktacular // 10/25, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, $10

Fall Festival // 10/26, 12 p.m., Games, Trick or Treating, skating and more, The Boxyard

Improv Pop: Our Clean Show! // 10/26, 2 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, $7

Happy Hour Tarot and Oddities Market // 10/26, 5–9 p.m., Whittier Bar

Crits & Giggles: Cosmic Horror // 10/26, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, $10

Frightful Listening Party // 10/26, 5 p.m., Come listen to some scary stories on vinyl, eat some snacks, and enjoy some Halloween activities, Whitty Books

Skip Clark // 11/1–11/2, 8 p.m., Loony Bin

Truth and Reconciliation Book Club // 10/27, 3 p.m., Stop by to discuss The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Whitty Books Native Am. Lit Book Club // 10/28, 7:30 p.m., Come discuss Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer, Whitty Books TYPros Pub Club and CharityOkie // 10/29, 5:30 p.m., A night of networking and karaoke, Chimera, $5–$50 Women in Horror Book Club // 10/30, 7 p.m., Just in time for Halloween, come discuss Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Whitty Books Tulsa Beer & Wine Festival // 11/2, 2 p.m., Presented by Hard Rock, try some fabuous food and booze pairings, Gathering Place

Whose Line Rip-Off Show // 11/1, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, $10 Lady Improv // 11/2, 8 p.m., Rabbit Hole Improv, $10

SPORTS ORU Men’s Soccer vs Denver // 10/19, 7 p.m., Case Soccer Complex TU Men’s Soccer vs Cincinnati // 10/19, 7 p.m., Hurricanee Stadium TU Men’s Soccer vs Denver // 10/22, 7 p.m., Hurricane Stadium TU Women’s Soccer vs SMU // 10/24, 7 p.m., Hurricane Stadium Tulsa Hurricanee vs Memphis // 10/26, TBA, Chapman Stadium

Fashion in the Square // 11/2, 12 p.m., Utica Square

TU Women’s Soccer vs Houston // 10/27, 1 p.m., Hurricane Stadium

VISUAL ART

ORU Women’s Soccer vs South Dakota // 10/31, 7 p.m., Case Soccer Complex

Beyond Measure Opening Reception // 10/19, 5:30 p.m., TAF Lewis Project Space

TU Women’s Soccer vs Memphis // 10/31, 7 p.m., Hurricane Stadium

Funday Sunday // 10/20, 10 a.m., Free admision and pleanty of activities, Gilcrease

TU Men’s Soccer vs Temple // 11/1, 7 p.m., Hurricane Stadium

Gilcrease After Hours: Okie Style // 10/25, 7 p.m., Celebrate all things “Okie” with local food and music, gallery talks in Dorothea Lange’s America and more, Gilcrease

Tulsa Oilers vs Rapid City // 11/3, 4:05 p.m., BOK Center Tulsa Oilers vs Allen // 11/5, 7:05 p.m., BOK Center

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November 5, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE // 33

musicnotes

Steve Gunn will play new songs from his latest album The Unseen in Between on Oct. 20 at Duet Jazz Club. | COURTESY

From Turkey to Tulsa Steve Gunn on The Unseen in Between

by MASON WHITEHORN POWELL

I

t’s easy to label an artist’s sound, but harder to pin down the feelings it provokes. To this end, Steve Gunn’s music takes listeners “out past the streets, beyond the weather / to that place no one seems to know.” That line comes from “New Moon,” the opening track on Gunn’s latest, The Unseen in Between, which feels more mature and refined than his half-dozen earlier solo releases. Known for innovative guitar-driven work—as both a solo performer and guitarist in Kurt Vile’s backup band, The Violators—the new album from the Brooklyn-based artist also brings his talents as a lyricist to the forefront.

Following a break from touring, Gunn is hitting the road again to play a solo show in Tulsa on Oct. 20 at Duet Jazz Club.

Hosted by the Bob Dylan Center, the performance will also be accompanied by a Q&A.

34 // MUSIC

MASON WHITEHORN POWELL: You just finished up a European tour.

How was that experience?

STEVE GUNN: It was great. I was in Europe for about a month. I played with a band and some of the musicians live over there and we did almost five weeks, and then I went to Turkey as well at the end and played a solo concert in Istanbul, which was a highlight.

POWELL: Tell me about your writing process. How did The Unseen in Between come about?

GUNN: Almost three years ago, at this point, I started writing it. I had been on the road for a number of years and I don’t want to sound too cliché, but I was off of the road and had a crazy year. My father passed away, and Trump got elected and he had been about a year in office. I had some things to say. I was feeling pretty introspective, more introspective than before.

I think a lot of the basics of my

songwriting really comes from storytelling and characters. I was always sort of avoiding being overly personal, and I think with this album I looked a little more inward than before and offered up some personal feelings just because I felt more comfortable as a musician and performer too.

It’s just what I was going through in my life. I also gave myself some time with these songs, which was also a new thing …

I hooked up with Tony Garnier, who plays with [Bob] Dylan, kind of randomly, and I asked him if he wanted to play on the record and he agreed to it. … I think he wasn’t sure what he was getting into, but when I started showing him the songs, he became very interested, and that was really pleasing to me and I think he became invested in the album. He really helped guide the session.

POWELL: Tony’s not just Dylan’s bass player but also his musical director. Do you think that influ-

enced how these new songs came together and how the session went?

GUNN: One thing that was really exciting is I’m a huge Dylan fan— also the engineer, Daniel, who runs this studio called Strange Weather, we’re both Dylan freaks.

The fact that Tony was in there, we were kind of freaking out.

And then when I met him, he just seemed so open and warm and he was like that during the whole session. For us, just to talk to him about his experiences and about some of the sessions that he’s been in and some of the stuff he’s been through on the road—just listening to his stories—also [what he] offered my music. My music isn’t your typical songwriting; he was really interested in my approach. I keep it pretty open-ended. I come up with these strange formations and weird measures. Also, my lyrics can be pretty abstract. I think he was really interested in what we were doing. I think he lent his experience to us, so he certainly

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

did, and he taught me a lot. … He was really listening to everything, almost like playing the bass along with the signing, which gave it this sort of interesting sense of melody, something I never really had achieved before.

POWELL: It’s interesting to hear you say that, because I thought there was a different sound on this album compared to your earlier releases. It has a cohesiveness that stands out.

GUNN: I agree. You know, we’re talking about Tony and the fact that being in a room with him recording gave me and the band this different sense of being present. And I think that before, making records, I was really worried about the music and I would often just sing over top of all of it—I think there’s a disconnect there. With this album I was encouraged to play and sing at the same time, and that’s what I did.

Every song I’m just in the room with my guitar playing and singing. I really didn’t do any alternate takes or comping of vocals or anything. It’s all just us playing live. I think that way of working is something I’ll continue doing.

POWELL: In 2003, you worked on a Sol LeWitt wall drawing, and on the new album you have songs that pay homage to Walter De Maria and Agnès Varda. How have other art forms influenced your music?

GUNN: You know, those kinds of art forms—cinema, painting, use of language—those are always sources of inspiration to me. I kind of had a good education working in the arts in the early 2000s and I met a lot of artists and got to work with a lot of artists. To me, knowing a few of them personally but also knowing their work ethics and work ethos and philosophical ideas about life in general … really informed my ideas about music and my ideas about putting words together and trying to express visual snapshots of things.

I did go to fi lm school and I worked at a video store—basically

it was kind of like [a version of] Kim’s Underground in Philadelphia. It was called the Video Library. That was an education in itself. I watched so many different movies and just absorbed all these different genres of cinema, and I still appreciate cinema quite a bit.

woodyguthriecenter.org

POWELL: What music is influencing you right now?

GUNN: I was just in Turkey and I heard a lot of different kinds of Turkish music, a lot of folk music, and also a lot of current music.

There was this band [Insanlar] that was mixing genres—they were almost kind of doing electronic music but playing traditional music over top of it.

Almost like a hybrid of electronic and world music. That’s what I’ve been listening to since I’ve been home.

POWELL: What’s next for you?

Are you working on a new album right now?

GUNN: Yeah, I am! I’m actually in my rehearsal space right now. I’m working on writing new songs. I recently recorded a fi lm soundtrack for an Andy Warhol movie that I performed with Kim Gordon and Bill Nace [Body/Head] and this drummer John Truscinski. We recorded this soundtrack to one of Andy Warhol’s screen tests—the name of it is “Kiss.” We screened the fi lm and did this hour-long soundtrack. And we recorded an album that was released by the Warhol Foundation and we’re gonna be playing a few festivals next year. A bunch of different festivals, which I’m looking forward to. But right now, I’m at home. I’m leaving for tour in a couple weeks but I’m at home writing in my rehearsal space thinking about the next album. a

THE BOB DYLAN CENTER PRESENTS STEVE GUNN Duet Jazz, 108 N. Detroit Ave. Sunday, Oct. 20, 6:30 p.m., $10

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

ROY BOOK BINDER SATURDAY, OCT. 26 • 7pm

DAVID WILCOX SUNDAY, OCT. 27 • 5:00pm

TRACY GRAMMER FRIDAY, NOV. 8 • 7:00pm

WOODY’S WEEKEND WORKSHOP FRI., NOV. 15 – SUN., NOV 17 4:00pm

address 102 EAST BRADY STREET, TULSA, OK

74103

phone 918.574.2710

email INFO@WOODYGUTHRIECENTER.ORG

Michelle Honaker

T r av i s F i t e

NANYEHI the story of nancy ward

a musical by becky hobbs and nick sweet

NOVEMBER 15 & 16 • 7:30 PM TICKETS: 918.384.ROCK

MUSIC // 35

musicnotes

Midnight marauders

Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad ‘express blackness with sound’

by JORDAN WILLIAMS

Y

ou could call The Midnight Hour “jazz fusion” and probably not raise any objections from its creators, renowned hip-hop producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The music made in the ‘70s by artists like Lonnie Liston Smith, Bob James, and Return to Forever made a big impression on them.

“That jazz music had a vibrant feeling that was more upbeat and way different than bebop,” said Muhammad, best known as a member of the legendary hip-hop outfit A Tribe Called Quest. That legacy of fusing genres within the permissive framework of jazz is evident throughout The Midnight Hour’s self-titled debut, released last year on Younge’s Linear Labs Records.

When Muhammad and Younge first connected through a mutual friend, they quickly discovered they had been travelling parallel paths. Both went from sampling their favorite records using an MPC to teaching themselves how to play multiple instruments.

Muhammad describes a pivotal moment working in the studio with Tony! Toni! Toné on their Sons of Soul album when “the guys started playing music to the beat that I had programmed, instantly, without even talking to each other.” The group’s ability to immediately expand on Muhammad’s ideas blew him away. From that point on, Muhammad played his favorite records not just to identify potential samples, but also to figure out how to play the music on instruments. Both he and Younge craved the kind of expression that couldn’t be attained by layering samples.

So it’s natural that The Mid36 // MUSIC

Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge make up the jazz-fusion duo The Midnight Hour. | COURTESY

night Hour finds themselves working with a live band, including strings and horns. “When you’re using an orchestra, you’re not only bringing in experienced musicians to add to your sound, you’re also expanding the frequencies that you hear,” Younge explained. Each instrument has its own unique voice. “When you mix all of these colors together, you create something brand new.”

Using instruments that predate the era of electric music is also a way to connect to the ancestors.

Promotional materials for Midnight Hour’s current tour, which stops by The Vanguard on Oct. 24, describes the music as “an ode to the cultural sophistication that the Harlem Renaissance established for its people.” When asked why he’s holding this project to the standards of a movement that’s nearly a century old, Younge says being “unapologetically black” in one’s self-expression was a key feature of the New Negro movement. “We wanted to express our blackness with sound,

and we wanted to do it in a way that was opulent, that conveyed the notion that we hear value in our sound,” he said.

The Midnight Hour certainly accomplishes that. Album opener “Black Beacon” kicks off with waves of cinematic bravado, which might be the strongest case yet for Idris Elba to be cast as the next James Bond. On the mid-tempo ballad “Don’t Keep Me Waiting,” the string arrangements unfurl like a red carpet, across which Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry fame strides with neosoul swagger.

But it’s not all smooth; The Midnight Hour won’t be mistaken for the Quiet Storm. On tracks like “It’s You,” Younge and Muhammad offer a counterpoint to the sweltering funk established by the rhythm section when they bring in horns to blow an angular, deliberate melody that evokes the music of Phil Ranelin and Sun Ra. In the background, animalistic vocalizations add a flash of psychedelia. This tension is finally

released when the band switches up the groove, ushering in Raphael Saadiq’s vocals to sweetly affirm, “Everything is you.”

The album’s standout track is, by far, their remix of Luther Vandross’s shimmering love song “So Amazing.” Younge and Muhammad have taken Vandross’s original vocals and laid them over a slow, bossa-like beat. The chord progression on the verses introduces some dissonance to the fawning lyrics, implying loss and regret behind this otherwise straightforward declaration of devotion. This heightens the payoff each time we arrive at the refrain, “It’s so amazing to be loved,” and the dissonance momentarily resolves.

Moments like this strengthen the case for hip-hop to be viewed as the connective thread between the ethos of jazz fusion and contemporary music.

While there’s plenty to please crowds on The Midnight Hour, these two DJs/producers have no interest in sanitizing their influences to appeal to as wide a demographic as possible. “We wanted to create something that showed no compromise,” Younge said. “It was just all 100 percent us and what we believed in.” That defiance comes in no small part from their experience as pioneers in a genre known for producing artists who are raw and unapologetic. “We have always drawn this direct connection to music of the past, but the foundation of hip-hop is always present.” a

The Midnight Hour The Vanguard, 222 N. Main St. Thursday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m. — $10

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

The 10th Anniversary of the John Hope Franklin Dinner of Reconciliation

“Civic Engagement and Reconciliation: The Survival of Democracy”

Arrive Early. Stay Late.

The Tulsa Arts District is home to retail and service shops, restaurants, bars, clubs, galleries, museums, parks, private businesses, residences and historic music venues. Plan to arrive early and stay late in the Tulsa Arts District!

Imam Omar Suleiman Keynote Speaker

Kathy Taylor

Honorary Dinner Chair

Location: Greenwood Cultural Center 322 N. Greenwood Ave. Cost:

Adults - $25 Youth (Ages 5 - 17) - $15

Date:

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019

Time:

Reception: 6:30 p.m.

Dinner & Program: 7:00 p.m.

Bill Lobeck

Honorary Dinner Chair

Register for the Dinner of Reconciliation Today!

Deadline is Nov. 15.

Featuring First Friday Art Crawl

Register online at jhfcenter.org/ dinner-registration or by scanning the QR Code. facebook.com/TulsaArtsDistrict

For questions or additional information, please contact: Mrs. Jean M. Neal at 918-295-5009 or jneal@jhfcenter.org.

@TulArtsDist

#TulArtsDist

TheTulsaArtsDistrict.org

Okie Style october 25 | 7-9 p.m.

Celebrate all things “Okie” with local food, music, gallery talks and more!

gilcrease.org/gah

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

MUSIC // 37

musicnotes

O

n the band’s new record The Thunderbird, Beau Jennings and the Tigers chronicle stories about fisherman Jimmy Houston and Dairy Queen employees lamenting their fate. Jennings sings about Tulsa’s BRONCHO hitting a ceiling as a local band and throws out a baseball metaphor to capture the plight of an Oklahoma death row inmate. It sounds ridiculous laid out like that, but these disparate fabrics share a common thread connecting Jennings’ recent songs: It all feels kinda true, when he puts it that way.

Jennings has never shied away from plainspoken lyricism, whether in his band Cheyenne, active from 2003 to 2012, or on his solo efforts, including The Verdigris, an ambitious 2015 record-and-documentary combo about his search for connection with hometown hero Will Rogers.

The latter consumed Jennings’ creative energy for nearly a decade from inception to release, and on the other side of it, he was, in his own words, “ready to get out of [his] own way.”

Bolstered by a solidified lineup of collaborators including longtime Tigers Michael Trepagnier, Chase Kerby and Dustin Ragland, Jennings made the record he was looking for—a feel-good, 35-minute rock band LP worth spinning from start to finish. It’s full of just as many frank, Jennings-esque lines as any record he’s been part of so far—“The Empty Bottles are playing tonight,” he sings about a local alt-country cover act, “I think I’m gonna get a sitter”—and still manages to come across as a fun-loving collection of universal truths on the modern Oklahoma experience.

BECKY CARMAN: At the end of Cheyenne, I got the sense that going solo was maybe not a creative decision but a circumstantial one. What were you thinking when that was happening?

38 // MUSIC

really reach out to those people, to try to build a smaller but more dedicated audience as opposed to just reaching everywhere for whomever might kind of be interested.

CARMAN: The Verdigris was a longterm, really ambitious project.

How did it change how you make and release music?

JENNINGS: It was so much fun, even though I wasn’t doing anything that no one else had done—historical music has been done before, and documentaries have been done before. It still felt like, ‘Nobody else in the world is working on an album about Will Rogers right now.’ It was really engrossing for me and felt like I was just doing something new.

I’ve been chasing that feeling for a while. What I tried to shed from The Verdigris was the seriousness of it. I wanted the new record to be more loose and carefree and just feel different.

CARMAN: Over the years, what’s been your philosophy about what’s worth putting into a song?

Beau Jennings and the Tigers play with John Calvin Abney on Friday, Oct. 18 at Mercury Lounge.

JOEL AHRENS

TELL IT SLANT Beau Jennings and the Tigers tell the rock ‘n’ roll truth on The Thunderbird

by BECKY CARMAN BEAU JENNINGS: Cheyenne always had a bunch of lineup changes, and then our guitar player left, and I was not feeling like finding a new one, even though I had always done that. A small record label wanted to put out the second Cheyenne record, and there was some self-preservation instinct that, because they had a small recording budget, made me be like, ‘Use this to kickstart a solo career.’ I was kind of feeling it

internally, and then an opportunity happened, so I could see where it maybe seemed tentative.

CARMAN: You mentioned to me a while back that you were trying to sort of take things more seriously with this album release. How so?

JENNINGS: I realized a while back who listens to what I do, and it’s a certain demographic: people my age. [ Jennings is 39.] I’m trying to

JENNINGS: I hope this doesn’t sound pretentious, but I have this book called Hemingway on Writing. It’s a collection of different places where he’s commented on the writing process. He’s just like, whenever you’re stuck, think of one true thing and write it down. Then think of another true thing and write it down.

That’s been helpful to me—to really, with a fine-toothed comb, go through any line and ask, ‘Is this line bullshit, or is this true?

Are you putting on some air or affectation? Are you communicating something that in 10 years is going to resonate?’ Trying to whittle it down to true statements and also trying to make less of a statement, if I ever did, and just let facts exist.

CARMAN: Are you one of those regimented songwriters or a ‘catch the inspiration’ type?

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

JENNINGS: I’m a big believer in putting in the time and work, but it’s never worked [laughs]. I only have good ideas when I’m doing something else, and I gotta pull over and write it down. Maybe the clocking in part is exercise, and then game time is when the idea strikes. That’s my latest theory: You’re always working with those muscles so that when a real idea occurs, I know what to do with it, or have a sense of how to at least start.

were recording the vocals, he encouraged me to do things I didn’t normally do. I’m a limited vocalist, so it’s really easy for me to play it super safe. Anything new or different I did maybe started with a desire for me to do something new, but also him making me.

CARMAN: What do the Tigers

enable you to do, onstage, or just in terms of mental space, that you couldn’t do before?

JENNINGS: Performance-wise, I have total confidence. This is a very musically solid group, and I feel like they can pretty much do anything they want. I’ve always liked this idea of me being the worst member of the band. I’m

the weakest musically for sure, and that just makes me better.

The rising tide thing is kind of how I look at it. a

BEAU JENNINGS AND THE TIGERS WITH JOHN CALVIN ABNEY Friday, Oct. 18, 10 p.m.

Mercury Lounge 1747 S. Boston Ave.

CARMAN: What’s your favorite moment on the record?

JENNINGS: That song “Gettin’s Good” feels really good to me.

That song’s probably one I’m most proud of, that feels kind of new and is getting at a sound I’d like to get better at.

CARMAN: You’re leaning into the Springsteen.

JENNINGS: I totally get why that song would come off as that. I try not to deny my influences too hard, but I don’t go for them either. I can’t sing like that. If I could sound like that, I would. At least in my humble opinion, I aim for something, and I miss it, so I end up somewhere else.

CARMAN: Now that the record’s out, what do you think of it?

JENNINGS: We can play the record front to back at a show. I’ve never really had that before, where the record works as a setlist too, and I’m really proud of that. A lot of the feedback has been just how the record feels good. A lot of times you put your bangers up front and then the more introspective stuff at the end. I like that this is a little more even feel all the way through.

CARMAN: There are things on the record that don’t sound like they were your idea, like the way that you push your vocals and stylize them. What was the outside influence on the way you performed on this record?

JENNINGS: A lot of that was Michael Trepagnier. When we THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

MUSIC // 39

musiclistings Wed // Oct 16 Cain’s Ballroom – The Raconteurs, The Casualties of Jazz – 8 p.m. – ($69) Cellar Dweller – Desi & Cody – 8:30 p.m.

Colony – Tom Skinner Science Project – 8 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Tim Shandley Trio – 8 p.m. – ($5) Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic Night – 8 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Dement – 9 p.m.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays – 7 p.m.

Soundpony – Saddle of Southern Darkness – 10 p.m.

The Tulsan Bar – Tom and Bryan Unplugged – 7 p.m.

Track 5. – Phil Vandel – 7 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Temptress – 8:30 p.m.

Whitty Books – Kill Vargas, Backward Few, Men of Action, Noise Estate – 7 p.m.

Thurs // Oct 17

Colony – Seth Lee Jones – 9 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Shelby Eicher – 8 p.m. – ($7) Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Ronnie Pyle Duo – 5 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – Dave Kay – 5 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – DJ 2 Legit – 9 p.m.

Mercury Lounge – Sheer Terror, The Shame, The Penny Mob – 8 p.m. – ($10) Osage Casino - Thunder Bar and Grill – Jesse Joice – 6 p.m.

Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – Glass Mansions, Beaten Daylights, New Time Zones – 10 p.m.

Riffs – Blake Turner – 4 p.m.

Riffs – DJ Mib – 5 p.m.

Riffs – Stars – 8 p.m.

Soul City – Claire Adams – 8 p.m. – ($10) Soundpony – DJ Burak – 10 p.m.

The Joint – Charlie Daniels Band – 8 p.m.

Track 5. – DJ Demko – 5 p.m.

Track 5. – Scooter Brown Band – 10 p.m.

Vintage Wine Bar – Grammy Nominated ft. Mason Remel, Malachi Burgess – 8 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Glass Mansions – 8 p.m.

Fri // Oct 18

American Legion Post 308 – Double 00 Buck – 7:30 p.m. – ($7) BOK Center – Godsmack, Halestrom – 7 p.m. – ($42 - $90) Cabin Boys Brewery – Giakob Lee – 7 p.m.

Chimera – Closet Witch, Dryad, imgonnadie, Blurt – 8 p.m.

Colony – Vinyl Happy Hour – 4 p.m.

Colony – KALO – 10 p.m. – ($10) Dead Armadillo Brewery – Bossa, Doctor Kustom – 7:30 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Grady Nichols – 8 p.m. – ($15) Lefty’s on Greenwood – Stephanie Oliver & Timbo Kelly – 9 p.m.

Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Local Spin Trio – 6 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – Rockwell Trio – 6 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jason Young – 9 p.m.

Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Randle James Duo – 10 p.m.

Marshall Brewing Co. – Dennis Roper – 5 p.m.

Mass Movement Community Arts – Rose Gold, Downward, Death Trap, Gangar, The Backward Few – 6 p.m.

Mercury Lounge – Beau Jennings & The Tigers, John Calvin Abney – 8 p.m. – ($10) Osage Casino - Thunder Bar and Grill – Ronnie & Randy – 8 p.m.

Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – DJ Afistaface – 10 p.m.

40 // MUSIC

Riffs – Daniel Jordan – 5:30 p.m.

Riffs – DJ 2 Legit – 6:30 p.m.

Riffs – Time Machine – 9 p.m.

Slo Ride – Chris Hyde – 7 p.m.

Soul City – Tulsa Revue – 8 p.m. – ($10) Soundpony – Eclectic Sounds with DJ $Sir Mike – 10 p.m.

Swamphouse – Matt Mason – 7 p.m.

The Fur Shop – Halloween Spooktacular 2: Spook, Arjüna, Garret Heck, ESC CTRL, Kompulsive Child – 8 p.m.

The Hunt Club – Electric Billy Club – 8 p.m.

The Tulsan Bar – DJ Oreo – 10 p.m.

Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m.

Track 5. – Scooter Brown Band – 10 p.m.

Vanguard – Open Mic Night – 8 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Tombstone Wasteland – 8 p.m.

Sat // Oct 19

473 – You Don’t Dance – 9 p.m.

Bad Ass Renee’s – Eddie and the Defiants, Pay the Ghost, Index Paradox – 9 p.m.

Brady Theater – Killer Queen – 8 p.m. – ($25 $40) Colony – Dustin Pittsley – 10 p.m.

Dead Armadillo Brewery – Julia Rose – 7 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Jenny Scheinman & Allison Miller’s Parlour Game – 8 p.m. – ($20) El Coyote Manco – Pepe Tovar y Los Chacales, De Casa Llegan Los Tremendos Junior – 9 p.m.

IDL Ballroom – Last In Line – 6 p.m.

Josey Records – Chess Club, Party Fridge, My Heart and Liver, Ben Quad – 6:30 p.m.

Juicemaker Lounge – Full Flava Kings – 8 p.m.

Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Rappe & Vanderveer Trio – 6 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – Local Spin – 6 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Zodiac – 9 p.m.

Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Brent Giddens – 10 p.m.

Mass Movement Community Arts – Kompulsive Child, Second Glance, Harakiri, Miss Misery – 7:30 p.m. – ($8) Mercury Lounge – RC & The Ambers, Osage County – 8 p.m. – ($5) Osage Casino - Thunder Bar and Grill – Rose Leach – 8 p.m.

Riffs – Scott Ellison – 5:30 p.m.

Riffs – DJ Mib – 6:30 p.m.

Riffs – Scotty Bracher – 9 p.m.

Soul City – Jason Elmore, Hoodoo Witch – 9 p.m.

– ($10) Soundpony – World Culture Music Presents: Don’t Sleep On My City – 10 p.m.

Swamphouse – Bria & Joey – 7 p.m.

The Hunt Club – Deacon – 8 p.m.

The Joint – Experience Hendrix – 8 p.m.

The Tulsan Bar – DJ Good Ground – 10 p.m.

The Venue Shrine – Drowning Pool – 7 p.m. – ($20) The Venue Shrine – KRS-One – 8 p.m. – ($30) Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m.

Track 5. – Travis Marvin – 8 p.m.

Vanguard – Black Mold Halloween Bash 5 – 8 p.m – ($10) Whittier Bar – Girls Club, No Men – 8 p.m.

Sun // Oct 20

Cain’s Ballroom – Cherub, Gibbz, Midday Static – 9 p.m. – ($22 - $37) Colony – Dustin Pittsley – 10 p.m.

Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing – 10 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Steve Gunn – 7:30 p.m. – ($10) Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Rockwell – 5 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – The Fabulous Two Man Band – 5 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens – 9 p.m.

Mercury Lounge – The Hooten Hallers, Feral Ghost – 8 p.m. – ($10) Soul City – Crow – 7 p.m. – ($7) Soundpony – Minihorse, Labrys – 10 p.m.

The Chalkboard – Steve Liddell – 11 a.m.

The Joint – Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly Dream Tour – 6 p.m.

The Venue Shrine – Shawn James – 7 p.m. – ($15) Vanguard – Go For Gold, Lilac Kings, Second Glance – 8 p.m. – ($10) Whittier Bar – Randall Shreve – 8 p.m.

Mon // Oct 21 Brady Theater – Tenacious D – 8 p.m. – ($40 $70) Colony – Saugeye – 9 p.m.

Juicemaker Lounge – Open Mic Jam – 7 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Andrew Harmon – 9 p.m.

Soundpony – Mizere – 10 p.m.

The Venue Shrine – Warbringer, Enforcer – 6 p.m. – ($16) Whittier Bar – Jhohn Arlie – 8 p.m.

Tues // Oct 22 Cain’s Ballroom – Wilco, Molly Sarle – 7:30 p.m.

– ($50) Colony – Chris Lee Becker – 6 p.m.

Colony – Chris Combs Trio, Tea Rush – 9 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Greg Dragoo – 9 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Mike Bodulow, Rushmore Beekeepers – 8 p.m.

Wed // Oct 23 Cellar Dweller – Desi & Cody – 8:30 p.m.

Colony – Chris Combs Trio, Tea Rush – 9 p.m.

Colony – Tom Skinner Science Project – 8 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Stephanie Oliver – 7 p.m. – ($10) Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic Night – 8 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Dement – 9 p.m.

Mother Road Market – I.C. HOTT – 6 p.m.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays – 7 p.m.

Soundpony – Busty Brunettes – 10 p.m.

The Tulsan Bar – Tom and Bryan Unplugged – 7 p.m.

Track 5. – Rivers Edge – 7 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Wood Chickens, Dull Drums – 8 p.m.

Thurs // Oct 24 BOK Center – Carrie Underwood, Maddie & Tae, Runaway June – 7 p.m. – ($46 - $96) Chimera – Oklahoma Spotlight – 7 p.m. – ($10) Colony – Seth Lee Jones – 9 p.m.

Lefty’s on Greenwood – Desi & Cody – 8 p.m.

Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Brent Giddens Duo – 5 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – Caleb Fellenstein – 5 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – DJ 2 Legit – 9 p.m.

Mass Movement Community Arts – The Cavves, Tom Boil, Chrim, Men of Action, My Heart and Liver are the Best of Friends – 7 p.m. – ($7) Osage Casino - Thunder Bar and Grill – Travis Kidd – 6 p.m.

Riffs – Ben Neikirk – 4 p.m.

Riffs – DJ Mib – 5 p.m.

Riffs – The Juice – 7 p.m.

Soundpony – DJ A Dre – 10 p.m.

The Hunt Club – Ego Culture – 8 p.m.

Track 5. – DJ Demko – 5 p.m.

Track 5. – Steve Wariner – 8 p.m.

Vanguard – Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge – 8 p.m. – ($10) Vintage Wine Bar – Grammy Nominated ft. Mason Remel, Malachi Burgess – 8 p.m.

Fri // Oct 25 American Legion Post 308 – American Strings – 7:30 p.m. – ($7) Cabin Boys Brewery – Sensible Shoes – 7 p.m.

Colony – Vinyl Happy Hour – 4 p.m.

Colony – Hi-Lux, The Stylees – 10 p.m. – ($5) Dead Armadillo Brewery – RC Edwards, Dan Martin – 6 p.m.

Lefty’s on Greenwood – Faye Moffett – 9 p.m.

Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Stereotype – 6 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – The Downbeat – 6 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Stars – 9 p.m.

Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Chris Hyde – 10 p.m.

Marshall Brewing Co. – Paul Gehring – 6 p.m.

Osage Casino - Thunder Bar and Grill – Scott Pendergrass – 8 p.m.

Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – Roots of Thought, Snobug, Carlton Hesston – 9 p.m.

Riffs – Jesse Joice – 5:30 p.m.

Riffs – DJ Kelevra – 6:30 p.m.

Riffs – After Party – 9 p.m.

Soul City – Steelwind – 9 p.m. – ($10) Soundpony – Afistaface – 10 p.m.

Swamphouse – Basically Sax – 7 p.m.

The Hunt Club – FM Pilots Duo – 8 p.m.

The Starlite – Halloween Horror Dance Party with DJ Robbo, Xylo, Lynn K – 9 p.m.

The Tulsan Bar – DJ Good Ground – 10 p.m.

The Venue Shrine – Chad Sullins 10w30 – 8 p.m.

– ($10) Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m.

Track 5. – Gary Kyle – 8 p.m.

Vanguard – My So Called Band – 10 p.m. – ($12) Whittier Bar – Beta Betamax, Daniels – 8 p.m.

Sat // Oct 26 473 – Halloween Party – 9 p.m.

Bad Ass Renee’s – Labadie House, Alterblood, Spook, Harnish, The Salesman – 8 p.m. – ($5) Barkingham Palace – Zombie Prom – 9 p.m.

Cain’s Ballroom – The Floozies, Sunsquabi, Late Night Radio – 9 p.m. – ($23) Chimera – Murderfest – 3 p.m. – ($20) Coffee House on Cherry Street – Westerlight, The Duke of Norfolk – 7 p.m.

Colony – Brujo Roots Live Album Recording – 10 p.m.

Dead Armadillo Brewery – Chloe-Beth – 7:30 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Annie Ellicott Halloween Special – 8 p.m. – ($15) Juicemaker Lounge – Mad House Saturday – 10 p.m.

Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Local Spin Trio – 6 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – Scott Pendergrass – 6 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Usual Suspects – 9 p.m.

Margaritaville - Volcano Stage – Blake Turner – 10 p.m.

Mercury Lounge – Bringer, On Holiday, Em & The Mother Superiors, Fabulous Minx – 8 p.m. – ($5) Osage Casino - Thunder Bar and Grill – Billy Arnett – 8 p.m.

Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – Josh Sallee, The Neighbors, Mr. Burns, Cross, Ian Underwater, Hugh Glass, Avitiuh – 10 p.m. – ($7) Riffs – Caleb Fellenstein – 5:30 p.m.

Riffs – DJ Kelevra – 6:30 p.m.

Riffs – Mayday by Midnight – 9 p.m.

Soundpony – Happy Hour Show: Night Freak – 3 p.m.

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

Soundpony – Pleasuredome – 10 p.m.

Swamphouse – Bedlam – 7 p.m.

The Fur Shop – DixieFest – 4 p.m.

The Hunt Club – Hosty – 8 p.m.

Track 5. – DJ Demko – 6 p.m.

Track 5. – Travis Kidd Band – 8 p.m.

Vox Pop – Leigh Nash, Eric Himan – 7 p.m. – ($25) Whittier Bar – Afistaface – 7:30 p.m.

Sun // Oct 27 Cain’s Ballroom – Nahko and Medicine for the People, Nattali Rize – 8 p.m. – ($32) Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing – 10 p.m.

Inner Circle Vodka Bar – Wotko, Arjoan, Slackwave, Carcinogen Daily, Alan Doyle, Garrett Heck, Josh Yarbrough – 7 p.m.

Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Acoustique by Franklin – 5 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens – 9 p.m.

Mercury Lounge – The Raskins – 8 p.m. – ($5) Mercury Lounge – The So Lows, Good Troy Edwards – 8 p.m. – ($5) Soundpony – Marcel P. Black – 10 p.m.

The Chalkboard – Steve Liddell – 11 a.m.

The Venue Shrine – BJB Grateful Dead Tribute – 4 p.m. – ($10) Vanguard – Levels, Light of Alora, Citadels, Cicadia – 8 p.m. – ($10)

Mon // Oct 28 Colony – Saugeye – 9 p.m.

Juicemaker Lounge – Open Mic Jam – 7 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Andrew Harmon – 9 p.m.

The Venue Shrine – Yak Attack – 8 p.m. – ($10) Vanguard – Moon Phase – 7:30 p.m. – ($10) Whittier Bar – Grady Philip Drugg – 8 p.m.

Tues // Oct 29 BOK Center – Tool, Killing Joke – 7:30 p.m. – ($60 - $135) Brady Theater – Goo Goo Dolls – 7:30 p.m. – ($40 - $500) Colony – Chris Lee Becker – 6 p.m.

Colony – Chris Combs Trio with Special Guests – 9 p.m.

Lefty’s on Greenwood – Janet Rutland – 7 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jesse Alan – 9 p.m.

Marshall Brewing Co. – Suds & Sounds – 6 p.m.

Wed // Oct 30 Cain’s Ballroom – Ganja White Night, Boogie T., Jantsen, SubDocta – 8 p.m. – ($17 - $37) Cellar Dweller – Desi & Cody – 8:30 p.m.

Colony – Tom Skinner Science Project – 8 p.m.

Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic Night – 8 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Dement – 9 p.m.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays – 7 p.m.

Soundpony – Psychotic Reaction – 10 p.m.

The Starlite – Devils Night: DJ Lynn K, DJ Afistaface – 9 p.m.

The Tulsan Bar – Tom and Bryan Unplugged – 7 p.m.

The Venue Shrine – Doobie – 7 p.m. – ($15 - $75) Track 5. – Casey Clark – 7 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Ring Down, Pluto Rouge, Men of Action, Infinite Crustacean – 8 p.m.

Thurs // Oct 31

Chimera – Lone Wild Music Video Release with Toombz – 8 p.m. – ($10) Colony – Seth Lee Jones – 9 p.m.

Heirloom Rustic Ales – Witch House – 6 p.m.

THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

Los Cabos - Broken Arrow – Rockwell Duo – 5 p.m.

Los Cabos - Jenks – Cory Lee – 5 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – The Marriotts – 9 p.m.

Osage Casino - Thunder Bar and Grill – Rose Leach – 6 p.m.

Rabbit Hole Bar & Grill – You.th, The Beaten Daylights, DJ Afistaface – 10 p.m.

Riffs – Scott Eastman – 4 p.m.

Riffs – DJ Mib – 5 p.m.

Riffs – The Cover Up – 8 p.m.

Soundpony – Mr. Burns Halloween – 10 p.m.

The Joint – Jamey Johnson – 8 p.m.

The Max Retropub – Halloween party with DJ P, DJ Moody – 9 p.m.

Track 5. – DJ Demko – 5 p.m.

Track 5. – Drew Six – 7 p.m.

Vintage Wine Bar – Grammy Nominated ft. Mason Remel, Malachi Burgess – 8 p.m.

Fri // Nov 1

Cain’s Ballroom – Stoney LaRue, Austin Meade – 8:30 p.m. – ($22 - $40) Colony – Vinyl Happy Hour – 4 p.m.

Colony – Billy Kemp, Susan Herdon – 9:30 p.m.

Duet Jazz – Crystal Williams – 8 p.m. – ($10) Soundpony – Eclectic Sounds with DJ $Sir Mike – 10 p.m.

The Hunt Club – Hosty – 8 p.m.

The Joint – Bobby Bones and The Raging Idiots – 8 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Slackwave – 9 p.m.

Sat // Nov 2

Bad Ass Renee’s – Gadgets Sons Album Release Party with Grass Giant, The Salesman, Alterblood, Violent Victim – 9 p.m.

Blackbird on Pearl – Mezclave – 8 p.m.

BOK Center – Casting Crowns, Hillsong Worship – 7 p.m. – ($23 - $150)

Brady Theater – Trisha Yearwood – 8 p.m. – ($40 - $90) Duet Jazz – Jared Cathey – 8 p.m. – ($10) Mass Movement Community Arts – Coalition Record Release with OTM, Ballista, Rose Gold – 7 p.m. – ($10) Soul City – Danny Baker Album Release Show – 8 p.m. – ($10) Soundpony – Soul Night – 10 p.m.

The Hunt Club – Jesse Joice – 8 p.m.

Vanguard – Dead Metal Society – 9 p.m. – ($10 - $20)

Sun // Nov 3

Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing – 10 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens – 9 p.m.

Soundpony – Ever Evolved with Jbose – 10 p.m.

The Chalkboard – Steve Liddell – 11 a.m.

The Joint – Mark Chesnutt & Lorrie Morgan – 6 p.m.

The Venue Shrine – A Party for Mike Flanagan – 3 p.m. – ($20) Vanguard – Lazer Lloyd – 8 p.m. – ($12 - $30) Whittier Bar – Some Kind of Nightmare – 9 p.m.

Mon // Nov 4 Colony – Saugeye – 9 p.m.

Juicemaker Lounge – Open Mic Jam – 7 p.m.

Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Andrew Harmon – 9 p.m.

Whittier Bar – Mathew from the Colonies – 8 p.m.

Tues // Nov 5 Brady Theater – Kris Kristofferson & The Strangers – 8 p.m. – ($40 - $70) Margaritaville - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Greg Dragoo – 9 p.m.

MUSIC // 41

popradar

Adam Devine, Danny McBride and John Goodman in The Righteous Gemstones | COURTESY

Pay to pray The Righteous Gemstones and the power of positive grifting

by MATT CARNEY

D

anny McBride sure has a type. And it’s weird scoundrels.

With Eastbound and Down, Vice Principals and a truckload of other comedy writing, acting, directing and producing credits going back to the early aughts, nobody in Hollywood has explored the vast interiority of the clumsy grifter, the self-destructive liar, the heterosexual white guy loser or the thin-skinned incompetent more thoroughly than McBride. The man just keeps pulling them, like iron-forged swords, out the fires of late-stage American capitalism to lay waste to HBO viewers’ senses of decorum, civility and good taste.

With McBride’s latest effort, The Righteous Gemstones, he’s proven a new smithing technique to bend his scoundrels into even funnier and more freakish shapes, one that Tulsans are more than familiar with: old time religion.

Enter Eli Gemstone (John Goodman, who relishes every second of this performance), patriarch and CEO of the evangelical Gemstone family brand, whose empire of aspirational Sunday services, Christian self-help volumes, music publishing royalties and positive touring spectacles is as vast as it is profitable.

Each week his parishioners buy Gemstone-branded coffee (“Holy Grounds”) on their way into a Gemstone Prayer Center to hear a

42 // FILM & TV

Gemstone sermon before buying a Gemstone-authored book—and, of course, leaving a healthy donation on their way out.

“All across America capitalism’s crumbling, that’s where we step up,” Eli’s youngest son Kelvin declares on his way to the Gemstones’ latest acquisition: a former mall department store which they converted into a stage for Sunday services.

It’s perhaps a parody of a particularly crass, for-profit brand of televangelical Christianity, but certainly not a strong enough exaggeration on reality to qualify as satire. If you pulled the Gemstone stickers off these products, it’d be difficult to discern them from, say, a Life.Church, Joel Osteen, Liberty University, Hillsong or Oral Roberts’ family venture. But on its own, Gemstones isn’t a particularly meaningful indictment of Christianity.

Instead, read it as you would a Jim Thompson novel. Its hypocrisy only serves as window dressing for the show’s real delights, which are found in McBride’s scoundrels and how their oafishness and self-delusion compound around them into feedback loops that grow larger and richer with each episode. Eli’s children Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin Gemstone (Adam Devine) nitpick each other apart and vie for their dad’s attention as they manage the family business, which just hasn’t been the

same since the passing of matriarch Aimee-Leigh (Jennifer Nettles).

The eldest Gemstone son Jesse is vintage Oral Roberts in both style and substance: He sports Italian suits, ‘70s sideburns and poses for all-white photoshoots with his wife and kids. McBride hangs the main plot for the show’s first season on slimy Jesse, whose secret vices threaten to undo the family’s pristine public image when a masked extortioner reveals the existence of a video of him and his pals snorting cocaine with prostitutes in an Atlanta hotel room.

Next up is sister Judy, left intensely neurotic from years growing up the only woman in an aggressively patriarchal family.

Dimwitted and apparently talentless, Judy struggles to impress her father by allying with a degenerate uncle (more on him in a minute) and acts out sexually like an entitled angry man, shouting “Gimme that ass!” in a moment of backstage desire for her long-suffering optometrist boyfriend B.J. (Tim Baltz). She apologizes for a late-season rift with B.J. by stomping into the grocery store where he works, explaining “I got caught up in my church songs career.”

The youngest Gemstone sibling, Kelvin specializes in youth ministry where he wins young souls to Christ with Fortnite dances, True Religion jeans and assistance from his live-in friend

and former Satanist, Keefe (an incredibly funny understated comic performance from newcomer Tony Cavalero, who nearly killed me dead in my own living room delivering the line “I’m not here for pleasures.”) While his sister affects a much more stately presentation and his brother cosplays as a young Jim Bakker, Kelvin dresses like today’s modern Carl Lentz-type hypepriests.

Interloping on the Gemstone kids’ various schemes to impress their father is their Uncle “Baby” Billy Freeman (Walton Goggins, just fucking nailing a scumbag performance for the ages), a former child star desperate to cash in decades later on the Collins Kids-like hit “Misbehavin’” he first recorded with his sister AimeeLeigh. It should be noted that “Misbehavin’” genuinely slaps, an earworm hillbilly hit McBride claimed to write with Patterson that wouldn’t sound out of place before, say, an Alan Jackson concert. “Our fanbase is rapidly aging, Aimee-Leigh,” Uncle Billy cries desperately in a flashback episode.

“We got the bluehair crowd. They won’t last forever!”

HBO announced last month that it would pick the show up for a second season, giving McBride time and space to introduce new characters to the extended Gemstones universe. God willing, they’re as deranged as this lot. a

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

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THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

YOUR PARTNER IN PROSPERITY tulsachamber.com FILM & TV // 43

onscreen

Will Smith and Will Smith in Gemini Man | COURTESY Aaron Paul in El Camino | COURTESY

CLONE BORES TIME CRISIS

This generic Will Smith thriller is the first High Frame Rate film to play in Tulsa I NEVER THOUGHT I’D SEE A FILM FROM Ang Lee that I wish had been directed by Michael Bay instead, but here we are.

There’s something to be said for Bay’s over-the-top excess and machismo swagger, particularly in early hits like The Rock and Bad Boys. His obnoxious bravado can bolster a multitude of idiocy, offering a self-aware wink as he indulges in it.

When you strip that away, though, what you’re left with is something like Gemini Man, a by-the-numbers thriller that has no style to make up for its lack of substance.

The result is a stilted, lifeless time-waster, despite Ang Lee experimenting with digital technologies on the forefront of where the industry appears to be headed, though not necessarily for the better.

Regardless, a movie whose whole raison d’être is to advance the medium forward shouldn’t look so cheap.

Feeling like the first draft of a ‘90s action screenplay dusted off the studio stockpile, Gemini Man stars Will Smith as Henry Brogan, a retiring hitman who now finds himself a target of the government he faithfully served. The sniper tasked to take him out, however, isn’t just some new hotshot; he’s a young clone of Brogan who was made and raised in a top secret intelligence program.

It’s a less clever variation of Rian Johnson’s Looper, plodding through a half-hour of setup before the two finally face off. It then churns on for 20 minutes more before Brogan and Junior (the early-20s clone) actually discover that their DNA is identical, each one an unwitting victim in a Machiavellian experiment.

A better, more economical script would’ve gotten to and then past those 44 // FILM & TV

twists we know are coming, but suspense and script work seem to be the least of Lee’s concerns. Instead, his motivating interest with Gemini Man is the tech it affords him to develop, namely High Frame Rate video (HFR) and photo-real human animation.

Motion pictures are composed of 24 frames per second. A few years ago, filmmakers began to experiment with 48 fps (notably Peter Jackson with his Hobbit trilogy), and now Ang Lee nearly triples that to 120 fps. The goal: a sharper, near window-like image, especially when in 3D. The reality: a soap opera video aesthetic that degrades the cinematic illusion rather than providing an immersive leap forward. (You can judge for yourself at AMC Southroads 20; they screen this version in one of their theaters. Everywhere else utilizes a traditional 24 fps presentation.)

More successful are effects that resurrect a Fresh Prince-era Will Smith into the nemesis of the now 51-year-old. Different than recent actor de-aging techniques, this is wholesale digital animation. The result is impressive and mostly convincing, with only the occasional artificial giveaway.

Nevertheless, Gemini Man is ultimately a compromise, a case where a studio gives an auteur a bunch of money to play with the digital toys he’s obsessed with and, in return, he gives them the conventional genre flick they can easily market.

A couple of solid action sequences aside (the first showdown especially), it’s surprising and sad to see Lee, a two-time Academy Award winner (Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi) become representative of what’s mostly wrong with Hollywood.

— JEFF HUSTON

Aaron Paul shines in this direct sequel to the hit AMC television series

I’LL BE HONEST: WHEN THE NEWS BROKE that Vince Gilligan, the brilliant mind behind the hit AMC series Breaking Bad, had secretly shot a feature-length sequel called El Camino—and that it was premiering on Netflix—I let out an involuntary sigh. Yet another theatrical cash grab follow-up to a beloved television series.

What’s next, a three hour Mad Men epic where Don Draper navigates the sex and disco fueled New York of the ‘70s while palling around with Andy Warhol? Is nothing sacred anymore?

Yet, El Camino is not only one of the most satisfying resolutions to a long-running series that continued to out-due itself from season to season it’s also one of the most enjoyable crime thrillers of 2019.

The film picks up in the moments immediately following the Breaking Bad series finale. Unlike Downton Abbey, another TV series-turned-movie released this year, you’d be doing yourself a favor going into El Camino having seen the series. Directing from his own script, Gilligan hurls us right into the chaotic aftermath of the sacrificial coup de grace that closed Walter White’s story by following Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), newly liberated from the white supremacist gang who’d tortured him within an inch of his life while forcing him to cook meth for them. What follows is a race against time as Jesse desperately tries to avoid law enforcement while trying to find the escape he’s longed for since realizing his former teacher and mentor, you know, broke bad and stuff.

Fans of Breaking Bad will be delighted to see many of the series’ supporting cast pop up throughout El Camino, including the

comically dim duo Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) and Badger (Matt Jones) and Todd (Jesse Plemmons), the psychopath with a childlike demeanor who forms an unlikely—and unsettling—friendship with the captive Jesse.

El Camino, a spiritual cousin to the kind of pulpy, slow-burn crime thrillers of a bygone cinematic era, bears much of the visual hallmarks from the series. But while the movie serves almost as an epilogue to the AMC series, here Gilligan—unbound from the strictures of the episodic TV format—is afforded the luxury of time, expanding and contracting the levity and high-stakes drama the feature film structure affords. It’s the perfect use of the medium to explore what ostensibly feels like the denouement we never got when Jesse was extricated from his captors.

Throughout the entire Breaking Bad series, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) never really had any agency. The aimless yet excitable burnout who never quite lived up to his potential became something of a shuttlecock, bandied back and forth, sometimes violently, by whoever could manipulate him to their advantage. Whether it be Walter White (Bryan Cranston), Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), or the white supremacist drug gang that kept him captive in the final season of the series. While the show’s finale felt like many of the primary players got the sense of finality they deserved, Jesse’s fate always felt incomplete. Finally, in El Camino, Jesse Pinkman gets the send off we’ve all hoped for—finally taking charge of his own fate and finding the freedom he lost long ago, no matter the cost.

— CHARLES ELMORE

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

In everything give thanks!

(I Thessalonians 5:18)

Special Service on Thanksgiving Day Nov. 28, 2019 @ 10:30 a .m.

All are welcome!

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST Tulsa’s independent and non-profit art-house theatre, showing independent, foreign, and documentary films.

924 S. Boulder Church & Sunday School • 10:30am Wednesday Meeting • 6:00pm Reading Room • One hour after services

The best of Tulsa:

music, arts, dining, news, things to do, and more.

Come find out what ’s happening.

You don’t need a reason to spoil your dog…

Meowijuana is a catnip company founded and based in Kansas City, purveying 100% organic catnip as well as cat toys and apparel. Come see!

1778 UTICA SQUARE | 918-624-2600 THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

…stop by our store for everything from bakery treats to comfy beds to Halloween hats and more.

Your dog is welcome, too.

OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY, 10-6 FILM & TV // 45

free will astrology

by ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): In ancient holy texts from India, soma was said to be a drink that enhanced awareness and alertness. According to modern scholars, it may have been a blend of poppy, ephedra, and cannabis.

In Norse mythology, the beverage called the Mead of Suttungr conferred poetic inspiration and the ability to solve any riddle.

One of its ingredients was honey. In Slavic folklore, raskovnik is an herb with the magic power to unlock what’s locked and uncover hidden treasures. It’s not a four-leaf clover, but resembles it. I invite you Libras to fantasize about using these three marvels. To do so will potentize your imagination, thereby boosting the cosmic forces that will be working in your favor to enhance your awareness, confer inspiration, solve riddles, unlock what’s locked, and find hidden treasures.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Inventor Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) was a visionary genius in numerous fields, including architecture, design, engineering, and futurism. In the course of earning 40 honorary doctorates, he traveled widely.

It was his custom to wear three watches, each set to a different time: one to the zone where he currently was, another to where he had recently departed, and a third to where he would journey next. “I know that I am not a category,” he wrote. “I am not a thing—a noun. I seem to be a verb.” I recommend his approach to you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. Be a verb! Allow your identity to be fluid, your plans adjustable, your ideas subject to constant revision.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Art is good for my soul precisely because it reminds me that we have souls in the first place,” said actress Tilda Swinton. How about you, Sagittarius?

What reminds you that you have a soul in the first place? Beloved animals? Favorite music? A stroll amidst natural wonders? Unpredictable, fascinating sexual experiences? The vivid and mysterious dreams you have at night? Whatever stimuli bring you into visceral communion with your soul, I urge you to seek them out in abundance. It’s Soul-Cherishing and Soul-Enhancing Time for you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The coming weeks will be a favorable time to arrange a series of high-level meetings between your body, mind, and soul. You might even consider staging an extravagant conference-like festival and festival-like conference. The astrological omens suggest that your body, mind, and soul are now primed to reveal choice secrets and tips to each other. They are all more willing and eager than usual to come up with productive new synergies that will enable each to function with more panache and effectiveness.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “I believe in inhabiting contradictions,” writes Aquarian author and activist Angela Davis. “I believe in making contradictions productive, not in having to choose one side or the other side. As opposed to choosing either or choosing both.” I think Davis’s approach will work well for you in the coming weeks. It’s not just that the contradictions will be tolerable; they will be downright fertile, generous, and beneficent. So welcome them; honor them; allow them to bless you with their tricky opportunities and unexpected solutions.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean pianist Frédéric Chopin (1801–1849) was a poetic genius whose music was full of sweetness and grace. “Without equal in his generation,” said more than one critic. Today, more than 170 years after his death, his work remains popular. Recently an Italian sound designer named Remo de Vico created an original new Chopin piece that featured all 21 of the master’s piano nocturnes being played simultaneously. (You can hear it here: tinyurl.com/NewChopin.) As you might imagine, it’s a gorgeous mess, too crammed with notes to truly be enjoyable, but interesting nevertheless. I’ll counsel you to avoid a similar fate in the coming weeks, Pisces.

It’s fine to be extravagant and expansive and mulitfaceted; just don’t overdo it.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “We can’t change anything until we get some fresh ideas, until we begin to see things differently,” wrote Aries psychologist James Hillman. I agree. And that’s very good news for you Aries people. In my view, you are more attracted to and excited by fresh ideas than any other sign of the zodiac.

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

That’s why you have the potential to become master initiators of transformation. One of my favorite types of plot twists in your life story occurs when you seek out fresh ideas and initiate transformations not only in your own behalf, but also for those you care about. I bet the coming weeks will bring at least one of those plot twists.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Metaphorically speaking, Taurus, you are now crossing a bridge. Behind you is the intriguing past; in front of you, the even more intriguing future. You can still decide to return to where you came from.

Or else you could pick up your pace, and race ahead at twice the speed. You might even make the choice to linger on the bridge for a while; to survey the vast vistas that are visible and contemplate more leisurely the transition you’re making. Only you know what’s best for you, of course. But if you asked me, I’d be in favor of lingering on the bridge for a while.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): As I write this, I’m sitting in a café near two women at another table. One sports a gold cashmere headscarf and pentagram necklace. The other wears a dark blue pantsuit and a silver broach that’s the glyph for Gemini the Twins. HeadScarf shuffles a deck of Tarot cards and asks PantSuit what she’d like to find out during the divination she is about to receive. “I would very much like you to tell me what I really really want,” PantSuit says with a chuckle. “I’m sure that once I find out that big secret, I’ll be able to accomplish wonders.”

I hope the rest of you Geminis will be on a similar mission in the coming weeks. Do whatever it takes to get very clear about what you want most.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was meandering through an Athenian marketplace, gazing at the appealing and expensive items for sale. “How many things there are in this world that I do not want,” he exclaimed with satisfaction. I recommend you cultivate that liberated attitude. Now is a perfect time to celebrate the fact that there are countless treasures and pleasures you don’t need in order to be charmed and cheerful about your life. For extra credit, add this nuance from Henry David Thoreau: People are rich in proportion to the number of things they can afford to let alone.

MASTER

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I invite you to try this exercise. Imagine that one springtime you grow a garden filled with flowers that rabbits like to nibble: petunias, marigolds, gazanias, and pansies. This is a place whose only purpose is to give gifts to a wild, sweet part of nature.

It’s blithely impractical. You do it for your own senseless, secret joy. It appeals to the dreamy lover of life in you. Got all that, Leo? Now, in accordance with current astrological omens, I suggest you actually try to fulfill a fantasy comparable to that one in the coming weeks.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): My Virgo friend Lola got a text-message from her Scorpio buddy Tanya. “Why don’t you come over and chill with me and my demons? It’ll be entertaining, I promise! My inner jerks are howlingly funny tonight.” Here’s what Lola texted back: “Thanks but no thanks, sweetie. I’ve been making big breakthroughs with my own demons—giving them the attention they crave without caving in to their outrageous demands—and for now I need to work on stabilizing our new relationship. I can’t risk bringing extra demons into the mix.” I suspect this is an accurate description of what could be happening for you, Virgo.

“I have thousands of opinions still—but that is down from millions—and, as always, I know nothing.” So said Harold Brodkey. And you? 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.

October 16 – November 5, 2019 // THE TULSA VOICE

THE FUZZ THE TULSA VOICE SPOTLIGHTS: TULSA SPCA

2910 Mohawk Blvd. | MON, TUES, THURS, FRI & SAT, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 918.428.7722

LIL BIT is a super sweet, talkative cat. She may prefer to be the only cat in your family, but her time in our Cat Colony has done lots to improve her confidence. She is about 2 years old.

ACROSS 1 What many No. 1 hits do (continues at 4-Down and 31-Across) 5 Sandwiches with tzatziki sauce 10 Pike Place Market merchant (continues at 13-Down and 35-Across) 14 Gambles 18 Pi, for a circle of radius one 19 Mineral water brand 20 Wax-coated cheeses 22 “Feel” a workout 23 Was persuaded to act sensibly 26 Author Silverstein 27 Every so often 28 Earth-breaking tool 29 Leave surreptitiously 31 ___ Lock (PC key) 32 Quibble (continues at 34-Down and 57-Across) 35 Home of many brats? (Abbr.)

36 Halloween animal 37 Singer specialty (continues at 39-Down and 77-Across) 40 Donkey 43 Michelle Obama’s youngest 45 Money-back offer 47 Words of reassurance 51 Just a hint 53 Multi-tool’s multitude 54 Frodo’s home, with “the” 55 Honking bird 57 Busy org. in April 58 Prominent cockatoo feature 59 Sharpened 60 Will of “Arrested Development”

PHELPS was plucked from the flood waters in June and named after the Olympian Michael Phelps because he was such a strong swimmer.

His foster family put in some extra work nursing him back to health. This happy, affectionate 5-month-old is used to indoor living and lots of love!

SNICKERS likes to hide in any space he can fit himself into. He also loves to be scratched right on the back of his neck. His front claws are declawed. This senior kitty’s adoption fee is “Name Your Donation.” Snickers is 11 years old and weighs about 12 lbs.

62 Cars with lightning bolt logos 64 Changes, as the Constitution 66 Concert bonus 68 Novosibirsk negatives 70 Mortar’s partner 71 Card-matching game 72 Crude (continues at 73-Down and 104-Across) 74 Scoundrel 77 “Dallas” surname 79 Ohio city by Lake Erie 81 Develop wings, perhaps 82 Break things off 84 Outcome 86 Sabers’ relatives 87 Emergency kit 90 Chemist’s workplace 92 Upper heart chambers 93 Gull relatives 94 Jump at an ice rink 95 Bold wager 97 Realm of bugs and plants?

99 Real estate website 102 Drink after a snowball fight 104 Masculine contraction 105 Rep.’s kin 106 Pie chart figure (Abbr.)

107 Monopoly quartet, briefly 109 Ring-shaped cake type 111 Explicit article 114 Losing horses 117 Open ___ night 118 Growing fad?

122 Top suits 123 Doctors’ sticks, or another title for this puzzle 127 Lug 128 B-ball 129 Above it all

130 Southwestern Arizona city 131 Aware of 132 “___ the night before ...”

133 Was out for a time 134 A ways out DOWN 1 Apt apple to eat at a party 2 “Pics ___ didn’t happen!”

3 Home invader 4 Language in Vatican City 5 Chromosomal chart 6 Fashion’s Saint Laurent 7 Unburden 8 “Darn!” and “Drat!”

9 Pokes around 10 Lawyer’s charge 11 Muckraker Tarbell 12 Freshness?

13 Language in parts of Vietnam 14 Soak up some sun 15 Hoth installation, in “Star Wars” films 16 Mythical trio of weavers 17 Many an online diagnostic 21 Mean look 24 Big Brisbane bird 25 Find common ground with 30 You-here connector 33 Haifa’s land (Abbr.)

34 Language in Bangkok 37 Stroke of bad luck 38 Not out of town 39 Language in Beijing 41 Genesis console creator 42 Sleep study noises 44 Prefix for phobia or polis 46 Flies apart 48 Words of solidarity 49 Pushing, as goods

The Tulsa SPCA has been helping animals in our area since 1913. The shelter never euthanizes for space and happily rescues animals from high-kill shelters.

They also accept owner surrenders, rescues from cruelty investigations, hoarding, and puppy mill situations. Animals live on-site or with foster parents until they’re adopted. All SPCA animals are micro-chipped, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and treated with preventatives. Learn about volunteering, fostering, upcoming events, adoptions, and their low-cost vaccination clinic at tulsaspca.org.

50 52 56 58 61 63 65 67 69 73 75 76 78 80 83 85 87 88 89 91 96 98 100 101 103 108 110 112 113 115 116 118 119 120 121 124 125 126

14-line poem “NBA on ___” Tech, e.g.

Hold tightly Most unwavering Literary governess Jane Email button Put up with Whites of the eyes Language in Warsaw Get even for Abate ___ monster (desert lizard) 1972 Bill Withers hit Easy-to-scratch mineral Athlete’s wrap Cold soup Stain remover brand Sings very loudly Shapeless mass Post-OR destination Phisher’s goal, perhaps Bruins great Bobby Fury Nike competitor Stuck-up sort Immune response controller “To each ___ own” Simple course Scandinavian capital Winter bank buildup Word after riding or bumper Tuffet relative Funny Bombeck Bygone Russian bigwig Datum on a grad’s resume ___ Missouri “The Gold-Bug” writer

LUCKY was rescued from a chain where he was left alone. He’s come a long way; now he’s happy, healthy and housebroken. Friendly with all strangers, Lucky expects you and he will be the best of friends! He loves to be pet and he will rub up against you. Lucky is about 3 years

UNIVERSAL SUNDAY CROSSWORD Writing Down

By Joe Deeney, edited by David Steinberg

© 2019 Andrews McMeel Syndication THE TULSA VOICE // October 16 – November 5, 2019

BETSY is a wiggly and affectionate Basset Hound mix. This gentle girl would appreciate a gentle life indoors where she is the only pet—in fact, she’d be happiest if she were the only child. Shy at first, she’ll be all over your lap after a few minutes! Betsy is about 6 years old and weighs 41 lbs.

10/27 ETC. // 47

EXPERIENCE HENDRIX

8PM

ROY ORBISON AND BUDDY HOLLY

6PM

JAMEY JOHNSON

8PM

SATURDAY

10.19

SUNDAY

10.20

THURSDAY

10.31

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Schedule subject to change.

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Pleas e re cycle this issue.

10/2/19 12:07 PM