Flavortown, Oklahoma

FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY | METRO OKC’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY | JANUARY 16, 2019

t a h t s e v i d d n a s n i e v i r Diners, d should visit in OKC i r e i F y u G 18 P. , l l i g d a e r h

By Jacob T

OKC’S NUMBER

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2 J A N U A R Y 1January 6 , 2 0 1 9Combo | O KG A Z E T T E . C OV2_9-25x12-25.indd M UNI_18-CGR-178 Newspaper 1

1/7/19 1:11 PM

INSIDE COVER P. 18 Early in its run, Food Network’s

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives turned some metro eateries into national sensations.

With so many new additions to Oklahoma City’s food scene, it is time for Guy Fieri to take another look at OKC’s best places for bountiful comfort food.

By Jacob Threadgill Cover by Tiffany McKnight

NEWS 4 CITY The American Indian Cultural

Center and Museum

6 METRO Oklahoma County jail

8 CITY Omni Oklahoma City Hotel

11 COMMENTARY Lankford and

Manafort

12 CHICKEN-FRIED NEWS

THE HIGH CULTURE 14 MARIJUANA first harvest at Green

January 18

Seed Farm

15 THC GREEN GLOSSARY

16 MARIJUANA The Toke Board

16 MARIJUANA Fire Leaf patient drive

Starting @ $

EAT & DRINK 18 COVER OKC diners, drive-ins and

dives Guy Fieri should visit

Brewery

8PM

20 REVIEW Belle Isle Restaurant &

55

22 GAZEDIBLES french fries

ARTS & CULTURE 27 THEATER Martin Luther King Jr.

Celebration at Catlett Music Center

Inch at The Boom!

CitySpace Theatre

The Paramount Room

Theatre

29 THEATER Hedwig and the Angry 30 THEATER Trouble in Tahiti at 31 COMEDY Ladies Night of Comedy at

FEB 9 7PM ST AR TI N G AT

25 ART photographer Melissa Marshall

$55

32 COMEDY Tom Segura at Tower 33 CALENDAR

MUSIC 35 EVENT Amilia K Spicer at The Blue

Door

Chesapeake Energy Arena

36 EVENT Justin Timberlake at 37 LIVE MUSIC

FUN 34 PUZZLES sudoku | crossword 34 SKULLDUGGERY LANE CARTOON 35 ASTROLOGY

COMING SOON

streaming online january 25

kalo

FEBRUARY 23

play it loud live 2 a concert benefiting rock and roll camp for girls

OKG CLASSIFIEDS 39 CORRECTION

In the Jan. 9, 2019, issue of Oklahoma Gazette, a news story was incorrectly labeled. The story by Nazarene Harris on page 6 should have had the heading “Fresh start” and the subheading “Oklahoma City-based nonprofit organization Pivot — A Turning Point for Youth encourages mentorship with its new name and a new event called Girl Talk.”

We apologize for the error.”

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I-40 EXIT 178 | SHAWNEE, OK | 405-964-7263 O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9

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NEWS

CIT Y

Renderings show various aspects of The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, set to open in 2021. | Image Ralph Appelbaum Associates / provided

Center staged

Construction will resume on The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum this spring.

By Miguel Rios

A long-delayed museum will resume construction this year.

The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum (AICCM) is accepting bids through Jan. 7 to complete the facility, 659 American Indian Blvd., near the Boathouse District.

“There is one portion of the structure that has not been enclosed yet. That was bid on recently, and we’re about to award that contract after the first of the year, and that’s about $9 million,” said Tom Wilson, president of Architectural Design Group (ADG), a local design and management firm that serves as the agency representative of the cultural center.

The total construction budget is $37 million, Wilson said. The interiors of the building have not been constructed, and some of the exteriors remain unfinished, so ADG is looking for companies that can fully complete the facility.

“We are looking for all trades — mechanical, electrical, lighting, sheetrock, finishing, flooring materials — literally everything that you can see in a building,” Wilson said.

The goal is to open the cultural center by spring 2021.

Located at the crossroads of America, where four interstate highways intersect, The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum is expected to be a world-class facility with hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

“The heart of this and the main attraction for people coming to visit is that they’ll get to experience living, breathing Native culture,” museum di4

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rector Jim Pepper Henry said. “We’re going to have a very robust program schedule here at the cultural center where we’ll have members from the different tribes sharing their heritage with visitors through dance, through song, through performances, through art demonstrations, through storytelling.”

Long road

Development began in 1994, following creation of the Native American Cultural & Educational Authority (NACEA), a state agency charged with planning and design for the facility. Construction on the project originally began in 2006 but was suspended in 2012 when state funding ran out, leaving the facility unfinished. In 2015, Oklahoma City was given the responsibility to complete the project. The Chickasaw Nation partnered with the city to help.

When Pepper Henry was named director of the museum in 2017, he was tasked with building the organization to manage the facility. To that end, he also serves as CEO of American Indian Cultural Center Foundation, the fundraising arm of the project that will be the operator once it is complete.

“Much of the staff from the NACEA has transitioned into the foundation, so some of the employees that were at the state agency are now employees of the foundation. That’s how we built our staff,” Pepper Henry said. “They’re continuing the work that they were doing before, but they’re now doing it for the foundation.”

The building was designed nearly 20

years ago, so Pepper Henry and his team looked at the design and made changes to modernize and make the facility more efficient.

“We took a little time to kind of refresh the interior and rearrange some things to make the user experience much better and to help us on the operational side,” he said.

Lighting systems were upgraded to LED lights, phone booths were removed and replaced with water bottle filler stations and all major exhibits were moved to one area.

“In the museum world, when you have collections on display, they have to be environmentally controlled consistently, meaning keeping the temperature around 72 degrees and the relative humidity at 50 percent,” Pepper Henry said.

“That’s hard to do when you have a 173,000-square-foot facility and you have things spread out all over the place.”

By concentrating all exhibits into the south wing, operators can control the environment in that area consistently and have more fluctuation in the rest of the building, which saves money.

The kitchen was also expanded to accommodate catering, which will help generate revenue.

“We have such a beautiful facility that we know people are going to want to rent for events and activities and weddings, and so we want to be able to cater those events,” Pepper Henry said. “Now that we’ll have a large kitchen, we can also have a full-service restaurant featuring unique, one-of-a kind Native menu items based on traditional foods.”

The heart of this and the main attraction for people coming to visit is that they’ll get to experience living, breathing Native culture.

Jim Pepper Henry The goal is to source directly from the tribes as much as possible to produce a traditional menu with food that is indigenous to the region.

“It’s kind of like a farm-to-table. I call it a ‘rez-to-table’ concept,” Pepper Henry said. “We’re going to have one of the most unique menus of any restaurant in Oklahoma, and it’s going to be really good food and good for you.”

Another way to generate revenue is through a gift shop, which will focus on the sale of one-of-a-kind handmade items

by Native American artists. This will also serve as another way to showcase the Oklahoma tribes’ culture and art.

“I think it’s going to be a really important revenue generator not only for

the museum, but also to help sustain and perpetuate and promote the artwork and items of our Native artists here in Oklahoma,” Pepper Henry said.

“Through the gift shop, you’re going to see the great artistry of many of our talented artists.”

New visions

Exhibits will be bid on later this year because the building must be complete and pass certain inspections in order to get loans from other museums, Wilson said. However, the design is for the galleries to have two levels.

The main exhibit will be the Okla Humma Gallery, which aims to tell the collective history of the 39 tribes through the perspective of Native peoples.

“We can’t tell the in-depth story of every tribe,” Pepper Henry said. “What we can do is talk about the common circumstances that brought all the tribes to Oklahoma and what happened to the tribes once they arrived and how the tribes persevered through difficult times to reclaim self-determination and tribal sovereignty and how the tribes are in a cultural and economic renaissance right now.”

The Mezzanine Level gallery will be for changing and touring exhibitions.

The first exhibition will be a 10-year loan from Smithsonian Institution, which will essentially serve as a time capsule of 100-year-old Native items.

“What’s really great about these objects is we’re going to be able to reunite the items with descendants of the people who made them,” Pepper Henry said.

“We’re going to tell the story of these items through the item’s perspectives.

A lot of the tribes believe these objects are imbued with the living spirit, so we’re going to talk about the journey of these objects from the time they were traded.”

AICCM also houses four performance and film venues that can host a variety of community activities and live performance events, an interactive discovery center and an 85-acre cultural park along the Oklahoma River with self-guided walking trails and areas for Native sports and concerts.

Pepper Henry said he’s proud of the holistic approach to showcasing the richness and diversity of the tribes. In more than 30 years as a museum director, he said that a project has never meant as much as AICCM means to him.

“This will be the most important project I’ll work on in my professional career because I’m a member of one of the tribes here in Oklahoma. I’m an enrolled member of the Kaw Nation; I’m also Muscogee Creek. Every one of us that works here is an enrolled member of a tribe in Oklahoma, and this means so much to us because we’re telling our story,” he said. “I’ll never have an experience like this anywhere else where this means so much personally.”

Construction on AICCM is set to resume sometime around March.

Visit theamericanindiancenter.org.

Oklahoma City Community College 2018-2019 Performing Arts Series Presented by E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation

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Junie B. Jones - The Musical 2018

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A six member contemporary acoustic instrumental super-group creates the perfect blend of new acoustic music with timeless classics by Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, James Taylor and more. Come aboard a transformative musical ride filled with special moments. Each song has its own story, in its own path, leading the listener through a musical arc which will leave them wanting more!

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O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J A N U A R Y1/11/19 1 6 , 2 0 1 910:52 5

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NEWS

Jail suits

County commissioner Carrie Blumert would like to find a way to build a new jail to relieve serious ongoing issues. By Miguel Rios

Recently elected Oklahoma County’s District 1 commissioner, Carrie Blumert ran for office after learning about the number of deaths in the county jail.

Now, she’s hoping to provide as much information to the public as possible to pave the way for change.

“That’s been a big focal point for me during the campaign, and now that I am in this seat, it’s to really dig into that and figure out what is going on and how can we prevent these,” she said. “I am working closely with the sheriff and his deputies and figuring out what are some better processes we can put in place to protect the people we’re booking and make sure they’re getting the proper medical care that they need.”

Blumert was sworn in Jan. 2 but was meeting with two members of her staff and district attorney a week before to get information about current lawsuits regarding the county jail and juvenile center.

“A lot of that information was information that, as a candidate, I wasn’t privy to, so it’s finally nice to be in a position where I get to see the backstory on a lot of this stuff and finally dig into what caused these things,” Blumert said. “Most of the litigation we’re involved in as a county involves our jail.”

Many of the lawsuits specifically relate to jail deaths, which are caused by homicide, suicide and medical issues.

Over the years, the jail has averaged about four inmate deaths per year out of about 45,000 bookings per year, said Mark Opgrande, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

Blumert has said that overcrowding and understaffing lead to increased violence and mental health issues within the jail, which all contribute to deaths.

The jail has a safety capacity of 2,800, but Opgrande said there are only about 1,200 beds in the facility. Currently, there are about 1,700 inmates. The reason for understaffing is due to funding and the workload that comes with an overcrowded jail.

“We hire a lot of people, but we also lose a lot of people because of the pay that they can get around the area. They don’t necessarily pay a whole lot more, but it’s also the job as well,” Opgrande said. “You make a little bit more money, but then again you only have about 800 inmates, so your job is not going to be as intense.”

The jail was also designed by architects who had never designed a jail before. A 2008 report by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division found that they likely cut corners to lower costs and based on the design alone, the jail was not equipped 6

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to safely house individuals.

The building was never designed with any recreational or medical areas taken into consideration, Opgrande said.

“There’s only really one recreation area that was built into the facility, and that’s up on the 13th floor, which is an outdoor basketball court,” he said. “It’s just not nearly big enough to allow us, with the number of inmates we have, to get everybody out to be able to do rec every single day. It’s going to be every two days or every three days that we can get inmates out to that facility.”

Because of this, the jail doesn’t offer any programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or recreational activities, Blumert said.

“There’s no space for programming, so inmates spend a lot of time in their cell. I don’t know about you, but if I spent 23 hours a day in a cell, I would probably act outside of my typical personality,” she said. “You’d start to feel a little — not a little; a lot — stir-crazy and possibly do things that you wouldn’t typically do because you’re in such an inhumane environment in my opinion.”

Oklahoma County is the only county in the state that doesn’t have a portion of its sales tax dedicated to county operations.

Carrie Blumert Though there are protocols in place to help those who are not physically or mentally well enough to be booked, Blumert is seeking more information to see if there are ways to improve on them.

“When an individual comes in, after they get searched and we take and store their property, they go to a medical assessment ran by [Turn Key Health Clinics],” Opgrande said. “They have a list of protocols they go through: taking blood pressure, asking questions, trying to figure out if this person has any predisposed issues. They’re trying to figure out if this is an individual we can take care of.”

What happens next depends on whether the person has a medical need that the jail cannot handle and if they are a violent criminal. People booked for nonviolent offenses can be refused and taken to a hospital, while violent offenders might be taken to the hospital and left with a guard.

In July 2018, the jail began using Turn Key Health Clinics to provide care

to inmates. They have been able to stay on top of things and are easy to work with, especially as a local organization, Opgrande said.

Blumert shadowed former commissioner Willa Johnson on a tour of the jail during which they spoke to groups of inmates.

“One of the inmates said that the medical services had improved and the general way she’s treated in the jail had been improved,” she said.

Blumert wants to go back to the jail and talk to more inmates to get to know them and learn even more about issues that can be fixed with the jail.

“There was a woman in one of the groups we spoke with who seemed as passionate as I am about fixing this problem. She said, ‘I’m embarrassed that my city has one of the worst jails in the country,’ and I said, ‘We’re trying.

That’s why we’re here today to talk to you and fix this,’” Blumert said.

In a previous interview with Oklahoma Gazette, Blumert said it was time to put the idea of building a new jail back on the table. The first step in that process was to make the public more aware of the issues that surround the jail. The biggest issue would be convincing taxpayers to pay for it.

“Nobody loves taxes. Oklahoma County is the only county in the state that doesn’t have a portion of its sales tax dedicated to county operations,” Blumert said. “We’re the only county that doesn’t have that cent revenue. We get most of our funding from property taxes, and some of our roads and bridges funding comes from gas tax. I am in support of a countywide, whether it’s a quarter cent or half cent, sales tax to build a new jail and then to support the ongoing operation.”

The jail has also been funded through the sheriff’s budget, which covers some

Newly elected county commissioner Carrie Blumert is focusing on improving issues surrounding the Oklahoma County jail, which is involved in most lawsuits against the county. | Photo Alexa Ace

of the bigger costs but doesn’t provide enough money for ongoing maintenance, Opgrande said. He said officials are open to the idea of a new jail, but the issue is with funding it.

“We’re always open to ideas, and that’s always been the biggest one on the table, but if you do that, how do you fund it?” he asked. “We need to work with county commissioners and city leaders. Something has to be done.

There’s really no way around it. We just all have to figure out as a group what do we do and how do we do it.”

There have also been preliminary discussions about potentially including a mental health and addiction facility in MAPS 4 and putting it next to the jail.

However, MAPS 4 is funded by Oklahoma City residents and the jail houses inmates from various other cities.

“Those discussions are super preliminary, but I know some people are considering trying to get those concepts in MAPS 4,” Blumert said. “I don’t know how that would work. That’s something we would need to discuss because we all need to have a part in this.”

Blumert wants to change the issues she has seen with the jail and hopes getting information out to the public will make people more willing to help pay for it. She believes fixing the county jail is positive for businesses, local communities and the state.

Blumert is finishing her 100-day agenda, which she said is mainly networking and building relationships with people who can work on resolving issues. She plans to post her agenda on her website and social media accounts once it’s finalized.

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O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9

NEWS Omni Oklahoma City Hotel is currently under construction and set to open in 2021. | Photo provided

CIT Y

Hotel amenities

Omni present

The city’s future convention center hotel will open in 2021, but officials have already hit the ground running. By Miguel Rios

Oklahoma City and Omni Hotels & Resorts negotiated the convention hotel deal in 2017, though plans for the hotel stem back to 2008. Now the full-service, four-star hotel is just two years away.

Omni Oklahoma City Hotel is currently under construction at 100 W. Oklahoma City Boulevard, between SW Fourth and SW Seventh streets and S. Robinson Avenue and S. Shield Boulevard. The 17-story hotel will stand across the street from the future MAPS 3 convention center and the 70-acre Scissortail Park as well as caddy-corner to a streetcar stop.

The hotel is a $241 million investment and part of a public-private partnership with the city, which has agreed to pay $85.4 million. Oklahoma City Council approved the deal during a 2017 council meeting to help support the convention center.

“Our partnership with Omni will support our investment in the MAPS 3 convention center and position it to become a resounding success,” said former city manager Jim Couch during the 2017 meeting. “Having a top-quality, full-service hotel next door to the convention center will maximize Oklahoma City’s return on an important investment in the increasingly competitive convention business. This is good for Oklahoma City and good for Oklahoma.”

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Selling point

Omni officials are in the process of setting up a temporary sales office in an old building near the hotel construction site. The office will have two model guest rooms and house the Omni Oklahoma City sales and hotel staff.

“It’s a selling tool for us. We’ll have actual guest rooms built out,” said Mark Wykes, director of sales and marketing for Omni in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. “It’ll be a king room and a double double room. The design will be exact so we can show people firsthand what our guest rooms will look like in the hotel.”

The sales, construction and design teams for Omni Oklahoma City are expected to move into the sales office midFebruary. They will work from the building and move into the hotel once construction is finished.

Dan Boyer was recently hired to be the director of sales and marketing for the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel. Boyer, who has held the same position in the past with Sheraton Grand, Marriott International and Renaissance Hotels, will manage, develop and implement strategies to drive more revenue for the convention center and hotel.

Boyer is already in Oklahoma City working to kick-start the hotel’s initiatives by interviewing sales candidates and creating business strategies. He and the sales team will work with the

Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) to help sell prospective clients on the hotel while it is under construction and once it is complete.

“It takes a joint effort between a lot of different partners, and the CVB is a key one,” Wykes said. “Their job is to go out and uncover group opportunities, association meetings and corporate meetings and get them to come to Oklahoma City.”

CVB will help sell the hotel specifically to businesses and conventions.

The CVB staff researches and spends time in cities like Chicago and New York, where major associations are headquartered, and use the information to book hotels around the city, said CVB president Michael Carrier.

“The Omni specifically, because that’s the convention center hotel, would typically be the first hotel on the list that people would consider because of their proximity to the convention center,” he said.

There have been some letters of agreements signed for businesses booking the hotel, but Carrier said that information will not be released until contracts are signed and finalized. There are currently no individual reservations.

The Omni sales staff will be in charge of booking the hotel for social events like weddings, banquets and family reunions.

“There’s a lot of different markets that hotels serve; that’s why Omni will have their own sales office that will have a number of different people in it booking a variety of different types of activities in the hotel,” Carrier said.

CVB and the Omni sales staff will also work with the convention center’s sales office, which will be managed by SMG, a worldwide entertainment and convention management company that also manages Cox Convention Center.

The 605-room hotel will include 29 suites and feature regional design that will reflect Oklahoma and set it apart from other Omni hotels around the nation, Wykes said.

“We’ll pay homage to the heritage and the modern progress of the city,” he said. “It’ll take inspiration from the city surroundings and from the landscape of the Oklahoma terrain. It’ll bring some of those colors and touches of elegant tradition paired with a sophisticated mix of contemporary and approachable comfort.”

Design characteristics will include a sky-blue color palette, abstract wheat patterns and chevron patterns inspired

by Scissortail Park, according to an Omni press release.

A number of rooms will be also be designed to cater to professional basketball players, featuring larger doorframes, longer beds, higher ceilings and taller showerheads. Preliminary talks have an entire floor dedicated to these rooms, though Wykes said that has not been finalized.

The 78,000 square feet of event space will mainly be housed on the second floor. The third floor will have an outdoor event lawn next to a pool deck overlooking Scissortail Park.

Seven food and beverage options will be available throughout the hotel, including an all-day dining restaurant, a coffee shop, a pool bar and grill and a two-level entertainment and sports bar.

Some restaurants will line Robinson Avenue with outdoor patio seating and street entrances. The hotel will also feature a full-service spa with treatment rooms and a relaxation area, a modern fitness center and a retail shop.

“The Omni is going to be, in many ways, a resort hotel for folks that are looking for a nice weekend getaway,” Carrier said. “During spring, summer and fall, I can see people coming from other parts of the state, or even out of the state, for a getaway weekend in Oklahoma City and going to the art museum or a baseball game or other things around the area, with the Omni being their hotel of choice because of the different amenities.”

Boyer said he’s excited to be involved with the expansion and economic revitalization of downtown OKC. “For this hotel to be one of the focal points of what’s going on [in Oklahoma City] is pretty exciting for Omni as a company,” he said. “That was the attraction for me, getting to be part of this growth of downtown Oklahoma City.”

Construction on Oklahoma City Convention Center broke ground in June and is scheduled to open in 2020.

Omni Oklahoma City Hotel is set to open in early to mid 2021.

JOIN STOMP DANCE demonstrations daily!

WINTER Made WARMER

Symbols on painted drums and hides share Chickasaw history.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY TRADITIONS Immerse yourself in Chickasaw culture with song and Stomp Dance.

Explore the Spirit Forest, art galleries and hands-on exhibits.

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O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J A N U A R Y 1/14/19 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 9:50 9

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Progressive [pruh-gres-iv] | adjective

favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters.

Sounds pretty good to us.

How about you?

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CO M M E N TA RY

NEWS

Opinions expressed on the commentary page, in letters to the editor and elsewhere in this newspaper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ownership or management.

Lankford logic

Passing campaign data to oligarchs is great, as long as you know them really, really well.

By George Lang

On Jan. 9, U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, established that he is willing to say just about anything to divert attention from the multiple investigations into possible Russian collusion with the Donald Trump campaign and that passing campaign data to alleged Russian agents is nothing to worry about.

A slipshod redaction job on one of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s defense filings revealed that Manafort passed internal polling data to a former pro-Russia client in the Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik, who was allegedly tasked with passing it to the Kremlin. On CNN’s New Day morning show, John Berman asked Lankford if the newly revealed and previously redacted information constituted a “smoking gun.”

“No, it doesn’t, and we’re going to get through the rest of the information and more of that will come out,” Lankford told Berman. “Obviously, that was redacted previously and then it was actually put out yesterday. This is an ongoing relationship that Manafort had for one and a half decades. He had Ukrainian clients. This was a Ukrainian client. He was a representative of Ukraine, worked for the Ukrainian government and was trying to be able to work for a peace proposal. I don’t see this as deliberate contact with Russia.”

So because Manafort knew Konstantin Kilimnik really well, everything’s just peachy — nothing to see here. My familiarity with prosecutorial techniques is somewhat limited, but I certainly understand that a defendant’s 15-year relationship with an oligarch who has close ties to fellow oligarch/Vladimir Putin best bud Oleg Deripaska is not exculpatory. That is what a prosecutor delivers to a jury with a smile and a “Bon appetit!”

With this statement, Lankford finally fulfilled his promise and transformed into the dog in the burning house from the “This is fine” meme.

This willingness to set course for the far reaches of reason and deny that someone passing protected data from a U.S. presidential election to individuals with demonstrated bad intentions toward our country calls into question Lankford’s ability to legislate and investigate with fairness.

No one can be certain what Lankford thinks in his heart of hearts other than himself, but I sincerely hope that what he told Berman was a boilerplate “alternative fact” churned out for the Trump team’s proposed “rebuttal” to special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

For the sake of our state and our nation, I hope it was a dodge. But given the fury level his statement generated on social media, my sense is that it did not go well for Lankford. It could live on in suspended YouTube animation so future generations can point and laugh at the man who couldn’t smell the gun smoke.

We often confer maturity, seriousness and erudition on the people we send to Washington, D.C., because it seems right and it makes us feel good about our voting decisions. We as citizens don’t want to believe that we would elect someone to represent us who is either not up to the task or wields brazen duplicity as a rhetorical weapon (aka lies a lot). In short, we want to believe that our representatives and leaders are clear-eyed and on point, regardless of ideology.

But that’s not what we’re getting.

Following Trump’s Jan. 8 Oval Office speech, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said, “This is the most presidential I have seen President Trump. It was compelling and everything he said was true.”

In his contemporaneous fact check of the speech, Salvador Rizzo of The Washington Post found 12 provable lies.

Graham used to frequently criticize Trump’s policies and behavior on the campaign trail in 2016, but then he went golfing with Trump on Oct. 16, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, and that other guy has not been seen since. Last year, Graham told CNN that we should never know what Trump and Putin discussed during their July 2018 meeting in Helsinki, Finland, and that Marina Gross, the interpreter who sat in on the meetings, should not have to testify before Congress.

“Absolutely not,” Graham said. “That will be the last time you ever have a foreign leader meet with a president of the United States privately.”

Trump allegedly took Gross’ notes from her after the meeting, so now the only people who know anything about that meeting are Trump, Gross, Putin and the Federal’naya A luzhba Bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (FSB), the post-Soviet successor to the KGB. Graham does not want the discussion revealed only because it might cast a pall over future meetings? In this case, there is smoke, but we’re not allowed to smell it.

Like Graham’s constituents in South Carolina, Oklahomans deserve better than Lankford’s knee-jerk belief that it is fine to take a quick break from being campaign chairman for a U.S. presidential candidate to pass along to Russian oligarchs through Russia-affiliated Ukrainian oligarchs some great numbers on how the campaign is going.

But even if we deserve better, the majority of Oklahoma voters did not ask for better. Lankford is exactly what you think he is: a theologian who earned a master’s degree in divinity from

Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and then promptly went to work for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Before he represented Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district, he directed youth programming at Falls Creek in Davis. I don’t cite those facts to disparage Lankford, except that if your entire adult experience is spent with people who are pretty much exactly like you, it’s hard to build a frame of reference for the rest of this state’s citizens, much less the world at large. He went directly from the BGC to Washington, D.C., and that’s how you get a congressman and, later, a senator who has no problem telling gay constituents that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice and they do not qualify for protection against workplace discrimination.

But what Lankford told Berman on CNN is not based on the ideology Lankford studied at seminary. This is a different ideology based on total fealty to a president with such sketchy relationships with known enemies that the FBI opened an investigation on whether he was working on behalf of Russia in 2017.

Oklahomans need to make better choices, and so does Lankford. There will likely come a time when people who vigorously defended Trump will try to deny that they ever thought he was worth standing behind. They will paint themselves as rugged individualists, independent-minded conservatives who are agents of change.

But we’ll know who sat in the burning room and said, “This is fine.” They’ll wear those scorch marks for the rest of their political careers.

George Lang is editor-in-chief of Oklahoma Gazette and began his career at Gazette in 1994. | Photo Gazette / file

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11

chicken

friedNEWS

Penguin, pachyderm purloined

Two iconic and colorful mascots were stolen from Oklahoma City businesses in the span of a week, and the crack team here at Chicken-Fried News thinks it might be more than a coincidence.

First, in the early morning hours of 2019, a person (who had likely had too many champagne flutes to ring in the New Year) walked out of Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge at 21c Museum Hotel with its purple penguin. Each hotel in the 21c chain has its own version of the penguin, according to a spokesman from the company.

Police released surveillance footage of a man in a North Face pullover lugging the penguin, which was almost as big as he was, out of the hotel, which probably made for a weird surprise in his bed the next morning.

Clearer heads must have prevailed because the penguin was returned Jan. 3, and the hotel did not press charges after the penguin was unscathed, at least physically. CFN is surprised the thief doesn’t have to foot the bill for the penguin’s therapy.

The second mascot to disappear was Empire Slice House’s pink elephant, Ellie. The elephant has become a fixture for the restaurant as it has gained national acclaim and moved into a larger 16th Street Plaza District location, but she disappeared early last week just before midnight.

City code doesn’t allow for Ellie to be fixed to the ground, so staff usually brings her inside before Empire Slice closes at 2 a.m. As of publication, the elephant was still at large. Surveillance footage didn’t lead to many clues, but have they questioned the perpetrator of the penguin heist?

I guess we’ll know if there is a crime ring dedicated to stealing colorful animal mascots if the bear from Oso on Paseo or any of the buffalo statues go missing.

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Oh, deer

An Oklahoma woman looking for a love connection got a hefty fine instead and didn’t even land a date.

Well, maybe a court date.

The woman, whose identity is being protected by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Game Wardens, started chatting with 24-year-old Cannon Harrison on Bumble, a location-based dating app where only women can initiate a conversation.

They exchanged pleasantries, but almost immediately, she humblebragged about shooting a “bigo buck.”

“Hell yeah, get ’em with a bow?” Harrison asked, knowing rifle season was over.

“Well we don’t need to talk about that,” she wrote back.

She confessed to spotlighting when asked and even sent pictures at Harrison’s request.

Spotlighting is an illegal, immoral and cowardly trick where hunters shine a bright light on an animal to essentially stun it while they kill it.

Well, as it turns out, Harrison is a McIntosh County game warden and the woman had just admitted to breaking at least two laws. At first, Harrison thought it was a prank. His Bumble profile doesn’t list his job as a game warden (we’re not sure why either), but the woman basically sent him a confession, a general location and a picture of herself crouched next to the dead deer while holding its antlers.

“You can’t just ignore a broken law that falls right in your lap but was kind of a bummer,” he told Tulsa World. “She said it was her first deer ever, too.”

Harrison jumped into action. With a

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name, a picture and a sense of where she lived, he figured out who the woman was. Game wardens showed up at her place the next morning and gave her and an accomplice a “bigo� $2,400 fine. She pleaded guilty to hunting deer out of season and possession of an illegally taken animal. No charges were made for wasting meat and spotlighting, though.

She wasn't even arrested, but if we had to guess, she probably won't be bragging about her kills on Bumble again anytime soon. Or maybe she'll opt for Tinder.

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13

M A R I J UA N A

THE HIGH CULTURE

Legal harvest

Growers are starting to harvest their first batch of medical marijuana in the state.

By Matt Dinger

It’s the beginning of Dan Wade’s first harvest, and you couldn’t chisel the smile off of his face. Well, his first legal harvest anyway.

On a Saturday night in the back corner of a northwest Oklahoma City office park, the folks at Green Seed Farm were chopping the second plant from their first growing cycle, a strain called L.A. Confidential.

“They usually finish between seven and eight weeks. One’s not ready, but the other one is prime,” Wade said. “Since it’s a perpetual harvest, every month, we harvest a new cycle. This month, we’ll likely see between five and 10 pounds.

Most likely, it’s going to be right in the center of that. Of course, it’s always hard to determine yield until it’s properly dried and cured. Typically, a bud will lose about 60 percent of that humidity, 60 percent of that weight. So you can weigh it wet, do a little bit of math and get a decent number that you kind of run with.”

In addition to the L.A. Confidential, Green Seed Farm will be growing some old favorites like Blue Dream and GSC (formerly Girl Scout Cookies).

Most of the crop will end up at Steve’s Greens Cannabis + Wellness, 6715 N. May Ave. The first dried and cured flower is expected to hit shelves at the end of January.

“We didn’t expect it to become legal.

When it became legal, Dustin contacted me and said, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’” Wade said.

“I wanted to do this. Me and my wife also have Steve’s Greens CBD + Wellness.

We went to Denver a few months ago with Dan and a couple other people, checking out things and talking to dispensaries, and they’re like, ‘The only way 14

J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

you’re going to make it is if you have your own farm,’” owner Dustin Mathis said.

The “farm” currently consists of two large grow tents housing approximately 70-80 plants comprised of about a dozen strains. The idea is to start small and expand later.

“We started with a $30,000 investment,” Mathis said.

“If you bootstrap it, be frugal about how you spend and watch every dollar going in and out, then you can do it on a budget,” Wade said. “You can actually grow commercially with just a few dollars.”

“If you’re in a gigantic space, there’s just no way you can keep up with it unless you have hundreds of people on staff,” Mathis said. “This way, we know the plants are getting what they need.

We know what needs to be done, and it’s manageable. And we’re growing strains that one, we know are good for patients and two, have really good flavor.”

“That’s one of the difficult things about finding investors and things like that,” Wade said. “They want to know ROI; they want to know exactly what it’s going to yield. And when you’re talking about plants, especially organic like this, it’s wild. You don’t really know what the yields are going to be exactly. Now if you dial it in and use the same genetics over and over and over again, we’ll know exactly what we’re going to yield, but we like to switch things up a bit, you know?

Just keep it new, keep it fresh.”

Wade now holds a grower’s license for a plant that once put him in the criminal justice system for half a decade.

Life experience

In the summer of 2009, Wade and two

THC

others were arrested by Bethany police for growing pot. He pleaded guilty in Oklahoma County District Court and was sentenced to five years probation.

Two years of growing ended with a couple weeks in jail and changed the course of his life.

“I just stayed straight and narrow for the longest time,” Wade said. “It was completely life-changing, to say the least. Completely got out of it for a while.

Didn’t care about it for five years or so after that. It’s hard to care about something after you’ve been locked up for it.

It’s one of those things. It’s always there, that information is always there. Back then, I read so many books about it.”

“We’re both avid smokers. We want good product; we want to smoke good product, clean product. We’re going complete organic — hand-watering, no pesticides. We’re doing it old-school, but I think that’s the best way to do it. ... We know where it’s started and where it’s coming from,” Mathis said.

“It’s definitely something I would be happy to smoke,” Wade said. “Knowing what’s in your weed is half the battle.

And when you’re going to be consuming it, especially the way we consume it — by

from left Mike Mulcahy, Dustin Mathis and Dan Wade harvest plants at Green Seed Farm. | Photo Mike Mulcahy / provided

smoking it or turning it into a concentrate — you want to know that they didn’t use synthetic nutrients, they didn’t use pesticides and fungicides and just grow the plants godless, as I’d call it.”

“We’re growing medical, you know?

We’re growing to help patients,” Mathis said.

“We don’t want to add to the cancer,” Wade interjected.

“We’re feeding them with bone meal and kale and glucose and sucrose and, you know, all the staples. You can literally bathe in this stuff,” Wade said. “It’s not going to harm you. You could brew it up and drink a cup of it and you’ll be fine. You might take a couple of trips to the bathroom, but you’re not going to have to call the CDC.” Now their hard work is ready to be harvested.

Wade begins by cutting off the “fan leaves,” or what most people know as pot leaves. They serve as solar panels for the plant.

Once Wade chops off the larger leaves, he cuts a branch and hands it to Mathis, who begins to trim it. Trimming involves cutting off the smaller leaves on the flower and tidying up the bud.

Afterwards, it will be hung up to dry and then cured. At the end of that process, which usually takes about three weeks, the flower will be ready to be smoked.

The drying process lasts about 10 days, and then it goes into a sealed container to cure.

“Of course it’s a plant, so I can say a time frame I want it in, but it’s kind of like when it decides it’s ready, it’s ready. ... If you don’t do it right, then you can still have a harsh flavor to it, which isn’t fun,” Wade said. “Every stage in growing is important. The seedling stage is just as important as the curing stage. If you keep everything focused, it’s not really hard to keep everything in line. But it’s definitely hard work; that’s for sure.”

Dustin Mathis trims marijuana plants during a harvest. | Photo Mike Mulcahy / provided

THC

GREEN GLOSSARY

GRINDER If you took an entire bud and tried to roll it, that would be one fat spliff. A grinder will break down a bud into a fine texture that will expose the trichome resin that is high in cannabinoids. Most medical marijuana grinders involve rotating pegs that ensure an even shred on the flower. Don’t use your coffee grinder; the potential for unforeseen outcomes is enormous.

HEMP A close cousin to marijuana, hemp is the key source for CBD oil and its fibers can be used to make rope, paper, textiles, biofuels and, believe it or not, biodegradable plastics. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

INFUSED PRODUCT For those who do not want to smoke, infused projects such as edibles, beverages and tinctures can be the answer. This involves putting concentrated marijuana oils into recipes or using cannabutter (or “budder”) when baking.

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15

THC

THE HIGH CULTURE TOKE BOARD

THC

CONSUMERS natural person or entity in whose name a marijuana license would be issued

Applications Received: 39,571 Applications Approved: 30,835

DISPENSARIES

Applications Approved: 848

GROWERS allows the entity to grow, harvest, and package medical marijuana for the purpose of selling medical marijuana to a dispensary, processor, or researcher

Applications Approved: 1,385

SOURCE January 13, 2019 twitter.com/ommaok

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J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

M A R I J UA N A

allows the entity to purchase medical marijuana from a processer licensee or grower licensee and sell medical marijuana only to qualified patients, or their parents or legal guardian(s) if applicable, and caregivers

Collecting patients

Local dispensary Fire Leaf helps Oklahomans obtain their medical marijuana licenses by holding patient drives. By Matt Dinger

Oklahoma medical marijuana dispensaries have to have patients to buy products in order to keep their doors open, patients must have doctor recommendations and pay the license fee before they can purchase them and the two are coming together in patient drives that mutually benefit both parties.

A fair number of local dispensaries have had doctors onsite for convenience and reduced fees. A handful have offered to cover the cost of the doctor’s appointment. But Fire Leaf is taking it a step further and offering patients a chance to recoup the licensing fee in the form of coupons.

That leaves the patient with a $4.30 price tag in credit card service fees for their two-year license.

“My perspective on it is that there are a lot of people out there making a lot of money, trying to get a lot of dollars from people just to obtain a medical card,” owner Tyler Doolittle said.

“That’s not what we’re trying to do.

What prompted us was hearing all the

complaints from people saying, ‘Yeah, we want to get our license, but it’s too much money.’ That’s what prompted us, seeing a lack of affordable ways of obtaining your medical card. That was kind of our initiative there. It was kind of overwhelming, the outcome.”

Fire Leaf’s first patient drive was held Jan. 5 at the south Oklahoma City location, 7876 S. Western Ave. Initially billed as a first-come, first-serve opportunity, the demand prompted them to instead schedule appointments in blocks. Slots for a second event on Saturday have already been filled. A third, private date will be arranged to clear the rest of the overflow before they start with a fresh slate in February.

The parking lot and store on that Saturday morning were packed.

Regular patients arrived to pick up their medicine while dozens waited their turn in line to see the doctor, who had set up a mobile office in a trailer in front of the dispensary.

Only a handful had not gotten the

Fire Leaf, 7876 S. Western Ave., splits its time on patient drive days between selling its supplies and license applications. | Photo Alexa Ace

notice that it was no longer on a walk-in basis.

“I have a doctor friend who’s kind of semi-retired, and he said, ‘Hey, it sounds like a great cause.’ And so we asked him to come out and are paying him a little bit for his time, but we’re seeing all the patients that we can,” former store manager Tim Cable said.

“Obviously, he can only see about 10 an hour. ... We gave them an hour slot, 10 people in an hour slot, and they’re coming all through the day, so they’re here maybe 30 minutes tops.”

Fire Leaf paid Dr. Monte Veal out-of -pocket to cover patient fees.

“If it wasn’t for him, we couldn’t have done any of this,” Doolittle said. “The landlord’s already called and complained, as it was huge. All the other stores were like, ‘There were so many people out there, we couldn’t have places to park.’ It was such a good thing that it caused problems. When that happens, you know you’re disrupting an industry.”

“We’re paying the doctor, and they will pay the state fee, and we’re giving them $100 in coupons to cover their state fee when they get back, so essentially, it’s going to cost them nothing,” Cable said.

Patients who attend Fire Leaf’s drive

are given four coupons for $25 off a purchase of $75 or more.

“There’s a lot of doctors out there charging like 300 bucks, and I’ve noticed a lot of those doctors are like the pill mill doctors, the ones that spread this opioid, disgusting epidemic all over,” Cable said. “Me? I didn’t want to send anybody to that; I didn’t want to deal with those people.”

Cable said they’re referring overflow customers who don’t want to wait for future patient drives to Green Hope Wellness Clinic in Moore.

“The people at Green Hope Wellness — Renee — they’re doing it for the right reasons. ... I don’t want to be one of the profiteers on it,” Cable said. “Now, we’re going to be making money selling our product and stuff, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of people, they need this prescription. They’re trying to come off opioids, and I’ve seen it firsthand in my family, how marijuana can help them stave off the coming down part of an opioid addiction. There’s good things here. I have a lot of people saying, ‘Oh, it’s a bunch of potheads.’ I’m probably one of those guys. I’m a concert promoter, and I’ve been smoking pot most of my life. Maybe I’ve got my own way of medicating or whatever, but there are real people who really need this. One of the first ladies in here is handicapped. It’s not all just a bunch of potheads.”

Fire Leaf is currently constructing a more central location in Stockyards City at 2501 SW 15th St., which has more parking. It is expected to open this spring, and Doolittle said patient drives will shift to that location once it does.

Due to a unique zoning location, it will also have a kitchen for cooking classes and a glass window through which people can see the cannabis growing.

The learning curve has been huge for the first patient drive, but Doolittle said they were able to see 83 patients.

“But that wasn’t 10 percent of the demand,” he said. “There’s time restraints on it. You know, the doctors have to have time to see a patient. ...

We’re going to have to figure out a way to speed up the process.”

Fire Leaf plans to continue the patient drives regularly throughout the year and taking care of the doctor’s visits for patients. They have not decided how long they will offer the coupons to cover the $100 application fee.

“I think, overall, it was a success,” Doolittle said. “But some of the neighbors were complaining, and some of the customers were complaining that they were upset that they couldn’t get taken care of first. So we’re going to try to figure out a better way to maybe do it a little bit functional that works for everybody. But it really worked, and we’re planning on doing a lot more. .... There’s room for improvement. That’s what we want to do; just get it done and move forward and make some happy patients out there.”

The Marijuana Revolution

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17

COV E R

EAT & DRINK

DDD effect

The impact of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives can still be felt at places Guy Fieri has visited in OKC, but where should he go next? By Jacob Threadgill

It’s been nearly a decade since the Mayor of Flavortown himself, Guy Fieri, has appeared in Oklahoma City for his flagship program Diners, DriveIns and Dives, which includes more than 260 episodes over 26 seasons since its premiere in 2007.

Recently, many Oklahoma City chefs including Beth Ann Lyon (Beth Ann’s Black Cat), Shelby Sieg (The Pritchard) and Kevin Lee (Gogi Go) have appeared on Fieri’s game show Guy’s Grocery Games, but his original show — with its legions of fans — has an effect that is still drawing customers from all over the world to OKC. Fieri catapulted to popularity after a runner-up finish on the second season of the reality competition The Next Food Network Star, which earned him a standard cooking show, Guy’s Big Bite, in 2006.

His breakout came later that year when DDD aired as a one-hour special, combining Fieri’s trademark flamboyant hair and appearance in the context of a show that is an ode to interesting food as well as a travel show. What was originally supposed to be a one-off was picked up for a full season and has gone on to become one of Food Network’s most popular programs, with blocks of the show airing multiple times per week.

Oklahoma City’s first appearance on DDD was in the show’s first year at Leo’s Barbecue, on an episode that focused on restaurants that are “local legends.”

Leo’s was opened in 1974 by Leo Smith, who died in 1994, and whose son Charles continues to run the restaurant at its original 3631 N. Kelley Ave. location.

Smith received a call from the show’s producers while they were up in Minnesota.

“They asked if I wanted to be on a nationwide show and that it wouldn’t cost me anything,” Smith said. “I said, ‘Give me a second to think about it,’ being playful because it was free.”

The show’s production team filmed about 10 hours of footage a few weeks before Fieri arrived, and then he stayed for another eight hours. Smith admitted that he wasn’t really sure what to expect from the show because he doesn’t watch much television and he wasn’t familiar with Fieri.

“The producer said that me and Guy would click pretty good because of our personalities … [Fieri] comes in with spiked hair, sweatbands up to his forearms and with his Oakleys upside down on the back of his head and some flipflops,” Smith said.

During the 8-minute segment, Fieri and Smith trade jokes.

“The filling pumps used to be out there,” Smith said, noting the location used to be a gas station. “Now they’re inside.”

Smith shows Fieri Leo’s process for smoking brisket, the methods used to produce its two signature sauces, and he constructs Leo’s signature strawberry-banana cake, which comes complimentary with every meal.

“When Guy left, the filming crew called about a week later and said they wanted to get a shot of me going up the state Capitol stairs with a cake because I told them we did catering for the Capitol,” Smith said. “I was on the 18th hole of the Lake Hefner golf course when they called me, so I met them at the Capitol in my golf shorts with my cake.”

Sudden impact

In subsequent years, Fieri has become cognizant of the impact his show will have on the restaurant features on the show, telling owners to expect their businesses to increase and sometimes double based on the size of their restaurants. Leo’s appeared on the early going of the show, but Smith said he has had a women fly from Chicago just for the cake, and another man came from England while on his way to vacation in Florida.

“They’re still showing up more than 10 years later; it’s amazing,” Smith said. “Now I know the true meaning of busy; I thought we

were busy in the beginning, but it was busloads of people when it first aired.

When OU had a home game against the University of Miami and I looked in the dining room and we had a sea of [Miami Hurricane] orange. …

People want me to take pictures or to hold their baby. They have those DDD booklets of places he’s been to, and people ask me to sign those. He has a loyal following.”

Leo’s remains going strong at its original location after a few years of hardship and ventures into multiple locations. The roof collapsed due to heavy rain, and Smith was forced to shut down the NE 36th Street location for about two years after he had surgery, but barbecue production never stopped. When crews came to film at nearby Mama E’s a few years later, it happened when the store was closed, which Fieri mentioned during the new segment.

“I’d like [Fieri] to see that we’re open and still flourishing,” Smith said.

“We’ve had our share of catastrophes, and we keep pushing. We’re still here, and I’m thankful.”

Even to this day, after all these years, there are people who travel that make it a point that when they go to town, they check to see if Guy ate somewhere and want to go to that place.

J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Nicholas said that he is one of Fieri’s biggest fans and joked that if the Food Network star needed a flat tire changed at 3 in the morning, he’d be on his way.

He attended Fieri’s appearance last year at a Tulsa casino, where event organizers were able to arrange a meeting between the two.

“As soon as I walked in, he remembered my name and couldn’t have been more hospitable,” Nicholas said. “I’ve read different things about him and that he has a big ego, but he sure treated us

Jimmy’s Round-Up Cafe & Fried Pies

David Egan

Food finder

According to Julie Chudow, who does publicity for Food Network’s parent company Discovery, the show’s producers do a lot of research to determine filming locations, using word-of-mouth in the city among the factors. Production shoots at multiple locations in the city before leaving town, as was the case when they returned in 2009 and recorded at Mama E’s, Nic’s Grill, Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, Ingrid’s Kitchen, Eischen’s Bar in Okarche and The Diner in Norman.

Nic’s Grill, 1201 N. Pennsylvania Ave., is an Oklahoma City mainstay for delivering juicy onion burgers from a 17-seat diner next door to owner Justin “Nic” Nicholas’ house. Nicholas said his restaurant’s star turn almost didn’t happen. “[The show’s producers] tried to call us a few times, and I thought it was a buddy of mine making a joke,” Nicholas said. “They kept calling, and I found out that it was real. I almost messed it up by hanging up and thinking it was a joke.”

Leo’s Barbecue was the first Oklahoma City restraurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. | Photo Gazette / file

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Guy Fieri | Photo The Brooks Group / provided

1301 SW 59th St. jimmysroundupcafe.com 405-685-1177 One of the main factors network producers are looking for is a dynamic owner with a good personal story. Look no further than Jimmy Collins, who has operated his from-scratch country kitchen for more than 30 years. Not only is the food at Jimmy’s good, but he also has the camera skills and personality to play along with Fieri. Jimmy’s giant yeast rolls with cinnamon butter have brought customers from as far away as Pennsylvania and Georgia just to get a taste of the food.

golden. When anyone becomes as famous as him, there is always a group of people trying to tear you down.”

Because seating is limited inside Nic’s Grill, Nicholas said that he went from having a steady stream of regulars that ate at the diner two or three times a week to a much larger customer base.

Nicholas, along with investors, opened a second restaurant, Nic’s Place, at 1116 N. Robinson Ave. in September 2016, but he continues to cook most days at the original location, assuming his back allows him.

“I wanted to put a place together that is beautiful but at the same time is comfort-fare food at a price point that anyone can afford,” Nicholas said of Nic’s Place. “I hope like hell we can get Guy down there at some point. I don’t know if we would’ve gotten [to open a second restaurant] without him or not, but I know that what he’s done for me is incredible.”

Ingrid’s Kitchen also opened a second location a few years after appearing on the show. Owner Lee Burrus said that the appearance on the show was the best thing that ever happened to him.

“The day [Fieri] left, he shook my hand and said, ‘Lee, I’m going to give you a heads-up. When this airs, it will double your business.’ He was right,” Burrus said. “We quickly outgrew the original place [3701 N. Youngs Blvd.].

Business increased to the point that we

needed a larger production facility.”

The second Ingrid’s handles the majority of baking for both locations while the original manages its substantial catering business. Burrus has Ingrid’s Kitchen for sale but will only sell to someone committed to keeping both locations open.

“The second location has brought a lot of people that didn’t come as far south and maybe weren’t aware of us, so that’s been a big difference,” Burrus said.

Take wing

Mama E’s Wings and Waffles was featured on DDD not long after it opened, based on word-of-mouth in the city for its take on fried chicken and waffles.

Owners Keith and Stephanie Patterson took Fieri’s advice about preparing for increased business to heart and opened a second location not long after the segment aired, but it quickly fell into a state of being stretched too thin between new owners.

The trouble at the location earned a visit from another Food Network star, Robert Irvine, for his restaurant rehab show Restaurant: Impossible. The second Mama E’s has closed its location, but the original restaurant at 3838 Springlake Drive continues to serve its signature wings and waffles under the new moniker Mama E’s Soul Food. “[Restaurant: Impossible] was a great experience, and it exposed us to a lot of

things,” Keith Patterson said. “It helped us to streamline, and I’m enjoying it.”

Doubling the business at an OKC institution like Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, 1309 S. Agnew Ave., which serves thousands of customers every week, wasn’t really an option according to co-owner David Egan, but he said they’ve benefitted from a continuous stream of fans of the show.

Cattlemen’s appearance on the show wasn’t expected. Egan said that producers contacted him months before filming and asked if they had been featured recently on another Food Network show.

“They said they didn’t want to duplicate [something else on the network], but when they got onsite at another location, there was something about it that wouldn’t work,” Egan said. “They called us two or three days before the shoot and we cleared our slate.”

Egan said that over the years, Cattlemen’s has appeared on four or five television shows but DDD’s production staff remains the best with which to work.

“The most asked question we get is, ‘What is Guy like? Is he arrogant?’”

Egan said. “My answer is that he is very approachable, kind and considerate.

He’s not a blowhard know-it-all. Of course he’s a little flamboyant and sometimes those people are edgy, but he was very approachable.”

In total, production shot about 20 hours of footage at Cattlemen’s, and it has been used to create new segments

on different Food Network shows. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

“You can’t buy that kind of advertisement,” Egan said. “Even to this day, after all these years, there are people who travel that make it a point that when they go to town, they check to see if Guy ate somewhere and want to go to that place. It’s a steady and gradual diet of people who stop in and mark it off their list.”

Next Locations Over the last 10 years, Oklahoma City’s dining landscape has changed, with plenty of new restaurants that deserve recognition the next time DDD crews come to town, but there is also a long-standing institution they missed in 2009.

This is my list of restaurants that deserve some love from Food Network producers. Off the Hook Seafood & More would be a slamdunk inclusion on the list, but the show only highlights restaurants that have one location. Scottie’s Deli is the only true from-scratch deli for hundreds of miles and would be a good fit for a show, but it appeared on The Cooking Channel (also owned by Discovery) late last year.

Lip Smacker’s

The Pump Bar

Cornish Smokehouse

The Mule

4200 N. Pennsylvania Ave. lipsmackersokc.com 405-604-9770

2425 N. Walker Ave. pumpbar.net.

405-702-8898

1630 N. Blackwelder Ave. themuleokc.com 405-601-1400

Located in an active gas station, Lip Smacker’s has quickly become one of OKC’s favorite burger restaurants since opening last year.

Owner Jabbar Chaibainou has the kind of personality that is perfect to pair with Fieri, and I can imagine him preparing the apple and Brie burger with a slice of cheesecake drizzled in raspberry and white chocolate.

Located in a former gas station, The Pump Bar fulfills the drive-in part of the DDD name. With a host of colorful and memorable bartenders, The Pump is the kind of funky and popular place the show likes to feature. Although it’s a familyfriendly show that doesn’t spend much time on booze, The Pump has a good and interesting kitchen that produces a lot of delicious items.

801 SW 119th St. facebook.com/cornishsmokehouse 405-703-1300 This is a speculative play on my part because the brick-and-mortar location has only been open for a few months, but owners Chris and Nicole Cornish have been turning out delicious barbecue for years. The couple has a great backstory and is very personable, and they have a secret weapon: jerk sauce made with ingredients shipped from Jamaica.

In many ways, The Mule represents the modern era of 16th Street Plaza District. It’s got the perfect kind of food to feature on the show — grilled cheeses — but its sister restaurant The Press, which offers a modern twist on Oklahoma classic fare, could also be a good option.

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REVIEW

EAT & DRINK

Isle of brew

Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery is a link to Oklahoma City’s past. By Jacob Threadgill

Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery 1900 Northwest Expressway, Suite 44 belleislerestaurant.com | 405-840-1991 WHAT WORKS: The Burgundy mushrooms on the burger are a standout.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: Lingering cigarette smoke dampens taste buds.

TIP: Brick oven pizzas average $10 and are big enough to serve multiple people.

Long before the sleek streetcar was motoring around Midtown and downtown, Oklahoma City had an earlier model in the last century. Its power derived from Belle Isle Lake that was an oasis of sorts in an otherwise undeveloped prairie north of Oklahoma City.

The lake attracted an amusement park with a giant carousel and a “honeymoon bridge” that led to an island in the middle of the lake. Belle Isle Amusement Park became such a draw that the park attracted Harry Houdini over a Fourth of July, according to 405 Magazine. Getting Houdini in town was the early 20th-century equivalent to this year’s Ariana Grande concert at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Belle Isle was the place to be seen in OKC during its era, but then Oklahoma Railway Company, which built the lake to power the streetcar, sold it to OG&E in 1928. The company built a new power plant, the lake was drained and the amusement park eventually shuttered, leaving city residents to go to amusement parks like Springlake and Wedgewood.

The Belle Isle history lives to this day along Northwest Expressway, where the public library, shopping centers and Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery, 1900 Northwest Expressway at 50 Penn Place, carry its name.

Belle Isle Restaurant opened in the 20

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mall in 1995 and is a direct link to the bygone era. Co-owner David Riesenberg told 405 that the lights hanging over the tables are from the OG&E power plant in Belle Isle, and there are a few trolley control boxes from that original streetcar in the large space that features multiple bars and a performance stage.

Belle Isle Restaurant carries on the amusement park’s entertainment tradition by offering live music on the weekends.

Since moving to Oklahoma City, I’ve always been intrigued by Belle Isle because I’m a sucker for going to the mall, and I like to walk around 50 Penn Place and imagine what it was like during its heyday. Even still, it’s much more lively than I was expecting between Full Circle Bookstore and some new businesses on its first floor.

I was finally able to swing by Belle Isle Restaurant, where they brew a few craft beers onsite, and was struck by the history of the place. Old photos line the walls from bygone Belle Isle Amusement Park, and the dark wood of the interior adds to the retro aesthetic.

The upstairs brewpub portion of Belle Isle Restaurant is 21-and-over and has another antiquated amenity, a smoking section, which I wasn’t pleased to see while I was in the final stages of battling bronchitis, but to each their own, I suppose. The first-floor restaurant has patio dining and no age requirements.

First ride

My trip to Belle Isle Restaurant came when a reader recommended its A barbecue chicken pizza from Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery | Photo The House / provided

burger. Never one to turn down a good hamburger, I went in the early evening and found a decent crowd watching college basketball before its weekly Tuesday bingo night.

The waitress took my order at the bar, and I only had a few minutes to wait before the food arrived. I went with the mushroom and Swiss burger, which is a fresh 7-ounce patty from OKC Meats cooked medium well. They also have longhorn beef, veggie burger options and the opportunity to get a pretzel bun. I forgot to upgrade but was pleasantly surprised to see that the burger was served on a hearty wheat bun. It’s served with lettuce, tomatoes and red onion on the side with the ability to add mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup — no special sauce.

The burger was cooked to temperature and had a nice, crispy exterior. The star of the sandwich was the Burgundy mushrooms. The mushrooms retained a nice plumpness but had plenty of wine flavor that was a real treat. I usually cook my mushrooms at home with a blend of soy and Worcestershire sauces, but this was a reminder to cook them with wine.

The accompanying fries were good, if needing a heavy dose of salt.

At the behest of my wife, my order also included an order of cheesy potato skins. I thought they were solid, if unspectacular, but we got them for a reduced price during happy hour. The fried Swiss cheese is probably Belle Isle’s most intriguing appetizer option.

left Mushroom and Swiss burger | Photo Jacob Threadgill and right Cajun bow tie pasta from Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery | Photo The House / provided

I also tried the Cajun bow tie pasta and was surprised that it packed a good level of heat; a lot of times, dishes like it are Cajun in name only. Entrees are served with a large and indulgent beer muffin that comes with plenty of butter.

Belle Isle’s signature food item is its pizza, and perhaps I erred in not trying one, but I’ve eaten a lot of pizza in the last few weeks, so forgive me for not pulling the trigger. Averaging about $10 per pizza, they’re big enough to serve multiple people and are cooked in a brick oven. The sausage and mushroom margherita ($10.29) will be the first thing I order the next time.

I was expecting standard brewpub food in a sterile environment, but I was surprised to find that the food surpassed my expectations and the restaurant has a lot of well-executed history.

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EAT & DRINK

Fry day

You might’ve seen the internet recently go crazy over a Harvard professor who said the perfect serving of french fries should only be six fries. We’re not cautioning that kind of scarcity with this list that highlights some of the best french fries in the city.

By Jacob Threadgill with provided and file photos

The Garage Burgers & Beer

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

The Garage is always a good place to catch a game or grab a burger, and it offers some interesting takes on loaded french fries.

With 10 metro locations, there are plenty of opportunities to chow down. The Thunder fries (pictured) use blue cheese crumbles, bacon and Sriracha ranch. You can also get queso or chili cheese fries.

The lone national chain on the list stands out for the way it is committed to the perfect french fry. The potato goes through a three-part blanching process before getting double-fried. You can get the traditional Kennebec fries or shareable portions like Parmesan truffle, green chili queso, chili cheese, Buffalo and blue cheese or sweet potato fries with hot honey and sage.

1117 N. Robinson Ave. eatatthegarage.com | 405-602-6880

1125 NW 63rd St., Suite A, Nichols Hills hopdoddy.com | 405-842-3000

BACK TO THE 80´S PARTY

Chick-N-Beer

715 NW 23rd St. chicknbeerokc.com | 405-604-6995

Kimchi might not be the first component you’d think of to make a great fry topping, but its crunch and spiciness go a long way to creating a memorable flavor experience. Combined with melted cheddar, bacon, onions and spicy ranch, the kimchi fries at Chick-N-Beer are always a good combination.

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Bricktown Brewery

1 N. Oklahoma Ave. bricktownbrewery.com | 405-232-2739

The most off-the-wall selection on the list is the sea salt caramel fries at Bricktown Brewery’s multiple metro locations. Part dessert and part-entrée side item, the sweet potato fries are topped with a sweet and spicy caramel sauce, peppered bacon and sea salt.

Tucker’s Onion Burgers 324 NW 23rd St. tuckersonionburgers.com 405-609-2333

There are no frills on Tucker’s menu, and that certainly extends to its regular french fries. Sure, more toppings are great and all, but it’s harder to do a classic item perfectly. Tucker’s fries are crispy on the outside and still tender on the inside, which is good enough to make you want to eat them until they’re gone.

PARK HARVEY

MOB Grill

6213 NW 39th Expressway, Bethany mobgrill.com | 405-792-7408

The double-fried fries at MOB Grill are worth a trip out to Bethany or tracking down its mobile truck location. You can get them topped with a variety of options, including a béchamel cheese sauce, or you can get them loaded with everything: house-smoked bacon, pulled pork and grilled jalapeños infused with secret house marinade.

Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs & Burgers

1400 NW 23rd St. mutts-hot-dogs.com | 405-702-6905

Writer Malcolm Gladwell created a stir last year with his podcast Revisionist History in which he recreated the original McDonald’s french fries, which were fried in beef tallow until the early ’90s. Although you can’t find beef fat fries, the next best thing might be the duck fat fries at Mutts, which are also available through a drive-thru window.

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ARTS & CULTURE

ART

Photo famous Local photographer Melissa Marshall never expected to quit school, take pictures around the world or amass a large Instagram following.

By Jeremy Martin

Melissa Marshall liked her photography class so much she stopped going to school.

“When I was growing up, I always loved photographs,” Marshall said. “My room was always covered in photos. I always loved the aspect of capturing moments because I have a terrible memory. I took one course my second year of college, an intro to DSLR photography, and it was the only class I got an A in, the only class I was interested in. At the time, I was studying to be a teacher, so it was just an elective, but it was the only class I felt confident in and where I felt my teacher believed in me.

So I quit college after that.”

After leaving school, Marshall, who now works as an Oklahoma City-based professional photographer specializing in couples and wedding photography, went on a mission trip where she was able to spend time focusing on her newfound passion.

“I had a lot downtime, so I played around with photography and read a bunch of blogs and found a certain style I really liked,” Marshall said. “So when I moved back to Oklahoma, I started shooting my friends and their boyfriends and couples.

It all just kind of naturally went together.”

After further exploration, Marshall discovered her specialty.

“I shot a little bit of everything in the beginning; most people do I guess,” she said. “But my favorite thing to shoot is couples. So I stopped shooting families and senior photos a couple of years in. … I don’t love shooting families with kids. I’m not great with kids, so it wasn’t a passion of mine. With couples, I was young and in love at the time too, so they were easy to understand and work with them and get their true selves out of photos. I feel that’s the best thing I can Photographer Melissa Marshall is based in Oklahoma City but works internationally. | Photo Tricia Miller / provided

do with my photography.”

Marshall’s husband, Josh, who typically does woodwork, assists her when she shoots weddings.

“He’ll be with the guys while I’m with the girls getting ready,” she said. “During the ceremony and reception, he’ll get the alternate angles, and we’ll trade off during receptions because by that time, we’re pretty tired, so he’ll chill while I shoot and vice versa. It’s great getting to travel together; that’s really the best part of him working with me.”

In February, Marshall and her husband, who both grew up in Oklahoma, will be traveling to Cartagena, Colombia, to shoot a wedding. Many of her clients first see her work on Instagram, where her account @melissamarshallx has more than 60,000 followers, but a feature in Brides magazine last April about a wedding in Jamaica she photographed introduced her to many more potential clients.

They can see themselves in my photos, which is such a compliment because that is my goal.

Melissa Marshall “I think a lot of my newer, bigger [jobs] are coming from that,” Marshall said. “I think it’s a certain type of bride that looks at Brides. They’re a little more upscale and huge and destination and awesome, so it’s a plus. … It was very serendipitous and not on purpose, but it really worked out in my favor. I’ve gotten some really cool inquiries, bigger scale.

Some of them are so big it intimidates me. Now it’s New York weddings, and I’ve only shot one wedding in New York.

It was probably hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that’s just not how I grew up and not what I’m used to shooting.

My wedding was here in Oklahoma City.

I think we had a budget of 11 or 12 thousand dollars, which you can spend that much on photography these days.”

Marshall said her clients tell her they recognize themselves in her pictures, something that’s more difficult to achieve than it might sound.

“They can see themselves in my photos, which is such a compliment because that is my goal,” Marshall said. “I want it to be authentic and natural and not like, ‘Oh, that’s not real life.’ … I think they like that it seems candid even if it’s directed. It’s flattering and emotional, and I’m pretty

laid-back when I shoot, and I really scream that on my website. I’m just a friend at your wedding with a good camera that is good at what she does. It’s not that I’m not professional. I’m not straitlaced. I just want to be whatever they need me to be and take good photos while I do it.”

Positive attitude

Positive feedback from her subjects was originally what encouraged Marshall to pursue photography as a career.

“I think it was other people telling me that they saw something in me that told me I was good at it,” Marshall said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. I just love doing it, and I love being creative and I love editing and everything about it. So I think once it got noticed by people, and they were like, ‘Oh, you’re good at this,’ I was like ‘Oh, cool! Great!’ … People tended to tell me they felt good about the photos of themselves or that they felt it wasn’t going well and then they loved the photos of themselves. I think people are most critical of photos of themselves, so that was a good compliment.”

Her Instagram bio promises “creative imagery for the wildly in love,” but Marshall said the imagery that best captures her subjects depends on who they are, and loving relationships don’t all look alike.

“I never think they’re not in love,” Marshall said. “I may think, ‘He’s really not into this,’ or ‘Oh, they’re shy.’ So I try to make it funny instead of romantic if they’re not into it. I think that’s when they feel awkward or stiff if I’m trying to force them to make out. I’m like, ‘OK, let’s run around and be stupid because obviously you don’t want to be serious.’ I really don’t try to force my style or my preference on them. I’ve never really thought, ‘You’re not very much in love.’ I don’t think about it. I just assume they’re in love. There have been times I can tell they were in an argument before I arrived or something’s going on, but I try to ignore it because that’s just awkward. I’m like, ‘Let’s remember why we’re here.’”

Putting people at ease is important to Marshall even when she’s not holding a camera.

“I feel like my number one goal with anyone, not just work, but even with friends and strangers, is to make people feel comfortable,” Marshall said. “I hate feeling left out or uncomfortable in groups, so I want to be the one that if

Marshall specializes in wedding and couples photography. | Photos Melissa Marshall / provided

anyone feels that way, I can help them. I think I’m good at easing people in to conversations and asking them questions to get them talking about themselves, what they like to do and finding a common interest. With couples, I feel like that’s an easy thing to do because I’ve been where they are, engagements, in college or whatever. And also we go out for drinks beforehand so that helps loosen them up.”

Visit melissamarshall.co.

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Peaceful World

Norman Philharmonic and the University of Oklahoma revive a tradition honoring Martin Luther King Jr. By Joshua Blanco

“When we allow freedom to ring — when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city,” Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed at the 1963 March on Washington, “we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children … will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!’”

King, an inspirational and nonviolent leader of the civil rights movement, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Still, many would agree he fought the good fight, ending the racial injustices that plagued the nation was his life’s mission, an undertaking from which he refused to back down, even though it cost him his life.

But his words did not perish alongside him. Though the days of slavery and Jim Crow segregation remain buried in our nation’s past, the struggle for civil rights is a battle still being fought, and the words uttered by King continue to glow like a beacon of hope in a chorus of passion and fortitude through five decades of unwavering significance.

“Those are actionable words that are still relevant today,” said Karlos Hill, associate professor and department chair of African-American studies at University of Oklahoma. “His dream has not come to fruition, and

Robert Zielinski will conduct Norman Philharmonic in a concert honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. | Photo provided

there’s so much we can do as a state, as a nation, as a world to live in alignment with that dream. What I try to do as a professor, as a teacher, is to try to inspire students to live that kind of life, to live the kind of life that King lived.

Not to live for a paycheck, not to live for achievements necessarily, but to live for something bigger than yourself — to live for others. And that’s something that we don’t hear a lot.”

Along with George Henderson, Hill will be one of two professors speaking at an upcoming event seeking to honor the life and legacy of the late civil rights activist. Henderson was the third AfricanAmerican to be hired at OU. Robert Zielinski, professor and director of choral activities at OU and director of Norman Philharmonic, describes him as “living history.”

Encouraging reflection

The show is much more than a lecture series. Zielinski invites the community to join him for a special evening filled with music and encouragement — an event he hopes will bring people together in a night of celebration and humble reflection. continued on page 28

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“I’m trying to make the concert as diverse musically as I think our world is diverse,” he said.

The show is 3 p.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, and features renowned composer James Oliverio and his World House Concerto, performed by Norman Philharmonic. The event will also feature OU choirs with Zielinski, alongside organist James Morrow, leading the audience and choirs through a score filled with hymns and other popular songs pertaining to the civil rights era.

“There’s a different feel right now, in my view,” Zielinski said. “People are really wanting us to be together. It doesn’t feel right when our communities are not agreeing and all you hear about is this divided country, but we’re really a United States.”

According to Zielinski, there hasn’t been a performance quite like it in over 20 years. Inspired by a prior OU tradition that would honor King annually, Zielinski is finally organizing a performance that pays homage to King 51 years after his death, a tribute both Zielinski and Oliverio believe will deliver a crucial message to modern society.

T H E AT E R

ANTI-AGING SERVICES

People don’t always get along in harmony, but sometimes a leader or some motivation can come along and change things in a positive direction.

James Oliverio “When I was a kid growing up in the turbulent 1960s and there were several assassinations … which at the time was not just business as usual, I just could not understand why it seemed like they were shooting all the good people, or at least the famous good people,” Oliverio said.

World House Concerto owes its namesake to King’s concept of the world house, a place where we must learn to live together or “perish as fools.” The piece is comprised of five different movements, each exploring a different theme through symbolism and melody.

“What I try to examine in this piece is that there’s other options. People don’t always get along in harmony, but sometimes a leader or some motivation can come along and change things in a positive direction,” he said. “I imagine the trumpet as representing a leader and the orchestra representing a community.

“To me, the whole thing is about getting people to enjoy a musical performance but to think a little bit about this great American person who literally gave his all — who sacrificed his life — for the brotherhood of humanity.”

Friday, Oliverio and Zielinski host two Meet the Composer events showcasing parts of World House Concerto, in addition to other musical numbers, in front of approximately 2,000 fourthand fifth-graders. Zielinski also plans to perform these songs at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman, where he serves as director of music ministries.

By engaging with the community, Zielinski hopes to familiarize the youth with songs that belong to the core of the civil rights movement. Those attending either event are encouraged to sing along as the music is performed onstage. “[King] saw a world that everybody worked together,” Zielinski said. “I think everybody wants to work together. We want a peaceful world. The majority of people do want to live in harmony. Music kind of has that written into it. … Anytime I can get people to kind of unite their spirit and their voices through music, I think that’s a positive thing.”

All events are held at Sharp Hall in Catlett Music Center on the OU campus, 500 W. Boyd St., in Norman.

Tickets are available through OU Fine Arts Box Office and can also be purchased at the door.

Visit the World House Overview at arts.ufl.edu/sites/worldhouse.

World project

In 2015, National Endowment for the Arts funded The World House Project, a collaboration between Oliverio and Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. After receiving the support, Oliverio immersed himself in the writings of King, providing him with a more detailed account of the activist’s life.

Having found meaning and depth in his works, Oliverio hoped that one day he would sit down and write a piece of music expressing sentiment and gratitude for the life of the man who paid the ultimate sacrifice for a cause he one day hoped to attain.

“To me, that was inspiring,” Oliverio said.

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Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration 3 p.m. Jan. 21 Sharp Hall Catlett Music Center University of Oklahoma 500 W. Boyd St., Norman | normanphil.com 405-325-4104 $5-$10

T H E AT E R

Matthew Alvin Brown tried to retire from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but she kept pulling him back in. | Photo provided

Wig unboxed

A local thespian’s retirement plan is thwarted by a transgender German rock ’n’ roll icon.

By Charles Martin

Hedwig and the Angry Inch first pinged on Matthew Alvin Brown’s radar when the actor and Fellowship Students frontman was barely breaching his 20s. He had caught a performance in New York City of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s musical/rock concert/one-person show and was enraptured by the frenetic energy, the daring innovation and, above all, the music. He hastily assembled a small production and began his first attempt at one of the most difficult roles in modern musical theater.

Sixteen years later, Hedwig has become a surprising annual tradition for Brown and, despite his earnest attempt to retire his wig last year, he was lured back for another run at Hedwig’s old haunt, The Boom!

“It beats digging ditches,” Brown said with a shrug.

Hedwig is the unlikeliest of unlikely musical icons. The German immigrant escaped the Iron Curtain by enduring a sex change that failed to take, leaving Hedwig disgraced and alone in Middle America. After she finds the love of her life, said love of her life steals Hedwig’s songs and then achieves rock stardom.

Our hero is again disgraced and alone in Middle America as the audience enters her tragedy during an off-the-rails performance in a dive bar. Tormented by the success of Tommy Gnosis, Hedwig reveals her story while misplacing her shocking venom onto her unwilling life partner/punching bag, Yitzhak.

Hedwig’s relentlessly caustic and en-

dearing character is why she has become a must-act for ambitious thespians alongside Hamlet, Willy Loman and The Incredible Hulk. I’ve seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch seven times (five with Brown in the title role), so here is my theory on why this play works: Strutting soundtrack, raucous comedy and tender tragedy all teeter on a tenuous balance that should collapse but doesn’t. It’s like watching a magic trick, and that has elevated this strange idea into something approaching phenomenon. Neil Patrick Harris has even played Hedwig, and I’m not talking “Whatever happened to that Doogie Howser kid?” NPH. I’m talking “Wait! The mother was dead this entire time?!” NPH.

I think Hedwig is one of those characters that if you just pay attention to her for a little bit, no matter where you came from or how you think, you will follow her.

Matthew Alvin Brown Hedwig’s ascension has also surprised Brown.

“I went to Walmart a few months ago,” said Brown. “I have the ‘Origins of Love’ tattoo, and there was this guy

who was a full-on ‘brah’ kind of guy and he was like, ‘Hey, brah. What’s up? Is that a Hedwig tattoo?’ I said, ‘Sure is.’

‘Right on, brah.’ So, that was different.”

So somewhere in present-day America, a musical soundtrack about a transgender German immigrant is shuffled into the same Spotify playlist as Nickleback and Kenny Chesney. If this doesn’t give you hope for humanity, then you are beyond salvation, my friend.

“I think Hedwig is one of those characters that if you just pay attention to her for a little bit, no matter where you came from or how you think, you will follow her,” Brown said.

I’m gonna break with any pretext of objectivity and admit that Hedwig is the only musical to have ever made me cry, and just for context, my previous nonHedwig public cry was when we buried my dead dog in the backyard when I was 11 years old. I do OK through “Origin of Love,” a gorgeous song of once-bonded pairs of humans split in two by a callous god. The now-lonely humans must find their lost halves and make love to still their tortured hearts. I can survive “Wicked Little Town” and “Wig in a Box,” but then comes “Midnight Radio,” a powerful and rallying show closer where revelations are revealed, new paths are paved and cast and audience congeal into one emotionally charged being. It is like a spiritual cleansing, a rock baptismal.

I feel intensely for this music in that adolescent chaos sort of way, where only your music collection understands you.

And to dispel claims of hyperbole, David Bowie once produced a run in Los Angeles, and a poster of Hedwig is currently hanging in the Songwriting Room in the Academy of Contemporary Music at University of Central Oklahoma (ACM@UCO), right alongside Iggy Pop and Elton John. So there.

In previous runs, The Boom! has proven an ideal venue for Hedwig and the

Angry Inch because it eschews formality for a much more energetic atmosphere.

“What’s great about The Boom! is you have all these different people there,” Brown said. “There are people who think they are going to a drag show, there are people who think it’s a play and others who think it’s a rock concert.

And there is also nowhere to escape to.

You are all there in the play together, and that changes everything. The approach is less presentational and more punk rock.”

For the last 10 years, Brown has been performing Hedwig alongside Renee Anderson as Yitzhak. Last year, he split the role with Jared Blount at The Pollard Theatre during his retirement tour. When he was yanked back out of retirement, he pulled Anderson right along with him.

“I’ll do that show with Renee for as long as I can because she really knows her character and how I do my character,” Brown said. “It’s a Lennon/ McCartney kind of thing.”

Because this is a play where 99 percent of the dialogue is delivered by one character, it’s not enough to look like Hedwig or sound like Hedwig or pout like Hedwig. Brown said you have to capture the humanity of Hedwig or you’ll lose the audience.

Brown is uniquely qualified because he has actually been a rock singer, but also because he wrote and starred in his own rock musical, Rainbow Around the Sun. As a career actor, he has been fighting the same determined artistic fight as Hedwig. He not only has the vocal and dramatic range to match Hedwig, but also has the backstory to help him understand Hedwig.

“As you grow and feel things in life, adult things, the joys and the loves but also the angers and frustrations, the stakes get a little higher,” Brown said. “When I was younger, I was more interested in playing for the camp, to get the audience on my side so I could pull the rug out.

“My focus now is to really make her as real and authentic and tragic as possible. The comedy and the humor will all be there, but I want her to be more of a multi-dimensional force, and that understanding comes with life experience.”

Visit theboomokc.com.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch 8 p.m. Jan. 25-March 2 The Boom!

2218 NW 39th St. theboomokc.com | 405-601-7200 $25

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T H E AT E R

ARTS & CULTURE

Modern opera

Painted Sky Opera hopes to make opera more approachable with its latest performance.

By Jeremy Martin

Richard Wagner’s opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen begins when an enraged dwarf steals magical gold from three water nymphs, setting the stage for a 15-hour epic drawing gods and monsters into a war for the fate of the world. In act one of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, which local company Painted Sky Opera produced in September to kick off its 2018-2019 season, a vengeful count curses a lustful duke and his paranoid court jester, foreshadowing heartbreak and betrayal. In scene one of Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, presented

by Painted Sky Jan. 25-27, Sam and Dinah argue at the breakfast table about whether Sam will go see their son’s school play or compete in a handball tournament at the gym.

“It changes the perception of what opera is,” said Painted Sky artistic director Rob Glaubitz. “We have this image of opera that’s like horned helmets and spears and people dying in the streets. … In Trouble in Tahiti, the first scene is in somebody’s kitchen, and it’s like something that any one of us could do. They’re just having an argument, two people, and it feels so real to anyone who’s been in a relationship before.”

The scale might be smaller than a classical epic opera, Glaubitz said, but to Sam and Dinah, domestic conflict and suburban ennui are as important as the fate of Valhalla might be to Norse gods.

“We can run the risk of saying, ‘The stakes are lower,’” he said, “but they’re not really for the characters. They’re just as high as a grand opera. One of the great things about this opera is that Leonard Bernstein treats it in a way that still makes it clear how high the stakes André Chiang and Megan Berti play Sam and Dinah in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti. | Photo Mutz Photography / provided

are for the actors. The music is as grand as a small opera can be. … It still has all the power of grand opera and the same level of stakes. It’s just kind of shrunk down, more like in your living room than on the screen.”

Bernstein’s one-act opera, composed in 1951, chronicles a day in the life of suburban characters Dinah (played in Painted Sky’s production by mezzosoprano Megan Berti) and Sam (baritone André Chiang). Sam goes to work; Dinah goes to therapy; they both go to the movies to see a film called Trouble in Tahiti. The lyrics they sing in English reveal their inner thoughts and feelings.

The battles they wage are mostly within themselves and primarily end in dejected retreat. Glaubitz said stage-directing Tahiti requires a different approach than a grander opera might.

“You have to work a lot more on directing characters in a very intimate way, really maximizing that connection, which is, of course, important in any theater, but it becomes even more important in a work like Trouble in Tahiti where the characters speak more directly to each other sometimes and the issues are less black-and-white,” Glaubitz said. “This is more indie movie in scope than a big blockbuster hit. … If we’re not relating to each other as human beings onstage, then it just, to me, feels fake.”

When done right, Glaubitz said, Trouble in Tahiti might be more relatable to modern audiences than many of the classical operas.

“We’ve all been in these situations where we’re arguing over stupid stuff that doesn’t really matter and it’s hiding bigger issues,” Glaubitz said. “Not that many people have their daughters stolen away by a duke, like in Rigoletto. I think the subject matter itself is what’s going to help make it hit home a little bit because we

can all see ourselves a little bit easier in the characters in Trouble in Tahiti than we can in the characters of Rigoletto.”

Other than Sam and Dinah, the only other characters on stage are the trio (Autumn West, Jeffrey Picón and Zachary DeVault in Painted Sky’s production) that serves the same function as a chorus in Greek drama, commenting on the action and further revealing the character’s thoughts and motivations, though Bernstein mainly uses this for ironic affect. The opera opens with the trio extolling the domestic bliss of waking in a sun-kissed house in suburbia as a prelude to the bitter arguing and accusations that immediately follow when Sam and Dinah take the stage. Glaubitz said Bernstein uses the contrast between the jazzy prelude and the strife-filled scene following it to make a satirical point about “how materialism in our lives is separating us.”

“The striving for a great house and a beautiful car and the perfect job and the perfect body are all just getting in the way of us communicating with each other and being happier human beings sometimes,” he said.

Creating connections

While Painted Sky staged Rigoletto in 286-seat Freede Little Theatre at Civic Center Music Hall, the company is scheduled to stage Trouble in Tahiti in the center’s smaller 90-seat CitySpace Theatre, 201 N. Walker Ave. “CitySpace is such a cool space to direct in because the stage is pretty much a square,” Glaubitz said, “and you have audience on three sides and they’re 3-4 feet from the stage at times. To direct an opera in that way is just something that we don’t get to see very much and that opera singers don’t get to do very much. In opera, one of the things you always have to worry about is 30

J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

André Chiang and Megan Berti star in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, presented by Painted Sky Opera Jan. 25-27 at CitySpace Theatre. | Photo Mutz Photography / provided

making sure everyone can hear you, so you’re pointing out towards the audience, but if they’re on three sides of you in a theater that small, you can actually act in a more realistic way because you don’t have to worry about the mechanics of singing.”

By staging the opera in CitySpace Theatre, Glaubitz said Painted Sky hopes to offer audiences a stronger connection to the performance than they might have in a larger venue.

“We have opera singers that are used to singing for 1,000 people, and to sit in the audience and feel the power of that kind of voice 5 feet away is something that most people don’t have a chance to do,” Glaubitz said. “It’s thrilling to me.

We all got into opera because we think it’s thrilling, but I think a lot of people don’t understand that because they’re always watching it from 100 feet away instead of up close and personal like we the singers are experiencing it. I mean, you feel it in your body.”

Trouble in Tahiti, presented in one act, has a runtime of about 45 minutes. The opera will be preceded by a staged version of Bernstein’s similarly themed song cycle Arias and Barcarolles. Tickets are $30-$45. Visit paintedskyopera.org.

Trouble in Tahiti Jan. 25-27 CitySpace Theatre Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. paintedskyopera.org | 405-594-8300 $30-$45

CO M E DY

Funny people

Five comedians perform at Ladies Night of Comedy on Jan. 26 at The Paramount Room.

By Jo LIght

Fans of stand-up comedy will have the opportunity to start the new year off strong on Jan. 26 with Ladies Night of Comedy, a show featuring a lineup of several up-and-coming female comics.

They perform at The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave. The night’s performers include Julie Drake, Meghan Welch, Georgina Adjaye and Melissa McGinnis. Angel Hamilton hosts.

Like many in this largely male-dominated field, these comedians balance busy work schedules and personal lives in order to follow their dreams of performing.

For instance, Drake decided to pursue her longtime goal to do stand-up comedy at the age of 39, after raising two children as a single mother. She started with an open mic night at The Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., and her set went well.

“I was definitely afraid because if you get up there, it’s all you up there,” she said. “It’s purely your words, your act, and so if you bomb, there’s really nowhere to hide.”

Now with three years of comedy experience under her belt, she’s a standout in the Oklahoma City comedy scene.

She noted that many of her fellow comics are younger, so she brings a unique perspective to her jokes.

She has only done a couple of all-female showcases before, and they were held in Tulsa. She said she often feels an added element of pressure to be not only funny, but also funny as a woman.

“I have had many people come up to me after shows,” she said, “and just pointblank [tell] me, ‘I didn’t think you were going to be funny. I didn’t think women were funny. But you were great.’”

Meanwhile, Welch is based in Wichita, Kansas, and travels fairly extensively to do comedy in several surrounding states. She is also a single mother who started on open mic nights about three and a half years ago, after her son grew old enough.

“I wasn’t really doing anything particular with my life,” Welch joked. “So it was like, might as well start doing this.”

It gets in your blood and you just want to do it all the time.

Melissa McGinnis She calls herself a storyteller, her jokes usually emerging as funny longform tales. She has also performed in female showcases before but pointed out that they were usually for some type of fundraiser. Ladies Night of Comedy is more of a traditional talent showcase.

“I love the idea of all-women’s shows because I like hanging out with women comics,” she said. “I like hanging out with the men too. Don’t get me wrong.

It’s just nice when you can give women a platform like this, and it’s just a night celebrating funny people.”

Despite the exclusive lineup, Welch said the show won’t just be about “women stuff.”

“That’s not how it is,” she said. “It’s still relatable, and it’s still fun.”

Adjaye said she is the most rookie of the lineup since she just started doing stand-up about a year ago at Ice Event Center & Grill, 1148 NE 36th St. She said she hopes the show will inspire even

more female comedians to get on stage.

“You see a lot of male comics, and they just dominate,” Adjaye said. “And I think we have a lot of funny females. So I think with us doing this Ladies Night of Comedy, that will maybe encourage someone else to maybe step up.”

Adjaye also emphasized the diversity of the night’s featured comics.

“I think [the audience] should expect to laugh and expect to see four different ladies get up there and talk about their experiences with different situations,” she said. “You know, I am the only AfricanAmerican lady on this lineup, so some stuff that I might have experienced, somebody else might not experience.”

McGinnis is the fourth featured comedian of the evening. A fan of George Carlin, she has been performing for roughly seven years and called comedy addictive.

“It gets in your blood and you just want to do it all the time,” McGinnis said.

She said she believes the night of comedy will be empowering and a strong demonstration of female talent in the area.

“There are four women comedians, and it’s being hosted by a female comic, but there are tons of female comedians in the Oklahoma City area, in the Tulsa area, in Oklahoma,” she said. “We could have a show like this and not use the same comedians for a good six months or so.”

McGinnis also said she believes the show will serve as an inspiring example of cooperation and encouragement within the comedy community.

“Women coming together to support each other, with our same hobbies and our passions,” she said, “and getting up on stage and coming together and doing a show is a great thing. I think it should happen on a regular basis.”

As host of the show, Hamilton brings five years of comedy experience and agreed the platform for female comics is important.

“I think it’s important for women to have a night of comedy like this show to highlight and laugh about the daily struggles of being a woman,” she said via email. “From raising children to

left to right Angel Hamilton, Melissa McGinnis, Meghan Welch, Julie Drake and Georgina Adjaye | Photos provided

attempting to date via Tinder, being a woman can be a hilarious struggle.”

The event’s organizers are local comedian Lenny Vanhorn and his business partner, James Connaughton. Vanhorn acknowledged that comedy is generally a “boys’ club” and he wanted to put together a show that was new and different.

“All I know is every one of these ladies are extremely talented, and why not have them on a show of their own?” Vanhorn said via email. “I don’t have any political agenda for this, nor am I looking for a pat on the back for being a decent person. I just see talented human beings!”

Vanhorn selected the comedians after working with many of them or seeing them perform in the region. He complimented the ability of both Drake and Welch to use their personal experiences as single mothers as foundations for their jokes. He also said he has worked with Adjaye at previous shows at Ice Event Center.

“She’s a little newer than the other ladies,” Vanhorn said of Adjaye, “but she has an outstanding authenticity about her.”

Vanhorn said McGinnis has a unique edge the audience should enjoy, while Hamilton will bring energy to her role as host.

The show is for audience members 18 years and older.

The Paramount Room bar will be open for guests age 21 and older.

Visit facebook.com/theparamountroom.

Ladies Night of Comedy 8 p.m. Jan. 26 The Paramount Room 701 W. Sheridan Ave. facebook.com/theparamountroom 405-887-3327 $7-$10 18+

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ARTS & CULTURE

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

Submit your listings online at okgazette.com or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

Out with the old and IN with the NEW! Follow us on social media:

TIN LIZZIE’S

@TINLIZZIESOKC

228-1014 • 905 N. Broadway Ave, OKC in Automobile Alley

OKCU FILM INSTITUTE PRESENTS A FREE MOVIE

Maborosi (1995)

directed by

Hirokazu kore-eda, Japan Sunday, January 20 • 2PM Norick Art Center 1601 NW 26th St Oklahoma City University FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC for more info: 208-5707, filmlit@okcu.edu

CO M E DY

List your event in

Trading comedy

Tom Segura brings his dark, sarcastic comedy stylings to Tower Theatre. By Matthew Price

Comedian Tom Segura, known for his Netflix specials Disgraceful, Completely Normal and Mostly Stories, is headed to Oklahoma City for two nights of comedy at Tower Theatre as part of his Take It Down tour.

Chad Whitehead, operating partner of Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., said this is a great opportunity for Oklahomans to catch a nationally known comedian in a relatively intimate setting.

“For me, if you like dark, sarcastic comedy, Tom has become a go-to in that genre. He is a fantastic watcher of modern pop culture, and I think he can dissect it in a way that’s honest but still enjoyable,” Whitehead said. “That’s what great comedians do. That’s the secret to their trade. They can call out things that are awkward or uncomfortable or very honestly need to be talked about but do it in a way that we can all still sit in the room and enjoy and want to pay to see again.”

Segura, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, has made television appearances on Conan and The Late Late Show and has a role in the Mark Wahlberg comedy Instant Family. In 2018, CBS ordered a pilot with Segura and his wife, Christina Pazsitzky, called The Little Things, about the “funny coping mechanisms that get you through the harder parenting dilemmas,” according to Deadline.

Whitehead said he thinks Segura’s movie and TV roles so far are just the beginning.

“It’s sort of your chance to catch a comedy star but then also

Comedian Tom Segura performs three shows at Tower Theatre Tuesday and Jan. 23. | Photo provided

someone who’s probably going to keep climbing in his career and doing more visible things in movies and TV,” he said.

When booking any show, comedy or otherwise, Whitehead said, there’s a mix of the venue’s interest, the talent’s interest and the schedule.

“In our case, when an artist is as highprofile as Tom Segura, you can cut through our interest real quick because any venue in America would love to have Tom Segura for two nights,” he said.

Segura is set for three performances at Tower Theatre on Tuesday and Jan. 23.

“In his case, it was an easy sell for us; January’s a slower time of year, so there was a lot less on the calendar, so that made it easy to look at a couple of dates in a row that worked,” Whitehead said.

He thinks the appetite for comedy is growing nationwide.

“I’ve made a concerted effort … to book more comedy because I think it is an area of entertainment that a growing amount of people really enjoy,” he said.

“The flip side of that is it’s hard to land those marquee artists because they are in such high demand.”

Bringing in Maria Bamford in late 2017 was the first domino in bringing bigger comedy acts to Tower Theatre.

“We brought in Maria Bamford. ... She was the biggest name that we had brought out, and the agents and the managers track things like that, and that started to put us on the map,” he said. “So ... when Hannibal Buress wanted to come to town, we could host a comedian of his quality and of his stature, which is exactly what led to Tom Segura.”

Whitehead said each successful event helps build opportunities for future bookings.

“The more we have the successful shows that really show the financial strength of the market, that will lead to more and more,” he said.

Stage exposure

Tower Theatre in particular works well for comedy.

“What works great about Tower is that it’s mid-size, not too big, so a comedian who is dependent on working with the crowd to get them going — our seating cap is just over 600 — it’s a great size for that,” Whitehead said. “It also has a terraced floor, so it’s great for the fan because they can sit and see everything that’s happening on stage without anyone blocking their view.”

That view isn’t necessarily only beneficial for the fan.

“The flip side of that is depending on how the lights are set, the comedian can see the entire crowd,” Whitehead said.

“He doesn’t just see the first row of heads and then everyone’s behind them.”

In some cases, seeing a show at Tower Theatre could be a way to hear some exclusive comedy.

“I love Oklahoma City, but I love it enough to be OK with someone to poke a little fun at it,” Whitehead said. “You always hope that a comedian will be in town long enough to notice some of the uniqueness about a town and have a joke or two that’s specific for just their experience in the market. So I look forward to stuff like that that’s not gonna be in the Netflix special, and it’s never going to be used in any other town.”

However, in the Netflix and podcasting era, it’s not only touring that top-flight comedians have to fit into their schedule.

“The minute you become a successful comedian, then you’ve got book deals, you’ve got movie opportunities, you’ve got TV opportunities that blow up your schedule,” Whitehead said. “Just on podcasts alone, some of these comedians are making a lot of extra income with things like that that take up a lot of time. So they’re very in demand, and they know it.”

Segura’s podcast Your Mom’s House, which he co-hosts with Pazsitzky, was a finalist for Best Comedy Podcast at the Stitcher Awards; he also regularly appears on SiriusXM radio comedy channels and has guested on podcasts including The Joe Rogan Experience and WTF with Marc Maron among others.

Segura has released three stand-up comedy albums, all of which hit No. 1 on the iTunes and Billboard Comedy charts.

“Tom’s just a master craftsman at his trade, and his trade is comedy,” Whitehead said. “And he wasn’t a household name for a long time while he was earning his chops, and now he’s become that household name.”

Visit towertheatreokc.com

Tom Segura: Take It Down Tour 8:45 p.m. Tuesday 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Jan 23 Tower Theatre 425 NW 23rd St. towertheatreokc.com | 405-708-6937 $45-$78

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CALENDAR are events recommended

by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

BOOKS

Mary Queen of Scots (2018, UK, Josie Rourke) Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) attempts to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie) in this historical drama, through Jan. 17. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-235-3456. FRI-THU Roma (2018, Mexico Alfonso Cuarón) a maid becomes involved in a middle class familiy’s domestic drama in 1970s Mexico City, through Jan. 17. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-235-3456. FRI-

THU

Brown Bag Book Club bring your own lunch to this discussion of Sonja Sadovsky’s book The Priestess and the Pen, exploring ways fantasy writers have shaped the way women are depicted in popular culture, 11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m. Jan. 23. Labyrinth Temple, 417 NW 25th St, facebook.com/LabyrinthTempleOKC/. WED

VHS & Chill: The Last Starfighter (1984, USA, Nick Castle) gamer Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) is chosen to join an elite team of space pilots after he beats a video game designed by extraterrestrials, 10 p.m. Jan. 18. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave, 405-235-3456. FRI

Brunching with Books a book club meeting every other week, with reading selections chosen by group preference, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.

Buttermilk Paseo, 605 NW 28th St., 405-605-6660, buttermilkokc.com. SAT

HAPPENINGS

FILM Helicopter Missions: Vietnam Firefight (2018, USA, Richard Max) a screening of the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary about a high-stakes rescue mission during the Vietnam War moderated by retired helicopter pilot Bob Ford, 1-3 p.m. Jan. 19.

Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org. SAT Maborosi (1997, Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda) a young woman moves to a small fishing village after her first husband commits suicide, 2 p.m. Jan. 20. Oklahoma City University School of Visual Arts, 1601 NW 26th St., 405-208-5226, okcu.edu/artsci/departments/ visualart. SUN

Board Game Day enjoy local craft beer while playing old-school board and arcade games with friends, 5-8 p.m. Sundays. FlashBack RetroPub, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-633-3604, flashbackretropub. com. SUN Byzantine Art & Contemporary Fashion University of Oklahoma art history professor Rozmeri Basic will present a lecture on the controversy surrounding Dolce et Gabbana’s Byzantine fashion collection, which includes religious iconography, 6:15-7:30 p.m. Jan. 18. Pioneer Library System, 225 N Webster Ave., Norman, 405-701-2600, pioneerlibrarysystem.org/norman. FRI Chicago Steppin Class learn how to do the popular dance at this free weekly class, 7-9 p.m.

Thursdays. L & G’s on the BLVD, 4801 N. Lincoln Blvd., 405-524-2001, facebook.com/landgsontheblvd. THU Conversational Spanish Group Meetup an opportunity for all experience levels to practice speaking Spanish, 7 p.m. Tuesdays. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. TUE Downtown Recyclers Toastmasters practice your public speaking skills at this ongoing weekly meeting, noon-1 p.m. Wednesdays. Department of Environmental Quality, 707 N. Robinson Ave., 405702-0100, deq.state.ok.us. WED Drag Bingo a fundraising event for Other Options, Inc. and Great Plains Rodeo Association and hosted

by Luxx Bentley, Roxie Hart and Carmen Deveraux, 7 p.m. Jan. 20. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-6017200, theboomokc.com. SUN Glitter Ball: Moulin Rouge deadCenter Film will honor Brian Hearn and Kevin Ely’s contribution to the local film scene at this dance party, 8 p.m. Jan. 19. Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405-708-6937, towertheatreokc.com. SAT

Allen Strickland Williams Don’t say you weren’t warned. Stand-up comedian Allen Strickland Williams often opens his act by announcing the exact number of jokes he’s about to tell. “I started doing this early on because the vast majority of my set is comprised of one-liners, as opposed to longer observational bits, stories or act-outs, which are far more common,” he wrote in Experience Magazine. “I realized that I had been throwing audiences a curveball, and I wanted to give them warning — and make sure my first few jokes didn’t die on the vine while people were catching on.” Two appearances on Conan, where he told 11 jokes in 2014 and 10 jokes in 2018, have no doubt helped audiences figure it out, and prepping for his upcoming half-hour Comedy Central special has probably upped the joke count considerably.

Local openers Steve Wampus Reynolds, Jenny Godwin and Heath Huffman will pitch a few curveballs of their own. The show starts 9 p.m.

Jan. 23 at Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., in Norman. Tickets are $8. Call 405-230-0311 or visit opolis.org.

JAN. 23 Photo Megan Thompson / provided

Governor’s Club Toastmasters lose your fear of public speaking and gain leadership skills by practicing in a fun and low-stakes environment, noon-1 p.m. Wednesdays. Oklahoma Farm Bureau Building, 2501 N. Stiles Ave., 405-523-2300, okfarmbureau. org. WED The Liszt Band Industry Night a night celebrating the musicians who played at the club in 2018, 7p.m. Jan. 20. The Liszt, 12100 N. May Ave., 405-2050807, facebook.com/theliszt/. SUN Mid-South Wrestling Alliance Gemini, Prince MAhalli, Doc Black, Xavior and more will compete in “Colladderal Damage” at this local professional wrestling promotion, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18. OKC Farmers Market, 311 S Klein Ave, 4054860701. FRI Mindful Yoga Happy Hour practice mindful meditation with Bhante Santhapiya, followed by coffee, tea and conversation, 5-7 p.m. Fridays.

Oklahoma Buddhist Vihara, 4820 N Portland Ave., 405-810-6528, okbv.org. FRI OKC Beard and Mustache Bash a facial hair competition with live music and a silent auction benefiting SISU Youth Services, 4:30 p.m.-midnight Jan. 19. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. SAT Oklahoma Jewelry and Bead Show shop for wholesale beads and jewelry supplies as well as jewelry at this three-day event, 10 a.m. Jan. 18-20.

Oklahoma State Fair Park, 3220 Great Plains Walk, 405-948-6700, okstatefair.com. FRI-SUN Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Cultivation and Growers Training a seminar about cannabis cultivation including information about, planting, harvesting, drying and curing medical marijuana plants, 1-3:30 p.m. Jan. 19. Hampton Inn, 300 E. Sheridan Ave. SAT Red Tent women are invited to share stories, experiences and wisdom in a safe space; bring objects to decorate the tent before the ceremony, 6-9 p.m.

Jan. 19. Beautifully Connected, 13524 Railway Drive, Suite J, 262-753-6852, beautifullyconnectedwellness. com. SAT Richard Simmons New Year’s Resolution Party wear ’80s-era workout clothing to this Sweating to the Oldies-themed dance party, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Walking through Chicago’s Marquette Park in a demonstration against housing discrimination in 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a rock thrown by a member of an angry mob of counter-protestors. After the first stone was cast, a rain of bricks, bottles and rocks followed. Less than two years later, King was assassinated, but the struggle for civil rights continues in the face of open hostility. Learn about his life on your own, hopefully more peaceful, walk through the park; contribute to a community art project and canned-food drive; and hear a reading of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech followed by a gospel choir performance before the annual MLK Day Parade starts. Activities begin at 10 a.m. at the visitor center at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave. The parade begins at 2 p.m. at the intersection of N. Walker Avenue and NW Sixth Street.

Admission is free. Visit myriadgardens.org.

MONDAY Photo provided Jan. 19. FlashBack RetroPub, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-633-3604, flashbackretropub.com. SAT RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 Watch Party meet up with other fans to watch the popular reality show paired with a live drag show featuring local performers, 7-9 p.m. Fridays. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-601-7200, theboomokc.com. FRI Toastmasters Meeting hone public speaking and leadership skills in a move-at-your own pace environment, 7-8:30 p.m. Thursdays. McFarlin United Methodist Church, 419 S. University Dr, Norman, 623810-0295. THU Wednesday Night Trivia test your knowledge on various subjects for the chance to win prizes, 8 p.m. Wednesdays. The Garage Burgers and Beer, 1117 N. Robinson Ave., 405-602-6880, eatatthegarage. com. WED Women’s March Oklahoma City a demonstration for women’s rights held in cities across the United States, 1:30-4 p.m. Jan. 20. Oklahoma State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., 405-521-3356, ok.gov.

SUN

FOOD Filling Tummies Scotch Tasting sample scotch whisky and enjoy food from McNeal’s Catering with Class & Moore’s 3 Star Barbecue at this fundraising event for a nonprofit fighting hunger in Oklahoma, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Jan. 19. Dunlap Codding, 609 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-607-8600, dunlapcodding.com.

SAT

Intro to Making Sushi Class learn to make sushi rice and salmon and California rolls at this hands-on beginner’s class, noon-2 p.m. Jan. 20. Full Moon Sushi, 326 E. Main St, 405-701-1800, fullmoonsushi. com/. SUN

YOUTH Academic Enrichment Reading Clinic students in grades 1-12 are invited to learn about reading, math, logic, history, nonviolent conflict resolution, personal habits for success and more, 11 a.m. Jan. 19.

Nappy Roots, 3705 Springlake Drive, 405-896-0203, facebook.com/pg/nappyrootsbooks. SAT Baby Signing Time: Series 1 an American Sign Language class with songs, stories and activities for

children 0-3 years old and their parents, 11 a.m.-noon Fridays through Feb. 1. Thrive Mama Collective, 1745 NW 16th St., 405-356-6262. FRI Early Explorers toddlers and preschoolers can participate in fun scientific activities they can repeat later at home, 10-11 a.m. Thursdays. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. THU Reading Wednesdays a weekly story time with hands-on activities, goody bags and reading-themed photo ops, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Wednesdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. WED Storytime Science the museum invites children age 6 and younger to hear a story and participate in a related scientific activity, 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok. org. TUE-SAT

PERFORMING ARTS Battle of the Hardest Artist performers compete in the art of their choice to win cash prizes with the winner chosen by the audience, 9-11:30 p.m. third Monday of every month. Hubbly Bubbly Hookah & Café, 2900 N. Classen Blvd. Suite K, 405-609-2930.

MON

Distinguished Artists Trumpet Recital: Huw Morgan the trumpet player will perform with pianist Rebecca Wilt, 7:30-9 p.m. Jan. 19. Bass School of Music, OCU, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405-208-5227, okcu.edu. SAT Divine Comedy a weekly local showcase featuring a variety of comedians from OKC and elsewhere, 9 p.m. Wednesdays. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. WED Don Quixote Open Mic a weekly comedy show followed by karaoke, 7:30-9 p.m. Fridays. Don Quixote Club, 3030 N Portland Ave., 405-947-0011. FRI Jazz & Blues Mondays a weekly showcase for musicians and vocalists, 8:30 p.m. Mondays. Ice Event Center & Grill, 1148 NE 36th St., 405-208-4240, iceeventcentergrill.eat24hour.com. MON Ken Jeong the comedian, known for his work on the TV series Community and The Hangover film trilogy, will perform standup, 7-9 p.m. Jan. 19. Riverwind

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continued from page 33 Casino, 1544 W. State Highway 9, 405-3226000, riverwind.com. SAT Lumpy’s Open Mic Night play a song of your own or just listen to the performers at this weekly show hosted by John Riley Willingham, 9 p.m. Wednesdays. Lumpy’s Sports Grill, 12325 N. May Ave., 405-2863300, lumpyssportsgrill.com. WED

National Theatre Live: Julie Vanessa Kirby and Eric Kofi Abrefa star in this Carrie Cracknel-directed production pre-recorded in London’s West End, 6-9 p.m. Jan. 20.

OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave., 405-682-7579, tickets.occc.edu.

SUN

One Thousand Bird local standup comics James Nghiem, Josh Lathe, Nora Gnabasik and Anthony Cavazos are scheduled to perform, 7-9:30 p.m. Jan. 18. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-4630470, 51stspeakeasy.com. FRI The Root Open Mic hosted by Elecktra, this open mic has an open-stage, almost-anything-goes policy and a booked feature act, 6-11:30 p.m. The Root, 3012 N. Walker Ave., 405-655-5889, therootokc. com. MON Triple’s Open Mic a music and comedy open mic hosted by Amanda Howle, 7:30 p.m. every other Wednesday. Triple’s, 8023 NW 23rd St., 405-7893031. WED The Phantom of the Opera soprano Christine goes from chorus girl to star performer with help from the mysterious Phantom in this musical by

Andrew Lloyd Webber, through Jan. 20. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. WED-SUN Poetry and Chill Open Mic poets and spokenword artists the stage to share their latest verses at this bi-weekly event, 9 p.m.-midnight Fridays. The Queen Lounge, 2306 N. MacArthur, 405-606-8616.

FRI

PoetryAndChillOKC Open Mic see live music and poetry and have the chance to perform yourself at this open event, 7-9 p.m. Jan. 19. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405-208-5000.

SAT

Public Access Open Mic read poetry, do standup comedy, play music or just watch as an audience member, 7 p.m. Sundays. The Paseo Plunge, 3010 Paseo Plunge, 405-315-6224, paseoplunge.org. SUN Red Dirt Open Mic a weekly open mic for comedy and poetry, hosted by Red Dirt Poetry, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Sauced on Paseo, 2912 Paseo St., 405-521-9800, saucedonpaseo.com. WED Sanctuary Karaoke Service don a choir robe and sing your favorite song, 9 p.m.-midnight Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sanctuary Barsilica, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., facebook.com/sanctuarybarokc.

WED-THU

The Skirvin Jazz Club a weekly live jazz show presented by OK Sessions, 7:30 p.m. Fridays. Park Avenue Grill, 1 Park Avenue, 405-702-8444, ParkAveGrill.com. FRI Voctave the chart-topping a cappella group will perform selections from their catalog of gospel, musical theater, barbershop and pop songs, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19. Mitchell Hall Theatre, 100 N. University Drive, 405974-2000, uco.edu. SAT

ACTIVE Co-ed Open Adult Volleyball enjoy a game of friendly yet competitive volleyball while making new friends, 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays. Jackie Cooper Gymnasium, 1024 E. Main St., Yukon, 405-350-8920, cityofyukon.gov. WED Full Moon Vinyasa Flow a 90-minute candlelit yoga and meditation session featuring Chandra Namaskar a dance-like moon salutation sequence, 7-8:30 p.m. Jan. 19. 405 Yoga, 1004 N. Hudson Ave., 405-778-8905, 405yoga.com. SAT Monday Night Group Ride meet up for a weekly 25-30 minute bicycle ride at about 18 miles per hour through east Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. Mondays. The Bike Lab OKC, 2200 W. Hefner Rd., 405-603-7655.

MON

Open Badminton hit some birdies in some morning pick-up games of badminton with friends, 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays. Jackie Cooper Gymnasium, 1024 E. Main St., 405-350-8920, cityofyukon.gov.

SAT

Wheeler Criterium a weekly nighttime cycling event with criterium races, food trucks and family activities, 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays. Wheeler Park, 1120 S. Western Ave., 405-297-2211, okc.gov. TUE Yoga Tuesdays an all-levels class; bring your own water and yoga mat, 5:45 p.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays.

Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE

Golden Dragon Acrobats Centuries before Cirque du Soleil, Chinese acrobats were defying death and gravity and outlasting several dynasties in the process. Based in Dallas and led by director and producer Danny Chang and his wife, choreographer Angela Chang, internationally touring Golden Dragon Acrobats has upheld this time-tested tradition while incorporating modern stage production techniques since the company was first founded in 1967. See costumes and routines inspired by ancient customs and modern fashion, and watch performers dance, tumble, contort and flip in ways that challenge your concept of physics and human anatomy. The show starts 8 p.m.

Friday at Oklahoma City Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave. Tickets are $15-$35. Call 405-6827579 or visit tickets.occc.edu.

FRIDAY Photo provided

VISUAL ARTS American Indian Artists: 20th Century Masters an exhibition of Native art from the Kiowa Six, Harrison Begay, Tonita Peña and more, through May 12. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. SAT-TUE ArtNow 2019 view and purchase works by Oklahoma-based artists at this art sale and cocktail party raising funds for Oklahoma Contemporary, 6:30 p.m.-midnight Jan. 18. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-9510000, oklahomacontemporary.org. FRI Beautiful Minds: Dyslexia and the Creative Advantage an exhibition of artworks created by people with dyslexia including students from Oklahoma City’s Trinity School, through July 14.

Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. FRI-TUE Contemporary Impulses an exhibition of works

by Rea Baldridge, Marc Barker, Kathleen Blake, Lance Griffin and more, through Jan. 28. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com. THU-MON Cowboys in Khaki: Westerners in the Great War learn about the ways Westerners contributed to the US effort in World War I at this exhibit featuring military, rodeo and other historical memorabilia from the time period, through May 12. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. SAT-TUE Greg Burns: A Collection of Contemporary Watercolors the Oklahoma artist displays works inspired by trips to New Mexico and Florida, through

WWE Monday Night Raw Recently on Monday Night Raw, we’ve seen the McMahon family’s management shakeups enforced in all-out brawls, an eightwoman gauntlet match to determine who got a shot at former UFC Champion Ronda Rousey’s Raw Women’s Champion title and too much trash-talking, furniture smashing and internecine intrigue to recount here. So there’s no telling what, exactly, is in store when Raw hits OKC, but we’re told to expect an Intercontinental Championship match between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose; a heated rematch between Braun Strowman and former corrupt Raw general manager Baron Corbin; and appearances by Rousey, Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley and Finn Bálor. As always, the card is subject to change. Be ready to rumble 6:30 p.m. Monday at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave. Tickets are $20-$300. Call 405-602-8700 or visit chesapeakearena.com.

MONDAY Photo provided

Jan. 19. [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405815-6665, 1ne3.org. THU-SAT Inspirations from Nature an exhibition of abstract paintings by Anthony Dyke and Susan Morrison-Dyke celebrating the beauty of nature and architecture, through Jan. 31. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE-THU

Whiteout at Campbell Art Park an outdoor artwork made by hundreds of transparent white spheres embedded with white LED lights and animated in large-scale patterns, through March 31.

Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-000, oklahomacontemporary.org. WED-SUN

Joan Faught view paintings inspired by the Hubble Telescope, through Jan. 31. Porcelain Art Museum, 2700 N. Portland Ave., 405-521-1234, wocp.org.

TUE-THU

Mat Reed: One Man Group Show an exhibition of the wide-ranging works of the Norman-based artist, 6-9 p.m. Jan. 18. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-2326060, iaogallery.org. FRI Norman Tipsy Artist Show create your own painting from a template made by artist Tiffany Bora, 6-9 p.m. Jan. 17. Thunderbird Casino, 15700 E. State Highway 9, Norman, 405-360-9270, thunderbirdcasino.net. THU Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art an exploration of contemporary pop art inspired by Andy Warhol, Nick Cave, R. Luke DuBois and others, through Feb. 28. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com.

SUN-THU

Resistance an exhibition of artist Don Holladay’s works created from burlap, string, house paint, joint compound, sand, collaged photographs, gravel and clothes pins, through Feb. 24. Norman Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. FRI-SUN Welcome Home: Oklahomans and the War in Vietnam explores the impact of the war on Oklahoma families as well as the stories of Vietnamese families relocated to Oklahoma, through Nov. 6.

Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org. MON-TUE

Submissions must be received

by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date.

Late submissions will not be included in the listings.

Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible. Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

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Wow factor

Amilia K Spicer makes a stop in OKC in support of her most recent album Wow and Flutter.

By Jeremy Martin

Asked how much time she spent on her last album, Amilia K Spicer wanted to avoid an exact number.

“Oh, god! I don’t want to say,” Spicer said, laughing. “It was a long damn time.

It was over many years. ‘A long damn time,’ is my favorite answer so I don’t have to be specific. … The record sat helpless and stranded for several segments of time, maybe the longest of which was two years. It just sat.”

Spicer, who played Okemah’s Woody Guthrie Festival in July, returns to Oklahoma Jan. 24 for an evening at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley Ave. Released in 2017, Spicer’s Wow and Flutter is the follow-up to her previous full-length, Seamless, released in 2002.

The singer/songwriter, a Pennsylvania native who now divides her time between Austin and Los Angeles, originally moved to LA to work in the movie industry but became annoyed by how long the creative process seemed to take.

“I got a little frustrated, perhaps impatient, when I was on film sets,” Spicer said. “I loved being there, but as I was doing it, I started craving a more immediate way to make art that didn’t require so many months and so many different committees. … I think some of the turning towards music was completely mystical in the way that the universe gives you a path, but some of it was, definitely, it was exciting for me to think about being able to wake up, write a song and then play a song, and it could happen just like that. It didn’t require anyone else, so that was pretty exhilarating.”

Recording her debut, Like an Engine, released in 2000, Spicer wanted to do as much as she could on her own, but her attitude has changed over the years.

“When I started doing music and got a couple of record-deal offers,” Spicer said, “I don’t know if it’s just me or if this is typical, but you’re very protective. I was very protective about sharing

Released in 2017, Spicer’s Wow and Flutter is the follow-up to her previous full-length, Seamless, released in 2002. | Image provided

publishing or things like that, very, ‘Oh no; I want this all for myself,’ but I’ve changed my thoughts about that, and the business is quite different now. I’m all about collaboration to begin with.”

Wow, which roots music magazine No Depression called “both beautiful and fresh,” features contributions from bassist and Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones collaborator Daryl Johnson, keyboardist and Taj Mahal and Bonnie Raitt collaborator Mike Finnigan, pedal-steel player and Son Volt collaborator Eric Heywood, guitarist Gurf Morlix and more. Spicer produced the album along with co-producer and engineer Steve McCormick.

“I really missed being in a room with people and talking about ideas and feeding off of each other’s creativeness,” Spicer said. “I had that in the studio when I was making this record, but since then, I’ve been sort of wandering around the hallways of my head, and I guess that’s not unusual for a songwriter, but I feel like I’m really missing a community.”

Even with so many collaborators, the album’s lengthy recording process could be an isolating experience.

“Putting out Wow and Flutter was challenging,” Spicer said. “Finishing it took a long time. It kind of kept kicking my ass, and I’m really very proud of it, but I do think in order to get that done and get it out the door, because it was challenging me at every step, I had to really turn inward and cut down my social life. I was going out all the time to see my friends play, going out to clubs and stuff. That got reduced drastically.

And then you’re out trying to get the word out, so it’s very isolating, or it has been, and it can really make you feel like a narcissist. I need to surround myself with people’s brilliance so I can be inspired by it.”

Artistic discovery

In promoting the album, Spicer rediscovered her love for directing, filming videos for singles “Harlan,” “Fill Me Up” and “Lightning.” The video for “Lightning” largely consists of clips Spicer shot in hotel swimming pools while on tour. Modern technology has provided her more opportunities for creative multitasking.

“These days, you have so many prospects as an artist that you have to humor yourself,” Spicer said. “[Filmmaking] snuck back into my life, and I’m really happy about that. … One of the benefits of this sort of way-too-connected world that we’re in now, the oversaturated world that we’re in now, is that, really, it’s not just required, but it can be excit-

ing that you’re allowed to do different things and be different things. It makes it a lot harder in some ways, but the way I’m choosing to look at it these days is I have a lot of different art within me. I always have, and now I get to do it all.

The question is, How many hours are there in the day? How much focus can you have? For me, trying to lasso one of them to the ground for a period of time so I can focus on just that is the trick.”

Originally a keyboardist, Spicer found new inspiration for Wow by learning to play several other instruments, starting with guitar and branching out into banjo, pedal steel, melodica and banjo. The new sounds inspired her to write new songs, requiring her to reconsider the album’s track list several times and prolonging the recording process.

“I kept writing songs, we would record them and then I would want them on the record, so the song list kept growing and changing, and that is also a lesson as to how not to make a record quickly,” Spicer said. “Songs kept getting bumped by new ones. I always like shiny things, so I was, like, ‘Oh, a new song. Goodbye old song. Bye-bye.’”

While Spicer thinks she’s running out of new instruments she might add to her repertoire to find inspiration for her next album, which she said might be “more pop-oriented,” she’s still searching for new ways to approach her art.

Amilia K Spicer, who played Okemah’s Woody Guthrie Festival in July, returns to Oklahoma Jan. 24 for an evening at The Blue Door. | Photo provided

“I’m always trying to adjust my headspace because the more days we’re on the planet, hopefully the more we’re evolving or taking in new information and trying to figure out how to reside within that peacefully,” Spicer said. “What that’s going to look like for the new album, I’m not exactly sure, but I definitely am not a person to stay still, mentally or physically, so I am always interested in trying new things, maybe to a fault.”

One thing she said might try next time out is spending less time in the studio.

“Sonically, I like to experiment, but I also am very particular,” Spicer said.

“I haven’t yet recorded an album that’s, you know, ‘Set up some mics. Push record. Play it once, and that’s a wrap.’

That would be really scary for me, and that probably means I should do it.”

Tickets are $20. Visit bluedoorokc. com.

Amilia K Spicer 8 p.m. Jan. 24 The Blue Door 2805 N. McKinley Ave. bluedoorokc.com | 405-524-0738 $20

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Woods aesthetic

Justin Timberlake brings his Man of the Woods Tour to OKC. By Matthew Price

Ten-time Grammy winner Justin Timberlake brings his Man of the Woods Tour to Oklahoma City 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26 at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave. The show comes just weeks after the release of Timberlake’s first book, Hindsight & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me, described by the publisher as “a peek into Timberlake’s creative process through an intimate collection of images from his personal archives that range from childhood to present day.”

Being in the limelight for two decades might well spur some “hindsight,” but despite softer sales for Timberlake’s Man of the Woods than his previous albums, local DJ Ryan Drake said Timberlake still has the skills to bring sexy back.

“I consider Justin Timberlake to be one of my five favorite artists of all time, so that’s the preface that I’m approaching all of this with, but I thought … Man of the Woods didn’t click,” he said. “It was a No. 1 album, so it’s hard to say it flopped, but it wasn’t quite Timberlake level.”

The year 2018 might have been the first time Timberlake didn’t find himself with the benefit of the doubt — backlash following his Super Bowl performance rehashed the “wardrobe malfunction” with Janet Jackson and the lack of negative effects visited on

Timberlake at the time; also, the use of archival footage of Prince for a posthumous duet was criticized by some who believed it would have been against the late singer’s wishes. Furthermore, the Man of the Woods aesthetic and promotions were criticized, with a BBC article last year asking “What’s behind the Justin Timberlake backlash?”

“He’s spectacularly misjudged this comeback in a lot of different ways,” Laura Snapes, deputy music editor at The Guardian, said in that BBC article, criticizing the launch trailer for Man of the Woods, featuring Timberlake strolling through a cornfield among other outdoorsy imagery, as a “mistake.”

“It seemed like a very convenient thing to go for in Trump’s America — to abandon the signifiers of black music you’ve carried with you throughout your career,” Snapes said.

Promotional material suggested that “this new material explores storytelling inspired by his son, his wife and his personal journey from Memphis to where he is today.”

“Say Something,” featuring Chris Stapleton, was a highlight of the Man of the Woods album, hitting No. 9 on the Billboard top 100 and gaining a Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance.

And in some ways, Timberlake has always been a little bit country. Long before teaming with Stapleton for a performance of “Tennessee Whiskey” at the 2015 CMAs, at age 11, he crooned Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks hits as a contestant on Star Search. Artists from Sting to Darius Rucker have extended their runway with a country pivot, so what stopped Man of the Woods?

Peter Robinson, editor of PopJustice, said in part, Man of the Woods suffered from poor timing.

“There really hasn’t been a worse time in pop history for someone to expect widespread applause for delivering a mediocre celebration of supposed manliness,” Robinson told the BBC. While agreeing that Woods was a bit of a misstep, Drake doesn’t think Timberlake needs a wholesale reinvention.

“I don’t think he needs to reinvent; I just think he needs to catch up,” he said.

Timberlake has been in the Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods Tour stops at Chesapeake Energy Arena Jan. 26. | Photo Ryan McGinley / provided

public eye for more than two decades and has already achieved success outside the reach of most pop stars, Drake said. Drake frequently plays Timberlake hits as well as hits from the pop star’s former band *NSYNC at his monthly ’90s-2000s-themed parties at 51st St. Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St. “I think he’s evolved,” Drake said.

“He’s usually, up until recently, been ahead of the curve. FutureSex/ LoveSounds was my favorite album of that entire decade. It was released in 2006, and it sounded like it was an album from the future. It sounded like it could have been released in 2018. I kind of wish it was released in 2018 instead of Man of the Woods.”

Drake points out that in addition to being one of the biggest pop stars of the past two decades, Timberlake has been in critically acclaimed films like The Social Network and has won four Emmys for his appearances on Saturday Night Live (SNL).

“He’s been in the public eye for so long, and you’ve seen so many people that that’s messed them up … and for the most part, he’s been killing it for 20 years now,” Drake said.

But even comparing Timberlake to classic acts like The Rolling Stones, Drake said, “They didn’t make albums that were 100 percent great 100 percent of the time.”

“One thing he’s really good at is surrounding himself with people who know what they are doing,” said Drake, who pointed to other artists who continued to top charts later in their careers. “There are a lot of acts out there, like Cher comes to mind, who was in her 50s when Believe came out in ’99. I think he’s definitely got two or three records left in him.”

Timberlake recently rescheduled several dates due to bruised vocal chords, but his tour has been successful, with Billboard reporting it as the sixth topgrossing tour of 2018, topping U2 and The Rolling Stones. (The top five: Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Bruno Mars and Pink.)

“I’ve looked at some of the setlists for this tour, and he’s still playing some of the new stuff, but he’s still playing the classic stuff that people remember him from,” Drake said. “When you’re going on tour and you know the classics and you can play them, I think that’s the path that he’s on right now, and he’s doing a good job of that.

And he could continue to do that for the next 40 years.”

Visit justintimberlake.com and chesapeakearena.com.

Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods Tour 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 Chesapeake Energy Arena 100 W. Reno Ave. chesapeakearena.com | 800-745-3000 $49-$925

36

J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

LIVE MUSIC

New Groups

These are events recommended

by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

Mad Honey/Laine/Pigments, Opolis.

ROCK

Pop Evil, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK Ski Mask the Slump God/ Ill Chris, The Criterion.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 16 Felina & the Feels/Summerland, The Deli. ROCK/

ACOUSTIC

Franks & Deans/YourMom/On Holiday, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK J.W. Teller/Brad Fielder, Red Brick Bar. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

HIP-HOP

Young Culture/The Happy Alright, 89th StreetOKC. ROCK

SUNDAY, JAN. 20 Corrosion of Conformity/Crowbar/Weedeater, Diamond Ballroom. METAL Courtney Patton Band, The Blue Door. COUNTRY

THURSDAY, JAN. 17

Eliza Gilkyson, Norman Santa Fe Depot. FOLK

Adam Aguilar Band, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. ROCK

Eos/Jarvix, Sauced on Paseo. EXPERIMENTAL

BC & the Big Rig, The Deli. ROCK

Some Kind of Nightmare/Kinda Creepy/Fire Bad, Blue Note Lounge. PUNK/METAL

Goth Dad/Inside Voices/Me Oh My, Mothership Connection. ROCK Parker McCollum, The Jones Assembly. ROCK Samantha Crain/John Calvin Abney/ Kierston White, Tower Theatre. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

Helping You Develop Life Skills Starting January 20th

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Patty Gail Patten 405.818.1585 1741 W. 33rd Suite 100 Edmond, Oklahoma

MONDAY, JAN. 21 Jason Hunt, Sean Cumming’s Irish Restaurant. FOLK

TUESDAY, JAN. 22

Young Dolph/Kap G, Bricktown Events Center. HIP-HOP

12th Planet/Gentlemens Club/INFEKT, OKC Farmers Market. ELECTRONIC

FRIDAY, JAN. 18

Country Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY

Flock of Pigs/Guys on a Bus/Stafre and the Hitones, Opolis. HIP-HOP/ROCK

SONGWRITER

Kyle Reid, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. SINGER/

Planet What Formerly Tulsa’s and currently Chicago’s Planet What makes blownspeaker psychedelic garage rock that might have come from anytime in the last 40 years and anywhere with access to Sonics and X-Ray Spex records. Released in September, Maggie Fingers moves between riot grrrl rage and doom metal dissociation in its 14-minute runtime, with guitarist/vocalists Kylie Slabby and Jeanette Derubeis and drummer Dylan Eubanks operating as a single-minded unit, a muff lerless death machine melting toxic masculinity into unadulterated disdain. OKC’s recently rechristened Dire Gnome rolls for damage first. Doors open 7 p.m. Sunday at Sauced on Paseo, 2912 Paseo St. Call 405-521-9800 or visit saucedonpaseo.com. SUNDAY Photo provided Jarvix/Tig Blues, Saints. POP/HIP-HOP Joe Baxter, The Blue Door. SINGER-SONGWRITER On Holiday/Dresden Bombers, Bison Witches Bar & Deli. PUNK/ROCK The Pink Spiders/Bad Jokes, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

SATURDAY, JAN. 19 Bad Influence, Brewskey’s. ROCK Boogie Fever, Remington Park. COVER Dr. Pants/Kat Lock, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. ROCK Howard Brady Band, Full Circle Bookstore. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

Jordan Law & Rhyan Spunk Adams, Bedlam BarB-Q. JAZZ Rainbows Are Free/Heartbreak Rodeo, Main Street Event Center. ROCK

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 23 Brad Fielder/Clint Hardesty/Willie Mansour, The Deli. FOLK/BLUES/ROCK Elizabeth Speegle Band, The R & J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ

Live music submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date.

Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

Lisa Hoke (American, b. 1952), Come on Down Oklahoma (detail), 2015.

Cardboard packaging, glue, and hardware. Museum commission with funds from the Carolyn A. Hill Collections Endowment, 2015

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9

37

PUZZLES NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE

PARLOR TRICKS | 0120

By Andy Kravis Puzzles edited by Will Shortz

ACROSS 1 Locale for a bottom feeder 7 Relinquish 11 Total nerdburger 16 The Mormon Church, for short 19 Having come apart 20 Company with a Roman centurion

logo, informally 21 Name shouted at the end of the

Flintstones closing theme song 22 ISP option 23 At the ice cream parlor, the grand

marshal ordered a …

25 R&B’s ____ Brothers 26 Effort 27 Atoms 28 Weak-minded type 30 Something lost in old literature 32 Airline to Ben Gurion Airport 33 Water 35 Sites with corporate names, often 36 Low-status, as work 38 Govt. org. under Homeland Security 39 The confirmed bachelor ordered a …

42 The crossing guard ordered a …

45 See 46-Across 46 With 45-Across, focus directly on

hitting someone 47 Accident investigation org.

49 Navigational aid, for short 50 Actress Aniston, in the tabloids 52 God, in Rastafarianism 55 “Get ____!”

57 Winds, as videotape 59 Frequent co-star of Mastroianni 61 Frozen snowman 63 Question of doubt 65 How many verbs in Esperanto are irregular 66 Premium Cuban cigar brand 67 The amateur singer ordered a …

70 The dental hygienist ordered a …

72 Radicchio relative 73 Smelly 75 Amtrak stops: Abbr.

76 What an auctioneer’s gavel indicates 77 In a way 78 Home planet of TV’s ALF 80 Planted 82 Rapper who founded the record

label Mass Appeal 83 Japanese drama 84 Slippery, say 85 ____-free 87 Friendly greeting on the highway 89 Wine from central Tuscany 92 The Apollo Theater usher ordered a …

97 The pastry chef ordered a …

100 Eastern philosophy 101 Ocular socket 102 Simpson with the 2004 hit “Pieces

of Me” 103 Arthur who composed “The

Yeomen of the Guard” 106 Approximately 107 All out 110 Won 111 Without alteration 112 Filming locale 113 Places for cheap drinks 115 And the homebody ordered an …

118 “We’ll teach you to drink deep

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close of Ramadan) 37 Miles away 40 Fails (to) 41 Problems of amnesia 43 Stop 44 Channel with highlights 48 Angry chorus 51 Annual science fiction award 52 Isn’t serious 53 Family support group 54 Vegas establishment with a giant

guitar sign 56 Writing of W. S. Gilbert 58 Weight 59 English facilities 60 Scruffs 62 Country singer with the No. 1 albums Breathe and Cry 64 Follow closely 66 Females whose gender identities

match their gender assignments at birth 68 Some gametes

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EDITORIAL

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Brittany Pickering

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DOWN 1 Elided greeting 2 One who facilitates self-destructive behavior 3 Supermodel Lima 4 Marina apparatus 5 Stops 6 It can symbolize an open mouth in

an 8-Down 7 Kind of intake, to a nutritionist 8 See 6-Down 9 Some narcs 10 What “X” may stand for 11 Bad thing on a motorist’s record, for short 12 Pufflet 13 First name of the First Lady of Song 14 Some sights in Oz 15 Where many Golden State Warriors

fans live 16 Like much of the Western Hemisphere 17 Along the back

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____ you depart”: Hamlet 119 Stores with Småland play areas 120 Perspicacious 121 Fishing sites 122 Director Guillermo ____ Toro 123 Earth 124 Beaux-____ 125 Vaporize

PUBLISHER

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VOL. XLI NO. 03 Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers. The cash value of this copy is $1. Persons taking copies of the Oklahoma Gazette from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution.

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69 Tach readings 71 Savings vehicle, in brief 74 A pop 78 ____ rea (intent to commit a crime) 79 Winter garment insert 81 Likely to butt in 84 Pay up?

86 Toy to keep track of?

88 What “goes to” a movie star 90 “That’s really important to me” 91 TSA requirements 93 Some counterculture gatherings 94 Theoretical 95 Dismissal, slangily 96 WWII arena 97 Had a good cry 98 Like sailors on leave 99 8: Abbr.

104 Soviet space dog of 1957 105 Contribute 108 No longer bothered by 109 Manual selection 111 Eponym of the Courage Award

given at the ESPYs 114 Fed. agcy. founded by 24-Down 116 ____ Beach, Hawaii 117 “Gangnam Style” rapper

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SUDOKU VERY EASY | N° 1294679620

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Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute).

SKULLDUGGERY LANE By Ingvard Ashby

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS

Puzzle No. 0113, which appeared in the Jan 9 issue.

E L M I T O O G H O L L N E O S O A S K S C H I R I N G O V E R E A S P E B L A C H A R E O T C R E H A B A N Y S M E E T I X N A C U T I A S A N

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J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

S T I O O D Y W O O S L U B S A L O T L I K E L E A D P A Y A T S R J U K C O D O R D A N G E B C E N L O E C O N T R I Y D E E E C A R E

E D G E D E N I M

V E S T S R O M P

A I R S T E E D O A R L I L O

P A S H E N N O N D I N D E I E Y P A A R C T A L A B L E M I E S T A R O E D S N E D S T O R O S E C A F L A K I S A J O H N P S E G

A A W C G E E P E O P R D I C F N I S E N P I S T C L E C U P L E T A G E M O R S A C L E T I D E T E M

B U G B E A R

O R G A N

D E E R E

E L D E R

O X O I O D H E O O J H I M A L L O E V T E A L P L

N I N E S

T I K I S

O R A L

E D D Y

E R S L Y E S

STARGAZER ALL SIGNS

Are you interested in a personal horoscope?

Vivian Carol can be reached at 704-366-3777 for astrology appointments. horoscopesbyvivian.com

Eclipses always occur in pairs. On Jan. 5, we experienced a partial solar eclipse. This week, on Jan. 21, we will have the answering total lunar eclipse in the sign of Leo at 12:16 a.m. It should be visible in both North and South America to those with clear weather. This is a supermoon, closer than normal to the earth. It will be brighter than is normal and appear larger. A lunar eclipse is essentially a strongly punctuated full moon. All those activities normally related to the full moons, such as increased traffic and potential for accidents and general hyperactivity, are double accented. Often, a full moon eclipse will bring fulfillment or consummation of important affairs in life. If an activity has a flaw or a foundation problem, its crack becomes visible near the full moons. This is notable especially on eclipses. See your sun and ascending signs below for a discussion of this eclipse series in your life. The effects will last approximately 10 to 18 months.

ARIES

(March 21-April 19) The full moon side of this eclipse season might bring fresh news to light about someone in the family.

For example, a pregnancy is announced. The new moon calls upon you to take steps toward beginning something new in your career, even if it feels like a risk. Start your research.

TAURUS

(April 20-May 20)

The accent of this eclipse cycle will be on travel, education, care of vehicles and relationships to siblings, roommates, neighbors or others who daily traverse your life. Habit patterns of thought will be brought to consciousness so negative thinking can be corrected.

You will be introduced to new practical life skills.

GEMINI

(May 21-June 20) During this new 18-month series of eclipses, you will be learning to value yourself in new ways. Alongside that comes education in the management of money and other resources such as time and energy. There will be less assistance from others in these arenas, but you are creating these resources for yourself.

CLASSIFIEDS

HEALTH

CANCER

LIBRA

The full moon eclipse might have brought you to the point of becoming firm about who you are and who you are not. An issue of identity and declaration of self is at hand. The new moon eclipse represents your inherent need to attend to relationships. Your partner might be starting something that affects both of your lives.

LEO

Matters concerning your family and property will be accented for the next 18 months. Old problems in relationships, even with the deceased, will surface for cleansing and healing. A new family member might enter the scene, or you might begin to spend more time with family in general.

The eclipses of this new 18-month series will draw your attention to your partnerships. Patterns from your childhood history need to be uncovered, repaired or removed in order to allow your growth into a more mature relationship. Psychotherapy might be truly helpful. There might be a crisis of conscience at this time.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

On this eclipsed full moon, you might discover or reveal one or more secrets. Dreams and intuition are strong. Issues of mental health are emphasized. The strength of the interplay between physical and emotional health is apparent. You likely will vow to change health habits that are destructive.

VIRGO

You will be mulling over where you stand with regard to moral, ethical and philosophical issues. Information has come to your attention that pressures you to recognize a fallacy in your belief system. This is disturbing, but it is the only way to mature the system. What has been a black-and-white issue has a lot more gray than you previously thought.

This eclipse pressures you to concentrate on improvement of work-related relationships and health maintenance. Diet, exercise and improvement of physical regimen will become imperative. Honing your management systems in personal and work arenas is necessary to create order in your daily work routine.

SAGITTARIUS

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

PISCES

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

The results of contributions you have made to your community become apparent. Your “community” might include organizations to which you belong, your friends and various connections you have made along the way. A new beginning occurs in the arena of romance or life with children, the territory of play.

MUSIC

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

SCORPIO

(July 23-Aug. 22)

CLASSIFIEDS

CAPRICORN

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

(June 21-July 22)

This eclipse pattern will emphasize issues of sexuality, intimacy and material accumulation. Reorganization of debt, investments and your estate might be in progress. You might now be more conscious than usual about existential matters related to life, death and what is on the other side of normal, waking consciousness.

(Feb. 19-March 20)

This eclipse pattern emphasizes your progeny or other personally creative births. Romantic ventures will be intensely emotional and self-revealing. You will be learning a few lessons in discernment concerning friendships and associations that no longer serve you well.

CLASSIFIEDS

CLASSIFIEDS

ETC.

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