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BY LAURA EASTES AND BEN LUSCHEN P.23

MARK H ANCOCK

Mariachi’s popularity now rivals sports in many local schools. Citywide festival set Feb. 4-7.

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contents 31

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ON THE COVER

“One of the key components to building strong students is allowing them to identify and have pride in who they are,” said Gloria Torres, who represents District 6 in south OKC. Through the help of community and school leaders, the Anita Martinez Mariachi Festival, Feb. 4-7, aspires to keep the music playing at Oklahoma City Public Schools. Learn more in this week’s cover story. By Laura Eastes and Ben Luschen. P. 23 On the cover: Students at Fillmore Elementary School’s mariachi program.

Photo by Mark Hancock.

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NEWS

LIFE

LIFE

4

Education: #GiveItBackOK

12

28

6

Education: seat 3 school board election

16

7

Health: dental clinic

8

Chicken-Fried News

10

Letters

Mission statement Oklahoma Gazette’s mission is to stimulate, examine and inform the public on local quality of life issues and social needs, to recognize community accomplishments, and to provide a forum for inspiration, participation and interaction across all media.

OKG picks

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Food & Drink: Hidalgo’s Cocina & Cantina, Taste of OKC, briefs, Chocolate Decadence, OKG eat: Sundays

31 Music: Bowie Blow Out Tribute Show, Lamb of God, listings 35

Film: Ride Along 2, The Harvesters

23

37

Astrology

38

Classifieds

Cover: Anita Martinez Mariachi Festival

25

Culture: Tower Theatre

26

Visual Arts: Brett Weston

Congratulations Tami Bloom

You’re Gazette’s Weekly Winner!

To claim your tickets, call us at 528-6000 or come by our offices by 2/3/15

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news education

Deep cuts Can a hashtag save education? No, but it might help stanch a midyear revenue failure.

Just days before Mid-Del Public Schools Superintendent Rick Cobb attended the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators Legislative Conference, he asked the district’s student advisory board a question.

“If I had 15 seconds to talk to a legislator or someone from the governor’s office, what should the message be?”

Cobb asked. “The students said [legislators] need to get in the schools and talk to students.”

Carl Albert, Del City and Midwest City high school students want to tell lawmakers about the revolving door of substitute teachers covering their academic courses. Others want to talk about class sizes and testing requirements. “[Lawmakers] need to hear from parents and talk to students,” Cobb said.

“Students ... can tell that story best.”

Oklahoma media consistently devotes headlines and airtime to issues such as teacher shortages, low pay, school performance and drops in funding. The coverage isn’t unwarranted. Crisis is a word used by many education leaders when describing school finances and the dwindling number of qualified teachers.

Catastrophe recently hit again when the State Department of Education learned it would take a mandatory 3-percent reduction, a $46.7 million funding cut. The midyear cut trickled down to schools across the state hit with adjustments from the state agency. The state’s largest school district, Oklahoma City Public Schools, faced a $1.5 million loss. Across town, the Mid-Del district was dealt $1.2- to $1.5-million in cuts.

“It’s the long-range planning that is the scariest,” Cobb said. “We just don’t know where we are going to be.”

Hashtag hope

Oklahoma educators turned to social media with a solution of sorts. Jan. 9, the #GiveItBackOK launched as education leaders, including Cobb, suggested residents donate their state income tax cuts to local schools.

About a week earlier, the personal income tax rate dropped from 5.25 percent to 5 percent thanks to legislation passed in 2014. The cut will deplete the state of an estimated $147 million during the next budget cycle.

For fiscal year 2016-17, state leaders predict a $900,000 to $1 million budget

4 | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

shortfall. That number could rise as oil prices hover near $30 a barrel.

The tax rate will likely have little impact on Oklahomans, but it severely impacts funding for government agencies. Proponents of the cut believe it will boost the state’s economy.

According to Oklahoma Policy Institute, the median household will receive $29 from the cut and two out of five households will be unaffected. The nonpartisan nonprofit posted a tax cut calculator on its website.

Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, was one of many to post about #GiveItBackOK on Twitter.

He donated his cut to The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, which supports schools in his district.

“I have the utmost respect for those in our education community, but I hate that it is those outside of the building at 23rd and Lincoln (Capitol) that are having to lead on an issue as simple as funding education in Oklahoma,” said Dunnington, who was elected in 2014 and represents House District 88.

Foundations’ opportunities

Traditionally, school district foundations assist schools in improving the quality of education through donations to the classroom.

Lori Dickinson, Edmond Public Schools Foundation executive director, said school foundations are very successful in bridging the gap between what teachers have and need in their classrooms. However, the role is increasing as districts receive fewer dollars from the state.

Since 2008, Edmond Public Schools has seen an increase of about 4,000 students. During that same time, funding was cut more than $4.5 million per year.

“There is a perception that Edmond is a wealthy community with a rich school district that has everything it needs,” Dickinson said. “That is simply not the case. The [community] passes bonds, but bonds don’t pay teachers or put books on the shelves.”

Last week, the foundation encouraged residents to donate the equivalent of their income tax cut to Edmond Public Schools through a tab on its website. Social media posts on Twitter and Facebook were well received and generated meaningful dialogue; however, Dickinson wondered if it will

m a rk ha n coc k

By Laura Eastes

A Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools pledge card in the entrance to its offices in downtown Oklahoma City. translate into donations.

At The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, staff encouraged people to visit DonorsChoose.org to find specific classroom projects to donate to.

Dozens of different needs, which vary from technology to class supplies, are posted. The group matches donations.

“Cuts to education funding at a time when we are already dealing with teacher shortages and much lower than average per-student spending make the work of The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools even more critical,” said Mary Mélon, president and CEO of the foundation, in an email statement.

Costly cuts

David Blatt, executive director of Oklahoma Policy Institute, said it will take a variety of changes by state leaders before public schools and other state agencies begin to receive adequate funding. The state’s revenue failure and midyear cuts impact all state agencies.

“Now that we are facing the slump in the energy sector, it is easy and tempting to blame all our troubles on $30 oil,” Blatt said. “We have cut the income tax repetitively, and it has had a very large revenue impact on the state. Our inability to give pay raises to teachers, adequately staff correctional facilities and provide services to mental health [patients] is in part the result of policy decisions made by the Legislature.”

The policy group supports repealing the income tax cuts. For more than a decade, the state income tax has dipped.

In 2004, the rate was 6.65 percent. The annual revenue loss from these cuts adds up to $1.022 billion, according to an analysis by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy sought by Oklahoma Policy Institute.

Jan. 19, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, filed Senate Bill 1073 to suspend the drop to the state income tax rate because of the revenue failure declared by state officials.

The bill is one of many financial proposals lawmakers will discuss when returning to the Capitol on Monday.

“One of the hopes … is that folks will reconsider the short and long-term tax and policy mistakes made over the last 10 years,” Dunnington said. “The first way to clawing our way back is for people to recognize there have been some mistakes made.”

Any donation

Back at Mid-Del schools, Cobb and other school leaders are not replenishing school and office supplies. This spring, when resignations and retirement notices arrive, Cobb predicts he won’t look to replace them.

Donations of $20 or $200 wouldn’t fix the funding shortage for a school district, but educators believe it’s a start and donations add up.

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news education

Education votes OKCPS school board candidates address discipline, budget cuts and strengths.

By Laura Eastes

Oklahoma City Public School Board District 3 Candidate Forum

Two candidates, both with classroom experience, vie for a school board seat during a time when Oklahoma City schools face severe state funding cuts and an increase in emergency certified teachers and usher in new discipline policies.

Oklahoma City Public Schools will have a new representative as long-time board member Phil Horning steps down following next month’s election.

The District 3 representative works for residents with both north and south addresses. The district includes Northwest Classen High School, which serves students in the northwest corridor of the city, and southside Adams Elementary School, where a majority of students are of Hispanic ethnicity.

Community support

“The budget cuts are going to be crippling,” said Carrie Coppernoll Jacobs, a marketing specialist for BigWing Interactive and a former journalism teacher at Putnam City North High School. “The community has to fill in those gaps or it will be a lost generation.

This is the time. I think the city’s ready because there is so much civic pride. The district needs to go out and ask for it.”

Jacobs began her career as an education reporter and visited countless classrooms in OKC. She believes the district is fortunate in staffing with many exceptional principals and teachers. However, she said one of the district’s challenges is community support. If elected, she will encourage community partnerships, which would strengthen tutoring and leadership programs and bring more local businesses into neighborhood schools.

Adam Zodrow spent 11 years as an educator in Oklahoma schools. For four years, he taught English at the middle school level. Next, he served as an English curriculum specialist and alternative education mentor for the K20 Center for Educational and

6 | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

Carrie Coppernoll Jacobs

Community Renewal at the University of Oklahoma. At Yukon Public Schools, he worked at the administrative level as the professional development coordinator and director of STEM and gifted education. When Jon Rex Charter Elementary School opened downtown, he went to work as a master teacher over STEM and tech integration. Currently, Zodrow is a consultant for Catapult Learning and is a content strategist for Traction Marketing.

His two young sons, who will attend Kaiser Elementary School in the coming years, serve as his motivation. He views the school board as one of the district’s strengths and would continue the progress achieved as a member.

Zodrow cited a number of instances in which the school board worked with the community to improve education, such as MAPS for Kids, initiatives with charter schools and the Oklahoma City Public Schools Compact. This month, the school board approved the compact, which calls for collaboration with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, United Way of Central Oklahoma, The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools and the City of Oklahoma City.

“It is refreshing to see a board that is willing to collaborate, have good conversations and make policy decisions,” Zodrow said. “You don’t see patrician politics at work, like we see at the state level. I have been very impressed with our board.”

Distinctive discipline

This fall, Oklahoma City school leaders introduced a new code of conduct following an internal audit conducted by the district. The audit began after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights investigated the district on complaints of bias and discipline-related retaliation against black and Hispanic students.

“I love the idea behind a shared expectation for discipline: This is how we deal with discipline and how we deal with issues in the classroom,” Zodrow explained. “At the same time, to believe that code of conduct can be implemented universally into every classroom with every student is unrealistic. I am not opposed to the code of conduct. I think it is necessary.

I am hopeful that the code of conduct serves as guidelines and not gospel.”

Jacobs views the new code as one response to discipline. She applauds the district’s recent efforts to add Alternative to Suspension Programs. This school year, the district partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County and Latino Community Development Agency to help reduce the number of long-term suspensions. Students stay in school by visiting one of the agencies to work on classwork and talk to counselors about behavior or other issues. She believes alternative programs work and keep students on track.

“You can’t just say they are not

Adam Zodrow

worth educating,” Jacobs said. “At times, I feel like that’s what we are telling kids with their suspension.

‘Go home and be by yourself for two weeks, six weeks or nine weeks.’ Nine weeks is a quarter of the (school) year.

Academically, it is unattainable to come back from. Academically, you are giving kids a life sentence to not be successful.”

Both candidates expressed concerns about growing class sizes and the statewide teacher shortage.

If elected, Jacobs believes her role will include advocating at the state level for education. She would like to see quarterly meetings with school board members, top district leaders and lawmakers to discuss education issues. She also wants to hear from constituents. The district faces a midyear-funding cut of $1.568 million, and tough decisions are on the horizon.

“Right now, there needs to be a way for parents and residents to share what they think are the core values of the district and what can be trimmed,” Jacobs said. “There is no good way out.

You have to involve everyone.”

Zodrow said funding cuts will take a toll on teachers. He believes the school board must find ways to celebrate teachers and ask how they can help and the school board should work closely with teachers to provide support and be advocates for them.

Voters in District 3 will have a chance to cast ballots Feb. 9.

PHOTOS BY MARK HANCOCK

5:30 p.m. Feb. 4 Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City Student Center 900 N. Portland Ave. Free

news health

Dental solutions

Nonprofits and oral care professionals provide a much-needed, large-scale dental clinic the first weekend in February.

By Laura Eastes

Begins 5 a.m. Feb. 5 and 6 Cox Convention Center 1 Myriad Gardens okmom.org Free

John Gladden doesn’t like to hear about Oklahomans with broken teeth that cut tongues or cheeks when biting into a meal.

Stories of emergency room visits for dental problems, like a cavity causing severe pain, trouble the president of Delta Dental of Oklahoma.

“Something as routine as a toothache can mean serious trouble,” Gladden said.

“For some, a simple visit to the dentist is out of the question. They have no money, they have no time or they have no transportation. Some face all three. For some, it means a trip to the emergency room to relieve pain.”

As leader of Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation, Gladden knows of alternatives for coping with the pain. He named various free or low-cost dental clinics throughout the state that work with people who lack dental insurance. Additionally, the MobileSmiles program — a large bus with dental staff onboard that serves adults and children — has provided countless tooth extractions and treated diseases and mouth pain. MobileSmiles is a partnership between two nonprofits: Oklahoma Dental Association and Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation.

Some Oklahomans don’t live close to free or low-cost dental clinics or they can’t make it during clinic hours. For others, the MobileSmiles bus drives through their town, meeting specifically with patients in urgent need. Some Oklahomans have dental insurance but can’t cover out-of-pocket expenses.

That’s where Oklahoma Mission of Mercy comes in. The two-day dental clinic for children, adults and seniors provides services such as cleanings, fillings, extractions and anterior root canals at no cost to patients, with no questions asked.

This year’s clinic runs Feb. 5-6 at Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens. Dentists and dental hygienists will begin seeing patients at 5 a.m. both days.

Care gaps

Organizers predict a crowd of 2,000 people, with lines expected to form the night before.

“What I love about the event — no matter the patient’s need — as long as the patient has a desire to be seen, we can help them,” said Lindsay Smith, president of Oklahoma Dental Association. “We can provide basic and preventative services as well as restorative services.”

It’s critical work when nearly half of

As long as the patient has a desire to be seen, we can help them.

— Lindsay Smith Oklahomans don’t have dental insurance, significantly more than the number of residents without health insurance. An estimated 15 percent of state residents are uninsured, according to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.

Without dental insurance, many forgo dental visits. The Sooner state ranks No. 45 nationally for its low number of adults who make recent dental visits, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

Overall, the health department graded the state an F in adult dental visits. Oklahoma County received a D grade.

“When they don’t have dental insurance, the care is delayed,” Gladden said. “Delay is bad. It gets worse and worse over time.”

Even those with insurance don’t make appointments regularly for cleanings and evaluations, Gladden said. While many stick to the advice of brushing and flossing, that’s not enough for staying on top of oral health.

Gladden and others involved with Mission of Mercy recommended the two-day dental clinic to anyone: those experiencing tooth pain and those who might not have had a cleaning in years.

The Oklahoma Dental Association, the Oklahoma Dental Foundation and Delta Dental of Oklahoma’s Oral Health Foundation organize the annual clinic.

p rovid ed

Oklahoma Mission of Mercy

Dental professionals volunteer during a 2015 Oklahoma Mission of Mercy event in Tulsa. It returns to Oklahoma City Feb. 5-6.

Growing need

For the past six years, Mission of Mercy has cared for 10,599 patients, totaling more than $7 million in donated dental services. The event began in 2010 in Tulsa but has since moved to locations such as Enid, Lawton, McAlester and OKC to expand the clinic’s reach.

As a general dentist, Smith volunteers annually at the event and has worked on patients from across the state. Some come for an opportunity to receive a routine dental appointment.

“For some patients, they might get their teeth cleaned and their fillings done.

That might be all the care they need for that entire year,” Smith said, adding he also treats more serious cases. “I have the ability to help each patient that walks in the door. I can take care of their specific need, whatever that might be.”

In addition to providing care, volunteers share information about various year-round clinics and opportunities for people to receive help before the next Mission of Mercy event.

In Oklahoma City alone, clinics are housed at Good Shepherd Ministries and Crossings Community Clinic.

In Midwest City, Rose State College operates a Dental Hygiene Clinic.

“Throughout the year, through MobileSmiles units and charitable clinics throughout the state, we work together to make sure we can take care of people who truly need our care,” said Smith, who volunteered at Good Shepherd Ministries in dental school.

For those who can’t make it into a free or low-cost clinic or cover the copay of a dentist visit, Mission of Mercy is the answer, said Smith and Gladden.

“There is a certain number of Oklahomans that only this type of clinic will serve,” Gladden said. “It is for these people that Delta Dental, the Oklahoma Dental Association and [Oklahoma Dental] Foundation come together for two days and try our best to meet the immediate needs of these unique patients.”

O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | j a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 7

Chicken

Fried news

Out of tune

You know Harper and Greer and Kingfisher and Stephens, You know Pottawatomie and Logan and Latimer and Johnston ...

That’s what Republican Sen. Patrick Anderson likely sang as he filed Senate Bill 906. The proposal calls for countywide school districts beginning July 1, 2020.

Basically, goodbye Bethany, Crooked Oak, Western Heights, Millwood, Edmond, Jones, Harrah, Deer Creek, Choctaw-Nicoma Park, Luther, Putnam City, Oakdale, Crutcho, Oklahoma City and Mid-Del districts. Fifteen districts and 16 charter schools would be rolled into one Oklahoma County school district. One superintendent and one school board would oversee the district.

The Superintendent Restructuring Act sounds like a headache for Oklahoma County.

However, it doesn’t

sound any better for friends in Cleveland County. They have Moore, Norman, Noble, Lexington, Little Axe and Robin Hill school districts.

Would it be any easier in the Enid senator’s home county of Garfield?

They have Chisholm, CovingtonDouglas, Drummond, Enid, Garber, Kremlin-Hillsdale, Pioneer-Pleasant Vale and Waukomis.

Proponents of the bill probably say it’s a cost-efficient way to run school districts and help with dwindling public education dollars. People in education might say it’s a way to create chaos. After all, there are 556 school districts in Oklahoma and there are 77 counties.

Anderson can keep singing, but tomatoes might be thrown.

The first Senate session of 2016 starts Monday.

Catching breaks

Facing the reality of a pennypinching fiscal year, even some

Republicans are rethinking a reduction to the state income tax.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Mazzei recently proposed delaying the 0.25 percent reduction to the rate that was approved for 2016 two years ago by lawmakers. Mazzei, R-Tulsa, makes his proposal at a time the state expects a budget shortfall as high as $1 billion. Mazzei’s bill also would prevent these types of tax breaks at a time when revenue failure has been declared.

Mazzei might be comfortable throwing around the idea of a delay to the tax break, but are any of his probusiness, small-government colleagues willing to play catch?

Maybe not. According to a Tulsa World article, rescinding the less than 1 percent reduction for this year could save the state as much $150 million in the new fiscal year.

That kind of money could buy a lot of balls and mitts. Or teachers. Or corrections officers. Or grants.

Big busted

Three people were arrested recently after police found 121 pounds of methamphetamine in a home near SW 40th Street and S. May Avenue.

Felipe De Jesus Sanchez Martinez, Marisol Valdez Nava and Luis Carlos Castaneda Espinoza were arrested in the large-scale bust, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report, which also said the three were “illegal aliens from Mexico.”

ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (a department of the Department of Homeland Security) created the Green Twister Task Force, which worked with state and local agencies to make the bust.

It started with a traffic stop, which netted the task force over 15 pounds of crystal meth.

It always starts with a traffic stop, doesn’t it? A simple illegal lane change or roll through a stop sign. However, local media reports didn’t specify why the suspects were pulled over.

Yukon

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Seeking help

Trying to get the Oklahoma Legislature to care about sick, in-need people is about as easy as convincing it the looming, $800 million budget shortfall can’t be fixed with another tax cut.

So let’s talk about the only thing that does matter: Sick people are bad for business.

That’s the only argument that will work.

Forget the Oklahoma Standard.

The only way to make people listen is to talk about money.

That’s why ACLU Oklahoma’s executive director Ryan Kiesel called on the state to finally accept federal funds to expand Medicaid.

We know; the federal government is coming for your guns and giving away all your jobs and something, something tyranny! President Barack Obama is some kind of bogeyman that will suck your blood and replace it with different blood that pays a higher tax rate and makes you like Common Core.

But the federal government also offers to help Oklahoma pay for much-needed health care for our most

vulnerable populations.

Budget shortfalls forced state agencies to cut budgets, impacting important addiction and mental health services.

Kiesel said expanding Medicaid could restore some of that money.

More importantly, actually helping people will save us all money in the long term by keeping them out of jails and hospitals.

Prisoners can’t work at most jobs. Sick people can’t work.

If our legislators are serious about fixing the budget, we need more people working and paying taxes. Spend a little now and save a lot in the future.

Complain about the feds all you want — then let’s get our money and help our people.

Stop hovering

The future is now, and it’s not nearly as cool as Marty McFly wanted us to think it was. Yes, we have drones with cameras attached to them (hovercams) and FaceTime and Skype (video telephones), but McFly could have at least warned us about the exploding hoverboards!

Before we let you in on the latest news, let’s get real for a second and admit they don’t actually hover at all — they have wheels, for Pete’s sake! They should have spent a little more time naming the things and researching batteries and a little less time trying to trick people into buying their newfangled gadget.

“Hoverboards” have been bursting into flames all over the place and getting banned left and right.

Come on; do airlines really need to explain to people over and over again why they’re not allowed on airplanes?

And before you decide

you can get away with cruising to class on one of those rad-looking, combustible two-wheelers, think again.

Jan. 19, University of Central Oklahoma president Don Betz officially announced that the handleless machines aren’t allowed on campus.

You can’t ride them, carry them or store them. Betz banned them “to maintain campus safety and remain in compliance with its fire protection and prevention efforts.”

KFOR.com reported that Oklahoma State University banned them Jan. 8 and the University of Oklahoma started considering them contraband Jan. 11.

That means if you have one hidden in your dorm room, next to your illegal hot plate and rice cooker, you need to get rid of it.

Don’t think we won’t find it, sonny; we know all of your hiding places — we were you a couple of decades ago.

But really, if the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is concerned, you should be too.

Nominate your favorite local musicians, venues and more

Ballot opeNs March 2 okgazette.com • March 2 – March 15 Winners will be announced in Soundcheck Annual Music Focus Issue Publishing April 6th

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LETTERS Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity.

Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to jchancellor@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.

Free speech

When considering median ordinances, there is a big difference between the mental capacity and, therefore, safety of Girl Scouts selling cookies and adults panhandling.

“The same safety concerns” addressed in the commentary “A median ordinance protects everyone” (Commentary, Georgie Rasco, Oct. 28, Oklahoma Gazette), where it compares protecting children to protecting the “disproportionately poor” is no more an issue of safety than the issue of voter identification laws were about preventing voter fraud and more about restricting the rights of certain populations to vote.

Both issues are smokescreens not justified by the causes they presumably are passed to prevent. Voter impersonations were rare. Accidents involving panhandlers are also rare.

We aren’t outlawing walking on or near city streets, which is more dangerous than standing near our city streets. Yet we approve ordinances that are costly to enforce and further burden our law enforcement and judicial systems.

Do we want our already-spreadtoo-thin men and women in blue spending their time giving out citations to the poor, or do we want them stopping violent crime in our city?

Be honest; if the purpose is to stop roadside financial solicitations, pass ordinances that prevent that.

What our city council might be outlawing with its a median ordinance is far more precious than what it appears: It is your constitutional right to public speech.

I am concerned that in the rush to remove panhandlers from our public roadways, we are preventing our citizenship from the right to freely assemble. I especially appreciate the right to show my support for political issues, candidates and what could be unpopular positions.

It is an issue of free speech that we should not be so quick to outlaw. One person with a sign can call attention to an injustice.

When that is taken away, it makes it easier for those already in power to

silence opposition.

Many lives have been lost to secure our rights of free assembly and free speech.

— Susan Schmidt Oklahoma City Affording change

We have people who move to Oklahoma because of the low cost of living and low taxes.

But when they get here, they realize that the low cost of living comes with expenses they don’t want to incur and puts us on lists that aren’t issues in other parts of the country.

Oklahoma ranks at the bottom of lists for good schools, teacher pay, physical and mental health, roads and bridges and at the top of some lists we don’t want to be on: poverty, domestic violence, prescription drug overdoses and hunger.

This seems to be the problem: Oklahoma’s governors, legislators and many of its citizens don’t understand the relationship between taxes and services.

They seem to believe that low taxes means more services.

Well, my whole life I have heard that you get what you pay for. We pay very little, and we get even less.

If we want to make Oklahoma great, let’s do this: Insist that our oil and gas producers become leaders in renewable energy innovation.

We have regulations that will force the oil and gas industry to change.

Most people insist that regulations will ruin the industry, but in the long run, fracking, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide poisoning and pollution and the marketplace will ensure that oil and gas are unsustainable energy sources.

So let’s push the oil and gas industry into the innovative forefront of renewable energy.

Renewable energy innovations will create jobs and will propel Oklahoma into manufacturing and installation.

Better energy solutions will mean more companies will come here.

This will put more and more people

1 0 | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

to work, insulate Oklahoma from the vagaries of the fossil-fuel economy and increase the tax base.

Secondly, our Oklahoma children have the ability to do better in school.

Improved test scores show that with encouragement and the right instruction, our children improve.

When we respect education and educators, Oklahoma schools will the best in the nation.

Let’s put money into our schools and pay our teachers more than Texas.

This is important to get our best people into education and keep them in Oklahoma.

Of course, this must be a sustainable endeavor, not taking money from Peter to pay Paul, as some legislators have suggested.

Our teachers need a good pension, and we need the tobacco settlement money to make us healthy.

Let’s get a real task force together to look at the best practices for funding schools and see how we can do it.

My off-the-cuff idea is a permanent, dedicated sales tax increase to put money into libraries, textbooks, reading programs, STEM, music, theater and art classes as well as teacher salaries.

Aren’t our children worth a penny?

Oklahomans have the right to change.

Let’s figure out what the real problems are and start thinking about smarter solutions.

— Carolyn Dershem Oklahoma City Clarifying Carson

It’s still early in the presidential primary season, but so far, I have been very impressed with Dr. Ben Carson, among others.

I would like to explain the distortion that has taken place in the media around Carson’s recent comments concerning Sharia law and the United States Constitution.

In particular, I would like to correct statements and complaints from the United Arab Emirates designated

terrorist organization and the Council on America Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Carson was asked if he believes Sharia law is consistent with the Constitution. Carson said, “No, I do not.” During a September interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, he was asked if he would have any objection to a Muslim serving as president. Because a practicing Muslim might submit to Sharia law, he answered “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”

In a later interview with Fox News, Carson elaborated: “We do not put people at the head of our country whose faith might interfere with them carrying out the duties of the Constitution” (as reported in “Carson: Muslims can be president if they ‘reject’ Islamic tenets,” Sept. 22, USA Today Politics).

“If you’re a Christian and you’re running for president and you want to make this [country] into a theocracy, I’m not going to support you,” Carson also said in the Fox interview (as reported in “Republican Ben Carson claims benefits from Muslim criticism,” Sept. 22, The Associated Press). “I’m not going to advocate you being the president.”

He also said, “If someone has a Muslim background and they’re willing to reject those tenets and to accept the way of life that we have and clearly will swear to place our Constitution above their religion, then, of course. They will be considered infidels and heretics, but at least I would then be quite willing to support them” (as reported

by USA Today).

Our Constitution say that no one shall be denied the office of president because of his religion.

As you can see, Carson didn’t say that at all. He did say that Sharia law was inconsistent with the United States Constitution, and he is, indeed, correct.

— Joe Craven Guthrie

a spot of tea to go with your Ph.D. Now, you can earn a British Ph.D. right here in Oklahoma in just three years through Swansea University, a UCO partner.

A British Ph.D. requires a quality thesis but no classes or other requirements.

Select from more than 25 fields of study, including Nursing, Criminology and Healthcare Management.

You’ll have an advisor in Wales and one at UCO. Plus, two short trips to Wales included in the affordable tuition.

Apply by March 31 for an October start.

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www.uco.edu/swansea O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 1 1

okg picks are events

recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members.

For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

BOOKS Tom Watson Appearance, Watson’s Stick Dog series has won over both educators and students and is a silly and delightful read for elementary and middle-grade readers; he will give a presentation and drawing demonstration, 6 p.m. Jan. 27. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. WED

OETA Winter Writer’s Fair, parents and students are encouraged to come and meet local authors and participate in a Writer’s Workshop with authors Gwendolyn Hooks and Stacy Nyikos, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Jan. 30. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo.com. SAT

ExclusivEly at

Last Sunday Poetry Reading, come get your monthly recommended dose of spoken word, 2-4 p.m. Jan. 31. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SUN

FILM

N. May at wilshire | OKC MitCheNerfarraNd.COM

s U w o ll o F on

instagram to see all our

#selfies!

Noma, My Perfect Storm, (UK, 2015, dir. Pierre Deschamps) an intimate look at the man behind the restaurant, this documentary offers unprecedented access to the fevered inner-workings of Noma’s kitchens, 5:30 & 8 p.m. Jan. 28.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU

PR OVI DED

Story Time With Julie, kid-friendly storytime with the latest children’s books, 10:15 -11 a.m. Jan. 30. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks. com. SAT

Harlem Globetrotters This is the part where you get that jaunty little whistling theme song stuck in your head. Bring the family out to the Harlem Globetrotters 90th anniversary extravaganza, a spectacular featuring fantastic feats of athleticism. Have yourself a ball 2 and 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave. Tickets start at $19 and are available at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Visit chesapeakearena.com.

Feb. 6

2016 Academy Award-Nominated Animated Short Films, before watching the Oscars, see all the animated Academy Award short film nominees in one place, back-to-back, 8 p.m. Jan. 29. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI

Mad Max: Fury Road, (Australia, 2015, dir. George Miller) the fourth installment in George Miller’s dystopian action cycle set in the Australian desert, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 30. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa. com. SAT

The Sugarland Express, (US, 1974, dir. Steven Spielberg) a woman attempts to reunite her family by helping her husband escape prison and together kidnapping their son, but things don’t go as planned when they are forced to take a police hostage on the road, 8 p.m. Jan. 29. The Paramount, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 517-0787, theparamountokc.com. FRI

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, (US, 1977, dir. Steven Spielberg) after an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen, 8 p.m.

Jan. 30. The Paramount, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 517-0787, / theparamountokc.com. SAT

2016 Academy Award-Nominated Live Action Short Films, before watching the Oscars, see all five live action Academy Award short film nominees in one place, backto-back, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 29, 8 p.m. Jan. 30. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com.

FRI-SAT

2016 Academy Award-Nominated Documentary Short Films, before watching the Oscars, see all the live action Academy Award short documentary nominees in one place, back-to-back, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. SUN

Suffragette, (UK, 2015, dir. Sarah Gavron) the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State, 6, 9 & midnight Jan. 29.

Meacham Auditorium, 660 Parrington Oval, Norman, 3252113, ou.edu/upb/movies.html. FRI

Amy, (UK, 2015, Asif Kapadia) combining archival home movie footage and intimate testimonials from those who new Amy Winehouse best, this Academy Awardnominated documentary emerges as a sympathetic and raw portrait of one of the best singers of our time, 2 p.m.

Jan. 31. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. SUN

Groundhog Day, (US, 1993, dir. Harold Ramis) a weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again, 7 p.m. Feb. 2. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno Ave., 231-4747, harkinstheatres.com. TUE

HAPPENINGS Crossroads of Commerce, showcases the development of Oklahoma’s economy from 1716 to statehood, the Dust Bowl to present day. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 521-2491, okhistory.org/historycenter.

Drink & Draw, local artists lead a night of conversation and doodling, 8 p.m. Jan. 28. Tree and Leaf Clothing Inc., 1705B NW 16th St., 557-1900, facebook.com/TREEandLEAF. THU High Flying Retrievers Dog Jumping Show, enjoy a sports expo and a dog trick show, all day Jan. 28-31. Cox Pavilion State Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd., 948-6700, okstatefair.com. THU-SUN

Urban Agrarian Farm-to-Table Dinner

@okgazette

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1 2 | j a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

True Love/True Crime, join the OKC Film Club for a film that focuses on the more obsessive and desperate side of love, 7 p.m. Feb. 2. District House, 1755 NW 16th St., districthouseokc.com. TUE

There is no better spice than knowledge at this month’s Farm-to-Table dinner hosted by Urban Agrarian. Its five-to-six-course meals feature local and organic ingredients, beer and wine pairings and at least one guest speaker.

This month’s focus is hydroponic greens and local, free-range chicken with speakers from Scissortail Farms and Crystal Lake Farms. Dig in 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Urban Agrarian’s warehouse market, 1235 SW Second St. Tickets are $85.39 at eventbrite.com. Visit facebook. com/UrbanAgrarian or call 231-1919.

Thursday

M AR K H ANCOC K / f il e

Return of the Speakeasy Dance Party Are you in the market for a Star Wars/’90s-themed dance party featuring local comedian Ryan Drake deejaying all your middle and high school faves? Of course you are. Did we mention it’s free?

Yes, young Skywalker. All things are possible with the Force, even on limited funds. Throw on your dancing shoes and Jedi capes and X-wing on over to 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 10 p.m. Saturday. Visit 51stspeakeasy. com or call 463-0470.

AUCTION BY MURPHY’S NO RESERVE TACK AND SADDLES

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6TH 7 PM | DOORS OPEN 6 PM FOR PREVIEW American Legion | 5000 S.E. 24th. St. OKC The inventory of 3 Bar Saddle Shop is available for immediate liquidation & to be sold to the highest bidder, piece by piece! Western saddles & horse equipment.

Nothing held back. You bid, you set the price.

TERMS OF SALE: CASH, ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS, & DEBIT FOR MORE INFO 541-592- 4300

Saturday

We are also liquidating high end top quality saddlery. 50 top quality saddles including: Roping, Wade, Full Silver Show Saddles, Pleasure Saddles, Pony, Barrel, Australian, (seat sizes from 12”-19”)

TEDxOU, video and live speakers combine to spark discussion and connection in a small group, Jan. 29.

Meacham Auditorium, 660 Parrington Oval, Norman, 325-2603, tedxou.com. FRI Pipeline to Politics, the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition in partnership with The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center Women’s Leadership Initiative at The University of Oklahoma presents Pipeline to Politics for women interested in public service and politics, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 30. Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma, 6100 N. Robinson Ave., 286-0356, gswestok.org. SAT

All kinds of leather goods. Over 200 bridles & breast collars, Cowboy halters, Bronc halters, Bling halters, leather & nylon halters. Harness, Show Headstalls, and lots of silver & cowboy spurs, stable supplies & more.

Over 100: wool saddle blankets, memory core pads, 100% wool saddle pads, gel core saddle pads & many other style saddle pads.

Drop-In Art, picture a pretty portrait of your precious pet at OKCMOA; if you’re precluded from possessing a pet, purely pretend, 1 p.m. Jan. 30.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT Sisu Youth Open House, open house for The Dorm at Sisu Youth, a new project brought to you by the folks behind the Day Center, 2-4 p.m. Jan. 30. Church of the Open Arms, 3131 N. Pennsylvania Ave., 525-9555, openarms.org. SAT Twilight Game Night Adult Program, hone your drawing skills and get a team together for our nighttime, sketch-and-guess event with light snacks and limited adult beverages provided, 7 p.m. Jan. 30.

Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo.com. SAT

FOOD Chocolate Festival, this is Firehouse’s only fundraiser and a premiere chocolate-inspired food festival, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Jan. 30. Firehouse Art Center, 444 S. Flood Ave., Norman, 329-4523, normanfirehouse.com. SAT

2 tickets to

Superhero Family Date Night, dinner for the whole family including live music, a cash bar and raffle drawings, 6 p.m. Jan. 30. UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. 5th St., Edmond, 359-7989, ucojazzlab.com. SAT

gary

cain’s TUESday

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clark jr. EnTEr To win okgazette.com/gWW

march

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Gazette’s weekly winner will be announced each week in the table of contents. Printed winners have 7 days to claim tickets. must give email, full name & Phone number.

O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | j a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 1 3 UNI_15-IN-271_2.2x12.25_Great Minds.indd 1

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Shoppes at Northpark, 12028 May Ave. 405-751-8930 Open Mon-sat www.skincareokc.com

schelly Hill, r.n.

Gift Certificates Available

Art & Architecture in Cinema: Florence and the Uffizi Gallery Florence Syndrome is a feeling in which one experiences rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness and occasionally even fainting as a result of experiencing indescribable beauty. Check out this week’s installation of the Art & Architecture in Cinema series 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. Florence and the Uffizi Gallery shows at Cinemark Tinseltown, 6001 Martin Luther King Ave. Tickets are $12-$14 and are available at cinemark.com. Visit fathomevents.com or call 424-0461.

Wednesday, Jan. 27 Saturday Cooking Class, the folks at Gourmet Grille teach you how to make ratatouille, 1 p.m. Jan. 30. Buy For Less, 3501 Northwest Expressway, 946-6342, buyforlessok.com. SAT

SHEVAUN WILLIAMS / PROVID ED

Saturday Cooking Demo, learn how to prepare a variety of easy and delicious dishes each week; this week: take that Portobello and stuff it, 1 p.m. Jan. 30.

Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. SAT Oklahoma Food Coop Annual Meeting, meet, greet and eat with Oklahoma Food Cooperative producers at this free event, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Jan. 30. Catholic Church of the Epiphany of the Lord, 7336 W. Britton Road, oklahomafood.coop. SAT Paleo Wraps, break the bread habit by learning how to make Paleo lettuce wraps, 3:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Natural Grocers, 7001 N. May Ave., 840-0300, naturalgrocers.com. SUN

YOUTH Tape & Tunnels, kids can experience an interactive wonderland with packing tape tunnels, bungee cord mazes and cardboard clubhouses where they can climb, build and explore. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

Crafts For Kids: Peekaboo Groundhog, he’d better not see his shadow, or it’s the recycle bin for him, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 30. Lakeshore Learning Store, 6300 N. May Ave., 858-8778, lakeshorelearning.com. SAT Art Adventures, children can experience the world of art through stories and projects in this event series; this week’s story will be Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 2. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE

PERFORMING ARTS Carmen Lynch, you may know her from Inside Amy Shumer or her web series Apt. C3, and now she’s coming to OKC, 8 p.m. Jan. 27 & 28, 8 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. Jan. 29 & 30. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 2394242, loonybincomedy.com. WED-SAT As Long As We Both Shall Live, Addison meets the man of her dreams, and will marry him if she can win over his disapproving mother and the over-the-top wedding planner ... if she isn't blamed for murder first, 8 p.m. Jan. 28-30, 2:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave., 521-1786, jewelboxtheatre.org. THU-SUN From White Plains, this play tells the story of two adults in the distant aftermath of a bully-victim relationship, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28, 8 p.m. Jan. 29 & 30. Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 232-6500, carpentersquare.com. THU-SAT

1 4 | j a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

Architecture of Dance Photographer Shevaun Williams excels at capturing the human form at its most beautiful. Photographing subjects from Oklahoma City Ballet, Williams creates stunning black-andwhite images showcasing humans as organic machines, beautiful and intricate, yet powerful. The exhibit opens 6 p.m. Thursday at CHK Central Boathouse, 732 Riversport Drive. Tickets to the opening event are $100-$200. The exhibit will be open to the public Monday-Saturday 1-6 p.m. free of charge. Tickets and info can be found at okcballet.com/ architectureofdance or by calling 843-9898.

Thursday

NOW OPEN

Direct Medical Care Do You Hear the People Sing, experience I Dreamed a Dream, Bring Him Home, American Dream and more in a concert to stir your soul, 8 p.m. Jan. 29 & 30. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2264, okcciviccenter. com. FRI-SAT The Dinner Detective, this improvised show is just another dinner, with an exception: someone is guilty of murder, and that person just might be sitting across from you, 6 p.m. Jan. 30. Sheraton Hotel, 1 N. Broadway Ave., 866496-0535, thedinnerdetective.com. SAT

ACTIVE American Spirit Championships, see athletes from ages 4 to 24 compete in teams, performing choreographed dance and gymnastic numbers, Jan. 29-31. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. FRI-SUN OKC Thunder vs. Houston Rockets, NBA basketball game, 7 p.m. Jan. 29. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. FRI Cardio Extreme, work out with fitness instructor Chad Isenberg to add variety to your routine, 8:30 a.m. Jan. 30.

Pacer Fitness Center, 5520 N. Independence Ave., 9493891, integrisok.com. SAT Let the Bowling Begin, charity tournament benefits The Work Activity Center Inc. for The Developmentally Disabled, hosted by Central Oklahoma Parrothead Association, noon-5 p.m. Jan. 30. Heritage Lanes Bowling Alley, 755-7575, heritagelanesokc.com. SAT Jillian Michaels, the Junior League of Oklahoma City brings a new, health-related event called Speaker in the City; trainer, entrepreneur and author Jillian Michaels is featured speaker, 2 p.m. Jan. 31. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. SUN OKC Thunder vs. Washington Wizards, NBA basketball game; almost no actual wizards, 7 p.m. Feb. 1.

Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. MON OU Men’s Basketball, OU Sooners vs. TCU Horned Frogs, 7 p.m. Feb. 2. Lloyd Noble Center, 2900 S. Jenkins Ave., Norman, 325-4666, lloydnoblecenter.com. TUE OKC Thunder vs. Orlando Magic, NBA basketball game; no real magic either, 7 p.m. Feb. 3. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. WED

We accept patients with no insurance

Black & White, 12 In Your Eye resident artists created a new show; each designed an original piece using a blackand-white palette. In Your Eye Gallery, 3005 Paseo St. #A.

Amanda Thomas, MD

Board-certified Family Medicine Low-cost labs - $10 and up Same-day appointments available Office visits $40 and up Online scheduling Convenient hours - lunchtime, evenings, & some Saturdays

Conversation with a Curator: Quilts and Color, before Quilts and Color closes Feb. 7, join coordinating curator Catherine Shotick for insights about how the collection came to be, 1-2 p.m. Jan. 31. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. SUN Healing Studio Exhibition, the Healing Studio program provides an outlet for the creative expressions of individuals with varying degrees of cognitive, physical and learning challenges and provides attendees with insight into the program. Firehouse Art Center, 444 S. Flood Ave., Norman, 329-4523, normanfirehouse.com.

www.directmedcare.net | 405.754.5310 7015 W. Hefner Rd. Bldg. A, Suite 120, OKC (Hefner & Rockwell)

Introspection Manifested, Alexandra Engelman uses monsters, beasts and other creatures to express ambiguous ideas and concepts; they best allow her to manifest these thoughts into visual space. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 815-9995, artspaceatuntitled.org.

James Surls, nature figures prominently in this sculptor's work, and over 40 years, he developed evocative, hybrid forms in wood, steel and bronze inspired by flowers, the human body and rock formations. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

January Exhibition, guest artists Lawrence Naff, Olivia Ortiz Ocampo, Jason Wilson and David Joshua Jennings.

Paseo Gallery One, 2927 Paseo St., 524-4544, facebook. com/paseogalleryone.

New Art for the New Year, feast your eyes and soul on works by local artists. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Petroglyphs for Modern Cave Dwellers, during his studies abroad in Kyoto, Japan, while earning a Master's of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon, Jack Eure painted watercolor landscapes in Zen gardens and studied Japanese aesthetic philosophy; this exhibition reflects wabi sabi simplicity, asymmetry and roughness.

IAO Art Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 232-6060, iaogallery.org.

Photography by Alan Ball, scenery and portrait works.

50 Penn Place Gallery, 1900 Northwest Expressway, Suite 113-R, 848-5567, 50pennplacegallery.com.

Tessa Raven Bayne/Vinton Bayne, this creative couple collaborated on a new series of photographs on panels, embellished with painting and wood burning. DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16th St., 525-3499, dnagalleries.com.

All in All, Christie Owen’s organic abstract and modern impressionist acrylic works are displayed all over Oklahoma and draw inspiration from natural and industrial textures, from both the organic and the inorganic.

Verbode, 415 N. Broadway Ave. #101.

Trés Blanc, early 20th-century painter Oscar Brousse Jacobson was inspired by mountains, plateaus, the plains and the sea; 12 of his impressionistic landscapes are on display through January. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 528-6336, jrbartgallery.com.

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VISUAL ARTS

the shape of everything, an overview of paintings and works by Adam Fung spans the past five years of his career. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, Rm. 202, Norman, 325-2691, art.ou.edu.

YWCA Stand Against Racism Join the YWCA 6 p.m. Friday as it kicks off its Stand Against Racism campaign to combat racism by raising awareness of racial injustice. Help YWCA create a local documentary of firsthand accounts of racism’s negative impact. The event is a meet-and-greet style designed to create a supportive network for those who fight injustice. Wine and For okg light refreshments will be served at 1219 Creative, 1219 N. music picks Classen Blvd. Visit 1219creative.com or ywcaokc.org. see page 34

Friday O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | j a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 1 5

life food & Drink Parrilla

Hidalgo’s Cocina & Cantina 200 S. Santa Fe Ave., Edmond hidalgosrestaurant.com | 285-2424 What works: Guiso especial, lomo saltado and flautas.

What needs work: The noise level.

Lively is putting it mildly.

Tip: The parrilla for one is big enough for two. Easy.

Sweet torture

Chicken burrito with guacamole and veggies

By Greg Elwell

My brother is not the pickiest eater, but he is a connoisseur of Mexican food. So when he told me he’d “never had a bad meal” at Hidalgo’s Cocina & Cantina, 200 S. Santa Fe Ave., in Edmond, I listened.

There were some tough years for him, living in Iowa and Maryland, where Mexican food is outlawed. Only criminals can eat tacos in those states.

And god only help you if they catch you with a chalupa in Maine.

Whenever he returned from those far-off gulags, he would stop for Mexican food before dropping off his bags. That’s dedication.

Some people around here get all highhorse about our Okla-Mex cuisine: heavy on sour cream sauce and fajita chicken, but can you imagine life without it? I love street tacos, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to give up cheese enchiladas slathered in chili.

You can like two things. It’s OK. Just breathe.

Frankly, I don’t know how anyone could like less than two things at Hidalgo’s. Much like my brother, I haven’t had a bad meal there yet.

Perhaps it has something to do with the garishly painted walls inside or the almost impossibly fast service from the wait staff, but it’s hard to be anything but

You can like two things. It’s OK. Just breathe. happy inside the restaurant. The chips and salsa are plentiful, and the tortillas are fresh, warm and fluffy.

Did you just smile thinking about tortillas? Of course you did. They’re the Zoloft of food.

It is generally unnecessary to order appetizers at a Mexican restaurant, what with the aforementioned baskets of chips, et al. But if you’re feeling froggy, Hidalgo’s Sampler ($11.99) has my absolute favorite appetizer — a bit of everything.

You can choose chicken, ground beef or shredded beef nachos (or a mix), flautas and a quesadilla with guacamole and sour cream. The nachos are those old-school kind where it looks like the chefs are doing some kind of test on the tensile strength of the chips. They are loaded — like, Nick Nolte-loaded.

The flautas are a dream. The tortilla is fried golden crisp, but the meat inside is still tender and moist. So often, flautas are filled with the equivalent of jerky.

1 6 | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

These were wonderful. I could have eaten a dozen.

But I didn’t because there’s so much more food to try. Lomo saltado ($13.99) is a Peruvian dish of steak, onions, peppers, tomatoes and french fries almost cooked like a stir-fry. The beef is quite tender and very flavorful.

The chicken burrito ($13.99) was a chicken burrito. It wasn’t bad at all, but it wasn’t nearly as exciting as some of the other offerings.

At this point, I almost feel like “Put an egg on it” is my catch phrase in some sort of Foodlandia sketch show, but when you can get an egg on something, it’s almost always better. And that’s true of Hidalgo’s guiso especial ($14.99), which is chunks of sirloin cooked with onions, tomatoes and jalapeños until meltingly tender and topped with a fried egg.

Good gravy, that sirloin was so good.

Usually, I think of guiso as more stewlike, but this was more sautéed. Still, the texture was incredible. I barely had to chew.

Now, let’s get serious. Deadly serious.

Parrilla serious.

I looked up the meaning of parrilla and ended up with “grill” and “torture.”

I guess they used to torture people on a grill, like meat on a barbecue. That ...

makes me so hungry.

Because now I think of a parrilla ($19.99) at Hidalgo’s and the only torture is figuring how much food from that searing-hot plate I can fit in my stomach. It’s like fajitas if fajitas went to prison and joined a meat gang and got super ripped on weights. There’s beef and chicken, sure, but then it has shrimp and pork and some kind of Guatemalan sausage, plus tons of grilled potatoes and onions and tomatoes and bell peppers and — woo; I’m getting a little sweaty.

That’s a lot of food.

And that is probably as equally important in my brother’s assessment of Hidalgo’s, because in my family, the only thing better than good food is a lot of good food. This restaurant does not skimp on portions. It’s not the cheapest Mexican food around, but when there’s this much and it’s this good, I will gladly spend a few extra dollars.

It is also great to see a restaurant overcome a “cursed” location. Hidalgo’s is in the corner of a big shopping center at Second Street and Santa Fe Avenue where, in my youth, I saw a lot of restaurants come and go.

I get the feeling that once you try it and find that you never have a bad meal there, Hidalgo’s will stick around much longer than those other joints.

PHOTOS BY MARK HANCOCK

Big portions cooked well make Hidalgo’s a must-try.

Big Taste

By Greg Elwell

Taste of OKC ramps up for its 37th year with a food- and fun-filled evening Feb. 6 to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma (BBBSOK).

The event raised $108,000 last year, and area director Jacquelyn Edwards said the group hopes to earn $125,500 from this year’s event.

“All the money we raise goes to matching and recruiting ‘Bigs’ and ‘Littles,’” she said.

The cost of bringing together and supporting a mentor with an at-risk child in need of guidance is about $1,500. Edwards said that might seem like a lot until people consider the costs of not making that match.

“This changes the trajectory of a kid’s life,” she said.

Children with one or both parents

who are incarcerated have a 70 percent chance of incarceration themselves, unless someone intervenes. $1,500 per match isn’t a lot compared to the $18,000 it costs to keep an inmate in prison for a year.

Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Amachi Program specifically focuses on children in this situation, drastically lowering those odds.

The group is always looking for more mentors — especially Big Brothers — but resource coordinator Jenny Brown said those who can’t make that commitment can still help out by getting tickets to Taste of OKC. This year, 30 Oklahoma City restaurants — including Pie Junkie, All About Cha and Whiskey Cake — will bring “tastes” of their menu for

Taste of OKC 6:30 p.m. Feb. 6 Chevy Bricktown Events Center 429 E. California Ave. tasteokc.com $100

P R OVI DE D

Taste of Oklahoma City is a delicious way to change a child’s life.

partygoers to sample.

Edwards said the restaurants’ participation is amazing and many contact BBBSOK annually to make sure they’ll be serving again.

“They give their time, their staff and their food,” she said. “They donate a lot to make this happen.”

Newly remodeled Chevy Bricktown Events Center, 429 E. California Ave., is a perfect space for the party, Edwards said. After checking in, guests go up the stairs for appetizers and can look down on the buzzing floor below, where the next “tastes” are being prepared.

“It builds anticipation,” she said.

“You get a peek at what’s coming next.”

The only complaints they’ve received are from people who said they

Guests sample food at Taste of OKC 2015. were too full from eating so many samples.

While food and charity are the main draws, Taste also will pack in folks eager to see The Voice contestant Chase Kerby + The Villains perform.

There will also be a number of live and silent auction items.

The event is BBBSOK’s opportunity to recognize those who make its work possible with the Judge William R. Saied Founders Award and the Big Sister of the Year Award.

Standing-room-only tickets to Taste of OKC are available for $100 at tasteokc.com or by calling 606-6316.

The event starts at 6:30 p.m.

O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 1 7

food briefs

ma r k h a ncock

by Greg Elwell

Guatemexican “People ask all the time what the difference is between Guatemalan and Mexican food,” said Chiltepe’s Taco Joint co-owner and general manager Jeremy Cifuentes.

“The big difference is Guatemalan food is less spicy and we eat more black beans, where Mexican food uses more pinto beans.”

Now the cuisines are coming together as Chiltepe’s, 1800 NW 16th St., added Tex-Mex favorites to the menu to help broaden the restaurant’s appeal.

Those who love Guatemalan dishes like pupusas (thick, stuffed tortillas) and estofado (beef stew) will still find their favorites, but Cifuentes said many of the dishes that didn’t sell were taken off the menu.

In their place are lower prices and a selection of tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos. He said the restaurant hopes to draw in more students from nearby Oklahoma City University. Chiltepe’s also added larger drinks for customers who want to share a giant margarita.

Gone, too, are the servers. The restaurant now does counter service, which Cifuentes said should make everything run faster and keep more in line with the rest of the Plaza District restaurants.

Return engagement mark hancock / file

Chef and owner Joseph Royer loves Saturn Grill, but he’s excited to indulge his passion for fine dining with a guest chef dinner 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 31 at The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro, 6418 N. Western Ave. The five-course, four-wine dinner brings Royer back to the restaurant where he was chef de cuisine from 1999 to 2002 and pairs him with vintner Gabrielle Leonhard of California-based wineries Gabrielle Collection and O’Connell Family Vineyards.

“For me, it’s like riding a bike,” Royer said. “When you’ve got a palate target already, it helps cut to the chase. I like the challenge of constructing a dish to pair with a wine and being able to make them work together.”

Wine dinners like this are a real treat for diners who get food and beverages specifically chosen to highlight each’s best qualities.

“My job in this instance is to make sure [Leonhard’s] wines come off fantastically,” Royer said.

The dinner is $90, including wine pairings. Call 840-9463 for reservations.

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The food truck will still be rolling, but German barbecue restaurant Klemm’s Smoke Haus now has a brick-and-mortar location at 3017 Kelsey Drive in Edmond.

Jan Clem, who started the truck with husband John and son J.J., said it was always their desire to open up a restaurant. The food truck, operating for two and a half years now, was a way to get the name out and build a following.

“We get it all the time. People ask, ‘Where are you set up the most?’” she said.

“We were all over the place. This way, they can come see us whenever they want.”

Moving to a larger kitchen gives them more options. Jan said the limited space of the truck cut down on the number of sides and desserts available. The new shop will also allow them to add more German cuisine to the menu.

Opening in Edmond was part convenience — the Clems live in Edmond — and part cunning. Jan said the just-off-Broadway location is easy to get to from Oklahoma City, Yukon or wherever.

Burger bucks One Braum’s customer got more than just ice cream at her local store. Oklahoma City resident Nancy McMinn won $23,000 in tuition money for her son as the burger restaurant teamed up with Dr Pepper for the third year.

In addition to the $23,000 for McMinn, 20 other customers received $1,000 for tuition, student loans, books and other school expenses. Participants from Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas sent texts to enter in October and November.

Amanda Beuchaw, public relations director, said customers weren’t the only winners — three employees also received $1,000 tuition awards.

Second Squeeze After two years in business, Organic Squeeze has opened a second location — Organic Squeeze Family Kitchen — in The Edge at Midtown, 1325 N. Walker Ave. The new storefront brings with it new items. Though organic juice and smoothies are still at the center of its menu, the business now offers food, coffee and a few groceries.

“Basically, it’s our take on healthy, approachable food,” said Organic Squeeze president Robert Rhodes. “Everything we’re creating here is healthy and approachable to a lot of people.”

The menu includes raw and cooked dishes, such as vegan enchiladas, chimichurri steak and a full salad bar. There are also breakfast options, making the new Organic Squeeze location a one-stop shop for many in the Midtown area.

Chef John Madore, formerly of Picasso Cafe, designed the menu over the last seven months, Rhodes said.

The new store is not the end of expansion, either. Organic Squeeze will try to open two new stores — one farther north and one near the Norman area — by the end of 2016. mar k hancock

ma rk h a ncock

Klemm’s home

listen to zorba Entertaining talk about fitness, nutrition and healthy living

photos pr ovided

Cocoa city Automobile Alley’s Chocolate Decadence makes overindulgence a civic duty.

THURSDAYS, 11AM

By Greg Elwell

Chocolate Decadence

Gazette

NormaN

6-8:30 p.m. Feb. 4 Hudson-Essex Loft Offices 825 N. Broadway Ave. chocolatedecadenceokc.com 706-7484 $65

Better buy flowers for Valentine’s Day, because Oklahoma City might be all out of chocolate after Feb. 4, when Chocolate Decadence returns to Automobile Alley.

Now in its 19th year, the cocoacentric event has become a rite of passage for chocolate lovers across the metro, even those who partake too much, said organizer Nicole Thomas.

“It’s so funny, but through the years, people hear I’m involved with Chocolate Decadence and they say, ‘I got so sick last year, I threw up. When are you doing it again?’” she said.

With 20 restaurants making savory and sweet chocolate options, it can be difficult to show restraint.

This year’s participants include Automobile Alley restaurants The Fit Pig, Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse, Kamp’s 1910 Cafe, Pelotón Wine Bar & Cafe and Red PrimeSteak as well as eateries from across the city.

In addition to old and returning favorites, like Paseo Grill and Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, the tasting event also gives guests a chance to try some restaurants that are new to the city, including Ember Modern American Tavern and Holey Rollers. Automobile Alley Association president Steve Mason said the event has become important to maintaining and improving the district.

“Chocolate Decadence money is used for various district events and improvements, like the holiday lights, paying for the quiet zone and adding park benches and bicycle racks,” he said.

Thomas said last year’s event raised about $30,000. Chocolate Decadence is the district’s main fundraiser.

“This is my 11th year as the event coordinator, and in that time, Automobile Alley has completely reinvigorated itself,” she said. “With

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Desserts from 2014’s Chocolate Decadence event restaurants and beautification, it has really grown tremendously.”

But while beautification is a nice side effect, Thomas said most people are there for the food.

“Everything, sweet or savory, has to have chocolate in it,” she said.

“Sophabella’s did a cocoa-rubbed pork chop. There was a white chocolate shrimp scampi. The restaurants get really creative and competitive with each other.”

Mason likens the experience to a trip to the Oklahoma State Fair.

“Instead of fried foods, it’s chocolate,” he said. “You get to try dishes with chocolate in them that you’d never expect chocolate in.”

He said it’s like Valentine’s Day a week early. That doesn’t just extend the sugar rush for partygoers — it also makes the event accessible to restaurants.

“Valentine’s Day is the busiest week of the year for most of them,” he said.

“If we scheduled it any later, most of them wouldn’t be able to take part.”

On top of food (if there’s any room left), Chocolate Decadence will feature champagne, coffee from Cafe Evoke, smooth jazz and live and silent auctions.

Holding it in the Hudson-Essex Loft Offices, 825 N. Broadway Ave., makes it convenient for everyone who wants to go and helps show off Automobile Alley to people who haven’t been to the district yet, Mason said.

Guests must be at least 21 years old to attend.

Spend Day

ValentiTnheis'sYear!

7101 Miramar Blvd Oklahoma City, OK 73111 Reservations Recommended 405.478.1417 www.jbruners.com

With Us

lunch & dinner

6014 n. May 947.7788 | zorbasokc.coM O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 1 9

Dear God After a week’s worth of sinning, some of us don’t have time to cook on Sunday. From morning until night, we’re on our knees, praying to go to heaven (or at least avoid hell). So when the sun goes down and the fridge is empty, we head out to eat. Unfortunately, Sunday nights can be a wasteland for some restaurants. So here are a few great ones still serving us sinners.

— by Greg Elwell, photos by Garett Fisbeck and Mark Hancock

Pizzeria Gusto

Couscous Cafe

2415 N. Walker Ave. pizzeria-gusto.com | 437-4992

6165 N. May Ave. couscouscafeokc.com | 286-1533

“Oh no! Not pizza again!” said someone you should actively avoid. Let’s face it — pizza is always welcome. If your estranged sister showed up with a pizza, you’d invite her in and let the healing begin. And if she took you to Pizzeria Gusto, forget it — you’d write her back into the will. Even if you’re not in the mood for a pie, the menu is overflowing with great options like fried artichoke hearts, gnocchi and lamb chops.

If the only thing you know about Morocco is that it’s a tiny country known for casinos and James Bond car chases, you’re thinking of Monaco. It’s time to recalibrate your GPS. Morocco is in northern Africa, but you’ll probably associate some of the dishes at Couscous Cafe with Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cuisine.

Gyros, falafel and kebobs are all pretty standard. But have you had zaalook or a fish tagine? It’s time to go to Couscous.

Casa Perico Mexican Grille 4521 NW 63rd St. casaperico.com | 721-3650

Dios Mio (my God), we’re loco (crazy) for the food at Casa Perico (house of the parrot). And the designers of the menu are pretty nuts, too. But you’ll forget all about the eye ache of those fonts when you dig into the tender, flavorful carnitas de puerco (little meats of pork) and the fresh fried avocado slices. And be less sad, vegetarians! Casa Perico has a boatload of meatless entrees, including the green joy of enchiladas de espinacas (spinach enchiladas), for you.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW MENU ITEMS! Valid on dinners up to $11 99 only.

Discount taken off equal or lesser purchase. Limit 2 coupons per person. Not valid with any other offers.

Expires 2/3/16.

11AM-9PM | Mon-Sat • 11aM-4PM | SUN

NW 50th & MeridiAN | 947.7277 oNliNe orderiNg NoW AvAilAble!

oKLaHoMaStatIonBBQ.coM

2 0 | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

LIKE US ON

The Shack Seafood & Oyster Bar 303 NW 62nd St. theshackok.com | 608-4333

If you can’t find something new to eat at The Shack, you must be the chef, because the menu is a wild ride through Louisiana’s swamps on the way to Flavor Country. Okie Oysters are smoked oysters covered in bacon, jalapeño and garlic. The fried seafood platter packs in everything from stuffed shrimp to frog legs. The Shack even has a hamburger po’ boy for your officemate, Kevin, the guy who hates trying new foods.

Pastries & Gift Basket

Thai Thai Asian Bistro

Diamond Dawgs

603 S. Broadway, Edmond 216-9968

780 W. Main St., Norman thaithainorman.com | 307-0283

753 Asp Ave., Norman diamonddawgsnorman.com | 364-3294

Q: Which cuisine has no winners?

A: I swear, if you say Thai food, I will come at you with a sword. I get it. Thai food sounds like “tie” food, but this is no laughing matter. We’re all winners when we get Thai food. Order sukiyaki; you win. Get some evil jungle curry; you win. Koong pad nam prik pao; a winner is you.

You might not make it to Monday if you finish your Sunday with Diamond Dawgs. The food is great, no question; but is it too great? Will you even be able to stop eating The Closer (a hot dog wrapped in ground beef and bacon) or put down The Mound (a chicken-fried dawg covered in mashed potatoes, gravy and fried onion strings)? And don’t get us started on The Wonderboy (a corn dog with crushed Cap’n Crunch batter).

Sunday is actually the night Cafe De Taipei closes earliest, at 10 p.m. (It’s open 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday.) Most nights, you can roll in after midnight and still get sushi, sashimi and bubble tea. Enjoy the Vampire Roll with torched salmon and garlic or the vegetarian Super Mario roll with baked mushrooms when you can.

Q: So you don’t like puns?

A: No. I don’t like puns.

$3 Off Family Pack

with our

uess, els,icBrio D Cookie owni

Cafe De Taipei

or

s!

$5 Off Xl Family Pack

M-F, 7aM-6:30pM • Sat, 9:30aM-4pM 2310 N WeSterN • 524-0887 O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 2 1

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cover education Anita Martinez Mariachi Festival Feb. 4-7

Mariachi Los Camperos 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 Armstrong Auditorium 14400 S. Bryant Ave. armstrongauditorium.org 285-1010 $23-$48

Mariachi classes, workshops and master class 12 p.m. Feb. 5 OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center 7777 S. May Ave. facebook.com/mariachifestivalokc 682-7576 Free

High note OKCPS’ mariachi program brings music education to southside elementary schools and helps connect parents and the community.

m a rk ha n coc k

Maravillas de México feat.

Mariachi Los Caporales

Christiaan Osborn leads mariachi students in rehearsal at Fillmore Elementary School.

8 p.m. Feb. 6 OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center 7777 S. May Ave. facebook.com/mariachifestivalokc 682-7576 $23-$43

Lorenzo de Monteclaro en Plaza Mayor 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 7 Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads 7000 Crossroads Blvd. facebook.com/mariachifestivalokc 631-4422 Free

By Laura Eastes and Ben Luschen

The rich, vibrant sounds of mariachi music fills Christiaan Osborn’s classroom during Monday and Wednesday visits to Fillmore Elementary School.

As the conductor, Osborn sets the tempo and shapes the sound of the 17-member fifth- and sixth-grade ensemble, which features string and brass instruments. Since 2004, the music educator has introduced countless students to instruments, trained them to read music and stressed the importance of practice. In many ways, teaching mariachi is identical to school orchestra or band programs.

“How I see it, it’s a style,” Osborn said. “I teach the kids how to play violin the way I would if they were in an orchestra. I teach the trumpet player to play trumpet as if they were in a band. The instrumentation is specific to mariachi, but the techniques are the same as anything else.”

Yet the traditional Mexican music strikes a chord with Hispanic students, their parents and the Hispanic communities of south Oklahoma City.

The program has continued to grow in student participation and parent support since its full implementation in 2005.

OKC school board member Gloria Torres views mariachi as a unique opportunity for pupils at Fillmore, Capitol Hill and Adams elementary schools,

which are located in largely Hispanic neighborhoods. Through the culturally relevant music, children discover a sense of pride in the heritage of their families and develop positive identities.

“We try to build strong children, and one of the key components to building strong students is allowing them to identify and have pride in who they are,” said Torres, who represents District 6 in south OKC. “Knowing who you are and where you come from builds that character.”

The pride is evident on the faces of parents and grandparents as mariachi students perform in auditoriums and at community events and parades, said Susan Martin, Fillmore principal.

“My (school) parents are like any other parents,” Martin said. “They want more than they had, and they want to give them every opportunity.”

Fifth-grader David Salomon said he’s thankful for the mariachi program because it’s not offered in every school. Salomon, who is bilingual, joined the band as a fourth-grader.

“It is part of our roots,” Salomon said, “because a lot of our moms and dads come from Mexico.”

Saving music

A dozen years ago, Fillmore and Capitol Hill elementary schools created mariachi

classes following cable network VH1’s Save the Music Foundation grant. The foundation works to restore music education in public schools and raise awareness of the positive impact fine arts have on students. Guitarróns, vihuelas, trumpets and violins were purchased with the funds.

“We were fortunate we got it,” said Martin, who was the principal at the time.

“Our culture was turning at the time. For the kids that were not Hispanic, they still sang and learned right along.”

Oklahoma City Public Schools reports that 48 percent of its 46,500 pupils are Hispanic. A decade ago, Osborn said, student demographics were much different. A 2005 photo of Fillmore mariachi students with former Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Jari Askins hangs near Osborn’s desk. He pointed out that only a handful of the youths were of Hispanic heritage.

“That was pretty representative of the school when we started,” Osborn said when viewing the photo. “It has completely changed, and having this program here has worked out really well.”

Osborn was hired by the district to teach at U.S. Grant High School and Fillmore in January 2014. He initially thought he was creating an elementary band, but that changed when the instruments arrived. He immersed himself in the mariachi genre and received help

from community leader Robert Ruiz, marketing manager at Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads.

In the early years, around 20 students participated in the Fillmore program.

Now, about 60 children in grades four through six take part.

Musical impact

Ruiz said someone would be hard-pressed to find similar programs anywhere in Mexico.

Typically, children learn mariachi lírico listening and watching family members or those around them. These are the working, family mariachis.

“Mariachi in Mexico is so ubiquitous, it’s kind of like the tortilla,” Ruiz said.

“Mariachis are everywhere.”

In the United States, children are not constantly exposed to these types of influences and must reach a lot further for cultural identity — thus the need for an artificial mariachi upbringing in the school system.

Students learning mariachi are exposed to more musical components than those in band or orchestra. In addition to the instrumental side to learning mariachi, Ruiz said there are also the elements of singing and drama.

“It’s kind of like what you might think continued on next page

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Mariachi students play a song in class at Fillmore Elementary School. of a show choir or something like that, but with an instrument, too,” he said.

Mariachi music is very much tied to Mexico’s folkloric tradition. While a welcome addition to any meal, it was not invented to be played solely over a table at a Mexican restaurant. Ruiz said there is a soul and art to the music that many Americans will never see.

Mexico’s virtuoso mariachis, like those invited to the festival, are highlevel, classically trained outfits that Ruiz said give the music its vibrant life. Their technical abilities are on a symphonic level, much higher than smaller, working mariachis.

But that’s not to say family mariachis do not contribute to the life of the culture; they are the reason the music is so strongly linked to the culture.

“They’re kind of the bustler of the mariachi music,” Ruiz said. “They’re the ones that you can find on any given weekday or weekend on the corner. You can just go pick one up and take them to your party, you know?”

Growing up in San Antonio, Ruiz said he was always surrounded by links to his culture and history. The city once belonged to Mexico. Buildings, missions and churches still stand as a reminder of his heritage.

In Oklahoma City, with a far younger Hispanic community, those longstanding links to the past are nowhere to be found.

Ruiz hopes places like Plaza Mayor will help mature the community and provide a home for their culturally relevant arts.

“That’s why we feel it’s so important for us to [support OKCPS mariachis] — because part of the success of the community is not only going to be economic development, access to health care and access to opportunity, but it’s also that cultural element that’s so important to the richness of their lives,” he said.

Program challenges

Like fine arts programs across the country, the OKCPS mariachi program’s future depends heavily on funding.

While the school still uses instruments from the VH1 grant, contest entries and travel costs for music contests are annual expenses.

For example, students will compete in a contest in Missouri in May. The school has paid the entry fee, but the charter bus service requires raising $1,500.

Right now, they are selling Fillmore coffee mugs and small monetary donations are rolling in.

“I don’t know if we will be able to go this year for the simple fact that we don’t have the money,” Martin said.

Osborn’s concerns also center on opportunities. Right now, there is no program at the secondary level.

Those who wish to continue after sixth grade must look for options outside of OKCPS. “Some of the middle schools have band or orchestra, and some have guitar programs, but none have mariachi,” Osborn said. “I do have some former students who play in mariachis through their families.”

Through the help of community and school leaders, the Anita Martinez Mariachi Festival, Feb. 4-7, aspires to keep the music playing at OKCPS.

Community mariachi

Anita Martinez liked seeing people happy. What better way to accomplish happiness than through music?

The woman honored by the namesake festival was also a lover of food and fashion, but music — especially as it related to her Mexican culture — always held a special place in her heart.

Martinez died last year, but her

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cover education

granddaughter, Jessica Martinez-Brooks, Oklahoma City Community College’s director of community outreach and education, plays a role in organizing the event that carries the legacy she left behind. Ruiz also is involved.

“She was consistently a part of many different community organizations and projects,” Martinez-Brooks said. “She was a pillar.”

An earlier incarnation of the event was attempted in 2006. That year, organizers held a big festival but followed it up with a smaller one in 2007. By the next year, the concept seemed to have fallen by the wayside.

The Anita Martinez Mariachi Festival hopes to revitalize that effort with a refocused goal to raise money for the expansion of school mariachi programs.

All funds from the festival will benefit the program through The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools.

“I think my grandma was one of the original people educating the generations and wanting them to do generational activities together,” Martinez-Brooks said. “Mariachi music, I think, is an important way that we bridge the gap from our older generations to our newer and younger generations.”

Aside from the school efforts, however, she said the festival’s goal is to provide a positive cultural experience for the community.

Two world-renowned mariachis will highlight the festival.

Mariachi Los Camperos plays Feb. 4 at Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond. Los Camperos is a Grammywinning ensemble from Los Angeles that has been around for half a century.

It frequently records under Smithsonian Institution’s independent record label Smithsonian Folkways.

San Antonio’s Mariachi Los Caporales plays Feb. 6 at OCCC’s Visual and Performing Arts Center. It has

performed at the World Cup in South Africa and has accompanied popular Latin music acts Nydia Rojas and Mazz.

Feb. 5, Los Caporales also leads classes for OKC’s elementary mariachi students, educator workshops later in the day and a university-level master class at OCCC. A free concert Feb. 7 caps the festival on the Michael Brooks-Jiminez Stage at Plaza Mayor. Mexican singer Lorenzo de Monteclaro performs with Mariachi Orgullo de América, Oklahoma’s largest mariachi, after a full afternoon of playing from a variety of other mariachis.

Though the event is free, there is paid VIP seating.

Martinez-Brooks said fundraising has been one of the bigger obstacles for organizers to climb in year one of the new and improved festival. Some have come to the forefront, but there is a need for community leaders — leaders like Anita Martinez — to step forward and champion the cause.

“With the economy the way it is, it is difficult,” Martinez-Brooks said. “I think a lot of people, and particularly the people who have already contributed thus far, really do respect the fact that we’re trying to get this festival up and running.”

Fillmore pride

Student Clemente Sandoval pointed to his teacher’s desk when talking about the children who built the music program.

Trophies with musical notes and award certificates split time between Fillmore’s office and the mariachi classroom.

At Fillmore, the program has a strong reputation among students for building future musicians and school leaders.

“The yellow one, we won that this year,” Sandoval said referring to the winning parade certificate from October’s Fiestas de Las Americas in Capitol Hill.

Sandoval and his fellow fifth-graders described marching down Commerce Street as spectators cheered and danced in the streets.

Months later, the children performed for Gov. Mary Fallin and Santa Claus at the Capitol.

“It takes practice first before you can go on field trips,” said Maria Reyes, a fifth-grader. “It takes dedication.”

Torres said mariachi programs teach creativity and responsibility.

“The skills they develop, like any other arts program, help them strengthen their academics,” Torres said. “That’s why we fight to keep arts in our schools.

The impact is so much greater.”

Martin sees that impact daily.

A majority of mariachi students are members of the student council or participate in honor society. They rarely visit the office to be disciplined.

“It gives them specialness, and every kid needs their own specialness,” Martin said.

life culture

SHE CAN'T

HEAR,

BUT YOU P HOTOS BY GARETT FI S BECK

CAN HELP.

It’s lit Twenty-third Street landmark Tower Theatre prepares for its second act.

Guests celebrate the lighting of Tower Theatre’s grand marquee during a recent public tour and celebration.

By Greg Elwell

The lights went on a little early, but the crowd around Tower Theatre developers Jonathan Dodson, Ben Sellers and David Wanzer whooped and applauded nonetheless — partially because it was good to see the neon sign shining brightly again at 425 NW 23rd St. and partially because they were excited to get in out of the cold earlier this month during an event celebrating the relighting of the venue’s trademark marquee.

Wanzer told the gathered crowd how excited the developers were to bring the 1937 landmark back to life before the trio led more than 100 curious folks across the street and into the rejuvenated building for a first look at its theater and available office spaces.

Seeing so many people excited just for a peek inside was thrilling, Dodson said, but knowing what’s to come is even better.

He said it will be an exciting mixeduse space, with Levelland Productions operating the theater and multistory Savings and Loan Co. bar on the east side of the building. Ian and Hailey McDermid, owners of The Pump Bar, are opening their second concept, The Bunker Club, on the west side of the building.

Dodson, Sellers and Wanzer are in talks with several potential businesses for 3,300 square feet of available office

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That’s sure to be music to their ears.

Jonathan Dodson, David Wanzer and Ben Sellers pause for a photo during a recent event celebrating the venue’s rebirth and upcoming reopening. space overlooking 23rd Street. Local drone auteur and podcast producer Stephen Tyler is a confirmed tenant.

With 4,000 square feet on the bottom floor reserved for restaurants, Dodson said one, two or even three food concepts could move into the space.

Work continues on the actual theater. Seats are being installed on the mezzanine level, and a few other finishing touches — fixing the stage and drying the orchestra pit — will

be completed before Levelland takes over. Dodson said he thinks the first in-theater event could take place as early as mid-April.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “Selfishly, I’m excited. I have friends in the area who can walk to a concert and spend all night on 23rd Street. I never would have dreamed it when we first came here.”

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Photographic evidence OKCMOA receives another donation of Brett Weston prints and plans a historical exhibit.

By Wilhelm Murg

Oklahoma City Museum of Art owns the second largest collection of photographs by Brett Weston (19111993), with a total of 460 works, including a recent gift of 50 gelatin silver prints from The Brett Weston Archive and Christian Keesee Collection.

Brett Weston, the second of four sons of American photographer Edward Weston (1886-1958), has been called the “child genius of American photography.”

He started taking photographs on a trip to Mexico with his father at the age of 13. The next year, they returned to California and he began exhibiting his own photographs with his father and assisting him in the darkroom.

He was featured in the international German exhibition Film und Foto, and by the age of 21, he was giving one-man retrospective museum shows.

While Weston explored landscapes, he tended to flatten the plane to bring out the design structure of the photograph. As he got older, his view got closer until it became less about the subject and more about the design, to the point that his close-up prints of objects worked like photographic cousins to the abstract expressionist painters who were his contemporaries.

The recently donated photographs, taken between 1937 and 1980, are primarily these types of abstractions.

In 1996, Oklahoma-born businessman, philanthropist and chairman of the board of the Kirkpatrick Foundation Christian Keesee wasn’t that familiar with Weston’s work when he heard that the photographer’s estate was for sale. He flew out to California to see the collection and quickly received a crash course on one of America’s most significant photographers. That purchase led to Keesee creating The Brett Weston Archive as a resource center for museums, collectors, historians and publishers. He spoke with Oklahoma Gazette about the collection.

Other museums and art dealers had already pitched ideas to buy the estate when Keesee stepped in.

“So many people were involved,

A photograph by Brett Weston

whether it was his lawyers, his daughter or other people who owned Bret Weston photographs themselves, and they understood Brett Weston’s legacy,” Keesee said. “When we made a proposal to start an archive that would, over time, put small, comprehensive collections

If art is going to thrive in our capitals in the United States, there has to be art instruction in the regions.

— Christian Keesee

of Brett’s work in museums ’round the country, they liked the idea.”

The majority of the estate is currently housed in the archive in Oklahoma City, but every year, the archive makes contributions to museums around the country that are interested in

2 6 | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

building their photographic collections; the archive has made 25 donations so far.

“It’s been our practice to make small, but comprehensive collections of Brett’s work to museums around the country,” Keesee said. “Obviously, since I’m an Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA) is a logical recipient, as has been the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, the Getty Museum in California, the International Center of Photography in New York and the Tate Gallery in London. It’s really nice, what’s been done. Brett’s daughter, Erica, is thrilled with what we’ve been able to do over time, not only in increasing the value of Brett’s work, but increasing the popularity and the knowledge of him as an artist independent of his father. It’s working out real well, and I’m thrilled Oklahoma City is happy with [its] gift.”

Art education

Keesee believes that cuts to arts programs in public schools throughout the country can have a devastating effect on our culture.

He came up with this philosophy as a board member of American Ballet

Theatre in New York and Oklahoma City Ballet.

“In New York and San Francisco, they think their ballet is the only ballet in the world,” Keesee said. “But if you look at the roster and you look at who is performing, no one is from Manhattan; they’re from Sioux Falls, Houston, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and all places in between. If art is going to thrive in our capitals in the United States, there has to be art instruction in the regions.”

Keesee said he asked the director of the Metropolitan Opera what the biggest threat to opera was in the United States, and the director said it is that there is no voice instruction in high schools anymore.

“When my parents were in high school, there was theater, band, shop, home economics — there were all these things that you learn in high school that could prepare you for a career, but none of that exists in public school anymore. I feel very strongly about regional arts education and Oklahoma Contemporary, an organization that I am involved with, which is trying to take up some of the slack that has been left behind by long-term cuts in public arts education.”

Some of the new Weston acquisitions will be on display at OKCMOA starting March 12 in Our City, Our Collection: Building the Museum’s Lasting Legacy, which tells the history of the museum and the many major gifts and bequests from its patrons over the decades. The exhibition will run through the summer.

“Of course, we will have a section about the Kirkpatrick Foundation and Christian Keesee,” said OKCMOA curator Catherine Shotick. “They’ve made multiple gifts through the museum’s history, not just of artworks, but also monetary gifts. They’ve been very generous.”

For more information about The Brett Weston Archive, visit brettwestonarchive.com.

For more information on current and upcoming exhibitions at OKCMOA, visit okcmoa.com.

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The flame

Carter Sampson

A David Bowie art tribute show builds momentum, even as organizers work to secure a venue.

Laura Sullivan opened a call to artists for a David Bowie tribute show originally planned over the holidays. She didn’t expect what it has transformed into.

By Ben Luschen

An unexpected move by Back Alley Gallery in 2015 inadvertently gave local artists the opportunity to give David Bowie a proper farewell.

Laura Sullivan wanted to hold the Bowie Blow Out Tribute Art Show during the holidays but was forced to put it on hold when Back Alley Gallery’s former location, 5026 N. May Ave., closed with the intention of finding a new, expanded location. A musical tribute by Kali Ra also was scheduled.

Despite that, Sullivan remains determined to make the show happen.

Back Alley, she said, has promised to host the tribute show when it reopens.

The art and music tribute is tentatively rescheduled for Feb. 27, but it might be necessary to reschedule again. Regardless, Sullivan’s call for art submissions remains open as the community response continues to build.

The need to see the show through took on more significance following Bowie’s Jan. 10 death from cancer.

Sullivan was deeply impacted by the news.

“If you didn’t have family, you found family,” she said. “If your family rejected you, you found family in artists like [Bowie]. So for a lot of people, when Bowie died, it was like family died. I know I felt that way. It was legitimate mourning.”

Sullivan said it’s likely proceeds from the tribute will go to cancer research or another charity.

One of the reasons she chose to do a Bowie show in the first place is he was a man who took on many different forms and identities through the years. Will

artists commemorate him by creating their interpretation of Ziggy Stardust, a more refined Bowie, Labyrinth?

Kali Ra vocalist David Goad said he still plans to pay musical tribute when the event does occur. In the meantime, his band plays a Bye Bye, Spaceboy tribute 8 p.m. Saturday at Blue Note Lounge, 2408 N. Robinson Ave. Goad also said he would donate any money he makes from tributes to cancer research.

“I owe David Bowie a creative debt,” he said. “He’s responsible, I think, for my validation as an artist. Without him, there

Review: Blackstar Blackstar, David Bowie’s 25th studio album, was released to the masses Jan. 8, his 69th birthday. Two days later, the art universe lost a bright star to cancer in a struggle that few knew about.

While early reviews were positive, any Blackstar critique loses critical weight without the context of the real-life events surrounding the artist who envisioned it.

Right?

Even in the dark void of outer space, stripped of any idea about Bowie or his identity, this album stands alone as one of the most ambitious and direct artistic explorations into man’s mortality.

In most cases, the beauty in art is that consumers obtain its meaning based on their own emotional experiences. But Blackstar is so immensely personal and self-referencing — with its coincidences

would be no reference for what I do and it would be a lot more easily dismissible.”

Bowie’s legacy

I became more personally identified with the enigmatic quality of his art and music,” he said. “I really gravitated toward that, I think, more than anything else.”

Through Bowie, Goad said he and countless others have learned there is no wrong way to make art.

To contribute artwork to the Bowie Blow Out Tribute Art Show, contact Sullivan on the event’s Facebook page or bring your submission to her studio space, 1825 NW 28th St.

“I could fall asleep at night as a rock ’n’ roll star.”

Lyrics from Bowie’s “Star” tattooed onto Goad’s forearm are a daily reminder about his significance as an artist.

Goad became aware of Bowie’s artistic impact as a teen. Acts like Bauhaus cited his influence. At 16 or 17, Goad began listening to Bowie.

“Over the course of years from then,

Read more of this story at okgazette.com.

too striking — to consider the project in any realm not directly related to the seemingly predestined fate of its creator.

Since Bowie’s death, countless people have pored over Blackstar’s lyrics. A post-mortem review of his final words is at best eerie and at worst crushing.

Bowie’s deep, unnatural breaths are audible on the opening title track.

Likely done on purpose, his singing is less refined on his farewell release; its cracks and coarseness bring the Starman down to Earth.

The first line of chilling, saxophonedriven “Lazarus” was written by Bowie’s flesh-and-bone hand, but it sings from a spiritual realm: “Look up here; I’m in heaven.” On “Dollar Days,” he’s literally “dying to” rectify life’s regrets, wondering if he squeezed every drop of

joy from his time on Earth.

There also are hints of Bowie’s waning strength. In “Girl Loves Me,” time and regularity begin to slip. “Where the fuck did Monday go?” Bowie asks between chains of slang. (He died on a Sunday.)

Blackstar’s tremendous experimental jazz aesthetic drives home the artist’s goodbye. Enough can’t be said about a musician, of that age especially, who is comfortable making music far ahead of the time his or her career began and as he stares down his own mortality.

Blackstar’s closing track, “I Can’t Give Away Everything,” confirms that Bowie accepted the reality of his looming physical departure. Over driving drums and a sample from 1977’s “A New Career in A New Town,” he leaves us with his last words, lyrics of contemplation and resolve.

“Seeing more and feeling less; saying no but meaning yes. This is all I ever meant; that’s the message that I sent.”

O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 3 1

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God’s will Metal band Lamb of God has established its place as a constant in the ever-evolving music industry.

Lamb of God

By Ben Luschen

Lamb of God with special guests Anthrax, Deafheaven and Power Trip 7 p.m. Feb. 9 Diamond Ballroom 8001 S. Eastern Ave. diamondballroom.net 677-9169 $35

If you’re looking for a mosh pit, here it is.

Heavy metal tours do not get much bigger than Lamb of God and Anthrax.

The metal icons slam into Diamond Ballroom Feb. 9 at 8001 S. Eastern Ave. On one hand, Lamb of God (LoG) is in its commercial prime. Its most recent album, VII: Sturm und Drang, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the act’s fourth album in a row to premiere in the top 10. It was the band’s first album since vocalist Randy Blythe was released from a Czech Republic prison following a 2013 manslaughter acquittal related to charges he faced for an incident at a 2010 show.

Anthrax, however, founded 13 years before LoG in 1981, has graduated to legend status. The band is widely regarded as part of heavy metal’s Big Four, along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth.

Despite the longevity of Anthrax, Blythe, who spoke with Oklahoma Gazette by phone before the start of his tour, does not view the relationship between their groups as that of mentormentee.

“We aren’t little kids; we’ve been around for 21 years,” he said.

There was a time when that dynamic was a little different. Blythe said Anthrax was the first of the Big Four bands to take LoG out on tour.

Now, LoG finds itself on top of the bill. Blythe said the two acts have a good, friendly relationship.

3 2 | j a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

“I’m looking forward to hitting the road with them again,” Blythe said.

“I’m going to sit around and hopefully get some time to geek out about comic books with [Anthrax guitarist and original member] Scott Ian, you know?”

New era

Anthrax joins dreamy black metal band Deafheaven and Texas thrash metal act Power Trip to complete the concert lineup. Deafheaven recorded its critically heralded sophomore release, Sunbather, in 2013. Its 2015 follow-up, New Bermuda, was received just as well.

Blythe called the band’s work “brilliant” and said he looks forward to seeing its stage show for the first time.

Blythe encounters a number of younger bands. In some ways, he said, there is always a level of excitement that reminds him of his younger years.

However, in many other ways, he said this is very much a different era for bands attempting to break. “[New bands] have so much more to contend with,” he said. “A, there’s about a million more bands. B, there’s the Internet. There’s really no underground anymore, I don’t think. I think the Internet has killed the underground.”

Increased accessibility, he said, actually makes things harder on new acts. While it’s great that everyone has the ability to record at home, Blythe said this has also led to an Internet saturated with a lot of “shitty, shitty music.”

Lamb of God first gained prominence around the beginning of the Internet era, Blythe said, so it was grandfathered in and did not have to deal with the things a lot of new bands do.

The vocalist said he also thinks there is a misconception that the Internet alone or a strong social-media presence will land a musician a record deal or make them popular.

“If you want to get lucky, play the lottery, because your odds are just about as good,” he said.

Being yourself

One thing Blythe does appreciate in music is honesty.

“You can’t fake the funk,” he said. “I don’t like posturing in music unless the band is, of course, a theatrical band like Gwar or something.”

Some acts are not open to their own nature or are too busy trying to emulate what they’ve heard elsewhere, he said.

Blythe has always been open, but he does not necessarily expect that from every other band.

“I think as an artist, it is important to be true to yourself more so than to be completely open,” he said. “Openness can lead to too many different opinions about what you should do. I think the artist should be open to their own creative impulses.”

That honesty and sense of self is likely rooted in his creative past.

Blythe claims a writer’s soul. He said he started writing when he was a kid and considers himself a far better writer than a musician. Last year, he published his first book, Dark Days: A Memoir, which is perhaps most notable for recounting the 2010 Czech Republic incident in which a 19-year-old fan sustained a head injury and later died as well as Blythe’s five-week stint in prison.

Blythe said he plans to continue writing books, even after he is too feeble to continue his stage act.

“You’re not going to see an old Randy hopping around, singing ‘Now You’ve Got Something to Die For’ or some crap like that,” he said. “That would be ludicrous and embarrassing.

You know? I’m old enough as it is; it hurts as it is.”

O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | 3 3

The Americans, The Blue Door. ROCK

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Yo La Tengo

The Intimidators, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK

FRIDAY, JAN. 29 Aaron Newman, Robinson Renaissance. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Brandon Jackson, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Carrie Newcomer, The Depot, Norman, Sunday

j im mcqu ire / p rovided

Brian Gorrell, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ Carly Gwin and the Sin/Elms/The Single Issues, Opolis, Norman. VARIOUS Chase Haberland, Full Circle Bookstore.

SINGER/SONGWRITER Drive, Sugar Creek Casino, Hinton. ROCK Eli Young Band/Cody Johnson, BOK Center, Tulsa.

COUNTRY Hosty Duo, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ROCK

Live Music WEDNESDAY, JAN. 27

Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO

Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. JAZZ

The Three Amigos, The Blue Door. ACOUSTIC

John Fullbright/Kevin & Dustin Welch, The Blue Door.

COUNTRY

Von Strantz, Blue Note Lounge. INDIE

Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ

SATURDAY, JAN. 30

Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

THURSDAY, JAN. 28 Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK

Meanstreak, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK Replay, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COVER Shooter Jennings, Diamond Ballroom. COUNTRY

Dirty Red and the Soulshakers, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks, Edmond. JAZZ

okg

music

Drive, Newcastle Casino, Newcastle. ROCK

Feb. 4

pick

Jim the Elephant, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ROCK

Dave Thomason Band, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. COVER

Kali Ra, Blue Note Lounge. POP

Drive, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK

Robbie Ray, Full Circle Bookstore. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Jamie Bramble, Leadership Square.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Sam Baker, The Blue Door. BLUES

provided

Steve Rice/Clint Scholz Band, Wormy Dog Saloon.

COUNTRY

John Fullbright, The Blue Door, Wednesday, Jan. 27

An Evening with Yo La Tengo

If glamorous indie rock ’n’ roll is what you want, spend an evening with Hoboken, New Jersey, band Yo La Tengo at 8 p.m. Feb. 4. Boasting three decades in the scene, Yo La Tengo has collaborated with the likes of Yoko Ono and recorded over a dozen albums. The band performs two sets (one electric, one acoustic) at ACM@UCO’s Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave. Tickets are $25 from ticketstorm.com or $30 at the door. Call 974-4715 or visit acm.uco.edu.

SUNDAY, JAN. 31

TUESDAY, FEB. 2

Carrie Newcomer, The Depot, Norman.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Emily Butterfield, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. CLASSICAL

Casey & Minna, Uptown Grocery Co., Edmond. FOLK

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 3

Dirty Red and the Soulshakers, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK Flaw/Another Round/Blackthorne Elite, 89th Street Collective. ROCK Karen Khoury, Legends Restaurant, Norman. PIANO Rev. Billy C. Wirtz, The Blue Door. BLUES

Madonna

Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. JAZZ Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

MONDAY, FEB. 1 Bethel Music Worship Night, Civic Center Music Hall.

CHRISTIAN Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. JAZZ Jazz Ensembles, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK

3 4 | j a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

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.

Repeat Ride

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube in Ride Along 2

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart break out borrowed lethal weaponry in Ride Along 2.

By George Lang

Three decades after Shane Black wrote Lethal Weapon, buddy-cop movies boil down to a science: mismatched detectives — one completely by-thebook, the other completely bonkers — partner on an investigation against a seemingly impervious adversary and discover, despite their differences, that they make a great team. The genre lurched onward with countless films trying to match Lethal Weapon’s slick formula.

With 2014’s Ride Along and its new dim clone, Ride Along 2, the lurch continues, forcing Ice Cube and Kevin Hart to follow the flowchart so precisely that it nearly qualifies as buddy-cop karaoke.

This is a sequel to a comedy that made a little over $134 million at the box office, so director Tim Story (Barbershop, Think Like a Man) takes no chances with his investment. Ride Along 2 promotes Ben Barber (Hart) from academy cadet to probationary beat cop, moves most of the action from Atlanta to Miami and brings on Ken Jeong and Oklahoma City’s Olivia Munn as sideline amusements, but other than those slight changes, it’s the same old song.

While Detective James Payton (Cube) prepares to interview a witness in a drug and gun-running operation in Miami, Barber maniacally sweats the details on his upcoming marriage to James’ sister Angela (Tika Sumpter), driving her to convince James to let Barber go to South Beach with him.

First, they confront bikinis, hot cars and steely Detective Maya Cruz (Munn).

Then they move on to A.J. (Jeong), a programmer who works

to secure accounts and communications for shipping magnate Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt).

Like Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop, there is no ambiguity about Pope’s slithery nature. Bratt plays him like a cross between The Most Interesting Man in the World and Christopher Walken’s Saturday Night Live character, The Continental, lurking behind his pocketed civic leaders at press conferences and plying women with exotic, aromatic tequila. He is, how you say, louche.

Bratt appears to be going for real menace, but it’s hard to take him as a serious threat when he seems constantly on the brink of extolling the virtues of fine, Corinthian leather.

So, with no real threat in Ride Along 2, there are no real stakes, either. That allows Hart to mug with impunity, and make no mistake; he’s great at it. Hart takes all kinds of on-camera abuse from Cube and bounces back like a cartoon character.

Hart’s problem is that he’s almost always better than the films surrounding him. Ride Along 2 is so steeped in other, better actioncomedies that its mediocrity forces him into overdrive. He gives it all in a fast-paced, fence-jumping foot chase, probably because he knows it’s a nearly shot-by-shot remake of a famous sequence from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and he doesn’t want anyone to notice.

For his part, Cube just seems bored when he isn’t busting shots off, and he’s not alone.

Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong and Ice Cube

Much of Ride Along 2 is completely digestible — mainly because it comes predigested.

Munn has great comic timing when called to play someone more dimensional than an affectless jogbra jockey. Ostensibly, her Detective Cruz exists in the film to provide an empowered female counterpoint to the sausage-fest surrounding her, but nearcatatonia does not equal seriousness.

The few times Munn actually shows some of her natural charm in Ride Along 2 come as a major relief.

As for Jeong, he’s always watchable as A.J., but his character is so obviously modeled on Joe Pesci’s Leo Getz from the Lethal Weapon series that it constantly points out the shameless cribbing executed by returning Ride Along screenwriters Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi.

On a purely commercial level,

cribbing makes sense. Every little detail of Ride Along 2 either comes from its successful predecessor or from a litany of previous works that made an unfathomable amount of money for the major studios. As a result, much of Ride Along 2 is completely digestible — mainly because it comes predigested.

Since Story broke through with 2002’s Cube-starring Barbershop, he has established himself as the choice director for films that just barely get by, but with his Think Like a Man and Ride Along vehicles, he’s now entirely bankable for achieving such modest goals. His next announced film is Humbug, a retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with his favorite go-to star as some kind of Ice Scrooge.

Not only is he pulling an established work from the public domain, but it’s one that dozens of sitcoms, TV movies and feature films recycled for seasonal bucks in the past.

At least with Humbug, he can be up-front about the source material; with Ride Along 2, he’s sampling tracks and hoping Shane Black doesn’t recognize his own grooves.

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Harvesters season Moore filmmaker Nick Sanford launches a Kickstarter campaign with an eye toward epic filmmaking.

By George Lang

Nick Sanford once flooded a room in his parents’ house while remaking James Cameron’s Titanic. As a child with access to video cameras, he poured his energy into epics. Even in the days of VHS tapes, there was no such thing as a small picture in Sanford’s world.

Not long ago, he unearthed the first blockbuster of his suburban Moore upbringing.

“It was a sequel to Steven Spielberg’s Hook,” Sanford said. “It was just me and my dad sword-fighting. I had an umbrella I was using, and it was just terrible. At one point, I peed my pants on camera. I know it sounds cliché, but it was E.T., Jurassic Park and that Spielbergian sense of wonder that got me started.”

From Adam F. Goldberg to J.J. Abrams, Spielberg inspired a generation of video nerds to pick up their own cameras and point them at the future.

Sanford, 27, works on a considerably lower budget than those other “sons of Spielberg,” but with his upcoming horror-mystery The Harvesters, he hopes to achieve epic filmmaking for the cost of a car.

The Harvesters follows a principled journalist who finds herself at the center of a series of shocking murders and disappearances in fictional Baileyville, Oklahoma. It is Sanford’s follow-up to his 2014 horror film Tempus Fugit and his 2015 short comedy about Oklahoma Bigfoot hunters, Elusive.

Crowd-funded horror

Starting with the Jan. 18 kickoff of his crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter, Sanford and his company, Broadcast Pictures, are rolling out teasers, full trailers and clips to show that, with the help of supporters, his epic vision can be realized.

“We don’t have the final locked-in number, but it’s going to be somewhere hovering around $30,000,” Sanford said. “Right now, I’m asking people, ‘Will you work for less so I can ask for less?’ but it will probably be right at $30,000.”

A few days after his recent Oklahoma Gazette interview, Sanford and his producers arrived at a final and precise number: $32,835. To make The Harvesters for $30K, Sanford employs the governing philosophy used by Billy

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Local filmmaker Nick Sanford poses for a photo in Moore as he discusses his work-in-progress, horror-mystery movie The Harvesters.

Beane in Moneyball: Work with talented people on a greatly reduced economic scale to achieve New York Yankees results on an Oakland A’s budget.

He relies on people he knows who own office buildings to let him shoot on-site for free and scouts for open fields to shoot his exteriors. Expenses are kept at rock bottom, with that $32,835 being split between insurance, crew and cast. Neither Sanford nor producers Laurie Cummings, Paul Lister and James Oster will collect any upfront compensation from their Kickstarter campaign.

“The director of photography has a wife and two kids,” Sanford said.

“That’s why I want to put all the money there, so he can justify listening to my stupid yammering all day, every day for 18 days straight.”

The availability of high-quality, modestly priced technology makes it economically possible for Sanford to shoot his films, and the rise of smallscale horror and suspense films gives The Harvesters some potential context for success.

Films such as 2014’s The Babadook or last year’s It Follows achieved widespread acclaim and financial success on small budgets.

If he succeeds, Sanford could see a significant return on his investment, too. After all, the next two installments of the Star Wars trilogy will be helmed

by Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow, respectively, two directors who were

working on microbudgeted films just a few years ago.

“The scope of the movie is astronomically big for what we’re working with,” Sanford said. “There are plenty of small movies that try to do something huge and end up looking silly. That could be the case here, too — I have no idea. But if we can take this idea that was conceived for sports and apply it to movies, we can get something large and grand for almost nothing.”

From a creative standpoint, Sanford throws everything at The Harvesters. As a lifelong student of moviemaking who took his formal training in Oklahoma City Community College’s film program, he said he paid close attention to the details when he soaked up influences from John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper and other masters of down-anddirty, blood-and-guts filmmaking.

“This is probably the last horror film that I’ll ever make, so I’m taking every single lesson I’ve learned from every scary movie and packing them into this one thing,” he said. “It will be my thesis on the genre.”

For more Learn more about The Harvesters and its Kickstarter campaign: >> kck.st/1PCAVBN >> facebook.com/HarvestersFilm >> theharvestersmovie.com

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

by ROB BREZNY

Homework: What could you do to free your imagination from its bondage? Read “Liberate Your Imagination”: http://bit.ly/Liberate ARIES (March 21-April 19) Do you know Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights? At one point, the heroine Catherine tells her friend about Edgar, a man she’s interested in. “He wanted all to lie in an ecstasy of peace,” Catherine says, “and I wanted all to sparkle and dance in a glorious jubilee. I said his heaven would be only half alive; and he said mine would be drunk: I said I should fall asleep in his; and he said he could not breathe in mine.” If you’re a typical Aries, you’re more aligned with Catherine than with Edgar. But I’m hoping you might consider making a temporary compromise in the coming weeks. “At last, we agreed to try both,” Catherine concluded, “and then we kissed each other and were friends.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) People turn to you Tauruses for help in staying grounded. They love to soak up your down-to-earth pragmatism. They want your steadfastness to rub off on them, to provide them with the stability they see in you. You should be proud of this service you offer! It’s a key part of your appeal. Now and then, though, you need to demonstrate that your stalwart dependability is not static and stagnant — that it’s strong exactly because it’s flexible and adaptable. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to emphasize this aspect of your superpower.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) When winter comes, pine trees that grow near mountaintops may not be able to draw water and minerals from the ground through their roots. The sustenance they require is frozen. Luckily, their needle-like leaves absorb moisture from clouds and fog, and drink in minerals that float on the wind.

Metaphorically speaking, Gemini, this will be your preferred method for getting nourished in the coming weeks. For the time being, look UP to obtain what you need. Be fed primarily by noble ideals, big visions, divine inspiration, and high-minded people.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) We all go through phases when we are at odds with people we love. Maybe we’re mad at them, or feel hurt by them, or can’t comprehend what they’re going through. The test of our commitment is how we act when we are in these moods. That’s why I agree with author Steve Hall when he says, “The truest form of love is how you behave toward someone, not how you feel about them.” The coming weeks will be an important time for you to practice this principle with extra devotion — not just for the sake of the people you care about, but also for your own physical, mental, and spiritual health.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) After fighting and killing each other for years on end, the Roman and Persian armies agreed to a truce in 532 A.D. The treaty was optimistically called “The Endless Peace.” Sadly, “endless” turned out to be just eight years. By 540, hostilities resumed. I’m happy to announce, though, that your prospects for accord and rapprochement are much brighter. If you work diligently to negotiate an endless peace anytime between now and March 15, it really is likely to last a long time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) “I shiver, thinking how easy it is to be totally wrong about people, to see one tiny part of them and confuse it for the whole.” Author Lauren Oliver wrote that, and now I’m offering it to you, just in time for your Season of Correction and Adjustment. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to get smarter about evaluating your allies -- and maybe even one of your adversaries, as well. I expect you will find it relatively easy, even pleasurable, to overcome your misimpressions and deepen your incomplete understandings.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) In June 1942, the U.S. Navy crushed Japanese naval forces at the Battle of Midway. It was a turning point that was crucial to America’s ultimate victory over Japan in World War II. One military historian called it “the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare.” This milestone occurred just six

months after Japan’s devastating attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor. To compare your life to these two events may be bombastic, but I’m in a bombastic mood as I contemplate your exciting possibilities. I predict that in the second half of 2016, you’ll claim a victory that will make up for a loss or defeat you endured during the last few months of 2015. And right now is when you can lay the groundwork for that future triumph.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Playwright Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) had a lot of friends, and they often came to visit him uninvited.

He found it hard to simply tell them to go away and leave him alone. And yet he hated to be interrupted while he was working. His solution was to get naked and write for long hours while in his bathroom, usually soaking in the bathtub. His intrusive friends rarely had the nerve to insist on socializing. In this way, Rostand found the peace he needed to create his masterpiece Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as numerous other plays. I suggest you consider a comparable gambit, Scorpio. You need to carve out some quality alone time.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) “I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost.

The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn’t.” The preceding reminiscence belongs to a character in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner. I bring it up in hopes that you will do the opposite: Say the words that need to be said.

Articulate what you’re burning to reveal. Speak the truths that will send your life on a course that’s in closer alignment with your pure intentions.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) According to some traditional astrologers, you Capricorns are vigilant to avoid loss. Old horoscope books suggest that you may take elaborate measures to avoid endangering what you have accumulated.

To ensure that you will never run out of what you need, you may even ration your output and limit your self-expression. This behavior is rooted in the belief that you should conserve your strength by withholding or even hiding your power. While there

may be big grains of truth in this conventional view of you Capricorns, I think it’s only part of the story.

In the coming weeks, for instance, I bet you will wield your clout with unabashed authority. You won’t save yourself for later; you’ll engage in no strategic self-suppression. Instead, you will be expansive and unbridled as you do whatever’s required to carry out the important foundation work that needs to be done.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) “It seems that the whole time you’re living this life, you’re thinking about a different one instead,” wrote Latvian novelist Inga Abele in her novel High Tide. Have you ever been guilty of that, Aquarius?

Probably. Most of us have at one time or another.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the coming months will bring you excellent opportunities to graduate forever from this habit. Not all at once, but gradually and incrementally, you can shed the idea that you should be doing something other than what you’re doing. You can get the hang of what it’s like to thoroughly accept and embrace the life you are actually living. And now is an excellent time to get started in earnest on this project.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) “Even nightingales can’t be fed on fairy tales,” says a character in Ivan Turgenev’s novel Fathers and Sons. In other words, these marvelous birds, which sing sublimely and have long been invoked by poets to symbolize lyrical beauty, need actual physical sustenance. They can’t eat dreamy stories. Having acknowledged that practical fact, however, I will suggest that right now you require dreamy stories and rambling fantasies and imaginary explorations almost as much as you need your daily bread. Your soul’s hunger has reached epic proportions. It’s time to gorge.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes /daily text message horoscopes.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

HAPPY HOUR $2 BUD & BUD LIGHT MONDAY - FRIDAY 5PM - 8PM

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Ranch Hand Truck Accessories, the largest distributor of after-market truck accessories, needs to fill an INSTALLER position at its 5323 W. Reno, Oklahoma City, location. Mechanical aptitude along with fabrication, minimal welding and wiring experience preferred. No tools required.

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Oklahoma Gazette 3 8 | J a n ua r y 2 7, 2 0 1 6 | O k l a h o m a G a z e t t e

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, preference or discrimination.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings in . our newspaper are available on an equal housing opportunity basis

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