Mayoral duties

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MAYORALDUTIES

WHAT THE MAYOR DOES AND DOESN'T DO IN OKLAHOMA CITY

BY NAZARENE HARRIS, PG. 4

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INSIDE COVER P. 4 Many people do not have a firm grasp on what a city’s mayor does.

Oklahoma Gazette looked into how mayor David Holt spends his time and how the job is structured.

By Nazarene Harris Cover by Kimberly Lynch

NEWS 4 COVER what the mayor does

7 CITY OKC streetcars are almost

operational

OKCPS students a cooking lesson

9 EDUCATION Rick Bayless gives 10 MARIJUANA the first day of

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Balancing act 39-year old native Oklahoman David Holt is Oklahoma City’s youngest mayor and the latest to strive for balance as the city’s leader.

By Nazarene Harris

Oklahoma City’s 36th mayor, David Holt, said 1993 is the year everything changed for Oklahoma’s capital city. That year, almost half a million people called Oklahoma City home, and some undoubtedly were reluctant. State historians agree that downtown was virtually vacant and the economy was suffering.

Oklahoma City was on its way to becoming Detroit, Michigan, but with warmer winters.

“You could shoot a cannon down Main Street and it wouldn’t touch a soul,” former city mayor Ron Norick said.

“There was no one around.

Nationally, we weren’t on the map either.”

The notorious Pei Plan devised by architect I.M. Pei as an urban renewal effort leveled many of downtown’s landmarks in the 1970s, and suburban migration compounded the city’s problems. As stores and businesses left the core for lucrative mall locations at the city’s fringes, OKC suffered from what city planners have

called the doughnut effect.

It was up to OKC’s leaders and voters to fill the doughnut hole.

When major businesses began passing up on the chance to headquarter in OKC, Norick, who was mayor from 1987 to 1999, launched Metropolitan Area Projects Plan (MAPS). The plan called for funding city projects with a limited term, 1-cent sales tax.

Since its inception, MAPS has funded multiple projects, including Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Bricktown Canal, Cox Convention Center, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma River, sidewalk and public school projects and the upcoming streetcar initiative.

Twenty-five years after the launch of MAPS, the quiet city that couldn’t seal a deal has been dubbed the No. 1 city in the nation to do business in, the most affordable city to start a business in and the most

economical city for millennials. Much of the credit for that success goes to the mayors who provided the political will for change — Norick, Kirk Humphreys, Mick Cornett and Holt — along with the city councilmembers and city managers who pushed through those changes.

Systems of leadership

Despite Holt’s high profile and his nearconstant leveraging of social media as a platform for mayoral outreach, OKC’s mayor is a component of what is unflatteringly called a “weak mayor” form of city government. Under this system, the mayor presides over city council and, much like the vice president in the U.S. Senate, casts tiebreaking votes.

OKC’s charter states that the mayor’s duties include acting as “Chief Executive of the City” and “President of the City Council,” making appointments to boards and commissions, issuing proclamations, delivering an annual State of the City address (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Jan. 17, 2019, at Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens; $60-$100) and with the approval of city council, hiring the city’s manager, municipal counselor, auditor and judges. He dedicates every Tuesday to mayoral duties and half of every other weekday to Oklahoma City and half to Hall Capital.

Under a “weak mayor” system, the city manager is in charge of keeping the machinery of city operations moving, overseeing 5,000 city employees and managing a $1 billion operations budget.

Holt is currently going through the process of hiring a new city manager to replace Jim Couch, the longest-running city manager in the city’s history. Couch, who announced his retirement Sept. 17, will work his last day as city manager Jan. 2. The city began its candidate review process Nov. 6.

“The hardest job we’re going to have is figuring out how to replace you,” Ward 6 councilwoman Meg Salyer said to Couch during the Oct. 9 city council meeting.

Oklahoma City mayor David Holt | Photo Alexa Ace

David Holt’s mother, Mary Ann Fuller Holt, with Congressman Carl Albert. | Photo provided

“Everywhere I go, from the grocery store to walking on the street, I get asked by people how we’re going to find someone to fill your shoes.”

This is not to say that the mayor’s position is a negligible one in OKC. In many cases, the mayor sets the tone for how the city moves forward, whether its on civic initiatives like MAPS or how the world perceives OKC. In October, Holt responded to a thread on OKCTalk.com (Oklahoma Gazette’s sister publication) regarding the possibility that he was going to push forward with a soccer stadium for OKC Energy FC as part of the upcoming MAPS 4. The thread addressed an Oct. 18 email from Holt with the subject like “soccer” to members of Oklahoma City Chamber, mayoral staff and Energy FC co-owner Bob Funk Jr. “I’ve visited with Bob and his team a lot over the last year or so, and you probably have as well,” Holt wrote in the email obtained by local activist and former Oklahoma City mayoral candidate Steve Hunt. “With the MAPS 4 conversation finally kicking off last week, I suggested to him it was probably time to sit down with Chamber leadership and at least get some focus on what our options are and begin thinking about what direction we as a community may want to go.”

Holt jumped into the thread to explain his position on the soccer scrimmage taking place on the site.

“I view my role as mayor in the MAPS process as guiding the community toward a consensus,” Holt wrote. “I’m a human being, so I may see the merits in some things more than others, and vice versa, but I don’t see it as my role to have any strong preference about any particular idea for MAPS 4 at this point. I want to see what the people of Oklahoma continued on page 6

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NEWS continued from page 4

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City have to say. There are, of course, quite a few ideas that have been floating around even before the kickoff of this ideas phase, and one of them is obviously soccer. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the supporters of the Energy would like to work with the city on a stadium, as some variation of that story has been reported for years throughout the media. But I view my role as simply navigating the community through a decision process about that.”

Other possible MAPS 4 projects might involve facilities addressing homelessness and mental health issues as well as a potential replacement for 53-year-old Jim Norick Arena at State Fair Park.

Mobile mayor

Compared to the city manager, who earns around $250,000 a year, the annual salary of Oklahoma City’s mayor is fixed at $24,000, a sum that causes those elected to the position to secure additional employment.

Like former mayors before him, Holt works two full-time jobs. He is both the city’s mayor and the managing director of investor relations at the family-owned private investment company Hall Capital.

Former mayor Mick Cornett’s employment with public relations firm Ackerman McQueen coincided with some of his time spent as Oklahoma City’s mayor. From 2009 to 2011, Cornett served as executive vice president of special projects at Ackerman McQueen; earned an executive master’s degree in business from New York University (NYU) that called for him to be in New York 44 times over the course of a 22month program; managed his video production business, Cornett Productions; and served as Oklahoma City’s mayor.

While an executive MBA from NYU costs $144,000, Cornett earned a little under $50,000 as Oklahoma City’s mayor during the two years he went to school and held public office.

The level of work and commitment involved in holding an executive-level position with the largest advertising agency in Oklahoma while serving as mayor of a mid-sized metropolis and earning an advanced degree from an outof-state institution, let alone the cost of that degree, is immense. Cornett did not respond to a request to comment from Oklahoma Gazette.

Holt declined to reveal how much he earns at Hall Capital but admitted to juggling school and work during the time he spent as Cornett’s chief of staff. From 2006 to 2009, Holt said, he worked for Cornett and attended night classes as a part-time law student at Oklahoma City University’s School of Law. A law degree from the school as a part-time student costs about $70,000, but Holt said he was able to stave off some of the cost with scholarships.

Life is a balancing act for Holt, he said, 6

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and open communication is key to staying leveled.

“While I do devote my time to both positions, it’s not black-and-white,” he said. “I can’t not be the mayor when I’m at Hall Capital and vice versa. But I have been transparent from the start, and my employment with Hall Capital has always come with the understanding that I would hold an elected position as well.”

As a director of investor relations, Holt is responsible for maintaining communication with potential company investors.

In the mayor’s office, Holt is one of four people assigned to keep the ship sailing. Steve Hill is his chief of staff, Karen Fox is his executive assistant and 23-year-old J.D. Baker was promoted last month from intern to special assistant to the mayor. Baker graduated from University of Oklahoma in May with a degree in public relations. His father and two older brothers are Oklahoma City firefighters, and his great uncle participated in sit-ins with Oklahoma’s civil rights activist Clara Luper.

He’s not sure if he will follow in Holt’s footsteps and opt for a career in city government, Baker said, but he feels that he’s learning from the best.

Children who have lost a parent early in life are often ambitious because we feel the need to live for the parent that has passed away and not just for ourselves.

David Holt Before Baker became Holt’s special assistant, Holt was driving himself to every meeting and event that he scheduled for the day. The time it took him to get directions, find parking and prepare for meetings while multi-tasking added up.

Baker was given the keys to the city’s car he affectionately dubbed the “mayor mobile,” and the mentor and mentee became comrades overnight.

One Tuesday in October, Oklahoma Gazette tagged along. The mayor’s day began with breakfast with Ward 7 Oklahoma City Council candidate Nikki Nice; a guest appearance at Today’s Magic 104.1 radio station, also known as Steve and The Magic Man; a community forum at Oklahoma City University’s School of Law; a scheduling meeting; and a boards and commissions meeting.

Holt expressed his desire for OKC to gain national recognition for its role in racial desegregation by creating a monument that would pay tribute to the city’s historic sit-ins. Additionally, he expressed the actions he is taking to ensure that city government becomes diverse as well.

“I am a white guy,” he said. “I know that guys like me have held this position

from the beginning. But that’s not always going to be the case, and that shouldn’t always be the case. It’s my hope that I can initiate change.”

The walls in his office on the third floor of Oklahoma City’s municipal building are decorated with photos of those who inspire him: his mother, his grandfather, his wife and children and about two dozen Oklahoma City elementary students of every race and background.

Holt exchanged photos of the city’s former mayors for pictures of the children’s smiling faces.

“This is who I serve,” he said. “We have a wonderful legacy of leadership in Oklahoma City, but I am aware that that leadership isn’t reflective of our population.”

Holt hung the photos of the city’s former mayors in the building’s halls and has set out to create a more diverse city government by seeking city board members who are diverse in age, gender and race.

His office includes a modest and bare desk that he admits gets little use.

“For me, this job has not been a sedentary one,” he said.

Fulfilling hopes

In 1993, the year Holt described as OKC’s turning point, his mother, Mary Anne Fuller Holt, died suddenly from a rare blood disease. Holt, who was 14 years old when his mother passed, lived with his mother after his parents divorced when he was 6 years old.

He continued to live in his mother’s home in northwest Oklahoma City until he graduated from Putnam City North High School. His father, Stroud Holt, visited his son throughout the school week after his mother’s death. Holt spent much of his time alone.

MaryAnn Holt was a former social worker with a servant’s heart. She graduated from George Washington University with a degree in political science and a dream of one day working for a senator.

The easy-going and friendly boy who idolized his mother became a bit more

from left George Holt, Rachel Holt, Margaret Holt, David Holt | Photo provided

serious and a lot more ambitious after she died.

“Children who have lost a parent early in life are often ambitious because we feel the need to live for the parent that has passed away and not just for ourselves; we feel the need to make worthy the sacrifices that were made for us,” Holt said.

Holt followed in his mother’s shoes and graduated with a degree in political science from George Washington University. While in Washington, D.C., he met his wife Rachel and worked in the office of legislative affairs in the White House under former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Rachel and David Holt married and moved to OKC, where their family grew with their children, George, 8, and Margaret, 7.

Back in his home state, Holt set out to receive a law degree from Oklahoma City University. Rachel Holt also earned a law degree and now serves as chief operating officer and senior general counsel at Oklahoma’s Office of Juvenile Affairs. David Holt turned to a career in politics and held positions including former Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett’s chief of staff and state senator from the 30th District until this year.

In April, Holt, 39, became Oklahoma City’s youngest mayor, having earned nearly 79 percent of votes.

Holt’s mother was offered her dream job to work for a senator shortly after her son was born, but in a move of unwavering motherly sacrifice, she turned it down to devote her time to raise her son.

“She would have been amazed when I became a senator,” he said. “And she would be amazed now. She would have never imagined that this could happen.”

Until the next generation of Oklahoma’s leaders take stage, Holt said, he will serve with the servant’s heart he’s proud to call a family legacy.

CIT Y

Moving along Seven streetcars will operate within Oklahoma City beginning Dec. 14. By Nazarene Harris

A heavy nail will be driven into the tracks that lead to modernity and a new chapter of Oklahoma history will be written with the launch of Oklahoma City’s streetcars Dec. 14.

Weighing 80,000 pounds and stretching 67 feet long, each of Oklahoma City’s seven new streetcars is a sight to behold and possibly, Embark spokesman Michael Scroggins said, intimidating at first glance.

“We know that we are introducing these to an audience who has never seen them before, at least within their home state, and we understand that for the first couple of months after the launch, there will be a learning and adjustment period,” Scroggins said.

The shock and awe of Oklahomans has already been seen across social media.

“I’ve been a downtown OKC nerd for half my life,” said Shane Hampton, who is the director of urbanism, placemaking, and transportation at OU Institute for Quality Communities, on Twitter.

“I daydreamed about streetcars before MAPS 3 existed … so seeing a streetcar rolling down Bricktown just now was pretty cool.”

The colors of the streetcars and their affectionate names help soften their appearance, Scroggins said.

Pink streetcars have been named “redbuds” while blue ones are called “clear skies” and green ones, “Bermudas.”

For decades, experts have expressed their belief that streetcars are more efficient, economical and better for the environment than standard buses and other means of transportation.

After a 2005 regional transit study demonstrated how a streetcar system could be beneficial to OKC, city council members considered streetcars as a possible project for the city’s MAPS 3 program.

In 2009, residents voted in favor of the initiative and fundraisers began collecting the 1-cent penny tax used to fund

the $135 million project, Scroggins said.

“We are unique in the fact that this massive project has been paid for,” Scroggins said. “We’ve remained debtfree while creating this huge system for Oklahoma City.”

Each streetcar costs $4 million.

Each one can hold up to 104 people, is handicap-accessible, has sensors to account for passengers coming in and going off and has storage space for bikes and wheelchairs. Screens will visually announce stops while a recorded announcement will audibly let passengers know when their stop is near.

Even though the streetcars will run mostly on electricity, an operator will always be present and has the ability to stop and slow down at will.

“We are a hybrid system,” Scroggins said. “We are 60 percent electrical and 40 percent manual.”

Scroggins said the wires that exist above the tracks help power the streetcars. Cars are permitted to travel on the side of the street where tracks exist.

Oklahoma City’s transportation system, Embark, oversees all transit in the city and has added the city’s streetcars to the number of systems it manages.

Tucked away behind construction on Seventh Street between Walker and S. Harvey avenues, OKC Streetcar Storage and Maintenance Facility houses the seven streetcars, their cleaning and maintenance tools and a command center from which operations flow.

While the facility is fully equipped to ensure successful streetcar operations in OKC, it lacks the machinery needed to offer the streetcars preventative maintenance.

One device used to churn the wheels of the streetcars costs about $1 million, Scroggins said.

Because of the hefty price tag associated with tools needed to offer the streetcars preventative care, OKC Streetcars

partnered with DART Streetcars in Dallas whose maintenance facility offers additional tools and services.

“It’s not uncommon for cities with streetcars to partner with one another,” Scroggins said. “We’re kind of like a big family that’s always in motion.”

While Oklahoma City might be joining a national movement toward the usage of innovated transportation methods, streetcars are not new to the Sooner State.

Progressive beginnings

Streetcars were widely used in OKC from statehood in 1907 until 1947. The streetcars looked vastly different from the ones set to launch in December and were used by settlers who needed to travel within the city.

“Before streetcars, Oklahoma City was a walking city,” Oklahoma Historical Society executive director Bob Blackburn said. “From the early 20th century until about 1928, streetcars were critical to the economy and ever-present.”

The streetcars of Oklahoma’s past have been lost or destroyed, Scroggins said, but the tracks remain beneath the state’s red dirt.

In fact, Scroggins said, some of the neighborhoods that are considered historic to the city today like Edgemere Park and Heritage Hills are situated where they are now because historic city organizers saw the appeal of living near trains.

“The history and design of our city was significantly impacted by streetcars,” Scroggins said.

With its latest addition, OKC has established itself once again as a city on Embark spokesman Michael Scroggins talks to Oklahoma Gazette about OKC’s new streetcars. | Photo Alexa Ace

All seven streetcars are wheelchair- and handicapaccessible. | Photo Alexa Ace

the move. However, unlike the OKC streetcars of the 20th century, Oklahoma City’s latest additions will be equipped to offer heat and air conditioning when needed. The streetcars will travel 4.86 miles through downtown, Midtown, Bricktown, Automobile Alley and the Arts District and will stop at 22 notable destinations.

Passengers can purchase $3 day passes, $1 one-way trip passes or $32 monthly passes through an app called Token Transit or at pay stations located at each streetcar stop. Most bus passes can be used interchangeably with streetcar passes with no additional charges incurred, Scroggins said.

Plans to expand the streetcar to destinations like OU’s Health Sciences Center are being considered, Scroggins said.

Organizers are also considering creating a streetcar that will run from Edmond to Norman and back by the year 2043.

“This is just the beginning of what’s to come for Oklahoma City,” Scroggins said. “It’s a cause for celebration.”

City officials have expressed hope that the public will join them in celebrating the launch of OKC’s streetcars at a ribbon-cutting ceremony 10 a.m.

Dec. 14 at Leadership Square, 211 N. Robinson Ave. On Nov. 2, Embark announced a decision to allow streetcar passengers to ride for free for the first three weeks of operation beginning Dec. 14.

Following the ribbon-cutting, Scroggins said, streetcars will be fully operational.

Visit embarkok.com.

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NEWS Restaurateur Rick Bayless gives OKCPS students a cooking class. | Photo Nazarene Harris

E D U C AT I O N

out of these, we will wrap them up in foil and bake them,” he said.

Bayless suggested using a bowl to warm up the granola cereal in a microwave. Sprinkling the granola on top of the sweet potatoes adds flavor, texture and nutritional value to the meal.

With one dish down, Bayless moved on to the beef soup.

“How would I add texture to this?”

Bayless asked the students.

He picked up the green beans.

“Green beans can be pretty boring when we just boil them in water and serve them,” he said. “But what if I told you that when you dice these up and fry them, they are pretty amazing?”

Bayless suggested boiling the soup on the stove and topping a bowl off with diced and fried green beans.

“People like us, we are society’s creative types,” he said. “We can’t be scared to try new things.”

Cooking lessons An Oklahoma City Public Schools graduate turned Bravo TV star chef returns to the classroom and teaches students how to be resourceful in the kitchen. By Nazarene Harris

Between running restaurants in Chicago and earning the title Top Chef Master on a hit Bravo TV show, Northwest Classen High School graduate Rick Bayless has seen his fair share of surprises. He couldn’t, however, hide the shock and awe he experienced when walking into the family and consumer science class at Oklahoma Centennial Mid-High School.

The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools organized for Bayless to give a cooking class to the ninth- through 12th-grade students enrolled in the modern-day equivalent of home economics.

“When I went to school, we had nothing like this,” Bayless told the students. “There was no place within the

school where I could actually cook.”

Bayless was also surprised to notice that there were no boys in the audience.

“Where are all the guys?” he asked the audience. “I am delighted to see your faces, but it’s just as important for the boys to learn this stuff.”

With a handful of ingredients including granola cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans, prunes and beef-flavored soup, Bayless explained to the group that shows like Top Chef required him to be creative in the kitchen.

“How do you make something that looks good, tastes good and is actually pretty good for you with just a handful of random ingredients?” Bayless asked the students. “That was the challenge

I faced on Top Chef.”

The same challenge is one that Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) students might face at home, class teacher and professional chef Carrie Snyder-Renfro said.

“These kids are hungry all the time,” she said.

According to OKCPS spokeswoman Beth Harrison, 90 percent of students within the district fall below the poverty line and likely suffer from food insecurity.

Learning to be resourceful is incredibly valuable to students within the OKCPS district.

“One thing you learn in the cooking business is that creating contrasting textures is a simple way to enhance the nutritional value and taste of almost any meal,” Bayless told students as he continued with his cooking class. “We want something that is both smooth and crunchy.”

Bayless started with the sweet potatoes that were picked from the school’s garden.

“How would you guys cook these?” he asked the students.

Students suggested boiling, baking and frying the yams.

“To get the most concentrated flavor

Community garden

Bayless asked the students if they would give him a tour of their school garden.

Just outside Snyder-Renfro’s home economics class is living proof that the chef’s class is indeed resourceful.

Snyder-Renfro and her home economics class created the garden last year with soil, seeds, bricks and wood. Today, it is ripe with fresh produce including cantaloupe, figs, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet potatoes, all of which the class uses in cooking projects.

Tending to the garden allows students to learn a plethora of lessons, Harrison said.

“We’ve seen urban gardens pop up all over the metro in recent years,” she said. “Teaching our students how to garden allows them to learn about nutrition but also about the environment and work ethic. Producing something that is so vital to their wellbeing also helps give them a sense of self-confidence.”

Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Arnhart said she signed up to take the cooking class elective because cooking with her mom is her favorite pastime. Arnhart hopes to be a chef when she grows up and open a restaurant in Oklahoma City that she’ll name Heather Citras, after her mom. The mother-and-daughter duo watch Bayless on TV regularly.

“I can’t believe this is even happening,” Arnhart said as she let tears of joy stream down her face. “He is my hero.”

Snyder-Renfro said that Bayless’ visit contributed to her students’ selfconfidence.

“This is a big deal for them,” she said.

“He is a celebrity, and just him being here tells them they are worthy.”

Arnhart took a photo with Bayless after his cooking class, and the chef gave a signed copy of his recipe book to the group.

Fresh vegetables and fruit grow in the school’s garden. | Photos Nazarene Harris

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NEWS

M A R I J UA N A

Elijah Mothershed Bey and Samuel Hill operate Cannabis Aid, 1612 NE 23rd St. | Photo Alexa Ace

New sooners

Medical marijuana is now legal in Oklahoma, and a handful of dispensaries are already offering smokeable product. By Matt Dinger

By Friday afternoon, word has gotten around and business at Cannabis Aid is booming.

Customers are hit with the rich scent of fresh marijuana as they walk through the doors. While signing in, they crane their necks to see the contents of the glass jars like they’re attempting to get a rare glimpse at an exotic species.

At the counter, a daughter offers her mother advice on what strains she thinks she’d like most. A young customer decides to take home a little of everything offered. A man with a gray ponytail wearing overalls and using a walker asks if he can buy three ounces.

He drove from rural Stephens County, and it’s a long trip.

The clientele are a mixed bag, but they’re all there for the same reason.

It’s Oct. 26, and medical marijuana is now legal in Oklahoma.

The doors of the dispensary, 1612 NE 23rd St., say it’s open 10 a.m.-8 p.m., but on opening weekend, those operating hours are flipped.

“We made our first sale at 8:39 a.m.,” said founder Elijah Mothershed Bey, 44.

Thanks to a donation of a small batch of crop from a grower in the southeast part of the state, Cannabis Aid was able to offer customers a taste of what is to come.

“Quantity was not really the issue; we just wanted to make sure there was something there for the patients to get ahold of,” Mothershed Bey said.

“We were just keeping our heads 10

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down, doing the necessary research, making the necessary relationships so that way, we could be here on day one,” partner Samuel Hill Sr., 33, said.

Fresh flowers fly off the shelves as fast as they can be brought from a secure area in the back. The phone rings off the hook all afternoon. And the trash talk has already begun online.

“We are sooners and we move in a sooner spirit, and everyone hates the sooners because we’re consistently persistent,” Mothershed Bey said.

That outlaw spirit is inherent in Oklahoma’s medical cannabis industry as it launches due to wording of the law.

“Under Oklahoma statute right now, everything has to be produced in-state.

But it’s kind of a chicken-and-egg scenario, where if you’re producing instate, where do you get your supply?”

Hill said. “Even the OMMA [Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority] representatives have stated openly that it’s almost like a don’t ask, don’t tell policy right now. It’s impossible to have Oklahoma native seeds unless you’re going and finding a supposedly random plant in a field somewhere.”

A tweet from OMMA on Sept. 5 states in part, “Medical marijuana license holders must determine on their own how to obtain seeds at this point.”

The federal government also still classifies cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance, and there were concerns about state and local law enforcement actions.

“Being in our industry for one, being African-Americans for two, being on the east side for three, you always look at the worst-case scenario, the what-ifs,” Hill said. “What if they decide to come in with SWAT? What if they decide to come in with a tip-of-the-spear kind of approach?

But once again, they were professionals.

They were more than pleasant and more than accommodating.”

“Every business that works in a gray area is going to have to calculate some type of risk, some type of blowback, some type of hiccup in their program,” Mothershed Bey said.

That hiccup has turned out to be the supply chain-depleting opening weekend. By closing Saturday, they were completely out of flowers to sell.

“We are calling on farmers, calling on farmers, calling on farmers.

Whoever’s got something, we’ll listen to your prices, but some of these prices they’re trying to charge right now are astronomical. The demand is easily 20 times the supply right now,” Hill said.

Uncharted territory

Cannabis Aid, following the medical spirit of the law and to protect their proprietary information, does not advertise its prices or what strains it has available.

But word through the grapevine and online shows that prices opening week in Oklahoma reached up to $35 a gram, well above the black-market value. Hill and Mothershed Bey both expect those prices to drop and stabilize in coming weeks and months. But profit is not the sole motive behind their business model.

In 2010, Mothershed Bey founded Made Aware Now (M.A.N.) 101 program, a mentorship program that aims to help young men better themselves or escape criminal pasts. M.A.N. 101 has always been and still remains privately funded.

“A part of our business model takes

what we’re doing at Cannabis Aid to help support M.A.N. 101 so it can grow,” Hill said.

Part of their activism will also be to push for the full decriminalization of cannabis.

Mothershed Bey and Hill both acknowledge that building a business in uncharted territory might also accidentally put them outside the law, even if they have studied it carefully and intend to follow the letter of it.

Mark Woodward, spokesman for Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, said there are some fast-growing strains that can be harvested in 45 days.

“It’s like the marijuana land run,” he said. “It’s possible that some stores already have product ready to go. Now how they got the seeds, I can’t answer, but are they within the window of theoretically having some product to sell?

Yes. We’re looking to go after the bad actors who intentionally are out there operating without a license. We’re not going to go after somebody and shut their store down and file charges on somebody who simply misunderstood the law.”

OBN will do initial inspections of cannabis businesses to make sure they’re following safety guidelines for the distribution of a controlled substance, much like they do for pharmacies to protect them from burglaries and internal theft.

The bureau will also investigate formal complaints about dispensaries.

As of Oct. 31, they had received none.

“We’ll take a look if we get a complaint, but it could just simply be a misunderstanding because there is so much confusion,” Woodward said. “You’re going to have a lot of that, so there really are so many unanswered questions that it’s hard to really fault these stores and prove that they intentionally went outside the lines to get a jump on the competition. We’re going to stay in our lane. If they’re doing everything right and staying in their lane, they’ll probably, outside of that initial inspection, never see an OBN agent need to step on their property,” he said.

Both Mothershed Bey and Hill are just happy to be in business, providing their customers with quality medication that they hope can help them avoid dangerous and often addictive pharmaceuticals.

They consider other dispensaries compatriots more than competitors and look forward to the evolution of their industry. But they’re also more than happy to compete for business with the handful of other dispensaries that already have product on shelf.

“We’re a small mom-and-pop shop that’s still on the come-up and we’ve still got dust, so pardon our dust, but we’re here to help you,” Hill said.

presents

For information on how your restaurant can participate call 405.605.6789 or email advertising@okgazette.com

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chicken

friedNEWS

Mullin it over

Conservatives were quick to share the response from Cherokee Nation after U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, an Oklahoma native, shared her DNA results in her bizarre feud with President Donald Trump.

The Cherokee response, including a column written by Cherokee Phoenix editor Brandon Scott published by Vox, admonished the senator for relying on a DNA test to try to claim Native American heritage. The average white U.S. citizen has .18 percent of Native American genetic makeup, but Warren thought that claiming .09 percent would be enough to quiet her critics, and she couldn’t have been more wrong.

“A DNA test will not help you determine what language your ancestors spoke, the food they ate, or where they essentially originated,” Scott wrote on Vox. As Fox News took a victory lap in its proxy victory over a liberal senator, they interviewed U.S. Rep Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, who is the only member of Cherokee Nation in Congress, and that’s when things got awkward.

Before criticizing Warren, Mullin couched his statement with the fact that his family still lives in Westville, “where [they] literally stopped walking on a volunteer walk. Now, I use that as a loosely term.”

The comment made by Mullin on Oct. 16 went largely unnoticed until Scott shared a clip on Twitter Oct. 30 with the comment, “How did this fly under the radar? IT’S CALLED THE TRAIL OF TEARS! VOLUNTEER WALK????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???”

Mullin responded to Scott that his family voluntarily relocated years before the forced removal of Native Americans and blamed confusion about his comments on “political activists.”

The same “political activist” conservatives gleefully shared when their opinions agreed.

Mullin’s comment about the volunteer decision of his family contradicts a statement his own campaign issued in September, which said his family lives “on the same farm where Mullin’s ancestors ended their walk on the Trail of Tears.”

Mullin did not respond to Cherokee Phoenix’s questions about the discrepancy in historical accounts or request to provide his ancestors’ names.

“It doesn’t mater if your family left before, during or after the Trail of Tears. What matters is that you recognize it as forced removal of an entire indigenous population, and refer to it as such,” Scott said on Twitter in response to Mullin.

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Borderline idiocy

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe has spent most of his life on Earth trying to outlive the planet, mostly by advocating anti-environmental, pro-industrial legislation that would hasten its transformation into a gaseous, toxic space pustule. But Inhofe, who at age 83 is still an ankle-biter compared to Chuck Grassley, took a break from doing Dioxin keg stands on the Senate floor Nov. 1 to introduce a completely coherent, not-at-all-googly-eyed, bonkers argument for President Donald Trump’s damned border wall.

In a press conference, Inhofe unveiled a plan that would force illegal immigrants to pay for Trump’s wall by, as Tulsa World reported, “making it more difficult for them and their children to receive benefits such as earned income and child care tax credits,” because illegally immigrated workers are always filing tax returns.

"A lot of the people don’t think it's really necessary to have a wall,” Inhofe told KFOR.com. “They don't think this is as big a deal as I think it is. The president has decided that, in order to really protect our interests in this country, we're going to have to do something that every other country does and that is have a wall.”

OK, so of course that sounds superdumb, the kind of nationalist squall-

ing you hear from batty uncles who haven’t been taking their fish oil, but there are more walls than most Chicken-Fried News readers might think. For example, Botswana, Ecuador, Brunei, Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran and several Balkan states that are trying to keep Russia from invading them all have walls or fences.

Come on; if Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan can put up a wall, why are we letting all the cool kids have all the fun?

What CFN thinks is happening is that Inhofe is literally

trying to turn one of Trump’s lies into a quasi-truth. In his June 2015 campaign announcement speech, Trump said, “[I] would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our Southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”

So it’s not so much that he will get Mexico to pay for the wall, but Inhofe wants to ensure that this great edifice will be funded by Latino immigrants who lack sufficient documentation.

Sounds like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will have no problem with collections, right?

During his speech at Big Elk Energy Systems, Inhofe did indicate that the wall, which will likely cost $25 billion, would only be built in urban areas. So …

San Diego and Tijuana? El Paso and Juarez? Del Rio and Ciudad Acuna?

McAllen and Reynosa? Yes, Senator Inhofe, CFN understands that all the coyotes tend to travel through heavily populated and policed areas when transporting people across the border and never through the sparsely populated desert areas of the American Southwest. No, that never, ever happens.

Perhaps an extra fish oil capsule, sir?

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OPEN WIDE

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REVIEW

EAT & DRINK

Nostalgia-proof

Tokyo Japanese Restaurant is one of Oklahoma City’s oldest sushi options, and it’s still delivering the hits with an expanding menu. By Jacob Threadgill Tokyo Japanese Restaurant 7516 N. Western Ave. | 405-848-6733 WHAT WORKS: The sable nigiri is a standout, and the udon broth is equal parts sweet and savory.

WHAT NEEDS WORK: The broth in ochazuke didn’t add much flavor.

TIP: Try the sukiyaki, a traditional Japanese winter soup served November through March.

The tinge of nostalgia can taint memories for better and worse. Sometimes there is a place that will always be a favorite — no matter the menu or personnel changes — just because of a personal connection. In other cases, you’re left with only the husk of a memory in a familiar setting.

I didn’t grow up eating at Tokyo Japanese Restaurant when it was the only game in town for sushi. I grew up in Los Angeles, where sushi was ubiquitous and a staple of restaurant dining.

I moved to Oklahoma City as glitzy sushi operations with restaurant group backing began flexing their muscles and serving quality sushi.

All of our customers are like our family.

Osuka Omori

I’ve heard from a few people that Tokyo is the city’s best sushi restaurant, but I wasn’t sure if they were still wowed by the nostalgia of the fact the restaurant was first on the scene. After a recent visit, I can confidently say that it favorably compares to many of my favorite spots growing up in southern California.

Opened in 1987 and located in the white building that looks like a converted house at 7516 N. Western Ave., Tokyo is currently owned by Koji Omori, who Sable nigiri is briefly touched by a blowtorch before hitting the rice at Tokyo Japanese Restaurant. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

took full control of the restaurant about seven years ago, according to his wife Asuka, who manages the restaurant.

Her mother Shoko works in the kitchen on the restaurant’s many offerings.

“We make everything from scratch,” Asuka Omori said. “My mom gives us a lot of ideas of how to make things better.”

There is a small bar at the sushi counter with daily specials plastered on the wall behind it. Omori’s current favorite cut of fish is sable, which arrives fresh every Tuesday, Wednesday and occasionally on Thursdays. The sable can be eaten as nigiri on a bed of rice where it gets a quick touch from a blowtorch by sushi chef Taku Mori, who replaced longtime sushi chef Akihiro Ishimaru about two years ago.

“I can eat sushi every day,” Omori said between laughs. “Sometimes I’ll eat it twice a day.”

Omori, who is from Nara, Japan, moved to Oklahoma to attend University of Central Oklahoma and met Koji there. She keeps watch for the highest quality fish from markets in New York, Los Angeles, Scotland and Houston, and some fish — like the high-quality Ora king salmon — comes from Oklahoma City’s Super Cao Nguyen market.

She said Tokyo sells a majority of its sushi as nigiri, which is a testament to its commitment to providing an approximation of Japanese authenticity.

Cut rolls are somewhat of a byproduct of Americanized sushi, where lowerquality fish can be masked under a bevy of spicy or sweet sauces.

“We keep adding new menu items,” she said. “Some of the dishes are Americanized a little bit; the portions are obviously Americanized because they’re really big. In Japan, even the water is served in a

it was a good starter with a mixture of salmon and eel.

I ordered the nabeyaki udon ($12.20) as my entrée and was not disappointed.

The broth had notes of soy, mirin and mushroom stock. It hit every sweet and savory note that I wanted. The dish also included chicken, fish cakes, poached egg, carrots, shii-

Ochazuke is salmon and eel over rice and broth | Photo Jacob Threadgill

smaller glass. People eat smaller portions and try a little bit of everything.”

The portion of Tokyo’s menu devoted to sushi dwarfs in comparison to its other offerings from the kitchen. It has donburi (protein over rice), grilled fish, katsu (fried pork or chicken cutlets), tempurafried seafood and vegetables and a variety of teriyaki and noodle stir-fries and soups.

Omori noted that ramen has gained popularity among their guests with the addition of standalone ramen shops to the OKC market. As much as I love ramen with its rich, meat-based broth, I generally steer toward udon because I’m a fan of the thicker noodle.

On a recent visit, I went on a Tuesday because I wanted to try fish at its peak freshness. I got an item from Toyko’s happy hour menu, which has plenty of small plates catered to the after-work crowd meant to be enjoyed as a small bite with a cold beer or sake.

I got the ochazuke ($4.95), which is a bed of rice topped with cooked salmon, eel and seaweed that is traditionally finished by pouring hot water or tea over the dish. I thought the broth was a little lacking — especially compared to what was coming in the meal — but

take mushrooms topped with a tempurafried shrimp. I liked how bits of the tempura batter fell into the soup and gave it a nice texture contrast long after the shrimp was eaten.

My favorite piece of sushi was the sable nigiri, per Omori’s recommendation. The rice had a great texture and plenty of vinegar notes. I tried a few rolls as well — tuna, salmon and yellowtail — and was very pleased with the quality. I got the Miami Vice roll because it was one of the few that didn’t have spicy mayonnaise or another sauce topping, and it delivered.

I was very pleased with Tokyo Japanese Restaurant and can see that it has been OKC’s longest-operational sushi destination for a reason.

“We love serving the food to the community,” Omori said. “We have a lot of elder Japanese people who came [to the U.S.] at a young age, and they miss the Japanese food environment. I’m so glad we can serve them. All of our customers are like our family. Families grow up and bring their kids and grandkids.

They feel part of our family. We try to give Japanese service so that people feel better after a long day and they have somewhere to go eat.”

Visit tokyookc.com.

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F E AT U R E

EAT & DRINK

Family fuel

The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen grows from food truck to successful brick-and-mortar Midtown destination.

By Jacob Threadgill

A family food tradition has spurred The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen from food truck to a successful Midtown location that will celebrate its two-year anniversary in May 2019.

The commitment to hospitality and delivering the same pizza that started a Saturday evening tradition in the Hall family home has driven the success of the family-run business, Molly and Elise Hall said as they were seated in the rustic second-floor dining room they lovingly refer to as “the family room” of the 1004 N. Hudson Ave., Suite 106 location.

“We always had people over for dinner,” Molly Hall, the restaurant’s managing partner, said. “It’s how my mom loves people, through food. When you taste her food, you can tell, ‘Oh, she’s loving me through this.’”

Molly’s mother Lori Hall is the culinary director for the restaurant, devising its weekly pizza feature and rotating seasonal menu additions. Her father Lorne Hall is the financial director, and Elise Hall manages the food truck and marketing.

Hosting people comes natural for the Halls. It started as the weekend pizza night tradition attracted family and friends to their house and continued as they started the food truck in 2013 as a way to pay for the upcoming tuition of Molly Hall’s semester at University of Oklahoma. When they moved into their Midtown brick-andmortar location, they decided to double down by renovating the second level of the restaurant and adding a rooftop patio.

Each space is full of natural light and downtown views perfect for event hosting.

“We call it the family room because it speaks to the hospitality aspect of our

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family,” Elise Hall said. “We want to share that with other people, and it’s perfect for weddings, rehearsal dinner and office parties.”

The building at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Ninth Street houses The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen and other establishments such as Barrios Fine Mexican Dishes and Capitals Ice Cream in former Swanson’s Tire Co. The upstairs family room at The Hall’s is a former living quarters that included multiple rooms and a shower for an employee of the company. The walls were torn down and aesthetic design choices were made to showcase some of the building’s original paint and brick.

“We wanted to keep as much of the space to be true to what it was,” Elise Hall said, noting that the green paint in the room has become a key part of the Hall’s Pizza Kitchen branding.

With a solid product in tow — woodfired pizza — the Halls said they benefitted in the transition from food truck to brick-and-mortar because they didn’t have to spend weeks devoted to menu tastings, instead focusing on management issues like seating guests and marketing.

The menu has expanded slowly over its year in operation as successful specials make their way to full-time rotation.

The restaurant’s most popular dish across the entire menu is the appetizer Quinn’s Burrata ($14): burrata (mozzarella mixed with cream) drizzled with truffle honey, prosciutto and Calabrese olive oil served with wood-fired flatbread.

It’s slowly being trailed by a new addition: bacon jam and charred jalapeño pimento cheese ($10) also served with flatbread.

The No. 1 selling pizza — the Saturday Night — is the same pizza that has been the family’s go-to for over 20 years. It includes pepperoni, sausage, red sauce, fresh basil and mozzarella. The Company, Hall’s version of a meat-lovers, and the Matt, named after a cousin who requested a vegetarian pizza during family get-togethers, are other longtime family staples.

They’ve added pizzas like Sunday Lunch (smoked brisket, roasted potatoes, charred onions and jalapeños, garlic cream reduction, mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano) and The Vegan Artichoke (artichokes, charred onions, house-made creamy cashew cheese, vegan Parmesan and fresh arugula) over the last year.

“We want approachable toppings that people will crave done in a unique way,” Molly Hall said.

All full pizzas are $20, but slices of Saturday Night, Company, Matt, cheese and a daily special are available for $4 a slice.

The secret to Hall’s is the massive wood-burning oven. At its peak, the oven can reach temperatures that push 850-1000 degrees Fahrenheit and cook pizzas within a few minutes. The oven takes a few hours to reach temperature, and staff start building the fire before 9 a.m. to be ready for 11 a.m. lunch service. On the weekend, the restaurant’s pastry chef cooks bagels for

The wood-fired oven at The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen reaches temperatures in excess of 800 degrees Fahrenheit. | Photo Alexa Ace

brunch service while the oven is at a lower temperature.

The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen also offers huge fresh cookies that include a glutenfree option and dessert of seasonal cheesecake ($9) and apple cake with pecan streusel, cardamom anglaise and ice cream ($8).

In recent weeks, The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen has added delivery by bike for offices and houses near its Midtown location. The food truck remains operational for special events and can be rented for private event catering.

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel real,” Elise Hall said of the family’s successful restaurant. “I would come by every day during construction, and it felt like it would never be finished. We’ve created something fun, and it’s exciting to be able to provide an experience for our guests. We celebrated an engagement this week with a couple who had their third date here last year, and that was really special.”

Visit thehallskitchen.com.

Molly and Elise Hall in the second-story dining room of The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen | Photos Alexa Ace

Oklahoma Gazette 11-07-18 M18NA549 RFTE Projects.indd 1

Oklahoma Gazette 11-07-18 M18NA549 RFTE Projects

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10/22/2018 9:34:02 AM

Nic’s Place

EAT & DRINK

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F E AT U R E

1116 N Robinson Ave. OKC | 601-9234 | @nicsplacedinerandlounge

International spice

Edmond’s Kafutoh African Food Mart provides food staples and recipes to educate customers.

By Jacob Threadgill

Edmond resident John Yomendan got tired of having to drive nearly two hours just to get a few small items that reminded him of life in his native Togo, so he decided to do something about it.

Yomedan moved to the United States about 15 years ago and Oklahoma 10 years later. After moving to Edmond a few years ago, he couldn’t find some of the ingredients he needed for a dish.

“We’ve been in Edmond about three years, and the closest African store was about 40 minutes away,” Yomedan said, noting that nearby University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) has a lot of international students. “There are a lot of international students coming to UCO, and they’re craving the African food and the food they grow up with. They can’t find it anywhere else, and most of them don’t even have a car.”

He decided to take the risk and open his first business after finding a location close to UCO, and Kafutoh African Fo o d Mart opened March 1 at 16600 N. Western Ave. to cater to customers from across the continent, not just from the western coast.

“A f r i c a is diverse in cultures,

and one of the most beautiful things is food, the music and drum sets,” he said.

“It was part of my daily life story, and if you are in this part of the world, you kind of crave that stuff and miss a lot of those things. It’s a big deal trying to get some of those things.”

The store is stocked with spices, flours, herbs and skin-care products including African black soap that is

Oklahoma City Community College and iOn Oklahoma Present

Kafutoh African Food Mart is located at 16600 N. Western Ave. in Edmond | Photo Jacob Threadgill

marketed as “nature’s cure for all skin problems.” There is a section in the store with frozen meat like goat and smoked fish. Items like dried crayfish are important to a variety of African cuisine as a flavor enhancer deep inside stews.

The shelves in the store are also filled with legumes and hard-to-find side dishes like attiéké, which is native to the Ivory Coast. It’s made from ground cassava (known as yucca root in the U.S.) that has a texture similar to couscous.

The store also sells a variety of spice blends from across the country. One of its top sellers is suya, which originated in Nigeria.

“If you love grilling, I know Americans love steak a lot, grilled chicken or pork ribs, [suya] is the perfect seasoning for grilling,” Yomedan said. “It’s not very spicy, but it has a lot of flavor. If you try it once, you’ll come back for it.”

Along with suya, its top-selling spice is the Ghanaian blend kelewele, a version of which is now available at Oklahoma City Thunder games in the Wing’n It chicken wing stand on the MVP wings. Chesapeake Energy Arena executive chef Andrew Murin adapted his version of the spice blend that is traditionally used with fried plantains for the chicken wing after trying it at Yomedan’s store.

“I’m amazed at what [chef Murin] did with the spice,” Yomedan said.

“He’s extraordinary. That’s the beauty of cooking; you can combine ingredients and have fun with it.”

The store also stocks coffee, teas and curries native to Kenya, large yams and plantains. Yomedan said he is committed to stocking the store with as many organic and non-GMO products as possible.

“The store creates curiosity,” Yomedan said. “Americans and Mexicans have come in just to see what we’re offering. It gives us the privilege to educate them on African food culture.”

Yomedan’s wife Stella runs the food blog African Freestyle Recipes on blogspot and YouTube, where she shares step-by-step recipes that take advantage of ingredients found at the store.

He said that there are recipes available at the store, and the staff is willing to help customers find the right recipe for them.

Business has been growing in recent weeks, and Yomedan said there are new faces in the store almost every day.

“People are getting to know the store, and the word is being spread,” he said. “The word is getting out that you don’t need to drive to grab some of these major foods you crave.”

Visit kafutoh.com.

M O U N TA I N S M OK E Yam Porridge

T imel es s B l u eg ra ss & Co u n t r y 45 Yea rs of M usic M a kin g

Photo Credits: Kriea Arie Photography

K . C . C L I F F ORD Sin g e r, S o n g w r i te r, & S to r y te l l e r

Th ree-ti m e Wood y G u t h r i e Award Wi n n i n g S on g wr i t e r

mountainsmokeband.com • kcclifford.com

Fresh yams are available at Kafutoh African Food Mart. | Photo bigstock.com

F R I DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 6, 8 : 0 0

pm

O C C C Visua l a n d Perfor ming Ar ts Center T heater 7777 Sou th May Avenu e

This Nigerian staple is also known as asaro, according to Stella

tickets. occc. e d u • Box O ffi c e 6 8 2 - 7 5 7 9

Yomedan, and it is a quick and

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nutritious dish. All ingredients are available at African Food Mart.

A portion of ticket sales will benefit Regional Food Bank

Ingredients 1 medium-sized yam 1/2 cup red palm oil 1 medium onion 1 red bell pepper 1 green bell pepper 1/2 cup ground dried crayfish 3/4 cup fresh/thawed shrimp 4 blended habanero 2 maggi cubes one bunch of kale salt to taste Directions 1. Peel and wash the yam and cut it into cube-sized pieces.

NOV

2. Put the washed yam cubes into

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a pot, add water until it mostly covers the yam and cook it on high heat.

3. Wash the shrimp and set aside.

4. Dice the onion and bell peppers and chop the kale.

5. Add red palm oil to a separate pot and stir-fry the onions and bell peppers. After they are soft and translucent, add the crayfish, blended habanero and maggi cubes to make a sauce.

6. Add the sauce to the yams and simmer with a lid for 10 minutes.

7. Add the shrimp and kale and simmer for 5-10 minutes until cooked.

+

+ tax

Kelewele spice from Ghana is one of the store’s top-sellers. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

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EAT & DRINK GAZEDIBLES

Sooner statehood

In honor of Oklahoma’s statehood anniversary later this month (Nov. 16), indulge in the official state meal by getting some of the best renditions of parts of the meal or try to tackle the entire thing every Tuesday.

By Jacob Threadgill with photos by Alexa Ace, provided and Gazette / file

Cuppies & Joe

Buttermilk Paseo

The Press

You might (rightfully) assume that cupcakes are a main focus at Cuppies & Joe, but it also delivers some pretty great pies.

When it comes to the pecan pie from the state’s official meal, don’t forget about this Uptown 23rd destination. You can get the classic pecan or try something seasonal like a pumpkin pecan pie or an apple praline to get a good dose of some Oklahoma pecans.

Did you know there are large swaths of the country where it’s nearly impossible to get a good biscuit? It’s easy to forget when we’ve got multiple biscuit-themed restaurants, but Buttermilk’s take on South Carolina chef Sean Brock’s biscuit is dark and crispy on the outside but f luffy on the inside. Order the Buttermilk Debris to indulge in the full sausage gravy experience.

Every Tuesday evening, this new 16th Street Plaza District hotspot offers the entire Oklahoma state meal for $40. It’s enough food to easily feed three to four people. The Press’ version of chickenfried steak is made with rib-eye, and the cornbread is also excellent. The Press excels at offering Oklahoma classic comfort food with a twist, as it serves plenty of vegan options as well.

727 NW 23rd St. cuppiesandjoe.com | 405-528-2122

605 NW 28th St., Suite A buttermilkokc.com | 405-605-6660

1610 N. Gatewood Ave. thepressokc.com | 405-208-7739

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Pinkitzel

Aja Bleu Cafe

Leo’s

Ned’s Starlite Lounge

One of the problems with eating the Oklahoma state meal in November is that one of its main sides is out of season.

Obviously we live in the 21st century and can now easily get fresh fruit yearround, but it won’t be as good as something local. Why not get a fresh strawberry and support Oklahoma-owned confectionery Pinkitzel at the same time? The store sells boxes of chocolatecovered strawberries for $60.

You can get fried okra at many establishments around the city, but none of them combine with a gooey macaroni and cheese as good as Aja Bleu Cafe’s version.

The pork chop plate and catfish are worth the drive up to Hefner Road, but be sure to pair your entree with some of the cornmeal-breaded version of an Oklahoma classic.

The other main entree of the Oklahoma state meal in addition to chicken-fried steak is barbecue pork. It’s hard to do this list and not include Leo’s, which is still delivering the city’s finest pork barbecue, and you can get another item from the meal — strawberries — with a piece of its famous strawberry-andbanana cake.

Ned Shadid is one of the city’s most venerable chefs, but one of his personal favorite recipes — the ubiquitous chicken-fried steak — has only been available through his catering service for years.

Now that his retro-contemporary restaurant is now open on N. May Avenue, you can enjoy his chicken-fried steak on a sandwich or as an entree paired with poblano gravy.

150 N. E.K. Gaylord Blvd. pinkitzel.com | 405-235-7465

2222 W. Hefner Road 405-607-0553

3631 N. Kelley Ave. 405-424-5367

7301 N. May Ave. 405-242-6100

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ARTS & CULTURE

ART

Lethal beauty An encaustic artist recreates the cancers attacking her family in an effort to process the struggle that took her father and threatens her mother. By Charles Martin

When one person has cancer, everyone has cancer. Gayle L. Curry has been battling cancer with her family for a decade since her father, Pat, was first diagnosed with kidney cancer. The longtime brick worker was lucky because the cancer had encased itself so he didn’t even need radiation treatment. Her mother, Phyllis, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2015. Then came Pat’s pancreatic cancer in 2016. Then Pat’s funeral. Then came the recommendation for hospice care for Phyllis. Then the search for a second opinion. Then came the blood transfusion. Then home care and Phyllis’ slow battle back to health.

Now, with a little time to breathe, Curry is finally returning to her art for an exhibition at Gaylord Pickens Museum titled Unknown Origins. It is an examination of the strange beauty of cancer cells, the deadly invaders that

have threatened 24 members of her family and three close friends, the scourge that has taken over her life.

“When we were doing all the tests for my mom’s leukemia, I was trying to research how to help her and find options. I wanted to know what leukemia does,” Curry said, explaining that she got to look at her mother’s blood samples. “The leukemia cancer cells choke out red and white blood cells so it invades and takes over your blood system. The cancer cells had been dyed with pinks and purples and whites, making really beautiful shapes. Such a paradox that something so beautiful can be so terrible.”

In an effort to process the stream of successes and setbacks of the past decade, Curry decided to begin creating encaustic paintings inspired by her mother’s leukemia cells, but also other types of cancer images she had seen where the diseased cells had been dyed in various, vibrant colors to set them apart.

“I tried to represent them all,” Curry said. “Not only did my parents have it, but there are so many people in our family that have had cancer or are still fighting it. I did a lot of 6x6 [pieces] that were dedicated to them.”

She felt that during the past three years, she had been encased in a type of creative chrysalis as the rest of her life was consumed by cancer. Phyllis had once been a secretary at a school but had to quit because her immune system was too compromised for her to be in the same building as hundreds of walking, coughing petri dishes / chil-

Curry’s art pulls impressionistic beauty from deadly cancer cells. | Photos provided

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dren. Following the blood transfusion in July, Curry brought her mom home to recover. Curry moved her art studio from the Paseo School of Art back to her house and began creating again, returning to the encaustic process that uses heated wax as a medium.

“When I began creating these images, I didn’t even think about anyone ever seeing them,” Curry said. “Mom has been a very big part of the series.

When I first started thinking about showing them, I asked her if it would bother her. And she goes ‘No! I’d be honored.’ She was at the opening and was tremendous. ‘I feel like a celebrity!

Everyone thinks this show is about me,’ [she said]. And I said, ‘It kinda is; it’s about you and dad.’”

Intentional art

Marissa Raglin is the director of museum experience at Gaylord Pickens Museum and played a critical role in bringing Curry’s exhibit to the public. Raglin is part of The Intentionalists, a small artist’s group that formed following an Artist INC workshop and developed into a regular meet-up of the original five artists. The meetings focused on building their careers but also art as therapy.

Raglin had been a close witness to Curry’s family struggle over the past three years and was eager to bring Unknown Origins to the museum.

“There are so many ways to tell a story,” Raglin said. “In working with melted beeswax in an abundance of colors, Gayle brings life to this terrible disease. I appreciate Gayle’s outlook and curiosity in approaching this intimidating subject. This unique exhibition is relevant to many people, as cancer has touched so many of us individually or through someone we may know.”

Curry’s return to art brings her back to the talent she had been fostering since she was 3 years old, trying to pry her parents’ attention away from her newborn brother. She’d use crayons on whatever surface she could find, which were often bedroom walls until her mother brought home paper. Her parents continued encouraging her art and, as there weren’t many art programs in Cromwell, where she grew up, they would find artists in the community to give her lessons.

Gayle Curry and her mother Phyllis Curry | Photo provided

As an adult, Curry drifted away from realism and toward abstract art, which she said her parents didn’t quite get, but they still encouraged her. While walking through The Paseo Arts District, Curry encountered Kay Orr’s studio and was entranced by Orr’s paintings. She began taking classes from Orr, and after Orr died, Curry teamed up with some of the other students to convert the space into an artist cooperative titled In Your Eye Studio & Gallery.

When she found encaustic art, she said she never looked back. She later opened Paseo School of Art at 3110 N. Walker Ave., where she gave workshops on encaustic art and taught private students.

“It’s funny that I started with crayons and now, so many years later, I work with encaustics so it’s like I came right back around to, essentially, another type of crayon,” she said. “When I ran into encaustics, it opened everything up. It’s a medium you can’t control, so you have to just see where it wants to take you. I try to take direction from encaustic rather than directing it, which leads to all these beautiful, happy accidents.”

Though Curry has scaled back her teaching, she is going to continue producing and is hoping to organize a group show with The Intentionalists in 2019. The reception of Unknown Origins really encouraged her to refocus on her artwork.

“I did consider that the subject matter could be difficult for some people,” Curry said. “‘Why did you create art out of something so ugly?’

But I haven’t found that to be true.

Everyone has been so supportive.

Unknown Origins is a show about cancer, but it’s also about hope and healing and trying to take back some control of an uncontrollable situation.”

Visit oklahomahof.com.

Unknown Origins 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays through Feb. 9 Oklahoma Hall of Fame Gaylord Pickens Museum 1400 Classen Drive oklahomahof.com | 405-235-4458 Free-$7

Daren Kendall’s Threshold With Me exhibit explores the boundaries and meanings of doorways. | Photo Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art / provided

ART

The doors

A sculpture professor from University of Oklahoma encourages exploration with an installation meant to be engaged, if not entirely understood. By Charles Martin

Artist statements can be a tricky business, especially when the creators aren’t trying to portray a story or a message, but to capture a specific feeling, an abstraction. The work is created entirely through intuition; as Michelangelo famously said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

Daren Kendall’s attempt to explain Threshold With Me, his new installation at Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Sandor Gallery, demonstrates the limits of the language when pointed at works based entirely on one specific sensation.

“From inside a cage or the confines of space, you have the ability to imagine yourself free,” Kendall wrote in his artist statement. “While crossing the threshold can be exciting, it’s an overwhelming experience aligning two truths.”

And so it goes, like a translation from a proverb that made a bit more sense in its original language.

“The human soul writhes to communicate as conscious structures are eviscerated.”

“The site is prepared for passage with tools and scripts — a fox sparrow, a dancer, and an everyman possessed by visions of love.”

Threshold With Me is a path of connected steel doorways with supplements of concrete, brass rods and piano wire installed down the middle of a hallway of the museum. That path has no clear, right way forward, not like a playground for which designers had a distinct vision about how children should flow through it. In fact, most museum visitors won’t intuitively know that they should interact with the installation since it looks a bit imposing and, well, museum-y.

“It’s worth mentioning that I asked a few students if they would walk through it when they saw pictures,” Kendall said during a recent artist talk and performance piece. “A few said yes, a few said no, which is to be expected I think. We are all taught how to act in a museum, and it’s kind of a tight space.

But as you move through it, you come to know it.”

The piece is the pursuit of a feeling Kendall gets when deciding whether to cross a threshold, leaving one space and all its memories for another space and all its possibilities. And as all artists should, he wants to create work that would delight him if someone else had created it first.

“I was adopted, and my mother gave me this book called Are You My Mother?”

Kendall said. “It’s about a little bird fallen from its nest moving from place to place, asking the same question. He asks the dog, he asks the cat, he asks the crane, kind of democratically not recognizing himself in any of these things.

I think that is kind of human but also descriptive of this experience, looking for self in the other. That is what motivates me to make work like this and share it with others, to see if we are speaking similar languages, to see if we are after the same thing.”

During the talk, Kendall referenced a medical study that showed how a mind’s memory resets when crossing a threshold from one room to another, leaving one set piece for another. Have you ever gone to the kitchen only to forget why? The study was trying to understand this universal experience.

Since there is a very real mental divide created by boundaries, the threshold isn’t only an architectural feature, but a metaphor and a ceremony whose meaning and intensity can change whether one is entering a bedroom, a classroom or a courthouse.

But even that is still a little too specific. In a way, Kendall really is trying to translate something alien into English. It’s his creative process and purpose that he’s trying to get at in the same way one would struggle to explain the color blue to someone who was born blind. He created this entire piece based on an abstraction. In an early episode of The Simpsons, Milhouse’s soon-tobe-divorced parents are squabbling over whether it’s possible to draw dignity during a game of Pictionary.

That’s what Kendall is attempting.

He created a large-scale, visual interpretation of an abstraction and the best way to communicate abstraction is through intuition.

The long, triangular slabs interspersed along the pathway have what initially looked like molded footprints, but what Kendall explained as the result of his failed attempt to give the slab a finished gloss. Instead he started grinding down into the concrete and decided he liked that better. It would be like pools where water could collect and birds could frolic, a massive right turn on a significant design feature.

He even had conversations with OU School of Dance choreographer Boyko Dossev and dancer Chiara Ruff as he was constructing the piece. He wanted their thoughts on how the shapes and pathways invited and impacted motion. He’d considered a dance bar for when Ruff would perform the improvisation with him but realized she didn’t need it and changed

his design. The resulting performance featured Kendall dragging along an amp as he created noise with the installation while Ruff made use of empty spaces along the pathway, emphasizing the interaction aspect of the exhibit, showing that this is art as conversation.

And the reactions to that art were interesting. Of the 50 attendees to the performance, only about 10 even dared to cross through any of the steel doorways before the presentation. These were mostly students, professors and other artists — people who know museum behavior quite well, which might have actually been a barrier.

Children would surely see the doors for what Kendall intended. Even the most courageous would still pause before the first threshold, look about to see if anyone would stop them from breaking the traditional bubble between museum sculpture and patron and then tentatively step through — observation tipping over into exploration.

Despite coaxing during the presentation, the crowd mostly stayed pressed against the walls. Again, the piece is steel, concrete and brass — not usually inviting materials, but Kendall is hoping that the presentation can change perception.

“This is another thing I’m trying to do,” Kendall said. “Steel and concrete are very harsh materials that we know and see every day. But I’m trying to have a conversation with them, develop a familiarity and, in a way, soften them, soften our experience with them.”

Visit ou.edu/fjjma.

Threshold With Me Through Dec. 30 Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 555 Elm Ave., Norman ou.edu/fjjma | 405-325-3272 Free

Threshold With Me is constructed of steel, brass rods, concrete and piano wire. | Photo Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art / provided

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ARTS & CULTURE Stephen Lang portrays eight Medal of Honor recipients in Beyond Glory 2 p.m. Sunday at Oklahoma City Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater. | Photo provided

soon decided he should select stories based on more deliberate criteria.

“The easy answer is that they decided themselves, and there’s truth in that,” Lang said. “But in the end, as I began to craft this into a solo theater piece, I realized that I wanted to have an array. I wanted a diverse evening. I wanted different services. I wanted different ethnicities, different races and different wars. And so ultimately, I crafted it so I was able to include all the military branches, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and playing people from different parts of the country, different colors. I wanted it to be a wide-ranging evening that was as widely representative of our country as I could be. I wanted it to be challenging to my own self as an actor as I could be. That was a big motivation in doing this. I wanted to do something that I wasn’t sure I had the capability of doing.”

As a piece of journalism, I thought it was outstanding, really just outstanding.

T H E AT E R

Stephen Lang

Acting honor

Film actor Stephen Lang brings the stories of eight recipients of the Medal of Honor in one-man show Beyond Glory. By Jeremy Martin

From General George Washington to Colonel Miles Quaritch in James Cameron’s Avatar, Stephen Lang has played many military men on big and small screens. He’s also a veteran of the Broadway stage who originally portrayed Lt. Col. Nathan R. Jessep in Aaron Sorkin’s play A Few Good Men, a role made famous by Jack Nicholson in the movie adaptation. The one-man play Beyond Glory, which Lang adapted from Larry Smith’s nonfiction book of the same name, requires the actor to go above the usual call of duty by portraying eight different military men, all recipients of the Medal of Honor. Lang, scheduled to stage the play 2 p.m.

Sunday at Oklahoma City Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave., said he was inspired to adapt some of Smith’s 24

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accounts of military valor after the author gave him the book at a pickup basketball game and Lang couldn’t put it down.

“I remember I was standing there in my living room,” Lang said. “I was actually reading the book standing up. … As a piece of journalism, I thought it was outstanding, really just outstanding. But I also felt that there was the kernel of a really good piece of theater in there, as well. And I began messing with a chapter, and I turned into a kind of dramatic monologue. In retrospect, I described it as a ‘bullion cube of theater.’ It was this concentrated piece of work, and if you add acting, it can explode into something.”

Smith’s book chronicles the stories of 23 Medal of Honor recipients. Lang said he originally chose the accounts that most immediately spoke to him but

Lang said the nature of a single-actor play requires him to stretch his range beyond what normally might be considered acceptable in another work.

“I play two black characters in the play, and you would think that could be problematic, right?” Lang said.

“Particularly in the kind of world we’re living in right now. It’s certainly an important issue. I would never ever minimize the issue, but because of the context of this show, because it’s one actor playing eight different roles ... it makes perfect sense to do it this way.

Listen, it would make as much sense to have a really terrific black actor, Hispanic actor or any other ethnicity playing Beyond Glory as well, and they would be playing parts that they’re not ethnically suited for, but that, to me, is part of the magic of theater. … When I had the play published, in the author’s forward, I said, ‘This can be performed by any actor who feels they have the chops to do it. It doesn’t matter what race you are. It doesn’t matter what gender you are.’ I’m delighted if an actress feels that this is something she wants to take on, so it’s blind in that sense, but the characters themselves are very specific, so when I’m playing a black man, I’m playing a black man.”

Lang also portrays Daniel Inouye, a Japanese-American awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II who served as a U.S. senator for Hawaii. In 2005, Lang performed Beyond Glory for the U.S. Senate, with

Inouye, who died in 2012, in attendance.

Lang has also staged the play for soldiers stationed in Korea, Pearl Harbor and the Middle East and for sailors on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Despite their many differences, Lang said the men he plays in Beyond Glory (to date the only female recipient of the Medal of Honor is Dr. Mary Walker, a civilian who practiced medicine during the Civil War) share a common outlook in at least one respect.

“These are a disparate group of individuals from all walks of life,” Lang said. “Different culturally, different levels of education, different economic levels, totally, totally different, and yet they’re all bound together, and I find this to be true across the board. There is a deep, deep, deep sense of humility that each one of these men share. … They took responsibility upon themselves.

Sometimes they’re not even sure where it came from, why they did it. Most of the time, they’ll say, ‘I did it because it had to be done. I did it because it was my job to do it.’ They don’t make a big deal out of it, but even more important than that, having received the Medal of Honor, I think it bears a great weight of responsibility, and I think that that responsibility of, in a sense, living your life exemplifying these qualities that the medal represents — models of intrepidity, of true courage, of leadership, of setting a shining example — I think that confers along with that a sense of deep humility of having to live up to those obligations.”

Lang feels reverential toward Beyond Glory’s subjects but said he’s more interested in showing that they are real people.

“Performing these roles is really an act of empathy, it seems to me, and I think there is a reverential component to that,” Lang said. “But of course you can’t let that get in the way because the idea is really to humanize these guys to an extent that people are really drawn in and feel that they are in a room with a true individual and that they’re hearing an intimate and exciting and enthralling and entertaining story. So, yeah, there’s reverence involved, but this is not intended as a war memorial.

This is not intended for an audience to stand there with their heads bowed. …

It needs to be far more connected than that. That’s what theater really is.”

Visit cityrep.com.

Beyond Glory 2 p.m. Sunday Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater Oklahoma City Community College 7777 S. May Ave. cityrep.com | 405-682-7579 $15-$40

T H E AT E R

Raising voices Vienna Boys Choir performs at Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium Nov. 20. By Daniel Bokemper

One of the oldest collectives of touring musicians returns to Oklahoma as Vienna Boys Choir performs at Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond Nov. 20. With a history spanning over 500 years, the choir unites 9- to 14-year-old performers from over 30 countries into one harmonious movement. A century of unprecedented international performances have brought the ensemble across the grandest stages of nearly every continent through the adventures of four concurrent, traveling groups.

Now it is a fixture not bound by a single, cultural ideology, but traces of the Vienna Boys Choir can be found amid the traveling court of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Dr. Tina Breckwoldt, historian and spokesperson of the choir, describes early allusions to the institution in correspondence of the Holy Roman Empire in 1496 and ’98. At the time, the choir represented a portion of a musical legion that accompanied Maximilian throughout his visits to smaller, allied kingdoms. Despite being tethered to the emperor, the musicians’ ancient endeavors entailed far more than a simple political purpose.

“There is a famous letter in which Maximilian urged he was ‘in need’ of his musicians,” Breckwoldt said. “He insisted his officials ‘make them come to [him] now.’ Because of this, we know they were more than just a propaganda tool. Maximilian was moved by the music more than any other entertainment. He felt the spiritual side of it.”

Amid Maximilian’s court were many of the world’s greatest melodic minds, serving as a catalyst for the development of Western music; among the choir’s members stood the likes of Franz Schubert. However, the ensemble would transition from a kingdom’s chorus to the world’s choir in the early 20th century. Following the choir’s disbandment at the end of World War I, the empathetic spirit of the group continued

flickering as global disarray intensified.

The choir was resurrected between 1924 and ’26, and its importance as a voice of peace grew quickly apparent through several European performances.

In the 1930s, Vienna Boys Choir made its first excursion to the United States, and acclaim followed it back home. The obvious demand of the choir has now led to multiple groups and numerous tours from Australia and Asia to North and South America. With the choir comes an aura that mends humanity.

“We are an educational institution that strongly believes in music as something that emotionally reaches everybody,” Breckwoldt said. “We want to equip the children of the choir with the tools to speak music and connect with people. They perform concerts that touch people, that make them move in a spiritual way.”

As a school, the choir adopts a curriculum similar to most schools in Austria. Students study familiar subjects like physics, history, physical education and, of course, music theory.

The curriculum also includes one particular structural caveat.

Unbound by the typical, semesterdriven school year, Vienna Boys Choir operates on three terms annually. The first terms are, for the most part, stationary and analogous to most schools, even those found in America. The third term is concerned strictly with international touring. The students enjoy an education focused on the locations of their concerts.

These concerts provide the students more than just an outlet for performance.

“In the two hours in concert with them, you kind of belong to each other,” Breckwoldt said. “The artists belong to the audience and the audience to the artists. It’s an incredible notion you can be thousands of miles from home and connect in a way that is only made possible through music.”

Though stationed in Austria, the

Vienna Boys Choir includes students from over 30 countries. | Photo Lucas Beck / provided

choir itself is composed of children from different countries and cultures.

Like a less bombastic international conference, the young men grow and learn with one another throughout some of their most formative years. The students form their own identities while building strong relationships with their peers. Almost passively, the children absorb ideas, discipline and ethics often unfamiliar to them just by proximity. Thus, their practice and craft becomes harmonious in more than just the literal sense.

“We as a species tend to band together,” Breckwoldt said. “In order for the choir to exist, it has to transcend borders, nationalities, religions and cultures. What maintains the choir are boys from 30 different nations that, even at a young age, are interested in making music together.”

A performance that can transcend borders conveys a feeling that does the same. Childhood and the shift from adolescence are universally inevitable.

Within its concerts, the choir conveys notions of vulnerability, whimsy and resolve throughout classic and contemporary pieces. The music of the choir brings the audience closer to a pivotal stage of development, yielding a call back to days of wonder.

Regardless of any religious connotation, the idea that the daydreams of youth could be something tangible is among the choir’s greatest allures.

Vienna Boys Choir offers an undeniably spiritual and comforting chord.

“The form of the boys’ voices will change with classical training,” Breckwoldt said. “With that change, there’s a hint of something that sounds incredibly ethereal. It’s like there’s this hint of someone transforming into a butterfly.”

Visit armstrongauditorium.org.

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Vienna Boys Choir 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 Armstrong Auditorium 14400 S. Bryant Road, Edmond armstrongauditorim.org | 405-285-1010 $31-$71

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ARTS & CULTURE

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T H E AT E R

Downtown Bethany

Playing Phantom

With Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber expands the world of The Phantom of the Opera, returning to its characters and their choices in love, song and locale. By Ian Jayne

Some stories don’t die, even after their official end. They continue on, propelled by narrative, strong and dynamic characters and, in the case of Love Never Dies, by song.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber sequel to The Phantom of the Opera will be presented by OKC Broadway at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., TuesdayNov. 18. Tickets are $27 to $101 and are available via okcbroadway.com.

Love Never Dies picks up 10 years after the end of The Phantom of the Opera, when Christine departs with Raoul on a boat, leaving the Phantom alone to disappear.

“We find out in the first few minutes of the show that Madame Giry and Meg Giry helped smuggle away the Phantom to New York,” said Bronson Norris Murphy, who plays the Phantom on the show’s North American tour. “The Phantom has become the proprietor of Phantasm, on Coney Island. He’s built a circus or freak show, a vaudeville house where he displays oddities and dance revues. It feels like he created a world where he fits in.”

Christine also makes the trip to New York for the first time, to open the Oscar Hammerstein Opera House. The Phantom discovers this in the newspaper and decides that he must see Christine again.

Although the Phantom has carved out a world for himself at Phantasm, he has been suffering from a creative block.

“He hasn’t been able to compose anything. There’s no music in his life.

For a genius composer like the Phantom, having writer’s block is a problem,” Murphy said.

After intervening and rearranging in a few places, the Phantom reunites with Christine for the first time in a decade.

“From there, the rollercoaster runs its track,” Murphy said. “You see their rekindling, if you can call it that.”

The 10 years that have passed between the Phantom and Christine have also wrought a great deal of change: Christine has a son, and Raoul has become drunk and abusive.

Murphy said the show boils down to a central, familiar question for fans of the Phantom: Will she sing?

Singing, staging

Kate Bunce, Musica (detail), ca. 1895–97. Oil on canvas, 40 3/16 x 30 3/16 x 1 3/4 in., Birmingham Museums Trust (1897P17). © Birmingham Museums Trust

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Unsurprisingly, music plays a central role in Love Never Dies, just like in The Phantom of the Opera and other Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. Bombastic and full of emotion, the songs help convey what, for the Phantom and Christine, might

not be communicable any other way.

The show opens with “Till I Hear You Sing,” which Murphy described as “a huge ballad.”

“It’s a fascinating song to sing,” he said. “It’s like an 11 o’clock number, but it’s at 7:30.”

Other favorite songs for Murphy include “The Beauty Underneath,” a “head-banging” song full of rock guitar and drums, as well as his duets with Christine in Act I. “I love the duets I have with Christine in Act I,” Murphy said, “and in between them, the whole world kind of spins. Our stage is on a revolve, and everything moves.”

You see their rekindling, if you can call it that.

Bronson Norris Murphy Bringing early 20th-century New York to life on the stage was, fittingly, a massive undertaking. Murphy said that most touring shows usually have six or seven trucks for the staging, costuming and technical equipment; Love Never Dies travels with 14-15.

“The visual appeal of this show is applauded because it is just grand,” Murphy said. “It’s beautiful, it’s colorful, it’s bright. The lights are incredible, and it all goes to help tell the story.”

Murphy said one of the show’s designers has been quoted as saying she can’t draw a straight line, so there aren’t any on the stage. Rather, the major set pieces are curved, lopsided and fantastical in order to evoke the otherworldly excitement of Coney Island. The stage spins and rotates and includes major pieces like rollercoaster tracks, balconies, carousels and circus tents.

Both the set design and the show itself bring the bright lights of the Big Apple to shows across the country — a part of his job that Murphy loves.

“Not everybody can make it to New York to see a Broadway show, so we get to bring the show to your backyard and open the world of Broadway up to Oklahoma City audiences,” he said.

Several elements of Murphy’s own professional career have helped him keep up with the rigorous demands of touring and performing the musical.

Murphy studied at the graduate level at New York University, where he learned the mechanics of singing and

Bronson Norris Murphy plays the Phantom in the current touring production of Love Never Dies, which stops at Civic Center Music Hall Tuesday-Nov. 18. | Photo provided

he was cast in a regional production of Cats that began his long career of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals.

He later would play Raoul, among nine other roles, in The Phantom of the Opera’s Broadway production. Murphy’s wideranging familiarity with the world of the Phantom and its various inhabitants provided him with a keen, ever-shifting awareness of the show and its sequel.

“I like to keep my mind busy, and I like to be surprised with what [I’m] doing,” Murphy said. “But here, I’ve been able to really form a complete, whole character that carries to the show and do the same thing every night while still finding new ways to tell a story and keep it fresh.”

Murphy said he met Webber during work on this production of Love Never Dies and the quality of supervision on his shows is part of what makes them so excellent.

Given his immersion in the fantastic and phantasmagoric world of the Phantom for several years, Murphy said that show is a combination of continued hard work and a complete dive into the artistic realm.

“You just surrender yourself to the story and the story will lead you to the physicality and the vocal demands,” he said.

Visit okcbroadway.com.

Love Never Dies Tuesday-Nov. 18 Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. okcbroadway.com | 405-594-8300 $27.16-$101.47

By Charles Dickens • Directed by Michael Baron

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ARTS & CULTURE

C U LT U R E

Jonathan Meyer hones his skills with local performances and hopes to appear on America’s Got Talent a second time. | Photo provided

Mastering magic

Oklahoma City magician Jonathan Meyer has spent his life studying and practicing magic.

By Daniel Bokemper

For Jonathan Meyer, a career in magic has always been in the cards. Performing illusions and card tricks for over three decades, the Oklahoma City-based magician’s craft has secured him hundreds of bookings each year and a brief appearance on America’s Got Talent.

Capable of performing a set in nearly every conceivable scenario, Meyer’s art came from a lifetime of diligence.

Much of his performance is built around the concept of sleight of hand.

Perfected by years of developing a heightened sense of dexterity, sleight of hand is the art of misdirection and manipulating perception to conjure something ineffable. Meyer specifically remembers his first encounter with the skill, as it stands out among his earliest memories.

“I saw this guy on television reach out with his hands,” Meyer said. “And boom!

All of a sudden, he was holding something that wasn’t there a moment earlier. I don’t even remember what he actually revealed, but I do remember pointing at the screen and yelling, ‘Did you see that?’ From that moment on, I literally grew up practicing the art of sleight-of-hand magic.”

As a young child, Meyer first began gathering straightforward, single-purpose props that only took a bit of time to nail down. As he grew, the young magician began tackling more difficult tricks predominantly involving playing cards.

Manipulating cards soon parlayed into his ability to mold perspective, opening the door for his lifelong endeavor.

Meyer found that much of magic can be divided into two broad categories.

Though there are several tricks that require virtually no sleight of hand, you might be forced to sift through thousands of ideas to find one that looks even marginally believable. The other side involves a performance that requires thousands of hours of practice but produces an unprecedented feat.

“You’ll spend hours just looking at your hands,” Meyer said, “trying to find that moment that’s so difficult to perceive, a crucial yet indirect part that’s at the heart of the trick. Figure out the cause and you’ll identify the effect later.

This requires patience and versatility.”

Though Meyer has always maintained his fascination with magic and

even trained as a teenager for four years at Frontier City, it was not his professional career until about 10 years ago.

With a performance so dependent upon its visual representation, Meyer knew in order to be successful he had to be open to some of the most abrasive input.

“Early on, I learned the difference between a valid and non-valid response from an audience,” he said. “I would always look for the less polite people because it gave me truly honest feedback.

I had to learn to laugh it off after somebody figured out my trick and to come off as if I didn’t care even though I spent last several months painstakingly getting the trick down. It’s emotionally crushing, but I learned that’s what’s best for a magician’s progress. They might have fun telling me all about how they figured something out, but they were really just telling me what to fix!”

With persistence and openness to feedback comes mastery, but discovering or even mastering a concept is hardly enough to stand out as a magician.

Garnering renown likewise involves compiling an arsenal of tricks for any scenario. Meyer stressed that with every venue and new audience come new perspectives to misdirect and some of the most seemingly effective tricks can unravel when caught at a different angle.

“You have to differentiate yourself from other magicians,” Meyer said. “You got to be willing to learn the stuff no one else is willing to sink six months of their time into, even if it’s just for a three-second move. I learn as much as I can, and sometimes I don’t even remember it until I notice a situation calls for it.”

Now, Meyer considers the eight seconds he was broadcasted during a montage of America’s Got Talent one of the landmarks of his career. The brevity of Meyer’s ap-

pearance has lingered in his mind for some time as he eagerly prepares to give the completion another attempt. Next time, he intends to be accompanied by his 15-year-old son, Grant.

“In a couple months, I’m going back,” Meyer said. “But this time I’ll stand shoulder to shoulder with a musician.

I can guarantee Grant and I will be the only ones with an act like that. At best, we’ll make it onto the show, and at worst, we’ll still be spending time together. That’s more than worth it to me.”

The fire that fuels Meyer’s passion keeps him performing live over 200 days of the year. He spends the remainder finetuning his act and diversifying his image.

Ultimately, he is propelled by a sense of wonder that emerged when he was awestruck in front of a TV nearly 40 years ago.

“To be quite honest, when I first started, I always thought the next trick would be real, and once I found out there was an explanation, I was a bit disappointed,” Meyer said. “There’s an importance to that, though. It teaches us that there is a cause to every effect.

When the cause is something you can determine readily and explain, it’s science. When you have a bit more difficulty explaining it, when the cause might escape you, that’s when people start to call it magic.”

Visit jonathanmagic.com.

Oklahoma City magician Jonathan Meyer performs 200 days of the year. | Photo provided

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N OV E M B E R 7, 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

O KG S H O P

OKG SHOP

Unique jewel From The Girlie Show organizer to demi-fine jewelry trendsetter, Erin Merryweather continues to advocate for Oklahoma’s handcrafted vanguard.

By Charles Martin

a larger level, and artists came out of the Not too long ago, Oklahoma City jewelry buyers were relegated to either BC Clark woodwork,” Merryweather said. “I Jewelers, chain mall stores or gaudy wasn’t a crafter; I wasn’t going to do craft costume jewelry that instantly turned shows. I didn’t feel like I fit in the art scene the wearer’s skin an unsettling shade of either. My work was good, but I felt inferior to paintings and sculpture or really green. The emerging artisan jewelers would have to haul foldable card tables high-end jewelry. We were in the middle, to dusty craft fairs stuffed into churchwhich is why we started The Girlie Show. es or swap meets set up in dicey parts of We wanted a venue for our work.” town. Then came a cultural shift to The success of The Girlie Show indedicated gallery shows and sprawling spired other events like Deluxe Winter events focused on higher-end handmade Market. The collective energy helped products. Erin Merryweather along with encourage the buying public to look the other founders of The Girlie Show beyond traditional retailers and brands, were at ground zero from the beginning. which then led to a wave of shops and “I’ve been doing this forever, always,” pop-ups that catered to patrons of the Merryweather said. “It was friendship handmade, which tracked alongside the bracelets back in junior high. In high growth of the destination districts like school, I’d do a lot of native beadwork, The Paseo Arts District, 16th Street peyote stitch. I’d find books about whatPlaza District and Film Row. One of the show’s first vendors was Amanda Zoey ever was trendy and figure out how to do it. I was very fashion-conscious and Weathers, who would later open DNA dressed … differently.”

Galleries where Merryweather now When Merryweather works as the business developg raduated f rom ment manager and friendship bracewill be part of a lets to jewelry, jewelry show she developed a opening during m i n i ma l ist , November’s architectural Live! on the style that was Plaza. a ll hand“ People shop at made so even those places within a speand look for cific line of things from earrings, no artists that two pieces are unique, were ever something alike. That A beaded bracelet by Erin Merryweather | Photo Alexa Ace extra touch that no one else has,” Merryweather said. “There gave the jewelry a personality lacking are people that come into DNA every in mass-produced products. She uses time they are in town for business or sterling silver and other fine metals but strives to keep her pieces affordable. In to see family because they can’t find the early 2000s, this made this stuff anywhere else.”

Merryweather considers her work Merryweather a bit of an odd fit in OKC, but during a night of cocktails and for“demi-fine,” a category of jewelry that tuitous happenstance, she ended up in is on the rise internationally according a conversation with Dawn Tyler Harth to a recent article by the jewelry writer and Marilyn Artus that led to the for The Telegraph and Vanity Fair, launching of The Girlie Show in 2004.

Annabel Davidson. That trend is strong “We were all creative women in the locally as well. Jennifer Woods was a patron of The Girlie Show before proarts, and we started talking about having a group show of the different ducing her own demi-fine jewelry and things that we make,” Artus wrote in then eventually opening her own shop an email. “Erin suggested that we open in The Paseo. She explained that demiup the show to other women, and we fine bridged the gap between costume all looked at each other and knew that and fine jewelry for people who want was what we were going to do.” to accessorize without making a huge investment.

The Girlie Show was meant as a plat“I think a lot of it has to do with the form for artists working in the middle lands between art museums and the younger generation wanting to be state fair. unique and create a more personalized “It created a handmade art scene on image than what mass-produced

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A necklace and ring made by Erin Merryweather | Photo Alexa Ace

costume jewelry affords,” Woods said.

“They are also looking to buy heirloom pieces without the hefty price tag found on fine jewelry. Since demi-fine jewelry is made out of long-lasting materials like sterling silver and semiprecious gemstones, it is a more affordable option for heirloom-quality jewelry.”

Woods said shop local initiatives have also been an important boost to local jewelers. Pop-up shops, events and representation at boutiques like Betsy King Shoes help demi-fine jewelers develop followings. According to King, Merryweather was the shop’s first jeweler when King’s shopmate Marla Cook brought her in three years ago.

“She has a bit of a cult following,” King wrote in an email. “I only carry jewelry by local artists. Each artist has a unique vibe to their work. Erin’s is contemporary minimalist. I love the metals she uses and how simple and lightweight her pieces are. She also speaks to a broad age range. I have clients from [age] 25-85 who love and appreciate her pieces.”

Because locally crafted, demi-fine jewelry also speaks to a shopper’s core values, Merryweather said she is continually surprised by how many people she has never met will be just as likely to recognize her as they are her work.

It’s all a part of the brand she began creating with The Girlie Show.

“I want people to feel like they have something very special,” Merryweather said. “When I get orders, every single thing I make is especially for that person.

All of my work has my life and my energy in it. And the value of that added to the quality of the demi-fine aspect makes my jewelry something that I hope will be a part of a woman’s wardrobe for years and years to come — becoming a part of their own quirky lives.”

Visit erinmerryweather.net.

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CALENDAR are events recommended

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

The Proud Rebel (1958, USA, Michael Curtiz) a man seeks medical aid for his son in the dangerous days following the Civil War, 1-2:30 p.m. Nov. 14. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED

BOOKS

The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947, USA, Roy Rowland) a rural community is bitterly divided in the aftermath of the Civil War, 1-2:30 p.m. Nov. 7. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED

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

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

VHS & Chill Presents “Fantasy Rewind” watch a selection of vintage sci-fi, fantasy, and animation TV shows, with onsite concessions and beverages, 8-10:30 p.m. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, theparamountroom.com. WED

Comic Book Club the monthly meetup for graphic-novel enthusiasts will discuss Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther, 2-3 p.m. Nov. 10. Literati Press Comics & Novels, 3010 Paseo St., 405-882-7032, literatipressok.com. SAT

Wildlife (2018, USA, Paul Dano) a man leaves his wife and child to fight a raging forest fire along the Canadian border in this film shot partially in Oklahoma, 7 p.m. Nov. 9.

Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave, 405-235-3456. FRI

Mid-Oklahoma Writers a meetup for local writers featuring guest speakers and literary discussions, 7-9 p.m. every other Wednesday. Eastside Church of Christ, 916 S. Douglas Blvd., 405-732-0393. WED

HAPPENINGS

Peggy Doviak book signing the author and financial planner will autograph copies of 52 Weeks to Prosperity and offer financial advice in a Q&A session, 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 8. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. THU Second Sunday Poetry hear the works of a variety of local poets, 2 p.m. second Sunday of every month. Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. SUN

FILM Ghost in the Shell (1995, Japan, Mamoru Oshii) a cybernetically enhanced policewoman and her partner hunt for a dangerous hacker in this highly influential sci-fi anime, 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 12. Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405-708-6937, towertheatreokc.com. MON Land of Mine (2015, Denmark, Martin Zandvliet) a dramatic recounting of a program forcing German prisoners of war to clear land mines during World War II, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7. Meinders School of Business, NW 27th St. and McKinley Avenue, 405-208-5351, okcu.edu. WED

100 Years: Women Building a More Perfect Democracy commemorate a century of women’s suffrage with informational lectures and a dinner at this event hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 8. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org. THU Conversational Spanish Group Meetup an opportunity for all experience levels to practice speaking Spanish, 7 p.m. Tuesdays. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. TUE Jackpot Bingo enter for the chance to win a cumulative cash prize and enjoy food and drink specials, 8-10 p.m. Mondays through Nov. 25. Fassler Hall, 421 NW 10th St., 405-609-3300, fasslerhall.com. MON LIVE! on the Plaza join the Plaza District every second Friday for an art walk featuring artists, live music, shopping and more, 6-10 p.m. Plaza District, 1618 N. Gatewood Ave., 405-426-7812, plazadistrict.org. FRI OKBio BrewFest sample beers, wines and spirits from 35 Oklahoma breweries, wineries and distilleries at this annual event, now in its seventh year, 5-7 p.m. Nov. 8. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, 405-218-1000, okcballparkevents.com. THU OKC Emo Night: Sad As Hell listen to late-’90s and early-’00s emo and pop punk and enjoy emothemed drink specials at this theme party, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Nov. 10. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. SAT OKC Vintage Flea Market get your shopping done at the flea market with antiques, collectibles, vintage, crafts and more, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 9. Crossroads Event Center, 7000 Crossroads Blvd. SAT-SUN Paper Jam! a benefit concert for the University of Central Oklahoma’s department of design featuring Don’t Tell Dena, 7-10 p.m. Nov. 7. UCO Nigh University Center, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond. WED Permaculture – Gardening for Sustainability learn about the sustainability program at SixTwelve, 6 p.m. Nov. 14. Will Rogers Garden Center, 3400 NW 36th St., 405-943-0827, okc.gov. WED Refreshing the Palette sample 20 wines and view artworks inspired by their labels at this annual fundraiser for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, 4-6 p.m.

Nov. 11. The Metro Wine Bar & Bsitro, 6418 N. Western Ave., 405-840-9463, metrowinebar.com. SUN Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend a dinner party and cocktail reception honoring rodeo legends being inducted into the hall of hame, Nov. 9-10. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. FRI-SAT

Small Works, Great Wonders More than 100 artists from 23 states and Canada and France have contributed paintings and sculptures in a variety of styles and traditions for this annual art sale. Because the works are smaller in scale, they’re less expensive and can be taken away by the purchaser on the night of the sale, making them available to give as holiday gifts. Enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live music while you browse. The sale starts 6 p.m. Friday at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St. Tickets are $65-$75. Call 405-4782250 ext. 218 or visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

FRIDAY Photo provided 32

N OV E M B E R 7, 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

See You Saturdays take a free tour of the museum and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. second Saturday of the month. Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 405-235-4458, oklahomaheritage.com. SAT Sip-Savor-Steinway enjoy fine dining, music and a taste a sample of Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery whiskeys at this benefit for the University of Central Oklahoma’s All-Steinway School Initiative, 7-10 p.m.

Nov. 9. UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth St., Edmond, 405359-7989, ucojazzlab.com. FRI Trivia Bowl a team trivia competition hosted by local comedians Ryan Drake and Spencer Hicks and benefitting the Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Innovative Board, 6:30-10:30 p.m. Nov. 8. The Criterion, 500 E. Sheridan Ave., 405-308-1803, criterionokc.com. THU

FOOD All You Can Eat Pho Night enjoy Vietnamese noodle soup at this benefit for the University of Central Oklahoma’s Asian American Student Association, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 13. Pho Ben, 304 S. Kelly Ave., 405-509-6462. TUE Automobile Alley Walking Food Tour take a guided food-centric tour through a district that was once home to early pioneers and evolved into an auto-dealership hub, 11 .a.m.-2 p.m. every other Saturday, through Nov. 24. Automobile Alley, 1015 N. Broadway Ave., 405-488-2555, foodiefoottours.com. SAT

Jeremy Thomas Jazz trios featuring a B3 Hammond organ became popular in the ’40s and ’50s with clubs looking to replace more expensive big bands, but when multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Thomas sits down at his Hammond at this live album recording, he’ll be joined by vocalist Chanda Graham and a 20-piece horn and rhythm section conducted by University of Central Oklahoma professor and band director Lee Rucker. This uncommon combo is scheduled to perform 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday at UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth St., in Edmond. Tickets are $30-$70. Visit ucojazzlab.com.

SATURDAY Photo provided

Foodie Foot Tours Happiest Hour Cocktail Tour take a guided tour of historic Route 66 and visit local gems in this newly revitalized area with stops at local bars for cocktails, 6-8 p.m. every other Friday, through Nov. 23. Uptown 23rd Street, Northwest 23rd St., 405831-0177, foodiefoottours.com. FRI Foodie Foot Tours Walking Food Tour explore African-American history on a food-focused tour in this district with deep jazz roots, 4-7 p.m. Saturdays.

Deep Deuce District, 100 NE Third St., 405-2353500, foodiefoottours.com. SAT Observation Cooking Classes watch a local chef create a variety of cuisines and sample each course as it’s prepared, 6:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays through Nov. 11. International Pantry, 1618 W. Lindsey St., Norman, 405-360-0765, intipantry. com. TUE-THU Surf and Turf this weekly all-you-can-eat feast in the Bricktown Brewery features prime rib, snow crab legs, shrimp and more, 4-10 p.m. Thursdays.

Remington Park, 1 Remington Place, 405-424-9000, remingtonpark.com. THU

YOUTH Early Explorers toddlers and preschoolers can participate in fun scientific activities they can repeat later at home, 10-11 a.m. Thursdays, Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. THU Explore It! get your questions answered of what, why and how about the natural world we live in, 11:30 a.m.

-noon Saturdays, through Dec. 29. Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., 405-325-4712, samnoblemuseum.ou.edu. SAT

Bang Bang Queer Punk Variety Show an evening of drag and burlesque performances with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude, 11 p.m. Nov. 9. HiLo Club, 1221 NW 50th St., 405-843-1722, hilookc.com. FRI Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem OCU’s Chamber and University Singers, Canterbury Voices and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic commemorate of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. with a piece combining the music of Benjamin Britten with the poetry of Wilfred Owen, 3-5 p.m. Nov. 11. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave, 405-208-5000. SUN A Concert Joining the Traditions of the Operetta and the Orchestra the Oklahoma Community Orchestra joins the Cimarron Opera, Company to perform selections by Gilbert and Sullivan, Frank Lehar and Victor Herbert, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13. Garvey Center at Oklahoma Christian University, 2501 E Memorial Road, 316-261-5325, oc.edu/campus/building/garvey-center. TUE The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Theater eat a four-course dinner while attempting to solve an interactive murder mystery, 6-9 p.m.

Saturdays. Skirvin Hilton Hotel, 1 Park Ave., 405-2723040, skirvinhilton.com. SAT Divine Comedy a weekly local showcase featuring a variety of comedians from OKC and elsewhere, 9 p.m. Wednesdays. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. WED First Wednesday Open Mic a monthly music open mic hosted by John Ashton Randolph, 7-9:30 p.m.

Wednesdays. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, theparamountroom.com. WED

Lucas Ross Banjo Farm Live a family-friendly stage show incorporating puppets and set on a farm where baby banjoes grow, 2-3 p.m. Nov. 11. American Banjo Museum, 9 E. Sheridan Ave., 405-604-2793, americanbanjomuseum.com. SAT

Fundraiser for Food and Shelter, Inc. teachers and students will perform songs from Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors at this annual fundraiser benefitting the local nonprofit, 7-10 p.m. Nov. 9. Norman Music Institute, 2795 Broce Drive, 405-292-8400, normanmusicinstitute.com. FRI

OKC Drag Queen Story Hour children and their families are invited to a story and craft time lead by Ms. Shantel and followed by a dance party, 4 p.m. second Saturday of every month. Sunnyside Diner, 916 NW Sixth St., 405.778.8861. SAT

Funniest Person in OKC 10 local comics compete for the title at this annual competition now in its fourth year, 8-11 p.m. Nov. 10. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-887-3327, theparamountroom.com. SAT

Storytime Science the museum invites children age 6 and younger to hear a story and participate in a related scientific activity, Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.

Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. TUE

Funny AF Fridays hosted by Dope Astronauts, this weekly comedy showcase features a nationally touring headliner and local standups, 9 p.m. Fridays.

Ice Event Center & Grill, 1148 NE 36th St., 405-2084240, iceeventcentergrill.eat24hour.com. FRI

PERFORMING ARTS 24 Italian Arias: A Farce the singers of Opera on Tap OKC perform classic arias in a variety of styles, 8-9:30 p.m. Nov. 10. The Root, 3012 N. Walker Ave., 405-655-5889, therootokc.com. SAT Arab After Hours a weekly belly-dancing performance featuring dancers from the Aalim Belly Dance Academy, 8:30-10:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Hubbly Bubbly Hookah & Café, 2900 N. Classen Blvd., Suite K, 405609-2930. TUE Art of Rap hosted by Jim Conway, this monthly rap battle pits local MCs against one another for a cash prize, 9 p.m. Mondays. Hubbly Bubbly Hookah & Café, 2900 N. Classen Blvd., Suite K, 405-609-2930. MON

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

Open Mic hosted by Elecktra, this open mic has an open-stage, almost-anything-goes policy and a booked feature act, 6-11:30 p.m. The Root, 3012 N. Walker Ave., 405-655-5889, therootokc.com. MON Poetry and Chill Open Mic poets and spoken-word artists the stage to share their latest verses at this bi-weekly event, 9 p.m.-midnight Fridays. The Queen Lounge, 2306 N. MacArthur Blvd., 405-606-8616. FRI Public Access Open Mic read poetry, do standup comedy, play music or just watch as an audience member, 7 p.m. Sundays. The Paseo Plunge, 3010 Paseo Plunge, 405-315-6224, paseoplunge.org. SUN

continued on page 34

Oklahoma City Community College and Painted Sky Opera Present

CARLISLE FLOYD’S POPULAR OPERA “Shot through with veins of American folk, yet Puccini-esque” —Gramophone U.K.

Susannah BEL CANTO TRIO Thursday, November 29 • 7:30 pm

A trio of today’s internationally-acclaimed rising opera stars will perform the program of the original Bel Canto Trio that featured Mario Lanza, George London and Frances Yeend, which toured the United States in their 1947/1948 season.

Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater • 7777 South May Avenue

tickets.occc.edu • Box Office 682-7579 • www.occc.edu/pas

DEVON ICE RINK • DEVON'S SATURDAYS WITH SANTA • SANDRIDGE SANTA RUN • BRICKTOWN TREE LIGHTING FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY SONIC • A DOG DAY IN DECEMBER • FREE HOLIDAY WATER TAXI RIDES • LIGHTS ON BROADWAY ANNUAL EVENT • STREETCAR GRAND OPENING • HOLIDAY POP-UP SHOPS AT MIDTOWN • DELUXE WINTER MARKET • HOLLY JOLLY SHOPS AT THE BRICK • FESTIVAL ON THE GREENS • AUTOMOBILE ALLEY LIGHT DISPLAY • BRICKTOWN CANAL LIGHTS • BRICKTOWN HOLIDAY PARKLET • FILM ROW LIGHT DISPLAY • LITTLE WILLIE'S TRIPLE DOG DARE • MYRIAD GARDENS HOLIDAY EVENTS • OKCMOA HOLIDAY EVENTS • LYRIC'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL PRESENTED BY DEVON • SHERATON HOTEL HOLIDAY EVENTS • SKIRVIN HOLIDAY EVENTS • OKC BALLET'S THE NUTCRACKER PRESENTED BY DEVON • OKC PHILHARMONIC'S THE CHRISTMAS SHOW • RED EARTH TREEFEST • CANTERBURY CHRISTMAS AT THE CIVIC CENTER • AMERICAN BANJO MUSEUM'S CANDY CANE CHRISTMAS • PAMBE GHANA'S GLOBAL MARKET • FIRST UNITED BANK DOWNTOWN GRAND OPENING • SANTA'S WONDERLAND AT BASS PRO SHOP • OKC ARTS COUNCIL'S OPENING NIGHT

Sponsored by:

Download the New VPAC at OCCC Mobile App Now!

8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18

TICKETS $14–28 405.208.5227 • okcu.edu/tickets

PERFORMANCES Kirkpatrick Auditorium at NW 25th & Blackwelder

NOVE THRU

MBER

JANU

9

ARY 4

FOR A FULL LIST OF EVENT DETAILS, VISIT DOWNTOWNINDECEMBER.COM

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CALENDAR OKCU PRESENTS

FILM SERIES

C A L E N DA R

2018-19

continued from page 33 Random Jam Tuesdays a weekly music open mic for solo artists and full bands followed by a late-night jam session, 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Tuesdays. Bison Witches Bar & Deli, 211 E. Main St., Norman, 405-364-7555, bisonwitchesok.com. TUE Red Dirt Open Mic a weekly open mic for comedy and poetry, hosted by Red Dirt Poetry, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Sauced on Paseo, 2912 Paseo St., 405-521-9800, saucedonpaseo.com. WED

Those Who Lie Beyond an immersive performance art experience that requires visitors to move through the space interacting with actors and making choices to determine the outcome, through Nov. 17.

Factory Obscura, 1522 S. Robinson Ave. FRI-SAT The Trailer-Hood Hootenanny join Rayna Over and friends for a night of comedy, music and drag performances, 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays. Frankie’s, 2807 NW 36th St., 405-602-2030, facebook.com/ frankiesokc. FRI

Hunt for tHe

Wilderpeople (2016) directed by taika Waititi, neW Zealand

Sun. Nov. 18, 2:00 PM Kerr-McGee Auditorium Meinders School of Business NW 27th & N. McKinley FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC www.okcufilmlit.org

UCO Opera: Speed Dating Tonight an original opera by Michael Ching about modern dating and featuring an ensemble cast, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 14-17. UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth St., Edmond, 405359-7989, ucojazzlab.com. WED-SAT

ACTIVE Learn-to-Swim Program Giving residents of all ages and financial situations the opportunity to learn to swim with proper technique and basic water safety at their own pace offered by the King Marlin Swim Club, ongoing, Through Dec. 31. Lighthouse Fitness (Front), 3333 W. Hefner Road, 405-8455672, marlinswimamerica.com. SAT-MON Monday Night Group Ride meet up for a weekly 25-30 minute bicycle ride at about 18 miles per hour through East Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. Mondays. The Bike Lab OKC, 2200 W. Hefner Road, 405-603-7655. MON Walk With Ease Program an Arthritis Foundationcertified program designed to motivate people to get in shape and improve flexibility and stamina, 8:30 a.m.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Nov. 9. Oklahoma County OSU Extension Center, 2500 NE 63rd St., 405-713-1125, okiemgs.okstate.edu. MON-FRI Wheeler Criterium a weekly nighttime cycling event with criterium races, food trucks and family activities, 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays. Wheeler Park, 1120 S. Western Ave., 405-297-2211, okc.gov. TUE Wilderness First Aid Course learn how to handle emergency situations and injuries in outdoor situations at this basic-skills workshop, 8 a.m. Nov. 7-8.

Threshold Climbing, Fitness & Yoga, 6024 Westlake Memorial Parkway, 405-470-3611. WED-THU

BRONCHO 11.21.18

KURT VILE

BRONZE RADIO RETURN 04.05.19

TICKETS & INFORMATION AT

THEJONESASSEMBLY.COM 901 W. SHERIDAN, OKC

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Autumn Pop-Up view new work from the studios of Anthony Dyke, Susan Morrison-Dyke, Suzanne Mears and Christie Owen, through Nov. 9. Nault Gallery, Midtown, 816 N. Walker Ave., 405-604-7947. FRI Battle of Art local artists create live onstage, incorporating a theme chosen by the audience, which also chooses the winner, 9-11 p.m. Sundays. Hubbly Bubbly Hookah & Café, 2900 N. Classen Blvd., Suite K, 405-609-2930. SUN Beautiful Minds: Dyslexia and the Creative Advantage an exhibition of artworks created by people with dyslexia including students from Oklahoma City’s Trinity School, Nov. 9-July 14. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-6026664, sciencemuseumok.org. FRI-THU

In the Principles Office: Tom Ryan the Art Student Learn the principles of art as Tom Ryan did with his instruction on “general illustration” with famed teacher Frank Reilly, through Nov. 11. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. SAT-SUN

ON THE PATIO

12.18.18

American Indian Artists: 20th Century Masters an exhibition of Native art from the Kiowa Six, Harrison Begay, Tonita Peña and more, through May 12, 2019. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. SAT-THU

HBart Show hosted by Sativa Prophets’ HuckWheat, this biweekly show gives local artists a chance to show-off their talents, 9-11:30 p.m. Sundays. Hubbly Bubbly Hookah & Café, 2900 N. Classen Blvd., Suite K, 405-609-2930. SUN

11.14.18

ROBERT EARL KEEN

VISUAL ARTS

Fall 2018 Group Exhibition an exhibition of works from local artists including Kjelshus Collins, John Davidson, Shanina Graves and more, Through Nov. 30. The Art Hall, 519 NW 23rd St., 405-231-5700, art. theriseokc.com. FRI

GREENSKY BLUEGRASS

COSMIC COWBOY CHRISTMAS

WEDNESDAY-WEDNESDAY, ONGOING Photo provided

Community Spirit: Letterpress Demo join artist-in-residence Allie D. Caesar for a chance to see a letterpress in action, 5-7 p.m. Nov. 8. [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-6665, 1ne3.org. THU

FALL/WINTER 2018

12.05.18

Devon Ice Rink For the eighth winter in a row, 5,500 square feet of downtown Oklahoma City will be coated in real, skateable ice for public skating and private events. If strapping blades to your feet and landing triple axels isn’t your jam, you’re free to enjoy the rest of Downtown in December’s holiday events while your friends go full Tonya Harding. The rink opens 3 p.m. Friday and is open through Jan. 27 at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave. Call 405-445-7080 or visit myriadgardens.org.

2018 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour See seven films in slightly more than an hour and a half at this showcase of some of the best new selections from the famed film festival. Watch comedy, documentary, pointed social satire, stop-motion animation and more created by up-and-coming filmmakers in about half the runtime of the latest comic book flick. The films start 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave. Tickets are $15. Call 405-815-3275 or visit rodeocinema.org.

TUESDAY Photo provided

Ink & Draw a weekly meet-up for illustrators, artists and comic book creators, 4-6 p.m. Sundays.

The Paseo Plunge, 3010 Paseo St., 405-315-6224, paseoplunge.org. SUN John Brand view works by painter/photographer John Brand, Nov. 11-Dec. 31. 50 Penn Place Gallery, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-848-5567, 50pennplacegallery.com. SUN-MON National Geographic Photo Ark a collection of images captured by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore to preserve current species for future generations, through Dec. 16. The Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, 405-424-3344, okczoo.com. WED-SUN Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art an exploration of contemporary pop art inspired by Andy Warhol, Nick Cave, R. Luke DuBois and others, through Feb. 28, 2019. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. SUN-THU

Seeds of Being curated by students enrolled in the university’s Native American Art & Museum Studies Seminar, this exhibition examines the impact of art in indigenous communities, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-3253272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE-SUN Small Works VIII an annual exhibition featuring artworks by Carol Beesley, Carolyn Faster, Steve Hicks and more, Nov. 9-Dec. 23. Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. FRI-SUN Still Looking: The Photography Collection of Carol Beesley Hennagin an exhibition of selections from Hennagin’s extensive collection, including works

by Edward Weston, Frederick Sommer and more, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE-SUN Ticket to Ride: Artists, Designers, And Western Railways Exhibition view some of the paintings, studies, posters, and graphics that resulted from collaborations between artists and commercial designers with Western rail companies between the late 1880s and early 1930s, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma/exhibitions1/ ticket-to-ride. FRI-SUN Touchy-Feely works by Caitlin Albritton, Sasha Backhaus, Sara Cowan and William Walker Larason use paint in unusual and unexpected ways, through Nov. 10. Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., Norman, 405-360-1162, mainsitecontemporaryart.com. FRI-SAT Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts & Crafts Movement an exhibit exploring the revolutionary artworks of Victorian Engliand featuring many works not previously seen outside the UK, through Jan. 6, 2019. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT-SUN Whiteout at Campbell Art Park an outdoor artwork made by hundreds of transparent white spheres embedded with white LED lights and animated in largescale patterns, through March 31, 2019. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-000, oklahomacontemporary.org. WED-THU

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.

Sandra Patterson and Paul White an exhibition of oils on canvas and porcelain and watercolor and acrylic paintings, through Nov. 30. Porcelain Art Museum, 2700 N. Portland Ave., 405-521-1234, wocp.org. MON-FRI

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

For OKG live music

see page 37

EVENT

MUSIC

Paranoia simulation

Kevin Barnes takes of Montreal into uncharted waters with White Is Relic / Irrealis Mood.

By Jo Light

Musician Kevin Barnes and of Montreal have been pushing the boundaries of pop and indie rock since 1996. The band’s latest tour will bring it to Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., on Nov. 14.

Its 15th studio album, White Is Relic / Irrealis Mood, came out in March.

Barnes said a major inspiration for the music was his experience with paranoia about our reality being an elaborate computer simulation.

“I’m sure a lot of it was the political climate and just feeling kind of powerless to the evil forces that seem to be devouring the world,” Barnes said in an interview with Oklahoma Gazette.

Indeed, his fixation with false reality permeates the songs on White Is Relic.

“Plateau Phase” sounds like the inside of a computer that is itself inside a disturbing cyberpunk dreamscape, techno beats giving way to breathy vocals and wistful synths. “We can hear the simulation wheezing,” Barnes declares in the chorus.

However, the album is not all bleak dystopian realness. “Sophie Calle Private Game” is a candid and funky account of new love in which Barnes intones, “I’m feeling less ugly now, like you beautify me.” Throughout the record, he uses wry humor and bombastic lyrics to address the human condition.

For the sound and structure of the album, Barnes turned to the extended 1980s dance mixes of Prince, Janet

Jackson and Sheila E. for inspiration.

“What they were doing was taking components from the song, from the three-and-a-half-minute single, and then expanding upon those ideas and stretching out those ideas a bit more,” Barnes said.

He decided to work similarly, creating an initial palette in the first part of a song and letting ideas develop and take the music to new places. He said he began to question pop music’s usual limitations of roughly three-minute songs, which is usually tailored to listeners’ short attention spans.

“But music doesn’t really work that way,” he said. “I think for music to be powerful and immersive, it has to take up more time and space. It’s fun for me to allow myself to work with larger parameters.”

An idea might last 30 seconds, and rather than just using a “cut and paste” method with previous elements, Barnes let the process take him further. He pointed to the final song on the album, “If You Talk to Symbol / Hostility Voyeur” as an example. The track is by turns cold and mechanical, sweet and symphonic. Barnes’ vocals either march along robotically or dip into a melodic, John Lennon-esque tone.

“That’s a perfect example of that approach,” Barnes said, “where [you] start off with a certain idea and from there

create something new, and then from there create something new, then from there create something new. And then by the end of it, it feels like a journey, like a sonic journey, rather than just an exercise in pop writing.”

Deep thinking

Barnes takes some risks on the album, but he said he wanted to push himself into new creative depths. He paraphrased a David Bowie quote to explain his motivation.

“If I’m out in the ocean and I’m walking so far out that I can just barely stand on the tip of my toes and have my head just barely above water,” he said, “that’s an exciting place to be, artistically.”

Barnes said standing on the edge of something scary can be an interesting creative space and he’s always trying to surprise even himself and avoid falling back on what has worked before. It’s this approach to the musical process that has always kept of Montreal’s sound evolving, moving between and beyond genres like psychedelic pop and indie rock.

“It’s sometimes a bit frustrating because it’s like, ‘Why can’t I just be somebody else? Why can’t I be a new artist?

Why do I have to still be the same artist?’”

Barnes added in a moment of frankness.

For lyrical inspiration on White Is Relic, Barnes said he wanted to examine timely subjects like white privilege and empathy.

“I think that stepping outside of yourself and your own experience and using your imagination to step inside of other people’s lives is essential in terms of becoming more compassionate and becoming less of an asshole,” he said. “Asshole-ism is basically predicated on people not having that ability or not being interested in seeing another person’s life experience.”

For the most part, the journey of creating this album was a solitary one, with Barnes working alone in the studio

White is Relic / Irrealis Mood by of Montreal | Image provided

and piecing together various parts at his own pace, the entire process taking several months.

“When I work by myself, I tend to lose all concept of time and space, and hours and hours and hours go by,” he said. “And I’m just in it in a way that I can’t be when there’s other people in the room.”

He said he would work on a song until he hit a wall and then he would ask for feedback from his collaborators.

“So just being open and not having any ego I think was really helpful,” he said. “Because often, someone else would come up with an idea and I would just be like, ‘Whoa! That’s amazing. I’m going to trash all the other stuff that I did, and we’re going to run with that idea.’”

While on tour, of Montreal puts on extravagant shows with a party atmosphere. Audience members can expect bright lights, costumed dancers and Barnes appearing in drag. He said they want it to feel like Halloween or Mardi Gras, and audience members are also encouraged to dress up.

“I realized there’s no reason to only do that twice a year or once a year — or never a year,” Barnes said with a laugh.

“It’s fun to do it as much as possible.”

He said the songs from the new record have integrated nicely with their recent sets and fans will hear two or three new songs along with of Montreal favorites.

He is already working on new songs for another album, and his inspirations are as diverse as ever. Right now, he’s reading the works of philosopher Alan Watts and considering interconnectedness.

“I’ve been thinking about perception of the universe, the connectivity of all things,” Barnes said. “If someone’s a bad person, it’s just the universe expressing itself as a bad person. The universe needs to express itself as everything.”

One can bet that the universe will continue to express itself uniquely through of Montreal’s music.

Visit ofmontreal.net. of Montreal performs Nov. 14 at Tower Theatre. | Photo Ebru Yildiz / provided

of Montreal 8 p.m. Nov. 14 Tower Theatre 425 NW 23rd St. towertheatreokc.com | 405-708-6937 $15-$20

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MUSIC

EVENT

Smoking Popes play Blue Note Lounge, 2408 N. Robinson Ave., Nov. 16 with Tulsa’s Fabulous Minx. | Photo provided

Pontiff pontification Smoking Popes wrestle with spirituality, fame and bad politics on Into the Agony. By Jeremy Martin

Despite the title, Smoking Popes’ Into the Agony was more enjoyable to record than some of the band’s previous releases.

“The recording process for Into the Agony was kind of slow and piecemeal,” said frontman Josh Caterer. “It ended up taking several months to record, but I like that process. It’s a lot less pressure than going in with 10 or 12 songs and you’ve got a week to record and you feel slightly overwhelmed.”

Agony, released last month, is the first album to feature the band’s original lineup since The Party’s Over, a cover album recorded in 1998 shortly before the band broke up. Caterer reunited with brothers Eli Caterer (guitar) and Matt Caterer (bass) to record 2008’s Stay Down and 2011’s This Is Only a Test with two different drummers. In 2015, drummer Mike Felumlee — who played with the Popes on Get Fired as well as breakthrough hit “Need You Around” (featured on the Clueless soundtrack) and through the height of the band’s popularity touring with Green Day, Jimmy Eat World and Jawbreaker — rejoined the Caterer brothers in 2015.

“It felt good,” Josh Caterer said.

“It felt like some of our earlier recording sessions. The Destination Failure sessions were somewhat stressInto the Agony by Smoking Popes | Image provided 36

N OV E M B E R 7, 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

ful because we were on Capitol and there was a lot of attention on what we were doing. So making Into the Agony felt more like the recording sessions we did leading up to Destination Failure when we could do things our own way and at our own pace without an A&R guy breathing down our neck.”

Though Josh Caterer said 1997’s Jerry Finn-produced Destination Failure is still the band’s best-sounding album, he is more than happy with Agony.

“I feel like if I encountered somebody who was totally unfamiliar with our music and wanted to know where to start,” he said, “I would definitely hand them the new record and feel like their first impression was going to be the strongest version of the band that they could get. But that’s just me. I don’t know. … We’ll have to wait until we’ve all been dead 100 years and see what the historians say.”

Agony’s “When You Want Something” looks back into music history from last century. Josh Caterer said the song is “specifically about being obsessed with Judy G a rl a nd .” T he album also features a cover of “Get Happy,” a jazzy, gospel-inspired standard and one of Garland’s signature songs, and an image of the singer and actress as album art.

Garland inspires such devotion in fans, Josh Caterer said, because

she was an undeniably skilled entertainer who delighted so many while remaining a complicated, tragic figure.

“There’s this heartbreaking combination of her being upbeat and seemingly joyous and happy in her countenance while at the same time having a desperation that peeks through, a neediness,” he said. “The way that those two things are woven together is largely responsible for why she has such an impact on people. … Maybe the fact that she was so talented and so in touch with her emotions in order to bring those things into her performing, that’s the very thing that killed her. She was too hyper-aware of herself, her own flaws, seemingly, or maybe too hyper-aware of the emptiness of it all, and her whole career was this attempt to smile and sing in the face of the abyss.”

Josh Caterer can relate but said he finds an outlet for his own dark side in music.

“I always feel like that kind of dangerous obsession and deep, destructive longing is in there, but I never really go all the way down that road,” he said.

“Sometimes the process of songwriting is using my imagination to flesh that out and say, ‘Well, what if I did go all the way there? What if I just let that part of myself run wild? What would that look like?’ I feel like a lot of our songs are like that, and this song is definitely an exploration of a part of myself that I try to keep in check.”

Outside “Get Happy,” religious references appear occasionally on Agony, but Josh Caterer, who originally quit the Popes in 1998 after converting to Christianity and formed the band Duvall to explore more explicitly Christian territory, said he isn’t trying to convert anyone with this album.

“Sometimes I’ll write worship songs to be sung in church, and I’ve released albums of that material, but any of those themes that show up in the Popes are there honestly,” Caterer said. “It’s not, like, an agenda. It’s just because that’s part of who I am and what I’m thinking about when I’m tackling the subject at hand.”

“Melting America,” for example, references the teachings of Jesus to illustrate how the U.S. is currently betraying the ideals it claims to hold dear in its treatment of immigrants. “Little Lump of Coal,” meanwhile, protests, “We sold our soul for a little lump of coal just to keep ourselves warm through the night.” The song’s criticism of bad environmental stewardship and continued reliance on fossil fuels didn’t sit well with some conservative Christians.

When President Donald Trump won the Electoral College in 2016, Josh Caterer said he was initially surprised to discover that so many Christians supported the president-elect.

“When that happened, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it because it was so obvious to me that this guy is the absolute antithesis of everything that Christianity is about,” Josh Caterer said. ”So how is it that so many Christians voted for him? As I looked into it and sort of waded into this discussion with Christian friends of mine, I discovered that most of the Christians that I encountered had actually been listening to these voices, like the Rush Limbaughtype voices. … There’s been a very deliberate and specific attempt over the last couple of decades to convince Christians that Satan is a Democrat, and I bypass that kind of conditioning by never plugging into those radio stations. I just go by what I’m seeing in the real world, and that’s why I do feel a bit at odds with the political viewpoints of Christianity as a whole.”

Though he doesn’t agree with some of the political opinions espoused by fellow Christians, Josh Caterer said religion gives even his most pointed songs an optimistic viewpoint.

“I’m not naive enough to think that everything’s going to be OK because there are a lot of things in the world that seem to be getting worse, and as we get older decay, disease, death, loss, all these things kind of creep in as we move forward,” he said. “But in the midst of that, I have the basic belief that things are ultimately going to work out OK because I know God, and he’s going to be with me, and he loves me, and whether it’s here or on the other side, the final destination is a good one.

That’s a ray of sunshine that kind of beams through whatever I’m writing because I believe it.”

Visit bluenoteokc.com.

Smoking Popes 8 p.m. Nov. 16 Blue Note Lounge 2408 N. Robinson Ave. bluenoteokc.com | 405-600-1166 $10-$12 | 21+

LIVE MUSIC The Reputations/Planet What, Opolis. ROCK/SOUL

These are events recommended

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

Lindsey Buckingham, Riverwind Casino.

ROCK

SATURDAY, NOV. 10 15 & Change/Bellwether/Comatose Society, Your Mom’s Place. ROCK

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 7

Amanda Cunningham/Bart Weilburg, McClintock Saloon & Chop House. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Heart Attack Man/NeoRomantics/Speak, Memory, 89th Street-OKC. ROCK

Jack Ingram/Hayes Carll, Tower Theatre. COUNTRY

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

Jahruba & The Jahmysticsz, Othello’s Italian Restaurant. REGGAE

Molly Burch, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. POP

THURSDAY, NOV. 8 Cedar House/Spinster/Mad Honey, Tower Theatre.

FOLK/ROCK

Hot House Band, Othello’s Italian Restaurant. JAZZ Koolie High & the Tap Band, Ice Event Center & Grill. JAZZ Local Man Ruins Everything, Saints. JAZZ/METAL Straight No Chaser, Rose State College. POP Black Lillies, The Blue Door. FOLK/ROCK

FRIDAY, NOV. 9 Caleb Caudle, The Blue Door. COUNTRY Ciara Brooke, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. POP Cody Abbott, The Weekend Saloon. COUNTRY Good Charlotte, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK The Heavenly States/Twiggs, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. ROCK

Collapse Oklahoma Released in September, Getter’s aptly titled Visceral humanizes its future-tech gloss with recognizable humanity, employing choirs of auto-tuned angels to exalt its stuttering synth-bass lines, but the producer and $UICIDEBOY$ collaborator favors album artwork suggesting hardcore or metal, hinting at the menace that lies beneath his music’s surface sheen.

Catch Getter with likeminded speakerblowers Kill the Noise, Luca Lush, Dirt Monkey, HE$H and more at this concert for guests age 16 and older. The doors open 6 p.m. Saturday at The Criterion, 500 E. Sheridan Ave. Tickets are $32-$55. Visit criterionokc.com.

SATURDAY Photo provided

Kyle Dillingham & Horseshoe Road, CHK/Central Boathouse. FOLK/BLUEGRASS Elizabeth Wise/Wess McMichael/The Ravens, Othello’s Italian Restaurant. BLUES

TUESDAY, NOV. 13 Country Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club.

COUNTRY

Darsombra/Warcopter/Up By Sundown, The Root.

ROCK

Kyle Reid, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

The Matters/Canon & the Drum, The Root. ROCK

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14

Nonpoint, 89th Street-OKC. ROCK

Drive-By Truckers, Cain’s Ballroom. ROCK

Owen Pickard/Haylie Bagwell/James Hostler, Rodeo Opry.

Greensky Bluegrass/The Lil Smokies, The Jones Assembly. BLUEGRASS

Shrinking Giants/Stone Tide/Judas Booth, Opolis.

Katie & the Elements, The R & J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ

Tall Heights/Old Sea Brigade, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. FOLK/POP

Mac DeMarco, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. ROCK

ROCK

SUNDAY, NOV. 11 Gen Why/Gutter Villain, Blue Note Lounge.

HARDCORE

Lifeless to Life/The Beautiful Exchange, The Root.

CHRISTIAN ROCK

Shame Finger/Kinda Creepy/The Killings, Bison Witches Bar & Deli. PUNK

MONDAY, NOV. 12 Hot Mulligan, 89th Street-OKC. PUNK Jason Hunt, Sean Cumming’s Irish Restaurant. FOLK

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

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

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

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: When they say “Be yourself,” which self do they mean? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

In 1994, Aries pop diva Mariah Carey collaborated with an associate to write the song “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” It took them 15 minutes to finish it. Since then it has generated $60 million in royalties. I wish I could unconditionally predict that you, too, will efficiently spawn a valuable creation sometime soon. Current planetary alignments do indeed suggest that such a development is more possible than usual. But because I tend to be conservative in my prophecies, I won’t guarantee anything close to the $60-million figure. In fact, your reward may be more spiritual in nature than financial.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

An interactive post at Reddit.com asked readers to write about “the most underrated feeling of all time.” One person said, “When you change the sheets on your bed.”

Another extolled “the feeling that comes when you pay all your bills and you’ve still got money in the bank.”

Others said, “dancing under the rain,” “physical contact like a pat on the back when you’re really touch starved,” and “listening to a song for the first time and it’s so good you just can’t stop smiling.” I bring this to your attention, Taurus, because I suspect that the next two weeks will bring you a flood of these pleasurable underrated feelings.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

“Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer,” wrote Gemini author Henry Lawson. Do you have any methods for making yourself feel like you’ve drunk a few beers that don’t involve drinking a few beers? If not, I highly recommend that you find at least one. It will be especially important in the coming weeks for you to have a way to alter, expand, or purify your consciousness without relying on literal intoxicants or drugs. The goal: to leave your groove before it devolves into a rut.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Study the following five failed predictions. 1. “There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom.”

—Robert Miliham, Nobel Laureate in Physics, 1923. 2.

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” —Western Union internal memo, 1876. 3. “Rail travel at high speeds is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia.” –Dionysius Lardner, scientist, 1830. 4.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” —Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977. 5. “Most Cancerians will never overcome their tendencies toward hypersensitivity, procrastination, and fear of success.” —Lanira Kentsler, astrologer, 2018. (P.S. What you do in the next 12 months could go a long way toward permanently refuting the last prediction.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

German scientists have created cochlear implants for gerbils that have been genetically modified, enabling the creatures to “listen” to light. The researchers’ work is ultimately dedicated to finding ways to improve the lives of people with hearing impairments. What might be the equivalent of you gaining the power to “hear light”? I understand that you might resist thinking this way. “That makes no sense,” you may protest, or “There’s no practical value in fantasizing about such an impossibility.” But I hope you’ll make the effort anyway. In my view, stretching your imagination past its limits is the healing you need most right now. I also think that doing so will turn out to be unexpectedly practical.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Here’s useful wisdom from the poet Rumi. “Our defects are the ways that glory gets manifested,” he said. “Keep looking at the bandaged place. That’s where the light enters you.” Playwright Harrison David Rivers interprets Rumi’s words to mean, “Don’t look away from your pain, don’t disengage from it, because that pain is the source of your power.” I think these perspectives are just what you need to meditate on, Virgo. To promote even more healing in you, I’ll add a further clue from poet Anna Kamienska: “Where your pain is, there your heart lies also.” (P.S. Rumi is translated by Coleman Barks; Kamienska by Clare Cavanagh.)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Artist David Hockney is proud of how undemanding he is toward his friends and associates. “People tell me they open my e-mails first,” he says, “because they aren’t demands and you don’t need to reply. They’re simply for pleasure.” He also enjoys giving regular small gifts. “I draw flowers every day and send them to my friends so they get fresh blooms.” Hockney seems to share the perspective expressed by author Gail Godwin, who writes, “How easy it was to make people happy, when you didn’t want or need anything from them.” In accordance with astrological omens, Libra, I suggest you have fun employing these approaches in the coming weeks.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

I am not currently a wanderer or voyager or entrepreneur or swashbuckler. But at other times in my life, I have had extensive experience with those roles. So I know secrets about how and why to be a wanderer and voyager and entrepreneur and swashbuckler. And it’s clear to me that in the coming weeks you could benefit in unforeseen ways from researching and embodying the roles of curious wanderer and brave voyager and savvy entrepreneur and prudent swashbuckler.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

“The best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.”

That brilliant formulation came from poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Does it seem so obvious as to not need mentioning? Bear with me while I draw further meaning from it, and suggest you use it as an inspiring metaphor in the coming weeks. When it rains, Sagittarius, let it rain; don’t waste time and emotional energy complaining about the rain. Don’t indulge in fruitless fantasizing about how you might stop the rain and how you’d love to stop the rain. In fact, please refrain from defining the rain as a negative event, because after all, it is perfectly natural, and is in fact crucial for making the crops grow and replenishing our water supply. (P.S. Your metaphorical “rain” will be equally useful.)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

“If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven’t loved enough.” I bring this to your attention because you’re in a phase when your close alliances should be activating healing changes in your life. If for some reason your alliances are not yet awash in the exciting emotions of redemption and reinvention, get started on instigating experimental acts of intimacy.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

I suspect you will be an especially arousing influence in the coming weeks. You may also be inspiring and disorienting, with unpredictable results. How many transformations will you unleash? How many expectations will you dismantle? How many creative disruptions will you induce in the midst of the daily grind?

I hesitate to underestimate the messy beauty you’ll stir up or the rambunctious gossip you’ll provoke. In any case, I plan to be richly amused by your exploits, and I hope everyone else will be, as well. For best results, I will pray to the Goddess of Productive Fun, begging Her to ensure that the commotions and uproars you catalyze will be in service to love and kindness.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson wasn’t always a wild and crazy writer. Early in his career he made an effort to compose respectable, measured prose. When he finally gave up on that project and decided he could “get away with” a more uninhibited style, he described it as being “like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids.” I foresee a metaphorically comparable development in your future, Pisces.

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.

“Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation,” writes activist and author Elif Shafak.

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PUZZLES 1

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE UNTHEMED

By Patrick Berry | Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz | 1111

ACROSS 1 Goes to grab a bite, say 14 What a crop top exposes 21 “Anything else, or can I go?”

22 1984 superstate that

includes America 23 Early reel-to-reel devices 24 Expired IDs? 25 Marriage Italian-Style star 26 Give mouth-to-mouth to?

27 Donny who won Dancing

With the Stars 29 Construction on Broadway 30 Speak sharply 31 Stockpot addition 32 Stickers forming a patch 33 Keep it under your hat!

34 Petulant expression 35 Leaves mystified 36 Soda brand with more than 90 flavors 37 Ancestry 41 Picks up 42 Tommy or Jimmy of jazz 43 As a whole 44 Two for one?

45 Case workers?

46 Golfing hazards 47 ____ pasta (farfalle) 48 2018’s debate over “Yanny or

Laurel,” e.g.

49 Joey Potter’s portrayer on

Dawson’s Creek 51 Travel on-line?

55 Receptive to new ideas 56 Party of 13?

58 Home arena of the Bruins and Celtics 59 Painter’s roll 60 Overflow 61 Trunk fastener?

62 Lets out 63 Ringo Starr’s real first name 67 Palate cleanser in a

multicourse meal 68 Reptiles that can walk on ceilings 69 Casanova’s intrigues 70 Ran into in court?

71 Wigs out 72 On the take 73 ____ the Great (ninth-

century English king) 74 Cereal ingredient 75 Places to crash on road trips 76 Very

77 Purely academic 78 Striker’s replacement 82 Copa América cheer 83 Century in American politics 84 Brewery sights 85 In the ballpark 86 Old “It cleans your breath

while it cleans your teeth” sloganeer 88 Awfully large 91 Takes to the sky 92 Paprika lookalike 93 Forerunners of combines 94 You can’t go back on them

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Casino Royale 45 Department of Buildings issuance 47 Became inseparable 48 Selling point?

50 Companies that need help 51 Didn’t bid 52 Ancient Mexicas, e.g.

53 Sister of Tiffany 54 It may be open for business 56 Unkind, as criticism 57 German-Swiss author who

won the 1946 Nobel in Literature

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ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Karen Holmes

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MARKETING ASSISTANT Kendall Bleakley ACCOUNTING/HR MANAGER Marian Harrison

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DOWN 1 Cries loudly 2 Greek hero killed by a giant scorpion 3 Who once said, “You wouldn’t

have won if we’d beaten you” 4 Win every prize in 5 Green housewarming gift 6 Wordsworth wrote one on immortality 7 Crank up the amp to 11 and go wild 8 Name, as a successor 9 Essentially 10 Many faculty members, in brief 11 Stan who co-created Spider- Man 12 Presented perfectly 13 Courtroom periods 14 Travels by car 15 Touchscreen array 16 Document kept in a safe 17 Untrustworthy sort 18 Sort of 19 Shiny beetle disliked by fruit growers 20 You should avoid feeding on them 28 Food & Wine and Field & Stream 31 Rock musician with a knighthood 32 Deadbeat student at TV’s

Highland High 33 “The Lady Is a Tramp” lyricist 34 Stephen King novel with a

misspelling in the title 35 Like some tires 36 Shade in the woods 37 Steve who co-created Spider-

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ADVERTISING advertising@okgazette.com 405-528-6000 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Saundra Rinearson Godwin Christy Duane Philip Rodriguez Chris White EDITOR-IN-CHIEF George Lang glang@okgazette.com

83 Stuff 84 What an essay presents 85 Her 2018 album Dancing

Queen consists entirely of Abba covers

87 Break 89 Word spoken while waving 90 Well chosen

59 Safer of 60 Minutes 61 Satine’s profession in Moulin Rouge!

63 Copper wheels?

64 Torch carrier’s announcement 65 Julius Caesar’s first wife 66 Calls from quarterbacks 67 Its shell doesn’t crack 68 U.S. Naval Academy mascot 70 Small jumper 71 Show’s earnings 73 James of TV’s How the West

Was Won 74 Field with lots of growth?

76 Pan resistant to aging 77 Ars ____ (anagram of

“anagrams,” aptly) 78 Slaloming spot 79 Ford Mustang, for one 80 Valuable possession 81 Round units?

ASSISTANT EDITOR Brittany Pickering STAFF REPORTERS Jacob Threadgill Jeremy Martin Nazarene Harris CALENDAR COORDINATOR Jeremy Martin PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER Alexa Ace CONTRIBUTORS Daniel Bokemper, Matt Dinger Ian Jayne, Charles Martin CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kimberly Lynch GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Ingvard Ashby Tiffany McKnight

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

SUDOKU HARD | N°1218523106 Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9. www.printmysudoku.com

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 1104, which appeared in the October 31 issue.

T R A C T S B A C H A T A S W E E T A N A N T E R R S T I S H E E S H P E A C H E S N A P T I M E B A N T A R A N D D A L A I S I M M U N E A P O L U N E N O N S E A A N D Y S C U E S T O P R Y S T O P A N D W I K I C O A R I E U N B E E S P E 38

N OV E M B E R 7, 2 0 1 8 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

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C T E O R E G E R N D S O A R T S A C U L A M E A O G I R S U N N I S T O N A E L E D W R O N D I S O N E S T N D C H E O T E L E W M E T R E D O U B L S C R O O K O W T

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