Alcoholmanac 2019 by Oklahoma Gazette

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COVER P. 10 Oklahoma Gazette’s annual Alcoholmanac issue brings out the best in Oklahoma City’s wine, beer and booze scene, uncorking some new discoveries and celebrating longtime favorite imbibables.

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Damion Shade is Oklahoma Policy Institute’s criminal justice policy analyst. | Photo provided

Reform justice

Criminal justice experts are following and supporting reform bills that could upend Oklahoma’s system and tackle the state’s biggest issues. By Miguel Rios

Criminal justice reform is a major agenda topic in this year’s legislative session. A myriad of bills that would implement deep changes to the system have been introduced, and though many were left for dead, several still in the process seem likely to pass. Former Republican state Speaker of the House Kris Steele is now executive director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR). He said the organization is supporting 14 reforms that, if passed, would collectively reduce the state’s prison population by 17 percent by 2028. “If we do not impact meaningful corrections reform policy now, this year, our prison population is projected to grow by an additional 14 percent in the next 10 years. It’s unsustainable,” Steele said. “What we are proposing is a very logical, methodical, practical agenda. … I would note that last year, 77 percent of all [state Department of Corrections] admissions were for nonviolent crimes.” Damion Shade, Oklahoma Policy Institute’s criminal justice policy analyst, said he is still watching about 30 different bills. He said some of the top issues addressed include jail sentences, bail, fines, fees and community impact statements.

Retroactive 780

House Bill 1269 would decrease the prisons’ high populations by making State Question 780, which reclassified simple drug possession as a misdemean4

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or, retroactive. OCJR estimates there are 1,100 people in custody for possession offenses. “That’s just 1,100 people who were arrested for simple drug possession, in some cases weeks or days before 780 kicked in,” Shade said. “If they’d been arrested, like a week later, they would have been arrested for a misdemeanor, but instead they were arrested and incarcerated for felony.” Steele said this is at the top of his group’s legislative agenda because it would apply what Oklahomans voted for to people who are incarcerated for what are now misdemeanors.

Reforming bail

HB1294 and SB252 tackle the issue of bail reform, especially for nonviolent offenders. “The real core takeaway from both bills is they would allow for what are called recognizance bonds. It’s basically exactly the same thing that happens to you if you get a speeding ticket — that’s an easy way to think of it,” he said. “When you get a speeding ticket, technically from a legal definition standpoint, you’re arrested by a cop. … You sign what is known as an [own recognizance bond] that allows you to drive away from that arrest with the statement that at the time that’s listed on the ticket, you will appear in court, you’ll pay whatever your fines and fees are and that’s why you’re not taken to jail.”

Those bills would provide the same opportunity for certain nonviolent offenders. Steele said this bill aims to end the current practice of debtors’ prison so people can continue to work and take care of their family before their trial. “What happens today is if people are arrested and charged … they’re held pretrial in the county jail until their case goes to trial and that can range anywhere from 34 days to 180 days,” Steele said. “The person literally has not been found guilty of anything at that moment in time. They’re there in the jail because they can’t afford to pay their bond. In essence, what we’ve done is we’ve criminalized poverty and we’ve created a debtors’ prison, which is unconstitutional.” An analysis on the potential effect of SB252 was recently released by Open Justice Oklahoma director Ryan Gentzler through OK Policy. “Oklahoma’s money bail system incurs millions of dollars in fees to our most vulnerable communities and keeps thousands of our citizens incarcerated each year because they can’t afford to bond out,” the report reads. “People accused of nonviolent offenses can spend weeks or months in jail, costing counties millions of dollars with no benefit to public safety.” The report found that during the 2018 fiscal year, Oklahomans accused of nonviolent offenses paid nearly $8.2 million in nonrefundable fees and spent over 329,000 days in jails across the state, costing counties approximately $8.9 million.

Court costs

Over the last 20 years, Shade said court fines and fees have become a big problem for the state. HB1974 authorizes the court to defer outstanding fines, fees or other court costs for certain nonviolent offenders. “This is another one of those attempts to try and say ... ‘Let’s find a way you can waive some of these outstanding fines and fees that make it more difficult for people to get back into their normal lives, both post-conviction and if you’re out on pretrial release,’” Shade said. “There are a lot of these fines and fees that can just stack up, then become an immense burden for people being able to become productive citizens.” Another bill taking on court costs is HB2218, which would waive some fines and fees under certain circumstances, like people enrolling in workforce training programs. “Let’s say you were to go to a [vocational-technical] program to become a welder or plumber or some type of skilled technician that’s in high need, you could get relief for some of your court fines and fees for that,” Shade said. “In exchange for that sort of training, which is in high demand right now in Oklahoma, you could also earn early credits to reduce the amount of time

that, if you’re out on parole supervision for example, to reduce the amount of time that you have to spend on parole.”

Impact statements

Another legislative priority for OK Policy and OCJR is community impact statements, which HB1855 would institute. It would essentially boil down to a cost-benefit analysis of legislation for a broad range of agencies, which Shade said would help address or alleviate issues that disproportionately affect particular groups of people. “Having a community impact statement would tell you, ‘Hey, here’s the criminal justice laws that will make that situation better. And here’s some criminal justice system laws that might make the situation worse,’” he said. “Community impact statements have been really effective in Iowa; it just started in New Jersey, but we’ve seen positive signs in other places that they’re a really good way to stop some of these disparities.”

Smart reforms

Steele said passing smart criminal justice reform measures would not only lower Oklahoma’s incarceration rate and high prison population but would also increase public safety. “It’s very, very costly to incarcerate a person in Oklahoma; it costs roughly $18,000 a year to incarcerate an individual,” he said. “Compare that to the average cost for treatment and supervision in the community; that cost is about $5,000 a year. So the reality is by safely reducing our prison population for nonviolent offenses, that then provides resources for Oklahoma to invest in alternatives to incarceration. By alternatives I mean mental health care, substance abuse treatment programs, community supervision, job training, whatever may be needed to help a person effectively deal with the root cause behind the behavior.” Former Republican state Speaker of the House Kris Steele is now the executive director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform. | Photo provided

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A recent vote to preserve and enforce antiLGBTQ+ provisions in the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline has the fate of the church up in the air. By Miguel Rios

United Methodist Church (UMC) could split following a recent vote to double down on its stance against homosexuality. Since 1972, UMC’s Book of Discipline, a set of global laws and doctrines, has stated that practicing homosexuality is immoral; however, it is not widely enforced. “The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” the book reads. “Therefore, self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.” Church delegates at a special session of UMC’s General Conference last month voted to adopt the Traditional Plan, which would enforce that provision and close loopholes that allow for LGBTQ+ clergy. “Essentially, the Traditional Plan comes down on the side of retaining the language, and it strengthened it and prescribed penalties,” said Oklahoma bishop James Nunn. “Of course, all of that’s under review still, and so it’s premature to actually know what we got.” The church’s judicial council, its equivalent of a supreme court, will look at the “constitutionality” of the Traditional Plan and other items at the end of April. After that, the church will know exactly what will be passed, which would go into effect January 2020. “This is an attempt to create mechanisms that force bishops and boards of ministry and districtcons committees to enforce provisions,” Nunn said. “Over the last eight to 10 years, there’s been an increasing … number of bishops and boards who, for their consciences sake, find themselves unable or unwilling to enforce the provisions in the Book of Discipline. So what we have now

is a church where some uphold the book, and there’s other places where it’s ignored.”

General Conference

Various plans on the topic of sexuality were presented at the general conference. “One plan would sort of create almost three denominations under the umbrella of the United Methodist. It would have required the most work and it would’ve taken the longest to implement,” said Rev. Scott Spencer, lead pastor at Mosaic UMC. “The [One Church] Plan was each local church could decide for themselves whether they want to have same-gender weddings on their property and each pastor could decide whether they want to do weddings or not.” Though the One Church Plan had the most support from bishops, they can’t actually vote at the conference. The Rev. Jen Logsdon-Kellog, associate pastor at Quail Springs UMC, said the final vote on the Traditional Plan was 53 percent in favor and 47 percent opposition. However, 60 percent of delegates from the United States were against the plan. “The nature of our denomination is that it is global, and because of lots of reasons, the United Methodist Church in Africa is really strong and growing,” she said. “Right now, it’s still illegal to be gay.” Despite the Traditional Plan getting the most votes, Nunn said most of the alternatives had at least 40 percent support from delegates. “ It was very close, and when you look at the fact there were roughly 850 Rev. James Nunn is the bishop for the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. | Photo Miguel Rios

people on a swing of 25 to 30 votes — that’s how close and how hotly debated things get,” he said. “When people get really worked up, emotions take over and we look for people to blame.”

Potential split

The Traditional Plan would also put a provision in place to allow churches to leave UMC. “The traditionalists were trying to open up a period of time in which churches could walk away with their property and their assets without a lot of penalties,” Spencer said. “There’s a lot of resistance to that as well. So we’re sort of in a battle over whether that’s really going to happen or not.” Though Spencer said no one wants to be the first to walk away, the church as a whole is not quite at the point of splitting. Mosaic UMC released a statement a few days after the vote saying the decision did “not reflect Mosaic’s vision of the love of God.” Spencer also released his own statement, announcing that he would treat all couples equally. “I have taken a stand that just says, ‘I will not use that excuse that my rules don’t allow me to do this wedding,’” Spencer said. “Because I can’t look at a couple in the face and tell them, ‘I believe your people have sacred worth. I believe you should get married or should be allowed to get married. But

you can’t get married here, and I can’t do it.’ To me, that diminishes telling them that they’re people with sacred worth. So I just can’t do it anymore. But I do think if I were to do a wedding, I know there will be consequences to that. So it’s not that we can just get away with it.” Both Mosaic and Quail Springs have same-sex married couples as part of their congregations who are fully supported by their communities. They are also both part of UMCOK for Equality, a grassroots organization and coalition of affirming churches. Within the next year, Spencer said Mosaic leadership will decide whether the church will stay in its denomination or leave. However, he said it would like to join another potentially new Methodist-type group rather than being independent. Logsdon-Kellog said Quail Springs will continue to look at options. The church is not as close to making a decision to leave as Mosaic. In fact, she said some parents of LGBTQ+ people are “fired up” and looking at how to impact change within the UMC. “I’ve got some that have nominated themselves to run as lay delegates for the 2020 General Conference. So they are, at this point, looking at ‘How can we continue to advocate for change within the United Methodist denomina-

tion?’” she said. “But our church council and then the senior pastor and I will be, at least, watching and aware of what other denomination may form. ... But we haven’t been having the conversation nearly as long as Mosaic has about what the possibilities are. So it might take us longer to assess.” Nunn said he gave up his personal opinion when he became a bishop but was consecrated to be a bishop to all people. “It’s not helpful to anybody for me to say, ‘Well, I’m for this’ or ‘I’m for that’ or ‘I’m going to punish somebody because they disagree with me.’ That’s childish,” he said. “I’m not in that political stuff, I never have liked it. I don’t like it today. … I think I’ve got a respon-

left Rev. Scott Spencer, lead pastor at Mosaic UMC, announced that he will treat couples equally. right Rev. Jen Logsdon-Kellog is the associate pastor at Quail Springs UMC. | Photo Miguel Rios

sibility to think about every single person and how can we help people. How can we make a difference?” He released a pastoral letter to “everyone who is hurting” a day after the vote. In it, he mentioned the last thing he expected at the conference was to experience feelings like the ones he experienced when his brother died — numbness, shock, deep grief and loss. “Remember, Jesus loves you, whoever you are,” he wrote at the end of his letter.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

NEWS Wine and beer sales are down 30 to 40 percent at Freeman’s Liquor Mart, 4401 N. Western Ave. | Photo Alexa Ace

out letters as soon as the law was being voted on, or it had been voted on, that said, ‘Hey, if you are a tenant of 7-Eleven, the latest you’ll be able to operate is October 1 of 2018 because we are no longer going to let you survive as a liquor store next to our convenience stores since we’ll now be selling some products in common,’” he said. “I believe every single one of the stores were summarily rejected from their place of business just as a matter of the lease negotiations.” Despite some liquor stores closing due to lease negotiations, Kerr said there is no doubt others are closing due to the weight of the competition. Kerr and his wife decided to close their other liquor store, 5 O’Clock Somewhere Wine & Spirits, after looking at projected profits versus capital improvement costs. “Her and I and ran the numbers before the new law had gone into effect,” he said. “We decided to close that store down as opposed to go into the new era running on a loss. The store had three part-time employees, and I guess it probably made my wife, I don’t know, $500 or $1,000 a month in profit.”

CIT Y

Adapting to change

Bottles rocked

Oklahoma’s new alcohol law improved convenience for consumers but is hurting local liquor store sales. By Miguel Rios

State Question 792 passed in 2016 and changed laws regarding alcohol sales and distribution in the state. When it went into effect last October, the law allowed grocery stores and convenience stores to sell full-strength beer and wine. Now, liquor stores are struggling to compete against grocery and convenience stores. Bryan Kerr, president of Retail Liquor Association of Oklahoma (RLAO), opposed the state question because it did not do anything to prevent underage people from stealing alcohol from grocery stores and because none of the extra money made would be funneled to substance abuse or treatment programs. “It really was just Walmart writing the bill exactly the way Walmart wanted it to be, with no regard for what was good for the state of Oklahoma,” Kerr said.

Numbers down

Ashley Skinnell, wine manager at Freeman’s Liquor Mart, 4401 N. Western Ave., said the new laws have negatively impacted them. “Specifically, wine and beer sales are down. One of my favorite things to say about that is just that convenience is a hell of a drug. When those things are 8

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available and you’re already in a grocery store, you’re already in a convenience store, how do you not pick it up?” she said. “I think one thing that people don’t realize about liquor stores in Oklahoma is that historically, one person could only own one license. So every liquor store in Oklahoma is a mom and pop shop.” Skinnell said wine sales are down about 40 percent and beer sales are not far behind. “To also have the overhead of putting in refrigeration and also trying to compete with grocery stores now, I think, is incredibly hard,” she said. “We are larger, and we have a really loyal customer base. So I think, based on what I’ve heard, we’re not suffering quite as much, but we’re still facing some serious downs.” Kerr said convenience is the major reason liquor stores are suffering. He said it is also the reason Walmart became the biggest retailer of wine in the state overnight. Kerr also owns Moore Liquor, 914 SW Fourth St., in Moore, and he said he has been fortunate to not see a decrease in foot traffic. The main reason for that was that his closest competitor closed because they were leasing property from 7-Eleven. “7-Eleven, as is widely known, sent

Kerr estimates that about 50 percent of liquor stores will close in the short term. The ones that remain will likely be ones that adapted to change by getting creative and offering customers a unique experience. “For some liquor stores, there’s not a damn thing you can do; you’re going out of business,” he said. “You can struggle all you want, and maybe you can figure out a way to beat out the guy down the street and put him out of business, but there’s just not enough room for the number of liquor stores in the state of Oklahoma anymore. The market just doesn’t support it, and so that’s the really, really bad news,” he said. “But liquor stores can hyper-serve their consumer, can make sure that they are the go-to place for the people that live in that neighborhood, who want to buy … in a place that’s easy to get into, friendly, knowledgeable.” The new law allows for liquor stores to now sell nonalcoholic items like ice or tobacco products. This gives liquor stores an opportunity to set themselves apart. For example, Kerr knows somebody who stocked some of his store with hunting and fishing supplies. “That increases business because he’s out by a lake and there wasn’t a good bait and tackle shop anywhere,” he said. “If you want to stay in business in this environment, you got to get creative.” At Freeman’s, Skinnell said they are using social media more, increasing their in-house efficiency and being knowledgeable about their products to better serve consumers. “I think what kind of sets us apart is location. We are surrounded by some really great people that still come in to

buy their boxes of wine,” she said. “Our big shtick with us in our relationship with our consumers is education. I’m a first-level [sommelier], I’m also in a [certified specialist of wine] program. The other woman that works with wine for us is a second-level som and also in the CSW program, so it’s a place where you can come in and ask us questions.”

Hurting businesses

For some liquor store owners, the new laws don’t feel very modern, Skinnell said. For example, under the new law, two companies handle the majority of the state’s liquor in terms of distribution. “The way things got marketed in Oklahoma with the law change was that it was going to be modern, when in many respects it’s a little more archaic,” she said. “Some of those [beverage] brokers had to scramble together to sort of get their capabilities to handle the way business was going to change. I think every broker you speak to will tell you that it is twice as hard to do the same job now and that it doesn’t feel modern at all. … The stuff I hear all the time is that every step in this chain is hurting right now.” This has made many in the affected community resent the new law. “It has manifested resentment for the political process and the language that was written that not only allowed wines and strong beer in grocery and convenience stores but also gave them a decided market advantage on when they could sell, who they could hire, what the practices are,” Kerr said. “Then, of course, the emotional resentment of people that spent their entire life operating under one set of rules. … It can be pretty hard emotionally, but I don’t think there’s an anti-consumer sentiment among those of us in the business because ... you can’t resent somebody for wanting to be able to do something easier for themselves.” Bryan Kerr is the president of the Liquor Association of Oklahoma and owner of Moore Liquor, 914 SW Fourth St., in Moore. | Photo provided

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chicken

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Needs improvement

Melania Trump managed a surprisingly not-horrible public relations move last week when she visited Dove School of Discovery in Tulsa. Sans her “I really don’t care, do u?” jacket, colonizer pith helmet and Santa-mocking husband, the first lady visited with students about kindness as part of a three-state tour promoting her “Be Best” anti-bullying initiative. The Orwellian irony of any Trump claiming to give a crap about human decency while children separated from their families at the border remain unaccounted for (to name one of seemingly infinite examples) is headache-inducing for sure, but considering the first lady told ABC News last year that she believes she might be “the most bullied person in the world,” Chicken-Fried News will resist the urge to pile on. Instead, CFN will generously describe her demeanor with the students — who braved severe weather conditions that closed Tulsa’s public schools to be there — as remarkably lifelike. Speaking of setting the bar ever lower, unlike the private Christian school where second lady Karen “Mother” Pence teaches art, Dove Schools do not appear to have any official policies discriminating against LGBTQ+ people, but the charter school network did lose Tulsa Public Schools sponsorship in 2009 due to “concerns about services for special education students and the legality of consequences for certain behavior infractions” according to Tulsa World, and an Oklahoma Department of Education audit ruled in 2016 that new sponsor Langston University “did not appear to be providing adequate oversight of the charter schools as required by law.” According to an official policy statement from National Education Association, charter schools, which are not sufficiently held accountable at any level of government, “drain funding from local public schools." Someone should tell the first lady that stealing someone’s lunch money is a classic schoolyard bully tactic.

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Up top

Looks like Gov. Kevin Stitt’s goal to make Oklahoma a top 10 state is already working. It is just … maybe not what he had in mind. Three separate reports published since February found that Oklahoma tops the worst lists for online dating, being a woman and mental health for teenagers and children. First, a report by All Home Connections ranked Oklahoma as the 10th worst state for online dating, though researchers should have probably just stopped when they learned that our favorite dating app is OkCupid. Seriously, only Oklahoma and Massachusetts like OkCupid that much. Within that report, Oklahoma ranked ninth worst for safety in regard to violence and communicable diseases; 12th worst for demographics including gender balance, percentage of singles, percentage of bachelor degrees, median earnings and unemployment rate; and 16th worst for opportunity (people with internet connections and interest in online dating). Second, a report by WalletHub

found that Oklahoma is the sixth worst state for women — like, to live. In general. Sixth worst. Of all 50 states plus D.C. Specifically, we ranked as the ninth worst state for women’s economic and social well-being and second worst (!) for women’s health and safety. For health and safety, researchers looked at quality of women’s hospitals, female uninsured rate, preventative health care, share of women who are obese, depression rate and a few more issues that now make us wonder how we didn’t beat Arkansas for the top spot. Finally, not wanting our underage population to feel neglected, Oklahoma nearly tops the list of worst states for teenage and child mental health according to research published in The Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. Not only is Oklahoma in the top 13 states for rates of mental health conditions, it is one of four states with the highest percentage of untreated mental health conditions in teens and children. Even Florida is doing better than us on this.

CEO badge

Gov. Kevin Stitt wants Oklahoma to be

run like a business — just like his successful Gateway Mortgage — as he promotes his initiative for Oklahoma to be a “top 10” state. What’s a successful business without picking up a few lawsuits along the way? Gateway Mortgage has gone to court numerous times over the years. The company was banned from doing business in Georgia for making false statements and misrepresenting facts to lenders, and it has been fined in seven other states according to Oklahoma Watch. Stitt and his spokespeople have always pushed it off as rogue employees who were fired for their deeds. What company has not had a few bad apples run afoul of the law? Consider it a badge of honor that only successful businesspeople get to wear; it’s like a gold-plated red badge of courage. Apparently Stitt’s cabinet appointee for secretary of veterans’ affairs, Brian Brurud, has the necessary merit. Brurud, a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and Air National Guard, founded Check-6 in 2007. The company provided consulting services to

high-risk industries like offshore drilling and almost exclusively hires veterans who they call “coaches,” where their time aboard aircraft carries comes in handy on oil rigs. Check-6 is subject of a federal lawsuit that says the company underpaid its “coaches” by classifying them as consultants instead of full-time employees, making them ineligible for overtime pay, according to Oklahoma Watch. The lawsuit claims that some of the consultants worked as many as 84 hours a week and cost an average of $44,790 per person over a three-year period. The headline of the story says, “Stitt’s pick for veterans secretary accused of underpaying veterans,” which is true since Check-6 employs veterans, but it’s not like Brurud was walking into VAs and taking money out of the pockets of veterans. He was merely doing what any good CEO might do: classifying his workers in such a way that they do not get a fair share of the profits they helped create. Anything else would be socialism, and we don’t like that word in Oklahoma.

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Ill communication

University of Oklahoma needs a chief diversity officer. Its public statements prove it. By George Lang

Last week, University of Oklahoma (OU) officials proved they were illprepared to address diversity issues when one crisis management attempt backfired and a seemingly good-intentioned message to women came off as retrograde and condescending. The statements were emblematic of the university’s current leadership vacuum, which is sucking the soul out of my alma mater. On March 8, OU Athletics posted a v ideo ostensibly celebrating International Women’s Day, a day that was adopted by the United Nations in 1975 to commemorate the accomplishments and daily efforts of women worldwide. The video featured OU Athletics staffers describing women as “amazing,” “funny,” “dedicated,” “courageous,” “motivating,” “inspirational,” “compassionate,” “leaders,” “hilarious,” “authentic,” “incredible,” “honest,” “the best,” “brave,” “sincere,” “caring,” “loving,” “transcendent” and “powerful.” Those are all workable adjectives except for “leaders.” The problem is that every single word in the video was uttered by a male. As a communications professional, I can say with authority that most organizations in 2019 would recognize this video as a public relations misfire at the concept stage. Others who are blind to gender politics or willfully ignorant of them would likely tell the Fox News interviewer, “They’re saying nice things, Tucker! Are we at a point in our society where if we want to say something nice, we should say nothing at all?” The problem with putting a bunch of dudes in an International Women’s Day video is that it only views women through a prism of maleness, as if that is the only way women can achieve value. There are women who work for OU Athletics, yet they are not to be seen. The video not only takes a patriarchal approach to a celebration of women, but it is also a recent exhibit in the continuing phenomenon of the male gaze in media. Coined by British film critic and feminist Laura Mulvey, the term “male gaze” refers to the depiction of women solely through the eyes of men, usually as objects. Male gaze can be seen most obviously in the objectification of women in film, television and advertising, but it can also be found in otherwise well-intentioned examples like the OU Athletics video, which apparently ran the traps without anyone speaking up and saying, “Wait! … What if we included women in the International Women’s Day video?”

It also does not pass the Bechdel test, mainly because there are no women talking about other women. It is just one big sausage fest. It is also kind of galling that this is how OU celebrates something like International Women’s Day when earlier this year, the dean of OU College of International Studies, Suzette Grillot, was terminated from her position after trying to protect her college from budget cuts and criticizing the secretive process behind the selection

As a communications professional, I can say with authority that most organizations in 2019 would recognize this video as a public relations misfire at the concept stage. of OU president James Gallogly. OU also earned a “This ain’t it, Chief” for its continued ham-handed handling of race relations on campus. On March 7, OU Daily reported that a Twitter user with the thoroughly amusing handle @ JamGoogly published a series of racist text messages exchanged in recent weeks between members of OU’s College Republicans. Many of the messages were in support of the unidentified person who wore blackface while walking on Campus Corner last month. Others condemned U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, for her comments regarding Israeli foreign policy that have been painted by conservatives as anti-Semitic. The poster claimed that Omar “believes in the eradication of Jews” because of “her religion and the history of her religion,” and there were texts about Grillot from one student saying he would “break her fucking kneecaps.” The texts were published on the eve of International Women’s Day, though it’s safe to say these members of OU College Republicans wanted nothing to do with either the “international” or “women’s” part of the equation. In response, Gallogly released a statement saying that the university would be holding discussions with OU College Republicans to “emphasize the impacts such harmful language has (sic) on valued members of our community and to reiterate that the sentiments expressed are inconsistent with our

University values” and hoped the students would “contemplate the harm, degradation and fear words can cause.” What I got from Gallogly’s statement is that words are the problem, and as long as students keep their racism behind closed doors and away from prying media or classmates who might be offended, everything will be fine. Carry on with your racist selves. Also, while such behaviors are “inconsistent with our University values,” OU is taking no responsibility for shaping the minds of its students. As long as they get good grades and pay their bursar bills, they can be as privately racist as they want to be. The week OU announced that it would create a vice president/chief diversity officer to address social and equality issues on campus, the university proved it desperately needed one. A couple times a week, I receive phone calls from OU students soliciting donations to the school from alumni. While I am largely satisfied with the education I received from the university, I will not be making any donations until there are both personnel and systemic changes made at the upper levels of the institution. I appear to be in good company — donations to OU under Gallogly are down 31 percent from this time last year. This could be due to any number of reasons, but to deny that it has anything to do with recent administrative actions is to be sliced to ribbons by Occam’s razor. In the meantime, I will no longer be ignoring those phone calls. I will be letting the callers know why OU will not be receiving any largesse from me and how that can change. George Lang is editor-in-chief of Oklahoma Gazette and began his career at Gazette in 1994. | Photo Gazette / file

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

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Pot chef

Jeremy Cooper treats medical marijuana cuisine as a matter of life and death. By Matt Dinger

Jeremy Cooper is a man who wears many of them, but he’s most known for donning his cannabis chef’s hat. Cooper is currently helping Fire Leaf get its medical marijuana kitchen up and running but started in the industry when he helped a friend who had fallen ill. “I started doing this seven years ago in Seattle, Washington, when a friend of mine was dying of cancer,” he said. “I had a really nice job with a Fortune 100 company, and I left the Fortune 100 company because I saw that there were a lot of people that really needed help. I treated her with a combination of lingzhi mushrooms, reishi mushrooms, cannabis oils and a numerous amount of other things. She survived. The treatment worked very, very well. There were some side effects that basically caused internal bleeding and stuff. It tore away portions of the cervix where the tumors were and basically shed it and she was able to again live her life. Then I went, ‘Wow! What else can I do?’” The experience redirected the course of his life, but not his core passion. Cooper had previously made a living in cooking and catering. “I was known as The Drunken Chef,” he said. “I had done the multiple international wine festivals. I worked for Tommy Lasorda, the baseball player. I was his head chef for his wine company, I took his most high-end wines and turn them into sauces and cooked for the Jeremy Cooper makes Rick Simpson Oil at Fire Leaf in Stockyards City. | Photo Alexa Ace

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Make-A-Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society. I owned a corporate event firm in Greenville, South Carolina, that specialized and nonprofit cancer events and children’s events. We ran a company for over 20 years. Still have employees and still they’re all doing their thing across the United States, and I’ve given the company to my employees.”

Cannabis culture

Cooper relocated from South Carolina to the Seattle area, where he started getting involved in the cannabis industry. “I saw there was an amazing opportunity in cannabis, and it was growing. They had just legally passed medical not too earlier than my arrival,” Cooper said. “I was very passionate about cooking. I was a molecular gastronomist specializing in alcohol and botanical science. So it really fit very, very well.” Cooper rubbed shoulders with others in the cannabis industry and started making a name for himself in Seattle. “I was doing my civic duty. I actually help coordinate hospitality and emergency management services, so we provide water, first aid, snacks and we sponsor that all through our community service program called Connecting America to Cannabis, which is a nonprofit educational organization,” he said. “We went to Hempfest, which is the largest cannabis event in America, and we provide all of the snacks, services and support for senior citizens, handicapped as well as every single volunteer in the event, which is thousands and thousands of people. We have 300,000 people that attend that event every year, and I’ve been the host of that event for the past six years for the front entrance. I get up there and I’m like, ‘Welcome to Hempfest, the largest free speech event in America,’ and do all that kind of fun stuff on behalf of the industry.” There, he became involved with a company called Magical Butter, which he used to make Rick Simpson Oil, an extraction named for a Canadian engineer who invented the tincture to combat his cancer. “I’m a founding shareholder in that company, and you put your butter in there, you put your cannabis in there and you blend it up and it makes cannabis butter,” he said. From there, he launched a cannabisbased bed and breakfast and made a cannabis soap and a shampoo for women going through chemotherapy. Cooper’s work has recently taken on a more personal mission. “I was actually diagnosed in September

and given two weeks to live,” he said. “I have stage four cancer. I have leukemia, lung cancer, tumors on the base of my spine as well as in my colon. I’ve had multiple surgeries, been through chemo, had a heart attack in November. I still run an eight-minute mile, I still work out, I still do combat training.

I saw there was an amazing opportunity in cannabis, and it was growing. Jeremy Cooper “RSO was probably the most important thing in the cannabis community in the early years because it’s a treatment for cancer, and to be honest with you, I didn’t really understand how much of a treatment it was until recently. I consume 3,000 milligrams a day; presently, I’m on about 800. The average person, it’s going to put them on their side, but it counteracts the aspects of the chemotherapy. It stops the burning, it stops the pain, it stops the joint inflammation, it stops me from being sick. It helps me see better so I can stay concentrated, and it counteracts some of that. With a little bit of CBD, I can actually reduce the inflammation and I can act like a normal person during the day.” Cancer hasn’t slowed him down a bit, and he’s hard at work in Oklahoma’s new medical market. Cooper is in

Fire Leaf recently hired cannabis chef Jeremy Cooper to organize its medical marijuana kitchen in its new Stockyards City location. | Photo Alexa Ace

Oklahoma City devising new products in the show kitchen at Fire Leaf’s new Stockyards location. “All of our food here is custom-tuned,” he said. “So for example, our RSO can actually have a stomach stabilization system by adding mint oil to create a stomach stabilizer so that cannabis patients can do that, so we’re making a pill for that. ... We are doing vegan, vegetarian, non-GMO, protein-rich as well as vitamin-rich products. Most of our products have less than 5-6 grams of sugar in them. We will be doing tinctures with specialty pharmaceutical-grade oils which people will be able to absorb and are extremely healthy. We’ve worked very, very dilligently to create medicine for the people, and that’s the most important part. Don’t get me wrong; there will be some miscellaneous sweet things that are going to be available, but those will be more artisanal. “I’m very community-oriented individual. When I come into a community, my deal is I can bring in ringers all day, but my policy is I recruit and I farm from the community because the community deserves it first. So when I found that there was an opportunity to come here, I jumped on it. I’m very honored to be here. I think it’s an excellent opportunity to go back in time and really correct a lot of mistakes, take everything that I’ve learned and bring it back to the community.”

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Runaway fire

Family-owned Fire Leaf dispensary is on a rapid-growth trajectory. By Matt Dinger

The Doolittles have been running family businesses in Oklahoma for more than half a century and have quickly made a name for themselves in the state’s newest enterprise.

Tyler Doolittle is the majority partner in Fire Leaf, a chain of medical marijuana dispensaries. He is joined in the venture by father Jimmy and sister Cassi as well as Ben McHuen and Paul Stanley. “I am about a third. The rest of them are about 18 or 20 [percent], somewhere in there. ... All the licenses are under just my name,” he said. “I watch over everything, making sure everybody has the proper tools to do what they need to do efficiently — the hand shaker, the deal maker, basically, trying to oversee everything. And my dad does all the construction stuff and making sure all the stores are getting built out, Cassi runs all the stores, Ben is the grower and Paul does all the compliance issues.”

We’ve seen an opportunity and just being at the forefront of it; we liked our chances. Tyler Doolittle Before cannabis, they were known for Doolittle Sweet Eats, which has been operating at the fair for 55 years. “We’re the largest contract holder at the State Fair of Oklahoma, and we’ve done food out there forever,” Tyler Doolittle said. “Consequently, there were a few people in that industry that said that they were think-

Fire Leaf opened its newest dispensary in Stockyards City in a building the Doolittle family has owned for nearly 50 years. | Photo Alexa Ace

ing about getting into this. We decided that we were just going to start small and maybe open a store or something, and it slowly turned into a bigger situation, and we’ve seen an opportunity and just being at the forefront of it; we liked our chances.” March 1, Fire Leaf opened its newest facility in Stockyards City, 2501 SW 15th St. The back wall of the dispensary has a cut-out area in the wall — currently covered by wood — that will be filled with glass, allowing visitors a glimpse of a 1,000 square-foot grow. It’s only a small sample of the cannabis plants Fire Leaf is cultivating. The rest are housed in a larger facility that is still under construction nearby. That operation will supply all of its stores, but Fire Leaf will not be exclusively vertically integrated. “That wouldn’t be fair to the patients,” Tyler Doolittle said. “We want to have our stuff, plus we want to have the variety. There’s going to be some great growers that show up, and I want everybody to have that.” “In the stores, if our customers have requests or whatever, we always like to write that down and try to meet that need,” Cassi Doolittle said, “and if we don’t have that growing, we already have those relationships with other growers.”

Extract building

The Stockyards building has been in the Doolittle family for nearly a half a century. Tyler Doolittle ran a storm shelter business from the building after his grandfather retired. That company has relocated, and the building is about continued on page 18

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continued from page 16

to come full circle to its original purpose.

“It’s been here since 1970,” Tyler Doolittle said. “My grandfather opened it up as an extract company. It was called Western Extracts. That’s also one of the names we’re going to make extracts under.” Where they once made commercial-grade food extracts for companies like Sonic, they’ll now make patient-grade cannabis extracts in a glass-enclosed kitchen where patients can watch edibles, concentrates and other products be made. “We call this our show kitchen, so people can come in here and get educated and maybe make people feel more comfortable. ‘Hey, there’s some regular people out here cooking in the kitchen,’” Tyler Doolittle said. “We hope to do classes too, to show people. We brought in a chef; his name’s Jeremy Cooper — he’s renowned all over the country — and he’s here right now and he’s setting everything up. He’s helping to educate and bring some information and knowledge from different areas, from the Washington area.” In addition to the central Stockyards location, Fire Leaf has two other Oklahoma City dispensaries, 8017 W. Reno Ave. and 7876 S. Western Ave., as well as one in Norman. “We opened Reno and Western within a day of each other, and then I want to say we opened Norman probably about three weeks later,” Tyler Doolittle said. A month later, the Stockyards location is open, but construction on the building and parking lot are still ongoing. Once completed, they anticipate hosting a number of patient drives there. The chain of dispensaries is also still rapidly expanding, with two more soon opening along May Avenue in Oklahoma City on opposite sides of the city at 9606 N. May Ave. and 2810 SW 104th St. “We have one that we’re going to open

Fire Leaf’s Stockyards City location includes a dispensary, apparel, a grow house and a medical marijuana kitchen. | Photo Alexa Ace

in Guthrie and one on Britton Road,” Tyler Doolittle said. “We’re hoping in three weeks to be opening the one on North May, and then we’re going to try go about every three weeks. We’ll go probably the South May, then the Guthrie then probably the Britton. ... The Guthrie location needs a lot of work, and I’m not 100 percent sure where it’s going to fall in the lineup.” All of the Fire Leaf dispensaries and facilities are owned by the Doolittles and partners McHuen and Stanley. None of them are licensees or franchises, Tyler Doolittle said. Based on recent tax figures, the Doolittles think they have captured about 10-15 percent of the total medical cannabis market to date, Tyler Doolittle said. Cassi Doolittle said they have about 30 employees between the four dispensaries. She tends to hire employees who have done their research on cannabis or have taken some sort of training course and aren’t just looking for another job. “If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, you’re always going to do a better job and really work to, at the end of the day, help the patient with their needs,” she said. “You’ll never know it all, but it’s amazing how much information is out there. I did not expect it to happen in Oklahoma this quickly. I kind of thought it would be a trickle effect and we would be one of the last states, but I’m really glad it is because on a daily basis in my stores, I see how it’s affecting people’s lives, and I see how much difference it’s making.” “I would just like to say that I’m really proud of our state. We’re progressing faster than anybody anticipated, and all that says is that the vote, the way it came out, is really what the people wanted and it’s obviously showing,” Tyler Doolittle said. Visit fireleafok.com.

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Bricktown boost

Bricktown Brewery’s classic beers receive higher ABV, and retail distribution on horizon. By Jacob Threadgill

Bricktown Brewery 1150 E. Second St., Edmond bricktownbrewery.com | 405-726-8300 WHAT WORKS: The green pork chili and tri-tip steak sandwiches deliver. WHAT NEEDS WORK: Its house-made tater tots aren’t quite as good as the frozen variety. TIP: Its classic core beers have more body after the alcohol law change.

Bricktown Brewery is Oklahoma City’s oldest brewery, having been in business for over 25 years. But as the nascent craft beer scene began to grow with high alcohol content brew before last year’s transition away from low-point beer, Bricktown remained committed to its low-point beer. If it has been a while since you’ve tasted Bricktown’s core group of beers, you might notice a difference. Its core of six ales has seen a slight bump in alcohol content in recent months, since the implementation of October’s new alcohol law. “All of the beers have gotten so much better since [the law change],” said W.G. “Buck ” Warfield, president of Bricktown Brewery Restaurants. “We were a little like a boxer with a paper bag over his head for about 25 years. It just wasn’t fair. I knew we could do better than we were doing. Now those days are over, and we can start to have some fun.” Warfield and his ownership group acquired Bricktown Brewery in 2011 when the company had about 35 total employees and $2 million in sales. He said the group now employs 850 people and tops $30 million in sales as Bricktown Brewery now has 14 total locations in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Texas. A fourth Oklahoma City metro area location is slated for the third quarter of 2019. Its core group of beers like Old King Kölsch and Blues Berry Ale received a bump in alcohol by volume (ABV) from around 4 percent to 4.6 and 4.7 ABV, Warfield said. “You have more middle to the beer, more body. They’re more enjoyable to drink,” he said of the core beers. The core group is committed to providing session beers, which Warfield said act as a gateway to higher alcohol content beers. Stronger beers are showcased in seasonal beers like a doppelbock that is 7 percent ABV. “Unless you’re in Colorado, Washington or California, the vast majority of people are transitioning into craft beer,” Warfield said. “I’m a believer that you need to help people wean themselves

off of Coors and Miller. Very few people jump into the craft beer world and declare themselves an IPA guy.” Warfield got his start in craft beer in the early 1990s in Colorado, where he eventually took the Rock Bottom Restaurant group public. He still sees plenty of growth in the Oklahoma market, which ranked 48th in the country in total number of craft breweries in 2017, according to Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma, while being the 28th most populous state in the country. Bricktown’s BT Brewing Company, which operates from its downtown facility and one in Hulbert, will begin distributing its own beer to other bars and restaurants in the next few months, and Warfield hopes to have Bricktown beer on retail shelves by the end of 2019.

Revamped menu

Bricktown Brewery’s beers are not the only things to get a makeover in the early part of the year. The rotating Twisted Comfort Foods portion of its menu, which changes every 10-12 weeks, debuted in late February. The restaurant delivers familiar items like chicken-fried steak and burgers but has also added pizza ovens to a majority of its locations and recently unveiled a cauliflower crust. “We want to surprise you with things that you might not expect,” Warfield said. “The worst thing that happened to the industry was the term ‘gastropub’ when everyone tried to be pretentious. Outside of New York and Chicago, that rarely works. I don’t want a deconstructed hamburger.” The seasonal menu is built around a new pork green chili, which is available as a soup or piled on top of house-made tater tots with pulled pork, bacon, cheese and cilantro and topped with a fried egg. Warfield said it is already a big success and in contention to be added full-time to the menu. I thought the pork green chili was a

big winner. It has a good amount of spice and lots of yolk dripping through the dish. As nice as it was to see house-made tater tots, I’m not sure the extra work gets a payoff. I’ve had other chefs tell me that its impossible to make an inhouse version of tater tots better than the frozen variety, and I have to agree. Even still, the Totchos are a real winner.

I knew we could do better than we were doing. Now those days are over, and we can start to have some fun. W.G. “Buck” Warfield Another great appetizer addition is the hot fig and goat cheese dip that is served with pita and apple slices. When it is all mixed together, the saltiness of the goat cheese pairs great with the fig. It is also nice for people who have a gluten-free diet to dip the apple into the dip. The fried chickpea salad was refreshing, and I was happy to see the introduction of avocado into the dish for its heart-healthy benefits. The chickpeas are a nice replacement for croutons that add some protein. The tri-tip steak sandwich is like a steak and cheese sandwich on steroids.

Green chili pork Totchos are topped with cheese, bacon and an egg. | Photo provided

California is famous for its grilled tritip, and it’s nice to see it on the menu here in Oklahoma, especially when paired with rosemary au jus for dipping. Every Twisted Comfort Foods menu features a grilled cheese paired with San Marzano tomato soup. It is hard to go wrong with a grilled cheese and tomato soup combination, especially when this grilled cheese adds ham and macaroni and cheese. The bread is baked in-house, is perfectly crispy and receives Pecorino Romano cheese in addition to the creamy, cheesy pasta. There was hardly a misstep on the new menu, and I enjoyed a taste of some of Bricktown’s seasonal beers, especially the deep-bodied dopplebock. I like that Bricktown has plenty of other Oklahoma beers on tap, and the freshly made pizza was very good, as well.

left The new Twisted Comfort Foods grilled cheese features ham and macaroni and cheese with San Marzano tomato soup. right A new salad replaces croutons with fried chickpeas. | Photos provided

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Party up

Life as a mobile bartender provides perspective on wedding and alcohol trends. By Jacob Threadgill

The cult classic Starz television show Party Down, which starred a pre-Parks and Recreation Adam Scott among its talented cast, went behind the scenes of all that could go wrong in event catering from the vantage point of its bow-tie wearing, want-to-be-actor crew. Everything that could comically go wrong did go wrong during the show. In the real-life world of party bartending, Top Shelf Bartending owner Haley Ritter has seen it all, but a successful event bartending coordinator has an answer for anything that could go wrong when it happens. “We train all of the staff in procedure and to have a plan,” Ritter said. “They’re trained to treat every event, no matter the size, that it is the biggest event of their life because to the host, it is. Every event has something go wrong, but that event host doesn’t know about it and they never should.” In the two years since Ritter founded Top Shelf Bartending as one of the state’s only mobile bartending services, she has seen everything from entire cases of wine crashing to the floor to being forced to police the dance floor for unlicensed alcohol.

Haley Ritter owns Top Shelf Bartending. | Photo provided

“Always have a plan B,” Ritter said. The foundation for a successful event begins weeks or months before the gathering. Ritter meets with clients to develop a signature cocktail for the event and to square away the desired wine and beer, all of which is on a sliding price scale depending on the event’s size. “I like to meet in advance,” Ritter said. “During an event, we get so rushed that you don’t have time to get to know me. It becomes turn and burn. You’re there to see your friends, not us.” Top Shelf can staff multiple events in one evening with a team that swells as large as 12 people during its busiest months. It has worked events all over the state, from the Stillwater area to Chickasha and downtown Oklahoma City. Events include baby showers, weddings, fraternity and sorority parties, quinceañeras, corporate events and celebrations of life following a funeral. “We did 10 celebration of life events last year, and that’s something that’s growing in popularity,” Ritter said. “Ultimately, it’s a party, and we like to make a signature drink, something that is symbolic of the person’s life.”

Ritter takes the signature drink part of the job seriously, meeting with event hosts well in advance and making up to 10 drinks for them to try. “I won’t tell them a certain drink has a certain kind of alcohol because I don’t want their thought process to be influenced,” she said. “We try to do fun things, like make the drink match the wedding colors. You never know what people will like, because sometimes I’ll talk to the bride and offer a sweet drink, but she’ll say, ‘I’m a whiskey drinker.’”

Critical drinking

Ritter has noticed trends of all types over the years. Whether it’s the prevalence of once-relegated early 20th century drinks like the Manhattan and Old Fashioned regaining popularity or the preference of vodka water over vodka tonic. “I’ve gotten really good at guessing wedding colors,” Ritter said. “I think of it as Joanna Gaines influence, lots of natural colors. I’ll see bridesmaids in sage greens and groomsmen in blue suits. There’s also been a coral and purple trend as well.” She said that she is beginning to see more event spaces embrace an industrial aesthetic over farmhouse. Since the implementation of Oklahoma’s new liquor laws that raised the alcohol content for beer and allowed

the sale of wine at gas and convenience stations, Ritter has felt the blow of consolidated whole distribution. Under the new law, two companies handle the majority of the state’s liquor, Tulsa’s Jarboe Sales Company and Oklahoma City’s Central Liquor Company.

You never know what people will like because sometimes I’ll talk to the bride and offer a sweet drink, but she’ll say, ‘I’m a whiskey drinker.’ Haley Ritter “The new liquor law kind of put a wrench into the whole thing,” Ritter said. “I used to be able to get everything from one person. I used to be able to call it in by 11 on a Tuesday and have it by 2 p.m. [that day]. Now I have to call days in advance.” Top Shelf Bartending’s most popular months are in late spring and early summer, and bookings pick up in the fall through the winter. “Last December was our busiest

month in just a two-week span,” Ritter said. “It is a lot of Christmas parties. Even though they might be the same theme, they’re all different.” Top Shelf Bartending has been a successful enterprise for Ritter since she started in the field as a side job. She said bookings have tripled from the first to second year, and business is already on it way to surpassing her goals for 2019. “I’m really goal-oriented,” Ritter said. “Every year, I take an index card

Top Shelf Bartending works events across the state. | Photo provided

and put my goals on there: personal, fitness and last year I put Top Shelf goals on there with hope that I could exceed them. When I reevaluated them, I was blown away by it all. I set a new index card, and we’re already more than halfway there to my personal goal just a few months into the year.”

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Popping bottles The Merret serves fun and education as the area’s first champagne-focused concept. By Jacob Threadgill

The first champagne-centered bar in the Oklahoma City metro area is out to dispel preconceived notions about the drink’s history and what it means to drink champagne. Located in Nichols Hills Plaza, The Merret, 6464 Avondale Drive, opened in November 2018 to a positive reception as fast as a cork flying off a champagne bottle. “Our grand opening was supposed to be from 6 to 9 p.m. and it went until 2 a.m.,” said co-owner Brooke Jones. “We were sabering, when you open a bottle with a big knife, and people hadn’t seen that sort of thing.” With a chic and plush décor that owners Jones, Derrick and Dustin Dodd describe as a mixture of Los Angeles and Miami, The Merret wants to be the place where people of (drinking) ages can have fun and get educated in the nuances of bubbly, whether it’s champagne from France, prosecco from Italy, cava from Spain or a domestic variety. “When it’s going, you can feel the energy,” said Dustin Dodd. “We’ve got bottles popping every 10 minutes or so.” The education process starts with its name, an homage to Christopher Merret, who is credited with making the bubbly drink we know today in the 17th century. “The origin of champagne is not as everyone thinks, Dom Perignon,” Jones said. “It was an English gentleman, not French. Christopher Merret was an English scientist who put sugar in the last fermentation process of wine. So we gave him merit through The Merret.” Before Merret’s addition, bubbles in wine were viewed as a fault. In fact,

Perignon, a Benedictine monk, actively worked to rid wine of the now-signature bubbles before Merret created the sparkling process. The Merret offers monthly “breaking down the bubbles” classes with Adam Rott, a wine specialist with Boardwalk Distribution. The first class is Wednesday. Rott helps guide guests through the different regions and tastes of sparkling wine. “I knew that I liked dry, but I didn’t know what to look for,” Jones said. “Now I know to ask for the dosage of the champagne. If it’s under 8 [grams of sugar], I’m going to like it. If they say 45, I’m probably not going to like it because it’s too sweet.” Extra brut is champagne or sparkling wine with less than six grams of sugar per liter. Brut is 6-15, extra sec is 12-20, sec is 17-35, demi-sec is 35-50 and doux is anything over 50. Jones moved to Oklahoma City from Kansas City, Missouri, about four years ago and runs a digital photography development studio in addition to being executive director of Oklahoma Chiropractors’ Association. “There is nothing like this in the area,” Jones said. “[Champagne bars are] popping up everywhere, and I travel for work and go to them, but they’re a little more pretentious and make people uncomfortable because champagne is intimidating. We wanted to teach people and really learn the differences, not to be afraid of it.” On weekends, The Merret often brings in DJs Friday and Saturday nights, and music is a big part of its atmosphere. Although space is limited

PARK HARVEY The Merret carries 15 varieties of champagne, in addition to cava, prosecco and domestic sparkling wines. | Photo Alexa Ace

— about 900 square feet on the inside with an additional patio on the front — they want people to have fun. “Our advantage is that we have good music, great craft cocktails and a great menu of champagne so you can sit here and dance in your chair,” Derrick Dodd said. “All three of us love going out and having a good time, but we don’t want to go to a club. We want good music and good drinks; good music is hard to find in the city. We wanted to make the kind of place we wanted to go.” The Merret also offers bottomless mimosas from noon to 3 p.m. with a build-your-own-option featuring fresh fruit and other mixers for $19. Though there isn’t room for a kitchen on-site, it offers hummus and pita and pear and goat cheese crostini, spinach and artichoke dip and a margarita flatbread, and every guest receives complimentary popcorn to help soak up the alcohol. On Sundays starting this spring, they’re going to pair with food trucks for additional food service. Champagne offerings range from Drappier ($17 per glass, $115 per bottle) to Armand de Brignac Gold Brut ($610). Domestic sparkling wines range from Chanson ($12, $46) to J Vineyards Rose ($20, $82) and prosecco is $11-$15 per glass. The Merret also offers a selection of other wines and seasonal craft cocktails. It recently added a new Frosé (frozen rosé) machine, accompanied by pink straws

emblazoned with The Merret’s name. A hit among customers is the Chambong, a combination champagne flute and beer bong that allows them to drink the wine in one take. “We’ve been using the ‘blame it on the bong’ hashtag,” Jones said. “I saw them out in L.A. and I thought it would be fun. I got four or five but then had to get 50 for the grand opening. We’ve had spouses come in midday and get two Chambongs. It’s a big pull for people to come in.” During the week, Jones said the clientele tends to be people who live in the area, but on weekends it has become so popular that they need security because it is one in and one out. She said The Merret draws everyone, from people celebrating 21st birthday parties to regulars in their 80s. “At first, they might seem standoffish because maybe they’re a little different, but by the end of the night, they’re Chambonging together,” she said. “It’s a celebratory place, so you can’t be mad or sad in here. You can’t be sad when you’re popping a bottle.” The Merret is the champagne sponsor for the upcoming Hangover Brunch April 7 in the Farmer’s Market District, where guests get to sample food and drink from more than 15 vendors. Visit themerret.com.

SUSHI & WINE BAR

CHeese NaN 4621 N. May | OKC | 778-8469

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The Merrett offers seasonal craft cocktails, including one champagne cocktail. | Photo Alexa Ace

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I-40 EXIT 178 | SHAWNEE, OK | 405-964-7777

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

GAZEDIBLES

EAT & DRINK

All seasons

We are in a weird season in Oklahoma right now when it can be both warm and cold in the same week. We have you covered with seasonal drinks that can hit the spot, depending on the temperature outside. By Jacob Threadgill with photos by Alexa Ace and provided

Barkeep Supply

1121 N. Walker Ave. barkeepokc.com | 405-604-4741

Barkeep Supply is Midtown’s one-stop shop. Not only does it have all the supplies to make killer cocktails at home, but you can also learn about drinks and taste some made by the well-trained staff on-site. The Cappucynar combines Espolon reposado tequila, Cynar, simple syrup, cold brew coffee and an egg white — a drink that will make you feel good in multiple ways.

The Other Room

3009 Paseo St. picassoonpaseo.com/about-otherroom | 405-602-2002

Just when you think Oklahoma is on the way to spring and warm weather, we are hit with another cold spell. The Other Room — the bar next to Picasso Café — has a lengthy cocktail list including a healthy selection of warm cocktails. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch hot chocolate is a fun take on a hot chocolate with vanilla vodka and RumChata topped with marshmallows and the eponymous cereal and is toasted in front of you.

Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge

900 W. Main St. maryeddysokc.com | 405-982-6960

The 21c Museum Hotel chain has a great history with bourbon, which makes the bar at Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge one of the best places in the city to get some of that smoky Kentucky brown. The drink Movin’ to the Country uses Four Roses bourbon combined peach syrup, lemon and peach bitters. It is topped with a red wine float and amaretto meringue to make it the perfect drink for all seasons.

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Black Walnut

100 NE Fourth St. facebook.com/blackwalnutokc 405-445-6273

This new restaurant in Deep Deuce takes guests around the world on the food and cocktail menus. The drinks feature nods to different countries, and the Açaí What You Did Ryan Lochte is a playful nod to the swimmer’s escapades in Brazil by combing the country’s liquor cachaça, Bonal, aquafaba and açaí topped with Giffard Banane du Bresil liqueur.

Pizzeria Gusto

Oso on Paseo

Ponyboy

Pizzeria Gusto has both a seasonal menu of cocktails and a weekly special put together by its talented bar staff. A nice drink goes well next to the warm pizza oven when it’s cold or on the patio when it’s warm. The Beetlejuice (left) features Famous Grouse blended scotch, beet juice, lemon, ginger syrup and liqueur, cocchi di torino, blackstrap bitters and ginger beer.

Since opening last year, Oso has become quite the Paseo Arts District success by combining high-end tacos with tropical drinks. Smoking Mirror is one of eight baja tiki drinks and combines aged Jamaican rum and tequila with passion fruit puree topped with dried hibiscus flowers for a fun garnish.

The Hop Toddy is Ponyboy’s March feature of the month, a take on the cold toddy that is light, crisp and perfect for spring. The drink combines Jameson Caskmates IPA edition with vanilla mint pu-erh tea, lime juice, honey and fine sherry. Be sure to check out Ponyboy’s monthly bartender Smackdown, a competition that pits two bar staff members against one another and raises money for charity.

2415 N. Walker Ave. pizzeriagusto.com | 405-437-4992

603 NW 28th St. Osopaseo.com | 405-309-8226

423 NW 23rd St. ponyboyokc.com | 405-602-5985

P.O. Box 85 Fittstown, OK www.dunnsfishfarm.com (800) 433-2950 M-F 7am-5pm

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Saturday, March 23rd

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Have a drink with a few of your famous friends! Check out our Oklahoma Musicians collage | 7 Metro Locations | HideawayPizza.com O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

ART

ARTS & CULTURE

Face value

Oklahoma City Museum of Art puts Kehinde Wiley at the center of its permanent collection. By Jeremy Martin

Known for painting Barack Obama’s official presidential portrait, artist Kehinde Wiley’s neoclassical work typically features people of color — subjects not fully represented in art museums. “What I do in my own work is to look at the canon but to imagine people who look and feel like I do,” Wiley said in the 2014 PBS documentary Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace. He elaborated on this idea in an interview with St. Louis’ Higher Education Channel. “It’s important when thinking about art and thinking about museums to think about how one mirrors or sees themself in the work that’s on the walls,” he said. “There’s a type of permission being given when you are a young artist, and you walk into a museum and you happen to see someone who looks like you.” Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA), 415 Couch Drive, recently acquired Wiley’s 2018 portrait “Jacob de Graeff,” and director of curatorial affairs Michael Anderson said the museum has organized an entire gallery around it on the second floor, which was recently vacated following the departure of the exhibition Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement. “It was very fortuitous timing,” Anderson said, “because then we were Childe Hassam’s “The Nude” is on view at Oklahoma City Museum of Art as part of the exhibit From the Golden Age to the Moving Image: The Changing Face of the Permanent Collection through 2020. | Photo Joseph Mills / provided

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able to build one of the galleries around that work, and it became kind of a key piece in our new exhibition on the second floor. … Each of the galleries on the second floor has a different theme or genre. We had one gallery that we wanted to focus on portraiture, and when we acquired that Kehinde Wiley, we knew that would be a work that would be kind of a focal point for the space, and with that then we wanted to have other works that related in some way to it that were at least close by within that gallery. … We knew that this would be a popular work in the installation, and we knew that it would be a central work when were reorganizing our portrait gallery.”

Kehinde really connected with our community. We didn’t want it to just be a one-time thing. Michael Anderson From the Golden Age to the Moving Image: The Changing Face of the Permanent Collection — which also features still lifes, landscapes, nude studies, video art and more by artists including Pierre-Auguste Renoir, George Bellows, John Singleton Copley and Georgia O’Keeffe — is on view through 2020. OKCMOA hosted the exhibition Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic in 2017, and Anderson said the museum has been “keen to acquire” one of Wiley’s portraits for its permanent collection ever since. “Jacob de Graeff,” painted in oil, features Brincel Kape’li Wiggins Jr., a man Wiley met on the street in Ferguson, Missouri, in a pose reminiscent of Dutch painter Gerard ter Borch’s 1674 portrait of Amsterdam regent Jacob de Graeff. Wiley’s portrait was originally included in the Saint Louis Art Museum exhibition Kehinde Wiley: Saint Louis. “This is a piece that we all agreed was the most dynamic and interesting,” Anderson said. “It’s a large-scale

work, which we find very exciting to begin with. There’s a very strong male subject in the work, and it’s a work that has kind of a political undercurrent with the Ferguson ball cap that the sitter is wearing. So all these things just sort of pointed to the fact that this is a significant new work. We didn’t want to just necessarily acquire any Kehinde Wiley. We wanted to acquire the right Kehinde Wiley and a work we think is really important for his career.” The name “Ferguson” became politically charged in 2014 when police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old man, in the St. Louis, Missouri, suburb, setting off weeks of protests met with a militarized police response. Though Wiley was born in California and is based in New York City, Anderson said “Jacob de Graeff” makes more sense displayed next to a 17th century work by Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck than it would among the museum’s collection of early American paintings, which includes a portrait of George Washington. “Kehinde Wiley, he’s going back to European sources in many cases, so he’s basing it on 17th century Dutch sources,” he said. “In the colonial American art that we have there are different styles at play, but for the most part, they’re artists that were actually, in one form or another, creating a new American style that was in some way distinct from European sources. … What’s really interesting about Kehinde is he’s obviously creating a new art, but it’s an art that really does look back to old masterworks, especially European sources. … What he’s doing is sort of recreating what you see in a museum, and American art has an interesting relationship to that because, historically … for a lot of museums, great old master art meant European art. American artist is kind of a new entry into a lot of collections around the world, and Kehinde is changing who we see in galleries and he’s doing it on this historical sort of Eurocentric model.”

Code switching

In an interview with Time, which named the artist one of the 100 most influential people of 2018, Wiley said code switching, or changing the method of selfexpression to suit a specific setting, is a skill practiced by painters and people of color in the U.S. “Artists are people who occupy different spaces, and I think a lot of — not only artists but people of color — know

Kehinde Wiley’s “Jacob de Graeff” features Brincel Kape’li Wiggins Jr., a man Wiley met on the street in Ferguson, Missouri, in a pose reminiscent of Dutch painter Gerard ter Borch’s 1674 portrait of Amsterdam regent Jacob de Graeff. | Photo Jean-Paul Torno / provided

what it means to code-switch,” Wiley told Time. “Being able to occupy multiple spaces, in a way, exemplifies where America is. The conflicting twin narratives that can be at once appalling and beguiling exist in all of us, and I think that’s part of what my work is about.” The Changing Face of the Permanent Collection features video art from recent decades, but most of the portraits are from 1920 or earlier. The fact that Wiley’s painting is from just last year and features a contemporary black man in a pose once held by a European aristocrat gives it a special significance to viewers, Anderson said, and this modern relevance made the museum’s 2017 exhibition of Wiley’s work popular with visitors, many who returned more than once. “Kehinde really connected with our community,” Anderson said. “We didn’t want it to just be a one-time thing, but we wanted it to be part of our identity moving forward as an institution. … Relatability in art in general is certainly an important aspect to it. Not to put too fine a point on it but … I think it does draw a broader, more diverse audience. His exhibition certainly did, and I suspect this painting will, as well.” Admission to OKCMOA is free-$12. Visit okcmoa.com.

From the Golden Age to the Moving Image: The Changing Face of the Permanent Collection through Dec. 31, 2020 Oklahoma City Museum of Art 415 Couch Drive okcmoa.com | 405-236-3100 Free-$12

ART

Individually artistic

Individual Artists of Oklahoma, a long-standing home for creative outsiders, celebrates its 40th year of supporting forward advancement. By Charles Martin

Daring ideas don’t generally have a long shelf life in the arts, so maintaining a gallery and organization based around avant garde poetry, visual art and performance seems unlikely to last beyond the gestation phase. Yet Individual Artists Of Oklahoma (IAO) has endured for 40 years by pulling in new and innovative talents from a broad spectrum of creative disciplines to create a thriving haven for bold voices. Board president David Smith, aka spontaneous bob, said IAO will keep history in mind with all of its events throughout the year to remind patrons of the unique achievement of keeping a forward-leaning arts organization afloat for this long. “My very first IAO memory was back in 1987,” Smith said. “I found this event listing in the Gazette about a poetry reading. Being an angsty 14-year-old poet/Goth kid, I was thrilled. There was a suggested donation of a dollar at the door, so I sat outside with a stack of my chapbooks, trying to sell just one for a dollar so I could get in. Finally, someone felt sorry for me and told me to just come inside. And when I walked through the door, my world expanded.” Finding peers in Oklahoma City helped guide Smith deep into the poetry community, and IAO served as a critical gathering ground that still continues with Oklahoma Voices every first Sunday of each month in the gallery and

Individual Artists of Okalhoma’s current location features an expansive space for exhibits and performances. | Photo Individual Artists of Oklahoma / provided

an additional reading at Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, the last Sunday of each month. Both events start at 2 p.m. and feature one poet as well as an open mic. Maintaining a permanent address with enough room for its diversity of programming has always been a challenge for IAO, which has had six homes by Smith’s count. “We started on The Paseo back in the early days,” Smith said. “Then it was on Classen Curve by the HiLo, which was when I was got involved in ’87. Then there was a brief, strange period when we were in French Market Mall way off in the ’burbs. From there, we moved to 1 N. Hudson [Ave.], which has since been demolished. Then we were one of the first tenants to move into Automobile Alley when they began renovating that area. Finally, we moved to Film Row just as that neighborhood was coming up. The first day we opened up this space, there wasn’t even a road outside.” Board member Joe Hopper said that IAO lucked into an enthusiastic landlord in Chip Fudge who has helped develop IAO’s presence in the growing

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ARTS & CULTURE

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continued from page 27

ART

Film Row District. With a large space versatile enough to support film, dance, visual arts and poetry, Hopper said IAO’s continued relevance is thanks to its ability to enable an array of creative minds to guide the organization’s evolution. “I credit the artists way more than us,” Hopper said. “We have so many different voices from people wanting to express themselves in so many different ways. The reason Red Dot and Biting the Apple can remain relevant every year is because the artists we work with always bring something new and exciting.” According to IAO lore, the group was founded by three poets. Smith said the actual identity of two remains a contentious issue, but the third poet was, for sure, James “Frank” Parman. Smith called him a renaissance man looking for a home for experimental artists. He wrote a charter, a space was adopted, and the journey of IAO began with countless artists, poets, performers, filmmakers and volunteers all chipping in to keep this one daring idea from dissipating even as the culture changed, the economy rose and fell and gallery spaces popped up and fell away. Premiere events like Biting the Apple have also shifted with the times, Hopper said, guided by the energy of the times and the artists who explore the outer reaches of culture. “What sets us apart is I don’t know if there is anything we’d say ‘no’ to,” Hopper said; then he laughed because it was kind of a joke, but not really. “We like things that are unique and interesting. That is what we are most passionate about. Over the years, we have attracted people with many diverse ideas of what this organization should be and where it should go, and that has

Submissions must be received by

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

Submit your listings online at okgazette.com or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

oklahoma farm-totable family festival

Saturday, March 23 ® 10 am-3pm Families will experience perspectives from colonial America to modern day with hands-on activities for visitors of all ages. This festival is free! Crafts & Activities Dutch Oven Cooking Chuck Wagon Cooking Woodworking Livestock, ducks, chickens

For more information call 405.522.0765 or visit okhistory.org 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. Oklahoma City, OK 73105 28

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created a lot of really great things but has also made it harder to define what IAO really is. We’ve benefited from all these voices because it hasn’t pushed us in one specific direction.” Hopper promises some new changes to be announced in the next year that should surprise longtime supporters and keep the evolution of IAO moving forward. Hopper also has an idea for developing the idea of Biting the Apple in a new direction. He was tight-lipped on details, but said that it would be pushing the entertainment aspect of the annual erotic art show. For Smith, the roots of IAO remain strong with the poetry community and its ability to reach the next generation of poet/Goth kids trying to sell chapbooks on a street corner. Its monthly readings are only one part of that mission. “We’ve still got a vibrant poetry community,” Smith said, adding that one of his favorite events of the year is hosting the Woody Guthrie Poetry Group. “When you see our gallery full of joyful poets, like a weird family, it’s fabulous. Anytime you fill a gallery full of poets, the energy that comes out of it is awesome. “What sets IAO apart as an organization is its diversity. IAO was not just a gallery or just a poetry reading; it was a bit of everything,” he said. “It’s an art space created by poets; it’s a home for artists that don’t have a home. As what was experimental 20 years ago becomes the norm today, we remain relevant by giving a chance to the next group of experiment artists.” Visit individualartists.org.

James “Frank” Parman wrote the charter for Individual Artists of Oklahoma. | Photo Individual Artists of Oklahoma / provided

CO M M U N I T Y

To the streets Festival organizations prepare for updated alcohol laws. By Nikita Lewchuk

If Oklahoma’s liquor laws have seemed like something out of the Prohibition era, they were for years. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Oklahoma kept it around for another 26 years. Since, Oklahoma has been slower than most states in loosening its liquor laws. However, in November 2016, Oklahomans voted themselves firmly into the 21st century with the passage of State Question 792. SQ792, which passed with just over 65 percent of the vote, legalized the sale of strong beer and other types of alcohol in grocery stores, allowed beer to be kept cold in stores and allowed breweries to sell their full-strength products at festivals and other public events. This also means the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE) Commission no longer draws a legal distinction between 3.2 alcohol by volume (ABV), or low-point brews, and strong beer. Spring marks the beginning of festival season, so while the changes took place in October, many street festivals are now making adjustments to their vendors and procedures for the first time. Prior to the passage of the bill, street festivals sold only 3.2 ABV beer, which was licensed by the county court clerk. Now, licenses will be issued by ABLE, which is something assistant director Brent Fairchild said is being easily in-

corporated into the agency’s other duties. “You do have to do a little research here and there,” Fairchild said, “but for the most part, it’s not been a difficult change.” Changes to the law appear straightforward: Those selling alcohol at public events must have a license. While ABLE might have incorporated the new legislation easily, many festival organizers are having a harder time with the transition. Paseo Arts Festival works under charitable event licenses, which, according to executive director Amanda Bleakley, made the shift less complicated. Bleakley said she was able to find the information she needed with just a call to ABLE, but other festivals might not be so lucky. “Where I think it’s really going to be tougher is for those who are not a nonprofit because they have to take it a step further,” Bleakley said. “Their servers are supposed to have licenses.” Some concern is not unusual for festival organizers as they double-check that they have dotted all their i’s and crossed all their t’s in accordance with the new laws. “Everybody is still confused on how to move forward, and we’re all kind of hoping that we’re doing everything correctly,” Bleakley said. “I think there’s still some anxiety.” Oklahoma Gazette contacted both

for-profit and nonprofit street festival organizations. Of the nine festivals contacted, four responded to interview requests and two declined to comment. According to Fairchild, ABLE has not seen a particularly high level of confusion from festival organizations. “Most of our folks that have festivals and outdoor events are already aware of what they need to do,” he said. Other than the number of permits and licenses being filed, Fairchild has not seen much change at ABLE in the wake of SQ792.

Brew fest

Though City of Oklahoma City held a question-and-answer session in Fall 2018, it left many people unsure of how to proceed. The process has been easier for some more than others. Norman Music Festival, for example, is barely feeling the change at all. This year, a selection of local craft beers will also be available. “I think the Norman Music Festival is really lucky,” said Norman Music Alliance executive director Shari Jackson. Some of the procedural changes that need to be made when selling strong beer have been in place at Norman Music Festival for years. Allowing high-point beer to be sold on festival grounds means they must have a clearly defined perimeter, entrance and exit, which were already a part of the festival’s standard procedure. “It’s going to require a little more effort on our part this year,” Jackson said, “just tightening up a few spots, but I really think we’re in good shape.” For other events, making the change was more difficult. Jackson cited Norman’s Campus Corner as an example. “It was a big learning curve for game

This spring, local outdoor festivals will be able to sell full-strength beer for the first time since last year’s implementation of State Question 792. | Photo Alexa Ace

day,” she said. “We had a lot to learn really quickly.”

Opening season

Jackson and Bleakley see the changes as having an overall positive effect on their festivals. For Jackson, the ability to purchase strong-point beer adds to the experience. “I really like that people can enjoy some of the craft brewers of Oklahoma,” she said, “and being able to enjoy a beverage that may or may not be alcoholic along with your food and music is just a part of the experience.” Bleakley hopes that going through ABLE will allow them to get started on the licensing process earlier in the year, which will save the festival time and hassle. Before obtaining a state license, festivals must have a county license and have both before they can apply for a city license. Under the new law, the county license can be acquired in advance, which makes the process easier. “It was a bit of a challenge, especially when you have so many things going on at a large outdoor event like ours,” Bleakley said. SQ792 appears to be a welcome change for festival organizations, which now have greater freedom in the variety of beer they can sell. For those that are prepared, SQ792 is a series of modernizations long overdue; for those that are not ready, the clock is still ticking.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

ARTS & CULTURE

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Palate and palette

Art and wine events are flourishing by catering to artists in need of liquid courage to coax out their creativity. By Charles Martin

As old adages go, “Everyone has an artist in them” is a harmless gem wielded liberally by every art teacher in the world trying to inspire students. Even if the adage is true and there is a tiny artist dwelling within us all, they don’t all have easy access to the control panels. Maybe Malcolm Gladwell was right and 10,000 hours of practice can achieve mastery in any given field, but who needs mastery when you can have wine instead? A growing number of art classes use libations to coax out inner prodigies for one-night events where a generous pour is paired with a guided painting session. You might not walk out with a masterpiece destined to fetch $100 million at Sotheby’s in New York City, but you might finally unleash your artist’s soul to match that black beret and itchy turtleneck forgotten in your closet. Anthony Pego is an artist with Wine & Palette, which offers pop-up classes around the metro. Pego inherited his passion for painting from his grandmother and has since worked in graphic design, music and a wide range of creative fields, often under the pseudonym Boo Science. He even gained national attention for his series of portraits of politicians as cats. He has been an instructor for Wine & Palette for over

four years and has seen how that creative spark can be ignited in even the most hesitant participants. “At first, they’re nervous; they’re worried that they’re going to suck,” Pego said. “I tell them, ‘No, this is something that everybody can learn. I promise you, you’ve got skills within.’ Everybody comes in worried. And everybody leaves with a beautiful painting and had a great time. That transition is the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.” Pego and the other teachers on the Wine & Palette roster will submit their original work, which will then be placed on the calendar. Prospective participants can then look through the calendar to find a painting they want to try to create. Pego will then walk the class through the steps he took to create it, giving them some fundamental tools that need to be in every artist’s repertoire. Tiffany Bora owns Tipsy Artist, 117 W. Harrison Ave., in Guthrie. She said she focuses on easy and stress-free projects for her classes. “We have tracing templates for all shapes and fonts,” Bora said. “I feel that this still allows for creative freedom with the experience while making it more pleasurable for beginners. I teach a style that I have developed called

Anthony Pego teaches painting to imbibing students with Wine & Palette. | Photo Wine & Palette / provided

Coloring Book Painting. We also offer different painting options at every show so that there is something to offer for a variety of tastes.”

Brushing up

Since the programs are as much entertainment as they are education, they can often be found in various hotspots around the city. Adam and Stephanie Jones opened Paint N’ Cheers seven years ago at 1614 N. Gatewood Ave. in the bustling 16th Street Plaza District. “For two hours, we provide our customers with an experience away from all the crap going on in the world and all the crap going on in their lives and all we concentrate on is painting, drinking and having a great time together,” Adam Jones said.

This is something that everybody can learn. I promise you, you’ve got skills within. Anthony Pego Pinot’s Palette is a national chain that opened a location in 2013 at 115 E. California Ave., Suite 100, in Bricktown. Owner Ashley Gardner said that Pinot’s Palette has an expansive library of paintings and a specialized instructing style to take amateurs from blank canvas to finished painting with enough leeway to allow the more brave to follow their own vision. “We build our calendars two months

in advance and select a wide variety of paintings between landscape, floral, and trending home décor designs,” Gardner said. “Our artists also have the opportunity to make extra money by creating paintings that will be added to our library of thousands of designs and included on our calendar.” Since participants are sometimes choosing the session to take only by the painting that is going to be recreated, Pego said there is strategy involved in what imagery he is going to propose for a class. “People might think artists just smoke a bowl or drink a six pack, have a good cry, then out comes all these colors and lines,” Pego said. “I actually just look at the seasons and sometimes what movies have come out or what songs are popular. Maybe there’s a famous ballet production coming here soon so I’ll do a ballerina. If I’m unsure what colors I want to use, I’ll do a search for ‘spring 2019 colors’ and, if I see fashion designers are using a lot of pink and blue, I’ll do pink and blue paintings.” Though the programs are popular date-night ideas for adults, Pego said it’s not just for the 21-and-up crowd. There are plenty of children’s classes available that forego the drinking component. Of all the age ranges, Pego’s favorite crowds tend to be older. “I recently had this smaller class of around nine ladies in that 50-80 age range,” Pego said. “By the end, I felt like they were all my grandmas. I felt like they really cared for me that much.” Pego said it is normal for each artist to get their own following of students who sign up for classes month after month. Part of that loyalty is inspired by the different art styles, but it’s also that human connection and shared experience unique to communal creativity. “Every once in a while, somebody gets frustrated and you get to help them fix a few things at the end and they’re never big deals. They’re always just minor little details,” Pego said. “They’ve done the bulk of the work; they’re just not happy with, let’s say, a window or the eyes. And you teach them a few tiny little tricks that we artists just know innately. We’ve done it a million times and now they get to learn a tactic or technique that’s super useful that they’ll be employing for the rest of their lives. It’s just hugely fulfilling. Every time I come away from a class I just feel like I’ve done yoga or had some spiritual awakening. My mind is kind of reset in a new place.”

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O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

ARTS & CULTURE

RADIO

Kellie J. Lewis and Thomas Ware III host Them Damn NDNs on TalkJive Radio. | Photo provided

Native sound

Chickasha-based TalkJive Radio is putting Native American culture on blast. By Joshua Blanco

Them Damn NDNs are at it again, pumping the airwaves full of relevant news, friendly conversation and a heterogeneous compilation of music broadcasted to audiences across the globe. Hosted by Kellie J. Lewis and Thomas Ware III, the three-hour program is only a snapshot of the duo’s effort to put TalkJive Radio on the map. Founded by Lewis last year, the fledgling station was launched July 2 in Chickasha as a 24/7 stream designed to keep listeners informed and entertained, providing independent artists with a platform while simultaneously highlighting key issues of national and international significance. No stranger to radio, Lewis’ earliest on-air experiences began while she was still in high school. Later, she found work with two different stations in Anadarko and eventually went on to create Red Dirt Radio before taking a hiatus from the industry altogether. “I’ve always wanted to come back to radio,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to own my own station and be able to play the kind of music that I wanted to play, to be able to help independent artists as much as I can and to just have a different voice out there.” She decided it was time to step up to the plate and move forward with a plan that would make her dream a reality. All she had to do was find a team of people to back her, along with an appropriate co-host with a similar vision and taste in programming. With Pawnee, Kiowa and Wichita blood running through her veins, she knew she wanted to target the Native American audience, though not exclu32

M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

sively. It was important she have a strong focus on this demographic while keeping the station an attractive option for a diverse audience in locations around the world. “It was important to me to bring the American Indian community in, because that’s what we are,” she said. “So we want to make sure that we’re reaching them.”

Radio chemistry

Around the time she got to thinking who she would bring onboard, Lewis crossed paths with Ware, an old friend and son of renowned musician Tom MauchahtyWare, a posthumous 2017 Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame inductee. Having been raised by a singer, dancer, flautist and blues musician who made a name for himself in powwows across the nation, Ware would become an invaluable asset for Lewis’ station programming. “He did a lot in his life and really accomplished a lot,” Ware said of his father. “So that’s where I get a lot of my knowledge and my point of views on a lot of stuff. ... He was really important in my life.” “The first thing Thomas said to me when I approached him about [the station] was ‘Man, that would’ve been perfect for my dad.’ I’m like ‘Yeah, I know, but you gotta do this now,’”Lewis said. Though he’d never hosted a radio show, Ware had the knowledge and experiences he’s carried with him since childhood. A history of musical performance, involvement in live shows and public speaking didn’t hurt either, leading him to describe his new on-air roles as host and producer “a natural suit.” As the air date approached, Lewis

and Ware prepared themselves for an unforgettable debut when, just two days prior to launch, they discovered their broadcasting platform wasn’t going to work. If they had any hopes of bringing the station to an international audience, they would have to think fast. Just under 48 hours from the premiere and it was back to the drawing board for the folks at TalkJive Radio. In what they describe as “a really crazy time” when they would have “to learn a whole new everything,” the team pulled through, successfully broadcasting their station according to schedule.

It was important to me to bring the American Indian community in, because that’s what we are. Kellie J. Lewis A year and a half later, the crew exhibits the same dedication they demonstrated at the beginning of their journey. Every weekday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Lewis and Ware host Them Damn NDNs, in which they play music and take periodic breaks to discuss relevant issues or stories, at times focusing attention on underreported stories that pertain to the Native American community, though this is not always the case. “We know people from all across the U.S. and Canada and different native communities that kind of clue us in to the things that are going on ... things that may not make national news that we still feel like we want to talk about,” said Ivy Smith, producer and business manager at TalkJive Radio.

Show time

At noon Saturdays, listeners can tune into The Crow’s Nest, which features

civil discourse between Lewis, Ware and Dr. Kevin Crow, Professor of History at University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) in Chickasha, covering a wide range of current events and the issues that pertain to these matters, accompanied by an unbiased approach. “The show is meant to give … intelligent, rational discourse without it evolving into everybody shouting,” Lewis said. “It just really shows that it doesn’t matter what political party you are, everybody’s got the same concerns. … A lot of people are fed up about how government works no matter what party they’re with.” Audiences with interests outside the realm of news and politics are invited to tune into Praise Hymn, a segment running 8-10 a.m. Sunday mornings in which American Indian hymns are sung in different languages. A two-hour gospel block follows 10 a.m.-noon, which marks the beginning of Sunday Social. During this time, listeners can hear a variety of community organization leaders discuss their organization and what goals they hope to accomplish. Sports fans are also given an outlet where they receive 30 minutes of updates from local teams ranging from high schoollevel athletics to University of Oklahoma Football to Thunder basketball. Midnight every Friday, Ware retraces his roots with his Friday Night 49, when he discusses and plays Native American war journey and round dance songs, preceded by a powwow hour at 11 p.m. Ware is both Kiowa and Comanche. Of the shows broadcasted by TalkJive Radio, Ware cites Hip-Hop Tuesdays as his favorite. Once a week from 8-10 p.m., Ware hosts a segment that stays true to the station’s original mission: to provide independent artists with an opportunity to expose their music through a public medium. Meanwhile, he hopes listeners will not only enjoy, but also take time to listen to the stories they share. “I grew up in that golden era of hip-hop where it’s about the lyrics; it’s about the stories that you told and the feelings behind it,” he said. “[I want to show] how similar the struggle is for natives in this country as it is for a lot of other minorities. … We have to get educated; We have to learn government; we have to learn law; we have to learn all these things to be able to survive in this world, but at the same time not forget where we came from. … We have to learn to walk both paths.” Them Damn NDNs also plan to attend South by Southwest in March and are currently working on a sponsorship with the Honolulu Intertribal Powwow. “It’s kind of stressful sometimes, but we do have a good time,” Lewis said. “We have a really good camaraderie with each other and it works. I’m just so incredibly lucky that we get to do this everyday.” Visit talkjive.org.

CALENDAR

UNFOLDING YOUR INNER LIGHT!

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

F ree C ommunity P resentation STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS MEDITATION ACTIVE TECHNIQUES FOR LIVING LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT AWARENESS OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ALL BEINGS KEYS FOR EXPANSION OF SELF-AWARENESS INNER AND OUTER COMMUNICATION LIVING IN TWO WORLDS AT ONE TIME: SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL

BOOKS Fearsome Sentences: Writing Workshop with Cameron Brewer an interactive creative writing lesson taught by the activist, poet and standup comic, 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 13. Ralph Ellison Library, 2000 NE 23rd St., 405-424-1437, metrolibrary.org/locations. WED

S aturday , M arch 16 9:15-10 aM

Scott Warren book signing the author will sign copies of his book Generation Citizen: The Power of Youth in Our Politics about young activists, 3 p.m. March 16. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT

OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY 2201 SW 134th Street

PRESENTED BY IPM INTERNATIONAL a nonprofit educational organization

W.K. Stratton the author will sign copies of his book The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film, 6-7:30 p.m. March 14. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. THU

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FILM Cabaret (1972, USA, Bob Fosse) a club entertainer (Liza Minnelli) loves two men in Berlin as the Nazis rise to power, March 18. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno Ave., 405-231-4747, harkinstheatres.com. MON A Date with the Duke: The Quiet Man (1952, USA, John Ford) a retired American boxer falls in love when he returns to Ireland, 5-8 p.m. March 14. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. THU Filmography: Spring Breakers (2012, USA, Harmony Korine) college coeds become involved with a drug and weapons dealer after they’re arrested during a spring break trip, 8-10 p.m. March 15. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. FRI Shutter Island (2010, USA, Martin Scorsese) a U.S. Marshall searches for an escaped mental patient on a small island in 1954, 7-9 p.m. March 13. Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405-708-6937, towertheatreokc.com. WED

HAPPENINGS Aviation & Aerospace Awareness Day 2019 an event promoting awareness of the aviation industry and including a career fair, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 19. Oklahoma Capitol Building, 2200 N. Lincoln, 405-521-3356, ok.gov. TUE Breaking into Medical Marijuana Industry for Entrepreneurs learn about working in the medical marijuana business from cultivation and processing to dispensary jobs at this seminar, 9 a.m.-noon March 16. Hampton Inn, 300 E. Sheridan Ave. SAT Dark Dancing a gothic dance party with a theme based on the Western vampire movie Near Dark, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. March 16. Sauced on Paseo, 2912 Paseo St., 405-521-9800, saucedonpaseo.com. SAT Drag Bingo try to fill your card at this evening hosted by Luxx Bentley and benefitting Other Options, Inc. and Great Plains Rodeo Association, 7-9 p.m. March 13. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-601-7200, theboomokc.com. WED Haru Cosplay Dance an all-ages costume ball raising money for the Future Society of Central Oklahoma, 6-10 p.m. March 16. First Unitarian Church, 600 NW 13th St., 405-232-9224, 1uc.org. SAT Jurassic Quest enjoy rides and activities at this dinosaur-themed carnival, March 15-17. Oklahoma State Fair Park, 3220 Great Plains Walk, 405-9486700, okstatefair.com. FRI-SUN Let’s Do Something About Homelessness an open dialogue about what can be done about the problem of homelessness in Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. March 13. Nappy Roots, 3705 Springlake Drive, 405896-0203, facebook.com/pg/nappyrootsbooks. WED Life Imagined: The Art and Science of Automata see examples of mechanical proto-robots from 1850 to the modern day, through Sept. 29. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. SUN Norman Swap Meet shop for auto parts and vehicles at this swap meet featuring scooters, hot rods, hang gliders, hovercrafts and more, March 14-16. Cleveland County Fairgrounds, 615 East Robinson St, 405-360-4721. THU-SAT Say Yes To The Prom Dress Drive attendees with a valid high school ID can get a free prom dress and shoes and register to win free makeup and hairstyling, 4-7 p.m. March 16. Ice Event Center & Grill, 1148 NE 36th St., 405-208-4240, iceeventcentergrill.eat24hour.com. SAT Speakeasy 90s-00s Dance Party hear hits from the turn of the 21st century and enjoy Adult Capri Suns, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. March 16. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. SAT

Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble: Reeds A-Plenty When it comes to classical music, reeding is fundamental: Clarinets, oboes and bassoons all require a vibrating reed or two to function properly. Join Brightmusic as it celebrates this essential instrument piece with compositions by Camille Saint-Saëns, François Devienne, Mikhail Glinka and more. If the concert is popular enough, maybe we can someday get a salute to spit valves. The concert begins 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW Seventh St. Admission is $20. Visit brightmusic.org. TUESDAY Photo bigstock.com

Stockyards City St. Patrick’s Parade a parade featuring marching bands, equestrian clubs, classic cars, community groups and more and co-hosted by the Oklahoma Irish Heritage Association, 10 a.m. March 16. Stockyards City, 1307 S. Agnew Ave., 405235-7267, stockyardscity.org. SAT

YOUTH Kid’s Fest a children’s festival featuring face painting, inflatables, tattoos, food trucks, pop-up shops and more, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. March 17. Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SUN Little Saplings toddlers and their parents can learn about gardening through songs, games and other activities, 10-11 a.m. March 19. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE Spring Break in the Gardens children can learn about gardening and crafts through hands-on activities including fruit-and-vegetable stamping, making weather wind sticks and seed planting, 10 a.m.-noon Tuesdays and Thursdays, March 12-21. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens. com. TUE-THU

continued on page 34

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!

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

CALENDAR C A L E N DA R

continued from page 33 The Story of a Tree learn about the life of a tree by studying slices and going on a scavenger hunt through the garden, 10-11:30 a.m. March 19. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE

PERFORMING ARTS

Girlfriend two high-school students find love, soundtracked by Matthew Sweet’s music, through March 17. Lyric Theatre, 1727 NW 16th St., 405-524-9310, lyrictheatreokc.com. THU-SUN Joel Forlenza: The Piano Man the pianist performs variety of songs made famous by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and, of course, Billy Joel, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Othello’s Italian Restaurant, 434 Buchanan Ave., 405-701-4900, othellos.us. TUE-WED OKC Improv performers create scenes based on audience suggestions, March 15-16. OKC Improv, 1757 N.W. 16th St., 405-456-9858, okcimprov.com. FRI-SAT

Piano Artist Series: Chih-Long Hu the classical pianist performs works by Schubert, Chopin and Mozart, 2:30 p.m. March 17. All Souls Episcopal Church, 6400 N. Pennsylvania Ave., 405-842-1461, allsoulsokc.com. SUN Sanctuary Karaoke Service don a choir robe and sing your favorite song, 9 p.m.-midnight Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sanctuary Barsilica, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., facebook.com/sanctuarybarokc. WED-THU The Skride Piano Quartet the quartet performs music by Mahler, Mozart, and Brahms at the fourth concert in Chamber Music In Oklahoma’s 2018-2019 season, 4 p.m. March 17. Christ the King Catholic Church, 8005 Dorset Drive, 405-842-1481, ckokc.org. SUN Weekly Jams bring an instrument and play along with others at this open-invitation weekly jam session, 9:30 p.m.-midnight Tuesdays. Saints, 1715 NW 16th St., 405-602-6308, saintspubokc.com. TUE

ACTIVE Adult Open Play Half Court Basketball play four-on-four basketball weekly, 6:30 p.m. Mondays. Cole Community Center, 4400 Northwest Expressway, 405-418-7636, okcfirst.com. MON Co-ed Open Adult Volleyball enjoy a game of friendly yet competitive volleyball while making new friends, 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays. Jackie Cooper Gym, 1024 E. Main St., 405-350-8920, cityofyukon.gov. WED The Lucky Coyote 5K a St. Patrick’s Day race with a costume contest and a free COOP beer for everyone who crosses the finish line, 10 a.m.-noon March 16. The Patriarch Craft Beer House & Lawn, 9 E. Edwards St., 405-285-6670, ThePatriarchEdmond.com. SAT Open Badminton hit some birdies in some morning pick-up games of badminton with friends, 10 a.m.noon Saturdays. Jackie Cooper Gym, 1024 E. Main St., 405-350-8920, cityofyukon.gov. SAT Wheeler Criterium a weekly nighttime cycling event with criterium races, food trucks and family activities, 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays. Wheeler Park, 1120 S. Western Ave., 405-297-2211, okc.gov. TUE Yoga Tuesdays an all-levels class; bring your own water and yoga mat, 5:45 p.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE

Go Green, St. Patrick’s Day in the Gardens Before you are the legal age for chasing Jameson shots with green beer, one of the primary diversions of St. Patrick’s Day is learning which of your friends pronounce “pinch” like “peench” as they dole out punishment to anyone not wearing green. Give your children a slightly more enriching experience at this event where kids ages 4-10 can learn about Irish heritage and search for a leprechaun’s pot of gold, which, if the movies tell us anything, has never gone wrong for anyone. The celebration is noon-3 p.m. Sunday at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave. Admission is $5. Visit myriadgardens.org. SUNDAY Photo Doug Hoke / provided

VISUAL ARTS Against the Grain an exhibition of artful furniture created from salvaged and reclaimed wood by Zach True Hammack, March 14-April 28. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. THU-SUN Art and Brews! Vol 2. learn the art of marbling paint at this workshop led by Kerri Shadid, 6:30-8 p.m. Vanessa House Beer Co., 118 NW 8th St., 405517-0511, vanessahousebeerco.com. WED The Art of Collection an exhibition of outsider and anonymous artworks from the Anonyma Fine Art collection owned and curated by Emily Ladow Reynolds, through March 14. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-9995, 1ne3.org. THU La Luz y La Sombra (Light and Dark) an exhibition of photographs by Alan R. Ball, through March 31. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-6017474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com. FRI-SUN The Love of Color an exhibition of paintings by Oklahoma City artist Nancy Junkin, March 14-April 28. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. THU-SUN

Lords of Chaos Doubling as a music biopic and horror flick, director Jonas Åkerlund’s 2018 film is based on one of rock’s uglier chapters, and that is really saying something. In popularizing Norwegian black metal, the actions of the members of the band Mayhem begin to mirror their own violently transgressive music, leading to arson, suicide and murder. RogerEbert.com film critic Simon Abrams wrote: “Åkerlund’s shock tactics — brain matter, blood spatter, and realistic-sounding howls of pain — are neither shocking nor thoughtful,” but plenty of critics have said similar things about Mayhem itself. The film begins 10 p.m. Friday at Rodeo Cinema, 221 Exchange Ave. Tickets are $10. Call 405-815-3275 or visit rodeocinema.org. FRIDAY Photo provided Oklahoma Photographers exhibition view works created by NGHBRS, Sarah Black and Ian Spencer, through April 7. DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16th St., 405-525-3499, dnagalleries.com. THU-SUN Roland Miguel exhibition view the artist’s oil paintings and pen-and-ink works, through March 30. Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo St., 405-525-2688, thepaseo.com. FRI-SAT A Ship Named Atlast an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by multimedia artist and author Tammy Nguyen, through March 15. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, 405-325-2691, art.ou.edu. MON-FRI Skip Hill, Irmgard Geul, John Wolfe an exhibition of paintings and mixed-media artworks, through March 31. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com. FRI-SUN Symbiotic professional and student artists teamed up to create the works on exhibit, through March 14. Melton Gallery, 100 N. University drive, 405-5253603, uco.edu. THU Waterless Lithography Workshop learn about the process of waterless lithography printmaking at this class taught by Virginia Sitzes, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. March 16. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405815-9995, 1ne3.org. SAT Westheimer Distinguished Visiting Artist Chair: Mildred Howard the mixed-media and sculptural artist creates works that explore socio-political topics such as sexism and racism in unconventional ways, through April 7. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/ fjjma. FRI-SUN

Whiteout at Campbell Art Park an outdoor artwork made by hundreds of transparent white spheres embedded with white LED lights and animated in large-scale patterns, through March 31. Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-000, oklahomacontemporary.org. WED-SUN

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.

For OKG live music

see page 37

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M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

EVENT

MUSIC

Hello, Death

Michigan-based Greet Death thrives on being difficult to categorize. By Jeremy Martin

About 20 years ago in a first-grade classroom, Greet Death began to form. Bassist Sam Boyhtari, guitarist Logan Gaval and former drummer Anthony Spak became childhood friends in Davisburg, Michigan, before they learned long division, but they wouldn’t pick up their instruments for a few more years. “Logan started playing guitar when he was 10,” Boyhtari said. “He started taking lessons, and my dad played in a band with some friends … so I played my dad’s bass for a while, and we would just meet up after school with some other friends. We had like a punk rock band that we were doing. … We kind of came up on bands like Blink-182 and Green Day, you know, the classic pop-punk bands. We started playing really fast. I think we would just go in his basement and do Enema of the State.” Greet Death, with new drummer Jimmy Versluis, plays 8 p.m. Monday at Resonator Institute, 325 E. Main St., in Norman. Though Boyhtari recently

moved to Chicago, he said he and Gaval are “pretty much telepathic” at this point in their relationship. “That’s just kind of how long we’ve been friends,” Boyhtari said. The two took a break from playing punk rock in middle school, but the emergence of a wave of “quintessential indie surf rock bands,” including Surfer Blood and Best Coast, renewed their enthusiasm around 2010. “We went to see a couple of those guys very early on,” Boyhtari said, “and those are some of the first, like, legit club shows we went to in Detroit, so we were real stoked on that and these bands that were kind of smaller coming up. We were like, ‘Man, let’s start playing music again … let’s actually try to do another band.’” The new band, originally called Pines, began to move in a heavier direction, inspired by a basement show they played with Indiana act Cloakroom. “I think that left a big impact on us,” Boyhtari said. “It was just this heavy, powerful music with very pretty vocals and kind of a country underscore, and I don’t think that immediately took hold on us but … we also listened to a lot of Neil Young and Songs: Ohia and singer/ songwriter stuff. … I think we kind of grew out of what we were doing and slowly started making heavier music, but also perhaps with even more pop influence, in a way. It wasn’t really a conscious thing.”

Expanding horizons Greet Death released Dixieland in 2017. | Image provided

Finding a forest of other Pines on streaming sites, the band changed its name to Greet Death after an Explosions

in the Sky song, although Boyhtari said he doesn’t “particularly care for postrock.” And though the band has been compared to ’90s shoegaze and slowcore acts, until recently, the 25-year old bassist and vocalist said he also wasn’t all that interested in music recorded before he was born. “I think I’m changing in that regard for the better, but I used to really not listen to a lot of music that predated me,” Boyhtari said. “We’ve always been into Pink Floyd, which is where, I think, some of our instrumental influence comes from, but my dad, his band is more of a prog band. They’re really into Yes and Rush. I mean, I used to listen to Rush when I was a kid, Rush is cool for their own reasons, even though I really think it’s pretty corny. My mom and dad love music … but I don’t know if their influences have ever directly been a thing. I would go down to my dad’s band’s practice space when I was young and bang on the drums with them, so I had music in me, I guess. A lot of the music that I started listening to when I first started listening to music came from my friends. I would take my dad’s, Cheap Trick records and listen to them on the school bus and stuff like that. … I think Logan is more influenced by some of some ’90s stuff than me, but I personally really don’t care for that era of music that much. I was never really into Built to Spill. I don’t know. Obviously, we used to listen to some of the Blink-182 stuff when we were playing punk, and I think that’s nostalgic for us.” Figuring out exactly what kind of music Greet Death plays is difficult for people in and outside the band. “It’s funny,” Boyhtari said. “The other night, I forget where we played, but I think we were playing in Saratoga, and there were a bunch of people that were, like, ‘Man, it’s cool to have some punk bands coming through,’ and I’m like, ‘Are we a punk band?’ I don’t care, but that’s kind of the first time someone

Greet Death plays 8 p.m. Monday at Resonator Institute in Norman. | Photo provided

called us a punk band. We have a faster song that we’re playing right now. Maybe that’s why they thought that, but I’m not sure.” Rating the album 7.7 out of 10, Pitchfork writer Ian Cohen wrote that 2017’s Dixieland “could either be described as slowcore or doomgaze,” but Boyhtari said the band’s newest material for its upcoming album — exemplified by single “Strange Days,” released last month — features a different approach and different influences. “I think, just from a songwriting perspective, it’s far superior because Logan and I have become better and, I think, continue to become better,” Boyhtari said. “There’s a lot more of a lyrical focus and narrative focus. The stuff on Dixieland, it’s not really lyrically driven. The lyrics can be sparse on that record, but the way I write naturally is pretty lyrically focused and Logan especially just started doing a lot of solo songwriting. He started a little solo project where he really focused on writing songs, and he’s doing really amazing stuff. … I think there’s maybe a little bit more country in it, a lot more sadness, a lot more desolation. … I just think of it as a country record in a funny way.” As Greet Death evolves, Boyhtari said he wants it to become even harder to group with other bands. “Especially now, the influences aren’t on a sleeve,” Boyhtari said. “I think we’re getting better at just having our own space that we inhabit.” Oklahoma acts The Premonitions and Speak, Memory share the bill. Visit resonator.space.

Greet Death 8 p.m. Monday Resonator Institute 325 E. Main St., Norman resonator.space $5

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

F E AT U R E

MUSIC

Lyrical libations

Both old and new music venues in Oklahoma City offer a range of drinks to concertgoers. By Jo Light

Oklahoma City has a rich and thriving live music scene, and a wide variety of venues have found success supporting the diversity of the city’s music fans. Some of OKC’s coolest venues have bars that reflect this uniqueness, too. Want someplace smoke-filled, small or sort of divey? Or how about an arena setting where the concerts are big and loud and the drinks are unexpectedly elevated? Maybe you would prefer a hip Film Row location with smart, chic drinks that millennials will love. Whatever your tastes, Oklahoma City has the perfect venue and bar for you — we just picked a few standouts.

51st Street Speakeasy 1114 NW 51st St. 51stspeakeasy.com 405-463-0470 51st Street Speakeasy is a gathering spot for artists, comedians, trivia teams and bands from all around, along with their multitudes of fans. Music acts range from hip-hop to rock and experimental. The space itself offers several different areas for patrons to enjoy. If you need a break from the music in the main room, you can slip outside, go upstairs or find another nook to take a break, making Speakeasy one of the city’s most chill hangouts. It makes sense that the bar offerings would be just as varied as the talent and clientele. At the Speakeasy, you can get classic cocktails, pints, shots and the house-made fireball that locals love. Since the beginning of this year, local craft brewery Anthem Brewing Company has sponsored the Speakeasy stage, so local beers are now on offer. Greg Bustamante, who has helped run the Speakeasy for about 11 years, also teased that Anthem has several new beers in the works.

Chesapeake Energy Arena

Royse-Billings. She said she conceptualized for six months and was given free rein to play. A drink called Thunder Punch from Old No. 7 is popular even when the Thunder are not playing. It’s made with Cruzan Aged Light Rum, Malibu Coconut Rum, blue curaçao, peach sour and orange and cranberry juice. Another favorite is the frozen Jack & Coke, which Royse-Billings likened to a spiked Icee. At Budweiser Brew House, the dirty margarita and Thunder Storm reign supreme. The Thunder Storm is similar to a Dark ’n’ Stormy, which features three rums, mango puree, pineapple juice, grenadine and blue curaçao.

HiLo Club 1221 NW 50th St. facebook.com/hiloclubokc 405-843-1722 HiLo has been slinging drinks to Oklahomans since 1956 and prides itself on a familial and supportive atmosphere. The bar nearly faced extinction in late 2017 when it was slated for demolition to make way for a Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store. Thankfully, it was saved in January 2018 after community protests, and HiLo has lived on as one of Oklahoma City’s most beloved dive bars. Local and national talent perform weekly on an intimate, unique stage lit with string lights while cocktails and regional beers are offered close by. Bartender and booking agent Houston Gandy named the HiLo Happy Meal as one of the club’s signatures. It is a Miller High Life and a shot of peppermint Schnapps sold for $3.50. Another popular mainstay is the Holy Diver, a cocktail that gets its name from a Ronnie James Dio song. “It’s a whole lot of fruit juice, rum, coconut rum and 151 rum,” Gandy said. “And it’s exquisite.” Those fruit juices include orange, cranberry and pineapple. For those who

want to steer clear of fruits, HiLo’s beers are all under $5 and the well cocktails for $4.50 are generously poured.

The Jones Assembly 901 W. Sheridan Ave. jonesassembly.com 405-212-2378 The Jones Assembly is one of OKC’s hippest music venues and features a full-service restaurant and multiple bar areas. Whether guests are sitting under the glittering lights of the main bar, enjoying the upstairs mezzanine bar or hanging on the patio bar, they can enjoy some of the coolest drinks in the city. The Disco Nap, made with El Jimador tequila, Cointreau, lime, sage syrup and blackberry, is The Jones’ popular take on a margarita. It’s a vibrant purple drink garnished with sage leaves and a blackberry. Guests can also go for something colder and try the Frosé, which is a frozen cocktail made with Marqués de Cáceres rosé, Gordon’s Gin, lemon juice and strawberry. Music fans can also look forward to the return of the Jones Squeeze, its version of an adult Capri Sun, by the time Jenny Lewis plays on April 4.

fresh, natural and organic products as possible with no sugar added. Opolis also offers its take on a Greyhound called the X-Hound, which is a tequila, grapefruit juice and X-RATED liqueur cocktail. It also offers a vegan bloody mary.

The Jones Assembly’s Disco Nap is the establishment’s unique take on a margarita. | Photo Alexa Ace

Opolis 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman opolis.org 405-230-0311 Live music fans have long flocked to Opolis in Norman to enjoy a range of touring and local acts, pack into the cozy space and line up eagerly to get drinks at the small bar. The venue’s signature drink is a punch that is mixed for each show from a recipe by co-owner Marian Nunez. It usually starts with an apple juice and vodka base. Additional ingredients range from fresh ginger to tea and other juices. “Like, right now we have Pineapple Dream,” Nunez said, “which is apple juice, pineapple, mint, vanilla and vodka. I try to keep it just juice and booze.” Since the establishment has become known for its vegan- and vegetarianfriendly food options, it’s not a surprise that Nunez’s punch utilizes as many

51st Street Speakeasy recently added Anthem Brewing Company beers on tap. | Photo Alexa Ace

100 W. Reno Ave. chesapeakearena.com 405-602-8700 Chesapeake Energy Arena provides entertainment on a grand scale with food and drink to match. The staff has made a particular effort to avoid arena clichés and elevate everything that’s offered in its restaurants. Both Budweiser Brew House and Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Club feature cocktail menus developed by bartender Anna The HiLo Happy Meal consists of a Miller High Life and a shot of peppermint schnapps. | Photo Alexa Ace

M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Opolis punch | Photo Alexa Ace

LIVE MUSIC Steve’n’Seagulls, Tower Theatre. FOLK

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

MONDAY, MAR. 18 Black Belt Eagle Scout, 89th Street-OKC. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

Crunk Witch/Kat Lock/Schat & the Skeleton Trees, Red Brick Bar. ROCK

WEDNESDAY, MAR. 13 1GCrew, Life Organics Cannafe. POP

TUESDAY, MAR. 19

Alexander Gregory/Maya’s Illusion/Bannister Chaava, The Root. SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

BRD, The Blue Door. JAZZ

Amelia White/Lachlan Bryan, The Blue Door.

Divided Heaven/Saturn/Make Out Spot, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

SINGER/SONGWRITER

THURSDAY, MAR. 14 Neon Indian, Tower Theatre. ELECTRONIC Noah Davis/Amanda Cunningham/Tig Blues, The Root. SINGER/SONGWRITER Sarah Maud, The Blue Door. JAZZ

FRIDAY, MAR. 15 Attalla/Black Road/Crobone, 89th Street-OKC. ROCK

Birdgangs/Acid Queen/Bobby Chill & the Wave, The Root. ROCK

Dischordia Gorguts, Demilich, Slugdge — if names like those mean nothing to you, you might never have heard anything as complexly heavy as Dischordia’s 2018 EP Binge/Purge. Over two tracks in 20 minutes, the OKC progressive metal trio incorporates flute, marimba, ukulele and the Rose State College Chorus into the classic bass/guitar/drums setup, but the overall sound is more like a demonic opera in the depths of hell than a Kansas album. Baring Teeth, Malicyde and Depraved share the bill, so BYOEarplugs. The show starts 7 p.m. Saturday at 89th Street – OKC, 8911 N. Western Ave. Admission is $10. Visit 89thstreetokc.com. SATURDAY Photo provided

SATURDAY, MAR. 16

SUNDAY, MAR. 17

Finkel/Dire Gnome/Tribesmen, Resonator. POP

Abbigale Dawn/Bailey Gilbert Band, Bluebonnet Bar. SINGER/SONGWRITER

The Big News/The Holophonics/Younger Than Neil, Bison Witches Bar & Deli. SKA

Ian Moore/Shane Henry, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar.

The Fey/Plainswalker/The Premontions, The Root.

The Black Lillies, The Blue Door. ROCK

DJ Vince Lepeltier, Fassler Hall. ELECTRONIC

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Kyle Dillingham & Horseshoe Road, CHK/Central Boathouse. FOLK/COUNTRY Ray Wylie Hubbard, Tower Theatre. SINGER/SONGWRITER

ROCK

Marren Morris, The Criterion. POP Sensible Shoes/Ry Dalee & Evangeline, The Basement. FOLK/ROCK

Castle, Blue Note Lounge. METAL Jarvix/Eos/Chameleon Factory, Sauced on Paseo. EXPERIMENTAL Samia/Donna Missal, 89th Street-OKC. ROCK

Sugarpulp/The Velvet J’s, The Root. POP/ROCK

WEDNESDAY, MAR. 20 Eve to Adam/City of the Weak, 89th Street-OKC. ROCK

The Palmer Squares/Nymasis/S.Reidy, The Deli. HIP-HOP

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Upon waking up for the next seven mornings, sing a song that fills you with feisty, glorious hope. ARIES (March 21-April 19)

The coming weeks might be a good time to acquire a flamethrower. It would come in handy if you felt the urge to go to a beach and incinerate mementoes from an ex-ally. It would also be useful if you wanted to burn stuff that reminds you of who you used to be and don’t want to be any more; or if you got in the mood to set ablaze symbols of questionable ideas you used to believe in but can’t afford to believe in any more. If you don’t want to spend $1,600+ on a flamethrower, just close your eyes for ten minutes and visualize yourself performing acts of creative destruction like those I mentioned.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Philip Boit was born and raised in Kenya, where it never snows except on the very top of Mount Kenya. Yet he represented his country in the cross-country skiing events at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2006. How did he do it? He trained up north in snowy Finland. Meanwhile, Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong competed for Ghana in the slalom in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Since there was no snow in his homeland, he practiced his skills in the French Alps. These two are your role models for the coming months, Cancerian. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’ll have the potential to achieve success in tasks and activities that may not seem like a natural fit.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Taurus aphorist Olivia Dresher writes that she would like to be “a force of nature,” but “not causing any suffering.” The way I interpret her longing is that she wants to be wild, elemental, uninhibited, primal, raw, pure—all the while without inflicting any hurt or damage on herself or anyone else. In accordance with your astrological omens, Taurus, that’s a state I encourage you to embody in the coming weeks. If you’re feeling extra smart—which I suspect you will—you could go even further. You may be able to heal yourself and others with your wild, elemental, uninhibited, primal, raw, pure energy.

In the process of casting for his movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, director David Fincher considered selecting A-list actress Scarlet Johansson to play the heroine. But ultimately he decided she was too sexy and radiant. He wanted a pale, thin, tougher-looking actress, whom he found in Rooney Mara. I suspect that in a somewhat similar way, you may be perceived as being too much something for a role you would actually perform quite well. But in my astrological opinion, you’re not at all too much. In fact, you’re just right. Is there anything you can do—with full integrity—to adjust how people see you and understand you without diluting your brightness and strength?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

In some major cities, the buttons you push at a crosswalk don’t actually work to make the traffic light turn green faster. The same is true about the “Close Door” buttons in many elevators. Pushing them doesn’t have any effect on the door. Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer says these buttons are like placebos that give you “the illusion of control.” I bring this phenomenon to your attention, Gemini, in hope of inspiring you to scout around for comparable things in your life. Is there any situation where you imagine you have power or influence, but probably don’t? If so, now is an excellent time to find out—and remedy that problem.

the lover,” wrote author James Baldwin. “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” To fully endorse that statement, I’d need to add two adverbs. My version would be, “The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to kindly and compassionately make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” In accordance with current astrological omens, I recommend that you Libras enthusiastically adopt that mission during the coming weeks. With tenderness and care, help those you care about to become aware of what they’ve been missing—and ask for the same from them toward you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

For thousands of generations, our early ancestors were able to get some of the food they needed through a practice known as persistence hunting. They usually couldn’t run as fast as the animals they chased. But they had a distinct advantage: they could keep moving relentlessly until their prey grew exhausted. In part that’s because they had far less hair than the animals, and thus could cool off better. I propose that we adopt this theme as a metaphor for your life in the coming weeks and months. You won’t need to be extra fast or super ferocious or impossibly clever to get what you want. All you have to do is be persistent and dogged and disciplined.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

In 1993, an English gardener named Eric Lawes used his metal detector to look for a hammer that his farmer friend had lost in a field. Instead of the hammer, he found the unexpected: a buried box containing 15,234 old Roman silver and gold worth more than four million dollars today. I bring this to your attention, Virgo, because I suspect that you, too, will soon discover something different from what you’re searching for. Like the treasure Lawes located, it might even be more valuable than what you thought you wanted.

Wompsi’kuk Skeesucks Brooke is a Native American woman of the Mohegan tribe. According to her description of Mohegan naming traditions, and reported by author Elisabeth Pearson Waugaman, “Children receive names that are descriptive. They may be given new names at adolescence, and again as they go through life according to what their life experiences and accomplishments are.” She concludes that names “change as the individual changes.” If you have been thinking about transforming the way you express and present yourself, you might want to consider such a shift. 2019 will be a favorable time to at least add a new nickname or title. And I suspect you’ll have maximum inspiration to do so in the coming weeks.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

“The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of

For many of us, smell is our most neglected sense. We see,

hear, taste, and feel with vividness and eagerness, but allow our olfactory powers to go underused. In accordance with astrological omens, I hope you will compensate for that dearth in the coming weeks. There is subtle information you can obtain—and in my opinion, need quite strongly—that will come your way only with the help of your nose. Trust the guidance provided by scent.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb says humans come in three types: fragile, robust, or antifragile. Those who are fragile work hard to shield themselves from life’s messiness. The downside? They are deprived of experiences that might spur them to grow smarter. As for robust people, Taleb believes they are firm in the face of messiness. They remain who they are even when they’re disrupted. The potential problem? They may be too strong to surrender to necessary transformations. If you’re the third type, antifragile, you engage with the messiness and use it as motivation to become more creative and resilient. The downside? None. In accordance with the astrological omens, Aquarius, I urge you to adopt the antifragile approach in the coming weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

In 2014, NASA managed to place its MAVEN spacecraft into orbit around Mars. The cost of the mission was $671 million. Soon thereafter, the Indian government put its own vehicle, the Mangalyaan, into orbit around the Red Planet. It spent $74 million. As you plan your own big project, Pisces, I recommend you emulate the Mangalyaan rather than the MAVEN. I suspect you can do great things—maybe even your personal equivalent of sending a spacecraft to Mars—on a relatively modest budget.

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.

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

PUZZLES NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE MATH HYSTERIA | 0317 By Adam Fromm Puzzles edited by Will Shortz ACROSS 1 Get along 8 New York’s longest parkway, with “the” 15 Eats 19 Exodus figure 20 Well turned 21 The Nutcracker protagonist 22 L x A 24 Actor Gillen of Game of Thrones 25 Vodka in a blue bottle 26 Test for college srs. 27 Instrument that represents the duck in “Peter and the Wolf” 28 Lacework technique 30 The Caribbean’s ____ Islands 33 Put at stake 35 Police group with an assignment 36 Mystery Writers of America trophy 39 x – y = x – y 42 Certain red algae 45 Middling mark 46 Fishmonger, at times 47 (A- or B+)/7 50 Postwar German sobriquet 54 Abbr. on a phone dial 55 Brest friend 56 Single hair on a carpet, maybe 59 Theresa May, for one 60 “Likewise” 62 Only places to find anteaters in the U.S. 63 Caboose 65 On point 67 √666 71 Dawn goddess 72 Blank section at the start of a cassette 74 Drop acid 75 Tennis’s Nadal 77 Bus Stop playwright 78 Short cuts 79 “Hey ____” 80 Director Caro 83 Free all-ad publication 86 $$$/X 90 Spanish-speaking Muppet on Sesame Street 93 A short while? 94 Brewery named for a New York river 95 3.BB 100 Mullah’s decree 101 Like unbaked bread 102 Box score bit 103 Noted dog trainer 106 Founder of Egypt’s 19th dynasty 108 WSJ announcements 110 Drop to zero battery 111 Curse word 115 Some giggling dolls 116 XEsq 120 Prognosticators 121 Hobbyist 122 Turned yellow, say 123 Goes off course 124 Actress Portia 125 One way to turn

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF George Lang glang@okgazette.com

advertising@okgazette.com 405-528-6000

OPERATIONS & MARKETING MANAGER Kelsey Lowe

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Saundra Rinearson Godwin Christy Duane Chris White

STAFF REPORTERS Jacob Threadgill Jeremy Martin Miguel Rios

CALENDAR COORDINATOR Jeremy Martin

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PHOTOGRAPHER/ VIDEOGRAPHER Alexa Ace

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ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Karen Holmes

ILLUSTRATOR/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER Ingvard Ashby

CIRCULATION MANAGER Chad Bleakley

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Tiffany McKnight

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Order mounted or ready-to-frame prints of Oklahoma Gazette covers, articles and photos at okgazette.yourheadline.com

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3701 N. Shartel Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73118-7102 PHONE (405) 528-6000 FAX (405) 528-4600 www.okgazette.com

to cross 57 Letters sometimes followed by :D 58 Handle online 61 Soldier food, for short 62 Throw in the microwave, slangily 63 R&B group with the 1991 No. 1 hit “I Like the Way” 64 She, in Portuguese 65 Father-and-daughter boxing champs 66 Phnom ____ 68 Mystical ball, e.g. 69 Kind of year: Abbr. 70 Former national airline of Brazil 73 Sticks on the tongue? 76 Made an attempt 78 Verve 79 1993 Salt-N-Pepa hit whose title is a nonsense word 81 Didn’t doubt 82 Notion 84 Sappho, e.g. 85 Annual athletic awards show 87 For sale in malls 88 Theater reproof 89 Dope 91 Contraction in a Christmas song 92 Like Quakers 95 Actor Gibson of 2 Fast 2 Furious 96 Doctor 97 Demolition tool 98 Stick on, as a poster 99 Exclamation that might accompany a curtsy

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kimberly Lynch

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ACCOUNTING/ HR MANAGER Marian Harrison

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CONTRIBUTORS Joshua Blanco, Matt Dinger Jo Light, Charles Martin

MARKETING ASSISTANT Kendall Bleakley

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8 K’ung Fu-____ (Chinese name for Confucius) 9 “Now I get it!” 10 Russian blue or Egyptian Mau 11 OxyContin, e.g. 12 Archenemy 13 Martinique, par exemple 14 Dermatologist’s concern 15 Fashionable set 16 Angular measurement 17 Relating to radioactive element No. 92 18 Wrist ornament 21 Booking for a wedding 23 Grassy stretches 29 First female singer to have three simultaneous solo top 10 singles 31 Elvis’s middle name 32 Guitar inlay material 34 Seller of Famous Bowls 36 Gas brand with an oval logo 37 Pitched low 38 Attempted something 40 Opening to an apology 41 Tapering haircut DOWN 43 Nonmoving part of a motor 1 Two-stripe NCOs: Abbr. 44 Blobbish Li’l Abner creature 2 “Sure, I guess” 48 Painter whose masterwork is said to 3 “No sweat” be the Scrovegni Chapel frescoes 4 Airport security apparatus 49 Earth Science subj. 5 Follower of Christ? 51 The ____ Road in America 6 Like cornflakes, after sitting for a (Nevada’s Highway 50) while 52 Wynken, Blynken and Nod, e.g. 7 1,000 large calories 53 Things that people are warned not

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EDITORIAL

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Brittany Pickering

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PUBLISHER

First-class mail subscriptions are $119 for one year, and most issues at this rate will arrive 1-2 days after publication.

Please address all unsolicited news items (non-returnable) to the editor.

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Peter J. Brzycki

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VOL. XLI NO. 11 Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers. The cash value of this copy is $1. Persons taking copies of the Oklahoma Gazette from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution.

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104 Lab-assisted, after “in” 105 Admit 107 Device that comes with 79-Across 109 ____-chef 112 Years in the Roman Empire 113 Abound 114 Fictional Mr. 117 Old-fashioned cry of despair 118 Part of TGIF: Abbr. 119 W.W. II rationing agcy.

EDITORIAL INTERN Nikita Lewchuk

SUDOKU VERY HARD | N° 46571

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

Adam Fromm lives in Providence, Rhode Island. He works for a pharmaceutical company and moonlights as a singersongwriter. This puzzle is a throwback to his college days when he briefly majored in math .?.?. before switching to literature. He prefers subjects that ‘‘don’t require the right answer, only a reasonable one.’’ This is his fifth puzzle for The Times — W.S.

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

SKULLDUGGERY LANE By Ingvard Ashby

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS

Puzzle No. 0310, which appeared in the March 6 issue. P I S H E M A J A C M E G I B B

M A R C H 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

E R A O F

C O L O R

A B O V E A T A L I L L M I O C K R E A R L O A O A T A K E M S A A R B C E A A N T R E E

N O M E S S S T O L I D T R I A G E D

S T E R N E R A F T A C H A R G E R S

M I L J A O A O L E T A T H Y L S H L O E J V I E E J O S S

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

L E N T B U U S N T P A E G M O E J L O O I S P A U N S E D

S C R U N C H Y A N I N T O R E R O S

C O I N A G E

A S S N S J E T L A G

S I E G E S W I L S L E B U E P A T N O

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Y E R S

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Our drivers are independent contractors who deliver Oklahoma Gazettes each Wednesday. Drivers are paid by the drop with significant hourly-equivalent earnings. Minivans and trucks work best. Insurance and good driving record required. To be out on your own, earning money in the fresh air, call our Circulation Department, 405-605-6790 or emailing cbleakley@okgazette.com to apply.

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