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Strong foundation

Rep. Kendra Horn raised the most money among the state’s Congressional delegation, but she stays focused on addressing the needs of Oklahomans. By Miguel Rios

Freshman congresswoman Kendra Horn completed her first 100 days in Congress boasting support for bipartisan legislation and community outreach. Though she has raised more than $370,000 since January and outpaced fellow Oklahoma congressmen, she continues to prioritize “common sense” legislation. “That is separate from the work I have been doing as a member of Congress,” she said. “I’m very proud of that; that’s an important step in moving towards 2020, but these first 100 days have really been focused on how we can show up and understand the needs and the concerns and the challenges of people here in Oklahoma.” National Republican Congressional Committee has its sights set on Horn’s district seat for 2020, which is widely considered a toss-up. Horn previously told Oklahoma Gazette that while she is working hard to defend her seat, her primary focus is to represent, serve and interact with her constituents. To that end, she said her district offices have moved to 400 N. Walker Ave., Suite 210, to be more accessible to the public. “I am so proud that in this first 100 days, we’ve built a really strong foundation,” she said. “My priority first and foremost is doing everything we can to be the best representative for all of Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District regardless of their background or political affiliation. … I’m a co-sponsor and original co-sponsor of 31 different pieces of legislation. Almost 70 percent of those are bipartisan legislation; I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve been working together with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support programs and services that are critical to Oklahomans.”

Legislation

For the first time ever, Congress began in the middle of a shutdown that went on to become the longest government shutdown in history. One of the first pieces of legislation Horn co-sponsored aimed to create incentives to prevent that from happening again. “The bottom line is that we should never be using shutdowns as a tool to solve a political dispute. It is just wrong for us to put the burden of inability to compromise on the working people of Oklahoma and the rest of the country,” Horn said. “The Shutdown to End All Shutdowns Act shifts that burden of responsibility and would prevent people from being furloughed or being forced to work without pay by putting the responsibility on the shoulders of the decision makers, including Congress and the administration.” 4

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Horn has continued to focus on key campaign issues like education, health care, women and families. Along with Oklahoma congressmen Markwayne Mullin and Tom Cole, she co-sponsored a bill to fund Indian Health Service despite the government shutdown. “We’ve really been focusing on critical issues like education, health care and changing the way Washington works, as I talked about during the campaign,” Horn said. “In those veins, I’m very, very proud to have voted for and supported the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which expands access and programs to include more Native American women and making sure those nations are better served.” Horn also supported the Paycheck Fairness Act, which recently passed out of the House and is intended to make sure women and men are paid equally.

I am so proud that, in this first 100 days, we’ve built a really strong foundation. Kendra Horn “It’s not an issue just for women; it is an economic issue for all of us because when there’s such a large pay gap, that impacts the ability of households to do what they need to do and it impacts the money going into our community,” she said. In trying to change the way Washington works, Horn also supported the For the People Act of 2019, which purports to make voting easier and elections more secure. “It’s making it easier to vote, not harder, ensuring that everyone has access to the ballot box and shining a light on dark money groups that have been able to influence our elections without transparency,” she said. Horn also voted to pass the Save the Internet Act, a piece of legislation that would restore net neutrality rules repealed in 2017. She said this is important for Oklahomans, especially in rural areas, because those without quality broadband internet are at a disadvantage economically and competitively. The act would prevent service providers from blocking or throttling internet service or limiting consumer access through paid prioritization.

Community outreach

One of Horn’s top priorities is to stay engaged with her constituents and meet

with as many Oklahomans as possible. She has hosted about eight town hall meetings and other events in her district to interact with constituents. And while Congress is in recess, Horn has spent the past week attending various events in the state. “We’ve also spent time touring a number of our local businesses and industries and meeting with them to talk about their workforce needs from the health-care field to aerospace, amongst other things,” she said. “We’ve spent time also taking a look at — in addition to our aerospace contractors this week — really looking at and understanding the breadth and the depth of the work that our medical service providers and research plays in Oklahoma.” Through those interactive events, she has learned about more problems affecting Oklahomans. “We’ve reached out to a lot of Oklahomans to begin helping them with issues they face with the federal government, and that, to me, is at the heart of what it’s about,” she said. “It’s about making sure that we’re meeting their needs and talking with people across the district about how we can better serve our students by addressing our student loan debt. We’re working on some legislation there and also building a capacity for jobs and skills training that will make our economy stronger.” Moving forward, Kendra plans to continue building on the foundation she has built in her first months in office. She will focus on health care, education and the economy. “I like to think of them as a three-

Rep. Kendra Horn hosts a town hall 2-4 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Street Baptist Church, 801 NE Fifth St. | Photo provided

legged stool with the people of Oklahoma right at the heart of that,” she said. “We have to continue to fight to protect people with pre-existing conditions from losing their health care, to ensure that lifetime caps are never a thing again, and the next big step in this puzzle is lowering the cost of prescription drugs. … We are actively working with our CareerTech system, with our business owners and with others to help build the infrastructure for more programs for aerospace jobs as we bring jobs here.” Horn said constituents can expect to see her and her team in the community, and she encourages anybody to reach out to either of her offices. “I myself and my team are basically your front door to your federal government, and we can help individuals who are trying to work their way through any issues related to federal government programs; we are here to help,” she said. “We’re here to be a resource and a tool, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.” Horn’s team is present in various parts of the city, hosting office hours to answer any questions or address concerns. Horn hosts an open house 6-8 p.m. Wednesday in her district offices. She also hosts a town hall 2-4 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Street Baptist Church, 801 NE Fifth St. Visit horn.house.gov.

CIT Y

Proud community Oklahoma City’s Pride parade and festival will be led by a newly formed nonprofit. By Miguel Rios

Oklahoma City Pride Alliance was formed by former 39th Street District director Lauren Zuniga to take the reins of Pride festivities. Officials said the new organization’s structure is set up to be sustainable and scalable. 39th Street District Association was set to host Pride this year while OKC Pride Inc. continues to reconfigure following a 2018 embezzlement scandal with former president Lori Honeycutt. However, some challenges caused issues for the district and its Pride Advisory Council. “One of the challenges that we had as 39th District with fundraising and some other things is that we are a 501(c) (4), and so even though we’re a nonprofit, it changes the deduction capability for individuals,” she said. “We also just kind of had a challenge with process and function and just being able to make decisions quickly.” Zuniga decided to step down as director of 39th Street and, in conjunction with the district’s Pride Advisory Council, formed the new 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

UNI_19-RP-064_Extreme Racing.indd 1

OKC Pride Inc. and interim president Brandon Odom did not respond to Oklahoma Gazette’s requests for comment. In February, the organization released a statement saying it was ready to move forward and fundraisers were already being planned to support future endeavors, including Pride events in 2020. Zuniga said she reached out to Odom and let him know about OKC Pride Alliance. “As far as I know, he sounds really excited about the idea. They have so much work to do as far as their investigation and everything that they’re dealing with, and they’ve been doing that really diligently,” she said. “But, meanwhile, there’s Pride, right? We’re hopefully going to be able to all partner and just do what’s right for the community. “The new organization is called Oklahoma City Pride Alliance, and the reason for that is that we really want everyone that is part of an LGBTserving organization or company that has a stake in the Pride celebrations and

in the well-being and affirmation of the LGBT community … to all have a seat at the table. … Long-term, we’d really like to have a structure, a model similar to something like Allied Arts, where we can be a granting organization to other LGBT organizations. The idea being just that we are all working together instead of against each other.”

Working together

Zuniga found that other community members were willing to do just that.

Lauren Zuniga stepped down as 39th Street District director to lead Oklahoma City Pride Alliance, a new nonprofit hosting Pride. | Photo Alexa Ace

Alex Bliss, an attorney for Nonprofit Solutions, reached out to Zuniga and asked if she could help. “Pride, specifically this year, has been really close to my heart. My wife and I have been together for almost five years and got married last October,” Bliss said. “Every year, Pride is such a continued on page 6

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big deal for us and our friends who live in more rural communities, who maybe that’s the only time that year when they get to be around their queer families and get to be in a space that’s for celebrating being queer. So when I heard that Pride was having some growing pains this year, I reached out to Lauren and I said, ‘Hey, just so you know, I exist in case you ever need anything.’ And it turns out she did.” Nonprofit Solutions, a local motherdaughter law firm founded by Bliss’ mother Jeri Holmes, has a tradition of picking a nonprofit each year to help start up pro bono. “When we do that, we always try to think about sort of our main goal in everything, which is to get money and services back into the hands of the communities in Oklahoma,” Bliss said. “We don’t really have a specific way that we choose that. We kind of feel out the needs of the community and we decide, ‘Okay, this is who we think is going to make the biggest impact this year. They have super limited funding, and here’s a place where we can really help out and where we’re going to be able to see those results immediately in our community.’” The law firm helped OKC Pride Alliance become incorporated at the state level, attain a tax exempt status at the federal level and even helped determine what the liability insurance should look like for an event like Pride. Normally with its pro bono case, Nonprofit Solutions only helps incorporate them at the state level, but Pride is special for Bliss and Holmes. “Jeri [Holmes] was actually the original registered agent for OKC Pride Inc., the former organization, so she kind of knew a little bit about some of the pitfalls that they’ve had,” Zuniga said. “With our new bylaws and our new infrastructure, it’s set up in such a way that I think we can prevent what happened before from happening again.” Another community partner volunteered to help with branding and marketing. Natalie Kent, creative director at Nominee, also approached Zuniga to offer help. “I know a lot of people maybe hadn’t heard about Pride or weren’t too familiar with the festival or maybe they heard about the festival but that was it,” Kent said. “So Nominee really wanted to come in ... and really wanted to elevate it for Oklahoma City.” Nominee, a local branding company with clients like The Jones Assembly, Heard on Hurd and Oklahoma City Thunder, took OKC Pride Alliance on as a community project. “It’s just something that we all, just as a team, believe in and wanted to rally behind,” Kent said. “Sometimes branding is one of those things where it can be a big-ticket item, and not everyone has the budget for that.” Nominee launched the organiza-

CIT Y

100 West Muskogee Street - Sulphur, OK

from left Jeri Holmes and Alex Bliss, attorneys at Nonprofit Solutions, helped start Oklahoma City Pride Alliance. | Photo Beau Brand / provided

tion’s Faces of Pride, a series of portraits featuring local LGBTQ+ community members with interviews about what their experiences have been. It was inspired by Humans of New York. “The LGBTQ voice in Oklahoma just hasn’t been as strong being a conservative state, so a lot of times when you hear about the LGBTQ community here, you hear about maybe rights being taken away or discrimination,” Kent said. “So the purpose of Faces of Pride was to attach a face and a story to these people that are in our community and their friends or coworkers.” Zuniga said the “all hands on deck” attitude from the community is encouraging and makes her more confident Pride 2019 will be a success. “We’ve got to do what it takes to solve the problem. This is bigger than ego, this is bigger than one individual, this is bigger than some faulty organizational structure,” she said. “We’re bigger than that.” This year’s Pride theme is Legends & Rebels, a nod to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Pride Week is June 17-23; the parade is noon June 22 and the festival continues all day on 39th Street. Other Pride events happen throughout the month around the city, including Paseo Arts District, 16th Street Plaza District and Factory Obscura. Oklahoma City Pride Alliance is currently accepting nominations for grand marshals. Visit oklahomacitypride.org.

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CO M M E N TA RY

NEWS

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

‘Open-carry hate’

As another anniversary passes, Oklahoma City must take a tougher stand against bombing conspiracies and the alt-right’s alternative histories. By George Lang

This month, as Oklahoma City observed the 24th anniversary of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing, it became clear that disinformation about this mass murder has thrived around us. As the city mourned April 19, Twitter users that we used to call fringe-dwellers until their malevolence was mainstreamed were out in full force. A preacher who currently serves as an interim pastor for a southwestern Oklahoma Assembly of God congregation tried to justify the far-right ideology that fueled Timothy McVeigh’s attack. “That tragedy was caused so [sic] the government handling of the Waco event,” he wrote. “That was all dems and president Clinton admin! So, please take your dumb ideology elsewhere!!!!” First, while the deaths undeniably fit the definition of “tragedy,” the word’s use in this case is horribly reductive. EF5 tornados destroying wide swaths of our community are tragedies and tragedies alone. The Murrah bombing was a mass murder by McVeigh, who had free will and exercised it. That is not simply a “tragedy.” That is a crime, and since McVeigh was in up to his eyeballs in white supremacist literature and anti-government rhetoric, it was a hate crime. This pastor, a graduate of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Liberty University, has some interesting followers on Twitter, including a food truck that I (used to) seek out at street festivals and, um… the official account for an Oklahoma City park. Why? Then there was the Bartlesville business owner, former state House of Representatives candidate and QAnon enthusiast who referred to the facts surrounding McVeigh’s attack as a “#NOBLELIE — and a proven cover-up.” He went on to push a YouTube documentary titled A Noble Lie and wrote, “please

The history of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing is under attack by members of the alt-right. | Photo Alexa Ace

view, share #OKGOP & prepare for #2020 #MAGA.” A prominent local banker follows this wingnut on Twitter. Why? I take particular offense on this subject, especially when people with odious political intentions push a counter-narrative that desecrates the memories of 168 people lost in that mass killing. Less than a year after my college graduation, I spent every day for three weeks at the corner of NW Sixth Street and Harvey Avenue. I saw the physical and emotional devastation and then went on to report on hate groups who abetted or supported McVeigh as well as the unconscionable efforts of some political leaders and members of the local media at the time to place the blame on an Iraqi immigrant who fled his country to escape political oppression.

As Miguel Rios reported in his superb story in the April 17 issue of Oklahoma Gazette, the same forces that radicalized the Oklahoma City bomber are working to recruit the McVeighs of tomorrow. These bad actors are out in full force, muddying what should be crystal-clear waters. They are preparing for “#2020 #MAGA” and have high-profile people and organizations following them. Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum does an exemplary job of telling the story of how an act of extraordinary hate scarred our city. Each year, the names of all victims are read in a ceremony so their memories do not become abstractions. Each year, family and friends of victims continue to place messages and post photos on the cyclone fencing at the site. For anyone who starts to feel a little foggy about what happened that day, a visit to Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum will clear things up quickly. We cannot allow ourselves to grieve generically about the events of April 19, 1995. When local news is doing its job in true Fourth Estate fashion, misinformation and disinformation are deprived of oxygen and then suffocate. This is why local news organizations must work harder to tell the truth about the Murrah bombing forcefully and without equivocation. In 2020, the same year that those aforementioned QAnon-loving conspiracy merchants look forward to a #MAGA victory/Donald Trump reelection, Oklahoma City will observe the 25th anniversary of the attack. Members of the local press should take this opportunity to not simply mark the occasion with script fonts and soft music but conduct in-depth reporting on the bombing itself and its legacy. That “legacy” is not simply the economic development that has taken place

in the town in the past quarter century. Again, that is a dangerously reductive view. We must also deal with some ugly truths. For instance, why has hate speech in the form of March’s racist graffiti in Oklahoma City and Norman made a comeback? If ever there was a place that should have an anti-hate force field around it, it is our metro area. We are not doing enough to combat these attitudes and behaviors. Oklahoma Gazette will be looking closely at the true legacy of McVeigh’s crimes in the next year. All members of the local press should be planning similar coverage because at this point in the history of our city, our state and our nation, there is no room for softfocus reporting. Anything less than uncompromised reporting on the attack and its aftermath provides an opening for the people who want to paint McVeigh as a martyr or a folk hero. We must push back hard at these notions, which are being espoused by people in our own community. We must take the opportunity to educate them and correct their misguided beliefs. When the white separatist group formerly known as Identity Evropa posted stickers promoting its organization in Midtown, Deep Deuce, 16th Street Plaza District and other high-profile central neighborhoods, the stickers were swiftly torn down by people, including me, whose memories are too strong to allow this to flourish in a place with our history. If we tell our story accurately, open-carry hate cannot survive in Oklahoma City. George Lang is editor-in-chief of Oklahoma Gazette and began his career at Gazette in 1994. | Photo Gazette / file

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Precious returns

The library at Oklahoma Baptist University had to be surprised when a package arrived containing all three books of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) series that had been missing from its shelves since 1972. The anonymous book thief is apparently quite the J.R.R. Tolkien collector; a similar package containing a first-edition of The Hobbit arrived at University of North Texas around the same time as the one in Shawnee. The letter says the collector replaced his swiped first-edition series of books with a revised second edition. “I have no excuse for my action, other than a desire to have one of the unrevised editions in my collection,” the letter posted on the Oklahoma subreddit says. “[The books] are essentially the same condition they were in when I took them, other than scraping the university bookplates off the inside covers and bleaching the circulation numbers off the lower spine.” The first edition LOTR series sells for more than $300, but the book collector/thief said that they wanted to return them to the library where another serious Tolkien scholar might enjoy reading the original text, which includes some unrevised differences. The story of a book collector traveling across Oklahoma and Texas university libraries in search of first edition LOTR and The Hobbit has entirely too many parallels to the plight of the character Gollum after he lost the all-powerful One Ring to Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. The letter doesn’t mention it, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the collector only returned the books after being discovered by a diverse group of battle-tested travelers repeating the phrase “my precious” while looking at the books.

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Smoking gun

The so-called “constitutional carry” bill has not gone into effect yet, but some gun-loving trolls are already parading their firearms around public areas to “prepare people.” Richard Hubbard was booked on charges of pointing a firearm with intent and obstruction of justice earlier this month, News on 6 reported. A woman called police after witnessing Hubbard allegedly pointing a pistol at people in a Broken Arrow park. Police ordered him to get on the ground, and when he did not comply, they deployed pepper balls. But Andrew Brame, one of his friends, calls him a “very peaceful man” who probably did not get on the ground because he has a back problem. We are not buying it. Brame and Hubbard both have YouTube channels full of videos in which they try to get a reaction from people in public places. Hubbard goes on “open carry walks” around parks, just waiting for people to call the police. This is all done under the guise of education. “Come November, open carry rifle is going to be allowed and what we are

doing is just trying to get them used to it because more people are going to start doing it when it becomes legal,” Brame said. Again, we are not buying it. Brame posts daily videos of himself antagonizing officers and civilians across the state. In one video, he paints his beard pink and puts on a dress just to stand outside the Tulsa Air National Guard Base and giggle or yell or pick his nose when cars or people pass by. We wish we were joking. Other videos show him harassing security guards at libraries or outside police departments, and almost every video includes several minutes of him arguing with police officers and not complying with instructions. Maybe Brame has back problems too? In one of his most recent videos, Brame aptly sums up his and Hubbard’s motivations by telling somebody, “Yeah, I’m going down there to film it. It makes them mad, and they call the police on me. It’s fun.” This makes it pretty clear neither of them is “very peaceful.” Very peaceful men do not live to stir up controversy, make others feel unsafe and waste police officers’ time. Very peaceful men have better hobbies.

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Regardless of whether you believe in numerology, one number might have a significant influence over your lifetime in Oklahoma City: your ZIP code. A recently released study by Oklahoma City-County Health Department calculates life expectancy rates for OKC residents and reveals a nearly 18-year gap between the lowest and highest rates. While a resident of north OKC ZIP code 73131 has an average life expectancy of 81.67 years, a resident of zip code 73145 — where Tinker Air Force Base is located — has an average life expectancy of 63.81 years. Followers of Pythagorean numerology would change the numbers to letters and spell out “80085” on a calculator or something, and fundamentalist Republicans would probably blame either chemtrails or God’s wrath at the robotic false angels we call airplanes, but the health department study cites multiple factors, including education, income, access to health care services and healthy food options, crime

and infectious diseases. "There are a number of factors that if you have access to those, you're more likely to be healthy," Oklahoma CityCounty Health Department executive director Gary Cox told KFOR earlier this month. "Generally, what we've found is that in the urban core, the life expectancy is shorter.” While, according to the department’s 2017 OKC-County Wellness Score report, the 73131 ZIP code actually has a higher percentage of households living below the poverty line (6 percent) than the 73145 ZIP code (a countylow 1.5 percent), this appears to be an anomaly. The ZIP codes with the highest poverty rates, 73117 (33.2 percent) and 73129 (32.5 percent), also have two of the lowest life expectancies at 68.08 and 69.8 years, respectively. Pythagoras was right; some numbers do seem to dictate the course of one’s life.

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EAT & DRINK

Plaza pitmaster

The Krow’s Nest BBQ & Catering delivers unconventional fare with plenty of soul inside Saints. By Jacob Threadgill

The Krow’s Nest BBQ & Catering 1715 NW 16th St. thekrowsnestbcc.com | 286-9172 WHAT WORKS: The smoked burger and pulled pork melt in your mouth. WHAT NEEDS WORK: The wings are fried, not smoked. TIP: Vegetarian options expand on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Saints, 1715 NW 16th St., was on the forefront of 16th Street Plaza District’s resurgence, opening in 2010 before the neighborhood became an Oklahoma City hotspot. When the pub closed its kitchen last year, pitmaster Krowshin Blest jumped at the opportunity to expand his burgeoning business, The Krow’s Nest BBQ & Catering, in a permanent home. After a two-week trial period, The Krow’s Nest became Saints’ food purveyor on Halloween 2018. “I didn’t have any hopes or dreams to own a restaurant,” Blest said. “It kind of fell in my lap.” Blest started as an amateur meat smoker just a few years ago merely out of a desire to cook for himself. Encouragement from his father and a close friend led him to look for catering clients as a side job while he worked a corporate logistical job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He got a break with a few catering jobs and then got picked up by a local real estate firm that hired him to provide food anytime they held an open house. I’ve heard of using a

freshly baked cookie smell to sell a house, but I’d have a hard time resisting starting a mortgage if I smelled and tasted barbecue as good as Blest and his staff are turning out. As owner-operator at The Krow’s Nest, Blest is more than happy to defer to more experienced cooks in his kitchen for developing menu items, which lean into nontraditional combinations on sandwiches, and pork ribs use both dry rubs and sauces. “We have a running joke that we have crossroads barbecue,” Blest said. “Crows collect different trinkets and bring it back to their nest, and that’s kind of how we do our barbecue because we’re not Texas, Kansas or Missouri. We’re Oklahoma because no one can tell us no.” Brisket, pulled pork, chicken and three types of smoked sausage are available by the cut, but sandwiches are piled high with a variety of meats on Farrell Family Bread buns. The Diamond Jack ($15) tops brisket with rib meat, cheddar-jack cheese and apple bourbon sauce. The Slag-A-Thore ($11) tops a hot link with its house sauce and sevencheese macaroni and cheese. The El Chupa Nibre ($12) is a seven-layer pork bowl with beans, cornbread, mac and cheese, spiced pork, more cheese, house sauce and french fries.

Smoking section

I tried the Frank-n-Bill ($12), which tops a smoked Angus patty with pulled pork or hot links. I went with the pulled pork and was impressed with the quality and texture of the pork. It had crispy edges but melted in my mouth, and it wasn’t smoked and then mixed with an overly sweet sauce. The customer adds sauce to the sandwich as needed.

I have long felt that there is a void of smoked hamburgers in the city. I’m delighted to find one on the menu at The Krow’s Nest. I stumbled on the concoction at home last year, and it felt like discovering a secret. It is now my favorite way to cook a burger, and more barbecue places should have it on their menu. Smoke the beef until the internal temperature hits 155 degrees Fahrenheit and then sear it on a cast-iron skillet for some extra flavor. You can smoke onions or cold-smoke cheese, as well. The seven-cheese macaroni is very interesting. It might not be for everyone, but it’s creamy and has smoky and spicy notes.

You should come in, leave happy and be ready to take a nap. Krowshin Blest

On Wednesdays, The Krow’s Nest offers 12 chicken wings for $10. I tried them with a side of asparagus and maple butter barbecue sauce. I was surprised that the wings are fried, not smoked, but the waitress explained that it’s a logistical concern. The smoked wings take time, which makes sense if you don’t know how many wings you will be selling. The fried variety had a lot of flavor in the breading, and the sauce used the maple to enhance some sweetness. On the surface, The Krow’s Nest looks to be a restaurant for overindulgent meat eaters, but there is much more nuance. It offers cucumber salad, green beans and grilled asparagus as sides. It smokes tofu and eggplant for sliders and offers cauliflower wings and two vegetarian salads. It has expanded vegan and vegetarian options, which includes a vegan chili that Blest is fond of, on Tuesdays and Thursdays when an additional chef joins the kitchen. “You shouldn’t have to choose between your place and your friends’ The Frank-N-Bill sandwich with smoked Angus burger topped with pulled pork and a side of seven-cheese mac | Photo Jacob Threadgill

Chicken wings with a side of grilled asparagus | Photo Jacob Threadgill

place when you’re trying to sit down to have a meal,” Blest said. The vegetarian side of the restaurant builds on Blest’s other business, Smokehouse Nutrition, a meal prep service that offers customizable readyto-eat meals that feature grilled meats and vegetables among other items like cooked poke bowls. “I started looking for vegetarian meal prep services in the city, but all of the reviews said the same thing, that they were bland and boring,” Blest said. “You’re not going to stick with it if that’s the case.” Smokehouse Nutrition offers discounts on its meals if customers bring in nonperishable “junk” food items that they will donate to a local food pantry or The Homeless Alliance. “Everyone has the same excuse of, ‘Oh, I’m going to finish these Pop-Tarts or chimichangas and then I’m going to eat well,’” Blest said. Even with over-the-top food challenges, Blest is focused on helping the less fortunate. The Krow’s Nest offers three challenges: two spicy challenges that cost $45 and $55 and a $65 giant meat sandwich with nine selection of meat and nine cheeses. “We don’t make anything from the challenges,” Blest said. “If you win, you get the $45, $55 or $65 and then I’ll donate that amount to one of three [food-insecurity] organizations. If you lose, that money goes to the organizations. We’re trying to become a staple in the community because a lot of businesses, in general, only think about what they can do to line their pockets.” With a blend of indulgent items and thoughtful vegetarian items, The Krow’s Nest is not your typical corporate barbecue environment; it has a lot of soul and feels right at home inside one of the first establishments to usher in the current era of the Plaza District. “I want people to feel like they’re watching the favorite episode of their favorite show every time you walk into Krow’s Nest because you know what you’re going to get and it’s going to be fucking fantastic. It’s how food should make you feel,” Blest said. “You should come in, leave happy and be ready to take a nap.” Visit thekrowsnestbcc.com. O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

EAT & DRINK

LUNCH & DINNER ON THE PATIO

WEDNESDAY BURGER NIGHT $10 Burger & Beer Happy Hour

3-7pm Wed -Sun Deep Deuce 322 NE 2nd Street 405.673.7944

F E AT U R E

whiskeybiscuitokc.com

Gelato treats

Dolci Paradiso is a haven for gelato and European pastries in Oklahoma City’s southside. By Jacob Threadgill

With a menu built around Italian-style gelato, European baked goods and high-quality coffee, it’s easy to see why Dolci Paradiso has the tagline “Happiness starts here.” For owner Hemangini Patel, who started the shop at 10740 S. May Ave., Suite 116, with her husband Pritish next door to his optometry practice, Dolci Paradiso is a place of happiness every time a customer has a smile on their face after a bite of creamy gelato or baked sweet treat. “Every time when there are kids and they try gelato and say, ‘It’s so good,’” Patel said, “that’s what makes me so happy, when someone enjoys my product. You cannot compare that with anything.” Dolci Paradiso is a respite of sorts for Patel, who works as a nurse fulltime. She recently returned to the hospital after they gave her six weeks off to get the shop open and running. It opened its doors in late February. “It’s a good combination because when I’m at the hospital, the stress level is high,” she said. “I love being a nurse as well, but here, it’s just more fun and relaxed.” The irony of working in the health-care industry and owning a store selling indulgent sweet treats and baked goods is not lost on Patel. She decided to sell gelato not only because of its smoother consistency than ice cream, but also due to its lower fat content. In addition to six or seven fixed gelato flavors, Dolci has weekly flavor features, fresh Dolci Paradiso sells EÔTÉ coffee. | Photo Alexa Ace 12

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fruit sorbet and two vegan gelato offerings made from a mixture of coconut and almond milk. “I’m very health-conscious, and I want to give something to communities they can enjoy,” she said. “People want less fat, less sugar.” Gelato typically has a fat content of 4-8 percent compared to 12-26 percent of ice cream, and gelato incorporates less air during the mixing process, which Patel said makes it more dense, flavorful and creamy. The shop’s most popular flavors include stracciatella (cream base with shavings of chocolate), salted caramel, tiramisu, pistachio and mixed berry sorbet. Weekly features include flavors like peanut butter and jelly, red velvet, fun flavors like Fruity Pebbles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch with cereal toppers and alcohol flavors like ama-

Dolci Paradiso makes its crêpe batter fresh every day. | Photo Alexa Ace

retto and zabaione (traditionally flavored by cognac or sweet wine). One of Patel’s favorite featured flavors might seem like a surprise: rice. “It’s very smooth and has some [rice] texture,” Patel said. “It’s better than tapioca.” The Patels were inspired to create Dolci Paradiso during a vacation to southern California. While walking one afternoon, they followed a sweet aroma to a gelato shop where they were making their own waffle cones. “I always wanted to do something that makes people happy,” Patel said, noting that the couple began looking in the south Oklahoma City and Moore area after Pritish opened his practice in 2016. “When we go out to dinner, it’s usually in Oklahoma City or Edmond, and we weren’t ready for dessert right after the meal, but in the 10-15 minutes it would take to get home, there [weren’t dessert options] in this area.” Patel attended a four-day gelato making class in Salt Lake City and an intensive week-and-a-half baking class in New Jersey to replicate Europeanstyle pastry. They ordered two gelato machines from Italy and a special temperature-controlled gelato display case. “I want the gelato to stay at a certain temperature — not too cold, not too hot; it has to be the perfect temperature. If it’s too cold, you’re not going to get full flavor. Gelato is smoother, creamier [than ice cream], and you can taste flavor right away.” Baking and gelato is combined with housemade brioche bread slices with a scoop of the customer’s choice of gelato. “We put it in a panini press so that it gets crispy on the outside and the ice cream stays cold for the perfect bite,” she said. Dolci Paradiso also sells affogato — a scoop of gelato with a shot of espresso — baked goods like macarons, cheesecakes, full-sized cakes, cake pops, cannoli and freshly made crêpes that comes with eight flavor combinations of fresh fruit, cream and nuts. One of its most popular baked goods is the cruffin, which Pretish said was an inspiration from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco. The croissant dough is shaped and baked like a muffin and then filled with dulce de leche, strawberry sauce, Bavarian crème or pastry cream. Patel said the store will expand its baking section in the coming months. Patel was born and raised in India and moved to the U.S. with her family in 2007, where the family operated a hotel in Tennessee. “I cleaned rooms for a year and a half just to learn the language,” she said. “Then I did that in the morning and went to work at Wendy’s in the afternoon. I went to nursing school in 2009 with a scholarship and graduated in 2013.” She met Pritish, an Oklahoma City

native through family friends, and moved to Oklahoma when they got married. “I love being here every single day,” she said. Visit dolciparadiso.com.

Dolci Paradiso is located at 10740 S. May Ave., Suite 116 | Photo Alexa Ace

Mixed berry sorbet is one of the top sellers at Dolci Paradiso. | Photo Alexa Ace

Hemangini Patel with her mother Asha at Dolci Paradiso | Photo Alexa Ace

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GAZEDIBLES

EAT & DRINK

Garlic glory

April is national garlic month. These seven restaurants have dishes that will help you celebrate the month and make sure your breath smells great. By Jacob Threadgill with photos by Alexa Ace, Gazette / file and provided

Tamashii Ramen House

Kwan’s Kitchen

Garage Burgers & Beer

This Midtown favorite is a garlic lover’s dream. Its garlic fried rice is served in a sizzling pan with garlic butter, eggs and green onion, and it’s the perfect dish to pair with a meal and share with a dining partner. The tonkotsu garlic ramen includes four types of garlic: fresh, roasted, fried and black garlic oil. The Edmond Tamashii location opened late last year.

The appetizer at Kwan’s Kitchen is battered and deep-fried before being finished in a wok with butter, garlic and house seasoning for a perfect start to the meal. Order some of the chicken-fried rice with black truffle and black garlic to keep the theme rolling and get a side of crispy eggplant in plum sauce that is finished with scallions and garlic flakes for the perfect garlic-themed meal.

You can go garlic to the extreme at Garage by ordering a side of garlic Parmesan truffle fries with a side of garlic aioli that will provide enough garlic to ward off any nearby vampires. The mushroom Swiss burger includes the garlic aioli so you can have a fully garlic-infused meal.

321 NW Eighth St. tamashiiokc.com | 405-517-0707

Oklahoma City University Congratulates the Class of 2019

3031 W. Memorial Road kwans.kitchen | 405-607-8838

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

Sa v e T h e Da t e

Oklahoma Artist Invitational 14th Art Show & Benefit

May 3rd, 4th, 5th - 2019

North Park Mall - North Mall Entrance

PAINTINGS SCULPTURES & JEWELRY Visit with DESMOND MASON, OSU/Thunder star & BERT SEABOURN, famous Oklahoma artist.

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3 NE 8th St Suite 120, Oklahoma City, OK

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Yummy Mummy

13415 N. Pennsylvania Ave. yummymummyok.com | 405-752-6055

The menu at Yummy Mummy is streamlined and tasty. Choose from wraps, salads and a few entrees like the inventive Egyptian quesadilla or fatta, which is marinated beef or chicken with crispy pita bits on jasmine rice with a creamy garlic sauce that packs a decent punch. The garlic sauce is available with tahini and mint yogurt sauce to dip fries or falafel at your leisure.

Hideaway Pizza

5022 N. Western Ave. hideawaypizza.com | 405-840-4777

Garlic knots are the perfect starter at this Oklahoma-born classic chain. An order of six tasty and warm garlic knots are covered in Parmesan and herbs and served with marinara. You can also add roasted garlic to a build-your-own pizza or get the specialty Capone or chicken Florentine pizzas, which include it as a topping. A garlic glaze on the crust is also optional.

Vito’s Ristorante

St. Mark’s Chop Room & Bar

7521 N. May Ave. vitosokc.com | 405-848-4867

Every meal at Vito’s starts with fresh bread and some of owner Cathy Cummings’ famous garlic dipping oil. Of course, there is lots of garlic showcased in many of the sauces at Vito’s, but if you really want to show it off, order the shrimp scampi or spedini, shrimp served over sachetini pasta with a red pepper cream sauce topped with sautéed garlic.

6462 Avondale Drive, Nichols Hills stmarkschoproom.com 405-848-6200

When roasted, garlic takes on sweet notes that allow it to be eaten almost like candy while still retaining that signature flavor. The wagyu beef at St. Mark’s Chop Room is perfectly seared in a cast-iron skillet for a crispy exterior and your preferred temperature in the middle. Instead of ordering a well-done steak with ketchup like a child, smear some roasted garlic on a rib-eye for a fantastic bite.

Broadway Tunes at Kaiser’s!

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NW 10TH & WALKER | 405.236. 3503 | MON - SAT | 11AM - 8PM Special thanks and eternal gratitude to Pam Holzberger, Musical Coordinator Mosteller Music Productions, sound system Walt Myrick of Larsen’s Music, keyboard O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

live music beer & wine garTen

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May 10

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May 11

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Ticketed screenings | 7:30 p.m. May 9-11 Second Saturday | 1-4 p.m. May 11 | FREE See daily film schedule and purchase tickets at oklahomacontemporary.org. Second Saturday films are free and family-friendly. Evening films ages 13+. oklahomacontemporary.org | 405 951 0000 | @okcontemporary 3000 General Pershing Blvd. | Oklahoma City, OK 73107

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ARTS & CULTURE she said. “It’s also developed a lot more. From those first projects, it was subconscious. … And now, whenever I paint something, I try to convey a little bit of a narrative in it so that there’s some sort of backstory or there’s some significance to choosing those particular fabrics and pieces.”

ART

Artist residency

Cultural fabric A local artist brings her creativity to city hall as its first artist-in-residence. By Miguel Rios

Erica Bonavida brings color and texture to Oklahoma City Hall. The artist was hired in February to serve as City Hall’s first artist-in-residence. Bonavida finds art fulfilling, but there was a time when she avoided the subject altogether. An admitted perfectionist, she said she struggled when she was younger to understand why she would create art while knowing it would never be “perfect.” “I was adamantly against art; like, I’d avoid art, really,” she said. “In high school, they required two classes. I tried to get out of the credits, but that didn’t really work out for me.” So she took an introduction to art course and a class on painting, which is where she began to appreciate art. “I was awful; everything was terrible, but it was really fun,” Bonavida said. “I just really enjoyed playing around with the paint and just the feel of it, and so I tried to develop the skill a little bit more.” She attended University of Central Oklahoma with the intention of getting a business degree, but that did not happen. Instead, Bonavida switched to an art major and has not stopped pursuing the craft since. “It was a really scary choice to choose art because it’s not a certain field, and it is really hard to make your way in something like that,” she said. “But I just decided [a business degree] wasn’t going to make me happy.”

Artistic texture

Bonavida is a realism painter whose work focuses on a variety of textures and fabric. She said her love of fabrics was born out

Erica Bonavida works on a painting of the police flag with the thin blue line for a local officer. | Photo Miguel Rios

of a still-life project she did in college. Tasked with painting a statue, fruit and a piece of fabric, Bonavida found herself immersed in how fabric lies. “I really enjoy trying to capture the creases and the way the fabric moved, so I spent way too much time on that and then I neglected the statue. Later in the semester, they had an assignment where you had to paint a still life, but of something you were obsessed with,” she said. “I thought back to that first project and how I could not stop working on that fabric. … I ended up painting a still life of fabric that was all sort of a French royalty-inspired theme.”

It just feels amazing that that the city itself is recognizing that the arts are important. Erica Bonavida Her body of work grew from there, and when it came time for her senior art show, Bonavida said her work was basically all fabric-based still lifes. “It never stops because there’s an unlimited amount of textures that you can paint, and you’re constantly trying to figure out how do you make it look like the fabric itself is lifted up and moving, but how do you also capture the texture and even the weave of stuff,”

Now working at least 12 hours a week from City Hall, Bonavida gets a $750 monthly stipend to create art projects, display her pieces for sale and collaborate with downtown officials to market and promote events. Bonavida has been on the job for a bout two months and said interacting with city employees and residents has been a great experience and a welcome departure from her private home studio. “It just feels amazing that the city itself is recognizing that the arts are important and that they’re wanting to bring that into the public domain a little bit more in a way that you can interact,” she said. “For me, getting to interact with the public in that way is completely different than any kind of experience I’ve had before.” Robbie Kienzle, City of OKC’s arts and cultural affairs liaison, said some city leaders requested looking into an artistin-residence program for the city, and Bonavida was the perfect candidate. “She is great; we got super lucky for our first artist-in-residence being such an amazing person,” Kienzle said. “She’s great with people. She loves to get interrupted. She’s just perfect.” To choose the first artist-in-residence, Oklahoma City Arts Commission requested information from interested artists in the city’s Pre-Qualified Artists Pool, a tool used to select artists for public art projects under $25,000. A jury picked three finalists to interview, which Kienzle said Bonavida nailed. “She has a great willingness to utilize that studio space, a lot more than even our minimum requirement was,” Kienzle said. “The other thing is it seemed like a great way to kind of launch her career beyond what she’s currently doing. Like the coaching that our staff is doing with her. We’re already working with her on our first public art project.” Kienzle said Bonavida is the type of artist to thrive on contact with people, which made her a perfect fit and served as a great way to help expand her audience. Since City Hall’s walls are marble, they are currently in the process of buying a system to hang her work. “You could tell by her interview that she was a real people person and would be a great ambassador for the city,” Kienzle said. “There was something she did during the interview that was just really amazing; she brought a piece of

“The Fury” | Image Erica Bonavida / provided

“Foil, Foil, Toil and Trouble” | Image Erica Bonavida / provided

work and talked about it. She talked about her philosophy behind the work, and it was almost like, by the word choices she would use, she would almost help you just kind of feel the texture of the painting.” Bonavida said she hopes the opportunity can push her career forward and allow her to be a self-sustaining artist. “I’m hoping that between the exposure and all the mentorship, that I’m able to come out of this as somebody who can continue to function throughout my career with a lot of new skills that are going to help me stand on my own two feet,” she said. Bonavida’s contract is active through December, but if the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs receives a Mid-America Arts Alliance grant in June, the contract will be extended until June 2020. Kienzle said the city is measuring the success of the program to see if it will propose it again in the same way next year or make changes. Bonavida’s City Hall studio is on the first floor. She typically works 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, and she encourages public visits. Visit ericabonavida.com.

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ART

ARTS & CULTURE

Art cause Oklahoma Artists Invitational offers affordable art and raises money for charity. By Jacob Threadgill

With its 14th showcase, Oklahoma Artists Invitational (OAI) is becoming one of Oklahoma City’s best bets for finding eclectic juried artwork with sales that go to a good cause. The three-day event May 3-5 is held in the north end of Shoppes at Northpark near Shogun Steak House of Japan, 12100 N. May Ave. A group of 27 artists whose talents range from landscape and nature oil paintings to sculpture and jewelry will be on display with an opening reception 4-8 p.m. Admission is free. All of the proceeds from raffles that include items from Dustan Buckley Jewelry, BC Clark Jewelers, Framed in the Village and other merchants benefit Mercy Health Foundation’s stroke and Parkinson’s programs. Ten percent of art sales also go to Mercy Stroke and Neurovascular Center. OAI has donated over $26,000 to the center since 2010. Participation in the OAI event, which A work from Steve Seikel that will be available at the Oklahoma Artist Invitational exhibit | Image provided

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is headlined by longtime Oklahoma City favorite artist Bert Seabourn and former NBA player turned contemporary artist Desmond Mason, is coveted. A jury selects participating artists, and only those based in Oklahoma are allowed. This year’s group includes many professional and semi-professional artists, including Henrie Close, a former teacher who did not begin painting until retirement about seven years ago. “I had paints and canvas and decided I needed to do something with them or give them away,” Close said. “I did take lessons, and it’s easier in the studio because the light and atmosphere makes it easier to focus on painting.” Close paints mostly landscape and nature scenes, drawing inspiration from her own life. She said that the exhibit includes a few other artists who have come to the medium in retirement. “When I’m painting, the time just flies,” Close said. “You’ll look at your watch and think, ‘Oh wow! It’s that time already?’ There is always the point that helps shift your brain to the other side. When I first stared taking from this teacher, he has you take a picture and turn it upside down. The reason is that you look at the shape and lines and not what the content is. It helps you think in different ways. It is very satisfying to take a cold, white canvas and make something beautiful out of it.” Other participating OAI artists

include the group’s founder Jan J. Smith, Karen Seikel, Peggy Lunde, Margaret Hoge, Kay Smith, Neta Wilson, Steve Seikel, Margaret Carroll, Linda Littlechild, Teri Cunningham, Barbara Fluty, Allison Powers, Jessie Seikel Hill, Diane Goldschmidt, Cheryl J. Smith, Yvonne Covey, Ellen Price, Sandy Wallace, Beverly White, Jeanne Kleinschmidt, jewelry artists Dustin Buckley, Emily Buckley and Judy Osborne and sculptor Glen Thomas.

When I’m painting, the time just flies. Henrie Close Jan J. Smith founded the group in 2010 as an outlet for friends. The event has grown every year and now features a spring and fall exhibition each year. The art show features oil and acrylic paintings, jewelry with semi-precious stones and sculptures. Many artists offer giclées (prints on canvas from original art) and frameable notecards. “We want to offer a huge variety of prices for people at the show,” Smith said in a previous Oklahoma Gazette interview. “When they come, maybe they can’t afford the $2,000 oil painting

A painting by Allison Powers available at the Oklahoma Artists Invitational exhibit | Image provided

but they want to go home with something they really liked about it. If there’s a notecard scanned from that original oil painting, they can take that home and feel really pleased about it.” Smith’s husband Richard V. Smith is the medical director at Mercy Neuroscience Institute. He will host a free talk on the treatment and prevention of a stroke at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. “It’s literally life-saving,” Close said of Smith’s speeches. Those interested in supporting the charity in advance can buy a certificate of art purchase, which will give them entrance to a VIP first-choice pre-party 3:30 p.m. Friday, and Mason will be there to greet them with an appreciation gift. Visit oaiartshow.com.

Oklahoma Artists Invitational May 3-5 Shoppes at Northpark 12100 N. May Ave. oaiartshow.com Free

T H E AT R E

The cast of Thelma Gaylord Academy’s production of Urinetown: The Musical rehearses. | Photo Nicholas Bartell / provided

Urine test

Students at Thelma Gaylord Academy get pushed out of their comfort zones with Urinetown: The Musical. By Jeremy Martin

A local theater school is staging a production of dark satire Urinetown: The Musical with teenage actors, but don’t call Department of Human Services just yet. “Surprisingly, there’s a lot less mature content to Urinetown than people think,” said Nicholas Bartell, director of secondary education at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma’s Thelma Gaylord Academy. “I expected to have to tone a little bit more down, and I really couldn’t find what that would be. There’s the occasional ‘damn’ or ‘hell,’ but language-wise, it’s really not too bad. Other than that, it’s a bunch of pee-pee puns, and kids make those from ages 5 and up.” Thelma Gaylord students ages 14-18 perform the Tony Award-winning musical May 3-5 at Lyric at the Plaza, 1727 NW 16th St. While Urinetown — which pits the poor and full-of-bladder against the sinister Urine Good Company in a dystopian future where water scarcity requires that everyone must pay to pee — is saturated with bathroom humor, Bartell said the musical is just provocative enough to be interesting to its teenage cast. “Urinetown has a fun edge to it while also being comedic, engaging and really challenging the students,” he said, “but not pushing the boundaries too hard to make any of our audience too uncomfortable because it’s a fine line to walk with kids. … We don’t want Mom, Dad or Grandma or Grandpa not paying attention to the show because they’re more concerned about the content that they’re seeing and whether or not their kid should be saying or doing that. That’s no fun. They don’t get to enjoy the hard work and the talent on stage if they’re busy questioning those things.”

In addition to a just-sharp-enough bite, Urinetown is a “tremendous ensemble piece,” Bartell said, which is useful for a theater academy trying to give as many of its students substantial roles as possible. The story, reportedly inspired by playwright Greg Kotis’ annoyance with the prevalence of pay toilets while on a lowbudget European trip, centers on the rebellion of urinal maintenance man Bobby Strong (Briam Zuniga) against restroom magnate Caldwell B. Cladwell (Nicodemus Meade-Greenman) after Strong’s father is busted for public urination and sent off to the dreaded penal colony Urinetown, but Bartell said that supporting characters, such as Little Sally (Delaney Horton), Hot Blades Harry (Garrett Langley) and officers Lockstock (Logan Boyd) and Barrel (Jackson Murray), “really breathe life into the show.”

Satire scholars

One of the challenges Urinetown poses for young actors is its parodying of older musicals. Act two’s opening number “What Is Urinetown?” for example, is “very reflective” of Fiddler on the Roof, Bartell said, and choreographer Sheridan McMichael had the students watch a clip of “Cool” from West Side Story before they began rehearsing the spirited number “Snuff That Girl.” from left Logan Boyd, Ermily Trnka and Jackson Murray rehearse a scene from Urinetown: The Musical. | Photo Nicholas Bartell / provided

“He thought it was important for them to see what that physicality looks like,” Bartell said, “the sharpness in the movement, the way the sound kind of fills their bodies as they move.” The musical’s social satire, meanwhile, lampoons capitalism and corrupt politicians as well as idealism and environmental conservation, but like its bathroom humor, Bartell said, the mockery is never intended to be overly offensive. “Nobody goes to Urinetown to get lectured about politics,” Bartell said, “but they do go to certainly have a little bit of a laugh at some of the things that we all think are just a bit absurd. … I always try to tell the kids our audiences are coming to have a good time. If they can think about something deeper than that or if they find some connections of their own, all of that’s great, but how can we entertain them with this really funny piece of theater? It should be just as fun to the people that get the political references and the musical theater references as those that don’t.” However, Urinetown’s satirical style can be difficult for some young actors to grasp initially. “It’s big and it’s loud; it’s in-your-

face,” Bartell said, “and I think that’s something for kids to work on because a lot of students — students of any age, whether they’re elementary school through college — they kind of get this idea of what good acting should look like. They don’t want to be too cheesy or too large or too big, and they work real hard in a lot of shows at portraying realistic, grounded characters. Then, all of a sudden, they get tossed a piece like this, where they really need to go big … and it’s a tricky habit to break. It really is. I mean, a lot of our students are wonderful performers. They’ve been doing a lot of great realism in their singing and performing, but this is stylistic, so you have to take a little bit of that rehearsal process to break some old habits of what might be considered great acting for a small stage or for drama or for TV or film. We say, ‘This has to be much, much bigger than that.’” In casting the production, Bartell said he was looking for actors who were not afraid of “taking their limiter off.” “We try and tell kids all the time, ‘It’s a lot easier for you to give me 150 percent big and let me pull that back than it is to try to give me 60 or 70 percent and have me try to push it forward.’ It’s always easier to rein kids in, sometimes, if they have lots of big energy, but it can be hard to get them to go huge because they’re still students. They don’t want to embarrass themselves sometimes or they want to be more restrained and mature, so in auditions, you’re definitely looking for performers that are already willing to go there and be big and loud and expressive. … I always tell students, ‘As the director, I’d rather you make a whole lot of choices and help me direct and guide your choices than have to try to make the choices for you or just tell you what I want.’ “You’re always looking for kids that have the instincts to make some great choices on their own that you can adjust, and at the same time, you’re not writing off the kids who can’t yet because it’s a class. You want to teach them to have the confidence to make the choices of their own as well, but when you’re looking at casting your principals, you’re definitely looking for some students that are already willing to make a choice — even if it’s not the right one — and let you help guide those a bit.” Tickets are $15. Visit thelmagaylordacademy.com.

Urinetown: The Musical May 3-5 Lyric at the Plaza 1727 NW 16th St. lyrictheatreokc.com | 405-524-9312 $15

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

Entrepreneurial. Music. Business. Earn your degree in one of three ﬁelds of contemporary study:

• Production • Business • Performance

Learn more

acm.uco.edu 25 S. Oklahoma Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73104

A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

ARTS & CULTURE

FILM

A scene from Jonathan Shahan’s Mono Deux segment, “InnerScape” | Image provided

Film five

Five local filmmakers banded together to create a feature film sequel to Mono and raise money for End the Backlog. By Jeremy Martin

Mono Deux is only a sequel in the loosest sense of the word. With completely different characters and storyline, a (mostly) different cast and — perhaps most importantly — a different team of filmmakers from its predecessor, the new film only repeats the original Mono’s central idea: Five local directors have teamed up to jointly direct a featurelength anthology, and proceeds from the premiere screening go to charity. The original Mono — directed by Mickey Reece, Jacob Leighton Burns, Laron Chapman, Cait Brasel and John Burton — premiered in January 2018, and proceeds from the screening were donated to NewView Oklahoma, a nonprofit organization offering rehabilitation and employment opportunities to people with impaired vision. Its creative descendent, Mono Deux — directed by Kyle Harris, Cate Jones, Jonathan Shahan, Lloyd Lee Barnett and Rogelio Almeida Jr. screens 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday at The Banquet Cinema Pub, 800 NW Fourth St. Proceeds from the screening will be donated to End the Backlog, a nonprofit working to reduce

the number of untested rape kits through public awareness campaigns and political activism. (A statewide audit of law enforcement agencies ordered by Gov. Mary Fallin uncovered 7,270 untested rape kits in 2018, though 120 agencies failed to respond to the audit.) Each of the original Mono directors chose a new director for the sequel. Jones, who was selected by Chapman and directed Mono Deux’s closing segment “Sheila,” described the project as a “film community outreach.” By changing the film’s directors, the sequel was practically guaranteed to vary significantly from the previous film. “Mainly, the voices of the new directors are really what’s most different just because everybody has such different styles,” Jones said. Reece’s nominee Harris, who directed the segment “Prey,” said the dramatically different storytelling styles of Mono Deux’s directors also ensures that each part of the film is notably distinct from the others. “I think between the five filmmakers, we have a very diverse group of stories,”

Harris said. “When you’re sitting there in the audience, if you see the same film over and over again five times, you might go, ‘Oh, I better go to the bathroom’ or ‘I’m just going to go get a beer.’ With these films, the comedy and drama, the thriller, the dark comedy, sci-fi, it’s just eclectic. I’m anxious to see how the audience will perceive it.” “Prey,” shot in the Wichita Mountains on an estimated budget of $1,200, tells the story of a frontiersman on a hunt who slowly realizes he is also being stalked — by an outraged Cheyenne brave (Zachary Hokeah). The film’s handcrafted costumes, elaborate makeup and remote location created several challenges for the cast and crew during the shooting. For two days of filming, the location was a 35-minute hike from the road. “We’d have to carry gear down there, so I tried to keep my crew as small as possible on those days,” Harris said. “It was 12 hours of shooting in the sun in May, just walking with all that heavy costuming on. Some of the guys had makeup on, and they would sweat and some of their hair would get stuck in the makeup. … It was tough because there was nothing around. There’s no bathrooms. There’s no restaurants. There’s no cell phone signal. We had to take everything down there with us. A hike back to our vehicle would be a round trip of over an hour just to go up to get a bottle of water, so we had to carry everything down the first trip, which was a pain in the ass.” But Harris — who previously directed I Stand: The Guardians of the Water, a documentary about the Standing Rock Sioux Nation’s protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline — said he views hardship as a part of the filmmaking process. “I like the challenge, though,” Harris said. “I typically try not to make films that are easy.” Shahan, who directed the visually stylized sci-fi segment “InnerScape,” said his work on commercials and music videos has demystified the technical aspects of filmmaking, but he still finds making narrative film intimidating. “Anything technical, anything with the camera is pretty easy for me,” Shahan said, “but the challenging part for me, really, was slowing down enough to remember what movie-making is about, and that’s telling stories.” His partner of eight years, Brasel, nominated Shahan to be one of Mono Deux’s directors. “I think she felt sorry for me because I usually only make a narrative when I’m told to,” Shahan said. “It’s got to be a competition or something to get me to make a movie, so she passed the baton to me. … When I was a kid, I grew up thinking, ‘I can’t wait to make movies.’ I want to make movies, and when I went through A scene from Cate Jones’ Mono Deux segment, “Sheila” | Image provided

film school, that was still my goal. And then I sort of built myself a velvet coffin of commercials and music videos.” After viewing a test screening of the film, Shahan said, he has resolved to make a feature-length film by the end of the year, “even if [he has] to do it handheld with one actor in the room.” Barnett, who directed the segment “A Very Grave Plot,” joined the project after another director dropped out. After a casting issue and scheduling conflicts, he managed to shoot the over-the-top horror comedy in a couple days. “We just stayed up all night and made a movie two nights in a row,” said Barnett. “If people laugh, I achieved what I set out to do.” “Sheila” the darkly comic tale of blinddate betrayal and drug abuse, is Jones’ first directing effort that wasn’t for an acting demo reel or a class project at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, where she is currently attending film school. She also acted in a supporting role in the film, and the experience of directing scenes she acted in was even more difficult than she expected.

Zachary Hokeah in a scene from Kyle Harris’ Mono Deux segment, “Prey” | Image provided

“I knew it was gonna be hard, but I don’t think I realized how hard it was going to be,” Jones said. “I was just constantly thinking about, like, ‘I hope that light doesn’t fall over. Is that mic in the shot?’ ... I just didn’t care how my performance turned out because I was thinking of so many other things at the same time. So it’s remarkable that it’s even usable.” While being nominated for Mono Deux gave Jones a reason to direct a short film, she said the nature of the collaborative project made the experience even more daunting. “I think it was probably more intimidating because I knew once I was finished, it would get shown with other people’s stuff,” Jones said. “I couldn’t just hide it if I didn’t like it.” Tickets are $10. Visit banquetcinema. com.

Mono Deux premiere 9:30 p.m. Saturday The Banquet Cinema Pub 800 NW Fourth St. banquetcinema.com $10

O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

CALENDAR PERFORMING ARTS

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

5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche the members of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein respond to a breakfast-time communist threat in 1956 in this satirical play by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays April 5-May 11. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-6017200, theboomokc.com. FRI-SAT

BOOKS

PHOSPHORESCENT

April 26

AMANDA SHIRES

April 27

RODNEY CROWELL

May 5

Independant Bookstore Day children’s activities and story time and a book signing by local author Dayna Crowe, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. April 27. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 405-3409202, bestofbooksok.com. SAT Storybook Project authors create children’s stories based on illustrations created by Breadcrumbs Ink, through April 28. The Paseo Plunge, 3010 Paseo St., 405-315-6224, paseoplunge.org. FRI-SUN

FILM

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS

May 8

Charm City (2018, USA, Marilyn Ness) a documentary chronicling the lead-up and aftermath to the controversial death of Freddie Gray in police custody in Baltimore, 7-9 p.m. April 24. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-235-3456. WED Nicole Emmons: Animated Shorts a selection of stop-motion animation created by the filmmaker and Factory Obscura artist, 7:30 p.m. April 26. Little D Gallery, 3003 Paseo, 720-773-1064. FRI

JIM JAMES May 12

VHS and Chill: Blockbusted Video riff along with comedians and film fans at this monthly movie screening where audience participation is encouraged, 7-9 p.m. first Wednesday of every month. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-8873327, theparamountroom.com. WED

TICKETS & INFO AT TOWERTHEATREOKC.COM @TOWERTHEATREOKC 405-70-TOWER | 425 NW 23rd Street OKC

HAPPENINGS Angels & Friends Celebration a fundraising party for Arts Council Oklahoma City, featuring live music and food from local restaurants, 5:30-9:30 p.m. April 24. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. WED Cirque Nocturne juggle, throw knives, eat fire, play carnival games and more at this 21-and-older event, 6:30-10 p.m. April 26. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. FRI Cleats for Kids Party enjoy craft beer, a cornhole tournament and raffle prizes at this fundraiser for a nonprofit providing athletic footwear to children, 2-5 p.m. April 29. The Jones Assembly, 901 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-212-2378, thejonesassembly.com. MON The Dude Abides a meetup for fans of cult Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski, featuring a group wedding/vow renewal and costume and trivia contest, 8 p.m.-1 a.m. April 27. Fassler Hall, 421 NW 10th St., 405-609-3300, fasslerhall.com. SAT

SUMMER 2019 05.07.19

OLD 97s + BOB SCHNEIDER

05.09.19

DWIGHT YOAKAM

Fuzzy Friday a monthly happy hour meet-andgreet hosted by the Bears of Central Oklahoma, 5:30 p.m. Fridays. Apothecary 39, 2125 NW 39th St., 405-605-4100. FRI

05.16.19

ON THE VINEYARD FEAT. JACKOPIERCE + WAKELAND

05.23.19

Paper Sack Project prepare sack lunches to pass out to people on the streets at this event hosted by Debate Night OKC, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. last Sunday of the month. NE OKC Community & Cultural Center, 3815 N. Kelley Ave., 405-401-3350. SUN

JOHNNYSWIM

04.05.19

SON VOLT

06.18.19

nappyrootsbooks. SAT Reading Wednesdays a weekly story time with hands-on activities, goody bags and readingthemed photo ops, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Wednesdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com. WED Storytime Science the museum invites children age 6 and younger to hear a story and participate in a related scientific activity, 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok. org. TUE-SAT

WED-SUN

Donna Parker: Great American Songbook the organist will play a selection of traditional favorites on a vintage Kilgen Organ, 8:30 p.m. April 29. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org. MON National Theatre Live: I’m Not Running a doctor faces a difficult decision when she crosses paths with an ex-boyfriend involved in politics in this David Hare play filmed live in London’s West End and broadcast to cinemas worldwide, 6-9 p.m. April 28. OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave., 405-682-7579, tickets. occc.edu. SUN Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles a multimedia celebration of the Fab Four album Abbey Road, April 26-27. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. FRI-SAT Stormy Weather: An OKC StorySLAM an open-mic storytelling show with the theme of severe weather, 7 p.m. April 28. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. SUN Twelfth Night drama students at University of Oklahoma present William Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy, April 26-May 4. Weitzenhoffer Theatre, 563 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-7370, ou.edu/finearts. FRI-SAT University of Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra the concert program includes Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, 3 p.m. April 28. Sharp Concert Hall, 500 W. Boyd St., Norman, 405-325-4101, music.ou.edu. SUN

Bubbles & Bites enjoy four different champagnes paired with appetizers including short rib sliders, BLT crostinis and more, April 25. Café 501, 501 S. Boulevard, 405-359-1501, cafe501.com. THU The Loire Valley Tasting sample cheeses from this French region, 6:45 p.m. April 26. Forward Foods-Norman, 2001 W. Main St., Norman, 405-3211007, forwardfoods.com. FRI Paseo Farmers Market shop for fresh food from local vendors at this weekly outdoor event, 9 a.m.noon Saturdays, through Oct. 19. SixTwelve, 612 NW 29th St., 405-208-8291, sixtwelve.org. SAT

FALL 2019 10.28.19

TICKETS & INFORMATION AT

THEJONESASSEMBLY.COM 901 W. SHERIDAN, OKC

SATURDAY Photo Kim Newmoney / provided

Bright Star a musical story of love lost and found in the 1920s and ’40s, with a script and bluegrassinspired soundtrack written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, through April 28. Lyric at the Plaza, 1725 NW 16th St., 405-524-9312, lyrictheatreokc.com.

FOOD

08.06.19

ANDREW BIRD

Beth Stelling Whether talking about burping in a diner or her mother’s hysterectomy, stand-up comic Beth Stelling’s laidback, conversational tone gives the impression that her act is anything but. Stelling, a writer for I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman, sounds so much like your charming funny friend, you could almost forget that her jokes have been honed razor-sharp until they start to draw blood. Local comics CJ Lance and Cameron Brewer are scheduled to open. The show starts 8 p.m. Saturday at The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave. Tickets are $20-$25. Call 405-887-3327 or visit theparamountroom.com.

Brahm’s Ein Deutsches Requiem a choir comprising alumni, faculty, staff and students at University of Oklahoma performs an English rendition of the composer’s requiem accompanied by the Norman Philharmonic, 8 p.m. April 25. Sharp Concert Hall, 500 W. Boyd St., Norman, 405-325-4101, music. ou.edu. THU

Festival of the Arts view artworks, hear live music, sample food truck fare, participate in children’s activities and more at this annual celebration of all things artistic, through April 28. Bicentennial Park, 500 Couch Drive, 405-297-3882, facebook.com/pages/ bicentennial. TUE-SUN

ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES

O.A.R.

Beehive: The ’60s Musical a revue featuring live performances of classic hits including “My Boyfriend’s Back”, “Be My Baby”, “Son of a Preacher Man”, “Me and Bobby McGee” and more, through May 4. The Pollard Theatre, 120 W. Harrison Ave., Guthrie, 405-282-2800, thepollard.org. FRI-SAT

Brunching with Books a book club meeting every other week, with reading selections chosen by group preference, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Buttermilk Paseo, 605 NW 28th St., 405-605-6660, buttermilkokc.com. SAT

A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

YOUTH Academic Enrichment Reading Clinic children in grades 1-12 can receive free tutoring and homework help in reading, math and history and learn about nonviolent conflict resolution and success-building habits at this weekly clinic, 11 a.m. Saturdays through April 27. Nappy Roots, 3705 Springlake Drive, 405-896-0203, facebook.com/pg/

Take Back the Night: March and Rally Against Sexual Assault Started in Europe in the 1960s, these antiviolence demonstrations assert women’s right to safety in public spaces. While everyone is welcome, be prepared: This march and rally — presented by University of Central Oklahoma’s Intro to Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Class and Women’s Research Center & LGBTQ+ Student Center, National Organization for Women and YesLoveOKC —features an open mic for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, but counselors will reportedly be on hand. The event is 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at the Music Building at University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, in Edmond. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com/thecenteratuco. WEDNESDAY Photo bigstock.com

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

Preservation Oklahoma is proud to advocate for the places where Oklahoma history lives. Oklahoma City is full of rich history with iconic structures that are worth saving.

Red Dirt Dinos: An Oklahoma Dinosaur Adventure You have to give major props to any Bible Belt museum that features a fun dinosaur display without using it as a platform to claim the earth is 6,000 years old and dinosaurs and people once worked together to prevent football players from causing windmill cancer or whatever. Since these animatronic thunder lizards are on display at a museum dedicated to actual science, you can rest assured that the only people around will be fellow dino enthusiasts delighting in the high-tech prehistoric antics, and the only thing you have to worry about is how dangerous infrared-motion-detectorequipped dinosaurs will be in the inevitable robot uprising. The exhibit is open through Sept. 2 at Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place. Museum admission is free-$15.95. Call 405-602-6664 or visit sciencemuseumok.org. THROUGH SEPT. 2 Photo provided

ACTIVE Botanical Balance an all-levels yoga class in a natural environment; bring your own mat and water, 5:45 p.m. Tuesdays and 8 a.m. Saturdays. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. SAT OKC Memorial Marathon an annual run, now in its 19th year, commemorating the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. April 28. Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, 620 N. Harvey Ave., 405-235-3313, oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org. SUN

ists specializing in the trompe l’oeil method, in which pieces appear to be made from different materials such as styrofoam or rusted metal, through April 25. Melton Gallery, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 405525-3603, uco.edu. MON-THU Steamroller Print Fest a 5-ton steamroller will be used to make prints from woodblocks carved by local artists at this event which also features children’s activities, art and craft demonstrations and live music, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 27. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-9995, 1ne3.org. SAT Testimony: The Life and Work of David Friedman an exhibition of portraits, landscapes and more by the artist and Holocaust survivor, through May 26. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. THU-SUN

Twisted Coyote Brew Crew a weekly 3-mile group run for all ability levels with a beer tasting to follow; bring your own safety lights, 6 p.m. Mondays. Twisted Spike Brewing Co., 1 NW 10th St., 405-3013467, twistedspike.com. MON

This Land, From Prairie to Desert an exhibition of watercolor and mixed-media works by Deborah Burian, through April 28. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com. FRI-SUN

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

Visceral Tendencies an exhibition of works by artist-in-residence Morgan Robinson, through May 8. Oklahoma City University School of Visual Arts, 1601 NW 26th St., 405-208-5226, okcu.edu/artsci/departments/visualart. WED

VISUAL ARTS

Women of Color Art Showcase an exhibition of artworks by Zariah Shanell, Debra Barber, Erica Nkechi and more, 7-10 p.m. April 27. Heart Studios, 3208 Teakwood Lane, Suite 103, 405-664-4194, heartstudiosllc.com. SAT

Beach Scapes an exhibition of photographer Simon Hurst’s photos taken along the beaches of the Florida panhandle, through May 16. American Choral Directors Association, 545 Couch Drive, 405-2328161, acda.org. THU Child’s Play an exhibition of sculptural works created by Norman-based artist Brett McDanel, through April 28. Paseo Studio Six, 3021 Paseo St., 405-5280174, thepaseo.org. WED-SUN Factory Obscura Volunteer Night help with the creation of the artist collective’s latest interactive exhibit Mix-Tape; ages 12 and older only, 6-8 p.m. April 24. Factory Obscura, 1522 S. Robinson Ave. WED Kathleen Morris, Larry Hefner and Diana Smith an exhibition featuring Morris and Hefner’s abstract expressionist paintings and Smith’s sculptures, through April 30. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com. MON-TUE

Kathy J. Martin and Pat Gurley an exhibition of porcelain art including Martin’s series Women Who Survive, through May 31. Porcelain Art Museum, 2700 N. Portland Ave., 405-521-1234, wocp.org. SAT-FRI

The Love of Color an exhibition of paintings by Oklahoma City artist Nancy Junkin, through April 28. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405445-7080, myriadgardens.com. THU-SUN

First Christian Church

Fire Station #10

Stars and Stripes Spin Jam a weekly meetup for jugglers, hula hoopers and unicyclers, 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays. Stars & Stripes Park, 3701 S. Lake Hefner Drive, 405-297-2756, okc.gov/parks. WED

Against the Grain an exhibition of artful furniture created from salvaged and reclaimed wood by Zach True Hammack, through April 28. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. THU-SUN

RJ Edwards House

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.

Help preserve Oklahoma City's historic structures by visiting preservationok.org/advocate @PreservationOK #PastToTheFuture

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be . t always 18th birthday Doing what’s right isn’ part of the what’s easiest. But as id lahoma, you’re not afra Ok l ra nt Ce of ay W d Unite part of the answer. re u’ Yo . ns tio es qu e of thes and with us. Raise your hand and st Give today at

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For OKG live music

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Mo Faux an exhibition of ceramics created by art-

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O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

COV E R

MUSIC

Mega pumped

Nerdcore rapper Mega Ran fought his way out of pizza joint gigs to land a choice Norman Music Festival spot. By Charles Martin

Performers should not be judged by easy gigs, when concert halls are packed and abuzz with fan enthusiasm. They should be judged by shows when there are more names on the guest list than tickets sold, when the venue owner forgets to unlock the front door, when someone mentions too late that the show is competing with a University of Oklahoma/Oklahoma State University game with playoff implications. That’s what Raheem Jarbo, aka Mega Ran, ran into the first time he came to Oklahoma. Weary from a long leg on his regional tour, he pulled into a pizza place/ music venue on the far too west side of the metro only to find locked doors. After a flurry of phone calls, the owner was raised. There’d been no media coverage aside from a 14-year-old music blogger who did manage to ping the radar of noted local-man-in-the-know Evan Jarvicks, aka Jarvix. There were four tickets sold, half the amount of scheduled performers. But Mega Ran? He set his game to expert. “You learn the true talent of an artist by how well they perform under pressure and to low attendance,” Jarbo said. Jarbo tore through a full set list featuring his verbose Nerdcore rap written under both his Mega Ran and Random

monikers. Known for concept albums focused on his childhood obsessions, Jarbo also showcased extraordinary improv abilities honed during Freestyle Fridays when, as a schoolteacher, he would reward his kids for good behavior with freestyle sessions. He asked the sparse crowd to pull out whatever was in their pockets so he could create rhymes on the spot, talking about library cards and odd keychains. “You just don’t know what you get from a show, so you stay grounded,” Jarbo said. “And hey, without that show, you and I wouldn’t be talking right now. It’s like being a quarterback in the NFL; you have to have a really short memory. Maybe you get tackled or maybe you throw a perfect pass. Either way, you need that short memory so you stay focused on just getting back onstage.” 24

A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 | O KG A Z E T T E . C O M

Jarbo said his second trip to Oklahoma was part of a comic convention. Also at a pizza place. Also to a small crowd.

Slicing through

This time, Jarbo has a plum spot on Norman Music Festival’s Friday night lineup, which is fitting for a rapper growing out of a niche subgenre and climbing onto the Billboard charts. He has traded in winding tours for one-off featured spots built on the success that started when he had to take a sabbatical from hip-hop following his highly introspective 2006 album The Call. “It was a draining album because I was talking about all these things that were on my mind, so after it came out, I took some time off music and played video games,” Jarbo said. “It took me back to when I was a kid and gave me the idea to sample the songs. I made an album based off Mega Man, which was a great game, and the music was on another level. I chopped them up to make beats then rapped over it as if I was Mega Man. I put it on the internet but was kind of scared because I didn’t want Capcom to find out.” Well, they did. “I got an email that said ‘RE: This Mega Ran album,’” Jarbo said. “I was like ‘Oh, no! They found me!

That’s it; my life is over. They’ll sue me for what little I’ve got!’” Jarbo said the email started with “We were told about your album,” followed by white space to force Jarbo to scroll down until he read, “Don’t worry, this isn’t a cease and desist.” Sometimes corporations can have a sense of humor. Instead of suing Jarbo, Capcom wanted to highlight his work. What followed was a series of profiles from across the video game industry including IGN and Nintendo Power. Jarbo eventually received the legal blessing of Capcom so his music could be licensed for a movie soundtrack. Jarbo said this was a first for the industry.

I’d like to see myself and MC Lars end up in schools, talking about the links between Shakespeare and Chuck D. Mega Ran He would return to the Mega Ran persona many times, including for the Mega Ran in Language Arts trilogy, which went back to his roots as a public school teacher. The ambitious project also featured its own video game. Jarbo’s return to Oklahoma comes on the heels of a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a lit- hop album with MC Lars on which they rap about books, poems and plays. On the

album, titled The Dewey Decibel System, the pair focuses on classics as diverse as Alan Moore’s Watchmen, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. “It’s a really good snapshot to the things we loved growing up, but also today’s culture,” Jarbo said. “We utilize a lot of the themes in those books and apply to current events.” His fixation on those formative years has served as an escape but has also energized his creative process. “It’s all the things that were familiar for me or got me interested as a child,” Jarbo said. “That was a time when I was so aloof, diagnosed ADHD and all over the place. It took a lot for me to enjoy something, but when it did capture my interest, it stuck with me. Anything that got me as a preteen or a teenager, it is something that I can really dig into as an adult.” He is also working on a book that will trace his unlikely path from forging his verbal skills as a kid “signifying” with his friends to becoming an icon in the growing Nerdcore rap scene. Though he is no longer a public school teacher, Jarbo still wants to use hip-hop as an educational tool. “Seeing some of our elder statesmen make their way into academia gives me a lot of hope,” Jarbo said. “I’d like to see myself and MC Lars end up in schools, talking about the links between Shakespeare and Chuck D. It seemed impossible as kids, but now we are talking about how hip-hop is a way to keep children interested in poetry and literary classics.” Wordsmiths aren’t developed in a vacuum, and Jarbo said it took the wealth of decades of practice and literary and pop culture input for him to be able to riff for five minutes off of a Hello Kitty wallet a fan brought to a show. “It’s taken years, and it’ll continue to take time and practice every day, like a muscle you keep in shape,” Jarbo said. “It’s me in the shower, driving, coming up with rhymes but not just gibberish; something that makes sense in context that is also clever and funny. That’s the true talent.”

Mega Ran 10 p.m. Friday

Mega Ran, aka Raheem Jarbo, performs Friday at Norman Music Festival. | Photo provided

Norman Music Festival Winston West Stage Main Street, Norman normanmusicfestival.com Free

COV E R

Nationally endangered

Black Milk and Soccer Mommy work to be authentic in the internet-driven, cookie-cutter music economy. By Jeremy Martin

Other than their headlining spots in the Norman Music Festival lineup, Black Milk and Soccer Mommy do not, at first glance, seem to have much of anything in common. Black Milk, aka Curtis Cross, first gained hip-hop notability in 2002 as a producer working with fellow Detroiter J Dilla’s Slum Village. In the years since, he has become a respected underground MC and beatmaker known for his insightful lyrics and adventurous instrumentals. His 2018 album Fever mixes hip-hop production with live band contributions for a sound The Guardian called “echoey, soulful and old-school.” Soccer Mommy, aka Sophie Allison, began uploading lo-fi home-recorded releases such as the 2015 EP Songs for the Recently Sad while she was still in high school and playing swing music in jazz band. Her full-length debut, Clean, released last year, made several critics’ best-of-the-year lists. Pitchfork called it “a compact album of clear melodies, plainspoken lyrics and the impossibly tangled logic of infatuation” and compared it to Liz Phair and Taylor Swift. We spoke to Black Milk and Soccer Mommy (separately, unfortunately) about Black Milk is scheduled to play with his live band Nat Turner 8:30 p.m. Saturday on the Fowler Automotive Main Stage. | Photo Fabian Guerrero / provided

their music-making methods and philosophies and discovered one similarity: Both strive for originality and authenticity in an age when both qualities are often thought endangered, if not extinct.

Black Milk

Oklahoma Gazette: Has touring with a live band changed the way you look at music? Black Milk: It definitely helps me have a better perspective of how songs are going to come off live when I perform them. … I’ll watch what people react to in the crowd, and I try to remember to bring that back to studio recordings and hopefully continue to get that same reaction out of them. I think that’s the main thing. It just helps me know what to do in the studio, little tricks. … When people nod or start dancing to certain rhythms, I kind of keep that in mind when I go back and make new music. OKG: Do you think there’s something inherently different in the way a crowd responds to a live band as opposed to a DJ? Black Milk: Yeah, definitely, especially when there’s parts of the show where we improvise and feed off the crowd and kind of go off-script. Those are the most fun parts, and when I talk to people after the show, it seems like those are the most entertaining parts for them as well. It’s me and the crowd response, and we’re kind of just feeding off of each other. You can’t really do that a lot when it’s just you and a DJ. The band just gives me way more room to do a lot more stuff off the cuff. OKG: Your work has a lot of socially conscious elements to it. How do you find a balance between talking about real-life issues and just getting people to dance and move and have a good time? Black Milk: Being a producer for so long, I kind of have an understanding of what to do in the sense of sound and sonics and melodies. Listening to some of my heroes’ music, certain artists that are able to get a certain message across but are able to still keep a vibe that’s continued on page 26

MAY 11

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MUSIC COV E R

continued from page 25

not totally dark or totally grim or totally sad. … That was kind of my mindset going into Fever. The music has a feel-good energy, but the topics are definitely, not serious but conscious.

OKG: Do you feel like the music loses anything by moving away from physical means like going and digging in record crates for samples or using older synthesizers and drum machines and things like that? Or do you think it gains more from the technology update? Black Milk: I look at software as just another tool, just like an MPC3000 or something, just another tool for me to get what I hear in my head out of the speakers. So I don’t feel like it’s lessened my creativity. … I still mess with oldschool keyboards. I still dig for records and all of that stuff. That hasn’t really changed. I can just do a lot of that stuff faster now.

Soccer Mommy: I think it taught me a lot of chords that I use, major sevenths and stuff. It taught me to get away from just using bar chords and things like that. It taught me a lot of the scales that I base a lot of my licks off of. A lot of the guitar melodies in my songs are based off arpeggios and stuff that I learned from playing jazz music. I don’t think I picked up anything, lyrically, from jazz. OKG: I’ve often seen your music described as sad. Do you feel like it’s sad? Soccer Mommy: I mean, it’s not happy, I don’t think, but I don’t think it’s the most depressing thing ever. I think it’s just honest stuff about my life, but there’s definitely songs that I consider sad songs. There’s some that I consider less sad. There’s some that are angry. Occasionally, there’s a happy one. Admission to Norman Music Festival is free. Visit normanmusicfestival.com.

Soccer Mommy

OKG: Was there a specific moment when you realized that people were listening to your demos online? Soccer Mommy: I think the time when I realized I was starting to build a fanbase was probably around the time I released the [2015] album Songs From My Bedroom on Bandcamp. About when I released that one, it started to pick up fans and I started seeing artists I like notice it. It just seemed like something was actually starting to build. OKG: Do you think that had any effect on the way you were writing music or the way you were putting things out? Soccer Mommy: I don’t think it did. I still just kind of released stuff. It maybe gave me a little more confidence, but I don’t think it affected my writing.

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OKG: Is there anything from your home recording that you feel like you have to hold on to or that you’re very protective of? Soccer Mommy: I don’t know. I never want it to be too hi-fi, really. I just don’t love the sound of really clean recording. I like there to be noise. I like there to be intimacy there, but I don’t think there’s any one specific thing I want to try to hold on to. The songs always come from these demos that I make and the ideas and the sounds that come in these demos, but I think that it still has a piece of that at the core of it, of the feeling that comes with the original song. OKG: Did playing a lot of standards and older songs in a swing band teach you anything about songwriting?

Soccer Mommy is scheduled to play 10:45 p.m. Thursday on the outdoor stage at Opolis. | Photo Natalia Mantini / provided

Black Milk 8:30 p.m. Saturday Fowler Automotive Main Stage Norman Music Festival E. Main Street and Porter Street, Norman normanmusicfestival.com Free

Soccer Mommy 10:45 p.m. Thursday Opolis Outdoor Stage Norman Music Festival 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman normanmusicfestival.com Free

COV E R

Local heroes

Area musicians offer some of the best reasons to attend Norman Music Festival. By Jeremy Martin

Norman Music Festival (NMF) offers a chance to check out touring acts such as Beach Fossils, Big Business and Sailor Poon for free and an opportunity to catch up on the local scene. And while we would always advise you to see hometown heroes Beau Jennings & the Tigers, Flock of Pigs, Sativa Prophets, The Annie Oakley, et al., you can also find new favorites simply by wandering around with open ears. With that in mind, we have highlighted a few acts we have not given as much coverage to in the past but still highly recommend.

Mt. Terror

Frontman Brennan Barnes’ previous band Deerpeople is a familiar name to local music fans, but when Mt. Terror takes the indoor stage 10:30 p.m. Thursday at Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., in Norman, it will be the band’s first appearance at NMF. Mt. Terror played its first show, which filled Blue Note Lounge to capacity, last year, “the weekend after Norman Music Fest or something like that” Barnes said. The band played “like six shows total, eight shows, maybe” and released a double A-side single containing “How to Be a Bomb” and “Future Coast” before “things just collapsed,” but now the supercharged synthwave band is back together and planning to release more music. At the time of this interview, Barnes was still trying to find his sustain pedal before the band’s first rehearsal since it reunited. The Opolis show is currently Mt. Terror’s first scheduled gig since last year. “I kind of like the idea of our first show back being kind of a bigger deal,” Barnes said, “but I can’t say that I would turn down a practice show.”

Maddie Razook

Singer/songwriter Maddie Razook is playing NMF for her second year, and she will be appearing three times, all at Opolis. Razook will play solo 3:30 p.m. Saturday on the indoor stage, fronting her “other band” Pigments 7 p.m. Thursday outdoors and her “other, other band” Lust 1 a.m. (late Thursday or early Friday) indoors.

Razook said she writes the lyrics and vocal melodies for all three projects. Her solo work is typically “a little more confessional, a little more vulnerable” while electronic Lust is “usually very dance-y, very fun.” Pigments tends toward dreamy pop. Live, her solo setup is just a microphone and a Roland Juno synthesizer with a built-in drum machine. “It’s been really essential to me recently, especially with spending all this time doing these other projects, just to keep my project that I do alone just me, so it ends up being pretty minimal, very intimate, but that’s how I like it,” Razook said. “I would say my favorite places to play my solo set would be, like, a small area because I just love the idea of people being close to me while I’m doing it. I feel like I’m sharing things with friends, even if I’m in a room of complete strangers.” Razook released the single “Spinning” April 9, Lust released a selftitled EP in March and Pigments has a new album coming soon.

Naturalist

Naturalist, playing 2:30 p.m. Saturday on the Winston West Stage, has released two EPs and an album in its six years of existence, but band members still struggle to explain what the music sounds like. “I’ve got to say, man, that’s the hardest question everyone always asks,” said bassist Joseph Tassinari. “The immortal question. … You ask 10 times and you’ll get 10 different answers.” While Tassinari describes Naturalist’s music as a “dark room, weird light kind of introspective-type thing,” he said he thinks the band will have no problem playing outside in the afternoon. Two new songs on the band’s set list suggest a sunnier state of mind inspired by recent life changes. Vocalist Ashton Prescott had a child, and Schatzer got married. “It’s, I don’t want to say ‘softer,’ but it definitely has what feels like to me, a more positive vibe,” Tassinari said. “We’ve all been making life changes, bigger ones for a while now, so I think

Naturalist plays 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Winston West Stage. | Photo Anne Marie Gray / provided

Maddie Razook plays 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Opolis. | Photo Katie Murray / provided

that that kind of reflects itself tonally and kind of changes the vibe a little bit.” Guitarist Nathan Schatzer agreed. “I think it’s good for that to kind of reflect in the music,” he said. “We have been doing this for so long, and the last thing you want to do is kind of get stuck doing the same thing over and over again.”

Teflo $

Released in January, Delusionally Beautiful combines hip-hop with elements of R&B, electronica and Jamaican dancehall, and, other than contributions from The Fervent Route guitarist Daniel Acuna (“Magic”), a feature spot from Rodrick Malone (“Fear,” which Malone co-produces) and producer Benzo El Toro (“Gospel”), the widely varied vocals, verses and production are all credited to Teflo $ (pronounced “dollar”). But he is not necessarily happy about that. “I’m a one-man band, and it sucks … but I don’t have a choice,” Teflo, who older OKC hip-hop fans know as Methotrexate from Purple Mouth Bandits, said. “That’s how I started producing because at the time, I didn’t really have money to buy beats, and the producers I did work with, they didn’t have the same work ethic I do because I’d be wanting to do a song every day and they could only meet up, like, two times a week. So I was, like, ‘Dude, fuck this. I’m going to get a Mac. I’m going to learn things.’” His restless creative energy means he cannot stay satisfied with the finished product, even if it represents the culmination of several years of work. “I’ve been experimenting with my sound since, like, 2013, and I feel like with Delusionally Beautiful, I actually kind of executed what I’ve always been

Teflo $ plays 7:20 p.m. Friday at The Brewhouse. | Photo Grand National / provided

going for for the last four or five years,” he said. “Now I’ve got to find a cool new way to reinvent.” Teflo $ takes the stage 7:20 p.m. Friday at The Brewhouse, 110 W. Main St. Admission to all shows is free. Visit normanmusicfestival.com.

Teflo $ 7:20 p.m. Friday Norman Music Festival The Brewhouse 110 E. Main St., Norman soundcloud.com/405teflo Free

Mt. Terror 10:30 p.m. Thursday Norman Music Festival Opolis 113 Crawford Ave., Norman mtterror.bandcamp.com Free

Naturalist 2:30 p.m. Saturday Norman Music Festival Winston West Stage 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman naturalistmusic.bandcamp.com Free

Maddie Razook 3:30 p.m. Saturday Norman Music Festival Opolis 113 Crawford Ave., Norman naturalistmusic.bandcamp.com Free

Mt. Terror plays 10:30 p.m. Thursday at Opolis. | Photo Anna Stolarczyk / provided

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LIVE MUSIC Amanda Shires, Tower Theatre. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

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

SUNDAY, APR. 28

WEDNESDAY, APR. 24

MONDAY, APR. 29

Joe Purdy & the Honey Dewdrops/Smokey & the Mirror, The Blue Door. ACOUSTIC

Jason Hunt, Sean Cumming’s Irish Restaurant. FOLK

Metal Church/Images of Eden/Halcyon Way, Oklahoma City Limits. METAL

TUESDAY, APR. 30

Parkway Drive/Killswitch Engage, Diamond Ballroom. METAL/HARDCORE

Country Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY

The Victor Wooten Band, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. JAZZ

Dallas Parker/Ashliann Rivera/Chloe-Beth Campbell, Iron Monk Brewing Company. SINGER/SONGWRITER

THURSDAY, APR. 25

Kyle Reid, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

Elizabeth Speegle Band, Saints. JAZZ Hot House Band, Othello’s Italian Restaurant. JAZZ I Prevail/Issues, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK Midas 13, The Liszt. ROCK The Space Program, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. HIP-HOP

FRIDAY, APR. 26 Electric Okie Test, 51st Street Speakeasy. COVER Eric Andersen/Scarlet Rivera, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Phosphorescent Scientifically speaking, phosphorescence is emitting light without a perceptible source of heat or combustion, and Phosphorescent’s latest album, 2018’s C’est La Vie, truly glows with inner illumination. However, the warmth it radiates — through jubilant choirs, kosmiche keyboards and frontman Matthew Houck’s vintage-washed vocals — is anything but imperceptible. The darkness in some of Houck’s lyrics is also evident, but the overall effect is like peering into the shadows from a candlelit bath. Phosphorescent’s keyboardist (and Houck’s partner) Jo Schornikow warms the crowd up first. The show begins 8 p.m. Friday at Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St. Tickets are $23-$38. Call 405-708-6937 or visit towertheatreokc.com. FRIDAY Photo provided

Kestrel & Kite, Full Circle Bookstore. FOLK Tranquillity, Blue Note Lounge. METAL

Scott Keeton, Remington Park. BLUES

The Tallest Man on Earth, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Tyler Lee Band, Margarita Island. COVER

SATURDAY, APR. 27

Destroyer of Light/Monogamizer/Fragmented

Brad Fielder Trio, Lazy Circles Brewing. FOLK Drive, Sanctuary Barsilica. COVER Lacy Saunders, Remington Park. SINGER/SONGWRITER

WEDNESDAY, MAY. 1 Parker Millsap, ACM @ UCO Performance Lab. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Riley Green/Abby Anderson/Jimmie Allen, Riverwind Casino. COUNTRY

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.

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M A R I J UA N A

THE HIGH CULTURE

Healing greens

Steve’s Greens debuts Landon’s Legacy with Sierra and Landon Riddle at its first anniversary event this Saturday. By Matt Dinger

Two of the most well-known faces in the cannabis world make an Oklahoma City appearance this week. Sierra Riddle and her 9-year-old son, Landon Riddle, will be at Steve’s Greens Cannabis + Wellness, 6715 N. May Ave., on Saturday. Riddle made international news when she moved from Utah to Colorado to treat Landon, then 2 years old, with cannabis. He was the youngest medical marijuana patient in Colorado history. Their visit will be the Oklahoma debut of the Riddles’ strain, Landon’s Legacy. Steve’s Greens is the only dispensary in the state to offer it. This harvest of Landon’s Legacy yielded about a half pound of flower, Green Seed Farm grower Dan Wade said. Pre-rolls will also be available. The first round of the strain boasts a THCA percentage of 10.9 percent, with 4.5 percent delta-9-THC and no cannabidiol (CBD). It has a complex terpenoid profile, with 1,298 micrograms per gram of beta-caryophyllene, or 27.8 percent of the total terpenes. There are also 980 grams of myrcene (21 percent) and 800 micrograms (17.1 percent) of linalool with 9.7 percent of cis-Nerolidol, 9.1 percent humulene and 8.7 percent delta-limonene. Pinene in alpha and beta forms make up 3.5 percent of the terpenoid profile, according to lab results from F.A.S.T. Laboratories. “Landon’s Legacy is a high-THC medicinal cannabis strain, and it is something that we are very proud of and have worked on for quite a few years and it 30

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will be marketed as a strain that is fantastic for children with a multitude of health issues and terminal illnesses and will always be grown organically,” Sierra Riddle said. “I’m only allowing contracts with dispensaries that are going to do it the right way as well as give back to their local communities there because that’s what it’s all about. Part of my partnership agreement is that they — whoever wants to carry my genetics and have access to all of these amazing things — will donate 10 to 20 percent of those sales for those specific genetics back into my nonprofit, which will then continuously be able to help people in their communities. As well, we are an international nonprofit and so we help families all over the world with plant-based medicine as well as plant-based education.” While Landon’s Legacy has no CBD, another strain, Landon’s Revenge, will have a much higher concentration. Riddle said they will also be providing those genetics to Steve’s Greens by way of Green Seed Farm. “Landon’s Revenge is the second strain, and it’s just about ready to go as sending it across state lines and being ready for a full-blown production grow,” she said. “And that is going to be a highCBD strain with a healthy amount of CBG, CBN and THC. And that will be also marketed mainly as a safe medication for children with illnesses and everything else but obviously works fantastically for adults as well. It’s just here at Landon’s Health Hut, we like to focus

THC

on children with terminal illnesses and life-threatening diseases.” Before founding CannaMommy, Riddle became internationally known for moving to Colorado treat Landon with cannabis after he was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. After chemotherapy and pharmaceuticals failed to help, they sent Landon home to die. She drove from Salt Lake City to Colorado and began medical cannabis treatment. After years of medical and legal battles, Sierra and Landon travel and participate in medical cannabis discussions around the country.

It will be marketed as a strain that is fantastic for children with a multitude of health issues and terminal illnesses and will always be grown organically. Sierra Riddle “Landon now is going to celebrate seven years cancer-free this year, which also will mark five years past any medical treatment, which is what the medical community considers cured,” she said. “For Landon, we’ll be cured medically this year, and he is the first and only child to have successfully survived childhood leukemia without the treatment.” However, because of the myriad issues that Landon still suffers after such a debilitating illness and the side effects of chemotherapy at that young age, he is still using cannabis — and only cannabis — to treat his symptoms and illnesses.

Cannabis advocates

“We have our one-year anniversary party, so we’re celebrating a full year of being

Landon’s Legacy, a strain of medical cannabis developed by Sierra Riddle, makes its Oklahoma debut at Steve’s Greens on Saturday. | Photo Mike Mulcahy / provided

in the cannabis industry in Oklahoma,” Stephanie Mathis said. “Who knew I’d ever be saying that?” Stephanie and her husband, Dustin, founded Steve’s Greens as a CBD store that has evolved into a cannabis dispensary. “I’ve always been a huge cannabis advocate,” Mathis said. “It’s always been something that I’ve felt very passionately about, not just in the medical side of things, but also just in the textiles and the environmental side of things and getting our resources from hemp instead of trees and things like that. So I’ve always been a huge advocate for cannabis and legalization, and knowing that it’s starting to come to Oklahoma, I just had to jump on board.” Steve’s Greens was not one of the first dispensaries with cannabis for sale because Mathis wanted to wait and make sure everything was legitimate Oklahoma product. While about a third of the flower it carries comes from Green Seed Farm, the grow the Mathises own, Steve’s Greens carries a wide variety of other products from the CBD and medical marijuana space. And Landon’s Legacy will be the newest product added to shelves. “The terpenes are just through the roof,” Mathis said. “It’s got some of the highest turpene profiles I’ve seen in any strain. And then the high trichomes. We’re hand-trimming everything to keep those trichomes intact and to make sure it’s just primo. And this next round, we’re hoping to get definitely a higher THC profile than we did on the last round. [We] pulled a bit early last time, so that was kind of our trial. First harvest is always the fun one where you can learn a lot. It just made sense to bring Sierra and Landon to the release.” The event kicks off at noon. Noon-6 p.m., there are workshops, including a cannabis law Q&A with J. Blake Johnson, a cannabis cooking demonstration with chef Tony Freitas, growing basics with Lucky’s Grow Supply, cannabis vaping and terpene education with Simple Cure and a talk on concentrates with Pot County Extracts. All the workshops are free. There are also giveaways throughout the day and a patient drive with Green Hope Wellness Clinic. Multiple vendors will be on hand, and there will be live music sets by The Suspects at 2 p.m. and 4:20 p.m. Visit stevesgreens.com.

Steve’s 1-Year Anniversary and Dispensary Opening Party noon-8 p.m. Saturday Steve’s Greens Cannabis + Wellness 6715 N. May Ave. stevesgreens.com | 405-608-8010 Free

THC

TOKE BOARD

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

Applications Received: 106,309 Applications Approved: 94,381

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

Applications Approved: 1,370

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

Applications Approved: 2,658

Mon-Sat 10-7 Sun 11-7

1015 NW 1st, OKC â&#x20AC;˘ 405-992-0558 Come to the place that actually knows what they're doing

SOURCE April 22, 2019 twitter.com/ommaok

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M A R I J UA N A

THE HIGH CULTURE

Greener greens

THC

Each month, the chefs at Guyutes partner with Oklahoma Gazette to offer an original, unique cannabis-infused dish. By Matt Dinger and Jacob Threadgill

Spring has sprung, and the warmer temperatures pair nicely with cool greens. This season, that salad can be extra relaxing with the right dressing. Oklahoma Gazette teamed up with the chefs at Guyutes, 730 NW 23rd St., to offer some infused dishes off the beaten path. Guyutes owner Jarrod Friedel and chef Matt Pryor have created medical marijuana-infused recipes absent of the cannabis aftertaste. This month, they’ve prepared a salad dressing with infused honey. First, the honey has to be infused, which is a longer process than most THC extractions or infusions. But before that, the cannabis has to be decarbed. Decarboxylation is the process by which heat separates the THC from the plant matter and readies it for absorption by the liver. Friedel recommends breaking up the medical marijuana — about 10 grams will be needed to make infused honey — either by hand or with a grinder. He cautions not to grind the flower into a fine powder. Put the marijuana on top of parchment paper on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. If the oven rises above 300 degrees Fahrenheit, it will burn the flower and rob it of its medicinal effects. Once the cannabis is decarbed, fill a Crock-Pot halfway with water and set it on low. Place the cannabis in a cheesecloth and tie it with string. Drop the bundle into a Mason jar, pour a cup and a half of honey inside and put the lid on it. Drop the jar in the crockpot. Make sure the jar is submerged past the level of the honey, but the water doesn’t cover the entire jar. Every two hours, remove the jar from the water and open the lid to release pressure and submerge the jar again. Repeat four times, or up to eight hours. Two four-hour sessions can achieve the same results. Allow the jar to cool before removing the cheesecloth bundle. “Slow-cookers would also work for people that had actual slow-cookers with timers. They can do a set time for the cooking process,” Pryor said. “So by itself, it’s super, super-duper strong, so that’s why we’re going to go ahead and make it into a salad dressing. You can control your temperature a little bit more so the actual strain came out stronger into the honey than it did any other process.” For this honey, Friedel used Zsweet Inzanity from Nice Tree, his grow. This particularly strain tested at just over 24 percent THC.

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Infused honey allows home cooks to control how much medicine they apply to the salad. | Photo Alexa Ace

Making the infused honey

1. Fill a Crock-Pot half full of water, set the temperature to low. 2. Place 10 grams of decarbed marijuana inside a small cheesecloth and tie it up like a sachet with butcher string. 3. Place the sachet inside a Mason jar and pour 1 ½ cups of honey into the jar. 4. Place a lid on the jar, set it inside the Crock-Pot and add more water if necessary to submerge the honey but not the jar completely. 5. Place a lid on the Crock-Pot and set a timer for two hours. Every two hours, carefully remove the jar from the water and carefully remove the lid to release pressure. 6. Replace the lid and return the jar to the water. After eight hours the honey is infused. This can be done in two four-hour sessions if you do not have eight hours of time. 7. Allow the honey to cool before removing the sachet. Scrape the sides of the sachet and discard or steep in some hot tea for a real fun time. 8. Store the honey in cool, dark place. This recipe used Zsweet Inzanity, 24.02 percent THC 10 g x 1000 = 10,000 24.02 percent x 10,000 = 2402 1 cup = 16 tablespoons 24 tablespoons/2402 = 100.08 100.08 mg THC per tablespoon

To make the dressing, combine lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil until emulsified. “We’ll use probably half a cup; half a cup or more. It all depends on your intensity of the flavor that you want and the intensity of the marijuana that you want,” Pryor said. “Some people do like broken vinaigrettes. You don’t have to continued on page 36

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be perfect with it. You can stay broken because I like the idea that it’s just kind of imperfect because people are imperfect and their cooking is imperfect.” Spread the dressing lightly over mixed greens and toss by hand. “It’s just going to be roughly one and a half spoonfuls. Nothing huge,” Pryor said. “You just want a nice coat. That’s why, even with the amount of THC in there, it’s still not going to be heavy on you. You’re not wanting to drown it.” Top the salad with strawberries, goat cheese, chopped bacon and fried wonton strips. Pryor recommends also using baby radishes instead of larger ones. “They’re not as peppery, not as hot. … You’re just using the crunch factor. They’re tasty that way,” he said. This recipe makes about six servings. Additional honey can be used to make more dressing or flavored teas or be stored in a cool, dry place for later use.

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A refreshing salad hits the spot, especially when the weather gets warmer. The combination of strawberries and radishes provides crispness and sweetness that is well balanced with the addition of salty goat cheese and bacon crumbles. It’s becoming a trend with the recipes provided by Friedel and Pryror,

but there is no marijuana aftertaste. After combining all of the ingredients in the vinaigrette, it was balanced between the sweetness and the acidity of the lemon. The fried wontons are a nice replacement for the traditional crouton crunch. The fun thing about this recipe is that you can use many citrus variants if you’d like to try something other than lemon. Pryor said he wanted to use citron but wasn’t able to find any before our test. He also said yuzu would work very well, and those ingredients will likely become more readily available as spring turns to summer. As was the case with the pesto and mustard sauce in previous editions of this feature, the salad dressing allows the user to control how much medicine is applied to the dish. There is no guessing game like there is with a baked good that uses infused butter or oil. Since a tablespoon of dressing has 100 milligrams of THC, I used the dressing lightly on the salad, drizzling a few teaspoons. I got a slight body high about 40 minutes after ingestion that lasted about four hours and helped put me to bed around 11:30 p.m. I recommend making sure the vinaigrette is good and emulsified because the infused honey is much heavier than the other ingredients, so it would be easy for it to sink to the bottom and make for an inconsistent dosage. —Jacob Threadgill

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VISIT US ONLINE! WWW.OKIEKUSHCLUB.COM The Guyutes salad tops mixed greens with strawberries, goat cheese, chopped bacon and fried wonton strips along with its infused honey dressing. | Photo Alexa Ace

Salad dressing with infused honey

3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon chopped thyme 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

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Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly. While whisking, slowly add the oil. Whisk until fully emulsified.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Compose an exciting prayer in which you ask for something you’re not “supposed” to. FreeWillAstrology.com ARIES (March 21-April 19)

In the U.S., the day after Thanksgiving typically features a spectacular shopping orgy. On “Black Friday,” stores sell their products at steep discounts and consumers spend their money extravagantly. But the creators of the game Cards Against Humanity have consistently satirized the tradition. In 2013, for example, they staged a Black Friday “anti-sale,” for which they raised their prices. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to try something similar. Is it possible you’re undercharging for your products and services and skills? If so, consider asking for more. Reassess your true worth and seek appropriate rewards.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Whether or not you believe in magic, magic believes in you right now. Will you take advantage of the fancy gifts it has to offer? I guess it’s possible that you’re not interested in seeing deeper into the secret hearts of those you care for. Maybe you’ll go “ho-hum” when shown how to recognize a half-hidden opportunity that could bring vitalizing changes. And you may think it’s not very practical to romance the fire and the water at the same time. But if you’re interested, all that good stuff will be available for you. P.S. To maximize the effects of the magic, believe in it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

In 1815, the most ferocious volcanic eruption in human history exploded from Mount Tambora in what’s now known as Indonesia. It flung gas and ash all over the planet, causing weird weather for three years. Sunlight dimmed, temperatures plummeted, skies were tumultuous, and intense storms proliferated. Yet these conditions ignited the imagination of author Mary Shelley, inspiring her to write what was to become her most notable work, Frankenstein. I suspect that you, too, will ultimately generate at least one productive marvel in response to the unusual events of the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) For over 40 years, Cancerian musician Carlos Santana has made music that blends rock and roll with Latin and African rhythms. In the early years, his creations sold well, but by the mid-1980s his commercial success declined. For a decade, he floundered. His fortunes began to improve after a spectacular meditation session. Santana says he was contacted by the archangel Metatron, who told him how to generate material for a new album. The result was Supernatural, which sold 30 million copies and won nine Grammy Awards. I mention this, Cancerian, because I suspect that you could soon experience a more modest but still rousing variation of Santana’s visitation. Are you interested? If so, the next seven weeks will be a good time to seek it out—and be very receptive to its possibility.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

“Expergefactor” is an old English word that has fallen out of use. In its original sense, it meant something that wakes you up, like an alarm clock or thunderstorm or your partner’s snoring. But I want to revive “expergefactor” and expand its meaning. In its new version, it will refer to an exciting possibility or beloved goal that consistently motivates you to spring out of bed in the morning and get your day started. Your expergefactor could be an adventure you’re planning or a masterpiece you’re working on or a relationship that fills you with curiosity and enchantment. In my astrological opinion, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to identify and fine-tune an expergefactor that will serve you well for a long time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

We live in a cultural moment when satire, sarcasm, cynicism, and irony are prized as supreme emblems of intelligence. If you say that you value sincerity and earnestness, you risk being considered naive and unsophisticated. Nevertheless, the current astrological omens suggest that you will generate good fortune for yourself in the coming weeks by making liberal use of sincerity and earnestness. So please try not to fall into the easy trap of relying on satire, sarcasm, cynicism, and irony to express yourself. As much as is practical, be

kindly frank and compassionately truthful and empathetically genuine. (P.S. It’s a strategy that will serve your selfish aims quite well.)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

“Most people don’t find their creativity,” mourned Libran author Truman Capote. “There are more unsung geniuses that don’t even know they have great talent.” If that describes you even a little bit, I’m happy to let you know that you’re close to stumbling upon events and insights that could change that. If you respond to the prompts of these unexpected openings, you will rouse a partially dormant aspect of your genius, as well as a half-inert stash of creativity and a semi-latent cache of imaginativity.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Do you know the word “sfumato”? Its literal meaning in Italian is “smoked.” When used to describe a painting, it refers to blurred borders between objects or fuzzy transitions between areas of different colors. All the forms are soft and hazy. I bring this to your attention because I suspect the coming weeks will be a sfumatolike time for you. You may find it a challenge to make precise distinctions. Future and past may overlap, as well as beginnings and endings. That doesn’t have to be a problem as long as you’re willing to go with the amorphous flow. In fact, it could even be pleasurable and useful. You might be able to connect with influences from which you’ve previously been shut off. You could blend your energies together better with people who’ve been unavailable.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

“You have a right to experiment with your life,” declared author Anaïs Nin. I agree. You don’t necessarily have to be what you started out to be. You can change your mind about goals that you may at one time have thought were permanent. I suspect you could be at one of these pivot points right now, Sagittarius. Are there any experiments you’d like to try? If so, keep in mind this further counsel from Nin. It’s possible “you will make mistakes. And they are right, too.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

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You have one main task to accomplish in the coming weeks, Capricorn. It’ll be simple and natural if you devote yourself to it wholeheartedly. The only way it could possibly become complicated and challenging is if you allow your focus to be diffused by less important matters. Ready for your assignment? It’s articulated in this poem by Rupi Kaur: “bloom beautifully / dangerously / loudly / bloom softly / however you need / just bloom.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

When the forces of the Roman empire occupied the British Isles from the years 43 to 410, they built 2,000 miles of roads. Their methods were sophisticated. That’s why few new roads were built in England until the eighteenth century, and many of the same paths are still visible and available today. In this spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I recommend that you make good use of an old system or network in the coming weeks. This is one time when the past has blessings to offer the future.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

“I’m not enigmatic and intriguing enough,” writes a Piscean blogger named RiddleMaster. “I really must work harder. Maybe I’ll start wearing ankle-length black leather coats, billowing silk scarves imprinted with alchemical symbols, and wide-brimmed hats. I’ll listen to Cambodian folk songs and read rare books in ancient Sanskrit. When someone dares to speak to me, I’ll utter cryptic declarations like, ‘The prophecies will be fulfilled soon enough.’” I understand RiddleMaster’s feelings. You Pisceans need mystery almost as much as you need food. But I believe you should set aside that drive for a few weeks. The time has come for you to show the world who you are with crisp candor.

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.

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