Defining drag

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INSIDE COVER P. 16 Drag in Oklahoma City has

come a long way in recent years, evolving as society’s perceptions have shifted. Oklahoma Gazette talks with local drag performers about the art form, the intersection of gender and the importance of creating spaces for different age groups where diverse performers can thrive.

By Jeremy Martin and Miguel Rios Cover by Phillip Danner Cover models: Topatío, Damian Matrix and Shalula

NEWS STATE criminal justice reform legislation 8 CITY park operations sales tax 4

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CHICKEN-FRIED NEWS

EAT & DRINK 11 FEATURE

Ichiban Sushi Bar & Poke

12 FEATURE Queen of Eggrolls 14 GAZEDIBLES

soup

ARTS & CULTURE 16 COVER drag, gender and all-ages

venues 18 ART Warhol and the West at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

19 THEATER Painted Sky Opera’s Glory

Denied at Civic Center Music Hall 20 OKG LIFESTYLE Albert Rios

STREAMING ONLINE

PLAYITLOUDSHOW.COM

21 CALENDAR

JANUARY 24

MUSIC Farmers Public Market 23 EVENT Atmosphere at Tower Theatre

Bret michaels

THE HIGH CULTURE

february 1

22 EVENT Paul Oakenfold at OKC

24 LIVE MUSIC

25 CANNABIS State Question 807

commentaries 27 CANNABIS legislative preview 28 CANNABIS The Toke Board 28 CANNABIS strain review

FUN 29 ASTROLOGY

30 PUZZLES sudoku | crossword

COMING SOON

sugar ray FEBRUARY 22

joe diffie with special guest

OKG Classifieds 31

josh gracin

GRANDBOXOFFICE.COM

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

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NEWS

S TAT E

Oklahoma saw the largest mass commutation in the nation’s history last November, but experts say more action is needed to address the state’s criminal system. | Photo provided

Oklahoma justice

Following major moves to reduce the state’s prison population, Oklahomans continue pushing to further reform the state’s criminal justice system. By Miguel Rios

Oklahomans continue pushing for legislation to lower the state’s prison population and prevent people from entering into the criminal system in the first place.

Last year, Oklahoma saw the largest mass commutation in the nation’s history with nearly 500 people being released early from prisons in November.

Damion Shade, Oklahoma Policy Institute criminal justice policy analyst, said this was made possible through a few pieces of legislation.

House Bill 2286, which took effect November 2018, made parole for certain inmates much faster, cutting out two lengthy steps if they met certain requirements. The first group approved for parole under the new streamlined process last March included 73 inmates.

“It created administrative parole,” he said. “It’s the mechanism that allowed people convicted of crimes basically to become eligible to parole more quickly and allow large consensus dockets like we had early last year. … That has really streamlined and increased our parole releases. We’re still a little below the national average.”

That piece of legislation, along with State Question 780, which reclassified some felonies as misdemeanors, and another measure that made it retroactive led to the largest commutation in United States history and significantly moved the needle for criminal justice reform in the state. However, experts agree that more needs to be done.

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“We’ve looked at those as probably the biggest things that have reduced our incarceration statistics and taken us from, of course, the prison capital of the world to the No. 2 position,” Shade said. “Though it isn’t everything that we need to do to be in the best possible spot, we definitely applaud the work of lawmakers and voters that have gotten us to this point.”

Nicole McAfee, ACLU of Oklahoma director of policy and advocacy, said the passage of SQ780, which was approved by 58 percent of voters, provided a lot of momentum for criminal justice reform in the state.

“Anytime you have an overwhelming majority of voters come together and demand change, it creates a little more space for legislators to be brave in areas where they may not typically be,” she said. “The other thing that that did is it really allowed a coalition of advocates to build relationships and do the work together. So what we see now in the criminal justice reform space, I think, is true sort of left-right coalition of people who maybe all come to the work with different interests but who have a shared vision for changing our criminal legal system in Oklahoma.”

Despite various measures helping advance criminal justice reform efforts, McAfee said there has never been more urgency to continue addressing the issue further. She said both former Gov. Mary Fallin and Gov. Kevin Stitt promised various legislative sessions would

bear big criminal justice reforms but ended up being disappointing.

Last year, for example, only one of five criminal justice bills made it to the governor’s desk.

“There’s always a fear from legislators around reelection,” McAfee said.

“While the data and facts and a lot of the real human stories make the case for reform, the fear that happens in the chamber when folks start to tell worstcase-scenario stories — stories that are not the norm but really the exception — really make people afraid to take those bold steps in the direction of best practices. The other thing is people really relied on the idea that the RESTORE task force was going to give them some answers and a little bit of political cover too.”

All of those reforms are wonderful, but we need legislative action this year.

Damion Shade Stitt formed the Criminal Justice Reentry, Supervision, Treatment and Opportunity Reform (RESTORE) task force through executive order in May 2019. The task force was asked to look at how to reduce the state’s incarceration and recidivism rates and help create or enhance diversion programs.

It released a summary report Jan. 10.

“It is our intention to create policies and laws that are transparent, equitable, and easily understood by all stakeholders. When someone is sentenced we want to know their plan of reentry into their community from the day of reception. The RESTORE Task Force recognizes true reform will not take place if the root causes of criminal behavior are not dealt with. Throughout our meetings, a recurring theme is that society

must recognize that prevention is key,” reads the report. “For instance, bail reform reduces immediate costs and barriers, but it doesn’t address the underlying reasons an individual entered the justice system. Further, to enact true reform, we need to not only focus on reducing incarceration, but also preventing childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences.”

The task force recommended traumainformed care for children in foster care and the juvenile justice system; a focus on changing culture inside prison facilities through a chief cultural officer; stronger reentry efforts; using technology to connect individuals with mental health professionals and other services; and policy changes to sentencing, bail and pre-trial detention. It also asked for a one-year extension to continue its work and issue recommendations throughout the year.

Shade said OK Policy applauds the task force’s recommendations but also criticized it for its lack of “bold and specific legislative changes.”

“All of those reforms are wonderful, but we need legislative action this year.

Our governor has set as a goal within his first term to try and get Oklahoma out of the top five in incarceration, and with the reforms that were mentioned in the RESTORE task force proposals, we can’t get there,” he said. “There was some broad talk about a few of the issues. … Without specific legislative proposals and action, we will not get to the goal.”

Reform priorities

OK Policy’s top legislative priority for the upcoming session is reducing fines and fees, Shade said.

“We have literally thousands of people across the state who have millions of dollars in court debt hanging over them. Many thousands of those people get failure to pay warrants every year,” he said. “In 2017, there were 18,000 failure to pay warrants that weren’t related to DUI or traffic infractions, that were literally just for people who couldn’t pay their court debt.”

Shade has spoken with people who said they’ve asked their probation officer if they should forgo buying groceries or medicine to pay off fines.

“Eighty percent of all criminal defendants, not just in Oklahoma, but across the U.S. nationally, are what we describe as indigent or unable to pull together enough money to afford an attorney,” he said. “You’re often just a few steps away from experiencing homelessness. Not only is this harming those people in those communities, especially communities that have been particularly impacted by the racial wealth gap in the United States … but it also harms our court system.” continued on page 6

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NEWS continued from page 4

S TAT E

Fines and fees fund 80 percent of the court system, Shade said. OK Policy analysis has found there has been more than $600 million in deficit in collections.

“That money pays for prosecutors, that money pays for judges and their staff, the court system,” he said. “We literally don’t have enough public defenders. We can’t fund our Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, which works for public defenders outside Tulsa County and Oklahoma County. So this particularly hurts rural Oklahoma.”

Investing in health and substance abuse treatment is also a top priority for OK Policy, Shade said. Despite it not being a legislative priority, Shade wants to keep Medicaid expansion on the radar of criminal justice reform advocates. In conversations with law enforcement, he speaks with officers who say they know some people in jail should be getting help instead.

“In so many communities, the only mental health provider that we have is a county jail, and it’s one of the big deficits that we have,” he said. “One of our big goals this year is to begin to get the money that the state promised voters when they passed State Question 780 and State Question 781 … to the voters and the communities who asked for them.”

For ACLU of Oklahoma, one of the top legislative priorities for criminal justice reform is bail and pre-trial reform.

“No one should ever be held in jail simply because of an inability to buy their way out. There should be time-bound systems in place so that you aren’t held without a hearing in jail for days or weeks at a time,” McAfee said. “We believe that counsel should be provided from that very first period, so on the worst day of your life most likely, you have an advocate there to talk you through a very complex

and complicated system. … If cash bail is assessed, it should be based on your ability to pay for the purpose that it should be used for, which is to ensure your reappearance in court. So really trying to make our pre-trial system more fair and change some of the really negative power that gets people to plea to really unfair sentences.”

OK Policy also considers this one of its legislative priorities.

“It makes no sense for anyone in the state of Oklahoma to be sitting in county jail for more than six months simply because they can’t afford to pay bail,” Shade said. “There’s counties across the state of Oklahoma where the median jail stay for nonviolent felony offenders who could not pay bail last year was more than 108 days. It’s one of those things that in some ways I take a little personally because I love to think of the way that we thought of America. It’s a place where human rights are protected, civil rights are protected, and I think of the bail reform issue fundamentally as a human rights issue. … If you are legally presumed innocent until you’re convicted of a crime, what sense does it make for you to stay in jail for six months simply because you were too poor to buy your freedom from a bondman?”

Both McAfee and Shade also mentioned sentencing reform as a priority.

Currently, the coalition Oklahomans for Sentencing Reform is collecting signatures to put the issue up for a vote. If it makes it to the ballot and is approved by voters, the measure would prohibit sentence enhancements based on previous felonies for nonviolent offenders and allow nonviolent offenders serving enhanced sentences to seek a modification in court.

Stitt opposes the ballot measure because it would amend the Oklahoma Constitution, but McAfee and other proponents have said this is the best way

to ensure the people’s vote is upheld.

“We’re seeing now as we go into 2020, this is the fourth legislative session since State Question 780 passed, and it’s the fourth legislative session where we are going to have to fight bills that attempt to [revert it],” she said. “Those are all based on the idea that Oklahoma voters didn’t really know what they were doing. … Oklahoma voters know good and well what they’re doing. And we know that sentence enhancements are not best practice, that longer sentence lengths actually cause more harm in most scenarios and that we should really focus on changing that and changing the ability to wield that very dangerous power.”

Other than Medicaid expansion, OK Policy is not endorsing any ballot measure, but Shade said it is supportive of sentencing reform.

“There is literally no evidence that these long sentences reduce crime,” he said. “In fact, most of the evidence shows there’s probably at least a slightly criminogenic or at least harmful to crime reduction. … We would love to see the Legislature take up things like House Bill 2009, which reduces sentence enhancements to closer to the national average. That’s still a bill that could pass if lawmakers were willing to give it that opportunity.”

Last week was the deadline to file bills for the 2020 legislative session, a lot of which don’t have official numbers yet. Additionally, some bills from the last session are still alive but could have been refiled.

“We’re keeping an eye on those,” McAfee said. “We’re really working our way on kind of determining things that can create some really positive change as well some things that we’ve gotta watch out for. Because while criminal Nicole McAfee is the director of policy and advocacy at ACLU of Oklahoma. | Photo Stephanie Montelongo / provided

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Damion Shade is the criminal justice analyst at Oklahoma Policy Institute. | Photo provided

justice reform is a very popular talking point, we just as often tend to still create more criminal punishments each session. We’re going to do our best to talk about the holistic need for reform with the local public at large and with Oklahoma legislators.”

Oklahoma and Louisiana have held the top two spots in the country for incarceration. November’s commutation caused Louisiana to surpass Oklahoma as the top state for incarceration. Despite having one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, Oklahoma doesn’t see many positive public safety statistics. Shade said this is because law enforcement is forced to deal with things they shouldn’t be the main response to, like people experiencing homelessness or fine collections.

“Oklahoma has really disturbing rates of domestic violence. We have really disturbing rates of missing and murdered indigenous women across the state. We have really bad, though they’ve recently gotten a little better, rates of children experiencing adverse childhood experiences. All of those things haven’t been solved by our sort of reflexive, tough-oncrime [approach],” Shade said. “The police spend so much time and effort dealing with the nonviolent offenses that they’re not able to marshal the resources that they need to be able to investigate these other more serious issues. I talked to prosecutors all the time that say, ‘I want to spend my time focusing on the bad guy, but because the way our system is organized, I spend so much time managing people who would be better served by something other than the criminal justice system.’”

The 2020 legislative session begins Feb. 3 at noon with the State of the State address by Gov. Stitt.

Visit oklegislature.gov to track bills or find your legislator’s information.

Gone but never forgotten JOHN SCOTT PEPPER December 10, 1971- Januray 9, 2020

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NEWS

CIT Y

Oklahoma City voters will decide whether or not to pass a dedicated 1/8th cent sales tax to support neighborhood parks. | Photo Miguel Rios

Park support

Voters decide March 3 whether or not to pass a dedicated 1/8th cent sales tax for Parks & Recreation operational improvements. By Miguel Rios

Neighborhood parks across Oklahoma City could see improved facilities and programming if the measure is approved by voters.

Former councilman Ed Shadid spearheaded the initiative to get the proposal on a city ballot. It came in response to the MAPS program, which focuses on capital improvements over maintenance and operations. Former councilman Pete White, a member of the Greater Oklahoma City Parks & Trails Foundation, also heavily supports the proposal.

“MAPS is an infrastructure program.

There’s nothing wrong with that. MAPS has been great, but this would be the financing that would permit the city to capitalize on the capital investment that they’re going to make under the MAPS 4 park money,” White said. “In order to make the parks as viable and as valuable as we’d all like for it to be, it takes programming and it takes day-to-day maintenance.”

Voters approved MAPS 4 in December, which sets aside $140 million mainly for park upgrades but also includes $16.5 million for an operating fund “to provide for the operations and maintenance of these park improvements.”

However, Doug Kupper, director of Parks & Recreation, said money from this fund can only be used to maintain things created by MAPS 4.

“I have 165 parks. If I don’t touch 100 of those parks with any part of MAPS 4, then that’s 100 parks that the 1/8th of a penny can then go to help improve the recreational opportunities,” he said.

“That’s the reality. Yes, there is an amount of money that is in MAPS 4 that is specifically help with [operations and maintenance] of things that are created by 8

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MAPS 4 like those four youth centers. …

The 1/8th of a cent will do that for our other facilities.”

Currently, the city’s sales tax rate is 4.125 percent. The proposal would create what Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden already has: a dedicated 1/8th cent sales tax, which Shadid has said brings in roughly $14 million a year. The parks sales tax would take effect July 1 if approved.

We’re going to be able to take it to the next level if we get the 1/8th of a penny.

Doug Kupper If passed, revenue from the tax could be used to fund the replacement and addition of trees and plants; park programs like athletic leagues, exercise classes and other outdoor activities; capital improvements, but only for new restrooms, athletic infrastructure and bleachers; and operational expenses.

Revenue from the tax cannot be used for any foundation-managed parks like Boathouse District, Myriad Botanical Gardens or Scissortail Park.

“We’re taking a look at our athletic complexes and seeing what we can do to improve the quality of the playing conditions and possibly expand the number of fields that are available for us to program so that we can get more people both youth and adults involved in the athletic endeavors of their choice,” Kupper said. “We’re still putting ideas and plans together in anticipation of the 1/8th of a penny, but

not knowing whether it’s going to pass or not, we haven’t really drilled into specifics. … The main thing is they want to make sure we up our game for recreational programming with little or no fees or direct cost to the participants, so we’re taking that into consideration as well.”

Coupled with the recent passage of MAPS 4, Kupper said this new stream of revenue for his department could help expand services and programming to neighborhoods that haven’t seen them.

“We’re in a lot of neighborhoods. Now, there’s a lot of neighborhoods that have existed for quite a while and we don’t have representation, and that’s where MAPS and the 2017 [general obligation bonds] will help us because both of those have new parks in multiple wards,” he said. “The 1/8th of a penny will then help us activate those spaces and create those opportunities and maintain those opportunities for programming purposes for those neighborhoods that have existed for decades but haven’t had access to Parks & Rec elements. So that’s what we’re excited for overall.”

During his time as a councilman, White said he was through a lot of peaks and valleys in terms of sales tax revenue.

“The availability of funds to do everything that a municipality does fluctuates,” he said. “Well the first place that always got hit when that happened would be parks. It’s the guns and butter argument; are you going to lay off police officers and firefighters or close fire stations or are you going to reduce services someplace where it can happen without lives at risk? Even in the good times, when the park directors have had money to operate and maintain the parks, it’s been very risky to put permanent programming in because they knew their financing source was not guaranteed. The result is that parks programming has always suffered. …

There was a reticence about spending money on programming because you had to hire people and you didn’t know if next year you were going to have the money to keep the program going. I

think that’s where people are going to see the difference.”

When sales tax revenue dropped, the funding for Parks & Rec also dropped, but Kupper said when the revenue went up, funding didn’t necessarily go up. In fact, he said roughly three years ago, the department was asked to cut nearly 11 percent of its budget and still hasn’t recovered from that hit.

“With the 1/8th of a penny dedicated, yes that will go up and down, but it can’t be adversely affected as a general rule as a budget cut. It will be what it is,” Kupper said. “The dynamics of the impact on neighborhoods through the MAPS 4 and the possibility of the 1/8th of a penny will be transformational even higher and above what MAPS 4 is going to do for us.

We’re going to be able to take it to the next level if we get the 1/8th of a penny.”

One of the critiques White has run into are questions about whether he is trying to “correct” MAPS 4.

“It really doesn’t have anything to do with that. It has to do with something that MAPS 4 wasn’t capable of doing, which is providing consistent, permanent, longterm funding for operations, maintenance and programming,” he said. “I won’t deny it’s a tax, but it’s a tax that affects quality of life probably more directly than any other single 1/8th of a cent I can think of.

Doug Kupper, director of Oklahoma City Parks & Recreation, said a 1/8th cent sales tax dedicated to parks would be transformational for the city’s neighborhoods. | Photo provided

… We’ve got 94 parks [that would be affected], and they’re scattered all the way from Draper Lake to Mustang to near Deer Creek. They’re all over the place, and so everybody’s going to get a piece of this.”

White also emphasized that the effort to get the tax passed has been a grassroots effort financed by individuals. He invites anyone who supports the tax to reach out to help spread the word or contribute financial assistance.

Visit okcparksandtrails.org or email info@okcparksandtrails.org.

Feb. 7 is the deadline to register to vote or update voter registration for the March 3 election. Visit okc.gov/elections.

chicken

friedNEWS

The most Oklahoma cat ever

Oklahoma Humane Society has a new resident that can be described in the most scientific-correct nomenclature: an absolute unit. An Instagram post by the Humane Society showcases a video of Lunchbox, a 23-pound cat, as it saunters through the facility.

Lunchbox might be the most Oklahoma cat ever. It shares its name with the famous cocktail of orange juice, chilled light beer and amaretto made famous at Edna’s in Oklahoma City. It also appears to be on an all-too-familiar Oklahoma diet. Oklahoma consistently ranks as one of the most obese states in the country.

According to the Humane Society’s post, the average cat weighs between 7.9 and 9.9 pounds.

“Lunchbox may be a chonk, but he will be receiving special care to help him shed the extra pounds and back in shape before adoption,” the post says.

According to Urban Dictionary, a “chonk” is an Internet meme that began circulating in 2018 referring to “an aggressively chubby housecat.” Props to the Humane Society’s social media person for using the correct term and saying, “How do you do, fellow kids?”

The Instagram post urges viewers to listen to his impressive purr, which can be heard from across the room and honestly sounds a bit like labored breathing. We’re not here to shame Lunchbox. He’s only guilty of enjoying himself too much, and frankly, that’s something we can all respect.

Let’s hope the Humane Society keeps us up-to-date on his weight-loss journey, and Lunchbox can be the mascot we all need to get in the best shape possible in 2020.

Path problems

“Is it worth it?” asked Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Sean McDaniel in a Jan. 13 letter addressed to “families, staff and community.” McDaniel

was not quoting Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott but offering an update on the progress of the Pathway to Greatness plan, which closed 15 public school campuses and required students, teachers and administrators to relocate and consolidate for the 2020 school year.

“I can tell you r e s ou nd i ng ly that we’re already seeing benefits for kids, and we will continue to see them,” McDaniel wrote, answering his own question.

However, many of the respondents to the Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers’ annual survey conducted between Oct. 31 and Nov. 14 and available online at NonDoc.com, seem to be grading on a different scale: 45 percent reported that student welfare and school climate had declined since the program’s implementation while 11 percent said it had improved.

“Our class sizes are higher,” wrote one respondent. “Granted we have hired new teachers, but there isn’t enough room for all the teachers that we need.

Counselors and other staff are working out of closets!”

Others reported “extremely low” teacher morale, being “overwhelmed and stressed out” and increased behavioral issues caused by “students being disappointed, resentful and confused why they have to attend a school very far away from them when their family has limited resources.” One respondent said teachers face “a mess not of our own creation and no recourse or remedy.”

However, McDaniel’s letter said the majority of issues “are not new problems,” adding that, “the reality is that this system has had winners and losers for a long time.” Offering an update to the district’s board of education on Jan. 13, McDaniel made at least one statement the majority teachers, parents and even students might agree with.

“This change was radical by a lot of definitions,” McDaniel said, according to Oklahoma City Free Press. “And in no way are we doing any kind of victory lap here.”

drop the contract in 2017 because “my job is to keep the citizens of Tulsa safe, not providing fodder for reality TV,” Bynum has changed his tune. Bynum does know he’s up for reelection this year, right?

“I supported the cancellation of Live PD previously because I felt the presence of a television camera crew served as a distraction for our officers in the field,” Bynum wrote to Tulsa World in an email.

“I have since come to appreciate that our training staff greatly values the footage from the show as it allows them to teach from real life scenarios at our academy.”

You know what else is similar to Live PD footage but less exploitative since it’s not on national television? Dash and body cameras. Bynum was quick to remind the crowd at a town hall that every field officer is equipped with body cameras but left out the fact that citizens have to file open records requests for footage, while anything Live PD films belongs to Big Fish Entertainment and consistently only paints law enforcement in a positive light.

City councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, state Rep. Regina Goodwin, former police chief Drew Diamond and many community leaders gathered outside City Hall days after the town hall to continue urging an end to the city’s contract with Live PD.

“Policing is not about entertainment.

If you in the news media want to be in the car, you can be in the car. That’s news; this is about entertainment,” Diamond said. “They are using the officers and the city for entertainment value. It’s bad policing; it’s bad policy; and it needs to be stopped.”

Bynum said the show benefits Tulsa, which makes no sense since it’s clearly not improving police-community relations and doesn’t help Tulsa’s image.

Probably the only people attracted to Tulsa after seeing Live PD — mostly white police officers arresting mostly black and brown individuals, many of whom would benefit from mental health and addiction services rather than a camera in their face on their worst day — are white supremacists. We’re pretty sure the state, and Tulsa particularly, has seen enough of them already.

Bad policing

This week’s entry of elected leaders blatantly ignoring constituents features Mayor GT Bynum putting reality television ahead of what local leaders say would be protecting Tulsa’s vulnerable populations.

Local community leaders, including elected officials, have recently pressured Bynum to end Tulsa’s contract with A&E’s Live PD. The contract was dropped around 2017 but renewed last year by Bynum. Despite voicing his support to O KG A Z E T T E . C O M | J A N U A R Y 2 2 , 2 0 2 0

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ART IN A NEW LIGHT

PRESENTS

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EAT & DRINK

F E AT U R E

The Ichiban Roll is shrimp tempura, tuna and avocado topped with softshell crab. | Photo Phillip Danner

Fresh choice

Ichiban Sushi Bar & Poke offers diners a choice of fast-casual poke bowls or sit-down service with sushi and a hibachi grill. By Jacob Threadgill

Along S. MacArthur Boulevard and just off Interstate 40 is a sea of big-box retail outlets and franchise chain restaurants, but at 6308 SW Third St., Ichiban Sushi Bar & Poke offers local ownership as fresh as the fish it serves.

The restaurant is the culmination of husband and wife Zubo Chen and Cai Xia Shi’s (the latter of whom goes by the nickname Cookie) years in the restaurant industry.

Ichiban opened Nov. 29 last year — Black Friday — a fitting date considering the restaurant sits across from a Best Buy, Cavender’s Western Outfitter and Walmart Supercenter.

“My husband and I one time were shopping, and this whole street was like a food corner, but they didn’t have any Asian food or a Japanese restaurant,” Shi said. “I contacted the landlord.”

The couple took advantage of Five Guys moving into a space formerly used as an office in a shopping strip that also houses a GameStop and is close to Bubba’s 33, Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse and many more. It left them 3,000 square feet to retrofit the space into a bright, spotless, gleaming restaurant designed to serve all types of palates — it includes build-your-own

poke for customers on the go, sit-down sushi and even a hibachi grill back in the kitchen.

The couple moved to Oklahoma about five years ago, and Shi worked as a server at a Volcano Sushi Bar & Hibachi location, building off years in the restaurant industry in Texas and California.

Ichiban is trying to proverbially have its cake and eat it too by operating with both fast-casual and sit-down service.

Poke bar

When customers enter Ichiban, they will first be greeted by the poke bar, which operates as a build-your-ownbowl for the meal that offers both fresh fish and cooked options. Poke has made its way to the U.S. mainland after originating in Hawaii in the 1970s and has been one of the fastest-growing restaurant trends in the U.S. over the last few years as diners craving healthy options have gravitated to the raw fish marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil mixed with vegetables.

“For a few years, poke has been very popular,” Shi said. “Oklahoma City has it around downtown and in Edmond, and we have sushi in every city. Poke in Oklahoma, still not a lot of people know

about it. It’s about 20 percent of people that know about poke.”

Customers build a base for the poke bowl with their choice of standard sushi rice, brown rice, spring mix and/or Romaine lettuce, but Ichiban also offers tortilla chips and lo mein noodles. Diners choose up to three scoops of protein ($6$10.99) including fresh options (ahi tuna, salmon, spicy tuna, yellowtail, red snapper and seared ahi tuna) and cooked options (steamed shrimp, chicken katsu, beef tataki, scallops, grilled chicken, octopus and eel).

Customers choose from a variety of fresh toppings and dressings and can get their poke bowl to-go or eat in the restaurant after paying at the end of the line.

Sushi and more

Ichiban’s sushi menu is expansive and customers can choose from over 50 rolls that range from regular fish-focused hand rolls ($4.75-$6.75) to 23 special rolls ($9.95-$13.95) like the Ichiban Roll that wraps shrimp tempura, tuna and avocado and tops it with soft-shell crab and house sauce.

There are another 12 specialty and creative rolls, like Stuffed “Tomatoes,” in which bright red tuna serves as a substitute for the tomato and is stuffed with

shrimp and crabmeat. The Ichiban “Sakura” is riceless sushi wrapped with translucent soy paper around spicy tuna, crab, regular tuna and salmon and topped with seaweed salad and fish roe.

On Tuesdays, the restaurant offers any two special rolls for $15.95. Nigiri and sashimi are offered a la carte while sushi entrees ($18.50-$54.95) are artfully displayed with edible flowers and leaves.

Ichiban uses a company out of Dallas to get fresh fish daily.

“We don’t order too much and keep it frozen,” Shi said. “We want everything healthy and fresh.”

Ichiban also offers udon noodlebased soup, fried rice, chicken, steak and seafood teriyaki in addition to meals from the hibachi grill that comes with soup, salad, noodles and fried rice ($10.95-$21.95).

Ichiban opens at 11 a.m. daily and is open until 9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Shi said her greatest joy comes from when people tell her they enjoy a meal.

“I want a customer to come in here, enjoy the meal and be comfortable,” she said. “I tell the employees it’s better to have fun. … We’re like a family.”

Visit ichibanokc.com.

Sushi entrees at Ichiban are garnished with flowers and leaves. | Photo Phillip Danner

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EAT & DRINK

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After a meteorite lands in the front yard of their farm, Nathan Gardner and his family find themselves battling a mutant extraterrestrial organism that infects their minds and bodies, transforming their quiet rural life into a technicolor nightmare. It stars Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Q’orianka Kilcher and Tommy Chong. This is Stanley’s first feature film directed since the early 1990’s, based on the short story by H.P. Lovecraft.

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Merce Cunningham’s artistic evolution spanned over three decades of risk and discovery, from his early years as a struggling dancer in postwar New York to his emergence as one of the world’s most visionary choreographers.

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F E AT U R E

DECADE OF DECO

Eggroll Queen

From side hustle to brick-and-mortar, Queen of Eggrolls wants to make Laotian cuisine popular in Oklahoma City. By Jacob Threadgill

Getting the nickname Queen of Eggrolls isn’t something that happens without lots of hard work. Oklahoma City native Khammueng Chansombat introduces herself as KC to most people, but it is her other nickname on which she’s staking claim to introduce Laotian to a wider local audience.

Chansombat, along with her brother Kary, opened the brick-and-mortar location for Queen of Eggrolls at 2815 NW 10th St., Suite A on Dec. 14 of last year.

It’s a journey that started about three and a half years ago.

“I started Queen of Eggrolls as a single-mom side hustle,” Chansombat said. “I had a full-time job and a couple of other side gigs. We would have the egg rolls at parties for work, and people asked if I would sell any. I started selling them; people like them hot and crispy, and I’d sell them uncooked. I gave up every weekend for three and a half years to deliver egg rolls to customers, and then it started to grow: first we added fried rice, then we started doing pho.”

The Queen of Eggrolls restaurant takes the items that helped Chansombat develop a base of clients and expands the menu to add traditional Laotian dishes. The Laotian word for “hello” greets customers before they find a seat in the restaurant.

“Owning a restaurant has always been a passion of mine, but Queen of Eggrolls is bigger than food; it’s about introducing Laotian community and embracing our culture,” Chansombat said.

She grew up the oldest of four children just a few blocks away from where the restaurant is now, learning dishes from her mother and helping prepare food while both of her parents worked manual labor to make ends meet.

While people are familiar with the devastation brought to southeast Asia during American involvement during the conflict in Vietnam — they’re likely to think of the destruction brought to Cambodia and the power

vacuum that created Pol Pot’s genocidal Khmer Rouge regime before they think of Laos — more Laotian refugees resettled in the U.S. than Cambodian (251,334 vs.

152,748).

“There is a lot of Asian cuisine, but we’re the ones that tend to get overlooked.

The only time they hear about Laos is if they watch King of the Hill,” Chansombat said, referring to Hank Hill and family’s neighbors, the Souphanousinphones.

Landlocked and a largely rural country, Laos isn’t the same destination tourist location as its neighbor Thailand, but it’s a country with its own beauty, which is showcased in photos throughout the restaurant from Chansombat’s aunt. While dishes like sticky rice, papaya salad and larb are commonly found on Thai menus, their origins are Laotian.

Queen of Eggrolls is bigger than food; it’s about introducing Laotian community and embracing our culture.

Khammueng Chansombat There is a famous saying in Laos that “sweet makes you dizzy; bitter makes you healthy,” referring to the probiotic effective from fermentation. Dessert in Laos means grabbing a piece of fresh fruit or munching on sweet, sticky rice, which Chansombat said can be found at almost every meal.

“The difference from Thai food is the sugar base,” she said. “Thai food is really sweet and almost every dish has a lot of sugar. Laos showcases more of the herbs like lem-

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Queen of Eggrolls serves pork, veggie, beef, shrimp and chicken varieties of egg rolls. | Photo Phillip Danner

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Kary Chansombat joined his sister as a partner in the restaurant after getting a feel for the industry while working at a local Thai restaurant. Their mother joins them in the kitchen almost every day of the week, even after long shifts at her day job.

The Chansombat matriarch dutifully prepares dishes like a fermented spicy tomato “salsa” served with streetfood-style chicken wings marinated in lemongrass and garlic before being deep-fried.

“All of these dishes are from my mom, so I used all of these old dishes that she taught me in the past and I kind of upgraded it a little bit,” he said.

Mother and son work together to make the thick tapioca and rice flour noodles found in kapiak sen, a chicken broth-based soup with kaffir lime leaves, ginger and lemongrass and topped with fried garlic, scallions and cilantro.

“It’s the opposite of pho because it is chicken,” Chansombat said. “If you have a hangover or you’re sick, not feeling well, that’s the go-to soup. When I had a little cold recently, I ate it and I felt so much better.”

Another top-selling soup is kapoon, a chicken broth and coconut milk-based dish with vermicelli rice noodles topped with shredded cabbage, carrots, mint, cilantro and limes that will get additional banana flower garnish when they’re in season during the spring and summer.

All of the food at Queen of Eggrolls is made to-order, with the exception of Lao sausage — a mixture of pork, lemongrass, shallots and garlic that Kary mixes together and stuffs into casings, but it is deep-fried crispy upon order, just like the egg rolls.

Lao sausage is pork mixed with garlic, lemongrass and other flavors before being stuffed in casings and deep-fried. | Photo Phillip Danner

“They call me Queen of Eggrolls because a lot of traditional, crispy egg rolls you can only find either in pork or veggie,” Chansombat said. “So when I specialized, I wanted to give people a variety of egg rolls and added chicken and shrimp, and we sell out of them almost every day.”

Nam Khao is another top-selling dish that is unique to Laos. Rice is mixed with red curry paste and deep-fried. The crispy rice is then broken up and mixed with ground pork, fermented pork skin, coconut flakes, shallots, peanuts and lime juice. The mixture is put into lettuce wraps with mint and cilantro leaves.

Chansombat said the restaurant will add a lunch buffet and get an alcohol license to open up beer and chicken wing specials in the coming months.

“I left my corporate America job after 10 years. I took a leap of faith,” Chansombat said. “People thought I was crazy. … At my old job, I was behind a desk, and I didn’t get to be mobile. I didn’t get to see people. I love meeting new people and talking to people.”

She is serving her family’s food in an area of town surrounded by taquerias and taco trucks, offering something completely different.

“I never would’ve imagined that I would get a building kind of in the same neighborhood,” Chansombat said. “Some people say, ‘That’s kind of a sketchy neighborhood. How do you feel about that?’ I grew up two blocks from the Plaza before it was the Plaza. I knew it was God’s plan that they wanted me here.

People have told me they’re excited it is something different.”

Visit queenofeggrollsandmore.com.

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GAZEDIBLES

EAT & DRINK

Soup season

January is National Soup Month.

Though the temperatures haven’t exactly been frigid, this is Oklahoma and that could change at a moment’s notice. These seven restaurants offer tasty soups that will treat you right regardless of the temperature outside.

By Jacob Threadgill with provided and Gazette / file photos

Kaiser’s Grateful Bean Cafe

1039 N. Walker Ave. facebook.com/kaisersgratefulbean 405-236-3503 The venerable eatery is celebrating National Soup Month with a different made-from-scratch soup Monday-Friday. Potato soup begins the week, followed by navy bean on Tuesday. The classic tomato basil helps you get through hump day, chili arrives on Thursday and comforting chicken matzo ball soup makes sure to keep you healthy heading into the weekend.

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Scottie’s Deli

Soup Soup

Scottie’s is more than the only deli in the city that makes its own bread and meat in-house. It uses that same level of commitment to craft three great soups: Spanish-influenced Basque garlic tomato, hearty matzo ball soup and chicken and sausage gumbo that is as good or better than anything you’d find at an area Cajun restaurant.

Don’t let the name fool you; there is a lot more than just soup at this Nichols Hills staple. Items like casseroles, full meals and large, multi-person salads can be ordered and picked up in the store. There are over 30 varieties of soup on the menu that include all of the classics and unique ones like lemon chicken, vegetable gumbo and avocado cucumber.

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El Asadero Mexican Restaurant

Pickerman’s Soup & Sandwich

Pozole gets its name from its star ingredient: hominy. The process of nixtamalization by treating dried corn with lye makes the kernels plump and ready to soak up lots of flavor, like the broth served at El Asadero, which serves its hearty pozole every day for just $9.99. If you had a bit too much to drink on the weekend, there’s no better hangover cure than menudo, which is really satisfying as long as you aren’t squeamish about eating tripe.

A lot of chain sandwich shops that offer soups merely cut open a bag and heat it up. You don’t have to worry about that at this locally owned restaurant. Pickerman’s soup offerings change daily, depending on what they’ve made for that day. Add a classic soup like tomato basil or chicken and dumplings to a meal when the weather has got you so cold that it’s the only way to warm up.

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Chae Cafe & Eatery

7300 N. Western Ave. facebook.com/chaeokc | 405-840-7725 If you think you’ve eaten rice in every possible way imaginable, check out the dukboki, which was recently added to the menu full-time at Chae. The Korean rice cakes are the star of the spicy soup that is dotted with gochujang and sesame oil for heat, warmness and a little bit of sweetness. It’s one of a few new items at Chae Cafe, which now also serves sushi along with plenty of Korean-inspired American brunch items.

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15

ARTS & CULTURE COV E R

Dragged up

As it becomes increasingly popular and visible, drag challenges rigid gender roles and helps performers and audiences accept themselves.

By Jeremy Martin and Miguel Rios

Drag has completely changed Shantel P. Mandalay’s life. Ms. Shantel, as she is known, especially at Drag Queen Story Hour, said drag helped her feel accepted. During the day, Ms. Shantel is an elementary school teacher named Shane, which he said was very tough when he first started.

“I’m an educator, so when I first started in school, being gay and being a teacher was not accepted. They all thought gay people are bad for children, so I had to fight some battles to prove myself,” he said. “Being a drag queen, I was able to hide behind a mask. People didn’t know who I was, and I was appreciated for myself. Once I developed my persona and I was onstage, I realized it was OK to be me. In my regular life, I wasn’t able to be me and be accepted, but I could put on makeup and I was accepted by the community. It saved me. It was very therapeutic for me because it gave me an opportunity to get out in the community and be appreciated when I wasn’t appreciated in a straight society.”

Mandalay remembers seeing drag for the first time right out of college at a club in Stillwater. He realized one of his student’s brothers was a performer.

“That was my first moment of getting to meet someone that did it, and he was so nice to me. He actually painted my face the first time and helped me realize that it’s OK to be me,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities and experiences I would Damian Matrix and Topatío discuss the role drag has played in their lives. | Photo Phillip Danner

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have never had otherwise if I hadn’t been performing.”

Cassidy Q wasn’t exposed to drag performers until she was old enough to drink since she grew up religious and drag shows in the area were typically only at places for those age 21 and older.

Cassidy was fascinated by the performance art aspect of drag and one day approached the lead drag queen at a show at HiLo Club to ask about performing herself.

“So I started performing at the HiLo with them, and I had some friends help me learn how to contour and things like that,” said Cassidy, aka Misty Snatch.

“I came up with the name before I performed. So I tried to have everything all together. The whole point at the time was to be a faux queen, so people didn’t know if I was male or female.”

Because she calls Misty Snatch a faux queen, Cassidy said she went over-the-top with makeup to give herself a drag look.

“I wanted to look basically like a cartoon character because I obviously can’t just paint my face straight feminine because it felt like it was cheating, I guess,” she said. “Then I had to make sure I was wearing heels, body shapers, stuffing bras — I was trying to give myself a drag queen body, and I didn’t show my female body that much at first because, again, I was trying to be accepted into the male drag world. I think I was the only working faux queen at the time as far as I knew.”

Cassidy, who is currently also a burlesque performer in the troupe Dust Bowl Dolls, had been performing as Misty Snatch at open talent nights at

HiLo and The Boom but wasn’t getting booked, she said, because her style of drag wasn’t as accepted as it is now.

A year after performing as Misty Snatch, Cassidy developed another drag persona, Dick Tater.

“At first I wanted to be like a sexy drag king, but it didn’t work out,” she said.

“That’s not my forte, so I decided to, like, go more comedic with it and just tried to be a creepy dude. He’s kind of all the worst part of dudes but at the same time kind of funny. … I always just felt like both genders and neither gender at the same time, so I wanted to be able to play with that because I never felt totally like a girl but I also didn’t want to transition.

So now I get to be all the genders basically. When I do burlesque, I’m basically still in female drag. But then I do drag trying to look like a male in female drag, and then getting to be a female in male drag. It’s basically just to play with gender and get to perform as whatever gender I’m feeling at the time.”

Lindsey Churchill, director of Women’s Research Center and BGLTQ+ Student Center at University of Central Oklahoma, said drag performers offer a different perspective outside of traditional binary gender roles.

“We often think of gender as something fixed or correlated with sex/ biology,” Churchill wrote in an email interview. “Drag challenges this by showing that gender can be something that is performed.”

Damian Matrix said he has never really wanted to “pick the blue card or the pink card” because he sees himself as “a melting pot of traits,” but society tends to judge those traits differently in men and women.

“People who are more sensitive, those people will be labeled, generally, as more effeminate, more female,” Matrix said. “People who are more aggressive or in-your-face or loud or rowdy, those people are generally seen as more masculine. People who are super polite and very respectful and considerate of others, people categorize those traits as more feminine, and then the lack of thought for others or having a complete sel f-ser v i ng complex would be, probably, categorized more as male. That’s seen as acceptable. If you put those traits in a different box, people are like, ‘Oh, this girl is too crazy and aggressive,’ but those same traits are celebrated in someone else.”

Churchill said that to some extent, everyone is per forming

gender, in some cases with serious consequences.

“Gender is a set of social constructions regarding what it means to be a ‘man’ or ‘woman,’” Churchull said.

“These can vary depending on region, culture, etc. There are ideas within our society regarding emotional traits, clothing and so much more within this performance. If we step outside of or challenge this expected ‘performance’ and supposed correlation between sex/ biology and gender, many times people are persecuted or marginalized.”

Matrix found a way to express and accept himself outside society’s expectations when he began performing drag 20 years ago.

We often think of gender as something fixed or correlated with sex/biology. Drag challenges this by showing that gender can be something that is performed.

Lindsey Churchill “I absolutely found my gender identity because of drag,” Matrix said. “I’m not sure if I would have ever figured it out if I hadn’t. Before I started drag, I was an awkward, internally conflicted, angry, misunderstood person, and drag allowed me to create a duality that was ‘acceptable’ at the time socially and allowed me to find my own self-acceptance in my real life. … It actually ended up helping me a lot as far as finding better ways to express myself in a fashion that is positive and allow myself to not harbor all my life events in a big bottle that’s just waiting to explode one day. It allowed me to figure out a way to understand, cope and move forward, which is why for me, drag is kind of like going to a counselor you don’t have to pay to see.”

Matrix compares drag to method acting, and his performances are more about self-realization than conforming to any preconceived ideas of gender.

“I can take the song and I can relate it to different pieces, different parts or experiences or events that I’ve had in my life ... whether positive, bad or somewhere in the middle,” Matrix said. “It’s an easy way to free the demons in a way that is personal to you, but entertaining other people without them actually knowing what lurks below. … What I portray on stage and who I am in my real life, those are going to be like complete opposites to the maximum. I’m a really even-keeled, chill, laid-back human in my regular life, but my drag character is very crazy, fucking intense and over-the-top.”

Topatío, who considers themselves

a “drag thing,” first got involved in drag because they wanted to challenge the perception of drag.

“I wanted to embrace being weird,” they said. “I realized that there was no one really representing what I was doing. ... It was a world full of kings and queens, so there was no such thing as things in Oklahoma at least. I felt a lot of power in that and a lot of responsibility in that especially for my identity and in the community as well. So I thought, ‘Man, this is the thing that’s going to keep me going.’”

Topatío first saw a drag show when he was 15 at The Wreck Room, where they would go on to start their own drag career.

“It was just so exciting, and I never thought I could be that honestly,” Topatío said. “Some part of me just kept that love for whatever this art style brings, and I just wanted to be part of that.”

Topatío said they got the perfect opportunity to get involved with Wreck Room Idol, a pageant-style competition for local drag queens. Despite losing their first attempt, Topatío was the winner of the final Wreck Room Idol, as the club closed last January.

“That’s really what made me blossom because it was driven in competition, and I thought, ‘This is the perfect time to prove that someone like me can make it to the end.’ And I did not make it to the end the first time around,” they said.

“This competition was a pressure-cooker for people who are just bizarre. … This was a place that brought out entertainers like myself, Q, Shalula, Tape, Alotta Vahjeen, Vi Karius.”

Inclusive community

After the closure of The Wreck Room, the only gay club catering to youth, there was a void for LGBTQ+ youth in the city.

The only places creating space for that population were nonprofits like Q Space and Youth Equality Services.

Topatío said many of the performers who competed at The Wreck Room stepped up to help provide those spaces.

Along with Q, Topatío hosts a monthly

all-ages show at The Loaded Bowl.

“All the queer entertainers who really care about that community and really want to see that community thrive … we have hosted all-ages shows.

That’s the spirit of The Wreck Room.

We want to be inclusive to the community,” Topatío said. “The other side of that is we have entertainers of all kinds of backgrounds. A lot of these bars out here don’t accept people like me or Tape or Q or people who are not female impersonators or male impersonators.”

Despite not being an all-ages show, diversity in entertainers was the same thing that led to the creation of Bang Bang Queer Punk Variety Show, which happens three times a month across the city. Depending on the night, Misty Snatch or Dick Tater are the ringleaders.

“We started that in 2010 because we wanted to just be performers, my friends and I, but we couldn’t get booked because we weren’t the acceptable form of drag,” Cassidy said. “We started our own shows just to give us a place to be able to do our performance art that we wanted to do. I think being the emcee helped because then I was the face of it, and then being in the position of the manager, I got more respect. Once people realized that binary gender is false, then they’re more accepting once that wasn’t so strict and the rules for drag wasn’t so strict. It could just be a performance art instead of necessarily an illusion, a female illusion.”

Ms. Shantel hosts a few shows at The Boom, works at Tramps and performs at a few other clubs in the city as a special guest. Mandalay also

leads OKC Drag Queen Story Hour, where she reads literature to children of all ages followed by a dance party.

“I’m two different people, but it’s the persona you set. When you’re with kids, you’re a role model. When you’re in the club, you’re a role model,” Mandalay said. “People look up to me in both areas, but when I’m on the mic, I’m playing to the adult crowd. You have to realize, it’s a character.”

Churchill said events like Drag Queen Story Hour can help children learn to be more accepting of themselves.

“It can show them that there is a diversity of gender expression and maybe help them to not feel as much pressure in their own lives to conform to stringent gender roles,” Churchill said. “Such stringent roles have the propensity to become very oppressive and harmful.”

Mandalay compared being in drag around children to Mrs. Doubtfire.

Ultimately, she just wants to show her crowds, no matter what age, what she’s learned through the art of drag: It’s OK to be whoever you want to be.

Particularly with children, Mandalay said it’s important for them to start

left Topatío won the final season of Wreck Room Idol and now helps carve out all-ages spaces for drag throughout the city at places like The Loaded Bowl. center Shalula hosts shows throughout OKC, including nonconforming drag entertainers who mightnot be accepted in other spaces. right Damian Matrix hosts Rebels & Royals Drag Showcase the first Saturday of every month at Frankie’s. | Photos Phillip Danner

hearing that early on.

“When we’re doing story hour, it’s for the kids to understand its OK to be whoever you want to be and to appreciate others for being different. We always talk about acceptance, whatever that means to you, and being who you want to be and being happy with who you are,” she said.

“We don’t even talk about being gay; it’s about loving everybody for who they are as individuals. We’re getting ready to start our third year in March, so obviously we’re doing something right.”

from left Damian Matrix, Shalula and Topatío are challenging society’s perceptions of drag through their own performance styles and shows. | Photo Phillip Danner

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ART

ARTS & CULTURE

Westward expansion

Warhol and the West, on display at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, offers a ‘broader interpretation’ of Western art. By Jeremy Martin

Featuring Andy Warhol’s prints of John Wayne, Annie Oakley, Geronimo and more as well as artifacts from the artist’s personal collection, Warhol and the West is on display Jan. 31-May 10 at National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St. Perhaps no one is more surprised about that than the exhibition’s curator.

“Of all places, we got the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City,” Seth Hopkins, executive director of Georgia’s Booth Western Art Museum, where the exhibition originated, said in an interview for The Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists’ website.

“I’ve been joking that I hope they have their lightning insurance paid up because it might strike when they start installing the exhibition. … There are probably some people spinning in their graves.”

Influential and controversial, Warhol’s paintings of Coke bottles and Campbell’s soup cans, screen prints of Marilyn Monroe, films of the Empire State Building and a man sleeping and his promotion of the avant-garde rock band The Velvet Underground so perfectly illustrate media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s dictum, “Art is anything you can get away with,” that people commonly attribute the quote to Warhol, but the New York City artist’s work is not typically discussed within the accepted canon of Western art.

Michael Grauer, curator of cowboy collections and western art at National Cowboy & Western Museum, said Warhol and the West is significant because its existence is so surprising.

“What’s so groundbreaking about this exhibition is no one, for the most part, really considers Andy Warhol as part of the Western art lexicon,” Grauer said. “I mean, you say, ‘Andy Warhol and art of the American West,’ and everybody looks at you completely bewildered. …

Ultimately, it’s a healthy thing because unfortunately historians get locked into seeing things a certain way. There’s a certain myopia that takes over, and Western art has a broader definition because of this exhibition, frankly.”

Alongside artworks and clips from Western-inspired films Horse and Lonesome Cowboys, items featured in the exhibition, including pairs of cowboy boots from Warhol’s large collection and a Howdy Doody doll and Roy Rogers alarm clock from Warhol’s childhood in 1930s Pittsburgh, show a lifelong interest in Western iconography.

“He was fascinated with the West as 18

“General Custer” (1986) from Cowboys and Indians

by Andy Warhol | Image The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. 1998.1.2493.3

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a kid,” Grauer said, “and then throughout his life.”

Commodified icons

Works preceding the Cowboys and Indians portfolio, which Grauer called Warhol’s “last major project,” such as prints of stars Dennis Hopper, Clint Eastwood and Elvis Presley (famously depicted unholstering a pistol in a promotional photo for the Western film Flaming Star) also drew inspiration from Western themes. Grauer said Warhol’s appealing aesthetic makes art, Western or otherwise, less intimidating.

“The whole philosophy of pop art is literally consumption of popular culture and couching high art in a more popular or a more palatable way that more Americans could embrace,” he said. “At least that’s the way I see it as an art historian. And so he could celebrate the West by putting it in a form that most people could digest because art to the general public is sort of a voodoo thing, unapproachable ivory tower stuff. Andy Warhol, as a pop artist, thought that was a bunch of nonsense. It should be, I guess you could say, commodified in some way, but at the same time, I think it was to make it more approachable.”

You say ‘Andy Warhol and art of the American West,’ and everybody looks at you completely bewildered.

Michael Grauer Like soup cans on grocery store shelves, the images of the West are commonplace in American culture.

“That’s the reason he did the Campbell’s soup can, because everybody ate Campbell’s soup,” Grauer said. “That’s something they could understand, that art could be found in something as simple as a Campbell’s soup can. … A portrait of Geronimo or a portrait of John Wayne were things that people were somewhat familiar with, and then to see those images in a work of art in a museum or in a gallery made them in many ways more approachable. It’s the attempt to break down the barriers.”

Flattened and stylized in screen print form, these famous faces are more representative of the icons, archetypes and products they’ve become than real human beings.

“John Wayne always said, ‘My name’s Duke Morrison,’” Grauer said. “‘I’m a man who plays a character called John Wayne who in turn plays a character on the screen.’ He was very conscious of the fact that he was an actor. And Andy Warhol paints John Wayne; he doesn’t paint Duke Morrison.”

In a 1971 Playboy interview, Morrison described how movie producers originally created John Wayne.

“My real name, Marion Michael Morrison, didn’t sound American enough for them,” he said. “So they came up with John Wayne. I didn’t have any say in it, but I think it’s a great name. It’s short and strong and to the point. It took me a long time to get used to it, though.

I still don’t recognize it when somebody calls me John.”

As represented in Warhol’s print, Apache resistance leader Geronimo, who spent the last years of his life imprisoned in Fort Sill before his death in 1909, allowed to leave only to be displayed at fairs and Wild West shows, becomes “a symbol for Native defiance in the West, the last major leader to surrender,” Grauer said.

“In the image he chooses to depict of Geronimo, he’s at his fiercest,” Grauer said. “Ironically, that photograph which is the basis for the Andy Warhol piece was a posed, studio photograph, so there’s artificiality throughout the whole thing. Geronimo as a person sort of ceases to exist, much like Duke Morrison as a person ceases to exist in the popular mindset.”

In his autobiography Geronimo’s Story of His Life (dictated to Lawton school superintendent S. M. Barrett), Geronimo described visiting the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair with the permission of fellow Cowboys and Indians subject President Theodore Roosevelt.

“I sold my photographs for twentyfive cents and was allowed to keep ten

cents of this for myself,” Geronimo said.

“I also wrote my name for ten, fifteen, or twenty-five cents, as the case might be, and kept all of that money. I often made as much as two dollars a day, and when I returned, I had plenty of money — more than I had ever owned before.”

While Warhol’s work depicts Western icons in their legendary forms, it can also be seen as a commentary on their commodification and offer subtle hints at the ugly truths they sometimes mask, Hopkins told The Atlanta JournalConstitution.

“What he was saying is there’s the mystique of the West from the movies that gives us this glorified idea,” Hopkins said in a 2019 interview. “But at the same time, he was trying to tweak us into thinking about what we have done to the country, particularly to the Native American population.”

Though Warhol offered an unconventional take on the subject, Grauer said Warhol and the West fulfills National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s founder Chester A. Reynolds’ stated mission “to guard, cherish and advance the heritage and romance of the West.”

“That’s exactly what Andy Warhol did with Cowboys and Indians,” Grauer said. “It allows for a broader interpretation. … This is firmly in the discussion of what constitutes art of the American West. You can’t escape it.”

Museum admission is free-$12.50.

Call 405-478-2250 or visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Warhol and the West Jan. 31-May 10 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 1700 NE 63rd St. nationalcowboymuseum.org | 405-478-2250 Free-$12.50

T H E AT E R

Glory denied Glory Denied, presented by Painted Sky Opera, is a complicated tragedy based on an actual prisoner of war. By Jeremy Martin

In 1964, Green Beret Jim Thompson’s plane was shot down in Vietnam, and he was captured by the Viet Cong. His wife, Alyce, upon hearing the news, went into early labor delivering their fourth child. After nearly nine years of physical and mental torture, Thompson, the longest held prisoner of war in U.S. history, was released to find that his family, thinking him dead, had attempted to move on and the world had changed.

Glory Denied, Tom Cipullo’s opera based on the oral history of these events, is presented by Painted Sky Opera 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, 2 p.m. Feb. 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 7 in Freede Little Theatre at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave. Painted Sky artistic director Rob Glaubitz said he wanted to stage Glory Denied because of its powerful relevance to the present day.

He writes music to match the emotions, so it’s not all beautiful and gorgeous.

Rob Glaubitz “A lot of times we hear about opera being a historical piece — something that’s only relevant to people who are interested in what happened 100, 150 years ago — but this is something about our society, what we’re dealing with right now,” Glaubitz said. “We have veterans dealing with [post-traumatic stress disorder] and difficulty reentering into American culture that has changed since they went on their tour of duty, and that is a huge issue that we face every day with the various conflicts we have around the world. … It’s about a person who was captured in 1964, and he didn’t come back until 1972, and the

world was completely different at that point and his family also had to figure out how to be without him and then when he came back had to figure out how to be with him again.”

In the opera’s English lyrics, often taken from quotes from interviews, past and present versions of Alyce and Jim convey their sides of the story and confront past and present trauma. Soprano Saira Frank, who plays the older version of Alyce, said the opera’s unconventional structure represents the characters’ inner turmoil.

“It’s almost confusing,” Frank said.

“The parts are overlapping and intertwining. You’re going back and forth between present and past, and you really feel this anxiety. … It’s not until later in the opera when that kind of sorts itself out and each character gets to share their moments with the audience and become a little more of like an individualized person instead of this figure woven into this horrible story of anger and betrayal. I think Alyce in particular probably spent a lot of years very confused about how she should feel and whether or not the choices she was making were the right choices. In my view, at least, by the time Jim comes home, she’s had some resolution, and now it’s been thrown up in the air again. … I think there is a key moment where she does kind of sort it out again and sees that she did what she could. She did exactly what she had to do.”

Glaubitz said the older and younger versions of Jim and Alyce are essentially “four different characters.”

“The younger version of his wife is not actually what his wife was,” Glaubitz said. “She’s is the idealized version of what Jim Thompson remembered his wife to be, so she’s almost not a real person. He forgot about all the hard

times that they endured. Through these nine years of captivity, he keeps on recounting all the wonderful things and building her up into this person that she wasn’t really. She was a real person and sometimes was happy and sometimes was upset and had her faults, but he’s idealized her. And likewise the younger version of himself is this person who’s undergoing this horrible torment in captivity. … When he comes back, he’s trying to be this normal person again, but it’s almost like he keeps on getting sucked back to that younger version of himself. The older version of his wife is just really realistic and raw and expressing the whole feelings of the family.”

The opera is “probably the most difficult musical thing” Painted Sky Opera has attempted, Glaubitz said.

“If you listen to some of the music, some of it is very jagged sounding,” Glaubitz said. “As [Cipullo] is trying to depict these really complex and hard emotions, he writes music to match the emotions, so it’s not all beautiful and gorgeous. … There’s some really gorgeous moments, too.”

Baritone André Chiang, who plays older Jim, said the opera’s complicated music and overlapping vocals articulate the conflicted and complex feelings behind the lyrics.

“My particular character goes through a lot of changes in emotion on a dime,” Chiang said. “He’s very angry;

Painted Sky Opera presents Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, 2 p.m. Feb. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in Freede Little Theatre at Civic Center Music Hall. | Photo provided

he’s very confused; he’s very sad. It’s really well represented by the changes in the pitches and how high or how low and how intense they are.”

Due to the “very triggering” nature of the opera’s themes, Glaubitz said a therapist from Veterans Affairs will discuss post-traumatic stress disorder before the performances.

“We see this performance is an opportunity to increase awareness of what veterans go through,” Glaubitz said.

“I’m not sure that this show is really for veterans, although we would love to see them there if they choose to come, but really for those of us who aren’t veterans so we can understand what they go through, have a window into it at least.

We’re never really going to understand.”

Tickets are $35-$50. Call 405-5948300 or visit paintedskyopera.org.

Painted Sky Opera presents Glory Denied 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, 2 p.m. Feb. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 Freede Little Theatre Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. paintedskyopera.org | 405-594-8300 $35-$50

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OKG Lifestyle

Around OKC EAT Tamashii Ramen House WATCH Watchmen (HBO) LISTEN The Praisedown with Heath and Alex podcast READ The Outsider by Stephen King LOVE Saint’s Bar & Lounge EXPERIENCE Comic Book Club at Literati Press Comics & Novels

Outside OKC Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa EAT Mystery Science Theater 3000: WATCH The Return (Netflix) New Yorker Radio Hour podcast LISTEN The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt READ The Futur (YouTube) LOVE iFly Indoor Skydiving (multiple locations) EXPERIENCE

Albert Rios’s Picks EAT Super Tortas El Chavo WATCH Elite (Netflix) LISTEN Blank Slate of Mind by Lincka

and K-12 by Melanie Martinez

READ House of Night series by local authors P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast LOVE pumpkin spice and Mexican chocolate everything EXPERIENCE the dinosaur exhibit at Sam Noble Museum in Norman Albert Rios a social activist/substance abuse and mental health provider who works to empower marginalized groups.

TAMASHII RAMEN HOUSE | PHOTO JACOB THREADGILL • WATCHMEN (HBO) | IMAGE HBO / PROVIDED • THE OUTSIDER BY STEPHEN KING | IMAGE SIMON & SCHUSTER / PROVIDED MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE RETURN (NETFLIX) | IMAGE NETFLIX / PROVIDED • THE GOLDFINCH BY DONNA TARTT | IMAGE LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY / PROVIDED IFLY INDOOR SKYDIVING (MULTIPLE LOCATIONS) | PHOTO MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2ND CLASS CHARLES OKI / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / PROVIDED SUPER TORTAS EL CHAVO | PHOTO ALEXA ACE • ALBERT RIOS | PHOTO PROVIDED 20

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

CALENDAR the Kilgen organ, 7 p.m. Jan. 27. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org. MON

are events recommended

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

The Mystery of Love and Sex Bathsheba Doran’s dramatic comedy explores two relationships complicated by questions of sexuality and identity, through Feb. 1. Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 405-232-6500, carpentersquare.com. FRI-SAT

BOOKS

Young Choreographers’ Showcase graduate and undergraduate students present an evening of original dance premieres, Jan. 23-25. Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, 563 Elm Ave., 405-325-4101, theatre. ou.edu. THU-SAT

Last Sunday Poetry Reading a poetry reading followed by an open mic, 2 p.m. last Sunday of every month. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SUN

Zyklus 100: An Evening of Song Cycles by Wagner and Barber a concert of opera arias performed by soprano Barbara DeMaio and pianist Sallie Pollack, Jan. 28. UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth St., Edmond, 405-359-7989, ucojazzlab.com. TUE

FILM Anthony Michael Hall double feature watch classic ’80s films Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club with an in-person appearance by star Anthony Michael Hall, 3:30 p.m. Jan. 26. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-235-3456. SUN Color Out of Space (2019, USA, Richard Stanley) Nicholas Cage stars in this adaptation of a classic sci-fi horror story by H.P. Lovecraft, 7:30-10 p.m. Jan. 22. Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave., 405-2353456. WED

HAPPENINGS Afro Beats a dance party with soca, hip-hop, Caribbean, dancehall and other genres of music provided

by DJ Sinz, 11 p.m.-2 a.m. Fridays. Glass Lounge, 5929 N. May Ave., 405-835-8077, glasshouseokc.com. FRI Board Game Brunch play board games while enjoying a variety of food and beverage options, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. last Sunday of the month. The R & J Lounge and Supper Club, 320 NW 10th St., 405-6025066, rjsupperclub.com. SUN Board Game Day enjoy local craft beer while playing old-school board and arcade games with friends, 5-8 p.m. Sundays. FlashBack RetroPub, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-633-3604, flashbackretropub. com. SUN

Dave Ross Standup comic Dave Ross (Corporate, Suicide Buddies, Drunk History) recently released The Only Man Who Has Ever Had Sex, an album that through its title alone lets you know what you can expect: inspired idiocy, a commentary on alpha male posturing blatantly savage enough to annoy its targets but silly enough to actually be a good time for everyone else. Locals Josh Lathe, Maverick McWilliams and Cameron Buchholtz share the bill. Live, laugh, love 8 p.m.

Saturday at The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave. Tickets are $15-$20. Call 405-532-6376 or visit theparamountroom. com. SATURDAY Photo Kelly Dwyer / provided

Devon Ice Rink ice stake in the Myriad Botanical Gardens and enjoy seasonal food and beverages., Mondays-Sundays. through Feb. 2. Devon Ice Rink, 100 N. Robinson Ave., 405-708-6499, downtownindecember.com/devon-ice-rink. FRI-SUN

Early Explorers toddlers and preschoolers can participate in fun scientific activities they can repeat later at home, 10-11 a.m. Thursdays. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. THU

Karaoke Night perform your favorite songs on a stage with a light display and professional sound system, 8 p.m. Dec. 25. Bison Witches Bar & Deli, 211 E Main St., Norman, 405-364-7555, bisonwitchesok. com. WED

Reading Wednesdays a weekly storytime 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

Moore Chess Club play in tournaments and learn about the popular board game at this weekly event where all ages and skill levels are welcome, 1-4 p.m.

Sundays. Moore Library, 225 S. Howard Ave. SUN

Sankofa Chess Club children 7 and older are invited to learn chess in this club meeting weekly, 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Nappy Roots, 3705 Springlake Drive, 405-896-0203, facebook.com/pg/nappyrootsbooks. WED

Pooches on the Patio bring your best friend to this dog-friendly happy hour with drink specials, appetizers and free pet treats, 4-7 p.m. Saturdays.

Café 501 Classen Curve, 5825 NW Grand Blvd., 405844-1501, cafe501.com. SAT Queen Mariah’s Variety Show a monthly stage show featuring various drag performers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturdays. Frankie’s, 2807 NW 36th St., 405-6022030, facebook.com/frankiesokc. SAT Renegade Poker compete in a 2-3 hour tournament with cash prizes, 3 p.m. Sundays. Bison Witches Bar & Deli, 211 E Main St., Norman, 405-3647555, bisonwitchesok.com. SUN Trivia Night at Black Mesa Brewing test your knowledge at this weekly competition hosted by BanjoBug Trivia, 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Black Mesa Brewing Company, 1354 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-7781865, blackmesabrewing.com. TUE

Story Time with Britt’s Bookworms enjoy snacks, crafts and story time, 10:30-11:30 a.m. first and third Thursday of every month. Thrive Mama Collective, 1745 NW 16th St., 405-356-6262. THU 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

PERFORMING ARTS From Gospel to Jazz and Beyond Tedde Gibson performs songs from multiple genres on

ACTIVE Monday Night Group Ride meet up for a weekly 25-30 minute bicycle ride at about 18 miles per hour through east Oklahoma City, 6 p.m. Mondays. The Bike Lab OKC, 2200 W. Hefner Road, 405-603-7655.

MON

Run the Alley a three-mile social run for athletes of all abilities ending with beers at The Yard, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. OK Runner, 708 N. Broadway Ave., 405-702-9291, myokrunner.com. THU 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 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 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

FRI-THU

VISUAL ARTS

Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture an exhibition celebrating non-traditional architecture inspired by Native American designs, everyday objects and natural landscapes, through April 5. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. FRI-SUN

Articulation work on your art or craft project with other creators at this weekly meet-up; bring your own supplies and clean up after yourself, 6:30-10 p.m. Thursdays. Little D Gallery, 3003 Paseo, 720773-1064. THU Colors of Clay an exhibition of clay pots, bowls, pitchers and jars created by Native American artists, Through May 10, 2021. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. FRI-THU Composite Photography: Dark Worlds, New Realities view photographic works created by Oklahoma artist Sharon Burris, through Jan. 24. Inasmuch Foundation Gallery at Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May Avenue, 4056827579.

THU-FRI

D.J. Lafon exhibition view paintings by the Oklahoma artist who died in 2011, through Feb. 29. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery.com. FRI-SAT

Renewing the American Spirit: The Art of the Great Depression an exhibition of paintings, prints, photographs and more created in the 1930s, Through April 26. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT-SUN A Thin Place view fantasy-inspired conceptual photography by Oklahoma artist Lauren Midgley, through Feb 29. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. FRI-SAT Until We Organize: The Struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment an exhibition of photographs chronicling Oklahoma’s battle over the ERA, through Nov. 30. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org.

MON-THU

Magic of the Land: Paintings an exhibition of works by Carol Beesley, Jim Keffer, and Karl Brenner, through Feb. 11. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W.

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.

OKC Farmers Market a year round farmers market featuring fresh produce, honey, baked goods, meat, hand made goods and more., Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. OKC Farmers Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 4054860701, okcfarmersmarket.com. SAT

YOUTH Art Adventures children can enjoy story time and related activities, 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/ fjjma. TUE

The Cat in the Hat Dr. Seuss’ beloved feline takes the stage in this play based on the classic children’s book, through Feb. 9. Lyric Theatre, 1727 NW 16th St., 405-524-9310, lyrictheatreokc.com. THU-SUN

O. Gail Poole’s Sideshow an exhibition of surreal and unusual paintings by the eclectic Oklahoma artist, through May 10. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Re-New an exhibition of Tulsa artist Whitney Forsyth’s mandala-inspired ceramic work, through Feb. 29. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-8159995, 1ne3.org. THU-SAT

FOOD

THU

Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. TUE

Yoga with Art workout in an art-filled environment followed by a mimosa, 10:30 a.m. Saturdays.

21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. SAT

Trivia Night at Matty McMillen’s answer questions for a chance to win prizes at this weekly trivia night, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Matty McMillen’s Irish Pub, 2201 NW 150th St., 405-607-8822, mattymcmillens. com. TUE

Beginning Martial Arts Classes students ages 7 and older can learn martial arts from instructor Darrell Sarjeant at this weekly class, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Thursdays. Nappy Roots, 3705 Springlake Drive, 405-896-0203, facebook.com/pg/nappyrootsbooks.

The Knotty Arts: Macrame, Upcycling & Plants Learn to make a stylish planter from reclaimed materials and artfully knotted rope at this crafting workshop that could totally change your life — or, more accurately, the whole vibe in part of a room in your house. Bring your own planter; other materials will be provided. They’ll show you the ropes 1-4 p.m. Sunday at Resonator, 325 E. Main St., in Norman.

Admission is $40. Visit facebook.com/ resonatorarts. SUNDAY Photo bigstock.com

Shifter Trailer Release Party Until its still-unspecified release date, Planet Thunder Productions’ sci-fi feature Shifter remains one of our most anticipated local film releases, even if we’re, as of yet, not completely sure what exactly it’s about. We’re guessing time travel and/or parallel dimensions or something like that, but let us know what you think. Get shifty 7-9 p.m. Saturday at Dunlap Codding, 609 W. Sheridan Ave. Admission is free. Visit shifterfilm.com.SATURDAY Photo Jacob Leighton Burns / provided

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

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EVENT

MUSIC

House show

Internationally influential DJ Paul Oakenfold brings his monumental trance to Oklahoma.

By Jeremy Martin

Stonehenge. The Great Wall of China.

Mount Everest. OKC Farmers Public Market. By the end of this month, worldrenowned DJ Paul Oakenfold will have played them all.

“I’m going to be DJing at a farmers market?” asked Oakenfold during a phone interview with Oklahoma Gazette. “Am I really?”

Oakenfold — whom Guinness Book of World Records listed as the most successful DJ in 1999, Rolling Stone called “arguably the most controversial figure on the dance scene” in 2000 and London Evening Standard named the most influential DJ of all time in 2018 — plays 7 p.m. Jan. 31 at OKC Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave. “His influence is astonishingly wide,” wrote Evening Standard’s Jochan Embley. “He was a driving force behind acid house and trance, he released Carl Cox’s debut single on his legendary Perfecto label, he produced the Happy Mondays, he remixed Britney Spears, he’s toured with U2 — so on and so forth.

His DJ residencies in the UK, back on the White Island and around the world established him as one of the finest selectors, influencers and artists we’ve ever seen. Simply a titan of dance music.”

After we assured him that Farmers Public Market is actually a venue, we spoke to Oakenfold — who, for the record, said he has been to Oklahoma once before and enjoyed it — about his creative process, his upcoming fourth 22

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album Labor of Love and creating DJ sets for some of earth’s most famous landmarks.

Oklahoma Gazette: How do you decide when you want to put out a full album?

Oakenfold: I think, as an artist, to share a body of work is much better than a single. I believe that I’ve got a lot more to say in a body of work than one track.

I grew up in England, London, on many different styles, so all my influences are different kinds of music, so I want to showcase that.

It’s a lot harder. It’s easier to make one single rather than 10, but at the moment, that’s what I want to do. And that could change. I mean, artistically, it’s always good to grow whatever line of business you’re in. With music, I just have all these different ideas and to try to cram them all into one track just doesn’t work for me. This album really is an album that you sit there and listen to as a piece of work rather than certain tracks. Well, I hope people will, anyway.

OKG: How do you decide what’s next for you?

Oakenfold: It’s a very interesting question because as you grow older, life changes, and with that comes situations where you say, “Well, I don’t need to,” in terms of, “I’ve DJed certain places I’ve been to many times, and maybe I won’t go back there, or maybe I’ll just

want to focus more on staying at home and working in the studio, making music.” It just kind of comes to you. I mean, there’s no particular time. Now, I will be releasing an album; I know I have to be touring and supporting it, but I’m fine with that.

OKG: Do you have a bucket list of things that you haven’t accomplished yet that you want to?

Oakenfold: There’s a couple of places I haven’t been to, but generally, no, I just kind of get on with it, really.

OKG: Was there a point early on where you remember just thinking that electronic dance music was going to get as big as it has?

Oakenfold: It’s very strange because I always thought electronic music would be popular in the U.S., but it took forever. It was much more popular in Europe, but once it did come in and became commercial, it just exploded.

OKG: You’ve done so many remixes of so many different kinds of things.

Is it possible to remix a bad song into a good song?

Oakenfold: You can certainly make a bad song a better song, yeah, with music, but a song’s a song. It’s difficult to change the actual lyrics of the song, but you can certainly add better music to it to make it a better track.

OKG: Have you remixed things you don’t like?

Oakenfold: Not really. I’d rather not do that. When I’m asked, if I like it, I’ll do it. If I don’t, I turn it down.

OKG: When you’re going to do a set somewhere like Stonehenge or the Great Wall, do you approach that in a different mindset?

Paul Oakenfold plays Jan. 31 at OKC Farmers Public Market. | Photo provided

Oakenfold: That’s where I really am, to be honest with you, because these are unique shows that have never been done before. They’re challenges, so when I, for instance, DJed on Mount Everest, I trained six months to prepare for that, in terms of being fit. I was hiking seven hours a day, so I had to train. I gave up drinking. In terms of music, I sat and really thought about the choice of music, how it was going to play, because the altitude is so high you can’t really dance because you’ll be out of breath.

Stonehenge was the same in terms of preparation because I was playing to the sunset. At the locations that I was at prior to that, I was just watching sunsets, wherever I was, even at home. I had to time it all out so I knew what record I was going to play as the sun went down, these kind of things. So there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it because I want it to be the best ever show.

Tickets are $25.29. Visit discodonniepresents.com.

Paul Oakenfold 7 p.m. Jan. 31 OKC Farmers Public Market 311 S. Klein Ave. discodonniepresents.com $25.29

EVENT

Minneapolis hip-hop duo Atmosphere plays 8 p.m. Feb. 1 at Tower Theatre. | Photo Cody Otte / provided

Low pressure

Atmosphere stops at Tower Theatre to promote surprise new album Whenever. By Jeremy Martin

When Minneapolis hip-hop duo Atmosphere gave its latest album to Rhymesayers Entertainment, the record label didn’t know what to do with it. Atmosphere was still on tour promoting 2018’s Mi Vida Local.

“They asked when I wanted to put it out,” said Atmosphere’s Sean “Slug” Daley. “I said, ‘Just put it out whenever.’

They were like, ‘Well do you have a title?’

I said, ‘Yeah. Whenever.’

They were like, ‘OK, fine, you fucking silly guy.’”

Featuring an ode to an attractive mail carrier (“Postal Lady”), a song structured around Prince song titles (“Dearly Beloved”) and countless fondly tongue-in-cheek references to domesticated dadhood, Whenever was sur pr ise-released to streaming services in December. Atmosphere — rapper Slug and DJ Anthony “Ant” Davis, who have been releasing music together since 1997’s Overcast! — plays 8 p.m.

Feb. 1 at Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St. Oklahoma Gazette: How does Whenever sound to you?

Slug: I’m still unpacking this album. When I make music, the experience for me is about the rhymes, and it’s usually later after I start to perform some of the music in front of people or as I start to have conversations with people about how the music sounds to them or what it says to them that helps me unpack and realize what some of these songs are actually about. ... It’s not about other people’s

opinions, but it’s actually about how I feel saying this in front of people, how I feel knowing that somebody has heard me say this on this record. When I start to unpack those feelings of embarrassment or pride or whatever, that’s when I really see what I’m working with.

I went into this thinking I wasn’t making as personal a record as people are used to hearing from Atmosphere.

Whenever by Atmosphere | Image provided

Atmosphere, traditionally, has a history of taking itself too serious. Our songs are often very self-aware. And when I was making this one, I was like, “Oh this is great because these songs are kind of detached in a way.” And, no. Of course not.

OKG: You mentioned you took a dif-

ferent approach this time.

Slug: When we made this record, it was originally commissioned to be a soundtrack for a television series, so I was making each song as a standalone. I wasn’t thinking about tying them together.

My vision for it was that at the end of the show when there’s that cliffhanger moment or whatever, the thing that’s going to make you tune in next week, the screen goes black and the credits start to roll, what’s the first thing I want people to hear? That’s how I approached these songs, and then the TV series fell through and the songs were given back to us. So I was sitting there holding onto 10 songs like, “What do I do with this?” because I didn’t think that they were conceptually tied together. … We considered releasing them as just digital single singles, like one a month for a year or something. We couldn’t figure out what we were going to do, but then when I started to kind of dive into it ... I started to find a theme throughout the album, and that theme was reclamation — reclaiming either some shit you hid from yourself or you blocked out, you tucked away, kind of like in therapy when you have to work through stuff that you forgot about, reclamation of yourself, reclamation of your surroundings. I don’t even necessarily mean this on a political level, but you can apply it that way.

The thing that was cool is it took a lot of the pressure off of the process, things that you usually sweat and worry about — album cycle, press, all these things that you do to try to hype up a record, all that shit — we didn’t have to do that this time ... so this has been the most fun I’ve had in a long time when it comes to not just making music but also the process of releasing it.

OKG: It sounds almost like you tricked yourself into making an album.

Slug: Yeah, pretty much. ... I exercise my songwriting a lot … and it was healthy for me to remember that sometimes when you exercise, it’s not just to keep yourself in shape, but sometimes it’s actually so you can go out there and

fucking perform the high jump in front of people.

When Atmosphere puts out an album, I’ll usually make a good 12 songs for fun before I even start really focusing on making the album. It’s just a way to warm up before the game. Sometimes those songs, once in a while, there will be a couple of them that make it onto the album. … This album is kind of full of those in a weird way. It’s just that I like them all, so once I liked them, I polished them. I polished all the little turds and compiled them.

OKG: Does that change the way that these songs are performed?

Slug: It can be a challenge to figure out. … When I make an album, I get a couple of different friends — separately, independently, one at a time — and I drive around and I make them listen to the album. But it’s not so that they can hear the album. It’s so that I am forced to sit there while another person hears it, and then I get to see how I feel, for real, about this song. Suddenly, I’m like, “Oh wait; I’m a little embarrassed right now. Oh, because it’s not well written, so I’m going to go back, and I’m going to touch it up and write it better.”

Maybe I get in the car with one of my friends who might be a little bit more on the gangster side of life and see how I feel in front of him with these songs or I’ll get in the car with my fucking mom and see how I feel with her in the car. Getting in front of the audience is very informative to me. … If you’re a storyteller, if you’re writing about personal shit, it takes you some time to really learn for yourself what you wrote is really about because it has to develop and grow and have its own life, kind of like your children. You love all your children equally, but let’s keep it real. Eventually you do have a favorite. Eventually, you’re like, “This kid may be a little uglier, but I still fucking love them.”

OKG: Is there anything else you wanted to say?

Slug: Learn how to grow your own vegetables. Get checked out. See what your vitamin D levels are, if you need any iodine. Exercise and take care of yourselves because life ain’t getting no easier for nobody. The more you can work it out on the front end and learn about yourself and your own body and you can prepare yourself and fuel yourself and feed yourself the better.

The Lioness, Nikki Jean and DJ Keezy share the bill. Tickets are $25$32.50. Call 405-708-6937 or visit towertheatreokc.com.

Atmosphere 8 p.m. Feb. 1 Tower Theatre 1425 NW 23rd St. towertheatreokc.com | 405-708-6937 $25-$32.50

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LIVE MUSIC Kenny Pitts, Angry Scotsman Brewing. ACOUSTIC

SUNDAY, JAN. 26

Shelly Phelps & Dylan Nagode, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Café. ACOUSTIC

From Parts Unknown, The Drunken Fry. ROCK

FRIDAY, JAN. 24 Bricks In The Wall, Tower Theatre. COVER Helen Kelter Skelter/Roots of Thought/Swim Fan, Opolis. ROCK On Holiday/Fabulous Minx/Percy and The Prefects, The Drunken Fry. PUNK Sam Riggs, Diamond Ballroom. COUNTRY Schat & The Skeleton Trees/The Long Con/Like Before, The Deli. ROCK

Marbin Originating in Israel and based in Chicago, Marbin’s technically complex instrumental jazz fusion is approachable and accessible to non-musicians because of its clear, melodic sensibility and its coherent, almost narrative structure. Like all the best jam bands, Marbin spaces out with a final destination in mind. The trip begins 9 p.m. Monday at The Deli, 309 White St., in Norman. Tickets are $10. Call 405-329-3534 or visit thedeli.us. MONDAY Photo provided

Superfreak, The Liszt. COVER The Sweet Talkers/Foxburrows/Chelsea Days, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK

SINGER/SONGWRITER

John Carlton & Kyle Reid, The Winston. SINGER/

ACOUSTIC

ROCK

Beth Bombara/Jared Deck, The Deli. SINGER/SONG-

Grant Farm/Bungalouski, The Deli. ROCK

WRITER

Crystal Vision/JNZO/Tangerine, Kamps 1310 Lounge.

ELECTRONIC

K.C. Clifford, Tower Theatre. SINGER/SONGWRITER Sad Boi Society/All American Grind/INVICTX, 89th Street - OKC. HIP-HOP

Hot House Band, Othello’s Italian Restaurant. JAZZ

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29 Amarillo Junction, JJ’s Alley Bricktown Pub.

SONGWRITER

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

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

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

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM FOR FULL LISTINGS!

Millennium Grown Presents

March 22 -24 @ Cox Convention Center oklahomacannabisexpo.com for tickets/info | 844-420-EXPO

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

SONGWRITER

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Carly Gwin & the Sin/Astral Planes/Don’t Tell Dena, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK

Isaac McClung/Ben Brock, JJ’s Alley Bricktown Pub.

24

Kyle Reid, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. SINGER/

Ryan Oldham/Ben Brock, JJ’s Alley Bricktown Pub.

Shelly Phelps & Friends, The Blue Door. COVER

Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards, Ponyboy. ROCK

Country Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY

Aaron Hale/Brujo/Poolboy, The Paramount Room.

Dwight Yoakam, Firelake Arena. COUNTRY

Gramma/Limp Wizurdz/Menose’, Red Brick Bar.

TUESDAY, JAN. 28

John Carlton & Kyle Reid, The Winston. SINGER/

Two-Piece/Mega Chvrch/Xerophthalmia, 89th Street-OKC. METAL/HARDCORE

Amarillo Junction, JJ’s Alley Bricktown Pub.

Jason Hunt and Preston Ware, Sean Cumming’s Irish Restaurant. FOLK

SATURDAY, JAN. 25

Christian Pearson, Saints. JAZZ

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22

MONDAY, JAN. 27

ACOUSTIC

SONGWRITER

THURSDAY, JAN. 23

Rod Wave, Bricktown Events Center. HIP-HOP

Symbiotic/Hami, 89th Street-OKC. ELECTRONIC

ROCK

These are events recommended

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

Hosty, The Deli. ROCK

CANNABIS

THE HIGH CULTURE

Contrasting opinions

Lawrence Pasternack and Darrell Carnes argue the merits and weaknesses of State Question 806, which is now State Question 807.

Lawrence Pasternack | Photo Alexa Ace

Nowhere have the debates been more rampant about the pros and cons of State Question 807, formerly State Question 806, than on social media.

Lawrence Pasternack of the Oklahoma Cannabis Liberty Alliance shares his views on the positive aspects of SQ807, while Darrell Carnes of 788 Media Group argues that this constitutional amendment is the wrong move for the state of Oklahoma and its cannabis program. Both submitted their completed blind responses on Jan. 15.

Lawrence Pasternack

My understanding is that there are three main objections to SQ807: (1) it does not address the current problems with our medical program; (2) it is a covert attempt by “big cannabis” to take over the Oklahoma market; and (3) as a constitutional measure, it might become a burden once federal law changes.

With regard to (1), I certainly agree that our medical program should be the priority. I have communicated this with the measure’s authors. Their response was that 807 cannot address the medical program without the risk of violating single-subject.

With regard to (2), a covey of individuals on social media are promulgating the theory that Privateer Holdings (a U.S. company), affiliated with Tilray (a Canadian company), are ultimately behind SQ807. They seem to believe this because Privateer donated money to New Approach, the national anti-pro-

hibition group that might help fund the petition. Yet Privateer’s donations amount to roughly 2 percent of all the monies New Approach has ever received. By contrast, about 50 percent comes from Van Ameringen Foundation, a charity devoted to mental healthcare for the poor, and 15 percent from Good Ventures, again a charity devoted to healthcare issues. Hence, it looks to me that their funding doesn’t have much connection to “big cannabis” but rather comes from wealthy donors who want to end cannabis prohibition. I’ve also seen on social media the claim that these donors (the so-called “billionaire backers”) are the evil cabal behind the state question. This, however, hardly tracks with their broader record of giving. Moreover, there are nine other states with petitions supported by New Approach, some medical, some fullaccess and one that is purely about social justice. Note also that SQ807’s key author is Ryan Kiesel, attorney for SQ788. I greatly doubt he has any nefarious intent.

Furthermore, consider what SQ807 allows. It enshrines in the Oklahoma Constitution the right (for those age 21 and older) to possess, use, grow, share, gift and keep an unlimited amount from one’s homegrown cannabis. By contrast, under our current program, it remains a felony for anyone to have more than 8 ounces at home, to share cannabis or to gift it. SQ807 also mandates that only existing medical businesses can get licenses for the first two years. Hence, it hardly seems plausible that “big cannabis” would fund a petition that locks them out of the market until late 2023 (by then federal law will likely have changed anyhow), never mind letting people grow at home and give their harvests away for free.

As for (3), the concern that SQ807 is a constitutional measure (as is similarly Florida, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, etc.), the question is whether it will impede Oklahoma when federal law changes. First, SQ807 can be removed by the Legislature putting a (partial or full) repeal on the ballot.

Second, SQ807 allows Oklahoma Marijuana Authority to not impose any fines and allows the Legislature to reduce the tax rate. (Medical is exempt from these fines and taxes.) No doubt I would have preferred an explicit sunset provision, but our 181-page Constitution is already fat with unenforced detritus.

In sum, with the start of the new leg-

islative session, this community has more immediate work at hand. But echoing the words of Jewish poet Emma Lazarus, none of us are free until all are free. While I concur that there are fair points of disagreement regarding strategy, the aim of New Approach is to bring cannabis prohibition to an end nationwide, and thus what SQ807 is ultimately about is pushing forward with that goal.

Lawrence Pasternack, Ph.D. is a patient advocate and one of the founders of Oklahoma Cannabis Liberty Alliance (okcla.org). He is also among the world’s leading specialists in Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of religion. Dr. Pasternack is a professor of philosophy and the director of the religious studies program at Oklahoma State University. The views here do not necessarily represent those of OSU.

Darrell Carnes

A less than transparent release to the public started the opposition against SQ806 and SQ807. A failed effort to hide information by Lawrence Pasternack’s nonprofit, Oklahoma Cannabis Liberty Alliance, and several of our industry’s most beloved advocates, recruited for its public release, solidified the state questions’ fates.

Darell Carnes | Photo provided

Carrying that level of influence, sharing the voice for us all, a certain standard of honesty is required. OCLA withheld disclosing the authors and backers and remained silent when asked anything about SQ806’s origin. So what were they hiding? Confirmed through leaked text messages, we discovered the authors were also trying to “keep quiet” to avoid legal contest deadlines. They didn’t allow for public comment or community input — a big red flag. Constitutional amendments are a permanent thing, not a scratchpad for figuring things out, and nearly impossible to change, yet a second version has been released as SQ807.

Again, what were they hiding that we

could not have any say in? Had the authors, backers or PAC’s funding partners been disclosed, SQ806 would have been dead on arrival in Oklahoma. A very “right-leaning” state vs. a very “leftleaning” policy maker, American Civil Liberties Union, altering the Oklahoma Constitution would not have sat well with voters. The authors and OCLA knew that.

Otherwise, why not proudly claim your work capable of changing history? What were they hiding?

Based on findings and forced press releases, we learned SQ806 and SQ807 were authored by Ryan Kiesel, executive director of ACLU Oklahoma, with ties to Michelle Tilley, a high-profile campaign manager, characterized for signature petitions paid for by big business. Why such big names, and who was funding those big names hiding this whole time?

That led us to New Approach PAC. Why weren’t you proud of your work, New Approach? Funding partners and donors of the PAC revealed ties not to Oklahomans, but rather billionaires, philanthropists and big investment groups. Funding was also linked to corporate giants such Privateer Holdings, which formed Tilray in 2013. Tilray is a 76 percent owner of Leafly today.

Many continued to follow trails and discovered a lot more, but for many, that was enough.

These findings signaled that SQ807 was bad based on the grounds of out-ofstate efforts and out-of-country funding, proof that non-Oklahomans were trying to influence and alter our state’s constitution. Is this a big-business takeover?

For many, SQ807 represents a big-business agenda capable of wiping out thousands of mom-and-pops making up the number one medical marijuana program in the nation. Many of us believe SQ807 will make medical patients an afterthought to big recreational money.

Pasternack will contest funding partners by their measurable level of contributions. He will tell you all of the good intentions and stories of these folks, as he believes them. However, we ask you this, Oklahoma — considering SQ806 was pulled and SQ807 is already the second version, look at the history of other states. Do you want this network of individuals, big business, nonprofits and out-of-state funding partners influencing your Oklahoma Constitution?

Darrell Carnes is the co-founder of 788 Media Group, a collective community of some of the state’s industry professionals and patient advocates. He founded Mary Jane Dispensary in Moore and has held free patient drives and contributed to community outreach projects on behalf of the cannabis industry as well as multiple avenues of patient advocacy.

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CANNABIS

THE HIGH CULTURE

Second session

The second session of the 57th Legislature, which is also the second legislative session since medical cannabis has become law, begins Feb. 3. By Matt Dinger

The second legislative session since the passage of State Question 788 was passed begins Feb. 3, and several bills pertaining to the medical cannabis program have been filed.

The proposed amendatory bill raising the most ire among the medical cannabis community is Senate Bill 1520, authored

by Sen. Marty Quinn, R-Claremore.

SB1520 would raise the annual fee for medical cannabis dispensaries, growers and processors to $10,000 from $2,500. Transport and testing laboratory licenses would remain set at $2,500, and the approval deadline would be expanded to 90 days.

Another bill authored by Quinn, Senate Bill 1469, would require all medical cannabis dispensaries, growers and processors to carry a liability insurance policy in the amount of $1 million as well as workers’ compensation coverage during the term of licensure. The bill would take effect July 1.

Quinn operates a Shelter Insurance branch in Claremore.

A third bill authored by Quinn, Senate Bill 1519, would allow municipalities or counties to “restrict or prohibit the possession, consumption, transport, sale, cultivation, or manufacture of marijuana or marijuana products, or any combination thereof.” The bill would take effect. Nov. 1 House Bill 3960, authored by Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, would revise DUI laws concerning cannabis.

“An officer shall have made an articulable observation, other than the odor of marijuana, including, but not

limited to, glassy or red eyes or slurring speech, to request that the driver submit to a field sobriety test for marijuana,” according to the bill.

The bill also would affect the criteria for which presence of THC and its metabolites could be used as evidence of DUI. “Evidence of the presence or concentration of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or their metabolites, excluding 11-nor9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or derivatives is admissible. However, no person shall be convicted of the offense of operating or being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while such person’s ability to operate such vehicle was impaired by marijuana, THC, or their metabolites, excluding 11-nor-9-carboxydelta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or derivatives in the absence of additional evidence that such person’s ability to operate such vehicle was affected to a degree that the person was rendered substantially incapable, either mentally or physically by marijuana, THC, or their metabolites, excluding 11-nor9-carboxy-delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol, or derivatives to the extent that the public health and safety was threatened or that said person violated a state statute or local ordinance in the operation of a motor vehicle,” the bill states.

House Bill 2779, authored by Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, would prohibit discriminating against licensed medical cannabis patients for testing positive for cannabis and its metabolites in a drug test but would also bar dispensaries from operating within 1,000 feet of

Oklahoma State Capitol | Photo bigstock.com

a place of worship on a full-time or temporary basis. That is defined in the bill as “Any permanent building, structure, facility or office space owned, leased, rented or borrowed ... when used for worship services, activities and business of the congregation, which may include, but not be limited to, churches, temples, synagogues and mosques,” according to the bill.

Any medical cannabis dispensaries established prior to Nov. 1 would not be affected and would be allowed to continue operating in their current locations.

Senate Bill 1257, authored by Sen. Mark Allen, R-Spiro, would prohibit medical cannabis from being advertised on a billboard in the state. A billboard is defined as a freestanding outside advertising sign not located on the property where the sign is located.

House Bill 3941, also known as Wanda Raye’s Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act, was authored

by Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City.

It would disallow a healthcare facility from interfering or prohibiting a patient from using cannabis within but prohibit smoking or vaping as methods to use medical cannabis. The provisions do not require a healthcare facility to provide a patient with a recommendation, nor is it responsible for lost or stolen cannabis. The bill would not allow healthcare facilities to prohibit the use of cannabis based solely on the fact that it is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. House Bill 3790, authored by Rep. Logan Phillips, R-Mounds, would modify existing state statutes involving suspended sentences.

“Whenever a sentence has been suspended by the court after conviction of a person for any crime, the suspended sentence of the person may not be revoked, in whole or part, for using or possessing medical marijuana pursuant to a valid medical marijuana patient

license issued under the provisions of Section 420 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes unless the sentencing court previously found that, based on material evidence, prohibiting the otherwise lawful use and possession of medical marijuana is necessary and appropriate to accomplish the goals of sentencing,” the amended portion reads.

Senate Bill 1228, authored by Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, would create an expedited application process for a medical cannabis license. The fee for the expedited license would be $150 in addition to the application fee. In addition, it would drop the application fee for a license to $20 for those who are certified as 100-percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or who are receiving hospice services as well as those who are considered terminally ill as attested to by the individual’s primary care physician or recommending physician.

House Bill 3092, authored by Rep. Chelsea Branham, D-Oklahoma City, would make veterans who are certified as 100-percent disabled exempt from the 7 percent tax on medical cannabis sales.

Senate Bill 1248, also authored by Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, would allow licensed pharmacies in the state to apply and operate as a medical dispensary should cannabis be removed as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Senate Bill 1909, authored by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, would prohibit the state health department from sharing license information or whether the license is valid with Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) for the purpose of approving or denying a license under the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act.

Shell bills

There are also several shell bills filed by members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. These bills contain no information but may be expanded during the session.

House Bill 3208 would create the Ok la homa Medical Marijuana Advertising Act of 2020. It was authored

by Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando.

House Bill 3227 would create the Medical Marijuana Home Delivery Act of 2020, House Bill 3228 would create the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Act of 2020, House Bill 3230 would create the Medical Marijuana Licensing Act of 2020 and House Bill 3231 would create the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Act. All four were authored by House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City.

House Bill 3689 would create the Oklahoma Marijuana Act of 2020, and House Bill 3690 would create the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Act. Both were authored by Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City.

All of the shell bills filed would become effective Nov. 1.

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THC. CBD. NO BS.

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allows the entity togrow, harvest, and package medical cannabis for the purpose of selling medical cannabis to a dispensary, processor, or researcher

FLOWER REVIEW

Cannabis effects vary wildly from patient to patient based on a multitude of factors, including THC tolerance, brain chemistry and personal taste. This review is based on the subjective experience of one patient.

Strain name: The Bruce Grown by: The Inner Circle Grows Acquired from: Tegridy Market Date acquired: Jan. 8 THC/CBD percentages: 26.8 percent/.09 percent (per F.A.S.T. Laboratories/Research) Physical traits: Light green with plentiful light wiry stigmas and dense trichomes

strains crossed with the intense wave of stoniness that comes with most gassy indicas for me, they blended together to make a near-perfect high. The smoke was rich without being harsh, and the buds stuck to my fingers when I pulled them apart.

I see from the grower’s Instagram that we are about to be treated with several new strains hitting the market in coming weeks, which I am looking forward to sampling as well. Atop of his achievements, I hear the grower is quite a character and look forward to crossing paths.

Bouquet: sweet and gassy Review: When I walked into Tegridy Market, owner Tom Spanier had a smile on his face and immediately reached for the glass barrel of The Bruce that had been delivered that day. It is a Bruce Banner crossed with a proprietary strain and crossed again with Bruce Banner #1. If the recommendation did not sell me on it, the heavy aroma and bag appeal certainly did. A combination of the lighter, cerebral feeling that I get from most sweet or fruity

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The Bruce | Photo Phillip Danner

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: I’ve gathered all of the long-term, big-picture horoscopes I wrote for you in the past few weeks, and bundled them in one place: https://bit. ly/2020BigPicture ARIES (March 21-April 19)

German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749– 1832) declared that English writer Lord Byron (1788– 1824) was the greatest genius of the 19th century. Here’s an interesting coincidence: Byron regarded Goethe as the greatest genius of the 19th century. I bring this to your attention, Aries, in the hope that it will inspire you to create a similar dynamic in your own life during the coming months. As much as possible, surround yourself with people whom you think are wonderful and interesting and enlivening—and who think you are wonderful and interesting and enlivening.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Taurus-born Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a renowned German composer who lived most of his life is Germany and Austria. He became so famous and wellrespected that England’s Cambridge University offered him an honorary degree if he would visit the campus.

But Brahms was too timid to risk crossing the English Channel by boat. (There were no airplanes and Chunnel in those days.) He declined the award. I beg you not to do anything even remotely like that in the coming weeks, Taurus. Please summon the gumption necessary to claim and gather in all you deserve.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be one of those rare times when you can safely engage with influences that might normally rattle you. You’ll be protected as you wander into the unknown and explore edgy mysteries. Your intuition will be highly reliable if you make bold attempts to solve dilemmas that have previously confounded and frustrated you. If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to get a bit wild and exploratory, this is it.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) is regarded as one of

England’s greatest painters. He’s best known for his luminous and imaginative landscapes. His experimental use of light and color influenced the Impressionist painters who came after him. But the weird thing is that after his death, many of his works were lost for decades.

In 1939, a famed art historian found over a hundred of them rolled up like tarpaulins in the basement of an art museum. Let’s apply this event as a metaphor for what’s ahead in your life, Cancerian. I suspect that buried or lost elements of your past will soon be rediscovered and restored. I bet it will be fun and illuminating!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

In my early adult life, I lived below the poverty line for many years. How did that impact me? Here’s one example: I didn’t own a mattress from ages 23 to 39, but rather slept on a two-inch thick foam pad that lay directly on the floor. I’m doing better now, thank you. But my early experiences ensured that I would forever have profound empathy for people who don’t have much money. I hope this will serve as inspiration for you, Leo. The next seven weeks will be the Empathy Building Season for you. The cosmos will reward you if you build your ability to appreciate and understand the pains and joys of other humans. Your compassion will be tonic for both your mental and physical health.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Ancient Greek author Theophrastus was a scientist before the concept of “scientist” existed. His writings on botany were influential for hundreds of years after his death. But some of his ideas would be considered unscientific today. For example, he believed that flute music could heal sciatica and epilepsy. No modern research suggests that the charms of the flute can literally cure physical ailments like those. But there is a great deal of evidence that music can help relieve pain, reduce anxiety, reduce the side effects of drugs, assist in physical therapy, and even make you smarter. And my reading of the current astrological omens suggests that the therapeutic effects of music will be especially dramatic for you during the next three weeks.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Learning to love is difficult, and we pay dearly for it,” wrote the serious and somber author Fyodor Dostoevsky.

“It takes hard work and a long apprenticeship,” he added.

All that’s true, I think. To hone our ability to express tenderness and warmth, even when we’re not at our best, is the most demanding task on earth. It requires more courage than that of a soldier in the frenzy of battle, as much imagination as a poet, and diligence equal to that of an architect supervising the construction of a massive suspension bridge. And yet on the other hand—contrary to what Dostoevsky believed—sometimes love is mostly fun and inspiring and entertaining and educational. I suspect that the coming weeks will be one of those phases for you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

How well do you nurture yourself, dear Scorpio? How diligent are you in providing yourself with the sustenance that ensures your body, mind, and soul will thrive? Are you imaginative in the ways that you keep yourself excited about life? Do you take strong measures to avoid getting attached to mediocre pleasures, even as you consistently hone your focus on the desires that lead you to joy and deep satisfaction? The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to meditate on these questions.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Seven books of the Bible’s Old Testament refer to a magical place called Ophir. It was a source of exotic finery and soulful treasures like gold, peacocks, jewels, frankincense, and precious sandalwood. One problem: No one, not even a Biblical scholar, has ever figured out where it was.

Zimbabwe? India? Tunisia? Its location is still unknown.

I am bringing this to your attention because I suspect that in 2020 there’ll be a good chance you’ll discover and gain access to your own metaphorical Ophir: a fount of interesting, evocative resources. For best results, be primed and eager to offer your own skills and riches in exchange for what this fount can provide to you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Capricorn filmmaker Steven Soderbergh says it’s crucial for us to have a well-developed story about who we are

and what we’re doing with our lives. It’s so important, he feels, that it should be the trigger that flings us out of bed every morning. We’ve got to make our story so vivid and interesting that it continually motivates us in every little thing we do. Soderbergh’s counsel is always good to keep in mind, of course, but it will be even more so for you in the coming months. Why? Because your story will be expanding and deepening, and you’ll need to make the necessary adjustments in how you tell your story to yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

I’m a big fan of self-editing. For example, every horoscope I write evolves over the course of at least three drafts.

For each book I’ve published, I have written but then thrown away hundreds of pages that I ultimately deemed weren’t good enough to be a part of the finished text. And yet now and then, I have created a poem or song in one rapid swoop. My artistic artifact is exactly right the first time it flows out of me, with no further tinkering needed.

I suspect you’re now entering a phase like that, Aquarius.

I’m reminded of poet Allen Ginsberg’s operative principle: “first thought, best thought.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

Who don’t you want to be, Pisces? Where don’t you want to go? What experiences are not necessary in your drive to become the person you were born to be? I encourage you to ask yourself questions like those in the coming weeks. You’re entering a phase when you can create long-term good fortune for yourself by knowing what you don’t like and don’t need and don’t require. Explore the positive effects of refusal. Wield the power of saying NO so as to liberate yourself from all that’s irrelevant, uninteresting, trivial, and unhealthy.

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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PUZZLES NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE STATE OF CONFUSION | 0126

By Evan Mahnken and David Steinberg Puzzles edited by Will Shortz ACROSS

1 Some Japanese cars 7 Judean king, in Matthew 12 Medical-insurance grp.

15 Freedom of the ____ 19 Like a short play 20 Brick material 21 Sushi fish that’s never served raw 22 School with its own ZIP code — 90095 23 Voice box? [Wolverine State] 26 33-Across’s sound 27 “Dang!”

28 Like a soufflé 29 ____ Kea 30 2014 film with the tagline “One dream can change the world” 31 Losers 33 Safari sighting [Golden State] 35 Captain of science fiction 36 Spleen 38 Wiggle room 39 Rehearsed 42 Device that keeps fish alive 44 Pay a brief visit 48 Stashed for later [Blue Hen State] 53 Whom a warrant officer might report to, informally 54 “____ Lang Syne” 55 Letters on an ambulance 56 Times before the present?

58 Revealer of the Wizard 59 Following, as a detective might 63 Gave up the ghost 66 It’s condensed 67 Editorialist’s skill [Mountain State] 72 Banned pollutant, for short 74 West Coast birthplace of John Steinbeck 75 Like some candles 78 “No way, José!”

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84 Big Island city 85 Events for socialites 87 Knight’s accouterments [Ocean State] 92 Brother or sister 95 School 96 ____ Schwarz (toy company) 97 Like some wallpaper patterns 100 In which a single raised pinkie is an “i”: Abbr.

101 Wilbur’s partner in an old sitcom 103 Sushi-bar offering [Centennial State] 107 Cockney and others 111 Pilots’ flights just after training is finished 112 Face-planted 113 Detach slowly (from) 114 Hit playfully on the nose, slangily 115 Rights-defending org.

116 Has been around the block [Evergreen State] 119 What locks are made of 120 Hawaiian word that’s also a common Chinese surname 121 Layers 122 Ready for publication, say 123 “Like that’ll ever happen” 124 Lead-in to Brown or Robinson in No.1 song titles 125 Sport on a range 126 Not for ____ (sign)

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regulates, aptly 45 Charlie Brown catchphrase 46 Ask the obvious question, so to speak 47 “Ouch!”

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DOWN 1 Disney heroine of 2016 2 Invalidate 3 Cocktail garnishes 4 ____ City, Yukon Territory 5 Nail 6 Bit of party decoration 7 Puts up 8 Pushing the envelope 9 Letters after CD 10 Most of the 2010s 11 Insomniac’s order 12 Tush 13 Poses a danger to 14 Cry with an accent 15 Emphatic rejection 16 Food inspectors test for it 17 Thrifty competitor 18 Sticky roll 24 Snub 25 Let fly 30 One leaving a trail 32 What scared horses do 34 “That’s so sweet!”

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