Territory OKC Fall 2016 Issue 8

issue no. 8

FALL 2016

issue no. 8

SUMMER 2016

519 NW 23RD ST, STE 105, OKLAHOMA CITY 73103 | (405) 608-1923 | INTERIORGILT.COM |

issue no. 7

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TABLE OF CO N FEATURE

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DESIGN ATELIER Excellent design works across eras and media—from the home to fashion and the body. Design Atelier brought together stylists to see what design can say about life, here, now.

DOWNTOWN

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photo by Anthony Chiang

CHICKASAW NATIONALISM SINGS Jerod Tate is Chickasaw, and an important composer on the national scene. His commission from Canterbury Voices stages in Oct. OKAY YEAH The Plant Shoppe goes all in on Okay Yeah Coffee Shop, we preview arts for the season, and graffiti makes its mark.

MIDTOWN & PLAZA

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THE POWER OF A GREAT IDEA Battery technology recharged, repurposed, and more fascinating than you might imagine. Learning to love Pinot Noir, cutting hair for a cause.

LEFT: Richard Diebenkorn (American, 1922–1993). Albuquerque, 1951. Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 in. (101.6 x 127 cm). Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Museum purchase, Washington Gallery of Modern Art Collection, 1968.136.

COVER PHOTO Anthony Chiang 8

O NTENTS UPTOWN/PASEO

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PUTTING THE WORLD BACK TOGETHER Emilee Little helps refugee kids graduate high school, and she does it because God gave her a dream for New Land. Dustin Dorr’s design studio. New restaurants on the way.

WESTERN AVE

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POINTS NORTH

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Photo by Trace Thomas

HIGH STAKES Right to Farm or Right for Corporations to control farming in State Question 777.

The Coach House becomes The Hutch, designing your day, and Nextdoor app.

THEY WERE JUST PLAYING Byron Berline has been badass at nearly everything—especially fiddle—with the likes of The Stones and Dylan. He helps direct the Bluegrass culture of Guthrie.

Speaking of Bluegrass, how about a festival?

The best waffle in the metro…period, and a healing farm.

BACKSIDE

76 photo by Bo Apitz

ROAD DIARIES Photographer David Jennings returns from travels around Planet Earth, to satisfy a compulsion and curiosity about home.

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photo by Bo Apitz

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR A magazine is an organic being. Editors frame a plan for content, but often a piece or theme emerge and seep subtly into each component. Such feels somehow fitting in these times.

Art expresses itself through fashion, design and culture in equal measure. Each tells stories of the time in which it was created. It carries its integrity of form and experimentation forward, into every era. The technology of WWII arsenals led to the refined, sophisticated bent wood furniture in the Midcentury Modern era. The elegant control in that particularly prideful time after the war fomented the free-form revolution of the ’70s. And so on, and so on.

The fall issue of Territory:OKC, in ways obvious and subtle, is very much a product of our times, too.

We found ourselves drawn to visions and voices of change; things informed by the past, but pushing forward in new ways.

We drew together an incredibly experienced and talented team of professional stylists for our fashion feature. So many of fall’s looks reminded us of the early 1970s, with loose silhouettes and an assertive commitment to breaking the rules. We paired fashion with the eclectic designs found in the studio of Dustin Dorr, an Oklahoma boy recently returned from LA to see what can be accomplished in the reborn town of his youth.

Homages to the past, in thoroughly modern ways, continue through the book. We are particularly excited for the OKC Ballet’s staging of Balanchine’s storied Rodeo alongside a new dance by Artistic Director Robert Mills. Modernist masterpieces at Oklahoma City Museum of Art speak alongside contemporary cinema from China’s remote, ancient cultures.

A surge in particularly intelligent philanthropic projects also caught our eye, and uplifted us during this divisive election cycle and rampant racial turmoil. We humans are capable of astounding things.

Notice disruptions throughout the book—feet intentionally stripped of shoes, wrinkled clothes, stories of war and addiction. We hope the balm of a school for refugee children, and a Guthrie fiddler who played with The Stones, restores your mortal soul. Oklahoma has a way of doing that.

Like the times we live in, art should unsettle, too. Its ability to help us see and think about the glorious and tumultuous world we inhabit should be embraced a lot more than it is. Let’s work on that together.

Veronica Pasfield, Editor editorial@territoryokc.com

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TERRITORYOKC.COM AUTHENTICITY, CURATION, AND COMMUNITY ON THE DAILY.

by Greg Horton

Sorry to ruin your day, but there’s something you need to know. Believe it or not, most of those “10 Best Leper Colonies in Oklahoma” kind of lists you see all over Facebook are generated by people writing for websites that pay about a penny a word, or less. Typically, they scan through restaurant or bar or boutique listings to compile their “best of ” offerings, using copy originally written by marketing professionals and then pretending to present definitive lists of what you ought to do in any given city.

What if people who live, eat and drink in the city— whose lives are tied up in the food and beverage or fashion or retail industries—actually wrote the lists?

What about “reader’s choice” awards that shock us with their results, and in some cases are sometimes tied to advertising? Does this further the authentic gifts in our community? Sometimes yes, sometimes no in our view.

With the launch this summer of territoryokc.com, we try to elevate beyond such. Because, as we’ve always said, you deserve better and you’re ready for better.

Time and money are valuable resources, and we connect you with the best way to invest them with curated events, web exclusives, wine and cocktail of the week, and expanded coverage of content from the magazine.

We already posted what we believe are the ten best dishes and five best hidden restaurants. Yes, we know that

there is a great deal of subjectivity in such an endeavor.

But we work hard to be informed and knowledgeable.

Also, it’s a whole lot of fun to argue about such things, and at least we live and eat and play and work in this city.

The lists are only part of the web exclusive content we will feature on territoryokc.com. Did you see the exclusive Parker Millsap interview/feature? No? Go read it, and then come back.

The site allows us to extend our brand to people outside the distribution zone of our physical copies, and it allows us to respond to awesome news and events in real time.

Websites can become the medium that eats a company, though, so we are going to mix web exclusives with content from print issues past and present, so that our readers are well-informed, entertained, and challenged—and quite frankly, prouder of this amazing city we live in and write about. The magazine will continue to be the heart of what we do, of course.

We will update content weekly on territoryokc.com. By the time this goes to press, the website will be relaunched with improvements based on user input from the first iteration of the site. We are excited about the possibilities that an online platform affords, and we always want your input, so read and click through, and then tell us what you think.

TERRITORY:OKC MAGAZINE

Koon Vega, Art Director koon@creativevega.com

Published by Territory Media, LLC 3017 N. Lee Ave., Ste. A, Oklahoma City, OK 73103 territoryokc.com

Greg Horton, Vicar of Editorial & Wine Columnist vicar@territoryokc.com

Trey McNeill, Publisher trey@territoryokc.com

Jessi Chapman, Social Media & Event Coordinator jessi@territoryokc.com

Veronica Pasfield, Editor editorial@territoryokc.com

Muted Post, Website Design Bayley Jackson, Graphic Designer Trace Thomas, Contributing Photographer Tyler Barron, Editorial Assistant Emily Hopkins, Arts & Entertainment Editor Robb Lindsey, Spirits Columnist Leigh Naifeh, intern Garrett Davis, intern

Olivia Morris, Business Development Strategist olivia@territoryokc.com

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CONTRIBUTORS COURTNEY ANN Courtney Ann is a creative director, stylist and art director. After several years working in the New York fashion industry, Courtney Ann decided to hone her skills at the prestigious Central Saint Martins University, studying Honours Fashion Communication and Promotion in London, UK. Clients include Shawn Mendes, Refinery29 and Amazon. She’s excited to be in her home state of Oklahoma.

AMTHONY CHIANG Anthony Chiang is a Dallas-based fashion photographer with a rich background that includes time spent overseas, and all over the U.S. His signature style uses light as an art form to inject his personal aesthetics into his photography, while keeping the digital post-production to a bare minimum.

GEORGE LANG George Lang is a reporter, public relations professional, MFA student and an adjunct professor at ACM@UCO. The former assistant entertainment editor at The Oklahoman, Lang spends more time on film and music than he has to spare.

JESSICA VALENTINE Reporter Jessica Valentine is a communications pro at a local art museum with a degree in journalism and theater from Oklahoma State University. She’s moved across the country twice, only to finally land in Uptown Oklahoma City where she loves discovering and writing about its progression and the surrounding areas.

design

atelier

tradition, tension & transcendence

Design depends utterly upon these three things. It evolves via an exuberant reimagining of how we inhabit space.

It’s a pleasure thing—and a story thing— that we wear, we sit upon, and we inhabit. As Gianni Versace reminded, “you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.”

This season, fashion takes a page from the flowing silhouettes of the ’70s; it’s Yoko Ono and Martha Graham and Audre Lorde. That era demanded change, and reckoned with it in a way that reshaped everything. Literally so, if you think about it. It’s the comfort of luxe textures, and the freedom of loose shapes.

Design creates space for new identities. What stories of this time and place are we telling?

Creative Director / Courtney Ann Studio Photography / Anthony Chiang

or just be

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Credits Creative Director + Stylist / Courtney Ann Studio @courtneyannstudio Photography / Anthony Chiang @anthonychiang Make-Up / L.J. Hill @ljbeaute Hair / Andrea Lemonds @andrealemonds Sets / Dustin Dorr @dustindorr Paintings / Christopher Dorr @christopherdorr Models / Eileen & Alexis Brink Model Management Assistants / Jessi Chapman & Tyler Barron Special thanks to: Consortium Clothing Nichols Hills Plaza

Page 16 Left: Set / Cedric Charlier from Consortium Right: Set / UseUNUSED Page 19 Blouse / Georgine Skirt / Paul Smith Footwear / ADEAM Page 21 Dress / Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini from Consortium Page 22 Dress / UseUNUSED Page 23 Blouse / Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini from Consortium Page 24 Coat / Marimekko Page 26 Left: Blouse / Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini from Consortium Coat / Marimekko Skirt / Paul Smith Right: Blouse / Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini from Consortium Coat / UseUNUSED Skirt / Paul Smith

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DOWNTOWN Chickasaw Nationalism Sings | Okay, Yeah | So Much Goodness | Aerosol Collab | Carnivore’s Delight

CHICKASAW NATIONALISM SINGS Composer Jerod Tate speaks to art and identity, process and pride story by Veronica Pasfield photos by Aaron Slagell

Some Indian people grow up with a diminished sense of self and culture. At the age of nine, my grandmother moved off her reservation and into a white, working-class neighborhood. On her walk to school, the women along her route would come onto their porches and throw rotten fruit at her. Segregation was in full swing in Detroit during the Depression.

Although that skinny little girl grew up to be a stunningly beautiful woman, one who was undeniably Native, my grandmother remained shy about identifying herself as such until late in life. The fact that her father was sent to a horrendous federal school established to assimilate Indian children into Euro-American society, by any means necessary, certainly didn’t embolden either of them. Such experiences run rampant in Native families to this day.

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Such common experiences provide a stark contrast to the worldview embedded in Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s narrative lexicon. Pride in his Chickasaw culture— and his larger rootedness in indigeneity broadly—quite literally sing forth from Tate’s being.

“I have a very high-brow feeling about being Indian,” Tate said. “Indians are at the top of the heap, and have been for quite some time. I have the perspective of being from a tribe that, for a long time, has had contacts from all over the world. The way we’ve adapted to things in the world is really quite remarkable.”

The world has listened to this truth via Tate’s classical and folk-inspired musical compositions. From his studio near May and Northwest Expressway, the composer crafts works performed on premiere stages from the National continues on page 74

OKAY, YEAH “Hey, do you want to go grab a cup of coffee?”

“Okay, yeah.”

Chad Grubbs hears this exact conversation every day, so that became the ideology behind his new coffee shop, Okay Yeah, which he opened inside The Plant Shoppe in August.

“You normally don’t say it softly. Anytime anybody says (“Okay, yeah”), it’s kind of a question of wondering, but the intonation is nearly always positive,” Grubbs explained.

The shop’s motto is “Cheers to the day,” summing up Grubbs’s goal of offering a “more upbeat” approach to serving coffee. “My whole thought was, if the rest of your day isn’t that great, hopefully we helped make it better.”

The front of the building says “Plants, Coffee & Eats” and upon entering, the coffee shop is immediately noticeable, surrounded by vintage picnic tables, outdoor string lighting and a 1969 Airstream trailer that Chad says, “adds nostalgia”—a concept important to him and his partner, Jen Semmler, owner of The Plant Shoppe.

Grubbs and Semmler have been together for six years and knew they wanted to open a food and beverage business, but were busy with their own projects. She was focused on opening The Plant Shoppe in 2013, a plant arrangement and workshop venue, and he had just started his home furnishings and carpentry business called Bent.

(If you’ve been in The Criterion, you’ve probably seen the large acrylic and aluminum chandelier Grubbs created.)

Together, the couple focused on their endeavors in the warehouse connected to The Paramount on Film Row. But just last year, the birth of their son Memphis created some setbacks and quite a scare when he was born ten weeks early.

Baby Memphis was in the NICU for almost six weeks, and in that time, The Plant Shoppe was at risk of closing

story by Jessica Valentine photos by Aaron Slagell

its doors. But local businesses such as Blue 7, The Idea Collective, and The Okay See came together and provided a fundraiser so the couple could keep The Plant Shoppe up and running.

“That’s why we love local businesses so much,” Grubbs said. “Everyone is so much like family.”

When Okay Yeah finally opened for business, Grubbs and his three employees were able to start serving coffee and handmade tarts. Their coffee beans come from local roaster, Mariposa, and Grubbs sources local when possible.

When Grubbs conjured up the idea of serving tarts in his shop, he wanted them to have a unique twist. Think of the Standard Tart as a spin-off of a Pop-Tart and the Signature Tart as an open-faced puff pastry. The twist is that customers can choose different tart toppings, like chorizo and egg or strawberry and cactus. We’ve tried a few and they are excellent.

Currently, the lunch includes salads, such as heirloom and onion, a Greek Caprese salad, and a pork verde entree.

Eventually, the goal is to expand menu options along with offering a delivery service and wholesaling baked goods to local food retailers.

“However we expand, it will be based on local relationships,” Grubbs said. “Small businesses have a story behind them, and we’re big proponents on providing an extension to people we’ve shaken hands with.”

In spite of the setbacks they have experienced, Chad recognizes a silver lining in the fact they’ve chosen to set up shop in Film Row. “It’s not as established as other districts, so there’s all this room to become who you want to become and room to grow. It’s a little bit of a blank canvas.”

705 W. Sheridan (405) 652-1322. okayyeahco.com. @ Okayyeahco 33

SO MUCH GOODNESS, SO LITTLE TIME

story by Emily Hopkins

The fall arts events worth planning your life around.

RODEO: A TRIPLE BILL Oklahoma City Ballet October 21-23 Civic Center Music Hall It was 1942, less than a month before the German and Italian invasion of Vichy, France. While war waged, famed choreographer Agnes de Mille used dance to consider American national identity. She lit up the Metropolitan Opera House, beaming brightly through her 22nd curtain call. Set to Copeland’s famous score, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo had just performed her original piece, with her as the star: Rodeo.

De Mille was no stranger to Oklahoma; legendary prima ballerina and Oklahoman Maria Tallchief was a member of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and de Mille received choreographer credits for our state’s 1955 namesake film. The last time Rodeo was performed on a grand scale here was exactly 30 years ago.

The OKC Ballet celebrates its 45th season with Rodeo: A Triple Bill “Serenade,” the virtual impetus for all of American ballet, debuted in 1934. It was George Balanchine’s first piece choreographed in the U.S., and he went on to co-found the New York City Ballet.

Next, our ballet’s Artistic Director Robert Mills premieres his piece, “Our Private Rooms,” an original abstract contemporary piece. Then the finale, Rodeo, which introduced de Mille to the iconic Rogers and Hammerstein, made Copeland into a favorite American composer and spawned the theme for the 1990s ad campaign, “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.” Full circle, people. okcballet.com 34

MELVIN EDWARDS Oklahoma Contemporary October 20-December 27 Many have noted the similarities between the years 2016 and 1968, how both are and were marked by political strife, structural racism and a general uncertainty in society as a whole. In what’s either a serendipitous moment or a perfectly executed plan, the Contemporary hosts a solo exhibition of work by Melvin Edwards, pioneer in the history of contemporary African-American art and sculpture. With a career spanning 50+ years, Edwards is perhaps best known for his Lynch Fragments series, which encapsulates the racial violence of the ’60s, the anti-war activism of the 70s, and other themes, including African Diaspora and American slave culture and its reverberating effects. Much of this show will be created specifically for Oklahoma Contemporary from materials gathered here, for a new “Oklahoma Series” displayed next to works made in Africa. oklahomacontemporary.org

MARGINAL GEOGRAPHIES: CONTEMPORARY MASTERWORKS FROM CHINA Oklahoma City Museum of Art September 22-29 Michael Anderson, Director of Curatorial Affairs, didn’t intend to bring together a Chinese film series — but as so often happens, one thing led to another. Anderson decided there was a real story to be told. “I was really blown away by their quality,” he said. “That made me dig a little deeper.

What I found was that the most interesting work coming out of China today, from my standpoint, was occurring in the more provincial or even rural parts of town.”

These films, together, capture in such unique ways the process of change in China to a more modernized global place. Kaili Blues on Sept. 22 is steeped in experimental narratives and a dreaminess that fuses perfectly with the southwestern Chinese countryside. September 24 brings two films by modern Tibetan master Pema Tseden, the first filmmaker to shoot entirely in the Tibetan language. Both Old Dog and Thrall feature solitary characters, each struggling to find a balance between tradition and modernity.

“Pema Tseden’s films provide a vital portrait of a long-oppressed region that is developing very unevenly compared to urban China,” Anderson said. “Tseden was recently injured while in police custody, which makes programming his films, among the two best in the series, all the more vital.”

The documentary Three Sisters follows three young girls in the mountainous Yunnan province faced with grueling daily tasks while their single father searches for a job.

Paths of the Soul shows the 1,200-mile pilgrimage to Lhasa.

And finally, poet/novelist/director Li Hongqi’s absurdist comedy, Winter Vacation, which won top prize at the Locarno Film Festival. okcmoa.com

OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART The massive Sacred Words: The Saint John’s Bible and the Art of Illumination debuts October 15. The star of the show is the first illuminated, handwritten Bible of monumental size to be commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in the modern era, but many more works inspire.

Don’t ignore The Modernist Spectrum: Color and Abstraction, a rotating exhibit of masterworks from the Washington Gallery of Modern Art Collection. Catherine Shotick, assistant curator of exhibitions here, selected a few must-see pieces: Ellsworth Kelly, Red Blue, exhibited at key mid-century shows alongside pieces by Pollock, Rothko, Hopper and others; Richard Diebenkorn’s Albuquerque, inspired by a low-altitude flight from Albuquerque to San Francisco, by “one of the most respected artists of the postwar era and a leading figure of West Coast Abstract Expressionism”; and Cool Staccato, Gene Davis’s “vibrant visual rhythms, which he hoped would encourage sustained periods of viewing. The artist suggested that ‘instead of simply glancing at the work, select a specific color…enter the painting through the door of a single color.” okcmoa.com

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L. DIANE JACKSON: A RETROSPECTIVE [Artspace] at Untitled September 29-October 22 OKC’s own L. Diane Jackson was an avid traveler and citizen of the world, known for her glorious black-andwhite photographs depicting everything from children and animals in busy Indian streets to aged vaudevillian performers reliving their golden hours on the stage. A graduate of both the University of Oklahoma and the Parsons New School in Los Angeles, Jackson was also an accomplished writer, pianist and composer. 1ne3.org

OKLAHOMA CITY PHILHARMONIC After nearly three decades, Music Director and Maestro Joel Levine is stepping down. But in true grandiose style, the Phil sends Levine off with a bang throughout the 2016-17 season.

We can’t wait to see the orchestra take on The Music of the Rolling Stones November 4-5. May sound corny, but we’ve seen rock transcribed in really cool orchestral performances before. Also, the Phil tries out six candidate conductors in performances October-March. okcphil.org

ROCKY HORROR Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma Plaza District stage October 13-November 5 Fishnets, glitter and pelvic thrusts to drive you insane — and damnit if we aren’t counting down the days until Janet, Brad, Dr. Frank and the gang take the stage for Rocky Horror. Back by popular demand, of course. lyrictheatreokc.com

ARMSTRONG AUDITORIUM Who knew a little pocket of international artistry was situated just a short drive north, in Edmond? Premiere arts performances abound all season, but we’re particularly excited for a few. November 10 welcomes cellist Tess Remy-Schumacher and soprano Paula Malone. The German-born cellist and Fulbright Scholar teaches at UCO, and has performed from Singapore to Carnegie Hall.

On December 1, the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet shows why it’s one of music’s most enduring ensembles, with three decades of playing modern jazz. The OK set focuses in their LP, A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane. The 2017 line-up is also stellar. armstrongauditorium.org

PHOTO CREDITS Opening spread: (L-R) "Rodeo" by Shevaun Williams; "Law"

by Melvin Edwards courtesy of Oklahoma Contemporary; "Paths of the Soul"; Sam Gilliam (American, b. 1933).

"Khufu," 1965. Acrylic on canvas. Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Museum purchase, Washington Gallery of Modern Art Collection, 1968.145, Sam Gilliam.

This page: Diane Jackson (L), Turtle Island Quartet by Jati Lindsay (R).

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COMING SOON TO BRICKTOWN OKC

|

MENU PREVIEW: LEGACYGRILL.COM

PHOTOS ON LOAN BY

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AEROSOL COLLAB

OUT OF THE BOX, TO THE PEOPLE story by Veronica Pasfield photos by Bo Apitz aerosol art by Steven Grounds

Just because something is large, or public, does not mean it is immediately understood. This seems true about Strength of the Woman by Comanche artist J. NiCole Hatfield, Navajo artist Steven Grounds, and EuroAmerican photographer Bo Apitz. Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc. and the Chickasaw Nation sponsored two murals

by Native artists at the Sheridan underpass into Bricktown. OKC is making a name for itself as a town getting serious about public art, according to Downtown OKC. We’ve been eyeing the collab between Grounds and Apitz. They connected through Instagram; both create intense visuals focused on Indian peoples. But don’t pigeon hole them. Grounds speaks most to graffiti art around the world. Apitz focuses on portraiture generally.

Said Grounds, “After we decide on an idea for a mural, I reinterpret (Bo’s) photographs with aerosol and line work. This creates a new stylistic form of Native American Art that is based on street and graffiti culture. This collaborative process allows for new ideas to be brought in to the artwork (about) modern-day native Americans…brought to light in a way that hopefully captures their life energy and heart.”

“When you live in a state like Oklahoma and then travel elsewhere it can feel like you’re stepping back in time when you come back home,” Apitz added. “One of the biggest differences I see in other states and countries is the progressiveness of art in the street—architecture, parks, galleries, etc. …Art is existential to our past, present and future. (Its exclusion) is a ban on individualism and self expression.”

To hear more from these artists—including Grounds’ Geronimo mural in the Plaza and Apitz’s larger series—jump over to territoryokc.com.

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CARNIVORE’S DELIGHT

story and photo by Trace Thomas

ONE CHEF’S FORAY INTO HERITAGE MEATS

When the words Oklahoma and meat coincide, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is beef. But what about salami with lardo, duck prosciutto, or andouille sausage? Oklahoma is typically considered beef country, but Chance Morgan is trying to change that.

Morgan is the owner of Native Meat Co., which retails at Urban Agrarian in the historic Farmer’s Market District.

Every Thursday at 5 am, Morgan is in the back of the market preparing meats. “I try to come up with new stuff every week,” Morgan said. “The product list is constantly evolving as I experiment with new ideas and cuts.”

Morgan’s passion started eight years ago, when he began trying to make sausage for family and friends that was similar to the sausage from his East Texas adolescence. “I grew up in a family that sat down every night for dinner,” Morgan said. “We always congregated around food and I loved that it always brought people together.”

Morgan described the food in his family’s household as having a Southern-Cajun influence. “Gumbo is a meal we eat regularly, and also every Christmas Eve,” Morgan said.

“This requires a specific sausage that we wanted to perfect.”

Morgan continued his research, which led to curing.

“That’s where my training as a chef came into play. I wanted to bring something unique to the OKC market.”

Morgan uses COOP and Anthem to give his meats a distinct, full flavor. “These local brews have added so much more depth. They've taken them to a different level.”

Morgan built his own curing chamber out of an old wine fridge. He cures anywhere from four weeks to two years. Patience renders amazing flavor on the other end.

Native Meat Co. hopes to be a whole-animal butcher shop, utilizing every part of the animal. Morgan wants to introduce people to products and cuts that they never would have known about. He also emphasizes the importance of knowing sourcing and farmer relationships.

“Working directly with farmers like Cimarron Valley for the pork, BF Farms for lamb and beef, and Wild Hill Farms for Ducks and pork is why I am doing this,” Morgan said, “Oklahomans have an opportunity to source their foods locally, and I want to aide in this growing movement by offering products in a unique way.”

Sold at Urban Agrarian, 1235 SW 2nd, Farmer’s Mkt District. (405) 231-1919. nativemeatcompany.com.

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SacredWords_Territory_FullPage.pdf

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MIDTOWN The Power of A Good Idea | Wine Column | The Power of a Simple Haircut | Millsap Within Spirit

THE POWER OF A GOOD IDEA

story by George Lang illustration by Aaron Cahill

DIRK SPIERS ON OKLAHOMA’S POTENTIAL AS A RENEWABLE ENERGY HUB

Dirk Spiers, the Dutch-born entrepreneur and president of Oklahoma City-based Spiers New Technologies, is an outspoken advocate for realistic thinking and looking toward the future—two things that should not be controversial. But as the head of a tech firm specializing in the battery life cycle management for hybrid and electric cars, Spiers sometimes finds himself waging a war with Oklahoma traditions, specifically its economic dependency on the oil and gas industry.

Spiers wants Oklahoma to enjoy a more diversified energy economy. In order to do it, he says the state needs to make enormous changes in how it approaches energy and attracts businesses. Better schools, less selective science education, walkable spaces, and more reliance on cheap, renewable energy are just a start.

What does Spiers New Technologies do? So, you have two kinds of electric vehicles: you have hybrid vehicles like the Prius, and they have a combustion engine and a small battery pack, and that is often a nickel-metal hydride battery. And then you have plug-in electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt or the Nissan Leaf, and they have a battery pack that is often a lithium ion, and that is replacing the combustion engine.

Those battery packs have wear and tear like everything else in life, and occasionally something goes wrong. So they come back to us, we check them in, we analyze them, we grade them, and the grading process allows us to know what is happening. And then we refurbish them so they can go back into a vehicle, otherwise we repurpose them for solar energy storage.

What made you decide to go forward with this idea? It’s really pretty simple: we believe that all cars, eventually, will become electric. We’re convinced of it, and we believe the car industry is becoming convinced of it, as well. If you see the billions of dollars that are being invested right now by Volkswagen, GM, Nissan, Ford and Jaguar … I just read a story that the new Bentley will be fully electric. It’s a more fun car to drive, lower maintenance, instant torque so better acceleration—it’s just a better product. So when the batteries show wear and tear, someone needs to be in place to take care of them, to have life-cycle management.

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What made you choose Oklahoma as the home of Spiers New Technologies? In my whole life, I’ve lived in multiple places: I lived in San Francisco once, a long time in London, in Spain, large chunks of time in Asia, so I’ve been all over the place. There are certain advantages in Oklahoma. You’re in the middle, which is good for logistics. You have a lot of space here, and I see many benefits and opportunities, but we need to embrace the future rather than resist it.

How much resistance have you encountered? The majority of new energy generation is coming from solar and wind.

For some reason, we do very little of that stuff in Oklahoma, because too often, we cut ourselves off from the future and anchor ourselves in the past. And that’s a dangerous thing for a state with so much sun and so little water. Of all the places I’ve lived, I’d say that Oklahoma feels more disconnected from the rest of the world. But I see that as an opportunity.

We have access to people, access to politicians, access to the Chamber, access to land. But I feel like there’s a huge disconnect between the people in the Capitol and the businesses in Oklahoma.

How so? These politicians always pride themselves in being pro-business, but the only thing they can think of for being pro-business is lowering taxes. That’s not necessarily pro-business—it’s an ideological thing. I’d rather have a place where people want to move from California and settle here, where you have good education. A nice place to live is much more important than saying, “We have the lowest taxes in the nation.” Look what happened to Kansas. They went that route and it’s disastrous.

You’ve been here for five years now. Do you see Oklahoma City moving in the right direction? I have to say, the advancement in Oklahoma City is amazing. Every year, Oklahoma City is becoming a better place, and that’s truly amazing. A lot of places cannot keep up with that. But we need to get more density in the city, more walking around.

You need to bring people together so they can bounce ideas off each other.

wine column

LEARNING TO LOVE PINOT

by Greg Horton

Pinot Noir is one of the most difficult wines to like, and I say that as someone who loves Pinot Noir. Some things in life are designed to reward the true seeker, the person who wants to push past convention and experience things that are not for the herd. Learning why people appreciate something difficult is a kind of reward in itself.

Wine nerds are prone to save their most floral, expressive language to compose hymns to Pinot from Burgundy (France) or Oregon, and even occasionally California and Australia. More than any other red varietal, Pinot is expressive of place and climate, and as such it can be hard to like if you start in the wrong place. Burgundy is often described as funky or mushroomy, and I have heard Pinot from Oregon spoken of as “smelling like a wet basement.” Yes, that was allegedly a good thing.

However, Pinot Noir from California tends to be a different animal altogether, and that is true even if the size and various climates of California are taken into account. Even as I prepare to write the next line, I can hear the howls in the throats of the Pinotphiles. To learn to like Pinot, start in California.

California Pinot does tend to be fruitier while remaining dry, a combination that makes wine “approachable.”

Pinot Noir is drier, much drier, than people expect. Newbies in wine sales tend to offer customers a Pinot when the customer asks for a light red. If they want light, give them a Dolcetto. Pinot runs the spectrum from very light to incredibly dense, and the complexity is remarkable in almost every category. The hard thing about Pinot Noir is that you kind of have to have a curious palate to really enjoy it. Sure, you’ll find cola and strawberry in some, but you’ll also find mushrooms, earth, pitch and roses in others. Roll those last four together and ask yourself if you like that. That’s where Pinot takes you.

Not too long ago, Pinot Noir became the darling of everyone, thanks in large part to the humbling of Merlot—a sad state of affairs that is being rectified.

(Merlot is wonderful, but that’s for another column.) The problem with Pinot Noir’s ascendancy is that Pinot is also a difficult grape to get right; that’s partly why it tends to be pricier than other reds. To offset costs, some winemakers (the bad people, we’ll call them) mixed cheap Syrah in their Pinot Noir. This is perfectly legal in the U.S. Wine only need be 75 percent of the varietal on the label to be called that varietal. This led people to believe that they could acquire cheap Pinot Noir, and it forever altered their perspective on what Pinot Noir ought to be.

The truth is it’s not inexpensive; decent bottles can be had for under $20. Normally, though, $30 is a more reasonable starting point. The wines below run the gamut from very affordable to special-occasion drinking. This is not a list of the best of California Pinot, even as a couple of them certainly qualify, but more of a “you should try this if you want to like Pinot Noir” list.

Failla. It simply doesn’t matter which bottle of Failla you pick up. It won’t be cheap, and it will be stunning, Ehren Jordan makes it, and that says everything you need to know.

Folk Machine, Central Coast. One of the most affordable and approachable on the list. It’s popping up everywhere because it’s fruity and balanced and really easy to like.

Davis Bynum, Jane’s Vineyard. Dark, fruity, remarkably easy to drink. In the middle tier of affordability. Well worth checking out.

Ancien. Really, these are all good, and don’t let the labels put you off. The Red Dog Vineyard is insanely good.

Merry Edwards. Iconic name and well deserved. There are several single-vineyard selections, all worthy.

Eric Kent, Small Town. Beautiful labels and pretty Pinot Noir. Impossible to go wrong with any of his bottles.

Sojourn. Brand new in the state, and well-loved by the critics. It’s classic California Pinot. Gap’s Crown for the newbies, and Rodgers Creek for the nerds. photo by Jessi Chapman

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GRACE IN A SIMPLE HAIRCUT CUTS FOR COMMUNITY ASSISTS THOSE IN NEED story and photos by Trace Thomas

Hairstylist Jocelyn “Billy” Pranin decided her trade could be anything but frivolous. The stylist at Midtown’s Iron Rose Salon imagined her scissors could be the tools of altruism to assist those in need. So she started Cuts of the Community, a service project joining kind-hearted stylists with the homeless and others who cannot afford a haircut. Pranin (above) got the idea from watching a video.

“I saw a video of (Mark Bustos) giving free haircuts on the streets of New York, and I thought that was something I could do,” Pranin said. “I don’t have extra money, but I have this skill.”

Pranin was pregnant at the time, and decided that giving haircuts on a street corner would not work for her.

She eventually found out about Penn Ave. Church of the Nazarene, on the corner of Penn and NW 10th St. Pranin learned that the church was already doing free meals the second and fourth Thursday of every month.

“They were really easy and informal,” Pranin said.

“They were excited about working with us.”

After two years at the church, Cuts for the Community relocated downtown. “Members of the church are looking into a building downtown to provide the meals, so we are going to be moving to the new location with them,” she said. “It isn’t final yet, but even if that location does not work out, we will find another.”

Cuts for the Community takes place either the second or fourth Thursday every month. Pranin and another

volunteer stylists decide which day works best for their schedules, and then announce the dates on social media.

Right now there are not enough volunteers to do it both Thursdays of the month.

Ann Whitlock is an unemployed, non-traditional student between jobs. She describes herself as someone who has had to recently adjust her life in order to make ends meet. Whitlock heard about Cuts for the Community from some other people who were, as she described it, down on their luck.

“I found this group of people who were volunteering to help people out who are struggling,” Whitlock said. “They came through for me.”

Whitlock commented on stylists' professionalism. “I think these people who are giving out their best and their time are awesome people. They are real considerate of your personal information and they do not pry.”

Self-esteem rises, too. “It is really a great blessing for those who cannot afford to get a decent haircut,” Whitlock continued. “I am more confident because of it…It has also helped me feel more competitive in the job market.”

A little extra love and encouragement from the stylists, Whitlock reports, is also a welcome blessing. Pranin asks anyone interested in donating their skills—or even basics such as socks, undergarments, children’s clothes, toiletries, coats, etc.—to please contact her through the Cuts for the Community Facebook page.

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MILLSAP WITHIN SPIRIT story by Greg Horton photo by Laura A. Partain

Sometimes it’s about how words hit your ears, not just the tone, but also the life that’s behind them. Parker Millsap grew up Pentecostal in Purcell, Oklahoma. That sentence is so weighted with subtexts, it’s hard to unpack.

Imagine growing up as a native English speaker, and then going to a country where they also speak English.

Most of the words you need to get by in an average day are already present. What’s missing are the words that help you understand the deeper cultural context. When the natives use those words, you know what they are saying; you may even know all the words; you just don’t know what they mean in a row.

Millsap was in a van on his way to New York when he talked to us. He’s playing Lincoln Center’s AmericanaFest NYC Saturday night, sharing the stage with Dr. John, Lucinda Williams and others. Later this year, he’ll tour with Sarah Jarosz. He’s busy because people are noticing that he is talented in a way that few are. In church, we would have called that gifting; it’s something God gives you. That’s how you talk about things in the Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal denomination in which Millsap (and I) grew up.

Whether or not God or the gods gave him the gift of music is a different question. It’s certain that he honed his craft at one of the few venues in the metro still committed to live music seven days a week.

“I played the Deli in Norman every Tuesday for two and a half years,” Millsap said. “It was great practice

performing in front of people. There were probably twenty people max at first. The Deli provided a good environment for trying out new songs, too.”

Yes, there will come a point at which we all regret not being at some of those free shows. That point may have been when Millsap made his appearance on Conan on July 14, or possibly when he released The Very Last Day on March 25. To be fair, “a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country…” That’s Bible talk, too, a way of saying that we did not recognize whom we had in our midst until outsiders recognized him.

The Conan performance featured the title track to the new album, and listeners who aren’t familiar with the Pentecostal obsession with the last days likely missed the lyrical fun Millsap has with his songwriting. A belief in the context of a religious community often needs something to make it sensible, a real world referent or analog. In the case of Armageddon, how to explain some of the verses in The Revelation—it’s decidedly not “Revelations”—that appear to reference a conflagration on a planetary scale?

Nuclear weapons were the answer to the old Pentecostal question of how the earth would be destroyed, thereby ushering in the final judgment. The congregants in the Assemblies of God and other like denominations grow up with the tension of “knowing” the world is coming to an end, but not really wanting it to happen. My Assembly of God maternal grandmother used to say, “I want to go home, but not today.” At the same time, they are torn by the desire to see the evil that, from their perspective, seems to be increasing come to an end. Everyone wants to go to heaven, right?

So, when Millsap juxtaposes the fiery chariot with an atomic bomb, it’s funny. Really funny for ex-Pentecostals.

Come on—the fiddler is using pizzicato during lyrics about a nuclear holocaust! That’s funny! Just like when Millsap sings about the sun (Apollo) stealing his true love on “Jealous Sun.” My ex-Pentecostal sensibility tells me to read that as Jealous Son, because when he sings “I can see how heaven could be lonely/But can’t he find someone who ain’t my only,” I just “know” he’s talking about Jesus.

Every fundamentalist kid, Pentecostal and other, grows up with the sexual tension of normal kids. They experiment, just like Baptists and Episcopalians and Zoroastrians. After those sessions—touching the boobs equals backsliding—the guilt sets in, and many repent. It’s like losing your girlfriend every week or every third day because she recommits to Jesus, the jealous son. See? It’s funny. Millsap found a way to integrate the language of continues on page 75

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UPTOWN/PASEO New Land Academy | Dorr Design Studio

PUTTING THE WORLD BACK TOGETHER, ONE KID AT A TIME

story by Greg Horton photos by Jonathan Burkhart

NEW LAND ACADEMY HELPS KIDS FROM WAR-TORN COUNTRIES BE KIDS AGAIN

To tell a story in Oklahoma, you often have to talk about religion, and not the “God thinks I’m awesome and wants me to be happy” kind, but the “God calls me to sacrifice comfort or take huge risks” kind. It doesn’t matter whether the reader/listener actually believes in a god or gods—that’s a very important point—because the story would make no sense without the protagonist’s belief.

Emilee Little believes God made a promise to her, and no matter what you think about religion or faith, New Land Academy exists and does amazing work because Little believes God told her something while she was on a trip to Colorado.

For the sake of the uninitiated or unbaptized or unbelieving, we’re not talking about God’s audible voice in an otherwise empty room kind of thing. Most Christians who believe God still speaks, believe God speaks internally, with a voice that is difficult to discern. “Some friends sent me to Colorado in 2012 for a sabbatical,” Little said.

“While I was there, God gave me a promise from Isaiah 54—expand your house…spare no expense.”

Little had been working in the mortgage and health care industries after college, but she wanted to do something that helped her community. She believed the biblical passage was an encouragement for her to help refugees in Oklahoma City.

“Kim Bandy, one of the directors of the Spero Project, called to tell me that girls she was working with were failing school,” Little said. “She asked if I’d quit my job and help these girls.”

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The girls were refugees from Eritrea, a nation in conflict with Ethiopia and itself over the past fifty years. The small east African nation is a closed, secretive state, and the instability following its 30-year civil war with Ethiopia made it nearly impossible for genuine education to take place.

One of those girls, Sambatu Usman, came to the U.S. six years ago with her parents and three siblings. Like most refugees in Oklahoma, the family was resettled by Catholic Charities, the only refugee resettlement service in the state. She was placed in a public school where, by her own admission, she struggled with learning, especially English and math. She was an eighth grader at the time, and now, at 17, she is a junior at New Land and on track to graduate next year.

Usman’s ability to catch up and graduate on time is impressive, and it’s very rare for refugee kids. The refugee life does not provide much time for formal education. Children can lose years of education while trying to survive.

Let’s pause for a moment and try to contemplate that; the challenge of trying to grow up and to learn within the context of such violence and war. And then trying to do that in a totally new land, culture, language.

Dropping refugee kids into an American public school makes it nearly impossible for them to succeed, especially given the overburdened state of our public schools combined with the foundationalist nature of education— each lesson, each chapter, each year is a building block for the next.

ready to call it quits on his education. (When I asked where New Land helps transition them back into formal he was from, he said Burma, not Myanmar. The Burmese education, and they do it in a way that recognizes the students tend to refer to it that way.) Oo works at a Valero unique gifts, abilities and problems each child brings. service station while completing his senior year at NLA. Junior Sambatu Usman plans on styling hair when she Little speaks of the humility in coming back to school at his graduates; she has not yet picked a school for cosmetolage, and Oo smiles, a bit embarrassed at the praise. ogy, but she’s already doing hair, living into the person she “Tell him what you’re doing now,” Little encourages. wants to become, the person she now, thanks to Little and “I have an internship,” Oo said. He looked at Little to NLA, has the space and grace to become. verify the word’s accuracy. She smiled and nodded.

New Land staff also recognize that identity and hope “One of our corporate partners has offered Zaw an can be battered from these children. Refugees don’t just internship at the company so he can work on his computer face the prospect of leaving their homes, settling in camps, programming,” she explained. and living hand-to-mouth; they also have to learn a new The company is NetSuite, and Daniel Cassil, the way of living if they are resettled in a stable environment, senior software engineer, teaches the NLA kids how to like Oklahoma City. Little explains it thus: “The average code, at least the ones who want to learn. NLA relies on stay in a refugee camp is 17 years. The kids come to us with private donations and a network of partners, including the amazing survival skills, and they speak multiple languages, Crestwood Vineyard church where the school is housed, to but the experience of living as a refugee causes dreams to make the program work. Little die. Since I was a little girl, my does have teachers on staff, but far parents told me I could do what “THE AVERAGE STAY IN A REFUGEE more come in on an adjunct basis I want to do, but these students CAMP IS 17 YEARS. THE KIDS COME to teach the kids academic or life have never had that experience.”

TO US WITH AMAZING SURVIVAL skills on this unassuming strip of This year, New Land has NW 16th Street near Villa. students from six countries: SKILLS, AND THEY SPEAK MULTIPLE Little’s philosophy is posted all Burma, Eritrea, India, Iraq, LANGUAGES, BUT THE EXPERIENCE OF over the school, visual reminders Jordan and Sudan. It was LIVING AS A REFUGEE CAUSES DREAMS that the kids matter, that they can seven last year, but Shazadah TO DIE. SINCE I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, MY dream, that they can, in Little’s Poyan graduated. She’s from words “unleash dreaming.

Afghanistan. Like the other PARENTS TOLD ME I COULD DO WHAT It’s the third prong of her students at NLA, she came to I WANT TO DO, BUT THESE STUDENTS approach to establishing each the school needing help tranHAVE NEVER HAD THAT EXPERIENCE.” child’s individual identity. They sitioning. “There was no real are the core of what NLA does: connection between the teachdiscovering identity, cultivating passion, and unleashing ers in public school and the students,” Poyan said. “At dreaming.

NLA, we are like a family, and they helped me figure out “We have to start undoing the lies they have absorbed in what I’m good at and what I want to do.” the refugee life,” Little said. “We move them from ‘I can’t’ to Poyan is Muslim; she’s from Kabul. It’s worth noting ‘I need help,’ and we help them believe they really are smart. that Little doesn’t care what religion her kids are; as far as They speak multiple languages, have developed survival she’s concerned, they are all created by God for a purpose, skills that most of us never need, navigated a new culture. and even the non-religious among us can get behind We combine that with a brief background and history of a process that helps kids dare to dream again. Poyan their own country before teaching them the history of their acknowledged that talking about the spiritual component new country.” was difficult at first, fraught with misunderstanding, but For the “cultivating passion” component, Little asked now they have moved to a position of mutual respect. herself a question: what would it look like to give refugee Poyan started her first semester at college in August. That kids a chance to do something they enjoy and at which they goal was one of the reasons her mother brought her and excel? “They are bogged down by self-sabotage when they her brother to the U.S. “I couldn’t get an education there,” first get resettled,” she said. “We move them past that, and Poyan said, matter-of-factly. teach them to move from passion to purpose, and not just Now, she’s working toward a dental hygiene program, for survival, but for a full life.” but that’s not necessarily where she wants to end up. She Mu Paw is also Burmese, and the 14-year old has thought about dental school, but needs to make money absorbed the lesson of finding joy in something she does. sooner than the eight or so years it would take to pull that For Paw, it’s dance. The freshman said she struggled to learn off, so she said, “The dental hygiene career may just be my in public school; she felt shy and couldn’t read well. Now, first career. I may do another degree after.” though, she can’t not smile when she talks about dance.

From the shambles that is contemporary Afghanistan Why dance? to a girl dreaming of multiple college degrees—that is the Paw shrugs and smiles. “I love to dance.” And she loves NLA project in a nutshell, a crazy, dream-big, no whining, hip-hop dance. The kids take an elective class at Studio 7, get-shit-done kind of program that unbreaks the world. where Stacey Johnson, another partner, teaches a dance Zaw Oo is a 23-year-old Burmese student. Yes, 23. In class. the public school system, he aged out at 21, but he wasn’t continues on page 64

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DORR DESIGN STUDIO story by Jessica Valentine photo by Sarah James Dorr

It’s easy to overlook Dustin Dorr’s Paseo design studio. The tan brick building just east of popular dive bar The Red Rooster stood vacant on 30th and Walker for years—that is until the 41-year-old interior designer returned to his roots. In August of 2014, Dorr relocated to Oklahoma City to forge his own design path and be a part of the city’s entrepreneurial current.

After earning a degree in architecture from the University of Colorado, the OKC native moved to California with his soon-to-be wife and fellow Oklahoman, Sarah James, in 2003. He eventually earned another Bachelor’s in interior design from the Interior Designers Institute in Newport Beach. However, it was 2006 when he made a decision that would define his career. He accepted a gig with renowned interior designer John Wooden (grandson of the famous UCLA basketball coach of the same name), and became a partner in John Wooden Interiors.

Wooden, having more of an artistic background and 17 years experience working with high-end clients, complemented Dorr’s architecturally cultivated education in what Dorr describes as “the perfect balance.”

“I learned a lot from him,” Dorr says. “I think he learned a lot from me as well, and it was an opportunity that was hard to leave. We had built that company for ten years.”

Relocating across the country is a big decision, but even more so when your spouse also has a successful career.

Sarah is a major national blogger who started whoorl.com in 2005, a beauty and lifestyle blog that has earned her TV spots on Nightline and Rachael Ray, commercials with

Barrios / According to Keith Paul, the 5,000 square foot A Good Egg Mexican concept will open in late October. Featuring a 2,000 square foot patio and seating for 200 (100 in/100 out), the restaurant will be helmed by Chef de Cuisine Chad Willis, and the bar will specialize in high quality tequila and craft cocktails.

Levi’s and Pantene, a feature story in The New York Times, and numerous other appearances.

Let’s be honest. Maintaining an online presence with TV appearances is easier on the West Coast, given the abundance of stereotypes about Oklahoma as flyover country. Yet Dorr says he experienced something unexpected from colleagues and friends when he broke the news about his move.

“Everybody was so envious, and it was interesting to hear,” Dorr says. “There’s so much opportunity here, and I’m excited to share my experience. There’s an excitement around here that even people in California were completely intrigued [about].”

His studio is an eclectic mix of mid-century vintage furniture accented by long, hanging sculptures made of fiberglass collected from wrecked boats. Yet once inside, there are no prices on anything. Is the space more of an inventory of items yet to find homes in customer homes?

Just ask. Dorr’s studio also showcases the minimalist abstract and mixed media paintings created by his older brother, Christopher Dorr.

This kind of “collecting and acquiring,” as Dorr describes it, is part of his mission. “Those two things in an interior are critical,” Dorr said. “If it doesn’t look collected and acquired, it looks like you hired a designer or just went to a showroom and bought what they had.”

Dustin Dorr studio, 401 NW 30th St. (405) 702-7234. dustindorr.com @dustindorr @whoorl @christophersdorr

ur.bun / The third concept from Daniel Chae, this Tower Theatre complex restaurant will bring the Korean-inspired steam buns Chae does so remarkably well to Uptown 23rd. According to Chae, the concept will open in October and we cannot wait.

Gatewood Home & Garden Tour / One of Oklahoma City's prettiest neighborhoods opens its doors and gardens, and includes a semi-famous haunted house on October 25. Advance tickets $12 at GatewoodOKC.com.

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4416 N. Western Ave., Oklahoma City 73118 | ketchdesigncentre.com | (405) 525-7757 Follow us!

WESTERN AVE SQ 777 | A Grand Dame Reimagined | A Purpose-Driven Life | Derian in OKC | Nextdoor

SQ 777 AND THE FUTURE OF LAND, FOOD, AND FARM ANIMAL WELFARE IN OKC story by George Lang photo by David Jennings

The future of farming in Oklahoma could come down to a state question on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, a measure that, if approved by the majority of voters, could make it nearly impossible to pass legislation regulating farming practices. Supporters promote the measure as a way to “defend those hard-working family farmers and ranchers that do so much for us,” but State Rep. Jason Dunnington said the measure is a power grab by corporations looking to operate with impunity.

“I’ve been opposed to 777 for a couple of years now,” said Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City. “I think it opens the door for corporate farming and ranching practices that will, in the long term, be harmful for Oklahoma family farmers and ranchers.”

Authored by State Rep. Scott Biggs (R-Chickasha) and State Sen. Jason Smalley (R-Stroud), State Question 777 asks Oklahoma voters to amend the state constitution to include the following language: “The Legislature shall pass no law which abridges the right of citizens and lawful residents of Oklahoma to employ agricultural technology and livestock production and ranching practices without a compelling state interest.”

SQ 777 is just the latest in a series of state constitutional amendments working their way through America’s bread basket. In 1996, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative group authoring language for pro-business legislation, developed the model language for SQ 777. While it originally was to be used as a template for state-level legislation, ALEC later shifted to a strategy calling for constitutional amendments.

The first successful campaign of this type took place in North Dakota in 2012 and passed with 67 percent of the vote, followed by a nearly identical state question in Missouri in 2014 that narrowly succeeded. However, an attempt to push through a SQ 777-style initiative in Nebraska failed last year when its sponsor withdrew the bill in an effort to clarify its language.

The organization pushing SQ 777 passage in Oklahoma is called Oklahoma Farmers Care. The successful push in

Missouri was led by a group calling itself Missouri Farmers Care, an organization whose website opens with a photo showing the mascot for the St. Louis Cardinals posing with cow, pig, corn cob and egg mascots in Busch Stadium.

While the organization’s name and presentation suggest a grassroots movement, large agribusiness companies such as Cargill and Monsanto, as well as the Missouri-based Hunte Corporation, the world’s largest commercial pet distribution company, lead the membership.

Dunnington was co-plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the Tahlequah-based Save the Illinois River (STIR), which sought to remove SQ 777 from the Nov. 8 ballot on constitutional grounds, but the suit was dismissed by Oklahoma County District Judge Patricia Parrish. Dunnington, who comes from a family of Indiana farmers, said the greatest concern he has is for independent farmers or landowners whose lives are negatively impacted by large agribusiness concerns.

“Their practices will be driven by bottom line and profitability,” Dunnington said. “That could impact neighboring farms that are doing their job to preserve the land and ensure that it is farmable for years to come. So, if a rural farmer out in Blaine County has a problem because a new hog facility has come in and is spreading waste that is entering their water stream, or just the smell of it is making their family sick or is affecting their own livestock, instead of going to their state legislator … they would instead have to sue a multinational corporation out of their own pockets.”

The campaign to pass SQ 777, which is supported by both the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, prompted the nonpartisan Kirkpatrick Foundation to post a “frequently asked questions” section on its web site, located at www.kirkpatrickfoundation.com.

SQ 777’s implications for both the environment and animal well-being, two key areas of interest for the foundation, receive considerable attention in the FAQ, including the effect of neonicotinoid pesticides on the population of pollinating insects such as bees. continues on page 62

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A GRAND DAME REIMAGINED AS THE COACH HOUSE BECOMES THE HUTCH, OKC CUISINE MAKES A DECISIVE SHIFT

If all goes as planned, by the time this issue hits the streets, The Hutch on Avondale will be reshaping the Nichols Hills culinary landscape. That’s not to say En Croute won’t have an impact, or that The Metro will still be anything less than excellent, but it is to acknowledge that the closing of the Coach House is as much about the loss of an icon as it is about the transition in customer preferences.

Newcomers to Oklahoma notice pretty quickly how casual the culture can be, including casual friendliness, casual concern, and casual attire. This impatience for the formal affects our culinary culture as well. According to Kurt Fleischfresser, the culinary landscape is shifting nationally, and The Hutch is simply one among many concepts that will attempt to address customer preference for casual.

“The Grande Dame restaurants are going by the wayside all over the country,” Fleischfresser said. “Much of it is due to the mentality of diners, which is casual and easygoing is what they want. They don’t want to dress up for dinner anymore.”

story by Greg Horton photos by Rachel Apple

Some of that is attributable to shrinking attention spans and a revaluation of particular cultural practices, including the formal dinner. “We started changing service at Coach House over the past few years,” Fleischfresser said. “People didn’t want to sit, talk, order a drink, get the menu after a drink, have silverware brought out for each course—those things just weren’t as important to them as they used to be.”

Lamenting the death of a cultural tradition seems pointless, especially when the tradition didn’t add anything terribly substantive to our lives. We can still have meaningful conversations in a casual setting; ties, jackets and polished shoes add nothing of substance. Sorry to the dapper dudes out there who still sadly believe clothes make the man.

What matters for The Hutch going forward is the quality of the food and the quality of service. And while Fleischfresser and others believe the pendulum will swing back, for now we have the food culture as it is, not as old-schoolers or traditionalists prefer it. The good news continues on page 62

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A Grand Dame Reimagined from page 61

here is that The Hutch is in the capable culinary hands of Executive Chef David Henry, one of Fleischfresser’s apprenticeship graduates and the chef de cuisine at The Coach House the past few years.

Sampling Henry’s food is a sort of assurance that things are going to be fine, even if the setting is more casual.

“I hesitate to call us casual or upscale casual or any of

those categories,” Henry said. “If you’ve had my food, you know I take it seriously, and I pay attention to details and flavor and presentation.”

All that is absolutely true, and it doesn’t matter if he’s delivering the new bison burger at The Hutch or the Dover sole at The Coach House. Henry cares about food, and he delivers it with style, elegance and a commitment to superior quality. Still, he’s a fan of the casual environment.

“I went to Dallas recently, and we ate at some amazing restaurants,” he said. “I didn’t dress up. I don’t want to dress up.”

Honestly, it’s not as if the market ought to determine everything, but if customers want to come in shorts and hand you money, why would anyone care? Fleischfresser said he’s already heard from old Coach House regulars how much they hate the idea of The Hutch, but there have been far more who are excited about this transition.

“For everyone who thinks they’re going to hate it, I guess the only thing to say is that what we were doing, and what some preferred, didn’t keep The Coach House full,” Fleischfresser said.

The logistics of the front of house are now going to be up to managing partner Kyle Fleischfresser. (Henry is a managing partner, too, and it’s also a Western Concepts restaurant.) The second-generation restaurateur brings a wealth of experience with the bar and front of house, so the cocktails and wine list are apt to be excellent. He will oversee a dining room with a capacity of about 75, which means The Hutch is going to focus on being a neighborhood restaurant, not a destination restaurant or event space.

The three menus will reflect that neighborhood restaurant vibe: lots of salads, burgers, sandwiches, salmon, pork and chicken. Nothing overly complicated, but Henry is not one to skimp on ingredients or complexity. Dinner will still feature an excellent steak, chops and fish, but the lunch menu will be far larger than The Coach House ever offered. Brunch is sort of lunch plus, but there will be more entrees, including pancake fritters with lemon curd and berry compote, omelettes, and biscuits and gravy with deli grind gravy.

If the trend continues and we are committed to casual dining, the casual can always describe the atmosphere without describing the food. If The Hutch is any indication, the food quality is not going down just because the ambience is transitioning.

Follow on Facebook for info. 6437 Avondale Dr., Nichols Hills Plaza. (405) 842-1000.

SQ 777 from page 60

In addition, the Kirkpatrick Foundation points to the extraordinary level of protection and exemption from legislative oversight that SQ 777 would provide to this one type of business. No other Oklahoma business sector enjoys the treatment that SQ 777 would provide, and while the amendment claims that agriculture “is the foundation and stabilizing force of Oklahoma’s economy,” it makes up less than two percent of the state’s gross domestic product, according to the foundation.

Dunnington points to the 1992 passage of SQ 640, an amendment that required a three-quarters majority for any 62

revenue bills to pass in both the state House and Senate, as an example of state questions leading to unforeseen consequences. Dunnington explains: “Essentially, changing the Constitution has made it nearly impossible to raise taxes in the state regardless of the economic situation or needs of average Oklahomans. It’s a good example of why we shouldn’t change the Constitution without very careful consideration. What people needed in 1992 is not helping us at all in 2016.”

A PURPOSEDRIVEN LIFE WHY PLANNING—AND SMART BRANDING—MIGHT JUST BE WORTH THE HASSLE story by Emily Hopkins photo by Jessi Chapman Dinnertime quickly approaches and my refrigerator’s sole contents are a half-empty jar of marinara sauce, some vegetable broth, and seven cans of Miller Lite (the boyfriend’s).

If I’d planned ahead, I would’ve stopped off at the store rather than adding another Postmates order to my embarrassingly food-driven credit card statement.

Enter Whitney English, a woman whose kitchen most certainly isn’t bare. This Oklahoma City-based entrepreneur, stationery designer, and all-around patron saint for Type A personalities everywhere hit a chaos-ridden pothole a few years back. She needed a way to merge her packed schedule with a straightforward to-do list, wrapping it all in one neat little package.

Her now best-selling Day Designer does that and so much more. It’s a planner, sure, but it’s the underlying architecture that matters here. Whitney took all the components of a regular planner, and created elements that attempt to deepen the form. Her four-stop process hopes to “help you design and plan a beautiful life.” Intro pages ask you to dream, brainstorm, turn tasks into goals, and assign due dates on detailed charts. Yikes…and yes. English’s mantra, living with intention, requires attention.

At first it’s a little intimidating, not gonna lie. But it’s also self-empowering. One journal page is a grid of “action items” arranged by categories that begin with “Help Yourself,” and continue to “Everyone Else.”

We like that priority order there. Apparently, so do thousands of others. This is the power of holistic, attractive branding genius, folks. Her site contains free and downloadable pages to help with focus and intention-setting.

(Just enter your email! Such a smart way to capture potential customers.) Affordable printable workbooks are there, too. Purchasers of the Day Designer are invited to enter the monthly contest for a full refund—one need only create a pretty post of one’s Day Designer on Instagram. If there is a savvier, cheaper form of marketing, we don’t know it.

Day Designer and its creator have amazingly consistent presences on Instagram, with 82.8k followers for @ thedaydesigner, and 49k on her personal feed @whitneyenglish. Target now carriers a simplified version of her planners ($12). But Susan Kropp, owner of Midtown’s Chirps & Cheers, swears by the more complex components in the deluxe version; she sells out of them quickly.

Whitney took a few moments out to chat: How would you describe the notion of "living with intention”? It’s really built around the concept that

sometimes we get up and we let the day run us. We haven’t stopped to put a schedule in place, we haven’t stopped to prioritize and we haven’t stopped to consider what our focus needs to be — not just on a daily basis, but in life. So we end up doing things that don’t really get us to where we want to go. But if we stop to make a plan, pick a focus and look at the big picture, it’s easier to… achieve your goals. It’s small, little, incremental things that end up being life-changing.

Does living with intention leave room for spontaneity?

I think it depends on how adaptable you are. Some people, if they write something down, then they’re absolutely going to do it — come hell or high water, as my grandmother would say. I try to forgive myself for things I don’t get done. I’m not grading myself by how much I got done on that to-do list every day.

What do you write in your planner? Mostly to-dos.

Family stuff in one color and work stuff in another color, which helps me to easily see how I’m spending my time on a daily basis. I’ve got everything from “get cupcakes for school” to “schedule a photoshoot.” I’ll actually sit in front of my email, go through my inbox and transfer [the email tasks] to my planner.

How has setting a course for the day impacted you? I’m a mom, and I want to build a relationship with my kids.

But phones are such temptations. Our phones are the first things that many of us look at in the morning. But on the days where I’ve looked at my planner before I looked at my phone … I have my planner by the side of the bed, I’ve looked at it the night before and am figuring out what the focus for the next day needs to be … it’s a better day. It’s like a shot of dopamine.

WhitneyEnglish.com and DayDesigner.com 63

DERIAN IN OKC

New Land Academy from page 55

story by Veronica Pasfield

photo by Julia Cumes

There is a cult in OKC, and it runs strong and it runs deep.

Preachers need not fret, though. This coven is driven by style, nostalgia, and a passion for the artisan-made objet d’art—specifically the decorative arts of John Derian Company. Derian’s long-hoped-for book launched this fall, and the artist will be signing books at Bebe’s on October 18th. (Was that a small squeal we heard?)

John Derian Picture Book is pure lusciousness. “For the last 20 years, my only vision was to do a book with just pictures, no text, no page numbers, a wordless cover,” Derian explained. “It was always about the purity and beauty of the images.”

Derian culls archives for vintage letterpress, handscribed correspondence, and other ephemera. His team decoupages these elements onto decorative objects such as trays, vases, cake stands, etc. Many a Nichols Hills home features an entire wall devoted to Derian trays, displayed like fine paintings. Those of us who don’t have a Derian wall quietly hate those who do.

For the uninitiated, decoupage is a nearly lost art of painstakingly scissor-cutting printed material and then sealing it onto a glass surface such as a tray. Check out Derian stories on marthastewart.com and the Vimeo at johnderian.com.

Anna Wintour, long-time Vogue editor and inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada, frequents Derian’s NYC shops.

She wrote the book’s foreword.

“Anna in fact instigated the book,” Derian said. “She was looking for a book project for a friend, and asked if I was doing (one). My good friend is a book agent and I said--after years of him teasing me about not doing a book-that it was time to rethink it. I believe (Anna) understands beauty better than anyone.”

Most pleasurable of all: the humor and a fetishistic fascination with the past that run through Derian’s designs. “I see the beauty in the perfectly imperfect.”

Bebe’s, 6480 Avondale, Nichols Hills (405) 843-8431. @shopbebes 64

Here again is a child from one of the world’s most restrictive, secretive and war-torn nations, a nation struggling to be more open, but with a history of civil war, totalitarianism, military dictatorships and child soldiers, and she is planning to pursue her love for hip-hop dance. The juxtaposition of her past with her future is astounding.

Little is preparing to help kids from what are perhaps the two worst places on earth to be a kid right now.

Catholic Charities is expecting an influx of Syrian and Congolese immigrants this year.

Syria’s war is well documented, but the Congo has been a hellhole since 1994, when the fallout of the genocide in Rwanda spilled over the border. That was followed by civil war in 1996. The human rights violations are innumerable, including the intentional use of gang rape as a weapon of war. These are children who are familiar with horrors from which most Americans avert their eyes when they scroll across our screens.

New Land began with three Eritrean students in a house off NW 43rd. It now has 21 students enrolled, and they moved into the Crestwood facility over Christmas break last year. NLA takes referrals from Catholic Charities, but as their reputation has grown, they now get referrals from the public schools, too. They are fully accredited and Little expects the growth to continue every year. That’s a weird way to have to think about a job or a calling, though. The growth of the school means that refugees are still coming, which means somewhere in the world people in power—or who want power— are breaking the world. The children, as always, are the most vulnerable victims. Little is prepared for more kids, though, and much of that does come from her faith.

“Education is human formation,” she said, “and because I think we are spiritual creatures, it is impossible to do human formation apart from spirituality.”

It is difficult to recognize how much I—as an adjunct professor myself—agree with the first clause, but balk so strongly at everything that follows. Still, the question of whether or not faith or spirituality are critical to human formation is not of paramount importance when the work that New Land is doing is so obviously necessary and effective. If the children already believe in God, why not help them see God as one who wants them to find their unique identity and unleash their dreams? Why not create a new generation of healed humans who can join in the task of unbreaking the world?

In Judaism there is an ethos best summed up by the phrase “tikkun olam,” to heal the world. The purpose of religion in its best guise is to unbreak what we have broken. Little, like her students, is daring to dream that she can help bend the arc of the universe back toward justice and hope, and in the process unbreak the lives that war and famine and corruption have shattered. It’s a crazy dream, and it’s working.

If you’ d like to help, find out more at newlandacademy.com.

YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: DIGITALLY REMASTERED NEXTDOOR APP PROVIDES A NEW SENSE OF COMMUNITY WHILE UNEARTHING SOCIAL AND SECURITY ISSUES story by Garrett Davis

In early July, a young woman named Caitlin strolled around the historic Mesta Park area, attempting to beat the afternoon heat. A green convertible passed her and turned the corner. She thought nothing of it until the car reappeared behind her and inched by, the driver distastefully analyzing her. Caitlin sped up her pace and called her husband. While on the phone, she came upon the same car and saw that the driver was masturbating. She ran home and posted the occurrence on the Nextdoor app on her phone.

“I made (the post) to warn other women who were walking out in the neighborhood by themselves...and I think it made people more aware of what can happen in their neighborhood,” Caitlin said.

Eventually, with the help of other Nextdoor app users in adjoining neighborhoods, Oklahoma City police officers reportedly apprehended the man and subsequently charged him with several crimes.

Similarly, a summerlong crime spree of car and garage break-ins has alerted Edgemere residents, who have been sharing info and surveillance images with one another and police.

Nextdoor app is much more than a community-wide safety measure, though. Uniting the community seems to be an important, recurring theme within the posts of Nextdoor. Posts about lost animals and their eventual reunion with relieved owners pepper the lost and found pages. Warnings of faulty contractors and botched housing jobs are common, as are event announcements such as park cleanups. Social questions and advice on finding a school suitable for children with autism show the app being used in more substantive ways, too.

Suburbanization and social media create this confusing tug of war; for every street full of strangers, there’s the promise of connection through Twitter and Facebook

feeds. The Nextdoor app is a new platform to enhance the sense of being “neighborly”—as long as everyone minds their manners, of course.

Corrie Matchell, a frequent user of Nextdoor, moved to Military Park six months ago and discovered Nextdoor to be a fantastic way to not only meet her new neighbors, but also make her residence safer. “(Nextdoor) has been a great way to use technology to connect people who might not be willing to go out and meet their neighbors,” Matchell said.

“It’s really good to be aware and to look out for each other.

It’s kind of the 21st-century Neighborhood Watch.”

Over the summer, Matchell notified her community of the erratic behavior of a nearby female resident. The woman was noted to walk the streets at unusual hours, sometimes yelling at Military Park dwellers.

Late one night, Matchell found her erratic neighbor lounging on her porch furniture. It spurred Mitchell to seek some sort of aid for the woman.

A very active discussion ensued, with substantive advice and offers of assistance.

“I really wanted to see if anyone could do anything to help her. We needed to come together to find some ways to support her because she is part of our community,” Matchell said.

Now more than ever, communities depend on others for aid. Maybe we don’t put pies on our windowsills or leave our doors unlocked anymore, but we should make an effort to know the folks who live around us. If we are indeed products of our society, then as Okies, we should be gracious, accepting, hospitable and thoughtful. So if you ever have a question concerning a lost dog, a yard sale or neighborhood safety, the person living across the street, down the block or simply next door might have the answer.

“A SUMMER-LONG CRIME SPREE OF CAR AND GARAGE BREAK-INS HAS ALERTED EDGEMERE RESIDENTS, WHO HAVE BEEN SHARING INFO AND SURVEILLANCE IMAGES WITH ONE ANOTHER AND POLICE. ”

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TAILORED FINANCING FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR.

Now o pen in d owntown O k l a h o m a C i ty.

OKLAHOMA

TEXAS

VBANK.COM

POINTS NORTH They Were Just Playing | From Scratch, for Realz | Cycles of Challenge and Grace

THEY WERE JUST PLAYING

MASTER FIDDLER BYRON BERLINE ON PLAYING WITH THE STONES AND WATCHING DYLAN AT NEWPORT

story by Justin Fortney photo by Trace Thomas

It’s Sunday morning in downtown Guthrie, and Byron Berline is standing on the sidewalk, locking the door to his second-story music hall. He exchanges polite greetings with passersby while moving a few musical odds and ends (from the previous evening’s concert) back to his fiddle shop on the ground floor. It’s the kind of ordinary ritual that is repeated maybe thousands of times during the lifetime of a musician like Berline.

Within the unending parade of those ordinary rituals—practice, performance, jamming, setting up, tearing down—one would be hard pressed to run into a local Oklahoma fixture who’s given witness to more extraordinary, defining moments in the landscape of rock and roll.

Bill Monroe, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, and Lucinda Williams have all set studio microphones in front of Byron, and they’re just a few of the legendary artists one can pull out of his resume. When rock and roll and country music were just figuring out how to push forward together into the latter half of the 20th century, Berline was there playing his fiddle—a young man from tiny Caldwell, Kansas, living in Oklahoma, and leaving his fingerprints on classic albums like The Stones’ Let It Bleed.

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Imagine, if you can (and we’re sorry for you if you can’t) track 3, a song about a honky tonk woman. A guitar starts off with a jangly riff, a car honks in the background, then a slinky fiddle line picks up the melody and carries the tune.

By the time Mick Jagger enters with the lyrics, it’s an afterthought. That fiddle was Oklahoma’s Byron Berline.

If you trace the lineage of Ryan Adams, The Avetts, or Sturgill Simpson, you’ll eventually make it back to a magic hour when Gram Parsons, Keith Richards, Emmylou Harris, and Bob Dylan were lining up their bottles of lightning. They mined a mixture of genres to give pop music an authentic voice. And at the center of it all was Byron Berline, with his fiddle, sliding those high and lonesome notes into the fabric of rock and roll.

There’s a certain Gump-esque storyline to Berline’s life; you almost can’t believe all the things he witnessed. It’s a musician’s story that’s compelling both for the moments of historical lore and for the subtle ways he’s shaped the culture of places around him—including the 20th anniversary Oklahoma’s International Bluegrass Festival in Guthrie (Sept. 29-Oct. 1).

“THE STONES’ MANAGER CALLED ME LATE ONE NIGHT; I’LL NEVER FORGET THAT: “I’M WITH THE ROLLING STONES.” I SAID, “THE MAGAZINE?” “NO NO. THE GROUP.” JF: What made you decide to put so much time and effort into this festival 20 years ago?

BB: I got the idea from traveling to Europe and Japan, and every country had bluegrass bands … a lot of those folks would ask me what it’s like to play in the United States, so I said, ‘Why don’t we have an international festival where we invite groups from all over the world to come perform and see some of their mentors and people they’ve listened to?’ The first year we had Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs, plus about eight international bands.

JF: The first year I came to the festival, Emmylou Harris was the headliner, and Sam Bush was playing mandolin for her.

BB: That was the second year. Sam Bush was with her.

Jerry Douglas (renowned dobro player), too. Those folks were all friends that were just doing me a favor, which was really helpful getting us started.

JF: You knew Emmylou through Gram Parsons, right?

(Parsons was a legendary member of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers) BB: Well, I was on tour with The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1970 or ’71, and Gram was on his own. He came to see us in Virginia. The night before, Emmylou had sat in with us at a place in D.C. called the Cellar Door. We were

sitting in the dressing room in Virginia, and Gram said, “I wanna do some duets with a female singer. Know anybody I could do that with?” And Chris Hillman (Burrito Brothers) and I said, ‘Yeah, we just played with this girl the night before,’ and we gave him Emmylou’s number.

Well, she flew out to LA, and it worked. So then Gram, of course, then OD’d, died about a year or two later [Ed: in 1973]. We were talking with our manager shortly after Gram’s death, and we said, “Go get Emmylou her own recording contract! She’s that good!” They signed her and eventually got Elvis’ players to record with her.

JF: You’re well known for playing with so many brilliant artists, including the Rolling Stones. I had read somewhere that when you recorded for “Country Honk” (many mistake the song title as “Honky Tonk Woman”), the Stones had you record out on the sidewalk?

BB: It was at Elektra Studios in LA. I played the part through a couple times, and I thought they didn’t like it, maybe they were just gonna send me home. Then they said they wanted me to go out on the sidewalk and record.

Nice ambience. Everybody back then was trying different things. Weird stuff. It was like a big party. The Doors came continues on page 72

OKLAHOMA INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 1

Tickets $15-80, www.oibf.com

An absurd number of banjos, fiddles, mandolins, and guitars converge on the empty Cottonwood Flats of Guthrie. The Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival (OIBF) attracts expert bluegrass players from across the globe. OIBF hangs its hat on two things: mind-blowing musicians and a campground experience around which many attendees plan their whole year.

For most of the year, Cottonwood Flats is a cleared-out street grid from days gone by. Where once stood an entire neighborhood, now there are just empty blocks and grassy fields. During OIBF, these fields turn into a tent/RV city.

There are even miniature versions of cities within the campground. If someone invites you to hang out at the

Stillwater camp, do not say no. (Do not plan on getting any sleep.) During John Fullbright’s set last year, he pined from the stage about his own past campground experiences at the fest.

The western swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown headlines. Plenty of acts add a little vaudeville to their picking prowess–The Cleverlys, Steve n’ Seagulls (watch their viral version of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”), and the Hank Williams tribute band Hankerin’ 4 Bluegrass. The Turnpike Troubadours takes folks into the wee hours Friday.

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FROM SCRATCH, FOR REALZ

story by Greg Horton photos by Trace Thomas

EDMOND’S THE HASH RETRO DINER SHOWS US HOW IT’S DONE

The entire country is currently having a love affair with modern diners, so much so, that things that aren’t diners are being called diners. Fundamentally speaking, diners are supposed to have counters. No counter, no diner.

Now that my only objection to The Hash Retro Diner is out of the way, you should know that you should absolutely drive to Edmond for a waffle. Vetiana “Vet” Phiasiripanyo opened The Hash in June, 2015. Vet has been in food service for nearly 25 years, and he’s only 43. His culinary career has included stops at The Metro, Portobello’s (RIP) and Galileo’s. For you Okie newbies, before they were Picasso Cafe and The Other Room, Vet and his partners owned those spaces, and they were called Galileo’s and Isis.

Vet chose food service as a way to support his family, and it became his career. “I was finishing my undergraduate degree, and I wanted to apply for the (physicians assistant) program at OUHSC,” he said. “My wife at the time was pregnant, though, and I needed a way to provide for my family.”

Rather than go to medical school, Vet partnered with a friend who owns Katie’s Diner in Guthrie. The Hash is architecturally a café, but the food is classic American diner.

“For me, the diner is about food with fewer ingredients and everything is made from scratch,” Vet said. “Cooking

70

from the days when diners were everywhere didn’t have premade dishes; you made your own gravy and sausage.”

In fact, his parents make the sausage that The Hash uses in their dishes. The herbs come from Vet’s backyard. If you walk into his kitchen, you find ingredients, not premade food. In that way, it’s similar to his good friend Vuong Nguyen’s concept, Bonjour. They’ve been friends since childhood, and the two believe passionately in food from scratch—all the way down to the housemade catsup and creamer.

“I don’t want to buy things in bags if I can make them myself,” Vet said. “We wanted The Hash to specialize in food made from scratch, and while we didn’t want to go as upscale as Bonjour, we wanted the same commitment to food prepared a certain way.”

Since his background is fine dining, it’s hard for some of that not to seep into his processes, even presentation. If you are thinking hash looks a certain way when it hits the table, then the hash dishes here will surprise you with the care taken in presentation. What matters, though, is quality and consistency, and The Hash has both (as well as diner menu authenticity).

The latter is partly due to another of Vet’s good friends.

Frank Giles is a preacher from Newcastle, Okla., and he has an unusual hobby. “He likes to go to libraries and research

old recipes,” Vet explains. “A lot of our recipes came from his research. His son Mason is our kitchen manager, too.”

For any of you old enough to remember when schools and churches produced fund-raising cookbooks with parent or parishioner recipes, you will understand the treasure that awaits anyone patient enough to search the stacks at small-town libraries. These were recipes from the golden age before every damn dish included “one can cream of mushroom soup.” My mother’s snickerdoodle recipe—still one of the greatest cookies of my life—came from a church cookbook.

The research has certainly provided authenticity to Vet’s cooking, but so has hard work and patience. The waffle recipe is Vet’s own, and he has developed it through trial and error. I should be clear here: I don’t think there is a better sweet waffle in Oklahoma City. It is perfectly crispy on the outside, and light and cakey inside. The four of us who shared one for the table came within a hair’s breadth of fencing with our silverware to get more than our neighbor.

“A lot of places just use pancake batter to make pancakes and waffles,” Vet said. “That makes them too dense. I wanted a balance between the crispy exterior and an emphasis on the cake inside. I use yeast in the batter, and I won’t use all-purpose flour. That makes it too dense, too, so I use cake flour like a baker would use.”

The difference is remarkable. We shared some really good food at The Hash, and consistent with the American diner theme, most of it was simple and delicious. But that waffle is transcendent. Drive there. Get one. Do not share it with the table. They don’t deserve it as much as you do, especially if you drove.

The good news for us non-Edmondites is that Vet and his partner are looking for an Oklahoma City location.

He’s hoping for 2017; we’re hoping for sooner. He makes occasional tweaks to the menu, too, so by the time this goes to print, he’ll have red velvet pancakes and pineapple upside down pancakes on the menu.

One other slight criticism is worth noting. The service on weekends can be frenetic and irregular. I asked him about the logistics of the front of house—he has fine dining experience, after all—and he said that they could do better by hiring a hostess or busser, but he wants his staff to earn a fair living. That’s an excellent point in a world where breakfast servers are chronically under-tipped.

I believe it was H. Jackson Brown, Jr., who came up with the admonition to “overtip breakfast waitresses.” The advice was part of his “Life’s Little Instruction Book,” and while we can update “waitress” to “server” now and avoid the sexism, the advice is still solid. The tickets at breakfast tend to be much smaller, but the back and forth from kitchen or coffee pot to the table is far more frequent. So, after you eat the waffle, tip well.

Facebook is the best place to find info online.

1149 E. 2nd St., Edmond; (405) 471-6747.

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They Were Just Playing from page 69

down. Leon Russell was there. He played some piano a time or two with them back in those days. Robert Altman, the director, was there with Bonnie Bramlett, and he took a picture of her looking out the window at me playing on the sidewalk.

Gram Parsons got me that gig. He was hanging out with the Stones and Keith Richards, and he was trying to get them to do more country stuff. I was on the farm in Oklahoma at the time, and the Stones’ manager called me late one night; I’ll never forget that: “I’m with the Rolling Stones.” I said, “The magazine?” “No, no, the group.” I was planning on being in California anyway, in six days.

They said no, we need you tomorrow. I remember what the airline ticket cost: $79. I thought it was high.

That was 1969.

on key or what? But he did! He was as sharp as he could be. I never seen anybody do that in my life. Guess who else came in the studio to sing with us? Gary Busey! It was quite a time.

The conversation veers back to Bob Dylan I was at Newport in ’65, and we heard all this booing and commotion and carryin’ on (as Dylan went electric). I thought, ‘What is he doing?’

JF: Wait. You were there for Dylan at Newport (Folk Festival)? [Ed: When hard-core folk fans booed him off-stage for plugging in and copping out on the folk movement’s acoustic sound and political songwriting.]

BB: Yeah, my dad and I were invited. That’s where I met Bill Monroe. (Byron would later join Bill Monroe’s band, The Bluegrass Boys.) It’s funny how things fall into place.

JF: All those amazing people you recorded with … what were some that were most meaningful to you?

BB: So many of them were really interesting characters.

Bob Dylan, you can imagine what that’s like working with him. You have time for me to tell you about it?

JF: Yes. Yes, I do.

BB: 1972, maybe. I recorded with him on the movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. So I went in, and Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is playing banjo, Bruce Langhorne on guitar, and Bob Dylan on guitar, and I was playing fiddle. There was an instrumental we recorded called “Turkey Chase.” Then he asked me if I could sing, and I said sure. So Dylan has me get around a mic with two gals and myself, and we sing the background vocals for “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”

A lot of kids don’t know about this now, but back then they put out things called 45s to play on jukeboxes, or you could buy ’em for a $1. Shortly after that I saw Dylan again, and he told me this story. He said—and he doesn’t talk much—but he said, “I was coming through New Mexico on my way to LA, and I had to get some fuel. So I stopped, put some gas in. Went in to pay for it. The guy behind the desk goes, “You’re Bob Dylan, aren’t you?” “I am.” “We play your record in here on the jukebox all the time. We love it! That “Turkey Chase” is great!’”

Well, “Turkey Chase” was on the back side of the “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” 45. Just an instrumental.

They never touched “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” the hit.

I thought that was funny.

A customer walks in, chats with Byron about some things she wants to buy, and eventually asks him if he ever met Kris Kristofferson.

BB: Oh yeah. I had a group called Sundance.

Kristofferson’s producer with A&M Records said he liked our band’s vocals, so he asked if we’d come in and sing background vocals on Kris’s album. “If you don’t like Hank Williams, you can kiss my ass” – that was a song on there (laughs). Anyhow, we go in there, and Kris has Wild Turkey and tequila, a quart in each hand. Plus he’s smoking a joint at the same time. He’s in the control room.

We’re singing. How’s he ever gonna know if we’re singing 72

All those sessions. All those relationships that led to gigs, that led to sessions, that led to so much brilliant music. I asked Byron if he and Gram and Chris Hillman and those cats had any clue at the time that they were creating music that so many folks now see as iconic, legendary stuff. “No way,” he said. “We were just playing.”

They were just playing.

Take time to talk to your elders, y’all. They have good stories to tell. Learn more about Byron’s shop in Guthrie, www. doublestop.com, or the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival, September 29-October 1. www.oibf.com.

TERRITORY AD PHOTO CREDITS

Creative talent blesses OKC big time. Most of our ads were produced specifically for Territory. Many helped with these original ads. The following photographers took our ad photos. For more info or bios of our writing contributors, please visit our website territoryokc.com.

Fassler Hall/Dustbowl:​ Photos by Ian Dooley & Trace Thomas. ​ FNB: Photos by Trace Thomas. ​Ketch: ​Photos by Trace Thomas, Styling by Jessi Chapman & Olivia Morris. Naifeh: Photo by Emily Hughes, Styling by Leigh Naifeh & Olivia Morris, Makeup

by LJ Hill, Clothing from Consortium & Route 66. Packards: ​ Photo by Trace Thomas. ​Scott Cleaners:​ Photo by Trace Thomas.

Stella:​ Photo by Courtney Waugh. Additional photoshop editing of select images by Jessi Chapman.

CYCLES OF CHALLENGE AND GRACE EDMOND’S PROVIDENCE FARMS USES FOOD AND LAND FOR HEALING story by Andrea Koester photo by Jessi Chapman

At the age 28, Jennifer Webster underwent a routine surgery that changed her and her family’s life forever.

Complications during the surgery almost killed the young mom, and the problems continued during recovery.

“I was struggling everyday; there was something very wrong and the doctors could not (prescribe) anything that would help me heal,” Webster said. “I was supposed to be this healthy young woman, and instead I felt constantly sick.”

The aftermath of the trauma was keeping her body from healing. After months of struggling, Jennifer and her husband, Chris, had one of those "a ha" moments. They were watching the documentary, Food Inc., a shocking look inside America's industrial food practices. Anyone that has been moved by this film understands that it can be the perfect encouragement to start living healthier.

The Websters decided right then and there to change the way their family was eating. They traded in their existing life for farmland north of Edmond. They started focusing on eating whole, organic foods. Within months, Jennifer began to heal and feel better than ever before.

The Webster family farm started with a few goats and a plot for heirloom, organic vegetables. Their initial goal was to be able to sustain their family of five, but once that was achieved they had another realization: “I witnessed such a dramatic change, (even) in my kids as well. We wanted to be able to share this with our neighbors, family, and friends.”

Expanding their farm was the clear solution. Chris grew up in rural Missouri working on the family farm. “I always had a garden,” Chris said. “Even when Jennifer and I lived in a small apartment, I found ways to grow food on the balcony.”

The couple bought a few more cows and about a hundred chickens. Soon they were able to start supplying eggs and milk to neighbors. From there, more veggie plots were tilled, and over the next few years the Webster farm turn into a community market and gathering space.

Chris grows only heirloom organic vegetables, saving the seeds of the best crops for the next planting. Instead of spraying pesticides, he attracts the ‘good’ bugs to eliminate pests. Native American Bee Company donated a few colonies to help pollinate the gardens, and eventually the Websters will have honey. This fall’s planting includes about a dozen vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, kale, and kohlrabi. When asked about the struggles of farming in Oklahoma, Chris laughs and shrugs his shoulders. “Well, 12 weeks with no rain, occasional 30 mph winds, and who knows when a hail storm or tornado will hit.” Dedication is the word here.

Last year, the Websters opened their farm to the public.

For a small fee, visitors can tour and pick food to take home. They also teach classes that build capacity.

Chris holds fall workshops on everything from correcting soil to saving seeds. An October Old McDonald Kids Workshop teaches about farm animals, bees, and building a planter box. Jennifer hosts monthly cooking classes.

Spring will bring a five-week gardening class.

“It’s really easy to take life for granted until your health struggles,” Jennifer said. “When something happens that changes the course of your life forever, it’s not something that you can just sit on. I want people to fall in love and connect with the earth again. Our hope is that you come to our farm and feel the healing affects that our family has.”

To find out more, follow Providence Farms on Facebook.

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Chickasaw Nationalism Sings from page 32

Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC to the San Francisco Symphony, to a score for Hollywood director Terrence Malick.

On October 7, Oklahoma City’s Canterbury Voices premieres an oratorio commissioned from Tate called Misha’ Sipokni’ (The Old Ground). The piece speaks to the ancient migration of the Chickasaw and Choctaw people from the West into present-day Mississippi. Traditional knowledge says they were once one people, led by brothers Chicaza and Chatah. Enemies kept this community on guard, and they eventually followed signs from a sacred pole until they arrived at the Mississippi River. Their special white dog jumped into the formidable current, giving the people the motivation and hope to do the same.

“Their sense of self compelled them to survive and thrive,” Tate said. “I feel this ethos is very particular to Indians. (Misha’ Sipokni’) is very operatic; an oratorio is staged like an opera without the costumes. It’s usually epic, and often based on biblical tales a la the exodus from Egypt.”

Misha’ Sipokni’ promises to summon the full weight of that form. Such is possible in the hands of a musician and composer trained at Northwestern and the esteemed Cleveland Institute of Music.

The Misha’ Sipokni’ score calls forth the full Canterbury adult and children’s choirs, and the OKC Philharmonic. The children’s chorus represents the ancient spirits and the white dog. The soprano part heralds the voices of the matriarch and the people. The tenor gives voice to the Chickasaws, and the baritone represents the Choctaws. Tate wrote the libretto (text of a vocal work), which was then translated into Chickasaw by Joshua Hinson.

“When composing music, I can’t think in terms any less than Beethoven and Debussy and Bartok,” Tate said. “(These) were national composers. It says in my bio that I’m dedicated to developing an American-Indian classical composition. And I am.”

How did Tate gain such chutzpah? Like the sacred pole that pointed his people towards a certain compass point, the composer is very much an expression of deep influences. His Chickasaw musician/lawyer father, Charles Tate, looms large as an Oklahoma tribal judge and Indian rights advocate. He served on the front lines of activism demanding the U.S. government recognize the Chickasaw and Choctaw constitutions in 1969. He also helped the Pueblo people secure water rights in landmark cases, among other accomplishments. The family descends from the first elected Chickasaw chief in Indian Territory and the first elected Chickasaw governor.

Dr. Patricia Tate, Jerod’s Irish-American mother, was a professor of dance and a choreographer. Though Jerod remembers sitting on his dad’s lap at the piano, or listening to him sing around the house, Patricia provided her son his first big musical push. While Jerod was a new piano performance student at Cleveland, Patricia commissioned him to write a ballet from Native folklore. It would be performed at the University of Wyoming, where Patricia was on faculty. Jerod’s first response was, “I can’t!” Eventually, he “couldn’t resist,” Tate said. “It was literally my way of marrying my two traditions.”

Rodney Grant, fresh off his role as Wind in His Hair in Dances With Wolves, played the ballet’s poetic narrator. While the production toured, Grant told Jerod that composing was simply too important, and he must pursue it. The student soon added composition to his studies.

Jerod’s CV rolls deep. Impressive arts organizations seek commissions from him, including the University of Michigan and Detroit Symphony Orchestra (my grandmother would’ve been so proud). Indigenous languages, especially those spoken in Oklahoma, appear regularly in Tate’s work. In 2015, the composer collaborated with major poet Joy Harjo of the Oklahoma Creek nation on a piece drawing from her latest book, "Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings". The Tulsa Symphony produced a song cycle of five Creek hymns. (There is so much more; the curious will have to check out his website and iTunes to hear more.)

And what of Tate’s third meta influence: Oklahoma?

Why is there such an intensity of talent among Indian artists here? Are there too many ghosts, too much history?

“It’s very clear that Oklahoma is a very unique Indian place,” Tate concurred. “The U.S. wanted to put every last Indian in Indian Territory. They weren’t concerned about it as a state for a long time. Because Removal wasn’t a flatout war like the Northern Plains, it changed the nature of things”. “(My people) had a relationship with settlers for hundreds of years. We were like an Eastern European block country; dark people in houses and top hats. We were business people, world players, dual citizens. We spoke several languages. We were pianists, painters, architects, engineers.

All of that came with us to Oklahoma.”

“WE WERE PIANISTS, PAINTERS, ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS. ALL OF THAT CAME WITH US TO OKLAHOMA.”

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Tickets $15-60. 8 pm. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker Av. (405) 232-SING. canterburyokc.com.

Millsap Within Spirit from page 51

Pentecostalism into lyrics that draw from the tradition and pay homage to it even as they gently mock it. It’s lyrical satire, and like all satire, it works best for those baptized in the language of the tradition.

Guthrie—not the whole town—a place steeped in musical tradition and populated with the ex-religious, recognized the “prophet” when he showed up, and they understood the language, but Millsap said he wasn’t there very often. “Guthrie was a really quiet place to write a record,” he said. “I toured a lot when I lived there, so I didn’t really get to know a lot of people, but it was peaceful and small. I gained peace of mind there so I could write.”

Purcell is small, too.

Millsap said the town left him little to do except practice playing guitar, so now we are all indebted to Purcell, Oklahoma’s boring quotient. It was there Millsap started singing in church.

“I watched the guitar player and bass player on Sunday morning and night until I knew enough chords to play, too,” he said. The “too” means that in addition to singing, he started playing guitar in church.

And this is the point that we get into the language of the natives. Millsap learned music in a Pentecostal church in a small town just south of Norman, Oklahoma.

Sometimes you say something and the words are so full of subtexts that they need unpacking, so here we go.

This is a really important point. Singing in a large crowd of people who are singing loud is perfect training for letting go with your voice. If you’ve heard him let go, you know what kind of quality this adds to a voice, that genuine, raspy, spirit-y, “I don’t give a shit who is listening because this is for God” kind of singing. When critics call his voice soulful, this is partly what they mean.

God is that thing that is big enough for us to love.

Please understand that in the abstract, as some of us don’t believe in that kind of God or any god, but most things and people are too small to love fully. They betray our love because they are human, or if they are things, because they don’t really satisfy. When you grow up in a Pentecostal church, God is big enough for the most love you can muster, and the worship service is a demonstration of the congregation’s gratitude.

That rowdy quality Millsap talks about is the expectation that God will do something in every service. Growing up in that environment, there is a palpable tension as you wait for “the Spirit to move.” There it is. The words you know but don’t know what they mean in a group. For Pentecostals that means speaking in tongues or being

“slain in the Spirit,” or prophesying or speaking a word of knowledge. See? So many words in a row without coherent context if you didn’t grow up that way.

“The Pentecostal experience is all encompassing,” Millsap said.

He likely meant that the experience of being Pentecostal governs every domain of living: childhood, adolescence, sexuality, marriage, hobbies, habits, language, etc. The list is endless because the experience is all encompassing. This is difficult for non-Pentecostals to grasp, and they haven’t had much help in communicating with Pentecostals, as the tongues-talkers are a collection of denominations that are fundamentalist in the truest sense of the word: sectarian, separatist, primitivist.

Leaving that culture can require a near catastrophic cognitive dissonance. Many leave and have no way of talking to those who remain.

Millsap’s parents remain Pentecostal, though, and it’s easier not to dismiss a movement if people you love are part of it.

“The more I’ve learned, the more I’ve been able to deal with leaving,” Millsap said, in reference to no longer being a part of the movement. “Some people who leave are angry, but I think many of them are angry people anyway.”

It is hard to leave the movement unscathed. All the talk of antichrist, mark of the beast, end times, tribulation, hell, the death of loved ones and the expectation of the soon-coming end of the world leads to an insular community. (Southern Baptists understand some of that part of the Pentecostal experience.) It also leads to a nebulous sense of impermanence and fear. Being “backslidden” into sin might mean getting “left behind” when Jesus returns.

Getting away from what I find to be the toxic elements of the faith doesn’t mean shedding all of it, though. This is especially true of the music. Give me your “Doxology,” and I’ll raise you “I’ll Fly Away.” Give me your rational aesthetic, and I’ll raise you a visceral, emotional response to God in our midst. One offers a museum-quality experience—isn’t that lovely?—while the other offers a spiritual rave with writhing bodies, hands raised, voices open to the heavens, and the expectation that God will, does, can, wants to perform miracles.

“I feel like I can’t get away from that,” Millsap said of the Pentecostal music experience. “Music is tied up with spirituality, and even though that’s not my thing anymore, I have no malice for those who are still in it.”

To read the rest of the Millsap story, jump over to territoryokc.com.

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ROAD DIARIES photos and words by David Jennings

"An Okie accent, the smell of horse manure, tornado sirens, the Plains— so many things caused areas within me to come alive."

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After nearly ten years abroad, last September I returned to my home state intent on rediscovering the myths of my childhood. Though Oklahoma was familiar, after so long away, everything was also very foreign to me. My wife, who had never been to the United States, helped me to see with these new eyes.

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An Okie accent, the smell of horse manure, tornado sirens, the Plains—so many things caused areas within me to come alive. Things long dormant began to stir. I felt summoned into corners of Oklahoma that were unknown to me or obscured by time. For months, I couldn’t see beyond the borders. Nothing outside the state

interested me. I needed to see everything, to investigate everything, to understand these parts of myself that were lighting up.

I began drifting into corners of the culture where I had felt comfortable as a boy, a boy who was a member of the FFA and worked on a ranch most of his teenage years. The cowboy way of life

drew me back in. The simplicity of it. The earnestness of it. I had a deep nostalgia.

My mind had been raked over with strange and dramatic experiences over the years, and I was no longer the boy I was, but somehow I felt at home in that world; I felt comfortable, even though I was an outsider, just passing through, not sharing the

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self-evident truths. I simply wanted to know more, to see more, to understand.

I befriended bull riders and followed them around the state. I crashed small town rodeos and went to country dance clubs. I had a real affection for these people and their way of life. I was in awe of the bull riders in particular, even though I thought they were crazy for risking their lives to

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ride these dangerous animals. But I respected their life and decisions.

These men were close to death, and it is only those who are close to death who are truly alive.

Every day, Americans drone about their middleclass tasks, accumulating worthless objects, fearful of life and its wildness, its risks. Our candles are constantly burning out, and we waste our spirits trying to escape the truth.

Life is wild, and God is wild, and it is those who are wild, who throw themselves into life, who are closest to God. The bull riders encapsulated this wildness for me. Combined with the culture in which it was embedded, I developed a more nuanced vision of my home state, and I wanted to share that with my photographs.

My Road Diaries Instagram feed is an ongoing account of my wanderings and my projects. I often post once a day, sometimes a few times a day if I am working on a lot at that moment. Sometimes I will get editorial assignments, and post the moments in between. Other times is it simply ideas and themes I am developing. It is the main ongoing outlet for my creativity and wanderlust. @roaddiaries or davidjoshuajennings.com.

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