Local Music Scene - OKC and Norman, Oklahoma
I sure don't claim to be all up on the scene or to like what everyone else likes. Just mentioning a few things....
For many years, The Deli, on Campus Corner, has featured live music not
just every Friday and Saturday but 7 nights a week. They book touring bands
as well as local bands. No they don't serve sandwiches. They are "Norman's
only Five-Star Dive". A bit smoky. Home base for Hosty.
The Deli's website: www.thedeli.us
And on Myspace: myspace.com/thedelinorman
Lots of cool shows come to the Opolis, run by Andy and Marian of the
Starlight Mints.
Their website: www.starlightmints.com/opolis
And on Myspace: myspace.com/opolis
The Hidden Castle, a giant, castle-like building hidden away behind the
Del Rancho on Lindsey Street, is lining up lots of shows, every weekend.
This place has come and gone through the years, was the Blue Onion back in
the '70's and Buzz's Subs in, I think, the '80's. Currently getting revved
back up - check it out. Big enough for some
larger shows, lots of potential. If we can just get the people to go out...
Schedule and Info at Reverb Nation: www.reverbnation.com/venue/thehiddencastle
Othello's has live music on the weekends:othellosnorman.com
Myspace: myspace.com/othelloslivemusic
The Red Room, Main Street in Norman (right next to Coach's):
myspace.com/normanredroom
Used to be Route 66 or something. I went to a Bluefish party there a long time
ago, and someone threw up all over the floor right before 40 Minutes of Hell
went on. It was hot and crowded and yes, it was 40 minutes of hell (the band
was great of course). At that time, the place had a low ceiling and seemed
very small and dirty. Since then it has been gutted and is now a big open
space with a big stage, a good place for shows. I think it
just gets rented out for whoever wants to do something there. The first show
I saw there after the renovation was The Electric Primadonnas. Very cool.
The Blue Bonnet bar on Main Street is kind of small but they have been
putting some music in there:
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bluebonnet-Bar/192196490793643
Weekly listing of music events in Norman:
NormanMusicScene.com
Live Events Page here:
www.normanmusicscene.com/events.htm
In OKC, VZD's at 42nd and N. Western has local and touring bands playing
several nights a week. This has been the top music club in OKC for a couple
of decades. (Their weekly ad in the Gazette might have the most
accurate music info).
Website: www.vzds.com
Myspace: myspace.com/vzds
The Conservatory took over the spot on N. Western where the Green Door used
to be. TONS of cool shows are there. (mainly punk/alternative)
www.conservatoryokc.com
www.myspace.com/conservatory
The historic Blue Note, on N. Robinson at 23rd St, has been through many
owners over the years. Under the current management, for the last few years,
there has been mainly lots of rockabilly, etc.
On Myspace: myspace.com/okcbluenote
The HiLo Club is small but they have some cool shows. myspace.com/hiloclub
The 66 Bowl (yes it's a bowling alley) is on the northwest expressway -
look for the giant classic neon sign. At one time they had free
all-ages rock and roll shows every Saturday night. Lots of really
cool shows have been there (I saw Hasil Adkins!).
Check it out. For some reason they are never listed in the Gazette, and their
websites may not be up to date, give a call if you want.
66Bowl.com
okclive.com/66 Bowl
myspace.com/66Bowl
The Blue Door has some cool shows, usually more singer-songwriter, folk-type
stuff. No bar, but you can bring your own stuff. I saw John Hammond there
(performing solo). And also Bill Kirchen with his band Too Much Fun (one
of the most awesome electric guitar players ever).
Their website:BlueDoorOKC.com
The 51st Street Speakeasy: myspace.com/51speakeasy
Galileo (in the Paseo): galileookc.com
The Diamond Ballroom is a huge warehouse-like place in southeast OKC
(8001 S. Eastern Avenue).
I've seen a lot of cool bigger shows there. (Cramps, Motorhead, Hank III).
Check them here: www.diamondballroom.net
and on Myspace here: www.myspace.com/diamondballroom
In Edmond, the UCO Jazz Lab:www.ucojazzlab.com
OKC's Gazette and Norman's Pop have weekly listings of whats at all the clubs.
OklahomaRock.com
Includes Excellent show calendar here:
www.oklahomarock.com/shows.htm
Since the Fortune Tellers stopped playing long
ago, The Reverb Brothers are my top favorite band around here.
If you need a fix of actual ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC, check them out.
Read more at my Reverb Brothers page.
(and actually the Fortune Tellers have done a few reunion shows
lately (2009-2010) - check for New Years Eve at VZDs - they MIGHT
be playing)
My other favorite band around here is the Hosty Duo.
You can always count on them to deliver. "Twisted Roots" is one description.
They rock and they groove. Please read more at
my Hosty Duo page.
And check their website: www.hosty.com.
Ike Lamb and the Creepers
myspace.com/ikelambandthecreepers
EarlyBeat
First saw them 02/07/09 at the Opolis. Wowee!
This is some wildly energetic double-guitar rock and roll.
You'll be hearing more about them.
Penny Hill
Hillary (Penny) has been accompanied by many bands of local musicians.
I saw her with like a 9-piece band on 02/07/09 at the Opolis, with EarlyBeat.
This was a show to remember. My birthday started at midnight. Both bands were
super-duper. Lots of people having fun.
Penny Hill - myspace.com/pennyhillplays
The Toothman
Very cool. And very loud! Eric Harmon was the drummer in the
Chainsaw Kittens. Here he plays guitar and bass, switching off with
Adam Jackson, who also plays guitar and bass. Eric's wife, Kelly plays the
drums.
Rainbows Are Free
Yeah - loud, wild, sludgey, stoner metal (guitar shredding included).
El Paso Hot Button
Doing the one man band thing, Mickey Reece sings, plays
guitar, plays druns with his feet, and sometime uses some kind of sythn.
I've seen a couple of really cool shows. He will rock the house.
The Electric Primadonnas
I saw these guys in November of 2008 at the Red Room in Norman. I was totally
blown away. They weren't what I was expecting (all the better) but they
were awesome. My friends had to leave early, but I had to stay to the end.
The guitar player (Chris Anderson) is phenomenal. I look forward to seeing
them again.
myspace.com/theelectricprimadonnas
Taddy Porter
I first caught Taddy Porter at the first Norman Music Festival in 2008.
Trent Bell recommended I catch them, and he knew I would like them.
4 young guys from Stillwater playing blues-rock.
Brian Parton
I got to see Brian Parton and the Nashville Rebels a bunch before they broke
up. They were a rockabilly band from Tulsa. A three-piece with bass, drums
and guitar, these guys were a treat to see. They played authentic
rockabilly, early rock and roll and country, playing lots of classic
covers as well as their own songs. They played very interesting arrangements
of Rain (Beatles), 2000 Light Years From Home (Rolling Stones) and Lips Like
Sugar (Echo and the Bunnymen). Also songs by Ray Price (Crazy Arms), Charlie
Rich, Johnny Burnette & the Rock and Roll Trio, and Carl Perkins.
They made a cool CD called Exploitation Natural.
The Oh Johnny Girls
Rockabilly with 2 girl singer/guitar players. Very fun to see.
Bloody Ol Mule / Shiloh / Devil Christ
Bloody Ol' Mule - facebook.com/bloodyolmulemusic
The Starkweather Boys
Some serious rockabilly, jump blues, etc.
MySpace.com/thestarkweatherboys
Scott Keeton / Scott Keeton Band / Deviants
Scott is a super-hot blues-rock guitar player who has
been playing around here a long time, with or without a band.
The Deviants was Scott Keeton's band (probably through the 90's and a bit
beyond). For awhile it was a three-piece with Scott on vocals and guitar
along with drums and bass.
Ike Lamb was later added on guitar. Later (August, 2000) it was back to
a 3-piece, with Scott, Streetman and the return of Mike Newberry on drums.
There have been many lineups in the past. Drummers
have included Lex Kiem, James Wyrick, and Danny Cofer. Bass players
have included Dickie Ray, Ryan Teisa, Steven Streetman, currently Mike Myers.
Scott has put out I think about 9 records as of 2011, at least three of
those as The Deviants. He is very blues oriented and plays plenty of
rock and roll including covers and originals.
Currently Scott performs under his name with a band, but he might
do some solo shows.
OKC's top-class cover band. (Not for everyone!)
I had seen them mentioned a lot but did not know anything about them. One
night some people talked me into going to see them at Liberty D's. I knew
Wayman from a few years back and I knew he played drums but had no idea
this was his band. He is the lead singer as well as the drummer and
probably the leader of the band. He sets his kit up in the front of
the stage with the rest of the band around and behind him. I had
never seen that before. And when I saw they had Chris Royse on bass,
I knew they were serious. (He was in the Wickers and various other
bands around here). They have eleven people on the stage:
2 girl singers, 4 horns, 2 guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums.
It is quite an accomplishment to get this many people to sound good
together and these guys don't just sound good, they're so tight they
sound like one instrument. They play positive-energy dance music. Mainly
classic-pop/rock covers. In fact most of the songs they play are the kind of
songs that make me change the station when I hear them on the radio, but
they made me appreciate these songs anew. I was humming Rosanna
(Toto - yikes!) for a week after I saw them ("me too far away...").
One of my friends showed up when they were playing Dancing Queen by
Abba and had to leave immediately. Or how about Lido (Boz Scaggs) or
Brandy ("you're a fine girl, what a good wife you would make)"? But it all
sounded great and the dance floor stayed full all night. And man, when
those horns come in! It's cool to have a horn, with two you can have harmony,
with three you can have a real chord, but four horns - now that's horns.
For a fun time, ignore your classic-pop-a-phobia and check them out.
Here is their website: www.bananaseat.com.
They have 4 horns!
More Local Bands:
Watermelon Slim - www.watermelonslim.com
Zombie vs. Shark - www.myspace.com/zombievshark
Turnpike Troubadours - turnpiketroubadours.com
Travis Linville - burtschi.com
Dorian Small - myspace.com/doriansmall
The Gardes - myspace.com/thegardesmustbecrazy
The Proprietors of the Earth - myspace.com/potearth
Chainsaw Kittens (my page)
Tyson Meade - tysonmeade.com
The Separation - theseparation.net
Billy Joe Winghead Intense band. Interesting website.
Thomas Anderson - www.AngryYoungGradStudent.com
Tae Meyulks (from Tulsa)
NormanMusicScene.com
OklahomaRock.com
Norman Music Festival
Okie Twist-Off okietwistoff.com
OKC Zoo Amphitheater - zooamp.com
Inner State Studio - Casey Friedman - innerstatestudio.com
Trent Bell - Bell Labs - myspace.com/trentbell
Oklahoma Blues Society - okblues.org
Carl Amburn - Mousetrap Recording Studio
myspace.com/thetoothman
Brian is a very seasoned performer who has even lived in Nashville.
In the years since the band broke up, Brian has been doing solo performances
off and on all around. I got to see him at Pepe's one night with just
about 12 of us there. He was awesome. See him if you can. With a microphone
and a guitar, he will rock the house all by himself. He put out a solo CD in
2007 called Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Blues - super cool.
Check out his Myspace page here: myspace.com/brianparton1
Bloody Ol' Mule - myspace.com/bloodyolmule
This is Shiloh, who owned The Beat Bookshop, doing a one-man band thing. He's
gotten good at it and made a stack of records. He got so into this that he
closed the bookstore to make music full time. I think he still has the books
stashed away. He has teamed up with a drummer for another project called
Devil Christ.
Official Site: www.scottkeeton.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thescottkeetonband
.
Reverb Nation: www.reverbnation.com/thescottkeetonband
Some upcoming Norman/OKC Rock and Roll shows:
(I don't make much effort here, just occasionally listing some special shows.
Check the Gazette, Nonzine, Pop, etc. for more info)
Some Local Music Links:
Was the singer/leader/founder of the Chainsaw Kittens. (and still is - they
played the first Norman Music festival in 2009)
Also was in Defenestration before that (another cool Norman band from the past). Has done some solo records as well.
Now lives in China, teaching English. Sometimes comes to Norman and does
solo shows. May still be DJing shows on radio - 105.3 The Spy - on weekends.
His blog: shanghaiedtyson.blogspot.com
myspace.com/theseparation
A friend of mine who used to live here. After he moved to Austin, he
made a record (his 3rd or 4th) called Norman, Oklahoma. Oddly, I don't think
anyone in Norman has ever heard it or even heard of it.
Live Events Page here:
www.normanmusicscene.com/events.htm
Includes Excellent show calendar here:
www.oklahomarock.com/shows.htm
Myspace - Norman Music Festival
Annual event, started in 2007.
Big shows, outside.
BellLabsRecordingStudio.com
Back to Music Page
Back to Slade's Home Page
This page revised 01/18/12 (I let this page lapse for years until 2009)