The Current - July, 2009
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Keeping Oklahoma, Southeast Kansas & Northwest Arkansas groovy, baby
VOLUME 6 NUMBER 7 JULY 2009
OPINION
Going So Well................................Page 11
You Oughta Know..........................Page 11
ENTERTAINMENT
Peter Frampton.........................................Page12
Hippiefest 2009........................................Page13
Aerosmith/Jamie Foxx...........................Page 16
Rocklahoma................................................Page 18
Anthrax Q&A............................................Page 20
Established Artist Spotlight.............Page 23
Dfest............................................................Page 24
Three Venues in July.............................Page 26
Woodyfest..................................................Page27
Yes & Asia.....................................................Page28
Currentland July Festivals...................Page 30
Emerging Artist Spotlight....................Page 32
Whole Hawg Days...................................Page 33
Lake Country Grand Lake......................Page 37
Lake Country Lake Eufaula..................Page 38
Lake Country Lake Tenkiller...............Page39
Lake Country Keystone/Carl Blackwell....Page 40
Lake Country Oolagah/Skiatook......Page 41
Lake Country Fort Gibson/Hudson Lake...Page 42
Cookson Jubilee........................................Page44
The Current Lowdown...........................Page 45
Concert Photos......................................Page 50
The Current Calendar...........................Page 55
In this
issue
13
18
27
28
32
37
Get ready to Rocklahoma
Anthrax, Twisted Sister, Stryper, Ratt and
many more ‘80s acts are ready to party in
Pryor.
Folk for the folks
The other ones
Stillwater’s Other Lives are making the other
acts at Dfest raise the bar.
Dang hippie collective
The SpiritBank Event Center welcomes
Hippiefest 2009 and Collective Soul.
Wade in the water
Your guide to big water in Currentland.
The 12th annual Woody Guthrie Folk
Festival welcomes Wanda Jackson, Stoney
LaRue, Jimmy LaFave and hot weather to
Okemah.
THE LOWDOWN
Cherokee Casino Shows...........................Page 45
Rentiesville Blues.....................................Page 45
Eskimo Joe’s ...............................................Page 45
Tulsa Tunes Up.........................................Page 46
Tahlequah Time..............................................Page 47
Fayetteville Fun..........................................Page 47
Pawnee Parties........................................Page 47
Eric Devries......................................................Page 48
Canebrake Concerts................................Page 48
Grand Lake Music.....................................Page 49
Porter Peach Festival...............................Page 75
Festival Trip................................................Page 76
Mulberry Mountain.................................Page 76
Mudstock.....................................................Page 77
Art of BBQ..................................................Page 77
Box Turtle Race..........................................Page77
Cowboy Days...............................................Page77
Yes, it’s your civic duty
Progressive rock icons, Yes and Asia, bring
their legendary licks to the Muskogee Civic
Center.
33
12
16
6 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Green Living Earth, Body & Spirit
Keeping Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas green
The
Current
Oklahoma's Alternative Source for
News, Entertainment and Green Living
STAFF
Publisher Tom Barlow
publisher@currentland.com
Managing Editor Joe Mack
joem@currentland.com
Adv. Mngr./Graphic Artist/Page Layout
Juanita Lewis
juanitam@currentland.com
Administration Bridget Barlow
bridgetb@currentland.com
Graphic Artist
Emmet Pedrick
Distribution Manager
Kevin "Sunshine" Richardson
Sales
Brad McGiffen - Oklahoma
bradm@currentland.com
(918) 816-6923
Amy Cresap - NE Oklahoma
amyc@currentland.com
(918) 323-2112
Lisa Guinn - Tahlequah & Muskogee
lisag@currentland.com
(918) 822-1375
Michelle Bruffett - McAlester
michelleb@currentland.com
(918) 316-6644
Michelle Holley - Bartlesville, SE Kansas
michelleh@currentland.com
(918) 907-0385
Scott Gilliland - Stillwater
scottg@currentland.com
(405) 612-8097
Monica Senn - Tulsa Metro
monicas@currentland.com
(918) 955-8902
Cameron Mintz - Bartlesville & Tulsa
cameronm@currentland.com
(918) 397-3316
Bryan L. Jones - Wagoner & S. Tulsa
bjones@currentland.com
(918) 718-9275
Green Living Head Writer
Bridget Wood - Bartlesville
bridgetw@currentland.com
(918) 327-3796
Technology/Web Development
Robert Paden / Amy Pedrick
Contributors
Porter Ragnus
Don Wood
Damon Blalack
Ronn Hopkins
Pamela Bracken
Regan Henson
Kay Alexander
Bryan Jones
Lisa Bracken
Michele Schmidt
Chris B. Critter
Scott Batie
Rae Thompson
Jeff Jeffries
Kristin Tilley
Mike Horrell
Brooke Folsom
Lyle Deiter
Flatbottom Frank
Roxann Rumor Perkins
Kandi Mefford / Aaron Moore
Cover design by Juanita Lewis
Web Site
www.currentland.com
Phone Numbers
News Line (918) 431-0330
Advertising Line (918) 431-0392
The entire contents of The Current Alternative
News Source are Copyright 2009. The opinions
expressed herein aren't necessarily the views of Barlow
Publishing, its employees, and/or its advertisers.
The Current Alternative News Source® is
produced monthly by Barlow Publishing LLC.
The Current is located at 326 E. Downing,
Tahlequah, OK, 74464
GREEN LIVING
Green Being.................................................Page 79
Green Notes................................................Page 80
Yoga................................................................Page 82
Canning.........................................................Page 84
Gardening.....................................................Page 86
Farmers’ Markets....................................Page 86
The Current is
printed on recycled
newsprint with
eco-friendly,
soy-based ink.
Please read then
recycle this paper.
In this
issue
Good and green
Looking into labels for
the best green buys from
shampoo to trash bags.
79
Music mat-ters
Take note
Fish, ladybugs, bees, TVs,
air quality and other
sustainable stuff.
80
Dfest has teamed up with
yoga professionals across the
state, including our own Lisa
Bracken.
82
“The land is a sacred trust held in common for the benefit
of the future of our nations.”
~Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
86 Family farms
The family that grows
together rejoices in the
garden of Life.
80
82
86
8 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 9
90
THE GOOD LIFE
Art...................................................................Page 87
True Believer................................................Page 88
Book Review................................................Page 90
Theater..........................................................Page 91
Fourth of July Celebrations.................Page 92
Made in Oklahoma....................................Page 94
Drinks & hors d’ourves............................Page95
DINING OUT
Boston Deli & Market.................................Page 97
Brangus in Eufaula.....................................Page98
Dining Guide.................................................Page 99
The Good Life Dining Out
In this
issue
97
98
10 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 11
OPINION
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CANDLES
It’s
definitely
summertime
and everything is growing as quickly
as it can. I don’t have any children,
but it seems like every time I see my
friend’s kids they’re growing by leaps
and bounds. I’ve been lucky enough to
work for this here arts and entertain-
ment monthly for more than four years,
and it undoubtedly has grown from a
16 page black and white ragazine to
a triple-digit, blockbusting, full-color
information smorgasbord. Co-workers
past and present are to thank for that,
for their vision has spawned ideas,
their drive has pushed our boundaries
and their dreams are without limita-
tions.
But I’ve got a few co-workers,
friends and fellow readers who seem
to think that The Current is a loose can-
non, firing off all kinds of information
aimlessly and not appealing to any
community or readership. This some-
times even seems true to me, which
can leave this empty feeling inside; the
kind of feeling that makes you yearn to
do what’s right for everybody all the
time. But taking my morning commute
on a random mid-week work day,
the thought came back to me as clear
as creek water and I thought since I
haven’t even attempted writing an edi-
torial in nearly a year, now would be a
good time to explain myself. Or at least
try to explain to you what The Current
attempts to do, month after month; at
least for now.
You, the reader of this pub-
lication,
are
somewhere right now.
Big surprise, I know. Stifle yourself.
Breathe in. But you should consider
now that this little old Tahlequah arts
and entertainment monthly that crept
into Muskogee has also leaked over
into Wagoner, Eufaula, McAlester, Mi-
ami, Sallisaw, Stillwater, Okmulgee,
Bartlesville, the Tulsa metro, Siloam
Springs, Bristow, Okemah, Claremore
and into every aqua system within that
same broad vicinity wherever good
times can be found down by the wa-
ter, including the Illinois River, Grand
Lake, Lake Tenkiller, Lake Eufaula,
Fort Gibson Lake and many others.
We’ve pushed into all these
areas because something was going on
in our territory. Our publisher, Tom
Barlow, along with a handful of oth-
er visionaries, wanted to let you (yes
you) know what’s going on. That’s
right party people – you oughta know.
That’s
what started this publication
and why we’re here now. We can’t
catch and cover everything going on
in Green Country, especially during
the summer, when everybody is do-
ing everything they can while Fred
is in town. But we do our best to let
you know what’s going on, no matter
where you’re at right now.
You oughta know about the
scenic Illinois River near Tahlequah
and all the lakes of Currentland. You
oughta know about Rocklahoma and
Dfest. You oughta know about all the
new entertainment options on Grand
Lake, like
Junior’s
Paradise and JR
Spanky’s outdoor amphitheater. You
oughta know about the big shows
on Lake Eufaula. You oughta know
about all the good stuff happening at
Arkansas, from George’s Majestic and
the AMP in Fayetteville to Mulberry
Mountain. No matter where you’re at,
we want you to know about these and
all the other things before you on the
pages of this paper. Sound like a bro-
ken Alanis Morissette record?
Now that we’ve established
what we’re here for,
it’s
up to you,
Currentlandian, to go out and do these
things. Not all of these things are for
you, but you know about them. These
are opportunities to broaden your ho-
rizons, live it up a little bit, get out of
the house and maybe even make some
lasting memories. We give them to you
month after month, because you ough-
ta know.
-Joe Mack, managing editor
You oughta know
My
favorite
part
of
The
Tahlequah Art of Living Festival last
month was the chance to spend a little
time with friends I haven’t seen for
a while. Like most people I know, I
haven’t had time these days for much
of anything outside of family and work.
I was at the beer tasting trailer handing
out samples of Choc and Marshall Beer
as fast as I could pour them when a guy
walked up to me and said the oddest
thing.
“I can see you haven’t changed
much,” he said, pointing to the beers in
my hands.
“Pardon me?” I said, looking
confused about what the heck this guy
was talking about.
“I’m not surprised you don’t
remember me,” he said, “the last time
we met you were passed out drunk on
the sidewalk in front of Ned’s.”
I snapped back, “Man, what
are you talking about?” Yet so much
was going on; people wanting samples
of this beer and that beer that I almost
let him get away before it hit me. I
jumped out from behind the table and
said, “Buddy, we need to talk.” I told
him that it was indeed me he saw that
night in front of Ned’s, the famed bar
in downtown Tahlequah. That was four
years ago when I was still teaching at
NSU and I almost forgot about it. It was
graduation night and I was at Ned’s
greeting graduates and their parents,
a kind of tradition around NSU on the
big occasion. One of my graduating stu-
dents was celebrating a little too much,
if you know what I mean. He had me
cornered in a death grip conversation
and he would not let go. You know the
kind I am talking about. He kept grab-
bing me, repeating the same thing over
and over again about how much he had
learned in my class and how grateful he
was. I couldn’t shake him. As I headed
out the door, he was still holding onto
my sleeve as I nodded in thanks again
and again. When he was momentarily
distracted, I turned to run as quickly
as I could for my Harley parked a few
feet away at the curb. But, when I spun
around and bolted I smacked head on
into a cast iron pole about 6 inches in di-
ameter, built to survive the Apocalypse.
Bang (Don’t you hate that) and splat, I
was out on the sidewalk, broken glasses
beside me, half-conscious, not knowing
which way was up.
I took a hard hit. After a few
minutes I got my bearings, borrowed
a cell phone and called my wife for a
ride home. I could barely stand and had
no business riding my bike. The next
morning, I had a bump on my forehead
the size of a walnut. I told the story for a
few days and laughed it off.
After my explanation, he apol-
ogized profusely for his attitude and
was sorry for what he said. I said it was
okay, but inwardly I could only guess
how many people he had told that little
tale of misinformation to over the years;
it made me sick to think about, until I
had a few shots at Ned’s later (just kid-
ding folks).
The real irony of it all is like
most parents I have spent a consider-
able amount of energy trying to mas-
ter the balancing act between the one
drink, two drinks or more that lead to
that slippery slope of no return. Most of
all I have tried to live my life the best
I can when it comes to how much beer
to drink or not. Children learn by what
they see, not what you say. Boy did I
just open Pandora’s Box filled with vital
moral, legal, spiritual, health and legal
ramifications. I don’t intend to try and
deal with such a large and important
subject in the space I have left here,
maybe later.
So what is the take away from
this story? Who knows? Don’t jump to
conclusions. Don’t believe everything
you hear. Or as Thumper’s dad said,
“If you don’t have anything nice to say,
don’t say anything at all.” For me I am
going to re-double my efforts to never
saying anything about someone I would
not say to their face. That should about
cover it. Bottoms up!
-Tom Barlow, publisher
And it was all going so well
By Regan Henson
Peter Frampton is a guitar god.
There is no two ways about it. He gave us the
warbling words in “Do You Feel Like I Do?”
and every time I hear that song, I get a little
misty. There’s no one out there who could
sing rock-n-roll lyrics that made you feel any
more loved than Frampton. Nothing he re-
leased was angry, hateful or spewed any sort
of venomous emotion. He loved us all and he
wasn’t afraid to tell his fans this information
on a regular basis.
But that doesn’t take away from the
fact that Frampton Comes Alive! was a mind-
boggling success. It’s not so much the record
sales (it’s the fourth best-selling live album of
all time) as it is the fact that when Frampton
Comes Alive! was released, Peter Frampton
was far from a household name.
In fact,
aside from fans of the British band Humble
Pie, most Americans didn’t even know who
Peter Frampton was. How did this happen?
Well, for
starters,
back in 1976
when Frampton released the album, rock ra-
dio was basically at its peak. In those days,
before iTunes and Rhapsody, music fans
had to listen to radio to find out who the hot
new artists were. If you heard something
you liked, you simply called in to the radio
station and requested to hear it again. And
there was no buying digital downloads. If
you wanted to buy a single you had to march
your butt down to the record store and get a
7” vinyl copy. And while you’re there, may-
be you pick up the whole album.
When Frampton Comes Alive! was
released, initial sales were slow until rock
radio listeners began requesting a cut from
the album, “Show Me The Way,” over and
over. The song’s popularity, along with a
second single, “Baby, I Love Your Way,”
drove record sales into the millions and shot
the album to no. 1 on Billboard Magazine’s
Top 200 album chart, a position it would hold
for 10 consecutive weeks. By the end of the
year, the album had bested releases by more
established artists like Fleetwood Mac to be
the biggest seller of 1976.
So the reason for the album’s phe-
nomenal success was a couple of hit songs?
Well, not exactly. Sure, “Show Me the Way”
and “Baby, I Love Your Way” are rock clas-
sics, and remain in heavy rotation on classic
rock stations to this day, but two or three big
hits are rarely enough to catapult an album
to the heights Frampton Comes Alive! reached.
But when a hit song has a great melody,
killer guitar work and…a talk box? The talk
box, like Frampton himself, was still largely
unknown at the time of the album’s release.
Also like Frampton, its popularity probably
peaked with the album. But Frampton’s use
of the device, which can make the guitar
sound like it’s talking, and which, gave his
music a signature sound that proved to be
addictive and infectious.
Amy Goldian, Web developer and
contributing
writer,
fondly
recollects
the
Frampton performances from this guitarist’s
hey-day. “He is the consummate showman,”
she said, “The concert was one of the hap-
piest places to be, closely akin to seeing the
Grateful Dead.”
“Pete was a sex god back then and
I do remember a lot of girls around me sing-
ing along with ‘Baby I Love Your Way’ while
tears rolled down their cheeks,” added Gold-
ian. Frampton was somewhere between rock
‘n roller and teen heartthrob, but we can’t
stop time and we all get older.
So the seminal live album eventu-
ally reached worldwide sales of over 16 mil-
lion and held the top spot among live album
sales for years. The success of the album
made Frampton a superstar, allowing him
creative freedom and opening numerous ar-
tistic doors for him, including landing a spot
in one of the most creatively disappointing,
yet well cast films in rock ‘n roll history, “Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
It’s
impossible to say with any
certainty
whether Frampton’s decision to
star alongside members of the Bee Gees in
the film adaptation of the classic Beatles al-
bum had anything to do with the fact that
his post-Frampton Comes Alive! career never
again approached the level of success that
album achieved, but it definitely didn’t stop
Frampton from feeling like he does!
The one constant over the years
for Frampton has been his high energy live
shows, and the fans never turned their backs
on him there. If you think Peter Frampton is
just another one-hit wonder, then the joke’s
on you. His latest work, Fingerprints, won
the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop In-
strumental Album with a little help from a
pair of his favorite bassists, John Regan and
Hank Marvin )the bassist who performed on
the aforementioned mega-successful live al-
bum).
You can see exactly what I mean
when Peter Frampton plays the Arkansas
Music Pavilion in Fayetteville on Tuesday,
July 21 at 6 p.m. Tickets are between $15 and
$50 and can be purchased at www.arkansas-
musicpavilion.com. Two days later, Framp-
ton comes alive at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July
23 at the Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino in
Tulsa. Tickets are $45 and are available now
at www.milliondollarelm.com.
Bea Ochodayere and Kay Alexander contributed
to this story.
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12 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
ENTERTAINMENT
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JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 13
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By Brooke Folsom
Dust off your tie-dye and tam-
bourines, this month Hippiefest 2009 is
coming to Tulsa’s SpiritBank Event Cen-
ter at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29. This
show is sure to be packed with plenty of
flower power that the whole family will
enjoy. Denny Laine, of Paul McCartney’s
post-Beatles
band
Wings,
commented
on the trans-generational appeal, “Good
songs always last the test of time…peo-
ple’s grandchildren still listen to this mu-
sic.”
Among the headlining acts are
The Turtles, featuring Flo and Eddie.
This group had their first hit in the mid-
‘60s with their own arrangement of Bob
Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me.” They found more
success in the late ‘60s with the 1966 re-
lease of “Happy Together” and “Elenore”
in 1968.
Chuck Negron, the former lead
singer of Three Dog Night, will also be
performing. Three Dog Night enjoyed
tremendous success, having sold around
90 million records to date, with their ver-
sions of songs like Harry Nilsson’s “One
(Is
the
Loneliest Number)” and Hoyt
Axton’s “Joy to the World.” This song is
steeped in Americana with its instantly
recognizable opening
lyrics,
“Jeremiah
was a bullfrog…”
Badfinger, founded in the late
‘60s, is also rolling through on this tour
featuring
guitarist/vocalist
extraordi-
naire, Joey Molland. This highly success-
ful British band was signed to the wildly
popular Apple Label, founded by a little
band from England known as The Beatles.
Some of Badfinger’s hits include songs like
“Without You” and “No Matter What.”
Felix Cavaliere will also join this
celebration of peace and love. In 1965 he
formed a band known as The Rascals.
This
collaboration
produced
hits
like
1968s easy-going tune, “Groovin’,” and a
powerful song written in response to the
assassination of John F. Kennedy, “People
Gotta Be Free.”
The harder rocking band, Moun-
tain, will be roaring and ripping up the
stage, too. Although this band was slight-
ly short lived, only working together from
1969 until about 1972, their music still res-
onates in minds and speakers today, with
hits like “Mississippi Queen.” This show
will feature Leslie West and Corky Laing
of the original group. Mr. Laing describes
the tour as, “A musical celebration us-
ing some of the best artists from decades
past.”
As an added bonus this show
will feature a tribute to the 40th anni-
versary of Woodstock.
Woodstock, of
course, was the revolutionary, three day
romp under the stars that first rocked the
rural town of Bethany, New York in Au-
gust of 1969. So be sure to bring your kids,
parents, and grandparents to bask in the
afterglow of the music that defined the
‘60s and ‘70s.
But first, the SpiritBank Event
Center will welcome Collective Soul and
Gavin Degraw on their joint tour. Col-
lective Soul, hailing from a small town
in Georgia, has rocked fans for over a
decade. Front man Ed Roland and his
brother Dean, whose father was a South-
ern Baptist Preacher, say their early influ-
ences include everything from the hymns
they sang in church to The Beatles. The
band has come a long way since then.
They’ve produced seven no. 1 hits and
sold over 10 million records. Some of the
band’s greatest hits include “Shine” from
1994s Hints, Allegations, and Things Left
Unsaid; “December” from 1995s self-titled
album; and “The World I Know” released
on 7even Year Itch in 2001. The band’s mu-
sic was even featured on the soundtrack
for the smash film, Twilight. Although the
band has mostly stayed true to their roots,
they also want fans to know they’re grow-
ing as artists.
“We’re
still
a
guitar-oriented
band. There are fans that no matter what
we put out are going to say it doesn’t
sound like the ’90s and that’s a fair assess-
ment — because it doesn’t. I don’t wear
the same clothes I did in the ’90s. We don’t
want to be that kind of band” Roland ex-
plains.
However,
the
band’s
newly
announced upcoming record and track
listing, Collective Soul (Rabbit), is sure to
please fans of the past and the future.
The album, due Aug. 25, was recorded
and self-produced in Ed Roland’s home.
Be sure to be on the look-out for the first
single from this effort, “Staring Down.”
Popular singer and songwriter
Gavin Degraw is also featured on this
tour. Degraw is promoting his most re-
cent album, Free, an album that he wrote
and recorded in less than two weeks.
Some of Degraw‘s biggest hits include “I
Don’t Want To Be” and “In Love with A
Girl.”
Both of these events will take
place at the SpiritBank Event Center. Hip-
piefest 2009 will free flow into Tulsa, July
29. Collective Soul and Gavin Degraw will
arrive a little sooner on July 7. For both
events doors will open at 6 p.m. For more
information on these shows and tickets
please visit them on the web at www.
hippiefest.net,
www.gavindegraw.com,
www.collectivesoul.com, or call the Event
Center at (918) 369-9360.
Get in the spirit with Hippiefest 2009 and Collective Soul
Flo and Eddie from The Turtles cross the road to Tulsa on July 29.
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By Regan Henson
Everyone knows Aerosmith.
“Back in the Saddle” and “Sweet Emo-
tion” are played hourly on classic rock
stations.
Who doesn’t remember the
mid-‘80s collaboration with Run-DMC
on the rap group’s re-make of the Aero-
smith classic, “Walk This Way,” a single
that is almost universally credited with
introducing hip-hop to white America?
Younger fans know Aerosmith
more for their mid-‘90s pop songs than
for their classic riff-rock ‘70s hey-day.
The nineties pop song-era Aerosmith in-
cluded a few sappy love songs, like the
mega hit “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,”
which blasted through the charts much
like the asteroid did from the feature
film Armageddon.
But fortunately for fans of the
‘70s-era, drug-fueled classic Aerosmith,
the band is looking to the future with
an eye to the past. In a recent Rolling
Stone magazine interview, guitarist Joe
Perry, who you may know from the
legendary band The Joe Perry Project,
alluded to the fact that the members of
Aerosmith recognize that the band had
somewhat lost sight of their original vi-
sion. Perry, who like the rest of his band
mates is looking a bit road weary after
more than 40 years of rocking out , ba-
sically told the mag that Just Push Play,
the band’s last album of original songs
didn’t live up to their expectations and
they are planning on getting back to the
nuts and bolts on their next record.
However, due to singer Steven
Tyler’s
recent bout with pneumonia,
and Perry’s own knee replacement sur-
gery, they weren’t able to get an album
finished in time for this tour. But that
may turn out to be a good thing, as it
gives the band an opportunity to revisit
deep album cuts and rarities from some
of their early classic albums.
In the same Rolling Stone in-
terview, Perry even hinted that the
band may perform one of their first
three albums in its entirety on this tour,
which came to fruition when the band
announced they’d be performing their
masterpiece Toys in the Attic in its en-
tirety. The 1975 release features a pair
of no. 1 singles “Walk This Way” and
“Sweet Emotion,” and they, like all the
other songs on Toys, allow Tyler to sing
his heart out about his favorite topic:
sex.
So that means this 2009 sum-
mer outing is largely a promotion for
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, the video game
that was released last year and features
music by the band, mostly from those
early albums. But hey, who’s to argue
with this formula?
The Guitar Hero
franchise has introduced millions of
young fans to classic rock songs from
all kinds of bands. I once watched my
niece, who was probably seven years
old at the time, hilariously hitting all
the right notes to Motley Crue’s “Shout
at the Devil,” and realized the simplistic
genius of the game right away. What
a marketing tool! What band wouldn’t
want their music on this game? I’d be
more suspicious of the band that re-
fused to participate. And if this is what
it takes for Aerosmith to get back down
to what made them great in the first
16 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
ENTERTAINMENT
Jamie Foxx and Aerosmith bring the jam to the BOK Center
Aerosmith heats up the BOK Center on July 31 performing their classic album, Toys in the Attic, in its
entirety.
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place, then I’m all for it. Not to mention
a whole new generation of fans for one
of the greatest rock bands of all time!
And let’s not forget, this is a
band that has sold over 150 million al-
bums over a nearly 40 year career, not
to mention the fact that they are mem-
bers of the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.
And Aerosmith also knows how to
decorate a trophy case, laying claim to
four Grammy Awards, seven American
Music Awards, four Billboard Music
Awards and several others totaling 31
major industry awards out of 63 nomi-
nations. And they’ll be bringing fellow
Hall of Famers ZZ Top along for the
show.
ZZ Top embodies tried and
true rock ‘n roll, and recently rang in
at no. 44 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Art-
ists of Hard Rock,” an unusually high
ranking for this Houston, Texas formed
trio of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and
Frank Beard. They plugged it in back
in 1969 and turned it up all across the
world over the last 40 years, beards and
all, with hits like “Cheap Sunglasses,”
“Legs,” “Sleeping Bag,” “Viva Las Ve-
gas,” “Tube Snake Boogie” and many
others.
Lately,
the
bad boys have
teamed up with uber producer Rick Ru-
bin on a new batch of tunes expected to
be out by the end of 2009. Sources close
to the band say that the new record is
drifting back to the stacks and rehash-
ing the pre-80s ZZ Top sound that
kicked butt and increased freewheeling
Harley sales across the country. If Aero-
smith is peanut butter, then ZZ Top is
the jelly! So, basically, if you don’t make
it to the show, then you hate rock n’ roll.
Don’t worry, I’m sure Celine Dion will
be coming back through town soon.
Or if not Celine, maybe some-
thing completely different. Let’s see,
maybe an actor, no, a comedian who
becomes an actor. And then becomes
a singer. All actors want to sing. Re-
member that album John Travolta put
out back in the ‘70s, before he was kid-
napped by aliens? Keanu Reeves was
in a band. Even Don Johnson had a hit
song, the one that had the video where
he was like a photographer in a war
zone or something. It was very dramat-
ic. He was also on “Miami Vice”, but
I don’t think he was ever a comedian,
unless you count “Nash Bridges”. But
wait, I seem to remember a movie ver-
sion of Miami Vice, and it had that actor,
the one who played Tubbs, and he used
to be a comedian. And he’s also a sing-
er. Perfect. So let’s say you hate rock
n’ roll and don’t wanna see Aerosmith.
Never fear. Jamie Foxx is also coming
to the BOK.
So, in case you haven’t heard,
Jamie Foxx is a pretty big deal. Whether
he’s making us bust a gut with wacky
characters like the hi-lar-i-ous “Wanda”
from “In Living Color” or timeless sil-
ver screen comedy classics such as Booty
Call, winning Academy Awards by act-
ing like he’s addicted to smack in Ray,
soothing our ears with his recent no. 1
one smash hit “Blame It”, or advising
15 year-old Miley Cyrus to make a sex
video during a recent talk show appear-
ance, the always classy Foxx is making
a case for being recognized as the most
talented man in show business.
And the aforementioned Mi-
ley may want to consider taking Foxx’s
advice. This dude knows what it takes
to be a star. Born Eric Bishop in Terrell,
Texas, Foxx began studying music at a
ridiculously early age. Like, before he
learned to eat. But not satisfied being
pigeon-holed as a mere musical prodi-
gy, Foxx developed an almost god-like
athletic ability, a skill set he utilized to
stunning effect in his first dramatic role
as a professional football hero in Any
Given Sunday.
This role led to even greater
acting success as a big screen actor as
Foxx won raves for his supporting role
opposite Tom Cruise in Michael Mann’s
Collateral and the lead in Ray, the biopic
on the life of music legend Ray Charles,
the role that won Foxx the first of what
most assume will be a long string of
Best Actor Academy Awards. It was
also this role that brought Foxx back
to his musical roots, leading to collabo-
rations with hip-hop stars like Kanye
West and Ludacris, as well as Foxx’s
second album, Unpredictable, which saw
double-platinum
sales
and spawned
hits like “Extravaganza” and “DJ Play a
Love Song.”
Now as “Blame It,” the no. 1 hit
from his latest album, Intuition, contin-
ues to tear up the charts and introduce
him to new fans, Jamie Foxx finds him-
self confidently in control of his enter-
tainment destiny, one in which all roads
undoubtedly lead to the top. Trust me,
you won’t want to miss a thing when
Jamie Foxx comes to town.
Jamie Foxx
will
be
playing
the BOK Center on Thursday, July 9,
at 8 p.m. Tickets are $57.75 and $67.75.
Aerosmith and special guests ZZ Top
will be at the BOK Center on Thurs-
day, July 30. at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices
range from $87.50 to $127.50. You can
purchase tickets for both shows by call-
ing (866) 7BOK-CTR, online at www.
bokcenter.com, at the BOK ticket office
located off West 3rd St. between Denver
& Frisco Avenue or at any local Reasor’s
Grocery Store.
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JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 17
ENTERTAINMENT
Jamie Foxx wants your intuition to lead you to Tulsa on July 9.
By Damon Blalack
Chances
are
if
you’re
an
audiophile here in Oklahoma, then
you’ve heard of Rocklahoma some-
time in the past three years; it has af-
fectionately been dubbed “The Wood-
stock of ‘80s Rock Music.” Metal fans
from such far-flung locales as Europe,
South America, Asia, and even Austra-
lia descend upon the Catch the Fever
Festival Grounds just north of Pryor,
Okla. to take in the sights and sounds
of a decade under the influence of loud
guitars and big hair. Costumes abound
as attendees vie for spots nearest the
staging area to see arena giants that
define the hair-metal genre, acts such
as Twisted Sister, Anthrax, Anvil, Poi-
son, RATT, Stryper, Thin Lizzy, War-
rant, Nelson and Skid Row.
Even if ‘80s hair metal isn’t
your scene, there’s no denying that the
annual festival, now in its third year,
is making a huge sonic boom for the
state and drawing consequent world-
wide
attention.
Though only
three
years’ old, the event draws a crowd
of more than 100,000 attendees for the
four-day event, including people from
every state in the U.S. in addition to
the world travelers. This year’s Rock-
lahoma runs July 9-12, and promises to
be the biggest and best to date.
What began as a companion
to the annual Country Fever festival in
the same area hosted by Event Market-
ing Group, the first Rocklahoma sur-
passed all expectations; since then it
continues to grow in attendance every
year. Event Marketing Group has also
recently added a third annual event,
Bikelahoma, to appeal to all motorcycle
enthusiasts worldwide. Such massive-
ly attended and promoted niche-festi-
vals are quickly making Event Market-
ing Group an entertainment force to
be reckoned with, and greatly adds to
the much-needed leisure options here
in the Sooner State. These events no
doubt help boost Oklahoma’s tourism,
but undoubtedly the economy as well,
as they collectively draw hundreds of
thousands of tourists each year.
This year’s Rocklahoma will
feature more than 90 bands on a total
of four stages, including some local
acts and many bands from Europe as
well. Some of these include Beautiful
Creatures, LA Guns featuring Tracii
Guns, Britny Fox, Bang Tango, Lil-
lian Axe and Faster Pussycat. Of the
headliners mentioned
earlier,
many
will be overjoyed to see that Anvil is
part of the lineup this year. The Cana-
dian band is one of the genre’s earliest
pioneers, having influenced the likes
of Slayer and Metallica, and it’s been
recently announced that they’ll be en-
joying the prestige of being the opener
for AC/DC’s tour this summer.
They’re currently enjoying a
renaissance with the recent film festi-
val release of a documentary about the
band, entitled Anvil! The Story of Anvil
(2009), directed by one of their former
roadies, Hollywood screenwriter Sa-
cha Gervasi (The Big Tease, The Termi-
nal). The film has been lauded with
heaps of praise since its January 2008
Sundance Film Festival Premiere: The
Times called it, “Possibly the greatest
film yet made about rock and roll,”
while LA Weekly declared
it,
“Hi-
larious and achingly touching.” Spin
Magazine has dubbed it, “The real-life
Spinal-Tap.” Those are big words to de-
scribe the experience, but Rocklahoma
audience members can judge for them-
selves when it’s exhibited on opening
night, just after Anvil’s stage perfor-
mance. This one-two punch provides
a major incentive to attend early, and
should do exceedingly well as a huge
kick-off to the rest of all the weekend’s
proceedings.
With the headline acts spread
out evenly over the whole event, at-
tendees will want to plan to be pres-
ent the whole duration. Though there
may be a bit of grumbling from some
fans of the harder-edged bands like
Anthrax
playing
alongside
some
bands with more glam-rock tenden-
cies, these differences are minor dis-
tinctions amongst the larger whole of
the ‘80s metal scene. There’s variety
enough to cover the entire spectrum of
the genre, for newcomers and veteran
metal heads alike. Thursday will yield
performances
by
Anthrax,
Saxon,
Overkill,
the
aforementioned Anvil
set, Metal Church, and Leatherwolf.
Friday will include sets by Ratt, Night
Ranger,
Warrant,
Danger
Danger,
Helix, and Hericane Alice. Saturday
brings forth the onslaught of Stryper,
Thin Lizzy, KIX, Keel, Lizzy Borden,
and the Gypsy Pistoleros. And round-
ing out the festival on Sunday will be
Twisted Sister, Skid Row, Great White,
Nelson, Bonfire and Vixen.
According to the www.icon-
vsicon.com blog, side stage manager
and Retrospect Records CEO Sam Mc-
Caslin said, “I believe this is the stron-
gest side stage line-up ever assembled
at a rock festival. From melodic rock to
power metal, all bases are covered and
are sure to win over a legion of new
fans at Rocklahoma. We are all very
excited at the quality of talent brought
to this year’s most prestigious eighties
rock festival.”
A Picture Alley will be avail-
able to everyone in attendance, allow-
ing an approach to the stage during
any act for the purpose of taking pho-
18 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
ENTERTAINMENT
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Anvil hit the stage at Rocklahoma on Thursday, July 9.
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tographs of performers in un-obscured
proximity. With such a rich lineup this
year, this allows music fans to capture
wonderful souvenirs of their Rockla-
homa weekend.
A side attraction this year will
be the crowning of “Miss Rocklahoma.”
Prospective female hopefuls will up-
load a picture and fill out a question-
naire on the official Rocklahoma Web
site (www.rocklahoma.com), and after
a panel of judges narrows the entries
down to 10 nominees, visitors to the
site will have the opportunity to vote
the Top 10 down to the Top 5. These fi-
nalists will appear on stage during the
opening night of the event, and Miss
Rocklahoma will at last be crowned.
The five runners-up will each receive
two all-access passes and VIP privileges
for that opening night, and the crown-
bearer will win an all access and two
VIP Passes for all four days of the event.
According to the organizers via a press
release,
“Miss
Rocklahoma must be
a lady who exhibits a true passion for
‘80s metal. The Miss Rocklahoma con-
test is not just about beauty and sexual-
ity, but about an energizing, fun-loving
and amiable individual who truly rep-
resents and encapsulates the spirit of
what Rocklahoma is all about.”
There are other various side
attractions
in
full-swing
during
the
four-day weekend, giving attendees a
real sense of community within their
surroundings. Camping on the festival
grounds is also a big part of the event,
with 4,000 campsites, on-site parking,
bathroom facilities and a convenience
store available. In true music fest fash-
ion, many campers really get inspired
to create a home away-from-home with
unique settings inside their tents, as ev-
idenced by the colorful photo galleries
of years past on the official site.
For those wanting a less hu-
mid bunking option for the weekend,
the nearby Cherokee Hard Rock Ca-
sino and Resort is an ideal lodging op-
tion, and there’s free 24 hour luxury
transportation to and from the festival
grounds with the four-day VIP pass
option. For those who opt for the VIP
pass, there are free meals prepared by
a professional chef, as well as a steady
supply of Miller Lite beer for the entire
duration.
Both
Playboy and
Rolling
Stone
in
2008 called Rocklahoma one of the top
festivals that should not be missed. So
if you’re looking for a unique music
festival with worldwide appeal, Rock-
lahoma is the place to be this month.
Tickets are available at www.feverfest.
com, charge by phone at (866) 310-2288,
or at any of the 3,200 O’Reilly Auto Part
Stores across the United States.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 19
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and celebrate with your
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Skid Row makes their mark at Rocklahoma on Sunday, July 12.
Photo By: Gene Ambo
20 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
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By Metal Mike
How’s it goin’ out there metal
heads? I hope all of you are as excited
about our first ever Metal night at Rock-
lahoma as I am. This is going to be the
most amazing night of the whole thing!
We got Metal Church coming and Over-
kill, and the newly added Anvil, which
is probably the most surprising part of
all. I don’t know if you guys have heard
of this band or not, but they are a Cana-
dian band who were so close to break-
ing, but just never did. So this film mak-
er tracked these guys down 20 some
odd years later and did a documentary
about them called Anvil: The Story of
Anvil, and convinced them into coming
out of retirement and touring again. The
movie is a real life Spinal Tap-ish story
and gives a real insight into what it is to
still be a struggling band on the verge
of greatness. So get out, see the film and
show these guys some support, God
knows they need it and experience the
Canadian style of metal – eh?...
Headlining the show as you all
know is Anthrax, and I was able to score
all of you a right-from-the-source, no
bones about it interview with the awe-
some rhythm section of the band. Yes
bassist Frank Bello and drummer Char-
lie Benante gave me a few minutes of
their time to share with all of you their
thoughts about playing our beloved fes-
tival and a little bit of insight on their
latest release, Worship Music, with new
singer Dan Nelson. I gotta say these
were two of the most humble musicians
that I have ever talked to. They were so
eager to answer all my questions and
were so cool when I was fumbling all
over myself trying to get my s!@t to-
gether and not sound like a dork. I’m
so used to dealing with local bands and
some of them act more like rock stars
than these guys did. So when I caught
my breath and realized that these dudes
were cool as hell and were more than
happy to do the interview it was one
of the most incredible experiences of
my life so I did my best to get it right!
I recommend to everybody if you don’t
have an Anthrax record or you’re just
not familiar with their work, go out and
get ya some and feel the power these
five guys can throw upon your butts!
You won’t regret it and don’t steal it off
the internet, just buy the damn thing!
So thank you Frankie and Charlie and
I’m looking forward to that shot, boys!
Metal Mike: First and foremost thank
you both for coming to Rocklahoma
and playing our first ever Metal night.
Charlie Benante: No problem. Great to
be here and thanks for having us.
Frank Bello: No worries man, Thanks
for having us.
MM: How are you guys doing?
FB: Doing great man, just gearing up to
get ready for this European tour we’re
going on.
CB: And we’re taking a break in the
middle to come play for you guys, this
[Rocklahoma] is our only North Ameri-
can stop.
MM: Are you guys stoked to play Rock-
lahoma this year?
FB: Hell yeah man, we are a part of his-
tory. This is the first time that there has
been anything like this at Rocklahoma,
we’re psyched!
MM: How did it come about for you
guys to play Rocklahoma?
CB: We were asked by the people that
put on the festival and we said hell yeah
we would love to do it.
MM: So let’s talk about the new record
a little bit. What’s the vibe like? Is it a
throwback to the old Anthrax or is it
more modern sounding?
CB: Yes, a little bit of it is a throwback
and it’s also a different record with Dan
on it; he puts his own stamp on it and
it’s taken on a life of its own.
FB:
It’s
everything you said and so
much more.
It’s
an angry record.
It’s
full of emotion and rage. It’s been so
long since we’ve put out a record that
we want the fans to see what we’ve
been doing.
MM: Speaking of Dan where did you
guys find him?
FB: Well
it
was kinda one of those
MySpace things. Our guitarist Rob Cag-
giano found him and worked with him,
and long story short he was great and
he fit the band well for the direction we
wanted to go in; and it’s been a year lat-
er and as they say the rest is history.
MM: So it’s safe to say he’s been broken
in very well?
FB: (laughs) Yeah he’s a full fledge band
member now.
MM: Are we gonna hear anything off
the new record?
CB: Well we haven’t got a set list togeth-
er yet but we’re gonna play some of our
old stuff and try to focus on getting our
new stuff out there.
FB: We’re probably gonna play at least
one song off the new record and we’re
gonna play a lot of stuff that the fans
haven’t heard in a while.
MM: So who produced the record?
CB: Well it was a joint effort from our
guitarist Rob Caggiano and producer
Dave Fortman who has produced for
Slipknot and Evanescence among oth-
ers and has an amazing ear.
MM: When can we expect to see it hit
the shelves?
FB: We wanted to put it out in May, but
we didn’t wanna rush it, so it’s in its fi-
nal mixing stages and it should be out
in October. Actually, I was just listen-
Q & A: Frank Bello and Charlie Benante of Anthrax
Charlie Benante
Frank Bello
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 21
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NOW YOUR HOmebReWiNg HeadqUaRteRs!
July 9th - 12th
Pryor OK
Love Bottling welcomes you to
Catch Anthrax as they headline
metal night at Rocklahoma at 9
p.m. on Thursday, July 9. Their
new album, Worship Music, comes
out this fall but you can hear some
of the new cuts first only in Pryor
at Rocklahoma. For tickets and
more information, visit www.fe-
verfest.com or call (866) 310-2288.
ing to the mixes when I called you and
it sounds so f@#king brutal I can’t wait
for the fans to hear it!
MM: It’s the 25th anniversary of your
first album Fist Full Of Metal, will we be
hearing anything off that record?
CB: We’re gonna try to get some of that
record out there too.
FB: There are so many anniversary’s
going on right now, hell my birthday is
July 9 so we’re gonna be at Rocklahoma
for that.
MM: Happy birthday early bro.
FB:
Thanks man
I
hope everybody
shows up that night to get crazy with
us. That’s the only way that this thing
will be successful is if all the people that
want a little something more, come out
and support not only us but the metal
night itself.
MM: I don’t think you guys will have to
worry about that; it’s gonna be crawling
with people! Hope you bring an extra
liver with you!
FB: (Laughs) Maybe one shot before the
show, then afterwards is when it’s gon-
na get crazy. Hell, come back and have
a shot with us after the show.
MM: Now
you’re
speaking my lan-
guage. Thanks man I’ll be there brother,
no way I would miss that! Lastly guys I
gotta ask: are you gonna be back to see
us again sometime?
CB: Hell yeah dude, we’re gonna get
back to Oklahoma if you guys will have
us.
MM: Yeah damn right we will have you
guys back, anytime you’re always wel-
come here.
FB: I can’t remember the last time we
played in Oklahoma.
I
think
it
was
Tulsa.
MM: Probably at Cain’s Ballroom.
FB: Yeah I think it was.
MM: Once again guys thanks for com-
ing to play our beloved festival and on
behalf of all the metal heads in Okla-
homa, welcome and we hope you enjoy
your time here - I know we will.
CB: No thank you and too all the fans
out there in Oklahoma, thank you as
well and come see us only at Rockla-
homa!
Anthrax has a new shirt (and
music) they’ll share with you at
Rocklahoma on July 9.
22 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
By Lyle Deiter
Country singer/songwriter David
Ball has come a long way since he got his
first guitar in Spartanburg, South Carolina,
but then again, perhaps not that far after all.
Geographically, he’s been all over, touring in
support of his own albums, or with other big
country acts. He lived in Austin, Texas for
a while as part of Uncle Walt’s Band, which
is credited by some with being the original
Americana band. The group was composed
of renowned songwriter Walt Hyatt, guitar-
ist Champ Hood, and Ball playing the stand
up bass. The group formed in Spartanburg,
but went to Austin in search of better gigs.
They quickly became favorites in the Aus-
tin music scene, but split up not long after.
But they made a large impact on the music
scene,
with
legendary
songwriter
Willis
Alan Ramsey being a big fan. Their music
is a pleasing buffet of country, bluegrass,
jazz, and killer harmonies all with solid lyr-
ics. Several videos of the band can be found
online, including several live performances
from “Austin City Limits.” Lyle Lovett also
became a fan of Uncle Walt’s Band, and
would later help put together a tribute to
Walter Hyatt on “Austin City Limits” after
Hyatt’s untimely death in 1996. The trio
would reunite a few times over the years,
including backing Lyle Lovett on “Once Is
Enough” off of Lovett’s 1989 Grammy win-
ning album, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band.
After splitting from Uncle Wal
after their first album, Ball wound up in
Nashville, where he recorded three singles
for RCA, though this wasn’t enough to re-
ally get his career going. That didn’t hap-
pen until 1993 with the release of Thinkin’
Problem with Warner Brothers. This album,
which Ball wrote or co-wrote all the songs
(except one), contained hits like “Look What
Followed Me Home,” “When The Thought
Of You Catches Up With Me,” and the title
track “Thinkin’ Problem.” It was these songs
that would make a name for Ball as a hard-
edged honky tonker. “Thinkin’ Problem”
would also earn Ball a Grammy nomination
for Male Vocalist of the Year, and a BMI Mil-
lionaire award for having the track played
more than 1 million times on the radio. The
album would become
a
multi-platinum
seller. Ball’s father, a Baptist preacher, and
his mother, a musician, seem to have passed
on to him lots of talent with words and mu-
sic. Ball recorded other albums, like Circle of
Friends in 1996, but it wasn’t until his 2001
album Amigo that he would sing perhaps his
biggest hit, “Riding With Private Malone.”
For those few of you out there
who may be unfamiliar with the song, it tells
of a young man just out of the service who
sees a “for sale” ad for an old Chevy which
winds up being a ‘66 Corvette. The young
man finds a note written by the previous
owner, Private Malone, saying
“If
you’re
reading this, I never made it home.” The
young man loses control of the car one night
and crashes and a witness reports seeing a
soldier in uniform pulling the young man
out of the wreckage. It is definitely one of
those story songs that will give you goose
bumps, but in a good way. It was released
one month before the September 11 attacks,
and part of its appeal seems to be the sense
of brotherhood portrayed by the two sol-
diers, one who made it home alive, and one
who didn’t. The song is based on an urban
legend which essentially has the same story
line.
Ball now records independently,
and is a role model for many artists who
are trying to make it big without a record
contract from a major label. According to
his website, he is working on new material
for his next album. For those of you who
are fans or are in need of a good show, Ball
will be coming to Green Country Friday,
July 24 when he and his band, the Pioneer
Playboys, will be performing at the Crescent
Valley Jamboree. The Jamboree is located
on highway 62 between Tahlequah and
Muskogee. The show will start at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10, and kids under 10 can get
in free. The show will feature Troy Cook
Jr., a young multi-instrumentalist extraordi-
naire who has been making big waves and
winning lots of awards in Nashville. The
other Playboys are Billy Pierce on bass, and
Scott Metko on drums and vocals. Ball is
also scheduled to perform at the Sycamore
Springs Resort on Aug. 22.
For more information and to hear
“Too Much Blood In My Alcohol Level” and
“Riding With Private Malone,” go to www.
myspace.com/DavidBall.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 23
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David Ball makes his Crescent Valley Theater debut on Friday, July 24.
24 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
ENTERTAINMENT
By Michele Schmidt
Dfest
is
easily
Oklahoma’s
largest music festival and is the Mid-
west’s largest music conference and fes-
tival.
The conference serves to con-
nect
professionals
within
the
music
industry with emerging and aspiring
artists and musicians. This year’s con-
ference will include a demo derby, men-
toring sessions and lots of tradeshow
exhibitors. There will also be a manag-
er’s forum, hosted by the Music Manag-
ers Forum. According to a Dfest press
release “this new partnership gives par-
ticipants the opportunity to discuss the
issues, problems facing the music in-
dustry and creative ideas to overcome
those problems in the future.”
The conference has been “ed-
ucating
and empowering
attendees”
since
2004.
This
musical
conference
environment enables the industry and
artists to network in a unique environ-
ment.
The conference is from noon
to 6 p.m. daily and this year’s confer-
ence keynote speaker is Andrew W.K.,
a Manhattan artist and musician with a
will to “spread feelings of pure joy, true
fun, total love, endless freedom, and in-
finite possibility.”
Andrew uses music, perfor-
mance, visual
art,
lecturing, writing,
nightclubs, TV and many other me-
diums in his efforts to reach as many
people as possible. From an early age
Andrew began piano lessons and by
the age of five he was being educated
at The University of Michigan School
Of Music, in the Music Pedagogy pro-
gram. His early display of enthusiasm
for musical, visual and performing arts
led him to the path he is still on today.
Andrew
graduated
high
school a year early so that he could de-
vote more time to his passion, and by
age 18 he was accepted to The Art In-
stitute of Chicago, but decided to move
to NYC instead to pursue his goals
independently. According to his bio,
Andrew’s focus was “to create music
of great physical power and sensation,
without meaning beyond ‘happiness’
and ‘pleasure’ in its most pure form.”
In pursuing his vision Andrew
attempted to “remove his own personal-
ity from the context of his presentation,
and at the same time contradicted the
idea with the singular tone of his image,
and the alarming amount of intention-
ally strong visual content.”
Andrew lives with his wife,
Cherie, in Manhattan, NYC, where he
continues to rock his fans.
Tom Green
and
Angie
De
Vore-Green, the creators of the event,
expressed much enthusiasm about the
conference and keynote speaker and
this year’s musician line-up.
“Dfest 2009 will not only be
more exciting with thanks to our new
sponsors, partners and venues, but this
year’s talent will by far be the most ex-
citing and diverse offering yet,” said
Green.
And there is talent a’plenty for
two days.
Friday,
July
24,
The
Black
Crowes will be taking the stage on the
first night of music. If you missed them
at Wakarusa catch them in Tulsa. As
Rolling Stone said, these guys are “still
brawling.”
The founding members of Go-
gol Bordello met at a Russian wedding
in Vermont in 1998. If that does not
do well to name the craziness of their
momentum, then look at the diversity
of each of their musical perspectives.
Their band is a collection of members
from Ukraine, Russia, Israel, U.S.A., Ec-
uador, Ethiopia and Hong Kong. Their
highly unique sound is often described
with two words, “gypsy” and “punk,”
which hardly come close to truly captur-
ing the real pizzazz of the show in store
for the audience. Each member of Gogol
Bordello aims to make each and every
concert a totally unique experience. At
this time the band is made up of Eugene
Hütz (vocals), Eliot Ferguson (drums),
Oren Kaplan (guitar), Sergey Ryabtsev
(violin),
Yury Lemeshev (accordion),
Pamela
Racine
(percussion,
dance),
Elizabeth Sun (percussion, dance), and
Thomas “Tommy T” Gobena (bass).
Hütz says the band’s founda-
tion is based on many layers; beauti-
ful forms and shapes, but with heavy
content. His idea is that the more lay-
ers they incorporate into the music, the
more universal the work is. For him,
this means covering lots of frequencies.
“It’s a cultural thing; it’s not just a style.
It’s
a style that comes from a certain
way of life.”
For more information on the
band visit www.gogolbordello.com or
check out their MySpace page at www.
myspace.com/gogolbordello.
Citizen Cope is a singer/song-
writer with lots to say. From the smooth
summer sound of songs like “Brother
Dfest delivers The Black Crowes, Cake
The Black Crowes land at Dfest in downtown Tulsa on July 24.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 25
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Lee” to the more melancholy melody
of “Bullet and a Target,” Cope is often
compared to musicians like Jack John-
son and Beck, only said to sound noth-
ing like them. His song “Back Together”
was featured on the Dreamworks pro-
duction, Antz, while “Sideways” can be
heard on the popular television series,
“Scrubs.” Be sure not to miss the listen-
worthy lyrics of Citizen Cope at Dfest.
For more information visit www.citi-
zencope.com or www.myspace.com/
citizencope.
The L.A.-based band and “citi-
zens of the world,” Ozomatli has been
mashing culture and celebrating di-
versity for their last 14 years together.
They are known as hometown heroes
to their California fans and have even
been named U.S. State Department cul-
tural ambassadors. These guys will def-
initely be bringing something notable to
Diversafest. For more information visit
www.ozomatli.com or www.myspace.
com/ozomatli.
If you can imagine five ham-
mers going to the beat of the protest
songs of generations past, in the spirit
of Peter, Paul and Mary, then you may
have some idea of what Delta Spirit is
bringing to the politico musical land-
scape of today.
According to Sean
Moeller of Daytrotter, this is the band
of today’s hopes and dreams for peace
and love. “They’re suited for reminis-
cent
hopefulness and the
gracefully
youthful fusion of hostility and all-en-
compassing passion for all things that
can set a smile ablaze or turn the hairs
on arms and backs of necks into little
beds of nails at the flick of a switch.” For
more information visit www.myspace.
com/deltaspirit.
Other bands to look forward
to this night are Dengue Fever, Car-
ney, Dusty Rhodes & the River Band (2
nights), Other Lives, Dub Trio, Gil Man-
tera’s Party Dream, Here II Here, Joe
Pug, DJ Rekha, Ian Moore, and Manda
Mosher.
Saturday, July 25 has an equal-
ly rocking line-up. Rooney is one of the
most summer-friendly bands around,
often evoking images of Pepsi and pool-
side fun (as featured on The-N’s pool
party mix of popular characters from
shows like “Degrassi” and “The Best
Years”). In June they were announced
as the Dfest special musical guest. Be
sure to catch them on night two of great
music.
For
more
information
visit
www.rooney-band.com
or
www.
myspace.com/rooney.
Or perhaps a date with Cake
will put you in just the right groove.
These guys need very little introduc-
tion but deserve a moment of reflection
on their 17 years of rockingness. The
charming band also focuses lots of at-
tention on social and environmental is-
sues, which is always something to cele-
brate. For more information visit www.
cakemusic.com or www.myspace.com/
cake.
Blue October released a new
album, Approaching Normal, in March
and is out touring its birth now. They
are playing Summer Fest in Quebec
City with Kiss just before dropping into
Tulsa for Dfest and should have plenty
to sing about. For more information
visit www.blueoctober.com or www.
myspace.com/blueoctober.
Bassnectar
is
an
electronic
music project founded by Lorin Ash-
ton. The music, according to Ashton
is
“omni-tempo
maximalism”
and
is often characterized by reggae, hip
hop, funk and rock beats and lyrics; all
transfused with house style bass and
electronica rhythms. Bigshot Magazine
calls it “heavy, twisted, bassline treat-
ment.”
For
more information
visit
www.bassnectar.net or myspace.com/
bassnectar.
Other shows this night will
include Metro Station, The Cool Kids,
Mates of State, Rara Riot, The Ugly Suit,
The
Knux,
Underground
Orchestra,
Gringo Star, Rachelle Van Zanten, and
Bill Hamel.
Emerging
artists
present
at
Dfest this year will include Adam’s At-
tic (Tulsa); Ali Harter (OKC); Callupsie
(Tulsa)
–
Best Indie Album, Absolute
Best of Tulsa; CoCo Jones (Atlanta/Tul-
sa); Crocodile (OKC); Daniel Walcher
(OKC); Dead Sea Choir (Tulsa); Dignan
(McAllen,
TX);
Dirtfoot
(Shreveport,
LA); Erin Austin (Tulsa/Denton/San
Francisco), winner of the John Len-
non Songwriting Competition; I Said
Stop! (Tulsa); Ian Moore (Austin/Se-
attle); Ivan Ives (Los Angeles); Kawnar
(Tulsa); Klondike5 String Band (Tulsa);
Mayola
(Stillwater);
Modern
Science
(Las
Vegas);
Native
Lights
(Tulsa);
P.D.A. (Tulsa); Recorder (OK); Carter
Sampson (OKC); SocietySociety (Tul-
sa); Stars Go Dim (Tulsa); The Burn-
ing Hotels (TX); The City Lives (OKC);
The Culprit (UK/Fort Worth, TX); The
Nightlife (NY); The Pons (Austin); Tim
Miller (Dallas); Unwed Sailor (Tulsa);
and Vangough (OKC). Be sure to check
them out! Keep watching Dfest sched-
ules for staging and scheduling infor-
mation.
Shows start at 6 p.m., with
gates opening at 5 p.m. For more in-
formation on tickets or scheduling visit
www.dfest.com.
Gogol Bordello fuse punk rock and
gypsy jazz at Dfest on July 24.
26 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
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By Porter Ragnus
It’s summer time and the living
is easy. The catfish are jumping and the
cotton is high. I don’t know if your daddy
is rich but I assume your mama is good
looking. So hush little baby, don’t you cry.
That’s right folks, summer is upon us and
in full swing as I write this article. The sun
is bearing down, the kids are out of school
and Green Country is as green as it gets,
which as it happens, is very very green.
Maybe that’s why it’s called Green Coun-
try. I’ll look it up on Wikipedia and let you
know.
This article, if you are wonder-
ing, is about the single most fun thing to
do in the summer months as well as all
of the other months which is going to see
live music being played by humans and,
of course, where the music is happening.
This July Currentlandians have the oppor-
tunity to try some new and/or improved
venues on for size.
Riggs and Co. over there around
the bend in Langley is now a little bit more
around the bend with its new location at
1411 N. 3rd Street, but it is still the cool-
est place to get-down with your bad selves
on Grand Lake. Pedal Point will be blow-
ing the roof off of Riggs and Co. on July
18. Coming at you straight out of Pryor,
Okla., this four-piece heavy metal outfit
rocks so hard that there really is no simile,
metaphor or comparison in the English lan-
guage that would do their rock any justice
whatsoever. At least nothing comes to my
lowly mind which has been blown away
by Pedal Point’s rock. The band consists
of Mike Anderson aka “Lungs”; Mickey
Edens aka “Green Beard”; Brian McDon-
ald aka “Damage”; and Darrel Steiner aka
“D”. If you like to have your head caved in
by subwoofers and your eyebrows singed
off by screaming guitar leads, then this is
the band for you. Check them out at www.
myspace.com/pedalpointmusic and check
out Riggs and Co. at www.myspace.com/
riggsncompany.
Also rocking your face off at
Riggs and Co. will be Head Change from
Diamond, Missouri. These guys rock as
hard as Pedal Point and are ready to make
your eyeballs explode with their distortion-
laden power tools of sound at Riggs on July
25. Joe Rhatigan sings, Derek Rhatigan
plays the guitar, Matt Vance plays the sa-
tanic bass and Brian Little bangs the %*#@!
out of the drums. Have a listen if you dare
at www.myspace.com/headchangeonline.
The
world
famous
Brangus
Feed Lot and Saloon (restaurant and steak
house) that originated in McAlester, Okla.
finds itself having a new location in Eu-
faula, Okla. on Lake Eufaula as part of the
Eufaula Cove Marina complex. 400 Lake-
shore Drive is the address for amazing
food and lakeside enjoyment. You can get
your groove on with John Fabian on the
evening of July 18 while you chew your
juicy steak and drink your sweet libation.
Fabian belts out the R&B like so few can
while backed by his awesome band and
man oh man can he get those hips a-swiv-
eling. Check out his smooth, sexy sounds
and learn about his brand new album, How
Time
Flies,
at
www.myspace.com/john-
fabianmusic. Check out the Feed Lot at
www.eufalacovemarina.net by following
the restaurant link.
Magoo’s
Restaurant
and
Bil-
liards is located in the Fontana Shopping
Center at 51st & Memorial in Tulsa and
has music sweet music all month long as
well as enough billiard action to satisfy the
sharkiest of sharks. Local Tulsa singer/
songwriter phenom Alex Cartwright will
be playing his original style of laid back
youthfully syncopated odes every Sunday
evening at 7 p.m. He is supporting his first
CD release entitled Misinterpreted Things
which has been tickling the eardrums of
every listener since it came out earlier this
year. Check Alex and his delightful music
out at www.myspace.com/alexcartwright.
Three Hour Tour is another act
that will be filling Magoo’s with sound.
They will be playing all the hits ranging
from classic rock standards to modern pop
chart-toppers on July 11. This five-piece
cover band pulls the crowd in and keeps
them under their wing while they take
them on a journey from rock’s yesteryear
to today’s most popular rock hits crafted
by some one else but perfected by Three
Hour Tour.
Check them out at www.
threehourtour.us.
Keep those eyes peeled to The
Current for all the details on Magoo’s new
development set to open on the Riverwalk
Crossing in Jenks later this year. Learn
more at www.magoosgrille.com.
Three venues with new digs sizzle in July
Alex Cartwright
Photo by Manda Tyler Photography
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 27
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By Scott Batie
Nothing
tweaks
the
inter-
est of music lovers in our neck of the
woods this time of year like The Woody
Guthrie Folk Festival. This year marks
Okemah’s 12th annual celebration of
the life and work of one of Oklahoma’s
most revered songwriters. The event
seems poised to top all previous years
with a mix of poetry, lectures, film, and
a whole lot of music all arranged to
highlight Woody Guthrie and all of the
many lives he influenced.
This year, the Woody Guthrie
Coalition is bringing in the big guns.
The week of music and activities will
kick off at Cain’s Ballroom with a spe-
cial
pre-festival
benefit
on Tuesday,
July 7. This benefit show will feature
the amazing First Lady of Rockabilly,
Miss Wanda Jackson. This Oklahoma
native and pioneer of rock was recently
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame as an early influence on rock-n-
roll. Aside from her Hall of Fame induc-
tion Jackson has been nominated twice
for a Grammy Award and is considered
by CMT one of the “40 greatest Wom-
en of Country Music.” If you haven’t
seen this little lady live, you have no
idea what you are missing. Wanda has
been called the female Elvis, a name she
probably picked up while touring with
“The King.“ For someone who has been
in the music business for over 50 years,
she can still rock your socks off. Because
of her charismatic stage presence, Jack-
son has created a huge following and
became something of a larger than life
figure among many music fans. Wan-
da will headline this event with Mem-
phis’ Princess of Twang, Nancy Apple,
and Tampa’s Ronny Elliot opening the
show. This exciting performance is a
must see with general admission tickets
available for $20. Gold Circle seats are
also available for $35 at www.protixon-
line.com.
The festival officially begins
on Wednesday, July 8, at the Crystal
Theatre in Okemah. The kickoff perfor-
mance will feature two more amazing
female artists, Jonatha Brooke and SO-
NiA. Jonatha Brooke released an album
in 2008 of previously unpublished lyrics
from the Woody Archives, entitled The
Works. She has the privilege of being
the first female to compose and record
these lyrics. SONiA, of the band Disap-
pear Fear is a political songstress who
is heavily influenced by Woody Guth-
rie as well. This will be the festival’s
ticketed event with all proceed going to
offset the costs it takes to produce the
four day event. General admission tick-
ets to this opening event are available
for $20. Gold Circle seats are also avail-
able for $35 at www.protixonline.com.
Gold Circle ticket buyers will also have
the privilege of attending a post-show
reception at the Brick Street Café.
Anyone and everyone who
knows about this festival is well aware
of the amazing music that takes place
on the main stage, in the camp grounds,
parking
lots,
motel rooms and any-
where else pickers can gather. This
year’s
event
will
feature
headliners
Stoney LaRue, John Gorka, and Jimmy
LaFave. There will also be a Children’s
Festival that will include performances
by the Red Dirt Rangers, Ellis Paul, and
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Iron.
Aside from the great music
that WoodyFest offers there will be a
plethora of other events that everyone
should take the time to experience.
Other free events at this year’s festival
will include poetry readings, lectures,
film,
and art exhibits.
Such events
will include Secrets of the Archives, a
multimedia presentation presented by
Woody Guthrie Archivist Tiffany Col-
annino. In the exhibit, Colannino will
share many treasures from the Woody
Guthrie Archives, such as
Guthrie’s
personal record album collection, the
long-lost wire reels that were trans-
formed into the 2008 Grammy Award
winning album, song lyrics and a host
of other unique artifacts.
Also taking place at this year’s
event will be “Bound for Glory: The
Legacy of Woody Guthrie.” This ses-
sion will include a screening of the
documentary Legacy. The documentary
features Wilco, Billy Bragg, Ani Difran-
co, U2, Bob Dylan, and a host of others.
This session will be presented by Guth-
rie’s granddaughter who along with her
mother Nora directs the Woody Guthrie
Archives in New York City. This year’s
event will also include the fifth annual
appearance of the Woody Guthrie Po-
ets, with 19 poets from six different
states and two different countries will
present poetry. Those who have expe-
rienced these events strongly suggest
you to take advantage of these oppor-
tunities to experience Woody Guthrie
from a different angle.
One event at the festival that
you will not want to miss is Mary Jo’s
Annual Pancake Breakfast. This event
takes place every year as a forum to
share memories of her brother Woody.
All proceeds from the breakfast serves
as a fundraiser for the Huntington’s
Disease Society.
The 12th annual WoodyFest
will be held July 8-12 in Guthrie’s home-
town of Okemah, just 70 miles east of
Oklahoma City.
Pack up the family
and help celebrate the life and legacy
of Woody Guthrie, a true national trea-
sure. More info is available at www.
woodyguthrie.com.
WoodyFest features Jackson, LaFave and more
Jimmy LaFave at WoodyFest.
28 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
ENTERTAINMENT
By Chris B. Critter
On Thursday, July 16, Musk-
ogee will hold court for true rock roy-
alty.
The mighty sounds of classic
rock will bellow forth from the Civic Cen-
ter when the bands Yes and Asia make
an ultra rare Midwest tour stop. The
term “classic rock” has grown to encom-
pass nearly any music made during the
final third of the 20th century. Broad as
it is, certainly one distinguishable thread
in the weave is the sub-genre of prog-
rock. Prog, for progressive, this brand
of rock
‘n’
roll has grand aspirations
for lifting the listener’s preconceptions
about popular music. Prone to concept
albums, fantasy inspired lyrics or com-
plex instrumental workouts, prog-rock
is perhaps best exemplified by the band
Yes. Beyond sharing a common British
background and a penchant for power
chords, the bands in the prog-rock scene
often worked together on special projects
or simply ran in the same social circles.
The
result
was
a
prog-rock
scene so inter-bred and prolific that it has
been calculated that there are a few thou-
sand separate albums recorded by future
and former members of the two big prog
stalwarts; Yes, and a related band, King
Crimson, who enjoy their own cult-like
following. Each of those two bands has
had 20 or more members pass through
their ranks over the years. Formed back
in 1968, the year 1982 is the only time pe-
riod that some incarnation of Yes wasn’t
actively touring or recording.
Besides
King
Crimson
(with
whom they shared drummer Bill Bru-
ford) Yes has also been associated with
nearly countless other prog-rock
acts
such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and
their successor Emerson, Lake & Powell;
of course the super-group of Yes-alum-
ni: Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
(sometimes called Yes-west;) along with
other acts such as Asia, UK, Cinema,
Flash, XYZ, Circa, The Buggles, GTR and
literally scores of other groups whose
major claim to fame was their connection
to the Yes legacy.
Formed in late
‘60s
London,
Yes music is marked by lengthy songs,
abstract
lyrics
and
dynamic
swirling
soundscapes.
Their performances
al-
ways display astounding instrumental
prowess. Yes actively incorporate sym-
phonic and classical music structure with
rock instrumentation and style. Despite
frequent lineup changes and schisms
among group members, Yes continues
on into their 41st year. The band may-
be nearing the end of their race, but it
doesn’t show. Certainly they still retain
large throngs of loyal followers who
are ever starved for the increasingly in-
frequent tour. Longtime Yes members
Chris
Squire,
Steve
Howe and Alan
White currently tour with vocalist Benoît
David and keyboardist Oliver Wakeman.
Part of the Yes mystique is the ethereal
nature of their longtime vocalist Jon An-
derson.
However Anderson suffered a
nearly fatal respiratory collapse and has
not performed with his band mates for
some time. In lieu of the original, Yes has
been presenting shows with Benoît David
(not to be confused with David Benoit!)
David is a veteran of several Yes tribute
acts and is known for his uncanny ability
to channel the essence of a Jon Ander-
son performance. Vocal range, emotive
quirks and all, David gives the fans what
they want; a perfect replica of the Yes
of yesteryear. Likewise with keyboard-
ist Oliver Wakeman.
Yes hasn’t been
getting on with their old partner Rick
Wakeman lately, so they’ve charmed his
son into filling daddy’s shoes!
Need-
Yes and Asia ready to rock the Muskogee Civic Center
Yes (above) joins Asia for a night of rock in Muskogee on July 16.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 29
ENTERTAINMENT
less to say, no one imitates a Wakeman
like a Wakeman. Worth noting is that
another Wakeman spawn, Adam, plays
keyboards for Black Sabbath (when that
band isn’t busy suing each other, that is.)
Although Yes’ biggest hits came in the
1980s (“Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “Love
Will Find A Way,” etc.) It is the 1970s Yes
output that’s truly considered the classic
Yes sound by most fans (“I’ve Seen All
Good
People,”
“Roundabout,”
“Star-
ship Trooper,” “Yours is No Disgrace,”
etc.). Always able to weather changes in
popular taste, ‘70s era Yes was successful
in spite of being active at the height of
the punk rock era in England. Yes was
often savaged by the music critics of the
day, who viewed the band as emblematic
of the most bloated excesses notorious in
rock music. Yet Yes outlived all the punk
acts of that era as well as most of their
own musical brethren. It’s been said that
the mockumentary Spinal Tap was partly
inspired by Yes’s 70s albums and tours.
Appearing with
Asia
means
that you will see Yes’ Steve Howe do-
ing double duty in both bands. Howe’s a
cornerstone of both acts, rejoining all the
original Asia members, including ex-YES
and Buggles keyboardist Geoff Downes,
ELP’s Carl Palmer on drums and former
King Crimson/UK multi-instrumentalist
John Wetton.
Says Yes bassist Chris Squire,
“This has turned out to be one of the
best performing line-ups in YES’ storied
history. It feels like we’re rediscovering
these songs all over again.”
Tickets to see history at Civic
Center in Muskogee went on sale June
12. There’s a pricey but interesting Meet
& Greet Upgrade Package available too.
See www.yesworld.com and www.origi-
nalasia.com for more information on both
bands. The show is an all ages, general
admission event at the Muskogee Civic
Center, located at 425 Boston Street, and
can be reached at (918) 684-6363 or on the
Web at www.cityofmuskogee.com.
Steve Howe and Geoff Downes of Asia perform at the Muskogee
Civic Center on Thursday, July 16.
30 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
ENTERTAINMENT
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By Kristin Tilley
It’s a well-known fact that you
don’t have to travel far to find a good
show in the great state of Oklahoma.
It’s true that we have no shortage of tal-
ent. Take Stillwater’s own, for instance,
a band called Other Lives. In case you
haven’t heard, this five-piece band has
been taking over the indie music scene,
booking tours all over the United States,
including a performance at Lollapalooza
in Chicago, Illinois this August. Even bet-
ter? This month they’re coming home as
headliners in Tulsa’s eighth annual cel-
ebration of Diversavest—better known
to us Okies as the famed Dfest.
The band is led by Jesse Tabish,
who provides lead vocals and an ac-
claimed songwriting ability. Bassist Josh
Onstott and Cellist Jenny Hsu offer back-
ing vocals, with Colby Owens on drums
and Jonathon Mooney usually finding a
comfortable seat behind a piano or play-
ing the violin. Playing music together
for more than five years has shaped and
molded the troupe’s sound, as they’ve
gone
through
many
alterations
and
aliases. The music they produce, thanks
to the band’s multitude of influences, has
evolved from what Tabish described as
the “Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 45-
minute song kind of thing”, to a more or-
chestral feel. They site modern classicists
like Johann Johannsson and Arvo Part as
inspiration to their current sound. Don’t
be fooled—they are far from the full-sym-
phony orchestras that you’re probably
thinking of, but hey, who doesn’t love a
good stringed instrument in their music?
Cello, violin, and guitar combine with
drums, organ, and piano to make what
can only be described as erratic beauty.
Most bands don’t stay together
long enough to make it big, or complain
when it takes time to make themselves
known. Tabish actually thanks the time
spent working hard. “I’m glad we didn’t
really find success for five years,” he
says. “Bands need development, and be-
cause we’re in a sleepy college town and
there’s no push to get famous—it’s really
cheap to live so it’s not about whipping
up 23 tunes and immediately getting in
front of an A&R guy—we’ve got all the
time in the world.”
And they’re making good use
of it. Other Lives’ self-titled debut album
followed the release of the band’s EP,
which consisted of three songs included
on the debut: “End of the Year,” “Paper
Cities” and “It Was the Night.” All three
songs
demonstrate
Tabish’s
brilliant
control of the lyric, as well as the or-
chestral sound the band has evolved to.
Reminiscent of The Beatles and Coldplay
with their melodies and accompanying
harmonies, Tabish’s words and smooth
voice
complete
the
band’s
uncanny
knack for telling a story within a song.
The structured clashes of melo-
dies are apparent from the get-go. “End
of the Year” almost seems to be four
songs in one, starting off almost hap-
pily, almost like an anthem. And then,
just when you’re getting into the feel,
the music pulls a switch and slows to a
beautiful, haunting melody dominated
by Hsu’s cello. The lyrics change, as well,
but the melody seems to tell a story of its
own, battling with the lyrics’ indecisive
tones. By the end, it’s apparent (at least
from the song’s point of view), that the
glass is most definitely half-empty. And
we as listeners believe.
“Paper
Cities”
is
the
band’s
anti-war tribute, and my personal favor-
ite, as far as lyrics go. War opinions aside,
Tabish’s chorus is nothing short of po-
etry. “Put down your banners and flow-
ers/This war you made won’t last/Your
country, just lines on a map/They’re
drawn up, they don’t last.” Harsh, hon-
est and communicated with an air of
resolution, the song is the band’s general
view on war and exactly what it’s good
for.
These three songs from the EP
are incorporated in Other Lives’ debut
album (released in October of last year
by TBD Records and available online and
in stores near you), along with eight oth-
ers that include the album’s first single,
“Black Table,” which was featured on the
television medical drama “Grey’s Anato-
my” in the show’s 2008 season premiere
episode.
And
while
Other
Lives
has
been keeping busy touring the states,
they’re glad to be coming home, and at-
tribute a lot of their success to their home
state. “I think the great thing about Okla-
homa is that because there is no scene,
bands are left on their own,” Tabish says.
“There
isn’t
some ‘New York sound’
where you have 50 bands that sound like
The Strokes—everybody’s in their own
world and there’s no sense of what’s cool
or not….It leaves us all to become indi-
viduals.”
Other Lives can be found on
MySpace and Facebook, as well as their
own
Website,
www.otherlives.com
(coming soon). Be sure to get your tickets
for Dfest, July 24-25 in downtown Tul-
sa’s Blue Dome District, featuring more
than 150 bands on indoor and outdoor
venues. It’s sure to be a blast, with Other
Lives headlining alongside bands such
as The Black Crowes and Blue October.
Check out the new indie sound, and join
in with the band’s appreciation for the
finer luxuries our state has to offer.
“As far as [our] plans, Oklaho-
ma is perfect.”
Emerging Artist Spotlight: Other Lives
Other Lives embarks on an eclectic journey, including a stop at Dfest
on July 24.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 31
(Continued on page 32)
ENTERTAINMENT
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Currentland festivals offer something for everyone
By Bea Ochodayere
Art is the only way to run away without
leaving home. ~Twyla Tharp
July 3-5
Arts, Crafts, Music and Cajun Festi-
val: July 4, Grove Civic Center, www.
grandlakesfestivals.com, (918) 786-8896.
Cajun bands and foods, arts and crafts.
There are lots of Cajun things to do at
the Cajun festival and lots of Cajun food
to eat and some great Cajun music to
hear with Jana Jae and Hotwire. Bring
your Cajun-lovin’ self on out to Grove
and enjoy a Cajun day!
Huckleberry Festival: July 4, Jay, e-mail:
delcohmuseum@grandsavingsbank.
com, (918) 253-8698. Jay is sponsoring a
city-wide festival, including a car show,
parade, arts & crafts, a Huckleberry 5K
run, a carnival and more. This is a great
way to spend your fourth and you can
stick around for the fireworks in Jay be-
ing held at JB Earp Stadium after dark.
Freedom Celebration Parade: July 4,
Pawhuska,
www.pawhuskachamber.
com, (918) 287-1208. Pawhuska offers
you the opportunity to bring your pet
along to their annual patriotic non-mo-
torized parade honoring our veterans,
and best of all, they are also providing
lots of freebies like hot dogs, watermel-
on, balloons, flags and prizes! The event
will be held from 10 a.m. until noon and
there is plenty of time left to spend the
rest of your Fourth doing other things.
Summer Fest: July 4, Okmulgee Munic-
ipal Park, www.okmulgeechamber.org,
(918) 756-6172. There will be lots of mu-
sic, food, concessions and fireworks at
the Okmulgee Municipal Park on July
Fourth. The event will last all day from
10 a.m. until 11 p.m. and promises to be
a fun-filled day for the whole family.
Independence Day Wild Turkey Fest:
July 4, Jack Gordon South Park, Nowa-
ta, e-mail: nowatachamber@sbcglobal.
net, (918) 273-2301. Nowata is mixing
the Thanksgiving staple with the Fourth
of July theme and turning it all into a
great day that promises to be a lot of
fun. There will be a turkey drop, turtle
races, children’s games, festival foods
and of course, fireworks. This event
will be held from 3 p.m. until dusk, so
bring the kids and prepare to win a few
bucks on your chosen space.
137th Annual Quapaw Tribal Pow-
Wow: July 3-5, 2 ¼ miles south of Qua-
paw, 5681 S 630 Road. (918) 542-1853,
www.quapawtribe.com. The Quapaw
tribe is having their annual gathering
with lots of fun prizes, arts and crafts
and food for everyone. If you have
skills that you think are prize-worthy,
the Quapaw are holding 49 contests
with over $39,000 in prize money. It’s
sure to be an event worth attending in
order to get educated on the Quapaw
tribe and their customs.
July 17-19
34th Annual Cookson Jubilee: Down-
town Cookson July 17-18 Linda Stub-
blefield (918) 457-4390. The Jubilee of-
fers a nice variety of arts & crafts and
assorted other types of vendors. TACO
has a food concession “The Cook Shack”
Pack up the family and head out on a fun filled festival day.
32 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
(Continued from page 31)
Directv
Internet
Landline
Wireless
TNT Cellular
301 N. Main, Seminole, OK 74868
405-303-2034
ENTERTAINMENT
with award winning BBQ, smoked ribs
and brisket. They also serve steak on a
stick, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot-
dogs and chilidogs, soft drinks, water,
lemonade and iced tea, pop-corn and
sno-cones Inside their building labeled
“Just Desserts” they serve homemade
cakes, pies, etc., and soft serve ice cream.
In addition, they will have funnel cakes,
Indian tacos, kettle corn, bloomin’ on-
ions, turkey legs and other food items
including an ice cream concession with
homemade ice cream on a stick.
The children’s events will in-
clude a pony ride, rock climbing, sand
art and other fun things. At this time all
food vendor needs are filled, the inside
vendor booths are sold, but there are
outside arts & crafts booth spaces avail-
able. There will be arts and crafts for
all tastes and budgets as well as music
for you to enjoy while you eat whatever
food suits your fancy.
The musical line-up promises
to provide a good variety for everyone:
Friday night, from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m.,
Cookson has Geetar Junkies, Heart &
Soul, Pumpkin Hollow Boys, Outlaw
Son, The Fish Heads, Badwater and Live
Wire performing. On Saturday, from
noon until 10 p.m., the Geetar Junk-
ies, Strayhorn Band, Centertone Band,
Outlaw Son, Brian Odle Band, Slidebar,
Willie Stradlin, The Fish Heads, Okla-
homa Heartland and Jason Meadows
will perform. As if they haven’t filled
the bill enough, they have acts set-up to
keep you entertained between the band
changes: Carrigan Bradley, the 10-year-
old musical phenom, Patti Clay, Had-
die Bradley, Madysen Ishmael (a 12-
year-old from Lake Tenkiller), Aneisa
Tuel from Stilwell, Elizabeth Spencer
from Sallisaw and Mandi Casteel from
Nashville. Tickets for this event are $5
per car and $20 per person for admis-
sion (If you feel lucky, many of the local
radio stations are offering free admit-
tance tickets; you can check if there are
some free tickets left from OKIE COUN-
TRY 101.7 -KTFX, Muskogee; K-FOX
102.5 FM - Eufaula; KEOK 102.1 FM &
KTLQ 1350 AM- Tahlequah; and K95.5
- Hugo, OK/Paris, TX), but for the price
this event promises to have something
special for everyone as well as ensur-
ing you have an entire day of fun for
not much more than a movie ticket and
popcorn. If only the movies had Indian
tacos and steak on a stick like Cookson
Jubilee!
An Affair of the Heart of Tulsa: July
17-19, QuikTrip Center at Tulsa Fair-
grounds,
Tulsa,
www.anaffairofthe-
heart.com, (405) 632-2652. If you are an
art & craft fair addict, then you need to
set aside one of the days of this event
(and some money) and make the trek
over to the Affair of the Heart, as it
promises to be one of the largest in the
United States. The festival will occupy
five buildings of the fairgrounds, so
wear comfy shoes, dust off your check-
book and get over to Tulsa to see this
festival. The hours are Friday and Sat-
urday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 11
a.m. – 5 p.m.
57th
Annual Tulsa Pow-Wow:
July
17-19, SpiritBank Event Center, Tulsa,
www.tulsapowwow.org, (918) 671-2417.
Native American artists, craftsmen pub-
lic show and Native American Indian
food sales hours are 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
on Friday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Satur-
day and Sunday. Crowning of the 2010
Tulsa Powwow Princess will be Friday
at 7:30 p.m. Grand Entry of Dancers
every evening at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. on
Saturday and Sunday. Afternoon and
evening agendas include gourd danc-
ing, traditional singing, intertribal and
specialty dancing, competition dancing
in junior and senior division categories
and special performances by local and
national Native American performers.
~press release
July 27-Aug 2
Craig County Free Fair: July 27-August
1, Craig County Fairgrounds, Vinita, e-
mail: larrycordray@hotmail.com, (918)
256-7569. Craig County is offering a
free fair that promises to be an event that
dispels the theory you can’t get some-
thing for nothing; you can at this event.
There will be lots of exhibits to educate
and entertain the youngsters, livestock
shows, lots of kids’ activities and there
will be evening events for everyone.
This fair will be going on all week so you
have no excuse to not attend and it’s at
that perfect time to help the kids ramp-
up for back to school learnin’.
Sapulpa Royal Jazz Festival: Martha’s
Corner and Liberty Park, Sapulpa, (918)
224-4141.
Jason Meadows will be perform-
ing Saturday, July 18, at the
Cookson Jubilee in Cookson,
Oklahoma.
By Chris B. Critter
Eufaula Lake is the place to be on
any hot summer weekend, but especially
July 23-26 when the area boasts two large
events guaranteed to provide a good time.
An adults-only bike
rally,
Midsummer
Thunder, revs up at Belle Starr Park with
gates opening Thursday at 8 a.m. Things
are pretty mellow ‘til Friday when various
bike games fill morning and midday. By
6:30 p.m. live music hits the stage.
Scheduling was not set at press
time, but bands include Gene Kelton and
the Die Hards, local blues queen Selby
Minner & Blues on the Move, bike-friendly
band Knee Deep, and coming from OKC
will be hard hitting rockers Alter Ego.
Various adults-only events intersperse the
music acts. Saturday’s busy with a bike
parade through downtown. Again biking
games fill the middle hours then music re-
starts at 6:30 p.m. Sunday the main focus is
on recovery but until noon vendors offer a
bargain filled last minute shopping spree.
What’s the best part of the Midsummer
Thunder Bike Rally? Its sister event Whole
Hawg Days!
The vibrant community of Eu-
faula hosts family friendly Whole Hawg
Days July 23-25. The 25th anniversary
event kicks off at 5 p.m. Thursday with
a
carnival in Posey Park. The Eufaula
Round-up Rodeo starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday
an arts and crafts festival begins at 4 p.m.
and the carnival resumes at 5 p.m. Food
and drinks are available throughout the
weekend at Posey Park. A parade through
downtown commences Friday at 6 p.m.,
and the rodeo resumes afterward. The big
events are Saturday. The spry hour of 7
a.m. sees a one of a kind poker run begin at
Eufaula Cove. Early risers can find a cheap
hearty breakfast at the Community Center.
Arts and crafts in Posey Park begin anew
at 8 a.m. with the carnival recommencing
as well. Saturday children’s activities are
at the Eufaula Public Library while adults
enjoy the Midsummer Thunder parade.
Midday might be a good time to nap but
don’t miss the Hawg Cooker contest at 3
p.m. and the famous Eufaula Hawg Sand-
wich Giveaway at 5 p.m., and best be early!
The final evening’s rodeo begins at 6:30
p.m. on Saturday and at 7 p.m. the Eufaula
Cove Amphitheater gates open for an ex-
citing concert featuring red dirt star Stoney
LaRue and female rock legend Joan Jett.
Stoney LaRue is a well estab-
lished red dirt performer with a Stillwater
pedigree akin to Cross Canadian Ragweed
or Jason Boland and The Stragglers. LaRue
is a capable guitar player but clearly his
virtuosity is vocal. Blessed with a power-
ful voice and an expansive range LaRue
can belt it out with the best of them. LaRue
first began performing in Stillwater at a de-
ceptively early age. Yet as long as he’s been
on the scene, Stoney is really still getting
started. With early exposure to pure Okie
music like the Red Dirt Rangers, Medicine
Show, Randy Crouch, Bob Childers, Bran-
don Jenkins and Mike McClure’s Great
Divide; Stoney’s career has taken on a
more authentic Americana flavor than it
might’ve otherwise had. For surely with
LaRue’s arresting voice and charismatic
presence, the man was born to entertain.
In the beginning it seemed LaRue might be
bound for the more saccharine style of pop
country, but that phase was short lived.
Stoney would soon make his mark front-
ing Medicine Show reincarnated as the
Organic Boogie Band. Stoney has worked
with many musicians since then, but all
have
been
top-notch
players.
In
2005,
Stoney had a break out effort, his aptly
titled Red Dirt Album, which brought him
many new listeners and garnered him a
now permanent spot on the lucrative Texas
tour circuit. LaRue would follow that suc-
cess with his entry in the Live at Billy Bob’s
Texas collection. LaRue’s current band is
known as The Arsenals; a well seasoned
crew featuring Jeremy Bryant drumming,
Jesse Fritz on bass, Kevin Webb on guitar,
Steve Littleton on keyboards and Jeremy
Watkins fiddling.
Eufaula
welcomes
the
“God-
mother of Punk,” the “Original Riot Grrrl.”
Teenage Joan Jett began her career with no-
torious female punk band The Runaways.
The Runaways featuring Jett as well Lita
Ford and Micki Steele (The Bangles) had
huge international success. Less successful
at home, the band dissolved in 1979. Post
Runaways Jett would serve as producer
on The Germs lone album, a punk master-
piece. Her first two solo efforts met mod-
est success, but 1981s I Love Rock ‘n Roll
launched Jett to household name status.
The namesake single would spend over
a month in the no. 1 slot. “Crimson and
Clover” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me”
also charted off the album. Over the next
seven years Jett would have a five chart-
ing singles off three albums but overall in-
terest declined. 1988 found Jett in the top
10 again with “I Hate Myself For Loving
You” and it’s follow up single “Little Liar”
made it into the top 20.
Always ahead of her time, Jett
next released Hit List, an album of cool
cover songs; it went over everybody’s head
in 1990. Six studio albums as many collec-
tions and several one-off projects later, Jett
is two decades older. Joan’s never been far
from the limelight taking roles on Broad-
way, in film and television. Generations of
female musicians cite her as an influence
and she has produced many discs by up
and coming bands. Her most recent album
Sinner was a minor hit in Europe and gar-
nered her enough notice stateside to head-
line two Vans Warped Tours. She hosted
her own show on Sirius satellite radio but
it was cancelled prior to the merger with
XM. Outspoken, Jett is an active supporter
of American troops while just as adamant-
ly opposing the war. She’s also into vegan-
ism, green living sustainability, animal ad-
vocacy and conscious environmentalism.
The
self-proclaimed
“Greatest
Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World,” The Su-
persuckers join in the mayhem and will
surely kick it unusually hard in an open-
ing slot. The ‘suckers are pioneering coun-
try punk rockers and have blown many
minds in their 20 plus year history. Always
a cult-favorite the band has never wavered
from
its
relentless
approach
to
music.
Some early efforts had a sparse sound, but
for some time the band has been balls out,
loud, hardcore rock. But
it’s
all done in
fun and not dark or brooding, so it should
be a great fit for swilling a tasty beverage
and enjoying Eufaula Cove. Learn more at
www.supersuckers.com.
Stillwater’s
own
Taddy
Por-
ter also play, so come out early to catch
their set and scope them online at www.
myspace.com/taddyportermusic.
For more info contact the Eufaula
Area Chamber of Commerce at (918) 689-
2791 or online at www.eufaulachamberof-
commerce.com.
Midsummer Thunder’s
Web
site
is
www.midsummerthunder.
com. Stoney LaRue at www.stoneylarue.
com and Joan Jett at www.joanjett.com.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 33
Visit The
urrent
C
www.currentland.com
ENTERTAINMENT
Eufaula explodes with Whole Hawg Days, Stoney LaRue and Joan Jett
Stoney LaRue at Country Fever ‘09
Photo by: Tom Barlow
34 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Welcome To Eufaula
TOYS
SHOWER GIFTS
BOWS SOCKS
PICTURE FRAMES
CUDDLY ANIMALS
BOYS 0 - 24 MONTHS
GIRLS 0 - 14
PREEMIES 4/6 LB.
918-689-3000
Open 9
:
3 0 a m - 5
:
00pm
Monday - Sa turday
127 N. MAIN EUFAULA, OK
619-689-2588
Open Mon-Fri
9-5, Sat 9-12
Close Tues & Sun
200 Adams St.,
Eufaula Cove
(Yellow Building)
Eufaula, OK
Bodacious
Bubbles
202 N. Main St., Eufaula
918-618-7627
OPEN
Mon-Sat 10am - 5pm
Bath & Body Products for
Men & Women
Bath & Body Products for
Men & Women
106 Selmon Rd
Eufaula, OK 74432
U-FAULA EASY RIDERS
918-689-7177
www.ufaulaeasyriders.com
Why pay big city prices
when all the Great Deals
are in Eufaula
Shop at
U-Faula Easy Riders
for all your motorcycle gear
The Fabric Store
130 North Main Eufaula, OK 74432
New Owner, New Look
Quilting Classes Available
Monday - Saturday
9:30am - 5:00pm
We accept all major credit cards
Additional 5% off on all Cash Sales
918-689-3320
Mon. thru Sat ~ 10am to 5pm
918.618.4848
139 N. Main
Eufaula,OK
1341 E 41st Street
Tulsa, OK
(41st & Peoria, next to Wild Oats)
Picasso of Women’s Clothing
Libby’s
Fabulous Texture!
Color! Shape!
Fudge, Brew, Gifts, Etc...
Open M-F 9:30-4:30 • Sat 10-4 • Lunch Starting at 11am
101 S. Main, Eufaula • 918-689-9090
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 35
Welcome To Eufaula
24 Years
Quality Service
& Parts
Located in Eufaula Cove
Certifed Technicians
200 Adams St., Eufaula, OK. 74432
918-689-5426
SeaDoo
Sales & Service
Mon/Wed - Fri
9am - 5pm
Saturday
9am - 1pm
Closed
Tue & Sun
Bank of Eufaula
“
The Hometown Bank where Our Customers Come First ”
Serving you since 1910
2009
25th ANNUAL
WHOLE HAWG DAYS
FESTIVAL & POKER RUN
July 23rd, 24th & 25th
CARNIVAL - THURS, FRI, SAT— POSEY PARK
RODEO - THURS, FRI, SAT—FAIR GROUNDS
ARTS & CRAFT & FOOD VENDORS – FRI. SAT. POSEY PARK
BIKE RALLY - FRI. SAT. – BELLE STARR
BOATS, BIKERS & BABES POKER RUN
SATURDAY AT EUFAULA COVE MARINA
CONCERT—SAT-AMPHITHEATER
“Shop Nichols, Save Dollars”
Open 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.
CheCOtah
207 N. Broadway
473-6513 - 473-5033
eufaula
2nd & Pine
698-5211 - 689-2101
...lower prices
every Day...
Nichols
DOllaR
SaVeR
$
- Full Service Floral Department
- In-Store Pharmacy (Checotah)
- Deli/Bakery/SUBWAY (Checotah)
- Accept Electronic Food Stamps
- WIC Approved
- Visa and MasterCard Accepted
- OGA Money Orders/Western Union
- Hunting/Fishing License
- Certifed Angus Beef
36 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 37
Lake Country
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
1-800-657-4837
Snowdale Park
8 miles East of Pryor on Hwy 20
Live Music Friday
& Saturday Nights
Monday - Saturday 12pm - 2am
Sunday 11am - 11pm
918-434-8989
By Chris B. Critter
Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees
was formed in 1940 with the Pensacola
Dam of the Grand/Lower Neosho River,
which extends over 15 football fields in
length. Pensacola has two small sister
dams known as “the spillways” to its
east.
Grand Lake, with its deep and
rocky bottom, offers some of the finest
bass fishing anywhere and also attracts
sail
boaters from across the country.
Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees has two
little sisters downstream - Lake Hudson
(aka Markham Ferry Reservoir) and Fort
Gibson Lake.
There’s something for everyone
in the Grand Lake region; antique-ers,
for instance, will have a hey day taking a
peak at the antiques museum at Grove’s
Har-Ber Village.
Also take a tour of
nearby Lendonwood, a six-acre botani-
cal garden with 1,200 types of plants.
Grand Lake is a also popular destination
for entertainment. There are often spe-
cial events and festivals. July 3 will see a
fireworks display on the lake at Disney,
between the spillways. That same night
the whole lake will be rocking when local
legend Leon Russell makes his “Grand
Return” at Junior’s Paradise Amphithe-
atre one mile east of Disney. Celebrate
Independence Day with a unique twist
at the Grove Civic Center on the Fourth
of July with an authentic Cajun Festival.
Live music and fun are also
showcased at places such as Riggs & Co.
and J.R. Spanky’s. Be sure to check out
the unique Monkey Island area with all
of its many bars and restaurants. Other
spots for fun and food include the Light-
house Grill next to Honey Creek Bridge
and Oliver’s Twist on the decks in Dis-
ney. Pensacola Pizza has a fabulous spot
near the big dam in Langley. If you time
it right you may find a bite in the Water-
way Cafe at Harbors View Marina. Har-
ken back to Grand Lake in the 1950s at
the classic Mooney’s in Disney, whether
you need a drink, a meal a place to sleep
or all three, they’ll take care of you.
The natural beauty of Grand
Lake is prominent at the state parks that
line its shores. There’s Cherokee State
Park which is east of Disney with 43
park acres offering dozens of RV camp-
sites and over 100 tent sites. Disney/Lit-
tle Blue State Park is located nearby at
the flood gates of the Pensacola Dam, of-
fering 80 more campsites on its 32 acres.
Bernice State Park on the northwestern
corner of the lake has been called “Crap-
pie Capital” of the world, 88 park acres
with 231 campsites and semi-modern
RV access. Near Grove, Honey Creek
State Park provides over 200 campsites
including RVs, on its 30 park acres.
So
needless
to
say,
life
on
Grand Lake is quite grand, indeed.
Road Trippin’ – Grand Lake ‘O the Cherokees
Grand Lake Association
www.grandlakefun.com
(866) 588-4726
Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
www.grandlakechamber.org
(918) 782-3214
Food, fun & festivities
Cajun Fest, Janna Jae Fiddle Camp
www.grandlakefestivals.com
(800) 526-2523
Lendonwood Gardens
(918) 786-2938
www.lendonwood.com
Har-Ber Village
(918) 786-3488
www.har-bervillage.com
Riggs & Co. Saloon
www.myspace.com/riggsncompany
JR Spanky’s
www.jrspankys.com
Oliver’s Twist
(918) 435-2776
www.oliverstwistatthedecks.blogspot.com
Mooney’s Sunset Bar & Grill
(918) 435-4982
Pensacola Pizza & Pasta
(918) 782-3333
Lighthouse Grill
(918) 786-2700
WaterWay Café
(918) 782-3277
www.harborsviewmarina.com
State Parks
Bernice State Park & Nature Center
(918) 786-9447
www.oklahomaparks.com
Cherokee State Park
(918) 435-8066
www.oklahomaparks.com
Disney/Little Blue State Park
(918) 435-8066
www.oklahomaparks.com
Honey Creek State Park
(918) 786-9447
www.oklahomaparks.com
GRAND LAKE ATTRACTIONS
38 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Lake Country
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Located 2 miles East and 5 miles
North of Tahlequah on Hwy 10
Motel • Cabins • Bunkhouse
Rafts • Canoes • Kayaks
Swimming Pool
Group rates available
Call Toll Free 1-800-722-3834 or 918-456-6272
$2.00 Off Your Next Float
(one coupon per person ONLY)
Let us
sell your lift
for you!
Call us about
used lifts!
Unique Nature Shop
918-456-2434
Rocks & Gem stones
nAtURALDeLIGHts
8951 Hwy 10 Tahlequah, OK • 1 mile North of Eagle Bluff Resort
By Chris B. Critter
Located on the Canadian River,
just upstream from its merge with the Ar-
kansas, manmade Eufaula Lake is the larg-
est lake located entirely in Oklahoma, built
in the early 1960s, it is 600 miles of shoreline
and 100,000 surface acres.
The Standing
Rock of the Canadian River once admired by
early Spanish explor-
ers now lies beneath
the lake’s waves. Eu-
faula Lake
is
recog-
nized for its outstand-
ing crappie, bass, and
catfish.
Swimmers
enjoy sandy beaches
while sightseers scan
rocky cliffs.
Visitors to the lake should plan to
visit the historic town of the same name. Eu-
faula has many antique shops, restaurants
and nightlife options as well as a large cove
side music amphitheater. This music venue
has frequent events often featuring local
favorites. On July 3 Dierks Bentley, Roger
Clyne, Kevin Fowler and Jamey Johnson
share the stage. Whole Hawg Days later in
the month will see Stoney LaRue and Joan
Jett perform. On Main Street you can find
art, music and culture at the Eufaula Area
Arts Council Studio. Near the cove and am-
phitheater one can grab an excellent steak or
a bracing drink while at the Brangus loca-
tion on Lakeshore Drive. Across the lake lie
other communities like the smalls towns of
Canadian, Texanna and Porum. If you find
yourself on Texanna Road east of Hwy 69
then
stop
and
fight
global warming with
ice cream, or just eat
fun,
at
Coneheadz
drive in.
They have all your car-
ny food favorites.
You can find
a drink at the Porum
Landing in the Texan-
na Road Lounge. Further to the south edge
of the lake lie the small town of Krebs and its
larger neighbor, McAlester. These two com-
munities are known for their fine selection of
real Italian cuisine and authentic groceries.
There are quite a few options and every lo-
cal has favorite, so ask around and find your
heart’s desire. McAlester also features the
original Brangus Feed Lot location which
has great steaks and a party hardy bar.
Two state parks located on Eufau-
la Lake offer a variety of recreation options.
Formerly known as Fountainhead, Lake Eu-
faula State Park is surrounded on three sides
by water. Visitors enjoy RV and tent camp-
ing and an 18-hole golf course among other
amenities. Arrowhead State Park, a large
2200 acre beauty, is also located on a penin-
sula. Arrowhead features a variety of camp-
site options and bunkhouses that can sleep
up to 144 people. The park also encloses
Area 51 Marina and 19th Hole Club which
offer a nice restaurant and very hip bar with
a cool style. Just a few miles east of the Lake
lies Robber’s Cave State Park which is truly
a historic beauty.
Road Trippin’ – Lake Eufaula, the ‘gentle giant’
www.eufaulachamberofcommerce.com
www.touroklahoma.com
www.coneheadz.com
www.myspace.com/eufaulacoveam-
phitheater
www.mcalester.org
www.brangusfeedlot.com
www.lakeeufaula.com
www.eufaulalake.com
www.oklahomaparks.com
Marinas
Eufaula Cove Marina
(918) 689-7723
eufaulacove@geotec.net
Number 9 Marina (918) 452-3261
Lake Eufaula Marina (918)689-5242
State Parks
Arrowhead State Park
(918) 339-2204
Lake Eufaula State Park
(918) 689-5311
LAKE EUFAULA LINKS
Tip #1 - You will need a fish-
ing license to fish. Do not try
to skimp on that. The fees for
not having one are too high and
chances are you will get caught
without one.
By Bea Ochodayere
It’s
now getting a bit warm
outside and the river float trips will
be drying up along
with the rivers with
the dry heat of sum-
mer, so
it’s
time to
find what else Cur-
rentland has to of-
fer those with duck
feet.
Lake
Ten-
killer
has
lots
of
activities
for
the
outdoor
enthusi-
ast and even when
there are no planned
events,
there’s
lots
of fishing with the
availability of large-
mouth, black, spot-
ted and white bass
as well as crappie,
bluegill, channel catfish and walleye
in the 12,000 acre water park. The lake
offers 18 total park areas, two state
parks, 24 boat ramp launch sites, nu-
merous camping sites, sheltered and
open picnic areas with restrooms, water
fountains and cooking areas and lots of
beaches for swimming and sunbathing.
There are also three major nature trails,
10
marinas
and
three
floating
restaurants to ac-
commodate
all
your
needs
for
fun, fishing and
great food.
Worth men-
tioning
too
are
the Fourth of July
Fireworks
event
in
Gore, a Boat
Parade at 5 p.m.
and the ’Run for
the
Clover
Box
Turtle
Race’
in
Vian, all on July
Fourth.
The
Turtle Race offers
more than just the
race; there will be contests of all sorts
with watermelon feasts, hayrides, wa-
ter balloon fights and lots of cash prizes
for kids of all ages. After a full day of
fun in Vian, head over to Gore and see a
boat parade and fireworks over the lake
to top off your day.
The Cookson Jubilee is an an-
nual event with so much to do there isn’t
room here to list it all. There are national-
ly-known entertainers, children’s events,
barbeque by the best and money to be
had every night just for showing up! Who
can’t use a few bucks to help out in this
economy, especially when it comes with a
good time? There will be lots of arts and
crafts to buy with your newly-won win-
nings and food other than just barbeque,
so there’s no excuse to miss this.
Lest we forget, there is one thing
about Tenkiller needing special mention:
lake activities. Lake Tenkiller stocks rain-
bow trout just below the dam for year-
round fishing (get a license first) and of
course there is swimming, scuba diving,
boating of all sorts, skiing and just hang-
ing out on the beach getting a tan. All of
the events at Tenkiller are geared towards
families and fun for all ages, so gather the
kids, blankets, sunscreen, fishing poles
and some cool water and come out to
Lake Tenkiller for fun.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 39
Lake Country
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Food -- Fuel -- Supplies
Boat Rentals & Repair - Slip Rentals
On Hwy 10A between the Dam
and Fin & Feather Resort
Lake Tenkiller, OK
Marina
918-487-5178
Shop
918-487-2027
www.strayhornmarina.com
Strayhorn Marina
Lakeside Gift Shop & Gas Dock
Cold
Beer
Sun - Thu: 7am - 9pm
Fri & Sat: 7am - 10pm
Hwy 82 and Cookson Bend Rd
Cafe & Pizza Parlor
918-457-5171
Cookson, ok
New Covered Deck
Ice
Cream
Hot
Pizza
Tip #2 - Check yourself often
for ticks and wear sunscreen.
Tip #3 -The lakes are wilder-
ness, not Six Flags. You can get
hurt doing things you wouldn’t
do in your backyard and there
are no park attendants to mon-
itor you.
Tip #4 - Watch for dangerous
weather. If it looks like it’s com-
ing, it probably is so prepare to
take cover.
Road Trippin’ – Lake Tenkiller
www.oklahomaparks.com
Tenkiller Information: (918) 489-5641
Email: tenkillercabins@oklaho-
maparks.com
Marinas:
Barnacle Bill’s Marina (918) 457-5438
- www.bbillsmarina@yahoo.com
Burnt Cabin Marina (918) 457-5421
- www.burntcabin.com
Caney Ridge Marina – (918) 457-4417
- crmarina.tripod.com/caneyridge-
marina/
Cookson Bend Marina (918) 457-5161
- www.cooksonbend.com
Paradise Cove Marina (918) 772-3270
Pettit Bay Marina (918) 457-5728
Pine Cove Marina (918) 489-5735
- http://www.pinecovemarina.net
Sixshooter Resort – (918) 457-5152
- sixshooterresort.homestead.com
Snake Creek Marina – (918) 457-5674
- www.snakecreekmarina.com
Strayhorn Marina – (918) 487-5178
- www.strayhornmarina.com
State Parks:
Tenkiller State Park (918) 489-5641
Cherokee Landing State Park (918)
457-5716
Western Hills Guest Ranch (918) 772-
2545, (800) 368-1486
LAKE TENKILLER LINKS
By Porter Ragnus
Keystone Lake holds key to
good times
Fifteen miles west of down-
town Tulsa on State Highway 151 is
Keystone Lake, and it is a good one
for sure. Keystone boasts 26,000 acres
of blue-green water and 330 miles of
shoreline adorned with thick beautiful
woods (which are full to the brim with
hiking, equestrian and biking
trails)
and sandy beaches (two of which are al-
cohol free for those of you who prefer to
swim sober). Striper, walleye, bass and
catfish are swimming around in abun-
dance waiting for you to catch them
from your boat which can be launched
from any one of the numerous ramps
located around the lake.
Keystone State Park is right
there beside the lake and its amenities
are sure to delight the pickiest of lake-
goers. It offers more than 20 lake-view
cabins with fireplaces, numerous pic-
nic areas amended with group picnic
shelters, nearly 75 RV sites with full
hookups, almost 100 tent campsites,
hot showers and indoor-plumbed re-
strooms, lit boat ramps, playgrounds,
hiking trails and much, much more.
Keystone Lake was named af-
ter the town (well, really just a post of-
fice) which is now at the bottom of the
lake and is populated by crawdads af-
ter being flooded in 1964 by the Corps
of Engineers. Its primary function is
to control the massive flood plain cre-
ated by the Arkansas River while at the
same time generating good old fash-
ioned electricity via the dam. Its sec-
ondary function, of course, is incredible
amounts of fun for the whole family.
Lake Carl Blackwell keeps
Stillwater moving
Eight miles west of Stillwa-
ter, Okla. on Highway 51 is Lake Carl
Blackwell, which is a moderately sized
body of water with 3,350 surface acres
of pure, wet joy. Eight campgrounds
surround the water as well as plenty of
picnic space for the whole family and
a grip of college students leaving their
studies behind for a day in the sun.
The fish bite harder than Dracula and
are easily caught throughout the cold
months from the heated fishing dock
which doubles as a shady fishing dock
in the hot summer. Ski Point is Lake
Carl Blackwell’s most popular recre-
ation area with a designated swimming
beach, multitudes of picnic tables, a
luxurious pavilion and a kick-ass sand
volleyball court. Equestrian and hik-
ing trails abound this wonderful area
(as well as sunbathing college girls but
what does that have to do with horses?
Nothing I suppose, but I’m writing this
article and I wanted to mention the sun-
bathing college girls, so I slipped it in
there.) An on-water fuel station makes
filling up your boat with petroleum
products extremely convenient much
the same as the wonderfully stocked
convenience store makes buying extra
sunscreen and soda pops extremely
convenient. Don’t miss out on Stillwa-
ter’s watery treasure that is Lake Carl
Blackwell.
40 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Lake Country
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Located 2 miles east and 5 miles north
of Tahlequah on Highway 10.
800-722-2411
918-456-4545
www.diamondheadresor t .us
Families Welcome
“Where Memories Are Made!”
Fri. July 3rd
Red Eye Gravy
$5
Cover
4th of July Weekend
Sat. July 4th
Randy Crouch
&
Flying Horse
12081 Hwy 10 Tahlequah, OK
Float Trips on The Illinois River
Canoes
Rafts
Kayaks
Tubes
Campground
Bunkhouse
Log Roll
Trampoline
Home of the Illinois
River Monster
Mention this ad for a discount!
1-800-722-9635 or 918-456-8371
KEySTONE LAKE AmENITIES
Ugly John’s Marina & Grill
(918) 243-7808
www.uglyjohns.com
Freddie’s Steakhouse
(918) 865-9971
www.freddiessteakhouse.com
Keystone State Park
(800) 654-8240
(918) 865-4991
www.oklahomaparks.com
Walnut Creek State Park
(918) 865-4991
www.oklahomaparks.com
LAKE CARL BLACKwELL
AmENITIES
LCB Headquarters
(405) 372-5157
www.lcb.okstate.edu
Stillwater Convention & Visitors Bureau
(800) 991-6717
(405) 743-3697
www.visitstillwater.org
Tip #5 - Wild animals are not
pets; there are dangerous ani-
mals, snakes and bugs. Leave
them be.
Road Trippin’ - Keystone Lake & Lake Carl Blackwell
By Porter Ragnus
Oodles of goodness at Ool-
agah Lake
The birthplace of the man, the
myth and the legend known as Will
Rogers now resides under the approxi-
mately 29,500 surface acres of Oologah
Lake in Northeast Oklahoma after be-
ing flooded by the Army Corps of En-
gineers. The house was relocated so as
to preserve its historical value, but the
land is now owned by the catfish.
This wonderful lake is a hop
skip and a jump from Nowata, Okla. and
Oologah, Okla., as well as being only 30
miles from the sprawling metropolis of
Tulsa. In addition to being an integral
part of the control plan for the Verdigris
and Arkansas River Basins, it is a place
for mass amounts of watery recreation.
Oologah Lake boasts 11 parks,
142 campsites with electricity, multiple
boat
ramps and
marinas,
numerous
swimming beaches, picnic areas galore,
18 miles of equestrian and hiking trails
and a variety of game fish including
sand bass, large mouth bass, striped
bass, crappie and walleye (not to men-
tion catfish as big as your little brother).
The
Will
Rogers
Centennial
Hiking
Trail is one of the most popular hikes
in Northeastern Oklahoma. Let me tell
you folks, this is one heck of a nice lake.
what Skiatook Lake lacks in
size it makes up for in sport
Off of Oklahoma State High-
way 20, four miles west of the town of
Skiatook and 11 miles east of Hominy,
Okla. lies the quaint and joyful body of
H2O known as Skiatook Lake amongst
the rolling hills of the Tall Grass Prairie.
Skiatook Lake is in charge of
controlling the flood plains created by
the Bird Creek Basin, which includes
the tributaries Hominy Creek, Tall Chief
Creek, Turkey Creek, Gouin Creek, Bull
Creek, Wildhorse Creek, Boar Creek,
Sand Creek and Mahala Creek. Though
Skiatook Lake is not nearly as large
as Oologah Lake (about half as many
surface acres and about two-thirds as
much shoreline), it is just as beautiful
and pleasing to the Oklahoman’s eye. It
is known as a wonderful place to sport
fish with many tournaments held annu-
ally as well as a good place for all of you
crazy recreational ornithologists, as the
bird watching is stupendous.
Skiatook Lake has more than
10 launches for your watercraft, most
of them open year-round, and enough
picnic tables and campgrounds to host
at least nine simultaneous family re-
unions. The dam that holds all of the wa-
ter back was approved for construction
by the Tulsa Corps of Engineers in 1962,
just in case you were wondering. That
makes Skiatook Lake a couple years
younger than Oologah Lake which was
approved for existence in 1960.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 41
Lake Country
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
918-457-5152
2 miles south of Cookson on Hwy 82 • 20144 W. 915 Rd. • Cookson, OK 74427
Serving Pizza, Burgers, Salads, Sandwiches • To Go Orders Welcome • Call 918-457-4202
Home of Skippers Floating Restaurant
Boat Rentals
Lake Boutique
Connelly Tubes
Life Jackets
Tackle & Bait
Beer/Pop/Ice
Fully Equipped
Log Cabins &
Mobile Homes
SIXSHOOTER
Resort & Marina
OPEN ALL
YEAR!
OOLAGAh LAKE AmENITIES
Lake Headquarters
(405) 443-2250
Redbud Bay Marina
(918) 341-5190
Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch
(800) 324-9455
www.willrogers.com
SKIATOOK LAKE AmENITIES
Lake Headquarters
(918) 396-3170
Skiatook Chamber of Commerce
(918) 396-3702
www.skiatookchamber.com
Crystal Bay Marina
(918) 396-4240
www.crystalbaymarina.com
Road Trippin’ - Oologah Lake & Skiatook Lake
By Bea Ochodayere
Fort Gibson Lake boasts fun
for the whole family
Another lake offering many
amenities to the outdoor enthusiast is
Fort Gibson Lake. Fort Gibson does not
have organized activities like Tenkiller,
but if you are truly looking to get away
from it all, get in a little camping, fish-
ing, golf and R&R, then Fort Gibson
is a great spot to do it. Fort Gibson is
managed by the Army Corps of Engi-
neers and they take the responsibility
of caring for the lake very seriously.
There are eight marinas for your boat-
ing needs but if you feel the need to do
something else, there is the Western
Hills Guest Ranch, offering you golfing
or horseback riding. If you want to get
out and eat, the lake is minutes away
from both Fort Gibson and Wagoner
and there are brochures at the visitor’s
center at Highways 51 and 69 to help
you find cabins, camping grounds or
motel accommodations.
If you need
to call ahead to find out more informa-
tion, you can call the Lake Association
at (918) 485-4623. If you are considering
visiting on the Fourth of July, you can
venture over to the town of Fort Gibson
for the fireworks, but it’s recommended
that you call the Fort Gibson Town Hall
for more information at (918) 478-3551.
Lake hudson offers world
class fshing adventures
Lake Hudson is another lake
offering the outdoor enthusiast much to
do, especially the fisherman; Lake Hud-
son has been ranked one of the top three
bass lakes in Oklahoma and there are 16
free boat ramps to help you get to them.
There are many fish to be found: large-
mouth, black, spotted and white bass,
crappie, bluegill, channel catfish and
walleye and there are birds to see in fall
such as white pelican and bald eagles.
There are camping opportunities, but
if you are willing to drive a few miles,
you can find more luxurious lodgings
in Pryor, Salina or Grove to name a few,
where there are lots of places with food,
entertainment, bars and shopping. All
three towns have much to do for the
spouse who really doesn’t feel the need
to go fishin’. Lake Hudson will be offer-
ing ‘Independence Day on the Hudson’
over the Fourth of July. If you think
Lake Hudson provides the right variety
of activities for you and the family, or if
you just want to learn more before you
jump in the car, logon to www.lakehu-
dson.org or call the Lake Hudson Area
Association at (918) 434-2700.
42 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Lake Country
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Your Guide to
Currentland
’
s
Large Variety of Beer:
Import & Domestic Beer
including: New Bud Lime, Miller,
Michelob Lite in Cans
Camping & Fishing Supplies:
Ice & Chests • Fire Wood • Charcoal •
Sleeping Bags • Shot Glasses • Fishing Bait •
Fishing Tackle • Cooking Utensils
Hunting Licenses • Fishing Licenses
Souvenirs • Shoes & Sandals Gurkees®
Groceries & Small Cafe Menu Items:
Milk & Bread • Beans & Potatoes
Burgers & Fries • Steak Sandwiches
Deli Sandwiches • Chili & Stew
Breakfast Items • Lunch & Dinner Items
Hot & Cold Deli Items • Catfsh Dinners
For Sale by Owner, Contact Jerry at (918) 457-0647
www.illinoisriverstore.com
(918) 456-2248
Illinois River Store
“Heart of the Illinois River Recreation Area”
On Sale
Now!
Pelican Kayaks
On Sale
Now!
For the BEST
Canoeing, Rafting, and Kayaking
on the Illinois River
We are currently taking Reservations for the
2009 Float Season!!
For Reservations and Information
Call Toll Free: 1 (800) 359-0866
www.peytonsplace.com
Tip #7 - Be considerate of oth-
ers at the lake; they came for
a nice time away from it all
and deserve to have fun too,
and no one likes an obnoxious
drunk…ever. Go home to get
drunk.
Tip #8 - Lastly, have fun but do
it with care. A nice get-away
should not include a trip to the
emergency room.
Road Trippin’ – Fort Gibson Lake & Lake Hudson
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 43
Fuel • Head Pump
Rentals including:
Lakewood South
7 miles South of Keys on Indian Rd.
Marina open Wed-Sun • Mechanic avail. Mon-Fri
Bar & Grill Opens 11 am
Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Holidays
Closed Monday & Tuesdays
16oz Ribeye
Steak
TRY THESE LOCAL
FAVORITES
CATFISH
NACHOS
GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH
FULL BAR
Ship Store • Boats
Cabins • RV Camping
24’-30’-45’-50’ Slips avail.
Authorized Service
Call 918-457-5438 for more info
LIVE BANDS
July 18
MASON JAR
REVIVAL
9PM FREE SHOW
HWY 59 North by Sailboat Bridge, Grove, OK
Call for Cruise Times
918-786-4272
Duck Creek Fireworks Cruise
on The Cherokee Queen!
July 4th 6pm - 12 Midnight
BBQ Dinner Buffet & Giant Fireworks Show
DJ Music provided by T&T Music Service
Open to the Public
Hours: Thur 5-8pm
Fri & Sat 5-9pm
Sunday Brunch 11am-2pm
Banquet Area for
Private Parties
& Weddings
Royal Bay Restaurant
Best Steak & Seafood on the Lake!
Royal Bay
Convention Center
July 17th
Grammy Awards Winner
Charlie McCoy
Dinner & Show, $40 per Person
Dance Music Provided by
Captain Terry Fowler & the Lakeside Outlaws
Reservations
Required
(918)786-4386 • 786-4272 • 786-3486
FT. GIBSON LAKE
Lake Association at (918) 485-4623
or (918) 683-0878
Fort Gibson Town Hall (918) 478-3551
Marinas
Paradise Cove Marina 918-772-3270
paradisecove@geotec.net
Whitehorn Cove Marina
910-462-3311 whthorn01@aol.com
Chouteau Bend Recreation Area
(918) 476-6422
Mazie Landing Marina (918) 476-8965
Sinors Long Bay Marina (918) 485-2884
Taylor Ferry Marina & Resort
(918) 485-3006
State Parks
Sequoyah Bay State Park
(918) 683-0878
Sequoyah State Park & Western Hills
Guest Ranch (918) 772-2545 and
(800) 368-1486
LAKE hUDSON
General information:
www.grda.com/Water/hudson.html
www.oklahomaparks.com
Lake Hudson Association:
918-434-6658
Lake Information: 918-256-7537 or
918-782-9490
www.LakeHudson.org or call the
Lake Hudson Area Association at
(918) 434-2700.
Marinas
Hudson Lake Marina & MPH
(918) 434-6099
B&G Marina (918) 434-2270
State Park
Snowdale State Park (918) 434-2651
44 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 45
THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
KELLY ’S
Furniture & Mattress Warehouse
1629 N. Main, Muskogee (918) 683-3111
Mattress
Sets Starting
at
$98
Delivery • Financing • Layaway
Mastercard • Visa Accepted
NOBODY BEATS OUR MATTRESS PRICES!!!
We offer
In-House
Financing
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Complete
Bedroom Sets
Bunkbeds
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Hwy 69 North ~ Muskogee
Next to Heaven Scents Candles
918-686-0243
Open Mon. - Sat. 9:30 am to 6:30 pm / Sun. 12 pm to 5 pm
Amish Country Store
& Restaurant
“We Deliver”
We also have
Jams • Jerky • Cheese
Over 40 different kinds of Fudge
Sandwiches • Soups
Pies • Catering
The ONLY
Amish Store in
Muskogee
After hours parties avail.
Fresh Homemade Pies Daily
Daily Lunch & Dinner
Specials
Game. Set. Mack.
Cherokee Casinos
hit
the
jamming jackpot in July
All across the Cherokee Na-
tion they’ll be hosting the jammy jams
in numerous casinos during the month
of July. And best of all, these shows are
free to anyone age 21 and older.
Nineties alternative rock icons
Candlebox rip open the new Hard Rock-
inspired room, Friction, at the Cherokee
Casino in Catoosa at 11 p.m. on Satur-
day, July 4. C’box is still out supporting
their latest album, Into the Sun, as well
as banging out all their hits from their
multi-platinum self-titled debut, includ-
ing “Change,” “You,” “Far Behind” and
“Cover Me.” Light up Candlebox on the
Web at www.candleboxrocks.com.
Highlighting this month-long
musical offering is Tulsa native and
guit-steel
innovator
Junior
Brown.
Brown has been blending and bending
traditional country and Western swing
with fancy fretwork all over the world
and he’ll be sharing it with the Chero-
kee Casino Will Roger’s Downs at 9
p.m. on Friday, July 17 and Cherokee
Casino West Siloam Springs at 9 p.m.
on Saturday, July 18! Guit with it at
www.juniorbrown.com.
Also rocking out July 17-18 at a
pair of Cherokee Casinos are three rock
bands who dominated the airwaves
and rock charts in the ‘90s – Seven Mary
Three, Marcy Playground, and Sponge.
This trio of titans will be performing at 8
p.m. on Friday, July 17 at the Cherokee
Casino in West Siloam Springs and Sat-
urday, July 18 and the brand new Hard
Rock Cherokee Casino in Catoosa at 9
p.m. on Saturday, July 18. 7M3’s big-
gest hit was “Cumbersome,” but they
were also the band behind other chart
toppers like “Over Your Shoulder” and
“Water’s Edge.” For more on this Vir-
ginia band and their upcoming tour,
check out www.7M3.com.
Sawyer Brown will close out
the month with a toe-tapping good-
time country set on Friday, July 31, at
the Cherokee Casino in West Siloam
Springs.
This
CMA award winning
group has released over a dozen al-
bums, several of which have gone gold
and platinum, and had great success
with hits like “Step by Step,” “Used to
Blue” and “Some Girls Do.” Learn more
and take your loving hearts over to
www.sawyerbrown.com.
For more show information,
directions
and
all
Cherokee
Casino
events, head over to www.cherokeeca-
sinos.com.
Rentiesville keeps it rockin’
Selby Minner has been singing
the blues for decades, and now this five
foot tall firecracker from Connecticut
is keeping the Down Home Blues Club
in historic Rentiesville, Okla. alive and
well, preserving the memories of her
late
husband, the great DC Minner,
and educating anyone and everyone
about Oklahoma’s unique position on
the blues map with a series of monthly
events and special happenings.
The first Friday of every month,
the Down Home Blues Club presents
Java Jamz from 6 p.m.
– 10 p.m., this
time on Friday, July 3. This all ages cof-
feehouse/open-mic atmosphere is the
perfect place to get your feet wet in the
blues circle or jump right in. The second
and fourth Saturdays of the month, July
11 & 25, will welcome the Saturday Jam
Sessions which begin at 4 p.m. and go
late into the evening. Sundays also see
jam sessions beginning at 2 p.m. and
lasting sometimes ‘til 2 a.m.!
And now’s the time to get your
advance tickets for the annual Dusk ‘Til
Dawn Blues Festival taking place Labor
Day Weekend, Sept. 4-6, in downtown
R’ville. Tickets are only $15 per day, and
children under 12, as well as volunteers,
get in for free to see live performances
by Watermelon Slim, Wes Reynolds,
Selby Minner & Blues on the Move, Zac
Harmon, Bill Brown, Miss Blues, Frank
Ray, Clarence King and many more!
For more information on these
and other happenings at the only place
that rocks Rentiesville, logon to www.
dcminnerblues.com or call (918) 473-
2411.
Eskimo Joe turns 34
It’s hard to believe that Stan
Clark’s idea for a place to have a cold
beer and cheese fries is turning 34 this
year, and he’s throwing a week-long
celebration for all to enjoy at Eskimo
Joe’s the week of July 20-26 in Stillwa-
ter.
Every day of the week there’s
food and drink specials, free live enter-
tainment at night, prizes, giveaways,
costume contests and fun for the whole
family all day long.
It all kicks off on Monday, July
20 with the original Joe’s Road Crew DJ
and Joe’s founder, Stan Clark, spinning
records all night long. Get your “I Know
Stan”
Joe’s
shirt
on! Then Tuesday,
July 21 will be the night to break out
those pearl snaps and cowboy boots to
scoot to some live country music cour-
tesy of the Bart Crow Band and special
guests The Troubadour Trio at 10 p.m.
Wednesday, July 22 is going to be Wick-
ed Wednesday with $0.50 Little Joe’s
(like they are every Humpday!) and a
crazy party fit for every monster and
goblin with live music provided by the
amazing Jonathan Tyler & the Northern
Lights. Thursday, July 23 is the Pajama
Jammy Jam (ladies!) featuring the Full
Flava Kings and Ben Kilgore at 10 p.m.
Friday, July 24 has been deemed Ladies
Night with a free keg starting early in
the evening and special Jungle Boogie
music provided by none other than Ba-
Selby Minner signing a guitar.
46 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
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THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
nana Seat at 10 p.m. Saturday, July 25
will feature a Kid’s Carnival, the Wiz-
ard of Oz and an alumni reunion dur-
ing the daytime and groovy live music
in the Joe Dome featuring James Kinney
at 10 p.m. And Sunday, July 26 is the
official 34th Anniversary with a Vettes
& Vipers Car Show and complimentary
birthday cake for the party people.
“The
music
we’re
highlight-
ing this year for our 34th anniversary
celebration is some of the best we’ve
ever had,” said Tim Holland, Eskimo
Joe’s general manager. “But there’s so
much more than music at our celebra-
tion from the kid’s carnival to the car
show. Like all Eskimo Joe’s anniversary
celebrations, we have something for ev-
eryone.”
For more anniversary info and
all things Eskimo Joe’s, call (405) 377-
0799 or logon to www.eskimojoes.com.
Blazing hot shows stop in
Tulsa
Currentland’s asphalt jungle,
also known as Tulsa, is keeping it hot all
through the month of July, proving that
there’s more blowing up this month
other than Dfest.
Cain’s Ballroom, located at 423
N. Main Street, has been bringing the
best touring acts in the country through
Tulsa town even long before the first is-
sue of The Current hit the street almost
five years ago. This month, they’ve got
a bunch of shows from bands that also
saw major love and success long before
this here entertainment monthly was
around.
It
all
kicks
off
with
brand
spankin’ new Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame
inductee Wanda Jackson kicking
off
the Woody Guthrie festival pre-party
in true Okie fashion on July 7. Then
things take a turn towards rock on July
15 when Australian indie rockers Sick
Puppies return to the States promoting
their new album, Tri-Polar, which drops
on July 14! The very next night, July 16,
Sonic Youth returns to Tulsa to stretch
the sonic capabilities of the house that
Bob built. SY is out promoting their
16th album, The Eternal, and still mak-
ing noise with core members Kim Gor-
don, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo
and you should definitely check them
out at www.sonicyouth.com. Speaking
of definite, if you’re ready for some up-
lifting, revolutionary reggae rock you
need to find your ass and shake it to the
sounds of Michael Franti & Spearhead
on July 31. For tickets to these and other
shows, be sure to visit www.cainsball-
room.com.
If you’re a Cain’s freak and
can’t get enough of the historic dance
hall, then you need to check out Ida
Red, the unique boutique on Brook-
side that specializes in Cain’s memora-
bilia and merchandise, as well of lots of
other eclectic and interesting goodies.
And they often host weekly intimate
performances featuring local talent like
TJ McFarland, Kyle Williams or Hurri-
cane Mason. Check them out at www.
idaredboutique.com.
The Mercury Lounge has been
serving up psychobilly, swing and cow-
punk for years on the corner of 18th &
Boston and this month the beat goes
on
with
Brandon Clark playing
all
your acoustic favorites every Sunday
at 8 p.m., and July 10 you can dance
the night away to Three Bad Jacks and
come back the next night to keep party-
ing with Brian Dunning on July 11. For
the complete list, check out www.mer-
cury-lounge.com.
Just
a
few miles away and
across the river will be a release party
not to be missed, especially if you like
the letter ‘V’. Vandevander is throwing
a DVD release party with a half dozen
of their favorite friends to fill out an
evening full of vamping and variety.
Get more on their upcoming audio/
visual release at www.myspace.com/
vandevandermusic.
There’s no better way to beat
the heat than living on Tulsa time – see
The Sick Puppies take on Tulsa on Wednesday, July 15.
you in the concrete jungle!
musical madness in
Cherokee County
The smell of firecracker resi-
due won’t be the only thing filling the
air in Cherokee County this month.
Barnacle Bill’s Marina on Lake
Tenkiller will host an evening of music
on the water with the blues and rock
mash up of Mason Jar Revival, which
features Jeremy Cochran, formerly of
ColdShot, on guitar and vocals. This
band will have you dancing the night
away in your sailing shoes and be sure
to get to the Marina early for some bites
and beers. For more information call
(918) 457-5438.
The
Illinois
River runs into
Lake Tenkiller and up on the river at
Diamondhead Resort they’ll present a
pair of must-see shows over the Fourth
of July weekend that have been draw-
ing nearly a thousand attendees a night.
Tahlequah cowpunkers Red Eye Gravy
bring an Americana assault under the
influence of Hank Williams Sr., Jr., and
III that’ll get you fist pumping and beer
chugging on Friday, July 3. Then after
your Independence Day float, get back
to the stage to catch Tahlequah’s own
fiddling phenomenon Randy Crouch &
Flying Horse on Saturday, July 4, along
with lots of special guests and a fan-fa-
vorite fireworks display. For reserva-
tions and show info, logon to www.
diamondheadresort.us or call (800) 722-
2411 or (918) 456-4545.
Brewdog’s
Bar on the west
side of town on Highway 51 is serv-
ing up the goodness all of the other
remaining weekend dates in July with
Filthy Rich on July 10, Fayetteville’s red
dirt rock outfit Charliehorse on July 11,
Franke Lee on July 17, Early Morning
High on July 24 and Mason Jar Revival
on July 31. July 18 will be the day that
Brewdog’s proudly presents their first
ever BrewFest with live music kicking
off at 4 p.m. and going strong for 10
hours featuring Outlaw Son, Sight to
Blind, Autumns Reign, the John Riley
Rock Show, Franke Lee, Infinite Sound
Supply and many more. For tickets and
more show information, logon to www.
myspace.com/brewdogsbar
or
call
(918) 456-6939.
Fun in the Fayetteville sun
How does stumbling up and
down one of the hippest strips lined
with restaurants, shops, watering holes
and eye candy in Collegetown USA
sound on a hot summer day? If you’re
all about
it,
then run for the border
and find yourself on Dickson Street in
downtown Fayetteville, Ark. for plenty
of fun in the Fayetteville sun.
Most of the musical offerings
you’re about to read about will have
you in the moonlight more than the
sunlight, so make plans to make a day
out of your time in Razorback country.
George’s
Majestic
Lounge
(www.georgesmajesticlounge.com)
welcomes songstress Jenny Lewis on
July 7 with special guests The Heartless
Bastards. Lewis, the lead vocalist for
Rilo Kiley, is out promoting her latest
solo effort, Acid Tongue. Get more au-
dio/visuals at www.jennylewis.com.
Speaking of audio and visu-
als, George’s provides plenty of that all
month long like the super-psychedelic
Spoonfed Tribe and Big Smith’s front-
man Mark Bilyeu on July 8, Spring-
field’s soulful Ben Miller Band on July
23 and the always lovely and lively
My-Tea Kind rockin’ the house on July
29. Check George’s Web site for more
shows, times and tickets.
Just
across
the
lot
from
George’s is the wonderful Walton Arts
Center, where they’ll present “Legally
Blonde: The Musical” July 7-12. This
Broadway smash features blonde bomb-
shell Becky Gulsvig as Elle Woods, who,
like the rest of the all-star cast, will have
you laughing and crying with their poi-
gnant performances. Tickets are avail-
able for “Legally Blonde,” and you can
pick them up now at www.tour.legal-
lyblondethemusical.com. And keep an
eye on the WAC – in August they wel-
come comedian Bill Engvall on Aug. 8.
Country recording artist and
tall Texan Tracy Lawrence will perform
at the Fayetteville Town Center on July
18. Lawrence has had hit after hit, from
1991’s “Sticks and Stones” off the debut
album of the same name to “Find Out
Who Your Friends Are” off his latest ef-
fort, For the Love. And you’ll get all of
Tracy’s hits from today and yesterday
in Fayetteville on Saturday, July 18.
Tickets and more information are avail-
able now at www.tracylawrence.com.
Every Thursday night you can
enjoy the heady, heartfelt tunes of Opal
Fly & Friends from 9 p.m. – midnight
at Smoke & Barrel, just north of Dick-
son Street behind Jose’s. Opal throws it
down on soprano and tenor saxophones
and her crop of musicians often features
special guests on anything from guitar
to trombone to hand drums. Another
feature of every Thursday Smoke &
Barrel set is the mind-melting fire show
put on by Foxfire Magik & Thy Faery
Pranksters. You gotta see it to believe
it
at
www.myspace.com/opalflyan-
dtheswatters.
how the west was wild
The City of Pawnee’s latest
WANTED signs have you on the pic-
ture, and they want YOU to get your
horse and buggy over to Pawnee Days
and the Wild West Music Fest July 3-4
at the Pawnee Lakeside Arena.
Ain’t no party like a Pawnee
party complete with live music, excel-
lent food, cold beverages, fun for the
whole family and plenty of fireworks
and visual delights to fill the night sky.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 47
THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
Porter Peach Festival
3 Days
Thur, July 16 •Fri, July 17 • Sat, July 18
Carnival
12:00pm: Peach Auction
1:00pm: FREE Peaches & Ice Cream
(While Supplies Last)
2:30pm: Country Express - Leon Stacy
4:00pm: Street Games
Turtle Races, Frog Jumping Contest,
Beard Contest, Balloon Toss,
Nail Drive, Hula Hoop
Scavenger Hunt (Prizes)
6:00pm: Talent Contest
Mud Bog (Porter Roundup Club)
6:30pm: Antique Tractor Pull
8:30pm: South 40 Country Band
7:00am: Peach Classic 5-K Run
8:00am: Peach Classic Car/Truck/
Motorcycle Show
Porter Civic Center
Peach Cobbler, Dessert, Preserves
Contest Entries Due
9:00am: Porter Civic Center
Peach Cobbler, Dessert, Preserves
Judging and Winners Announcments
10:00am: Mounted Shooting
(Porter Roundup Club)
Bob Weedon & Iron Horse Band
11:00am: Peach Festival Parade
Thursday
5:00pm - 11pm: Carnival
5:30pm: Welcome Ceremony
w/Roy Essary
6:00pm: Peach Pageant
7:00pm: Dance Studio
w/Miss Tirita
9:15pm: Swon Brothers Band
Friday
Downtown Porter, OK
Saturday
4:00pm - 11pm: Southern States Carnival
5:00pm: Live Newscast & Street Games
5:45pm: Pet Show
6:30pm: David Howell Gospel Band
7:30pm: Play Night (Porter Roundup Club)
Antique Tractor Pull
9:00pm: Springstreet Bluegrass Band
7:00am - 11:00pm: All Day Carnival
48 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Muskogee Campus
Sallisaw Campus
Stillwell Campus
Tahlequah Campus
918-687-6398
918-775-9119
918-696-3111
918-456-2594
more than you expected.
ICTC
Yes, college credit
Learn more about earning college credit
from Connors State College or
OSU-Okmulgee through the
ICTC Cooperative Alliance Program
by contacting your local ICTC campus.
your career connection
ICTC
Indian Capital
TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Fountain:
Mon-Fri 8 am - 5 pm Sat 9 am - 4 pm
Pharmacy:
Mon-Fri 8 am - 6 pm Sat. 9 am - 5 pm
Located on the 51 Bypass
Tahlequah, OK 74464
Pharmacy: 918-431-0555
Fountain: 918-431-0071
Tahlequah
Drug Co.
Gifts • Souvenirs • Coffee
Sandwiches • Ice Cream • OTC
Health & Beauty
Free Wireless Internet
NEW SUMMER
SPUDS
Turkey, Bacon & Ranch
Broccoli & Cheese
Sour Cream, Bacon Bits & Chives
THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
Sounds filling the air on Friday
night will be provided by Two Steps
Back, West 64 Band, Gib Stone, Jason
Savory, Lone Chimney Band and Devin
Derrick. And if Friday looks fantastic,
then Saturday will be superb featuring
performances by Okie music pioneers
the Red Dirt Rangers, Oklahoma’s fast-
est rising red dirt act No Justice, Chad
Sullins, Jeremy Johnson & the Lone-
some Few and many of Friday night’s
bands return to fill out the stage all day
long!
For more information, get on
the phone right away and dial up (918)
762-2108 or get logon to either www.
cityofpawnee.com
or
www.myspace.
com/wildwestfest
to
learn
how
the
west was wild.
Eric Devries returns to rock
Currentland
Oklahoma has always been
a sort of a Mecca for folk songwrit-
ing enthusiasts and artists, especially
considering the most notable, Woody
Guthrie, hails from its soil. Any serious
songwriter considers making a pilgrim-
age to Oklahoma a necessary rite of
passage to truly become bona fide. July
sees the return of Dutch recording artist
and songwriting maestro Eric Devries
to our beloved Currentland and some
of us have been anxiously waiting.
Thanks
to
Gene
Williams,
Tom Skinner’s Wednesday Night Sci-
ence Project guitarist, Eric has been
making the journey over the big pond
from the Netherlands for several years
now. William’s has helped to bring sev-
eral European folk/Americana artists
to Oklahoma over the years and Devr-
ies is a solid example of just how big an
impact Americana and folk has had on
musicians overseas. His songwriting
is steeped with influences from Dylan,
Guthrie and the like, sounds we often
just take for granted.
Don’t be misled, his songs are
all his own and masterfully written and
performed. Last year he wowed audi-
ences at the Science Projects, Woody
Guthrie Festival in Okemah and the Bob
Childers Tribute at
Cain’s
Ballroom,
among others. If you have time to catch
anyone this month, you don’t want to
miss Devries. He will be well worth the
drive to any of his performances that
are, at press time, still being confirmed
and extended.
December 2007 saw the re-
lease of Devries’ second solo album.
Titled Sweet Oblivion, it was recorded
with his band The Easy, but also con-
tains three songs recorded in Tulsa with
Williams and others while Devries was
on tour here in the spring of 2005. With
his debut release, Little of a Romeo, Devr-
ies launched himself to the top of the
Dutch Americana/folk scene and his
sophomore effort has certainly showed
he intends to stay there.
The CD, simply put,
is
ab-
solutely fabulous. It is a must for any
serious Americana fan and you’ll find
yourself
hard pressed
to
remove
it
from your player. The only thing bet-
ter is seeing Eric perform these gems
live in person, which comes very rarely
here in Currentland so don’t miss your
chance. Confirmed shows at press time
are July 8 at Tom Skinner’s Wednesday
Night Science Project in Tulsa; July 9
at the Thursday Night Science Project
at Snocker’s in Bartlesville; July 10 at
the Grape Ranch in Okemah; and July
11 at Frank & Lola’s in Bartlesville. For
info on Devries, you can visit him on
MySpace for sound clips, videos and
updated performance dates at www.
myspace.com/ericdevries.
-Don Wood
Bamboo
spa
doubles
as
live-music venue
Oklahoma’s
best-kept
secret
for live music entertainment is also one
of its best locations to regroup and re-
juvenate. As you may already know,
The Canebrake, located four miles east
of Wagoner, offers a scenic location for
Showing in July:
1ST & LEWIS, TULSA
918-592-FILM
CIRCLECINEMA.COM
Cheri................................opens 7/3
Anvil (w/ the band!)......opens 7/10
The Gates (w/ Christo!)...opens 7/11
Starlight Bands concert...........7/14
81st Birthday Party, FREE!......7/15
Tyson (w/ James Quick Tillis).....7/17
Circle Cinema Slumber Party..7/18
Summer Hours..............opens 7/24
O’Horten........................opens 7/31
Present this ad for a
FREE regular popcorn w/
paid admission &
e-newsletter signup!
Eric Devries
22 E. Shawnee, Muskogee
(918) 682-2834 1-800-683-9559
Tearoom Open: Mon-Sat 11am to 4pm
i m A Basket Case
Gift Shop and Tearoom
Mon - Fri 8:30am to 6pm
Saturday 9am to 5pm
Big Summer Sale!
‘
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 49
T & R Universal Builders
General Construction Professionals, Serving Oklahoma and Surrounding States
We Specialize In:
Roofing, Pole Barns, Post
Frame Homes, General
Contracting, Excavation
& Clay Gravel Sales
ANY PROJECT LARGE OR SMALL--WE GLADLY DO IT ALL!
You can also visit us online and view our buildings at:
www.postframekits.com
STORM DAMAGE SPECIAL:
10% OFF ALL roofing jobs.
Need an
Extreme Roof
Makeover?
We can HELP!
Owners: Randy & Tina Hinds
trhinds@earthlink.net
Phone: 800-624-9409 or
918-453-8398
28017 South Indian Road
Park Hill, OK 74451
Before
After
Check out our line of Chickens, Roosters,
Apples, Grapes, Sunflowers and so much more!
Lodge decor incuding Deer, Bear and Moose.
2312 E. Shawnee “Curt’s Mall”, Muskogee
Tue - Sat. 10:30-6 • 918-683-1533
Fence Me In
Western purses, wallets, Bible covers, fireplace sets,
floor & table lamps, bedding, frames, furniture
Saddle Racks Now Available.
THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
anything from honeymoons to family
reunions. What you may not know is
that The Canebrake is also a live mu-
sic venue. Every Wednesday night The
Canebrake showcases award winning
music. Everything from county, blue-
grass, and blues to rockabilly, contem-
porary rock, and even funk plays to
sets from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. with no cover
charge.
First up is Bill Chambers on
July 1. If the name sounds familiar it
may be that he is the father of Kasey
Chambers. Of course, there is more to
this musician than just his offspring;
many consider him the best alternative
country guitarist to hale from the land
down under. His musical style covers
all points between the classic country of
Johnny Cash to traditional blues of John
Lee Hooker and the rock of Bob Dylan.
On July 8, local singer song-
writer Michael Rappe performs. His
heartfelt acoustic style has been com-
pared to both John Mayer and Garth
Brooks. Rappe plays a number of his
own songs, but he occasionally throws
in a few unexpected covers by anyone
from Frank Sinatra to Ludacris. There is
even a chance that Rappe could throw
out a tune by Adam Sandler.
July 15 is your chance to catch
one of the finest fiddlers around, Dana
Hazzard. Hazzard’s music can best be
described as traditional country with an
attitude. In other words, don’t expect
any Dixie Chicks covers in his set.
Head out to The Canebrake
on July 22 and catch one of Oklahoma
City’s most dynamic singer songwrit-
ers,
Carter
Sampson.
Sampson
has
played several times at OKC’s famous
venue The Blue Door, and was even
invited to play there for their annual
Woody Guthrie Tribute. She has also
toured with Bitch and Animal of Ani
DiFranco’s
Righteous
Babe
Records,
and played at Amnesty International’s
“Groovefest.”
The last Wednesday in July
brings the sweet harmonies and out-
standing guitars of Adelaide Spade to
The Canebrake. You never know what
to expect when Gene and Jan play, but
their virtuoso guitars and soothing mel-
odies will always be memorable. For
more information go to www.thecane-
brake.com.
-Bryan Jones
Grand music at Grand Lake
There’s
all
kinds
of
grand
music events happening on all sides of
the Grand Lake ‘o the Cherokees this
month, and here’s a look at the big pro-
ductions blasting off this July.
The brand new amphitheater,
Junior’s Paradise, is located in Langley
and they’ll be hosting “Leon’s Grand
Return” featuring the fancy fingerwork
of the one and only Leon Russell on July
3. The master of time and space will
headline a firework festive night which
also includes Randy Crouch and Little
Joe McLerran. Gates open at 2 p.m. and
Little Joe kicks things off around 6 p.m.
Camping and affordable concessions
are available. $20 tickets are available
now at Starship Records in Tulsa, Oasis
Health Food Store in Tahlequah, Lang-
ley Flea Market and Copperhead Mall
in Spavinaw. It’s presented by The Cur-
rent (which you happen to be reading
at the moment) and produced by local
legends George Bingham and Jimmy
Markham. For more information, logon
to www.leonrussellrecords.com.
Also,
taking place over the
Fourth of July weekend is Cajun Fest
at the Grove Civic Center. Enjoy Cajun
foods and other food vendors and plen-
tiful live music by local fiddling queen
Janna Jae and her friends, who we hear
put the “jam” in jambalaya. For more
information, logon to www.grandlake-
festivals.com.
The
Royal
Bay
Theater
is
back in the action with their dinner
and dancing concert series, this time
around hosting Charlie McCoy on Fri-
day, July 17. McCoy is one of the newest
inductees into the Country Music Hall
of Fame and he’s seen great success in
his life with hits like “Today I Started
Loving You Again” and “I Really Don’t
Want to Know,” in addition to releas-
ing timeless classics that he continues
to perform, like “Wabash Cannonball”
and “Orange Blossom Special.” Learn
more about
this
harmonica
blowin’
hound dog at www.charliemccoy.com.
And August already looks to
be hotter than ever when Pawhuska na-
(continued on page 75)
Leon Russell
22 E. Shawnee, Muskogee
(918) 682-2834 1-800-683-9559
Tearoom Open: Mon-Sat 11am to 4pm
i m A Basket Case
Gift Shop and Tearoom
Mon - Fri 8:30am to 6pm
Saturday 9am to 5pm
Big Summer Sale!
‘
50 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Check out our line of Chickens, Roosters,
Apples, Grapes, Sunflowers and so much more!
Lodge decor incuding Deer
, Bear and Moose.
2312 E. Shawnee “Curt’
s Mall”, Muskogee
T
ue - Sat. 10:30-6 • 918-683-1533
Fence Me In
Western purses, wallets, Bible covers, fireplace sets,
floor & table lamps, bedding, frames, furniture
Saddle Racks Now A
vailable.
Susan Herndon
Photo by: Mike Burris
The Doobie Brothers
Photo by: Mike Burris
Bonnie Raitt
Photo by: Tom Barlow
George Clinton
Photo by: My-Tea Kind
Cody Canada
Photo by: Tom Barlow
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 51
Mama Sweet
Photo by: Joe Mack
Jason Boland & The Stragglers
Photo by: Tom Barlow
Miranda Lambert
Photo by: Kandi Mefford
Clint Osmus
Photo by: Kandi Mefford
Levon Helm
Photo by: Tom Barlow
54 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
wEDNESDAy, JULy 1
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Solo Club, Bartlesville
TYLER KING
Dirty’s Tavern, Coffeyville, KS
LADD SMITH
Willie’s Saloon, Stillwater
JOE MACK & THE SOUVENIRS
The Stonewall, Stillwater
TIGHT AND SLOPPY
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
BILL CHAMBERS
Canebrake, Wagoner
ThURSDAy, JULy 2
THURSDAY NITE SCIENCE PROJECT
Snockers, Bartlesville
WESTERN JUSTICE
RCB’S, Eufaula
FRIDAy, JULy 3
BIG DADDY AND THE BLUES KICKERS
Doc’s Bar, Bartlesville
JAMES OTTO
Will Rogers Downs Casino Iron Dog
Saloon, Claremore
LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD OUTLAWS
The Hangout Bar and Grill, Cushing
THE ZIGS
Mooney’s Sunset Bar and Grill, Disney
LEON RUSSELL, RANDY CROUCH
AND LITTLE JOE MCLERRAN
Juniors Paradise, Disney
BLUEFISH
Brangus, Eufaula
THE HANDSHAKE MURDERS AND
CHEMICAL DISCIPLINE
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
CHUCK WICKS
Club Kix, Buffalo Run Casino, Miami
JON EDWARDS
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
JAVA JAMZ COFFEE HOUSE NIGHT
Down Home Blues Club, Rentiesville
RED EYE GRAVY WITH PAPA WILLIE
Diamondhead Resort, Tahlequah
THE HOLE IN THE WALL BAND
Tahlequah Senior Citizens Center,
Tahlequah
CHAOS IN THE COVE FEAT: DIERKS
BENTLEY, JAMEY JOHNSON, KEVIN
FOWLER AND ROGER CLYNE &
THE PEACEMAKERS
Eufaula Cove Ampitheater, Eufaula
LADD SMITH
Harvard Sports Bar, Tulsa
CYBILS MACHINE
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
FAT DIXIE
Dirty’s Tavern, Tulsa
SATURDAy, JULy 4
SEXTION 8
Los Cabos, Broken Arrow
CHAD EMMERT BAND
Mooney’s Sunset Bar and Grill, Disney
WESTERN JUSTICE
RCB’S, Eufaula
CAJUN FEST: JANA JAE AND OTHERS
Civic Center and Snider’s Camp, Grove
BLACK WATER
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
BRANDON CLARK/TRAVIS KIDD
Los Cabos, Jenks
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
EMILY NORTHCUTT AND TONY
GREGORY
Grape Ranch Winery, Okemah
SODDER
Harbor Lights Bar and Grill, East of Pryor
JON EDWARDS ON PIANO WITH
BRITTANY MEALER
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 55
CURRENT
CALENDAR
Brought to you by:
CHECK WWW.CURRENTLAND.COM FOR CALENDAR UPDATES
To get your band listing in The Current calendar,
email your information before the 15th of each
month to: dawnc@ecurrentnews.com
CRESCENTVALLEY
THEATER
Country Music was murdered on Music Row, but it’s alive and kickin’ at
Proudly Presents
9 miles E. of Ft Gibson on Hwy 62 • Adults $10, Under 10 FREE
For Seats or Info. (918) 456-6550
Friday, July 24th 7:30pm
DAVID BALL
and the
Pioneer Playboys
Saturday, July 18th 7:30pm
Wade Benson Landry’s Ozark Mountain Show
featuring Teresa Landry
featuring TROY COOK, JR.
56 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
SELBY AND BLUES ON THE MOVE
Down Home Blues Club, Rentiesville
RANDY CROUCH AND FLYING
HORSE
Diamondhead Resort, Tahlequah
SELBY AND BLUES ON THE MOVE
69 Club, Hwy 69 and Texanna Road
KEVIN PHARRIS BAND
Cimmaron Bar, Tulsa
CANDLEBOX
Friction, Cherokee Nation Casino,
Tulsa
BIG DADDY AND THE BLUES KICK-
ERS
Karries Kaboose, Vinita
SUNDAy, JULy 5
TRAVIS KIDD
Los Cabos, Broken Arrow
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
ALL SUMMER SUNDAY JAMS
Down Home Blues Club, Rentiesville
BRANDON CLARK ACOUSTIC
Mercury Lounge, Tulsa
mONDAy, JULy 6
IRA BURTON
Jaspers Saddle Club, Muskogee
DEMI LOVATO
BOK Center, Tulsa
SCREAM THE PRAYER 09
Flytrap Music Hall, Tulsa
TUESDAy, JULy 7
TUESDAY NITE SCIENCE PROJECT
Snockers, Bartlesville
TUFF PROFIT
Solo Club, Bartlesville
GAVIN DEGRAW AND COLLECTIVE
SOUL WITH GREEN RIVER ORDINANCE
SpiritBank Event Center, Bixby
JENNY LEWIS WITH THE HEART-
LESS BASTARDS
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
COUNTRY COOKIN BAND
Hat Box Dance Hall, Muskogee
CREEKSIDE ACOUSTIC
Town Branch Eatery, Tahlequah
wEDNESDAy, JULy 8
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Solo Club, Bartlesville
SPOONFED TRIBE AND MARK BILYEU
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
12TH ANNUAL WOODY GUTHRIE
FESTIVAL
Downtown, Okemah
CLEAR BLUE
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 57
Leather & Lace
601 W Columbia (Hwy 62)
Okemah, OK 74859
Tattoo’s & Piercings
918-623-1196
OSHDA
OK Licensed Artist/Est.
Clean/Sterile Environment
We use ONLY disposable
single-use set ups
Piercing Specials
Tue • Noses 2/1
Wed • Eyebrows 2/1
Thu • Navels 2/1
Specials
• 10% Off for Veterans w/ID
• $5.00 Off All tattoo’s/piercings
w/Coupon (1 per Customer)
Hours
Tue-Thu 10am-7pm
Fri-Sat 12pm-9pm
Closed Sun-Mon
Leather & Lace
58 THE CURRENT JUNE 2009
www.theroadhogsaloon.com
918-257-8323
Hwy 125 East 85A - Entrance
to Monkey Island
Lunch Served 11a - 2:30p
Burgers • Deli Sandwiches
Hours: Mon-Thur 11a-Midnight
Fri & Sat 11a - 2a • Sun 11a-Midnight
Monday Night Football
Bucket Beer $10
Biker Friendly
Wed. Ladies Night
All you can drink draw beer $8
Happy Hour
Tues - Thur. 5pm-8pm
$1 Draws - $5 Pitchers
Karaoke Every Sat. 9p-close
Bloody Mary Sunday
Tuesday $1.25 Draws
T-SHIRTS FOR SALE
mark your calendar now
for these great shows
www.allsoulcoffeehouse.com
www.myspace.com/allsoulmusic
All Soul
Acoustic Coffeehouse
Friday, Sept 11th
Jimmy LaFave
& Band
w/Don Morris
Showtime 7:30 pm doors open at 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 12th
Slaid Cleaves, Teri Hendrix
& Lloyd Maines
Emerson Hall
at All Souls
Unitarian Church
2952 S. Peoria Ave,
Tulsa, 918-743-2363
Tickets at : All Souls,
Midtown Borders & at the door
Friday,
Oct 16th
Jeff & Vida Band
w/Bill Erickson
Backroads Bar & Grill
Tastiest little Bar on Grand lake
Steaks • Burgers • Cold Beer in a Tub
11TH - REVERSE REACTION
18TH - BADWATER
25TH- RICH MCCREADY
AND THE LAKE ROCKERS
918-782-2287 ~ Ketchum, OK
Hours: Mon-Thur Noon - Midnight
Fri-Sat Noon - 2am
Look for Sunday Hours
Pool Tournament every Monday at 7pm
EVENTs For JUlY
THE EXPENDABLES
Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa
MICHAEL RAPPE
Canebrake, Wagoner
CITY MOON
Cherokee Nation Casino, West Siloam
Springs
ThURSDAy, JULy 9
DROWNING POOL AND A GOOD
FIGHT
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
12TH ANNUAL WOODY GUTHRIE
FOLK FESTIVAL: EMILY KAITZ,
MONICA TAYLOR AND RANDY
CROUCH
Downtown, Okemah
SARAH BARKER, JOE BAXTER,
OWEN LYNN AND CAROLYN
SCHAD, LARRY SPEARS, JOHN
FULLBRIGHT AND EMILY KAITZ
Grape Ranch Winery, Okemah
ROCKLAHOMA: ANTHRAX, ANVIL
AND LEATHERWOLF AND MORE
Catch the Fever Festival Grounds, 4
Mi. N. of Pryor
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 59
What ’s Happening in July at
Riggs and Company
Live Music Saturday Nights
Karaoke every Wed, Fri & Sat
1411 N 3rd, LANGLEY, OK
918-782-2775
July 18th - Pedal Point
July 25th - Head Change
82
28
Old Location
Langley
Adair
New Location
1411 N 3rd Langley, OK
Monday Night Pole Dancing Contest
Feels like Friday
on a Monday!
JAMIE FOXX
BOK Center, Tulsa
FRIDAy, JULy 10
TUFF PROFIT
Snockers, Bartlesville
JUSTIN HOLLEY BAND
Doc’s Bar, Bartlesville
LENNIE BAKER
American Legion, Bartlesville
DUSTIN PITTSLEY BAND
Hot Street Party, Bartlesville
KATHY GRIFFIN
SpiritBank Event Center, Bixby
FULL FLAVA KINGS
Los Cabos, Broken Arrow
LEFT ON HARVARD
Mooney’s Sunset Bar and Grill, Disney
THE POGGS
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
BAND CAMP
Los Cabos, Jenks
SHAWNA RUSSELL
Club Kix, Buffalo Run Casino, Miami
DON MORRIS AND MONICA
TAYLOR, TOM SKINNER, RANDY
CROUCH, RED DIRT RANGERS,
GENE WILLIAMS AND JAN GAL-
BRAITH AND ERIC DEVRIES
Grape Ranch Winery, Okemah
12th ANNUAL WOODY GUTHRIE
FOLK FESTIVAL: JOHN FULL-
BRIGHT, MARY REYNOLDS AND
ANNIE GUTHRIE
Downtown, Okemah
ROCKLAHOMA: RATT, NIGHT
RANGER, WARRANT AND MORE
Catch the Fever Festival Grounds, 4 mi
N. of Pryor
BLUEFISH
Crazy Charlies Wild Side, Muskogee
Mooney’s Sunset Bar & Grill
and the Blues Society of Tulsa
Host the
FREDDIE MORROW
Birthday Party
Saturday, July 11th
Music 8pm - 2am
Champagne for Everyone at Midnight
Dustin Pittsley Band • Jesse Aycock
Polly Ess • Annie “P. Annie” Walser
Plus Many More
Disney, OK • 918-435-5200
60 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
918-682-1030 & MYSPACE.COM/FATSOS_BAR
Every Wednesday
Open Jam Slam
Music, Poetry, Stand Up & More
Every Thursday
Ladies Night
Drink Specials Everyone Will Enjoy.
Country • R&B
Hip-Hop
And All of the Rock
you can DANCE TO.
Muskogee’s Night Club
The Biggest Dance Floor & Hottest Tunes
$5.00 Cover
Friday & Saturday
New Patio!
“Fatso’s, your key to a good time!”
NOW OPEN!
The diner experience that YOU & Muskogee deserve!
• New York Diner Inspired Menu
• Two Story Glass Enclosure
• East Coast Inspired Atmosphere
• The Most Unique Place for Dining in Northeastern Oklahoma
Coming Soon to Fatso’s Club & Sports Bar
COMING SOON!
JON EDWARDS
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
THE HOLE IN THE WALL BAND
Tahlequah Senior Citizens Center,
Tahlequah
FILTHY RICH BAND
Brewdogs, Tahlequah
DWIGHT YOAKAM
Winstar Casino, Thackerville
WANDA WATSON BAND
Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino,
Tulsa
THREE BAD JACKS
Mercury Lounge, Tulsa
TERRY QUIETT BAND
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
CLINT OSMUS AND THE BUSHMILLS
Dirty’s Tavern, Tulsa
SCARFACE
Flytrap Music Hall, Tulsa
SATURDAy, JULy 11
ERIC DEVRIES
Frank and Lola’s, Bartlesville
BIG BAND CONCERT IN MEMORY
OF LARRY DALTON
SpiritBank Event Center, Bixby
SUPERFREAK
Los Cabos, Broken Arrow
JUNIPER POINT AND STONEKAT
ONE WAY BAR’S FOURTH ANNUAL
ANNIVERSARY BASH
One Way Bar, Checotah
COUNTRY JUNCTION
Claremore American Legion, Claremore
WILLIAM CLARK GREEN BAND
Dirty’s Tavern, Coffeyville, KS
DUSTIN PITTSLEY, HIGHER EDUCA-
TION AND POLLY ESS
Mooney’s Sunset Bar and Grill, Disney
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
12TH ANNUAL WOODY GUTHRIE
FOLK FESTIVAL: BILL CHAMBERS,
SAM BAKER & JIMMY LAFAVE
Downtown, Okemah
ROCKLAHOMA: STRYPER, THIN
LIZZY AND MANY MORE
Catch the Fever Music Festival, 4 mi.
N. of Pryor
DYNO, MARK SWEENEY, DON
CONOSCENTI, SUSAN HERNDON,
GREG JACOBS AND BOB CHILDERS
TRIBUTE
Grape Ranch Winery, Okemah
RED EYE GRAVY
Blue Note Lounge, OKC
JON EDWARDS ON PIANO WITH
BRITTANY MEALER
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
JOE MACK WITH THE SOUVENIRS
Joseppi’s, Stillwater
LIVIN’ COUNTRY
Tahlequah Elks Club, Tahlequah
CHARLIEHORSE
Brewdogs, Tahlequah
BRIAN MCKNIGHT
Winstar Casino, Thackerville
WANDA WATSON BAND
Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino, Tulsa
BRIAN DUNNING AND THE ROCK
& ROLL TRIO
Mercury Lounge, Tulsa
BO PHILLIPS
Dirty’s Tavern, Tulsa
LONG RUN
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
MONKEYFIST
Karries Kaboose, Vinita
SUNDAy, JULy 12
SARAH HUGHES
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 61
62 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
The CurrentArts & Entertainment Monthly Presents
Poker Run • July 4th
Organized by Rigg’s & Co. Saloon (Open to All Vehicles)
Registration 10am at Mountain Mama’s (Open All Day)
$5 per Hand, Last Bike 12pm, Last In 4pm, Drawing 5pm, 100% Payback
Leon Russell
with Special Guest Randy Crouch & Flying Horse
Plus
Little Joe McLerran Band
Leon’s Grand Return
Junior’s Paradise
Gates Open 2pm • Music Starts 6pm • 1 Mile East of Disney on Hwy 28
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
Advanced Tickets $20
Tickets Available at Starship Records - Tulsa • Oasis Health Food Store - Tahlequah
Langley Flea Market (Hwys 28 & 82, Next to NAPA) - Langley
Copperhead Mall - Spavinaw
FREE CAMPING • VIP Motorcyle Parking on Site • (No outside coolers, Beer and Concessions on site)
Produced By:
Jimmy Markham
and
George Bingham
Sponsored By:
12TH ANNUAL WOODY GUTHRIE
FESTIVAL
Downtown, Okemah
TOM SKINNER
Grape Ranch Winery, Okemah
ROCKLAHOMA: TWISTED SISTER,
SKID ROW AND GREAT WHITE
AND MANY MORE
Catch the Fever Music Festival
Grounds, 4 mi. N. of Pryor
mONDAy, JULy 13
IRA BURTON
Jaspers Saddle Club, Muskogee
TUESDAy, JULy 14
TUFF PROFIT
Solo Club, Bartlesville
MOUNTAIN SPROUT
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
COUNTRY COOKIN BAND
Hat Box Dance Hall, Muskogee
CREEKSIDE ACOUSTIC
Town Branch Eatery, Tahlequah
REBECCA TOBEY ART SHOW AND
WINE TASTING
Canebrake, Wagoner
wEDNESDAy, JULy 15
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Solo Club, Bartlesville
HURT AND SICK PUPPIES
Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa
CROSS EYED JACK
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
DANA HAZZARD
Canebrake, Wagoner
ThURSDAy, JULy 16
THURSDAY NITE SCIENCE PROJECT
Snockers, Bartlesville
KYLE LOWRY
Dirty’s Tavern, Coffeyville, KS
THE BEAU WEEVILZ
Riverwalk Amphitheater, Jenks
SWON BROTHERS BAND
Porter Peach Festival, Porter
FRIDAy, JULy 17
LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD OUTLAWS
Legends, Ada
JUMPSTART
Snockers, Bartlesville
GLAM R US
Doc’s Bar, Bartlesville
LENNIE BAKER
Hillcrest Country Club, Bartlesville
JUNIOR BROWN
Will Rogers Downs Casino, Claremore
COOKSON JUBILEE
Tenkiller Area Community Building,
Cookson
DON WHITE FULL BAND
Mooney’s Sunset Bar and Grill, Disney
LIVIN’ COUNTRY
RCB’S, Eufaula
THANKS FOR NOTHING
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION
Buffalo Run Casino, Miami
SPRINGSTREET BLUEGRASS BAND
Porter Peach Festival, Porter
JON EDWARDS
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
THE HOLE IN THE WALL BAND
Tahlequah Senior Citizens Center,
Tahlequah
FRANKE LEE
Brewdogs, Tahlequah
RED EYE GRAVY
Mercury Lounge, Tulsa
BRANDON CLARK
Dirty’s Tavern, Tulsa
EMBER
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 63
Listen to the Original Sound of
Order Vol 1 thru Vol 5 at:
cdbaby.com/standavey or
myspace.com/therenegademusic
Partial Proceeds Benefit St. Judes Childrens Hospital
For Booking Please Contact
405-334-9480
standavey1@aol.com
Stan
Davey
64 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
SATURDAy, JULy 18
LENNIE BAKER
J Bar S, Barnsdall
SUSAN HERNDON BAND
Frank and Lola’s, Bartlesville
BRANDON CLARK
Los Cabos, Broken Arrow
CHANCE RAY BAND
Dirty’s Tavern, Coffeyville, KS
COOKSON JUBILEE
Tenkiller Area Community Building
POLLY ESS & ANNIE P. ANNIE
Mooney’s Sunset Bar and Grill, Disney
TRACY LAWRENCE
Fayetteville Town Center, Fayetteville
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
GARY ALLAN
Buffalo Run Casino, Miami
CITY MOON
Cherokee Nation Casino, Sallisaw
JUSTIN HOLLEY BAND
Rusty Spur, Skiatook
LIVIN’ COUNTRY
RCB’S, Eufaula
BLUEFISH
Brangus, Eufaula
WADE BENSON LANDRY’S OZARK
MOUNTAIN SHOW FEAT. TERESA
LANDRY
Crescent Valley Theater, 9 mi. E. of Ft.
Gibson
WANDA WATSON
Rib Shack, Ft. Smith, AR
MASON JAR REVIVAL
Barnacle Bill’s Bar and Grill, Lake
Tenkiller
PEDAL POINT
Riggs and Co., Langley
CHAD SLAGLE
Grape Ranch Winery, Okemah
BOB WEEDEN AND THE IRON
HORSE BAND
Porter Peach Festival, Porter
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 65
(918)456-4339
Open: Tuesday-Friday
11am-6pm
Saturday 11am-3pm
207 Mimosa Ln.,
Music
Tahlequah, OK
Music Instruments Sales & Repair
Mastercard & Discover
We accept Visa,
Tahlequah’s Music Center
Shooters
Sports Bar
119 N Main Miami, OK
918-540-1911
SOUTH 40 COUNTRY BAND
Porter Peach Festival, Porter
JON EDWARDS ON PIANO WITH
BRITTANY MEALER
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
BREWFEST WITH OUTLAW SON,
SIGHT TO BLIND, AUTUMNS
REIGN, JOHN RILEY ROCK SHOW,
FRANKE LEE AND INFINITY
Brewdogs, Tahlequah
TULSA BOYS
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
NO JUSTICE
Flytrap Music Hall, Tulsa
CROSSLAND
Dirty’s Tavern, Tulsa
DUES PAID
Karries Kaboose, Vinita
JUNIOR BROWN
Cherokee Nation Casino, West Siloam
Springs
SUNDAy, JULy 19
NWA PIONEERS OF ROCK AND
ROLL
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
mONDAy, JULy 20
IRA BURTON
Jaspers Saddle Club, Muskogee
TUESDAy, JULy 21
TUFF PROFIT
Solo Club, Bartlesville
PETER FRAMPTON
Arkansas Music Pavilion, Fayetteville
COUNTRY COOKIN BAND
Hat Box Dance Hall, Muskogee
CREEKSIDE ACOUSTIC
Town Branch Eatery, Tahlequah
wEDNESDAy, JULy 22
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Solo Club, Bartlesville
CARY CHOATE
Dirty’s Tavern, Coffeyville, KS
SITTING DUCKS
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
www.campzoe.com 573-858-3333
66 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 67
68 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
BUDGET ROOFING
Claremore (918) 341-4119
eufaula (918) 618-4856
Grove (918) 786-2888
mCalester (918) 302-0077
miami (918) 542-1197
muskoGee (918) 681-1384
Pryor (918) 825-4606
tahlequah (918) 458-9308
With this coupon receive:
$100 off New Roof or $25 off Repair
1-866-960-0002 toll free
Bartlesville (918) 333-1118
CARTER SAMPSON
Canebrake, Wagoner
ThURSDAy, JULy 23
THURSDAY NITE SCIENCE PROJECT
Snockers, Bartlesville
BEN MILLER BAND
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
PETER FRAMPTON
Event Center, Osage Million Dollar
Elm Casino, Tulsa
FRIDAy, JULy 24
DUSTIN PITTSLEY BAND
Snockers, Bartlesville
STEEL AROUND
Los Cabos, Broken Arrow
JUSTIN HOLLEY BAND
Silver Dollar Café, Collinsville
SCOTT ELLISON
Mooney’s Sunset Bar and Grill, Disney
OUTLAW SON WITH WADE QUIN-
TON
RCB’S, Eufaula
MOUNTAIN SPROUT
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
DAVID BALL AND THE PIONEER
PLAYBOYS FEAT TROY COOK, JR.
Crescent Valley Theater, 9 miles E. of
Ft. Gibson
LIVIN’ COUNTRY
JR Spanky’s, Grove
G-NOTE
Los Cabos, Jenks
JOHN D. HALE BAND
Buffalo Run Casino, Miami
BLUES SOCIETY
OF TULSA
6th ANNUAL BLUES
CHALLENGE
SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 26, 2009
VFW POST 577
1109 E. 6th STREET
CALL FOR ENTRIES
SOLO/DUO & BAND COMPETITION
WINNING ACTS WILL REPRESENT
TULSA AT THE
INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE
JANUARY 20 - 23, 2010 IN
MEMPHIS, TN
ENTRY DEADLINE IS AUGUST 31,2009
FOR RULES AND ENTRY FORMS GO TO
WWW.BLUESSOCIETYOFTULSA.COM
TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA
Coleman Theater, Miami
JON EDWARDS
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
EARLY MORNING HIGH
Brewdogs, Tahlequah
AMERICAN IDOLS LIVE
BOK Center, Tulsa
SWEATIN BULLETS
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
DFEST FEATURING THE BLACK
CROWES, GOGOL BORDELLO, CITI-
ZEN COPE, OZOMATLI AND MORE
Blue Dome District, Tulsa
SATURDAy, JULy 25
TALL COTTON STRING BAND
Frank and Lola’s, Bartlesville
JEREMY JOHNSON
Dirty’s Tavern, Coffeyville, KS
STONEY LARUE WITH JOAN JETT
Eufaula Cove Amphitheater, Eufaula
OUTLAW SON WITH WADE QUINTON
RCB’S, Eufaula
LIVIN’ COUNTRY
JR Spanky’s, Grove
WHISKEY BUSINESS
Los Cabos, Jenks
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
THE PURPLETRADERS
Max’s Lakeside, Snake Creek Marina,
Park Hill
JON EDWARDS ON PIANO WITH
BRITTANY MEALER
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
HOSTY DUO
Stonewall Tavern, Stillwater
DFEST FEATURING CAKE, BLUE
OCTOBER, BASSNECTAR & MORE
Blue Dome District, Tulsa
SWEATIN BULLETS
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
SELBY AND BLUES ON THE MOVE
Ed’s Hurricane Lounge, Tulsa
CHAD EMMERT BAND
Karries Kaboose, Vinita
SUNDAy, JULy 26
CLETUS GOT SHOT
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
JOHNNY JOHNSON
Pensacola Pizza, Langley
mONDAy, JULy 27
IRA BURTON
Jaspers Saddle Club, Muskogee
TUESDAy, JULy 28
TUFF PROFIT
Solo Club, Bartlesville
COUNTRY COOKIN BAND
Hat Box Dance Hall, Muskogee
CREEKSIDE ACOUSTIC
Town Branch Eatery, Tahlequah-
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 69
Live Music Thursday
and Friday Nights
Karaoke Saturday Nights
Weekly Pool Tournaments
Call for details
myspace.com/snockersmusic
Club
Tahlequah’s
Newest
Music Tavern
Open Noon - 2am
51 West Bypass
Look for The Sign
Wednesday
Ladies Night
Bike Night
Open Jam Night
Thursday
Open Jam Night
Friday &
Saturday
Live Music
918-458-5203 • 918-822-3284
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Call 479-527-6618
for tickets or
www.georgesmajesticlounge.com
3 - 6P - 8P HAPPY HOUR w/ The Dempseys
7P - 9P The Odds in the Lounge
Late Night w/ Handshake Murders &
Chemical Discipline
4 - Blackwater
5 - 10P MONSTER MUG NIGHT-NO COVER
featuring GUTA
6 - The Paper Chase, Mount Vicious,
The Counterlife, Perpetual Werewolf
8 - Spoonfed Tribe & Mark Bilyeu
9 - 9P Drowning Pool & A Good Fight
10 - 6P - 8P HAPPY HOUR w/
Big Uns in the Garden
7P - 9P Oreo Blue in the Lounge
10P The Poggs
12 - 10P MONSTER MUG NIGHT-NO COVER
featuring Sarah Hughes
13 - Parabelle, 32 Leaves, Amure,
Open Addiction
14 - ELECTRO LOUNGE- NO COVER
16 - Fayetteville Funk Ensemble
17 - 6P - 8P HAPPY HOUR w/
FOS Project in the Garden
10P Boom Kinetic
10P Thanks for Nothing in the Lounge
18 - Lounge: Ultra Suede
Garden: 8:30P Wasting Days
9:30P Even Heroes
10:30P Black Leaf Clover
11:30P SilverStone
19 - 2P - 9P NWA Pioneers of Rock & Roll
10P MONSTER MUG NIGHT-NO COVER
featuring Tiffany Christopher
21 - 9P ELECTRO LOUNGE- NO COVER
23 - Ben Miller Band in the Lounge
Christmas Fuller Project CD Release
Party in the Garden
24 - 6P - 8P HAPPY HOUR w/ Lafuso
7P - 9P Joe Giles in the Lounge
Late Night w/ Speakeasy &
Mountain Sprout
25 - Lounge: Black Leaf Clover ,
Wake, and Theory of Failure
Garden: Fade to Fall, Calling Tokyo,
and Kind
26 - 10P MONSTER MUG NIGHT- NO COVER
featuring Cletus Got Shot
28 - ELECTRO LOUNGE- NO COVER
29 - My Tea Kind
30 - Earth Society
31 - 6P - 8P HAPPY HOUR w/ The Belaires
Gonzo’s Birthday Bash featuring
Benjamin Del Shreve,
Hardaway & the Commoners,
The Poggs, Randall Shreve,
Kingsdown, Will Gunselman,
The European Sons
July Calendar
wEDNESDAy, JULy 29
HELL OR HIGH WATER
Solo Club, Bartlesville
HIPPIE FEST: A CONCERT FOR
PEACE AND LOVE FEAT. CHUCK
NEGRON, THE TURTLES & MORE
SpiritBank Event Center, Bixby
MY-TEA KIND
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
MONTY POSTOAK
Cimarron Bar, Tulsa
ADELAIDE SPADE
Canebrake, Wagoner
ThURSDAy, JULy 30
THURSDAY NITE SCIENCE PROJECT
Snockers, Bartlesville
AEROSMITH AND ZZ TOP
BOK Center, Tulsa
FRIDAy, JULy 31
HIGHER EDUCATION
Snockers, Bartlesville
DANNY DAVIS
RCB’S, Eufaula
GONZO’S BIRTHDAY BASH WITH
BENJAMIN DEL SHREVE, THE
POGGS, KINGSDOWN AND MORE
George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville
JEFF BATES, MARK WILLS AND
TRENT WILLMON
Club Kix, Buffalo Run Casino, Miami
THE COMEDY AND MAGIC OF
DOUG ANDERSON
Coleman Theater, Miami
JON EDWARDS
Jincy’s Kitchen, Qualls
SCHWAGSTOCK 41
Camp Zoe, Salem, Mo
MASON JAR REVIVAL
Brewdogs, Tahlequah
WANDA WATSON BAND
Magoo’s, Tulsa
CITY MOON: HANK WILLIAMS
TRIBUTE
Cherokee Nation Casino, Tulsa
JESSE SPRINKLE
Agora Coffee and Tea, Fontana Center, Tulsa
SAWYER BROWN
Cherokee Nation Casino, West Siloam
Springs
VISIT WWW.CURRENTLAND.COM
FOR ADDITIONAL SHOW LISTINGS
70 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Brought to you by:
Be sure to pick up
next month's issue
for August listings.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 71
7/4 - Emily Northcutt & Tony Gregory
7/9 - 12pm - 6pm
Sarah Barker, Joe Baxter,
Owen Lynn & Carolyn Schad,
Larry Spears, John Fullbright,
Emily Kaitz
7/10 - 12pm - 6pm
Don Morris & Monica Taylor,
Tom Skinner, Randy Crouch,
Red Dirt Rangers,
Gene Williams & Jan Galbraith,
Eric DeVries
7/11 - 12pm - 6pm
Dyno, Mark Sweeney ,
Don Conoscenti, Susan Herndon,
Greg Jacobs, Bob Childers Tribute
7/12 - Tom Skinner
7/18 - Chad Slagle
7/25 - Kelly Spradlin
MUSIC IN JULY
Grab your W
ine by the Horns!
Wine Tasting Room
Open Daily 10 to Dusk
I-40 Okemah, Exit 221
South 6 Miles
Book a Party!
party@graperanch.com
918-623-2250
www.graperanch.com
A Division of Barlow Publishing, LLC - The Current
• Posters
• Brochures
• Programs • Pamphlets
• Table Tents
• Flyers
BetterKarma
graphics, design, & printing
328 E. Downing St. Tahlequah, OK
PLUS
Poster Hanging & Distribution Services
918-431-0330
72 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
KARRIE’S
KABOOSE
HOURS: Mon-Sat 11 - Close
Sun Noon - Close
SAD HOUR: Mon-Fri Noon - 5pm
Have
a
good
time
or
keep
your
Kaboose
at
home!
918-256-8464 VINITA, OK
Live Music
in JuLy
7/4 - Big DaDDy & The Blues KicKers
7/11 - Monkey Fist
7/18 - Dues Paid
7/25 - Chad Emmert Band
Monday & Wednesday - KaraoKe
sunday - PooL TournaMenT
16790 Hwy 123 • Bartlesville
Biker
Bar
918-346-7883
Live
Music
Modifying Tahlequah Since 2002
BODY PIERCING & TATTOOS
900 S. Muskogee ave.
Tahlequah, OK
(across from Napoli’s)
456-2770
As Always...
All Body Jewelry is
Buy 2 get 3rd FREE
Safari
• We Use Only
Disposable Single-use
Tattoo & Body Piercing Set-Ups
• Licensed &
Permitted by
the OSDH
• BBP/CPR/
First Aid
Certified
Open 11 am Daily Lunch Specials
DJ & Karaoke Wed & Sat nite
906 W. Main St Collinsville, OK
www.myspace.com/greybeards_cville
Greybeard’s
A short drive to cold beer,
great music & good food!
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 73
74 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
August 14th & 15th 2009
2 Days of Red Dirt, Texas Music & Southern Rock
Wetumka, OK
Friday Night
Willie Stradlin
Randy Crouch
Slidebar • Blackjack
Saturday
Thomas Martinez
Badwater • Brian Odle
Jason Savory Band
McWade & Company
Alameda Road
Ronnie Bear
Tickets
On Sale July 15th
$15 per Day
$25 for Both Days
Ages 10 & Under FREE
(405) 452-9908
Gates
Open at Noon
Bands Start at
6:30pm Friday
2pm Saturday
(Time and Bands
subject to change)
Directions
I-40 Exit 221
(Follow the Signs)
•
Free Primitive
Camping
• ATV, Mud Pit
and Bike Show
No Coolers
Rain or Shine
No Refunds
(Not responsible for
accidents or injuries)
Lawn Chairs Encouraged
$2 Budweiser
Products
$2 Budweiser
Products
www.myspace.com/hickoryridgemusicfestival
Host Hotel
Henryetta Inn & Dome
810 E Trudgeon St
Henryette, OK
For Reservations Call
918-652-2581
SWEAZEA’S
Custom Meat Processing
Wetumka, OK
Beef • Swine • Deer
405-452-5131
Call for Appointment
Sanders Construction
405-380-4813
Wetumka, OK
405-380-3236
Seminole, OK
tives the Curtis Moore Band rock out
at the Grand Lodge on Grand Lake in
Ketchum on Saturday, Aug. 1. Moore
and company bang out Southern fried
Americana goodness that will please
even the bikers and hippies; at least
that’s what seems to have happened
when they’ve opened up for everyone
from Willie Nelson to David Allan Coe
to Leon Russell in years past. Learn
more about this legendary Oklahoma
band
at
www.myspace.com/curtis-
mooreband.
I still love to eat a Porter
peach
The heat of the summer is upon
us and that means it’s time to eat some
fruit and other cooling cuisine, and Por-
ter, Okla. hosts the 43rd annual Porter
Peach Festival July 16-18 in downtown
Porter.
This is Porter’s big shin-dig in
the streets complete with a carnival,
parade, games for everyone,
arts,
crafts,
food vendors,
rodeo,
tractor
pull,
car
show, Miss Porter Peach
pageant, a 5k run, free
peaches and ice cream,
and millions of peach-
es,
peaches
for
you
and me!
Just
like
everything
else
in
this
here
Lowdown,
they’ve
got live music
out the wazoo. In fact, The
Current’s been covering the
PPF
for
four
consecutive years
now and they’ve done nothing but ex-
pand
their
entertainment and event
lineup. Those of you who’ve been read-
ing The Current for that long probably
knew that. If you’re just reading this for
the first time, you’re probably feeling
really peachy right now.
The Swon Brothers take the
stage at 9 p.m. on Thurs-
day,
July
16.
The
Swon’s
are
Musk-
ogee’s
next
big
thing,
and
we
should be proud
of
our
Okies
from
Musk-
ogee.
They
just
released
a
new
album and when
they’re not on stage
doing their thing, the
brothers are usually in
the studio working on ev-
erybody else’s projects. Check
out some audio and video offerings at
www.myspace.com/theswonbrothers.
Friday’s live music kicks off at
6:30 p.m. with the David Howell Gospel
Band and continues with the Spring-
street Bluegrass Band at 9 p.m. Spring-
street has been keeping plenty busy
spreading their high, lonesome harmo-
nies across the region. This six-piece
string ensemble brings the original and
traditional bluegrass to eyes and ears in
precise fashion, and according to their
Web site, www.myspace.com/spring-
streetbluegrass, they’re ready to release
a new album! Maybe
they’ll
have
it
ready for the Peach Fest?!
Saturday’s live music offerings
kick off a little bit earlier at 10 a.m. with
Bob Weeden & the Iron Horse Band,
who also come back with a second set at
1 p.m. after the parade and peach auc-
tion. Leon Stacy and Country Express
get down for an hour and a half starting
at 2:30 p.m. and the always entertaining
talent contest kicks off at 6 p.m.
Headlining the Porter Peach
Festival this year is Jay Falkner and the
down home Green Country good time
band known as South 40. With the re-
lease of their debut album, Home, South
40 cracked open a new can of Okie mu-
sic that blended elements of classic bal-
lads and contemporary, upbeat jams
that moved crowds all across the mid
South. And all five guys in South 40 are
multi-instrumentalists and you’re likely
to see lots of instrument swapping and
jamming throughout the show. Lyle
Deiter, acoustic guitar/banjo/harmoni-
ca, informed The Current that the band
is currently in the studio working on
their sophomore album which should
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 75
THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
CARI MACK
Acupuncturist
Herbalist
918-931-1579
Scenic Tahlequah
Location
(continued from page 49)
76 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
Sallisaw
(918) 775-5596
FINANCE CO.
McALESTER (918) 423-6603
ALL AMERICAN LOANS
DIXIE
DIXIE FINANCE CO.
Pryor
(918) 825-7014
Bartlesville
(918) 337-9240
Wagoner
(918) 485-0870
Miami
(918) 542-1813
Grove
(918) 786-4795
W. Siloam Springs
(918) 422-6125
FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE• LOANS UP TO $800
Okmulgee
(918) 756-5700
Vinita
(918) 256-4401
McAlester
(918) 423-3810
Eufaula
(918) 689-2708
Tahlequah
(918) 431-1188
Muskogee
(918) 683-2984
Happy 4th of July
be released this fall. See where the road
heads for South 40 at www.myspace.
com/south40band.
For a complete festival sched-
ule and more information, logon to
www.porterpeachfestivals.com or call
(918) 694-9314.
Big festivals out west, up
north worth the drive
There’s
some major musical
events taking place over the hills and
through the woods in Colorado and
Minnesota that you should check out if
you’re ready to ride the road.
The Mile High Music Festival
takes place July 18-19 in Denver, Colo.,
hence the name Mile High. Here you
can enjoy two days full of some amaz-
ing tunes from Tool, Widespread Panic,
The Fray, Incubus, Ben Harper, Gov’t
Mule, G. Love & Special Sauce, De-
VotchKa, Gogol Bordello, Ani DiFranco,
Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Buddy
Guy, Pepper, Thievery Corporation and
many more. Tickets start at $90 for a
single day, $165 for both days, VIP for
$400 and Carpool Packages are avail-
able starting at $650. For a full lineup
and more information, check out www.
milehighmusicfestival.com.
The next week up in west cen-
tral Minnesota, they’ll be celebrating at
the biggest and best ever 10,000 Lakes
Music & Camping Festival near the
town of Detroit Lakes July 22-25. Here
you can catch Dave Matthews Band,
Wilco,
Widespread Panic (two
sets),
Umphrey’s McGee, Atmosphere, Ozom-
atli, Gomez, Junior Brown, Trampled by
Turtles, Todd Snider, Garaj Mahal, Sha-
ron Jones & the Dap Kings and many
more. Four day tickets start at $185 and
vehicle/campground registration is $50.
Or you can grab music-only tickets for
$130. But if you’re ready to get very im-
portant, you can go VIP for $395. Get
your tickets and festivals to the big fes-
tival in the land ‘o lakes at www.10klf.
com.
mulberry mountain madness
Now that Wakarusa has had its
way with the pristine festival site, Mul-
berry Mountain is now running full steam
ahead getting geared up for the Mulberry
Mountain Harvest Music Festival, slated
for Aug. 12-15 near Ozark, Ark.
MMHMF is looking bigger and
better than ever with a full lineup on
Wednesday and music scheduled to run
later on the campground stage through-
out the 2009 festival than in previous
years.
In the past, music on the camp-
ground stage was over and done with by
7 p.m., but this year they’ll rage well into
the night.
Another perk of the late night
shows in the Harvest Tent are only sched-
uled to go until 3 a.m., so you can actually
get some rest at a festival. After four days
of raging and rocking out you deserve a
nap anyways.
Tickets are on sale now for $129
for the three day pass, parking and camp-
ing included! Get in a day early, get the
best camping spots available, and en-
joy the Wednesday music for only $24
more. Or if you’re feeling important and
not feeling that economic woe, you can
get VIP packages starting at only $325!
All prices include camping and parking,
which is a bargain when you consider the
65 bands who’ll be playing their hearts
out for you.
Mulberry
Mountain
Harvest
Music Festival is bringing you the Ozark
Mountain Daredevils, Umphrey’s McGee,
The Avett Brothers, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,
Railroad Earth, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Pe-
ter Rowan, Tea Leaf Green, The Duhks,
Big Smith, Asylum Street Spankers, Hack-
ensaw Boys, Oakhurst, Dirtfoot, Elephant
Revival, My-Tea Kind, Blue Turtle Seduc-
tion, Randy Crouch, Eckobase, Cletus Got
Shot and dozens more at the 2009 event.
For a full lineup and to get your
tickets right away, logon to www.mulber-
rymountainmusic.com or call (866) 667-
1919 and keep those eyes peeled to The
Current.
Todd Snider takes his tunes and tales to the 10,000 Lakes Music &
Camping Festival in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 77
THE CURRENT LOWDOWN
Mexican Restaurant
To Go Orders Welcome
Now 3 locatioNs
iN Mcalester
790 W. Carl Albert
918-423-0118
Hours: Mon-Sun 11a - 9p
207 N. Main, Eufaula
918-618-4553
Hours: Mon-Sun 11a - 9p
111 W. Main, Wilburton
918-465-2960
Hours: Mon-Sun 11a - 9p
Hwy 270 East
918-426-3263
Hours: Mon-Thur 11a - 9p
Fri-Sat 11a - 10p • Sun 11a - 9p
our Newest locatioN
iN
taNdy towN
iN
the
old Gold chiNa restauraNt
also serviNG these locatioNs:
mud stompin’ good times
in Sparks
Splish
splash
your
way
to
Sparks, Okla. for the annual Mudstock,
slated for July 24-26 at the Sparks Amer-
ica Campground.
Here you can get dirty with
other mud enthusiasts as they push
4x4s, ATVs and other vehicles through
the sludge. You’ll also see mud drags,
ATV trails, racing, rock climbing and
live music at night!
140 RV sites are available for
a nominal fee, and free tent camping is
available to all with paid admission. 24
hour security is provided and you must
be 21 to enter. And best of all conces-
sions are super affordable so you don’t
need to bring anything but your bedroll
and yourself.
For more information call (918)
866-2543 or logon to www.sparksameri-
ca.com.
Exquisite ‘cue
Its
time once again for the
tasty event known as The Art of BBQ,
held July 10-11 at Schusterman Center
on the University of Oklahoma’s Tulsa
campus, located at 41st & Yale.
This annual sanctioned bar-
becue contest is presented by the Arts
& Humanities Council of Tulsa, whose
main goal is to establish a delicious, di-
verse community well versed in savory
sauces and succulent smoked meats,
which isn’t actually their mission state-
ment, but taking one look at this lineup
will make you a mouth-watering be-
liever.
Over 70 teams from across the
region will compete for some $10,000 in
prizes. That’s a lot of cash for the cream
of the ‘cue crop. The event is free to at-
tend, but the purchase of a tasting kit
is required to chomp down on choice
smoked meats and sides.
Also slated for the weekend is
a Kid’s Zone with plenty of activities to
keep the young-ins at bay, live music
courtesy of the fabulous Mid Life Cri-
sis Band on July 10, arts and crafts, food
vendors (duh), and a wine tasting.
Free parking and shuttle ser-
vice is available from the Promenade
Mall. For more information or to get
registered in the battle of the barbecue,
call (918) 584-3333 or logon to www.
ahct.org.
These turtles always fnish frst
Ever hear and/or read the ex-
pression, “faster than a herd of turtles in
a sea of peanut butter?” If not, cool, be-
cause you’re probably cackling uncon-
trollably right now and can’t wait to use
that one when describing your progress
on your next adventure. If so, you know
that there’s no laughing matter when it
comes to the Run for the Clover Box
Turtle Race, held annually at 10 a.m. on
July 4 at Tenkiller State Park near Vian,
Okla.
Prizes will be awarded to the
fastest turtles in the territory, as well
as the best decorated turtles and turtle
carriers. Please keep in mind that only
water-based, non-toxic paint should be
used on turtles so that no harm will be
done to our little shelled friends. For
complete rules, regulations and regis-
tration information call Tenkiller State
Park at (918) 489 5641 or logon to www.
oklahomaparks.com.
In addition to trying to keep
up with the fastest turtles in the west,
there’s lots of other fun stuff to do like
go for a hayride, get wet in a water bal-
loon fight and enjoy all that the great
outdoors have to offer. See you there,
Pokey!
Even cowboys get the blues
Cowboys
got
a
number
of
reasons to turn those frontier frowns
upside down, namely the American
Cowboy Traders Days, slated for the
weekend July 24-26.
July 25, 2009 has been desig-
nated the official Oklahoma Day of the
Cowboy. Oklahoma has several recog-
nizable cowboys from Gene Autry and
Will Rogers to Pawnee Bill and William
Boyd.
The
fourth
annual
Cowboy
Day celebration at Whitaker Park in
Pryor,
Okla.
features
reenactments,
stage coach & buggy rides, food, live
entertainment and much more. Over 70
vendors from across the five state area
will have a variety of wares for show
and sale from quilts to guns to beads
and so much more. For more informa-
tion call (918) 825-4373.
If you’re internet capable, log-
on to www.travelok.com and search
for a rodeo or other Western heritage
event near you, cowperson.
More updates
at
www.cur-
rentland.com.
Open Daily 6 am
Bartlesville, OK
(918) 333-9690
2073 SE Washington Blvd.
Claremore, OK
(918) 342-1233
900 South Lynn Riggs
Owasso, OK
(918) 371-5777
14002 E. 116th N.
Pryor, OK
(918) 825-1888
1501 South Mill
Independence, KS
(620) 331-0520
1724 W. Main
78 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Harbor Mountain Coffee House
Salads • Wraps
Sandwiches
Espresso Drinks
Frozen • Hot
Smoothies
3rd & Wyandotte, McAlester
918-426-9600
Come in for Lunch
Monday - Friday
7am - 5pm
Saturday
8am - 5pm
2008
BEST COFFEE
ENTERTAINMENT - CD REVIEWS
Dave matthews Band/
Big whiskey and the
GrooGrux King/
RCA Records
On June 2, the highly antici-
pated seventh album Big Whiskey and the
GrooGrux King from the Dave Matthews
Band was released. To mark the release
of the album, the band performed sev-
eral of the albums songs along with a
host of others to a sold out audience at
New York’s Beacon Theatre. Big Whis-
key is the bands first release since 2005’s
Stand Up and their first release since the
death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore.
On Big Whiskey the band did
opposite of what most would have
done when faced with the loss of a band
member. Here the band pays tribute to
LeRoi by focusing their energy on creat-
ing a record much more powerful than
those from the recent past. It would be
safe to say that the band has not had
this much charisma and creative power
since their heyday in the late ‘90s.
The album opens with a min-
ute long LeRoi sax solo that seems to
pay tribute to the bands fallen brother.
From here, the album heads directly
into the funky rock tune “Shake Me Like
a Monkey.” “Shake Me Like a Monkey”
is a full blown party tune much like
many DMB tunes of the past. The al-
bums initial single “Funny the Way It
Is” is a look at life through real circum-
stances, circumstances that touch on the
delicate nature of life. The song’s lyrics
“Somebody’s going hungry and some-
one else is eating out/ funny the way
it is, not right or wrong/ somebody’s
heart is broken and it becomes your
favorite song,“ speaks clearly of these
circumstances.
Big
Whiskey
wouldn’t
be
a
DMB album without a few tracks speak-
ing on the nature of love, and the album
discuses that topic in the songs “Lying
in the Hands of God,” “Spaceman,” and
“You and Me.”
One would only expect sorrow
and loss to dominate this album, but
that is the farthest topic here. On Big
Whiskey, Matthew’s rants about many
of his favorite subjects; life, death, reli-
gion, war and sex, and is a fine example
of a band that seemed to be lost, find-
ing their way back. It is obvious they
have done this by focusing on things in
their lives that are most important, one
of those being music.
- Scott Batie
The Black Crowes/
warpaint Live/
Eagle Rock Entertainment
Two letters one word: WOW.
If you caught The Black Crowes at Wa-
karusa, or have seen them in the past,
then you know they put on one hell of
a live performance. Their new double
CD release, Warpaint Live, captures the
energy, power, and soul of the Crowes
live. The first disc is an entire live per-
formance of their recent release, Warpa-
int. If you’re familiar with the Crowes
live then you know they absolutely rock
and they rock loud. These discs totally
capture the sound and feel of a Crowes
performance.
The
opening
track,
“Good-
bye ye Daughters of the Revolution,”
is a straight forward rock masterpiece
reminiscent of songs from the album 3
Snakes and a Charm. Then comes a raw,
dirty blues performance of “Walk Be-
liever Walk.” “Oh Josephine,” which to
many a Crowes-head is a crowd favor-
ite, seems to bring the band full circle to
their early days as rockers. One of my
personal favorites from this first disc
is “Movin’ on Down the Line,” which
begins with an eerie, trippy guitar and
piano, followed by a deep nasty bass
line that forms a sort of psychedelic
honkeytonk dreamland! With the track
“Wounded
Bird,”
the
Crowes show
their incredible guitar work and ability
to diversify their sound thanks to Lu-
ther Dickinson.
The second disc is for the most
part a collection of songs written by
many of the Crowes’ heroes. Tracks two
and three are Crowes originals slowed
down dirty like nasty, ole South blues-
style ballads. The opener is a medley
and tribute to Robert Johnson, a hero to
most blues artists. Probably my favor-
ite cut from the entire album is “Torn
and Frayed,” a Rolling Stones cover
that seems right at home in The Black
Crowes hands.
There’s
so
much more that
could be said of this incredible album. I
suggest to anyone who may have been
a fan of the Crowes and lost touch to
run out and get this album. Or if you’ve
been right there with them all along
you’ll absolutely love it! I just returned
from seeing more than 50 live perfor-
mances in a little more than nine days,
the Black Crowes being one, and I can
honestly tell you they rank among the
best live bands ever. After running out
and purchasing this album don’t hesi-
tate to get tickets to Dfest in Tulsa for
your own chance to catch the Crowes
live!
-Flatbottom Frank
Black Label Society /
Skullage/
Eagle Rock Entertainment
Black Label Society has thrust
upon us the latest installment in a never
ending onslaught of amazing music and
footage from the Wylde man himself.
The new greatest hits CD/DVD collec-
tion that hit the shelves earlier this year
in April, Skullage, is soon to be a clas-
sic in everyone’s collection. The collec-
tion is comprised of all the good stuff
we have come to know and love over
the years from BLS, even some stuff
from the Pride and Glory days, like “Ma-
chine Gun Man,” “13 Years of Grief,”
“Suicide Messiah,” “In This River” and
“Fire It Up,” as well as acoustic versions
of “Stillborn,” “Spoke in the Wheel”
(my favorite BLS jam) and “The Blessed
Hellride.”
Really, the CD alone is worth
the buy, but then they hit you with the
DVD that is crammed full of goodies.
The DVD takes you through a complete
history of the band, videos, live perfor-
mances and, as bad as I hate to say it, an
awkward look into a day in the life of
Zakk Wylde. The reason I say awkward
is that it’s near uncomfortable to watch
some of the stuff on the DVD. He’s
walking around talking to dolls and
wearing dresses and just being weird.
It’s almost like he’s trying way too hard
to be funny like Dimebag in the Pantera
videos. Let’s face it, you can’t top the
“Vulgar Videos.”
However, Wylde does speak
about his time with Dimebag and his
friendship with him, and also gives
you a rare glimpse at his collection of
axes, including the Grail, a unique Les
Paul that was painted by the Oz man
himself and a guitar that Dimebag had
given him. So if you can get past Zakk
Wylde being completely ridiculous in
a drunken haze and doing just some
straight up bazaar interludes, then the
CD and DVD are a must see. The pack-
age is going to hit you for about $25 and
I’d say that’s a fair price for all the stuff
you get.
-Metal Mike
By Bridget K. Wood
Welcome
to
another
install-
ment of Green Being, this is the place
where I give you the lowdown on envi-
ronmentally friendly products in order
to help you break the habit of purchas-
ing traditional products that are harm-
ful to the planet that we all call home.
This has been a tricky month
for me ethically. When I first started
the column a couple years ago I really
wanted to be able to present to you an
alternative that was black and white, a
product that was a perfect solution to
those nasty chemical-filled alternatives
that you see in the store every day. What
I have found it that it is not always so
easy. You should know that I am pretty
serious about my commitment to the
planet. I am as stubborn as a mule when
it comes to throwing away something
that can be recycled, to the point now
of stockpiling recyclables and hauling
them 50 miles away when I have to go
to the big city because my city council
dropped the ball and allowed our recy-
cling to go away, but that is another sto-
ry. My point is, I want things to be a clear
alternative, I want products to be perfect
and I expect nothing but the best. I want
minimal packaging, I want the container
to be biodegradable, and if I am buying a
product I want a percentage of the prof-
its to feed
hung ry
children
in
Africa
if you get
my drift.
T
h
i
s
b r
i
n g s
me to the
Yes
To
Carrots !
produc t
line.
The
produc t
line extends over to Yes to Tomatoes!
And
Yes
to
Cucumbers!
depending
upon your skin type.
Let’s
just start
out by saying that the product line is a
strong one with a wide selection of hair
and skin products made primarily from
Organic veggies. The Website promotes
the product line like this:
“All of our Yes To products
combine the fresh, unadulterated good-
ness of organic fruits and vegetables
with the purifying and moisturizing
properties of 26 minerals harvested from
the
ancient
world’s most
r e n o w n e d
spa- the Dead
Sea.”
The
line
is
also
touted
as
USDA
certified
Or-
ganic,
which
is
where
we
start
to
get
into
the
touchy part of
the deal. This
product is 95 percent certified organic,
but some of the ingredients are standard
in that remaining five percent.
Let me go a little further down
the line and explain to you why this
product line has me in an ethical quan-
dary. The products are packaged in re-
cyclable containers, but not made of pre-
viously recycled containers. That is not
a difficult task to accomplish in this day
and age and I think whoever made that
decision really missed the mark. How-
ever, none of these products were de-
veloped using animal testing, which is a
big plus for me, and an even bigger one
for all the bunnies, cats and dogs spared
unimaginable torture for the develop-
ment of a product intended for vanity
purposes. The Yes to! line also supports
a seed fund to assist under-served com-
munities to teach them how to have a
self-sustaining organic food source.
See what I mean? Most of the
product is organic, and the company
is better than a lot of the alternatives.
However, do not be fooled into thinking
that this is an all-organic perfectly pack-
aged product. Traditional chemicals &
fragrance are present in many of their
offerings and I feel like the natural/or-
ganic angle is over-hyped.
So, while the benefits are great
compared to the options available on
the shelves in your local Walgreen’s, I
still feel we should demand more of our
products. The Yes to! folks are located
in San Francisco in the very center of
the environmentally conscious universe
and I think they could do better.
Now to something I am really
excited about! Reynolds Wrap foil made
from 100 percent recycled aluminum,
packaged in 100 percent recycled paper-
board, printed with water-based ink. I
have been using this product for a while
and I have no complaints. It is slightly
more expensive than the alternative but
it is so worth it for how it makes me feel.
Knowing
that
everything
about
this
product down to the packaging is recy-
cled and knowing that I can do it again
makes me very happy.
Another
great
find
for
the
kitchen this month is the Good Sense
trash bags. Trash bags have long been
a real problem for me as it seems like
everything about them is a waste and
I have been looking for something that
everyone can get their hands on. The
good news is Wal-Mart has finally start-
ed carrying an alternative to the typi-
cal trash bag. Not everything is perfect
with this product but in this case we will
take what we can get, as the alternatives
stink. Made of 60 percent recycled plas-
tic and packaged in 100 percent recycled
paperboard this bag goes straight to the
top of the heap! The price is right at less
than $6 for 20 bags (If you recycle you
won’t need as many bags). Considering
the alternatives at this point, this is the
product to use. Look for a tan and green
package with the Earth printed on the
box. This seems a little ironic to me, but
I will let them off the hook for now.
Remember when you purchase
a product, you are literally voting with
your dollars. Before you make your
purchase, take a moment to think about
your decisions. Are you buying these
products because they are what you al-
ways buy, or because they are the right
decision for our planet and the others
who live on it with you?
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 79
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Garages, RV Covers, Boat Covers.
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GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
By Bridget K. Wood
Fish Consumption Advisory
With this being the prime time of
the year for crappie and bass fishing, it
is important to remind the most vulner-
able of our population of the Oklahoma
Fish Consumption Mercury Advisory.
In 2004, the EPA issued a nationwide
fish consumption advisory for mercury
that recommends that women of child-
bearing age and young children eat no
more than one meal per week of locally
caught predator fish. The state of Okla-
homa has also issued an advisory for all
children under 15 years of age as they
are among the most sensitive groups.
Mercury is a neurotoxin that can ac-
cumulate in the body affecting unborn
children as well as affecting the devel-
opment of the nervous system of young
children. Many people subsist on lo-
cally caught fish and it is important that
people are aware that not all people can
have unlimited amounts of fish in their
diet. For more information contact the
Department of Environmental Quality
at (405) 702-1000.
The Lost Ladybug Project
Over the past 20 years several
native ladybug species that were once
very common have become extremely
rare. During this same time, several
species of ladybugs from other places
have greatly increased both their num-
bers and range. Besides being incredibly
cool and charismatic, ladybugs are also
essential predators in both farms and
forests that keep us from being over-
run with pests (like aphids and mealy
bugs). In many areas, the native lady-
bugs are being replaced by exotic ones.
This has happened very quickly and we
don’t know how this shift happened,
what impact it will have (e.g. will the
exotic species be able to control pests as
well as our familiar native ones always
have) and how we can prevent more na-
tive species from becoming so rare.
To be able to help the nine-
spotted
ladybug and other ladybug
species, scientists need to have detailed
information on which species are still
out there and how many individuals
are around.
Entomologists at Cornell Uni-
versity can identify the different species
but there are too few of them to sample
in enough places to find the really rare
ones. They need you to be their legs,
hands and eyes. If you could look for
ladybugs and send pictures of them in
e-mail, they can start to gather the infor-
mation they need. They are very inter-
ested in the rare species but any pictures
will help. This is the ultimate summer
science project for kids and adults! You
can learn, have fun and help save these
important species. All you have to do is
e-mail pictures of ladybugs you see for
monitoring.
To get involved go to www.
birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/proj-
ects/lostladybug/.
Recycle that TV!
The switch to digital TV is es-
timated to generate millions of pounds
of electronic waste here in the U.S. This
is a tremendous problem not only for
the issue of landfill space but for the
water we drink. Televisions contain
large amounts of heavy metals that con-
taminate landfills and ultimately our
groundwater. Each TV can contain up
to eight pounds of lead as well as mer-
cury, both of which can be reclaimed
and reused when televisions are prop-
erly recycled. With the switch to digi-
tal happening now it seems reasonable
that scores of people will be looking to
ditch their old TV’s and the last place
they need to go is to a landfill. Unfortu-
nately, most manufacturers are behind
the curve in taking back their products
once they have outlived their useful-
ness. Several big box stores are partici-
pating in recycling programs to take
back old TV’s; these include Best Buy,
Circuit City and Staples. Please call the
store you plan to recycle with to become
familiar with their policy. Most stores
charge a small fee of $15 that is refund-
ed in the form of a gift certificate to the
store it was issued from.
Another option in the area is a
dedicated electronics recycling facility
called Natural Evolution. This is a zero
80 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Mon-Thur 11am-9pm • Fri & Sat 11am-10pm
Closed Sunday . Dine In . Carry Out • Catering Avail.
Free Delivery in downtown Muskogee
918-682-0900
325 N Main, Muskogee
New Menu
www.johnnyvsmuskogee.com
Genuine Italian Dining
...in Muskogee
GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
Nelson’s
Restaurant
75
HWY
Nelson’s
Restaurant
Just Good
Home Cooking!
All you can eat
Seafood Buffet
Every
Friday 5-7pm
Now Serving Menu and
Buffet on Sunday
908 E. Trudgeon, Henryetta
918-652-4555
Catering Available
Your Place
or Ours
Hours:
Mon-Sat 11-8
Sun 11-2
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 81
JUNE 18 - AUGUST 8
NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY & THE SEQUOYAH INSTITUTE PRESENT
FOR COMPLETE SCHEDULE AND TICKET INFORMATION
918.458.2075 OR WWW.NSUOK.EDU/SI
STARS
IN THE
SUMMER
SPONSORED BY
TAHLEQUAH AREA TOURISM COUNCIL
DOWNTOWN COUNTRY
Rhinestone Country 2
(Thursday Evening / Saturday Evening)
Turn Your Radio On
(Friday Evening / Saturday Matinee)
RIVER CITY PLAYERS
Centennial Soundtrack
(Thursday Evening / Saturday Evening)
River City Sock Hop
(Friday Evening / Saturday Matinee)
DOWNTOWN COUNTRY
Rhinestone Country 2
(Thursday Evening / Saturday Evening)
Turn Your Radio On
(Friday Evening / Saturday Matinee)
RIVER CITY PLAYERS
Centennial Soundtrack
(Thursday Evening / Saturday Evening)
River City Sock Hop
(Friday Evening / Saturday Matinee)
F
E
A
T
U
R
I
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G
F
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A
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GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
landfill, zero incineration, and zero in-
ternational dumping company in Tulsa.
They are located at 5719 East 13th Street
in Tulsa. You can call them directly at
(918) 836-2995 or go to www.natura-
levolution.com for more information.
Do you like to breathe?
If so, air quality should matter
to you. The next Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality Air Quality Council
meeting is July 15 in Oklahoma City at
the DEQ office at 9 a.m. At each meet-
ing, employees from several industries
are there to make sure their interests
are represented, who is there to protect
yours?
To
sign
up
with
for
DEQ
air quality advisories by e-mail go to
www.deq.state.ok.us/aqdnew/Advi-
sorySignUp.htm. This can be a valuable
tool for those suffering from asthma, al-
lergies or any other breathing problem
that can be caused by the numerous
pollutants in our air. Please consider at-
tending the July meeting to ask for strict
mercury emissions laws to be placed on
coal-fired power plants now rather than
waiting for federal rules to come out in
what is estimated to be three years.
Support Fair Trade
Fair
Trade Certification em-
powers farmers and workers to
lift
themselves out of poverty by investing
in their farms and communities, pro-
tecting the environment, and develop-
ing business skills necessary to compete
in the global marketplace. Fair trade
principles include: fair price, fair labor
conditions, direct trade, and commu-
nity development and environmental
sustainability.
How you
can
support
fair
trade is easy. Simply vote with your
dollars. Look for the Fair Trade Certi-
fied label and buy only Fair Trade Cer-
tified coffee, tea, chocolate, rice, sugar,
flowers and more when you shop.
Learn more about fair trade
at
www.fairtradecertified.org.
Don’t
forget to serve only Fair Trade Certi-
fied products at your church and orga-
nizational meeting and let your friends
know why you are doing so. If you
don’t see FTC products in your local
store ask for them. This is a wonderful
way to truly make a difference in the
lives of the world’s poor.
Oklahoma Sustainability
Network
The goals of OSN are to promote
and connect people of Oklahoma with re-
spect to sustainability issues. For us as hu-
mans to live in a sustainable manner, the
Earth’s resources must be used at a rate at
which they can be replenished. However,
scientific evidence proves that humanity as
a whole is living unsustainably and that a
monumental effort must be made to return
to use of natural resources within sustain-
able limits.
There are several chapter of OSN
established in Oklahoma at this time. The
chapters are spread across Green Country
with active groups in Tulsa, Stillwater,
OKC, a “Green Country” chapter, as well
as S.N.O.W., which stands for Sustainable
Nowata, Osage and Washington Counties
(most meetings are held in Bartlesville).
There has been active interest in devel-
oping a Tahlequah chapter and all OSN
needs is YOU to be the one to take the role
and make it happen.
For information on how to be-
come involved with OSN or to start the
much-needed Tahlequah chapter contact
Kim Cooper-Hart at kimcooperhart@ok-
sustainability.org.
Bee happy!
The Northeast Oklahoma Beekeep-
ers Association meets the second Monday
of each month at the Tulsa County Exten-
sion Office at 4116 E. 15th Street in Tulsa.
Annual dues are $17.50 and for that you
gain the collective knowledge of scores of
experienced beekeepers. If you are consid-
ering learning the art of beekeeping this is
the place to bee! Visit www.okbees.org to-
day! For more information give Euvonne a
buzz at (918) 425-2026.
By Lisa Bracken
I get lost in music. I’m think-
ing back to particular moments dur-
ing “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel
Barber, “He Shall Purify” by George
Frideric
Handel, that Beastie Boys
concert in Denver… We aspire for
those moments in our yoga practice.
We call it ‘Samadhi’, absolute absorp-
tion. You’ve probably experienced it
yourself; running, dancing, meditat-
ing, praying, chanting.
It
happens,
we lose track of time, place, even
ourselves. Everyday that we get on
our mat or cushion, we’re laying the
groundwork to invite Samadhi. Yet
we can’t plan for it or force it to occur.
Samadhi just happens. And boy, do
we love it when it does!
An awakening took place in
my practice and my teaching in 2003
when I attended my first Jivamukti
yoga class on Lafayette Street in NYC.
Upon completing our opening chants
and pushing up into our first down-
dog, the play button was pressed and
voila
– there was sound! We glided
through a beautifully fluid sequence
of
sun salutations, standing poses,
headstands and backbends;
all
the
while motivated and inspired by a
clever arrangement of tunes that drew
from soft sitar and Hindi chants to
rockin’ U2 stadium anthems. Before
I could say ‘paschimottanasana’, we
were lulled into a luscious shavasana
that was made even more delicious
by the drone and vibration of subway
trains passing underneath the build-
ing. I was lost.
My teacher encourages sim-
ply the sound of our own beautiful,
albeit sometimes off-key, voices as
we chant invocations at the begin-
ning and OM together at the end of
class. Our asana practice is done to
the sound and steady rhythm of our
ujjayi breath. Up until ’03 I had no
idea that music could lend itself so ef-
fectively to my practice. Hatha yoga is
a tool used to still the fluctuations of
the mind. Music has that same power.
Combine the two intelligently and
you end up with something quite ex-
traordinary.
This summer, the
state
of
Oklahoma is in for something quite
extraordinary indeed. For the past
seven years, Tom and Angie Green
have shown the spotlight onto our
humble state through Dfest; a two-
day music conference and festival that
places emerging artists on the same
bill as the big boys. Music and yoga
jive so well together; both allow for
enormous creativity, both are capable
of bringing about revolution, both can
take us to a higher level of conscious-
ness, both are opportunities to lay the
groundwork for Samadhi.
It makes perfect sense then
that this year, the eighth annual Dfest
Music
Conference
and
Festival
is
partnering with Art of Yoga (OKC),
Inner Peace Yoga (Tulsa) and The
Canebrake (Wagoner, USA) to bring
you Oklahoma’s very first Dfest Yoga
Conference and Festival! For two days
in July, the Crowne Plaza in down-
town Tulsa will play host to our very
own, home-grown, Okie Yogis from
across the state showcasing what they
love; the practice. Taking over three
conference
rooms,
the
grand
ball-
room and the courtyard, Dfest Yoga
Conference and Festival will provide
plenty of music, asana, panel discus-
82 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
music+yoga conference+festival
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GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
Music meets yoga at Diversafest 2009
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 83
1112 East Cherokee, McAlester, OK
918-423-6400
Massage Therapy • Tanning • Waxing • Pedicures
Manicures • High Fashion Precision • Color
Razor & Clipper Cuts for Women, Children & Men
The Newest, Hottest
Full-Service Salon in Town!
Plus a variety of salon quality products
GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
Here II Here will help you channel your qi at Dfest Yoga.
Some helpful definitions:
AcroYoga – blends the spiritual wis-
dom of yoga, Thai massage, and the
dynamic power of Acrobatics.
Anusara yoga – ‘flowing with grace’;
this method blends Tantric philoso-
phy
with
Universal
Principles
of
Alignment .
Ashtanga yoga – developed by the
late K. Pattabhi Jois, one of the
most athletic styles of yoga, and the
grandfather to all power yoga.
Hatha yoga – the yoga of physical
discipline, aims to purify and pre-
pare the body for higher states of
concentration and meditation.
Iyengar yoga – characterized by pre-
cise alignment and the use of vari-
ous props such as blocks, straps,
and bolsters .
Kundalini yoga – originated by Yogi
Bhajan, its goal is to release the
kundalini power through various pos-
tures, breathing exercises, chanting
and meditation.
OM – a sacred sound, syllable and
symbol of God, the Absolute. Also
defined as ‘the highest praise’.
Sanskrit – one of the world’s most
ancient languages and the language
of yoga to be sure.
The Rooms:
The
Great
Room
(Tulsa
Ball-
room): Classes set to live musical
performances by DFest bands, as
well as small-group intensives and
demonstrations.
The Den
(Director’s
Room #4):
Workshops for the beginner and ex-
perienced in a safe, supportive work-
shop environment.
The Seat (Director’s Room #5):
Dedicated to mindful silence as well
as singing bowl concerts, tucked
away from the immediate excite-
ment to meet your need for stillness
and peace; features opportunities
for personal practice with acoustic
accompaniment.
The Roundtable (Diplomat Room):
Panel discussions and lectures with
instructors and experts in conscious
living,
holistic
health,
music
and
sound and more.
Dfest tickets are at all Regular Tick-
etstorm Outlets as well as Arvest
Bank locations and Kum & Go loca-
tions. All other tickets including VIP
and Music Conference Badges must
be purchased online or call 866-
966-1777 to purchase.
sions, lectures and even a room dedi-
cated solely to the art and sounds of
silence.
The brainchild of visionar-
ies Aprilhelen Morgan (Art of Yoga,
OKC)
and
Angie
DeVore
Green
(Dfest Co-Founder, Tulsa), the 2009
Dfest Yoga Conference and Festival
will provide a rare and rich opportu-
nity to learn from the best our state
has to offer, and believe me, it’s dern
good! Live musical performances will
accompany many of the group asana
classes, panel discussions will take
place on such topics as Conscious
Consumption,
Alternative
Health
and the Merging of the Music/Yoga
Communities, and a ‘Yoga Medley’
will offer demonstrations of the many
different styles that are out there.
Here’s just a tiny sample of
the teachers, styles, panelists and mu-
sical performers that await you at The
Crowne Plaza:
Here II Here/Live music & Kirtan *
Andrew Eppler /Ashtanga * Billy &
Jane/acoustic music for classes
Dr.
Ammit
Gumman/Ayurvedic
medicine * Dr. Saskia Lyttle-Vieira,
DO/Osteopathic medicine
Faith Dyson/Drumming
*
Gwen
Ingram/Kundalini * Jennifer Engle-
man & Aprilhelen/AcroYoga
Karen Prior/Samatva yoga, Mamaste
* Martha McQuaid/Anusara * Rich-
ard and Kate Haas/The Earth Deli &
Grocery
* Robin King/Singing Bowl Medita-
tion * Roger Jaeger/Sitar * Stacey
Prior/Iyengar
What
an
excellent
oppor-
tunity for new yogis and seasoned
sadhakas alike as we hone our skills
and nurture relationships with fellow
revolutionaries. Join us as we explore
how both the yoga and music com-
munities work and play together in
harmony to lay the groundwork to-
wards higher coinsciousness.
Yoga instructors will guide and instruct your yoga journey at Dfest.
Sunday - Thursday 11am - 8pm
Friday & Saturday 11am - 9pm
Closed Monday
918-457-4635
Dine In or Carry Out
32002 Hwy 82 Cookson OK
(Lake Tenkiller)
Pedro’’‘s
Delicious Mexican Fare
Samadhi.
It could happen to you…
Lisa Bracken owns and teaches at The
Canebrake (www.TheCanebrake.com). As
a youth, she thrashed about to the rebel-
lious sounds of Agent Orange, The Clash
and Social Distortion; she now practices
asana to the smooth sounds of Krishna
Das and Jai Uttal. Oh, and the Beastie
Boys too.
By Pamala Zora
Berries and fruits are an effec-
tive confidence builder for the novice
canner. They’re incredibly versatile and
are preserved in a simple water bath us-
ing a large pot. Today’s savory recipes
are calling for more distinctive natural
ingredients like raspberry or strawber-
ry in salad vinaigrette or pomegranate
marinade for beef shish-ka-bobs. Most
everyone has a preferred jam or jelly
made from favorite’s like strawberries,
pineapple, peaches or apples.
Frozen or fresh-pack, berries
and fruits add a dash of summer to the
monotony of the winter diet. With very
little effort you too can preserve fresh
jams, jellies and fruits, really! One of
my husband’s favorite pies is cherry so
this year I canned four pints of cherry
pie filling from cherries that I found
on sale at the local grocer. Believe me
I made some brownie points with my
husband and saved loads of money on
that find. My friend Sally loves to can
peach halves in the jar. She savors the
fresh flavor and enjoys the personal
comfort of eating what her hands have
prepared. I, on the other hand, enjoy
preparing a batch of fresh peaches and
freeze smaller portions in freezer bags
for
fresh peach
Bellini’s
year round
(yum!).
Moreover, we preserve many
different jams, jellies and fruits to give
as Christmas gifts.
One sister loves
cranberry preserves while another loves
blackberry jam. By giving home canned
goods as Christmas gifts the majority of
our shopping is complete by September.
Plus, our loved ones receive a delecta-
ble delight they love from our kitchen
to theirs, and my Christmas budget re-
mains workable. As you develop
a plan you’ll first
need to estimate
the
year-round
needs
of
your
house -
hold.
N
o
matter whether
you want to make a variety of jams
and jellies to give as gifts or make just
one type for your household the plan is
same. Select the best berries and fruits
to guarantee quality, get familiar with
the recipe and ensure that you have the
equipment and supplies required. Now
you’re ready to can.
There are two basic methods
of making jams and jellies. The stan-
dard method, which does not require
added pectin, works best with fruits
naturally high in pectin.
The other
method, which requires the use of pow-
dered pectin, is much quicker. The gell-
ing ability of various commercial pec-
tins differs. To make uniformly gelled
products, be sure to add the quantities
of pectins to specific fruits as instructed
on each package. One important de-
tail to keep in mind is that when using
pectin, overcooking may break down
pectin and prevent proper gelling. No
matter what method you use, make one
batch at a time according to the recipe.
Recipes are developed for specific jar
sizes. If jellies are filled into larger jars,
overly soft products may result. For
proper texture,
jellied
fruit
products
require the correct combination of fruit,
pectin, acid (such as ascorbic acid i.e.,
vitamin C), and sugar. The fruit gives
each spread its unique aroma, flavor
and color. It also supplies the water to
dissolve the rest of the necessary ingre-
dients and furnishes some or all of the
pectin and acid. Good quality, fla-
vorful fruits make the best prod-
ucts. The proper level of acidity
is critical to gel formation. If there
is too little acid, the gel will never
set; if there is too much acid, the gel
will lose liquid (weep). For fruits low
in acid, add lemon juice or other acidic
ingredients as directed.
Your recipe
should be concise as to what ingredi-
ents will be needed. Here’s the bonus,
if you have a batch of jam or jelly that’s
overly soft, use it on ice cream, pan-
cakes, pound cake or cheese cake. Now
that’s deluxe, you come out looking like
you know what you’re doing and noth-
ing is wasted!
Berries
contain
more
air
in
proportion than large fruit and veg-
etables. For this reason in cold pack
canning, berries, when heated, will rise
to the top of the jar, while syrup being
heavier remains at the bottom. Remedy
this by packing the berries closely in
hot jars, being careful not to mash them.
84 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
Turn your fruit & berries into james & jellies
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 85
Taste the
Difference®
26372 Hwy 82
Park Hill, OK
(Downtown Keys)
918-456-3001
Available exclusively at Tenkiller Stove Co.
&
KEYS LAWN
GARDEN
GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
Rising berries to the top of the jar does
not affect the quality. Generally it takes
and average of 12 pound of berries to
make seven quarts of canned berries.
An average of eight pounds is needed
for nine pints. Adding syrup to canned
fruit helps to retain its flavor, color, and
shape. It does not prevent spoilage of
these foods.
Sort,
wash and drain
fruits
carefully, discarding parts that are green
or of poor quality. Do not allow fruit to
soak unnecessarily in wash water or it
will lose nutrients and flavor. Be sure to
add lemon juice or ‘fruit fresh’ to fresh
fruit to maintain color. Prepare fruits
as they will be used; stemmed, pitted
or sliced. Prepare enough fruit for only
a few containers at a time, especially
those fruits that darken rapidly.
Do
not use galvanized equipment in direct
contact with fruit. The acid in the fruit
dissolves zinc, which can be harmful in
large amounts.
`Also, be wary of using iron
utensils
or
chipped
enamelware,
as
metallic off-flavors can result. Most im-
portantly when canning, follow pre-es-
tablished guidelines such as those pub-
lished by USDA. Refer to The National
Center for Food Preservation (www.
uga.edu/nchfp) as an excellent resource
for canning all fruits and berries and
everything else for that matter. Last
but not least, we can’t forget to men-
tion preservation through freezing, as
it is one of the easiest, most convenient
and least time-consuming ways to pre-
pare foods at home. Freezing does not
sterilize food; the extreme cold simply
retards growth of microorganisms and
slows down changes that affect quality
or cause spoilage in food. Properly fro-
zen fruits will retain much of their fresh
flavor and nutritional value. Their tex-
ture, however, may be somewhat softer
than that of fresh fruit. No problem for
smoothie makers!
Nature provides us with end-
less possibilities as long as we have a
plan, ensure food safety and select the
best fruit and berries possible.
Next
month we’ll discuss canning tomatoes
and pickled pleasures.
DID YOU KNOW?
Good jelly is clear and has a
fresh flavor of the fruit in which it was
made from. It is tender enough to quiv-
er when moved, but holds angles when
cut. Jam will also hold its shape but it
is less firm than jelly. Jam is made from
crushed or chopped fruits and sugar.
Jams made from mixtures of fruits are
usually
called
conserves,
especially
when they include citrus fruits, nuts,
raisins or coconut. Preserves are made
of small whole fruits or uniform-size
pieces of fruits in clear, thick, slightly
jellied syrup. Marmalades are soft fruit
jellies with small pieces of fruit or citrus
peel evenly suspended in a transparent
jelly. Fruit butters are made from pulp
cooked with sugar until thickened to
spreadable consistency.
Yummy blackberrries make delicious james and jellies.
Illinois River
BalloonFest
Tahlequah, OK
17
th
Ann
ual
August 14th & 15th, 2009
at Tahlequah Municpal Airport
www.okballoonfest.com
Live Music • Carnival • Tractor Pull • Balloon Glow
For more information visit
Presents
86 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
By Ronn Hopkins
With the help and support of
my wonderful wife Edna, our grand-
daughter J.B. and my niece Lorraine, I
have been able to set up a booth at the
Tahlequah Farmers’ Market again this
year. It has been great meeting and talk-
ing to all those we were lucky enough to
meet at last year’s market. We have also
met many people new to us this year.
Talking and listening to their ideas on
gardening and life in general as always
is a much needed experience in helping
one’s own garden of life to grow. So to all
those we have already met, and to those
we hope to meet in the future, we thank
you for your time and interest in what we
do.
From time to time throughout
the year, the Tahlequah Farmers’ Mar-
ket holds special events. One such event
held last July was a Tomato Celebration,
in which people entered their tomatoes in
a contest for the largest, smallest, or ugli-
est, and so on. I have been informed that
this year a Tomato Celebration is going to
be held from 8 a.m. ‘til noon on Saturday,
July 18, at the Tahlequah Farmers Market
located at 2111 Mahaney Avenue in the
First Lutheran Church parking lot behind
Reasor’s. All those who want to come and
join in are welcome to stay a little while
or all morning. So come on down, bring
family and friends, and meet your neigh-
bors.
After reading a couple of ar-
ticles that gave some reasons why you
shouldn’t
grow a vegetable garden,
I
thought I would address some of those
issues. As it is, I am gardener who enjoys
growing and consuming my own veg-
etables, as well as getting a great deal of
enjoyment from other people eating the
vegetables we grow.
One of the first things mentioned
was the amount of work and sweat that
goes into a garden. Well I believe every-
thing worth having is worth working and
sweating for: your marriage and/or re-
lationship, your home, your food and so
on. Besides, one person’s work is another
person’s play. For instance, last summer
I took my seven year old granddaughter
and my 11 year old niece to the Murrell
Home Park so they could run and play.
After 20 or 25 minutes they became bored
of the swing, the slide, and the walking
trail. They wanted to go look at the Mur-
rell Home. As we got near to the house
they saw a small cabin to the west of the
home and, with excitement, rushed to see
it. There was a woman and her young son
watering a garden with gourds that had
holes in the bottoms. She told them this
was how people use to water a garden a
long time ago and they were welcome to
help if they wanted. They did and after
over an hour of them watering and help-
ing in the garden I told them we needed
to go. They did not want to go because
they said, “This is the best game we have
played today; it’s fun!” You see, it’s only
work if you make it so.
As for gardening, we all grow
and harvest something. Teachers grow
and nurture the gift of knowledge, health
care professionals strive to harvest the
saving and extension of life, and those
in construction build structures which
give us comfort and protection from the
elements. So it is those who work, sweat,
and give up heart beats each day that
grow and enrich all of our gardens of
life.
Once or twice a week we have
a sandwich day so we don’t have to cook
anything. This one is called sweet and
sour garden sandwich. You will need:
*2 slices of bread
*2 tomato slices
*1 green onion or onion slice
*mustard
*2 ounces leaf lettuce
*mayonnaise
*Salt and black pepper
*5 cucumber slices (or 5 pickle slices)
Now to build that sandwich! On
one slice of bread spread some mustard,
as much as you like. Then cut the green
onion into four inch long pieces and put
them on the bread. Add the lettuce, then
the five cucumber slices or pickles. Next,
add on the two tomato slices. Put a little
salt and pepper on the tomato slices for
added flavor if you choose. Spread the
mayonnaise on the last piece of bread,
again as much as you like. Top off the
sandwich with the mayonnaise covered
bread. Eat the sandwich by itself or with
baked beans, pork and beans, crackers or
so many other things.
Ultimately, there are two kinds
of people - those who build and those
who destroy; those who solve problems
and those who create problems; and those
who choose to love or those who choose
to hate. (And to all of you the very best of
tomorrows).
GREEN LIVING - EARTH, BODY AND SPIRIT
Tahlequah
Farmers’ market
FresH
LocaL
LiveLy
come earLy For tHe best
seLection oF LocaL Fruits
and vegetabLes, baked
goods, meats, FresH
Herbs and more!
Open Saturdays, 8 a.m. - Noon
First Lutheran Church in Tahlequah
2111 Mahaney Avenue,
(Behind Reasor’s)
For more information
contact Loretta at
(918) 456-7598 or visit our website
www.tahlequahfarmersmarket.com
2009
Gardening ‘round the year in Green Country
Gardening is fun when you have lots of help from you friends.
Photo by Fuzzy Sally Hopkins Garcia
Adair Co. Stilwell Farmers’ Market,
5 North 6th St (Stilwell Public Li-
brary), Wednesdays & Saturdays 8
a.m. – noon (918) 696-2824
Cherokee
Co.
Tahlequah
Farmer’s
Market, 2111 Mahaney Avenue (be-
hind
Reasor’s),
Saturdays
8
a.m.
– noon (918) 456-7598
Muskogee Co. Haskell Farmers’ Mar-
ket, 116 N. Broadway (Haskell Li-
brary Parking lot), Tuesdays 4 p.m.
– dark, (918) 482-2453
Muskogee Co. Muskogee
Farmers’
Market, 5th St and Okmulgee (Mar-
ket Square), Wednesdays & Satur-
days 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., (918) 686-6939
Okmulgee Farmers’ Market, 100 W.
6th St (Creek Council House Square),
Fridays 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., (918) 756-1958
Rogers Co. Claremore Farmers’ Mar-
ket, 2664 N. Hwy 88 (Roger’s County
Health Dept), Wednesdays & Satur-
days 8 a.m. – noon, (918) 341-0741
Tulsa Co. Pearl Farmers’ Market, SW
Corner of Peoria and 6th St (Centen-
nial Park), Mondays 4:30 p.m.
–
7
p.m., (918) 640-5408
Tulsa
Downtown
Tulsa
Farmers’
Market, 3rd St and Boston (Williams
Green), Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.,
(918) 224-5337
Tulsa Co. Brookside Farmer’s Mar-
ket, 41st St and Peoria (ACE Hard-
ware parking lot), Wednesdays 8 a.m.
– noon, (918) 789-3881
Tulsa Co. Collinsville Farmers’ Mar-
ket, 12th St and Main (Downtown
Collinsville), Wednesdays & Satur-
days 8 a.m. - 11 a.m., (918) 371-4480
Tulsa
Co.
Owasso
Farmers’
Mar-
ket at YMCA, 8300 N Owasso Expy,
Wednesdays & Saturdays 8:00 a.m. -
noon, (918) 694-3490
Tulsa Co. Sperry Farmers’ Market,
North of Sperry on Hwy 11, Wednes-
days 5 p.m. – 7 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m.
– 11 a.m., (918) 288-6015
Tulsa
Co.
Cherry
Street
Farmers’
Market, 15th St and Peoria (Lincoln
Plaza), Saturdays 7:00 am - 11:00 a.m.,
(918) 519-9383
Tulsa Co. Jenks Farmers’ Market, 9th
St and Main (RiverWalk Crossing
Parking lot), Saturdays 7 a.m. – noon,
(918) 224-5337
Tulsa Co. North Tulsa Farmers’ Mar-
ket, 2620 E 56th St N (Newsome Com-
munity Farm), Saturdays 8:30 a.m.
- 12:30 p.m., (918) 955-8559
Wagoner Co. Wagoner Farmers’ Market,
Hwy 69 and Hwy 51 (Blake Park), Satur-
days 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., (918) 485-4917
Washington Co. Bartlesville Farmers’
Market, Frank Phillips Blvd at Kee-
ler (Frank Phillips Park), Saturdays 8
a.m. - 11 a.m., (918) 333-7390
For more information about Farmers’
Markets in your area go to www.ok-
sustainability.org.
CURRENTLAND FARMERS’ MARKET LOCATIONS
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 87
By Rae Thompson and
Bea Ochodeyere
For the love of ink, it’s time to
get marked for art. After 22 years of tat-
tooing and falling in love with the art at
witness of the application, Mel D. and
Lollie are the hot item on the ink spot of
Green Country at Ink Junky’s, located at
9200 North Garnett in Owasso. Oklaho-
ma has been the poppy field of the new
and bright since the repeal of the anti-
tattoo and ‘micro pigmentation under
skin’ laws on Nov. 1, 2006. Sanctioned
out from past control regulations, Ink
Junky’s is on the forefront for new art
and body modification. With that said,
it’s been the ‘old reliable’ method for
Mel D.
“I don’t stick for just one par-
ticular style or another; the canvas is
alive and
it
makes for a client-artist
bonding,” quipped Mel, “If it is art, I’m
right in the middle of it.”
Indeed,
anything
from
the
most elaborate of Celtic knot work to
an infant’s name on the shoulder com-
memorating a birth to the simplest of
butterflies, Mel D. and Lollie have the
sure-fire for any choice. Never telling
someone to choose one subject matter
over the other, they advise that before
carrying a piece of their work the rest
of your life, why not come in and look
through the chosen artist portfolio and
find yourself wowed?
The tattoo, as it were, can be
a critical (and sometimes regrettable)
choice for those who decide to
“get
somethin’ purdy” on the 3 a.m. drink-
ing binge (come now, you know at least
one person with a pink unicorn on their
derrière they didn’t have the night be-
fore. This is not the case for Ink Junky’s,
which stands on high quality and en-
couragement to decisions for personal
expression.
“I
take the chance to learn
about the people I work on due to the
amount of communication it takes to
complete the tattoo,” says Mel. “All of
my tattoos are special, representing a
special moment in my life.”
To those with prior ink or look-
ing for more, Ink Junky’s can make ad-
justments and modify precisely to your
need, color, and overall satisfaction for
your body art......and what to those who
haven’t yet sought, but are considering
and hesitant because of the “pain” in-
volved? Let’s take a reality pause here:
it’s
a rapid needle with ink going in
and out under your skin, and a mark
to carry for life, so are there places less
painful then others? “The most painful
is the next you are fixing to get,” laughs
Mel. “But truly, pain is temporary, and
the placement is permanent. No place
on your body is going to be so painful
that you can’t handle it.”
With
aftercare
and
detailed
instructions, Ink Junky’s success speaks
for itself not only in the beautifully done
ink craft, but the clientele loyalty. Now
that is something to carry for life!
Karen Smith, the owner of Sa-
fari Tattoos is relieved that Oklahoma
has finally repealed the anti-tattoo leg-
islation.
“Tattoos are now safe and ac-
cessible for everyone; there is no more
of
the
‘underground’
tattooing,
also
known as ‘scratchers’. People are more
educated about
tattooing,
it
is
now
mainstream and we strive to have a
family environment, which has proven
to be a good choice; we get mothers
with daughters and even grandmoth-
ers all coming in to get the same tattoo
to commemorate their family love,” she
said.
To run an establishment that
does what Karen and Bart Smith at Sa-
fari do, you need more than some ink,
an autoclave and tattoo machines. “To
be a tattoo artist, you have to love art,
painting, drawing, being open and now
family friendly,” Says Karen.
“If
you
are considering a tattoo, look up their
credentials, but also see if they are open
with their customers? Do they seem to
love what they do and is it a clean, safe
environment? After all, you will wear it
forever and that’s a long time.”
To get some ink done, consult
your local phone book for a complete
list of tattoo parlors in your area.
THE GOOD LIFE - ART
‘Tis the season for skin art & art shows
LET FREEDOM RING CELEBRA-
TION, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 3 to 11,
Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and
Three Rivers Museum, with activities,
music, exhibits and more. Informa-
tion: www.3riversmuseum.com, 686-
6624, omhof.com, (918) 687-0800.
WINE TASTING & ART SHOW, 9
a.m. – 8 p.m. July 14, The Canebrake,
Wagoner. Tobey Rebecca sculptures
on exhibit with wine tasting featur-
ing wines from Stable Ridge Winery
6 p.m.
– 8 p.m., www.thecanebrake.
com, (918) 485-1810.
ART BLAST, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. July 18,
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa. www.gil-
crease.org, (918) 596-2700.
THE GATES W/SPECIAL GUESTS
CHRISTO & JEANNE-CLAUDE, 8
p.m.
–
10:30 p.m. July 11, The Phil-
brook,
Tulsa.
www.philbrook.org,
(918) 749-7941, (800) 324-7941.
WHAT’S THE STORY? A LOOK AT
PEGGY PREHEIM’S WORK, noon-
1 p.m. July 8, The Philbrook, Tulsa.
www.philbrook.org,
(918)
749-7941,
(800) 324-7941.
GARY PANTER, 5 p.m – 8 p.m. July
16, The Philbrook, Tulsa. www.phil-
brook.org, (918) 749-7941, (800) 324-
7941.
OLD
MASTER
OIL
PAINTING
TECHNIQUES FOR BEGINNERS,
6 p.m.
–
9 p.m. July 20, 21, 23, 27,
28,
Cherokee
Artists
Association,
Tahlequah.
www.gwyartists.info,
(918) 458-0008.
COMPETITIVE ART SHOW, June
28 - July 31. Paintings, graphics and
sculpture. All
art
is
for
sale.
Five
Civilized Tribes Museum, Muskogee.
www.fivetribes.org, (918) 683-1701.
Other Visual Art happenings
Custom Koi by Ink Junky’s
Now Leasing
1 Bedrooms and Studios
EDMEN STUDIOS
R
$355 - $395
One Block from NSU
316 - 2836
www.redmenstudios.com
Typical Studio
Typical 1 Bedroom
Apartment View
By Tom Barlow
I want to tell you what I saw this
morning when I awoke. I had to reach up
and touch my eye lids to see if they were
open or shut. Then I reached over to make
sure my wife, Bridget, was next to me and
that I was in bed where I was supposed
to be and not somewhere else. I even did
the age old “pinch myself” just to make
sure I was awake. I didn’t want to open
my eyes and take a chance of spoiling the
scene or change what I was experiencing
in any way. It was as dramatic a morn-
ing with God and Jesus as I have had in
years. It was a sunrise in the Heavens is
all I can say. Why it happened I don’t
know. I went to bed late and tired and I
woke up early. It’s deadline week at The
Current and there is no time for anything
but work during deadline week. I don’t
have time to pray or meditate as much
when I am so busy, but I saw what the Fa-
ther wanted me to see and I heard him say
what he wanted me to hear. I also sensed
the presence of His Son Jesus and heard
his voice also. To me they are quite dif-
ferent and for good a reason. They have
different things to say to me and it’s all
very important, instructive and motivates
me in different ways. Boy, I hope I didn’t
lose any of you with what I just said.
So why am I telling you about
my personal experience this morning?
Well one reason is that most mornings
waking up with God is great, but wak-
ing up this morning was much more dra-
matic.
I’ve
had a wonderful adventure
and journey with God and waking up has
always been a part of it. There is a parable
Jesus told about a merchant who found a
pearl of great price. This merchant went
and sold everything he had out of joy and
excitement just to purchase that one great
prize. I have one very helpful thing in my
life of faith. Believing has never been hard
for me. In fact I would find it hard not
to believe. When I found Jesus, or should
I say when He found me, He proved to
me personally that He and His Kingdom
were the greatest prizes I could ever hope
to have in this life and in the one to come;
“He had me at hello.”
Again you may ask why I am
telling you these basic principles of faith.
It’s because I have something important
I want to get to and I want to make sure
everyone reading this understands where
I am coming from. We all share a physical
life here on this earth because we are born
of a mother and father. That’s a fact we
can’t deny, at least most of us wouldn’t.
Also, whether you believe it or not, there
is going to be an afterlife - a life after death.
This, too, is because we are born of mother
and father on planet earth; but because of
events that happened a long time ago, we
are born with a dormant or sleeping spirit.
Our spirits are the part of us that goes on
after we pass from this mortal coil. There
are ways of explaining it all theologically,
but simply put, we have spirits that can
and need to be awakened. We can live
our whole lives and never go through that
awakening. But the one thing we all have
in common is these mortal bodies will fall
away and they will all fall away. No one
gets out of that. After that, all we will be
is spirit and the condition of our spirit’s
eternal resting place
is
determined by
how we live our physical life while alive.
You may not believe this, but that will not
change the facts.
The good part is that God is a
Father, and as a Father, he would never
leave us without help. I am a father and
I understand this part perfectly well. Our
Father God did what all fathers would do
for his children. He did a very wonderful
thing. He gave all He had, His most fa-
vored prize, His only Son that was with
Him in His heavenly kingdom since be-
fore the ages began. Jesus, God’s Son, was
sacrificed to pay the price to breach the
barrier that separates us from Him. Again,
this can all be explained theologically, but
simply put, we are separated from God
by a pretty obvious wall called sin and
death and
it’s
all around us.
I hardly
ever meet a person that doesn’t agree that
there is something fundamentally wrong
with the world we live in on some kind of
deep spiritual level. Our literature, the-
ater, movies and now even our children’s
video games all testify to this darkness.
The more primitive cultures have always
known and understood this truth.
God, being the loving Father
that he is, made it possible for us to be
united with Him by grace for all eternity
through a spiritual union with Jesus His
Son. This union also makes it possible to
enter an earthly version of His Kingdom
while still in these bodies by doing away
with that same wall that separates us eter-
nally. What he did was so good that it’s
hard for most of us to believe. Let me be
the first to agree it is out of this world. No
matter how simple it sounds, it has to be
simple so all people born on planet Earth
can have God’s free gift. I wake up every
morning and am reminded that there is
a book called the Book of Life where my
name is recorded as a member of God’s
88 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
2505 S. Muskogee, Tahlequah • 918-453-0300
Call ahead seating available
The BEST Steak in NE Oklahoma!
Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday
11am - 9pm
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Celebrate Independence Day
in True American Style!
Turtle Art
Works
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Art Classes
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1201 SE 7th St., Wagoner
for more info. call
Janet Smith 918-485-5878
Open Studio
Thursdays
10am - 2pm
THE GOOD LIFE - TRUE BELIEVER
Jesus is just alright with me
Kingdom now and forever.
Really
it’s
true. My name and many of your names
are written in that book by the hand of
God when you confessed Jesus as your
Lord. Confessing Jesus as Lord is more
than a little religious thing. When I con-
fessed Jesus as Lord, the reason it took
wasn’t because I understood it theologi-
cally. There is a world full of spiritual
details that can be learned about later fol-
lowing salvation. It “took” because He
reveled Himself to me and because I un-
derstood I would be giving my whole life,
body and soul to him as my God, Master
and King, and I had no illusions. I wanted
what He had to offer. I had screwed my
life up and I wanted a new chance and I
wanted it badly. I think it helps to be in
need. Being in need is a great motivator.
But as I said in the beginning; in want or
in plenty, in the end we all live on. The
real question is how we will live on.
I have been a believer for more
than 30 years and as we all know, life is
ever-changing as we are ever-changing
from day to day, month to month and
year to year. So I have learned that what
really makes life a joy and worth living is
even though I change, God never does.
He is constant: always loving and always
faithful to let me wake up every morn-
ing and start the day as the apple of His
eye, a child loved by my Father. There is
nothing I can do He hasn’t seen before,
nothing that can change His love for me.
I am determined that nothing I do will
ever stop me from saying, “Father forgive
when I fall.” What He knows and what
we need to get through our heads is both
God and mankind have an enemy. I have
already spoken about that. In the midst of
this beautiful world, darkness is present.
I could go into all the theology and facts,
but again it’s not necessary. We all know
something is always trying to destroy the
good in the world and it has a personal-
ity and a name. He is God and mankind’s
mortal enemy, Satan. He was once an an-
gel of God’s and now because of his rebel-
lion, he is the prince of darkness, doomed
for an eternity of darkness. Like all self-
ish creatures, he wants to spoil it for the
rest of us. His hate for God and mankind
starts with not wanting to see your name
written in the Book of Life and he is al-
ways trying to get it smudged out by the
only way possible with your permission.
One of my favorite Proverbs
(25:28) says, “Whoever has no rule over
his spirit
is
like
a
city
broken down,
without walls.” That best describes why
the way we live our lives comes into the
grand scheme of things. God wants us
to be like a city with walls so we are not
prey to every destructive force the enemy
sends after us. Doesn’t that sound like
some people you know? That Proverb
describes my life perfectly before I be-
lieved. I find things are not so much dif-
ferent now that I believe; only the tactics
and weapons have changed. For example,
there once was a time years ago when I
did more hard drugs than a person should
live to tell about. There are still people out
there all around us that have that problem
right now and Jesus can and will help.
Only since I became a believer and started
learning to spend meaningful time with
Jesus in meditative prayer and through
reading the Word (a very important hur-
dle to get over; The Bible) the hard core
drug use fell away pretty easily. But the
enemy still wants to steal my life. Now I
have different problems. For example, I
have to watch what I eat and I really need
to be obedient about exercising. It’s the
same battle on a different front.
Or take the subject I started in
my editorial: drinking. I used to drink
liquor like a cowboy in the movies.
I
chugged tequila with two fists. I drank
rum until I passed out and it almost got
me killed several times. It has killed many
of my friends and is still doing so. Now
same battle, different front: now it’s how
many beers should I have before my walls
weaken and the enemy has his way with
me? Oh, many Christians say you can’t
drink at all if you love God. That’s not
true. The Bible has a lot to say about not
being a drunk and drunks not entering
His kingdom. I am not sure if that means
eternity here on earth but whatever
it
means, it sounds bad. Basically, being a
drunk makes you stupid, gets you into
all kinds of trouble and harms everyone
around you. What the Bible says about
drinking is, if you drink too much you
can’t be in church leadership. I love to
have a glass of wine with my wife after
dinner - not every day, but often. I also
love a beer with my friends. Even your
doctor says it’s good for your health to
have a drink every so often. It’s when I let
down my guard and the second one turns
into the third that things change. For me,
three drinks are just too many.
One of my other favorite Prov-
erbs talks about drawing a line before a
cliff so you don’t even go near a fall. The
problem with that second or third drink
is that it changes things: you are bigger,
stronger
and
smarter
and
everything
is funnier. You feel you are loved and
liked by everyone around, and tomorrow
couldn’t be brighter. The only problem is
none of those things are true and tomor-
row is never better. In fact, since I became
a believer, several times I have gone years
without having a single drink of any kind.
I would like to think I stopped doing any-
thing that got in the way of my spiritual
life. Not that I always do, but I am com-
mitted to try.
I always like to end with a take
away. I think the take away is that we
all have the opportunity to be the apple
of God’s eye and be in love with Him. In
most cases, we are much harder on our-
selves than He is. If you have ever been
in a long-term relationship, you know
that when you’re loved and really prized
by your lover, you will do just about any-
thing for them. Well, the enemy of our
souls wants you to feel that just because
we’re
human with human weaknesses
that Jesus rejects us or holds us at arm’s
length. That couldn’t be further from the
truth. Jesus knows who you are inside
and out. He knew exactly what He was
getting into and the process each one of
us would need to go through to be trans-
formed into His image. He knows that
only when we truly accept His uncondi-
tional love, we will have the strength to
shake off what The Bible calls our dirty
rags. Only then will we be able to shine
in that unconditional love of His for the
world to see. The one overwhelming ex-
pression of God the Father and Jesus is
love, that’s exactly what He wants us to
feel and experience as a member of His
kingdom.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 89
(918) 682- 3322
3240 S. Country Club Rd.
Muskogee, OK
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at time of purchase)
Your
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Most insurances accepted
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Mon-Thur 9-6 • Fri 9-5
THE GOOD LIFE - TRUE BELIEVER
90 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
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HOURS: MON - FRI. 8:30am-8:30pm
Let us help you with
your loved one.
THE GOOD LIFE - BOOK REVIEW
By Roxann Rumor Perkins
I didn’t believe it until I saw it.
It’s a story of youth, secrets, mysterious
deaths and a merciless killer. I didn’t be-
lieve it until I saw the monument.
My mom and sisters and I took
a trip to find it. It was a day out with the
girls, stopping at yard sales and greasy
hamburger joints, Oklahoma wineries and
cemeteries. Yes, cemeteries.
After reading Steven E. Wedel’s
book, Murdered by Human Wolves, based on
a true story. I had the see the place of leg-
end—Violet/Konawa Cemetery and the
tombstone of the murdered girl, Katherine
Cross.
If
you’re
a
tombstone reader,
you’ve noticed that most epitaphs are bib-
lical sayings, such as, “In my house are
many mansions.” Well, Ms. Cross’s epi-
taph is mysterious and haunting.
I picked the book up at the Red
Dirt Festival a couple of years ago while
my mom and sisters and I were promot-
ing our two books. The title and the cover
illustration intrigued and befuddled me.
What are human wolves? Does he mean
werewolves? On the cover a scary, hollow-
eyed wolf is caressing the gravestone of
Katherine Cross.
Published by Scrybe Press, this
horror story takes place 90 years ago. Kath-
erine Ann Cross was born in 1899 and died
in 1917. Wedel, an Oklahoma journalist, re-
searched newspaper accounts and added
his fictional interpretation to fill in what is
unknown about the teen that did not “rest
in peace.”
In the story, Katherine’s friend,
Elise, is seeing a McGrath boy, Patrick.
The last name is synonymous with trou-
ble.
Katherine
tells
her
mom and her
mom warns her about the McGraths. She
doesn’t think much more about them. One
day a cow is missing from their farm, so
Katherine sets out to find it. She finds the
dead cow and a lively Thomas McGrath,
Patrick’s brother.
Katherine
can’t
resist
Thomas.
A romance begins and so does the trou-
ble. The paranormal superstitions of the
townsfolk,
especially
the
doctor,
cause
havoc for Elise and Katherine. And, in the
end, etched in stone are the words that
outlive any joyful memory of Katherine’s
short life.
This 67-page book ends with an
interview with Mary Franklin, paranormal
researcher. Franklin tried to find more in-
formation about Katherine, Elise and the
doctor A. H. Yates and the school teacher
Fred O’Neal. The last two performed op-
erations on the girls. City records are miss-
ing and a fire destroyed much of the infor-
mation from that time period, so Franklin
decided to spend the day in the cemetery,
hoping for answers.
In her interview, she told Wedel
that she saw a silver wolf that stared her
down for a time then disappeared. She also
saw a shack in the graveyard and planned
on visiting the caretaker there the next day,
but the shack was gone when she next ar-
rived.
The most chilling experience she
had that day, Franklin told Wedel, was that
she heard Katherine’s voice. “She told me
she was murdered.” Katherine, according
to Franklin, told her who had killed her.
Franklin continues to investigate
the “werewolf killings” and relates that a
nearby cemetery once had 19 headstones
with the epitaph “Murdered by were-
wolves.”
After
reading
this
book,
my
mom, sisters and I have decided to do a
cemetery tour this summer to discover
unusual epitaphs and uncover mysterious
stories.
Maybe
you’ll
be
reading
our
findings soon in Rumor Perkins’ book of
graveyard stories of those “gone but not
forgotten.”
Wedel’s Murdered by Human Wolves
New bookstore in Tahlequah
Robbins’ Nest Books is Tahlequah’s
newest new and used bookstore, locat-
ed at 305 S. Muskogee Avenue. Boast-
ing and inviting atmosphere and con-
venient downtown location, Robbins’
Nest will also dabble in book trading
for avid readers in the Tahlequah area.
For more information, call (918) 822-
1695.
Eastern Oklahoma AuthorFest
Writers need festivals too! This inau-
gural event will take place Aug. 8 at
the Tahlequah Community Building
and will offer readers a chance to meet,
greet
and
purchase
signed
works
by dozens of local authors, includ-
ing OWFI award winners like Brandi
Barnett and Karen Coody Cooper. For
more information, logon to www.eo-
authorfest.synthasite.com.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 91
Silver Dollar
Gift Shop & Cafe
918-371-0599 • 1022 W . Main • Collinsville
Cafe
Steaks • Seafood • Sandwiches
Dinners • Hamburgers
Bar
6 Large TV’s • Karaoke
Bands • DJ’s • Beer Club
SHUFFLE BOARD - POOL TABLES - SKI BALL - DARTS
SHUFFLE BOARD - POOL TABLES - SKI BALL - DARTS
OVER 150 6 point Beers - 20 on tap
Battle of the Bands begins Aug. 1st, call for details.
THE GOOD LIFE - THEATER
By Bea Ochodayere
Theater Bartlesville presents
“Oprah made me Do It”
Theater
Bartlesville
Dinner
Theater, “Oprah Made Me Do It”, July
9 - 10, 6:30pm, 312 S. Dewey
Dinner at 7 p.m. catered by
Bogart’s with one act play to follow,
“Oprah Made Me Do It”, directed by
Warren Mayer, starring Rich Browing,
Sue Grayson and Sharon Frahm. Tick-
ets can be purchased at Theater Bartles-
ville noon – 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and
are $27 per person. Call the theater at
(918) 336-1900 for more information.
Tahlequah Community Playhouse
announces line-up for 35th season
Tahlequah Community Play-
house is pleased to announce the plays
for their 35th season. Each play will
be presented in a buffet dinner theater
format. “Man of La Mancha” (musical)-
October 2 - 4, 9 - 11; “Dracula: The Vam-
pire Play”, November 6 -8, 13 - 15; “The
Miss
Firecracker
Contest”,
February
12 - 14, 19 -21; “Bull in a China Shop”
(mystery)- April 16 - 18, 23 - 25.
Tickets ordered before August
1 are $70 for adults for all four shows,
$50 for students age 13 to college with
student ID, and $35 for children 12 years
and under. Individual play tickets are
$20, $15 and $10 for each dinner theatre
performance. Reservations are required
and must be paid for in advance. TCP is
a member of OCTA and AACT. TCP is
a 501© non-profit organization. E-mail
for a ticket reservation form at tcp1974@
yahoo.com or phone (918) 456-5583 or
(918) 458-9406.
Discoveryland!
presents
“Oklahoma!” in July
“Oklahoma!”
Rodger
and
Hammerstein’s Musical will be pre-
sented in Discoveryland!’s 1,500-seat
amphitheater complex, complete with
horses, wagons and a real surrey with
the fringe on top. Logon to www.dis-
coverylandusa.com or call (918) 245-
6552 for more information. Discovery-
land! is located at 19501 W. 41st Street
in Tulsa.
The Coleman Theatre An-
nounces July Schedule
The Coleman Theatre and Tul-
sa Light Opera Present “My Fair Lady”
sponsored by the Miami Arts and Hu-
manities Council on July 9, The Cole-
man Company Players are sponsoring
the Broadway musical “The 25th“July
17-18 7:30pm and 2:30 p.m. on July 19
and “Trout Fishing in America” will
be at 7:30 p.m. July 24. On July 31 at
7:30 p.m., The Coleman Theater will
host The Comedy and Magic of Doug
Anderson.
The Theatre is located at
103 N. Main Street in Miami and can be
reached at (918) 540-2425 or by logging
onto www.colemantheatre.org.
The Playmakers youth Production:
“Seussical, Jr.”
Twenty
students
who
are
part of The Off Broadway Troupers,
the youth wing of The Playmakers in
Grove, OK, will perform “Seussical, Jr.”
from July 24-Aug 2 at 121 W. 3rd Street
in Grove. The show is a shortened ver-
sion of the Broadway hit, “Seussical
the Musical” with Music by Stephen
Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and
book by both Flaherty and Ahrens. For
information and reservations, call (918)
786-8950 or email: 1groveplaymakers@
sbcglobal.net.
walton Arts Center 2009-10
season on sale now
The Walton Arts Center has
announced
its
2009-10
season
with
events sure to please all patrons. July’s
line-up consists of “Legally Blonde the
Musical” July 7-12 and “Sweet Can Cir-
cus Habitat July 30-Aug 1. To view the
rest of the season, logon to www.tick-
ets.waltonartscenter.org/calendar.asp
or to purchase tickets, call the Walton
Arts Center Box Office at (479) 443.5600
or go to waltonartscenter.org.
murder in Eureka Springs, AR!
It’s
back!!!!
The
next
thrilling
Murder Mystery
Weekend
date
is
set.
Reservations are now being accepted for a
clue-filled, sleuthing weekend on July 10-
11, 2009. Once again two of Eureka Springs’
finest historic inns, The 1884 Bridgeford
House Bed and Breakfast Inn and the 1881
Crescent Cottage Inn, will host an exciting
Bed and Breakfast Murder Mystery with a
top-notch package including: a two-night
stay at either inn, a cocktail party/recep-
tion to kick-off the weekend, full gourmet
breakfast each morning, breakfast dessert
gathering for more clues, around-town clue
hunt and a buffet dinner to expose the mur-
derer! Come join the party and you could
be Jubal Lation, Crystal Chandra-Lear, or
Howard Ino, colorful mystery characters.
“Eureka Springs
is
a
Victorian
mountain village offering old-world charm
and European flavor. It is a natural, theatri-
cal backdrop full of intrigue for the super-
sleuth or the weekend gumshoe,” says inn-
keeper Sam Feldman of the 1884 Bridgeford
House. “Our mystery weekends have been
so successful and we love doing them. The
mystery, titled The Conrail Affair, offers a
unique Eureka Springs historic perspective,
and this town is famous for its very colorful
past as well as present! The mystery takes
place in 1905 with a party at a Victorian
mansion in the ‘Silk Stocking District’ to cel-
ebrate the opening of the new railroad. But
not everything on this festive evening goes
well!” Narrow, winding streets, flowering
parks, fabulous restaurants, spas, art galler-
ies and specialty shops will definitely en-
hance this one-of-a-kind and unforgettable
weekend. Availability is limited so the first
clue is-make reservations now!
Package
prices range from $399 - $539, depending
on room.
For more information call 1884 Bridgeford
House 888-567-2422 www.bridgefordhouse.
com or 1881 Crescent Cottage Inn 800-223-
3246 www.1881crescentcottageinn.com.
Green Country summer theater season heats up
- Skilled (SNF) Facility
- Medicare/Medicaid/Private Pay
- Private & Semi-Private Rooms
- 24 Hour Licensed Nursing Care
- 24 Hour Physician Service
- Physical, Speech,
Occupational Therapy
- Special Diets
- Between Meal & Bed Time Snacks
- Whirpool Baths
- Free Cable TV
- Daily Activities
- Beauty/Barber Shop
- Religious Services
- Activity Van
- Phone Jacks in Every Room
Hospice Service Available
24 HOUR CAMERA
SECURITY SYSTEM
Contact Kathy Carter Administrator or
Catherine Abel, RN, DON, Director of Nursing
205 East Poplar, Ft. Gibson, OK
(918) 478-2456
Quality Care
for 35 Years
with a
Hometown
Atmosphere
92 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
THE GOOD LIFE - CELEBRATION
July 4 Celebrations:
(listed alphabetically by town):
Fourth of July in the Park: Bigheart
Park, Barnsdall: www.barnsdallpride.
org, (918) 847-2963. Picnic in the park,
live music and fireworks.
Fourth of July Blowout: Bernice, July 3-
5.
Fourth of July Blowout: Greenleaf State
Park, Braggs www.oklahomaparks.com
(918) 487-7125. Canoe races, boat rides,
campfire program.
Claremore
Lake
Park,
Claremore,
www.visitclaremore.org, (918)341-8688.
Live entertainment, family events and
fireworks.
Freedom
Celebration:
Feyodi
Park,
Cleveland:
www.chamberofcleveland.
com, (918) 358-2131.
Family fun, in-
cludes entertainment, children’s games,
food, dessert auction and fireworks.
Disney Island Fireworks on the Water:
Disney (July 3)
4th
of
July
Fireworks
Spectacular:
Eufaula:
www.eufaulachamberofcom-
merce.com, (918) 689-2791. Show be-
gins Friday at dusk. Relax and enjoy
the fireworks display from the shore of
beautiful Lake Eufaula. The fireworks
can be viewed by shore or from your
boat.
Independence
Celebration:
Football
Field,
Fairfax:www.fairfaxchamber.com,
(918) 642-5266.
Fourth at the Fort: Fort Gibson His-
toric Site, Fort Gibson, www.okhistory.
org, (918) 478-4088. Event has military
demonstrations, music, and reading of
the Declaration of Independence.
Lake Tenkiller Fireworks Extravagan-
za: Lake Tenkiller, Gore, www.laketen-
killer.com,
(918)
457-4403.
Fireworks
over Lake Tenkiller.
Huckleberry Festival/Fireworks Dis-
play: Jay Fireworks at JB Earp Stadium,
Jay, (918) 253-8698. Citywide festival in-
cludes car show, parade, arts and crafts,
5K run and carnival and fireworks later
in the evening.
Duck Creek Fireworks: Ketchum, www.
duckcreekfireworks.com, (918) 782-3292.
Celebrate the 4th of July and Grand Lake
with a fireworks show over the water with
a boat show and music.
Stars and Stripes Funfest: Southeast
Expo Center, McAlester, www.cityofm-
calester.com, (918) 420-3976. There will
be live entertainment, inflatable rides,
games and fireworks.
Independence Day Wild Turkey Fest:
Jack Gordon South Park, Nowata, e-
mail:
nowatachamber@sbcglobal.net,
(918) 273-2301. This family fun event in-
cludes a turkey drop, turtle races, chil-
dren’s games, festival foods, and fire-
works Wednesday 3 p.m. until dusk.
Summer
Fest:
Okmulgee
Municipal
Park, Okmulgee, www.okmulgeecham-
ber.org, (918) 756-6172. This fun-filled
Patriotism abounds in Currentland
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 93
1200 E Downing St, Tahlequah
Opportunities Now Available in Tahlequah, Muskogee, Chouteau, and Wagoner areas
Email your resume to:
Bobby.quier@sonicdrivein.com
or fax: 918-478-4038
Looking for something part time? Great!
Our schedule works around yours.
No resume no problem.
Stop by a Sonic Drive-in for an application.
SRI/EOE
Now Hiring! Work at Sonic -
It’s a BLAST!
We Want You!!!!
Due to explosive growth and more than 50 years of success, we are currently looking for
motivated individuals who have strong work ethics and want to build their careers.
Managers
Minimum of 1 year restaurant management experience (QSR preferred) is required.
Proven experience of running shifts without supervision.
We offer: Paid Training • Bonus Programs • Competitive Wages
Medical Benefts • Ownership Opportunity • Flexible Schedule
THE GOOD LIFE - CELEBRATION
event features exciting musical entertain-
ment, food, concessions, and fireworks
Thursday – Sunday, 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Fireworks Display: Pawnee Lake Park,
Pawnee: www.cityofpawnee.com, (918)
762-2108. Enjoy an exceptional display
of patriotic fireworks on Saturday at 10
p.m.
Freedom Festival: Lake Ponca, Ponca
City: www.poncacityok.com, (580) 767-
0432. Enjoy a full day of family fun
with games, music, entertainment, boat
parade, vendors and ending with a fire-
works display on Saturday 9 a.m. until
dark.
Celebrate America Downtown Main
Street:
Downtown Poteau, www.po-
teau.org, (918) 647-9178. Family fun;
includes games, food and fireworks
show.
Independence Day Celebration: Sports
Complex, Pryor, www.pryorchamber.
com, (918) 825-0888.
Rockets
over
Rhema: Rhema
Bible
Church
www.rocketsoverrhema.com,
(918) 258-1588.
Event includes food,
live
music,
games,
concessions,
car
show and fireworks at dark.
July Fireworks Celebration: Skiatook
Airport, Skiatook, www.skiatookcham-
ber.com, (918) 396-3702. Come out and
enjoy food, live bands and fireworks.
JR’s Annual Firework Display: Lake
View
Golf
Course,
Shidler,
www.
shidleroklahoma.com,
(918)
793-4961.
Celebrate Independence Day with your
family and friends at this annual fire-
works display for surrounding commu-
nities Saturday at dark.
Boomer Blast: Boomer Lake, Stillwa-
ter, www.stillwater.org, (405) 747-8070.
Family festivities and fireworks display,
Saturday 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Boomer and
Lakeview Roads.
Tulsa FreedomFest: 2100 S. Jackson,
Tulsa,
www.tulsasalutesfreedom.com,
(918) 596-2008.
Run for the Clover Box Turtle Race:
Tenkiller State Park, Vian, www.okla-
homaparks.com, (918) 489-5641. Water-
melon, hayrides, water balloon fights,
games, turtle rally and cash prize con-
tests.
July Fourth Celebration: Western Hills
Guest Ranch, Wagoner, www.oklaho-
maparks.com,
(918)
772-2545.
There
will be music, games, dancing, food and
fireworks over Fort Gibson Lake.
Fireworks over Lake Carlton: Robbers
Cave State Park, Wilburton, e-mail: wfd-
david@yahoo.com, (918) 315-1394. This
family Independence Day event offers
many fun activities throughout the day
including music and a fireworks finale
on Saturday 5 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Happy
Independence
Day!
From Your Friends
at The Current
94 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Muskogee
Westside
(918) 683-5777
Muskogee
Turn Pike
(918) 686-6868
Muskogee
Eastside
(918) 687-3373
Muskogee
Southside
(918) 681-3377
Seminole
(405) 382-2404
Checotah
(918) 473-7774
Claremore
(918) 342-0601
Fort Gibson
(918) 478-2305
Okmulgee
(918) 756-4111
Pryor
(918) 825-8990
Sapulpa
(918) 224-6200
Shawnee
Eastside
(405) 878-0988
Shawnee
(405) 275-5041
Tahlequah
(918) 458-1112
Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner We are your Diner!
We are Everywhere
you are!
BIKE SHOP
Paceline
Cyclery
918-456-0235
We can help you.
Tahlequah, OK
THE GOOD LIFE - MADE IN OKLAHOMA
By Pamela Bracken
Oklahoma’s movie image
is
messed up. What is Oklahoma to not
only the millions of Americans who
have seen her flicker in 8 mm celluloid,
but to those who were born here, lived
here, or left here?
We are,
let’s
see…Oil wells?
Prairies? Grasslands? Buffalo? Indians?
Twisters? Tepees? If the movie True
Grit determined our flora, we’d have
aspen trees. If Oklahoma! set our land-
scapes, they’d be rimmed with moun-
tain ranges. If The Oklahoma Kid landed
our linguistics, there’d be a whole lot of
cowboys with South Jersey accents.
But
if
“Oklahoma”
is
not
where and what the movies say we are,
what is it? What is Oklahoma in flick-
ering frames of 8 mm celluloid?
Or
on cable TV, VHS, DVD, Blue Ray, or
streaming—illegally—on the internet?
It seems that no books have explored
this question. (Google it and you’ll see).
Until now.
Sooner Cinema: Oklahoma Goes
to the Movies, published by one-year
old
Oklahoma
publisher
Forty-Sixth
Star Press, does a great job of exploring
what Oklahoma’s cinematic image is,
as the book’s editor Larry A. Van Meter
reigns it into “the context of American
cinema.”
Though the context at first glance might
seem “film studies” or “cinema history”
(some of which is available in the vol-
ume), the book does the most amazing
job of not only asking questions about
who Hollywood and our own local
filmmakers say we are, but asking even
more important questions.
Like, for example:
Why do we love to hate John Steinbeck
and John Huston’s version of The Grapes
of Wrath?
Why do we love Okie Noodling?
Why do we hate Karen Silkwood (or at
least ignore her cinematic ambivalence
as Meryl Streep in Silkwood?
Just what do we love and revere about
Oklahoma! but distrust about Far and
Away (beyond Tom Cruise as an Irish-
man riding out a scene right out of our
own land run—how dare he!)?
Just where the heck is the red fern grow-
ing anyway, in the Ozarks of Missouri
or Oklahoma?
What do we really think about hippies
and the movie (as opposed to the musi-
cal) Hair?
And why does the 46th state have more
churches and more casinos than any
other state in the union, ghost of Edna
Ferber and author of the novel Cimarron
that would later bring the nation and
the world its images of our larger than
life (and not Far and Away) land run to
open the Cherokee Strip Outlet?
Movies featured in the essays:
Banned in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Newsreels
Silkwood
Bound for Glory
The Grapes of Wrath
Cimarron
The Oklahoma Kid
Far and Away
The Outsiders
Hair
This Stuff’ll Kill Ya!
In Old Oklahoma
True Grit
Norman New Wave
Tulsa
Okie Noodling
Tumbleweeds
Oklahoma!
Where the Red Fern Grows
Oklahoma Crude
These are just a few of the ques-
tions explored in the 19 essays by vari-
ous writers in this thin and affordable
volume,
handsomely
spattered
with
black and white movie stills (sometimes
even two per movie). But what might be
most telling about this book and these
authors—some “film professionals” and
some admitted dilettantes—is that Okla-
homa comes out a pretty diverse place
by going to the movies! And so are its
people:
artistic,
humorous,
sarcastic,
knowing, immature, insecure, self-effac-
ing, proud, and well Okie!
With a foreward by Academy
Award winning producer Gray Fred-
erickson, an Oklahoma native son who
made our worship of godfathers possi-
ble, and a useful index at the rear end of
the book, Sooner Cinema: Oklahoma Goes to
the Movies is a book to make us proud of
our Oklahoma products…a book (as the
copyright page proclaims) “conceived,
written, and printed in the 46th state of
the union” Well, okay, if you take a look
at the contributors’ bios in the back you’ll
see that two of the essays were written in
Ireland. But hey, that’s fitting: just who
was Tom Cruise impersonating any-
way?
At $15.95, the book is a bargain.
“Finally,” as Gray Frederickson nails it
on the cover, “a book about … this state
and
its
people.”
And
available
from
www.fortysixthstarpress.com, on www.
mazon.com, at local independent book-
sellers, and oh, yes, coming to Green
Country.
Sooner Cinema: Oklahoma goes to the movies!
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 95
THE GOOD LIFE - DRINKS & HORS D’OEURVES
Lola’s at the Bowery
5 E. Brady, Tulsa
(918) 592-7995
Lola Pallozza has a great little
spot in Tulsa. She calls it Lola’s at the
Bowery, and
it’s just down the street
from
Cain’s
Ballroom.
We
strolled
down the street from Cain’s to investi-
gate. There were little café tables on the
sidewalk, and couples were eating and
chatting in the soft evening light as we
entered the café/bar. I was breathless as
I took in the dimly lit salon. The front
room, which contains the full-length bar,
is dramatically dark in the evening. My
impression was one of velvet curtains,
dimly lit crystal chandeliers and fantas-
tic art on the walls. The dark wood bar
was back lit so that the bottles and glass
art, which resided on its shelves, were
vibrant in reds and golds, contrasting
with the darkness. I was taken in.
There is another room, up a
small ramp from the main bar, which
is dotted with tables, has a good hard
wood floor and beautiful art adorns the
walls; modern colorful motion art up-
stairs and fantastic Chagall-esque art
adorns the main room.
Whenever
I
choose
to
eat
somewhere, the ambiance
is
usually
the most important element for me. If I
can get a decent meal in a great place, it
means more to me than a great meal in a
boring place; when you get both you’ve
really hit the jack pot. I was so enam-
ored with Lola’s ambiance I could have
eaten a cheese sandwich and been hap-
py. Fortunately, you can order fabulous,
exquisite portions at Lola’s and really
experience a lolapallooza! The menu in-
cludes exotic burgers and sandwiches,
imaginative salads with fruits, berries
and bleu cheese as well as entrees like
seafood paella, crab cakes, beef medal-
lions stuffed with bleu cheese, filet mi-
gnon, shrimp and scallops. We didn’t
even look at the menu, we just asked the
waiter and he recommended the “flash”
fried Calamari served with adobo mayo.
The best I’ve had, bar none, with a glass
of merlot and ambiance unlike any I’ve
seen in a very long time, Lola’s is a shin-
ing star in more ways than one….
~Bridget Barlow
The Lighthouse Grill
2530 S. main St.., #A, Grove
(918) 786-2700
Although the Lighthouse has a great
outdoor patio, my two girl friends and I
decided to enjoy our dining experience
inside. The dining area is surrounded
with large windows that create a very
open feeling and the shiny black floors
and wicker furniture create a classy and
chic ambiance. The bar has beautiful,
wooden wine racks packed full of a
wide variety of wines. The view from
the dining area of the Grand Lake at
sunset is so incredible that you can’t
help feeling that you are truly sitting
at a lighthouse with boats coming and
going.
The Grill
has
an
extensive
menu that includes crab legs and lob-
ster, when in season, all you can eat
catfish on Mondays, excellent salmon,
baby back ribs and lots of appetizers.
We opted for the wine and appetizers.
Between the three of us we decided to
order four different appetizers. They
chose to drink chardonnay and I chose
the Wild Horse Merlot. The coconut
shrimp were fried to perfection and
served with a spicy dipping sauce. The
bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos were
delicious and are a very “HOT” item.
We also ordered the Texas Torpedoes,
which are tortillas stuffed with chicken,
jack and cheddar cheeses, onions, toma-
toes and jalapenos, rolled up tight and
deep fried to a golden brown. These
are
accompanied by a
spicy
Mexi-
ranch dipping sauce. The bruschetta
we ordered was very fresh and topped
with
grated
parmesan
cheese.
We
couldn’t help ourselves and decided to
order three different desserts which we
shared, starting with The Big Apple Pie
For Two (which was enough for three).
Topped with vanilla
ice
cream,
this
pie was delicious. We then decided to
order a slice of the Belgium Chocolate
Cheesecake and a slice of The Blood
Orange Cheesecake which were both
incredibly creamy and decadent. After
this dining experience we decided that
the three of us were official members of
the “clean plate club.” The Lighthouse
Grill
also
has
daily
lunch
specials
Monday through Friday for $5. Happy
Hour goes from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. and
continued on page 96
features $2 margaritas and domestic
beer for $1.75. The hours of operation
are Monday through Thursday from
11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday
from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Be sure to stop in
for the Sunday Brunch Buffet. Call (918)
786-2700 for more information on The
Lighthouse Grill .Go there. It’s Great.
~Amy Cresap
Cookson Smokehouse
32507 82 highway, Cookson
(918) 457-4134
If you need to just get away
for a little while and need to do it on
a budget, Cookson Smokehouse has a
way to make it happen. For $25, you
can get two appetizers and two exotic
drinks in a cozy relaxing environment
sure to help you revive. Most appetiz-
ers are $5.99 - $6.99 and can be a meal
in themselves and for another $5, you
can get a margarita or pina colada with
all the pretty fixings. If you are willing
to go without the exotic drinks, you can
get dessert for the same price as the
drinks and make it a two-course meal.
On Friday and Saturday nights, there is
music to accompany your meal with no
cover charge. Appetizers range from
chicken tenders to loaded potato skins
to spinach artichoke dip and Cookson
doesn’t skimp on quantity or quality.
Everything is done to perfection and
the wait staff consists of the sweetest
folks you’ll find anywhere. Whether
you and your spouse just need a few
hours away from the kids or if you
are taking a new date out for the first
time on a budget, Cookson will have
everything you need to make your time
special… and affordable.
~Amy Goldian
El Patron mexican Restaurant
840 S. madison Blvd, Bartlesville
(918) 333-5294
Eating out doesn’t have to result
in a budget crisis. Occasionally, we just
want to get out of the house, not spend
a lot and eat light. This week we visited
the new El Patron Mexican Restaurant
(formerly Los Loros) on Madison Blvd.
in Bartlesville. This is a friendly place
with a nice atmosphere where you can
eat inexpensively (and even healthy) off
the appetizer, ala carte, salad or quesa-
dilla menu. You’re greeted with a smile
and excellent service from the moment
you enter the door and before you have
a chance to get comfortable in your seat,
chips and tasty salsa have been delivered.
Our gracious server, Amanda Bush, was
incredibly helpful and recommended we
begin with a domestic beer ($1.49 until
further notice) and some scrumptious
chorizo queso fundido. To follow, our
main course
included warm
tortillas,
pico de gallo and sliced avocados off
the ala carte menu.
We could have
ordered numerous affordable combina-
tions of grilled onions or veggies, toma-
toes, beans, rice or other sides to wrap in
soft tortillas. Who says you can’t have
it your way? Pam and I ordered exactly
what we wanted, ate fresh food, left full,
and with tip spent about $15.
Owner
Antonio Gamboa expects to get his liquor
license in the next few weeks. Next visit
we’ll
have a margarita, chile rellenos,
some guacamole and still get out of there
under $15 for the two of us.
~Russ Zora
96 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
THE GOOD LIFE - DRINKS & HORS D’OEURVES
918-686-5355
West Side, Muskogee
918-683-4501
Shawnee St, Muskogee
ALL DAY ~ EVERY DAY
Pepperoni, Sausage, or Cheese
Come Check Out
our COmbO’s
Serving our Family Recipes since 1968
Langley, OK
918-782-4166
Happy Hour
4pm - 6pm
$1.00 Draws
$1.75 Domestics
& Bottles
Call for
Holiday Promotions
Whistle Stop Bistro
located in
Eddie’s Old Town
Antique Mall
2700 N. Main St.
McAlester, Oklahoma
918.423.8620
Restaurant Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday
11am to 3pm
Antique Mall Hours:
Monday - Saturday”
“9:30 am - 5:30 pm”
Visit us online
www.whistlestopbistro.com
“Bon Jour!”
Liberty Theatre
826 Penn Avenue Hartshorne, OK
918-297-3651
www.libertytheatreok.com
July 1st
God & Country
Celebration
July 24th
Doofus
Doolittle
August 1st
The Decades
August 8th
The Hughes
Brothers
(from Branson)
continued from page 95
By Bridget Barlow
This is not your ordinary dining
establishment: it’s a gourmet take-out mar-
ket, and first class deli/restaurant. Some
friends recommended it to us the other day
and sang its praises. They were right. The
market prepares an abundance of items for
those of us who either don’t have the time
or don’t have the inspiration to cook…
like glazed baby back ribs, grilled chicken
kabobs, stuffed chicken breasts, tabouli,
dilled new potato salad and more. You can
buy an entrée and a couple of sides, take it
home and warm it up.
The deli offers all kinds of sal-
ads filled with “smarmy” things like nuts,
apples,
pumpkin
seeds,
“craisins”
and
grape tomatoes. You can order any of the
specialty sandwich creations on the menu
or custom design one yourself. All of the
meats are “roasted, grilled or smoked on
site” and the cheese choices are superior,
like big eye Swiss, sharp cheddar, provo-
lone, Muenster, smoked Gouda and jala-
peno jack. The breads are equally good:
baguette, rye jalapeno cheddar and more.
You can create a new masterpiece every
time you eat here.
We came in through the Market
and got a chance to pour over the goodies.
The cases were full and signs took care of
any questions one might have. The hours
are Monday through Saturday from 11
a.m. - 3 p.m., and Tuesday through Satur-
day dinner is served from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. In
the evenings, they lower the lights in the
dining room and put linen napkins on the
tables. As we walked into the dining room,
we took in the nice sized room, housing
tables both large and small with leather
booths along the walls. We found a cozy
table and got comfortable in the pleasant
room. Soft music played in the background
and paintings of Irish Setters and other
hunting
dogs,
sometimes
accompanied
by their owners, were framed by mattes
of salmon and Pennsylvania Dutch blue,
against the cream colored walls. Hanging
spot lights created points of light while
keeping the atmosphere subdued. Color-
ful silk flowers put a festive focal point on
every table, making the room incredibly
comfortable and elegant at the same time.
When you come for dinner, you
may order a salad or sandwich or go with
the “Chalkboard” menu, featuring four or
five specials. Our Tuesday evening chalk-
board choices were amazing. Here are a
few of them; Alabama barbecue chicken
with white
“Q”
sauce, Grilled pork ten-
derloin with rosemary, apricot, port and
honey, seared beef medallions with sherry
and raisins, barbecue spice rub Canadian
salmon with strawberry cilantro, and the
entrée I chose, house smoked salmon que-
sadillas with mango jalapeno salsa. Are
you swooning yet? I could barely wrap my
head around the flavors, and nuances that
tweaked every entrée like rosemary with
honey, sherry and raisins I was dying to try
everything!
We started with the fire-roasted
vegetable salad. The veggies were served
a top a bed of baby lettuces with grapes,
raw broccoli, and feta cheese, drizzled with
raspberry vinaigrette. The combination was
startling. Every bite was distinctly unique
and delicious. We each had our own cup of
white chili, made with great northern beans
in a rich broth with fresh cilantro, tomatoes,
onion and smoked ham chunks. This simple
“chili” was fresh, spicy and satisfying.
I had a really hard time choos-
ing my entrée, so I picked the one I thought
would be the most unusual and one
I
haven’t already mention before; a smoked
salmon quesadilla, with mango jalapeno
salsa. They smoke the salmon in house, and
it was great. The creamy and mild cheese
complimented the fish while the mango
salsa provided the perfect accent. My taste
buds were all at work deciphering the notes
of smoky and spicy, sweet and sour, bland
and zesty, creating a perfect symphony of
flavors.
Meanwhile my husband and din-
ing partner had selected the pork tender-
loin. Here again, the combinations were
superb. The apricot, port and honey flavors
were a heady, full cornucopia of nature’s
richness.
The rosemary added aromatic
zest. The meat was so tender, and the re-
duction so meaty, I hardly recognized the
pork. It was a whole new animal. This meat
was thoroughly infused with flavor, not just
crowned with it or glazed by it. It was all
through it. Not only was everything deli-
cious, each dish was presented beautifully
with great attention to detail.
Our
dining
experience
was
a
pleasure. The waitress was charming and
accommodating. The young chef came out
and introduced himself as Matt Bailey. (He
probably wanted to know who was making
all of the special requests!) I told him how
much I appreciated his culinary expertise.
It seems he has come to Tulsa via Phoenix
and Chicago…which might explain his abil-
ity to create artistic gourmet presentations,
using an herb and spice palette from all
corners of our country. The selections we
enjoyed were just a small sampling of the
great gourmet possibilities available at the
Boston Deli Grill and Market located at 6231
E. 61st in Tulsa, call (918) 492-4745 for more
information.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 97
PATRONS’
MEXICAN GRILL
AuThENTIC MEXICAN
RESTAuRANT
Tahlequah
1175 E. Downing
(across from Sonic)
(918) 458-0061
Come Enjoy our Lunch Specials!
NOW OPEN AT
NEW LOCATION!
DINING OUT
Robert P. Webb III D.D.S.
Family Dentistry
New Patients
Welcome
918-456-4477
400 E. Downing, Tahlequah
Most Insurances and
SoonerCare Accepted
Locally owned & operated for 20 years
Mail Order Available
Two locations to assist you!
1012 E. Downing
Tahlequah
918-456-4797
1234 W. 4th, Ste.B
Tahlequah
918-207-1741
The Boston Deli Grill & Market
98 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
DINING OUT
PARTY WITH US
Open Thursday thru Sunday
12pm (Noon) - 12am (Midnight or Later)
Lunch • Dinner • Late Night
Steaks and Seafood
Always a Full Bar
Thursday Karaoke
Friday thru Sunday Live Music
Experience the Lake, Brangus Style!
918-618-4444
Eufaula Cove Marina
MASSEY’S BAR-B-QUE
“No Brag - Jus Fact”
Best Ribs in Oklahoma
Hwy 75
30 miles south of Tulsa
30 miles west of Muskogee
60 miles north of McAlester
200 N Wood Drive Okmulgee, OK 74447
918-756-8227
www.masseysbarbeque.com
®
®
By Bridget Barlow
Brangus in Eufaula is a party at the
marina. People come in from everywhere to
enjoy the atmosphere. Whether you have
a boat or not, Brangus is a really fun place
to be; there’s always music, sometimes it’s
live, sometimes it’s CDs and then there’s ka-
raoke.
We happened to show up on kara-
oke night and everybody got in on the fun.
It’s set up with a cozy dining room where
you can eat inside: there’s an outside area
with tables and a covered cabana bar and
the stage area can be seen by all. Lanterns
and little lights on strings create a festive at-
mosphere while large and small boats bob in
the water. People are dressed in all kinds of
attire from swim suits to shorts and tees to
business attire. We slid into a booth in the
outside area on a lovely 80 degree evening
and grabbed a menu. The sun was getting
ready to set and the evening breezes were so
cool and relaxing.
The music was kind of “Margari-
taville” and the crowd was friendly. We
were joined by a threesome at our picnic-
style table.
I’d
heard the appetizers were
the most delicious and imaginative items;
something for everyone with more than 20
choices.
We started out with three sepa-
rate
appetizers:
grilled
shrimp
in
garlic
butter, “poppers” and spicy buffalo wings.
The shrimp were very good and would
have been served with melted cheese, but
we requested they be served without. The
poppers were made with shrimp, jalapenos
and cheddar cheese and really “wowed”
our taste buds. Tom was thrilled with the
hot wings because they weren’t wimpy;
they were spicy hot and meaty. But those
poppers were my favorites; hot and cheesy
with a spicy kick surrounding the succulent
shrimp.
When the entrees rolled around,
the evening was beginning to segue into the
party it was destined to become. Laughter
and conversation were lilting through the
air. The threesome at our table said they
were out for a burger, but as the evening
wore on, I learned the truth…they were
there for the karaoke!!
We just sat back and enjoyed the scene un-
folding; diners, dancers, singers, bartenders
and wait staff, like live theatre. By the time
we were licking our fingers from all of the
hors d’oeuvres, our main courses arrived.
I ordered a giant rib eye steak with French
fries and okra. The marbled steak was huge
and I planned to munch on it for days. The
flavor was great, after all Brangus is famous
for its steaks, and I can tell you why; it’s
excellent beef. Grilled peppers and onions
were a great compliment to that juicy me-
dium rare steak. The French fries and the
Southern
style
breaded okra were both
served hot and crispy. Delicious!
Tom ordered the salmon, and he
said it was perfect, prepared just the way
he would have done it; cooked through, but
not over-done and seasoned just right. He
had chosen creamy mashed potatoes with
gravy, and the salmon was served on top of
a bed of seasoned rice, so we had enough
sides to share. The wait staff was excellent
and no matter how busy it got as the night
wore on, they always stopped to check on
us, get us whatever we needed and were
never ruffled or hasty; they were all cool,
friendly and efficient. We ate all we could
(after all, we’d already devoured three por-
tions of appetizers) and boxed up the rest
for lunch the next day. The folks at our table
ordered burgers so we inquired about them.
“Where they good?” we asked. The three of
them answered in unison, “Yes!” Another
thumbs up.
One after another, our table mates
picked songs out of the karaoke selection
book and got up to sing. All of them were
quite good as were most of the others who’d
taken their turns at the mic. The crowd
was having a great time, cheering on their
friends and enjoying the theatrics of those
on stage and off. The marina restaurant and
cabana was swaying away with the music in
the moonlight and nothing could have been
sweeter. If you’re celebrating or going out
with friends to relax and enjoy the summer
evenings, go to Brangus in Eufaula where
the food’s great, the people are friendly and
the party’s always happening.
The Brangus Feedlot is located at
400 Lakeshore Drive and can be reached at
(918) 618-4444.
Brangus in Eufaula
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 99
Main St. Cafe
Burke
’
s
112 S. Main, Wagoner, OK
Serving Wagoner Since 1988
Homestyle Breakfast and Lunch
Desserts - Hot Plate Specials - Burgers - Sandwiches
(918) 485-3668
Home of the “Missile Burger”
Open Monday thru Friday 5:30 am to 1:30 pm
Saturday 5:30 am to 11:30 am
Coffee
Shop
DINING OUT ON THE DECK
Fatty’s
BARBEQUE
13020 N. Hwy 10 Tahlequah, OK
918-869-0585
Catering Available
Located at War Eagle Resort
Wed. & Thu. 10:30am - 8pm
Fri. & Sat. 7:30am - 9pm
Sunday 7:30am - 8pm
BREAKFAST SERVED Saturday & Sunday
Tahlequah
1403 Park Hill Rd
456-5888
Monday - Saturday
10:30am-9pm
Muskogee
2021 Gibson
683-2021
Mon - Sat 10:30am-9pm
Sunday 10:30am-8pm
Catering
available
ALL YOU CAN EAT
B-B-Q BUffET
Since
1927
Queenie’s
Queenie’s
1834 Utica Square
Tulsa, OK
(918) 749-3481
This quaint bakery/café always serves the best
sandwiches and desserts, that’s why it’s a local
favorite. Homemade baked goods, hamburgers,
soups, salads, quiches and hot and cold sandwiches
consistently delight their faithful customers and
newcomers. The special of the day is kept secret
until 10:30 a.m., either to pique curiosity or stave off
a stampede. One of their hallmark sandwiches is egg
salad served with crisp bacon on top and the “cheese
dream” made with bacon, tomato, red onion, green
chilies and melted cheeses is divine. Enjoy your meal
or dessert and drink inside or outside. Open Monday-
Friday from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. - 6
p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m-2 p.m.
Adelita’s
HWY 270 East, McAlester (918) 426-3263
790 West Carl Albert, McAlester (918) 423-0118
207 North Main, Eufaula (918) 618-4553
111 West Main, Wilburton (918) 465-2960
Located in four convenient locations, Adelita’s Mexican
Restaurant has become a well-known hot spot for lunch and
family dining. With a variety of lunch plates, including their
lunch fajitas, mini quesadillas, tamales, flautas, and even ham-
burgers and chicken fried steak for those without Mexican food
on their minds, Adelita’s is perfect for a lunch date or ordering
out for the office. Be sure to bring the family in for the ultimate
dining out experience with appetizers, specialty and combina-
tion dinners, seafood plates, and American favorites available
and well-priced. All meals are served with fresh crispy chips
and the best salsa around. Don’t forget to finish off your meal
with a delicious sopapilla or a cheese cake chimichanga. You
won’t be able to walk away without complete satisfaction!
The Canebrake
4 mi. east of Wagoner off S.H. 51
Wagoner, OK
(918) 485.1810
The Canebrake is a fine dining restaurant and
resort featuring organic and natural foods, a
great bar and live music every Wednesday.
The frog legs are incredibly good and they
hand cut all-natural filets and ribeye steaks.
Seafood is flown in fresh weekly, and the
bison comes from Strang, OK. Thursday is
“Half Price Wine Night” and they have a great
new bar menu (try the shrimp and oyster po-
boy). For a menu and music listings, go to
www.thecanebrake.com.
Island Joe’s
Island Joe’s
Shangri- La Marina
Monkey Island, OK
(918) 257-8099
Island Joe’s Kentena is a full-service outdoor
tiki bar and casual-dining restaurant located
at Shangri- La Marina on Grand Lake and
offers a wide range of items: seafood specials,
hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and surf ‘n’ turf
on the weekend. You can sit outside overlooking
the water and there is enclosed, heated seating
for chilly fall evenings. During the summer, they
are open seven days a week from 11 a.m. The
kitchen closes at 10 p.m. on weekends. On
Wednesdays they offer Mexican specials and
Thursdays feature a chef’s special. Live music,
karaoke, and other special events are booked
nearly every weekend during the summer season.
Courtesy docks are available for customers.
100 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
Catering, Lunch
& Daily Specials
BADLANDS
Smokehouse
700 N. Lee - Ft. Gibson
918-478-4933
Tuesday-Saturday 10:30-8:30
Closed Sun, Mon
BBQ is our speciality
NOT a side line!
Homemade Sauce & Beans
Daily Specials • Catering
Gift Certifcates
1795 N. Grand, tahlequah
(918) 458-9911
Specials
mon - All u can eat ribs
Tues - Spicy baked potato
wed - half hickory smoked chicken
Fri & Sat - 10 oz Rib eye steak
Sun - Chefs choice
Hours
M-TH 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
FRI & SAT 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
We Cater Parties
Banquet Facilities available
Tues - Sat, 10am-5pm • Lunch, 11am-3pm
Courtyard Bistro
Market & Collectables
Dine In, Carry Out, or Call Ahead
1115 E. Poplar, Ft. Gibson
(918) 478 - 5050
Soup, Sandwiches,
Salads, Desserts,
Specialty Coffee Drinks
Antique Market
Booths Available
205 E. Washington (HWY 31)
Krebs, Oklahoma
918-423-2055
1-866-PEIGARE
www.roseannas.com
Roseanna’s
Italian Food
DINING OUT ON THE DECK
Los Cabos
300 Riverwalk Terrace Jenks, OK
(918) 298-2226
Or
151 East Bass Pro Dr. Broken Arrow, OK
(918) 355-8877
Enjoy your favorite Mexican entrees: fajitas,
enchiladas and tacos, served fresh with
a zesty flair. A wide variety of dishes are
available as well, like baby back ribs, shrimp,
salmon, tilapia and mahi mahi. The fish is
prepared grilled or blackened with special
sauces, like cilantro lime butter or mango
chutney. Enjoy the relaxing atmosphere inside,
out on the patio, or at the cabana bar, and
experience that far away feeling while dining
in style. Open Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.,
Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
weezie’s
328 S Dewey
Bartlesville, OK
(918) 337-0881
Weeze’s Cafe is a casual dining restaurant
with friendly, comfortable atmosphere and
good down-home cooking. They open at 6
a.m. and serve the best biscuits and sausage
gravy or eggs cooked any way you like with
your choice of sausage, bacon or ham. They
also offer a variety of omelets. Their lunch
menu features everything from good old
hamburgers and fries, hot hamburger steaks
with gravy and chicken fried steaks to grilled
chicken salad for those looking for something
lighter. Weeze’s is open Monday – Saturday
from 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Located at 328 S.
Dewey in Bartlesville, OK.
Cookson Country Store
Café and Pizza Parlor
Hwy 82 at Cookson Bend Rd.
Cookson, OK
(918) 457-5171
The charming country café opens at 7 a.m. for
breakfast. Omelets, French toast, eggs with bacon,
ham or sausage, and pancakes are customer
favorites. Lunch starts at 11 a.m. and the menu items
include specialty burgers, catfsh and chicken baskets,
chicken salad sandwiches, a chef’s salad and chicken
fried steaks. If none of those tickle your fancy, pizza
from the pizza parlor on the other side of the store
might do the trick. Choose any or all of the great
toppings for no extra charge. Pizzas are 12” and come
with your choice of original or thin crust. Enjoy your ice
cream or cold beer out on the new covered deck. Café
hours are 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. (breakfast ‘til 11 a.m.) 7 days
a week. Pizza is available Sunday through Thursday
until 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m.
Pensacola Pizza
Hwy 28 by Pensacola Dam
Langley, OK
(918) 782-3333
Family owned and operated, friendly
atmosphere and good food make this a local
favorite for homemade pizza, pasta, steaks,
salmon and more. Sunday brunch is served
from 9:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. Belgian waffles, quiche
and apple chicken sausage are a few of the
favorites. Dine inside or out on the brand new
patio, with heated seating. Play some games
in the arcade. A full bar is available, as well
as an extensive wine list. Open 11 a.m. - 9
p.m. everyday except Tuesday, and until 11
p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Enjoy live music
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Delivery is
available too.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 101
Speed Trap Bar-B-Q
“Best Bar-B-Q Around”
Open:
Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 8 pm
Sunday 11 am - 3 pm
(918) 421-8870
403 East 270 Highway, Kerbs, OK
MEADOWS
MCADAMS
&
BBQ Restaurant
1896
Jazz & Sports Bar
Enjoy our Outdoor Patio!
315 E. Choctaw, McAlester
918-429-1896
Hours: M-Thur 11am-10pm
Fri & Sat 11am-2am
Open: Mon-Sat 11a-2p & 5p-9p
4601 S. Muskogee Ave
Tahlequah
Italian
Pizzeria
Cafe &
Serving Tahlequah
since 1981
918-456-0444
FREE
4 Piece Brushetta
with purchase of a
Large Calzone
Pensacola
Pizza & Pasta
By the Pensacola Dam
Free Shuttle & Delivery from
Langley Community Docks
Weekend Live Entertainment
Saturday & Sunday
Breakfast Buffet
7am - 12pm (noon)
Closed Tueday’s
Hwy 28 Langley, OK
918-782-3333
DINING OUT ON THE DECK
$1.00OFF
ANY ENTREE
Del Rio
Mexican
Dine-In or Carry-out
Daily Lunch
Specials
(drink & tax included)
Open:
Mon - Thurs 11:00am to 9:00pm
Fri & Sat 11:00am 10:00pm • Sunday 11:30am to 9:00pm
400 S. Chouteau Ave, Chouteau, OK
$5.75
Iguana Cafee
500 A North Muskogee
Tahlequah, OK
(918) 458-0044
This intriguing café exudes the charm of third-world hip,
in Tahlequah. Their fresh ground coffees rival any in on
the face of this planet. Dark, rich and fresh ground, you
can get a house coffee or any espresso drink. In fact the
Iguana blend reminds us of some of the rich blends to be
found in North Beach, San Francisco. On the opposite
end of the spectrum, they also have really good premium
imported beers, any of which you can have for $3. They
serve breakfast sandwiches and deli sandwiches as well
as homemade pizza. Jeff Jeffries recommends the open
face baked ham and swiss on a Cuban roll, and reminds
you to check the calendar for live music at the Iguana!!
Open 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. weekdays. Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Closed Sunday.
Ozzie’s
54300 E 301 Rd
Monkey Island, OK
(918) 257-5726
Park your boat, then set your kids free in their giant
sand pile, while you enjoy a refreshing orangutan and
an order of hand-breaded cajun or coconut shrimp on
their large, shaded deck. Dine on any of their delicious
sandwiches, burgers, barbecued meats or fine entrées.
Their spinach and artichoke dip, sauces and salsa are
homemade with their own secret recipes. Their yard
ape menu is made especially for youngsters. A beautiful
view of Grand Lake, a shaded deck, great service, and
the best food around adds up to a wonderful experience
at Ozzie’s. Easily accessible by boat, they offer covered
boat slips for your shaded convenience, with dining
inside or out - And did I mention that their barbecue is
FAMOUS? Stop by, you will be glad you found them!
Brangus Feedlot mcAlester
1205 S. George Nigh Expressway
McAlester, OK
(918) 423-4799
Brangus is an exciting, eclectic, heart-of-Oklahoma
dining and drinking establishment. The atmosphere
is fun and friendly with rustic country gear adorning
the walls, along with a little bit of everything else the
proprietor and regular customers drag in the door.
Everyone fits in at Brangus! Specializing in beef, they
serve eight different cuts of steak along with shrimp,
frog legs, chicken, ribs, great appetizers, Mexican
entrees and much, much more. Brangus is the largest
oil field caterer in southwest Oklahoma and that’s a
gang that knows how to eat. So whether you’re looking
for lunch, dinner for two or a night on the town, you will
be thrilled by Brangus’ food prepared and served by the
best staff anywhere - and it’s affordable too!
Coneheadz
1.4 mi. east of Hwy 69
On Texanna Rd.
Eufaula, OK
(918) 689-9955
This colorful little drive-in restaurant on Texanna Road in Eufaula
is where Hurshel and Debi Brinsfield sell their popular Breyer’s
soft-serve ice cream-cones, sundaes, floats, shakes, malts
and quarts. With their "flavorburst" machine, they can add any
number of flavors to the vanilla ice cream. Shaved ice blended
iced coffee, smoothies and fountain drinks are also on the menu
as well as 18 different hot dogs, bratwurst and polish sausages.
The hot dogs are not your everyday hot dogs; they’re Nathan’s
famous hot dogs! All of the French fries are “air fried” so there
are no fats or oils used. Try them with a bowl of chili and cheese,
oh my! Open from 11 a.m - 7 p.m. Tues-Thursday, from 11 a.m.
- 9 p.m on Friday-Saturday and Sundays from 1 p.m .- 5 p.m.
ESPRESSO DRINKS • SANDWICHES • SMOOTHIES
IMPORTED BEER & WINE
FREE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS
458-0044
500A N. Muskogee Ave, Tahlequah
MON-FRI 9am-9pm • SAT 10am-3pm
We are located at the North end of town near the University
102 THE CURRENT JULY 2009
MEADOWS
MCADAMS
&
BBQ Restaurant
1896
Jazz & Sports Bar
Enjoy our Outdoor
Patio!
315 E. Choctaw
, McAlester
918-429-1896
Hours: M-Thur
1
1am-10pm
Fri & Sat 1
1am-2am
Dine
in or We Deliver
www.cooksonsmokehouse.com
(918) 457-4134
HWy 82, Cookson, ok
Thursday
Nights
Happy
Hour
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COOKSON
SmokehouSee
RESTAURANT
now serving
Drinks & Appetizers on
Outdoor Deck
mon, Tue, THur 10am - 9pm
fri 10am - 10pm
saT 8am - 10pm / sun 8am - 9pm
CloseD WeDnesDay
THIS AD
COULD
BE
YOURS!
To Advertise in
The Current Call
(918) 431-0392
DINING OUT ON THE DECK
B r e a k
f
a s
t
•
L u n c h
•
D
i
n n e r
Take a bite out of the
River Monster
at Dee’s Diner
918-458-9999
Breakfast Served All Day!
Coffee always FREE with breakfast!
902 S. Muskogee Ave.
Tahlequah, OK
Sunday - Wednesday
6:00am - 3:00pm
Thursday - Saturday
6:00am - 9:00pm
Cafe
1/3 lb Burger Special $5.79
Daily Lunch Specials!
Located behind Payless Shoe Source • 106 Monroe • Tahlequah, OK
918-458-0381
www.rockyourbluesaway-cafe.com
Rock Your Blues Away
Espresso, Latte, Frappe
Show Off Your Talent!
Call for Talent Show Details
Open Early
6 Days/Week
Come Hang Out
• Morning
• Noon
• Evening
Best Cup of Coffee in Town!
Smoothies, Cookies,
Relaxing Atmosphere
Señor Salsa
621 SE Washington Blvd, Bartlesville, OK
918-333-8226
13427 S. Hwy 51, Coweta, OK
918-279-8226
1250 Rogers Blvd, Skiatook,OK
918-396-1888
Señor Salsa offers an authentic Mexican dining
experience. Whether you’re looking for a full meal or
just a nice atmosphere for enjoying a cold cerveza or
extra large margarita, Senor Salsa is the right choice.
Everything is made fresh to order. The menu ranges from
traditional fajitas to one-of-a-kind stuffed chili rellenos.
The outdoor patio dining area is great for enjoying a nice
breeze along with your meal. Open 7 days a week, they
offer a $4.99 enchilada dinner on Tuesday in Bartlesville
and Coweta and on Wednesday in Skiatook.
Silver Dollar Gift Shop
Cafe & Saloon
1022 W. Main
Collinsville, OK
(918) 371-0599
Silver Dollar Café serves all kinds of homemade cooking, from
burgers and fries to steaks your way or seafood with all the
fixin’s. Starters include onion rings, fried mushrooms, and fried
zucchini. The ever-famous chicken fried steak or a BLT are
both favorites. They also serve pie by the slice, cobbler, and ice
cream, along with a kid’s menu that will satisfy the little ones.
Breakfast is also available. The bar offers 150 beers, 20 on tap.
Live music or karaoke can be heard every night. Open Monday
5 p.m. - 9 p.m., Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Saturday-
Sunday 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.. Bar is open Sunday - Thursday until
10:30 p.m, and Friday and Saturday until 2 a.m.
Coleman house
inside Buffalo Run Casino
1000 Buffalo Run Blvd.
Miami, OK
(918) 542-7140
The Coleman House serves gourmet meals in an elegant
dining room which recreates the interior of the early 1900s
Coleman Theater in Miami, Okla. Photos of famous movie
stars hang on the walls, candle-like sconces create a softly
lit, romantic atmosphere and the rich red carpet reminds
you of old Hollywood. The chef, Chris Difonzo, creates
delicious, unforgettable creations. All of the entrees, be
they chicken, steak or fish are prepared with a creative
and imaginative flair. He adds a splash of corn relish, a
fruit glaze or a bleu cheese dollop. The pairings are amaz-
ing. The pastas are equally good, naturally, because he’s
Italian! Save room for dessert, they are all scrumptious.
hamlin’s El Toro
3731 West Okmulgee
Muskogee, OK
(918) 687-9194
Serving Muskogee since 1958, Hamlin’s
is definitely a local favorite. They serve up excel-
lent fresh Tex-Mex and American food in a cozy
and comfortable atmosphere. Their
lunch and
daily specials are very reasonably priced. Some
of the more popular items are their delectable
enchiladas and chicken quesadillas, and they are
famous for their white sauce which comes with the
house chips and salsa. They also have lots of non-
Mexican items like hamburgers, steaks, salads and
sandwiches. Order a beer or frozen margarita to
enjoy with your meal! Hamlin’s can accommodate
large groups and they also do catering.
JULY 2009 THE CURRENT 103