OKC Music Scene

[psychwardmedia]

acm@uco is a music and recording college...it shouldn't be that hard.

[Urbanized]

Oops. I meant to say "weeknights NOT weekends" rather than "weeknights OR weekends." Obviously Easy180 new what I meant.

[BDP]

I am interested in trying to change the music scene in OKC.

I think you mean you want to bring in more from the outside. Usually, the music scene refers to local bands. In that situation, we have a lot of good bands. Just start going to shows on Friday and Saturday and within a few weeks you will see bands you want to see again and, the best part, is that you will get to see them for less money and in more intimate settings as many times as you want.

And, it never fails, many of the bands people complain about not coming here already came here.

[Questor]

Diamond Ballroom has just announced Young the Giant and also Sleigh Bells are coming here next month.

http://www.diamondballroom.net/

[Bigrayok]

I think Oklahoma City's live music scene is better than a lot may think. Sure, maybe we do not get every group of every genre all of the time but we do have some decent live music venues if you look hard enough. The Gazette, The Look, and the Friday Oklahoman have good lists of venues and performers.The Conservatory has a lot of up and coming and in some instances, old alternative type bands (Whatever that term means). I can remember when the White Stripes played there on their way up. Joe Bonamassa Played a bar on Route 66 (39th Expressway) between Meridian and Portland a few years ago before he became more famous after his Royal Albert Hall concert. He is a great blues guitarist and will rock the Civic Center in April.

The UCO Jazz Lab in Edmond and the ACM@UCO have a variety of acts. I think the ACM lab in Bricktown will increase the number of acts in the future as the school grows and develops. Ray Manzarek of the Doors recently played at the Jazz Lab. I plan on seeing Edgar Cruz with the California Guitar Trio on Monday there. The Opolis in Norman has a lot of bands. Two of my favorite local music venues are the Rodeo Opry in the Stockyards for a variety of local country acts and the Blue Door by OCU for singer songwriters. The Blue Door only seats about 100 people but fairly big names such as Jimmy Webb (Oklahoma native and one of the most successful songwriters of all time), Arlo Guthrie (Playing there tonight), Susan Cowsill of the successful 60's group the Cowsills. Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Esposito, Dave Alvin and a variety of Oklahoma and Texas acts play there that are usually really good.

For larger, more well known acts, casinos such as Riverwind, Firelake Grand, and Lucky Star have a lot of concerts, as well as the Civic Center, Chesapeake Arena, and the Coca Cola Events Center. I realize there do not seem to be as many concerts at these venues as there used to be because the Thunder have a major effect on the ability to book concerts in these venues. Oklahoma City will see more concerts in Chesapeake when the renovations are finished.

I am just scratching the surface for live music in the Oklahoma city area. There are colleges, churches, bars, etc. that offer a variety of music. Even Armstrong College in Edmond has a nice performing arts center with nationally known classical music acts. Live music venues and music trends change all of the time. I can remember when up and coming bands that became well known used to play places like the Bowery and the place on 10th and MacArthur that used to be Quicksilvers. The Red Hot Chili Peppers played both places. The Samurai on May had a lot of bands that became well known including the Flaming Lips who played there regularly.

Just because Oklahoma City does not get the same high profile concerts the BOK Center in Tulsa or the bands that play Cain's have does not mean we do not have a thriving local music scene. I would argue the music scene in Oklahoma City is just as good or better as it is in Tulsa. Someone mentioned Kansas City. I have friends that live in Kansas City that are musicians that think the live music scene in Kansas City is not very strong except for a few places in Westport where a small number of bands play. Dallas is not what it used to be for lesser known bands. Deep Ellum is still going but has lost some of its live music steam it had a few years ago. It may have changed since then, but I went to college in Nashville for a while in the 80's where you would think there was a thriving live music scene. There were a few places to see live music such as the Grand Ole Opry and a few bars but it was not as easy to find as one may think. I actually think Oklahoma City had a better live music scene at the time than Nashville. Talk to people all over the country and they will complain about the local live music scene, especially if they can not find the bands of their genre they want to see in their hometown. There is a lot of good live music in Oklahoma City.

Bigray in Ok

[dankrutka]

Oh yeah Opolis in Norman too, they have some decent stuff sometimes probably because a band owns the place and knows industry folks, but man is the venue a total and complete dump. No air and just dirt floors. Come on.

The Opolis does not have dirt floors. Did you just make that up? Lol.

[VinnyTheShark]

Some of the venues Vinny frequents are The Wormy Dog, Grady's 66 Pub in Yukon, The Deli in Norman and of course The Diamond Ballroom. Plenty of good bands come thru the OKC area.

[TheTravellers]

I have to chime in here because I am one that believes the music scene in OKC still sucks. I moved away in 1995 and that was one of the main reasons I left.

Radio in OKC is almost all classic rock, country or jocks blathering mindlessly with a few exceptions like a top 40 station and hiphop station with some talk and classical thrown in. Sadly, the Spy couldn't make it on the airwaves, and when they left, I stopped listening to OKC radio, with the exception of the Martini every so often.

The live music scene in OKC can be broken down this way (IMO, of course) - local bar bands playing at local bars, "red dirt" bands playing at the Blue Door and local bars, metal bands playing at the Conservatory and Diamond Ballroom, past-their-prime bands playing at the casinos, and classical/pops stuff at the Civic Center and Armstrong Auditorium). There are occasionally new, "alternative" bands that play at the ACM@UCO (Boris is one that was magnificent, but there were so few people there that it was ridiculous), Conservatory, Diamond Ballroom, and a few other places. That's about it. If you aren't into country (which I'll stick "red dirt" in with), bar bands, metal, or Journey/REO/Molly Hatchet/etc., there just isn't much of a scene here. See what's popular on the charts, on the video channels (yes, there are still channels which play videos), selling at record stores, etc. and you might find a few of those acts playing here in OKC, but not many. I guess people can still get excited about seeing Edgar Cruz play, but I saw him at the first Opening Night decades ago and it's cool he's still playing and making a living, but I have absolutely no desire to ever see him again.

Having said that, I have seen some decent shows since we've moved back, but nowhere near the quality I would like to have here in OKC. I'm glad I saw the Pixies in Tulsa at the Brady because I would've been so disappointed if I had to see them at the Bricktown Events Center. I have seen the Lips (Myriad), Shelby Lynne (Blue Door), Lady Gaga (Ford Center), Boris (ACM@UCO), Wilco (Bricktown Events Center), and probably a couple of others that escape me right now, and am going to see Sleigh Bells, but with my wide spread of taste in music, I still can't find too many bands coming here that I want to go see.

Seems to me there just isn't enough of anything to get more bands (and more of a variety of bands) coming here - not enough people willing to go see those bands, not enough promoters willing to bring them in (maybe because there's not enough of an audience), not enough really good venues (ACM@UCO is just a concrete box, so is the Bricktown Events Center, Blue Door is good but very small, Conservatory is a dump, not sure about the Diamond since the last time I was there was for Skinny Puppy and Godflesh, and the rest seem to be casinos, CHK Arena, and bars). I agree with whoever mentioned Hard Rock Cafe - I'm not always a fan of huge corporate things, but that would probably help to bring bands in. A mid-sized HoB with good acoustics, run well, with good bookers would change the concert scene here immensely. Can't count the number of bands that played at the Chicago HoB that I wanted to see (and did see some of them), it was just enormous.

Not sure if everything can all come together to make OKC's music scene better. It hasn't gotten better since I got disgusted with it back in the 90s, IMO, and it might not ever due to the economics and audience makeup of OKC.

[Bullbear]

I think the statement of saying what bands you want to see here and the fact that they have in fact played OKC speaks volumes as to a need for better venues and promoters. I am a music junkie who travels a lot to see shows and would love to spend that money locally. The Granada Theater in Dallas is one of my favorite Venues, it would be awesome if the tower theater was turned into a similar venue. there are also similar venues in Denver that host great shows. I am looking forward to some of the shows at the Diamond this year as well and I think we do get some good names now and then but would be great to see busy venues and more buzz about upcoming acts. I do notice a lot of the show I go to at Cains aren't all that well attended and same for some of the ones I have been to in OKC. So better promotion means bigger crowds for shows, More money made and better acts booking. When I saw Nikka Costa at bricktown live the attendance was horrible but like the guys who was there at the gate said to me. " how do you get the word out in this town. nobody really listens to any of the radio stations so the options are limited"

[Bigrayok]

Anyone remember when they first remodled the Will Rogers Theater and were using it for concerts? They quit having concerts and started using it for special events like high school reunions. I thought it had the potential to be like the Granada in Dallas, the Brady in Tulsa or other old movie theaters converted to concert halls.

The Tower Theater has potential but it will obviously take a lot of money to refurbish it. The Will Rogers has a lot more onsite parking than the Tower which makes me wonder if the lack of parking is one of the reasons no one has made serious efforts to remodel the Tower. I know the Dillons who own the building want someone to come in and put up the money refurbish it. I do not know if anything specific is happening these days.

Bigray in Ok

[iMAX386]

I bet there's enough of a groundswell of those wanting more music in OKC and a venue worthy of that demand to get the attention of a few investors...problem is right now there's nothing to unite that demand and we're all spread out so it seems like the demand isn't there. We need someone passionate and with connections in the music/show industry to lead some drive to get a new venue built that all the music fans (who go to shows in Tulsa/TX/KS) can galvanize around.

I reject the notion that OKC's music scene is healthy. Expanding the venue slate will add to the revitalization this city's undergone that will keep the young people from moving away.

I had mentioned recruiting a House of Blues, but man if we can renovate the Tower Theater or use the Will Rogers (never been inside it to see if it's a viable option) that would be just as cool if not cooler since they both have that historical character. Wonder if Wayne Coyne would be interested in helping invest in this.

[Bullbear]

Id love to see the Tower turn into something like the Granada. If you haven't seen it here is the link.

http://granadatheater.com/venue-info/virtual-tour/

[BDP]

Diamond Ballroom has just announced Young the Giant and also Sleigh Bells are coming here next month.

http://www.diamondballroom.net/

And Cake will be here too. I think DCF and the Diamond are starting to branch out a bit. Hopefully, all the people who complain about the lack of music that comes here are going to these shows. That's the way you change it, with your wallet.

[progressiveboy]

I think it probably has less effect on large, arena-type headliners. If someone like RHCP can sell out or largely sell an arena in any major city in the US, they probably don't mind at all playing T-town and here, as both will be heavily attended.

The problem is with shows that are in the 250 to 2,500 range. They are quite correct in assuming that if they don't play here, OKC people will drive to go see a show at Cain's or the Brady. I personally have done it many, many times, and always see tons of OKC folks I know at those shows. I also think that fewer Tulsa people would "lower themselves" to come to a show here (though I have hosted plenty of Tulsa friends), so I think we bolster their numbers more often than they do ours. Tulsans are going to generally (and often correctly) assume that if a band came here instead, they'll still be through Tulsa soon too. We can't make the same assumptions. Since Tulsa has the track record and better venues, it's easy for a band's management to choose them over OKC when booking.

If you'll notice, most medium-sized shows play here or Tulsa on weeknights or weekends. Even when we get a great show in-state, we're often just a fill-in date between weekend shows, added in to bide time and make a few bucks between weekend engagements that might look like Austin/Dallas/Saint Louis/Chicago, for instance.

It seems Tulsa has OKC beat. OKC not on the list.



http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic...0_Tulsai908513

[Bullbear]

And Cake will be here too. I think DCF and the Diamond are starting to branch out a bit. Hopefully, all the people who complain about the lack of music that comes here are going to these shows. That's the way you change it, with your wallet.

I try every chance I get. even for some shows that may not be my first choice in Music. I am sad I am missing CAKE but i had already purchased tickets to see the Ting Tings in Dallas prior to that show being announced.

[UncleCyrus]

Seems to me there just isn't enough of anything to get more bands (and more of a variety of bands) coming here - not enough people willing to go see those bands, not enough promoters willing to bring them in (maybe because there's not enough of an audience),...

I have to relate a story here. One of my favorite bands, Gomez, played at the Diamond a while back. They had played to over 1200 in Austin a couple of days previous. Here, maybe 50 people showed up, and several of them that I met drove in from somewhere else. To the band's credit, they still played a great show and even hung out afterwards to greet fans.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the answer is either.

[kristella]

I think the reason why everyone is upset with the OKC music scene is because people keep talking about commercial acts like Marilyn Manson, Lady Gaga, RHCP, etc. Tour for any artist is already in the red; their tour managers are going to try to recoup a lot of their losses in bigger cities. No big deal. Classical and jazz music is extremely lacking, mostly because it all happens in accordance with some university, college, or professional OKC Philharmonic concert that no one has any money to go to. Really, the UCO jazz lab and a few other clubs are all we have as far as jazz goes.

I can't speak for the entire punk scene here, but I know people who've been in it for over 15 years and he's been a major player in paving our local scene. Here's his blog of selected flyers so you can see what's really been going on in that time-frame. (http://loudcity.blogspot.com/) As for me, I co-run Komarov Records out of a friend's house with a couple of graphic designers and we put out local bands that play at Bad Granny's, the Conservatory (on occasion), and house shows. DELO Creative (Wayne Coyne's production-house, now picking projects on their own) has a huge video-reel of a lot of local, mainstream bands who usually play at the Opolis and house shows.

If you're looking for local talent in the pages of the Gazette and the Diamond Ballroom, you're not looking for music, you're looking for how well music is being marketed. That's fine too. We need that. Marketing genre-specific bands helps tourism. What you should be paying attention to are facebook invites that your friends are accepting and events being spread by word-of-mouth.

[Emily]

I would have to agree that the music scene could be better. I do think, however, that we have some good local bands that play around town. My husband is in a band that plays around town and we always enjoy seeing them and other bands as well. I know it's not the big names, but I agree that supporting the local groups is beneficial to our city.

Also, if anyone is interested in learning an instrument, my husband is the owner of Anderson Music Studios (AndersonMusicStudios.com). They teach pretty much anything- guitar, bass, drums, piano, keyboard, ukulele, violin, sax, etc...

[soonerguru]

Steve recently commented about making the Farmer's Market "our Cain's." I agree with him in principle.

The biggest problem I see in OKC is we don't have the promoters willing to really make a run at a true three-to-five day a week Indie club. Opolis is in Norman, and mostly caters to bands on the way up.

Then we have the Diamond Ballroom. Junky place in the middle of nowhere. It's OK to see a show there as a novelty once in a while, but it's not a good urban venue.

So...even if we began using the Farmer's Market space as our mid-size venue, there still really aren't promoters willing to do this full time to make it work.

We get the off-tour Pixies shows and Wilco shows at Coca-Cola Bricktown, but the Brewers aren't really serious music people.

There's no reason to cede this argument to Tulsa. OKC is a bigger market and with the right venue and promoter we could -- and should -- have a far better music scene than we do today.

[Easy180]

Diamond ain't bad when you get in...Inside is somewhat similar to Cain's just doesn't have the name

Diamond has nabbed some pretty good talent the past couple years...Just need the Zoo to get some quality non 80's non country bands...Phish on the 29th is a good start

[okcboy]

With Oklahoma being a secondary market, mid level artists will mostly only play one date in the state. This is after the major markets have been covered. Other than the casinos, we only have one promoter that really has the "history" with major agencies. Since the promoter is taking the risk, they generally choose which market and venue the artists' play in. This promoter controls the Diamond, Brady, and has great rent arrangements with Cain's and the Zoo. Also, the Tulsa market seems to have a better radio environment and tend to support the shows more. I wish OKC had a House of Blues but could it survive?. You're talking 10+ Million dollar venue versus a 1 - 2 Million like the Event Center or Diamond. The Civic Center was a 50+ Mil in just a remodel in the first MAPS project. Its an expensive and risky game and it all boils down to money in the end.

[OkieHornet]

Diamond ain't bad when you get in...Inside is somewhat similar to Cain's just doesn't have the name

Diamond has nabbed some pretty good talent the past couple years...Just need the Zoo to get some quality non 80's non country bands...Phish on the 29th is a good start

new management next season at the zoo. i'll be curious to see who they bring in - they're affiliated with remington park.

[soonerguru]

Diamond sucks and is not the solution.

[jrod]

My wife and I just moved back to OKC from a 2 year stint in OH. We saw TONS (I'm talking our 4-6 favorite bands, multiple times) of good shows between CLE and Columbus. There is a venue in Columbus (Newport Music Hall) that the Tower Theater on 23rd *could* be very similair to. NMH is very urban, and on a very busy street with Ohio St.'s campus on one side and a neighborhood on the other. They have bands basically every night, for any taste. Every show I saw there was sold out (the campus next door helped).

Are we 100% what Tower will be once it is complete? I, personally, think it would make a fantastic mid-sized venue.

[RadicalModerate]

Having never moved from OKC since arriving here in '73, I look forward to the upcoming concert at either VZD's or The Blue Door featuring Spinal Tap, The Dewey Cox Review, and Trout Fishing in America. (if the "OKC Music Scene" isn't limited to "local" bands.)

If OKC Music Scene IS limited to "local bands" then I'd like to go to a concert by the groups that used to provide the background music to that cutting-edge OETA program from a few years back . . . Utopia Joe.

I suppose that I will have to settle for missing Devo and Blonde tomorrow night at The Zoo (amphitheater).