FEATURING SELECTIONS FROM THE NEW HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN CD, WILD KINGDOM “Elmer’s Tune,” Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (for CAROLE and JACK BENDER) “Caveman,” Hot Club of Cowtown “Don’t Let My Glass Run Dry,” Red Sovine (for HAMILL TIME and the GLASS LIFTERS)… Read More »17 AUGUST 2019
I have no idea how many stories I’ve written about the Red Dirt Rangers, the trailblazing band that continues to show the world what Red Dirt music is all about. I do know my first Rangerspiece came out in the TULSA WORLD in 1991, when they first brought their act from Stillwater… Read More »A Black Hole… in a Good Way’
I’ve been enjoying Brad James’s work as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter for many years, so I was happy to see that Horton Records was bringing out a new disc — in both CD and vinyl — that brings him into the spotlight with his… Read More »Going Solo in the Red Dirt
As many of you know, I was honored and privileged to work with the great New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry on his as-told-to autobiography, RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE (available on amazon.com in a variety of formats). This month in OKLAHOMA Magazine, I get to tell the… Read More »A Racial Separation of Paths/Neighborhood Influences
Drummer, composer, and bandleader Jared Johnson’s affinity for John Steinbeck’s work isn’t just a fan thing. He’s actually created a full-blown jazz concert inspired by Steinbeck’s GRAPES OF WRATH. To find out more about Jared and his GRAPES OF WRATH PROJECT, check out my newest OKLAHOMA Magazine column,… Read More »A Musical Testament to Steinbeck
Maybe you’ve asked yourself why, of all the great music acts to come out of Oklahoma, Leon Russell seems to be the one who still inspires the most intense emotion. When I asked myself that question, I came up with my latest OKLAHOMA Magazine column,… Read More »The Tulsa Zeitgeist
It was somewhere around 15 years ago that my longtime chum Robert A. Brown started sending me letters, usually a page or so long, written with a manual typewriter on authentic 1930s air-mail stationery — and sent with real old air-mail stamps. Something like this… Read More »THE CLEANSING: BOOK I
WITH THANKS TO HUGH KIERIG “Oh Monah,” Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys “Mutton Swing,” Tom Morrell and the Time-Warp Tophands “Town Drunk,” Mountain Sprout (for AP MCQUIDDY and the GLASS LIFTERS) “Hop, Skip & Jump,” Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant “Loch Lomond,” Hot Club… Read More »15 FEBRUARY 2020
“Blues for Dixie,” Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys “Me and the Man in the Moon,” Solitaire Miles “Hangover Tavern,” Hank Thompson (for BRAD & ANN JAMES and the GLASS LIFTERS) “Milk Cow Blues,” Jana Jae “Hillbilly Jump,” Hank Penny “San Antonio Rose,” Sons of… Read More »8 FEBRUARY 2019
The first time I interviewed bassist Dean DeMerritt, following his return to Tulsa from Atlanta four years ago, he told me he’d read and enjoyed GHOST BAND, my spook novel set in the world of touring musicians. Of course, that made me happy, but I… Read More »Coming Full Circle
