Stoney LaRue has long been one of the leading lights of the Stillwater-brewed musical concoction known to the world as Red Dirt. Recently, he and I visited about the current state of the Red Dirt scene as well as his new disc, which includes a bonus track featuring Stoney’s friend, the late Brandon Jenkins. It’s… Read More »SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR THE COSMOS
My friend Jimmie Tramel, a fine writer and big-time comic-book fan, puts on a great comics-related event in what to some may seem an unlikely place: Pryor, Oklahoma. It may indeed be held in a small town, but, over the past few years, the Pryor Creek Comic Convention has become a favorite destination for pop-culture… Read More »Pryor Obsessions
I’m happy to say that I’ve got a couple of pieces in the December OKLAHOMA Magazine that both deal with very talented friends of mine. NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author and longtime Tulsan P.C. Cast tells us about some big developments with her wildly successful HOUSE OF NIGHT series of novels, while veteran Tulsa blues-rocker… Read More »TWO OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE ARTICLES
Millions of baby boomers, myself included, grew up with the rock ’n’ roll hits of Gary Lewis and the Playboys rolling out of our car speakers and transistor radios. Such enduring oldies as “This Diamond Ring,” “Save Your Heart for Me,” and “She’s Just My Style” (all arranged and sometimes co-written by Leon Russell) will… Read More »A ‘Playboy’ Prescription
Hayden Rorke is undoubtedly best known for his role as the blustery Dr. Bellows in the baby-boomer favorite TV show I DREAM OF JEANNIE. He was, however, a fine character actor who did a lot more than that — including a turn as a ghostly presence in one of my all-time favorite horror movies, THE… Read More »Getting to Know a Monster
If you can indeed measure a person’s wealth by the number of friends he has, then the longtime Oklahoma music figure Ray Bingham is an exceedingly rich man. In my latest column for OKLAHOMA Magazine, Ray talks about how friendship has informed his life as a booking agent and talent manager over the past decades,… Read More »Nice People for Friends
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 to Tulsa. I also know that my latest can be… 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 band. For my latest OKLAHOMA Magazine column, I spoke to… 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 story of one of his boyhood friends from Chelsea, Oklahoma, Gerome Riley,… 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, HERE.