It’s billed as the oldest continuous annual festival in Oklahoma, and Broken Arrow residents will celebrate the 84th Rooster Days May 9-11. Roscoe, the official mascot of Rooster Days, has served as an ambassador for the festival for the past 83 years.
Oklahoma Magazine:Tell me about the first-ever Rooster Days. Roscoe: I was a wee one when the first Rooster Days happened, but I remember it fondly. Broken Arrow was a different town then, but I am so proud of how both the festival and the community continue to grow. Some traditions just don’t go away.
OM: What’s your favorite event at the festival? R: Rooster Days is my festival, so I love every bit of it. It is fun watching the 5k run, and sometimes people even try to wear rooster hats to look like me. I will tell you, I sure do love the Ferris wheel – that may be my very favorite part of all! My friend tells me this year they are bringing a double Ferris wheel that goes 70 feet in the air. Do you want to ride it with me?
OM:Maybe next year. How have you aged so well? R: Well, aren’t you sweet! I like to think it’s my sunny-side-up outlook on life, along with avoiding becoming hen-pecked.
Tulsans flock to the Cherry Street Farmers Market. Photo by Karen Shade.
Tulsans flock to the Cherry Street Farmers Market. Photo by Karen Shade.
When Mike Appel, owner of Three Springs Farm, became the first Oklahoma vendor to accept SNAP benefits at his farmers market stall, he was driven by a sense of social justice.
“Fresh, local fruits and vegetables – we want these to be accessible to everyone. It should not be dependent on your income,” says Appel, who has accepted the federal benefits for his goods since 2005.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps low-income families purchase food, has been around in some form for years, but many local farmers have only recently begun to accept SNAP as payment for fresh, locally grown goods.
The practice appears to be catching on across Oklahoma. Appel notes that since 2010, the Cherry Street Farmers Market in Tulsa, where he sells his produce, has instituted a market-wide acceptance of the benefits system, and has seen revenue dramatically increase. According to Appel, his revenue from SNAP alone grew from $3,000 in 2010 to nearly $17,000 in 2013.
In addition to these numbers, the Cherry Street market has raised private funds for a Double Up Food Bucks Program, in which the market matches up to $20 of SNAP benefits with additional tokens to be spent at the market.
“The Double Up Food Bucks, though, can only be used for fruits and vegetables, so it’s an incentive program to get people to eat fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Appel.
Even in markets without such mass coordination, more individual vendors have begun accepting SNAP benefits. Wanda Danley, coordinator of the Norman Farm Market, estimates that since SNAP was first accepted there three years ago, the number of vendors who accept the benefits has risen to nearly half, with the number increasing each year.
Danley ties this rise in participation to a generational shift.
“We are getting younger and younger people wanting to grow organically. I just think everybody is getting more and more aware of [the problems with] fast food and obesity,” she says.
Appel, for his part, is dedicated to spreading the word about healthy eating. The Cherry Street Farmers Market is using advertising to reach the 80,000 or so Tulsa area residents who qualify for SNAP assistance. Appel has evidence from years of satisfied customers that people of all income levels in Oklahoma are ready for fresh, healthy food.
Jessica Brent regularly rents her home to travelers on the website Airbnb.com. Photo by Brandon Scott.
Jessica Brent regularly rents her home to travelers on the website Airbnb.com. Photo by Brandon Scott.
Some motels may leave the light on. Others might love having you there. But with Airbnb.com, you can be king of your choice of castles.
Founded in 2008, Airbnb is a network of hosts from nearly 200 countries offering any kind of accommodation you can think of – from single rooms to entire villas, Airstream trailers to tents. Travelers bored with the flat pillows and institutional paintings typical of traditional hotels are flocking to the unusual options Airbnb hosts provide, often at a fraction of the cost of a hotel room.
Cynthia Mitchell, of Oklahoma City, says she was a bit apprehensive at first about using Airbnb to travel.
“I heard about Airbnb from an Internet news story about cheaper ways to travel,” she says. “I looked at their website and just kept it in the back of my mind as an option, but since I’m okay with staying at cheaper hotels, I never really thought it would be something I would take advantage of personally.”
Then in November 2012, Mitchell faced a travel dilemma: No hotels were close enough to her remote destination. That’s when she decided it was time to give Airbnb a try.
“I found a perfect place to stay just minutes from where some of my family would be staying,” she says. “I filled out a profile and contacted the host. She had a cabana-type room off of her house that she had available. I was not quite sure how it would be, but it ended up perfect.”
Since her initial experience, Mitchell no longer hesitates to book via Airbnb. She has nabbed some cozy accommodations in multiple cities, and even made a few friends.
“Getting to stay with local people is one of my favorite parts,” she says. “Sometimes at hotels, the workers don’t know the area well, but when you are staying in someone’s home, they usually know what is available close and in the town in general. There is also the potential to meet people from all over the country and the world and get some of the best advice about local activities.”
For Airbnb novices, “make sure that you read everything that is available about a place before you book. If something or someone gives you the creeps, move on; there are usually plenty of places to stay in the areas that I have looked,” Mitchell says.
Most hosts, far from being unsettling, are more like Mark McConnell, a freelance carpenter who rents out his home in Oklahoma City to Airbnb travelers. McConnell says that growing up with parents who often opened their home to guests, friends and those in need inspired him to become an Airbnb host. In addition, McConnell says his own experience in traveling using the website Couchsurfing.com placed him in unique accommodations with generous hosts.
“Several years later, when I was back in Oklahoma City and had a place of my own, I was happy to begin returning the favor by opening my own space to other couch-surfers who needed a place to stay when they passed through,” McConnell says. “In the past few years, I’ve had individuals, friends, couples and even small groups come through and stay with me who were traveling by such diverse modes as bicycle, motorcycle, car and even hitchhiking. It’s actually a lot of fun.”
Lured by the promise of a bit more reliability, McConnell soon moved his hosting offers to Airbnb. During a typical week, he has a couple of guests at his studio home near the Linwood and Crestwood neighborhoods. His studio is a good example of why so many travelers are being lured to Airbnb for unique places to stay; McConnell has renovated the space to be an example of “green” living.
“When I moved into the studio several years ago, I gutted the place once more, started over and recreated the space to make it more my own style,” he says. “That style is eclectic, it is minimal, it is creative, it is natural and it is as environmentally friendly as I could manage.”
For instance, McConnell chose paints that contain no volatile organic compounds. Instead of utilizing chemicals, he stained the concrete floor using coffee grounds and iron sulfate. He also furnished the space with many items that were either found, reclaimed or exchanged in barter.
“I stained my oak butcher block counters with an iron oxide ebony stain I made by mixing apple cider vinegar and steel wool,” he says. “I put in slate tile. I installed all-wood blinds. It’s really a fun place,” he says.
Like McConnell, Jessica Brent had previously hosted travelers through Couchsurfing.com. She made the switch to Airbnb to make a bit of extra money and to provide visitors with a great local experience.
“I really enjoy making sure travelers leave with a positive impression of Tulsa,” Brent says. “…I like enabling visitors to experience Tulsa from a local’s perspective by staying in a unique neighborhood and exploring downtown based on local recommendations. I think the first time, visitors are surprised by what Tulsa has to offer, and we are increasingly becoming a regional destination. I often use Airbnb when I travel, so I know that the experience you have staying at an Airbnb place versus a hotel can be a lot richer, and I’m glad to provide that for people traveling to and through Tulsa.”
Brent, who has hosted for about a year and a half, rents out her historic Dutch colonial in Brady Heights for $100 per night, plus a small cleaning fee. It’s a win-win for both Brent and her guests.
“A lot of hosts will just rent out a bedroom in their house, but I prefer to make my entire home available because I don’t really like sharing my personal space with strangers, and I can also charge more for the entire house,” Brent says. “When I have guests, I just tidy up the house, pack up a bag and my dog and go stay with my partner for the duration of the reservation. The guests have to agree to take care of the cat, but everyone seems to love having him around.”
Both guests and hosts alike emphasize that Airbnb is, above all, a network built on mutual trust.
“First, you have to recognize that Airbnb is very much a community of people that are looking for something different and unique in their travels,” Brent says. “Even though I rarely meet my guests face-to-face, I have to put in time answering their questions and making sure they have a great stay. Second, trust your gut. Airbnb, as with most of the new sharing economy platforms, is built on trust. It takes a leap of faith to hand your keys over to a complete stranger, and you have to be discerning. I’m quick to turn down requests if something seems weird or if it seems like the person doesn’t quite get it. For Airbnb to work, both the guest and the host have to approach it with shared respect and trust.”
Bill Belknap has written songs for his latest album for nearly three decades. Photo by Brandon Scott.
Bill Belknap has written songs for his latest album for nearly three decades. Photo by Brandon Scott.
When asked how long he’s been working on his first solo album, the impressive and entertaining Magic Pocket, Bill Belknap laughs heartily
“Do you want the truth?” he asks. “I think Ed and I wrote one of the songs, ‘Bonjour, Monsieur, for Sure,’ in about 1987. I’ve just been writing over the years, and finally it came together as something I thought was more cohesive, because I was kind of writing all over the board. These songs, even though they are kind of diverse, fit together better than some of my other stuff; the last three or four I finished here at Loudoun Road, but that’s been over almost an eight-year period.”
So it’s fair to say that Magic Pocket has been, as the Cecil B. DeMille movie promos used to say, years in the making. But that’s hardly all, or even much, of what Belknap has been up to over the years. The “Ed” he refers to is his longtime partner in Tulsa’s Long Branch Studios, Ed Robinson, who also plays keyboards on the new record. And Loudoun Road is the studio Belknap founded, with Robinson as an associate, following the demise of Long Branch in 2003.
And even as Belknap and Long Branch were working on big ‘80s and ‘90s studio projects like the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish and sessions with Gene Simmons and Bon Jovi, Belknap was also finding plenty of work as a drummer with area bands – as well as with a national recording act.
“I started with a group called Fantasy in the ‘70s,” he remembers. “It was a bunch of Bartlesville boys, a Chicago kind of band with horns and stuff. Then I worked with Donna Williams and Fat Tuesday for a while, and I was the drummer for Dave Barber for a bunch of shows. Then it was Andy Gravity.”
Coming along in the mid-‘80s, the band Andy Gravity not only became a popular Tulsa-area rock act, but also made its mark on, strangely enough, the Michael Jackson universe. In 1987, the Ideal company brought out a line of stuffed animals called Michael’s Pets, each accompanied by its own cassette tape.
“On one side was a story about the animal, and on the other was a little song,” he explains. “Andy Gravity did the writing and the instruments and so forth, and we had different singers come in. Michael Jackson actually owned the publishing; I guess his family still does.
“We did that for a company in L.A. called SEPP International. Our buddy, [former Tulsan] Mitch Schauer, was an animator and a producer, and he got us a lot of work with SEPP,” Belknap continues. “At one time, they were developing an animated version of Bonanza, and Ed Robinson and I did an actual Tulsa Philharmonic orchestration for a 10-minute trailer, which was a lot of fun.”
In addition to Belknap and Robinson, Andy Gravity included Eskimo Joe’s owner Stan Clark on lead vocals, Rick Peale on guitar and Ron Flynt on bass. Flynt had returned to Tulsa after a half-dozen years with the influential L.A. power-pop band 20/20, which he’d founded with fellow Tulsan Steve Allen. Their first two albums, 1979’s 20/20 and 1981’s Look Out, both on the CBS subsidiary Portrait Records, made Billboard magazine’s album charts, and they recorded a third, Sex Trap, engineered and produced in L.A. by still another Oklahoman, Steve Ripley.
“They were playing shows all over and had two minor hits, ‘Yellow Pills’ and ‘Nuclear Boy,’” notes Belknap. “Those were big hits in L.A., and they were popular in New York, but for some reason, they didn’t get across the country.”
A dozen or so years later, however, Flynt and Allen would try again, this time with Belknap as a collaborator. It was the early ‘90s, and Belknap was working with, among other acts, the Larry Cagle Band. Featuring top-drawer musical comrades Pat Savage (guitar), Mark Snyder (bass), and Rick Morton (fiddle, guitar, mandolin), “that band rocked the country bars from Fayetteville to Pawnee, and all points in between,” he says.
At about the same time, he and Flynt were crafting a duet project that attracted the attention of Warner Bros. Records.
“We got some seed money from Warner Bros. to do a demo, and we did it at Long Branch,” he says. “Steve Allen was moving [from L.A.] to Nashville at the time. And one of them, I don’t know which one, thought of the idea of getting 20/20 back together, and got me in as the drummer. We got two albums out, 4 Way Tornado and Interstate, and toured the West Coast in ’97.”
Like Belknap, both Flynt and Allen now have their own recording studios – in Austin and Nashville, respectively – and both show up on Magic Pocket. So do former Andy Gravity members Peale, Robinson and saxophonist Steve Bell, a later addition to the group. Other personnel on the record include guitarists George Barton and Jerry Shields, bassist Dean Demerritt and singers Cheryl Wright, Gwen Gomes and Mary Pinkly. In addition to lead vocals and drums, Belknap plays some keyboard, harmonica and bass, and he gets sole songwriting credit on most of Magic Pocket’s tracks; collaborators include Peale, Robinson and Belknap’s wife, Elizabeth.
It’s a collection that runs from melodic pop-rock to a bit of reggae and R&B, with a distinct Steely Dan influence on a couple of the tunes. And while it’s indeed his first solo record, that statement’s a bit misleading, since Magic Pocket is only available digitally.
In fact, that’s one of the major reasons it’s available at all.
“Since everything has moved away from real hard-copy CD stuff, and you can actually release something electronically, I decided to pull the string and go for it,” he explains. “I think that’s the thing that pushed me over the top. I’d heard horror stories about people who had made a thousand CDs, and now they’re just stuck in their garage.
“To be honest,” he adds, “I’ve spent quite a bit of money on it over the years. I’ve paid everybody to play on it, except for maybe Ed and Rick Peale. I thought the [rest of the] money might be better spent in hiring some of these little outlets online to try and promote it.”
He also heeded the advice of Carl Caprioglio, whose Oglio Records released the two albums 20/20 cut in the ‘90s.
“Carl said, ‘You know, Bill, if you’re not really a band, out there on the road, with an item to show people, it’s really hard to get people to buy CDs any more.’ He said they still buy ‘em in Europe, but in the States it’s pretty much gone electronic.”
While Belknap has continued to perform, most recently with the Tulsa-based Boogie Boys, and says he’s “trying to get a new band started with Rick Peale and/or George Barton,” he doesn’t anticipate forming a group to support the new work.
“I don’t foresee anything happening unless it really takes off,” he says. “Then I’d try to put a band together. The hardest part for me is drumming and singing – I can drum okay, and I can sing okay, but doing both at the same time…”
He laughs again, adding, “I’m no Phil Collins, man.”
Magic Pocket can be downloaded at Amazon and iTunes, as well as Belknap’s website, www.loudounroadstudio.com.
A still from the video for "The Going Prayer," a new song by Annie Ellicott. Ellicott will show the video at her farewell concert this Saturday. Courtesy Mark Kuykendall.
You’re going to miss Annie Ellicott for at least two reasons. The Tulsa born-and-raised entertainer has kept audiences on their eager little toes for more than a decade as both a bold, young actress and daring songstress teamed with some of T-Town’s most established musicians. And it’s because we’ve had the privilege of watching her grow into her own blissful concoction of artistic tastes and because Ellicott will be departing soon for a gig by the bay that Tulsa will notice an unmistakable gap in the local entertainment blotter.
Ellicott will give a concert Saturday, April 19, at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 111 E. First St., before she heads to her soon-to-be home, San Francisco, Calif.
The move has been on her mind for several months.
“I’ve been sensing that it’s time to make a shift,” she says. “I have been feeling more and more of a pull to pick the performing arts and singing and songwriting a little more (over a traditional vocation) than I have in the past. Turning 30 will do that to you.”
For many locals, it seems just a short time ago when Ellicott made her debut as a jazz singer. She sang at places like Central Library and the old Borders bookstores backed by professional-level jazz artists who had worked around Tulsa for decades. Ellicott early on caught the attention of Tulsa musicians – some who knew her father, bass player Rob Ellicott and some who had worked with her at music clinics for students.
“They invited me to gig with them. I got lucky, and had a bunch of offers early on to work with some amazing musicians,” she says.
Since those days, Ellicott has worked with local artists such as Jack Hannah, the late Pat Murray, the late Gayle Williamson, Frank Brown, Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey), Shelby Eicher, Mark Bruner, Pam Crosby and many others. She’s played venues all around town and state.
To theater fans, Ellicott is a familiar face. She was part of Heller Theater’s award-winning production Eleemosynary in 2003; and Ellicott has played with several Tulsa theater companies, including Odium Theater and Nightingale Theater. It was at Nightingale that she played her favorite role, Jenny Diver in Three Penny Opera.
While she looks forward to scoping out San Francisco’s art scene and creative personalities, Ellicott says she’s going to miss a lot about her hometown.
“I’m going to miss Tulsa like nobody’s business. Almost all of the people I love are in Tulsa, and I’m just, it’s all I’ve ever known. I’m going to miss it terribly. But I plan on getting back to gig and see family and friends,” she says.
Ellicott plans to give Tulsa a taste of songs she’s been working on for a new album with artist, musician and producer Mark Kuykendall. She says it’ll be unlike anything she’s produced to yet.
“It’s a lot different … like vaudeville on psychedelic,” she says.
The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $10-$20. For more, visit www.okjazz.org.
Sierre Leon's Refugee All Stars. Photo courtesy Press Junkie PR.
Sierre Leon’s Refugee All Stars. Photo courtesy Press Junkie PR.
Saturday, April 19, 2:30-9:30 p.m.
Feel the rhythm Saturday, April 19, at the Guthrie Green for a day of eclectic roots music with global appeal. The Tulsa Roots Music Bash will be 2:30-9:30 p.m. and feature major musical acts – Sierra Leon’s Refugee All Stars, Bombino, Cody Chesnutt and Don Carlos. Also look for vendors with Oklahoma-made products, arts, crafts, children’s activities, local foods, wines and more at 111 E. Brady St., Tulsa. For a complete schedule and other information, check out www.tulsarootsmusic.org. Admission is free.
The work of photographers from people indigenous to North and South America, the Middle East and New Zealand is the focus of Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s exhibition Our People, Our Land, Our Images, running through May 25. Examining the relationship of identity and place, this show, which opened this month, includes 50 works by 26 artists across the world and generations as they reveal to viewers the way they see their lands. Artists include Shan Goshorn, Larry McNeil, Erica Lord and Pena Bonita. The museum is located 555 Elm Ave., Norman, on the University of Oklahoma campus. For more, visit www.ou.edu/fjjma.
Get your planting beds and gardens ready for the Jenks Herb and Plant Festival, the annual festival all about gardening and community in downtown Jenks. The festival runs from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 19, and features gardening vendors with a variety of plant options – from heirloom vegetables to flowering plants and landscape essentials. Also look for vendors with great gift items and locally made products on hand. Children’s activities will be available along with live entertainment on Main Street. For more, visit www.jenksgardenclub.com.
Start the week off right with a song from one of the Tulsa area’s favorite singers and entertainers. Janet Rutland kicks off Life Senior Services Musical Mondays Concert Series Monday, April 21, at the Cascia Hall Performing Arts Center, 2520 S. Yorktown Ave. Rutland is renowned for her one-woman stage shows as well as intimate live music sets around town. Other performers scheduled for the series include the Vintage Voices Chorus (May 19), Chris Middlebrook and Amy Cottingham (June 23), Sandy and Chuck Gardner (July 21) and Mike Bennett with Sharon Moguin (Aug. 18). Tickets are $8 each for each show, but series passes are also available for $35. Visit www.lifeseniorservices.org for more.
Renee Anderson plays Judas in OKC Theatre Company's "Jesus Christ Superstar." Photo by Matthew Tasetano, courtesy OKC Theatre Company.
OKC Theatre Company’s “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Photo by Matthew Tasetano, courtesy OKC Theatre Company.
Ends Sunday, April 20
Oklahoma City Theatre Company continues its run of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, but if you want to see it, you better hurry. The Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical tells the Bible story of Jesus and his disciples as only Broadway can. OKC Theatre Company takes its production to the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker, and re-invents the imagery, placing the tale against a post-apocalyptic world, while remaining true to the material. The play continues Thursday, April 17-Sunday, April 20. Tickets are $25, available at www.myticketoffice.com.
