Audience-wise, the difference between a room full of preschoolers and a venue full of adults isn’t much – attention spans are fleeting, and you want to keep everyone entertained.
Musical taste is cultivated early, and for parents and children seeking salvation from the cookie cutter norm, the best musical refuge can often be found underground.
What started as a gift of music for a goddaughter has since evolved into Spaghetti Eddie! And Other Children’s Songs, a fun, energetic, educational and silly kid’s album that is fast accumulating an online children’s cult following.
As Oklahoma City musician Brendan Parker’s first shot at children’s music, the album was written with the intention to entertain children while refraining from driving parents crazy – a double whammy for moms, dads, grandparents and caregivers alike.
With two younger siblings who grew up in the Barney & Friends era, Parker remembers spending his early teens enduring a never-ending soundtrack of Barney’s whimsical voice.
“Just thinking about the big purple dinosaur makes me queasy. I heard those songs over and over and over, and that has led to me writing more parent-friendly things that you could listen to over and over and not want to pull your hair out,” he says.
“I’m at the stage in my life now where people are married and having children, so I’m around a lot of kids and I had a good mentality to write something that kids could relate to.”
Utilizing his wife and close friends with children as well as online communities such as Facebook and parent and children’s blogs as sounding boards, Parker is currently expanding on the album by performing at birthday parties, bookstores and family-oriented events.
With catchy songs that have already become local children’s favorites, like “Kitty Cat Town,” “Ways to Go,” “Pick it Up!” and the title track, “Spaghetti Eddie” offers a little something for everyone.
Having played in a band while living in LA, it has been since he’s been back in Oklahoma that Parker says he has put more time and energy into his music, particularly with Spaghetti Eddie.
“It’s been a lot of fun. Some parents have told me that they can listen to it without their kids in their car, which is a huge compliment. When the kids can learn and have fun and the parents are enjoying the music, I think everyone wins,” he says.
Before I write this column, I usually run a few ideas by my editor. Her reply is pretty standard: “Whatever works for you. You are such a talented and handsome man.”
However, this month was different. With Valentine’s Day approaching, here is a list of column ideas that I emailed to her:
How to score desperate single girls at a bar on Valentine’s Day
Seven reasons why the girl should pick up the tab
Let her down gently: 10 great ways to break up
Why single people are happier and live longer
Travis Meyer: The Man Behind The Moustache
Her reply to me was, “Why don’t you write about how to keep your bromance alive and passionate during Valentine’s Day? Need it soon. Thanks.”
A “bromance” – in case you didn’t know – is defined by the Interwebs as “a close but non-sexual relationship between two (or more) men.”
I’m not sure why my editor thinks I know a lot about bromancing, but since I’m a team player (and a “yes man”) I agreed to write the column.
Play NBA Jam for seven hours. This could be any video game, but since it’s the game that my brother and I are currently addicted to, it fills this spot. Playing a video game is to the bromance what drinking Relax wine and watching Love, Actually is to the female BFF relationship. The only difference is that video games are fun and enjoyable.
Watch a Clint Eastwood movie marathon. The only catch is that it can’t be Bridges of Madison County. That could ruin the bromance.
Think of clever fantasy football names. Even though fantasy football season is now over, it’s never too early to think of a clever team name. My early favorites are Favre’s Cell Phone,The Metrodome Roof and Brady’s Luscious Locks.
Go out for “a beer or two.” This is the classic bromance activity. In fact, it’s how bromances are made. Usually, “a beer or two” leads to bromance-building discussions like opening a bar together or what type car you’d buy for each other if you won the lottery. Occasionally, it even leads to text messages the following day that read, “I think I left my debit card at the bar,” or, “Why is there a clown suit in my trunk?”
Take a road trip. If you take a road trip, do yourself a favor and make sure it ends up in Las Vegas, New Orleans or a place by an ocean. Those places offer the most bromance-friendly activities like bars and girls. However, be advised that the road trip is a big step in the typical bromance. It’s even bigger than asking a bro to help you move. If you’re not ready to commit to the bromance, don’t do it.
Buy tickets to Single in the City. As I mentioned earlier, I am a total team player (and a “yes man”). I’m also apparently talented and handsome. So yeah, I’ll see you there.
Patick will be happy to tell you why the girl should pick up the tab if you visit www.thelostogle.com.
This story was originally published in the May 2010 issue of Oklahoma Magazine.
Tireless, life-long contributions to education and society and a commitment to equality for all people has made Nancy Randolph Davis one of Oklahoma’s most treasured assets.
Holding a special place in state history, the proud Sapulpa native and great-granddaughter of slaves became the first African American enrollee at Oklahoma State University in 1949.
After earning her bachelor degree in home economics from Langston University in 1948, Davis chose to further her education by pursuing a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University because of its nationally recognized home economics program.
Davis says that her parents always instilled in her that education was the key to success.
“I was never trying to make history. I was just a regular woman and teacher wanting to further my education so that I could improve my community and the lives of my students,” she says. “I still work hard to this day because I love to help people and promote education for all. I’m humbled and pleased that others have benefited from my work”
Although confronted by unequal treatment when she was not permitted by Oklahoma law to sit in the same classroom with white students, Davis overcame adversity and graduated, moving forward to serve as an Oklahoma public educator for 43 years.
In addition to numerous awards, honors and recognitions that Davis has received from state governors, legislatures and various community service organizations, OSU named one of its newly built apartment facilities Davis Hall in her honor, and the university currently offers three scholarships bearing her name.
Back row: Corey White, Turner Armitage and Landon Morgan. Front row: Michael Thompson, Douglas Thompson, Jake Self, Merrit Armitage and Casey Thompson.
Back row: Corey White, Turner Armitage and Landon Morgan. Front row: Michael Thompson, Douglas Thompson, Jake Self, Merrit Armitage and Casey Thompson.
Take a group of young, school-age guys, give them some instruments and the expected outcome may be some Jimi Hendrix licks or a freestyle rhyme or two.But for one Oklahoma troupe, grunge is gone, emo is out the window and punk is so passé. Make way for Oklahoma Stomp, a group of eight young men ages 12 to 21 that saw fiddles like plywood, and pick guitars like cotton. Their music is decidedly old school, a throw back to Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. But their style of western swing is fresh – maybe even a little ahead of its time – and that’s all thanks to a collaborative effort of some of the best young players in the Sooner State.
Merrit Armitage is the oldest of the eight members, at the ripe old age of 21. He began fiddling around with the fiddle at 6 years old, listening to old western swing songs, emulating the sounds of the late Bob Wills. Raised on a ranch, he and younger brother Turner (also a member) learned to play the music their parents enjoyed. They fell in love with it as well, and that passion evolved from backyard picking to a sincere go for the gold.
“It started as a grassroots movement in Tulsa,” Armitage explains. “We started the group by incorporating some of the best fiddle players in the area. It just started from there.”
That was a year and a half ago, and given the plethora of one-hit bands, groups and singers in today’s volatile music industry, these guys are already veterans. Factor in their ages and the math is astounding. Seven teens and one 21-year-old member working for a year and a half without the drama of other on-the-rise artists speaks volumes about the common goal.
Now they just may be on their way.One of their YouTube videos landed them a coveted gig at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Armitage says they were contacted to represent Oklahoma in a musical showcase there. That gig is scheduled for Sept. 13, and in many ways it’s the beginning of what’s proving to be a promising career. They’ll play the Tulsa State Fair in October and after that, who knows? But Armitage says he’s confident that the boys of Oklahoma Stomp will make it their business to be in business for a long time to come.
“This is an alternative to pop country that was created years before. This style of music is timeless.”
UPDATE: Oklahoma Stomp musician Corey White will be appearing on season eight of NBC’s “The Voice” on Feb 23, 2015. See a preview of his appearance below:
Elk City, Okla., native Kelli O’Hara has made her mark on Broadway and has recently released a solo CD.
This story was originally published in the July ’08 issue of Oklahoma Magazine.
Once upon a time in the early days of Oklahoma, the industrious residents of Elk City struck upon an ingenious way to shine a spotlight on their town. By renaming their city “Busch,” they propitiously attempted to flatter famed beer meister, Adolphus Busch, into establishing a brewery in the small town.
These days, with the failed efforts of that inventive endeavor well behind them, the citizens of Elk City can look to the legendary Great White Way for all the luminary refraction they need. With three Tony nominations to her name, and a recently launched debut CD, hometown girl, Kelli O’Hara, is generating enough star power to illuminate stages from the small Oklahoma community, all the way to Broadway.
“Growing up in Elk City seems like a million years ago, and at the same time, like it was yesterday,” O’Hara says of the town, where she was raised on a nearby farm before her family transferred to Edmond her junior year of high school. “I loved growing up there. Both sides of my family were there, it was safe, it was familiar.
“What’s that song from Cheers?‘…Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name.’ That’s what l loved. And I don’t mean being known as in being famous. I mean people literally knew you…who your family was. ‘Oh, you’re an O’Hara, aren’t you?’ or, ‘…you’re Dr. Husband’s granddaughter, aren’t you?’ There’s a long history there for me.
“There is something wonderful about being completely anonymous and free to do or be anything or anyone you want here in New York City, but sometimes I miss being a part of something more specific. I loved that security. But, I also loved being a kid… Oh, and I loved the sky. That open sky.”
That great open sky opened up a world of possibilities for the young O’Hara, who took a budding love of music and turned it into a flourishing Broadway career, where she currently performs in the starring role of Nellie Forbush in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of SouthPacific, and where rave reviews have culminated in her third Tony nomination, this time for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.
“When I started to sing – in church, school, or around town with my sister, Anne – I had no idea it would end up being my life,” O’Hara says. “I just know I loved it. It felt more right than anything, and it was supported by my family.”
After four years of studying opera at Oklahoma City University under the tutelage of Florence Birdwell, and venturing north for two years of summer stock theater in Wichita, Kan., O’Hara headed to the Big Apple.
Kelli O’Hara stars opposite Harry Connick Jr. in the 2006 Broadway production of The Pajama Game.
“Going straight to New York City instead of going to grad school for more opera study was definitely something risky,” says O’Hara. “But I made that step – with the dramatic and memorable support of Birdwell and my parents – and, I’ve never looked back (except I miss them terribly).”
Stepping onto her first Broadway stage in 2000, in Jekyll & Hyde, where she served as a replacement for the character Kate, O’Hara’s debut smoothly catapulted her into subsequent roles, including: Young Phyllis in Follies (2001), Susan in The Sweet Smell of Success (2002), and Lucy Westenra in Dracula, the Musical (2004). In 2005, O’Hara created the role of Clara Johnson in the critically acclaimed musical The Light in the Piazza, and then she starred as Babe Williams opposite Harry Connick Jr. in The Pajama Game (2006). Collectively, the performances have garnered nine impressive nominations for the barely 32-year-old actress, including Tonys, Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards and Broadway.com Audience Awards.
It was during their run in The Pajama Game that Connick began nudging O’Hara to segue from Broadway cast recording CDs, into a more personal adventure.[pullquote]“We all tend to imagine things much grander than they ever are when it comes to dreaming, but I have to admit… Carnegie Hall made me weep,”[/pullquote]
“We found we loved similar music, we talked a lot about different styles and what we could do with them,” O’Hara says. “Pretty soon, he was encouraging me to make my own solo album, and he said he would help. I would have been crazy to say no.”
That collaboration manifested in the recently released Wonder in the World, an album featuring O’Hara’s unpretentious and highly lauded voice, which has been compared to Norah Jones and Emmylou Harris. She sings a variety of songs – some of which she wrote – along with popular standards like Fire and Rain, Make Someone Happy and a particularly unique and jazzy rendition of Spooky. In addition to his musical arrangement and orchestration, Connick joins O’Hara in the cover song duet.
“We had great fun working together. Harry is a musical genius,” O’Hara says. “Literally – like a child prodigy – the whole works. That was pretty intimidating at first, but he’s also very generous and allowed me to have my own voice. Working with him and his top notch musicians was the gift of a lifetime, to say the least.”
It’s hard to imagine O’Hara being intimidated by any performer with such an imposing resume under her belt. In addition to her starring roles on Broadway, O’Hara has a recurring role as Leslie in the soap opera, All My Children, and has just finished filming two pilots for NBC – Blue Blood and All Rise. She has performed at Lincoln Center as part of the venue’s American Songbook Series, as well as with Marvin Hamlisch at the Kennedy Center. Last year, she debuted at Carnegie Hall with conductor and pianist Rob Fisher and the New York Pops.
O’Hara portrays Nellie Forbush in the critically acclaimed revival of South Pacific. Her performance was nominated for a Tony Award.
“We all tend to imagine things much grander than they ever are when it comes to dreaming, but I have to admit… Carnegie Hall made me weep,” O’Hara says, while comparing her various performance experiences. “My first time on Broadway was different in that I was thrown into an already existing show where I learned the part away from the cast and then kind of got thrown on…. no big fanfare. I’ll never forget it, but it was different than I imagined. Since then, however, I have experienced the most intense emotions when stepping onto a Broadway stage. The butterflies, the gratitude, etc. It has overwhelmed me many times. I just remember to pinch myself… quite often. With every new show, I know even more how lucky I am.”
Among her recent good fortunes, O’Hara cites her marriage to singer-songwriter, Greg Naughton. The couple wed last summer in a mountainside ceremony in Vermont, after a five-and-a-half-year courtship.
“Greg is my wonderful guy – he truly is,” says O’Hara. “He comes from a theatrical family (he’s the son of Tony Award winning Broadway and film actor, James Naughton), so we understand each other very well. It certainly makes this crazy business easier.”
With a career that has quickly become a whirling dervish of extraordinary opportunities coupled with high acclaim and frequent award nominations, how does the celebrated headliner feel about her latest Tony nod?
“I hate to say it’s validating because we should never do what we do for that reason, but in a way, it is,” O’Hara says. “It makes you feel like you don’t suck. But, it’s important to take it with gratitude, realize where you’re lucky, and then get back to work.
When a woman exited a parking space on a busy Los Angeles street, 25- year-old James Gamer pulled in and destiny won by a nose. “Years earlier, I met a guy who later became a successful producer. He told me I should be an actor,” recalls Garner. “One day, I went downtown to apply for work in the Arabian oil fields but they didn’t need roughnecks. I drove up LaCiencia Boulevard, saw my friend’s name on the side of a building and thought maybe I’ ll stop. If the lady hadn’t pulled out of that parking place, would I have become an actor? I’m not sure I would have gone around the block looking for a place.”
Fifty years later, Garner is going strong in the profession he chose so serendipitously. His versatility has earned him an amazing list of credits. Popular television shows, numerous successful movies, even hit commercials. He’s played dramatic and comedic roles with equal ease. He was one of the first actors to move easily from television to movies and back again.
And, his leading ladies say he is the best kisser they’ve ever kissed, on or off screen.
“I heard several sweet ladies have said that,” Garner admits, chuckling. “I guess I’ve passed the kissing test.”
Whether be likes it or not (and he doesn’t), James Gamer is a superstar.
“I never really wanted to be an actor, I just didn’t like the idea of showing off like that,” says Garner candidly. “I had read those fan magazines and I thought ‘what a bunch of dimwits’.”
Garner is remarkably unpretentious in light of his success, and has seen very few of his own movies.
“I don’t like to watch me,” he explains simply.
Garner has an utter lack of egotism and a down-to-earth attitude that seems typical of Oklahomans. He shies away from saying his childhood was difficult, though he grew up in Norman during the worst of the Depression.
“People ask me where we lived in Norman and I tell them I lived in a lot of places,” Garner jokes. “Every time the rent came due, we moved. But everyone was poor. It was all I knew.”
His father left Oklahoma for California, leaving his 14-year-old son on a dairy farm in Hobart.
“l didn’t like it there so I left,” relates Garner matter-of-factly. “I had to put a roof over my head and eat. There were times when I was a bit of a vagabond.”
Yet, learning harsh lessons early put him at an advantage in a tough business.
“I’ve never been afraid of not working. I always knew I could do something,” he explains. “I’ve turned down roles I knew weren’t right for me and I had my reasons at the time. If someone else succeeded in the role, power to ’em. But I didn’t see myself doing it and I knew something else would always come along.”
Garner is an original in a business populated by people addicted to the limelight and willing to do anything to stay in it. In 1960, Warner Brothers suspended Garner during a writer’s strike and he walked away from the television show Maverick, which was at the height of its popularity. The powerful studio sued him for breach of contract. Garner hired the same attorney who represented Olivia DeHaviland in her lawsuit against Warner Brothers.
“Everyone said, you can’t go against Warner Brothers. They’ll blackball you and you ‘ll never work again,” Gamer recalls. “I said, okay, then I’ ll do something else. But I won the lawsuit and I worked again.”
Garner’s approach to his craft is equally pragmatic.
“I’m always nervous, but you want to make it look easy, make the audience think it’s the first time you’ve ever said these words,” he explains. “I go to work, say the words, hit my marks and try to tell the truth. That was Spencer Tracy’s way and that’s about all there is to it.”
Gamer’s latest movie, The Notebook, will be released June 25. Based on Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling book, The Notebook is about the everlasting power of true love. It is set in two time periods and Gamer and Gena Rowlands play the present-day Noah and Allie. The young Noah and Allie are played by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Stillwater native James Marsden of X-Men fame is also in the cast.
The movie was directed by Nick Cassavetes, the son of Gena Rowlands and the late John Cassavetes.
“My wife Lois and I have been married 48 years, and I’m sure it helped me in this role. Deep down, actors draw on life experiences without realizing it,” Gamer says. “The Notebook is a very warm, loving story. I heard they were running out of kleenex at the sneak preview.”
Garner says he gets letters every day from fans of his hit television shows Maverick and Rockford Files. Younger television viewers know him as Jim, Cate’s father in Eight Simple Rules. Gamer joined the show following the death of John Ritter, who played Cate’s husband.
“It was difficult coming on the show after John Ritter died, but the people are wonderful and we gelled very quickly,” he relates. “There will be another season and the producers seem optimistic.”
Gamer has nieces and nephews in Oklahoma and visits here several times a year. When he turned 70, he sold the California ranch he bought as a place to retire. “I thought Lois and I would live quietly on the ranch, but now I don’t see any point in retiring. People who retire die quickly. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be in Eight Simple Rules. The people are wonderful and I love going to this job,” he concludes. “To do this at my age, well, you just don’t get a chance like that very often.”
