Photo provided
“Soda pop commercials from the mid-’70s and all those things from my childhood, I’m trying to get back to ’em. I’m always trying to go back and get something from then and bring that into my life and into the music I’m making now. … I can say we thought we had something special, and we should pursue that.”
That’s Steven Drozd talking about his collaboration album with Steve Burns of “Blue’s Clues” fame.
Read the full story here.
Ticket stub provided by Joe O’Shansky
I chatted with Okie concertgoers about their favorite concert memories from today and yesteryear. I heard stories about The Who, Nirvana, Tom Petty and Phish. There’s even a great story about Vince Gill mooning a KISS crowd.
Read it here.
Photo by Daniel Muldiar
“For us, I think it was an eye opener. There’s people that really care about the music and really care about this band. The least that we can do is to keep it going.”
Cameron Neal reflected on getting robbed on the road and a lot more during our recent interview.
Give the story a read here.
Photo by Rambo
“I don’t really know what folk music means anymore. And I don’t think of myself as a folk musician so much as a storyteller. I want to make something honest and imaginative first.”
That’s Austin-based songwriter Adam Torres talking about being labeled as a folk musician. I caught up with him before an upcoming concert at Opolis.
Read the full Q&A here.
Photo by Cortney Kelley
“I didn’t know what I was doing. I paid for parking, and it cost me $15 because the NAMM trade show was going on at the same time. I think we made $10 that day, so I was in the hole $5. That sums up my Nashville experience.”
Things don’t always go as planned. Take it from David Leach. I spoke with him and his bandmate Kate Dinsmore about the road to their debut album, working with John Fullbright and gambling.
Read the full story here.
Photo by Matt Jacoby
“We let ourselves be a living, breathing thing for a second and talk to ourselves with our instruments and those are the most fun parts. I know that any band that even dares utter the word ‘jamming’ can be in a lot of trouble. I think for us, finding out how much of that we can do to keep ourselves excited enough and invested enough and engaged enough to be putting on a good show. Having people respond to that is what gives this band life.”
That’s Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith on the band’s excellent live show. Did you just miss them in OKC last weekend? well then don’t be a dummy and miss them in Tulsa later this year at Cain’s Ballroom.
Here’s my full interview.
Photo by Eric Johnson
Looking back at 2016, I must have never shut up.
I collected most of my interviews with national and touring artists, and I didn’t recall doing half of these. The journalism world moves pretty fast so here’s me attempting to slow down enough to enjoy it.
I woke on Sunday morning to some terrible news.
Leon Russell had died in his sleep. There wasn’t much time to hesitate because I needed to get a breaking story to The Oklahoman immediately. After the dust settled a bit, my co-worker Brandy McDonnell made time for us to collaborate on a longer goodbye to Russell.
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“When I go up to play Alice, I’m totally confident. I never ever worry about if the audience is going to like it. I know they’re gonna like it. It doesn’t matter what audience it is. … And I think that’s what the audience wants. They want the artist to take over. They don’t want the artist to kind of go, ‘Gee, I hope I do this song OK.’ “
Don’t let this quote fool you. I enjoy him most when he talks about himself in the third person. We had a great chat. Alice Cooper is crazy nice.
You can check out my full interview with Alice here.
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“There are a lot of strange ideas, new ideas and weird things happening in this record. So I’m excited to see what people think of it. Lots of new sounds, odd musical ideas and quite raw, lyrical ideas. I had such a strong vision of what I wanted to write about and the stories I wanted to tell with this record that it actually came out very quickly. All the writing and demos were done over about two weeks. Don’t get me wrong; it was still very hard work. Two totally sleepless weeks.”
Dave Bayley of Glass Animals updated me about what went into his band’s sophomore release. The Oxford-based quartet plays at The Criterion next week.
Photo by Nathan Poppe
“From the time my parents split, when I was 17 or 18 years old, it’s like I’ve been searching for that sense of home ever since. So, every one of my songs has some sense of where I’m from and where I wanna go back to someday. I’m starting to build my own home and family, and hopefully I can keep it together.”
Wink Burcham sat down with me at JJ’s Alley to chat about family, staying laidback and his new album. I’m very proud of the story. I hope you dig.
Photo by Eric Johnson
“It’s such an incredible blessing that I’ve been given this great opportunity to get to do this. It’s something that I gave, I can’t say life up to, but I took a big risk. Not going to college and working at shitty ass restaurants. Being a dishwasher and a busboy. I took a risk saying I’m gonna go and follow my dream, because this is honestly why I think I was born.”
That’s Maxwell reflecting on his tendency to disappear from the public spotlight, which can happen pretty unexpectedly. He’s returning from a seven-year break, and I caught up with him before his Criterion show.
Photo by Nate Ryan
“I think we just ignored the ideas of, ‘Is it OK to do this or not?’ It’s just the kind of music we knew how to make. We’re aware that we have an older style. … It definitely comes out of a tradition and out of a combination of all sorts of bands that we’ve listened to, including the Everly Brothers. It’s not like we’re trying to bring it to the now or something. … Either people relate to it or they don’t.”
I talked to The Cactus Blossoms about their music that embodies the soul of ’50s country and gentle pop music. The brothers are playing in OKC on Sunday.
![From left, Bruce Cannon, Carol Littleton and Kathleen Korth work on "E.T." on a Moviola editing machine in 1982. [Photo provided]](http://www.nathanpoppe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/5c9cf98b77887096ad2e7a26c6fecb65-1024x787.jpg)
From left, Bruce Cannon, Carol Littleton and Kathleen Korth work on “E.T.” on a Moviola editing machine in 1982. [Photo provided]
“I was extremely moved, and I remember telling Steven I thought the story was extraordinary. At the end, I was moved to tears. The story was so good and so solid. Melissa Mathison was the screenwriter, and I thought she just really captured the world of children without being patronizing in any way.”
That’s Carol Littleton talking about her earliest memories of working on “E.T.” The Okie-born editor received an Oscar nomination for her work on the film. She’ll be back in Oklahoma for the deadCenter Film Festival and a free screening of the Spielberg classic.
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“It’s just so enigmatic, so primal and real,” she said. “Once these guys are gone, I mean, there will never be anything quite like that again.”
Lucinda Williams and I reflect on the blues, her dad’s poetry and Woody Guthrie. She’s performing tonight in downtown Oklahoma City.
Photo provided by Zach Burns
“We took a short film mentality and applied it to a feature film in regards to crew size,” Burns said. “We had about eight actors, and the biggest crew day was about 15 people. … It was an intimate set, and it felt like a summer camp, because the same group of people crowded together trying to make this thing.”
I talked with Jacob Leighton Burns about his film “Electric Nostalgia” before it screens at deadCenter.
Photo provided by artist
“We grew up under the impression that it was near-impossible to be a successful artist. Our dad was an excellent songwriter and tried for years, touring around the U.K. and Canada, and never made it. We kind of thought, if he couldn’t do it, then how could we?”
Well, they’re totally making it happen. Check out my Q&A with 1/2 of the UK house DJ duo Disclosure.
Photo by Nathan Poppe
After Samantha Crain opened her mouth to open some minds, a lot of hateful comments hit the Internet.
She had noticed that a local festival lineup was light on booking female artists. An issue that exists far beyond a single music festival.
My co-worker Brandy McDonnell and I aimed to explore this issue and have a healthy discussion. I’m extremely proud of the results.
