Music City: Tulsa the next big music destination?

[LandArchPoke]

Good watch below, video made by the BOK Center: This is Tulsa Time

https://vimeo.com/158688160

I think there's something very great going on in Tulsa with finally embracing a lot of our musical & cultural heritage. I can't wait to see what GKFF/Gilcrease/TU come up with for the Bob Dylan Archives. With that, OKPOP, the Woody Guthrie Center, Brady Theater, Cain's, and Guthrie Green all in a few blocks of each other the Brady District really is going to become something incredibly unique and special.
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From Bob Wills to Bob Dylan: Tulsa positions itself as major league in music
http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/music/from-bob-wills-to-bob-dylan-tulsa-positions-itself-as/article_bbb78324-0712-5dbb-99ec-3a92f5f2143e.html

From Wills to Dylan, city has iconic connections

"It was sleeping for a while. It has always been a music town. It never stopped and came back all of a sudden. ... It has always been here. It was sleeping for a few years, and now it's waking up, I think." Jamie Oldaker
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Music city: Tulsa leaders aim to make the city a destination for music lovers
http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/scene/offbeat/music-city-tulsa-leaders-aim-to-make-the-city-a/article_38a50b21-1125-5493-b74b-b6ffce6e187d.html

Tulsa's legendary music history sustains its creative energy and influence.

Like a steady drum beat shaking the rafters at Cain's Ballroom, there's momentum building in Tulsa. And city leaders feel the wood floor shaking under their feet, basking in its joyful noise. With the announcement this month that the Bob Dylan Archives are coming to Tulsa due to a partnership between the University of Tulsa and the George Kaiser Family Foundation, people around the world are taking notice of what is happening for this blossoming music city.

"We got it," said Abby Kurin, director of the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts and Culture. "We have the history. We have the music scene right now. Then you add in the Woody Guthrie Center, the Bob Dylan Archives, and OKPOP museum — it's all of those items that continue to put Tulsa on the map."

As these pieces come online, with Dylan's archives making their way here over the next two years and groundbreaking on the OKPOP museum expected in 2017, Tulsa leaders hope to position the city as a destination for music scholars, historians and fans from across the world.

With the BOK Center, Cain's Ballroom and Brady Theater, as well as smaller venues that highlight locals like The Shrine and The Colony, Tulsa can be the next great music city, as long as it stays true to itself, experts say.

"I think the momentum is just getting started," said Jeff Nickler, general manager of SMG Tulsa, which manages the BOK Center. "It seems like finally instead of inventing something new for Tulsa to promote, we decided to promote the assets we have had all along, which is our musical heritage and our musical talent here. And across the board, people are recognizing that."

A new hub for music scholars

With the announcement in 2011 that the George Kaiser Family Foundation was purchasing the archives of Woody Guthrie and moving them to Tulsa, to be housed in a new center dedicated to his legacy, the city's music future wasn't clear.

The Brady District was still a scattering of empty warehouses, though work was well underway to transform the neighborhood north of downtown, which would change Tulsa.

But Ken Levit, executive director of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, along with many community partners, had big ideas.

"We wanted it to energize music and culture generally in our Tulsa area," Levit said. "I don't think there was ever a big plan to do other archives, really. Our foundation is at a stage where we can seize opportunities when they come about. I think it was in the back of our minds that things like this would emerge.

"And lo and behold it did when people from the Dylan archive contacted us," Levit said.

Add in the Phil Ochs archive that was donated to the Woody Guthrie Center and the organizations that have seen the successful care and display of Guthrie's work, and Tulsa's legacy as a music town has gotten some serious credentials. The Woody Guthrie Center was the second designated Grammy Museum Affiliate in the world.

Tulsa is now home to the actual notebooks and papers that Oklahoma-native Guthrie used to write some of the most iconic songs in the country's songbook. "This Land is Your Land" is handwritten on a piece of notebook paper, and is stored here in Tulsa.

Having that actual, physical material is an automatic draw to even casual fans. And to see it, to study it, they have to be here.

"I've learned there's something powerful about having the original source material physically here that reverberates and has a power to make things happen, which is a little bit surprising," Levit said. "If we just had a Woody Guthrie Center here, it wouldn't be the same without the original materials here. There's something about the magnetic effect of having the source materials here that artists and students and scholars can come and touch and be inspired by."

Fans of Bob Dylan from around the world will come here to see some of the 6,000 pieces of work in his archives, which is being collected, digitized and stored at the Helmerich Center for American Research at Gilcrease Museum until a more permanent space can be established in the Brady Arts District.

For a city on track to become a music-lover's destination, it's an enormous draw.

"I think Woody got a lot of attention for sure and was noticed and has a very dedicated following," Levit said.

"Dylan has been a little bit of a different experience because of the global interest in him." Levit said. "I was probably somewhat taken aback by just the magnitude of the response and how overwhelming it is. The number of people who posted about wanting to move to Tulsa, it is rather stunning."

While a space for Dylan near Guthrie in the Brady Arts District is in the works, other projects in the works are coming to give even more context to Tulsa's musical past. The Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture is on the way, and with it the story of Oklahoma in music, movies, television and more. Thanks to a bond issue signed by Gov. Mary Fallin last year, OKPOP will launch forward the notion of Tulsa as the culture center of Oklahoma.

"But I think if you really look at why OKPOP is in Tulsa, it makes perfect sense," said Jeff Moore, director of the OKPOP Museum. "If you look at Tulsa as a music city, now it's a big deal with Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, and the collections coming with the POP, Leon Russell and all those stories."

The museum, which is close to finalizing the selection of an architecture firm with a goal of breaking ground in summer 2017, will also have collections from the likes of Roy Clark, The GAP Band, Kristin Chenoweth and JJ Cale. It will take the threads of these different musicians and weave them together into a pattern of context for Oklahoma's vast cultural influence.

Drawing people to Tulsa for those experiences is just part of the overall goal of making Tulsa a destination. A big part is nurturing the musicians already here.

Building up the scene

From Bob Wills to John Fullbright, musicians in Tulsa have shaped the music scene here to fit the time and the people. The blues and country roots morphed into a rock adolescence, nurturing talent all along the way.

Now, the city seems to be taking advantage of having that community and helping to build it up even further.

In the side bar of Cain's Ballroom last month, the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts and Culture hosted its next series of panel discussions on how to succeed in music, with tips from local leaders in the scene. It was a standing-room-only event.

Kurin, one of the event's organizers, said the interest in that speaks to the strength of Tulsa's creative community combined with its desire to build itself up.
"I think Tulsa has an incredible entrepreneurial spirit," Kurin said. "What I feel like we always try to convey is our filmmakers, musicians and artists are still entrepreneurs. That's their startup. That's the thing about Tulsa: You really can craft what you're trying to do here."

One of the city's arguably most successful musical startups called the Brady Arts District home when there was little else there.

The Tulsa-natives Hanson got their start at Mayfest and have for more than a decade established Tulsa as their home base.

They have taken their music around the world, but have expanded to beer, music festivals, art and more. They see a spirit in Tulsa that is found in few other places, with a class of creative people who are making their own way, but doing it together as a community.

"The word scene is important because that's just a collection of people," said Taylor Hanson in a recent interview from their studio in the Brady Arts District. "That collection of people colliding together creates opportunity. But it never happens on accident."

Tulsa has dozens of music venues, many of them with packed schedules featuring local musicians every night of the week. In order for them to succeed and break out of Tulsa, they need more support and resources. The music business is just that: Business. It takes recording studios, management, engineers, more support throughout the industry for it to grow.

"I think deciding to say it's worthy of investment in and it's worthy of treating it like this is a real industry. This is a real thing that involves people's businesses and talents and resources," Hanson said. "We need to be able to keep talented people and get talented people to say, 'Tulsa. I want to be there.' "

Tulsa: A music destination

If people want to make Tulsa a music destination, the BOK Center has shown its place as one of the anchors. Nickler said that 41 percent of ticket buyers are from outside the Tulsa metro area.

"Before we opened our doors, people said it would never work," Nickler said. "It's hard to find one of those naysayers now."

In the more than eight years since opening, the BOK Center has brought iconic musicians to Tulsa, several of them choosing Tulsa over bigger markets. Tulsa is considered an "A" market now, Nickler said. But to get there, they stand on the shoulders of those who came before them.

"When we go out and pursue shows and talk to agents and promoters and really tout Tulsa as a music destination, we tout our musical heritage and our places like Cain's that have built a wonderful destination here," Nickler said.

Dylan and OKPOP will only continue that momentum. It's a momentum that's taken a while to build up steam, though.

"When New York is taking notice, when .L.A. is taking notice, when Nashville is taking notice, that's a good thing," Moore said. "Now we need to recognize that and say, 'This is our DNA.' "

As the drumbeat continues to get louder and louder, local leaders hope to grow in a way that maintains Tulsa's identity. Nowhere else can someone see the stage Bob Wills made famous. Or sit in the small bar where the iconic Tom Skinner held court and mentored generations of musicians for years at The Colony. Or throw out a blanket on the Guthrie Green while a parade of local and national talent entertain families on a spring day.

"We're our own place," Kurin said. "Tulsa is not the next Nashville. We're not the next Austin. While we have mad respect for those institutions, we're our own thing. We're creating something that's going to be recognized for decades to come."

Jerry Wofford 918-581-8346
jerry.wofford@tulsaworld.com

[davideinstein]

The Brady is competing but outside of that it's no different than Oklahoma City. Kudos to the people that are putting in an effort though, because it's a lot better than it used to be.

[AdamsHall]

The Brady is competing but outside of that it's no different than Oklahoma City. Kudos to the people that are putting in an effort though, because it's a lot better than it used to be.

Thanks for the cold water.  Not sure if you were talking about The Brady Theater or The Brady District.  Assuming you are talking the Theater, I think it is a really cool venue with a ton of history.  It could use some sprucing up.  However, I think the Cains is the one of the best venue's in the country ... most everyone that performs there says something similar.  It is considerably different than anything in OKC. 

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

Are we concerned that the Center of the Universe festival's (possibly permanent) hiatus will hurt this trend? Not trying to throw cold water on anything. I want to see the music scene boiling over, just trying to figure out where we need to turn up the heat.

[Breadburner]

The Brady is competing but outside of that it's no different than Oklahoma City. Kudos to the people that are putting in an effort though, because it's a lot better than it used to be.

Lol...Wut....??

[DowntownDan]

The video is cool and there is some cool stuff going on in Tulsa.  But unless and until the politicians in OKC become reasonable, we're not going to attract or retain young people  We just aren't.  When I attend national conferences and tell people I'm from Tulsa, they usually ask about the latest ridiculous thing the state legislature tried to pull that made national headlines.  There are good people doing good thing to make us competitive with Denver and Nashville and even Austin for young folks, but we'll always be held back when the politicians do embarrassing stuff constantly, the most glaring of which is the current budget crisis and schools.  I'm still in the "young professional" demographic and I have kids.  I'm constantly forced to consider moving to a place that actually values their schools and aren't stuck on economic ideologies that just aren't working.  I'm also sick of having to defend this place when I travel based on the latest headlines.  I've been able to say that a bunch of people think its ridiculous and we're trying to organize to vote the clowns out, but it seems we're still such a minority that the same people keep winning elections and ruining the reputation of the state.

[Conan71]

Are we concerned that the Center of the Universe festival's (possibly permanent) hiatus will hurt this trend? Not trying to throw cold water on anything. I want to see the music scene boiling over, just trying to figure out where we need to turn up the heat.

The problem with COTU is simple:

The promoters want to bring in headliner acts with a music budget in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 range.  They simply cannot sell enough tickets or for the sort of price that will make that feasible without heavy sponsorship.  Moving to a larger venue may or may not solve their problem if they want more notable and more expensive acts.  They seem to think it will make a difference for some reason.  Rocklahoma appears to have been a huge success, so much they have a permanent venue out in Pryor with improvements on it.  It might also be that their band mix generally consists of known quantities, not a mix of indies and headliners.  So they can charge more for tickets.

Personally, I do not believe you need national headliners for a downtown music festival.  D-Fest started out as an indie festival and went bust when they started trying to bring in expensive national acts.  Same thing with COTU. You can find plenty of really good regional and newer acts who play really good music and just want an audience to play in front of.  I have promoted smaller music events in the 18th & Boston area and made them profitable for the charities we were raising funds for.  I've never attempted to promote a multiple day music festival so there could be all sorts of issues I'm not aware of.

If you are doing a festival which consists of 95 indie or regional bands and five really expensive headliners, you will get your donkey handed to you financially.  The perceived ticket value with that many indies is a whole lot less than it is for strictly five nationally-known headliner type acts.

My personal opinion is, the failure of D-Fest and now COTU is totally self-inflicted by overly-ambitious promoters who could do quite well with lesser-known talent.  Lesser known doesn't necessarily mean a bad musical experience, either.

JMO, YMMV.

[Breadburner]

The problem with COTU is simple:

The promoters want to bring in headliner acts with a music budget in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 range.  They simply cannot sell enough tickets or for the sort of price that will make that feasible without heavy sponsorship.  Moving to a larger venue may or may not solve their problem if they want more notable and more expensive acts.  They seem to think it will make a difference for some reason.  Rocklahoma appears to have been a huge success, so much they have a permanent venue out in Pryor with improvements on it.  It might also be that their band mix generally consists of known quantities, not a mix of indies and headliners.  So they can charge more for tickets.

Personally, I do not believe you need national headliners for a downtown music festival.  D-Fest started out as an indie festival and went bust when they started trying to bring in expensive national acts.  Same thing with COTU. You can find plenty of really good regional and newer acts who play really good music and just want an audience to play in front of.  I have promoted smaller music events in the 18th & Boston area and made them profitable for the charities we were raising funds for.  I've never attempted to promote a multiple day music festival so there could be all sorts of issues I'm not aware of.

If you are doing a festival which consists of 95 indie or regional bands and five really expensive headliners, you will get your donkey handed to you financially.  The perceived ticket value with that many indies is a whole lot less than it is for strictly five nationally-known headliner type acts.

My personal opinion is, the failure of D-Fest and now COTU is totally self-inflicted by overly-ambitious promoters who could do quite well with lesser-known talent.  Lesser known doesn't necessarily mean a bad musical experience, either.

JMO, YMMV.

Too Hot....!!!

[davideinstein]

I was talking about the district.

[heironymouspasparagus]

The video is cool and there is some cool stuff going on in Tulsa.  But unless and until the politicians in OKC become reasonable, we're not going to attract or retain young people  We just aren't.  When I attend national conferences and tell people I'm from Tulsa, they usually ask about the latest ridiculous thing the state legislature tried to pull that made national headlines.  There are good people doing good thing to make us competitive with Denver and Nashville and even Austin for young folks, but we'll always be held back when the politicians do embarrassing stuff constantly, the most glaring of which is the current budget crisis and schools.  I'm still in the "young professional" demographic and I have kids.  I'm constantly forced to consider moving to a place that actually values their schools and aren't stuck on economic ideologies that just aren't working.  I'm also sick of having to defend this place when I travel based on the latest headlines.  I've been able to say that a bunch of people think its ridiculous and we're trying to organize to vote the clowns out, but it seems we're still such a minority that the same people keep winning elections and ruining the reputation of the state.

Talk to your friends/family ALL the time.  Be relentless - never let up on them.  For every 100 people you know, 60 to 70 of them are voting this way!

In the meantime, Missouri is the closest state that still shows symptoms of caring about their kids education.  And Arkansas a little bit....

[Laramie]

Tulsa has the structure in place to become the closest rival to Nashville.   Just how much music will you see recorded in Tulsa depends on the recording venues and their attractiveness to the aspiring artists.

Situated in the heart of country music in a state known for many legendary artists; Tulsa offers a refreshing alternative to city like Nashville  that has reached it saturation point.

[SXSW]

Tulsa has the structure in place to become the closest rival to Nashville.   Just how much music will you see recorded in Tulsa depends on the recording venues and their attractiveness to the aspiring artists.

Situated in the heart of country music in a state known for many legendary artists; Tulsa offers a refreshing alternative to city like Nashville  that has reached it saturation point.

I've always thought of Tulsa as an arts & music town. That is what the city has been doing well for many years and there is a significant history there.  I am glad to see more attention given to this from outside of the state.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Tulsa has the structure in place to become the closest rival to Nashville.   Just how much music will you see recorded in Tulsa depends on the recording venues and their attractiveness to the aspiring artists.

Situated in the heart of country music in a state known for many legendary artists; Tulsa offers a refreshing alternative to city like Nashville  that has reached it saturation point.

\

We have had and presumably still have recording studios here.  Leon Russell even had the church studios many years ago.  Old local group - David Dover Band - did some recording here at times.  One of the kids even recorded a couple of records in town a long time ago.  Don't know how many are left, but there has to be something going on...

[Conan71]

\

We have had and presumably still have recording studios here.  Leon Russell even had the church studios many years ago.  Old local group - David Dover Band - did some recording here at times.  One of the kids even recorded a couple of records in town a long time ago.  Don't know how many are left, but there has to be something going on...

Steve Ripley had Church Studios for awhile and I believe most, if not all, of The Tractors material was recorded.  I think he's now recording out of a studio on his land up north of Stillwater.  I'm pretty sure the Hansons record at 3CG down in the Brady District.  There's Drapp Studios on W. 51st between Union & 33rd.  The studio at Leon's old lake retreat on Grand Lake has been renovated by some noted musicians.  The compound itself has belonged to a Tulsa Chiropractor since the early 1990's who is also a musician and huge Leon fan.

With digital recording, studio design takes somewhat of a back seat.  Proper studios do still exist, but the acoustic design is not near as important as it was when everything was done on analog equipment.  There have been hits literally recorded in the musician's living room in recent times.

Nice piece on Church Studio from a few years ago:

http://www.tulsapeople.com/Tulsa-People/September-2013/A-sanctuary-of-sound/

[heironymouspasparagus]

KOSU, NPR had Don White on this evening and they were talking about the old days of Tulsa music.  JJ Cale, David Teagarden (sp?), etc.  Played a song from an album of his that had Eric Clapton on it.  Good show.