Oklahoma Rock Newsblog

Photo: Jeremy Charles

DFest announced this morning they will be “on hiatus” for 2010.

Citing a tough economy, rising production costs and a decline in lower level corporate sponsorships and support, organizers Tom and Angie Green decided it was best to postpone this year’s festival.

“These factors have made us unable to produce the kind of event we are known for, so we are unable to move forward with the festival this year. At the point we knew that we had exhausted any and all options and head into July 2010 with full steam, we decided to postpone the event on our own terms. The integrity and quality of Dfest is of the utmost importance to us as the creators of the event.”

Rumors had been rampant on Facebook and Twitter about DFest’s demise, while organizers stayed mum. Unfortunately, these rumors have proved to be true. We hope DFest will be able to return in 2011.

The eclectic, independent two-day music festival and conference was founded in 2002, focusing on emerging artists and featuring some national acts.

Past artists playing DFest include The Flaming Lips, Cake, The Roots, Leon Russell, The Black Crowes, Ghostland Observatory, Clutch, Helmet, The All-American Rejects, Apples in Stereo, Starlight Mints, Paramore, Shiny Toy Guns, Phantom Planet, Gogol Bordello, Blue October, Delta Spirit, Mates of State and Rooney.

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Bands can now apply for DFest 2010!

Apply now through Sonicbids!

DFest will be held on July 30 and 31 in downtown Tulsa’s Blue Dome District.

We are excited to begin the artist selection process as the festival moves into its ninth year. We want as many bands from as many places to have an opportunity to perform at DFest.” - DFest CEO Tom Green

Submissions will be accepted through March 2010, but bands are encouraged to register early.

The second day of DFest 2009 was a tough go for this 30-year-old body. After suffering a slight case of dehydration early in the night, I rebounded to enjoy a great night of music.

6pm - The Uglysuit @ Poseidon Stage

Photo: Michael Cooper

Oklahoma City’s own little indie hippies The Uglysuit hit the stage early on Saturday. Making seamless transitions through their ethereal songs, the band did their best to keep things steady when wind threatened to blow the tarp over their amps and engulf their drummer. Jason Newsted needs to talk with some of band about constant headbanging and the effects on the human neck.

In the crowd: members of Other Lives and Van Risseghem, as well as former Uglysuit bassist Matt Harrison.

8pm - Spencer Sharpe @ Liddy Doenges Theatre

Photo: Michael Cooper

Tulsa’s Spencer Sharpe showed off his strong and unique voice to a modest crowd at the Performing Arts Theatre. The 18-year-old mixes solid pop rock music with some perfect making out and breaking up music.

In the crowd: members of Ithica.

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The first day of DFest 2009 was an exhausting and sweaty mess. And I enjoyed every bit of it.

6pm - Other Lives @ Poseidon Stage

Photo: Michael Cooper

Playing a breathtakingly lush set in the blistering July sun, Other Lives did not disappoint. Sounding as crisp as ever, frontman Jesse Tabish might sound even better live than on record. The Stillwater band is one of the most consistently great live bands in Oklahoma. If you haven’t seen them live, you’re hurting no one but yourself.

In the crowd: members of Colourmusic and The Uglysuit.

6:30pm - Ptiaradactyl @ Joe Mamma’s Pizza

Photo: Jeremy Charles

Tulsa art rock freaks Ptiaradactyl was one band that really interested me heading into this year. Playing to a nicely-sized crowd in an always-weird restaurant situation, the band was very loud and very raw. Band members wore dinosaur masks and shrieked intermittently throughout the set.

In the crowd: members of The Nghiems, Rainbows Are Free, Eric and the Adams and Ithica.

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Photo: Jeremy Charles

British weekly The Economist recently used Oklahoma as an example of a state using music festivals to bolster the local economy and increase tourism.

The article mentions DFest, Rocklahoma and Country Fever, but could also have easily included Norman Music Festival - which brought in an estimated $2.5 million to the local economy earlier this spring.

Oklahoma, for instance, has realised that festivals can be a big boon to a struggling state. Tulsa’s Dfest started out in 2002 as a competition for local bands. Over the past seven years it has turned into a mega-event hosting big acts like the Flaming Lips and a crowd exceeding 50,000.

Then there is Pryor, Oklahoma, which sits near the Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri state lines, about 30 miles from Tulsa. It has found a mammoth market with “Rocklahoma”, a music festival in July aimed at metal-heads. Billed as the world’s biggest 1980s music festival, it lures tourists from all over the world, and they often stay on after the festival to camp.

A few weeks before “Rocklahoma” the town, normally home to just 8,500 people, hosts “Country Fever”, another festival. These two gigs add up to the biggest annual sales-tax earner for the city, Christmas included.

Look for out DFest coverage all next week.

DFest 2009 keynote speaker Andrew W.K. did the weather forecast on Fox23’s morning news show in Tulsa.

After the jump, Andrew W.K. doing tequila shots with Taylor Hanson.

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Photo: Jeremy Charles

As we prepare for DFest, we will be speaking with a few Oklahoma acts who will be playing this weekend in Tulsa.

Endearing listeners with carefully crafted lyrics and delicate and passionate vocals Sherree Chamberlain is one of Oklahoma’s most captivating talents. After recently leaving her musical family in Stillwater for Oklahoma City, the 23-year-old songstress is going for broke, musically. Chamberlain says she’s “happy as hell” and “more creatively fulfilled” than ever, studying music theory, writing and playing a slew of shows. She recently released her album, The Wasp in the Room, on iTunes, with help from members of Bright Eyes, Sufjan Stevens’ band, Ester Drang and Nine Inch Nails.

Sherree Chamberlain plays Saturday at 11:30pm at McNellie’s.

Your long-awaited album, The Wasp in the Room, is now out on iTunes. Can we expect an album release party anytime soon?

I have a few dates set - August 29th with the Uglysuit in Stillwater, Sept. 4th with Jacob Abello in Norman. I don’t know if I’ll have an “official” CD release in OKC - I’m too excited to hold off. I’m selling them whenever and wherever. They’ll be for sale at Dfest! I am as happy as a clam. I wish I could just throw free records at people for days.

LISTEN: Sherree Chamberlain - “Windmill Wings” (myspace)

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Thousands of musicians and fans converge on downtown Tulsa this weekend for the ninth edition of DFest.

I will be there solo this year and I hope to see many of your faces there as well. (Buy your tickets by midnight tonight or pay an additional $15!)

Throughout the coming weekend and into next week, we plan on bringing you recaps on the conference and festival, as well as Q&As, videos and pictures.

To get your ears ready, here’s a collection of free mp3s from DFest 2009 artists:

DOWNLOADS:
8Bit Cynics - “You Ain’t That Pretty”
Ali Harter - “Grandpa”
Astellaway - “It’s Not Worth It”
Callupsie - “The Murderous Type”
Crocodile - “August is Over”
Dead Sea Choir - “Image D93″
Ghosts - “Nuts n Boltz”
Hush Hush Commotion - “The One That Got Away”
I Said Stop - “Born To Be Great”
Jabee - “One”
Junebug Spade - “Buckshot”
Kawnar - “Lost”
Maggie McClure - “Out of My Mind”
Marcy Priest - “Never Ending”
The Nightlife - “Take My Hand”
Other Lives - “End Of The Year”
The Pretty Black Chains - “Ambulance”
Rainbows Are Free - “Are You Dead?”
The Romantic Disaster - “Full Blooded Fool”
Stars Go Dim - “Come Around”
The Uglysuit - “…And We Became Sunshine”
Van Risseghem - “We Are All Full of Love”
Western Heritage - “She’s Only 16″
X-Cal - “Starving Artists”
Ziff - “The City Knight Life”

After the jump, get your hour-by-hour show schedule, which should come in handy.

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Photo: Jeremy Charles

As we prepare for DFest, we will be speaking with a few Oklahoma acts who will be playing this weekend in Tulsa.

Comprised of Johnathan Ford (Unwed Sailor), Bryce Chambers (Ester Drang), Aaron Hamby (Callupsie) and Nathan Price (Vandevander), Native Lights was labeled an indie supergroup upon conception. Although many supergroups are started as publicity stunts for short-lived runs, Native Lights is comprised of friends with plans on making a serious run as a band. The Tulsa band has an unique sound for this area of the country, taking cues from 1980s post-punk and shoegazing bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. Native Lights will tour this fall with Unwed Sailor and plans to release a 7″ single, followed by a full length.

Native Lights plays Saturday at 9:10pm on the Dilly Deli Patio.

How did this band come about?

All of us have always enjoyed playing music together in whatever band or incarnation we have been in with each other, so it was kind of a given for us to start Native Lights. We all really respect each other on a musical scale, and it just made sense for us to come together and start something new. Aaron, Bryce, Nathan, and I have always found it very easy to write music together…the songs really do come through like waves, almost effortlessly, so why not channel that and have some fun!

LISTEN: Native Lights - “El Rosa” (myspace)

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As we prepare for DFest, we will be speaking with a few Oklahoma acts who will be playing this weekend in Tulsa.

Lawton’s 8Bit Cynics might be the most talented indie hip-hop group in the Midwest. Formed in 2005, producer Saevio.Is.Dead, MC Dewey Binns and DJ SL bring a blue-collar work ethic to everything they do. From their relatable lyrics to their excellent beats and instrumentation, 8Bit Cynics is everything that is right with hip-hop. Their most recent release, Toothpick EP, was released in May and is already out of print. No time to waste, the group is already hard at work at the next EP, expected to be finished before the year’s end.

8Bit Cynics plays Friday at 7:10pm at the Route 66 Mother Roadhouse.

A lot of indie hip-hop artists, including yourselves, are big on releasing free EPs and mixtapes online now. Why would you say that’s so prevalent, especially in hip-hop?

Dewey Binns: Because it’s a cheap and easy process that allows the artist a chance to be heard. People don’t buy music very much anymore. Especially from music stores. So releasing music for free download has become the most effective way to be heard. Hip Hop artists and fans have done a great job with adapting to technology. Myspace, Facebook, and now Twitter make it unbelievably easy to pass on free music and I think hip-hop, more than any other genre, has taken advantage of those outlets.

DOWNLOAD: 8Bit Cynics - “You Ain’t That Pretty”
DOWNLOAD: 8Bit Cynics - “Ugly Girls”

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