TulsaMusicPulse.com founder Jordan Hiteshew passed away Thursday afternoon from injuries sustained in a longboarding accident. He was 26.

Hiteshew was longboarding Sunday evening at the Broken Arrow Parks Trail at Aspen & Creek Turnpike when he took a hard fall. He was found unconscious by another person on the trail.

The Broken Arrow resident was a huge supporter of the Tulsa music scene, running TulsaMusicPulse.com from 2003 until 2009. I always considered TMP our sister site and Jordan a kindred soul.

Hiteshew was the President of Vigilant Records from 2004 to 2008, releasing albums by Wreckless Process, Downstate, River City Ransom and Shutdown, Sequence, Go!.

He also founded Spiffco Web Designs, creating and hosting web sites for My Solstice, Hotrodbob, Upside, Yawn Records, The Hive Club, The Pinkeye, Johnny Reliable, Fridgebuzz, Glen Strain, Utica and more.

I met Jordan at DFest 2008 - we had a good conversation and I handed him an OklahomaRock.com shirt. We were both excited to meet one another and I considered him one of the nicest guys around.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.

Funeral details have yet to be announced.

To aid in the relief efforts, Don’t Hate on Haiti has partnered with international nonprofit charity:water to help bring clean drinking water to people in Haiti.

According to Ritter, the Don’t Hate on Haiti campaign has already raised approximately $20,000.

Two songs by Oklahoma City’s Dr. Pants were featured on a recent episode of MTV’s fist-pumping reality TV show “Jersey Shore”.

The songs, “Away From This” and “Hey Abe Lincoln,” were included in the August 20 episode “Breaking Up” (Episode 204).

Both songs are featured on the band’s 2006 album, Gardening in a Tornado.

Emelo’s songs “Looking On The Bright Side” and “Going Places Unknown” will be featured tonight on “Real World: New Orleans” (MTV, 9pm CST).

The songs appear on Emelo’s latest album, Looking on the Brightside.

This will be Emelo’s third appearance on “Real World: New Orleans”.

This episode’s guest is Norman’s Camille Harp.

Camille Harp was interviewed by Clancy Davis and Jody Teeter at Crabtown in Bricktown.

Chevy Bricktown Showcase is brought to you by Griffin Communications and Oklahoma City Chevy dealers. The videos are directed and produced by Tommy Smeltzer and Kevin Muir.

(more…)

This episode’s guest is Oklahoma City band The Venditos.

The Venditos were interviewed by Scott Hartman at America’s Pub in Bricktown.

Chevy Bricktown Showcase is brought to you by Griffin Communications and Oklahoma City Chevy dealers. The videos are directed and produced by Tommy Smeltzer and Kevin Muir.

(more…)

Tulsa’s Ben Kilgore has been recently receiving a good amount of label interest from Jimmy Iovine (chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M) and Akon.

Akon is apparently so much of a fan of Kilgore’s music, he played Kilgore’s song “The Other Side” for Dr. Dre one day, who apparently loved it.

In late July, Kilgore and a tentatively untitled band flew out to Atlanta to rehearse with Akon and his crew. Akon’s stylist took them shopping to “define their image” before the label showcase.

A few days later, the band flew out to Los Angeles to perform a showcase in front of Iovine, Timbaland and others. The showcase apparently went well and Interscope is currently pursuing a future with the untitled band.

Kilgore’s former band, The Hero Factor, received interest from Warner UK, Columbia and Wind-Up Records before their break-up in 2007.

The video was animated by Shawn Downey.

Mike Kelly, formerly of Tulsa band The Pearls, releases his debut album, Wake the Dead, today.

Purchase: iTunes | PayPal

Kelly has a remarkable story, as he experienced congestive heart failure and underwent double heart valve replacement surgery in February 2009.

The album includes guest spots from former Pearls bandmate Andy Skib (David Cook, Midwest Kings, To Have Heroes), bassist Monty Anderson (David Cook, Phil Marshall), Erin Austin and TJ McFarland. The album was recorded at Austin’s Yellow Dog Studios (formerly based in Tulsa).

Video shot by Austin Tolin.

Tracklisting and another video after the jump.

(more…)

Joe Diffie releases Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album on Rounder Records today.

Purchase: Amazon

The album was produced by Diffie and Luke Wooten and features guest appearances by The Grascals, Rhonda Vincent, Bradley Walker and Alecia Nugent.

“Diffie is clearly comfortable in the world of bluegrass (he did, in fact, start out in a bluegrass group, so the roots are real enough), and he’s surrounded himself with the cream of the roots crop. Whether it represents a brief departure from the Nashville music machine or an ongoing return to his musical roots, Diffie’s Homecoming is definitely worth celebrating!” - John Taylor (Blogcritics.org)

“Homecoming is sure to be one 2010′s memorable recordings.” - The Bluegrass Blog

Tracklisting after the jump.

(more…)