Archives for posts with tag: acoustic

Sometimes the van doesn’t start.

Luckily, a talent like Erin O’Dowd delivers without hesitation. Alongside longtime Okie players Susan Herndon and Nadia Thomas, the Tulsa songwriter played a lively rendition of “Trick Pony.” Dig it!

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We loved having BJ Barham jump into the van after soundchecking with his well-seasoned American Aquarium bandmates. We figured he’d play something new but not this new.

“I Gave Up The Drinking (Before She Gave Up On Me)” was merely two days old when this video was filmed. That might be a record for youngest song to make it in the van.

We loved hanging out with Sabrina Ellis and Andrew Cashen so much that we couldn’t wait to have them back in the van. You saw them last in our Sweet Spirit episode but now they’re back with A Giant Dog’s harder rock edge.

Loved hearing a brand new song (above) and another (below) off of the band’s Merge Records debut.

Sherman “WoRm” Johnson might be easiest to find at a computer. The OKC-based hip-hop engineer and producer is a natural behind the board but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own hunger to perform.

He was joined by Darrell Jones, Ashlee Watkins, Taylor Johnson and Jeff Kraetzer (DJ Chips).

Rain put a damper on Norman Music Festival’s afternoon performances so we decided to throw a concert celebration with Austin’s biggest party band. Sweet Spirit thrilled us with two songs before the rain subsided, and they rocked the festival’s main stage.

Party on.

Lauren Barth thought she was just visiting Tulsa but ended up being one of its most talented new residents. The songwriter has a debut album ready called “Forager” and invited the record’s producer Jesse Aycock to join her in the van.

What a pair.

Honesty is her best policy.

Seconds after Ali Harter finished playing a new song in the Spy Wagon, she blurted, “I fucked it up, but I don’t care.”

That’s enough to make Honest Abe blush. Shortly after, she went on to say that she knows the song will eventually get better.

And we believe her.

Harter is an Okie musician that’s been crafting her acoustic ballads for several years.

Her songs have taken her around the world and landed her on prime-time television.

Lucky for Oklahoma, the new mother hasn’t slowed down her musical prowess and continues to make the rounds in local venues.

Take a couple minutes to get to know Harter because she’s the kind of artist that won’t stick around forever.

That’s the honest truth.

What do you get when you mix a dog, a fiddle, an upright bass and a Purcell-native named Parker Millsap?

Well, the session above should give you a pretty good hint but we can make it easy on you.

The answer is hot sauce.

We couldn’t be happier to invite the red dirt talents of Millsap into the van to play an unrecorded, new song.

If you enjoy this session then you’ll be pleased to know Milsap and bassist Michael Rose will be performing at The Blue Note Lounge on Friday.

Now, grab your dog and start dancing.

Check out some stills from the session after the jump…

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Our van doesn’t break down often, but when it does then it does it in style.

Right as Chelsey Cope and company started her Spy Van performance, our fearless driver Ferris O’Brien let out an audible groan as the van halted in the middle of the road.

“Hang on,” he said.

But with a quick push, the van settled in a post office parking lot and the festivities began.

Cope invited her friends Alex Coleman and Alberto Roubert to fill the spaces of her heartfelt rendition of “Journey Down St. Vincent.”

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Check out some stills after the jump…

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Tyson Meade doesn’t write songs.

He writes postcards.

We’re not saying that because Meade spends most of his time pursuing music adventures in Asia. It’s because his songs capture a time and place. Meade’s lyrics tell stories like an old, dusty postcard message would. They have a rambling start, descriptions that make you wish you were there and they finish with a warm goodbye.

We felt lucky to catch Meade in Oklahoma and have him share two songs with us. It’s not often that he makes trips to the U.S. and when he does it’s usually for not very long.

The Bartlesville-native singer/songwriter not only lent us his songs but also his stories. He talked about falling in love with China and the new album he’s  working on with students throughout Shanghai. Indie director He remembered working with Spike Jonze on the director’s first music video. Meade has lived a very rock and roll lifestyle.

“Some people have acid reflux,” he said in the van. “I have acid flashbacks.”

Sounds like a story fit for a postcard.

Be sure to check out Meade in Tulsa this week. He’s performing a show at Dwelling Spaces on Thursday.

Also, Meade has a Kickstarter. Help him make more tunes like these.

Check out some stills after the jump.

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