The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

What could be a better fit for Tulsa's "new kind of energy?"  J.J. Cale, Eric Clapton, and Leon Russell.  Maybe add in some of those who were influenced by the Tulsa Sound.  I happened to stumble upon a Clapton fan club site and read about the recently made documentary film: To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale.    The site (//%22http://www.whereseric.com/news/2005/11/to-tulsa-and-back-on-tour-with-jj-cale.html%22) even claims that Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits based his sound on J.J. Cale.

There is no music more unique to Tulsa than the Tulsa Sound.  It is a musical manifestation of the cross-cultural influence present in the city.  

People always have a hard time with Tulsa's identity.  Midwest, South, or Southwest? Country, jazz, blues, or rock?
The answer is: ALL OF THE ABOVE.

(http://www.i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/rico2/Leon.jpg)

Tulsa doesn't have a sound.  It's an urban legend or some sort of myth.  Tulsa has artists that have been successful like Bread, GAP Band, Leon Russell, The Hanson boys etc.. but Tulsa has no sound.  You'll never hear a piece of music and go "Oh, that's the Tulsa sound".  It doesn't exist.

Unfortunately a lot of people buy in to this idea and I'm afraid our BOk Center will be opened by a bunch of boring nobody's that happen to be from Tulsa.

/bored with the Tulsa small town crap

You just showed your ignorance about rock history.  The "Tulsa Sound" came from a small but influential school of performers.  It's not necessarily an ongoing movement, but the artists are still around and it's something to be proud of regarding the city's place in rock history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tulsa_Sound

And as long as Clapton would come and make sure the seats would be filled, that idea would be AWESOME.

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Originally posted by izmophonik

Tulsa doesn't have a sound.  It's an urban legend or some sort of myth.  Tulsa has artists that have been successful like Bread, GAP Band, Leon Russell, The Hanson boys etc.. but Tulsa has no sound.  You'll never hear a piece of music and go "Oh, that's the Tulsa sound".  It doesn't exist.

Unfortunately a lot of people buy in to this idea and I'm afraid our BOk Center will be opened by a bunch of boring nobody's that happen to be from Tulsa.

/bored with the Tulsa small town crap

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Pardon izmo's ignorance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tulsa_Sound

...Wiki?  You've got to be kidding me.  Sorry, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

There's no "agreement" here, dude.  There exists in this world a school of rock musicianship known as the "Tulsa Sound."  It's not famous on its own but had undeniable influence on multiple famous musicians.  I'm not sure who to believe: you, or multiple rock critics who make reference to it.  I think I'll go with the rock critics on this one.

http://musicmp3.ru/review_jj-cale-eric-clapton__the-road-to-escondido.html

http://www.events-in-music.com/eric-clapton-does-jj-cales-cocaine-after-midnight.html

Now you know!  Get on Google and educate yourself further.  Better yet, buy some J.J. Cale and enjoy yourself while listening to it.

I'm sorry guys.  You can reference critics and wiki using that term all you want.  Just because some musicians from Tulsa happend to hook up with Clapton or some tulsa Musician went to L.A. and "made it" dosn't make a "sound".  I'm a musician and have been for the last 20 years.  If I went to New York and hooked up with a group of guys that happened to be big I wouldn't claim any sort of Tulsa sound.  I just can't follow the logic.  Musicians are always wandering around this state and country. Where they come from doesn't really justify coining some meaningless term and trying to make a big deal out of it.

Yeah, you're right--that damn Bob Wills made up "western swing," and we all know that's just a fancy name for old country.  "Red dirt" is just rocking country that somebody calls "red dirt" and that sound doesn't really exist either.  Or "punk" for that matter--it's just three fast chords played by some punks from England, but that doesn't make it a "punk sound."  /sarcasm

But seriously, the key to any genre is a unique sound that sets it apart.  If you claim that what's called Tulsa Sound is not actually a unique sub-genre that combines rock, folk, rockabilly and blues, but rather a meaningless compilation of artists based on loose geographical ties, that's your right.  But just because you can't hear it doesn't mean it's not there.

A genre is one thing.  There are many genre's and some are attributed to regions of the U.S. as it's origin.  Saying that a particular and distinct sound comes from Tulsa is another and it's just not true.

Okay, so we'll ignore professional reviews, musicians, and online references. Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, and Seattle also have no sound.

Some musicians from Tulsa didn't hook up with Clapton, he hooked up with Tulsa.

A genre is one thing.  There are many genre's and some are attributed to regions of the U.S. as it's origin.  Saying that a particular and distinct sound comes from Tulsa is another and it's just not true.

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Originally posted by izmophonik

A genre is one thing.  There are many genre's and some are attributed to regions of the U.S. as it's origin.  Saying that a particular and distinct sound comes from Tulsa is another and it's just not true.

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http://www.jjcale.net/tulsasound.php
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-tulsa-sound
http://www.seattlefilm.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=20350&fid=13
http://www.jambase.com/Articles/Story.aspx?storyID=8543

izmophonik, I guess you're just smarter than everyone else!

I'll be sure to call the Seattle film festival this afternoon to correct them.

I never said I was smarter than anyone else.  I just don't believe in the Tulsa sound.  Nothing more, nothing less.  

BTW, the Seattle Film Festival interviewer used quotes for "Tulsa Sound".  That means they aren't validating it's existance by using the term.  They are quoting the interviewee..that's all.  If Cale said it was the "Muskogee Sound" they would have posted that too.  Nice try though.

I like the idea of the "opening act" not being one act but a group of well known acts getting together, having a great time and letting the music rip.  I think it would be fantastic to have something like that at the same time they were doing D-Fest. Perhaps on the first night of the D-fest run or as the grand finale. "Synergying" the BOK center and D-fest to get even more national attention for both.  Could be one heck of a party. [8D]

I wish I had a dollar for every self-proclaimed musician I've ever met.  I'd have retired a few years ago on it.  Tulsa has a lot of entertainers, out of that, maybe a third can claim to be real musicians.

Izmo, you're probably just too young to remember.  The Tulsa Sound is very real and very respected in the music world by people who were actually around in the '70's and later.  I'm sure you are a good mucision, but your appreciation for those who have come before you is pretty lame.

The Tulsa sound is just as real as the "Memphis Sound", "The Austin Sound", Zydeco, etc.  

Okay, moving on, I heard a Billy Preston song on the radio yesterday (another contemporary of Leon and other's previously mentioned).  I came home and started going through You-Tube and came across a collection of BP videos in concert w/ Clapton in 2001 in LA.  Great stuff.  I didn't realize or had forgotten that he was one of two featured musicians in the first episode of Saturday Night (wasn't SNL till '77).

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Originally posted by TheArtist

I like the idea of the "opening act" not being one act but a group of well known acts getting together, having a great time and letting the music rip.  I think it would be fantastic to have something like that at the same time they were doing D-Fest. Perhaps on the first night of the D-fest run or as the grand finale. "Synergying" the BOK center and D-fest to get even more national attention for both.  Could be one heck of a party. [8D]

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DFEST 2009 maybe. The BOK center won't be open in time for the 2008 festival.

Conan, You probably spotted this performance on YouTube but Billy Preston did an amazing rendition of "Will It Go Round In Circles" with Clapton and his band on the DVD included with "One More Car, One More Rider".  It was a fantastic, energetic performance by Preston.  I was fortunate enough to see him play with Clapton live a few years ago in Dallas.  

PS - I'm a musician (or should I say that I play musical instruments... being a musician may be overstepping it) and for what it's worth I totally understand how distinct "sounds", or flavors of music can be developed in particular areas (aka Tulsa Sound).  It's a completely different classification than a genre - Just like Mexican is a classification of food, but there are many unique spins on the flavor that can be attributed to regions... and identified by those with a refined palette.

I think some sort of "Tulsa Sound" compilation of one or two discs needs to be out there. Let listeners figure out the obvious (to me) sonic thread that ties 'em all together.

Hmmm ... anyone want to make song suggestions for a mix CD?

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Originally posted by rwarn17588

I think some sort of "Tulsa Sound" compilation of one or two discs needs to be out there. Let listeners figure out the obvious (to me) sonic thread that ties 'em all together.

Hmmm ... anyone want to make song suggestions for a mix CD?

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Woohoo! Mix tape!

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Originally posted by izmophonik

I never said I was smarter than anyone else.  I just don't believe in the Tulsa sound.  Nothing more, nothing less.  

BTW, the Seattle Film Festival interviewer used quotes for "Tulsa Sound".  That means they aren't validating it's existance by using the term.  They are quoting the interviewee..that's all.  If Cale said it was the "Muskogee Sound" they would have posted that too.  Nice try though.

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There is a group of musicians, all of which have roots and/or ties to Tulsa, that have a similar unique sound; a fusion of rock, blues, country, and rockabilly.  Tulsa's geographic location and cultural influences facilitated that fusion.  It wasn't Cale that made up the name "Tulsa Sound," the listeners did that.  Cale utilized musical and cultural influences present in Tulsa to come up with his music.  It's called the "Tulsa Sound" because Cale's style and influence began in Tulsa.  Rock n' Roll, for example, was formed as a fusion also, but it was done in many different parts of the country, and took on a much more broad definition, as a genre of its own.  The "Tulsa Sound" is a fusion genre, which is like a sub-genre of a sub-genre.  It is unique to Tulsa as far as anyone knows.

The main point I have been making all along is that a group of nationally famous musicians that have local interest and cater to a vast audience are probably the best performers to open an iconic new arena.  The "Tulsa Sound" is a great marketing tool for the city, and its musical purveyors will sell out the BOk Center in a heartbeat.

Perhaps instead of debating the Tulsa Sound, we should be asking ourselves...why did all these great musicians leave? What could Tulsa have done differently that would have given these musicians a reason to stay?

Tangent: What did Austin do to ensure that young musicians will leave Tulsa to move there?  Why should Austin be any different than Tulsa?  What choices did city leaders and common citizens do to make Austin "the live music capital of the nation?"  

Bonnie Raitt lived in Tulsa in the early 80's (and still talks about Ron's fried okra), Jackson Browne supposedly used to sit out on the sand bars on the Arkansas River and play music with friends.  Leon Russell lived in Maple Ridge.... Imagine how Tulsa might be different today if we knew how to foster and keep (ie: sustain financially) the talent that we wave goodbye to... generation after generation.

Musicians go to one of four places: L.A., NYC, Nashville, or Austin.  Those are the music capitals of the country.  Tulsa ain't on that list.  We don't have labels agents, or studios.  Neither does Omaha, Little Rock, OKC or Dallas.  The fact that musicians leave town is neither a revelation nor an indictment.  It's just a fact of the business: talented musicians must hit the road to hit it big.  And, they tend to come back a lot.

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Originally posted by PonderInc



Tangent: What did Austin do to ensure that young musicians will leave Tulsa to move there?  Why should Austin be any different than Tulsa?  What choices did city leaders and common citizens do to make Austin "the live music capital of the nation?"  

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Austin is the epitome of what Tulsa's leaders are striving for.  It is a cosmopolitan city with a burgeoning young professional population.  Austin also has UT, which has 50,000 students, and is considered by most Texas residents to be the center of arts/culture in that state.  I often compare Tulsa to Austin myself, but I always end up realizing that UT gives Austin a major edge.  In the last 20 years, Austin has become a major player in the tech industry(Dell Computers), which coupled with the research capacity of UT, has facilitated an economic boom.  Demand for an urban entertainment district is always present when there are 50,000 college students in your city.

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Originally posted by perspicuity85


Austin is the epitome of what Tulsa's leaders are striving for.  It is a cosmopolitan city with a burgeoning young professional population.  Austin also has UT, which has 50,000 students, and is considered by most Texas residents to be the center of arts/culture in that state.  I often compare Tulsa to Austin myself, but I always end up realizing that UT gives Austin a major edge.  In the last 20 years, Austin has become a major player in the tech industry(Dell Computers), which coupled with the research capacity of UT, has facilitated an economic boom.  Demand for an urban entertainment district is always present when there are 50,000 college students in your city.

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Don't forget the impact of the state capital.

To realize how much of an advantage Austin has, consider how different Tulsa would be if:

- The entire OK Capitol complex was picked up and moved to 9th & Main in downtown Tulsa.
- The entire OU campus in Norman was picked up and moved to 15th & Main, stretching south all the way to the Pedestrian Bridge.

That's Austin, only with a campus twice the size of OU. The only thing surprising about the economic boom down there is that it didn't really take off until the late 90s.

Austin is a $hithole....I like Tulsa much better....