Tulsa World: This Week in Music

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This Week in Music
Mark Bruner knows how to pick his spots

Mark Bruner. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World file

By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
Published: 10/22/2009 2:19 AM
Last Modified: 10/24/2009 8:10 AM

It's official. Tulsa guitar virtuoso Mark Bruner is Oklahoma's fingerstyle guitar champion.

He won the honor recently at the Tulsa State Fair for thrumming, the intricate way he plays rhythm, bass and melody notes at once on a guitar. He beat contestants from the Sooner State and surrounding areas for the honor, he said. The contest was sanctioned by the fair and the Oklahoma Fiddler Hall of Fame.

For more than 35 years, he's picked his six-stringed beauties with locals including Shelby Eicher and Tommy Crook. In fact, most days he can be found gigging around Tulsa, solo or with pals.

"Tommy Crook has been very inspirational for me; I worked with him every week for three years straight," he said in a recent Tulsa World interview. "I've had more fun and played more music in the last year than in a long time."

But the State Fair was a first for the axman. Next stop: nationals at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kan., in 2010, he said. Maybe. "It's a little nerve-wracking," he said modestly.

Get out and see him. Here are his regular gigs:

1. Every other Sunday (Nov. 1, 15, 29) at Philbrook Museum's brunch, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at la Villa Restaurant. Free admission.

2. Every Sunday with Shelby Eicher at 6 p.m. at Full Moon Cafe on Cherry Street, 1525 E. 15th St. Free admission.

3. Every Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Rick's Cafe Americain , 3324 E. 31st St. Free.

4. Every Thursday with Tommy Crook at 7 p.m.

at Ti Amo Italian Ristorante in downtown Tulsa, 219 S. Cheyenne. Free admission.

A Swift return

Rolling Stone online reports that young country music superstar Taylor Swift will return to headline another Oklahoma show, this time at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City on March 31.

Her Sept. 27 concert at the BOK Center in Tulsa sold out in about half an hour, the center reported.

The magazine notes that no venues have been named yet for next year's tour, but Kellie Pickler and Gloriana will again open Swift's shows, the magazine reported.

Swift will release a special edition expanded CD/DVD "Fearless Platinum Edition" on Oct. 27 with six new tunes. "Fearless" has sold nearly 4 million copies since its 2008 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard online.

Talkin’ ‘bout a Revolution

Of A revolution, better known as O.A.R., is road-worn but hardly worn out. In fact, the band is known for its energetic and inventive live shows, blending roots rock and reggae for a worldly beat and influence.

“People often tell me that they relate to us and our music, not just with the words, but with the general manner in which we act and perform. i tell them that may be because there is no ‘act’,” Marc Roberge (vocals, guitar) said in a post to his record label’s Web site.

“We are just five friends playing songs we love to play and enjoying every minute of it. The audience can relate because we are having just as much fun as they are. And we are writing about many of the same life experiences they are living or have lived, not some fantasy world that puts rock bands behind some sort of oneway mirror ten feet above the crowd.”

NOTE: This show has been moved to Cain’s Ballroom. With opener Elmwood.

Doors 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, showtime 7:30 p.m. Cain’s Ballroom, 423 n. Main St. All ages. tickets start at $24.50, plus fees. tulsaworld.com/Cains.

By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer

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