Stillwater music scene struggles for venue

Stillwater’s stagnant scene

Stillwater music scene struggles for venue


Stillwater’s only indie record store, Happy Narwhal, closed last year.
By Kevin Sears
Guest Columnist

Stillwater has a music scene that doesn’t revolve around country music, and it seems that the majority of students aren’t even aware of it.

Maybe the fact that a proper music venue doesn’t exist anywhere near Stillwater contributes to the problem. Or maybe people just couldn’t care less. But something special is going on here and the musicians will soon be moving on to play outside of Stillwater.

In the past few years we have seen some promising national attention thrown in the direction of bands such as Kunek and Colourmusic who have become extremely popular locally, which is growing beyond state lines.

How does this happen when Stillwater doesn’t have a proper venue?

Eskimo Joe’s fills the void for the drinking crowd and The Third Place caters to the all-ages crowd. What we need is an 18 and up venue where the majority of under-aged kids can see a show and the people who want to drink are satisfied as well.

This model has worked in Norman with the Opolis, in Denton, Texas with numerous clubs, Athens, Ga with the 40-Watt Club and Lawrence, Kan with the Bottleneck.

All four are college towns. What makes Stillwater different?

There can be several solutions to this problem, but I think it comes down to the fact that few people see a venture like that being unsuccessful.

Right now, the time is ripe for a venue. Stillwater can become a contender in the live music industry simply for being halfway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa and we are a college town.

In the past, Mike’s College Bar would host shows and actually brought in good bands from all over the United States, like Gentleman Auction House, The Non, Bon Savants, The Rounders, Fatback Circus and many more.

Sadly Mike’s shut its doors in 2007, and what replaced Mike’s is a step backward in the cultural development of Stillwater’s music community.

Happy Narwhal Records used to put on free shows frequently, but they closed in late April 2007, leaving Stillwater with fewer options.

So how does our scene survive without the proper infrastructure?

I feel that when there is a need for something we all band together to make it happen.

The Third Place is good about bringing in bands from out-of-town and also giving local bands a chance. For example, three bands from Missouri, Gentleman Auction House, Bald Eagle and Witch’s Hat will be playing there on March 10.

A real venue would solve many of the problems and so would adequate media exposure. Right now there is nothing on the radio in Stillwater that would aid in the development of a national music scene. On campus we have KXZY, an Internet radio station, which plays a lot of the bands touring.

But most radio stations will place their advertisers as their top priority and their target listeners somewhere below. Currently, Stillwater has a tough time promoting a vital scene.

All it takes is one piece of the puzzle to come together for others to notice. It’s a risky business, but in a town like Stillwater where there is little competition. It wouldn’t be too bad.

I’m not saying that a venue would solve the problem, but it would help. Once we have a venue then we could get an independent record store to survive, and get local media to notice what is going on.

Fixing the problem and cultivating a thriving, supportive scene takes time. Once the pieces are all there, Stillwater’s musicians can play more often and make the necessary contacts to tour outside of Oklahoma.

Right now we are nowhere near where we need to be. But it feels like the pieces are here and just need to be put together.