Head West, young man

SHERRY BROWN / Tulsa World » More Photos Click on a thumbnail above to view photos. Head West, young man By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer 3/2/2007 Teen fiddler and his group play Western swing, open for Bob Wills celebration Fourteen-year-old fiddler Turner Armitage has a cold and his throat hurt a little Wednesday, but that won't stop him from taking the stage Saturday as he opens for some of the guys who were pioneers of favorite music, Western swing. Armitage is part of Oklahoma Stomp, a group of young performers who will open for Leon Rausch, Tommy Allsup and Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. The show is part of the Wills' birthday celebration at the Cain's Ballroom where the singer, his band and some of his family members performed starting in the 1930s. His shows, broadcast on KVOO radio, reached all the way down to Wills' home state of Texas and he was one of the most popular performers of his day. Turner, who'll fiddle and sing for the nine kids who make up Oklahoma Stomp, said he's going to get a case of the butterflies. "I'll be more nervous about this one than I have about any others, because it's Cain's Ballroom, a place I've always heard about, but I've only been there once," he said. Turner's family operates a cattle and horse ranch between Claremore and Pryor. He's been playing the fiddle for about five years, although he said he prefers singing. "I've kind of grown up listening to it, and me and my brother have been playing Bob Wills' music a lot," he said. Shelby Eicher, who helped form Oklahoma Stomp, said in addition to Turner, the band has fiddlers Eric Dysart, Douglas Thompson and Jake Duncan. Zac Hardin is on bass, Sterling Abernathy on electric mandolin, with help from vocalist Corey White, guitarist Jake Self, and drummer Jacob Lynn. Bob Fjeldsted, of the Round Up Boys, donated time from his band's set Saturday to let the kids play. "These kids in my mind are kind of making history," Eicher said. "Besides Asleep at the Wheel, none of the young generations do (Western swing)." Eicher came up with the music for the kids by transcribing recordings of Wills' band from as far back as the 1940s. For Rausch, a vocalist who joined the Texas Playboys in 1958, the birthday celebration has become a reunion for the surviving band members as well as a chance for the people who went to the ballroom's dances to relive those moments. "The people like to see the old band and I have to say that it ... still has a fan base up there," said Rausch, who'll turn 80 this year. In addition Allsup on guitar, this weekend's band will include Curly Lewis, but most of the rest of the band is comprised of newer members, Rausch said. While Western swing always a staple in Tulsa, Wills, who died in 1975, got a brief return to the limelight at this year's Grammy awards. Checotah country star Carrie Underwood, fiddler Johnny Gimble, and Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson performed a rendition of "San Antonio Rose" during the ceremony. Rausch said Wills - or the "Old Man," as he called him - was never tight with the Nashville bunch and would get angry if you called him a hillbilly. Wills was a swing fiddler who didn't do hoedowns, although he made his band into a dance group, Rausch said. "They were just throwing us a little crumb to keep us quiet." Matt Elliott 581-8366 matt.elliott@tulsaworld.com BOB WILLS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION When: 6 p.m. Friday, with openers the Round Up Boys, Eddie McAlvain & his Maverick Western Swing Band, and Saturday, with openers Oklahoma Stomp, the Round Up Boys and the Bobby Flores Band. Where: Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main St. Tickets: $22 in advance, $25 at the door. Service charges may apply. 2-day tickets available for $40 available through www.gettix.net, or by phone (866) 443-8849. Tickets are also available at Starship Records & Tapes, Reasor's, the Cain's box office, 584-2306