Boyd Street Gives You Wings

            Welcome to Boyd St. Magazine, where as soon as you walk in the door, your eyes will pan to stacks of papers and boxes, and you will probably be offered your choice of Red Bull. This is where John Montgomery, the 28-year-old publisher and editor-in-chief of Boyd St. makes sure everything, including your four-beers-in picture from Campus Corner, is complete and ready to print. 

            Montgomery first entered into print journalism as an assistant editor of the Purcell Register, the oldest newspaper in Oklahoma, that his family has published for the last 21 years.  In 2006, Montgomery bought Boyd St. after the two Norman men who created the magazine three years prior, wanted out and the publication had already cycled through another publisher.  Montgomery took on the magazine, but had to make a few changes, while maintaining its distinct appeal.

            “The main step that we took right when we got it was to try to, on the backend, up the professionalism a little bit,” said Montgomery. “There were some loose ends in accounting and things such as that… We just kind of needed to strengthen that. We generally try to keep the content straightforward and about the same as it has been, it has its identity and we don’t want to stray too far from that.”

            So who are the popular features such as On the Scene, Norman Nightlife, and College Cribs created for? Montgomery undoubtedly replied that their target audience was the University of Oklahoma campus and the sales pitch was for an 18 to 24 year old demographic. Surprisingly, the staff consists of only about 15 members, depending on the time of year, that are mostly freelance writers; only three are full-time employees. 

            The magazine has a knack for creating articles and blurbs that are straightforward with effortless sarcastic flair. The witty jargon is prevalent throughout the magazine, as well as their social networking Web sites. You can experience their unique style simply by reading their “About me” section on Myspace: “I am a magazine that conveys important collegiate lifestyle information. Every two weeks you can expect hard-hitting journalism with a conservative slant. Just kidding, we do none of those things. Mostly because we are pieces of paper and some staples.”

        The laid-back and sarcastic team at Boyd St. Magazine is fueled by Red Bull, but motivated by students. Montgomery believes that even though some sectors of print journalism have suffered, niche magazines are doing better than ever. Journalism students should not be frightened by the status of print journalism; Montgomery thinks that if your publication is intended for a certain audience and they are interested in what you are saying, then you will have a winning combination. 

       To keep up with the witty contributors of Boyd St., check out their blog at boydstreet.blogspot.com or http://www.myspace.com/boydstreetmagazine or www.facebook.com/BoydStreetMagazine. 

ACM@UCO Presents...Tara Dillard

            Students at the Academy of Contemporary Music at The University of Central Oklahoma are taking their education outside of the classroom and bestowing their talents in the new ACM@UCO Performance Lab in downtown Oklahoma City. The two-month-old venue hosted the California-based band Local Natives as their first non-student headliner on October 5^th.  But the Performance Lab host weekly shows by students at no cost and ACM student Tara Dillard and her band were eager to show off their talent.

            Dillard is a musical theatre turned vocal performance major that is trying to find her place in the music world that she knows she belongs in.

            “I’ve been singing my whole life,” said Dillard. “I don’t think I can really tell you when I started. I think it has just always been there. I’ve never known myself not being able to sing or not singing period.”

Dillard playing the keyboard to a Sara Bareilles cover. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

            As a kid, Dillard let her imagination run wild with future career options, including a ballerina, firefighter and CIA agent, but Dillard knew “there wasn’t really another option. [She] never really wanted anything else.” Dillard has played several shows at the Picasso Café in Oklahoma City and has been asked to return to perform with her band at the Performance Lab. But for every artist, there is always a night that seems to stick out.

            “We played at Nona’s bar last semester and they have a patio on the top floor of it and I really loved being out there,” said Dillard. “It was outside, it was at night, we had the cityscape behind us, and I had my band up there in the corner of it. It had a really cool mood to it and that was actually the first time we played outside of school together so for me that was just a really cool experience to share with them.”

            The band behind the talented Oklahoma-native beauty includes Gabe Nightengale, Dane Alexander, Brett Alexander and Earl Moreno. All of the guys, except for Moreno, were originally paired with Dillard at ACM and eventually they began playing shows as a band outside of the school. Dillard claims that the group’s diversity is what makes them stand out among the other student groups.

            “I would say that we are just all so different and I think we all have been such hard workers,” said Dillard. “These boys have busted their tails for me with practicing with me, collaborating with me, and I think we are all just really driven. I asked them to play and they were just like “Yeah, sure we’ll do it, that’d be great!” and we all have really different personalities but its funny how well we work together.”

Dillard opening the show with a Rilo Kiley song. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

            Despite the group’s effortless cohesion, Dillard and her band struggle to put a label on their style of music.

            “People ask how we would describe our style of music all of the time and it is still hard for me to answer,” said Dillard. “When you write music, it is hard to explain what it sounds like. But our music is obviously really piano-based, singer-songwriter driven, and I guess it’s fairly mainstream. I am still finding my niche and that will come with more songwriting when I find what I am good at and the traits that a lot of my songs have. Maybe Ill know better myself after that because I don’t really know right now, I am still figuring it out. You guys tell me!”

            On October 29, Dillard will be back at the Picasso Café in Oklahoma City performing alone with her keyboard. For upcoming shows and her latest posts, check out www.taradillardmusic.com.

Dillard getting into an original song inspired by her brother. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

Listen to some of my interview with Tara answering questions about singing and why she decided to stick with it.


Check out a clip of Tara singing her rendition of "Bluebird" by Sara Bareilles. 

Audio Test

My audio test is right here!

Welcome Guests to Guestroom Records

        Eight years ago, two music-obsessed University of Oklahoma students were busy delivering cheap pizza to hungry college students for Pizza Shuttle when they decided to take their careers elsewhere. In 2002, Travis Searle and Justin Sowers decided they would collaborate and open up a shop in Norman that would satisfy the city of Norman’s musical cravings instead of their taste buds.

        Guestroom Records became Searle and Sowers’ dream come to life in July of 2003. The store opened in downtown Norman, but for a year and half before the opening, they operated a small distribution and door-to-door record shop. The new owners donated their entire personal music collection to provide the first batch of used CDs and records collection, ready to be purchased. The purpose of the store is confirmed on their Web site under the ‘About Us’ section that “Guestroom Records is about getting good music to people who want it.”

         Guestroom puts out a monthly newsletter that provides a timeline of shows that are happening around Norman. Their own record label, Guestroom Records has hosted many in-store performances as well. It also provides the latest releases of albums and CDs that are new in the store, as well as coupons and discounts the store is offering. The Web site posts the same information with the addition of “Employee Picks” where six of the nine employees post their top ten current favorite albums, along with their all-time favorites. The Guestroom team in Norman consists of nine men, who are all confident with what their store has to offer the music lovers of Norman.

        “There is no radio outlet that’s number one- playing music, and number two- one that is advertising shows,” said Guestroom Records manager Will Muir. “Right now the only shows advertised are ones that are happening at the Ford Center, the Diamond Ballroom, or The Conservatory, all of which are in Oklahoma City. So if you’re a Norman resident, or you’re a college student in Norman, you’re more than likely not going to go all the way up there to see a show, especially for some band you don’t really know because you’ve never heard of them because they don’t have a radio outlet here...All you have to do any day of the week is walk by this store and there are flyers for shows.”

        Guestroom provides a relaxed atmosphere for college students or residents of Norman that need to escape through their favorite artist’s lyrics or upbeat tempos. They have created a spot in downtown that is a musical haven from reality, all created from the dream that two Pizza Shuttle employees shared as students. Guestroom has a second location in Oklahoma City and for upcoming shows visit www.guestroom-records.com. 

Guestroom Record's album collection. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

The area where bands play for in-store performances. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

Artwork by local artists displayed and sold in the store. PHOTO: Courtney Goforth