Make Your Own Rockstar!

Go to http://www.anotherhotoklahomanight.org/ to make your own paper doll rockstar. As you can see here I've made a little punk rock dude that I can print out and make my office a little cooler. Just click on the rock fashion button on the website and make your own.

Rock and Roll Exhibit Opening

Our boss Dan, the Museum Director, getting geared up for the opening.

As you can see, he is a pretty cool boss. He also keeps a stash of M&Ms on his desk for all of us. Apparently in the week before the exhibit opening we can go through approximately 13 pounds of them. Chocolate and caffeine is what keeps us going.





Benj and Jason, two of our education types, became bouncers for the Green Room for the evening. All it takes is a shirt, some muscle, and a lot of attitude. They are usually dressed up as military men, so they have the stance down. You might notice that Benj is a little sad we wouldn't let him carry any of his weapons.





Just some of the ladies of the museum staff trying out the photo op before the masses arrived. This set-up took me hours to perfect, so I am pretty glad we have had so many people take advantage of it. Especially with the costumes. Note the sweet sunglasses I am wearing...almost enough to make me want to become a Trekkie.



Wayne Coyne, Scott Booker and Dennis Coyne, the frontman of Stardeath and the White Dwarf, checking out the Flaming Lips panels for the first time. Wayne loved seeing his old Long John's uniform and Martian suit in a museum case, and I am sure the larger-than-life size pictures were pretty fun to see as well. Shortly after this I finally got a picture with Wayne in front of one of the cases I helped put together. I was just a tad giddy.


At the public opening on Saturday, 14 bands played on 2 stages (all the outdoor activities had to move inside because of the rain :( ) Th one cancellation ended up being filled by Chickasha's own Debris. I wrote about them earlier, but it was so cool to see some of the original punk rockers of Oklahoma jam out. And yes, part of their stage set is actually debris they have scavenged. Pretty cool guys. And loud, oh so very loud.



Some other highlights from the opening for me:
*Finishing the exhibit in time to get dressed for the opening
*The multitude of History Center staff in the women's bathroom getting into costume
*Sitting in the green room with Wanda Jackson stuffing Lorrie Collins' skirt under her belt
*Being a roadie and loading and unloading band equipment all day Saturday
*Temporary tattoos!
*Seeing the History Center transformed into an industry party

If the History Center's A-Rockin'...

Everyone should come a-knockin'!

I know we keep saying "Everyone come out on May 2nd, it's going to be a blast!" But here's the lowdown:

14 Bands--John Moreland and the Black Gold Band, Crocodile, The City Lives, The Oh Johnny! Girls, Mike Black & the Stingrays, Ali Harter, Unmarked Cars, Camille Harp, Wes Reynolds, The Romantic Disaster, The Gunship, Rainbows are Free, The Undecided, All but 1

Rock and Roll fun for the whole family! Do-it-yourself tie dye, Rock Star Makeovers, Guitar Hero, Rock Star Photo Op, Costume Contests-'60s, '70s & '80s.

And of course, Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock and Roll Exhibit throughout the building. See great Rock and Roll artists from Oklahoma, see Rock's influence on fashion, walk into a venue experience, see '50s pop culture as it was an as we perceive it today, and remember what it used to be like to go to your favorite record store.

Oh, did I mention that it's all FREE!!

It will all happen, rain or shine, so don't let the weather get you down. Come on out to the Oklahoma History Center!

Brushes with Fame

From an earlier post, you learned about our friend Fernando, the mascot of exhibit installation. Well, yesterday was a big day for little Fernando. At the signing of the Executive Order making "Do You Realize??" by the Flaming Lips the official Rock Song for the state of Oklahoma, Fernando decided it was time to meet some Rock stars. So he did.



Wayne, Michael, and Kliph from the Lips signed Fernando. I like to think that he is smiling as much as Wayne is.

BEAN BAGS!

So today the bean bags came in for our section on Ronnie Kaye's The Scene.

They may be the coolest, most comfortable part of the exhibit. Granted I am saying that after testing them out, just to make sure they weren't going to pop or bust a seam under pressure. I feel it is safe to say that they are safe, even for lengthy periods of time. They are also very cuddly. 'Nuf said

Take a look at what curators do on our lunch breaks when we are getting cool stuff into the exhibit. All for the sake of recreating the proper environment. Bet you want to come visit even more now. And yes, that is orange shag carpet.

6 days...

Do You Realize??

That on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Governor Brad Henry will sign an Executive Order naming "Do You Realize??" by the Flaming Lips the official Oklahoma Rock Song? Look here for the details, folks.

Keep on rockin', just about a week away from the opening!

Can You Hear the Drums, Fernando?*

The curators are busily installing all kinds of great artifacts in the cases in Another Hot Oklahoma Night and it can be a really exciting process. Deciding how best to display objects, how to make album covers float and guitars look like they're being played is a task that tests the creative powers as well as a person's skills with power tools.

We here at the History Center have a lot of fun installing artifacts. So much fun, in fact, that when we installed the original exhibits, we adopted a mascot for installation. His name is Fernando, taken from the ABBA song so rudely left out of Mamma Mia!, and he is a short, rotund, stuffed alligator. He is currently dressed for the Rock and Roll exhibit and makes daily appearances in the galleries, checking up on the installation process and raising spirits in the process. Here we see Fernando and Wayne Coyne's Mars boot, which will be on display in the Gaylord Special Exhibit Gallery in the Artists section of Another Hot Oklahoma Night. Come by starting May 2nd and see it! Fernando would approve.

*Disclaimer: No, there is not a section dedicated to ABBA in the exhibit :-)