Introducing Tulsa’s Newest Band, Saturdaze

Tulsa has a new band hitting the city, and it’s one with familiar faces. The band, Saturdaze, has played several shows together already – both under this name and as backup for their front-man’s solo project.

Saturdaze began in April of this year. Originally, they came together as backup for front-man Max Spear; however, after playing together, they decided to create a new band that would incorporate their different styles.

Their band name, as unique as it is, didn’t come until July 19. Apparently, each member was just throwing out their ideas, and it was one of the suggestions. Being that it was a lazy mid-summer day, and all of them are huge fans of Saturdays, the name fit.

Their sound is self-described as psychedelic. With varying influences – Max Spears draws from Coldplay, Kyle Broadbooks from Led Zeppelin and jazz music, Ignacio from various 80’s punk bands – (fourth member Noah Roberts was not at the interview) – Saturdaze has yet to track down their specific style. The music tends to take on the persona of whoever happens to be writing it at the time.

Each member has been a part of the Tulsa music scene for some time now. Max has his up-and-coming solo career in piano-driven indie music; Kyle and Noah both sub for several local bands, filling spots on guitar and drums; Ignacio has his project, Wilted.

While none of their music has been recorded, Saturdaze has several hashed out songs that they’ve been working on all summer. rather than focusing on recording the songs, the band has been more interested in booking concerts.

The reason they insist they should master their live performances before they record is because they view the live aspect as the most important. According to them, the live shows are where they’ll gain fans and notoriety – which will, in turn, lead to people actually listening to their songs.

Their stage presence is loose with lots of movement. It isn’t so much as dancing or jumping as it is just moving across the stage. They aren’t afraid to let the music flow through them. This is so that they can constantly keep the attention of their audience.

The band is definitely one to look out for, considering the success of Max Spear’s solo career and the talents of Wilted. Check them out at their first official performance on September 20 at the Vanguard with Alexis Onyango and douglas.



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Free Association Debuts Their Self-Titled Album

Free Association is a new-ish rock band from Tulsa that began in January 2018. The band formed as an outlet for songs Joshua Ricks had written and grew from there with the addition of the rest of the band.

The name “free association” was picked because it emulates the freedom and lack of instruction in their songwriting. Rather than simply playing the song how it was originally imagined by one member, the layout is introduced and each member adds their own spin.

“I like to just play what I have written and let everyone in the group run with the feelings or impression the song left with them,” says Ricks.

“It [is] incredibly beautiful to see everyone in the group interpret the emotional message and feeling of each song and express that back in their own way.”

Free Association started recording their first album in August of last year, which they finished by the end of September. However, fans still had awhile to wait before any of the songs were ready to stream. It wasn’t until last month that the band officially shared their music on streaming sites.

The first song the band released off the album that unveiled today (August 16) was “Old Man” on July 1st. It was followed shortly after by “Circles” on July 26th. According to Ricks, the singles were chosen for their upbeat sound and ABAB format.

The record itself is apparently a collection of songs that don’t have a traditional format and blend between genres. The first description given to me was “retro psychedelic rock vibe” – a spot on description, in my opinion.

The first on the list is “Groovy Blue.” A light song, “Groovy Blue” comes across as positive and upbeat. The beat is steady and repetitive, the lyrics are relaxed and positive; every instinct while listening is to sway and “groove” along.

Next up is the previously released “Old Man.” Though this one continues a similar sound, the vibe is much different. Rather than coming across as relaxed and upbeat, the song sounds like it just came out of an old-time-y mystery film.

“Hurricanes and Floods” is third on the tracklist. Anxiety is at its highest with this song as the music flutters through, lyrics denoting a blue tale. However, the tone shifts about halfway through this almost-six-minute song from nervous to something akin to resignation.

The next six songs follow similar styles and themes. Each song is carefully crafted. By blending styles, the band achieves a dreamy sound – the kind of sound that lulls you into feelings, good and bad. Whether it’s the slower “First Friday” or the foot-tapping “Omniscient,” there’s a song for everyone in this album.

As if the songs themselves don’t span different styles,”Circles,” “Six Long Years,” and “Loving You” all feature a female singer in stark contrast to the other male-fronted songs. It’s a testament to their “free association” that different vocalists take lead in different songs; each member of the band gets to do their take.

Check out Free Association on all social media and music streaming sites and make sure to listen to their debut album below:

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The Odyssey Ends Summer With “Fresh Air”

At the beginning of the summer, The Odyssey unveiled the bop that is “Lately” in the hopes of giving us our summer anthem. So, of course they had to end the summer with yet another bop.

After teasing all summer with the promise of new music, the band will finally make their newest single, “Fresh Air,” available for listening on August 9th. In celebration, The Odyssey will also be headlining at the Vanguard that night with Hoarseman and the Heard, Jaguarundi, and McAllister.

“Fresh Air” is different from past records. This single contains music that perfectly compliments summer heat and fun. Steady beats keep feet tapping as the sound makes you long for summer – a fact that sounds silly considering it’s August, but the feeling is definitely there.

The lyrics paint a desperate and growing need for “fresh air.” They describe a feeling of confinement – and a desire for change. It’s like the melting of summer into fall, the moment just before the weather switches. That’s the feeling rolling off of this song – the exhilarating feeling before a big change occurs, and the excitement and anxiety that comes along with it.

According to the band, the song was written during a big move, corroborating the emotions felt when I heard the song.

“This song was written at a point in my life when big changes were happening. We made a big move, and while I was sitting in my brand new house, I wrote this guitar part,” explained Cobey Brown.

“It was really simple, but it just gave me this feeling… I named this little riff ‘Fresh Air’ because it just literally felt like a breath of fresh air.”

The song itself is a breath of fresh air; so, listen to “Fresh Air” on all music streaming sites on August 9th, and head over to the Vanguard that night at 8pm for an End of Summer Bash to celebrate.

Be sure to check out The Odyssey on all social media and music streaming sites.

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Hookup’s “In the Morning” Brings End-of-Summer Blues

Tomorrow, August 2nd, OKC band Hookup will release their new song, “In the Morning” – and with it, a wave of end-of-summer blues.

The song itself is apparently not a sad one. It was written about a trip to New Mexico that one of the members took with a girlfriend. In fact, the lyrics sound almost hopeful.

It’s the music that ushers in a feeling of gray nostalgia. The song brings a mental image of floating in water. Waves are gently rocking – firmly enough to displace but too calm to harm.

It feels like looking back at the beginning of the summer, or last year – just looking back in general – and seeing all of the good and the bad mix together until it’s just a ball of gray and bittersweet memories.

According to the band, the song is about “travelling” and “seeing the world with the people you care about.” It was written about a trip that band member Grayson Hamm took with his girlfriend to New Mexico shortly after they got together. The song developed as a description of the mornings they spent – hence the title, “In the Morning.”

“It was a great experience, but the best days were the ones we got up super early. We’d wake up at like 6:30 and be making coffee in the Airbnb, watching the hummingbirds,” says Hamm

“That’s kind of where the ‘morning’ part of the song came from.”

The song certainly sounds like a travel song, though I must admit that I hear more melancholy emotions than happy, relaxed ones. I can easily picture the song playing on the car radio as a road trip commences – in the evening as the sun goes down, significant other in the passenger seat.

Be sure to catch Hookup on all social media and music streaming sites, and check out “In the Morning” tomorrow.

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