OKLAHOMA CITY-Appointments are now complete for the Oklahoma official rock song advisory panel. Established by resolution during the past legislative session, one appointment each has been made by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and the Senate Pro Tempore. The Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Film & Music Office have also named two panelists each.

Governor Brad Henry appointed Phil Bacharach, Oklahoma City, a journalist in both the television and print media before becoming the press secretary for Governors Keating and Henry. Speaker of the House Chris Benge nominated legendary radio disc jockey Ronnie Kaye, Oklahoma City, who has played rock and roll over the airwaves for more than forty years. Senate Co-Presidents Pro Tempore Mike Morgan and Glenn Coffee added Lacey Lett, Oklahoma City, to the panel. Lett is an enthusiastic promoter of Oklahoma musicians with her weekly radio show "Buzz Born and Bred." The Oklahoma Film & Music Office selected Steve Ripley, Tulsa/Pawnee, a member of the Oklahoma band The Tractors, who has performed with Bob Dylan, produced music for bands such as the Chainsaw Kittens, and built guitars for Eddie Van Halen. The Film & Music Office also chose Ryan LaCroix, Norman, the creator and web developer of www.oklahomarock.com. LaCroix also created the "100 Top Oklahoma Musicians" list as part of Oklahoma's Centennial celebration. The Oklahoma Historical Society named Dr. Hugh Foley, Stillwater, a professor at Rogers State University and renowned music historian. He is also the creator of www.oklahomamusicguide.com, an online history of Oklahoma musicians. The Historical Society also appointed Angie Devore-Green, Tulsa, co-founder of the internationally known music conference and festival Diversafest, or Dfest, held annually in downtown Tulsa, which has promoted hundreds of Oklahoma musicians since its inception.

"The process of selecting an official Oklahoma rock song has been a privilege to work on", said Jill Simpson, Director of the Oklahoma Film & Music Office. "So many legendary musicians in the world of rock got their start right here in Oklahoma and have gone on to leave quite a mark on the music industry over the years. That is reflected in the enthusiastic response we've received from the public during the nomination phase, not just from Oklahomans, but from people around the world. I'm extremely happy to be working with the Oklahoma Historical Society on the song selection."

The official rock song website, www.oklahomarocksong.org, has been accepting nominations for several months. Jennifer Towry, the Oklahoma Historical Society's Webmaster, said, "We've had 7,200 people visit the site, with visitors from all fifty states and 62 different countries worldwide. More than 1,600 people have nominated over 325 different songs." The top ten nominated artists are: Leon Russell, Hoyt Axton, Hanson, The Flaming Lips, All-American Rejects, The Call, JJ Cale, Mae Boren Axton, Wanda Jackson, and the Dwight Twilley Band. The public can still nominate songs for the official Oklahoma rock song. Nominations are open at www.oklahomarocksong.org until the end of July when the panel will meet to narrow the nominations down to ten finalists. The Oklahoma History Center will celebrate the state's rock and roll heritage with an exhibit entitled "Another Hot Oklahoma Night," slated to open May 2, 2009.

The History Center is actively collecting stories and artifacts related to rock and roll in Oklahoma. For more information, please contact the museum staff at (405) 522-0798. For more information about the Oklahoma History Center, call Michael Dean, Public Relations Director at (405) 522-5241 or by email at mdean@okhistory.org

To visit the website CLICK HERE

Records that Rock

Entertainment Weekly has released its list of the top 100 albums of the last 25 years. Oklahoma City’s own The Flaming Lips landed at the 23rd for their 1999 album “The Soft Bulletin”.

This disc is considered by many to mark a change in course for the band. With more traditional, catchy melodies and accessible-sounding music and lyrics that are more serious and thoughtful in content, “The Soft Bulletin” has been called a mid-career breakout for The Flaming Lips. The album was noted for its fusion of ordinary rock instruments, electronic beats and synthesizers. Its large layered, symphonic sound has also earned it a reputation as the “Pet Sounds” of the 1990’s.

For a list of the top 100 albums: CLICK HERE

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Tribeca Film Institute Launches 'Reframe' Project

The Tribeca Film Institute has announced the launch of Reframe, an innovative project designed to help individual filmmakers, broadcasters, distributors, public media organizations, archives, libraries, and other media owners digitize, market, and sell their classic and hard-to-find films and video content using the Internet. Created in partnership with Amazon's CreateSpace, the project has received grants totaling $1 million from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as well as additional funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. The project aims to convert film and video content into high-quality digital files, with video works converted for free and film formats digitized at cost. After a work has been digitized, the project will return a digital copy to the rights holder and, through a unique nonexclusive arrangement, will allow additional copies to be sold to the public through Amazon and Reframe at prices set by the rights holder.

In addition, the Reframe Web site is designed to become a community hub that will aggregate content from independent and alternative media and make it searchable in new ways. As more works become digitized and video proliferates on the Internet, Reframe is expected to become a trusted guide to quality content, allowing visitors to find the best content through a combination of expert and user-generated curation, specialized search functionality, and the best social networking tools.

For more information, please: CLICK HERE

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Trail Dance Film Festival Announces a Call for Submissions for 2009

Founded by the Southwest Association of Film, Trail Dance is currently welcoming submissions of creative work from independent filmmakers in a wide array of genres. The festival will provide an opportunity for filmmakers to present material in a competitive yet supportive environment regardless of experience in the film industry.

Trail Dance festivities also include vendors, live entertainment and seminars featuring film professionals. The festival will conclude with a grand awards ceremony and reception.

The mission of Trail Dance Film Festival is to encourage originality and creativity, as well as to promote the film industry in Oklahoma. Proceeds from this festival will benefit Oklahoma students through a media-arts scholarship.

Entries can be SUBMITTED HERE or via a PDF Entry Form by CLICKING HERE

Please CLICK HERE for more information

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TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund Call for Entries

The Tribeca Film Institute recently launched the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund will provide up to $40,000 per project in support of innovative and compelling filmmaking that explores scientific, mathematical, and technological themes and storylines, or a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, innovator or mathematician. They are seeking exceptional feature-length narrative work of all genres (except science fiction or fantasy) with scientifically accurate themes or characters. The projects can be at any stage of development, production or post-production.

Selected projects from eligible directors, screenwriters and producers will be announced in Fall 2008 and highlighted at the Tribeca Film Festival in May 2009. In addition to funding, grantees will receive professional guidance and industry exposure as needed.

Deadline is August 1, 2008.

For complete details CLICK HERE

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