Final: Richard "Daddy" Love

Richard "Daddy" Love, the head organizer of the Singer Song Writers of Norman, started developing his musical talents over 30 years ago when he decided talking to girls would be a lot easier with the company of a guitar. Still playing today, Love has inspired and educated many local musicians in Norman through his weekly open mic nights with SWAN. He enjoys the fulfillment of seeing new musicians learn and progress as they learn new techniques and become more comfortable in front of a live audience.

Christmas Music: Can it come too early?

Come December, most heads are filled with the idea of Christmas trees, twinkle lights, toy commercials, and more importantly Christmas Music…except for a few.

Meghan Macdonald, a Sociology junior at the University of Oklahoma reserves her stereo for her normal listening habits. Instead of Jingle Bells, it’s The Postal Service. Instead of Silent Night, it’s The Shins.

“I think Christmas songs become so overplayed throughout the month,” she said. “When I was a kid, Christmas shows and songs were reserved for at least two weeks before Christmas, but now they’re starting in mid November.”

Radio Station KMGL 104.1 in Oklahoma City begins playing an all Christmas music set list the Friday after Thanksgiving. Malls and departments stores begin their Christmas soundtrack before that, and stores like Wal-Mart, and Target begin setting out Christmas decorations and candy before that.

And that’s the way that Lyndon Parker likes it.

“I like to start the Christmas season off as soon as possible,” she said. “Christmas is only once a year so I want it to last as long as possible. I love it that you can listen in your car, and then listen in the mall, and then listen in the restaurant after the mall. I put my usual cds in storage for at least a couple months. That’s the way it should be.”

It seems that Christmas music is just a matter of preference. Some like it early and often and some like it short and sweet. Regardless of how much you enjoy it, there's no getting away from it. So you might as well just embrace it and be merry.

"Second Wind" for students

If you find yourself worn out after a day of work or studying, and you feel like you need a place you sit and relax with a cup of coffee, or even take in a little live music, then Second Wind Coffee Shop on Campus Corner has what you need.

Second Wind, a non-profit coffee shop that is affiliated with First Presbyterian Church next door, opened their doors for the first time last fall. Student volunteers work from noon to eleven daily to create an environment that can help ease their fellow student’s nerves.

Taylor Dees, who is in her third semester working at Second Wind, describes it as a place to come and relax.

“I like the community and I like the feeling,” she said. “I started coming to the bible study here first, and there was barista training not long after that and I decided to begin volunteering.”

The growing business is operated entirely by students from First Presbyterian Church. The Church owns the Second Wind building, and rents the site to the students for one dollar a month.

Because the business is non-profit, all of the drinks are sold on suggested donation. The consumer can choose to pay as much or as little as desired, which helps out those students who are on a limited budget.


Friday nights are reserved for local musical artists to showcase their talents. The shows are most often free, and deliver a variety of sounds, from folk, to indie, to country.

“We try to have an open mic night once a month, and then bands the rest of the time,” Dees said. “We have local artists and then we have a few artists that come form out of town. It’s really something for everyone.”

Because the shop is ran by students only, it will be closing it's doors this Thursday so the volunteers can take a break or return home from school. It will reopen at the beginning of the Spring semester.

"Second Life" Gives Music a New Life

The online virtual world simulation "Second Life" has been rapidly growing in members since it's creation in 2003, averaging about 88,000 members, but Richard Love has found a different use for the social world of Second Life.

"When I log into Second Life, I try to emulate with musical and computer equipment, what I would do during a live show and stream it to the internet," said Love. "It's a really interesting concept."



For about two and a half years, Love has been performing live on Second Life in between his real life performances. Using an avatar, or a three dimensional graphic representation, Love plays his music for a world wide audience. Though different in many ways to performing in front of an actual audience, Love believes that the basic concepts are still the same.

"You're still playing your instruments and entertaining like you would at a local club, but instead of just one audience, you have a bunch of audiences in different places listening at once," said love. "In some ways it's actually better because the interaction between performer and audience is more in depth. When I write a song it's like instant feedback."

Along with better communication from fans, the financial benefits are also sometimes larger in the online music community. While at a recent open mic night, Love streamed his live performance on Second Life and made three times more money in tips than from his real life audience. The idea of streaming during a live performance came about because it gives Love's music a wider audience.

"For every one person you get in your audience, there's four other people that would have liked to have been there, but for some reason they just can't," said Love. "Well with Second Life, people can stay home and take care of their sick kid, and still listen to your show."

Although traditional live music events may not be going anywhere for awhile, Love feels that online creative outlets like Second Life could possibly be the future of music.

"You never know. In ten or twenty years, the technology will be a lot better. Along with Second life, Face Book is coming out with a new live music application soon so it seems to really be catching on, and the blend of live and streaming music is really exciting."

Sixty Minutes with a cameraman

"60 Minutes" cameraman Ray Bribiesca Introduces himself to journalism students at Gaylord Hall.  Photo by: Zachary Herring

Seating was sparse Tuesday in the Hall of Fame Room of Gaylord Hall as Emmy and Peabody Award winning photojournalist Ray Bribiesca sat down with Gaylord journalism students to discuss topics ranging from his assignments in war torn countries, to some tips and advice on camera usage.  

Bribiesca, who has been involved in television news production for more than four decades, started his career as a combat cameraman in Viet Nam at the age of 17. Since then, he has covered everything from presidential elections to the current war in Iraq.

On November 2nd, not long after returning from yet another assignment in dangerous war territory, Bribiesca was sent out on his last assignment for CBS to document the violent underside of the country of Yemen. Although he acknowledges the risk involved in filming in these areas, sometimes under enemy fire, Bribiesca believes it's all about getting the shot.

Bribiesca discusses his experiences as a photojournalist during war time. Photo by: Zachary Herring

"You don't think, you just react," said Bribiesca. "If anything bad happens to you, heaven forbid, that just goes with the territory."

 Bribiesca also explained the line you walk as a journalist during war time.

"When you're in a situation like we are, you're literally taking the position of soldiers in the field," said Bribiesca. " When you're taking a soldiers place, you have to help. We're all trained, and CBS sends us to a 3 week first aid course where you're literally taught to save a life."

Bribiesca finished up the discussion by offering a few tips on working with a camera and the business of news photography. Along with technical aspects such as composition and lighting techniques, he also commented on the importance of being perceptive.

"You have to look at everything," suggested Bribiesca. " Everyone has a story to tell."

Hugh Scott on Photojouralism

Hugh Scott has been in the business of photos for quite a while. From an early age he knew that his true calling in life was photography, so when a photojournalism job came open at The Daily Oklahoman, he knew it was meant to be.

"My cousin told me about the job," said Scott. "It's funny because I actually came in second for the job. Someone from Dallas was chosen ahead of me, but he didn't work out, so about a week later I got a call asking if I could start tomorrow? "

He's been working at The Oklahoman ever since.

Between his photo assignments for the paper, Scott finds time to explore the creative side of photography while earning a little extra income. On weekends, you can usually find him taking family portraits and head shots, or on those occasional rainy nights, hunting down lightning strikes to photograph.

But Scott recognizes the tough economic times that are affecting news media, and specifically the photojournalism area.

"We've had to lay off two or three photographers in the last six months," Scott said. "I know that personally I've lost my assistant which has really affected my work load."

Though he acknowledges the difficulty that students are having finding jobs out of college because of the layoffs, Scott says that it's not impossible, you just have to do the right things.
 
"You have to be constantly taking photos," says Scott. " You have to keep your work diversified to build your portfolio for your job interview. It's also important to keep up on your writing skills and your knowledge of photo editing programs. The most important thing is to just be persistent in your photography. You have to always be learning."

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