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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2016)
Wallowa County Chieftain Entertainment wallowa.com August 3, 2016 A9 THE SCENE HELPING HAND OK Theatre more than just a venue to musicians By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Life can be daunting for struggling musicians. Find- ing a place to live and making enough scratch to put food on the table, much less ind a place to record your art, can put creativity on the back burner. Darrell Brann, owner of the OK Theatre in Enterprise, is doing what he can to help ease the burden of some lo- cal musicians’ struggle up the ladder. Brann is a musician himself, and he has experi- enced a few hard times over the course of his career. Rather than placing inan- cial burdens on musicians whose music needs exposure, Brann tries to barter work in exchange for favors. He said that offering musicians work in exchange for theater privi- leges beneits both parties. “Having them change the marquee or clean up the loor and keep an eye on things is a help for me since I’m so busy, and they’re happy to be there,” he said. Bart Budwig lives in an apartment in back of the the- ater when he’s not touring. Brann knew Budwig as a sound man in Moscow, Idaho, and recruited him to perform sound duties at several shows he produced before buying the theater. As Budwig gained promi- nence as a musician he started playing Wallowa County reg- ularly and frequently jammed and spent the night at Brann’s home. After buying the the- ater in 2014, Brann frequently called on Budwig for sound duties and eventually offered Budwig the apartment in ex- change for sound engineering, which allowed Budwig more time to advance his career. “Knowing I have this place to come back to after touring and being able to live pret- ty much in the space where I work really helps me con- centrate on what I do, and I wouldn’t have that without Darrell,” Budwig said. Seth Kinzie is a local pi- anist with the distinction of solely making a living play- ing and giving lessons with his chosen instrument. Kinzie moved to the area about three years ago. He rented the OK for a trumpet and piano show more than a year ago. He also knows Brann through his own work as a recording sideman and solo artist. Kinzie said the theater is becoming known as a kind of underground studio because of Brann’s generosity and Budwig’s recording expertise. The musicians Kinzie has met through the theater have given him session work as a sideman and have inluenced him to expand his own recordings to include other musicians. “Now I just don’t play solo Seth Kinzie compositions, which is what I’ve always done in the past,” he said. Having access to a large, affordable hall for musicians to rent for concerts and CD re- lease parties also is important to Kinzie and others. “If you want to play small shows you can always do open mics,” Kinzie said. “There’s no other big place here where people are deinitely going to Wednesday, Aug. 3 • Myrlin and Mic Maven, 7 p.m. at Lear’s Main Street Grill Thursday, Aug. 4 • Reckless Kelly (OK Theatre facade fundraiser), 7 p.m. at the OK Theatre. theoldok.com • Blue Plate Special, 5:30 p.m. at the Wallowa County Courthouse • Harumph, 7 p.m. at Terminal Gravity. www.terminalgravitybrewing.com Friday, Aug. 5 • Open mic with guest host Bart Budwig, 7 p.m. at Terminal Gravity. www. terminalgravitybrewing.com Saturday, Aug. 6 • EHS Class of ‘66 presents “A Night to Remember,” featuring The Reactions. 8-11 p.m. at Joseph Community Center. $5 admission with no-host bar. Thursday, Aug. 11 • Brass Fire, 5:30 p.m. at the Wallowa County Courthouse Aug. 12-13 • Bronze, Blues and Brews Festival, Joseph City Park. www.bronzebluesbrews. com Sunday, Aug. 14 Steve Tool/Chieftain The OK Theatre on Main Street in Enterprise. • Open mic night, 4-6 p.m. at the Josephy Center with emcee Ted Hays. josephy.org Thursday, Aug. 18 • The Sagebrush Sisters, 5:30 p.m. at the Wallowa County Courthouse Reckless Kelly featured for OK Theatre fundraiser Friday, Aug. 19 Don Flemons, 8 p.m. at the OK Theatre. theoldok.com Thursday, Aug. 25 By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain OK Theatre owner Dar- rell Brann is holding a fund- raiser Thursday, Aug. 4 to help pay for a facade reno- vation. Texas band Reckless Kelly will headline the show. Brann got the idea from a Restore Oregon theater workshop. “Any town that has a his- torical theater should have everyone behind it,” Brann said. “It’s an invaluable re- source and should be utilized to its full potential. That’s been our goal, and the city and everyone has been sup- portive, but now it’s time to listen to you instead of talking or eating their dinner.” Kinzie also lauded Brann for staging shows from Gram- my winners to local musicians. “Darrell obviously had a vision of what he wanted to do with this, and he got it right. We’re all appreciative of what he’s offering people.” he said. Fiddle player Caleb Sam- ples is another local musician who works with Brann both as a musician and as a sub-con- tractor for Brann’s construc- tion business. Earlier this year Samples rented the theater for a CD release party for his “Un- touched Ground” recording. When Samples asked Brann to rent the space, Brann not only said yes, but immedi- ately took over the marketing. “He took care of the whole thing, really,” Samples said. As reparation for putting on the show, Brann asked Sam- ples for some construction work. Samples’ release party proved successful enough that more than 230 people attend- ed and also bought a number start working on getting dol- lars together. It’s a labor of love.” The State Historic Pres- ervation Ofice has offered Brann some revenue in the form of matching grants. This concert is the irst in a series of fundraisers to re- store the theater to help its former glory. Reckless Kelly’s reputa- tion as fearless Americana/ Texas Country musicians preceded it as the show quickly sold out. “I barely did any advertis- ing, so obviously it’s a good show, and the band cut us a real good deal on the fund- raiser.” Brann said. He add- of CDs. After the show, Brann congratulated Samples and asked how much money he wanted. A shocked Samples could hardly believe his ears. “It was an interesting con- versation,” Samples said. “It worked out nicely and I was able to pay the musicians who helped me. Darrell is very open to helping others and I have nothing but great things to say about him.” Brann said that he lives by the maxim of treating ev- eryone equally and does his best to make local acts know they’re just as important to the theater as any Grammy winner gracing its stage. “We bring in some really big shows, but we really try to focus on and take care of our local musicians. We cov- er all expenses and promotion and tickets to make a good event for those that we think are ready for that. I treat local musicians’ efforts the same as anyone else. We provide a meal and get them beer and snacks for the green room. We don’t want them to feel like we MEDICARE BIRTHDAY RULE If you have a Medicare Supplement Plan you have 30 days after your birthday to compare & apply for a new Supplement Plan. Call Kathleen TODAY to discuss your options for a lower Medigap premium. 541-426-4208 Locally owned & operated 616 W. North Street, Enterprise ed that the band is originally from Idaho. Also included in the eve- ning’s festivities are silent auctions and rafle items, including items the band do- nated. Sammy’s Barbecue is slated to offer nourishment, and beer and wine will be available. “There’s a lot of funds available for matching grants, and we’d love to raise upwards of $40,000,” Brann said. The theater’s facade res- toration is tentatively slated to begin in August 2017. The theater is located at 208 W. Main St. in Enter- prise. take them for granted.” As for Brann, he intends to keep helping whenever he can because that’s what he believes in. “It’s where my interest is, seeing that musicians get a leg up. I love to see that happen.” • JW McClure, 5:30 p.m. at the Wallowa County Courthouse Thursday, Sept. 8 • The Purple Hulls, 7 p.m. at the OK Theatre. theoldok.com Wednesday, Oct. 5 • Liz Vice, 7 p.m. at the OK Theatre. theoldok.com Thursday, Oct. 20 • HoneyHoney, Wallowa Resources fundraiser, 7 p.m. at the OK Theatre. theoldok.com Please submit Entertainment Calendar event informa- tion to editor@wallowa.com Full-time Bank Teller Enterprise branch is now hiring for a Full-time teller position; 40 hours per week. Incumbent must have previous customer service experience. Competitive Salary, Health Benefits, 401(K), Stock Ownership, Discretionary Cash Bonus, Teller Certi- fication Cash Incentive Pay. To apply: visit www.beobank, Career Opportunities found under Human Resources. Final candidate is subject to pre-employment background, credit & drug screenings. Application Closing Date: August 15, 2016. 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