Faith Phillips's Blog (8)

I was not long out of law school when Bob Dylan announced he would play the Old Lady on Brady (the Tulsa Brady Theater) in 2009. Thanks to our folks, my sisters and I grew up on a steady Dylan diet. As I matured and began to view his lyrics through the lens of my own life experience, I became more and more obsessed. Divorced and maybe a little bitter at the…

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     Almost every morning i awake from the strange world of a fantastic dream. I keep notebooks and pens right next to the bed within arm's reach, so i can write down the most interesting ones. Like most people, i imagine, if i don't get the details down within just a few moments of waking, my memory of the dream just fades away, piece by piece, until nothing is…

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My mama disappeared that summer. Funny thing about memory, sometimes I don’t know the difference between my own true recollection and things I’ve been told. Maybe that’s due partly to hearing bits and pieces of this story over and…

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Last Thanksgiving Uncle Tom said, “In all these years, I’ve never so much as gone in for a check up”. Mom says it was because he sensed that something was changing with his health, and he was letting us know in his own way. For a while, he talked about moving back to Oklahoma to be closer to us. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. But then, when it really came down to it, he changed his mind again. Decided he’d just stay on his old place up in California. He’d been living on his own little plot… Continue

Nature’s vibrant colors scarcely register on the cover of Rick Reiley’s new record, Mud & Bone, before the realization sets in that the musician’s ghostly visage sits among the headstones of a cemetery. Early assumptions abound, suggesting an album that might serve as the regretful pining of a man morose and resigned to the confines of the grave.



But the album’s inaugural track, Gulf Breeze, fans away any reservations with island energy layered atop a folky backdrop. What follows… Continue

My little sister Melissa and I adore Bob Dylan. So, when we heard he was touring the country’s baseball parks our attendance was guaranteed. Dylan scheduled a show in Oklahoma City, and Willie Nelson was set to open for him.





We arrived at the venue early. Early enough to place our little blanket right smack in front of the stage. Unfortunately, we had grossly underestimated the enthusiasm of Willie’s Groupies. So, after being stepped on, elbowed and cursed at, we determined to… Continue

A burning, bright day retreated suddenly at the advance of a summer

squall in Nashville last Wednesday. Threatening skies churned out a

torrent of rain, pouring down in sheets on the downtown area. Outside

the Ryman Auditorium, an unsuspecting crowd scattered in all

directions, seeking shelter beneath the awning of a parking garage and

nearby buildings. For a brief moment, the streams washing down 4th

Avenue were… Continue

He sings of the prairie, the south and the past.

Like a stringed instrument, his voice quivers and cries out in pain.…

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