According to the Tulsa World, the Oklahoma Pop will be the state museum of popular culture, television, film and the performing arts. Big props go to George Kaiser, who kicked off the Oklahoma Pop fundraising campaign with a $1 million pledge. And big props also to state historian Bob Blackburn, who’s leading the vision.

If you have another $2.5 million, hand it over to Cain’s Ballroom Music Museum and Historical Society. The society is planning a museum to showcase the venue’s popular music history, which includes performances by Bob Wills, the Sex Pistols, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Van Halen, The Police, Weezer, Beck, Ryan Adams and thousands more.

Whether you’ve got millions or just pocket change, these museums are both worthy causes. The Oklahoma Pop and Cain’s Museum will, in the words of Wayne Coyne, add to the growing body of evidence that Oklahoma is “more than Toby Keith and the Oklahoma Sooners.”

Governor Brad “Yoshimi” Henry: “We’ve always known how cool Oklahoma really is and now the whole world will see.”

“The Flaming Lips are ambassadors for Oklahoma to the entire world and they are fiercely loyal to this state.”

Rep. Joe Dorman: “I apologize to the (Flaming Lips) for not getting the three votes needed to proclaim “Do You Realize” as the official state rock song.”

However, the fact that we are here today and the governor is signing an executive order “highlights the spirit that we have and the tenacity that we have to make the right thing happen.”

Points out that Flaming Lips bassist Michael Ivins is wearing a Ghostbusters t-shirt. (The whole controversy over the official state rock song started when Ivins wore a t-shirt with the communist hammer and sickle on it to the state capital last month.)

Wayne Coyne: “I promised our manager, Scott, that despite my genuine excitement and enthusiasm, I would not use the F-word.” (Wayne’s use of the F-word at the dedication of Flaming Lips Alley in Oklahoma City was also part of the controversy of proclaiming “Do You Realize” as the official state song.)

“I never doubted for a moment that Oklahoma would come to our rescue.”

“Governor Henry, this is a really classy thing you’re doing.”

“Thank you for coming to our rescue. We really do have a wonderful life here (in Oklahoma) and I hope it goes on forever.”

For the 25 or so Norman Music Festival board members, thoughts like “What the heck am I doing?” quickly became “Heck yeah, this is amazing!”

It all began two years ago with a crazy idea to host a free music festival in downtown Norman. NMF chair Jonathan Fowler had the vision and it’s no small miracle that he and hundreds of volunteers made the 2nd Annual Norman Music Festival happen. And that 25,000 people showed up to watch it all go down.

So here’s a breakdown of the day from the perspective of a volunteer/board member who’s never been part of anything quite like this before (me).

8:30 AM — Arrive at nmf2 headquarters at MAINSITE Contemporary Art on Main Street — smack dab in the middle of all the festivities.  Bump into Kent from Massive Graphics (thanks for all the awesome t-shirts, signage, projectors, etc.) He’s been on Main Street since 3 am setting up the stage and is pondering at what point he can go home and take a nap in preparation for the long, long day ahead. Also run into festival chair Jonathan Fowler who is giddily greeting everyone with “Happy Festival Day!”

9:00 AM — Media start showing up and I start handing out press passes — over 100 of them.

10:30 AM — Drum Mania kicks off the festival with their Asian-inspired drumline. Perfect way to get the party started (and wake up the town.)

11:30 AM — Husband picks me up for a quick lunch break at Pepe Delgados on campus corner. Nothing like delicious Rajitas to get you going. Afterward, I visit my friend/twinkie Katie’s artist booth.

12:30 PM — Back to work at the media pass booth. Also start preparing for my interviews with nmf2 performers Brandon Jenkins, Stardeath and the White Dwarfs, Tea Leaf Green, The Starlight Mints, Early Beat, Billy Joe Shaver, Todd Snider and Man Man.

2:00 PM — Am amazed by volunteers Christian Pitt, Sasha Clements, Holly Jones, Quentin Bomgardner, Steven White and everyone else who is keeping the boat afloat at headquarters.

5:00 PM — Of Montreal media interview on the patio at MAINSITE. Of Montreal gives major props to Norman. Lead singer Kevin Barnes says Norman was one of the first places to embrace the band. Also talks about power outage at OU Meacham Auditorium concert a couple of years ago (I was there and it was a disaster, but they made the best of it.) Bandmate James Husband echoes Barnes’ enthusiasm for Norman “There’s always a story to tell. It’s not like a stop where you just come through — you know you were in Norman.”

5:30 PM — Eat at Van’s Pig Stand with hubby and friends. Smoked turkey and green beans. Yummy, but I will definitely smell like BBQ the rest of the night. Starting to feel a bit dazed and confused from major lack of sleep two nights in a row.

6:45 PM — Kick off my band interviews with Brandon Jenkins. We talk about how Oklahoma’s music scene is exploding. He moved from OK to Austin six years ago, so I ask what OK can do to keep talented musicians here. He says the Norman Music Festival will certainly help. Also says radio stations need to promote local musicians.

7:00 PM — MeVersus.com does an impromptu interview with me about the festival. I talk about how it’s the progression of a movement to establish Oklahoma as a center of creativity for musicians. Continue telling them how cool Oklahoma is. After the interview, I realize MeVersus.com is a blog that promotes Texas. Seriously doubting anything I said will make it into their post… (UPDATE — MeVersus.com ended up writing a fabulous post about Oklahoma’s creative scene).

7:15 PM — Interview Oklahoma City-based Stardeath and the White Dwarfs.  Frontman Dennis Coyne (Wayne Coyne’s nephew) is super nice. The band signed with Warner Bros 9 months ago and will drop their new album on May 19.

7:30 PM — Run into The Lost Ogle. He says “you look busy.” I think he says “you look dizzy.” At this point, I am both. So I grab a beer and hope for the best.

7:35 PM — Interview San Francisco jam band Tea Leaf Green. My interview questions are largely based on the fact that their new bassist Reed Mathis was a founding member of Oklahoma’s own Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. Only problem? Reed Mathis is the only one who doesn’t show up for the interview. Bummer.

7:45 PM — Interview Norman-based band The Starlight Mints. Drummer Andy Nunez was in charge of booking bands for nmf2 and what an excellent job he did! The Mints are releasing a new album on July 14.

8:00 PM — Interview Norman-based Early Beat. Their performance earlier in the day got a huge response and they are stoked.

8:30 PM — Realize Billy Joe Shaver and Todd Snider aren’t showing up for their joint interview. Shucks! Was really looking forward to that one.

9:00 PM — Interview Chang Wang (Billy Dufala) and Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner) from Philly-based Man Man. This is the one I am most looking forward to. But they are taking swigs from a bottle of Maker’s Mark and are in a silly mood. Considering their experimental music, I think they’re consistently in a silly mood… or consistently taking swigs of whiskey. I ask them about their pseudonyms. They go off on a tangent about mayonnaise and prophylactics. However, they are of sound enough mind to notice and compliment the “very cute” skirt I’m wearing (which was made by my very cute friend Katie Huskerson.) After the interview is over, I ask to get my picture with them. They won’t do it unless I let them hold me in the air. I think this is weird, but then I think about Twittering a photo with Man Man and me wearing my cute friend’s cute skirt. I agree. We take two photos. One is blurry and one is vulgar (unbeknownst to me at the time). I TwitPic the blurry one.

10:00 PM — After almost 10 hours, I am done with official nmf2 duties. Leave headquarters and join the Main Stage crowd waiting for Of Montreal.

10:55 PM — Of Montreal takes the stage. I’m loving Kevin Barnes’ puffy-sleeved purple jacket.

11:45 PM — Finally take advantage of all access pass and push my way up to the photo pit.  Yes, I am taking pictures with my iPhone. The real photographers look at me like I’m crazy and cast glances at the security guards as if to tell on me for jumping the gate. Security tries to give me the boot. I do some smooth talking and they let me stay. Maybe it was the cute skirt made by my cute friend.

12:00 AM — Snap my last shot of Kevin Barnes. Realize I am worn out and head home to crash. What a long, strange, marvelous day!

(Big thanks to my husband Zach for taking all the photos! If you like documentary films, visit his blog.)

UPDATE: My friend Mike Windham took some AMAZING virtual photos of nmf2, so check them out!

Do you realize? That OKLAHOMA will be home to America’s first “School of Rock”? Thanks to Flaming Lips manager Scott Booker,  the Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO will open its doors in Bricktown this fall. Modeled after and franchised by the original School of Rock in London, ACM@UCO will provide students from all over the country an opportunity to learn from and collaborate with working musicians and music industry professionals.

So what does this mean for our state? Check out my recent interview with Scott at the Bricktown Rotary.

The most amazing concert took place in Oklahoma this past weekend. No, it wasn’t at the Ford Center, or the BOK Center or even Cain’s or the Brady. It was actually at my friends’ house.

Normanites Tyler and Katie Huskerson hosted a David Bazan house show in their 3-bedroom, 1-bath, 2-cat bungalow near campus. I’ll admit, I didn’t even know who singer/songwriter David Bazan was before this show. But apparently a lot of other people did, because strangers from all over Oklahoma were packed into their 1950s-inspired living room. We drank hot apple cider, ate homemade cookies and listened to David Bazan live and raw. No mic, no speakers. Just Bazan, his guitar and his soulful voice. It was intimate. It was moving. And it was definitely magical.

Here’s an interview with Tyler about how he got Bazan to bring his house show tour to Oklahoma… and to the Huskerson house in particular.

Hosting a concert at your house with a nationally recognized singer/songwriter is a little out of the ordinary. How did this all happen?

Well, I have been a big fan of David Bazan and his different incarnations as Pedro the Lion and Headphones for a number of years. I kind of follow what is going on with him through a message board online. I read that he was thinking of doing a house tour as a way to get some of his new songs out in the public in a very low key way. I basically got the blessing of my wife and emailed his management letting them know that we would love to host. A few days and emails later, they had confirmed the show and sold all of the tickets online.

What was your favorite part of the evening?

Well, I really loved getting to hear all of the new songs and seeing his rapport with everyone sitting in our living room. It is always refreshing to meet someone you really admire and realize that they are a normal, well adjusted person who just happens to be very talented.

Not knowing anything about David Bazan before this concert, I was blown away by his lyrics. What are some of your favorite Bazan lyrics?

from “Promise”

“Now we’ve established a lack of sight
maybe vision’s the right word
for what I need, cuz I can’t see with human eyes
Lord knows I’ve tried to follow where he leads me

Why can’t I see
if I look up and the sky’s not there,
is there any reason that I should be scared
when a promise, is a promise, I know ”

Did you have any interesting conversations with David Bazan?

I think my favorite conversation I had with him was when he saw my vinyl collection and I had him sign one of his early records… he was pretty funny in suggesting which one I should have him sign, as one was more rare than the other I was thinking of getting signed.

Did he say anything about how Oklahoma is the coolest state ever?

We actually talked about some of our mutual friends from Oklahoma and he had some very nice things to say about those people… he also seemed to think that my wife had prepared some serious snacks and that she had gone above and beyond as far as hospitality.

Christian Pitt

MAINSITE Contemporary Art gallery director Christian Pitt is mentoring local artists and bringing national attention to Oklahoma’s art scene, she’s planning a free indie music festival with 25,000 people expected to attend, and she’s organizing monthly art walks in downtown Norman.

Through her day job, volunteerism and artwork, Christian is creating magical moments for artists and art lovers alike. But creating magic is nothing new for her.

Christian grew up in Oklahoma City assisting her grandfather in magic shows — levitating, jumping out of life-sized doll houses and having her head chopped off (and magically reattached, of course).

“He cared for me daily while my mother and father worked. We were virtually inseparable when we lived in Oklahoma, and I was never want for toys.”

Today, Christian’s artistic work includes creating toy monsters and life-sized monster costumes. “I make toys because I have a 10-year-old daughter. Play is important to people  — it’s one of the most important things a human can do.”

Christian says her mission is to create more opportunities for artists in Oklahoma. At MAINSITE, she helps artists promote their work and develop business skills. As a board member for the Norman Arts Council, she organizes Second Friday art walks in the Downtown Arts District.  She’s also on the planning board for the Norman Music Festival, a free music festival featuring over 50 local and national bands.

My husband and I have experienced Christian’s enthusiasm for local artists firsthand. She sold us our first piece of art — a photograph by  J. Michelle Martin-Coyne.  The photograph (of her husband Wayne Coyne crowd surfing in a giant bubble at a Flaming Lips concert) is in my office and makes me smile every day.

I asked Michelle about Christian’s influence on her success as a photographer. “Christian is easily one of the most generous and encouraging people on the face of the earth. She goes way beyond what is necessary to make something work, which is a rarer quality than we would like it to be. I have done two shows with her and am always surprised by how she seems to magically get things done that I hadn’t even considered yet.”

Christian says she loves helping local artists package their work and get noticed. “I’m friends with so many artists and I want to make it so we can pay to go to the dentist. I also want to bring national attention to Norman. I’m astonished when people complain because there’s really nothing better than this. I’ve been to New York, Paris, Chicago, Spain, LA… and nothing compares to this.”

Norman Music Festival chairman Jonathan Fowler said he has worked with Christian on several projects, including the festival and Second Fridays. “She is one of many super heroes in our arts community.  Playing the unsung hero of downtown staple MAINSITE art gallery by day, and volunteering her time after work to the arts and arts education — making her community better and asking nothing in return.”

Christian says she feels like she’s done her job when there are lots of things to do in Norman on the weekend — from exhibit openings to music festivals to art walks. “Twenty years ago, there was nothing going on. We’re layering on a new quality to Norman.”

When I asked Christian if she thought there was anything magical about Oklahoma, she told a story about her grandfather thinking there was something in the water — something that made Oklahomans just a little more creative.

“People here have always had to create their own fun and manifest their own destiny because we’re so cut off here. It typically takes 8 months for trends to seep into Oklahoma. If we waited on trends to come here, it would be pointless. We have to take control of our own destiny.”