Admiral Twin on a hot July night

Tonight I sat with two friends in our foldout camp chairs in the July heat of an Oklahoma evening. Tonight was free concert night at Utica Square. The feature band was Admiral Twin. They are one of the more well known of the Tulsa grown bands with a long history that tattered on near stardom in 2000.
When I first saw the band, they were called the Melodramatic Wallflowers. I heard about them through an ex-student named Don Holman. Don was acquainted because he knew two of the saplupa guys in the band, Mark Carr and Steve Franzen. My wife and I followed them at a local Tulsa club called The Eclipse. Their music was creative and sometimes esoteric. It had a lot of instruments and sounds not typical to pop music. I bought their cassette from Don, and listened to it often in my car. We were fans.
Then something happened. Steve left the band. His parents lived just a few doors down from us in Sapulpa. I saw Steve a few times. He told me he was working on a few things, toying around with some music. The erst of the guys, now a quartet, carried on, but under a different name. Apparently, they heard threats from the Wallflowers, a band fronted by Bob Dylan’s son Jacob, that they must change their name. They decided to go with some local flavor and called themselves the Admiral Twin, Tulsa’s seminal and long enduring drive in theater. Apparently, Jacob Dylan was a little melodramatic about the whole thing, and although his band still exists in some shadowy place, they surely wouldn’t have been confused with something titled “melodramatic.”
The new Admiral Twin recorded their first CD in ’97. It was called “Unlucky.” It was a great power pop collection. The songs were good enough o get an invite to open form the Hansons who were experiencing their notoriety from the pop hit “mmm Bop.” Admiral Twin signed a record deal and recorded “Mock Heroic” which included new material and upgrades of “Unlucky” material. At this point, the band consisted of Mark Carr - vocals, bass, keyboards, Jarrod Gollihare - vocals, drums, keyboards, John Russell - vocals, guitar, keyboards and Brad Becker - vocals, guitar, keyboards. Mark was the other guy from Sapulpa.
Apparently the tour went well.. or so I was told, but soon there were problems with the record company. Mojo Records was dropped from their larger affiliate and Admiral Twin suffered as a result. Brad became disenchanted and left the band to pursue an employment opportunity out west. After several years of struggle and a near miss, he didn’t want to fight anymore. Mark, Jarrod and John carried on . They play everywhere, including clubs, casinos, festivals and events like the Utica Square free concert series. Their namesake burned down a short time ago, and after drives to rebuild the Tulsa monument, of which the band played a part, they will play at its rededication tomorrow night. You can’t keep a good thing down, or a good band down. The drive in and the band are a part of Tulsa. They are here to stay. Admiral Twin has continued to record and release original music.
On this hot, hot evening, as the relentless sun finally sank, and the band started their 2nd set to a crowd of renewed vigor, the people filled the front to dance to the covers and original music. My friends and I, max, and Michelle, snag along with the songs and clapped our appreciation as the sweat cooled in the late evening breeze. My beer was cold in my hand and the cool sounds of their last song, an original, “The In Crowd,” washed over a happy crowd. I know I will see them again, and also listen to their music on my IPOD. I only wish that such hard working musicians as these could enjoy the success that reflects the enjoyment and pleasure they have given me and so many others who sat in these chairs, casinos and clubs.