OurStage

OCT.ARTICLE FOR THE 33RD ANNUAL FREAKERS BALL By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer 10/26/2007 33rd annual Freakers Ball features 30 bands on five stages It's more than just a wicked night out, rockin' and rollin' with costumed revelers doused in everything from blood to fairy dust. It's also a tradition – a Who's Who of Tulsa's party scene ascends on the downtown event every year for 33 years. Not that you'd always recognize 'em, dressed up like freaks and hobgoblins and all. "It just keeps getting bigger and better," said Freakers Ball organizer and promoter Davit Souders. This year there will be a record five stages and 30 bands, he said, including an Independent Radio Oklahoma (IROk) radio stage, a Hometown Heroes stage and an 93.1 FM Local Flavors stage. And, look for new faces like hard rock/punk/one-man act El Paso Hot Button, as well as heavy-hitting veterans, he said. Renowned filmmaker Lou Antonelli and crew will be flying into Tulsa to document the performance of rising stars and 2007 Tulsa World Spot Music Award winners for Artist of the Year, Crooked X, for two future videos. Some bands have played the event, well, as long as they've been bands, he said. "BagEyes holds the record — it's their 10th year to play the event," >Souders said. Chuk Cooley's "storyteller" brand of heavy Southern acoustic groove rock will be among the acts featured as well, Souters said. Kin to western swing and big band musician Spade Cooley (whose portrait hangs on the Cain's walls), Chuk Cooley proves that the apple falls just close enough to the family tree that even an eight-year stint in prison and a lifetime of living on the edge couldn't hamper his music making. Formerly part of local acts Two Doors Down and Hellablack, Cooley will lead the musical charge on his own terms at Saturday's event, he said. "Just being able to play Cain's Ballroom under my own name is awesome. … It's like I'm finally carrying on his (Spade Cooley's) legacy – in my own way of course," he joked. He's also a Freakers Ball veteran, first playing the event in the late '90s, he said. "Oh man, I love playing Freakers Ball," he said. Over the years, "my parents went to this event." And Doomsday Junky (what an appropriate name for a Freakers performer) has played the annual event since 2005. The heavy, swampy, southern guitar-heavy groove band is a Tulsa staple, and came together from a varied roster of former area acts, including Berserkr, High Minded and Pittbulls on Crack. "Even though we've played some really cool places, there's no comparison to the Cain's Ballroom," said Danny Roush, the band's bass player. "It's the best venue ever, bar none. The multiple stage setup at Freakers Ball is usually flawless, so there's literally a band on stage at all times. "Our singer will be the Great Pumpkin as always, throwing handfuls of candy to everyone. I'm sure it'll be a great time," he said. Rook frontwoman Jocelyn Rowland Hughes said Freakers Ball is an event her band looks forward to each year, as well. "It's like Christmas for weirdos!" exclaimed the Rook vocalist and violinist. "In other words, the best day of the year." Her "epic industrial melodic techno metal" band will perform at Freakers Ball for the third consecutive year, she said. When asked if the band was planning anything unusual, she said, "Is it unusual for it to snow indoors?" Let's put it this way: At Freakers Ball, everything's unusual