TulsaPeople Magazine

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes.

If you’ve been to any live events the last couple of years there’s a good chance artist Scott Taylor is somewhere in the room doing a painting whether it’s an Oilers game, an outdoor orchestra performance, a charity event or in a classroom at Riverfield Country Day School, where he’s worked with the kids. 

He recently opened his own gallery on Cherry Street and a pop-up shop in Mother Road Market. He even has his own billboard on 11th Street. He’s also featured in our March issue in a great profile by Ethan Veenker.

You can’t knock the hustle. I just wanted to know the hows and why? 

Why is he working so hard? How does he have the time to do everything? 

He came to the office a couple weeks ago and sat down for a conversation that starts with those questions, and then becomes a running theme. 

As with any artist, I wanted to know what drives him? What inspires him and more? 

This turned into a conversation about creativity, entrepreneurship, mental health and lots more. 

Scott is a Tulsa transplant originally from South Carolina. He’s now resided here for 15 years. I was curious what brought him to T-Town before we were giving people money to move here.

He has a growing fanbase in Tulsa as he evolves his business and his art. I enjoyed the opportunity to get know the artist who likes to hide behind tinted glasses and a big beard. 

Following my conversation with Scott, hear music from A-ILLA. More on that later. 

OK, let’s get this going. 

This is Tulsa Talks with Scott Taylor. 

 Scott Taylor's Instagram: ThatScottTaylor

Last year I heard Ayilla perform live and was instantly hooked by her soulful R&B sound, so I’m excited to share her music with you.

The day this podcast drops she will be representing Tulsa’s music scene as one of our local artists performing at SXSW in Austin. Next week, she has show in NYC. I think it’s easy to say she’s one to watch and listen to as she continues climbing. 

You can find all her music, including her latest EP “Witch Tape” on Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music, and YouTube. To keep up with her journey, follow her on Instagram: eye.am.ayilla. 

And with that here is Ayilla with “You Lie.”  

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes.

In this month’s issue of TulsaPeople, our cover story is about being mom. There are profiles of women who became moms during the pandemic. The importance of shifting the mental load. We also share snapshots of what motherhood looks like for a group of women spanning the metro. One of those women is my guest on this episode, Thuy Bui. 

I had a lot of fun getting to know her in the following conversation. 

Thuy is a mom to boys Nicholas, 17, and Tyler, 10. As you’ll hear, she loves being their mom. She quit her job as a nurse a couple years ago to spend more time with them as she saw Nicholas nearing high school graduation. 

She talks about how as a child she thought she wanted to be a teacher, and then how the COVID-19 pandemic made that a reality. She also discusses her timing in leaving nursing and how she’s stayed in touch with her former colleagues. 

Thuy runs lifestyle blog HeyThuy.com, which is linked in the show notes. We discuss how this came to be and what it’s life like as an influencer. She also runs an online hair accessories company, Micale Lynn. We talk about the return of scrunchies and banana clips, and what trends she saw at the recent Dallas market, plus how the pandemic has impacted her work.  

Thuy is a first generation American, whose parents immigrated here in 1975 around the conclusion of the Vietnam War. She shares what life was like growing up on Tulsa’s east side and attending East Central High School in the 90s and how it’s different than the world her boys are growing up in.

I learned a lot in this conversation and had a good time chatting with her.  

Following my conversation with Thuy, hear a catchy fun tune from Tulsa’s And Then There Were Two. More on that later. 

OK let’s get this going.  

This is Tulsa Talks with Thuy Bui. 

This month’s issue of TulsaPeople includes a photo essay of my time spent documenting life and nature along our city limits. You can see it at TulsaPeople.com. It was nice to get out and drive around Tulsa and see how diverse it is outside my midtown bubble. I’ve always found driving rural roads to be a relaxing, peaceful experience. I also enjoy long road trips and am overdue for putting some miles on the car. 

So why am I talking about driving? Closing out this episode is Tulsa band Then There Were Two singing “Come take a drive on route 66 with me” in their single “Take A Drive.” This is a fun one. 

You can hear them live on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 4pm at the Williams Green for the PAC's Arts In The Air concert series. You can also listen to them on Spotify and their Facebook page is Facebook.com/AmyandAustin. 

I’m going to go back to daydreaming about a road trip now.  

Here is Then There Were Two with “Take a Drive.” 

This episode is produced by Morgan Phillips and Tim Landes.

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes and this is the 100th episode! Thank you so much for listening to each episode.

On Aug. 4, I moderated a conversation with University of Tulsa President Brad Carson at the Tulsa Press Club for one of its Page One events.

I got to know Brad over 20 years ago when he was running for Congress. We hadn’t talked in 19 years, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up and learn about where life and his work has taken him before he landed at TU last July.

In this conversation, the Jenks graduate reflects on his time in Congress, including being in his capitol building office on 9/11. Brad discusses how politics have changed since he served. He talks about why he joined the Navy in 2008 and his work under President Obama running the Army. Brad also shares his thoughts on the college landscape, including NCAA sports, and his vision for TU.

Following our talk at the Press Club, hear a new song from Monica Taylor.

A Perkins, OK native, Monica Taylor’s musical roots are at The Farm, which is still the epicenter of Red Dirt Music. Her nickname, The Cimarron Songbird, was given to her by Jimmy LaFave and Bob Childers, thanks to her distinctive singing style and her home near the Cimarron River. She sings from the heart, telling stories of red dirt roads, home, fence posts, trains, and sharing her Cherokee Indian heritage as well as her Scottish roots.

Monica’s new album Trains, Rivers and Trails, which includes the track you’re about to hear, is now available at HortonRecords.org.

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. I’m thrilled to share this conversation with you. The voice you heard kicking this off is my guest, Onikah Asamoa-Caesar. She’s the founder of soon-to-open Fulton Street Books and Coffee located in the Heights, which is just northwest of downtown Tulsa. Onikah’s story is incredible. We shared it in our February issue in a great feature written by Jessica Brent. If you haven’t read it, visit TulsaPeople.com and search Fulton Street.
After reading the article, I wanted to dig deeper and Onikah was down to reflect more on the first 30 years of her life and how it led to her opening the bookstore this spring. She was born in New Jersey, moved to California and entered the foster care system. That took her to Mississippi before she returned to California for college. From there she traveled the globe and then attended John Hopkins. She joined Teach for America and chose to come to Tulsa. It was not a great initial experience. As you’ll hear, it took her leaving Tulsa to realize she missed it and wanted to come back and make some change.

Now she’s close to becoming a first-time mother and opening her first business, as her husband Kojo Asamoa-Caesar makes a run at representing Oklahoma’s First Congressional District.

I’m thankful for Onikah being so open about her experiences and the challenges she’s faced along the way. I have no doubt she’ll find success in creating a space for community and conversation for Tulsans.

A note, it was a very busy day in our offices when we recorded our conversation, so at times you might hear some faint background chatter from a big project happening nearby during our chat.

Following that story, city editor Morgan Phillips shares her experience adopting a new family companion through the Pet Adoption League. It’s been nearly eight years since I adopted my best friend from the organization, and it’s great to hear they are still creating furever homes in Tulsa.

Closing out the episode, The Voice’s Kyra Bruce shares a song from the indie-psych rock trio, Zunis.

Alright let’s get this going.

This is Tulsa Talks.

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes.

My guest on this episode is Mary Beth Babcock of Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66. It’s a quirky, fun little retail operation based out of an old 1950s gas station on 11th near Peoria. You’ve maybe seen Buck Atom. He’s hard to miss. Buck is a space cowboy and a big fan of Route 66. He’s also a big statue based on the classic muffler man model. Nearby is a brand new neon sign that is part of a going trend to bring neon back to the Mother Road.

Mary Beth is passionate about everything she does. It started with helping revitalize downtown Tulsa’s Blue Dome District with her retail shop Dwelling Spaces. There she had fun with yetis and coffee robots. Two years ago she opened Buck Atom’s. We discuss why she moved to Rt 66 and what it means to be able to help support the famous Mother Road as global tourists cruise through Tulsa.

A few months back tourism came to a stop as did most of Tulsa due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We start this conversation about how she’s been able to continue operating despite having to lock the doors to her shop and how she had to alter her scheduled celebrations, but still had lots of fun.

Despite those setbacks, Mary Beth just kept on trucking. That’s her in a nutshell. Always looking forward and moving ahead to accomplish whatever it is she envisions. I’ve known her for nearly a decade, and she’s always inspired me to pursue my own creative endeavors just by watching her lead by example. She’s full of life and her excitement for things is contagious. I don’t think it’s possible to spend time talking to her without laughing and also getting fired up to go do something.

We recorded this conversation by phone on Tuesday, June 2. I had been covering the protests the past few days and was exhausted, but chatting with Mary Beth gave me new life. That’s what she does. We both really love Tulsa, so we talked about what makes the city great, which includes a lot of creative people doing great things.

Mary Beth also talks about her friendship with friend of the pod, Danny Boy O’Connor, and she shares some tips on the places to eat and places to see on Oklahoma’s portion of Route 66. In our June issue we’ve highlighted fun things to do in all our neighboring states as well as in our state. So make sure you check it out at TulsaPeople.com.

OK, here we go.

This is Tulsa Talks.