TULSA, Okla. (AP) - U2 and Justin Timberlake had the opportunity to be exposed to Oklahoma music history during one of the biggest weeks in the BOK Center’s 10-year history.
The superstar artists didn’t have to listen to a lecture or step into a classroom for a music history lesson. All they had to do was step into one of the BOK Center’s green rooms. There are three green rooms (backstage waiting rooms) and they recently got makeovers. Each of the green rooms was refurbished to pay tribute to an Oklahoma music legend. Leon Russell. Garth Brooks. Woody Guthrie.
“The three green rooms are just part of a whole effort we have locally to create a really memorable vibe for our visitors and our entertainers who are coming here,” BOK Center general manager Jeff Nickler said.
“Over the past year, we have done a lot of really cool behind-the-scenes upgrades to really curate a memorable Tulsa-themed experience for people when they are here on site, because you have to imagine a lot of artists come in on a bus or a plane. They come to the arena. They do the show. And they are out the doors and headed to the next stop. A lot of them don’t even really get to step foot in our city or explore our city. So we try to create a little bit of Tulsa backstage for these people.”
Significant upgrades to private backstage areas took place over the past 12 months. The green rooms were finished in the last month. Country artist Thomas Rhett and metal rockers Judas Priest were the first performers to be introduced to them. U2 and Timberlake got a chance to soak up the new green room decor over a four-day span this week.
“These are the rooms where the artists or most important people are spending time when they are here on site before the show,” Nickler said.
Elaborating on the green room themes, Nickler said this: “Whereas this venue obviously hosts the Tulsa Oilers and we host major sporting events, we truly consider ourselves first and foremost a marquee concert venue, so we really have tried to celebrate Oklahoma’s musical history and specifically Tulsa’s musical influence on the world. We came up with the idea to take our three basic green rooms, which were these empty very blase spaces, and do some simple enhancements to celebrate Oklahoma. We wanted to pick artists from different genres of music and pick three people who we think represented Tulsa well and Oklahoma well.”
Each green room has a unique name that pays homage to the Oklahoma artist to whom the room is dedicated, the Tulsa World reported . The artists’ names and hometown are listed on commemorative plaques.
“When you walk into the room, there are decorative paints and wall images really celebrating that artist and each room kind of has a different vibe,” Nickler said.
Nickler said the Be The Machine (Woody Guthrie room) has a “beautiful” wall image - a reproduction of an image painted by local artist John Hammer. An oversized reproduction of handwritten lyrics to “This Land is Your Land” also adorns a wall in the room.
“All this was done in coordination with the Woody Guthrie Center, which provided us with a lot of this collateral,” Nickler said.
Nickler said of the Church Studio (Leon Russell room), “If you go inside, it really has a lot of black-and-white classic images of Leon with the Church Studio logo and it really is meant to celebrate not only Leon, but the resurgence of his memory here in Tulsa with the future renovations of the Church Studio and how that really will play a big role in the future of music here in Tulsa.”
The Thunder Rolls (Garth Brooks room) pays tribute to the Tulsa-born country superstar and it includes signage with lyrics excerpted from “Rodeo,” a No. 1 single for Brooks in 1991. “’Cause she knows his love’s in Tulsa. And she knows he’s gonna go. But it ain’t no woman flesh and blood. It’s that damned old rodeo.” Thunder Rolls is the largest of the green rooms and it has a built-in bar.
Performers are accustomed to green rooms that are easy to forget. The BOK Center’s new green rooms were crafted to make a lasting impression.
Nickler said a lot of artists do 40, 50 or 60 dates a year in concrete and steel buildings that have no personality. The private backstage areas at the BOK Center have been infused with personality.
In addition to the green rooms, there are two Tulsa-themed wall murals created by Clean Hands graffiti artists. A catering area features a wall wrap that pays tribute to Cain’s Ballroom, where many artists launched careers. On a wall inside the catering area are paper copies of set lists from many artists who have performed at the venue.
A hallway in the private backstage area includes a “wall of fame” that lists every artist who has played the venue.
A surprise awaits if you walk down the hallway and open what appears to be the plastic door to a portable restroom. The door leads to a “super-secret” high-end room (also called the Speakeasy) with a bar. It’s usually frequented by elite guests. “It’s a very fun, classy room where many artists and their crews have spent late, late nights here in the building,” Nickler said.
A gym is available for use. The gym has a name: the Derek Zoolander gym “for people who can’t lift good.” What’s the Zoolander connection to Oklahoma? There is none. The room was named after Ben Stiller’s model character in the movie “Zoolander.”
“It was a collaborative effort by quite a few of our younger generation employees who work here,” Nickler said when talking about the gym.
“We wanted to create a private workout facility where there were no attitudes, no judgments, and where anybody could feel comfortable exercising in a really fun environment. It’s a very cheesy, fun room which quite honestly gets the most attention of any of these spaces. So many artists and crew members have posted photos of this space on social media and I think they enjoy the concept and appreciate the humor.”
A game room is available backstage to give those on tour a place to relax. The room, decorated with concert posters, is blessed with a pool table and an old-school arcade game set on free play.
The new green rooms and other amenities are all about creating top-flight hospitality for tours, according to Nickler.
“Because of these things and because of this amazing catering and because of this amazing hospitality, we think that’s a very big reason why so many tours choose to rehearse and start here,” he said, mentioning U2, Rush, Roger Waters and Hall & Oates. Fleetwood Mac will christen at tour at the BOK Center later this year.
“BOK Center is known in the industry to these agents and artists’ management and promoters for having this incredible hospitality,” Nickler said. “That’s something that kind of sets us apart from other venues.”
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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com
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