Bartlesville's own Becky Hobbs talks about growing
up in B'ville and becoming a successful country singer..... |
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Starting out, Tell us who you are, how did you end
up playing in Bartlesville, favorite drinks, entertainer, who inspires
you to greatness, family, hometown, song, book, what is your passion
when not performing.... My name is Becky Hobbs and I was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. We lived on Quapaw and I went to Jefferson Elementary School until I was eight and then we built a house in Pennington Hills and I went to Will Rogers for one year, then Hoover for three. I started taking piano lessons from Nadine Russell when I was 8. Took 2 lessons and quit (I was painfully shy, believe it or not!), then I started back when I was nine, after I heard my older sister, Barbara playing “Witch Doctor” and “Flying Purple People Eater”! Barbara would sit down and play so beautifully...her hands just glided over the keys. My hands were smaller, so I had to play harder. My parents used to complain that they couldn’t hear the TV set when I practiced! I wore pigtails and my sister said I looked like “Rhoda” in “The Bad Seed” (the little girl who murdered people!) While at Madison Jr, High, I started getting into Bob Dylan and folk music. My folks bought me a $25. “no brand name” guitar and Nancy Sloan and I worked up some songs. We sang at a couple of Madison Assemblies. I went one year to Col-Hi, and it was that year that I started an all-girl band called The Four Faces of Eve. A friend of my dad’s MADE me an electric guitar and I got a $50. Airline amplifier and a $7. Microphone for Christmas. I was ready to rock! The first band consisted of Karen Esch on drums, Cherie Martini on organ, Audley Collins on lead guitar and me on rhythm. We rehearsed in the Martini’s living room, because Cherie’s “organ” was actually a giant living room monstrosity that belonged to her mother! We had more rehearsals than gigs! I remember inviting boys to come by to hear us (thinking they would think we were cool) and it didn’t work...it scared the hell out of ‘em! Sadly, Karen passed away a few years ago in Kansas City and it broke my heart. She was a wonderful, spiritual person. That group morphed into a group that included Beth Ann Morrison on bass, Mary Lou Morrison on drums and Judy Pershall on lead guitar. Sooner High opened and I went there for my Junior and Senior years. I continued playing with the girl band and also played with some guys (John “Ocean” O’Shaughnessy, Tom Gray, Charlie Spears, Billy Joe Cook, Mark Layden, etc.) called “Epicurean Time Machine” and “Undetermined Mud”. We did Jefferson Airplane, Cream, Animals, Jimi Hendrix, etc. We were a bunch of little Okie hippies having a great time! The guys chipped in to buy an old pea0green station wagon and called it “the Bomb”. I painted giant flowers on it (I ruined many a vehicle in my day). Someone busted out the front windshield, so the guys had to wear motorcycle helmets when they drove it! Bartlesville was way square back then. If you were a guy and had long hair, you got sent home from school! I got sent home a couple of times when my skirts were too short and another time when my dress was too long (I wore a “granny” dress to Col-Hi, heaven forbid!) I was told to cut my bangs more than once. I made most of my clothes, because I couldn’t find anything wild enough to buy, not even in Tulsa! Before I was old enough to drive, my dad would drive me to the Bartlesville Civic Center and I would stand on the front row and listen to the bands. I saw Jerry Lee Lewis when I was real young, and then later on, a lot of the West Coast psychedelic bands. I’ll never forget a band called “The California Spectrum”. It was the first time I ever saw a strobe light! I was hooked! I saw “Them” from England, “The Fifth Estate”, “The Five Americans”, “The Blue Things”, the horn show-bands out of Lawrence, KS, like the Red Dogs, who had a Bville guys in the band, The Flippers, etc. They all impressed and inspired me. “The Wanderers” were a real popular local band then, with Raymond Berry on guitar, Gary Nodine on vocals, Chris Malick on organ. They played at the “Y-Hut” a lot. Since we were so young then, my bands didn’t play a whole lot of gigs...a few “Battle of the Bands”, a few Teen Hops, Whiting Hall in Pawhuska (we made $3. “gas money” to play on the Rogues V’s breaks once) and the Nowata VFW. The “Killer” (Jerry Lee Lewis) is my all-time favorite entertainer. I like to drink wine with dinner and I like a good Irish Coffee after the show...it’s “good for the voice”! It’s funny...music is what brought me to the dance, but I spend most of my time at my computer, taking care of business stuff. I have a catalog of over a thousand songs, and also my own label, Beckaroo. When I do have some time to myself, I like to just sit at my grand piano and just play for my own enjoyment. I also like to look at magazines with my cats on my lap! I’ve given up on cooking. My husband is a much better cook than I’ll ever be, so I just let him do the honors! I do like to dig in the dirt. It makes me feel grounded and gives me ideas for songs. How did you get started? When? Why? Describe "the moment" you knew you were destined to become a performing artist. I have been writing songs since I started playing the piano. I just assumed anyone could write a song. The older I get, the more I realize that it is truly a gift and that I really have very little to do with it. The best songs I have ever written are the ones where I just step out of the way. I found a little diary in my old bedroom on Princeton Drive. On one page, I wrote: “My name is Rebecca Ann Hobbs. I am in the fifth grade. I am a songwriter.” After I graduated HS, I went to Tulsa University for one year. I played in an all-girl band out of Tulsa and then I moved to Baton Rouge, LA for 2 years and played with a southern rock band called “Swampfox”. Went out to L.A. after that and stayed for 9 years before moving to Nashville 24 years ago!#! Tell us about your current projects..... My new album, SONGS FROM THE ROAD OF LIFE, just came out and I am busy promoting it. I have some gigs, not nearly as many as I used to have. For a solid decade, I was never home...I was supporting a band, a bus, a manager, an agent, etc. and I was digging myself a huge debt-hole. Plus I was exhausted all the time. My life is much easier now. How would you define your music? A lot of it is rockin’. A lot of it is poignant. I just try to keep it as honest as possible. Do you play both acoustic and full band gigs? Which do you prefer, and why? Now I am doing more acoustic gigs than full-band. A lot of times, it’s just Duane on acoustic guitar and me on keys and sometimes just me by myself. I prefer the acoustic gigs now...less wear and tear. It’s easier to hear the words and enjoy the songs. However, if there’s a big stage and a big audience and a rockin’ band, I’m THERE! Songwriting, who writes most of the songs, or do you all write with others, or each other? If so, who? I’ve done a lot of co-writing through the years, but I prefer to write alone. What inspires you to write? What was your first original song preformed by You? What songs are you working on now? Do you ever curb your writing if it becomes to personal, and does that change the intergrity of the song? Just being around another day inspires me to write! ”In A Dish” and “Dancing “Bear” were a couple of real dogs back in the early days! Let me apologize right now to all those poor folks who had to listen to them! I don’t think a song can be too personal. I hate it when someone “waters it down.” If it’s true for me, it’s gonna be true for others. Do you think Bartlesville crowds are open to original music? Where do you want to see live music here in town in the future? Where do you want it to be and how can we get it there? It’s been so long since I’ve performed in Bartlesville, that I don’t know what’s going on anymore. After I started getting some notoriety, I came back often to play. I played at the Community Center, the high schools, occasionally a night club. I would love to see a great “listening” venue in Bville, sort of like the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, where you can go and hear original music, relax and have a drink. There is so much talent in Northeastern Oklahoma. There should be an outlet. *Describe your "dream venue" for live music in Bartlesville. Accoustics, crowd, ambiance.....What improvements do you see being made in the local venues here and what additional things can be done. In playing cover songs, do you find there is a magic mix for the fans, or the venues? What are some of the toughest challenges you’ve faced to this
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