Simonton featured in national publications

By Brent Wilcox

Local western artist and Minco Millennium cartoonist Tom Simonton has recently been spotlighted in two national magazines, American Frontiersman and Guns of the Old West.

Simonton has lived in Minco for more than three decades.

In addition to his beautiful oil paintings, he illustrates a cartoon each week for the Minco Millennium called “Minco Mysteries.”

On page 2 of American Frontiersman the Editors’ Welcome begins, “If you love the American frontier and the Old West, you’ll also love Tom Simonton, the man who created this issue’s cover art.”

In the article Tom said he “sold his first Western painting at the age of 14.” But his artistic talents started much earlier in life. 

“People could notice that at four years old my stuff was different than other kids’ stuff,” Tom told Chesnut.

The magazine article points out that at an early age, Tom drew dinosaurs and later focused on science fiction, but it was Western art that grabbed him.

He explained that his family heritage inspired his love of Western art.

His great-grandparents had a ranch outside of Duncan and his great-grandmother was a Chickasaw.

“It always goes back to that, and that’s what I’m about. That heritage is strong,” Tom said in the article.

Simonton’s art was featured on the cover of the spring issue of American Frontiersman, which was accompanied by a five-page article. The article featured 10 of Simonton’s works of frontier and western art and a photo of Simonton standing in front of some of his art at the Re-Store in Minco.

A similar article accompanied by photos of the same pieces of art make up a six-page spread in the summer issue of the magazine, Guns of the Old West.

Both articles were written by Mark Chesnut.

“Mark told me he was originally from Tuttle, so he knew exactly where Minco is on the map,” said Simonton.

Chesnut is Senior Editor and Consultant for both magazines, which are published in Nashville, Tennessee.

Simonton’s story of ending up a featured artist in the publications is a study in perseverance and patience, as well as a little luck.

In the summer of 2020, Simonton bought a magazine at the Dollar General in Minco. 

“I was in the dollar store, saw the magazine and bought it. I thought, these people might be interested in some of my illustrations,” Simonton said.

He brought the magazine to the Minco Millennium office and asked if we could email the publisher to see if the magazine  would be interested in any of his art for publication.

We sent a few photos I took of Tom’s art along with Tom’s phone number.

The answer was a long time coming. 

Ten months later Chesnut called Simonton and asked if we could send him more samples of his art.

One year ago, in June of 2021, we emailed him two more photos I took of Tom’s paintings and sent him a link to Simonton’s Facebook page for his art, Oklahoma Western Artist.

Four months ago, in February of this year, Mark called Tom again and interviewed him for an article and asked us to email more photos of Tom’s artwork.

Since the publication of the magazine articles, people from other states have begun contacting Tom about his art on his art Facebook page (which is mentioned in the magazine). 

The Minco Millennium congratulates “the Minco Kid” Tom Simonton on this well-deserved recognition.

If you are interested in purchasing a piece of Tom’s artwork, several of his masterpieces are on display at the Re-Store along with a book showcasing many of the pieces he has at home.

Music Review: Jared Deck – Bully Pulpit

By Brent Wilcox

We were lucky and privileged to be able to attend the show for Jared Deck’s release of his new album “Bully Pulpit.” This is his second solo album.

Deck’s live show at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City was filled with energy and entertainment. At times it felt like a music revival with the sold out crowd joining in with hand-clapping and foot-stomping. At times I expected some to stand up and shout “Hallelujah!” (Several did stand and dance in place! And I think I heard a few Amens!)

Deck writes almost all of his own music. His art of scribing emotions, feelings and stories in verses and melodies has won awards for good reason. He excels at songwriting.

Rolling Stone Country included Deck’s first single “Great American Breakdown” from the new album as one of the ten new country or Americana songs to listen to. With the release of his first solo album Deck described his music as Mid-Americana. And Deck is a country boy. He grew up in Thomas, Oklahoma (Pop. 1,181).

But with Bully Pulpit, Deck proves he shouldn’t be labeled with one genre of music. He’s country, he’s Americana or Mid-Americana, but he’s so much more.

Deck served as the music director for at least two different churches in western Oklahoma. One of those churches had a majority membership of African Americans. Deck’s gospel music background shines through brightly in Bully Pulpit.

To illustrate the diversity on this album, and Deck’s wide range of musical talents I thought it would be fun to pick other more famous artists that I could imagine performing his songs.

In my mind I can see and hear Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones performing “The Great American Breakdown.”

The forth track on the album, “Make Your Mama Proud” would be a natural fit for Garth Brooks.

When I hear “In the Name,” the sixth track, I envision the late English rocker Joe Cocker performing this soulful Deck original.

With the seventh track, “Sometimes I Miss Being Lonely,” I could honestly hear Garth Brooks or Tricia Yearwood, Tim McGraw or Faith Hill, Vince Gill or Amy Grant, Elvis Costello or Diana Krall singing this song. I mention all those because they are married couples and this song was co-written by Deck and his wife Jacy.

Maybe it’s the horns and piano on the 2nd track, “Money Back,” but I can hear Billy Joel performing this song.

Reba McEntire could have another smash hit if she recorded Deck’s eighth track, “Tulsa Sound.”

I can hear the great Mavis Staples singing several songs on this album, including two traditional songs – “I Don’t Know What You Come to Do” and “There’s a Leak in This Old Building” – and the Deck original “True Believer.”

I think the other two tracks on this album (11 in all) are my personal favorites. I’m a sucker for slower songs and these two songs get stuck in my head. Both “Where I Fall” and “Over and Over” get stuck in my head and play over and over.

I’m not suggesting any of the artists I mention above would do a better job on these songs. Jared Deck is a multi-talented artist who holds his own with any of the above artists. These are his songs, he wrote them brilliantly and he performs them superbly. I just wanted to express the diversity of his talent.

I highly recommend “Bully Pulpit.” It is available on iTunes, Spotify, or his website jareddeckmusic.com. And if you ever have the chance to see Deck perform live – take it and you’ll be in for a really good country-mid-Americana-soulful-rhythm-and-Rocking fun time!

Laughing with Lucas

This is a review I wrote back in July. This would make a great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for any young ones in your family.

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Laugh with Lucas at the Banjo Farm

By Brent Wilcox

“I want to hear Lucas Ross again,” said Kai from the back seat of the vehicle as we were driving from Oklahoma City to Minco.

I had no problem with that request so I started Banjo Farm playing again.

The comedic genius of Lucas Ross is that he makes me laugh (I’m 51 years old) and he makes seven year old Kai laugh too. Lucas also happens to be a darn good musician.

On Ross’ new album his banjo playing shines on all eight tracks, but it stands out even more (in my opinion) on the last three tracks. These three songs were recorded live with the Oklahoma Community Orchestra.

On the first of those three songs, we hear orchestra conductor Irvin Wagner ask Lucas what he is doing up on stage. “I thought I could join the string section!” Wagner tells him he has to audition first. The audition is Lucas playing his banjo against the entire orchestra in Duelin’ Banjos.

The other two songs Ross recorded live with the orchestra are his original song S.O.B.K. (We Got Bees) which was on his first album and The Muppets’ song Rainbow Connection.

On the title song, Lucas calls his grandma and tells her that he needs “something new to play” and so his Mema takes him to the Banjo Farm “the one place that instruments get to play.” Accordions swim in an aquarium, triangles grow on trees and “all the instruments on display from xylophones to old trombones.” The song tells a fun story and is cartoonish, which in my mind, makes me envision animated characters.

The next song is Kai’s favorite, probably because he can relate to the main character who is a kid who “Faked Sick” to stay home from school, but there are also many lines in the song that makes Kai laugh out loud. The kid in the song has a 190 degree temperature because he put the thermometer up to a heater and he tells his mom he needs to stay home. A couple of the lines that draws laughter out of Kai every time he hears it include: “Mom, my toenails and my rear hurts,” and later he’s telling his mom about an embarrassing incident at school which includes “Mom, my food went everywhere plus I ripped my pants and everyone saw my underwear.” The song starts out with just Lucas playing the banjo, but shortly other instruments join in. Lucas also plays the accordion on this song.

On Ninja Dog, the third song on the album, the barking dog in the song is actually Ross’s six-year-old son Simon. In the song, he thinks his dog might be a super hero.  Or he could be an archeologist because he digs and “maybe he’ll dig up a dinosaur, ooh! and be on the front page of the newspaper!” His real dog actually did appear on the front page of the Millennium a couple weeks ago when we covered the release of the new album. The Ross’s dog Sprocket appears on the roof of the house behind Lucas in the cover art of Banjo Farm.

Bored Cow, the fourth song on the album, has an awesome beat that makes me and Kai both want to get up and dance. But Lucas sounds totally different. He sounds like a cross between Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley singing to a Beach Boys beat. There are many bovine-related jokes. You will be “a-moooosed” listening to Bored Cow.

The fifth song is a cover of Late for School, the Steve Martin song from his 2009 Grammy-winning album. Anyone who knows Lucas knows that Steve Martin is his comedic idol, but probably also his biggest banjo influence. Lucas does a super job covering this song, and his banjo playing is exceptional. Ross wrote all the songs except this one, Duelin’ Banjos and Rainbow Connection.

I highly recommend this album for anyone who has a sense of humor and likes laughing and those who enjoy music. For those who have never listened to Ross, if you like Steve Martin, or Sesame Street, or the Muppets – then you will enjoy Lucas Ross and his second album. Banjo Farm is good clean fun for adults and children. You can download it digitally from iTunes for $7.92 or we have CDs available for $8 at the Re-Store.

A Favorite News Article (John Rule)

This is a story I wrote for our local weekly in February 2015. A local artist was selected to produce the cover for the 2015 Oklahoma Travel Guide. This is about that artist – John Rule.

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By Brent Wilcox for the Minco Millennium

On the handsome cover of the new 2015 Oklahoma Travel Guide one will see the state bird, the state animal, the state flower and the state wild flower. It is not photographs gracing the new guide cover, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Bison, Oklahoma Rose and Indian Blanket are all carved into leather by John Rule, a local artist and leather craftsman.

Rule lives just over a mile west of Red Hill, south of Minco. He and his wife have lived here for about 8 years. Before moving to the Minco area he and his wife owned one of the oldest saddle shops still operating in Oklahoma, the National Saddlery located in the Oklahoma City Stockyards.

“It was started in 1926 and I worked there for 31 or 32 years. My wife and I bought it in 1980,” said Rule.

He told me he made his first belt at age 11. “It’s approaching 50 years,” Rule said when asked how long he had been tooling leather. “I made my first saddle when I was 16. It can be a fun hobby or a life-long journey.”  Rule made it a life-long journey and clearly that decision has paid off when you view his artistry.

Rule was chosen as the Official Saddlemaker of the Oklahoma Centennial. The saddle he created is on display at the Oklahoma History Center. He thought that was probably how the Oklahoma Department of Tourism found him to approach him about creating the cover for the 2015 Travel Guide.

“They gave me size instructions, but had minimal input on the design,” Rule said about the cover. He had included the scissor-tail and bison on the Centennial saddle and he said it was pretty much a no-brainer to include them on the cover. He said once the design was completed and approved it took him about 7 days from start to finish on the cover. However, Rule’s work days are usually 12 to 15 hours.

About 90% of what he does is custom orders. “I do most everything in leather, except boots and shoes.  Belts, billfolds and of course I still build saddles,” said Rule. He was working on a cover for a day planner while I visited with him for this story.

But leather is not his only artistic talent. Rule is also a magnificent sculptor. He’s only been sculpting with clay for about 10 years but as he explained, “Basically that is what I do with the leather, I sculpt it,” said Rule.

Rule is currently working on what will be a life-size bronze sculpture for Oklahoma City Community College. He has titled it “Downstream Drifters.”  There are three longhorn steers with a cowboy on his horse using a hoolihan loop to rope the steers.

Artist John Rule shows how he attaches different pieces of his sculpture together.

Rule explained that once he gets everything sculpted the way he wants it, it will then be broken down into pieces and they’ll create molds in his shop. The rubber molds will then be taken to a foundry in Wilson, Oklahoma and the molds will be poured with bronze. An interesting note on the foundry where his sculpture will be bronzed, Rule said, “It’s where they make the Heisman Trophies.”

When “Downstream Drifters” is complete it will be put on a large fountain with running water outside at OCCC. “The steers should be at about eye level when it is all finished,” said Rule. He hopes to wrap up the sculpting part of this process within the week. As soon as he is finished with this one, he will immediately begin on another custom ordered sculpture. He couldn’t disclose who it was for yet, but said it would be another cowboy on a horse to be displayed somewhere in Oklahoma City.

John Rule is a true artist who knows his craft and his subject matter. You can find him on Facebook under John Rule Saddlery if you would like to custom order a saddle, a belt or just about any other leather item or to custom order a sculpture to display at your home or business.