After Roger Daltrey appearance at ACM@UCO in Oklahoma City, wonder who will be next?
By George Lang
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Published: October 27, 2009
This was one of those blind item calls, where a reporter is told just to show up. These days, there’s a reason for keeping secrets, since most of us have Twitter and Facebook accounts and could turn a small event for 160 students into a free-for-all melee with an indiscreet punch of the "post” button.
Roger Daltrey arrives at the VH1 Rock Honors The Who on Saturday July 12, 2008 in Los Angeles. AP Photo
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And this event last week needed to be under wraps. When I arrived at Maker’s, just below the the
University of Central Oklahoma’s
Academy of Contemporary Music, I was greeted by a packed room, a video featuring 45-year-old photos of The Who, and ACM@UCO president
Scott Booker waving a Union Jack around. Once I recalled who was playing at
WinStar Casino in
Thackerville, I knew we were about to be greeted by one of the best front men of what
Casey Kasem used to call "the rock era.”
In short order, Booker introduced
Roger Daltrey. This was what ACM@UCO calls a "master class,” in which a music industry professional with indisputable skill and experience discusses his or her career and offers advice to the students. Daltrey was gracious and generous with his time, talking for 90 minutes about his time in The Who, his experience with an industry currently in flux, and survival tips for those who play loud and play often.
It was a landmark night, and there will be more. After two decades of managing the Lips, Booker has the connections to bring an exceptional level of talent to ACM@UCO for these master classes. Not everyone will be a legend, but there are likely to be many legends in the making who will sit on that stage, and the students are not the only beneficiaries.
Some might be public, but most will be students-only classes. But just knowing that something so patently cool happened in this city has a long-term effect on
Oklahoma City’s self-image, and it certainly helps the local government when it pushes new initiatives such as MAPS 3. When I finally posted something about Daltrey on Facebook, long after he had left the
Oklahoma Hardware Building, the first response said it all.
"Some city we’re living in!” one of my friends wrote. "I never would have thought it possible 15 years ago.”
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