By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: June 25, 2012

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

OKLAHOMA CITY –  It’s a new week and it’s a hot day. And it looks like it’s going to be a hot week here in Oklahoma. The other night, in an effort to cool off, I hit the pool (and the slide!) and jammed to Oklahoma City’s new urban-dance band Urban Addiction.

Red Dirt Report talked to Urban Addiction drummer Brian McKinney during a break in their set (covers of Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.” etc.)  and learned they are linked up with ACM@UCO (we wrote about them here in our talk with Scott Booker) and led by multi-instrumentalist Chris Hicks, the director of academic operations at ACM@UCO here in Oklahoma City.

Swimming in the pool and enjoying Lady Gaga and Rihanna covers is pretty nifty. And it’s music covered by some pretty talented cats based in OKC. Man, this town really swings!

Scott Mitchell, on News 9’s “The Hot Seat,” had Oklahoma City attorney Dan Murdock on as his guest and they talked about something we’ve written about here: the State Chamber of Commerce wanting to rate judges.

When Mitchell asked Murdock why rating judges might come into question – as Reps. Mike Reynolds and John Bennett have done, and been chastised by The Oklahoman for it – Murdock replied, “Who’s doing the rating? Who’s asking the questions? How are the questions being asked? Who are they being sent to?”

Murdock said all that should be done is leave judges to do their jobs. Big money, he said, are coming to judicial campaigns.

“Just because they may rule a certain way is not a way to perform evaluations on judges,” Murdock said.

Watch the full video here.

Our good friend Scott Rains, a reporter at The Lawton Constitution, has been doing some really good work covering the various problems swirling within Indian tribes like the Comanches and the Kiowas. Check out his latest article involving Kiowa tribal members filing a federal class-action lawsuit against its business committee and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Please send news tips or story ideas to reddirtreporter@gmail.com. Thanks, y’all!

Copyright 2012 Red Dirt Report