"A person, a guitar, and a camera add up to unlimited opportunity in the innovative online project known as Acoustic Oklahoma"
by Stephen Carradini, OK Gazette November 11th, 2010
Its definition is a subject of debate. Curator Casey Friedman says it's a documentation project. Songwriter Anna Kinder sees it as a networking opportunity. The disco balls hanging in the former Inner State Studio aren't privy to much dancing these days. The majority of the light they catch is natural, as are the sounds that come out of the project the space hosts each day: Acoustic Oklahoma. Its definition is a subject of debate. Curator Casey Friedman says it's a documentation project. Songwriter Anna Kinder sees it as a networking opportunity. Artist Ryan Lawson goes so far as to describe it as "a musical renaissance for the folk and country community." But before it's any of those things, it's a camera, an instrument and an artist. Friedman, former owner of Inner State, renovated the studio upon its closing into an open, apartment-like space, which sits above Horn Trader Music at South Western and West Reno avenues. An avid live videographer of the local music scene, he turned his camera inward for Acoustic Oklahoma. "I wanted to bring musicians back to the space," he said. His idea was simple: Put an artist with an instrument in front of a camera, then put two minutes of the resulting song on YouTube and Facebook. Knowing many musicians from his recording days, he began contacting them and holding sessions at the end of September. Then it went viral, in many ways. "My friend Shilo Brown, who performs as Bloody Ol' Mule, set me up with a recording time with Casey," Lawson said. Word of mouth brought singer/songwriter Dustin Prinz to the project as well. "People who played here prior recommended me," Prinz said. "I've played with a lot of people who have done it."