Sweet discovery
Sugar Free Allstars, OKC Philharmonic reunite for family-friendly concert
Chris “Boom!” Wiser can’t wait to rev up his “Monster Truck” with extra clanging and smashing.
“I’m just excited to hear the crashing parts with the orchestra just going nuts,” said Wiser, the singer-songwriter and keyboard player who is half of the Oklahoma City band Sugar Free Allstars.
“I think that’s the one thing about this concert I might be looking forward to more than anything is to hear that song with an orchestra.”
The rumbling 2016 hit from the popular kindie rock duo will be one of the new selections on the slate when the funkyfresh family-friendly pair reunites Sunday with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic for one of the orchestra’s Discovery Family Series shows. The duo played its first orchestral concert with the OKC Philharmonic in March 2013.
“I think it’s a little bit unusual that we’re having a return engagement because normally we keep trying to keep things really fresh and innovative. But we know that the Sugar Free Allstars have such a huge following, and the first show that we did together was just a huge hit,” said the education conductor for the OKC Philharmonic, Matthew Troy, who will wield the baton at Sunday’s performance.
“I just think it’s a great way to keep the atmosphere fun and introduce kids to music. I’ve always said my primary goal for these concerts is to have kids — and families, honestly — walk out of the concert hall having had a great experience, had a great time, so that they
want to come back."
Energetic opportunity
The Sugar Free Allstars — Wiser and drummer and vocalist Rob “Dr. Rock” Martin — have become a staple on the local music scene, best known for their freewheeling two-man shows, featuring ditties like “Banana Pudding,” “Gotta Get Up” and “He’s OK (The Spider Song)."
“The show that we do is not the typical family concert series at an orchestra. They do ‘Peter and the Wolf’ or ‘Beethoven Lives Upstairs,’ shows where it’s mainly the orchestra. We know that there’s a lot of people that come to all of them or a lot of the Discovery shows," Wiser said. "We’re also are very confident — just as we were last time — that a lot of the audience will be comprised of kids that might have never, ever gone to an orchestra concert and might not have ever gone to an orchestra concert otherwise.”
Troy likened the show an orchestra’s pops series — for instance, the OKC Philharmonic recently has performed the music of the Eagles, Michael Jackson and Queen — only this one is aimed specifically at children.
“They take the orchestra out of what people may typically think of what a philharmonic … does, so this kind of functions much the same way. It’s their music, it’s Sugar Free Allstars’ music, being reimagined and orchestrated. All the songs that we will perform with them have special orchestrations that have been created for this, and it blends these two things together,” Troy said.
“It’s the kind of music that for kids, it makes them want to get out of their chair and dance and move. I think when you hear their music, you can’t sit still. And that’s something that I’ve always liked about their music.”
Souped-up experience
The first collaborative concert required months of preparation as composer Nathan Siler wrote the orchestrations of the Allstars’ songs with Troy consulting. Although they had to create orchestral arrangements for fewer songs this time, Wiser said playing with the Philharmonic still requires a drastic mental shift for a duo used to playing loose and laid-back kids’ shows.
“Our shows, there’s a certain amount of just going with the flow that you can’t do with an orchestra," Wiser said. "There’s a certain amount of spontaneity written into the music, but as a general rule, it’s a large ensemble and they have music that they’re following. And that part doesn’t change.”
But he said working with the Philharmonic allows the Allstars to perform songs like “Ready to Give Up Teddy” and “6th Grade Band” that they can’t play live on their own.
“It’s powerful. It’s much more powerful. … It’s like the difference between driving a really awesome little zippy car that’s really awesome and cool and fun. And then you get to like drive this ship, this amazing ship … powerful and regal and elegant. And it’s just like ‘wow.’ It’s just this huge feeling.”