Tulsa Leef

Tulsa Leef (1993-1994?)^[1] was an experimental/grunge band from Harrah, Oklahoma. At their peak, they sold out a 34 person venue, The Harrah Theater, and entertained several at Harrah Day 1993. Known in Eastern Oklahoma County for their Chinese Gong and avant-garde music, they made national headlines on June 22, 1994, when their tour 'bug' crashed into a fireworks stand. Their only single, Milk Machine was covered by Seattle-area band, Tad, in 1995, reaching 237 on Billboard's Hot 238 College Radio Chart. All three surviving members stay in contact, and there has been much talk of a reunion, including a possible first album.

History

Members
Aaron Likens	Bass/Vocals	1993–1994
Chad McNaughton	Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals	1993–1994
Louis Michael Hanna	Performance Art/Vocals	1993–1994
Matt Trow	Drums	1993-June 22, 1994

Origins

Aaron Likens and Chad "Chekkie" McNaughton met during the intermission of an Oklahoma City Philharmonic production of Wagner's Ring Cycle. They hit it off in the second to the last stall of the Oklahoma Civic Center's Mezzanine-level men's bathroom and exchanged numbers for a 'jam-session' later that night. That night's 'jam-session' proved a success, and several antibiotic shots later, a regular 'practice night' evolved into serious 'song writing' and 'recording.'

Name

The members of the band decided on the name Tulsa Leef for entirely puerile reasons.

Success of Name

It is not known, and rather unlikely, that the prurient focus of the name ever actually resulted in the feeling of a slut.^[2]

Career

Tulsa Leef was never able to record an album, as they had no money, no representation, and no talent. At their peak, they sold out a 34 person venue, The Harrah Theater, and entertained several at Harrah Day 1993. Sadly, due to events of the summer of 1994, Tulsa Leef's potential never became kinetic.

Controversy

Events of the fateful day, June 22, 1994, set in motion the eventual indefinite hiatus of Tulsa Leef. Chad "Chekkie" McNaughton, hopped up on goofballs and an IV drip of cobalt, refused to pull the tour 'bug' to the side of the road when officer Joe Bob Cuttleson attempted a traffic stop of the erratically-driven 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.^[3] As a result of the attempt to flee, McNaughton blew through a stop-sign at the intersection of SW 29th Street and Dobbs Road, terrifying onlookers at the Blues Club #3. Nearly a mile East of the intersection, still travelling eastbound, the vehicle crashed into a temporary fireworks stand, killing 15 women and children, including Matthew Trow, Tulsa Leef's drummer.

Hiatus and Subsequent Careers

Due to the subsequent trial of McNaughton and his controversial acquittal, the band decided to go on an amicable hiatus, because, as Likens said in a recent interview, "that's what Trow would've wanted us to do: he was a selfish bastard. He never would've wanted us to play without him."^[4]

McNaughton has moved on from the incident to become a professional clown for the gay rodeo. "Chekkie" loves riling up the beast in chute number 2. He now lives in Colorado Springs with his partner, Jamal.

Hanna has refocused his creative energies as a professional masturbateur and Wikipedia-article writer. He lives in Beijing, China and resents Amber alerts, from afar.

Likens is a research psychologist at UC Barstow. He makes weekly trips to Las Vegas with his wife of 3 years, Nancy Button, with whom, after necessary fertility treatments to make his boys work,^[5] he has 7 children.

Tad Cover

Their only single, Milk Machine was covered by Seattle-area band, Tad, in 1995, reaching 237 on Billboard's Hot 238 College Radio Chart.

Reunion

Though there has been much talk of a reunion, including a debut album, all three members deny that they will ever see the same stage together. In a 2005 interview, Hanna said, "I love those guys, but I could never see us doing it again. It was a shitload of effort, you know: managing egos, doing goofballs, and, fuck if it ain't damn-near impossible to play all strung out on cobalt. I don't know if I could do it again even if I wanted to."^[6]

Footnotes

^ "Former Tulsa Leef members rob pharmaceutical," The Daily Oklahoman, August 5, 1999
^ Chad has mentioned touching a girl, once. She may have been imaginary.
^ To be fair, Hanna was in the driver's seat when the car was eventually found, but the explosion is reported to have switched the seating arrangement of the vehicle.
^ Interview in Tulsa Leef: The Fireworks Fricasee, a ridiculous and potentially libelous documentary recounting the events of June 22, 1999
^ Possibly due to the events of June 22, 1994, though an undisclosed settlement was reached in 2003.
^ Jonny Raglin swears he heard Hanna say this, drunk, at Dynamo Donuts and Coffee.

[1] "Former Tulsa Leef members rob pharmaceutical," The Daily Oklahoman, August 5, 1999

[2] Chad has mentioned touching a girl, once. She may have been imaginary.

[3] To be fair, Hanna was in the driver's seat when the car was eventually found, but the explosion is reported to have switched the seating arrangement of the vehicle.

[4] Interview in Tulsa Leef: The Fireworks Fricasee, a ridiculous and potentially libelous documentary recounting the events of June 22, 1999

[5] Possibly due to the events of June 22, 1994, though an undisclosed settlement was reached in 2003.

[6] Jonny Raglin swears he heard Hanna say this, drunk, at Dynamo Donuts and Coffee.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]