Power-Pop King Dwight Twilley's Web Site Store Attracts Devoted Fans

By Thomas Conner
© Tulsa World

Someone just had to have the Dwight Twilley rubber
stamp. She's probably got it by now, too, and is currently
stamping all her correspondence, memos and personal papers
with the old Dwight Twilley band logo. And she's happy as
can be.

The stamp is just one of many such vintage trinkets
available for sale on Twilley's new web site
(http:/members.aol.com/Twillex/), in the Twilley Store.
Twilley — the Tulsa pop star noted for such hits as 1975's
“I'm on Fire'' and 1984's “Girls'' — set up the site as a
way to communicate directly with his fans and to clear out
his inventory of rubber stamps, old stickers, Dwight
Twilley pendants and classic posters. Oh, and records,
too.

“I've just always kept really good archives,'' Twilley
said this week. “I was digging through some video stuff a
while back and found some old films that I had transferred
to video. One of them turned out to be a rehearsal film of
the Dwight Twilley Band preparing for the 1977 tour. I
think it was shot at Channel 8. It's real nice footage of
us clowning around. That's a big seller. People have got to
have that one.''

Yessir, to a certain segment of bright-eyed pop fans,
Twilley hung the moon. He was, after all, a big-shot on
radio for a good decade. He claimed Tom Petty as a close,
personal friend. People in other countries know who Twilley
is. Heck, he performed on “American Bandstand'' three
times.

So he must be a big, untouchable star, right? Probably
just sits at home on a pile of royalty money, playing
around with his web site.

Nah. Since Twilley returned home to Tulsa a few years
ago, he's let everyone know that he's just another Tulsa
musician. He mostly sits at home writing new songs and
enjoying the lift the recent resurgence in power-pop has
given his career.

He hopes to further prove the point with this weekend's
shows — two in a row at Steamroller Blues and BBQ, with the
raucous Brian Parton and his Nashville Rebels opening each
night.

“I like to get out every now and then and play, just
like anyone else. It's not feasible to get out an play
clubs every weekend, but I play when I can ... I kind of
get jealous when my friends — all musicians — are talking
about their Friday-Saturday gigs around town. I wanted one,
especially because most of the shows we've been doing
lately are the big Balloon Fest and centennial shows. I
just wanted to get out and be one of the guys. I'm a Tulsa
musician, too,'' Twilley said.

The Twilley band this time around will include Tom
Hanford and Jerry Cooper on guitars, Dave White on bass,
Bill Padgett on drums and Twilley's longtime stand-by
percussionist Jerry Naifeh.

Fans ought to enjoy the live performances while they
can. Twilley is currently considering a contract with a
record label to record a new album. Since his rousing
performance at last year's South by Southwest music
conference perked up the ears of scouts, some major labels
have been toying with the idea of signing Twilley. At this
point, though, Twilley said he just wants to put out a
record.

“I've got a lot of songs building up,'' he said. “If
this goes through, we'll probably be out from in front of
the microphone for a while.''

Meanwhile, you can check out some of those new songs on
the cassette packages available on the Twilley Store. And
don't forget those key rings. And the imprinted vinyl
editions. And the ...
 

Dwight Twilley
With Brian Parton and the Nashville Rebels 10:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday Steamroller Blues and BBQ
1732 S. Boston Ave. $5 at the door