Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the holiday season is in full swing. Gratefully, we've all survived "Black Friday" and its chaos, and amidst the rush of commercialism, most of us will find ourselves bouncing between parties for the rest of the month.

While we're getting into the spirit, there might be no better way to prepare ourselves for "party season" than to kick things off with a party we actually want to be at. And as December hits, probably the coolest, classiest party in town is RED -- which lands at Lola's Sunday night, Dec. 6.

Now in its fifth annual incarnation, RED has become a dance party to look forward to. By nestling away in the posh confines of Lola's on a Sunday evening, it becomes more than just another dance party; it's a swanky event, with attitude and class without pretension. What's not to love? The DJs are top tier, so the music is great, and the vibe is intimate without being stuffy.

Presented by Chris Sker (the man behind the scenes at all the previous UAT Events), RED provides more of the same great entertainment, but does it with a more intimate, personalized style. In keeping with Sker's style, everything has been hand-picked, from the venue to the DJs in order to provide one of the most styling parties of the year.

If you're a fan of dance music and DJs, this is definitely one of the prime parties to be at as DJ Moody, Shannon C and DJ Miya will share the evening to provide a variety of styles and keep the evening from stagnating in any way.

All three DJs are friends of Sker and each have a distinct and personal style. While Moody, one of Tulsa's most popular and well-respected DJs can do almost anything and do it well, you can expect Sunday night's set to feature a lot of funk and mash-up, delivered with an electronic overtone. Shannon C, a transplant from Chicago and another long-standing friend of Sker, will follow up with a set of straight-up house music tinted with Chicago flair. Finally, DJ Miya will wrap things up with what Sker described as "basically really solid club music: not as underground as techno, but mainstream as the Top 40 stuff you'd hear in many bars."

Cover for the evening is only $5, with doors opening at 7pm, and the party running until midnight.

It's a 21 and older event and dress ranges from causal to dressy, with the only stipulation being that party goers please stick to the theme and wear red.

For those ladies in the crowd who are looking for an opportunity to dress up, the evening also includes a $100 prize for the best "Little Red Dress" -- a contest that has become so popular that this year's prize has doubled from the $50 of years past.

Sker said that he thinks RED has become such a signature event because of the setting and the intimate vibe at Lola's. "We get to keep the downtown flair and enjoy the décor because it's gorgeous and really spacious," he said. "Plus, Lola's has such a good vibe and the staff is phenomenal."

If you're looking to wrap up your weekend on a high note and kick off the cocktail party season in style, you won't want to miss it.

In the Game

In all likelihood, most Tulsans probably haven't heard, but one of our local musicians has been making waves up north at Arrowhead Stadium. Although the Kansas City Chiefs have had a rough season (OK, I'm being polite), there have been a few shining moments -- even if those moments come at the beginning of the game.

As fate would have it, local rocker Morgan Ganem has helped provide one of those repeated highlights as he created a new chant for the team introductions and intermissions.

The opportunity arose when Morgan was speaking with his cousin, Jordain Massad, who is the Chief's Creative Director earlier in the year.

According to Ganem, "Basically, he said, 'We need a need chant to liven up the atmosphere. Why don't you try it and see if you can come up with something?' So I collaborated with Dad and Kip, the guitarist from Sownds and we came up with 'Chop It Up'."

Once Ganem submitted his composition, he got the attention of not just management, but owner Clark Hunt's wife, who immediately loved it. Once the Chiefs organization was on board, it got a fully-produced recording and has been used at every home game this season as part of the pre-game rituals and team introductions.

Future plans include the Chiefs possibly making it the team's official downloadable ringtone, Ganem said.

While the exposure is great, it's really just another opportunity for Ganem to springboard with his new band Sownds, which has been busy writing and recording its debut. The band is hoping to release the disc, which will be a concept album, in early 2010, he said.

When discussing the new group's sound, he said that it's going in a completely different direction than his previous group, Ganem, and leaving behind the retro-tinged melodic party rock of the past for a more updated industrial rock sound with a touch of hip-hop influence. "I'm trying to gather my influences and combine them tastefully," he said.

Building off his latest success with the Chiefs, it appears that doors are starting to open for Ganem. We'll keep eyes and ears peeled and keep you updated as to what's next.

KISS-OFF

In case you hadn't heard, bombastic rock legends KISS is coming to town next week, sans opening act. As luck would have it, the Tulsa date was an add-on from the originally announced tour dates, and Buckcherry will not be returning to Tulsa as the opener. That, however, has provided a hell of an opportunity for one of our local bands.

KMOD (97.5FM) is currently running the "SSIK for KISS" contest, in which fans and listeners can help decide who should open the show Tuesday night, Dec. 8. The station has picked 10 Oklahoma rock acts and set up a Web site to hear audio samples and vote for your favorite act.

Bands in the running include Hector, Violence to Vegas, Megatron, Stone Cold Sober, Taddy Porter, My Solstice, Vandevander, The Fiascos, First Lady Assassins and Restless Ribbon. The winner won't be stuck outside on the outdoor stage, either. They'll be playing the arena -- albeit having to work around KISS' massive stage set up. No matter; it's still an amazing opportunity.

Voting opened last week and only lasts a couple more days. Check out the Web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.kmod.com/pages/SSIK.html"; www.kmod.com/pages/SSIK.html and get your votes in by Friday, Dec. 4. And make sure and put one of our local bands on the big stage -- not some out-of-town boys!

Weekly Roundup

It's a relatively quiet week for music as the holiday rush hits, but the shows that are playing are well worth making the effort. As always, here are a few highlights to get you out the door.

Thursdays are always a good night to settle in and enjoy the house band, whether it be Cairde na Gael at Arnies or Dustin and Jesse at Eclipse. Personally, I'm planning on kicking off the weekend with a little road trip to OKC to catch Megadeth at Bricktown Events Center on Dec. 3. Machine Head, Suicide Silence and Arcanium open the show, but all that really matters is seeing metal master Dave Mustaine in action. Tickets are $35 at the door.

Friday evening's highlights include a CD release show for Two Minutes Hate at The Marquee with S.I.D. and Amongst the Ruins opening. It'll be a night of local metal for $7 in advance or $10 at the door. Elsewhere around town, if you're just looking to relax and have fun, check out Wink Burcham at Arnie's or go drinking with Alex & the Anders at Mercury Lounge.

Saturday, Dec. 4, is the busiest night of the week with a great selection of shows to choose from. If you want nu-metal, you can find it at Cain's Ballroom with Trivium. If bluegrass and blues is your thing, you'll want to hit Mercury Lounge for Ben Miller Band and if you're looking for indie rock or simply a lot of fun, you'll find it with Wighead at Soundpony. Meanwhile, straight up rock fans will migrate to Flytrap for Ziff, Baron Von Swagger and Epifade.

The real show Saturday night, however, is the CD release party for Eric and the Adams (see page xx) with Dante and the Hawks (acoustic) opening at Electric Circus.

As the weekend wraps up, if you've got an extra scratch and haven't seen them before, you owe it to yourself to experience "Saturday morning cartoons come to life" at least once and support our local opener while you're at it with KISS at the BOK Center on Tuesday night.

A few blocks away, local guitar hero Steve Pryor will be opening for John Nemeth at Flytrap on Dec. 8 and Elmwood wraps up the week at Bob's on Wednesday, Dec. 9.