Their name comes from the Admiral Twin Drive-In, a popular drive-in theater that operated in Tulsa from 1951 until it was destroyed by a fire on September 3, 2010.[2][3] The Admiral Twin Drive-In was rebuilt and reopened for business on June 15, 2012.[4]
1996-1997
Admiral Twin was formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma by members of the Mellowdramatic Wallflowers and State of Mind; two bands that had been playing the local music scene over the previous decade. At that time, the band consisted of Brad Becker (vocals, guitar, sax and more), Mark Carr (vocals, bass), Jarrod Gollihare (vocals, drums), and John Russell (vocals, guitar).[5] All of the members are also songwriters. After performing some shows and recording a few demos over the course of the year, they officially began working on their first album in fall of 1996. On October 23, 1996 the band performed at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston, MA for the NEMO Music Showcase & Conference (then part of the Boston Music Awards). On June 13, 1997 the band performed a concert with Hanson at Frontier City in Oklahoma City, OK.
1997–2002
Admiral Twin released their debut album, Unlucky, on December 20, 1997 on the independent label, New Pop Revival Records. Produced and recorded by the band at their home studio, it was then assembled by Steve Ripley at The Church Studio before being sent off for mastering by Roger Seibel at SAE in Phoenix, AZ. On December 25, 1997 the band performed the Christmas classic, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" in a pre-taped segment on the TV program Good Morning Oklahoma, on KTUL in Tulsa, OK.[6] On May 31, 1998 Admiral Twin performed a concert with The Marshall Tucker Band at Riverparks in Tulsa, OK.
Admiral Twin promotional photo, 1997
In support of Unlucky, they toured with local Tulsa pop stars, Hanson, as the opening act on the Albertane Tour playing arenas and stadiums in the summer of 1998.[7] The tour included cities throughout the United States and Canada, including performances at the Hollywood Bowl and Red Rocks Amphitheatre. A few dates included Baha Men on the bill. On December 4, 1998, the band performed with Fastball, Everlast, and Reel Big Fish at the KMYZ-FMNot Necessarily Acoustic Christmas concert at the Tulsa Theater,[8] which was taped, and then later broadcast on radio.
They signed with Mojo Records,[9] then a subsidiary of MCA/Universal in the fall of 1998, going into the studio to record Mock Heroic, produced by Gavin MacKillop, which was released nationwide on June 20, 2000.[10] Principal recording of the album was done at The Church Studio in Tulsa, OK, with a few final overdubs at Master Control Studios in Burbank, CA. Final mixing was completed by Gavin MacKillop at The Record Plant in Los Angeles, CA, with album mastering by Joe Gastwirt at Oceanview. Two singles were released to radio, "The Unlucky Ones" and "Better Than Nothing At All", including a music video directed by Ashley Greyson for the latter. The song "Another Day" made a subtle appearance in a theatrically-released Warner Bros movie, The In Crowd. [11] The album and singles suffered from little or no promotion, and financial support for a planned follow-up arena/stadium tour with Hanson was denied by the label. Unfortunately, the fate of Mojo Records was shaky at this time, and after a period of uncertainty, the Mojo label was dropped from Universal. This left Admiral Twin to become independent artists once again on the New Pop Revival label.
On May 15, 1999, the band performed a concert with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts at Mayfest in Tulsa. On November 12, 1999 the band performed along with The Tractors, Dwight Twilley, and Wayman Tisdale at Cain's Ballroom, for the inaugural Tulsa World Spot Music Awards. On May 17, 2000 the band performed with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, CA, for a taping of the television show Blind Date. On July 20, 2000 the band performed with The Nixons at Club Millennium in Tulsa, OK. August 22, 2000 the band performed with Caroline Spine at the ID Club in Tulsa, OK. On June 9, 2001 the band performed with Hanson at Riverfest in Tulsa, OK. On July 24, 2001 the band performed for the International Pop Overthrow event at the former Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, CA.
The band released a Christmas EP in 2001.
In 2002 the band released their third album, Odds and Ends, a collection of demos and rarities from 1996-2000.[12] From that album, the song "Slowdown" got some rotation on the radio station KMRX 101.5, which was a station in Tulsa, OK at that time. Also in 2002, the band recorded backing vocals for a couple of tracks featured on Ripley, the solo album by The Tractors frontman Steve Ripley. On August 1, 2002 the band performed for the International Pop Overthrow event at The Joint in Los Angeles, CA.
In August 2002 Brad Becker left Tulsa and the band to pursue a career in an unrelated field.
Admiral Twin performing at Cain's Ballroom, 2002
2002–2007
Admiral Twin, now a trio, continued working on material for their fourth album, Creatures of Bread & Wine, released May 13, 2003.[13][14] They also released music videos for "Dreamer", "That's All Right" and "I'm Talking 'Bout Me". The album was produced and recorded by the band, with mastering by Joe Gastwirt at Oceanview in Los Angeles, CA. During the Creatures of Bread & Wine recording sessions, they also recorded their own rendition of the theme to the popular cartoon TV series Sealab 2021.[15]
In December 2003 the band released a second Christmas EP and a music video for "We Three Kings".[16]
A year later, Creatures of Bread & Wine was released in Australia on the Didgeridoo Records label.
Admiral Twin performing at the Tulsa World Spot Music Awards, 2003
Admiral Twin has won multiple Spot Music Awards, including 5 as Best Pop Act of the year, from the Tulsa World's annual recognition of Tulsa area musicians, voted on by the public.[17]
In 2004, they had a song featured in the TV series Rides on the TLC Network.[18]
In early 2007 Admiral twin signed with The Pop Collective to release their 5th album.[20]
Admiral Twin released their fifth album, The Center of the Universe, on October 16, 2007.[21] The album was produced and recorded by the band in their downtown Tulsa recording studio, with mastering by Joe Gastwirt at Oceanview in Los Angeles, CA. Music videos for the songs "Good As Gold" and "Renegade Planet" were released.[22] One of the meanings behind the album title, The Center of the Universe, is a cultural landmark of that name consisting of an acoustic phenomenon found in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma.[23] The song "Good As Gold" was featured in an episode of the PBS TV series Roadtrip Nation.[24]
On October 7, 2010 the band performed with Caroline Spine at the Admiral Twin Drive-In Theater in Tulsa, OK. This was a fundraising concert to benefit the drive-in after the screen had burned down a month prior.[28] On July 15, 2012 the band performed at the Grand Re-Opening of the Admiral Twin Drive-In.[29] The band continued performing and touring though fall 2012, before taking an indefinite hiatus from live performances.
In 2014 the band released the single "Black Belt Universe" to streaming platforms.[30] The song was originally recorded during studio sessions for the 2007 album The Center of the Universe. In 2015 the song "Better Than Nothing At All" was included in an episode of the British drama series The Interceptor, broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom.[31]
In 2022 the entire track list from the album Mock Heroic was added to the Rocksmith+ music-learning game by Ubisoft.[32] In 2024 the song "Better Than Nothing At All" was featured in an episode of the TV series Laid[33], and then in 2025 it was featured again in the 11th season premiere episode of Chicago Med, broadcast in the U.S. nationwide on NBC.[34]
Discography
Unlucky (1997)
Mock Heroic (2000)
Christmas EP (2001)
Odds & Ends (2002)
Creatures of Bread & Wine (2003)
Christmas EP (2003)
The Center of the Universe (2007)
Group members
Mark Carr – vocals, bass guitar
Jarrod Gollihare – vocals, drums
John Russell – vocals, guitar
Brad Becker (1997–2002) – vocals, guitar, sax & more
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