{"id":13087,"date":"2026-09-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/?p=13087"},"modified":"2026-09-23T13:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T13:34:42","slug":"when-tulsa-went-against-the-grain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/when-tulsa-went-against-the-grain\/","title":{"rendered":"When Tulsa Went Against the Grain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>7 Minute, 50 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

MOVIE REVIEWS
\nOil Capital Underground: The Genesis & Evolution Of Punk Rock In Tulsa Late 70s To Mid-90s<\/strong>
\n –  <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre: <\/strong>Documentary, Music
\nYear Released: <\/strong>2018, 2026 DVD
\nRuntime: <\/strong>2h 6m
\nDirector: <\/strong>Bryan Crain
\nWhere to Watch: <\/strong>available now, order your copy here: www.vcientertainment.com<\/a>, www.mvdshop.com<\/a>, or www.amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

RAVING REVIEW: <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>There’s something appropriately messy about a punk documentary that occasionally feels like somebody emptied decades of flyers, photographs, VHS tapes, club stories, and half-forgotten memories onto a table and decided to sort through all of it with us. OIL CAPITAL UNDERGROUND: THE GENESIS & EVOLUTION OF PUNK ROCK IN TULSA LATE 70S TO MID-90S may not always know when enough is enough, but there’s real value in how unwilling it is to let Tulsa’s underground music history quietly disappear.<\/p>\n

\n

Director Bryan Crain isn’t documenting the version of punk history most people already know. There’s no need to spend another two hours explaining why New York, London, Los Angeles, or Washington, D.C. mattered. Instead, OIL CAPITAL UNDERGROUND asks what happened in a place where punk existed well outside the national spotlight, surrounded by a more conservative local culture and without the industry attention that helped turn other regional scenes into music history.<\/p>\n

That immediately makes the documentary interesting even if you’ve never heard a single song by Los Reactors, NOTA, Pitbulls On Crack, Bunnies of Doom, Baby M, Brother Inferior, or Tex Montana’s Green Party. I certainly didn't come into the film carrying extensive knowledge of Tulsa punk, which ended up becoming part of the appeal. Every few minutes there’s another band, venue, flyer, recording, or strange story that feels like something you probably never would've encountered otherwise.<\/p>\n

The movie begins around the end of the 1970s and follows the scene through new wave, punk, hardcore, thrash, and underground alternative music as it develops into the 1990s. That chronological approach gives Crain a useful framework because the documentary isn't simply cataloging bands. You can see musicians move between groups, sounds become heavier, venues appear and disappear, and one generation creates opportunities for the people coming immediately behind them.<\/p>\n

Tulsa itself becomes just as important as any individual band. The city already had a well-established musical identity, but this wasn't the Tulsa Sound people usually meant when discussing Oklahoma music. Punk musicians were building something beneath that history, often without much money or infrastructure beyond whatever they were willing to create themselves.<\/p>\n

That means a surprising amount of OIL CAPITAL UNDERGROUND is about the mechanics of having a scene at all. Bands made their own recordings, passed around flyers, found clubs willing to book them, organized shows, toured whenever possible, and depended on word of mouth long before social media made promoting a local band something that could happen instantly. There's a wonderfully ridiculous story about an empty warehouse at 424 becoming a show space with electricity essentially commandeered for the occasion, and it says as much about the DIY mentality as any formal explanation could.<\/p>\n

The archival footage is where the documentary becomes particularly valuable. Much of it is rough, imperfect, and clearly wasn't recorded with the expectation that somebody would be watching decades later. That's exactly why it works. Grainy live performances and old photographs put faces, sound, and movement behind stories that might otherwise exist only as somebody reminiscing during an interview.<\/p>\n

Crain also makes extensive use of flyers and zines, and those materials become more interesting the longer the documentary continues. A handmade concert flyer once designed to survive for a few days on a wall now acts as evidence that a band existed, played a particular club, shared a bill with another group, and was part of something larger. That kind of material can seem disposable when it's new, but years later it becomes history.<\/p>\n

OIL CAPITAL UNDERGROUND understands that preservation instinct very well. Its biggest problem is that Crain sometimes appears unwilling to decide what doesn't need preserving inside this particular movie.<\/p>\n

At 126 minutes, the documentary eventually becomes overloaded with names and stories. A new band arrives, several people explain where it came from, footage appears, members move somewhere else, another group forms, and the process begins again. For viewers who were actually inside this scene, that level of detail may be exactly what makes the documentary special. For everyone else, there are stretches where keeping track of who's who becomes considerably harder than understanding the larger story.<\/p>\n

The second half especially could have used more aggressive editing. Once the scene's basic culture is established, the documentary doesn't always find another strong organizing idea beyond moving forward through time and introducing whoever comes next. The music changes, but the presentation changes much less. That doesn't make the material uninteresting. It means too much of it is competing for the same amount of attention. A shorter documentary might have sacrificed some of the completeness while making the surviving stories hit harder. Crain could have spent more time with fewer bands, allowing particular personalities or turning points to carry larger sections instead of continually adding another name to an already crowded history. There were moments when I wanted to stay with someone longer only for the documentary to move to another part of the timeline.<\/p>\n

Yet complaining about having too much documentation feels almost strange when the alternative is having none. Smaller music scenes don't automatically receive books, documentaries, restored concert films, and decades of historical analysis. People get older, clubs close, photographs disappear, tapes get thrown away, and eventually stories everyone once assumed would be remembered aren't remembered anymore.<\/p>\n

That possibility gives the interviews an importance beyond whether every anecdote is essential to a two-hour movie. Musicians, promoters, club owners, and others who were actually there describe not only the music but the social environment surrounding it. Some memories are funny, others involve confrontations or difficult venues, and many carry the recognizable affection of people realizing that something they experienced casually at the time eventually became part of their personal history.<\/p>\n

The documentary also avoids pretending this was some perfectly coordinated movement. Bands formed and disappeared. Styles shifted. People fought, moved on, grew up, or ended up in another group. Tulsa punk wasn't progressing according to some grand plan; people wanted to make music and found others willing to help.<\/p>\n

That's probably the film's strongest idea, even when Crain never states it directly. Music history isn't created only by the acts that become famous enough to have their stories retold forever. Every city has people making records nobody outside the area hears, performing in rooms that eventually close, and influencing musicians whose names won't mean anything to the rest of the country.<\/p>\n

The new DVD release feels especially appropriate for something so focused on preserving physical evidence from an earlier era. Along with the documentary, the disc includes a director commentary from Crain, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, and an outtake reel. None of those extras radically changes the experience, but they fit a project that seems driven by the desire to save as much of this history as possible.<\/p>\n

OIL CAPITAL UNDERGROUND could have been tighter, and there are times when its determination to be comprehensive makes it harder rather than easier to appreciate what Crain uncovered. The two-hour-plus runtime eventually resembles an archive more than a carefully shaped narrative, particularly once the parade of bands becomes hard to separate.<\/p>\n

Still, I'd rather see an imperfect documentary preserve this material than discover years from now that nobody bothered. Crain captures the clubs, flyers, recordings, personalities, bad decisions, small victories, and loud nights that allowed Tulsa's underground to exist for nearly two decades. Not every band featured here became important outside Oklahoma, and that's exactly why somebody needed to make this movie about them.<\/p>\n

Bonus Materials:<\/strong>
\nWild 'Outtake' Video Reel
\nProducer\/Director Commentary by Bryan Crain
\nBehind the Scenes Photo Gallery<\/p>\n

Please visit https:\/\/linktr.ee\/overlyhonestr for more reviews.<\/p>\n

You can follow me on Letterboxd, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also find my social media accounts on most platforms by searching for 'Overly Honest Reviews'.<\/p>\n

I’m always happy to hear from my readers; please don't hesitate to say hello or send me any questions about movies.<\/p>\n

[photo courtesy of VCI ENTERTAINMENT, MVD ENTERTAINMENT]<\/em><\/p>\n

DISCLAIMER:<\/strong>
\nAt Overly Honest Movie Reviews, we value honesty and transparency. Occasionally, we receive complimentary items for review, including DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, Vinyl Records, Books, and more. We assure you these arrangements do not influence our reviews, as we are committed to unbiased, sincere evaluations. We aim to help you make informed entertainment choices regardless of our relationship with distributors or producers.<\/p>\n

Amazon Affiliate Links:<\/strong>
\nThis site also contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may receive a commission. This affiliate arrangement does not affect our commitment to honest reviews and helps support our site. We appreciate your trust and support as you navigate these links.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 1<\/span>\n 100<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOVIE REVIEWS Oil Capital Underground: The Genesis & Evolution Of Punk Rock In Tulsa Late 70s To Mid-90s –      Genre: Documentary, Music Year Released: 2018, 2026 DVD Runtime: 2h 6m Director: Bryan Crain Where to Watch: available now, order your copy here: www.vcientertainment.com, www.mvdshop.com, or www.amazon.com RAVING REVIEW: There’s something appropriately messy about a punk documentary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/img\/0367\/0367785.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t