I’ve always been interested in learning about the punk scene of the ’70s and ’80s because the bands and culture have appealed to me. I’ve read books like Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain and Punk Rock Blitzkrieg by Marky Ramone, and I’ve watched music documentaries that have mostly covered the New York scene, the CBGB crowd, and related bands.
With very few credits on his resume, filmmaker Bryan Crain delivers Oil Capital Underground: The Genesis and Evolution of Punk Rock in Tulsa, Late 70s – Mid 90s, a deep look into the Oklahoma punk scene. It explores the Tulsa, Oklahoma, underground punk, new wave, and thrash scene from the late ’70s through the mid-’90s.
In a city better known for oil than for rebellion, a wild collection of bands, including Los Reactors, NOTA, Pitbulls on Crack, Bunnies of Doom, Baby M, Brother Inferior, and Tex Montana’s Green Party, went against the grain and carved out their own musical identity.
Packed with rare live footage, vintage flyers, photographs, and interviews with the musicians, promoters, and club owners who lived it, the documentary captures a unique time and place when making your own music meant doing it entirely on your own terms.
The film itself is pretty chaotic and maybe a bit disorganized, with some low-quality clips and running a bit too long. Still, it paints the full picture of the scene. Of course, it came and went over the course of 30 years, but the interviews help give audiences the whole story.
Having just recently visited the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, I marveled at all the classic flyers framed throughout. In this documentary, you get to see a slick array of flyers advertising various shows around the city. Through the flyers, the story is told through a collection of interviews, performance footage, etc. It captures the Tulsa scene during the specified time frame.
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The film was completed in 2018, but thanks to MVD Visual and VCI, it’s now available on DVD with a director’s commentary track, a wild outtake video reel, and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery.
While it’s no Decline of Western Civilization (1981), Oil Capital Underground introduces punks, young and old, to a scene that might not have had its moment in the spotlight.
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