Nostalgia Kinky

Now available to pre-order over at MVD is the award-winning rockumentary Oil Capital Underground: The Genesis & Evolution Of Punk Rock In Tulsa Late 70s To Mid-90s. An entertaining and rollicking look at Tulsa’s underground music scene, Oil Capital Underground is a fun and nostalgic film packed with amazing archival footage and wild stories.

Before watching Oil Capital Underground, my main knowledge about the Oklahoma punk scene was that it was one of the stops on the Sex Pistols infamous American tour. That gig is of course covered in Oil Capital Underground as ground zero for the scene, much like The Pistols had established everywhere they played. The Velvet Underground aside, no band has ever had more of a far reaching influence than Sex Pistols. A documentary could be made about all of the documentaries than begin with one of their shows.

The first film from director Bryan Crain, Oil Capital Underground originally came out in 2018. Crain’s film found a lot of festival acclaim and it is easy to see why. This is a terrifically engrossing work about a bunch of bands the average viewer probably hasn’t heard of. Like all great documentaries, viewers will absolutely want to know more about these often forgotten acts. I found myself pausing the film constantly checking my Tidal to see what was available to stream.

Technically, Crain keeps things pretty straightforward in Oil Capital Underground. Beginning in the seventies, the film traces the chronological history of the Tulsa Punk and Punk related scenes through the nineties. Obviously a work of love, Crain has tracked down members of seemingly every Tulsa band from this period making this a very crowded Talking-Heads style film.

Oil Capital Underground is maybe a little too packed with acts and memories and it might have been better served being a little less expansive, as there is a lot of history to keep up with here. That’s a small complaint for a really fine rockumentary, which should find many new fans via this new DVD. Anyone interested at all at the history of American Punk and Alternative music should absolutely get this sight unseen. Extras include an engaging commentary, packed with even more stories, an outtake reel and photo gallery. Oil Capital Underground: The Genesis & Evolution Of Punk Rock In Tulsa Late 70s To Mid-90s is great stuff and a fine two-hour kick out the jams session.

-Jeremy Richey, September 2026-