Original image via the Oklahoma Underground Music Archive
#39 UMAmi Sept. 2026
a FREE monthly zine via the OK Underground Music Archive
The cover was a real show flyer! Granny Anarchy recognized it as fanart of Louis Wain’s work. (Jackalope thought of Princess Donut from Dungeon Crawler Carl!)
A Resonant Night with Photocopy, powdr & Colliding by Granny Anarchy Readers, our adventure begins many moons ago when our plucky, intrepid (awkward and inept) Granny Anarchy ventured forth to Resonant Head to see Ribbon Skirt (because Granny is a huge fan of the indigenous-led post-punk Ribbon Skirt) opening for Wombo (Granny also really likes arty, indie rock Wombo). Also on the bill that night was local indie post-punk band powdr, whom Granny was previously unaware of (Guess what? Granny was super impressed). So, when I saw that powdr was going to be playing Resonant Head NOT ON A SCHOOL NIGHT, I was very excited. I was going to see powdr for the second time - and I hadn't had a chance to get their EP “Settle Pain” on CD yet, so I was still unfamiliar with any songs. (I mostly listen to CDs on my 20-year-old car's player, whateveniselectricity.) Resonant Head is a charming and aptly named small venue in Capitol Hill. Many smaller venues can end up sounding tinny or muddy. Resonant Head is basically a box with a slightly peaked ceiling, and has had consistent audio quality at every event I've attended. Songs feel rich and full even when intended to be more tortured – my tinnitus is ringing at you, A Place to Bury Strangers, ahahaha! Seriously, they were there for a pedal convention, and they know their acoustics. They were ON FIRE it was a religious expe... I meant to be talking about something else sorry. I'd just come out to the show on a personal whim, but as the first band began playing I was inspired, thinking “HEY! I'm GRANNY ANARCHY! I write for a ZINE! I should do a REVIEW!!!” Image of Photocopy provided by J Kerr
Photocopy has been around since 2021 and consists of Johnny Kerr on vocals, Grant Potter on guitar, Austin Taylor playing bass, and Ray Morgan on drums. Morgan was unable to appear at this event; Mike Birney competently filled in. Thank you, Mike! The band's first album, “Shells (You Can)” is more poppy but 2024's “Weakness Beyond Control” is a mélange of alternative motifs tied up with a wash of guitar effects - which may be the tuning key to a fan of dreampop and shoegaze's heart. Excerpt from an Interview with Johnny from Photocopy Are there any specific musical acts that influence your work? Speaking for myself, George Clanton. Between the four of us, I can say it's a hodgepodge - I think I can safely say The Flaming Lips is Ray, our drummer’s, biggest influence... I think there's a throughline for Title Fight and that sorta heavy, melodic sound for Grant and Austin. They're always pulling from different sources though, which I love. Has anything else affected your writing and performance? I think getting older and past the stage of having so much free time when we started this has made me take inventory of what this band and experience actually means to me. Expressing myself through some sort of outlet like music feels necessary now, for myself, when before I had to actively think about where I would get inspiration from, and a lot of the lyrics were just something that rhymed and sounded right. So, to answer, growing up (some), and understanding that if I want to make time for this, I want it to feel meaningful and worthwhile for us and anyone who chooses to listen. That has affected my thought process the most. What do you like best about the Oklahoma music scene? I love that it exists, and I love the diversity in sound and people. Oklahoma City has so much talent, and there are so many good times to be had from going to shows and getting to know these people.
Image provided by Peyton
powdr solidified its position in my psyche with this gig. I continue to be impressed with their in-person performance as well as the body of their work. Powdr is Josh Peck on guitar, Kilyn Massey on bass, Brent Hodge playing drums, and Peyton Wilson on keyboard and guitar; all members perform vocals.
Excerpt from an Interview with powdr How would you describe your music? Our music is all over the place and we try not to think about it too hard. This band is mostly an outlet for each of us to write songs and make the other three people play them without any one of us having the pressure of being the sole songwriter/frontman. Everyone has different writing styles and influences, so our songs kind of bounce from genre to genre. When we add new songs, it can take a while for our sets to feel cohesive, but as we play them more live and start to record, things morph a bit and we start to sound a little more like a “band.” Who are you listening to right now? Group 87, Secret Garden, Oddbody, La Düsseldorf, Flasher, Moin, Deerhunter, Water From Your Eyes, Brittle Stars, Snuggle, Mo Dotti, Beak, Pinback, Protomartyr, Cola. What do you like best about the Oklahoma music scene? OKC has always had a thriving DIY scene. So many people collaborating in so many different ways. People opening up their homes and businesses to host shows, starting new venues, organizing festivals, designing visuals. Completely community driven. The spaces and people are pretty much all different from when we were growing up but the energy is still there and it’s really cool to see.
Colliding is made up of Ember Hawkins on vocals, Riley Luttrell and Opie Clonts on guitars, Emerson Hacker on bass, and Zane Cowan on drums. Hearing them play live was like getting a taste of goblin fruit: your senses experienced an incredible event once and will be chasing it forever. Photo via the band
Excerpt from an Interview with Colliding How would you describe your music? The term we’ve been using is alt-gaze. A good amount of straight-up alt rock but with some shoegaze elements for sure - we love making use of our guitar pedals. Are there any musical acts that influence your work? Tons. Downward, Rocket, My Bloody Valentine, TAGABOW, Flooding, Shearling. We all have a super diverse music taste and pull from everything when we write. What do you like best about the Oklahoma music scene? Everybody is so insanely supportive of each other. It doesn’t feel at all like there’s any “competition” like there would be in LA or NY or Nashville, where everyone is supportive of each other but secretly wishes others would fail so that they could succeed. The OK music scene truly feels like a community and one big family.
This event made hobbity ol' Granny quite excited about the state of music in, well, the state. Wishing all three bands the best and thanks to Resonant Head for such an incredible evening. Ol' Granny can't get out as often as the young'uns can, but I am definitely looking forward to more from local musicians!
read the full article H E R E
Local Music Recs! As Granny Anarchy writes above, Colliding is a local band that is absolutely killing it right now. Listen to their new EP “Navigator” now! Scan the QR code, or check it out at mysteryclassrecords.com.
Another awesome new release comes from local band Coat. Their album “Animal Control” might be their best work yet. Scan the QR code to hear it now!
Rest in peace The Roadies want to just take a moment to reflect on the legacies of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, who we lost this August. <3 “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” - Dolly Parton “Don’t dream it. Be it.” - Frankenfurter (portrayed by Tim Curry in 1973)
VENUES 89th Street 8911 N Western Ave (OKC) 89thstreetokc.com Beer City Music Hall 1141 NW 2nd (OKC) beercitymusichall.com Blue Door 2805 N McKinley Ave (OKC) bluedoorokc.com Blue Note 2408 N Robinson Ave (OKC) okcbluenote.com Bookish 1005 NW 36th St (OKC) shop-bookish.com
Mycelium Gallery 2816 N Pennsylvania Ave (OKC) myceliumgallery.com
OK Cider 705 W. Sheridan Ave (OKC) okciderco.com Opolis 113 N Crawford Ave (Norman) opolis.org The Pet Shop 1529 Linwood Blvd (OKC) thepetshopokc.com Ponyboy 423 NW 23rd St (OKC) ponyboyokc.com Resonant Head 400 SW 25th St, Suite A (OKC) resonanthead.com
Criterion 500 East Sheridan Ave (OKC) criterionokc.com
Resonator 325 E Main St (Norman) resonator.space
Core4 Brewing 7 N Lee Ave (OKC) core4brewing.com
The Sanctuary 1012 N Indiana Ave (OKC) facebook.com/thesanctuaryok
Diamond Ballroom 8001 S Eastern Ave (OKC) diamondballroom.com
51st Street Speakeasy 1114 NW 51st Street (OKC) 51stspeakeasy.com
Factory Obscura 25 NW 9th St (OKC) factoryobscura.com
Tower Theatre 425 NW 23rd St (OKC) towertheatreokc.com
Grand Royale 1749 NW 16th St (OKC) instagram.com/grandroyaleokc
The Venue 1103 North Villa (OKC) thevenueokc.com
Jones Assembly 901 W Sheridan Ave (OKC) thejonesassembly.com
Zoo Amp 2101 NE 50th St (OKC) okczooamp.com
september calendar $ = $1-20 $$= $21-39 $$$= $40+
= All Ages = Benefit Show
= Oklahoman band/artist = Roadie Recs
The Band @ Beer City Music Hall $$ 01 Congress Gunsafe @ Grand Royale $
TUE
Atta Boy @ Resonant Head $$ Your Arms are my Cocoon, Imagine we had Antlers, Speak Memory, It All Happened in July @ The Sanctuary $
and the Strange Band, Clownvis, Billy Irwin & The 02 IVTambitsiv @ Grand Royale $
WED
Grandmaster @ Resonant Head $$
03
Shearing, Bilong @ Resonant Head $$ Keep Oklahoma Heavy @ Opolis Open Mic Night w/Make Oklahoma Weirder @ Factory Obscura $ 14+
THU
& Roses, Mama Pearl @ Blue Door $$ 04 Bread Redd & The Paper Flowers, Sorry Darlin, Bottom
FRI
of the Barrell @ Blue Note $ Hang Your Hate, Fighting Sleep, Losing Connection, Garden Ants @ Opolis $ Boston Busler, Wet Muscles, Spencer Christian @ Resonant Head $
05 SAT
Kat Lock @ Blue Door $$ Bellhead, Blood Bells, Othering, Mechanical Flesh, Later Laine @ Resonant Head $
Espinoza @ Criterion $$$ 05 Hermanos Tiny Joy Band @ Grand Royale $
SAT CONT’D GoldFord @ Tower Theatre $$$
King Witch Mother, Net, Poolboy @ Blue Note $ Mugger, Flu, Discern, Opium Den @ The Sanctuary $
Gun, Softcult, Shady Nasty, Dazy @ Beer 06 Militarie City Music Hall $$
SUN
Cheerleader Roadkill, Appleseed, Sap @ Resonant Head $$
Foam Ceramic Planet, Stand Your Ground, 07 Bliss, Spurred @ The Sanctuary $
MON
Minus the Bear, Keep @ Tower Theatre $$$
08 Peaches @ Tower Theatre $$ TUE
09 WED
10 THU
The Record Company @ Beer City Music Hall $$ Sweeping Promises, Stepmom, Lust Online @ Resonant Head $$ Madison Ryann Ward @ Tower Theatre $$$ When The Sun Sets, Daychaser, Dreamsickle @ 89th st. $$ Briscoe, Lighthearted @ Beer City Music Hall $$ Amy Speace @ Blue Door $$ Lunar Vacation, Closebye @ Resonant Head $$
10 Ray Wylie Hubbard @ Tower Theatre $$
THU Toni Romiti @ 89th st. $$ (CONT’D)
Makeout Reef @ Tower Theatre $$ 11 Rehash, Adam Aguillar @ Blue Note $
FRI
Molchat Doma, DITZ (UK) @ Tower Theatre $$$
Thelma and the Sleaze, Honduh Daze @ Opolis $
12 SAT
Bear Ghost, Sarah & The Safe Word, Spaceman Bob @ Beer City Music Hall $$ Doom Scroll, Victim of Doug @ Grand Royale $ OAF @ Resonant Head $ Chat Pile, Portrayal of Guilt, Primal Brain, Traindodge, Nightosphere @ Tower Theatre$$ Schatzi, Tenkiller, So Longs @ Blue Note $ Gossip @ Opolis Exmaxhina @ Mycellium Gallery
Jeff Fiero @ OK Cider $
Aquarium @ Diamond Ballroom $$ 13 American Me Like Bees, Fox Royale, Wet Muscles @ Resonant
SUN
Head $$ Powerplant, Net, Rockstar Nightclub @ 89th st. $
14
Sleep @ Tower Theatre $$$ Grivo, Some Fear, Autumn Child @ Resonant Head $$
MON
15 TUE
Thousand Below, Acres, VCTMS, Lost In Separation @ Beer City Music Hall $$ Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer @ Criterion $$$
Temple @ Beer City Music Hall $$ 16 Twin Judiciary @ 89 st. $ th
WED
17 THU
Jake Shimabukuro @ Tower Theatre $$ Born Without Bones, Sunfo, Major Good @ Resonant Head $$ Sam Morrow, Chebon Tiger @ Blue Note $
Hickman @ Blue Door $$ 18 Sara Coat, Likewise, Attic Society @ Resonant
FRI
Head $
A Man Named Cash @ Tower Theatre $$ Kehlani, Durand Bernarr, Thearti$t, Waseel @ Zoo Amp $$$ Tyrone Turner, Michael Fields @ Blue Note $ Camille Farrell @ OK Cider $ Suitable Miss, The Burn Notice, Sacred Rose @ 89th st. $ Paraox, Kanbatsu, Moonrock Bandits @ 19 Index 89 st. $
SAT
20 SUN
th
Amy Grant @ Criterion $$$ Spike Hellis, Nuxx, Dj Von Ludwig @ Resonant Head $$ Ryman Leon @ 89th st. $$
So Called Band @ Jones Assembly $$ 21 My Pearl & the Oysters, Burl @ Resonant Head $$
MON
Goose, Cheem, Hotbox @ Resonant Head $$ 22 Silly Mr. Phylzzz @ 89 st. $ th
TUE
Hounds, Primal Brain, Plastic Mystic @ Pet 23 Filth Shop $
WED
Kylie Morgan, Harper Grace @ Beer City Music Hall $$
SWMRS, The Happy Return @ Resonant Head $$
Carrie and Dale @ OK Cider $ Kings 810, Guerilla Warfare, In Ruins @ 89th st. $$
Every Avenue, Felicity @ Beer 24 InCityHerMusicOwnHallWords, $$
THU
Jim E Brown @ Resonant Head $$ The Callous Daoboys, Kaonashi, Girl of Glass, Wielded Steel @ 89th st. $$
@ OK Cider $ 25 Alanaluzmila Monte, MTKD, Local Diner Punk @ Opolis
FRI
26 SAT
Low Gap @ 89th st. $
Tony Williams, Caj, Redd Faye @ Blue Note $ Artemas, Henry Morris @ Criterion $$$ DJ @ISISPAYNE_ @ Resonant Head $$ Abra Cadabra @ Tower Theatre $$$ Exmaxhina @ Mycellium Gallery $
Levi Jack Taylor @ OK Cider $ Glimmers, Rematch @ 89th st. $$ Bad Snacks @ Beer City Music Hall $$ 27 Bayonne, Kidd G, Carv, Grey Oakes @ Tower Theatre $$
SUN
Kaplow @ Blue Door $$ 29 Joe Bob Log LLL, Strange Vine @ Opolis $
TUE
Roling Quartz @ 89th st. $$
Price and Friends, Stephen Stanley @ Beer 30 Gable City Music Hall $$
WED
Junkyard Cat @ Beer City Music Hall $ Chris Housman @ 89th st. $$
recurring events Celtic Jam at the Patriarch Funk at the Blue Note Blues at the Speakeasy
MONDAY TUESDAY
Bluegrass at the Patriarch WEDNESDAY Jazz at the Speakeasy Experimental Night at Opolis - every 4th Wednesday Wasted Hours: A Singer-Songwriter Showcase at Grand Royale Open Mic night at Factory Obscura - 1st THURSDAY Bluegrass at the Speakeasy Song Swap at the Blue Note (usually 1st Thursdays) Live Music at Johnnie’s on Britton Open Mic Night at Core4 Brewing Open Mic Night at Bookish DJ nights at Ponyboy Live Music at Johnnie’s on Britton
FRIDAY
Celtic Jam at the Banjo Museum - 4th SATURDAY DJ nights at Ponyboy Live Music at Johnnie’s on Britton Celtic music at Full Circle Bookstore Songwriter Sessions - 3rd Sundays at Core4 Brewing Tea & Zines at Floating Bookshop
SUNDAY
From Our Inbox OK Puppetry Events: The next slam is at Core4 on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m.. Applications are open, so if you haven't submitted your app yet, please do so now! We will also have a workshop Sunday, Aug. 30 (also at Core4) at 3 p.m. Participants will be able to move around between 4 different puppet creation stations. There will be an area to learn to make scarf marionettes, arm & rod puppets, rod/hand puppets, and shadow puppets.
🎉
On Oct. 17 we will host our first in Norman, OK; it will be at Uncanny Art Gallery! Also, we are working on making an official regional puppet guild! A few other events to be aware of: Oct. 9 & 10: Bread & Puppet Theater is returning!
COME DO NOTHING WITH US ! Seeking dedicated, hardworking actors of all types for upcoming production of Much Ado About Nothing. Audition information TBD. Interested? Email us at okcplayerstheatre@proton.me
Bring on the Remix by Jackalope I love seeing how people interact with media – give me all of the headcanons, AUs, fanfic, art, and mashups. The terms we use for this kind of content might come from the internet age, but if you want to put on your thinking caps this kind of behavior goes way, way back – not only to the earliest modern zines about a hundred years ago, but also further back to historical folklore and even ancient storytelling traditions. Alright, thinking caps off and nerd/geek glasses on. Are you a stickler for the officially published versions of a story, or do you enjoy the coloring outside of the lines that often comes with sharing a story with other people? (No judgement if you’re in the first group, as long as you’re not mean about it – I’m a Lewis Carroll dork always in search of Alice adaptations that aren’t just heated-up leftovers of the adorable abomination that was the 1951 animated Disney movie). A lot of the variations you might find are fairly similar to the “rules” of the original story with a central twist. It could be tweaking something about the plot, the characters and their fates, or simply asking something like “but what if it all happened in a coffeshop?” Before anyone rolls their eyes too hard, Tolkien reportedly wrote the march of the Ents on Isengard in “Lord of the Rings” because he thought Shakespeare missed a golden opportunity in “Macbeth” to have Birnam Wood literally walk itself to Dunsinane. Shakespeare himself is kinda (in)famous for cribbing his plot ideas from a variety of sources. And don’t forget the most famous self-insert fanfic, known as Dante’s Divine Trilogy. I will absolutely admit to entertaining a handful of ideas involving
playlist
playlist
classic stories shifted into alternate settings. Today, though, I want to focus on the more harebrained, out-there, bonkers kind of mashups. Let’s start with a classic: “shipping” two characters that have never officially met. In this case, that’s because they’re from completely different fictional universes: the Tin Man from Oz, and Futura of “Metropolis.” They both look like robots but are older than electronic computing, and are almost human – she passed as one, he used to be one. (Before you look it up: his official backstory is what I would call twee horror, think Mother Goose meets “Saw.”) Of course, sometimes it’s not enough to place two characters together, and creative folks stitch together entire worlds. One of my favorites was the fantheory that the movie “Snowpiercer” serves as a sequel to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” with the train’s Engineer being none other than a grown-up Charlie. Even though at first glance they have nothing in common, the more you think about it, the more they fit together in an uncanny, unpredictable way. Because I can overthink anything, I decided to try my hand at creating a similar “series” from previously unrelated films. The original idea started as 3 flicks, but depending on how generous I am with the guidelines it waxes and wanes between 3 and 30. The idea I started with was simple: movies that are about scientific exploration, unexpected discoveries, and genetic experimentation, but the supposedly perfect science (and greed) comes back to bite all involved – literally, sometimes fatally. I’m calling it “Life, uh, finds a way” because my unsuspecting parents took little me along when they went to see “Jurassic Park” in theaters and I’ve loved it ever since.
Life, uh, finds a way (the essentials, in internal chronological order) The Blob (1958) The Killer Shrews (1959) Frogs (1972) Jurassic Park (1993) The Meg (2018) Death of a Unicorn (2025) Jurassic World (2015) Nope (2022) Meg 2: The Trench (2023) They Cloned Tyrone (2023) Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) Mickey 17 (2025) Blade Runner (1982) Aliens (1986)
= available via Metro Library
full list here:
Monthly Collaborative Playlist This month’s prompt: Adventure Awaits
Listen Here:
Next month’s prompt: No Bones About It Ask for a collaborator link, send us your picks for either playlist, or drop us a line via IG (@MetroSpecialCollections), FB (the OK UMA group & Metro SCR page), or email at Oklahoma.UMA@gmail.com
AMA Roadies Edition
We all need a little whimsy, where are you finding yours? Nature may be red in tooth & claw, but there's whimsy from my dog's flip-floppy ears to birds in molting season - or hopping about in general. There are whimsical bands & songs like the Dead Milkmen; I love "Malandrino" by Gogol Bordello & "Transvestites Can Be Cannibals Too" by Harley Poe. (In my day, one really, uh whimsical song was "Fish Heads" by Barnes & Barnes.) There are also shows, books (and probably zines) which allow you to open yourself to whimsy - and some people are just dang quirky adventure magnets! -Granny Anarchy Interlibrary loans that come from very far away, YouTube aesthetic music complilations (try Utopian Scholastic!!!!!!!), Pinterest boards for all my besties, pocket fish (don’t ask) -la pêche punkette Trash movies, scientific memes, zinesters, puns, a carefully curated feed of kindness and creativity, weird art, good nonsense, wearing earrings strange enough to puzzle coworkers, and disability pride designs featuring Jimothy. -Jackalope Got a question? >>> Oklahoma.UMA@gmail.com
send us your: favorite albums show reviews hot takes scribbles shower thoughts playlists feedback ideas / suggestions requests and more! email us at oklahoma.uma@gmail.com UMAmi is a monthly zine by Metropolitan Library Staff and you! Copies are distributed around the first weekend of each month and can be found at Metropolitan Library branches and music or alt-lifestyle locales around the metro, such as: Bad Granny's / Beer City / Bookish / Core Board / Elemental Coffee / Empire / Factory Obscura / Floating Bookshop / Flora Bodega / Mycelium Gallery / Orange Peel / Opolis / Ponyboy / Red Cup / The Sanctuary / Zero Tolerance (and more)
tinyurl.com/OK-UMA/