Umbrellas play gorgeous music that is full and melodic, bordering on orchestral. The band's latest album, "Illuminare," was recorded in a defunct comedy club in downtown Tulsa and released by California indie label The Militia Group.

The band will finish its current tour up with an all-ages stop Friday at the Opolis in Norman, before stepping into Black Watch Studios to record a five-song EP before leaving again in June for a tour of the West Coast.

The band plans to release a few hundred copies of the album, and hand-screen the artwork on them individually, said front man and former Normanite Scott Windsor, adding he has never released a record on his own.

KEEPING CONTROL
Though having a record label put out your music would be a dream come true for every musician, Windsor is excited to be doing at least a small project all on his own.

"We have been on a label for years," he said. "It has been great, but we are just excited to have fun with something, write some songs and have 100 percent control over everything."

Having lived in music meccas like Nashville, Tenn. and Los Angeles, Windsor said he prefers places like Oklahoma " especially because the cost of living is so cheap.

"It's a simpler life for sure," Windsor said. "But it's nice. We aren't always pressed to have to work for the few weeks we are home and we are actually able to sustain ourselves playing music "¦ barely." "Joe Wertz