Interview: Durango's Profetic Calaveras on Touring and New Single "The Road Ahead," Ramping Up for 2022, and the Importance of Supporting Non-Profit Organizations

I’ve had my eye on Latin-Funk-Fusion-Soul band Profetic Calaveras for quite some time - and I am so excited that I got to talk with them about the things they’re moost passionate about. The four-piece band, based out of Durango, has a multitude of musical influences that they blend seamlessly into their signature sound - and I promise you, do not want to sleep on these guys. Luckily, you can check out their newest single, The Road Ahead, RIGHT NOW, and see them live on Oct. 23rd at Moe’s BBQ Englewood with The Buzz. Grab those tickets now and I will see you there!

Not only are the members of Profetic Calaveras incredibly talented musicians, they’re also humble and amazing humans who make Colorado’s music scene much richer for their presence. Make sure you check them out on social media! Please enjoy my conversation with the band below.

Tell me a little bit about your band, Profetic Calaveras - How long have you been playing music as a band? How did the current members all come on board?

We've been playing with our current configuration since February of this year. We had been wanting to play together with Dylan for years and we are so glad it ended up working out! This project was originally started by Alex and Cali back in Elizabeth, NJ in 2016. They played two shows together as a duo in Harlem, NY at both Silvana and The Shrine under the name Profetic Calaveras.

When Alex and Cali relocated to Tyler, Texas in 2017, Eric "Chewie" Taylor joined the group on drums and Daniel Armstrong joined the group on keys. After a few months of writing and collaborating and playing lots of gigs with them around Texas, neither Chewie or Daniel ended up being available to go on tour, so they departed the group and Zion Spencer joined on drums for a summer tour through California and Arizona.

After that summer tour, (It was called the Dry Bones Tour), Zion wanted to go visit some of his family in Colorado, so the group headed to Durango and ended up staying much longer than the originally-planned “just October.” Alex and Cali met Gab through one of the town’s local open mic series (at Moe’s Starlight Lounge) shortly after moving to Durango. Gab met Dylan there as well and then introduced him to Alex and Cali. In January of 2018, Zion went to California to spend some time recording a solo album, which is when Gab officially joined the band on drums. After spending the rest of 2018, 2019, and 2020 as a trio, we officially invited Dylan to come play with us this year and we have been so happy with all of it.

What inspires you to make the music that you do?

We’re all inspired by each other and by the good vibes that we share in this beautiful environment that we live in. We just want to have fun and we want everyone else to have fun too! We want to use music as a way to help amplify voices that need to be heard. If we aren’t laughing and having fun, it isn’t right.

Which musicians have influenced the music that Profetic Calaveras makes?

Lots of different groups and artists! Santana, Hiatus Kaiyote, Rush, Jimi Hendrix, Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Snarky Puppy, The Aristocrats, RX Bandits, Dopapod, La Maquina De Hacer Pájaros, Moonchild, Steely Dan, Khruangbin, The Mars Volta, Herbie Hancock, Chon, Queens of the Stone Age, Thundercat, Mastodon, The Who, Red Hot Chili Peppers... to name a few. We all listen to lots of different music and it all makes it in there somehow!

How would you describe your musical brand?

We feel like we don’t just fall into one genre, and we generally find ourselves being able to fit on bills with most types of acts. We enjoy the freedom to be able to change our sound if we feel like it. We’ve been described as “rowdy” for a genre… written like Latin-funk-fusion-rowdy. We take influence from all kinds of Jazz, Hip -Hop, RnB, Reggae/Ska, and Metal artists. Our sound has been described to us before as “A group of electric eels just swirling around each other.” We’ve been asked if we do Phish covers (no, we don’t.) and we’ve even been on a punk bill before. We have also been described as “A harder-hitting Jamiroquai” and “If the Deftones were a funk band in the 70’s.” Take that as you will.

What have you accomplished as a band in the last year that you’re most proud of?

2020 was way busier than we thought it would be. Even with a global pandemic, we still ended up playing five shows, the first of which was opening for Toubab Krewe at Animas City Theater in Durango in March, just a few days before the pandemic was official. We recorded a seven-song live album (with video) with Denver musician Alex Blocker in April. We recorded a live music video for our song “La Gallina Ciega” in May. We played both days of the iAMmusic Festival in July, joining the bill with Ghost Tapes and J-Calvin, as well as performing with Alex Blocker as the Alex Blocker Band. We ended the year with two shows back to back weekends before Halloween, both fundraisers for two local youth-centered non-profits; the Four Corners Rainbow Youth Centerand The Hive. We ended our year together tracking “The Road Ahead”as well as a few other songs over Thanksgiving. It was certainly not a bad year for us, but it was very tame compared to 2019 when we played twenty one shows.

2021 has been wild! Since June 5th, our schedule has included sixteen shows and counting! We started the summer season off with a bang at one of the first shows back in-person down at Launchpad in Albuquerque, followed by another show a few days later in Denver where we played for the first time at Herman’s Hideaway. This summer also included another three iAM Music Festperformances (one as ourselves,two as the Alex Blocker Band), anotherPrideperformance for the Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center, both days of San Juan Brewfest, a mountainside wedding, an indoor skatepark show at The Hive, a sober festival at Tico Time River Resort in New Mexico, an intimate equinox festival at Sol Mountain Farm in South Fork, a local foodsharvest festival in Durango… And now next week at Moe’s BBQ in Englewood. We are feeling proud, hungry, and tired. But as we like to say, “The best is yet to come!”

Are you from Colorado? How does living in Colorado influence your music?

We are not from Colorado. We are transplants! Alex was born in Connecticut, Gab was born in New York, Dylan was born in Wisconsin, and Cali was actually born in Brazil. Alex and Cali met in Texas and then met Gab and Dylan in Durango. Living in Colorado influences us a lot for sure. The vibe is way different than the urban places we’ve all lived. We absolutely love being immersed in all of the beautiful scenery around us and most people we meet here are more approachable and laid back than in the city. It's really just a blessing to be living out here.

What’s your favorite thing about the Colorado music scene?

It's pretty diverse. We've seen lots of different genres just in Durango alone. There are lots of bluegrass, folk, and funk-inspired groups, as well as many electronic acts and even some punk rock and metal. We feel like we have more room to be creative, like we don't need to fit into a formula in order for people to understand our music. We feel like we have a lot of great opportunities here. Everyone is usually just stoked to see that there’s live music, they don’t even care what it is, and then all the more is it a treat when they get some good bands to perform.

If there’s one thing you want people to take away from your music, what is it?

We just want everyone to have fun with us and feel good when they listen to our music. We want people to feel hopeful and inspired. We formally invite everyone to come vibe with us!

Art by Christian Kee and Gab Kaplan. Photography by Gab Kaplan

Tell me about your new single, The Road Ahead. What inspired it? What does it mean to you?

“The Road Ahead” is partially inspired by current events. It’s about acknowledging where we are at right now and pulling together and looking forward to tomorrow. "The best is yet to come" is us optimistically welcoming and embracing change with open arms and courage. It sort of has two meanings.

In general, “The Road Ahead” is definitely about this wild ride that we all call “life” and how we decide to live it. It’s always coming and going, ever-changing and always keeping us on our toes. But it is also about an actual road trip. About the feeling of being both nervous and excited in anticipation of an adventure. About unity and not being afraid to take on the world because as long as we stand together, the possibilities are endless. It’s a call to keep going on even when things are tough. We’ve all been on tour together and we’ve all been on different types of tours separately. But it is all the same. It’s a long and tiring road and it’s really just what you make of it.

We always wanted there to be horns on it. Gab did all of the horns for the ending. They learned how to play brass during their time performing with their two drum corps, which is also where they got most of their touring experience, so it really meant a lot to Gab to be able to put horns on the track. Certainly a statement and an homage to those experiences. We didn’t have enough time to track more that weekend, so we are definitely planning to track more horns (and aux percussion!) on that song when we rerecord it for the full album.

Though the road trip concept was a nod to the culmination of all of our tour experiences, we particularly feel a lot of resonance with the short tour we took to Texas in 2019, before Dylan joined. We were asked to play in Denton at a friend’s wedding, so we also played a show in Tyler (where Alex and Cali had established roots) and at a few open mics. We spent time in Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo, Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, and at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. We ate so much good food in every city we visited. Also, coincidentally enough, the wedding venue was actually down the road from one of the schools Gab performed at with their drum corps. Amazing how even some random school in Denton from 2016 could be forever etched into their memory like that.

It was really about the experience of just being out there on the road together. Gab bought a minivan just for that mini tour. But that van ended up taking us to so many more places and shows beyond that tour. There is just something so different about life on the road. The excitement and danger of it. The freedom. And when you’re that close with others for that long, you have to trust each other in order to keep safe and succeed. You have to learn each other’s energies and be mindful of that, and that’s how you grow together.

And of course, Alex proposed to Cali while on tour in California… Enough said.

The van they lived in during that tour was infinitely cooler than Gab’s van, and not just because the van was named Dave… but also because it was an actual full-sized van. We have a song called “Incognitus Dave” (which will appear on the album) and it’s about that van (and every badass Dave out there... ). That tune is an instrumental bluesy jam that goes all sorts of places, just like Dave did. Unfortunately, Dave was sold about a year or so after that tour. There are talks about future Daves happening. It will help a ton to have a van for touring. But only time will tell! We love the open road and are stoked for our future adventures.

How did you decide to record The Road Ahead instead of another single?

We actually did try to record three other songs that weekend, but this one came out the best. Looking back, we wish we would have made the decision to only approach this one song that whole weekend so we could’ve added more horns and fun things.

What was the recording process like for The Road Ahead? Did you record remotely or in-person?

We recorded in-person with people who were in our bubble. We did not record it live, we tracked everything individually. We recorded at Haymaker Sounds, which is in a remote area just south of Durango on a farm near Sunnyside. It was such a new spot that we were actually the first band to record in there. Gab tracked all of the horns individually. Our audio engineer/producer was James Mirabal. We sent it to one of Gab’s old colleagues/friends Zach TK Zanghi back in NY for mastering.

Do you have plans to record more singles or an album in the near future?

We have plans to continue working on writing our first full-length album, Dreamscapes, this year. We hope to have it recorded and released by the end of 2022.

Who are your musical role models? Do you look up to any local or non-local musicians? Why?

A lot of us have family members who play or who have played music, including parents, siblings, and cousins. We look up to all of our musician friends and colleagues and we are constantly inspired by each other. It’s just a bonus to have most of those people near-by.

What is something you have learned or taken away from the last year that you’ll apply to the rest of your life?

Patience and hard work are the keys to success. Set and respect boundaries for your own mental-health. You deserve to be able to act out of self-respect and self-care. Be grateful for everything. Always tell your friends and family how much you love them.

Love and trust in yourselves. Mindfulness can help avoid many headaches. Some sacrifice is necessary for growth. You are all so strong and we are all going to make it through! If you’re reading this, we love you!

If you could give a piece of advice to musicians just starting out, what would it be?

Use a metronome. Always approach your instrument with intent. When you’re frustrated, don't give up and don’t be hard on yourself. Trust the process. You don't have to be perfect to have fun. Always try to learn from your peers. Play with as many different musicians as you can. Always show the same love and support that you would want to receive. Figure out who your favorite musicians are and learn to play like them.

What’s your favorite show that you’ve ever played? Why was it so special to you?

We have a few!

Punk Rock Breakfast 2019. PRB is a tradition in Durango from the 90s that has been revived from time to time throughout the years. Essentially, all of the town punks would get together on Sunday mornings and have a show. There would be breakfast food and booze and all of the proceeds went to charity. Apparently, it was a weekly gathering at some points. When we were involved, they were trying to get it happening at least once every month in town, and Gab actually got to play a PRB up at Purgatory Ski Resort once. Talk about reasons to love Colorado, how many places can you live where you can play gigs that they have to transport your gear up in a snowcat?!

It was back when we were a trio, and we were one of the only acts on the bill that wasn’t specifically “punk.” We did adjust our set to be a little more rowdy that day... Some people were still complaining that we weren’t punk, but honestly, we think there’s nothing more punk than being the only non-punk band on the whole punk bill. And hey, if it wasn’t punk, why were people moshing? There were some singer/songwriter solo acts and also a metal band too so honestly, punk is what you make of it. The show was moved inside after the first act because the neighbors weren’t having it. We were drunk at 10:30 AM. There were pancakes and eggs and bacon. We rocked out. Simpler times in bars with friends. We are hoping to see PRB make a comeback again, The Hive is working on it!

Launchpad 2021. It’s not often that we get the chance to collaborate with other Latin groups on an epic show in Downtown ABQ. Since it was our first show with Dylan, it felt like the official start of this new phase that we are in. It hasn’t felt the same since then. It was also not just our first show of 2021 back after the pandemic started to subside, but also the first or one of the first shows back at Launchpad. Everyone was so down to party hard and all of the bands on that bill brought something different and unique to the already amazing atmosphere. It was honestly our first show where all the bands involved were mostly composed of people of color, which definitely added to the spike in the amount of Latino people in the audience and it just felt incredible. The bands that we played with were Sol de la Noche and Scorpio SZN, would definitely recommend giving both of them a listen!

San Juan Brewfest 2021. This show was dope because it was one of the biggest events that we’ve been asked to play so far (Over 1500 people attended throughout two days) and the fact that we helped raise over $35,000 in funds for United Way is just the cherry on top. Also... we had our own porta potty for that show... Not having to share restrooms with drunk people is always a blessing.

If you could play your dream show, what would it look like?

Some of our dream shows include Red Rocks, Bonnaroo, Pacific Grove/Monterey, NPR Tiny Desk, KEXP, Telluride Jazz Fest, touring internationally… We are manifesting it all.

What’s your favorite song to play as a band? Original or cover.

That’s definitely a tough one to choose. It really depends on where we’re at, some days some tunes bop harder than others, you know? But if we had to choose overall, we probably have the most fun playing our song B. KOOL. It’s both an original and a cover; Alex wrote the song for a past project and we have been able to put some really awesome new energy and direction into it. It’s super a fun display of the way we like to shift between different genres and energies in our songs.

Who are some of your favorite local Colorado musicians and bands?

PJ Moon and the Swappers, Avant Horizon, Chuck Hank, Elder Grown, Graham Good and the Painters, J-Calvin, Float Like a Buffalo, The Buzz, Ghost Tapes, Alex Blocker, The Afrobeatniks, Liver Down the River, Cara Elizabeth, Eminence Ensemble, High Country Hustle, Banshee Tree, to name a few!

Where can fans catch your live shows in the coming months?

We have all of our shows posted on our website! The one you’ll want to be catching closest to now is Saturday, October 23rd at Moe’s Original BBQ in Englewood. We will be splitting the bill with Denver locals The Buzz. Sure to be a very funky and spooky night.

What’s a great local Colorado business for people to support?

Support your local food co-ops and your local farmers markets! Donate to your local soup kitchens and food pantries!

Also, Cream Bean Berry in Durango is pretty amazing... Some of the best ice cream we’ve had!! Lots of non-dairy flavors too.

Is there a certain non-profit organization or charity that Profetic Calaveras are passionate about supporting?

The Hive, Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center, iAMmusic, Stillwater Music. We have played fundraiser shows for all of these organizations, and they are all focused on supporting youth creativity in the Durango community.

Design by Arlene Consentino (Cali’s mom) and re-formatting by Gab Kaplan

What are you looking forward to musically in 2022?

We are looking forward to finishing writing and starting to record the full-length, playing more festivals, shooting some music videos… And just in general, we are so excited to keep meeting new people on all our adventures and growing our Profcal family. We’re so excited to see how much we’ll grow next year. It feels exponential at this point. We’re really trying to ride all of the positivity in our lives right now like a giant wave; We’re really enjoying it and we’re so close to shore! We know exactly where we want to be and how to get there and it just feels really good to be chasing a dream and have it actually be plausible.

Is there anyone you’d like to shout out from your musical journey?

James Mirabal, PJ Moon, Chunk Hank, Evan Stambler, Azi, Andy Sloan, Zion Spencer, Brian Beard-Jitsu, Michael Heatley, Eric "Chewie" Taylor, Daniel Armstrong, Charles, KhemOcean, Matti Joy Puccio, Alex Blocker, Emily Winter, Patrick Storen, Sam Kelly, Jesse Ogle, Nick Black, Uncle Kelsey, Alex Vick, Eugene Salaz, Zach TK Zanghi, Kelly Emery, Cody Donald, Luke Story, Alyssa Montaño, Ali Jay, Michelle Flower Olsen.