The Dirty Turkeys Are Bringing New Life to Acid Rock

The Madchester movement that gave the world acid-rock royalty the Stone Roses has a distant heir in a groovy new band on the Colorado music scene. The Dirty Turkeys are a Boulder-based act that’s been making a name for itself with a funky new sound and a reputation for raucous live shows. The Turkeys fuse classic rock, rockabilly, acid rock, psychedelia and even a bit of surf punk to create a whimsical style it's deemed “Acid Cowpunk.”

With the April release of the single “Benny,” a sardonically soulful acid-rock groove that evokes the genre’s classic-rock roots with a bluesy guitar riff, the band launched an ambitious return to the scene with a tour and planned LP drop in the fall. The Dirty Turkeys recently unveiled a second single, “Undercover Billionaire,” from the upcoming album Cowboy Caravan, and its first full-length music video for the song premiered on August 19. With those two singles, the Turkeys are charting a new musical direction that will expand their audience while also pleasing longtime fans.
Turkeys frontman Brad "Gonzo" Hansen says, “We released ‘Benny’ because we just fell in love with it during the recording process, and it best represents the band’s sound with both its lyrics and melodies.”

“A lot of fans were surprised by that release, because they know us best from our punk background and loud, energetic live shows," notes Hansen. "But the song actually got a positive response, and the second single, 'Undercover Billionaire,' shows our development in a new direction and style.”

Hansen’s brother, Russ, who plays guitar in the Turkeys, assures fans that "we’re definitely sticking to high energy of punk,” especially in live shows, “but we’re traversing to more melodic progressions.”
The Hansens are joined in the Dirty Turkeys by bassist Sam Baker and drummer Ty Tullar; the group formed in 2022, starting in basement jam-band sessions and CU-Boulder house parties. While the brothers and Baker have been friends since childhood, it was the addition of Tullar in college, plus Gonzo’s dream to be a rock-and-roll frontman, that were the catalysts for the Dirty Turkeys. Russ and Baker had been playing together for a while when, Hansen says, "we just threw ourselves into the Boulder music scene, playing the house-party circuitsssw2 before we leveled up to bars. The next thing we knew, we were playing the Fox Theatre.”

“Brad’s dream was to be a frontman,” Russ explains, “and the early days of jamming together were very experimental and avant-garde as we figured out our sound.”
In 2023, the ambitious young musicians recorded two full albums in one session at Colorado Sound Studios. "We worked with producer Aiden Roberts, and I think we set a Colorado Sound record, with 28 songs recorded in two days,” says Tullar.

The first recording, Froth, which has yet to be released, showcases songs rooted in the band’s early punk-rock sound. But the members decided to release the second album, Cowboy Caravan, first. “When we recorded the albums, we intended to release them quickly,” Brad says, but then they decided it was better to release singles, gradually building an audience and hype.

That process underwent a small detour when the bandmembers took time off to see the world. “So the interesting thing is, after recording the albums, we all took a six-month hiatus to travel. Russ and I were in Southeast Asia, Sam was in Spain, and Ty spent some time in Europe," Brad says. "We all had a lot of experiences that changed our views on music.”
"After traveling and experiencing a broad range of sounds, from rhythmic music in Morocco to the jazz and blues scene in Japan, we reviewed what we liked and didn't, and we wrote enough new songs for another full-length LP," Brad says. "But the best thing was, we all came back with a new perspective on music from a more worldly view.”

He describes the Dirty Turkeys’ evolution as a logical progression. The more the band played and jammed in live shows, the more the sound evolved, growing “into a more psychedelic sound we're calling ‘Acid Cowpunk’ because a lot of the lyrics are Western-based," he says.

"But if you come to the shows, you’ll still feel like we’re a punk band," he promises. "We pride ourselves on our live show. We’re out in the crowd and stage-diving.”
Baker adds that the Turkeys originally planned to do covers, though the members didn’t actually know many. “So we started off with a loose musical direction, and we just played a lot of loud jams, and people seemed to like the energy," he says. "As we evolved, we grew into our instruments and sound. Each of us have different backgrounds but similar musical tastes, so the more we played together,” those sounds merged into the Turkeys' style.

“Being in Thailand was cool, because the rock scene is amazing and propelled me to explore late ’60s, ’70s Thai classic rock," Russ adds. "I’ve always been interested in the sitar and world drum sounds.” Exploring alternative scales and time signatures has also played a role in the Dirty Turkeys' new sound.

Tullar says fans can expect a regular rollout of new music, with singles released every other week before the fall LP release. The next single will be “Quinceanera,” which Tullar notes “is always the closer at our live shows. It gets people dancing and moshing, and sort of returns to our energy punk roots.” The band’s live shows almost always turn into raucous dance parties, with the mosh pit extending to the stage.

The Dirty Turkeys recently returned home from an impressive West Coast tour and gigs at some notable venues, including the legendary Viper Room on the Sunset Strip. Now, as the members work on new music, film additional videos and plan for the LP release, they're wrapping things up with a couple of Front Range shows, beginning with a free one on Friday, August 23, at Roxy on Broadway. That will be followed by a return to the Fox Theatre in Boulder on Friday, August 30.

The Dirty Turkeys, the Roxy on Broadway, 554 South Broadway, Friday, August 23. No Cover. The Fox Theater, 1135 13th Street, Boulder, Friday, August 30. Tickets are $23.