The Dirty Turkeys Are Taking Their Caravan on the Road

The college scene in Boulder has given rise to a variety of talented musical acts over the years. That includes the Dirty Turkeys, which just won a 2025 Best of Denver award for Best Acid-Rock Band and will be releasing their debut full-length, Cowboy Caravan, on April 11.

"We're all students at [University of Colorado Boulder]," says drummer Ty Tullar. "I met Sam [Baker], our bass player, here about three years ago. He introduced me to the other guys and we decided to start a band. We played our first few shows without our singer [Brad 'Gonzo' Hansen]. He's our guitarist Russ's brother. He was studying abroad in Barcelona at the time, but when he came back, we played a really fun tailgate party and we were all immediately like, 'Yeah, Brad makes everything much better.'"

While Gonzo graduated from CU Boulder last year with a degree in communications, the rest of the band will finish up their collegiate experience this May. The Dirty Turkeys got their start in 2022 playing house parties and basement jams and have dubbed their experimental sound "Acid Cow Punk." The band has steadily gathered momentum over the past couple years, releasing a handful of promising, eclectically influenced singles and giving well-received performances as often as possible. Since refining its sound, the group is ready to leave academia behind and get on the road as the weather warms.

"We've got a gig at the Fox Theater on May 7, which is the same day that we graduate," says Tullar. "That's going to be the official kick-off to our tour. After that, we've lined up a fifty-show schedule that takes us through mid-August, and then we have two more tours that will take us through January. Eventually, we're looking to find a place to settle in, whether it's San Diego or maybe Denver. We'll see."

Pulling in various pleasing influences, including surf rock, Tullar says the ever-evolving band's goal is to not be confined by any one genre and that, among other artists, the members admire the varied work of Australian psych-rock group King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

"King Gizzard has a bit of everything," enthuses Tullar. "They have heavy-metal albums, country, folk, indie and all kinds of releases. We think that's really cool. Moving forward you never know what we'll do — we could become a bluegrass band or whatever. When I started playing drums, I was into stuff like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Queen, who I really loved. Queen was the coolest in my mind. I learned to play by listening along to records. I also listened to Green Day, blink-182, the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Ramones. I just bought a set of tabla drums that I love. Russ, our guitarist, loves to play the sitar. Sam, our bass player, is really good at the accordion. Everybody just likes to try different stuff."

Tullar says Russ pens the group's songs while taking influence from such artists as Mac DeMarco and Lou Reed. Gonzo, meanwhile, takes cues from Jim Morrison and has a penchant for climbing around stage while singing and working the audience. Baker enjoys folk music as well as classic funk outfits such as Sly and the Family Stone and James Brown. And all of the members share a passion for lacrosse, which they played prior to the pandemic. 

"I grew up in San Diego," says Tullar. "The other three members of the band are from the south Denver area, near Castle Pines. Sam, the bass player, and Russ, the guitarist, learned how to play right around the time of the pandemic. They were athletes and couldn't really play sports at that point so they picked up guitars. Brad started singing around the same time that they picked up their instruments. I started on the drums when I was six. I took some lessons, but we're all pretty much self-taught. Russ and Sam definitely learned some stuff from YouTube. They're media production majors. They enjoy making movies and they handle our social media."

The group's new album includes twelve tracks that were recorded at Denver's Colorado Sound Studios and mixed and mastered by sound engineer Aidan Roberts. The band's upcoming tour breaks new ground, including the states of Oregon, Montana and Arizona. Tullar says he and his bandmates are saving up for a new touring van and will also perform shows on the West Coast as part of their summer outing.

"We're definitely looking forward to getting back on tour," he enthuses. "We played a bunch of places on the West Coast last year and we're excited to get back to some of those spots and to add new places."

Cowboy Caravan by The Dirty Turkeys debuts on all digital platforms Friday, April 11, and will be available on vinyl at thedirtyturkeys.com.