{"id":132064,"date":"2026-06-06T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/the-dirty-turkeys-delivers-high-energy-punk-to-dolores\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T11:00:00","slug":"the-dirty-turkeys-delivers-high-energy-punk-to-dolores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/the-dirty-turkeys-delivers-high-energy-punk-to-dolores\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dirty Turkeys delivers high energy punk to Dolores"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bassist
Bassist Sam Baker, lead vocalist Bradley Hansen, drummer Ty Tullar and guitarist Russ Hansen perform full out punk sets as a group of both metaphorical \u2013 and a couple of literal \u2013 brothers in The Dirty Turkeys. (Courtesy of Tom Pelky)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Mosh pits, crowd surfing and shameless thrashing took over the Dolores Bike Hostel last weekend as Boulder-based band The Dirty Turkeys performed for more than two hours before a packed crowd, not taking a single break to catch their breaths.<\/p>\n

The four-man-band\u2019s gigs are best characterized as rambunctious punk parties void of any self-consciousness. They tromp around the stage barefoot, jump into the crowd, hop onto the drum set, strip off their shirts and shove mics in their mouths.<\/p>\n

In a sense, The Dirty Turkeys band members are still the hyperactive boys of their youths. They can barely sit still, as evidenced in an interview with The Journal <\/em>when lead singer Bradley Hansen and drummer Ty Tullar took a brief reprieve from an hourslong pickup basketball game in Dolores\u2019s Joe Rowell Park on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all naturally very energetic people,\u201d Tullar said. \u201cWe had a seven hour car ride from Denver to Telluride the other day, and me and him were like, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019m so sick of sitting down and not moving.\u2019 So we went and played like three and a half hours of one-on-one basketball, like full sprinting, sweating, shoving each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then they prepared to play a set that night in Telluride recorded for \u201cMTV Underground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes the Dirty Turkeys live performance extra lethal is their all-gas-no-brakes stage presence,\u201d Jamila Mustafa, the show\u2019s host, said in the episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Their penchant for absurd, high energy performance is perhaps best exemplified by Tullar\u2019s manner of drumming \u2013 a fast-paced, full-bodied, wide-eyed exorcism.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Dirty Turkeys drummer Ty Tullar says his wild onstage persona is not an act at all, but rather an expression of his passion for the drums. (Courtesy of Tom Pelky)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s not like I\u2019m putting on, like, \u2018Oh, I need to act all crazy and get all sweaty and play drums crazy because that\u2019s what the crowd wants,\u2019\u201d Tullar said. \u201cJust that\u2019s how I like to play drums.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never been another way,\u201d Hansen added.<\/p>\n

Their music is \u201cwhimsical,\u201d he said. It varies from cowboy ballads to love songs to flat out tomfoolery.<\/p>\n

The Dolores crowd sang along to \u201cQuincea\u00f1era,\u201d which begins with ominous guitar screeches, featuring a heavy head-banging chorus crafted by Hansen. Lyrics alternate between \u201cI\u2019m drunk at a quincea\u00f1era,\u201d \u201cI took peyote at a quincea\u00f1era,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m blacked out at a quincea\u00f1era,\u201d accelerating in their fervor as the situation unfolds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the first song that we ever wrote. My brother hadn\u2019t even really learned guitar yet,\u201d Hansen, whose brother Russ is the band\u2019s guitarist, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just kind of f\u2014ing around with his beat pad in his room. And I was just chopping lyrics up, not really thinking much of it. My sister walked in, and I was trying to make her laugh,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cShe started laughing, and I spitballed the whole song on the spot and we never changed the lyrics or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other songs like \u201cCowboy Caravan\u201d rely on poetic speech, metaphor and Wild West imagery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome to the Cowboy Caravan. Don\u2019t forget to open your eyelids. We\u2019re into high-flying violence and afternoon tyrants and loud police sirens and hijacking pirates,\u201d Hansen read from the lyrics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe storytelling part of it is very big for us,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Jake Carloni, owner of the Dolores Bike Hostel, said he was desperate to get the band booked after one of the hostel\u2019s summer employees raved about their performance opening for the Old Mervs in Telluride last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are world-class,\u201d Carloni said. \u201cMy knee was hammering up and down and I was just smiling ear to ear and laughing out loud as these guys are just tearing across the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People
People resonate with The Dirty Turkeys\u2019 intense command of the stage because \u201cthey can tell that it's authentic and that we're not putting on some sort of facade,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cThey can tell that we actually really enjoy what we're doing.\u201d (Courtesy of Tom Pelky)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Dirty Turkeys band members\u2019 tight bond enhances their riotous performances. \u201cWe are all brothers and we're all best friends and it's really easy to be true to that when it's real,\u201d Hansen said. (Courtesy of Tom Pelky)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Dirty Turkeys cultivated their punk sound \u2013 which Hansen described as \u201cfast and loud\u201d and Carloni described as \u201cunapologetically unpolished\u201d \u2013 in Boulder\u2019s college music scene. Hansen said they cut their teeth playing house shows, experimenting with their style and cultivating a symbiotic relationship with the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something special about a house show. No one\u2019s paying for tickets. \u2029They\u2019re there voluntarily. It\u2019s loud, it\u2019s noisy, it\u2019s sweaty, it\u2019s hot,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been carrying that intimacy with us when we play bigger shows or bigger venues.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the remaining students in the band graduated last year, the typical end of a college music group\u2019s saga morphed into a new beginning. Now, Hansen said, the band is touring almost full-time, traveling up and down California, meandering along the Southwest and taking some necessary pitstops in Idaho, which the band became enchanted with after their first tour.<\/p>\n

In Stanley, Idaho, Tullar recalled nearly canceling the gig \u2013 which finished out their first multistate tour \u2013 not expecting much of a crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were 300 college-age people in cowboy boots and cowgirl boots and hats line-dancing in the parking lot to a live country band. And we were just like, holy s\u2014, this is insane,\u201d Tullar said. \u201cThose two shows are in my top 10 still to this day. And so we made a vow to go back to that spot every summer. Like no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Dolores \u2013 a town they\u2019d never heard of prior to being booked at the hostel \u2013 the Turkeys also encountered what Hansen said was one of their best crowds. There was a noticeable lack of cellphones and the crowd\u2019s rapt attention never wavered from the stage.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Dolores crowd hoisted The Dirty Turkeys bassist Sam Baker onto their shoulders as he performed the impressive feat of vigorously strumming heavy punk tunes while crowd surfing. (Courtesy of Tom Pelky)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThere was kids, there was parents, there was older people. There was everybody in between,\u201d Tullar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe partied with everyone afterward,\u201d Hansen added.<\/p>\n

The band extended their stay by two days, mingling with concertgoers after their set and spending the next morning touring a local sheep farm owned by one of the enthusiastic attendees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re supposed to be in Denver right now,\u201d Hansen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason we\u2019re still here,\u201d Tullar added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hiked six miles up that mountain today,\u201d Hansen offered, pointing toward the McPhee overlook, not a weary bone in his body. \u201cGorgeous. It\u2019s so nice. Love this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before jetting off to complete the rest of their tour, the band assured Dolores won\u2019t be a place they forget.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will definitely be coming back,\u201d Tullar said before rising to resume his basketball game with Hansen. \u201cThat\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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