The Local Music Lookout: Crypt Trip, Deville San Ramos and Lantic

By Ryan Lacerda
Local Music Journalist

From proto-metal to folk pop and relaxing funk, this week’s bands are here for you! We air them on KTSW 89.9 all the time, and they play shows around town, so tune in and check them out!

Crypt Trip

Based in San Marcos, Crypt Trip is a three-piece hard rock and proto-metal band with a moderate dose of psychedelic slush. Polished grit and raw technique combine to create Ryan Lee’s fuzzy, sludge-drenched guitar riffs, Sam Bryant’s groovy and droning bass and Cameron Martin’s manic yet well-paced slaughter of percussion.

The first song off their recently released EP, Mabon Songs, “Natural Chylde”, starts off with Bryant’s fast paced, hefty bass line before being psychedelically embellished by Lee’s guitar and Martin’s splashy drums. Lee sings confidently and distinctively with a vocal tone influenced by Ozzy Osborne. His heavy guitar-tone sounds influenced by Tony Iommi, although he adds his own magical touch with use of his wah-wah pedal and other effects and funky skanking riffs. “Natural Chylde” is all about the groove.

“Groove, meaning the primal feeling that comes over a person when they hear a wall of pulsating sound attacking them from every direction. Ya know, the feeling that makes you wanna grab the chick dancing next to you and boogie.” – Ryan Lee.

During the chorus, the lyrics express a mystical view of polarity and balance and the natural flow of things by contrasting the moon and the sun, but assigning their consequences to a “master” force that has control over both of them. “Natural Chylde/ If the moon forgets to shine/ The master has stopped the time/ Natural Chylde/ If the sun forgets to rise/The Master has cut the ties.” There aren’t many lyrics, as the song is really more of a long super jam. However, I’m thoroughly impressed.

Recommended if you like: Black Sabbath, Captain Beyond, Sleep, Cactus, Deep Purple.

Bandcamp: https://crypttrip.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CryptTrip/?fref=ts

Deville San Ramos

Deville San Ramos is a folk-pop band from San Marcos, TX. Members include lead guitarist/ukulele and lead vocalist Ben Deville, cajon player Gabriel Ramos (he recently left the band, but is the percussionist on the album), upright bassist Derek Thigpen and backup vocalist Kayleigh Soukup. Deville met Ramos in Dec. 2013 when he hired him at Chipotle. After Ramos heard him sing, he asked Deville to jam. They played their first show at the Wild Rice Festival as a two-piece in early 2014. Later that year, Thigpen came along and they ended up playing 57 shows in 2015! Their last big show was for MRFest earlier this year in April.

Deville’s voice is a passionate blend of folky and soulful; it is both deeply accessible and simply heartfelt. His relatable and intimate lyrics guide listeners throughout the fiery joys and romantic heartbreaks we experience throughout life. My favorite song off their 2016 EP release Full Sail is “Marigold”. Although it sounds like “Marigold” is about a love story, the lyrics are actually metaphors describing how Deville rediscovered his love for music later on in his life.

“Well it’s true I found a love that’s better than the first/I’m at bursting at the seams oh all the things she does to me she always satisfies my thirst/A voice so bold if she’s around I’ve got to stay/ Some streaks of yellow marigold across my soul in ways that make the world not seem so grey/Oh the way you moan as my fingers touch your skin/Your voice it speaks to me and mine to yours it seems to be the only way to let someone in.”

Deville’s parents forced him to practice music when he was young and he felt like it was a chore, but when he was around 22 years old, he discovered how he loved writing and playing his own songs.

“Playing only when I wanted made playing music so enticing,” Deville said. “It became an outlet that started to drive me nuts.” 

RIYL: Bombay Bicycle Club, Local Natives, Broken Bells, Wild Child, Lake Street Dive.

Bandcamp: https://devillesanramos.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DSRmusic/?fref=ts

Upcoming shows:

None at the moment, but Deville says they will likely start booking again, so stay tuned!

Lantic

Relocated to here from Dallas, Lantic has been strongly embraced by the local San Marcos community. Their sophomore album, Days On End, was released this September, and is their most well-produced and composed effort to-date maintaining a consistent quality of their staple chill funk and nostalgic sound throughout. Dakota Carled plays Drums/xylophone. Ryan Jurovic is the lead singer and plays synth. His brother Josh Jurovic sings and plays piano/synth, guitar, bass, and often pulls a “Ray Manzerek” (from The Doors) doing both bass and piano at once. Eric Wendt plays lead guitar, Keys, bass and sings too.

Songwriter Wendt wrote “Patiently” after meeting a fellow bobcat, Rachel Smith, at the river one day. Although carrying no particular message or meaning besides perhaps love, Wendt said the song was just “created out of a burst of emotion that day”. Wendt’s guitar delay effect after the chorus gives the song a timeless quality and a psychedelic tinge to the song. Ryan’s vocals are in the tenor range and smooth sails through lyrics with stylistic croons and falsettos. Unrelated, Dakota is a Yoyo master and can eat a large jar of pickles and drink its juice in approximately five minutes.

RIYL: The Strokes, Tame Impala, U2, Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lanticofficial/?fref=ts
Bandcamp: https://lantic.bandcamp.com

Upcoming shows:

Nov. 17   KIVA Lounge & Bar   San Marcos, TX

Jan. 4   Wake the Dead Coffee House   San Marcos, TX