The Dusty Souls - Infectious Inspiration

The Dusty Souls - Infectious Inspiration

It was like any other weekend party at Cal Poly - full of music and laughter - and a group of strangers who were about to change one another’s lives forever.

With the queue switching to “Since I’ve Been Loving You” by Led Zeppelin, the Dusty Souls were born.

Otis McLoughlin noticed a keyboard in the corner of the room and, after asking around who the other musicians were, he met drummer Soul Berna and guitarist/singer Dusty Spelman.

“I hopped on and we played that song,” McLoughlin said. “They hadn’t had any shows before I got there, so I feel like in a sense that was the start of the band.”

The trio would later come to find saxophonist Kaden Anderson and bassist Jude Callahan.

While all five talented musicians bleed talent and breath inspiration from a wide range of artists across multiple generations, they have come together for over a year and performed at many local venues in San Luis Obispo like SloDoCo and The Siren.

They play a mix of originals and modified covers for three hours straight - playing off each other and often having no exact set list but rather playing what the audience wants.

With a psychedelic rock playstyle that takes the audience back to the ‘80s, it seems only right that Soul’s most listened to artist of 2024 was Led Zeppelin.

“I only listen to the live versions,” he said. “Usually when I listen to it I play as well.”

His favorite original song from the Dusty Souls called “Arabian Nights” is “all over the place with tons of room to play unique each time we play it.”

The bread and butter of the band - Kaden - has a musical taste as antithetic, with Future being his most listened to song of last year.

However he has found a method for differentiating musical genres; and derives inspiration from the disciplined sax of Kool and the Gang - a funk/soul band formed in New Jersey midway through the 1960s.

“I see me listening to music and playing music as two totally different things,” he said.

While playing for his high school band in El Molino, “You get told what songs you have to play and you memorize it. You didn’t get to choose what songs to play so I was never into music as much as stuff I listened to personally. I think that’s the reason the music I like is so different.”

The band that perhaps emulates the vibe of the Dusty Souls best is Pink Floyd - which happened to be Dusty’s favorite band last year, listening back to many of their earlier albums like Animals.

“It’s a unique eclectic sound we’re trying to produce with the intention to be weird and intriguing.”

Dusty believes in writing music with the intent to say something important, and express that to other people in a way that is enjoyable.

This is one reason why there are so many genres, and why people can like the same thing said in different ways.

“It’s enjoyable for me to write lyrics because it gives me control over the song in a totally genuine way. You can’t put that filter up just to try and be famous.”

Moving onto the funkiest bassist west of the Mississippi, Jude attributes his early inspiration for creating music to “The Cure”.

Bass player Simon Gallup went against the norm of traditional fingerpicking and instead using a pick - a method that Jude adopts.

“I make my own music and have a lot of different inspirations including the cure, and I like music that connects to an audience that’s more energetic and danceable. I like how we can all be unique in our way but feel free to create and collaborate together. I feel like we’re at that point now.”

Finally, Otis McLoughlin is nothing short of a musical genius who can synchronize riffs in his head on the fly, or play a solo without missing a note having never heard the song.

For him, the Oscar Peterson Trio from the 1940s is where his love for classical and jazz comes from.

“He does crazy fast and sick lines on piano. It’s a swing type of music, but I think it’s really classy and I like the vibe,” he said. “It’s not so much hype before shows, but when I’m at home playing, you think you’re doing something cool then you listen to a guy like Oscar Peterson.”