About the band
With a genesis at local acoustic jams, the four-member Flashback Prophets (Gregory Vaughan, guitar and vocals; Dennis Ritschel, guitar and vocals; Frank Lampe, bass and vocals; Rick Cormier, percussion) emerged in 2024 as a tight ensemble of seasoned musicians with a deep love and respect for the classic era of ‘60s and ‘70s rock ‘n roll, R&B and blues.
With precise instrumentation, on-point arrangements and a focus on tight vocals and soaring harmonies, Flashback Prophets’ uptempo, groove-driven, and highly danceable shows offer a choice selection of standout cuts, hidden gems and a growing list of compelling originals that will move your body, mind—and soul.
And without the sound levels and space needed for a full drum kit (we promise you won’t miss it), the band can rock with the best of them or dial things down to fit pretty much any venue or event—indoors or outdoors—such as festivals, cultural events, bars, taphouses, restaurants, parties of all kinds and worthy fundraisers.
The band has played a growing number of well-attended shows, including a local Democratic Party fundraiser, the Eldorado Farmers’ Market and the Nuckolls Lamy Taproom. Additional shows at Santa Fe Brewing’s 2025 Spring Runoff and the Eldorado Taphouse, and a headlining gig at the 2024 Musical Day of the Dead Tribute in Lamy have solidified the Prophets’ engaging live shows—and a rapidly expanding fan base.
Band Members
Gregory Vaughan
Guitar, vocals, and sound and video editing
Other than playing in a popular college band at Texas A&M in the ‘60s, Gregory has honed his musical talents as a recording artist. In his recording studio, Standing Wave Music, Gregory plays electric and acoustic guitar, bass, hand percussion, and keyboards to craft original songs.
To date, Gregory has 10 album releases to his credit on all the major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Pandora. He combines his love for music with his love for video by creating visual soundscapes that are available for view on Vimeo, where he has uploaded a catalog of 92 videos.
Many of his original songs are atmospheric and eclectic, built on rich synthesizers and Greg’s alwaysmelodic guitar work. His style is driven by elements of trance, with repetitive arpeggios that ebb and flow surrounded by ambient sounds and ear candy. Gregory is a master at composing and recording music that ranges from muscular and powerful to soothing and hypnotic.
Since moving with his wife, Karen, to Santa Fe in late 2022, Gregory has continued his passion for snow skiing, hiking and competitive table tennis.
Dennis Ritschel
Guitar, vocals, and cowbell
Dennis is a native New Mexican, having grown up in Albuquerque. For the last few decades, Dennis and his wife, Kathy, have lived in Santa Fe and Eldorado, where they raised two great kids, Annie and Devin.
Dennis credits his two older sisters for his interest in music as they were the perfect age for the ‘60s British Invasion and were always playing music in the house when Dennis was growing up. This led to him eventually taking guitar lessons and forming his first band in high school – Universal Joint – which played at talent shows and school dances. In college, he was part of a few bands, including Murphey’s Law—a mainstay at campus parties—and had a local hit with the song, “Jimmy’s Got A Chainsaw,” which was particularly popular around Halloween.
After raising a family and pursuing his career as an attorney for many years, Dennis was anxious to start playing more music again and joined an informal jam session in Eldorado, where he eventually met Frank, Gregory and Rick. Dennis is having a blast playing with these guys and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for music at the band’s upcoming shows.
Frank Lampe
Bass and vocals
Like many others, it all started seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in January 1964, although music has always been very important to Frank. Having grown up in Cleveland, he spent many, many nights with a transistor radio tucked next to his pillow, tuning into the burgeoning music scenes both on the shores of Lake Erie and in Detroit, courtesy of CKLW and all that the Motor City was putting out. Music truly is the universal language, regardless of genre. It’s ability to bring people together and the joy it can provide is unmatched.
Frank was in a couple of rock bands in junior high, including a Doors cover band. After a long hiatus from music making, he started back up again in the early 1990s in Boulder, Colo., playing bass guitar in a band that played out regularly, the Organic Mechanics, made up of natural foods industry folks, which, given Boulder’s role as the capital of the natural and organic foods movement, was a good fit and with a great support network.
A couple of working bands later, including the Braxton Hix Blues Band and Barrel of Blues, and with a move to Santa Fe, he finds himself extremely fortunate to have found a couple of extremely capable, like-minded souls playing the music that has fed him all these years.
Rick Cormier
Percussion
Rick’s musical journey began at age 10 when he was given his first snare drum. His passion led him to trade drum kit for guitar and write 180 original songs in his 20s, before exploring synthesizers to compose instrumental music in his 30s. In his 40s, he switched to playing hand drums. In 1979, at the insistence of friends, Rick’s reluctant audition for the chorus of the musical, “HAIR” unexpectedly landed him the lead role.
Since the ‘90s, Rick has been hosting community drum circles in Massachusetts, Maine and now “Different Drummers Drum Circle” in Santa Fe. Once called “The Johnny Appleseed of Drumming,” Rick has drawn thousands of people, from children to seniors and from 26 countries, into the world of community drumming. Describing Rick when he ‘cuts loose’ on a hand drum, one newspaper reporter aptly labeled him “The Wildman” and said, “He represents the pure joy that music can invoke.”
Rick’s passion extends to teaching group drumming in various settings, including high schools, elementary schools and to developmentally handicapped young adults. Rick co-founded the Eastern Massachusetts Rhythm Festival, which recently celebrated its 20th year and has drummed with diverse local bands from rock to blues to kirtan.
Music
Video Promos
In making our promo video, above, the band recorded 1-minute segments of 12 different songs to provide a nice overview of our music and stage show. This video captures the full 1-minute segments of each of the songs recorded and provides a deeper dive on the band and a better feel for our music.
Audio cuts
Below are two songs originally recorded for the promotional videos, cut live in the studio. This is a good example of what we sound like live.
Gigs
Santa Fe (Eldorado), NM 87508 United States
When the weather is nice, everyone flocks to the Eldorado Farmers’ Market on Friday afternoons. Flashback Prophets will be playing on the stage next to the Santa Fe Brewing company’s location in Eldorado – the Eldo Taphouse. This is a great way to shop for produce, drink a beer, and listen to the infectious grooves[…]
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508
On July 5th Flashback Prophets return to the intimate Santa Fe Brewing company Taphouse in Eldorado. At their previous performance they rocked the house to critical acclaim and raucous encore requests. This time should be even better as the Prophets have further refined their sound and added new material. Come join us for the fun.
Press Kit
Producers and booking agents: As a group of long-time, experienced musicians, Flashback Prophets is ready to rock your patrons’ world. As we don’t employ a traditional drum kit, our set ups are simple and straightforward and don’t require a lot of space—we are very flexible around venues, stage set ups, etc. Also, partly because of no drum kit, we’re not a loud band.
But make no mistake, with a lively backbeat always in play, Flashback Prophets can rock with the best of them. Yet we can also dial things down to fit pretty much any venue or event—indoors or outdoors—such as festivals, cultural events, bars, taphouses, restaurants, parties of all kinds and worthy fundraisers.
The information on this site is available in the Press Kit as downloadable documents for review and marketing and event promotion. We invite you to get in touch to set the table for one or a series of mutually beneficial and seriously fun musical happenings.