About the band
With a genesis at local acoustic jams, the five-member Flashback Prophets (Gregory Vaughan, guitar and vocals; Dennis Ritschel, guitar and vocals; Frank Lampe, bass and vocals; Julia Spinelli, drums and vocals; and 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 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.
The band has grown and evolved its compelling sound with the recent addition of Julia Spinelli on kit drums, providing an even deeper backbeat to the classics the band is known for. Constant additions to its setlist have widened the Prophets’ offerings—but the groove is always priority #1. Now more than ever, the band can rock hard or easily 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 and enthusiastic shows, including in downtown Santa Fe and featured slots at Santa Fe Brewing’s 2025 Spring Runoff and its Eldorado Taphouse, as well as a headlining gig at the 2024 Musical Day of the Dead Tribute in Lamy, and shows at Nuckolls Lamy Taphouse and the Eldorado Farmers’ Market. Plan to catch the band at additional shows in the City Different and choice venues in and around Northern New Mexico, delighting an appreciative, 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.
Julia Spinelli
Drums & Vocals
Julia got a toy drumset from her parents when she was 5 years old, and loved beating on that little set as a youngster. She played in school band in 5th, 6th and 7th grades. After that, she felt she needed to focus on academics and didn’t have the time needed to pursue music.
So, although she took good care of the Ludwig drumset she got in 1973 (and kept it through numerous moves during her Navy career), Julia didn’t play her drums much until she was 40 years old and invited into a friend’s band to fill in for the drummer who broke his arm just a week before a gig.
The rest is history, as they say. Not only has she been playing percussion in over a dozen bands since then, but she also discovered she enjoys singing. Julia likes a wide variety of musical genres, and has played many of them, though mostly old school rock. Most recently, in Santa Fe, she played in Queen Bee (formerly Rasminko) and Zydeco Squeeze, and still plays with The Right Time in addition to becoming the newest member of Flashback Prophets.
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
Lamy, NM 87540 United States
The Flashback Prophets return to the intimate Nuckolls brew pub at the Lamy train station for an indoor performance. The vibe here is relaxed, with a cozy pub feel. A packed house at the old train station creates a powerful shared musical experience that keeps people coming back for more. See you there.
Lamy, NM 87540 United States
The Flashback Prophets return for the sixth time to the intimate Nuckolls brew pub at the Lamy train station for an indoor performance. The vibe here is relaxed, with a cozy pub feel. A packed house at the old train station creates a powerful shared musical experience that keeps people coming back for more. Come[…]
Press Kit
Producers and booking agents: As a group of long-time, experienced musicians, Flashback Prophets is ready to rock your patrons’ world. 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, we’re not a loud band, that is, unless you want us to be.
With a lively backbeat always in play, Flashback Prophets rocks with the best of them–but you won’t find tired and too-obvious “classic rock” tunes in our setlists. 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.