Q & A with Dionysus

I sat down with one of the kindest and most talented guys I know, Dionicio, of the local band Kalico, at one of my favorite spots, Tikka Shack, and asked him some questions while we both devoured our masala fried chicken sandwiches.

Q: What is your actual name?

A: My name is Dionicio Espada Lujan. My middle name is Spanish-- means sword in English-- and my first name is also Spanish, it derives from Dios, meaning god. So it's like 'God Sword' almost. Unintentionally, intentionally. You know what I mean?

Q: Where does Tales of Dionysus come from?

A: Whenever I meet people, its really crazy because I tell them, 'Oh, hey, blah, blah, blah, my

name is Dionicio.' and they're like, 'oh, you mean like Dionysus?..." Deeoneesus? I don't know, Latin's dead. I'm not gonna lie, who cares how it's pronounced. But anyways, they usually just throw me in the category of greek name and I'm like 'nah.' you know, I've heard it so much, its actually uncanny how much I've heard it.

I have a couple solo project names, and when I came up with the name-- I write a lot of my

music through feeling -- it's an outlet for me. So that's how i came to the idea of Tales of Dionysus.

There's a lot of emotion in there, and even though it doesn't have words on a lot of the songs that I make... yet? It's more about portraying the vibe. I still have friends tell me, like, 'Whoa bro, you can kinda feel what was going on.'

Q: So is Dionysus, an alternate personality?

A: I wouldn't say so... but also maybe a little?

When I go out with friends or perform, I like to dress up and stand out. I like to put on a really sleek outfit, and test my abilities of looking good in something that I wouldn't really see a lot of people pulling off.

Q: What is your Zodiac Sign?

A: Ahhh, ya got me! I'm a Leo. I'm usually the leader in my friend groups. I usually conduct everything. I like to stand out. Of course, I try to be more humble. I'm not too prideful, even though I am a Leo.

Q: The pride of the Lion is humble though, right? Like prideful but contained?

A: Yeah, I guess it was, like, gained in a way, ya know? It took time to get to this point. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but stuff doesn't happen overnight.

Q: *taking bite of chicken sandwich*

A: I don't understand why people hate people. That's bad. So if you hate somebody, stop that. If you're hating others, that just means you're hating yourself. You're projecting that.

Q: I agree. On Savage Mode II Morgan Freeman says "hatred is really born from hatred of self." It's a good album, you should give it a listen.

A: I'll have to check it out.

Q: I wanna go back to your name, you said it's Spanish. What are your roots?

A: So I'm kind of like a mega mutt. I think everyone is starting to get to that point these days-- thank God. On my dad's side, he's mainly like Spanish and Mexican, and Native American. I believe my great grandmother was Choctaw. On my mom's side, part Aborigines and Black.

My family is super cool. I'm named after my great grandfather. Never got to meet the guy, but he's pasty white.

Q: Speaking of your roots, do a lot of people in your family have nice hair?

A: Yes! It varies. I used to have tighter curls, I think you can consider this 3C, maybe a lose 2C, if I'm correct on that terminology. Some of my other brothers -- I'm the youngest of 6 brothers, so I have 5 older brothers. And 2 of them have, like, really kinky hair, and three of them have hair like mine, so it's looser. And we really can't grow beards, they're hard to come by in the family.

Q: What is your haircare routine?

A: I ain't gon' lie, it's kind of hard. I had to cut it all off once, and i'm thinking about cutting it all off a second time. But, I usually put a deep conditioner in and leave it in while i wash my body so it has time to soak in. When I get out I shake it like a dog, then comb it with this huge comb, and finish it off with some leave-in conditioner.

I can't stand when people tell me that they wish they had my hair. No, you don't! You don't wish you had my hair. It takes a lot more work than you think, and when people tell me that I can tell that they probably won't treat it the way I'm treating it, because it takes a lot of work. More work than what most people want to put in their hair. There's times when I get lazy and it gets bad quick. If I go to sleep two days in a row without putting my hair up, it starts dreading and knotting. They just spawn in my head.

Q: What is your drink of choice?

A: Water. I'm ngl, nothing is more thirst-quenching than water. Even after partying with the homies, what are you going for? You're going for the water.

Q: Any final thoughts for our listeners?

A: Go follow my instagram pages! The Kalico page is @kalicofurever and my instagram is @13dionicio37