The wrestling match, which took place at Art Parkd, a Dayton DIY music and arts festival, was the climax of a several gigs-long storyline between the two musicians. Drummer Billy Gruber/Billy Gunz/Guillermo Tortuga, the crux of the fabled beef, secretly kept his stage identities disparate with a lucha libre mask; he was slammed into a breakaway table at Yellow Cab Tavern by Dos.Grandiose for the deceit.
Calzada, defeated in the final match at Art Parkd, was taken away in a faux-funeral procession, only to be resurrected as the leader of performance art collective, Basura, in its first public appearance.
Basura has the bone structure of Frank & Friends, with the added elements of a three-piece horn section and experimental improv movement artist Marie Bruns, as Mazie Mariposa, dancing to the music — hence the term “performance art collective,” not “band.”
There is an extravagance to all of this, specifically in the idea of retiring a name not old enough to need retiring, but it’s not without nuance and purpose.
Occupied with performing at myriad festivals and making local connections, Calzada didn’t have much time to sit down by himself and ruminate on the big year he had. And aside from the March 2024 EP, “Mucha Mariposas,” he didn’t have the time to nurture his solo ventures either.
So, as the year came to a close, Calzada made a point to focus on doing both.
His latest release, “Alma en Pena,” out Dec. 28, is an eight song, self-released album that he calls “a love letter to his music.” When he made the announcement on Dec. 13, two weeks from the official release, he wasn’t sure what he’d be releasing.
In those two weeks he decided on a “little conglomerate, a gumbo pot collection” made up of songs he’d been sitting on, rerecordings of stuff he put out in high school and a song that his grandfather wrote, “Casanova,” that Calzada repurposed after his grandfather’s passing.
Recorded entirely in the GarageBand app on his iPhone, through a one-input iRig 2 interface — a method he’s been using for years — Calzada crafted his latest album entirely himself, instrumentation and production. He recorded vocals with the iPhone microphone, with some sweetening via the mobile interface effects.
He uses what he has, and works with what he knows.
Credit: frankcalzada56
Credit: frankcalzada56
The album’s title, “Alma en Pena,” roughly translates to “suffering soul.” It’s a heavier subject matter for the album’s creator, who typically explores lighter themes in his music.
“With this record,” Calzada said, “it’s kind of showing a side of me that’s saying, I am human; I’m not all peace and love. There’s pain to the human experience.”
Much like his other records, the guitarist incorporates Latin percussion and Flamenco-esque acoustic noodling throughout “Alma en Pena,” a skillful nod to his heritage.
Back in June, he visited Mexico for the first time, to see where his mother grew up. There, he experienced what he’d only heard about.
“It was the first time I was actually living and breathing and eating and listening, just absorbing Mexico for what it is,” Calzada said. “This is where my mom grew up. These are the streets that she would walk around. It was very nourishing for my soul. When I came home, I had all this inspiration ready to go with the music. It’s really inspiring to know that it is in my blood. I’m proud to carry on that tradition.”
Despite the wildly entertaining elements Calzada added to his act this past year — the kayfabe performance art, costumes, the rise of Basura, slamming musicians into tables, etc. — it’s the music that will continue to be the focus moving forward.
He recently set up a new studio in his house, a room devoted to creating. Come New Year 2026, it will be interesting to see how Frank Calzada ends up using what he has, and working with what he knows.
When asked if he feels pressure with subsequent ventures, considering the extravagance of some of his recent music-adjacent stunts, he said that “pressure” is the right word for how he’s feeling.
But when asked if he thinks the new album is going to satisfy people’s expectations, he said:
“That was a thought that was on my mind as I was working on this. And honestly, I just kind of threw that thought out the window. At the end of the day, I am performing and releasing music for people to hear. But this project, specifically, I made it for myself.”
Brandon Berry writes about the Dayton and Southwest Ohio music and art scene. Have a story idea for him? Email branberry100@gmail.com.
More info: Frank Calzada’s new album “Alma en Pena” can be found on all digital streaming platforms.
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