North Texas Daily

William A. Darnell / Senior Staff Writer

At 8 p.m. Monday night, Dan’s Silverleaf was sparsely occupied with only a few people milling around, talking and ordering drinks. But by the time lead singer Kaleo Kaualoku and his band Spooky Folk took the stage two hours later, all eyes, ears and elbows were packed tightly to hear the local musicians.

The band’s show was a “farewell, for now” for Kaualoku and his fiancé of four years, Cayla Bartolucci, who are moving to Denver, Colo., plunging the band into a quasi-hiatus. Spooky Folk is not breaking up, but the band is entering previously unchartered territory, Kaualoku said.

“You could look at it as a glass half full or a glass half empty situation,” Kaualoku said. “I think it’s going to force us to take the next step that we, as a band, should have taken a long time ago, to try and take what we do and craft it into something that people outside of Denton enjoy. Whether that’s going to pan out or not, I don’t know, but that’s the goal we have.”

The hiatus represents a crossroads in Spooky Folk’s career — the move forces the band to either flourish or whither out. Kaualoku said in terms of his personal life, leaving his home of seven years is a necessary step to grow. He and his fiancé sought a place of their own, visited and fell in love with Denver, and decided to make it their permanent home.

Although optimism about the future of the band runs high, the emotion at Dan’s Silverleaf was tangible from the fans, the staff, the opening act Satans of Soft Rock and the band itself.

“I’m excited for him,” Satans of Soft Rock lead singer Tony Ferraro said. “I wouldn’t say I’m going to miss him because I’m going to get to see him again. This is going to be an excellent and exciting new chapter in his life, and he’s got a hell of a lady.”

Chris Brown, Petra Kelly, Kaleo Kaualoku, Scarlett Wright and Jesse Clay Perry of Spooky Folk pose before their show at Dan's Silverleaf on Monday. Photo by Josh Cholopisa / Staff Photographer

Kaualoku said Spooky Folk is nearly finished with its sophomore record, and that he would certainly make the trip from Colorado to celebrate its release. As for more concert dates or talk of a possible tour, Kalualoku was reserved, saying things would develop organically.

Founder of I Love Math record label Charlie Hunter said he is hopeful that the band will be able to play more than two or three shows a year, but he isn’t sure how the band will manage it.

“I expect lots of crying,” Hunter said. “They started this weird little family and it just keeps getting bigger. It’s going to leave a hole. Spooky Folk is the reason I started a record label.”

Kalualoku is leaving behind his job at Denton landmark Recycled Books for an uncertain future in Denver, but said he will find something. Since his fiancé already has a job in place, pressure is not a concern.

For now, Dentonites will have the band’s first album and the memories from its performances to remember during this uncertain break.

“Spooky Folk is better every time I see them,” local musician and Dan’s Silverleaf bartender Isaac Hoskins said. “It’s always been that way. [It was] perfect to send Kaleo and Cayla off to Denver in style.”

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