The Duhks

0:00Scrooge McDuck way back when the name well I got I got asked about the name I hate doing it, but I haven't had you guys in yet. So okay, I got I got you get away with it I can tell the story. Yeah, let's hear it. Let's hear the story And I'm wondering why you chose the same name in a way in the same spell and though that interested me well The thing is is that you know Hindsight is it is it is whatever it is, but at the time I was really concerned about You know people knowing that it would be me for one thing and sort of the same kind of Sort of the same kind of sound Theoretically yeah at the time, you know what I mean Certainly when you have an idea to put a band together There's there's always a basic sound that you have in your mind, you know what I mean, but

0:49Really quickly it became very obvious that this is its own thing, you know, this is Completely different musicians and you know with way different musical sense and we work as a unit completely different But at the at the time in 2001 when the when the shift in my life really and it really is only my life I mean sure joining this band was a shift in everyone else's life too, but the regarding that You know, I was sort of I wasn't seen clearly But as it turned out it worked for the best, you know The label loved the name the ducks and and it's certainly something that's very memorable and easy to say too So it's worked well for us. What'd you go up the spelling? Is that an actual word to? Well in the States we tell the meds the Canadian spelling

1:36But it's actually a Disney copyright the ducks so we had to we had to go for ducks That I like the spell notes cool cool this whole this new record migrations. I mean there's covers up There's traditional tunes on it. There's a couple of originals your songs. Jess is just unreal first single What made you I know folk music is a lot of it's always been about covers and doing other people's music and doing a little differently and Traditional tunes, but what made you guys do that not have all original tracks on our record? Well, I mean none of us are really Songwriters necessarily. I mean I'm sort of starting to write more Leonard's writing a bit, but I Don't know I've my favorite way of explaining it was This woman Betty LeVette who's this incredible soul blues singer

2:24And I will quote I all try to quote okay. I'll just close the paraphrase exactly. It was something like, you know I'm not a songwriter. I'm a song interpreter You know you give me any song that anybody's ever saying and I'll sing it better I just really like that. I was like well, you know, and I think that it's just a matter of Giving songs new life and different interpretations You know, there's a lot of amazing music out there and not to say that I don't think we're capable of making our own But we do make them are yeah, and it's something that we're not forcing, you know what I mean like Songwriting is is a it's a natural talent But it's also something that you learn and you develop and and it was never in our minds to just go out and put a whole bunch of crappy Songs out there, you know, we want to in any of our minds I think it's really important that all any song that we sing is something that everyone in the band can stand behind

3:13Yeah, we don't want to do stuff just because it's original material We want to do it because it's strong and the other thing too is that you know I think that we have an incredible opportunity to expose Friends of ours who are not getting the kind of attention they deserve because it's so hard in this industry I mean, it's really like being in the right place at the right time and I mean You know, we have a great a Great voice to be helping our friends and a wonderful circle of friends and really talented players The the scene that we find ourselves in sort of this young kind of hip acoustic, you know bands like crooked still and the mammals from the States the whale and Jenny's from actually back in Winnipeg Diad from Vancouver The list goes on in here, but I mean certainly what Jess said is true, you know any anytime that we can

4:02You know, we expect or rely on so much help from other people out there that if there is anything that we can do And there is a great song to sing then we should sing it and have done so Yeah, like who names of people that are on the record? How'd you hook up with even like Katie? I mean the Grammy nominated song congratulations by the way thanks Katie Has worked with Gary Pachosa who co-produced our record. Okay, he produced her old band newcomers home the record and her solar record and we were looking for material and we'd met Katie a couple years ago and just totally loved her and Gary was suggesting a bunch of songs and At this point we had all the songs for the record. We were just looking for one more and I had kind of decided that I wanted to try to find another

4:50female singer-songwriter and And We happened to find two it's actually Katie and Ruby Amon Phu wrote it together and it's a good thing that we chose that one apparently it's amazing too because a Lot of the rest of the material on the on the record we'd been practicing for a couple months We dedicated sort of the last half of November last year as well as the first half of December to Rehearsing you know and it's really funny is a lot of the songs in the first part of that session You know we went we picked we played like 25 or 30 songs You know that we were considering and half of those songs never made it on the record and and we actually Learned we jammed out on on heavens my home only a couple days before we recorded it

5:38So it was like one of these really fresh things that was you know You don't typically learn a song in the studio and actually feel like you've come out giving the song the voice that it deserves You know it's always like yeah, you know I wish you know I wish we could have recorded this record now two months after we're done after we've been playing on the road for two months Because the songs naturally take shape and morph a little bit and each of the parts get a bit more creative because it's like the back Your hand, but that one really That one was a real smash in the studio. It was it was just something where we all knew like whoa Something really cool is happening. Yeah, I remember like the day that we recorded that and I just ran out And I called my mom and I was like I think this song is gonna like really do something for us Like I really think like I just had this feeling and it's crazy that it actually did like it didn't become the first single

6:28Out of the rain did and we were all kind of like okay. Well, you know, I mean we kind of recorded Heavens my home with the idea that it would probably be more not necessarily more radio friendly I think out of the rain is very radio friendly, but definitely just sort of that it would Get us a foot in that sort of pot market, but Apparently it's a country song it did wonders though. It's doing great. You guys actually gonna go to the Grammys Do you have invites? Oh, that's amazing. Oh, yeah first time I Make it sure in case I'm here Who you most excited to see I hope so I'm kind of hoping Bono is gonna show up. I'm not sure if they're nominated for anything I don't think they had a record this year. Look at that new one I wonder if they're not gonna do they did that collaboration with Green Bay or something like that

7:15He's just someone or that band is a band that's been one of my influences And and I don't know if I ever had a chance to meet him That's true. What are some other influences for you guys? I mean obviously the folk scene's been in huge influences, but from other music you guys into rap hip-hop that kind of stuff. Yeah, I mean it's Among the five members of the band. I think we pretty much cover the entire gamut of musical genres There's hip-hop rap fans and heavy metal The boys really like listening to the darkness and to Dragon Force What do they sound like a rock band it sounds dragon force or kind of like a They sort of try to imitate video games as far as their guitar solo

8:03So it's like this intense speed metal with these two guys doing the craziest stuff on the guitar like It's tapping and it's like how do they hear that? How does that ever come into their mind? But it's like they're doing it at the same time two guitar players and it's it's insane It's like literally you're playing a game a street fighter or something But you know yeah, like just said you know like Scott Senor our percussion player. He's really into Afro Cuban music into Brazilian music you can tell in a Drummond yeah, it's unbelievable Jordan, you know in his youth played in a bunch of different punk bands. Oh no, you know We all it's all over the place. Were you always banger? Do you pick up guitar for us? You know what I'm a terrible guitar player really never been able really to do it

8:51Yeah, I started on the piano Doing classical stuff and then My father had been trying to teach me to play since I was six And then when I was 16 bail of fleck and the fleck tones showed up at the Winnipeg Folk Festival and totally blew my mind And I was like okay, Paul, you know you can show me this now I didn't think it was really I cool But now I think it's really cool, but you know what you can you know teach me the old timey stuff I'm gonna take it to the bluegrass and the newgrass, but Learning old time music. I really fell in love with it and Irish music at the same time And so it just took its own route. Yeah, well listen to Bella. Just both I mean even Victor Wharton on the bass is just What do you just you play anything? No, I just think I've never really Followed in love with an instrument I mean I tried playing my dad got me a guitar when I was 18

9:39And I never really got to into that and got a ukulele a few years ago and had fun with that for about a month And that's what they usually see I'm like yeah I think about maybe learning to play bass sometimes, but that'd be cool not anytime soon I'm enjoying just sort of developing my voice right now Cool you guys have it you don't have a bass player do you? No, not a visible one not a visible one The low end on the cajon and the low end of the guitar what's a cajon for those the cajon is a it's a Peruvian instrument and there's also a Cuban variation basically it comes from The fish docks and there just it's just a literally a box And it has a hole in the back And so when you when you hit and you sit on it and when you hit it in the middle It does like a big boom and when you hit it around the edges

10:25It's like a snap so it's like a whole drum kit all in one box And it comes from the days when and Scott would be much better telling the story But it comes from when they when they band playing music and so they just had to and singing so they just had to come up with Their own stuff, you know, and it's it's an instrument of the struggle of the people and so it's really it's a really wonderful instrument and So yeah, that's awesome. I had no idea that story you guys are heading off to Alaska real soon the dead of winter What made you do that they're flying us? Oh? That's cool We went we went there last year on or the early part of this year I guess in February or something like that is it as like gorgeous everyone says it is it really is It's pretty crazy because it gets so dark so early and you're so far away from everything so it's a little bit

11:13Isolating yeah, where are we? No, that's part of what's really exciting going up there as musicians is just that they're so starved for it that they're so Appreciative like they just freak out there like sponges. They're just like Stoked we're playing in a 750 seater and Anchorage. It's crazy. You know, they're really into it You know if someone comes up there they really get behind it. Yeah, well, I mean the only music I just jewel right now I guess that's the most famous thing to come out of there and musically we can't suppose kind of focus Yeah, kinda Anyway, I ask every band five questions five quick questions one word answers. Okay, I guess go back and forth or everyone iPod or CDs iPod CDs Landon or McCartney

12:01Lenin Lenin Alcohol or marijuana marijuana 2-pock or biggie Neither biggie okay and one word the ducks one