Mellowing out with Cuff the Duke

Toronto band teams up with Greg Keelor for new CD

The one band Oshawa - spawned and Toronto - based roots-rockers Cuff The Duke have been compared to most often is Blue Rodeo. Such references will continue given the fact that their excellent new album Way Down Here (their fourth) was produced by Blue Rodeo singer/guitarist Greg Keelor. Better than being compared to Nickelback or Our Lady Peace, right!
The recording took place last winter at Keelor’s studio on his rural Ontario farm, and the sound has a correspondingly mellow and intimate vibe. Over a pint on a Parkdale patio, Cuff The Duke’s singer and lyricist, Wayne Petti, told Tandem that the recording process helped the very eclectic group focus their sound more directly.
“All we had to work with was what was in Greg’s house, plus it was just the four of us. Recording in such a short time really did help make things more coherent. With the last one [2007’s Sidelines Of The City], people would comment that it was a really rockin’ record. I didn’t really notice that, but now listening back, it really is. This one sounds like we all smoked a joint, though we didn’t. I’m curious to see how people react to a more mellow, vibe-y record.”
Keelor and Cuff The Duke enjoyed an easy rapport while making the album, something helped by the relationship forged when CTD were out on tour in support of Blue Rodeo.
“We did the main chunk of the tour with them in winter 08, plus four more shows that spring. By the end of that, Greg was really hanging out with us a lot. He mentioned ‘You should come out to the farm sometime and hang out. Record for a couple of days and see how you like it.’ So we went out for a couple of days, did some songs, and we all loved working like that. We thought we might have some demos from it, but by the end we had “Follow Me,” “Promises” and “Listen To Your Heart.” We went back in January and did it in nine days. In total, the recording took about 11 days.
This was a far more rapid process than for earlier Cuff The Duke records, notes Petti. “Most records we’ve ever done take at least six months. Record a chunk, do overdubbing, mixing and mastering. Maybe four to six months by the time all that is done. With Greg, we went to his farm, did no pre-production. I had a bunch of songs; the guys had some songs. We’d start each day, pick a song, discuss it, arrange it and talk about how we’d do it, then go upstairs (as the studio is on the top floor of his house) and just do it. This was exciting as all the parts were spur of the moment and fresh. Also, it was eight tracks and a one-inch tape. A very old-school sound. Everything was live off the floor. The fundamental foundation of every song was just us playing until we got a take where we’d go, ‘that’s the one.’ For the first time ever I recorded vocals for four of the songs as we did the bed tracks, and I’d never done that before.”
These songs will certainly translate well in performance, and CTD, known as an excellent live band, are itching to get back on tour. Their own shows will bring a more appreciative audience than the one the band encountered playing Toronto’s Festival of Beer, just before our interview. “We went over as well as you can at those kinds of things,” says Petti, with a shrug. “There were a lot of people walking around with beer boxes on their head!”
Joining the quartet on their Canadian tour will be excellent East Coast musician Brent Randall. “He is going to play keyboards and a little guitar,” Petti reports. “As you’ve heard, there’s a lot of piano on the record. Brent is fantastic. He can sing really well, play guitar, piano and keyboards really well. He’s a triple threat, and a great guy to hang out with. We’re pumped about it. It’s going to be fun. A little added expense, but it’s worth it. Have it be something different than the last one too. We’re looking forward to it.”

Way Down Here is out on Noble Recording Co/Universal. Cuff The Duke play The Horseshoe on Oct. 16 and 17.

Publication Date: 2009-09-13
Story Location: http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=9413