A Couple Of Recommendations

Take This Bread got its name from a Felice Brothers song, but the true inspiration behind the philosophy of what we are trying to do comes from the late singer songwriter Harry Chapin. Harry had a philosophy of playing a show for benefit, to match every show he did for himself. I hated Harry's music, but i loved his "missionary zeal".

There is a band on the indie scene out of Boston, Ma called State Radio. Some of you might have heard of them, they had a few reasonably successful songs on the indie scene, most notably, the superb "Knights of Bostonia". Well these folks, when they arrive in the city that they are playing, help organize, and participate in a public service project in that community. They do this with their fans and other people in the community. Definately the type of people i try to support. They are darn good as well, especially if you like a SUBLIME- type sound. here is their website

They also launched a social networking tool for people with similar intentions and fans called CallingallCrows.org (check it out). I am on there, and am a fan.


My other recomendation is a new music blog out there that really stands out. Its a Cleveland based site called "Now This Sound Is Brave" or NTSIB. April is a big Felice Brothers fan, but covers the whole indie scene as well as live music in the Cleveland OH area. Its a first class site for that area and much needed. For some reason Cleveland is an area that often gets ignored tour wise by many acts, and i cant figure that out, as it is the home of rock and roll, or at least that's what Huey Lewis said. Here is the link

Review of Simone's Solo Show at Hawley Arms

link
With 2009's Nothing Gold Can Stay The Duke and the King brought a soulfulness reminiscent of the folk troubadours of the 70's. Somewhere between Marvin Gaye, Neil Young, Cat Stevens and James Taylor is where their style lies. In other parts traditional campfire folk songs seem to inspire "The Morning I Get to Hell" such is the wisdom they spread on life and there after in this track alone:"They play me my life on a TV so I'd see it all/Everything I'd never tell/'Till I'm begging the anchorman for my one phonecall"

So on Monday night Simone Felice returned to Camden's Hawley Arms, having last made an appearance here in November. With a stool in the corner of the tiny top room of this famous venue, a couple of wine bottles holding trickling candles, man and guitar stepped out, engaged in mild banter before launching into a beautiful cover of Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage".

Interaction with the crowd was all in good humour; some American guys begging for a rendition of the prison work song "Take This Hammer" sparked a raucous improv and we all joined in on request of the artist on "The Morning I Get to Hell". You felt as if you were in the front room of a great friend, which in fact Simone was as he thanked his friend, the Hawley Arms manager, for allowing the night to happen.

Over the evening we were presented with Felice Brothers favourites "Don't Wake the Scarecrow", "Your Belly in My Arms" and "Ruby Mae", which when stripped to their very bones reveal the true genius of songwriting and storytelling at hand. It is this blend of the often macabre folk story offset with Felice's flawless vocals which creates an atmosphere of such unbearable poignancy. In his ability to transform something tragic into, for a fleeting second, a thing of beauty, we are consistently left astounded; and in debuting "New York Times", in which he shrouds the massacre of a ballet class in floral metaphors: "turn[ing] the white muslin into bright red bloom", we are left in awe at his understanding of beauty and tragedy and how closely he can paint the two.

There is little this artist cannot turn his hand at: a published poet in his twenties, and now working on his third novella, of which he showcased a little, he deals in topical issues in a traditional way. Reading a war poem entitled "Today in the Desert" taken from Poems of the Desert by the Men of the 8th Army (1944) he followed this with The Duke and the King's "One More American Song", a similar kind of war poem for our times in Iraq and Afghanistan. The protagonist of the song, "John of bottle tops", is also the outline for the central figure in Felice's new novel surrounding the life of a blinded ex-troop upon his return from Iraq.

The show closed with Neil Young's "Long May You Run", which Simone seemed humourously saddened to learn was actually an ode to an automobile. In sandwiching his own material between Pink Floyd, a rendition of Townes van Zandt's "To Live is to Fly", and Young, Simone Felice shows he is as much of a songwriter as the old masters. His own works fit in here as effortlessly as if he had played a full set of covers, their timeless quality and traditional sound resonating in the candlelit room, his stories of the forgotten ghosts of New York State echoing through to modern times.

Link to the Duke and The King Documentary

The Duke & The King’s 2009 autumn UK tour documentary was screened on Channel4 (Wednesday 24th just after midnight) on their 4Music show 4Play.

You can watch it in full on the Channel4 4OD watch again service both online and on digital television services. [watch now online]

Riding on the Midnight Train to Georgia

If I had a pair of scissors I would jab them furiously into my temple right now. I drank enough alcohol to subdue a caribou, and I still can't sleep. And this place smells like the inside of a port-a-potty outside The Meadowlands in New Jersey after a big game.,

Dreadful.

a thought on the Duke and the King

Something that's been on my mind.

The Duke and the King isn't a rock and roll band, it's an idea.

Some of us got that. We live by that idea and those principles are laid out for us
during their shows. They are principles of life that the fans and the band share.

The idea is alive.

Some random thoughts as I head out to Georgia
-as the Felice Brothers head out to record their new album. I am hoping we see a few things, like Farleys song finally make a album, ian's rendition of "Solitary Man", and more songs from Josh, who apparently has a growing list of fine songs. Finally, more harmonies. Those barroom harmonies were a big part of the band sound, that was not as utilized on Yonder is the Clock as it had been, on say the self titled record or Tonight at the Arizona. Love to see those return again as a big part of the band sound.
-the Dave Mathews tour is upcoming. I know most of us fans would rather be attacked by a flock of AIDS infested woodpeckers, than sit through a 2 hour DMB set, yet it's important for us to be there if financially possible, to support the band and spread the message. I know most of the DMB fans will be cats named "Chip" wearing flip flops and drinking daquiries, while their preppy sunglasses swing around their neck, and might not "get" the Bros, nor would we want them to, but there could be some potential fans in there.

-The Simone Felice solo record. I'll be on the trail and if it comes out, please someone upload the tunes to YouTube or something so I can listen to them mobile like.

-I will start my journals from Georgia on Sunday, it will be updated on trailjournals.com my user name is "takethisbread" and I will be using twitter under the same name.

God Bless and goodbye for now

Digger

We will always love the Deacon

Although I was not going to blog for a few months, I had to get this one off my heart.
I, along with many fans who have emailed me, have been heartbroken to hear that "the Deacon", our friend,
Nowell, had split from The Duke And The King. It shocked me, it felt like a kick in stomach, and mostly it felt like a
missed opportunity for music fans. I felt the band from mid fall on had become very special, unique, and Nowell was a integral piece
of that.

I suppose that I have seen a few hundred rock and roll shows in my life, and seen legendary performers ranging from
Jimmy Page to Roy Orbison to Stevie Wonder. No one consistently gave me jaw dropping moments like Nowell did and I hope
will do again. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with how he was utilized, delivering the big lines, in great songs by one of this generations finest
songwriters. "Annabelle" in Radio Song glowed like never before and made versions I had heard performed by the Felice Brothers, seem insignificant, like kids play. He made The Devil is Real, leap out at the listener, and allow us to focus not just on the words and melody, but "feel" a man worried about his salvation. His short time around us professionally, was marked by so many memorable moments and
a significant part of the Duke and The King's trademark sound. I felt the band had the potential to be really huge. They really could have been as big as Fleetwood Mac, and maybe they still will be. I have always felt that Simone Felice is a force of nature the world will not be able to resist.

Most importantly, The Deacon, is a person people love. I figure that I have come across tens of thousands of people in my life and I am not sure one has seemed more genuine, more easily loved, or more endearing, than my friend Nowell. I know many others will agree. His smile is infectious, like he is the sun and we are a field of Daisy's. He is real people and he will be missed the next time I see the duke and the king. Although he is gone from that band he will still be a part of our musical family, as we will continue to follow him here and on Frankiesgun.com. Most importantly he will be in my heart as a friend ongoing. He has had a very profound impact on my life. I am better person for hearing his voice, feeling his embrace and seeing him laugh.

That said, I have confidence the Duke and the King can and will endure. There is no other person in popular music with the "duende" of Simone Felice. The fireworks will still pop, just a little differently.

Long live the Deacon.

Sorry

I have been away. real life.

Anyway, i love the Felice Brothers and The Duke and the King as much as ever and remain committed to spreading the gospel as much as possible.

Sorry i missed those recent shows. I am however committed to other things in 2010. I am try ing to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in this year, and have been on the trail a lot in January and leave for Georgia in a couple weeks.

Upon return i have the Take This Bread food truck to look after. I also own a business. Feeding the hungry and the homeless in our truck, is going to be a high priority when i get back from the hike, and i see that as my main pursuit the rest of my life. I hope to see some of you out there.

I am still committed to celebrating the wonderful music of the Felice Brothers. The entire Felice Brothers family has had a great year of growth in 2009, and we have so much to be grateful for. In 2009 we got 2 Felice Brothers albums, Simone goes with the Duke and the King, we got our own message board and a proper online community, we got "Marie", Simi Stone, another Bondy record, worldwide success and accolades for the Duke and the King, The Big Surprise tour!!!, and how about NOWELL HASKINS??!!!, can you imagine life without this wonderful man? 2009 saw us get a better look at Simone, as well as a better look at Christmas Clapton..er..Plainview..er..just Josh? and Greg Farley's song for Gramps, Beautiful Dave Turbeville, and we got to know Searcher, since most have us have not seen him except the Youtube clips of Cornbury in 2007, we will forever remember his earsplitting John Bonham like drumming.

WOW what a year this has been!!

and 2010 promises a lot more; a new Felice Brothers record, a new Duke and the King record, a Simone Felice solo record, and novel Black Jesus. Who knows what else? a new tour bus??!!

Keep celebrating. much love, digger

RockCandy #2 album of 2009 = Yonder

Rock Candy

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After poring over all of the candidates, here is my top 10 list for best indie (read: non-mainstream) albums of 2009. What were your favorites?

1. Girls, Album (True Panther Sounds)
SF duo creates unique sound mixing punk and art rock with Buddy Holly vocals. Note: Girls will play the Gargoyle Feb. 7.

2. Felice Brothers, Yonder Is The Clock (Team Love)
Upstate NY rovers capture the American condition with Dylan-inspired gem.

3. Heartless Bastards, The Mountain (Fat Possum)
Infectious, straight-shooting rock from Cincy/Austin quartet is anything but heartless.

4. Dan Auerbach, Keep It Hid (Nonesuch)
A solid solo outing from Black Keys singer/guitarist.

5. Blind Pilot, 3 Rounds and a Sound (ATO)
Exquisite debut from Portland indie folksters/cycling enthusiasts. For fans of the Shins.

6. Metric, Fantasies (Metric Music International)
More energizing rock from can’t miss Canadian quartet.

7. Silversun Pickups, Swoon (Dangerbird)
LA rockers churn out distorted goodness.

8. White Lies, To Lose My Life… (Geffen)
I’ll admit it, sugary Brit pop is a guilty pleasure.

9. Camera Obscura, My Maudlin Career (4AD)
Paste Magazine says it best: “Simultaneously sad and celebratory, and always charming.”

10. Asobi Seksu, Hush (Polyvinyl)
Engrossing dream pop a la Blonde Redhead. Note: Catch them Feb. 4 at the Old Rockhouse.

This Morning I am Born Again: top Album picks #16 Yonder is the Clock

The Felice Brothers' albums have become slightly less enjoyable - mainly due to too much album-filler. But just as I passed through Yonder Is The Clock to check inventory, I remembered just how good the good ones are. Ian Felice can strike my fancy just as easily with a raucous barn-burner as he can with a plaintive dirge

Front Porch Musings #1 Song of 2009

1. The Felice Brothers - Run Chicken Run

And finally, the best song of the year. What do I have to say about it? Nothing other than if you see The Felice Brothers live and happen to catch this song in their set, I have no doubt that you'll understand why it is my number 1.

Phew, hope you enjoyed it...That was a fun little project for what I think was one of the best years of music I can remember. Here's to 2010 being the same...

here

TampaBay.com top Albums of 2009 includes the Duke and the King

10 Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise): Not sure if this Queenly thunderclap is as good as 2004's American Idiot, but Before the Lobotomy is GD's best song of the decade. So there.

9 Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz (Interscope): Karen O, the Ichabod Cranial leader of this NYC art-pop trio, is the most fascinating frontwoman in rock. Maybe the scariest, too. If they ever reopen Studio 54, the first song played should be the YYYs Zero.

8 The Dead Weather, Horehound (Third Man): So jarring, so hard, so good, this supergrouping of Jack White and Kills femme fatale Alison Mosshart is the sound of would-be paramours trying to love each other to death — with Uzis if necessary.

7 Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures (Interscope): Do Dave Grohl and Jack White have a bet on who can form the most side projects? The Foo Fighter and his yowling pal Josh Homme join Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones for a hairy-knuckled trip to Misty Mountain.

6 Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3 (Roc Nation): The completion of Hova's decadelong trilogy merges soul samples and a quick-lipped lesson to young MCs itching to take down the king. Rap is a young man's game — unless Shawn Carter says it's not.

5 Gliss, Devotion Implosion (Cordless): Imagine if Raymond Chandler had an apartment in Melrose Place. Or Philip Marlowe dated one of the Olsen twins. This L.A. trio takes "noir rock" a la Jesus and Mary Chain and spices it with the wobbly hookup mores of the Sunset Strip.

4 Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg (Interscope): No surprise here: The '70s-stuck stoner-rocking Aussies might be my favorite new band of the Aughties. Andrew Stockdale & Co. indulge in stoopid head-banging dude rock — and I can't get enough of it.

3 The Duke and the King, Nothing Gold Can Stay (Ramseur): These Woodstock-born folkies feature Simone Felice (of the Felice Brothers) conjuring the puff-puff-pass spirit of Cat Stevens and related '70s bonfire studs. The best band name of the year refers to the con artists in Huckleberry Finn.

2St. Vincent, Actor (4AD/ADA): She's Cinderella with a taste for blood. Or maybe Beauty and the Bjork. Trying to figure out the electro-clashing dreamscapes and labyrinthine lyrics of a.k.a. Annie Clark from Oklahoma is creepy, mesmerizing fun.

1Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson, Break Up (Rhino/WEA): Scruffy busker Yorn makes a postmodern duets album that acknowledges both the frustration and kinky pull of our celebrity-driven culture. Like a lithe, cig-pulling lust object from some Francophilic fantasy, the saucer-eyed ScarJo represents our love/hate relationship with Lohan et al. — but wow, she can sing, too.

#79 best country album of the decade: Yonder is the Clock

Country Universe



79
Felice Brothers, Yonder is the Clock

The Felice Brothers are the least-known among the members of ‘The Big Surprise Tour’ headlined by Old Crow Medicine Show and featuring Dave Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch, and Justin Townes Earle. Melding country-rock and folk-rock, they are roots-influenced and made their start playing in the subway. While it may take an extremely big tent to call them “country,” consistent Dylan comparisons make Yonder is the Clock hard to ignore. – William Ward

Green Leaf Blog 9 top albums of 2009 (Yonder is the Clock)

Yonder is the Clock #4

04 – The Felice Brothers – Yonder is the Clock – This album contains my favorite song of the year in “Cooperstown”…a great and unique work with exceptional songwriting and great atmosphere, this one is exceptional.

Hearsoundswrite: Yonder is named #2 album of '09

When the Felice Brothers took the stage of the North Charleston Performing Arts Center in February, as the opening act for Old Crow Medicine Show, I was giddy for a set of songs from their charming yet derivative 2008 self-titled album. I hoped they'd open with a Dylan/Band rewrite like "Little Ann", "Take This Bread", or "Frankie's Gun". Instead, the band launched into a bounding, fiddle-heavy chase theme ostensibly titled "Run, Chicken, Run". Wow, I thought. This sounds...kinda like they should sound. The singer's voice is natural, in no way straining for Dylan's nasal wheeze or Levon Helms' aw-shucks drawl. When Yonder Is the Clock dropped a few months later, it was evident that they were washing their hands of the Dylan-clone stigma (although it'll be tough to dodge the comparisons when Ian is such a ringer, vocally). Look no further than track number one, the aptly name "The Big Surprise". Rising into a piercing climax in the form of a sharp fiddle note/drum hit 1-2 punch, the rest of the album isn't quite so foreign but still seems distinctly Felice, at least more so than anything before. "Penn Station" takes the train-song archetype and validates it with a superbly thrilling chorus. Slow, aching lament "Buried in Ice" tells the story of an unfrozen and reanimated body, questioning his futuristic revivers for not saving his beloved as well. Unfortunately, what would be an A+ album is marred by the inclusion of a barnhouse demo take of standard "Memphis Flu", clearly an aesthetic decision, but one that drags on for over two minutes and would have benefited from full production. Still, the album is a lunge in the right direction for a band that might have maintained a level of success as career Dylan/Band sycophants. It's to their credit that they're not content with emulation, something they've to proven with Yonder Is the Clock.

Something Obscure: Best Albums of 2009

Best Albums of 2009
Posted on November 27th, 2009 in Music
Keep it Hid – Dan Auerbach This is the kind of album you hope for, especially from a bluesman like Auerbach. I think this is better than the Black Keys stuff if for no other reason than the addition of the more acoustic blues tracks like “Trouble Weighs A Ton”; these kind of moments add depth and contrast to Auerbach’s take on Americana.
It’s Blitz – Yeah Yeah Yeahs Just awesome pop bliss; I agree with Zinner that this band’s music would fit right into a John Huges film. “Heads Will Roll”.
Backspacer – Pearl Jam The best PJ album since Vitalogy. It’s full of energy. Listen to “Got Some”.
Before the Frost… – The Black Crowes The band’s best music since Amorica. Good to know they still got it.
Yonder is the Clock – The Felice Brothers A nice slice of Americana. This album sneaked up on me, and it might do some more sneaking up this list before long

Eyeweekly.com recognize The Felice Brothers and the Duke and the King

photo by "Jumpin bean fever" on Flickr

Dave Hodge's Top 20 of 2009
1. Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
2. Wilco, Wilco (The Album)
3. Neko Case, Middle Cyclone
4. Joel Plaskett, Three
5. Metric, Fantasies
6. Frank Turner, Poetry of the Deed
7. Felice Brothers, Yonder Is the Clock
8. Thermals, Now We Can See
9. Phosphorescent, To Willie
10. Tragically Hip, We Are The Same
11. Wild Light, Adult Nights
12. Deer Tick, Born on a Flag Day
13. Dog Day, Concentration
14. Tripwires, House to House
15. Lucreo, 1372 Overton Park
16. Magnolia Electric Co., Josephine
17. Roman Candle, Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
18. Cass McCombs, Catacombs
19. The Duke and the King, Nothing Gold Can Stay
20. Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle, Let's Just Stay Here

Duke and the King interview in Q

photo from laurenkemery's flickr page
Q: Duke & The King Interview
9th December, 2009

in The Duke & The King

Q discusses the power of music and one of 2009’s under the radar gems with it’s creators


Imagine, if you will, a cross between Marvin Gaye and James Taylor; Smokey Robinson and Paul Simon; Sly and the Family Stone and Neil Young. Okay, got it? You’re halfway towards getting a feel towards the gorgeous and painful, yet warm, country-soul sound of The Duke & The King. They’ve released one of the year’s best albums with their debut Nothing Gold Can Stay (recorded in a cabin in the Catskill Mountains of New York State) and are utterly devastating live.

Named after the travelling Shakespeare hustlers in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Duke & The King are made up of Simone (pronounced Simon) Felice (The Duke), former drummer and writer for the equally wonderful The Felice Brothers, George Clinton collaborator Robert ‘Chicken’ Burke (The King), Nowell Haskins (The Deacon) and Simi Stone. Qthemusic had a chat with the band before they took to the stage at Manchester’s Ruby Lounge and left a beer-soaked, rowdy crowd in a hushed awe.

How did you and Robert get together? And what inspired you to record as The Duke & The King?
Robert: Love and friendship.

Simone: It’s the same thing that brought us all together. Nowell is on the record that we made. He’s a featured singer on Lose Myself. And Simi is our most recent chosen one.

How did you enjoy playing on Jools Holland recently?
Simone: My friend said we looked like an Oreo version of The Mamas and the Papas.

Being a drummer with The Felice Brothers was there a desire to be centre stage or is that just a by-product of the fact that you had these songs to sing?
Simone: No, I love playing the drums and even in The Duke & The King I still get to play a couple of songs that Bobbie gets the lead on. We swap up. Nowell grabs the bass sometimes or hits the drum kit. We started out us three guys; it was a trio first. And we’re three singing drummers. I’m proud to be a singing drummer and I hope I always will be one.

Being singing drummers how was it playing a show with Levon Helm, the legendary drummer for The Band?
Simone: It was a milestone for us. We’d done about 100 shows before that, but the one at Levon’s we’d been working hard in my barn on getting all of our band really united and feeling really glued up together with our songs and our harmonies. We really considered Levon’s show to be the launching pad for what this band can be live. Levon fell in love with our band and we got a standing ovation at the show and he called us up at the end to sing The Weight with him. And we sang with our hero, one of our biggest heroes ever. One of the most magical moments of my life.

The name The Duke & The King comes from Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and the new Felice Brothers record ‘Yonder is the Clock’ comes from a more obscure Twain book, Mysterious Stranger. What is the deal with the southern thing for guys born in the New York area?
Simone: It’s the devil saying, ‘that guy’s going to die at this hour, that guy is going to die at that hour, she’s going to die at this hour’. Yonder is the clock. It’s Northern Gothic. The inspiration for The Duke & The King is that in the book there are these two drifters setting up the Shakespeare camp that was going up and down the river. And it’s that tradition of being on the river, or on the road, getting up on stage and putting on a show. And we like to bring theatre into our music. We want it to be like a travelling theatre. In the future Nowell said he would like two horn players on either side of the stage to introduce the band.

Your album Nothing Gold Can Stay seems to be about recognising your own mortality and a yearning for the innocence of childhood, yet it doesn’t sound like a sad album. It actually sounds very warm. Was that a conscious decision or did it happen naturally?
Simone: Like a glass of wine. That’s what we wanted. I think as writers and singers all of us have looked darkness in the eye. You can be rest assured. And sometimes when you have to look down that dark tunnel it forces you to create an inner warmth. D’ya know what I mean? It’s cold down there. If you face death or you face sadness, or the abyss, you have to create an inner fire.

That same warmth comes through from the letter you wrote to fans about why you had left The Felice Brothers and all the tragic personal events that had happened to you [Felice and his partner lost their first baby while he was making The Duke & The King record]. Are you generally a positive person?
Simone: Do you want to answer that Bobbie, am I a positive guy?

Robert: I don’t like to make a comment about that. But when you go through a hard time in your life and you acknowledge it, and by coming to grips with that there is a feeling of freedom. So if you learn how to go through that door and take the positivity of experience it makes you feel good to go through something bad once you understand you’re going through it, and past it. I think that’s what positive people do and why they’re not as prone to depression. When I feel more negative I’ve gone through depression in my life. So is Simone a positive person? Yes. He tries as hard as possible. But man we could be cynical as hell.

Nowell: The reality of life, life’s rhyme or reason, is that there is happy and sad. The reality of being a human being is that you have good, you have bad, you have happy, you have sad.

Simone: The world would fall apart if it didn’t have balance; the darkness and the light. We’re trying to spread as much love as we can. We want music to be a healing force for people.

Do you believe in the redemptive power of music then? Like you sing in Union Street: “As long as we’ve got rock ‘n’ roll, everything will be alright.” Do you believe that?
Simone: Well music has been for all of us…

Nowell: It’s a medicine, man.

Simone: It’s the biggest medicine.

Robert: Once again you’ve got to look at the light. I mean because Gary Glitter had rock ‘n’ roll, too.

Simi: It’s about finding beauty in darkness, and in pain, and in the abyss.

Simone: Life is hard. For so many people it’s a suffering thing. And if a glass of wine or a laugh with a friend, or falling in love, or making a baby, or walking up a beautiful hill with the sun shining on you, if you have those moments you can cherish them, and it helps you get through all the rest of the fucking rough. But music, songs, poetry, it’s saved all of our lives.

The record has a timeless quality without sounding old. Is it hard to write something without slipping into sentimentality?
Simone: It took my whole life to learn how to write like that. And it’s not easy, it’s hard, but that’s how you learn how to write. Trying to get a tradition of telling the tale of our time. You get a lot of people that take the past and just regurgitate it. Taking some old tradition and thinking I’m going to dress up like this guy used to, and sing about the same old shit. But that’s weird. The poet’s job is to tell the story of his own time.

Robert: But obviously you can’t ignore the fact of the past few decades we’ve been through as well because that has affected and inspired all of us. The classic albums and musicians of the past.

Are you aware of what the music critic Greil Marcus described as the “old, weird America”?
Simone: I think America is twisted, and it’s been twisted since we picked up the slaves on the ships, and twisted since we gave the smallpox blankets to the Indians. If you keep the channel open in your heart and mind then you can really listen to all the screaming ghosts that exist in the country called America. If you listen to it all it will drive you crazy. So you have to know when to turn it off.

There are so many singers who write contrived, trite love songs that sell millions, and lesser known artists, like yourselves, exist on the margins. What would you do if you ever got famous?
Robert: It would be like Phil Collins from that point on.

Simone: We’d have to remember where we came from. That’s what the song is about. It’s a mantra to ourselves, to remember the people who have always loved us, and remember each other. And to not get caught up in all the illusions and bullshit of fame. The disease of fame, which is a disease that England and America both have. Programmes about dancing with the stars or American Idol are completely false.

Duke and the King gets album of Year nod in Telegraph

Duke and the King's Nothing Gold Can Stay at #1 and The Felice Brothers Yonder is the Clock at #4

The Duke & The King, Manchester

A royal performance: The Duke & The King, Manchester Ruby Loungeby Ed Devlin. Published Thu 26 Nov 2009 20:00
The Duke & The King


video by ChucksmithNYC again!



Duke & The King, Manchester Ruby Lounge, November 21, 2009

“We’re all in Manchester, and we’re all united,” says Simone Felice in an attempt to convey a sense of bonhomie between the band and their audience.

As an American he can be forgiven for not showing the correct football etiquette as half the room boo his genuine, if corny, attempt at spreading the love.

Thankfully The Duke & The King’s set provokes a more positive reaction, with everyone in attendance in the palm of their hands from the opening chords of ‘If You Ever Get Famous’ – also the first song of their haunting, and beautiful, debut album ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay.’

It’s followed quickly by new single ‘The Morning I Get To Hell’, and it’s clear that as good as the album is, The Duke & The King live is an altogether more enthralling experience; spiritual even.

A wonderful mix of soul, country and West Coast folk, Smokey Robinson dueting with James Taylor, Sly & the Family Stone teaming up with Simon & Garfunkel. Whatever it is, it’s special, it’s liquid music.

The band performs as a quartet live, and all four members have sensational voices with a sensational variety. They swap instruments giving the night a very intimate feeling, as if any member of the crowd could get up there and join in at any time.

Felice (The Duke) takes lead duties on most songs and has a raw sadness about him, as well as a warmth that he shares with everyone in the venue. This is evident on ‘Don’t Wake The Scarecrow’, from The Felice Brothers’ second album, a beautiful number that is lyrically stunning. And on ‘Union Street’, a song that wistfully reflects on getting back to a more innocent time, and one of the night’s many highlights, there is a collective lump in the audience’s throat. “As long as we’ve got rock and roll, everything will be alright,” sings Felice. Amen, brother.

Robert ‘Chicken’ Burke (The King) showcases his sweeter, sun-kissed vocals on ‘Suzanne’, as well as a versatility throughout the night, as he jumps from guitar to bass to drums with ease.

But it is the big man wearing the Wu-Tang Clan T-shirt that surprises the most. Nowell Haskins (The Deacon) plays the drums and supplies soft backing vocals until ‘Lose My Self’ when a volcanic eruption seems to happen. As he opens his mouth a voice like molten lava comes flowing from his incredible pipes. This understatement sums up The Duke & The King; when they are able to use a singer of this talent so sparingly, and brilliantly, it is evident that we’re in the presence of something very special.

Simi Stone, the fourth member, is as important to the whole as the three main players, her violin playing more than a little reminiscent of Scarlet Rivera on Bob Dylan’s Desire.

All this comes together, and reaches a climax, for a breathtaking rendition of Neil Young’s ‘Helpless’. After intense, and pleading, screams from the audience the band appears for a moving encore of ‘One More American Song’, the final track on their album.

If tonight is just an intimate, quiet gig it’s frightening to think what this band would sound like in full flow. Lyrically as good as anything released in the last few years, and musically joyous and full of pathos at the same time. Long live The Duke & The King.

New single ‘The Morning I Get To Hell’ released 14th December

Nothing Gold Can Stay Named Album of the Year

http://beat-surrender.blogspot.com/2009/12/duke-king-nothing-gold-can-stay-album.html
Photo by elchicodeleche

by Simon at Beat-Surrender


Much procrastinating going on recently trying to settle on my choices for a Top 20 of 2009, in truth there was little between many of my choices and when I look what I left out it reinforces what a wonderful year it's being for Americana and Alt-country flavoured music, through all this one album has stood out from the pack and this was the one.


There was a buzz around about this album prior to it’s release and indeed the taster track that was set free If You Ever Get Famous caught my attention immediately, this was an album I had to get my hands on as soon as – and my faith was rewarded because this set of songs went straight to the top of my 2009 albums and nothing released since has had what it takes to change my mind about what would be my top album of the year - and if you twisted my arm for a top ten albums of the decade I'd be hard pressed not to include this one.


The tragic backdrop story to the album is well documented and I won’t dwell on it, but a sadness does permeate this album but there are moments of hope here, glimpses of salvation – it’s not all loss, lies, despair and pining for the past. The writing is top notch and if you don't already know Simone Felice is a published author, one of his book's Goodbye Amelia will hopefully arrive with me Christmas morning.


It’s not just the writing and literary references that make this album stand out, the other elements hold up under scrutiny too, Simone Felice’s lead vocal fits hand in glove with the songs, the combination of 70’s folk hero and blue eyed-soul that wraps itself around the lyrics and then there is the wonderful harmonies and support vocals provided by Robert Burke, the Rev Loveday (Nowell Haskins) and Simi Stine. The sympathetic production allows the songs to breathe, to sink into the consciousness - it's an album which demands your attention and rewards it richly in return.







I’ve heard the band being described as many different things but if your after labelling it then the umbrella genre of Americana would surely fit the best - after all two icons of American culture are prominent, the title Nothing Gold Can Stay pays homage to Robert Frost and the band take their name from Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.


No favourite’s on this record the whole albums a work of art, if you need convincing to buy this album then I hope some of the tracks below will help you make up your mind, you can purchase the CD from Loose Records , if you prefer vinyl you can get your hands on an audiophile 180g LP from the guys at Diverse (check our their charity calendar of album covers here) and finally there’s also a lovely Double-7” Inch Gatefold Single of If You Ever Get Famous available from Loose Records, this is backed up by two tracks from the album, Union Street and Still Remember Love as well as an exclusive track One More Year.




One regret this year on the music front was not going to the see the band live, so this breaking news from Teek on Americana UK forum is welcome news.


"Simone said they will be recording a live album over two nights in February at Levon Helm's studio. Don't know specific dates but he said they'll be doing the Felice Brothers tunes from their set (Scarecrow, Belly, Radio Song, Devil), a few songs from Nothing Gold Can Stay, maybe one or two new ones and some covers"

Philly.com Dan Deluca's five best shows of 2009

Dan DeLuca's Best Five Shows of 2009
By Dan DeLuca

Inquirer Music Critic

1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Oct. 20, the Spectrum. The sixth and last of Springsteen's '09 Spectrum shows was the best. Trust me, I saw them all. The Boss' last night in town stood out, from the ultra-rare "The Price You Pay" opener to the "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "Higher and Higher" encores. The Darkness on the Edge of Town performance the previous week was the one I was stoked for, but that show was topped with ease by the Born in the U.S.A. night, when Springsteen reminded fans that his 1984 blockbuster can stand with his best work, and rose to the occasion with a 31/2-hour sweatathon that matched the momentous occasion.
2. Leonard Cohen, May 12, The Academy of Music. It was a good year for old men. I caught the 74-year-old Cohen twice this year - once at the Beacon Theater in New York, and again at the Academy. Though the shows were identical, they were also identically remarkable: elegant three-hour evenings in the company of a genteel song-poet and philosopher of love and death who nimbly skipped on and off the stage and fronted a knockout band whose musicianship was matched by its sartorial splendor. Watch the Live in London DVD.

3. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, May 29, World Cafe Live. Black Joe Lewis, the 27-year-old soul shouter and guitarist from Austin, Texas, who fronts the hard-driving, horn-heavy Honey Bears, played on a remarkable Friday night during the Non-COMM radio convention at which the Avett Brothers, Rhett Miller, and Tre Williams and the Revelations also played. Lewis' Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! album is good and gritty, but only hints at the garage-soul mayhem the group unleashes on stage.

4. Pearl Jam, Oct. 30, the Spectrum. I almost got crushed to death on the concourse on the next-to-last night at the Spectrum. So maybe it was that happy-to-be-alive euphoria that animated Pearl Jam's penultimate show at the South Philadelphia arena. More likely, the Seattle band didn't have the burden to carry that it did the next night, and was free to cut loose. The raucous reception was unmatched by any during the Spectrum's final year of shows, particularly as the grunge survivors fired away with "Jeremy," "Alive," and The Who's "Baba O'Riley." "We've played a lot of shows here," Eddie Vedder said. "And this is the crowd we've been waiting for."

5. The Duke & the King, Aug. 3, First Unitarian Church Chapel. If this were the 2008 list, I would have included seeing the Felice Brothers in Frank Furness' tiny chapel, which is the smallest of the three venues at the always all-ages church. That was a killer show from the Upstate New York family band. This year, Felice brother Simone made a singer-songwriter move with one of the year's sleeper albums, The Duke & the King's Nothing Gold Can Stay. During his August show, Felice and his bandmates raised a gospel ruckus, and brought his tender and intelligent tunes down to a hushed whisper in the coolest room in town.

Drew's House Part 2 December 12

SETLIST (91:57)
01. Introduction
02. If You Ever Get Famous
03. The Morning I Get To Hell
04. Don't Wake The Scarecrow
05. Suzanne
06. In This Place We Call Our Home
07. Union Street
08. Summer Morning Rain
09. The Devil Is Real
10. Water Spider
11. I've Been Bad
12. Radio Song
13. Helpless¹
14. All When We Were Young
15. Mercy
16. Something In The Way² (Nirvana)
17. One More American Song

Thanks to Billy Brock for this info.

New Felice Brothers Tour Dates

December 2009
Thursday 31 | Southpaw-SOLD OUT, Brooklyn, NY - more info
January 2010
Thursday 28 | Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ - more info
Friday 29 | YMCA Boulton Center, Bay Shore, NY - more info
Saturday 30 | Capitol Theatre, York, PA - more info

this on the heels of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette naming Yonder is the Clock as one of the Ten must hear albums of 2009

and you all know i love the "Stillwater" photo i posted from the mixtape (with Ian as Russell Hammond) every time i see this photo, i expect Jason Lee as Jeff Bebe to explode.

maybe my alltime favorite picture of the band.

The Duke and the King Christmas Show at the Colony Cafe

You can buy tickets for this wonderful opportunity right HERE

see you there!!