Band bio back to '06 lineup
Cuff the Duke (ON)
Having turned more than a few heads in and around Toronto with their exuberant live shows, Cuff the Duke stormed onto the national music scene with the release of their 2002 debut album, Life Stories For Minimum Wage, sending critics scrambling for superlatives to describe the band’s infectious blend of earnest country licks, punk rock intensity, and grand pop fl ourishes. The sophistication of the songwriting by four barely-out-of-their-teens kids from Oshawa impressed many, and the band was invited to share stages with the likes of Kathleen Edwards, the Constantines, the Weakerthans, the Skydiggers, Blue Rodeo, Gord Downie, and Nick Cave. A full-length tour of Western Canada opening for The Sadies soon followed, after which the band spent several months touring the States with Hayden, both as his opening act and as his backing band. Barely stopping to breathe, they played over 100 shows while working on their self-titled sophomore album, which was released last summer to near universal acclaim. Expanded into a fi ve-piece, the current Cuff line-up consists of Wayne Petti on guitar and vocals, Paul Lowman on bass and piano, Dale Murray on guitar and pedal steel, Patrick Conan on drums and Paul Aucoin on vibes, piano and back-up vocals.
