Adrian Duke

New EP is Slated for Summer Release

Adrian Duke — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:59:42 +0000

Just wanted all my fans, friends, and frenemies to know that I will release a, yet untitled EP, this Summer (2012). This is my second project with Richmond VA engineer/ co-producer / drummer Jody Boyd. You may remember my recent Disc “Lazy Bones”, (the old people music extravaganza). It’s the same dude that made that sound so sweet. This time we are experimenting recording in a pure analog tape environment, but applying this special love to a collection of new original tracks, more in the New Orleans Blues vein I hold so dear. As soon as we have some viable mixes, I’ll post them here (and everywhere) for y’all to check out.

YES, I BROKE MY HAND (click here for the rest)

Adrian Duke — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:15:50 +0000

Please check out our shows for the next couple months as they will feature oxycodone fueled eight fingered performances. Come out and watch me figure out what the hell I’m going to do. The past week has taught me that I can still do more than I thought I could, but it just doesn’t look as pretty. I’ve carved up my cast to allow my ring finger to stick out a bit, hoping to play one of those elusive . . . umm . . . I think they’re called “chords”. It’ll be a long Autumn with out those.

Thanks to you, “Lazy Bones” continues to be sold out. I’m so grateful for the support. More are on the way, and the new CD is coming along great. I fortunately recorded most of the keyboard tracks pre-accident.

PLEASE STOP

Adrian Duke — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 04:16:40 +0000

I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities I have received in the pursuit of my vocation. But as the years have passed, I’ve realized there was one thing wrong. And over the past year also realized that no one was going to do anything about it. So it’s left up to me to say…”PLEASE STOP ASKING ME TO SING ON YOUR COMMERCIAL!”

It’s not that your product isn’t great or that your money is no good. It is that I suck at it. Let me be clear. I am very bad at singing on commercials. You may hear me sing and say to yourself, “Gee, that voice would sound good singing about my check-cashing kiosk chain or my pet bird washing business”. But you would be wrong.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am vain enough to believe that I’m a good singer. But when you pay me to come to the studio and sing some crazy words you’ve hired an ad firm to write, it’s going to be very bad.

I don’t know why. It makes sense that if you like my voice, it would sound good singing about cheap cars or sandwiches. But my experience tells me it would not. So why risk it? It just makes me feel embarrassed and you feel uncomfortable.

I’m just making this declaration. If you bring me a sack of money and ask me to sing about your nail salon, I will probably still do it. But it will suck.

ADRIAN DUKE’S LAZY BONES CD RELEASE and CONCERT AT PAPA MOJO’S ON DEC 18

Adrian Duke — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:14:11 +0000

Adrian Duke’s new CD, Lazy Bones, will be released on Dec 18 2010 with a special concert at Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse in Durham NC. Lazy Bones is a collection of standards from many genres. Country, Folk, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, and Pop are all represented along with the unavoidable taste of New Orleans that can be heard in Adrian’s piano, no matter the surroundings. From Gershwin to Dylan and Johnny Mercer to Johnny Cash, Adrian’s head turning voice shows an astonishing range.

There is a shared theme that binds this latest opus together. “These are all songs that were sung to me as a child. It wasn’t the album I was planning on recording this year, but with the suggestion and encouragement from my family and other musicians, I pushed my plans for my next CD of original music back 6 months and got to work on making this project a reality… I know that some of this material is unexpected given the type of stuff I usually do, but I’ve never been more proud of anything I’ve done.”

Though best known for his performance for Queen Elizabeth on her recent trip to the states, Adrian has been performing his brand of New Orleans Blues up and down the East coast for the last decade. With 6 CDs to his credit, and countless sessions for other artists, Adrian’s musical voice is unmistakable. Adrian has arguably deviated from his New Orleans roots with this recording, but in the end, Lazy Bones is a qualified standout in his discography.

The release will be celebrated at Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse in Durham NC. Featuring many of the great musicians that appear on the disc, the evening will highlight some of the best players in NC. (Barney Branch on sax, Dan Davis on drums, Damon Brown on bass, Scott Sawyer on guitar, and special guest vocalist Theresa Richmond). CDs will be available to purchase at the show, and soon after, online.

Adrian was a resident of Hillsborough NC for the past 8 years, but has
recently moved and now resides in Charlottesville VA.

Adrian Duke’s Lazy Bones
CD Release Party
December 18 2010 – 9pm
Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse
5410 Nc Highway 55 # Y Durham, NC 27713-7802
(919) 361-2222

Sharing the stage with the great Shemekia Copeland this Thursday.

Adrian Duke — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:57:28 +0000

Shemekia Copeland

Adrian Duke will be opening for Blues pioneer Shemekia Copeland at the Carolina Theater Nov 11 in Durham NC @8pm. Adrian’s band will feature guest guitarist Scott Sawyer for their set of new music off Adrian’s new CD “Lazy Bones” (available Dec 3) as well as some old favorites.

Will Adrian and Shemekia sing their hit duet from the 80′s? And will Adrian sit in on Trombone during her set? Come and find out. (the answer is no & no)

“I’m coming back to NC for a great evening of Blues and I’m hitting Cookout twice on the way home”

Adrian opens the main stage for the 2010 Brew Ridge Trail Music Festival

Adrian Duke — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:43:01 +0000

Adrian’s first show after relocating to Charlottesville VA, will be at the 2010 Brew Ridge Trail Music Festival at the concert grounds at Devil’s Backbone in Roseland, VA. Adrian will have his full band with special guest Scott Sawyer on guitar. The set should start @ 2:30pm and stick around for Ivan Neville’s DUMPSTAPHUNK to close the festival.

Adrian Duke’s New Album in the Works

Adrian Duke — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:47:58 +0000

Thanks for coming to the site! We’re working hard to make things happen – making changed to the website as well as cranking out tunes in the studio.

Adrian’s new album Lazy Bones is in development and is scheduled to be released in Fall 2010. Special guests include Skip Gailes, John Winn, Wade Short, Jody Boyd, and more… Tracks are a compilation of standards of older genres, i.e. jazz, country, folk, etc… Be sure to check back – videos, pictures, and samples from the studio are soon to come.

Adrian will be playing at “Life” Festival in PA

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:51:36 +0000

Adrian will be performing at “Life” festival in Pennsylvania in July – make sure to check him out!

Abbey Road Project Concert on June 11

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:25:39 +0000

Hey Everyone, Yes, our Beatles recording project is done! And we will perform it live in its entirety on June 11th, 2010. Our band is going to open up the Summer Concert Series at The Dogwood Dell in Richmond Va at 8pm. See you there!

Website Overhaul

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 04:21:52 +0000

Thanks for checkin’ out the site folks! We’ve recently signed on a new webmaster in order to help us keep things up to date. ALB Tech is on the case – and we’ll soon be moving along at a rapid pace. Things are happening fast so be sure to check back often!

We’re changin’ up the photo gallery, adding videos, reworking the listen page, changing the calendar, and much more.