The members: Ducksicle is vocalist Tony
Conley of Downriver, Helmut Aretz, a native of Germany, on
guitar, bassist Erica Stephens from Detroit and drummer Erik
Jensen.
The history: A relatively young band,
Ducksicle formed in January 2004. Conley and Aretz, veterans
of the local open mic circuit, found their bluesy rock struck
a chord with audiences, and came together with Stephens and
Jensen. The group has gone on to compose several new songs,
but still perform some of the original Helmut & Tony
tracks.
Since its inception, Ducksicle has performed
its energetic and intense live shows at venues such as The
Blind Pig, The Detroiter, The New Dodge and Scalici’s, and
have each dabbled in side projects: Helmut played in Long
Story as well as Sutter Kane (the latteralso featuring
Stephens), while Jensen lent his beats to those projects as
well as industrial outfit Backspace.
What's up with the name: According to the
band, the meaning behind its quirky name remains a mystery —
it could be from a duck climbing down the stairs and joining
the band during rehearsal, but is also possible the title came
from the band’s adoption of a freezing duck on a snowy street.
Either way, it seems the group’s legend has to do with
a duck, and I guess we’ll leave it at that.
The style: With a catalog self-described
as prolific, Ducksicle labels itself as e.l.a.s.t.i.c., which
stands for eclectic liberating atypical semi-tragic innovative
counter Top-40. Hmm …
In easier to follow words, the
foursome cites influences such as Belle & Sebastian, PJ
Harvey, Franz Ferdinand, New Order, Kraftwerk and Weezer.
Got anything recorded? The group has two
separate five-track demo CDs available for sale, both recorded
during 2004. The discs, as well as other merchandise
(including hand-painted T-shirts complete with googly duck
eye) is available by visiting its official Web site at www.
ducksicle. com.
Tell us your future? Describing its
future as bright, the members of Ducksicle currently plan to
record an EP at Tempermill Studios in Ferndale. A release
party for the disc is, for now, set for sometime in May, and
the band hopes to tour nationally and internationally on the
heels of the disc’s drop.
Website: http://www.ducksicle.com/
GO
