Uncommonly Pretty...

This site was inspired by the wonderful music created by The Duckhills in the early 90s. Long after that group had broken up, a small clan of fans in the Chicagoland Area began a quest to find copies of Duckhills music. Then one day in November 2001, the efforts paid off! We, the aforementioned fans, got in touch with other fans, and eventually friends and members of the band itself! After many fun conversations, we were able to amass an extensive collection of music that includes not only the full Duckhills catalog, but also many works created by the band members after The Duckhills disbanded. So dig into the music -- posted here by virtue of the fact that the folks of the one-time Duckhills Family are increadibly friendly and willing to share!! -- read about the band, and basically let your Duckhills Fanatacism™ run wild! Also, feel free to email us any questions or suggestions.

News and Updates...

16-JUL-07 -- Well, we had some internet and computer mishaps, and lost some of the content on this site, like most of the MP3s. So expect quite a few broken links, and use the masterlist if you want to get at the music that is up. But we're working on getting everything back up asap! And we actually have a site update: look at the menu at left and notice the new "Articles and Interviews" link! There you can find the interviews we've done (or gotten a hold of) with Ben, Randy and Jim. I'm going to try to talk some other folks into letting me post their emails that had more info about the Duckhills days.

In other news, if you missed it, Randy was back in the states, doing a small tour with Ok City Ok. They hit New York, St. Louis, Dallas and, of course, Austin. And while there they opened for The Real Heroes -- and even gave the audience a mini reunion performance of some Duckhills classics! We're anxiously awaiting for some videos and recordings that, rumor has it, were captured at the event!

Still more news -- word on the street is that The Real Heroes have a new album ready to go, and are just working on publishing/release issues!

As for me, my girl is running around quite well, babbling a lot, and generally growing like a weed. I've gone through quite a few band changes, and now am back to casually jamming with folks, so that's a nice pace. And my brother is engaged to be married next April -- cool, eh?

Keep in touch, everyone!!

24-DEC-06 -- Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! I got a note a little while back asking about the SLACKjAW tunes, so that finally nudged me into getting that tape digitized. It helps that I finally learned the batch mode feature in Audition -- makes chopping up a raw file MUCH easier! So these tracks were easier to producer, and also have proper ID3 tags. Check out "Twenty-four." Other than that, I have a walking baby now, so life is more and more crazy every day! My fun side-band has re-submerged into the murky waters of weekend jams, and I'm considering gigging options -- but everything's gotta fit alongside the parenthood role, so we'll see what happens. And every now and then , maybe something will crop up here...time will tell.

Thanks to everyone who writes and keeps the spirit of the Duckhills alive!

01-AUG-06 -- Wow how time flies! Seems like just yesterday that I was chatting with some of these guys, getting content and life updates...Well, in my own life my wife and I had a little baby girl, and my fun side-band started playing out -- with an overall net effect of severely limiting my free time. But I think the timing is ok -- I think we've dug up a massive chunk of what there is to find out there about the Duckhills and their progeny. The Real Heroes are completely in stride these days -- their music is fantastic! I mean, seriously -- there's a polish and style to it that really lets you feel how seriously they take their art, and yet it's got a vintage carefree sense of pure rock n' roll that you just can't fake. There's just not a lot out there right now that is on the same level without some corporate engineering behind the scenes. Having seen them a couple of times now, I have to say they're a band to catch whenever you can! And their site is WAY better now than in previous generations -- check out The Real Heroes at the-real-heroes.com

And when you're done there, hop on over the ocean and catch up with Ok City Ok. A part of me wondered if that was a project that Randy would stick with for a significant amount of time -- strickly because I don't know what else might be brewing over there. But they're still going strong, have a new website, and are playing plenty of shows. If I were living in Japan, I think I'd be catching their shows quite often -- that quirky and whimsical music is truly entertaining, and a far cry from the crap I'm surrounded by here in the mainstream Chicago scene.

So that's life. I always come back through here to make sure everything's ok, but all in all I think the monument has been built, and things will probably stay a bit calm for the most part now. You can be sure that if I get wind of a cache of more music -- say, if Ben decides to re-release all the old masters to CD hint hint -- I'll be plastering it all over here. But until such a time, this is the way things will be for the time being. My thanks to all who have contributed, commented, and otherwise helped fuel this project with your many ways. My regards to everyone in the Duckhill Universe!

06-JAN-05 -- Yes kids, it's a new year, and I can proudly say that I got new content up within the FIRST MONTH of that new year! HURRAAAAAY!!! And just what is that content?? Interview Number Two featuring Jim Thompson!! Of course, now I feel badly for having taken so long to get the first interview up...but seriously, it's not that, as a bassist, I give prefferential treatment to other bassists! I promise :-)

29-DEC-04 -- At long last, the much anticipated Randy Grace Interview! Yes, I've been slacking on that for 8 months now...what can I say?? What else, oh yeah, on the topic of Ok City Ok, they now have an official website, so be sure to check that out! And there are rumblings that we may get our hands on a recording of one of their shows! Keep your fingers crossed! The Real Heroes are doing quite well, working on a new album and enjoying a second stint in New York, where they fared quite well their last time out. So watch for a new album in the coming year (they're adamant that they can get this one out quicker than Greetings!). And back on Ok City Ok, so I was in Austin hanging out with Gary, catching the Real Heroes, and just generally vacationing with the missus when we were at a neat restaurant eating fajitas and I noticed something. The tortilla caddy (whatever they call that circular plastic thing they bring warm tortillas to your table in) had an interesting bit of text on the inside of the lid...it said "Ok City, Ok"...yes, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was some connection...And another "at long last" -- notice in the menus on the left that we now have Big Jim's Tangy Tunes up finally! (he only sent it to me several months ago :-) ). This is Jim Thompson's educational music endeavor -- stuff he's used to teach the kids in his classes, and that he finally whipped into a full CD collection! Good stuff!

20-JUL-04 -- Well, I've been taking a bit of a break and working on my own bass playing and my house chores, but we do have a few updates. First, there are some new fliers in the Ok City Ok pages. And very soon I'll have a really neat interview Randy agreed to do over email! Aside from that, there's a color scan of the jacket for Litter courtesy of a fellow fan! And very soon we'll have a new batch of music -- Jim Thompson put together a collection of educational tunes that are fun, clever, and quite informative! And he's graciously agreed to have them posted! So stay tuned!