Sounds write: The Duke and the King

Hailing from upstate New York in the Catskill Mountains, an artistic hub that hosted Woodstock and inspired Bob Dylan and The Band, The Duke & The King were formed by poet, singer/songwriter, drummer/guitarist Simone Felice, who had previously been a member, along with his two siblings, of the group The Felice Brothers.

Having decided to step out and follow his own path, Felice hooked up first with his old friend Bobbie ‘Bird’ Burke and they were subsequently joined by drummer/vocalist Nowell ‘The Deacon’ Haskins and, the lone female, singer/violinist Simi Stone, who completed The Duke & The King line-up. Their debut album, ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ was one of 2009’s most critically acclaimed records with its sound being a potent mix of rock, folk, rootsy country, vintage soul, and psychedelia, harnessed to a collection of song lyrics that were poetic, poignant, confessional, frequently autobiographical and always acutely observed.

For many, ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ was the undisputed album of that particular year.

Now The Duke & The King are back with their follow-up release, entitled ‘Long Live The Duke & The King’(Loose Music/Silva Oak) and so good is it, easily elevating the band to the next level, that it makes a mockery of the oft-talked about difficult second album syndrome. Commenting on the record’s creative process, Felice says that, “It happened pretty organically, I’m writing all the time, I can’t stop.

It’s a non-stop reservoir right now, you can’t take it for granted and you never know when it might stop so you can’t stick your finger in the dyke when it’s flowing. It’s cool, I feel lucky to be inspired.”

Writing is clearly Simone Felice’s first love as he is quick to explain that, “I was a poet long before I ever knew how to sing or play music.

"I used to travel around reading my poetry and my brother and I wrote about two hundred songs before we ever recorded any of the early Felice Brothers material.”

Like everything about The Duke & The King, the way the group members actually came together was a very natural process. “Bird(Burke) and I made the first Duke & The King record together in a really lonely sort of way”, said Felice.

"Nowell(‘the Deacon’) is an old friend of Bird’s and he sang on one song on that album, we didn’t make a big plan for how we were going to make a band but once we knew that we were going out on tour, we knew we had to bring together the most special wizards from around the way so we brought Nowell in.

"And then we did a little show in Woodstock where Simi, who we’d known for ten or fifteen years, opened up for us and she then came up and played the violin on a song with us and we were like, ‘wow, this chick is special’ and so we told her we were going out on a two week tour of America and said to her why don’t you get in the van with us.

"She was working as a waitress at the time so the next day, we got in the van, stopped off at her job in New York City and went in to tell her boss that she wasn’t working there any more.

"And on that first little trip around the States, we really became a band and it feels just like a family.”

That tight unity and bond that now exists within the group is very much reflected on ‘Long Live The Duke & The King’ which has a much more team effort feel to it than the first album did as Felice readily acknowledges.

“That’s exactly how I wanted it to come across this time, like a team, a singing band, like a living theatre with a bunch of different voices and storytellers," he said.

"I wrote most of the lyrics and then we all collaborated on the melodies and the music.”

However there were to be some dramatic events as the new album was nearing completion. During the final stages of the mixing and mastering process Felice experienced some heart pains and a shortage of breath and so made a rare visit to his doctor for what he believed would just be a routine check, only for him to receive the shock of his life.

Taking up the story Felice explained: “My doctor examined me and told me I had to stay in hospital as I needed to have open-heart surgery the very next day.

"Apparently my body had been surviving on just an eighth of the blood and oxygen supply needed to survive. The doctor said there was no medical explanation as to why I was still alive and that it was a miracle.”

There had been few tell-tale signs of the extent of his condition prior to receiving this bombshell news.

“I had experienced some loss of energy and stamina and I’d start to lose my breath when I did a hike or ran upstairs but it was a really gradual thing, it just crept up on me”, said Felice.

With the knowledge that just one more over exertion, perhaps a gig or a flight, could be his last, “I had to prepare myself for the scary, gigantic open-heart surgery as well as rally the troops as I didn’t want to stop the process of the record so I passed the torch to my man Bird.”

That passing of the torch saw Burke ensconced in the studio with legendary mastering engineer Bob Ludwig (renowned for his work with artists such as Led Zeppelin, Springsteen, Hendrix and The Band) at the exact moment that his old friend was undergoing life-saving surgery. Thankfully the surgery went smoothly and Felice has made a remarkably quick recovery to near full fitness and was actually back on a stage less than two months after being on the operating table.

“I feel so much healthier and more alive now than I’ve felt in years”, says Felice, adding that, “I’ve got a lot more work to do, I’m not ready to die yet. I have a new appreciation for every breath, I now have a mechanical high-tech carbon aorta that ticks, you can hear it if you’re in the room with me, it ticks like a pocket watch, like the crocodile who swallowed the clock (from Peter Pan). I hear this thing ticking all day long and it reminds me to develop my magic, to do the right thing, to be in love, and that time really is ticking.”

Now firing on all cylinders and feeling literally like a new man, Felice and his band buddies have just returned to the UK for a short tour in promotion of their new album. And anyone who has witnessed a live show from the band previously will testify to the fact that, however great they are on record (and they most certainly are), on stage they are a complete revelation, really feeling every note of the music like few other groups do, connecting superbly with their audiences and with a clearly visible and amazing chemistry existing between the four band members.

This is The Duke & The King’s third tour to these shores in recent times (not counting Felice’s own intimate solo shows that he frequently performs too) and the UK crowds have been quick in taking the band to their hearts. “Yes, we do shows in the States and we have a lot of fans there too”, says Felice, “But what has happened in the UK has been a bit of a surprise and a really heart-warming surprise, especially since I really love it over here, the countryside and the landscape, I grew up in a pastoral area and I love the farmland.”. And Felice goes on to further try to explain his group’s special relationship with their UK audiences, “It’s a mystical thing how that happens and it’s a kind of falling in love thing. You never know who you are going to fall in love with, when and how. Music is about love, it makes you feel something in your heart. And I read a lot about music history and it’s a historical thing too, remember no one cared about Hendrix until he came to the UK in the same way that no one cared that much about Led Zep until they came to the US.”

The Duke & The King clearly seem happy to be out there on the road and this is something Felice is quick to confirm saying that, “The band loves to be on the road together but everyone also loves to be home too so to go out on tour for a month straight like we are doing this time is a nice tour. There’s a big sense of adventure in the band and even though everyone’s been around the block and nobody’s like a teenager, there’s a good youthful feeling amongst the group and we are all still excited to go to new places and to travel.”

And Felice is ready to accept whatever level of attention and fame comes his and the band’s way. “You know I don’t really think about that aspect” he says , “But whoever gravitates towards my music, I’d be happy for them to come down to the revival tent, I wouldn’t want to ever turn anybody away. It’s a weird digital age now, we could be a humble act or we could end up playing at venues like the Hammersmith Apollo or the like. Whatever happens, I think there will always be an intimacy with this band and with our fans. We will always, especially me, get down to the roots as I love playing the small rooms. I don’t want to be remote from the fans because that’s really what it’s all about.”

Projects in the pipeline for Simone Felice include a first solo album which he has written and will record in the next six months as well as the publication next April of his first novel proper entitled ‘Black Jesus’ but in the meantime though, don’t miss the opportunity of catching The Duke & The King on their current UK tour which rolls into Manchester for a date at The Deaf Institute venue on Sunday 31st October. “We’ve been rehearsing real hard and the band never felt so good”, says Felice. So if you only go to one gig this year then make sure it’s this one.