Duke's news

  • Duke's new CD Stomp the Blues Tonight! is here. Pre-order now and get it first! >>MORE
  • Duke Robillard's Blues A Rama. Online Blues Guitar Lessons! >>MORE
  • Duke presents this master class on DVD in playing blues guitar, Guitar Method Volume 1, which includes lessons for choosing chord voicings, experimenting with boogie and other rhythms, and using a variety of picking techniques! >>MORE
  • Introducing Sunny and her Joy Boys: >>Duke's Store
  • The production team of Producer Duke Robillard and recording engineer Jack Gauthier are available for productions in Roots music, Americana, Jazz, Blues, Acoustic Rock and more. >>MORE
  • Duke's new soul jazz instrumental single of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" is available as a download. >>MORE
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  • Duke Robillard Band's drummer, Mark Teixeira, is now available for private drumming lessons! For info contact Mark at: mleedydrum@yahoo.com
Fall 2012

Hello Music Lovers! It's been too long since we have updated our news. Trust me, it's not cause we have been lazy, but because we have just been so damn busy!

The Duke Robillard Band has been playing festivals all over mixed with club dates. We are about to fly to France for a festival then right back home for an eastern Canadian run of dates then back home to start on Peter Parcek's next CD.

This week marks the finish of teenage guitar, songwriter and vocal wiz Andy Poxon's new CD for Ellersoul Records. He is a triple threat plus musician who will wow the roots music world with songs that sound like someone 3 or 4 times his age wrote them. He's a truly gifted young man and we will keep you posted on his release on Ellersoul.

Al Basile's new double CD "At Home With The Blues" and "Next Door To The Blues" is a healthy combination of new soul/ R&B styled original tunes with an extra CD of blues and blues related material from his earlier albums you may have missed. Al went all out on the package and it's a beautiful piece of work by all involved Check it out at www.albasile.com

Next is Mickey Freeman's new release "Livin the Dream" on our Blue Duchess label. It's a long overdue solo debut by one amazing jazz vocalist. I mean, real serious old school jazz vocals with all the essence of the great ladies that went before her.

Check her out at www.blueduchessrecords.com along with all our other new releases.

And speaking of new releases, Sunny Crownover's hot new CD "Right Here, Right Now" on our Shining Stone Records label is also available now on our site and other places. It's a strong contemporary blues album with all great songs. Sunny really stepped up to the plate and hit a home run with this one!

With the Duke Robillard Band behind her and great horn players along with a special appearance by Sugar Ray Norcia on harp, this album rocks, jumps and wails! Also new on our Shining Stone label is blues piano master David Maxwell with a brand new surprise release in "Blues in Other Colors."

It's a journey into world beat with the blues at the core. All David originals with Harry Manx and other notable musicians playing a bevy of eastern Instruments and percussion grooving on blues drenched soil. Release date is set for October 16th.

Connecticut guitarist/singer/songwriter Paul Gaberiel is getting close to finishing his new CD with me producing. It's a brilliant set of tunes with his band plus additional guests and it promises to be one smoking blues and roots record. Keep post at the Blue Duchess website for other news and new releases. Scott Hamilton's new tribute to Billie Holiday album will be released in November.

More news on that soon along with news of other upcoming Blue Duchess/Shining Stone releases. And remember, The Duke Robillard Jazz Trio and Duke Robillard Band are both available for you Holiday parties!


FOR GUITAR PLAYERS ONLY
Master archtop guitar builder James W. Murphy has build a masterpiece for Duke that Duke describes as "The best archtop I have ever owned!" It is now equipped with a 1967 model 1100 DeArmond pickup to give it the most classic of warm jazz tones, "gorgeous sound from gorgeous wood is the way I think of my Duke model archtop." Check out James work at his website.

I would like to give a tip to all my guitar playing friends about an amplifier I am currently using. The the company is Louis Electric out of Bergenfield N.J. The owner, Louis Rosano makes amazing sounding custom amps based on the early Fender tweed 40 and 80 watt twins with several speaker configurations.

Mine is called "The Duke" and its a killer!!! Its got an Eminence 12" Tonker and a 10" Delta Demon speaker and the amp produces tones as fat and sweet as you could ever dream up! Lots of sustain with warm yet bright tone that you just cant get out of most modern amps. Maybe its because they hand build and wind their own transformers.

Or maybe because they use only the best components available and hand wire each amp with care and precision. It could have something to do with the beautiful 100 year old solid pine cabinet with only a stain on it to increase its tonal potential. Or maybe its that Lou tweeks each amp to what you specificly want with exacting skill to get the sound you want at the volume you play at to give you just the right breakup when you want it.

Until now I thought custom "boutique" amps were nonsense until I got my Louis Electric amp. If you've searched and you can't find you're sound, you owe it to yourself to check out Louis electric amps at www.louisamps.com.
Yours truly, Duke Robillard.

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Contact the Rosebud Agency at 415-386-3456