Mighty Duke & The Lords

Featuring members of some of the coolest rhythm sections in the Melbourne music scene today including Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Mojo Juju and Suitcase Royale, Mighty Duke & The Lords are giving you a reason to party with their non-stop infectious grooves. Luckily for all you Forte readers, the band is set to play at the Lorne Festival of Performing Arts which takes place over the 29-31 of August. At the time of talking to Glen Walton, lead singer and guitarist for the group, half of the band is over in Mexico playing gigs and getting some rays ahead of the upcoming run of shows.
“We have been whipping up a Calypso storm at the moment mate all around the country and the shows have been really positive and energetic. We played a gig on a boat, which was probably our favourite so far. We can’t wait to whip out the boardshorts and jump on the trampolines down there. Oh, and playing the gig will also be sweet as!”
If you’re reading this article and you haven’t heard of Mighty Duke & The Lords just yet, don’t stress. There are some fantastic clips of the band playing live, complete with the Nick Cave growl of Walton’s vocals. With sailing attire, Hawaiian leis and bottles of rum added for good measure, the high intensity of their live performance is what has been drawing the band acclaim all around town. In November, they are set to release their self-titled debut album that will no doubt cement them as a must-see band of 2015.
“We recorded the album earlier this year and have most recently released a single ‘Duke It Out’. The album is very much like getting on a cruise ship and sailing away. We are interluding the songs with tropical scenes. It’s like getting on the P&O Fairline, dropping anchor in somewhere you’ve never been before. You’ve lost the itinerary and so you just let everything flow over you, with a couple of drinks and a coconut water thrown in for good measure.
“We can’t wait for it to come out and for the world to hear what we’ve been working on.”
With a full setup at Bamboo HQ (the preferred recording space for the band), much facial hair was grown during the process, which Walton believes gives the tunes a positive edge. “We all sort of looked like Tom Hanks at the end of Castaway and we each had our own ‘Wilson’. I think the music is really upbeat and everybody is going to love it.”
Surprisingly, if Walton and the Dukes could collaborate with anybody in the world, it would be the powerhouse vocal of Beyoncé Knowles. “We are all Beyoncé fans in the band and I think our music would go really well together. She likes hanging out in Brunswick and Bamboo HQ isn’t too far from there, so I’m sure we could get a collaboration going in no time. Hopefully there would be some rum-soaked tomfoolery alongside that, too!”
Crack out those Hawaiian shirts, ’cause Mighty Duke & The Lords are headed to town. Their highly energetic and take-no-prisoners stage show is highly interactive, and Walton encourages pop-up horn sections. “If you see us busking in Lorne and you play a brass instrument, come down and jam along, we’re all for it. See ya there!”
When&Where: Lorne Festival of Performing Arts – August 29 through 31
By Tex Miller