Duotang

Biography

Duotang formed in Winnipeg in the summer of 1995, by two young gentlemen who shared a penchant for red wine on good days, and Labatt Blue on the rest. They also shared a great love for sixties bands such as The Who, The Beatles, The Kinks and such. Rod Slaughter (today, he plays in Novillero) played bass and Sean Allum played drums, in different bands. They got together late at night at the warehouse their respective band’s shared, and played sixties songs until dawn. No one else would ever wa...

Duotang formed in Winnipeg in the summer of 1995, by two young gentlemen who shared a penchant for red wine on good days, and Labatt Blue on the rest. They also shared a great love for sixties bands such as The Who, The Beatles, The Kinks and such. Rod Slaughter (today, he plays in Novillero) played bass and Sean Allum played drums, in different bands. They got together late at night at the warehouse their respective band’s shared, and played sixties songs until dawn. No one else would ever want to join in, so Rod became the singer.

One night, armed with a borrowed 8-track and locked inside their warehouse with friend Cam Loeppky, they proceeded to record a demo tape of original songs. Their friends (Sinisa and Darcy) loved it, but no one else cared.

One fall night in 1995, they played a festival in Winnipeg. A certain Mr. Peter Jenner, the infamous manager of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, The Clash, and recently Billy Bragg, was in attendance. "These lads are pretty good," he was heard saying.

Then things started to happen. A local show with the wonderful Smugglers that summer eventually led to our joining the Mint Records family in March of 1996.

Their first album Smash the Ships and Raise the Beams (recorded by Darryl Neudorf in Vancouver) was released in September, 1996, and eventually climbed to #2 on the Canadian College charts. They toured Canada numerous times, and down through the States in early 1997. They even made it to Europe with Huevos Rancheros in early 1998.

A second album The Cons and the Pros (recorded by Brendann McGuire in Toronto) was released in May of 1998, and climbed to #1 on the Canadian College charts. That summer they toured Canada with The Weakerthans and Plumtree. Angus Kirkpatrick joined them on second bass for their next tour in the fall of 1998, during which they played with the Archers of Loaf in Toronto and Montreal. In the spring of 1999, they (including Angus) returned to Europe with The Hi-Fives for a fun-filled, six-week tour.
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