Winnipeg, Canada's, popular folk combo the Duhks may not fly as often as they once did. But when they do get off the ground, they soar.
In the past year, the Duhks have cut back on touring. The reduced schedule was made possible, in part, because of the huge following the band won during its first year of near-constant performing at festivals, clubs and bars.
"The whole thing of playing in rock bars in towns where we're trying to develop a market is over with," says Duhks founding member and banjoist Leonard Podolak, who will perform with the Duhks and the spinoff string band trio, Turtle Duhks, at the Grassroots Festival at Shakori Hills.
"From the start we've always considered ourselves a folk music band. ... (W)e play music that we like to play from the heart, and we're no longer concerned with all the things that are expected of a music group to try to get famous - to do things because it's a good opportunity. It actually has to be a good opportunity, not a prospective opportunity."
Founded in 2001, the Duhks ran hard chasing their dreams of fortune and fame. On the road 10 months a year and playing up to 265 gigs, their efforts paid off with a Grammy nomination, an international following, and a reputation for high energy, entertaining stage shows featuring an eclectic repertoire of original and traditional tunes, drawn from old-time, Celtic, Cape Breton and other traditions.
The Duhks rose from the ashes of Podolak's earlier band, Scruj MacDuhk. Scruj developed a solid fan base in Canada, even without the assistance of a big-time record label. When Scruj dissolved, Podolak, son of the prestigious Winnipeg Folk Festival's founder Mitch Podolak, invited friends from the Winnipeg music community to join with him in his new adventure, the Duhks. That lineup, featuring vocalist Jessica Havey and fiddler Tania Elizabeth, enjoyed almost instant acclaim.
"(Scruj) went an amazing distance considering what went into it. It was enough to make me go, 'I can't believe I have to start over again.' I called up a bunch of people I'd met - I knew Jessee Havey her whole life because her mom was on the board and a volunteer at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Jordan McConnell did some touring with Scruj for six months. He was this hot young guitar-playing firebrand who I loved hanging out with; I just knew he was the dude to do this with."
The Duhks' self-released 2002 debut CD, "Your Daughters and Your Sons," was nominated for a JUNO award, Canada's version of the Grammy. In 2007, "Heaven's My Home," a single from their Sugar Hill Records CD, "Migrations," was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
But music business success does not always result in stability. In 2007, Havey and percussionist Scott Senior left the band; Elizabeth resigned last year. Podolak says each member occasionally performs with the band, when schedules permit.
The lineup the Duhks bring with them to Shakori Hills includes Podolak, founding member and guitarist McConnell, the sibling duo of Sarah and Christian Dugas (vocals and percussion, respectively).
Asheville's talented Duncan Wickel will fiddle.
"The personnel changes changed the vibe of the music," Podolak says. "It brought in a whole bunch of new sonic areas that we weren't able to get into before. It brought influences we didn't have before."
With the new regimen of 20 or so annual gigs, each member of the Duhks has been able to pursue other interests. The freedom, says Podolak, has brought renewed energy and focus to the band.
"With the band taking more time off and leaving more room, we actually get to be a lot more fulfilled playing music and getting right with who we are as artists and performers. Instead of it just being this thing where we're trying to sell something, we're actually able to make a living as creative entities."
Podolak invests his energy in several projects, including soon-to-be-launched old-timey trio Dry Bones. McConnell has developed a reputation as a first-rate luthier, whose guitars are played by several artists, including Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers. The Dugas siblings record and tour as a duo.
"We've always been about putting on a show for the audience," says Podolak. "And making a high-energy, uplifting experience. I think the thing about our group is that we've never been the band to only hang out backstage. We've always been a part of our surroundings, I think. That's probably carried as much weight, reputation-wise, as our music has. We've felt really, really lucky to get the kind of respect and props we've gotten.
"When we sit down to have a jam before the first gig, just to shake the dust off, we're gonna find that there really isn't much dust there. It's gonna rock. There is definitely a chemistry that we have, and that's why we're not willing to let it go."
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