New Wayne Petti And Old Cuff The Duke Both On The Way

Outside Music will reissue Oshawa, Ont. alt.country group Cuff The Duke's first record and release the solo debut by frontman Wayne Petti in the coming weeks.

Petti, Cuff The Duke's principal songwriter and vocalist, launches Untitled on March 13. The album takes Cuff The Duke's blend of country and folk and adds a more personal and stripped-down edge. Hylozoists' Paul Aucoin produced and recorded the LP.

One month earlier, on Feb. 13, Outside will reissue Cuff The Duke's Life Stories For Minimum Wage. The record, originally released in 2002 on Three Gut Records, helped launch the band to the forefront of the Canadian indie music scene. They spent the next few years touring both on their own and as the backing band for fellow Canadian indie music darling, Hayden, before they released their second, self-titled album for Hayden's Hardwood label in 2005.

Cuff The Duke consist of Petti (vocals, guitar), Paul Lowman (bass, backing vocals), Dale Murray (guitar, pedal steel, backing vocals) and Matt Faris (drums). Patrick Conan has been playing the skins while Faris recovers from wrist surgery.

Petti hits the road this spring in support of Untitled. Cuff The Duke are in the studio working on their third, as-yet-untitled, album. They'll take time out to play two shows in February, while Petti has five solo dates scheduled for March.

Here are Cuff The Duke's tour dates:

Feb. 23 Kingston, ON @ The Grad Club
Feb. 24 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern

Here are Wayne Petti's solo tour dates:

March 9 Toronto, ON @ Soundscapes (in-store)
March 28 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
March 29 Toronto, ON @ Rivoli
March 30 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge w/The SunParlour Players
March 31 London, ON @ The Alex P. Keaton w/The SunParlour Players

Here are the songs on Untitled:

"Falling Behind"
"Moment By Moment"
"Here Is My Heart"
"Price To Pay"
"I'll Be With You"
"I Wait"
"The Only Only One"
"Up On The Hillside"
"Lose Without You"
"All Of The Time"
"Night Sky"