Cuff The Duke Explore The Sidelines Of The City

Suburbs have been the subject of scorn and ridicule in popular culture for almost as long as the term "cul-de-sac" has been a part of North American vernacular.

"Remember what you were saying about people in the 'burbs?" Tom Hanks' character asks his neighbour in the 1989 flick, The 'Burbs. "People who mow their lawn for the 800th time and then snap? Well, that's us. It's not them. That's us."

Beginning with their 2002 debut, Life Stories For Minimum Wage, Oshawa, Ont.-based country rockers Cuff The Duke have been steadfastly fighting against the notion of the stereotypical suburbanite — putting a real face on lives being lived on the outskirts.

With their latest disc, Sidelines Of The City, the four-piece shine a light on the alleys, nooks and crannies that remain hidden from most big city folk.

"We had tentatively called the album Confessions From A Parkdale Basement," says singer/guitarist Wayne Petti.

"Stewart Jones — we were getting him to do the artwork — all of his paintings are Toronto alleyways. So when we saw the artwork, we thought that Sidelines Of The City sort of represented the artwork, but it also represented how we felt, coming from Oshawa — living in Toronto now, but still feeling like we're functioning along the sidelines of the city."

"Confessions From A Parkdale Basement" eventually found its way on to the album as the closing track, and it's not the only concrete location that Petti namedrops on the record. It's a strategy that the songwriter hopes will allow listeners to better empathize with his position.

"On this album, when I was writing, I wanted there to be places that people could identify and not even be subtle about it," he explains. "I was listening to a lot of music that was similar to that, and I decided that you should write about what you know."

While Petti was busy writing songs for Sidelines, his group underwent a number of lineup changes. Guitarist Jeff Peers left and drummer Matt Faris underwent wrist surgery that may keep him from playing drums again. Luckily for Petti and bassist Paul Lowman, Cuff The Duke had plenty of friends who were willing to help out with the new disc.

"We had Jason Tait from The Weakerthans play on two songs," Petti recalls. "And our friend Nathan Lawr — who used to play in Royal City — he played drums on three or four songs.

"A friend of ours, Andrew McCormack from the Wooden Stars, played drums on a few songs. When we did find a permanent drummer, whose name is Corey Wood, he ended up playing on two songs that made the record."

With the addition of former Guthries member Dale Murray on guitar, Cuff The Duke plan to hit the road in support of the new album, which was released on Tuesday. Here's where you can catch them in the coming weeks:

Oct. 25 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
Oct. 26 Brantford, ON @ Murder City Festival
Oct. 30 Barrie, ON @ The Foundation
Nov. 2 Peterborough, ON @ Trasheteria
Nov. 6 Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ LopLop Lounge & Gallery
Nov. 7 Thunder Bay, ON @ Lakehead University
Nov. 8 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 9 Regina, SK @ The Distrikt w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 10-11 Calgary, AB @ Hi-Fi w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 13 Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 14 Vancouver, BC @ Richard's On Richards w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 16 Edmonton, AB @ University Of Alberta w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 17 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 21 Kingston, ON @ Ale House w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 23 London, ON @ Call The Office w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 24 Guelph, ON @ University Of Guelph w/Land Of Talk
Nov. 29 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club w/Land Of Talk
Dec. 1 Ottawa, ON @ Barrymore's w/Land Of Talk
Dec. 7-8 Oshawa, ON @ The Velvet Elvis w/Land Of Talk
Dec. 8 Oshawa, ON @ The Velvet Elvis w/Land Of Talk