Cuff The Duke Copy Hayden

Cuff The Duke have spent their eight years in existence cultivating a large and loyal fanbase.

One of those fans decided to show them how loyal she was during one of the Oshawa, Ont. alt.country band's two nights at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern in August 2008, when the band were just beginning the recording process for the recently released Way Down Here.

If you were at the show you remember what happened, but for those that weren't here's a recap: A rather inebriated woman jumped up on stage (twice), danced around and proceeded to grind herself against Paul Lowman (bass, piano, lap steel, fiddle) in a way that made him a liiiiittle bit uncomfortable.

Wayne Petti (vocals, guitars, harmonica, bass) says he remembers the woman "very clearly" when asked about it over a year later, and says her antics were all good fun.

"I don't really complain about that. If people get that excited when we're playing, that's not necessarily a bad thing," he says. "That stuff's fun. This is the stuff that you remember and things that kind of pop out. I won't forget that. I should point out that although that stuff is unforgettable, it's not always encouraged."

Cuff The Duke's fans have a lot to be excited about, since the band just released Way Down Here, their fourth full-length album. It was recorded at Blue Rodeo guitarist Greg Keelor's studio near Peterborough, Ont., and it's a more stripped-down, back-to-basics kind of record, since it was recorded live-off-the-floor on eight-track tape. Way Down Here is also the band's first release on their newly formed label, Noble Recording Co.

The band's previous releases came out through Hayden's Hardwood Records label, which made sense since they began their career playing as his backing band. But now that Hayden's starting a family, Hardwood Records has been put on the side... at least for now.

"We loved the set-up that Hayden had at Universal and we liked working with the folks at Universal, who subsequently worked with him with Hardwood," Petti says. "We just sort of approached them about doing a similar deal.

"Of course, it's different because all the deals are different, but we got something that we're really happy with and it's kind of exciting to have that sort of freedom to record whatever you want whenever you want and that's kind of cool. So when the opportunity presented itself and it was actually something that could be a reality, we kind of jumped at it and thought it could be a great opportunity, you know?"

You can see Petti, Lowman, Dale Murray (guitar, pedal steel) and Corey Wood (drums) playing these shows in support of Way Down Here:

Sept. 17 Winnipeg, MB @ Royal Albert Arms w/ Zeus
Sept. 18 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos Cantina w/ Zeus
Sept. 19-20 Calgary, AB @ Broken City Social Club w/ Zeus
Sept. 22 Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop w/ Zeus
Sept. 24 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret w/ Zeus
Sept. 25 Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Music Festival
Sept. 26 Kelowna, BC @ Habitat
Sept. 29 Thunder Bay, ON @ C2 w/ Elliott Brood and The Wooden Sky
Sept. 30 Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ LopLop's Gallery
Oct. 1 Sudbury, ON @ The Townehouse Tavern w/ The Stables
Oct. 2 Kingston, ON @ The Grad Club at Queen's University w/ The Stables
Oct. 3 London, ON @ Call The Office w/ The Stables
Oct. 15 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah w/ La Strada
Oct. 16-17 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/ La Strada
Oct. 22 Peterborough, ON @ The Montreal House w/ The Stables
Oct. 23 Ottawa, ON @ Babylon w/ The Stables
Oct. 24 Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle w/ Julie Doiron
Oct. 27 St. John's, NL @ The Rock House
Oct. 29 Charlottetown, PEI @ Baba's
Oct. 30 Halifax, NS @ The Paragon Theatre
Oct. 31 Fredericton, NB @ The Capital