Duality237

I'm very happy to feature this duo this week. Duality is Joe 'Covenant' Lamb and Denise Hudson, both of whom have competed in Song Fu and SpinTunes in their own right. Somewhere around Song Fu 6 they started collaborating on songs. The band is alternately known as "Duality" and "Duality237" (I think they're of two minds about the subject), so I'm using the names interchangeably here. A little known fact is that Duality237 is an isotope of Duality, which firmly cements their place in the Periodic Table... They are element #93, having an atomic weight of ... you guessed it... 237.

Now, stylistically, it is in fact possible to be farther apart than Joe and Den... but not much. Prior to Duality, Joe was known for his highly rhythmic and regimented Gaelic folk ballads accompanied by his ever-present bodhran, and Den was known for... well, honestly, for some weird stuff such as "Anna's Gerbil and the Singularity", which I can never, ever hope to explain. Joe completely eschews music theory; Den majored in music. Joe is from Scotland; Den is from the planet Xondor. Basically, Den is peanut butter and Joe is chocolate. And we all know what happens when you put those two flavors together.

That's right, something wonderful.

"Bluebeard's Lament", Denise's entry into Song Fu 6 round 2, seriously impressed the audience. It seriously impressed Joe as well. He imprisoned Denise in his lair on Skullcrusher Mountain, instructing his cadre of trained furbies to feed her nothing but tacos and aphid nectar. He then spent the next several weeks imprinting both of their minds with traces of the other while a trio of Scottish witches chanted naughty poems by Robbie Burns. (At least that's how I remember it, and my memory is famously perfect. whatevermonkey.)

What followed were several Great and Glorious collaborations under the appellation of Joe 'n' Den that you will now find on Duality237.bandcamp.com, and the emergence of Duality, complete with name, logo, bandcamp site, what have you, as an entrant in the SpinTunes 2 songwriting contest, of which I was a judge. In the third round, Duality submitted this shadow entry that I regard so highly that I ranked it above the official entries and deconstructed it on my personal blog. There's a video. Watch it:

These days it's fairly easy to find Duality; they're the featured indie band for the month of March on Geeky Pleasures and are regularly heard on The Force 925 internet radio station. In fact, Joe not only has a weekly show, he is the station's assistant programming director and the music director in charge of non-urban genres. Are you feeling like an underachiever yet? And, if you're in the Austin, TX area, you may find Den playing a gig here and there. If you haven't heard her, you're just not going to the right places. How do you find the right places?

THE RIGHT PLACES:       Duality237's SECRET BLOG Duality237 on Twitter Duality237's Bandcamp Site

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Before we move on the the Periodic Table, I'll point you to these two free tracks that demonstrate the wide range that this duo covers:

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Duality gave me permission to produce two items for sale. I produced four, and submitted them for approval. Using an ancient Jedi mind trick (I'm quite versatile) I persuaded them to allow all four items to be offered for sale. Really, it seemed like no effort at all.

First are these mugs. I like them both. Buy them both!

We also have two T-shirt designs. The first carries the Duality237 bandcamp banner across the chest, with these lovely photos of Joe 'n' Den at their serious and artsy best:

The next carries a pocket-sized print of the Duality logo.

I don't care who you are, that's a cool logo. Even if you've never heard the band (how can that BE?!?) you want the shirt! Click through the T-shirt and zoom in to see the design in detail.

As always, all proceeds from the sale of this merchandise go to Rite Care Centers for Childhood Language Disorders, an awesome charity that  funds language therapy so that children can grow into their fullest potential regardless of their socioeconomic background. This therapy is provided at no cost to the children, their families, the insurance companies, or the government. In times like this, where government funding is being cut from other programs, it's more important than ever to support organizations like Rite Care so that this important work can be carried on. Many thanks to Denise Hudson and Joe 'Covenant' Lamb of Duality for adding their talents to this effort.