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 PURPLE DUCK is responsible for the best duck-themed music since March Of The Sinister Ducks by The Sinister Ducks – look it up – at least according to JODY MACGREGOR.
The Purple Duck is something of an enigma. His lo-fi recordings share elements of an extended skit from a hip hop album, Machine Gun Fellatio at their filthiest and the soundtrack to a Trey Parker movie (his song Get In Shape in particular has the exact same ultra-macho cock-rock quality as Now You’re A Man from Orgazmo). At the same time he’s able to record a song like When A Woman Cries, a triumphal piece of ’80s pop rock that shows a tenderness completely at odds with his usual foul-mouthed self. "It’s a song for teenage girls to be upset to," Purple Duck explains. He’s a mystery wrapped in a mallard.
Purple Duck inherited a fine musical pedigree as well as his ability to swear, both demonstrated in the song Bored. (According to the lyrics he is "sexfart whizbang ding-dong dickhead fucking bored.") "My dad and his friends used to gather around and sing filthy songs on the piano. Mum would send me upstairs, but I’d still be able to listen. Dad was an opera singer, but he’s not any more. He still sings opera, but only on the toilet now. He can do the whole of La Traviata, it’s pretty good." Presumably, he spends a long time on the toilet. "You can tell because he’ll be ‘Figaro figaro – URRR!’"
His own first attempt at winning over an audience didn’t go down nearly so well. "My first gig was at a church in the Blue Mountains, near Sydney. I wasn’t received very well. Doing songs like Fuck Your Grandma and I Fuck Birds when you’re 14 and trying to be offensive, it doesn’t go down well. I think if you get a bad response playing in a church though, that just proves you’re rock & roll."
"My first gig was at a church in the Blue Mountains ... Doing songs like F**k Your Grandma and I F**k Birds when you’re 14 and trying to be offensive, it doesn’t go down well."
Duckside Of The Moon is his debut album. In a nice touch the CD case features a felt pad to keep the disc safe; it’s like a little nest in there. The cover’s a homage to the iconic Dark Side Of The Moon cover, redesigned by Purple Duck himself. "Well, it’s Pink Floyd’s design," he admits. "But it was my idea to put a duck in there."
A labour of love, the album was recorded on a budget that was somewhat restricted. You might call it grit and authenticity or you might just call it really fuzzy and a bit cheap-sounding. "I recorded a lot of it on call centre headphones that I stole from a call centre I used to work at. Some of it was recorded straight into the mic on a Mac."
When I mention the aquatic fowls he’s named after, the voice of Purple Duck noticeably perks up. He’s not just namedropping members of the Anatidae family of birds for the cool points, he’s a genuine lover of all things duck. "They’re very interesting. There’s an urban myth about ducks that their quack doesn’t echo, but a group of scientists got together to test it out and proved that it’s untrue. Duck quacks really do echo."
PURPLE DUCK performs as part of the Decline Of Modern Civilisation, also featuring Curse Ov Dialect, The Professional Savage, Joel Saunders, Bloody Roo, DJ Potato Master and DJ Lame, at the Step Inn on Saturday Jul 4. DUCKSIDE OF THE MOON is available on Dual Plover now. www.myspace.com/mcpurpleduck
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