The members of Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre had been performing together as a comedy troupe for just a few years when they released this little 45 in '79...
'New Wave' and Punk music were still a relatively new novelty, and the fuzzily-defined sound was ripe for comedic tweaking.
On this B-side to their 'When Girls Collide' 45, two of the San Francisco-based 'ducks' were joined in the studio by members of Berkeley, California's beloved Psycotic Pineapple.
By 1980, the buzz created by Duck's Breath led them to an ongoing series of short sketch performances on National Public Radio.
Before long, two of their recurring characters, Merle Kessler's 'Ian Shoales' and Dan Coffey's 'Dr. Science' had taken on lives of their own, and became staples of public radio.
Though performances as a unit waned in the 1990's, Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre coalesced again around 2005 for a 30-year reunion, have continued performing, and would appear to be 'back'...
Listen to:
Friends Of Duck's Breath -
Household Appliances
(Rumble Records 45, 1979)
(click for audio)
See also:
- Duck's Breath Official Website
- Merle Kessler's blog
- Leon Martell's bio at the Dog Ear playwright's collective website
'New Wave' and Punk music were still a relatively new novelty, and the fuzzily-defined sound was ripe for comedic tweaking.
