Ducks Unleash Mirth

on

PRX.org.

San Francisco (December 1, 2006) – DUCK’S BREATH MYSTERY THEATER unleashes five hours of mirth on PRX.org this FRIDAY, December 8, 2006.

The veteran comedy group - formed in Iowa City, Iowa in 1975 - has joined with PRX.org to offer BEHIND THE COMEDY, five one hour radio programs, for public radio broadcast. The series is also available as a five CD box set at the Duck’s Breath web site www.ducksbeath.com.

The series, hosted by Ducks Bill Allard and Merle Kessler, is a comic look back at thirty years of Duck’s Breath audio humor and includes classic pieces by their best known characters – Ian Shoales, Dr. Science, and Randee of the Redwoods, with sketches from their two albums (BORN TO BE TILED and OUT OF SEASON) and public radio series (DUCK’S BREATH HOME MADE RADIO). There is also a variety of bits from their appearances on NPR’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

Production of the series was supported in part by prx.org, the Public Radio Exchange, a web-based marketplace for public radio pieces. In 2005, PRX launched its Reversioning Project, a program designed to give a new digital life to analog audio.

“Duck’s Breath Mystery Theater was the perfect candidate for funding,” explains John Barth, executive director of PRX.  “They have created such outstanding radio hilarity over the years but most of it was a one shot deal and would never have been available to public radio audiences.”

The five BEHIND THE COMEDY radio programs (OUT OF IOWA, THE ROAD TO GLORY, KINGS OF RADIO, THE SWEET STINK OF SUCCESS, and A LOOK BACK) also include musical interludes created by Sponge Bob Square Pants composer Andy Paley.

“We went through every tape in our vault,” says Duck Merle Kessler.  “Some of the tapes were so old we had to bake them in an oven before we could play them.”

“It was amazing how much of the older material was still funny,” says Duck Bill Allard. “We even ended up using part of the first audio sketch we ever did (“Get to Know Your Thanksgiving Dinner”) in the series.”

PRX member stations can download the series 24/7 and prx is recommending that stations consider using BEHIND THE COMEDY as a holiday programming event or for pledge specials with Duck’s Breath characters, including Doctor Science and Ian Shoales, available either for live radio appearances, or for pledge messages recorded for specific stations.

WHAT:

BEHND THE COMEDY

Duck’s Breath Mystery Theatre

Five One-Hour Radio Shows

WHEN:

December 8, 2006

WHERE:

http://www.prx.org

http://www.ducksbreath..com

“Perfect funny moments.”

         Penn – Penn & Teller

"Riotous... These stunt pilots of hilarity will twist your neurons into Slinkys."

         George Meyer – Head Writer  "Simpsons"

“Silly clothes, youthful enthusiasm and the kind of comedic bravery known only to the young.  Listen to this and be sixty minutes closer to tomorrow."

         Eddie Gorodetsky  - Writer  “Two and a Half Men”

"Funniest thing to come out of the Midwest since cheese curds."

         Will Durst – Comedian

“"Pure comic genius, gut-busting sketch performance at its weirdest best.”

         Sandra Tsing Loh  - Radio Show Host & Writer

”When I saw these guys, I gave up my comedy career and focused on the guitar."

         Joe Satriani - Guitar Player

“Randee of the Redwoods is one of the all-time great comic characters!"

         Robert Wuhl – Actor  “Arliss

“The Ducks fill that rarified niche in the Pantheon of American Humor - boffo surrealism.”

         Bill Griffith – Cartoonist “Zippy the Pinhead”

“The greatest piece of filmmaking since ’Potemkin.’  And much funnier.“

         Joel Schumacher – Director “Batman Forever”

“Very funny...in a very funny sort of way.”

         Bill Frenzer – Comedian/Songwriter ("Dead Puppies")

"Individually hysterical, collectively unstoppable."

         Greg Proops – Comedian –“Whose Line is it Anyway?”

“Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre has redefined what it means to be funny, what it means to entertained, what it means to be liked.”

         David Felton – Writer/Producer MTV

‘Duck’s Breath Mystery Theater is unincorporated terrain -  no telling what might turn up there.”

         Mary K. Brown  - Artist

"Rarity of rarities, a sketch group that's funny."

         Dana Gould -  Writer "Simpsons"

“Funny fluffy fellows, who brightened our airwaves, as they will your CD player.”

         Susan Stamberg – Host “All Things Considered”

"I ORDERED SOME OF THEIR STUFF A LONG TIME AGO."

      George Carlin – Comedian

“Even after thirty years, all the pistons are still firing.  They deliver funny utilizing everyday-items –found around the –house, and a suitcase full of ill fitting suits.”

         Joel Hodgson - Creator  “Mystery Science Theater 3000”

“There is not a major comedic talent working today that does not owe a debt to the pioneering insanity of Duck's Breath.  They played the role in America that the Goon Show did in England; as a result, you'll find bits of them everywhere -- but only in their own work will you find it all."

         Caleb Carr – Author "The Alienist"

"Next to The Firesign Theatre, Duck's Breath is my favorite comedy group!"

         David Ossman - The Firesign Theatre

“Watching these routines are like having a reunion with old friends--from the sanitarium.  Enjoy it before the men with the nets catch up with us all!  Watching the Ducks' Breathers reminds you how much of their schtick have become the way people express themselves these days.”

         Scott Simon – Host “Weekend Edition”