ud news

03.14.11 --- "cold chillin"

just wanted to give a quick thanks to everyone who came out to see us in colorado and utah, we really enjoyed the shows, the freezing weather, and the dangerous roads. hopefully we will be realeasing a bunch of new music very soon and we can come visit again and play some of it for you. as for now, we'll be in long beach thawing out.

if you're not already doing so, please consider checking us out on Facebook and Twitter if you're into that sort of thing. we should have more about the coming album and tour dates in the very near future so we'll pass that along as soon as we have it. alright, that's it for now. stay tuned for more updates!

--- andy

01.11.11 --- "happy new year"

2011 smells good so far. we just finished mixing all of the songs for our new album and as soon as we arrange and master the music we'll hand it over. we're very happy with the tracks and i think anyone who enjoys classic UD will really get into this one.

we've got 13 power-packed tunes filled with heroes, villains, and a monkey. i can humbly say that it makes thriller, sgt. pepper, and low end theory sound like clogged garbage disposals. seriously though, it's hard-hitting like appetite for destruction but more tender than al jarreau's theme song from "moonlighting". the songs are catchy, simple, and to the point yet somehow deeply philosophical and life-affirming. if you have any sense at all you'll buy at least ten copies because, like commemorative civil war plates, they're bound to increase tremendously in value. remember it's not just an album, it's an investment. if we get snubbed at the grammy's i personally plan to interrupt someone's speech.

hopefully, since we're just about out of the studio, we'll soon be back out on the road performing the new material at a dive near you. and when we do put a tour together, can one of you feed my cat?

--- andy

09.12.10 --- "going back to Cali..."

...nah, i don't think so. well, not me anyway. Dizzy and Einstein are on their way back to our hometown at this very moment but i'm heading over to the homeland (Ireland) to spend some time with my mom. she's been wanting to visit for a while now so i'm going to play tour guide and show her the sights.

anyway, i just wanted to say thank you very much to everybody in the UK, Poland, and Germany who made it out to a show these last couple months. we had a great time and we really appreciate your support. we still have a few of the Yudee Skullcandy tour t-shirts left over so stop by the website and pick one up if you didn't get a chance to grab one at the show.

we will be back in Europe in October for a short visit to Switzerland and the UK. the postponed Jamstand Festival has been rescheduled for October 2-3 in Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire. we will be performing on Sunday the 3rd so if you're in the area please come out and join us. we might also be adding another couple shows while we're there so keep an eye on the shows section for more info.

thanks again for your support and hospitality and for allowing us to continue to do what we love. alright, i'm off to kiss the blarney stone. slainte!

--- andy

08.05.10 --- "aloha mr. hand..."

Aloha urbody! Hope you are all fine and dandy. So it's about that time. We're getting ready to head back over the pond and grace you with our presence. We're landing on August 13th so rally up the troops, get your YUDEE signs together, figure out where the after parties are going to be, and get ready to have your freakin socks blown off! We'll also have a limited tour t-shirt so make sure you bring your duckets.

Einstein and Andy have been putting in mad work on the production for the new UD album. Thats right, we're working on a new album! We've decided to pay the big bucks and get features from your favorite Pop Rappers so let's hope I get a couple verses in (just playin.) That's it for now, see you real soon and make sure to invite all of your friends, family, and co-workers to the show!

Oh yeah, I want to send a big shout out to the folks over at Skullcandy for supporting Ugly Duckling. In need of some new headphones, accessories, or apparel? Skullcandy has you (and your ears) covered.

Here's a picture of me and the fam on a recent trip to Hawaii, mahalo!

--- dizzy

05.10.10 --- "back to the lab, without a mic to grab..."

i hope everyone is doing well and excited about the upcoming summer (sorry Aussies.) recently, the boys and i decided to begin work on what would be our 5th proper album so we're all really excited and a little scared. for us, making a record is a long, tedious process where we nervously toil over turntables, old vinyl, samplers, and notepads having no idea how things are going to develop. hopefully, we haven't lost our touch. that said, we love the challenge and already have some funky stuff in the works so watch out!

if you're wondering what you might hear next from UD, we're thinking disco-dubstep beats with loads of autotuned vocals and at least two tracks with Lil Wayne; does anybody have his cell number?

don't stop the body rock!

--- ac

01.15.10 --- "a far away land..."

What's up everybody, the group has just returned from Australia and New Zealand and are back on American soil for the first time in 2010. After logging enough miles to circle the globe they're glad to be back in Long Beach recovering from an outstanding visit down under. Thanks to all the Aussies, Kiwis, and Tasmanians that made it out to shows and thanks for being such gracious hosts to the group.

Next order of business, we have just completed the lyrics section here on the website. In looking around on the web we realized that there are some good lyrics sites but none that have a complete, accurate archive of UD lyrics. So we began the painstaking process of collecting and correcting lyrics for all the songs we could find and transcribing lyrics for the ones we couldn't. We've also placed links to relevant YouTube videos within most songs so keep an eye out for those. If we're missing a song, or if you think we've made a mistake, please drop us a line and let us know. Hope you enjoy having a look around!

We also wanted to let y'all know that Andy's advice and guidance on emceeing is featured in the new book, "How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC" by Paul Edwards. He appears alongside 103 other artists who were interviewed exclusively for this book, including Chuck D, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, B-Real, Del, MC Shan, Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, and many, many others. The book is available at all good bookstores and online through retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For more info on the book, including reviews and a complete list of artists, visit www.howtorapbook.com.

Alright, I think that's it for now. Hope everyone's 2010 is off to a great start. Good luck sticking to your New Year's Resolutions and, as always, thanks for supporting Ugly Duckling. Keep your eye on the gold chain!

--- kc

12.03.09 --- "back in the beach..."

we're back home safely in the sunny confines of beautiful long beach, california catching up on sleep and delousing. i want to thank everybody in the u.k., germany, france and switzerland who came out to see us over the last 5 weeks. all of the shows were great and we had a blast meeting and performing for so many cool people. as always, we can't wait to do it again so keep an eye for our next visit to your continent. on that same subject, we'll be down under in australia and new zealand in a few weeks so as we say in "smack"... WATCH OUT!!!

here's a picture of us from soundcheck at one of the UK shows. thanks again to all those who came out. oh yeah, merry christmas (and happy hannukah) and don't wait until the last minute to go shopping.

--- andy

10.07.09 --- "crossing the pond..."

What up ur-body! First of all I'd like to say thanks to all you cats and kittens for keepin the forum movin. As you already know we'll be crossing the pond in a couple weeks. This tours gonna be bananas so make sure you come out and say hello to ur boy. I'm gonna need the support, I haven't even left yet and I already miss my lil Savannah. We'll be bringin some new threads and some new merch so don't come with empty pockets (LOL) Can't wait to get my drink on with all of you. Pipes get the tat guns ready, I'm starting to itch. Gotta go and watch my Dodgers whip up the Cardinals. See you in a couple weeks. PM me for guest list.

Here's a picture of me and my little girl from a recent Dodger game. She was born with blue in her veins!

--- dizzy

08.21.09 --- "i ain't no joke..."

i hope everyone is doing well. i've been busy working on some special, exclusive music that we're going to take out on the road with us in the next few months. i can't wait to see old friends and make new ones over in Europe in October/November and Australia/New Zealand in December/January. i am especially excited about visiting the UK and eating as much Nando's chicken as possible. i hope everyone enjoyed our latest album "audacity", i'd love to hear your opinions on the songs (especially the negative ones). find me on Facebook if you're interested in discussing all things einstein/ugly duckling.

check out this picture from a recent visit Diz and i made to Disneyland. that's all for now, i've got to get back to doing one-armed push-ups and juggling chainsaws. peace!

--- einstein

06.19.09 --- "Audacity hits the shelves in Japan..."

Hello, konnichi wa, guten tag, ni hao... what's up to all the people around the world who have been supporting Ugly Duckling for years now. I just wanted to let everybody know that UD's latest album "Audacity" has been released in Japan and is available as an import in several other countries. UD is hoping to make it to Japan in person at some point this year as well as the UK and Australia so we'll keep you posted as more info becomes available.

Here are a couple pictures from a Japanese record shop just so you know I'm not making all this up. Anyway, thanks again to those of you who have been sending emails and leaving comments in the forum and on youtube and to everyone out there who has been supporting Ugly Duckling!

--- kc

05.02.09 --- "why does it have to be so damn tuff..."

What's up people? Hope all of you are well and pinching pennies like the rest of us. I just wanted to say thanks to all of the old school heads as well as the newbies who joined us here on the site and in the forum. Big shout to Kevin Cooper for putting this all together. Sure times are tuff and money is tight but we picked the perfect time to open the UD store LOL... talk about Bang for the Buck (I had to do it!)

Anyway, looks like we got a couple tours lining up for the summer so make sure you check in every now and then to see if we'll be coming to a town near you. Hope to see all you cats and kittens real soon.

Oh yeah, please help us spread the work about the site, store and forum. We need all the supporters we can get. You guys ROCK!

--- dizzy

03.10.09 --- "it's been a long time, i shouldn'ta left you..."

greetings to everyone around the world, thanks for coming to the site. we've been busy touring in Europe over the last month or so but we're now back home in Long Beach planning our next attack. hopefully, we'll be visiting Australia and Japan in the next few months and returning to Europe in the summer. i also have some discussions going about another trip to China so stay posted.

if you didn't hear, we have a new album called "Audacity" that all the critics are calling "life-affirming" so please order multiple copies to give to friends and enemies. i've heard listening to it raises your i.q. and makes you lose weight.

my brother Kevin is updating this into a new UD trivia/fun-fact and merchandising site so keep dropping by. you can learn where einstein got his gold chain or what time of day dizzy likes to sit on the couch. thanks again for dropping by, don't be a stranger.

--- andy