Ducky Duke may not be a household name yet, but Matt Schmohl, the man known as Ducky Duke, is working on it. A performer at last year’s Launch music conference, Schmohl lives in Harrisburg and was a contestant on the NBC reality TV show The Voice this year. Although he wasn’t picked, he doesn’t regret the experience at all.
“Why the Hell not?” Schmohl asked himself after his agent contacted him with the reality show offer. He’s not usually very interested in reality TV, but knew it was good exposure. Nothing wrong with some positive publicity.
“Making friends with the producers, the crew and Carson Daly could prove more beneficial in the future,” says Schmohl.
Photographer: Gage Young
As a contestant, Schmohl chose “Tighten Up” by The Black Keys because he felt the song represented himself and what he’s about. As a second choice, Schmohl would have sang “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes. Through Twitter, he expressed his belief that The Voice needs more rock and roll and he would have been ready to incorporated his own personality into the genre to make himself stand out as a contestant.
“I would have just been myself,” he says. “I don’t need to fuck around trying to act the part. I’m a rock singer. I am who I am and I think it would have shown through on the show.”
Though the show’s judges didn’t think Schmohl was qualified to go on, more opportunities are presenting themselves for the singer. His dream has always involved becoming a musician. Being on televisions throughout the nation would have been great for Ducky Duke, but it’s wasn’t important in his pursuit to rock on.
“My mom, sister, and grandfather really got me into singing and playing guitar,” he says. “I fell in love with music, so I just kept going with it. Ever since I was about six years old, I wanted to be in a band.”
Always following that dream, Schmohl has taken on many projects since his middle school days, losing track of a lot of them since then. His current band, Ducky and the Vintage, takes the cake.
“The goal of making a career with the band has always been a top priority, but there’s a lot of work to get there,” Schmohl explains. “This band is my baby and I am gonna go as far as I can with it.”
The brief stint on The Voice left Schmohl with a lot of friends he still keeps in contact with- including Carson Daly. Recently, Schmohl flew out to Los Angeles to do an interview and perform some songs for Daly’s late night show. It aired at the end of March.
Photographer: John Roth
Schmohl’s interest in music has only evolved since his performance on The Voice. As another creative outlet, he’s been selling custom art work and re-finishing furniture. “I love doing this stuff and it helps pay the bills,” he says. “Got a couple mural jobs coming up too. You can check this stuff out on my art website, www.Duckydukedesign.com.”
His band is still rocking, though and their EP release show is coming up in early May.
“New songs, more shows, touring, music videos, and of course rock and roll,” he says of this year’s plans.
Written by: Ashley McAteer
