After a several-year-hiatus, Duke Maroon is officially on the come-back, and plans to release their debut, studio recorded LP,A Duke Reunion , in May. The 8-track album, recorded at Sound Splitter Studio, is a mixture of new and old music being revitalized by Gene Meyer and Doug Keller, but also with the help of some friends like Alex- Michael Alleva, Greg “The Gong” Ondo, and newcomers Tyler Asay, Dan Nazario and Amanda DeSouza.

It all began with hopes of being a kick-ass wedding band, but Duke Maroon has even larger plans for their comeback this year, including some shows and a studio-record, but maybe—you know—still being a wedding band, too. The 2012 creation from Doug Keller and Gene Meyer is staying true to their early roots by not taking themselves too seriously, while also upping the quality and image of the band and sound. In those early years, Duke Maroon’s permanent location was Gene’s parents’ basement, where all their sound was recorded in a matter of weeks into Garageband. After the coupling, the duo began playing open mics, picking up members along the way including Grant Stiner, Alex-Michael Alleva, Greg Ondo, Garr Bear Thompson, and Wild Wild Wes. In 2016, the band released the Oops EP , and Gene says of the music at that time, “Some [were] extremely heartfelt and others were about my dog’s shitting in the basement. Most of it sounded like Ween with the occasional Van Halen rip-off.”

Tyler Asay had this to say about Duke Maroon:

“When I was writing for WXPN’s The Key in 2016, I wrote about a lot of Tiny Desk Contest entries by local Philadelphia bands. There was one however, that stuck with me and connected to a point where I thought, ‘Woah. I wonder if I will join that band one day.’ That band was Duke Maroon, and here I am, six years later, singing and adding keyboard arrangements for their new album. It’s been a dream to get to work with a band that inspires me as much as Duke Maroon. Few bands know how to ROCK like they do anymore!”