About the band

Although well traveled, Chuck is a Montana native, born in Choteau and raised by wolves on the east slopes of Glacier National Park on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. His career as a performer is a little sporadic: as a child he once sang on stage with Don Ho in Hawaii, but insists it did no lasting damage (although he admits to still owning and playing a ukulele). In the early '80s he spent a few years in the Flathead Valley, singing and playing lead guitar in a rock band. After moving to Bozeman to finish school, however, he returned to his acoustic roots. In addition to lending his vocals to the DupliKates, he plays guitar, mandolin, banjo and harmonica. Chuck and his wife Gigi have a business called Music Lingua, which teaches foreign languages to young children, primarily through music.  The Music Lingua music is original, and Chuck performs, records and mixes it all himself. Well...OK, the kids and women on the CDs singing in different languages are not him, but most of the MUSIC is...
Musical Influences: Chuck's guitar heroes include Jorma Kaukonan, Leo Kottke, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Clarence White, Richard Thompson, Jerry Garcia, Steve Morse, among many others. His favorite genre of music? As long as it's not rap or top-40, he'll give it a go. To paraphrase Louise Armstrong: "There are only two kinds of music: good and bad". Chuck likes the good kind.

Carolyn Plumb has been playing music professionally off and on for most of her life, first accompanying herself on the guitar in the wild and crazy folk scene of the 60’s and 70’s and later harmonizing with her husband, Barrie, throughout the Northwest. She plays keyboards, guitar, and percussion, and recently has developed a love affair with her pint-sized accordion, which she has dubbed “Miss Lulu.” She likes the challenge of learning and performing a broad range of tunes, and she especially enjoys harmonizing with the Kates in the DupliKates. Carolyn moved to Bozeman in 2004 to escape the Seattle traffic and spend more time outdoors. She hasn’t regretted it for a minute.
Musical Influences: Carolyn has a special affinity for the swing years and early rock and roll, but also gravitates toward show tunes, folk, and blues. She won’t be playing heavy metal any time soon, but is open to almost anything with melody and interesting lyrics.

Born in New York City, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kate’s musical influences are as varied as the geography she has inhabited. After spending her formative years as an avid participant in the vibrant Bay Area music scene, Kate attended Humboldt State University before heading for the Rockies. She spent a few years in Steamboat Springs Colorado, where she honed her performing skills as a disco dj, event emcee, part time radio announcer, and garage band singer. Kate eventually moved to Whitefish Montana, embarking on a full time career in radio broadcasting. She’s been told she can keep a beat, and so became the designated percussionist in addition to providing lead and harmony vocals for the DupliKates. In Bozeman since 1987, Kate is self-employed, and enjoys the many cultural and recreational opportunities offered in this great Montana community.
Musical influences: Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Crosby Stills & Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, Robert Plant, Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, Ricky Lee Jones, and almost anything one of the other DupliKates suggests

Kate enjoys combining music with her flair for the theatrical. She caught the performing bug at the age of 6 when she and her friend harmonized "California Dreaming" on the radio for the Wolf Point Fire Department's Radio-thon fundraiser. Over the years she's been in numerous singing and performing groups including the Combustion Chamber Singers (Seattle), Calliope Women's Choir (Minneapolis), The Voodoo Hotdogs (Bozeman Blues Band), Sweet Relish (an irreverent women's vocal trio). Every Christmas she performs a one-person theatrical rendition of Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for community events and Christmas parties. In addition to singing with the DupliKates, Kate plays guitar, clarinet and percussion. When she’s not performing with the DupliKates, Kate offers Music Together classes for children, families and adults in the community. A self-described “Creative Spirit Catalyst,” Kate is all about creating opportunities for people to explore their creative spirit through music. She also creates community with music via her involvement coordinating music for Pilgrim Congregational Church and directing the Singing Souls Senior Chorus (Bozeman Senior Center) and the Groovin’ Women Chorus (Pilgrim Congregational UCC).
Musical influences: Kate gravitate towards groups with a lot of vocal harmonies...the irreverence of the Chenille sisters, the soul of Ella Fitzgerald, the emotion of Linda Ronstadt, and more recently the unique harmonies of the "Be Good Tanyas" and the “Wailin’ Jennys.”

Hi! My name is Barrie. As the only member of the DupliKates to not be interviewed and given a thorough background check, I hope you will accept this first person synopsis: I was raised by gypsies and at a tender age was traded to a bar owner to satisfy a gambling debt. To earn my keep, I became fairly proficient playing piano, guitar, and occasionally the sackbut. Since, I have used these skills to entertain and annoy audiences at at least three corners of the globe. Regardless of what has been reported about the other DupliKates, they really are pretty nice people. And as far as I can figure, we have a cumulative performance experience of about 1,143 years, give or take, which is approximately 10x that of any other musical group in the Bozeman area (except maybe the symphony), so my advice to you would be to hire us. Peace Out. B.