Atlanta. It’s a pretty far place for those who have taken up residence in the seemingly constant winter of Ohio (be it in Columbus or Athens), but that is just where WatchTheDuck comes from.

But Atlanta pushes a lot of influences into the group’s music—even if it wasn’t at the top of WatchTheDuck’s list at first.

Members Jesse, Jonathan, and Eddie made the move to a new city, to expand their music.

“We actually originally were going to move to LA,” Eddie said. Los Angeles may have seemed like the best place at the time, but after taking a look around, the group saw a different route for its music.

“Then we took a trip to Atlanta,” Eddie said. “We didn’t know if what were doing now musically, if that would be the place for us.”

Atlanta has long been considered a huge musical hub for music in the south, and WatchTheDuck saw it as just that. “Atlanta was a big place for us growing up as far as influencing us musically,” he said.

While in Atlanta, they also met Dragon House, the dancing stars in the video for “Poppin’ Off”. While WatchTheDuck is focused on the audio aspect of music, Dragon House is focused on the visual.

“They look like our music. It was the first time that we really saw something… that looked like something we did,” Eddie said. “They were making what we were doing into dance moves.”

So the two groups meshed together for house parties and WatchTheDuck’s music video. Dragon House wasn’t the only unlikely meeting for the group. The duck that has become part of the group came to them, rather than WatchTheDuck finding it.

“He just showed up to one of the parties,” Jonathan said.

Thus, the duck became part of the group.

“Watch the duck came from the scenario like everybody is like a duck on water. They’re smooth on top but everyone is kicking hard to stay afloat, to stay relevant in whatever field,” Jonathan said.

The name not only pertains to that scenario, but also the group’s mentality as a whole.

“Just that title helps us loosen up and not take ourselves so seriously and have fun,” Eddie said.

Jesse agreed. “We definitely don’t take ourselves too seriously,” he said. “When we get on stage it is all about the party and all about fun.”

The dancing, the duck, the relaxed stage presence is all part of who WatchTheDuck is. The sound they take on is eclectic with a lot of different layers.

“We don’t really call it anything. We call it evolution. The guys who are making it are constantly evolving,” Jesse said. “We are going to evolve further and right now trap, dub step, it’s the hottest part of EDM music and we incorporate some of those elements to our music.”

The most important part: the fun.

“We just like it. It’s just really fun,” Jesse said.

-Shelby Lum

@shelby_lum