Uptown Magazine Online - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News

Uptown Magazine - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News

May 8, 2008


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Size doesn't matter

Though it's still playing club shows, Danko Jones is going on its 12th year as a hard-working touring band

Mike Sherby

Danko Jones is both a man and a band. The band, led by the man, is celebrating its 12th year on the road, has recently released its fifth full-length album, and is about to embark on a cross-Canada tour. So why stop in Winnipeg at Silverado's, a relatively small club?

Big-time success has eluded Danko Jones in Canada. Despite a string of well-received albums and lots of radio play, the group has failed to completely capture the imagination of the Canadian rock public. In a recent interview with Uptown, the band's frontman and namesake was candid about his opinion of the state of Canadian music, and his place in it.

"Am I disappointed that we aren't bigger than a lot of bands that are big over here? Sure. What am I going to say? 'Oh no, we're really happy to be a C-level band.' Fuck that, I want to be triple-A. Who doesn't? I wanna be the biggest band in the fucking world. Any band that says they're happy where they are are fucking lying to you."

Whatever your opinion of Danko Jones, you have to respect the guy for always speaking his mind. Jones, who admits that his mouth has gotten him into trouble more than once, doesn't mince words about why he thinks that his band hasn't received the attention he believes it deserves.

"It's understandable when I look at the musical landscape in this country, and I look at the bands, or, as they like to call themselves, artistes, that we're inundated by, and it doesn't really give a fair assessment as to what's out there," Jones says. "I could tell you that Canada, by just what they support in terms of press, is very safe. Very arty and hip, but they present a very safe kind of imaged band to the rest of the world. And we're anything but that."

Danko Jones is a rock 'n' roll band in the truest sense of the word. Fuelled by driving four-on-the-floor rhythms and blistering guitar riffs, Jones' lyrical subject matter usually revolves around sex or music. Songs such as Lovercall, Bounce, and his latest single, Code of the Road, have, for better or worse, pigeonholed it as something of a frat band - Canada's answer to AC/DC.

His newest album, Never Too Loud, could be viewed as an attempt to change this idea. Sure, there are plenty of songs about sex and women, but Jones also shows a more sensitive side, with songs such as Take Me Home and City Streets dealing with the tedium and alienation of being on the road.

Although it does show a softer side on this album, Jones says the band is far from slowing down.

"When do you burn out? Year 3, Year 9, Year 12? I mean, if you really love to do it, like you say you do, you're not supposed to burn out at all. And we aren't, we probably tour more than anyone. It's the one thing out of the whole fucking industry that I love."

Prior to 2007, the band toured constantly for almost six years, which is why when he finally had time to sit down and write some songs, Jones used the old maxim 'write what you know.'

"I don't think people can really wrap their heads around what five-and-a-half years of constant touring is like. But basically, kiss your life at home goodbye," he says. "So when you go into writing mode and you're trying to figure out what you're going to sing about, that was my only experience - that feeling of wanting to go home."

For the latest album, Jones enlisted the help of superstar producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with Foo Fighters, Rush and Velvet Revolver.

The new album still has the signature Danko Jones sound, but it's also much crisper. This is the result of Jones having the time to try to emulate one of his idols: Thin Lizzy. Jones says that Raskulinecz brought a mixture of pop and rock sensibilities to the table that the band was looking for.

"We talked on the phone quite a bit, and we were both on the same page. We both wanted it more melodic, and he brought that. And then it just boils down to personalities and we're pretty easy to get along with."

Even though it may be more melodic, Jones made sure it wasn't too soft - this is, after all, a rock record. And what does rock mean to Jones? It embodies a spirit of rebellion, which he believes is missing in most music.

"Rock 'n' roll, despite what it sounds like on record, if you want to listen with your eyes, has always been something that's been frowned upon by your parents. And even though we're all grown up, I still take that with me as a marker. It's 2008, Lemmy isn't that scary anymore and neither is Gene Simmons, but I still bet you $100 your mom wouldn't want to have dinner with either of them."

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