Dankojones.net press archive

[freyametalbratop]

Hi Mangoboarders; I'm making this thread a space to add the press links from the old site (Dankojones.net). Feel free to add more interviews, reviews and any other interesting coverage.

[freyametalbratop]

Starting with an early one:Monday, December 16, 1996

Mr. Entertainment
By KIERAN GRANT
Toronto Sun

Struggling young bands usually fall all over themselves trying to set their music apart from the norm.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise when local singer-guitarist Danko Jones refers to his self-named, sharply-dressed trio as straight-up rock.

"I like to keep things very simple," says Jones, whose band is at the Rivoli tonight opening for Washington D.C.'s The Make-Up.

Oddly enough, Danko Jones -- "the man, the band, the five-year plan," which also features bassist Scaltro and drummer Gran Sfigato -- have made a name for themselves locally with their on-stage confidence and wild, garage-rock and blues-tinged sound.

That doesn't exactly gel with rock's continuing preoccupation with dressed-down earnestness.

"A band should think about existing on two different levels -- musical and performance," Jones says. "They're two completely different things."

Soon after the trio's inception last year, Jones adopted an on-stage persona to add to the performance.

It was probably the only way to go: The off-stage Jones is a friendly but cautious and interview-shy kid -- "off-the-record" is a favorite phrase.

"If I didn't assume a character, we might play a different style of music," he says. "There might be less confidence in the performance and more toward the music on its own."

And Jones is so down on himself as a guitarist that he thinks it would be an insult to "real musicians" to call himself one.

"Blues music is beautiful, but so simple," he says, "really only three or four chords. Same with rock, punk and pop. You're not doing anything jazzy or complicated. In place of that, we emphasize performance. I don't care if there's three people or 500 people in the audience, you always have to be `on.'

"We can concentrate on the music when we practise."

Rock, Jones adds, is largely recycled. It shouldn't be put on a pedestal. It should be respected for being a legitimate form of entertainment. Take that away, and it's dull.

"Too many bands these days don't realize that they're on stage," he says. "That was cool way back when: Everyone was putting on a show and it got really cheesy, so the new schtick was to act like a regular joe. That's come and gone, and I'm tired of it. I want to see showmanship."

[freyametalbratop]

May 6, 1999

Danko Jones: Man, band, 5-year plan
By KIERAN GRANT
Toronto Sun

"It's okay if you want to take, take, take/ Just make sure you credit The Kid, who taught you how to shake," -- Danko Jones, Mango Kid.

As Danko Jones himself might say, the above passage "ain't boastin', it's truthin.' "

Jones, who plays Lee's Palace Saturday, has certainly had no shortage of credit for his efforts since he first strutted onto the local scene three years ago with his sharply attired, self-named power trio.

Back then, Danko Jones turned insular Toronto indie-rock on its ear. They wore suits and fedoras, sang about sex, and played two-minute, two-chord blues-punk songs that crunched under their singer's swaggering stage moves.

In other words, they played real rock 'n' roll.

From the outset, there was mystique, too: Though they were virtually unknown outside of a small circle of club-goers, the group brazenly refused interviews -- this column being one of the few exceptions -- and kept the gigs rare.

In the process, Danko Jones have become one of the most hotly tipped independent rock bands in Canada and the U.S.

Judging by their record-industry shark-infested showcases at Canadian Music Week and Austin's South By Southwest Festival in March, the label feeding frenzy has begun.

"The table is set," says Jones recently, flanked by bassist John "JC" Calabrese and drummer Gavin "Golden" Brown.

"Buy us dinner."

Word on the street? Most of the band's offers have come from south of the border. The band won't confirm that.

"The response we've been getting in the U.S. has triggered a lot of what's happening in Canada," JC says, cryptically.

"We're ready to take this all over. This isn't a hobby or a pastime, it's our life and we'll treat it accordingly."

Still, any deal seems odd for a band so determined to play by their own rules that they were once featured on CITY-TV's The New Music without saying a single word on camera. (Jones -- not his real name, by the way -- sat and read a 1950s issue of Playboy while his fans were interviewed.)

"We want to put out a record," drummer Brown says. "Some people are interested in helping us do that, and we're interested in letting them."

Adds JC: "Danko Jones has always been a live band. We play songs that are not released, not recorded, and people know the lyrics. Rather than just recording a live album, we want to take this energy into the studio and see what can happen."

Danko Jones' swelling fanbase was able to get its mitts on a recording last year. The band released a one-off, five-song CD on Sonic Unyon Records, which is now almost out of print.

The trio now says that represented the end of "phase one," the half-way point on their professed "five-year plan" to rock North America.

They've since parted ways with their original drummer and recruited longtime friend Brown, a top-notch timekeeper who was recently jettisoned from the clutches of Big Sugar.

Jones says the band is putting more of an emphasis on songwriting, broadening their "tight, soul-punk experience."

If that sounds like a move toward commercial acceptance, tough rocks.

"It's a matter of feeling comfortable," says Jones. "That gives longevity to a band. We've all tried this indie-rock route. It's not all that it's cracked up to be.

"You 'sell out' by just going on stage. If you don't want to perform, stay home and play your guitar."

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[freyametalbratop]

Thursday, December 9, 1999

The stuff of legends
By KIERAN GRANT -- Toronto Sun

It figures that the El Mocambo would be the one local club to lay claim to "The Last Rock Show Of The Millennium."

That's how they've billed tomorrow's rock 'n' roll extravaganza featuring Torontonians Danko Jones and The Sadies, among others.

It's just another in a long line of distinctions for the famous Spadina Ave. nightspot, lest we forget: "The Stones Show That Broke Up The Trudeaus," "The Elvis Costello Show That Became A Famous Live Album," or "The Night Somebody Got Murdered And Became A Ghost."

Whether you believe that last one or not -- and, for the record, the El Mo staffers I've talked to swear the place is haunted -- the El Mocambo has always relied heavily on its legends.

Taking chances

Those legends have kept the place alive in recent lean years. They've seen it through three closings and re-openings in the past decade, and made it a spiritual spawning ground for punk, hard rock, reggae, and pop bands alike.

Now, 42 years after it began as a Latin dance club, the El Mo is trying to create some legends for the 21st century.

"The El Mo has undergone a renaissance," says club booker Dan Burke. "There's a rock 'n' roll spirit that it represents along with the bands who come here to play. It's not just a rock 'n' roll landmark, but it's assumed a new role representing the state-of-the-art."

A lofty claim, yeah, but one totally in keeping with Burke's vision since he started booking the El Mo early last year.

Not afraid to take chances on bookings -- taking the odd financial bath in the process -- the former journalist has made the El Mo a destination for underground rock acts from as far afield as Japan (Zoobombs, The 5.6.7.8's) while establishing a home for promising locals like The Deadly Snakes and Chris Field. The club also attracts large crowds every Saturday for its "Blow Up" Britpop nights, featuring DJs and the occasional band.

Naturally, the Last Rock Show is Burke's idea -- "It's for all the marbles," is his cryptic explanation for the show. But it might be more exciting as a first than a last: Tomorrow marks the first-ever time suave hell-raisers Danko Jones, the man and the band, will grace the El Mo stage.

Jones just blasted his way on to mainstream radio with a new single, Bounce, from his second CD-EP My Love Is Bold, so it could be a breakthrough gig for both the band and the El Mo.

A favourite among Toronto underground audiences for the last three years, Jones has finally reached more ears now that Bounce has been picked up by FM stations Edge 102, 97.7, London, Ont.'s 96.3, and Q107's Top Ten at 10, which is generated by listener requests.

"At first I was worried they'd think it was our friends calling," Jones says. "That's the last thing I want people to do. But we've been the only non-arena band in the Top 10. It's quite funny, the company we're in."

'Hit hard'

Jones and bassist JC also parted company amicably with gifted drummer Gavin Brown last week. Tomorrow they'll feature a guest, ex-Econoline Crush stickman Niko Quintal, before hiring a full-time replacement.

Jones says there's one main requirement: "Hit hard."

And the ideal Danko drummer, if they had their pickin's from history?

"I'd have to say John Bonham, without the hair. Or Tommy Lee, without the hair."

The El Mo's fin-de-siecle show also features Demonspeed and Hacksaw, performing upstairs with Danko Jones. The Sadies are joined downstairs by U.S. murder-balladeer Johnny Dowd, The Tijuana Bibles and The Beggarz. Admission is $8.50 in advance, or $15 at the door for both floors.

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[freyametalbratop]

Friday, February 25, 2000

Along came Jones
By MIKE ROSS
Edmonton Sun

If Toronto's Danko Jones has any character flaws, false humility isn't one of them.

"I'm the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be!" he says. No, wait. That's Bret Hart.

What Jones says is close: "I really want to let everyone in Edmonton know exactly who's coming to their town. When you see us live, you're going to know that humble is not my middle name on stage. I'm doing this thing for real. I'm here to let everyone know that if you think you know what you're doing when it comes to music, well, I'm sorry, there's someone else who's been doing it a little bit longer and knows a little bit more than you do when it comes to every aspect of rock 'n' roll - and that's me!"

Who the hell is this arrogant upstart who thinks - no, knows he's better than everyone else?

Backing up Sloan in the Golden Garter Saloon tomorrow night, Danko Jones appears to have the chops to back up his boasts. They aren't even boasts, he says, it's the simple truth. Storming out of Toronto's Queen Street scene with a load of glowing press (similar to that which accompanies every new British band that pops over the pond), Danko Jones has been hailed as the saviour of rock 'n' roll, the real deal, or "the baddest, cruellest, meanest soul man ever to pick up a guitar," as VICE magazine gushes. Seriously, there are pages and pages of these sorts of testimonials.

Jones, a voracious music fan who cites Bad Brains as one of his favourite bands and listens to as much hip-hop as he does hard rock, says he purposely spent nearly three years playing live shows before ever putting out a record.

"I really wanted to build a reputation as a live act and I felt that anything recorded would diminish that," he says. "I wanted the word to spread so people would come to see us live, because that's what we've been concentrating on for the past three and a half years."

As with most idealist notions, the plan to become the world's biggest "non-recording artist" was eventually abandoned. The result, a six-song EP called My Love Is Bold, is but a taste of this band, but it's a spicy one.

Danko Jones's music is simple, sexy, visceral, powerful and genuine. The songs are largely about women, direct and sometimes quite explicit. It's a refreshing change from some of the Can-Con rock bands heard lately.

Jones, too, seems a bit fed up with it.

"Without putting any other bands down, it's definitely being this kind of lukewarm, spoon-fed, generic, safe, asexual kind of rock music that we're been subjected to, I feel. That's good, though, because it lays the groundwork for something new to spark up."

Take a wild guess what that something new might be. That's right: Danko Jones. As for the future - and "this is just the beginning," he says - his goals are pretty simple: "I want to be a rock star. I want to get out of limos, I want to have red carpets rolled out when I get out of limos, I want to have paparazzi flashing, I want to pick up Grammy awards, I want to go present MTV music awards, I want to do guest spots on people's records, I want to be on soundtracks, I want to have my own private jet, I want to make videos with Puff Daddy, I want to work with Ozzy Osbourne, I want to do it all, man."

One thing for sure: This guy had better be the best thing since Nirvana or he's going to look really foolish.

Tickets to Sloan with Danko Jones are $20 and available at Ticketmaster (451-8000). v

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[freyametalbratop]

March 09, 2000

Danko Jones and His Pants Are Juno Bound
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Danko Jones is very protective about his pants.
He won't lend them to just anybody.
So when ChartAttack.com tried to persuade the sexy lead singer to lend a pair to our very own badly dressed news editor for the Juno Awards on Sunday, we were flatly denied. Jones' determination to maintain the sanctity of his pants arose after an incident in which the Smugglers accidentally borrowed and destroyed a pair of the musician's trousers.
"No, I'm not lending out my pants. The Smugglers ripped mine, I won't be letting people borrow my pants," says Jones. "No clothes lending from Danko Jones." [The complete Smugglers Danko Jones pant story is in the March issue of Chart, on the newsstand now.] So while the lead singer/guitarist is all trussed up for the Juno Awards, you can watch for ChartAttack.com's news editor, who may be pantless.
Jones, who is up for Best Alternative Album, is accompanied by competitors Tricky Woo, Len, Thrush Hermit and Julie Doiron. And although Jones threatens to conquer the North American music industry, he remains skeptical about receiving the award. "I think Tricky Woo will get it... I think either Tricky Woo or Len. And deservedly so." says Jones. "I think both albums are great.... But hey, if we win it, I'm not giving it to them."
Jones and his band have received substantial media attention since the nomination, including an article in this week's issue of Macleans Magazine. The media coverage has only served to reinforce his belief in the Danko Jones phenomenon.
"I mean, we put out the CD because we wanted to prove to a lot of people that we are a viable act. We are a real band and we can do it on our own. And I think this Juno nomination has just proven that."
But just in case, he will be creating a thank-you list... Not a speech.
And if he wins? "We're outta here," he jokes. "We're packing our bags and leaving Canada."
But seriously, folks.
"This is my first round at this thing... I think there may be more of an after effect if we actually win it," says Jones, who adds that he is looking forward to the experience. "Hopefully we'll be able to play more... in front of more people. I don't know. What happens to bands?"
Among the possibilities is a chance to sign with a major record company. The band is currently working with Sound King/Outside, but he isn't optimistic about the band's chances for a major record deal.
"It would just have to be the right deal," he says, adding that fair compensation is only one consideration. "You just want to have creative control and know that the money that's set aside for your project is being spent on the right things, or whatever it is you agree with."
No matter what the outcome, Danko Jones will be touring across Canada in April, which will be followed, by the band's tour descending into the U.S. There are also plans to hit the recording studio. "Some older material, and a full-length album of very new material will probably [be] due by the end of the year. If not the beginning of next year, but we'll definitely start working on it at the end of this year."
And where will Danko Jones be in the next few years?
"Umm... All over the world."
World domination?
"Um... yeah. I'd like to think that we'll be in everyone's faces for a while. I think every band wants that. I want to be still putting out records, and, uh... picking up Juno awards and Grammy awards, presenting MTV awards. You know, flying around in private jets, with paparazzi following me, really pissing me off... Going out with movie stars and models..."
But it all has to start somewhere, and Danko is still hoping for a Juno on Sunday. And while part of him will be scoping out some of the female Canadian talent (he is looking to meet up with Shania Twain and Ivana Santilli), there will also be a part that hopes to receive Best Alternative Album of the year.
"I totally want to win it," says Jones. "But it's good company."

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[freyametalbratop]

(My note here- This following write up is pretty crass and cringeworthy-)

Tuesday May 15, 2001

Danko Jones On A Train EuroBound
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

We've heard that European women are easy (Or is that just the North American women on Kontiki Euro bus tours and "finding themselves" backpackers?).
At any rate, those Euro gals should prepare their best old world charms because the Mocha Madness, the Caramel Kamakazi, the Butterscotch Bandit, the man himself, Danko Jones will be heading across the pond to perform some gigs starting in June.
This probably has something to do with the fact they've just released the album I'm Alive And I'm On Fire through Swedish hardcore label, Bad Taste, a label who seem to have as many Canadians on their roster as Swedes.
We're quite uncertain the effects of letting Danko loose in a country full of naïve, yet sexually liberated blonde women, but it does sort of make one recall the bear vs. bunny speech in Swingers. It should also be noted that Danko was once quoted as saying "She's sooo good" of Nina from the Cardigans, one Swede who should definitely be on the lookout.
-Aaron Brophy

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[freyametalbratop]

Wednesday, April 18, 2001

Danko OK with pop
By MIKE BELL -- Calgary Sun

CALGARY -- You'd think Danko Jones would have himself a well-used set of Backstreet voodoo dolls. Or maybe a bloodied Britney punching bag.

He is, after all, the Mango Kid -- this country's true ayatollah of grade A rock 'n' rollah; a man whose nasty sexed-up growl is enough to induce ovulation, and who's blistering guitar attack has been known to set off sprinkler systems.

Of course his view of today's pop stars would be one of derision.

"I've got no problem with boy bands or girl bands or whatever," says Jones, who performs tomorrow night at The Back Alley.

"Because they don't pretend to be anything other than what they are.

"And they're also marketed towards kids, which I think is cool ... When I was growing up there was no music really targeted towards kids except maybe KISS -- they were like these superheroes come to life.

"And then I really got into the music."

And the music Jones and his band have absorbed only to regurgitate it rat-a-tat-tat is a no-nonsense soulful blend of Stones, Ramones (R.I.P. Joey), and gnarly garage rock.

A good sample of what they do can be heard -- if you can find a copy -- on their limited edition I'm Alive And On Fire, A Collection Of Songs: 1996-1999, which was originally put together for the European market.

It's an exceptional sampling of Jones' stuff and proof positive that he's not just a Johnny-Rotten-come-lately.

"That's why we were sure to put 1996-1999 on the album," Jones says.

"Because I've been doing this forever. I've been doing this since I was a kid and I was singing in front of the mirror and my mom was worried that I was going to be one of those dangerous rock 'n' roll hooligans."

As to the new crew of rock stars that are now starting to make their mark on the music industry -- Buckcherry, The Black Halos, etc. -- and the fact that people are getting turned onto the music, authentic or otherwise, Danko is equally as charitable as he is towards the teen stars.

Up to a point.

"I think it's great any time anyone gets into rock 'n' roll. Why would I have a problem with that?" he says.

"My only problem is with the attitude that some people cop. People who haven't been doing this for long who think they're hot (stuff), and act like it's an exclusive club. Rock 'n' roll isn't an exclusive club -- that's what makes it so great."

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[freyametalbratop]

( Note- The PJ story is cool. But for FFS, 'Aaron', whoever you are- drop the cringeworthy BS you come up with when it comes to women, ok? My vagina's getting a dry-on over here; not really the reaction you're looking for trying to promote Danko Jones to fans-)Wednesday July 11, 2001

Danko Jones Destroys Europe
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Shania Twain better make room in her Swiss castle because Danko Jones is taking over, baby!
His Mangoness Danko, JC and Damon the Drummer recently returned from performing at some festivals in continental Europe and the folks over there dug Danko in a large way. "I think it took us a month to accomplish what took us two and a half years over here [in Canada]," says Jones.
Adds JC, "This just happened so fast." He says that after reviews of the first couple showcase shows in Sweden came out, promoters began to book them into large festivals without even having heard or seen the band live. This all peaked with a last minute invite to the now-infamous Roskilde Festival in Denmark where 70,000 people attended and they played on the same stage as PJ Harvey, Stereo MC's and Nick Cave.
As rapidly as they climbed the ladder, they still remained fanboys though. Particularly when it came to Ms. Polly Jean.
"We were sharing the same dressing room with her," says Danko. "I kinda ruined it for Damon. He was having this cool conversation with her and I went over there like a fan, 'Whoa, PJ Harvey!"
He also paid close attention to what she had for breakfast.
"She had toast and two glasses of milk. And she just left the second glass. She didn't drink it," he says.
That wasn't their only star-studded meeting, though. JC almost knocked over David Byrne at one show and at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden almost every notable hardcore band in the country came by to check them out and Blaine Cartwright from Nashville Pussy who also introduced them to Jello Biafra. ("I think he's the original Nardwuar," said JC.)
Sweden was particularly excellent for the Danko boys. Now, if you've ever paid attention to Danko's endless obsessive rants about Nina from The Cardigans, you've got to figure he'd be like a proverbial brown panther on the prowl in the land of buxom blondes. That was indeed the case.
"'Sweden' is Swedish for 'Danko's Place,'" says Jones, who enthused that there were women hotter than Nina dime-a-dozen. "That's a whole other story. Everything you've heard about Sweden, it's true! I didn't really believe it until we got there."
JC pipes in, "Spain was the same thing. Except with dark-haired women."
What Europe was smart enough to understand will be our loss however. Whether it's short-sighted Canadian music industry failings like the reluctance to support innovation, the backslapping-favor trading or the slavish copy-catting of trends [personal rant mode off], Danko aren't too pleased with the state of affairs in their home country.
"This put a whole new perspective on it for us," says Jones. "If anyone wants to 'assist' us, the game has changed." Yes, that can be interpreted as a boldface challenge to Canadian music industry folks.
For now, the band's plans will include servicing a new video for "Cadillac" to MuchMusic and there also may be two yet-to-be-determined Canadian show dates before the band head back to Europe for another round of performances. They'll also do a third round of concerts across the pond in the Fall.
As for album plans, they're hoping to put something out by Spring 2002. Right now they're shopping for a producer and are playing a number of their new songs in their live sets.
- Aaron "The Vanilla Express" Brophy

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>

[freyametalbratop]

Monday November 05, 2001

Danko's European Adventure Continues
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Alright, we've been going on and on about this "Danko Jones is big in Europe" thing for awhile now, but we're starting to think this ain't make-believe, kids.
While trying to find out what folks have been saying about the mocha madness and crew while across the pond, a google search turned up more hits on articles done in them thar foreigner languages than in English. We did find one good German interview with the Brown Panther though. You can check that out by clicking here www.brokenviolence.de. It's so cute and naïve.
Anyway, we got an email from the band's bassist, JC yesterday. Apparently their fixation with Sweden continues. JC mentioned that Danko got to play a bill with (International) Noise Conspiracy and that those fair-haired norsemen are big rowdies ("Swedes can drink. Never have I seen so many Jack Daniel bottles empty…").
It also looks like those Germans have taken yet another set of Queen Street hipsters into their fold as well, considering their next bunch of shows will amount to an attack on Germany.
Says JC, "The tour so far has been really amazing. Sold out shows across Spain, Germany and pretty much everywhere we've been."

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March 25, 2002

New Danko Album Tracklisting!
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

We've already made several mentions of the upcoming Danko Jones disc, Born A Lion, but now we've got a full track listing for you.
And we know how much you all like full track listings.
The CD, due out in the country of Europe on May 13 under the Bad Taste Records banner, will eventually come out here some time in the early summer, for those of you not savvy enough to figure out a way to shop online. Despite two critically-acclaimed EPs and a collection-package, Born A Lion will mark the first time the band (front man Danko, drummer Damon, bassist JC) has put out a full-length album.
Here's the official track listing, as revealed by the Mocha Moses' publicist:
"Play The Blues" "Lovercall" "Sound Of Love" "Papa" "Soul On Ice" "Word Is Bond" "Way To My Heart" "Caramel City" "Get Outta Town" "Suicide Woman" "Love Is Unkind"
There's been some speculation, based solely on its name, that "Papa," will be a tear-jerking, emotional tour-de-force about an orphan girl who dreams every night of an imaginary father that she will never know.
Conversely, it could also be about how the Cocoa-Buttered Cock-Rocker is the baddest mofo of all time and plays the guitar like a devil child.
Anyway, as we already told you, there's also a pair of Danko tracks up for grabs on two impending compilations: one's just the reissuing of "Bounce" on a rock sampler, but the other is a Ramones' cover which should kick all sorts of ass. As for the Mango Kid's touring schedule, he and the other two-thirds of his trio have already finished up a small batch of Ontarian dates. They're now poised to travel back to their new European home base to continue a quest for fame, fortune and Ozzfest. Keep checking the band's website for the details.
Incidentally, the DJ site is pretty cool… but it ain't perfect. Sure, it's got all of the mandatory "official music site" content departments: news, tour dates, photo galleries (in stylish black and white, no less), song downloads and cut and links. Still, we couldn't help but think about how much MORE cooler Dankojones.com would be if it incorporated a few more of the other online features that are de rigeur with other band sites.
Like, how neat would it be if the Brown Panther kept an online diary of things he did while on tour, a la Limp Bizkit or Moby? Good god, that would be entertaining…
"Hey, what's up, guys? Life on the road's getting pretty hectic… right now, we're still in France, where it's been unseasonally hot. Speaking of 'hot,' yesterday morning, after a hearty breakfast, I had sex with your sister. Then, me and the boys went sightseeing and checked out a bunch of historical French sites before getting ready for the gig in Nice. Speaking of 'nice,' I also had sex with your girlfriend yesterday afternoon. The show went off really well and the crowd seemed to really like us. Speaking of 'really like,' after the performance was over, I went back to the hotel and had sex with your mother. Then I kicked her out.
Sincerely yours,
Danko."
Just a thought…
-Erik Missio

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New Danko Jones Album In Mid-May
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Our favourite crotch-rock trio, Danko Jones, have announced that their first "proper" full-length album will be coming out in May on Bad Taste Records.
Although there's no word on things like tracklisting, the album is tentatively titled Born A Lion and will no doubt feature such familiar themes as: stealing your girlfriend, stealing your girlfriend because your shirt is dirty, stealing your girlfriend because you're a sissy and stealing your girlfriend because, well, you're not a guitar-humping rock god.
Not that we're typecasting Danko or anything.
Oh yeah, the Mocha Moses is going to be part of a couple hot compilations as well.
According to bass player JC, the Danko track "Bounce" will be part of a comp that puts together the literal who's who of new garage rock.
Called How We Rock (Burning Heart), the CD and limited-vinyl release will come out in Europe, Japan and Australia with a possible U.S. release. The disc will feature our heroes along with the likes of (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Hives, New Bomb Turks, The Donnas, The Supersuckers, Rocket From The Crypt, Zeke, Electric Frankenstein and a bunch of other face-punch rockers.
And in the how-cool-is-that-category, the band will also be contributing a cover version of "The Return Of Jackie And Judy" for a Ramones tribute album which should come out in April on the White Jazz label. That record will also feature the likes of The Hives, The Backyard Babies, Wayne Kramer, the Hellacopters and Per Gessle of Roxette (!?).
As per the norm, it seems those smelly Euros have been far quicker to show love to Danko, JC and Damon the drummer. The band are currently planning their fourth European tour and expect to hit a number of big festival shows while they're there. They're going to tour non-stop starting in May. They haven't forgotten about us though. The band will be playing four Ontario shows as warm-ups before their European adventure gets going.

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Tuesday April 23, 2002

Danko Jones Sign Distro Deal, Tour Europe
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Man, just when it looked like things couldn't get any better for the mighty Danko Jones (dude, they're playing the British Ozzfest!), good news just keeps rollin' in. Danko Jones bassist J.C. dropped ChartAttack a line not only to remind us that the band's debut full-lenghter Born A Lion is due soon, but also to fill us in on some new developments in the Danko camp. The band are about to embark on a big European tour, which will include some high-profile festivals, and they've scored a sweet Canadian distribution deal. Looks like in 2002, everything's coming up Danko.
First off, Born A Lion will hit the street in Canada on July 23 through (drum roll, please) Universal Music. That's right, Danko disciples, the Mango Kid has landed himself a major label distribution deal. The album will be released on the band's own Danko Jones Records imprint, but Universal are responsible for making sure that fans across the land will be able to get their hot little hands on a copy of the album. The Dankos have also linked up with the Japanese arm of Universal Music for the Asian release of the album. Born A Lion will be released in Europe by Swedish label Bad Taste Records.
As for the touring, Danko and Co. will be breaking hearts across the European continent for the early part of the summer. On top of the Ozzfest date, the band will also be playing the Rock Party Festival in Sweden and the much-famed Roskilde fest in Denmark. At the latter they'll be sharing the stage(s) with P. Diddy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Chemical Brothers, Slayer, Primal Scream, fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado and dozens of other bands.
Geez, with all this Euro action, it's looking like the Danko cats won't ever have the time to make a smashing return to their homeland of Canada…
Or will they?
We don't have any concrete dates just yet, but J.C. has promised that the band will be coming home for a tour in July. We quote: "Touring this year will be relentless." Relentless!
Until then, the boys are shooting the video for a song called "The Sound Of Love" this weekend. Look for it on the nation's music station in June.

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Hear Danko Jones Roar
By MIKE BELL -- Calgary Sun

Six years in the making.

That, in essence, is the lead in to Born A Lion, the debut full length from Toronto rock act Danko Jones.

And for anyone else who has followed the band's career, seeing them live, picking up one of their EPs, revelling in their raw, sonic intensity, the album may seem and sound like a big, bold, slick step for the trio.

Maybe even too big, too slick?

If that's the case, frontman and band namesake Danko Jones is unapologetic. "We wanted to make a slick record, and we wanted to make a slick record that sounded raw. I think that's what we did," says Jones, who brings the band to Calgary for a Saturday appearance at Molson Canadian Snow Jam at Millennium Park.

The dark, dangerously, almost illegally virile Jones says Born A Lion is the direction they've been headed since forming in the mid '90s.

And when it came time to hit the studio earlier in the year, they had the time, they had the money, and as unfashionable as it might be right now in the age of bands such as White Stripes and The Hives, they had inclination to go big.

"I grew up listening to records that were slickly produced," Jones says. "I grew up listening to and loving bands that were on major labels and produced by big producers and I'm not going to sacrifice our sound to have a lo-fi cool esthetic that people are forcing themselves to gravitate towards because they think it's cool."

Confidence is not something you'd expect Jones to be lacking, especially when you see him onstage -- he's a psychotic, testosterone-fuelled fireball of rock 'n' roll who spouts come-ons and let's get-it-ons like holy scripture.

But Jones admits, the lack of attention from major labels in Canada, even when Canadian radio support was there, did plant one or two seeds of doubt in his head, if only briefly.

Why they've kept at it is because they know people get it when they see it.

That's something that was reaffirmed by the band's reception overseas, where, after a five-week tour, they were added to major rock festivals sharing a dressing room with P.J. Harvey and the like.

"What took us a year to do in Europe, took us six years to do in Canada," Jones says.

"I don't blame it on the fans. The people who've been into the bands and who've bought our records and supported us have really kept Danko Jones alive.

"We play a show and everybody goes crazy and we're like, 'We know this is the hot (stuff). We know what we're doing is good.' "

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Thursday, August 8, 2002

Crossing swords with Danko
By FISH GRIWKOWSKY -- Edmonton Sun

"The lion rules the animal kingdom," it begins, "and spends his days showing everybody who's boss by chowing down on the bones of those who dare challenge his supremacy. Now meet his son, Danko Jones. This time, people, the rules are simple: (bleep) with the beast and he will (bleep) with you."

So, you want a fight then? This scrappy invective is how Danko Jones's official online biography reads, and it mirrors the Toronto singer's attitude in a phone conversation. Jones plays one way, talks another. He's indignant, defensive and questions why so many reporters come after his banshee lyrics, often about sour relationships.

It's one of the most ejoyable interviews I've had. Jones plays the Suburbs tonight, if you're interested in some meaty, angry and ultimately preachy lyrics, riding an exposed wiggly member of E-Z chord blues-rock. The band's good at least. Enjoy the chat, and hang on.

FISH: Danko, what's wrong with the blues today, from your perspective?

DANKO: There's nothing wrong with them.

FISH: Oh. Well, your bio has a line about Robert Johnson not selling his soul so a bunch of white yuppies could shake it at House of Blues.

>DANKO: Well, that's not the blues, is it?



FISH: OK, sorry for calling what is actually called the blues in the year 2002 "the blues." I'll try to be more specific.

DANKO: We're not a blues band. We're a rock band. We just respect artists like Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix, Fred McDowell, Robert Johnson.

FISH: Yeah, you listed those guys off in your song (in the exact same order). Um, are you a lion?

DANKO: (Long silence) No, I'm just a Leo.

FISH: Was your mom a lion?

DANKO: What?

FISH: Well, again, your bio, it says you're a lion. I'm just wondering how you came to think of yourself as a lion.

DANKO: I didn't write that stuff.

FISH: But it represents you, right? Your album is called Born a Lion. And the bio has the same tone as your lyrics. It comes off kind of like a wrestler's bio.

DANKO: I don't know. I've never read a wrestler's bio (coldly). What is a wrestler's bio?

FISH: You know, words to hype a wrestler's ability to crush his enemies. Do you take yourself that seriously?

DANKO: In the sense that I'm doing a job, I take myself very seriously. Compared to how other people take themselves seriously, I'm not full of self-pitying and a lot of crying that life's not fair. This is the greatest job in the world.

FISH: Now, I think everybody should rock as hard as possible, so in that sense I appreciate where you're coming from. I just wonder how much of it is for show, you know, the whole "IF YOU WANT TO GET TO KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE BLUES, GET YOURSELF A WOMAN" thing. It's like Blueshammer in Ghost World. Your lyrics aren't dumb, per se ...

DANKO: Why is it that so many reporters qualify with that same question? It's a funny thing that people like to tag on, that the lyrics aren't intelligent. It's rock and roll. We never pretended to be intelligent. It's not asking to be highbrow. I'm sorry if I'm not discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in my songs. It's supposed to be fun rock and roll, you know? We're talking about guys and girls here.

FISH: Maybe it doesn't come off as fun from a certain ear. I mean, it's funny, unless it's serious. But it seems more serious than fun. You seem to have had a bad experience, according to some of your lyrics. Like men getting burned if they pick the wrong woman. Do you have any advice for women tired of, you know, loser boyfriends?

DANKO: I have no advice for women. When a girl becomes a woman, she knows who she is. She knows what she wants to be. The last thing you need is someone who's flying off the handle because they don't have confidence in themselves.

FISH: You seem mad a lot. Do you have a girlfriend?

DANKO: I don't answer personal questions. But we play music. I'd like to talk about music, that's so much more interesting.

So we do. But it's not.

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Thursday, August 8, 2002

Lion King
By ROB WILLIAMS -- Winnipeg Sun

The world is finally starting to keep up with Danko Jones.

The Toronto musician and his band have been cranking out straight-up, high-energy rock 'n' roll throughout their career without sounding like some third-generation Pearl Jam clone. Now with the success of bands such as the Strokes, White Stripes and Hives, the trio are finally getting their due and the respect they deserve.

"This band hasn't really changed since Day 1. I think people's listening ears have changed and they're coming around to what we've been doing for six years, so that's I think where the change is, it's on the other side of the fence," Jones says.

"I think we are being lumped in with (those other bands) and that's cool ... I don't mind that at all, because those bands don't suck to me. They're really really good, and I like being lumped in with them."

Jones has been touring with bands such Gluecifer, The Dirtbombs and The Hives for years and says there are plenty of other bands in the same genre -- New Bomb Turks, Devil Dogs, Teengenerate, The Go -- that deserve similar recognition for carrying the torch of classic, blues-based garage-rock.

The sound has been around since the daost of the past decade under the radar, dwarfed by trends such as grunge, alt-rock, teen-pop and rap-metal. With those fads on the wane, however, good ol' guitar rock has been making a comeback, moving out of the cellar and back on to the airwaves.

In Jones's case, it's also prompted a change of record company scenery. His latest album Born a Lion -- recorded for European label Bad Taste -- was picked up by Universal Music in Canada.

The band had previously released a few EPs and a CD of early tracks but had never recorded a full-length album -- because no one wanted to release it, he says.

"We've only gone into the studio and made demos and when they were rejected by labels, we released them," he says.

The continuing lack of mainstream acceptance made Jones ask himself if anyone except a small group of people and music critics liked his style.

"Being in this country and being ignored on certain levels, you kind of wonder if you're doing the right thing, like, 'It's not really catching on, so do people really want us?' " Jones says.

The band's new CD is as tough and raw as the title suggests, even though the overall theme is one of love gone wrong.

"Heartbreak and loss doesn't necessarily mean you have to go into a corner and cry. I mean sometimes the reaction is one of anger and in some songs revenge."

Jones and his bandmates -- bassist John Calabrese and drummer Damon Richardson -- just returned to Canada from a seven-week tour of Europe featuring headline dates in Germany, Holland and the U.K., along with a slot on the Ozzfest bill at Castle Donnington.

Their recently raised profile is nice, Jones admits, but it won't change the band's attitude or approach to work -- which is, basically, to get on stage and kick out the jams, brothers and sisters.

"I know this is a trend now, but maybe when the trend is over some people will stick around and keep listening to it because there's just good and bad music out there, and I think we play the good kind."

Tickets to Monday's show are $5 at the hotel.

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Friday August 09, 2002 @ 05:30 PM

Danko Would Play With Boy Bands
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

With Danko Jones currently proving a scrappy indie rock band can still make it these days, it could just be a matter of time before their new record, Born A Lion, is right up there in the charts with all the divas, the pop darlings and the Can-rock icons of the day.
Rather than flinch disdainfully at the prospect, Danko Jones, the man, says they'd welcome an opportunity to saddle up beside their high-gloss contemporaries.
"Everybody's always asking us, 'Would you play with a boy band?' Or 'Would you play with Our Lady Peace?' And we've always said yeah. You shoot yourself in the foot if you say no,' says Jones. "Are we gonna lose cool points? Are we going to lose cred? Bands who are scared of that aren't very secure of themselves or their music. But that means they're not cool because they're worrying about it."
Not that their noble Play Anywhere attitude isn't without its hip, jaded edge though.
Adds drummer Damon Richardson, "I think we should only play with Sparta."
Pokes at elitist types aside, Danko have now reached the all-important "breakout" phase in their career. Sure, up until now the scenester buzz was fine, but solid success in Europe and having Born A Lion distributed through Universal in Canada and Japan has changed things. Now's the time to get in front of people and win them over.
"There's two shows really," says Jones. "There's one show where you play to your audience, a converted audience. They understand where you're coming from. And the second audience is an audience that doesn't know where you're coming from. And that's like a challenge because we want to convert them. That's what we've been waiting for. We've been waiting to get the chance."
With the band currently crossing Canada this month and another set of Canadian dates in the works for later in the year, the band will surely get the chance to put their money where their mouths are… and maybe cause some trouble along the way.
"We're going on tour in the fall," says JC. "We'll be across Canada in September and October. Then we'll be across Europe for three months. More Canadian shows. Then Japan and Australia."
To which Jones adds one final footnote:
"Chicks in Australia look like Kylie Minogue. And Holly Valence. And Olivia Newton-John!"
-Aaron Brophy

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Saturday, August 17, 2002

'Do you want to open for The Stones?'
By KIERAN GRANT -- Toronto Sun

TORONTO -- Talk about a homecoming gig.

On Tuesday, Toronto band Danko Jones was looking forward to a homecooked meal and a bit of shut-eye as they were wrapping up a three-week Canadian tour in Northern Ontario.

Then they found out they'd be opening for The Rolling Stones last night at Palais Royale.

"We got a call saying, 'Don't tell anyone, but do you want to open for The Stones?' " Danko Jones bassist and manager John Calabrese told The Toronto Sun late yesterday afternoon by phone, following the band's soundcheck at the Palais.

"We were ... pretty excited. But we had to keep quiet."

Danko Jones, a lean garage punk 'n' blues-rock trio led by the motor-mouthed singer of the same name, rose out of Toronto's indie scene in 1996 to prompt acclaim. But heavy European touring has seen to it that the band has garnered its biggest success in Scandinavia in the past year.

Their latest album, Born A Lion, was released last month by Universal in Canada.

Calabrese said Danko Jones fulfilled a commitment to play a show in North Bay Thursday night before heading straight home overnight for The Stones throwdown yesterday.

The invitation to play the gig came from a Clear Channel Entertainment executive, though the bassist said he hopes there was some input from The Stones.

'IT'S FOR US'

"A friend of ours was at Mick Jagger's birthday party in July and gave him our CD, so it'd be nice to think he heard it," he said with a laugh. "Anyway, maybe he'll listen to it after tonight!"

The Danko trio, which also includes drummer Damon Richardson, was allowed one guest each at last night's show: Calabrese brought his dad, who was at The Stones' famous El Mocambo gig in 1977. Singer Jones' father actually declined the invite.

"He said he didn't want to stay to see The Stones," Calabrese said, laughing.

Danko Jones took the stage at 8:30 p.m. for a 40-minute set. "We don't really know what's going on afterward," he added. "We're going to hang out and be really nice, play our show, and get our equipment ickly as possible.

"Of course there'll be a Stones after-party, but they're not going to be be at that. It's for us!"

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Post-Stones Jones
By KIERAN GRANT -- Toronto Sun

Ah, those mythical notions of what a Rolling Stones post-show party must be like.

The limos and secret locations. The exclusive guest lists and throngs of famous hangers-on. The cases of Rebel Yell whiskey and busted up bits of hotel furniture.

But for Danko Jones, it was Chinese food and a party of five following the local band's gig opening for The Stones at the Palais Royale last week.

"Yup, there we are supporting them and a few hours later we're in a Chinese restaurant on Spadina," bassist and manager John "JC" Calabrese says with a laugh. "I can't even remember the restaurant's name!"

Calabrese was joined for the celebratory meal by singer-guitarist Danko Jones, the group's soundman, their tech guy, and a buddy. Drummer Damon Richardson went home to bed, exhausted from a three-week Canadian tour that culminated with the last-minute spot on The Stones' bill.

If that sounds anti-clamactic, they were quietly thrilled.

"What we had just done hadn't sunk in," Calabrese says.

There hasn't been much time for that since, either.

The Danko crew took one day off after the Palais show, and spent Sunday shooting a video for their forthcoming single Lover Call. Then it was off to Sweden, where they've been enjoying the biggest success of their six-year career with new album Born A Lion. Following a concert in the Swedish port city of Malmo on Thursday, they were off to festival dates in Holland in Belgium.

Clearly, The Stones affair was just a pleasant diversion in an already hectic schedule.

"Other Canadian bands have opened for The Stones before," says Jones, as low-key a guy offstage as he is cocksure onstage. "The Tea Party have done it, and Widemouth Mason. I guess the difference was that we've been toiling in the clubs for years. We're very much part of the Toronto club scene -- or we were until recently. To scoop up one of those bands and put them together with the biggest band in the world is special. But it won't define us. We've never relied on just one thing to spread the word and we wouldn't start now."

Danko, the band, have had feedback from fans as far away as Germany, the U.K., Japan, and Brazil since last Friday.

The band say that apart from the obvious exposure the gig gave them, the experience was invaluable for other reasons.

"It was great to see how The Stones' unit works," Calabrese says. "There are 14 people on stage, they have a big crew, and the harmony and efficiency in the way they work is so impressive when you see it from the perspective we had. It's really empowering. These guys have been doing this for longer than I've been alive."

For his part, Richardson says he expected to see less of The Stones than he did.

"I'd heard everyone was going to get kicked out of the building for their soundcheck," he muses. "Not only did we get to stay, I even got a little nod and an ''euyyy' from Keith. That was the closest I got to a conversation with the guys."

Adds Calabrese: "We got treated really nice. It was funny, I got a call from (a Toronto music writer) and he was like, 'Did they treat you like s--- and pay you $100?!' No, no.

"We were treated well. We got positive feedback from everyone. Mick Jagger's daughter was dancing at the side of the stage throughout our set. I got a really cool comment from (Toronto-based tour promoter) Michael Cohl. The Stones' crew were complimentary at how professional our little operation was. It gives you a real sense of validation."

Danko Jones play with some more heroes this weekend when they share a Belgian festival bill with former Stooges Ron and Scott Asheton, and Guns 'N Roses this weekend.

They return for a spot at SnowJam at the CNE Sept. 14, followed by a Canadian tour with opener Andrew WK, tentatively slated for the Docks Oct. 11.

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Thursday September 05, 2002

Danko Jones Take Andrew WK On Massive Canadian Tour
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

OK Canada, your time has come. Certain members of the ChartAttack staff have oft bemoaned the fact that Danko Jones have spent the bulk of their time touring Europe (including a recent festival date with Guns N' Roses) and haven't done a proper Canadian tour in ages. Well, the band have just sent us a copy of their full autumn tour itinerary that will take them all the way across the country.
And they're not playing any two-bit venues either. Danko and the boys will be facing some of the biggest venues that they've ever headlined in Canada. For extra star power, they've recruited thug-rock icon Andrew WK to open the second half of the tour.
After they wrap up their Canadian tour in October, Danko will go back to their home away from home, Europe. Throughout October, November and December they'll visit the U.K., Spain, France, Holland, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The band are looking into touring Australia and Japan in the new year.
In other Danko news, the band have shot a video for their next single, "Lovercall." Look for it on the nation's music stations later this month.

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