Danko Jones: Get off his dick!

After playing music on the side for five years, then barely scraping by as working musicians for the next half decade, Danko couldn't be happier with his upcoming tour with the major label-hugging, radio-friendly Nickelback. In answer to the obvious question - "NICKELBACK?!?!" - Danko was unruffled. "It was pretty much a no-brainer."

Fair enough. Why was it so easy to say yes when Nickelback approached them last year?

"We're not one of these bands that has a million dollars behind them, so we'll take any chance we can get. It's good for us. If it loses us cool points with a bunch of people, that means they woulda been off our dicks in a minute anyway."

Are there any bands Danko Jones wouldn't play with?

"We'll play with Aaron Carter or Kelly Clarkson or Billy Ray Cyrus, I don't give a flying shit - I don't care, it's a crowd. That's first and foremost. I have no time to differentiate between this crowd and that crowd. Who am I to be so arrogant to say, 'I can't for play these people, I can only play for these kinds of people'?"

Danko, who had been pretty laid back up to that point, got fired up.

"It's like saying, Master of Puppets just doesn't sound the same any more since Metallica played with Justin Timberlake! Playing in front of people who know our music and love our band, that's cool, but sometimes it's a little more exciting to play in front of people who a) don't know who you are, and b) don't like you."

Speaking of touring, this will be the first tour without Damon Richardson, who was behind the kit for the past 10 years. The early word on his departure was that he left due to fatigue, but Richardson fired back on their web board, stating that it was because he was unhappy.

"He was unhappy. And by him saying that, I can say now if he was unhappy, we were all miserable. It's a good thing that he decided to quit and remove himself from the situation, because no one around him was happy."

But with Dan Cornelius, their fiery new drummer, a brand new album (Sleep Is the Enemy) and their largest Canadian shows ever on the horizon, Danko is more than excited.

"Seriously, things couldn't be much better." And with two - count them, two - solid years of touring ahead in support of the new album, a weekly radio show on Stockholm's Rocket 93.5 FM (The Magical World of Rock), and a second spoken word album in the works, "better" might be synonymous with "busier." But, hey, that's how he likes it.

Danko Jones
Open for Nickelback at the Bell Centre, Feb. 17

 
 

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Fact Checking?     Nice article, however the facts about the drummer, Damon Richardson were wrong. He is in fact the 4th drummer Danko has had playing for him. He is not a founding member. He played with Danko Jones for 5 years. How do I know? I've been Danko and JC's soundman since 1998.Thank you.
Corey Shields	{34 votes}	February 20th, 2006
I remember when...     I first saw Danko Jones a long time ago at Foufounes Electrique, they were playing a double bill with Tricky Woo. I had gone there to see Tricky Woo and knew nothing about Danko Jones, I was damned happy I got their in time for their set as they totally kicked ass! These guys are serious performers who know how to play to a crowd and get everyone's energy up. Tricky Woo did a good job and I picked up their CD that night but in listening to it later on I always kind of wished I had made a different choice and picked up Danko Jones CD instead... Kudoes to you Danko Jones, best of luck with the tour!
Philip Starecky	{34 votes}	February 19th, 2006
Giving Danko his Due!!!     You have to hand it to Danko Jones. The dude is a no-bullshit, blunt kind of guy - just like the full-throttle rock that he and his cohorts play to dramatic and ear-splitting effect. What a bill for tomorrow night's show!!! Danko Jones followed by Live(!!!) and then Nickelback - this could well be, at least at this early juncture, THE rock show of the year!!!
Mark St Pierre	{21 votes}	February 16th, 2006
Something different     I remember a few years ago when I first started listening to them and it was definitely something different and FUN. I think nowadays it's hard for bands and musicians with a different sound to be picked up by the popular public. The public is constantly being feed to listen to the same repetitive pop-like music that when they hear something different or weird, they just don't enjoy or so they think. I think it's time for something new and i'm looking forward to this band.
Melissa Yu	{19 votes}	February 16th, 2006

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