TBA/News
Danko Jones Still Plays Loud, But Not Without Precautions
By Steve McLean
Danko Jones
Danko Jones, the Toronto singer/guitarist who leads a three-piece band that shares the same name, has been rocking hard for a dozen years. The group has released four albums and performed around the world, but the frontman realizes that playing at such high volumes for an extended period is bound to catch up with you at some point. So there's a fair degree of irony in the title of Danko Jones' latest LP, Never Too Loud.
It's also the title of the last song on the record, and includes these lyrics:
"I followed the rules until the volume knobs broke, I stood by the PA all night/As the old saying goes, 'If it's too loud, you're too old' - I like to do things right/But it's a quarter to 10 and I've slept in again/I can't hear the alarm go off/You can scream in my ear, but I won't hear a thing - even if you drop the bomb."
"There are all the rock and roll cliches of turning the volume up, and I still think rock is enjoyed best when very, very loud, but no one talks about the side effects," Jones says about the origin of the track. "The song is actually about losing your hearing due to rock music, in a humorous way of course."
Losing your hearing is obviously no laughing matter, and Jones now takes precautions to avoid blowing out his eardrums.
"These days I always go to shows wearing custom earplugs and never rehearse without them. I listen to my iPod with noise-reduction headphones, too."
Even though Jones may have mixed feelings about the 'louder is better' rock cliche, his experience-based songs still uphold others - particularly when it comes to women and traveling almost non-stop from gig to gig.
"Code Of The Road is actually about the experience of being on tour and making touring in a rock band your life," Jones says of the first song on the new album. "Forest For The Trees is about somebody I used to know, and so is Your Tears, My Smile. Let's Get Undressed and Ravenous are about certain people and experiences as well."
If there's a concern about being stereotyped because of his lyrics, Jones isn't letting on.
"If we get pigeonholed, then we're in good company with AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Outkast, Usher, Sam Cooke and KISS," says Jones with a degree of defiant pride.
It's not just on stage or in the recording studio where Jones gets to live out his rock and roll dreams, however. The four-time Juno Award nominee also hosts and programs a syndicated radio show called The Magical World Of Rock that can be heard on stations in Canada, Sweden, Germany and Norway. Jones plays his favourite songs, interviews rock stars and conducts vocal clinics with the likes of The New York Dolls' David Johansen, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and the late Jeff Healey. He also writes for three European rock publications.
Never Too Loud was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush) at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Los Angeles. Danko Jones is supporting the album with shows in Ontario until the end of May. The trio will spend most of June, July and August playing music festivals across Europe and will support Motorhead and Saxon on a U.K. tour in November.