Interview with vocalist/guitarist Danko Jones | By Thomas Pizzola | Photo by Alan Snodgrass
Toronto punk ’n’ roll machine Danko Jones unleashed A Rock Supreme on the world on April 26 via M-Theory Audio. It’s their ninth album of high-octane rock ’n’ roll that combines slamming hard rock riffs with a lean, mean punk efficiency. It’s fast, fun, and catchy as hell.
Danko Jones—the man and the band who bear his name—have been doing this since 1996 with no signs of slowing down. They just keep delivering the rock ’n’ roll thrills fans crave, whether on record or onstage. The new one is no different. A Rock Supreme will get your blood pumping, your fists raised, and your head banging.
Jones, longtime coconspirator and bassist John “JC” Calabrese, and drummer Rich Knox are consistently awesome, like all good bands—you know, like Motörhead, who they opened for on several occasions. Since A Rock Supreme is now upon us, Jones catches up about the band, their music, and his pursuits outside of Danko Jones.
It’s time to read up and rock out.
You’ve been doing this for over two decades. What keeps you in the game?
I think it’s a simple case of paying the rent. After two decades of doing this one particular thing, you realize your life skills have faded and you look back and realize that this is really the only thing you can do. We weren’t born with silver spoons in our mouths and can’t afford to take a year off. So, we do this because this is all we know how to do. Luckily, we enjoy doing this very much, so we don’t mind at all—but really, got to pay the rent.
What approach did you take on your new record, A Rock Supreme? Was it any different from the way you have approached your other albums?
Garth Richardson produced this album, so that was different. He lives out in Vancouver, [B.C.], so making an album away from Toronto, our home, definitely played a role in making this album. Our records with Eric Ratz, [2015’s] Fire Music [and 2017’s] Wild Cat, were fantastic records. I’m very proud of them. This one we did with Garth stands alongside those albums. When it comes to tones and feel, Garth brings his experience into the studio and you can feel it. This is the guy who did the first Rage Against The Machine album, the Melvins, Jesus Lizard, Biffy Clyro—he knows what he’s doing.”
Your music is an exciting mix of punk and metal. It’s lean and mean, no B.S. rock ’n’ roll. Was this always the plan? Also, people tend to like these keep these genres separate; why did you decide to put them together?
We come from the garage punk scene of the mid to late ’90s. It was a genre based on pop culture nostalgia with a lo-fi aesthetic. We found these confines boring and limiting, so we slowly transitioned into being a hard rock band. When we did, though, we definitely held on to our punk roots, musically and offstage in how we do business. As far as metal, I don’t hear it. I’m a heavy metal fan, but I don’t feel we incorporate metal into our music. We get booked on metal festivals as ear-relief and we get written about in metal magazines, but I don’t hear any metal influence. Frankly, I don’t have the chops to sing it or play it.
You’re known for putting on a high-energy, take-no-prisoners live show. How do you get into the right frame of mind before a show? Do you have any pre-show rituals you must do?
Aside from stretching and vocal warmups, I don’t think about things too much. Sometimes, I’ll psych myself up with a good hard song, but I don’t really need to. Once I step onstage, the view of the crowd—or sometimes the view of an empty room—is all I need to have an immediate adrenaline charge that’ll last me throughout the show. Also, not taking what we do for granted plays a big role in being excited over and over again.
How different is your stage persona from your offstage persona? Is your stage persona just an amped-up version of your everyday self?
Close friends who see me onstage aren’t too surprised by the live show. They’ve seen that side of me. Of course, I’m yelling louder at the live show, because I’m trying to project my voice, but the anger and ferocity is something close friends have seen if you hang around me long enough. I’m an introverted extrovert, but it can only come out because it is me.
How do you keep in shape for the stage?
JC and Rich are workout machines. They make me feel like I’m out of shape, but I do try to hit the gym two to three times a week, when I’m in the zone. I was sick for a couple of months earlier this year, and I lost momentum. I have to get back in the gym. But I’m not anything like some fitness guru, by any stretch.
Why did you decide to do your stage rap in the middle of “Bring On the Mountain (Become the Mountain)” when you perform it live? Do the artists you mention change in it change on a nightly basis? Why do you think it’s become a staple of your set?
That grew naturally from playing show after show. I would add different lines every time we played it until now, where it’s a very concise speech, but that the whole spoken-word part was written on the stage over a long period of time. We’ve actually given that song a rest for the last year and a half.
You just completed a successful West Coast tour of the U.S. Will you be coming back to tour other parts of the country?
We are now on M-Theory Audio. It’s the first time we’ve ever been on a seriously legitimate music label that’s tuned in to putting out great music. We feel the change too. So, yes, we plan on touring the States a lot more for this album.
You also just put out a book, “I’ve Got Something To Say,” last year. What made you decide to write one?
It’s a compilation of various rock articles from the various rock magazines I’ve been writing for over a 10-year period. I sussed through the best ones and put it together. I got some friends who illustrated—Damian Abraham [of Fucked Up], [Voivod’s Michel] “Away” [Langevin], Valient Himself [of Valient Thorr], Juan Montoya [of Torche]—along with some illustrators that I’m a fan of, Brian Walsby [and] Richard Comely, to contribute, and sometimes redo the articles in comic-book form like Harvey Pekar’s “American Splendor,” [like] Gary Dumm [and] Mary Fleener. Duff McKagan [of Guns N’ Roses fame] wrote the foreword. It came out on Feral House last year, and I’m very, very happy to have this book be part of Feral House.
In addition to your writing, you also do a podcast and a radio show. Do these other projects scratch an itch that can’t be scratched through playing music? What do you get out of doing them?
I haven’t done a radio show since 2005. I’ve been doing a podcast since 2011. I’m able to kill time on the road doing the podcast, editing the podcast. It’s a great hobby for me. I also do a second podcast called “The Regal Beagle Podcast” about the ’70s sitcom “Three’s Company.” I’ve been doing that one since 2017.
Finally, what do you think of people declaring that rock music is dead every few years? Why do you think it continues on and is a vital form of music?
It isn’t people saying it, it’s one person: Gene Simmons. It went viral because people need content. Rock is definitely not the most popular form of music, but it’s still vibrant and active today. I can name you 10 bands that are doing it and doing it well: Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, Giuda, Dead Lord, 77, LÜT, Night Flight Orchestra, Here Lies Man, The Freeks, Dr. Boogie, Audrey Horne, Broken Teeth, WYLDLIFE, and BIG KIZZ—I think that was 13 bands.
Listen to my podcast, Episode #191, to hear more about my thoughts on rock music today.
