I’ve been following Toronto’s Danko Jones and his band — the hardest-working power trio in Canada —since they first appeared in 1996. While his group has found considerable success outside of Canada, it’s been a long, hard road. But that’s what it takes if you wanna rock’n’roll. I spoke to Jones just ahead of the band’s 12th album, Leo Rising, which will be out on Friday, Nov. 21.
Alan Cross: How many years have you been doing this?
Danko Jones: Twenty-nine.
AC: Did you ever expect that this would become your life’s work?
DJ: No. When we started this band, it was only on the heels of finishing our last local band’s record for me and JC (bass player John Calabrese) and we had no expectations past maybe putting out a cassette demo or a seven-inch. We just kept going. We kind of painted ourselves in a corner by having no Plan B, so it was this or bust.
AC: Twenty-nine years in, living in vans and buses, how do you do it? How do you stay motivated?
DJ: Motivated is easy. The motivation is the show. It’s the treat this mutt gets at the end of the day. But the grind of the travel is another thing entirely. It was worse back in the day when we’d all just borrow our parents’ car. We do the shows for free. It’s the 22-and-a-half other hours that we get paid for. It’s harder as the years go on, but it was easier when we graduated to vans, buses and planes.
It’s tough being away from home. Starting this band, it’s something that we didn’t think about when we started the band. Then you get older, life happens, and you start wondering how you’re going to juggle everything, hold all these buckets. And you just… do. That’s the one thing about doing this job — about being in a band for a career — that sucks. Being away from home, from friends and family. Missing out on stuff. Even my connection with Toronto has changed. I come home and I wonder, “What happened to this place? Where did that go?” When I drive in the city, I’m like a country bumpkin.
AC: You specialize in a type of sweaty, barroom hard rock. How do you manage to maintain that over 12 albums? You get older, you become a better musician, and so on. How do you stay focused on that particular form of music?
DJ: The other two guys are extremely fit. (Drummer) Rich Knox is actually a certified fitness trainer. JC runs every day to the point where Adidas took note and got something of a sponsorship. Me? I’m very spritely and that’s what I’m hoping gets me through all this as I get older.
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AC: Let’s talk about the new album, Leo Rising, another 11 songs that will sound great in a hot, sweaty venue. Is there more of an attention to melody on this record or am I just hearing things?
DJ: Yeah, I think there is. There’s been more of attention to this over the last five albums rather than the first half of our career. I was screaming and shouting a bit more for the first six records. That had everything to do with lack of experience and insecurity. You stick in this game a little longer and things change. I’m the same person I was at 16 in terms of worldview and politics. But singing-wise, yes. My approach to vocals has changed. And I’m a little more secure with my voice and singing. I have added a little more melody on recent albums.
AC: “Insecurity” and “Danko Jones” are not two things I put together very often.
DJ: Right! And that is because it’s the smoke and mirrors of show business. The personalities that get drawn to the stage — and I’m no exception — a lot of times, you’re making up for stuff. (As you get older) you take the time to unpack questions like, “What is this motivation? Why am I doing something other people can’t or won’t or don’t?” I’m using all these words and it’s just code for “therapy.” Do that enough and you start to realize what the hell’s going on. (Laughs)
My fear was — and this is all in the past — was would this knowledge douse the drive and energy and flame of wanting to go onstage. It kind of did for a while, but that was during the pandemic and luckily I was able to get out of that funk.
AC: There have been a couple of advance singles from the album, including What You Need, which wasn’t supposed to be an official single.
DJ: That was a teaser track. But then it got added onto radio station playlists, so that changed the trajectory of the album.
The first official single was Everyday is Saturday Night.
AC: I’ve heard you talking about the album and the name Kiss comes up a lot.
DJ: Yeah, it does. If Good Time (from the last album that went number one on the radio in Germany) was our anthem like Rock and Roll All Nite or (AC/DC’s) Highway to Hell. We’ve been chasing that for years. What do you do to follow that up? Kiss did Shout It Out Loud so we did Everyday is Saturday Night. Hopefully it’ll do the same for us.
AC: How did you get Marty Friedman (former lead guitarist with Megadeth) to play on Diamond in the Rough?
DJ: We’ve been friends for about 15 years. I sang three songs on his Inferno album. We exchange emails and files and talked about different bands. Five albums after that record, I finally asked him for the first time to do something on Leo Rising. The songs were Kiss-esque and I know that Marty’s favourite bands are Kiss and the Ramones, so it was something he could sink his teeth into.
AC: Why is the album called Leo Rising?
DJ: The first album was called Born a Lion. Twelve is a solid number (12 people at the Last Supper, there’s 12 months, 12 days of Christmas). If Born a Lion is your sun sign, your rising sign is something different entirely — the time of your birth — so that is an astrological kind of tie-in that we can use. I’m a Leo sun sign but I’m a Pisces rising, which is why you get a different version of me on and off stage. I only know this because I hung out with a lot of people who are into astrology when I was in my 20s.
AC: You’re one of the few bands still making elaborate music videos.
DJ: For some reason, it’s worked out for us. The song Diamond in the Rough features a Swedish Kiss tribute band called Wicked Kisser and they lip-sync the song. My parts were shot in the living room and we made it a Phantom of the Park-type tribute.
AC: Are you still writing? I remember you and I commiserating on how difficult it is to come up with 800 words a week.
DJ: All those publications have gone out of business so I lost all my columns. I don’t do the podcast anymore, either. But I’ve been trying to restart the podcast and in doing so, I’ve restarted writing again. I’m doing a podcast that’s strictly on our band. No interviews. I’m one of two world experts on our band. The other is JC.
This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.
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