Toronto rockers DANKO JONES have announced that drummer Atom Willard will be joining them on the road this summer, replacing Dan Cornelius who is no longer with the band. With a history in bands like ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, THE OFFSPRING, and SOCIAL DISTORTION, and being a current member of ANGELS & AIRWAVES, the experience and talent Atom is bringing to the band will be the beginning of a very exciting new chapter.

"Both JC and I have been fans of Atom Willard for years," Danko said. "We own the records he's on and hell, we even wrote a song about his old band ['RIP RFTC' about Rocket From The Crypt]. Yes, we're ecstatic he's coming out with us."

Atom's first show with the band will be in Gothenburg on June 15th, followed by about a dozen European festivals lined up throughout the summer. More North American dates will be announced shortly.

"I have been a fan of this band and these songs for a long ass time, so when they asked if I could do it, and I could, I was stoked!" Atom said. "I love rock and roll!"
"When I saw Atom Willard in the crowd 6 years ago at The Troubadour in Los Angeles watching us, I was dumbstruck," Danko said. "I almost stopped the show just so I could get my copy of 'The State of Art Is on Fire' 10-inch signed. Now that he'll be playing with us, that'll be the first order of business."

Danko Jones will be a guest on the Rockline Radio Show with host Bob Coburn on June 20th. The show starts at 11:30 PM (EST)/8:30 PM (PST) and fans are encouraged to speak with the band by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). For more information go to this location.

As previously reported, Danko Jones' frontman and namesake has issued his latest podcast - his third in an ongoing series - which focuses on one of his favourite bands; THE JESUS LIZARD:

"Here’s a column I did for the now defunct Mute Magazine out of Norway. This was my inaugural piece for the magazine so I played it safe and wrote about one of my favorite bands of all time, The Jesus Lizard. This was published back in 2005 and the band has since gotten back together for a few reunion tours. Fingers crossed they keep playing."

To listen/subscribe on iTunes, go to this location. Download this episode here.

The band has updated their summer tour schedule with several new shows in Europe (**). Their complete 2011 schedule is now as follows:

June

15 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Liseberg
17 - Lichtenfels, Germany - Rock in Concert
26 - Vienna, Austria - Donauinselfest

July

10 - Gierle, Belgium - Sjock Festival **
16 - Kristianstad, Sweden - Tivoli Rock
23 - Nordfjordeid, Norway - Malakoff Rockfestival **
29 - Grossefehn / Ostfriesland, Germany - Omas Teich Festival **
30 - Kuopio, Finland - Kuopio Rockcock

August

5 - Kokkola, Finland - Kokkola Rockfestival **
6 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air
19 - Ludinghausen, Germany - Area 4 **