DANKO JONES - "Just Because I Worked At A Porno Store Doesn’t Mean That I Have To Write About Girls In A Dirty, Degrading Or Misogynistic Way"
February 9, 2013, 11 years ago
Legendary Rock Interviews recently caught up with Canadian rocker DANKO JONES. An excerpt from the interview is available below:
LRI: You’ve been accused of being brash or being a womanizer but most of your lyrics about girls or sex always strike me more Diamond Dave than El Duce. Did working at a porno store help you smooth out those edges of what is or isn’t sexy?
Danko: "(Laughs) I understand, I understand what you mean. We’ve gotten tagged as sexist or just ignored but it blows my mind to find out even how many people have not bothered to listen to our band because of that misconception. Just because I worked at a porno store doesn’t mean that I have to write about girls in a dirty, degrading or misogynistic way. I guess sometimes people just don’t listen to the lyrics but that’s just how it is sometimes in life. I mean, you can come off as an asshole or a douchebag, which sometimes people may misinterpret my being onstage as being but all you have to do is wait it out and watch the show. I definitely am self deprecating and crack jokes at my own expense."
LRI: Is some of that as a result of seeing what works and doesn’t work onstage over the years? Have you had to dial back some of the bravado?
Danko: "No, No I have never had to dial back in terms of any of the aggro or aggressive nature of the show or performing, but what I have learned from experience is that you can’t shoot yourself in the foot during a show. You can’t come out all guns blazing and talk shit about everyone on the bill and tell everyone that you’re the best band. When we first started we just said we were the best fuckin band and all these other bands suck, whether we or anyone else believed it or not, we just said it (laughs). Some people we would rub the wrong way and it took years before we made amends with some people (laughs). I just had this fire in me and was so angry and 'fuck everyone' and that fire is still in me but I’ve just gotten better at channeling it, back then it just came out wrong. Now that I’ve been doing this for 15 years I can harness that fire a little better and I don’t shoot it out at people haphazardly. I’ve done that before, I have and it’s just not cool and I’ve learned that the hard way. Now, I’m a little older and I understand that everyone, every band is just trying to get by a little each day and there’s no point in putting someone else down when they haven’t done anything to you. When I see a newer band doing that to us, I get that fire going and I really wanna shoot back at them but I really do understand where it’s coming from now. I understand that they have this fire in them too that they just haven’t been able to harness so it comes out wrong. I haven’t dialed it back at all, I am ready to KILL but I also know that I can harness that rather than let it go off in all directions."
Go to this location for the complete interview.
Danko Jones recently announced European tour dates for May in support of their new album, Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue. Their scehdule is available below:
May
2 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof3 - Saarbrucken, Germany - Garage
4 - Dresden, Germany - Reithalle
5 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
7 - Nürnberg, Germany - Hirsch
8 - Linz, Germany - Posthof
9 - Dornbirn, Austria - Conrad Sohm
10 - Milan, Italy - Factory (Area 3)
11 - San Alberto, Italy - Maximum Festival VI
12 - Marseille, France - Le Moulin
14 - Barcelona, Spain - Music Hall Barcelona
15 - Madrid, Spain - Sala Arena
16 - Porto, Portugal - Hard Club
17 - Lisbon, Portugal - TMN Ao Vivo
18 - Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Sala Capitol
19 - Gijon, Spain - Sala Acapulco
More dates will be announced soon.
On March 6th, Danish bashers VOLBEAT's North American tour featuring support from Danko Jones will begin in Dallas, TX. The current itinerary includes the following appearances:
March
6 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom7 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
9 - San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum
10 - El Paso, TX - Speaking Rock Entertainment Center
11 - Lubbock, TX - Lonestar Pavilion
12 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
14 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues at Mandalay Bay
15 - Los Angeles, CA - House of Blues
16 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
17 - Reno, NV - Knitting Factory
19 - Boise, ID - Revolution Center
20 - Missoula, MT - The Wilma Theater
22 - Seattle, WA - Showbox At The Market
23 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
24 - Calgary, AB - MacEwen Hall
25 - Prince George, BC - CN Centre
27 - Dawson Creek, BC - EnCana Events Centre
28 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Centre
29 - Medicine Hat, AB - Cypress Center
30 - Regina, SA - Brandt Centre
April
1 - Saskatoon, SA - Credit Union Center2 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
3 - Minneapolis, MN - Mill City Nights
5 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
6 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Piere's
7 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
9 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theatre
10 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head
11 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
Danko Jones released their latest effort, Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue, on October 9th, 2012. The video for the first single from the album, ‘Just A Beautiful Day’, was directed by the Diamond Bros and filmed in New York City in September. It can be seen below:
