Danko Jones Is Concerned He's Not Vulgar Enough In Sex Book

Cult classic on this side of the Atlantic, festival mainstay on the other, Toronto trio Danko Jones — the man and the band — have been leveling audiences with their brand of unrepentant rock for almost 15 years.

Fronted by namesake singer/guitarist Jones, the band — which also features bassist JC and drummer Dan Cornelius — are a potent combination of KISS, adrenaline, punk, garage, AC/DC, and S-E-X.

This is, after all, the man who once wrote on this very website, "Music should make you want to drive fast, smash shit, or make dense sex."

If that line of thinking isn't enough reason to swear allegiance to this band, know they count Frodo Baggins himself as one of their fans.

It's always a little jarring interviewing Jones. On stage, he plays his persona full-tilt — a lover-done-wrong (looking for revenge with a maniacal laugh) or a lover-about-to-do-right (likely with your girlfriend). When he's not performing, though, he's articulate, gracious, almost soft-spoken.

To discuss Below The Belt, his band's new album released last week, CHARTattack caught up with him by phone as he was traveling to Lincoln, Neb. to open a show for Clutch.

CHARTattack: Over the years, you guys have earned your reputation as being one of — if not the — best live act in Canada. At this point you could play gigs off of "Bounce" and the old songs for years; people would still come out to shows. What is it that drives you to continually record?
Danko Jones: Doing a new album is exciting to us. We want to up ourselves from the last time. And there are other benefits. With each record comes new tours, new opportunities. But writing is the most fun part of the whole process. I really, really love the writing.

That's almost funny, because your lyrics often get short shrift in reviews. A lot of people tend to focus on your live shows or the attitude surrounding the band. It's surprisingly rare that people actually focus on your songwriting.
It's lazy journalism. They don't really know the band that much — they just do a Google search and go from there. That's what starts the story. The lyrics and the songs get buried in the persona.

There's a lot of humour in some of your songs. A lot of storytelling about relationships and identity. A song like "I Think Bad Thoughts," on the other hand, can be cathartic fun…
That one has a big Misfits vibe. All our lyrics have a grain of truth to them; some have a whole bag. For that song, it's my daily thought processes — I didn't have too dig too deep to come up with words. I'll just be thinking, "I want to flush someone down the toilet — hey! That's a great line for a song!"

I always get asked why I stick to the same themes. Sometimes, people critique what they call "dumb" lyrics — you try writing the same stuff for years in new ways!

A lot of other bands will continually use the same themes in their music, but their lyrics are more elusive. Ours are straightforward, but that doesn't make them lesser. Maybe it's a personal thing. I don't feel the need to crack a singer's lyrical code. Tell me what you're talking about on a silver platter so I can move on to the next track. I don't need subtlety.

And hey, there's less chance for someone to completely misinterpret your song.
A few weeks ago, this one interviewer was trying to explain to me my new lyrics. The song, "Full Of Regret." I told him it's about two ships passing in the night. And he said, "No, it's not." Really? I mean, this shouldn't be an argument — I wrote the lyrics. I just told you what the lyrics are about!

For that song and this new album, you guys went back to working with producer Matt DeMatteo after doing the last record [2008's Never Too Loud] with Nick Raskulinecz…
We're friends with Matt. He's worked on three albums, produced two. Coming back was pretty seamless. We're down-to-earth guys and it was like hanging out with your buddy and recording a bunch of new tunes. I think there's also a level of comfortability on the album because we did it at home in Toronto.

He was good at bringing out both sides of the band — your rawer, faster work and some of the melodies from the last album. Before hearing the new stuff and just reading about it, I was worried you guys were going straight for the aggression and leaving behind any of the singing. I'm glad it's still there.
I was always the one who fought against the melodic aspect and wanted to keep barking lyrics. Look, we love Never Too Loud, but a lot of people didn't get the KISS and Thin Lizzy references. They got lost in the sheen.

We learned so much from working with Nick, but what stuck the most was the use of melody from the songs. Personally, we wanted to get heavier, faster, and strip it down. The song "Active Volcanoes" — the melody's still there, but it's stripped down. What's left is the bare bones of the song.

In the press notes, you say this is your best album yet. But every band has to say that about their new album, right?
See, but I never said that about every other album. I've always said our favourite album was [2003's] We Sweat Blood — even after the last two records. But, I think this album matches it. Maybe even exceeds it. Doing this tour, we've had some time to play some of the new songs with our older stuff, and they really stand out.

Aside from the album, you also have a chapter in the upcoming Sex Tips From Rock Stars. Care to divulge what you divulged?
Honestly, it's been so long I can't remember what I said! I completely forgot about the whole thing, and then saw something about it on Blabbermouth and started to get worried.

Why worried?
At the time, I remember thinking I wasn't being vulgar or incriminating. Still, when you do an interview with someone, you put the context in their hands. I remember sticking to my guns and not saying anything sexist. Playing it straight, truthfully, and respectfully. So in the end, it might be insightful or it might be boring.

Boring? But you're Dr. Evening. The Mango Kid. You've got an image to uphold!
Well, it's always better to err on the side of truth. If people are disappointed by my lack of a 10-way orgy in Amsterdam, then that's their thing. Besides, being in a band in 2010 ain't the same as being in a band in 1985. Although those moments are still there... you just have to pick and choose.

You're also on Twitter a lot.
It was originally the label's idea. To be honest, I thought Twitter was only for 14-year-old girls. Then I realized Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed tweets like crazy. So now I'm on it two or three times a day.