Danko Jones Behind The Scenes At Stones Show

Last Wednesday night touring rock 'n' roll band Danko Jones were in a hotel, deep in northern Ontario, continuing to forge on with their club tour. All of a sudden, the phone rings and the band were presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

"I was in Sault Ste. Marie in a hotel and we got asked to open for the Stones on that Friday," says a still-hopped-up JC, bassist for the band Danko. "When I found out I was so excited. I said to Danko, 'We're going to open for the Stones' and he froze he was so excited."

"It was just an honour to be a part of a Rolling Stones show," says lead singer Danko Jones.

Apparently, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts gave the trio their blessing to open for The Rolling Stones after listening to Danko's new record, Born A Lion. Although JC didn't get to meet Mick or guitarist Keith Richards, there were some amiable rock 'n' roll brush-ups. Charlie Watts marveled at the ragged condition of Damon Richardson's drum kit and a number of the Stones roadies inspected the band's beat-up amplifiers with great mirth. There was also some smoking area bonding.

"I made eye contact with Ron [Wood] and said 'Hi' to him," said JC. "I was having a smoke and he was having one, too. We also got to see their five song soundcheck with about 30 other people and I had Liv Tyler come up to me and compliment us on our show."

Danko also had a soundcheck experience, watching the test performance from front and center in the club.

"There was nobody within five metres of me when they played 'Hot Stuff' in the soundcheck. It was just me and the Stones," he said.

The band will now get to put this experience to good use. They're heading off for another tour of Europe and then they'll come back to Canada for a tour with Andrew W.K. as their opener. They're also preparing a video for next single "Lovercall" and have announced they'll be releasing Born A Lion in Brazil and the I'm Alive And On Fire album in Japan.