A Q&A with Danko
Country blues and Americana on a Scottish acid road trip…
What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
‘Rattlesnake’. It’s finishing you’re work at 5pm on a Friday and driving home, it’s not taking yourself too seriously, it’s some balls to the wall rock n roll which we feel is really lacking in the whole of the UK atm.
What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
The song itself came together pretty organically but Covid delayed the release, we recorded this in August 2019… So we’re really looking forward to getting it out into the world.
Who produced the release – what did they bring to it?
We took Bruce Rintoul to Black Bay Studio on the Isle Of Lewis with us to record a bunch of songs, he really pushed us to hone in on our strengths and got us to record everything pretty much live. Along the way since then we’ve had additional production and mixing by Pete Fletcher (owner of Black Bay Studio) and drew BANG which really helped the track fall into its own. Mastered by Joe La Porta.
What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
A sense of escapism from the bullsh*t aspects of every day life/politics/news and a brief 3three minute distraction into another realm.
How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
Lewis or Mikey usually comes into the practice studio or ‘The Gaff’ (as we call it) and plays around with an idea for a track. By the end of the session, once the band has added their stamp, it is usually completely different and the song is now alive. Some times songs come when they’re least expected in some good old impromptu jammin’.
What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
We all have a range of influences throughout the band. A few that would have influenced us all for this project would be The Band, The Rolling Stones, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, The War On Drugs and Twin Peaks.
What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
It’s always been a dream of ours to get over to the USA and tour, Holland would be a great time as well I’m sure. Since seeing Alabama Shakes in Paradiso, Amsterdam I’ve always wanted to play that beautiful venue.
If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
This is a tough one. I think ‘Rattlesnake’ sums us up very well. We have some new songs recorded that maybe show where we are more now, but those will come in good time!!
What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
We have always had great ambitions to get ourselves out of our 9-5 jobs and make a career out of our music. We don’t have great ambitions of personal fame, the music always comes first and means more to us than anything else. It’s the dream to be touring and releasing music full time for us all.
Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
We usually don’t say anything as we leave the stage, there will 100% be some guitar feedback as our farewell! It would usually be before the final song we would say a few words. Usually just thanking everyone for coming along and enjoying a night of rock n roll.
For more info visit: facebook.com/Dankotheband
