As time rolls by the uniqueness of a true rock spirit can silently fade but in the case of Danko Jones they have developed a stronger connection to the genre they love and breathe for. Today we’re releasing a collection of lost tracks for all their core fans, recorded in Toronto, New York and Washington DC between 1996 and 1998. Out in stores today and you can also listen to the album on Spotify and iTunes.
The band is currently writing their upcoming studio album and will take a short break from the pre-production work to play the Gröna Lund amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden on May 16th (cap 15,000). In addition to that the Canadian festival Rockin The Fields outside of Winnipeg is confirmed on Aug 3:rd and more Canadian festivals will be announced shortly. The band also just got a new Canadian home through New Damage Records who are set to release Garage Rock in Canada on April 8th.
“If a band continues past the gesticulation stage, the term ‘Garage Rock’ is usually rendered unusable. Back in the 90’s, the Garage Rock scene, as I knew it, was a warts-and-all approach that favoured low-fi recordings and rudimentary playing over any modicum of musical prowess in order to glean some Rock N’ Roll essence. However, once a band got better at their instruments, songwriting and stage performance, the inevitable crossroads would eventually appear.
Deliberately continuing to play against their growing skill would only evolve into a pose. There were a lot of bands who did exactly this in order to sustain scenester favour. We did the opposite.
What you hold in your hands is a document of what we were and where we came from. We didn’t know how to write songs and could barely play but we wanted to be near to the music we loved so badly. We ate, slept and drank this music. We still do. That’s why we have never had to reunite because we’ve never broken up. After 18 years, we’ve stayed the course, got tough when the going did and, above all else, we have never stopped. This album is the proof.”
– Danko Jones