Interview: Danko Jones on Wrestling & Rock N’ Roll
“Over-thinking music making is for indie rockers to do. More times than not, those people making it 
today, just got into music,” relays Danko Jones with a laugh at the outset of a conversation with Riffyou.com.
As the rockers in Danko Jones – JC Calabrese (bass), Rich Knox (drums), and Jones (vocals, guitar) – prepare to release their seventh full-length, Fire Music, on February 10 through New Damage Records, an air of confidence is felt. Jones says that there’s a higher focus on the guitar with this album and that after a couple hundred of listens to it, he isn’t worried about how Fire Music will be received.
One entity that has already received the album well is Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), arguably the globe’s largest sports entertainment franchise. Leading into its annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 25, WWE selected the new Danko Jones track “Gonna Be a Fight Tonight” as the event’s official theme song. With this coming to be, the band will have its music dropped into the ears of millions of people at once.
“I’m a big, old school wrestling fan,” admits Jones when reflecting upon his pro wrestling fandom. “I don’t keep up too much with the new guys – I know a few of them – but I’m more of a Road Warriors, Boogie Woogie Man, and ‘Bruiser’ Brodie, ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper kind of guy.
“Piper,” he quickly offers when asked which ‘80s wrestler was his favourite. “He was fearless – the dog collar match (from Starrcade ‘83) with Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine is a testament. That is probably the most brutal match that ever was, until WWF announced itself as WWE, and it became sports entertainment, rather than a sport. The only thing that kind of matched it was when ‘Crippler’ Ray Stevens piledrived Jimmy ‘Super Fly’ Snuka onto the cement floor almost a dozen times. I saw that as a kid and was in shock.”
For Jones, the Saskatoon-born Piper appealed to him largely because of that fearlessness, but he also admired Piper’s ability to be animated and charismatic on the microphone. If you’ve ever watched Jones at a show, it’s easy to see and understand the connection.
“My favourite wrestlers are as big an influence on me as Thin Lizzy, Black Flag, and Kiss,” says Jones. “[Wrestling] is aggressive and can be rough and tough. Rock n’ roll likes to consider itself rough and tough. I think that’s where the two worlds meet.”
Although not as engulfed by wrestling as he once was, Jones marvels at the WWE’s recent ability to meld the brutality and toughness of the old school matches he appreciated, with the showbiz side: “WWE is a juggernaut,” he adds.
When it comes to influential rock n’ roll figures, however, Jones has made fans of many, including Angus Young of AC/DC (who offered a shout out on Reddit), as well as Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead (who has shared bills with Danko Jones on numerous occasions.)
While not about to sit back and be star struck, Jones does appreciate the value in having such legends of the rock world on his band’s side.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” relays Jones. “It’s nice to know that the people whose music we listen to and were influenced by, actually like us back. I think that’s the highest praise you can get. It’s very satisfying.
“It’s validation from the elders – they’re not your peers, those are the people you look up to,” he elaborates. “People like Angus Young and Lemmy…it’s great when someone like that actually says, ‘yeah, I own your records and listen to them,’ or ‘I like your band.’ They don’t have to do that. There have been times where people have gone out of their way to say that to us… I really appreciate that. It makes all the YouTube comments and Internet experts go away.”
-Adam Grant
Tour Dates:
w/The Lazys
04.09 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Oak
04.10 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
04.11 – Saskatoon, SK @ O’Briens
04.14 – Calgary, AB @ The Gateway
04.15 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room
04.16 – Grande Prairie, AB @ Better Than Fred’s
04.17 – Kamloops, BC @ Cactus Jacks
04.18 – Vancouver, BC @ The Venue
w/Say Yes
04.22 – Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
04.23 – London, ON @ Call The Office
04.24 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall*
04.25 – Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s Concerts and Events
Please be sure to follow us on Twitter @riffyou and at Facebook.com/riffyou.
