I recently mailed some questions to rock 'n' roll animal Danko Jones after reviewing his latest album. The master himself answers below!

How long did you work on the new album, “Never Too Loud”?

'In total we must have spent about 8 months working on it, but really we took about 2 months recording it in the studio. There was about a 5 month period of pre-production which was us writing material. We started at a very leasurely pace and as we got closer to the start date in the studio the writing sessions got more and more intense.'

Were there a lot of differences from working on this album, from working on the other albums?

'Yes. Like I mentioned in the above answer it was the amount of time we afforded ourselves in pre-production which was the biggest differenceto this album. Although, doing the record in Los Angeles and working with an incredible producer like Nick Raskulinecz also made a huge difference.'
 
How do you think you’re music has evolved since “Sleep Is The Enemy”?

'Between albums the biggest change has been the more melodic approach we’ve taken with the songs. That was something we were already moving towards and working with Nick Raskulinecz it was only natural to infuse more melody.'

On the new album there is a song where an accoustic guitar leads most of the song (“Take Me Home”). I don’t think I heard one since “My Love Is Bold”. Did you keep everything electric on the last albums on purpose? Or did it just kinda happened?

'There’s never really any master plan. We just do things as each song comes to us. Yes, there was an urge to get more heavy on previous albums, but we usually just try to make each song the best it can be as we work on them. The song, “Take Me Home” which features an acoustic guitar wasn’t even originally recorded with acoustic guitars but as we listened back to the recording it became obvious that the song needed the acoustic.'

What is your favourite song, and what song do you love to play live?

'I love all the songs on the new record. We wrote about 30 or 40 songs so the songs that made the cut and appear on the record are our favorites but I’d have to say “City Streets”, “Forest For The Trees” and “King Of Magazines” are my favorites this week. I love playing “Code Of The Road” and “Still In High School” live the best.'

What’s your favorite country or festival to play?

'There are a lot of countries and even more festivals we love to play. I love playing Dutch festivals and Belgium festivals because the line-ups always include one or two of my favorite bands and the organization backstage is top notch. I love the Hultsfred festival in Sweden and Rock Im Park and Rock Am Ring in Germany among dozens and dozens more.'

What gear do you use? (guitars, amps etc.)

'I play Gibson Explorers and Hi-Watt heads. I keep it simple and direct.'

I read somewhere that you liked Denmark because of the high BPM rate (Blonds per meter). How’s Holland treating you in this area?

'This is true! And yes, Holland does have a high BPM.'

Stones  or Beatles?

'Stones man, I’m a Rocker.'

Ramones or Motörhead?

'Ramones in the morning and Motörhead at night.'

Who are your favourite bands?

'Umm...that’s too big a question to completely answer in one interview. I like a lot of different kinds of music. But if you’re asking me what some of my favorite rock bands are I’d say everything from Thin Lizzy to AC/DC, from Kiss to Fugazi, from Metallica to Opeth, from Rocket From The Crypt to The Buzzcocks.'

What albums should our readers defenitely have in their collection?

'Yet another question which is difficult to answer in just a few sentences. I’d start with albums by Kiss, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, The Stones, ZZ-Top, and then get into the Misfits, The Bad Brains, The Clash, The Ramones. Move into Metallica, Slayer and then whatever hits your fancy Birthday Party, The Stooges, Gang Of Four, Monster Magnet, Wire....actually it’s just too big a question to answer properly Sorry.'

Do you have anything to add for our readers?

'Yeah. Readers, please check out our website at: www.dankojones.com and my radio show that I’ve been working on for over 4 years at: www.themagicalworldofrock.com. We have our new record called, NEVER TOO LOUD and it’s banging.'