Danko Jones is a Canadian

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

trio from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. The band consists of Danko Jones (vocals/guitar), John 'JC' Calabrese (bass), and Rich Knox (drums)."Danko Jones"
''AllMusic'', Biography by Jason Birchmeier The band's music includes elements of hard rock and punk"Album Review: Danko Jones – 'Wild Cat'"
''New Noise'', March 9, 2017 and they are known for their energetic live shows.

History

Formation and early years

Formed in 1996 by namesake Danko Jones, Scaltro (John Calabrese) and Gran Sfigato (Michael Caricari). Danko Jones played consistently for two years after formation in and around the northeastern United States and Canada, opening for

The New Bomb Turks The New Bomb Turks are an American punk rock band formed at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, United States, in 1990. The founding members are Jim Weber, Eric Davidson, Bill Randt, and Matt Reber. Sam Brown replaced Bill Randt on drums ...

Nashville Pussy Nashville Pussy is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Initially called Hell's Half-Acre, the band's name comes from Ted Nugent's introduction to "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" on the ''Double Live Gonzo'' album. Following the initial 1 ...

, Blonde Redhead, The Make-Up, The Dirtbombs,

The Chrome Cranks The Chrome Cranks are an American punk-styled blues band based in New York City. They were originally formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1988. The core membership consists of singer-guitarist Peter Aaron, guitarist William Gilmore Weber III, drummer B ...

and The Demolition Doll Rods. Originally they did not intend to release an album, preferring to have the band's live reputation spread by word of mouth. Eventually, the trio relented and put out a self-titled six-song EP on Sonic Unyon records in 1998. In 1999 the band performed around Toronto, including at Lee's Palace and the Horseshoe Tavern. That year they released the self-produced '' My Love Is Bold'' E.P. and release the single "Bounce". They were nominated for a Juno Award in 2000 for Best Alternative Album. In early 2000 Danko Jones opened for

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

at Maple Leaf Gardens. In 2001

Bad Taste Records Bad Taste Records is a record label based in Lund, Sweden. The record label was one of the first labels to establish in the Swedish punk rock and punk/hardcore scene in the early 1990s, together with Burning Heart Records. The name of the labe ...

released a compilation of the band's early recordings, demos, and b-sides entitled, '' I'm Alive and On Fire''. A five-week European tour followed to promote the release including shows at the

Roskilde festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

in Denmark and

Hultsfred festival The Hultsfred Festival ( sv, Hultsfredsfestivalen) was an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It took place at the lake Hulingen during three days in the June or July, from Thursday to Saturday. Since the first festival in 1986, it ...

in Sweden. By the end of the year they had returned twice more, once as main support for the Backyard Babies. In 2002 they released their first full-length album, ''

Born a Lion Born may refer to: * Childbirth * Born (surname), a surname (see also for a list of people with the name) * ''Born'' (comics), a comic book limited series Places * Born, Belgium, a village in the German-speaking Community of Belgium * Born, Luxe ...

'', produced by Bill Bell, on Bad Taste Records in Europe and on Universal in Canada. The band did several European tours and two Canadian tours to promote the record including a repeat performance at Roskilde and a return to Hultsfred as well as stops to

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...

in Belgium and The Lowlands festival in the Netherlands. They also performed the opening slot with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

on their "40 Licks" World tour kick-off show at the

Palais Royale Palais Royale is a dance hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Shore Boulevard at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue on Lake Ontario. Originally built as a boat works, it became notable as a night club in the now-defunct Sunnyside Amusem ...

in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on August 16, 2002. 2003 saw the release of '' We Sweat Blood'', produced by Matt DeMatteo, and the group taking a heavier approach to their hard-rock sound. More touring followed that included Europe and Japan. They were also nominated for two

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

s: Best Rock Album (''

'') and Best video ("Lovercall"). While success was happening abroad, home relations with Universal Canada had soured and the band was dropped mid-album run. Explanations from the label were vague, but the separation happened after Jones' February 2004 appearance on CBC Sunday where Jones appeared as a pro-downloader opposite then CRIA president, Brian Robertson. In spite of being dropped from Universal Canada, the group continued to tour heavily for the rest of the year well into 2004 with

Turbonegro Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style. History Early years (1 ...

, Sepultura and

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. While touring they received another Juno nomination for Best Rock Album ('' We Sweat Blood'') and tour Australia as well as more European dates including

Rock Am Ring The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...

and Rock Im Park in Germany and Download, Leeds and Reading in England.

Mid 2000s

Early 2005 recording sessions for the follow-up to '' We Sweat Blood'' were interspersed with a series of tours amidst recording that brought the band to the Netherlands, Germany and South Africa-promoted by their record label and events company ASP Records, who released a collectors double set featuring Born A Lion and We Sweat Blood. In April, American label,

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

released '' We Sweat Blood'' and the band set out to America in support as well. Working two releases simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic proved time-consuming, and the worldwide release for the upcoming album, ''

Sleep Is The Enemy Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a d ...

'', produced by Matt DeMatteo, was pushed back to 2006. In 2005, Danko Jones signed to Aquarius Records. During the summer and fall of 2005, the band toured America heavily with two of '' We Sweat Blood''s singles being played regularly on rock radio in America ("Lovercall" and "Forget My Name"). Stateside tours with Flogging Molly, Our Lady Peace,

The Supersuckers The Supersuckers are an American rock band, formed in 1988, whose music ranges from alternative rock to country rock to cowpunk. AllMusic describes the band as "the bastard sons of Foghat, AC/DC, and ZZ Top after being weaned on punk rock, unafra ...

, and The (International) Noise Conspiracy followed. Prior to the release of ''

'' drummer Damon Richardson left the band, citing fatigue. He was replaced by Dan Cornelius. In January and February 2006, the band set out to do their first Canadian tour in almost four years, opening for Nickelback."Danko Jones - Wild Cat album review"
''Louder'', By Hannah May Kilroy March 3, 2017 With the release of ''

Sleep Is the Enemy Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a d ...

'' came more touring including America and a headlining European club tour with support from Brant Bjork & The Bros. Their fourth album, Never Too Loud was released on February 27, 2008 and produced by

Nick Raskulinecz Nick Raskulinecz () (born February 4, 1970) is an American record producer. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Production career Raskulinecz is from the Bearden area of Knoxville, Tennessee. He first produced and recorded bands in Knoxville ...

. The album yielded three singles, the international hit, "Code Of The Road", followed by "Take Me Home" and "King Of Magazines". A city tour of Europe in April 2008 was followed by a Canadian tour in May and a three-month stint in Europe playing about 30 dates on the festival circuit that included Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park and With Full Force in Germany; Bospop and Lowlands in The Netherlands; Sziget Festival in Hungary; Rabarock in Estonia; Provinssi Rock in Finland; and Eurockeennes and Hellfest in France, where Jones sang on stage with

Death Angel Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released nine studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and three live albums. The band has gone ...

for the song, "Bored". They opened for

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

in England, Germany, France and Benelux in late 2008. On February 3, 2009 B-Sides was released in Europe only—a collection of previously released B-sides from European singles and unreleased tracks that spanned 1996 to 2008. On February 24 they set out on a seven-week tour in support of the release that spanned The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France and the UK with support coming from

The Backyard Babies Backyard Babies are a Swedish rock band originally from Nässjö and currently based in Stockholm. The band was formed in 1989 and over the years they have released seven studio albums and won two Swedish Grammy Awards. They are largely attr ...

, Winnebego Deal and

The Black Spiders ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. The CD yielded the singles "Sugar High" and "My Problems (Are Your Problems Now)". A greatest hits compilation titled ''This Is Danko Jones'' was released on April 7 the same year in Canada only. In the summer the band made a few festival appearances, including the Sziget Festival in Hungary on the main stage with

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

and The Offspring, as well as Huntenpop in The Netherlands, Winterthur and Gampel Open Air in Switzerland, Parken Festival in Norway and Jurassic Rock in Finland. In January and February 2010 the band toured across Canada with

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

and

Sebastian Bach Sebastian Philip Bierk (born April 3, 1968), known professionally as Sebastian Bach, is a Canadian-American singer who achieved mainstream success as the frontman of the hard rock band Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. He has acted on Broadway and ha ...

. In March the same year they toured the United States with Clutch.

2010s

Their fifth album ''

Below the Belt Mainly used in combat sports such as boxing and kickboxing, below the belt refers to all the area of the body that lies below the line of the opponent's navel,

'' was released on May 11, 2010 and produced by Matt DeMatteo. The album's first single, "Full of Regret", features Elijah Wood,

Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

and

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

in the accompanying video, the first in 'The Ballad of Danko Jones' video trilogy. It debuted at No. 36 on ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tracks in November. It is also featured on EA's ''

NHL 11 The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

'' soundtrack. The second single, "Had Enough", has

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three ''Karate Kid'' films and in ''Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsiders' ...

appearing in the accompanying video while "I Think Bad Thoughts" features Wood, Macchio, Jena Malone and Watt in the final instalment of the music video trilogy. In June 2011 drummer Dan Cornelius left the band and was replaced by

Atom Willard Adam David "Atom" Willard (born August 15, 1973) is an American drummer who has been a member of several notable musical acts. Willard's drumming career began in 1990 when he joined Rocket from the Crypt, with whom he remained until 2000. Subseq ...

. A 90-minute documentary about the band, ''Bring on the Mountain'', was released in June 2012. The two-disc DVD also included a short film based on the band's latest three videos, all their music videos and several live clips. An oral history book about the band, ''Too Much Trouble: A Very Oral History of Danko Jones'', was to be released by ECW Press in October 2012. ''Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue'' was released on September 21, 2012 in Europe and October 9 in North America. They went on a 2013 Spring tour with

Volbeat Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal, and rockabilly. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen, guitarist Rob Caggiano, drummer Jon Lars ...

and Spoken. ''Fire Music'', the band's first album to include drummer Rich Knox, was released on February 10, 2015 in Canada. In July 2015, the band announced a nine-date tour of the UK and Ireland scheduled for September, with support from

the Amorettes The Amorettes were a hard rock band formed in Scotland in 2009. They performed in support of Black Star Riders, Europe, W.A.S.P., Ash, The Dead Daisies, Black Stone Cherry, Gun and Thunder among others, and toured across the UK, and performed ...

. More touring followed, including a tour of summer festivals. Danko Jones' eighth album, ''Wild Cat'', was released on March 3, 2017. The band also went on a 17-date European tour to accompany the release of the album. 2017 saw four more tours: a spring Canadian tour, the usual summer festival tour, an autumn Canadian tour and a winter Nordic tour. Danko Jones supported

Skindred Skindred are a Welsh reggae metal band formed in Newport in 1998. Their musical style mixes heavy metal, alternative rock and ragga. The band also integrate elements of punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, dancehall, jungle, ska, hip hop, drum ...

on their April UK tour, alongside

CKY CKY may refer to: * CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself" ** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band **CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects *CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manito ...

. The band performed in Luxembourg in May that year. "We're Crazy", was released on September 21, 2018, although it's been played live since April. ''A Rock Supreme'', their ninth studio album, was released on April 26, 2019. A European summer festival tour with Volbeat and Baroness followed. In March 2021 the band released "I Want Out", the first single and video from their tenth album, ''Power Trio'', scheduled for an August 2021 release.

Members

This list is composed of band members who have played live with the band for a substantial period, and does not include guest performances and one-off substitutes. Current * Danko Jones – lead vocals, guitar (1996–present) * John Calabrese (formerly ''Scaltro'') – bass (1996–present) * Rich Knox – drums (2013–present) Former * Michael Caricari (formerly ''Gran Sfigato'') – drums (1996–1999) * Gavin Brown – drums (1999) * Niko Quintal – drums (1999) * Damon Richardson – drums (2000–2005) * Dan Cornelius – drums (2006–2011) * Atom Willard – drums (2011–2013) Timeline

Discography

*''I'm Alive and on Fire'' (2001) *''Born a Lion'' (2002) *'' We Sweat Blood'' (2003) *''Sleep Is the Enemy'' (2006) *''Never Too Loud'' (2008) *''B-Sides'' (2009) *''

Below the Belt Mainly used in combat sports such as boxing and kickboxing, below the belt refers to all the area of the body that lies below the line of the opponent's navel,

'' (2010) *''

Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue '' Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian hard rock band Danko Jones. It was released on October 9, 2012. The song "Just a Beautiful Day" reached No. 10 on the Canadian rock/alternative chart Canadian rock musi ...

'' (2012) *''Fire Music'' (2015) *''

Wild Cat Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the do ...

'' (2017) *''A Rock Supreme'' (2019) *''Power Trio'' (2021)

Honours

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

*2004 Nominated, Best Rock Album ('' We Sweat Blood'') *2003 Nominated, Best Video ("Lovercall") *2003 Nominated, Best Rock Album (''

'') *2000 Nominated, Best Alternative Album ('' My Love Is Bold'')

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danko Jones Musical groups established in 1996 Canadian indie rock groups Canadian hard rock musical groups Musical groups from Toronto Canadian musical trios 1996 establishments in Ontario Sonic Unyon artists