Hey Danny, How about giving us the scoop on your next album? Are the songs there? Change of direction? Will it be the perfect companion for my acid trips? When can we expect it? I'd love to hear what's in store...... Adios, Jack. Skeletal Minion of the NRA. http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1867#msg-1867Sun, 26 May 2013 14:40:23 +1000 Phorum 5.2.16 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1988#msg-1988 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1988#msg-1988
Thanks for the awesome response man! I totally agree with you on the Dream Theater thing too! I love 'em to death, but think they lose the average listener once in a while. But nobody can deny their incredible musicianship and talent as a band. We need one of those monster progressive bands for each decade, you know? Yes in the 70's, (who was before them, Gentle Giant maybe?) Rush in the 80's and Dream Theater for the 90's. I'm anxious to see who follows them man! If so, will they be paid by the note? ;-)

But I also agree with you on what you said in regards to me. It's gonna be different no matter what we do, but it will still sound like me because the band is based around my vocal abilities and guitar sound/playing. We may get a lil more progressive or groove oeriented, but we won't lose anyone. I got some killer players, why not let them show a few chops, you know? The thing that scared me the most is they are all capable lead singers! I hope they don't fire my ass!!! When we work out our harmonies it's like....."Wayne, you got this one man......nah Danny, let Fran do this, I'll do the next one, and Guy will say....fuck yas all, I'm doing this one!" Poor Andy Slostad is stuck with all the highs (mostly because he already knew them from recording with me and being in "Passion" before) and playing my guitar solo's when I do the vocal gymnastics and scats.

But I'm really excited about this project. And the band is too. We went from a few days a week rehearsal, to living here because we can't seem to get enough. It's a good lil family so far, and we seemed to get along as friends instantly....which is a bit tough when you get together with 3 strangers on my part, and all of them being strangers to one another. The lil inside jokes are already goin on, and the respect that everyone has for each other's abilities is astounding! We've decided to keep a similar "Danny Danzi" sound, but we won't say.....let's make this sound like something from SLIT." We're gonna do what we do and see where it goes. So far the pre-production phase has been a pleasure, and we'll probably do the full blown recording sometime after Z Rock US so we can concentrate fully on rippin at that show. We anticipate being done the album (with the way we're going at this rate!) in no more than 2 months from start time.

But like I said before, we'll most likely put up a full song that won't be on the album as a band before final release on my site. I'll keep you posted on things as they progress. But you can look forward to hearing a pretty interesting album if it continues to go like this. Thanks again for the comments, we'll definitely keep them in mind. Peace bro....

Danny Danzi
http://www.dannydanzi.com]]> Danny Danzi NoticeboardWed, 07 Jun 2000 18:06:02 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1970#msg-1970 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1970#msg-1970
I'm just fine, decided to come back from the dead a while and hang out with you mortals. I didn't know I was on Prodigy, either! As far as I know, I'm on Telmex.....

Good to see you spent your life savings on a studio instead of fast women, dope, and those things they sell you on the telly when it gets really late at night as you sit there sprawled all over your couch and start thinking to yourself that a handy Wipe-all mop would be totally cool to have, so I gosh-darn better call in the next 15 minutes, or they won't give me the *free* instructional video that goes with it.....then one day you wake up to find you're buried in mops, orange squeezers, steak knives and Deluxe Franklin Mint (TM) conmemorative plates of the sinking of the Lusitania, and have no fucking instruments any more.

Er, anyway, that way you can rent it out and make some money. It's definitely a Good Thing that you have a band now - the whole "band feel" is something that comes through in a recording as opposed to the one-man show, you know? Will you have any big co-writer collaborations? Cause when you write with someone you're really attuned to, you kind of bounce off each other and that's magical (not that I'd know - I ain't no musician). So I like the fact that you said that the whole band wrote it (although you gotta be careful, too - maybe someone in there kinda sucks, but you feel you want to include him, etc. Sometime you have to ignore the rest of the band the way Jovi-Sambora or Jagger-Richards do). I think the basic element is good melody and lyrics people can relate to, while keeping the over-the-top guitar wanking to a bare minimum (I personally thought the Dream Theater thing, while excellent in its own right, is kind of self-indulgent). I'm going to go listen to the song after typing this out and I'll give you my opinion.

The whole it-ain't-broke-so-don't-fix-it argument only goes so far.....yes, once you have an established identity and sound your fans want you for what you are, but you don't want to ape yourself time and again. Ah, the dilemma every band faces, right? The point is to find ways to experiment within your sound. Bon Jovi's New Jersey sounds different from Keep the Faith and even Slippery, but it's till BJ at heart. Even some of the stuff from the frequently disliked These Days like "Hearts Breaking Even" or that ballad that was the first single is still within the core sound.
Or Bryan Adams from Recless to Waking up the Neighbors - different things going on, but it's still him. I think it's important that you look for new vibes and new collaborators and such, just don't become, like I said, self-indulgent and go off on a rocket ride leaving us scratching our collective heads.

Let me hear the track and I'll give ya my input.
Cheers,
Jack.
Distastefully Rotting Circus Freak.

]]> Jack NoticeboardWed, 07 Jun 2000 03:30:42 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1870#msg-1870 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1870#msg-1870
Damn dude it's been a while! Screw my album, how the hell you dooin? LOL! I think it's been like 6 months since I talked to you last! Hey, you never told me you're on Prodigy too? Ok, enough I know what you want to hear. Let me see.....

I'm actually between rock and a hard place with this new album man. I almost want to have a vote for those interested in me so I can see where to take this. I'll give you the scoop, and maybe you can give me some food for thought, ok?

I'm done with being the "gadget" as Evil Alger calls me. Meaning, I'm not going to do the record on my own, and I will not be recording it here in DanziLand either. I just spent my whole life savings on a new studio facility, but I don't see me learning all about the new stuff in time for this record, and I'm due for a new one. So maybe the next one will be done here. After I made that decision, I opened up my little black book with every musician I knew around here, and made a few calls. I put together a killer band on February 3rd, and feel confident enough to let them play and write with me on this album.

My goal is to write 25 or more songs and choose the best ones that sound like they belong on the same album. I also don't want to shock the fan base I have already with us attempting to "redefine the face of music." So this is where my problems are. Do I do another album with the song quality of SLIT with better production of course, or do I try to show a new direction? So far, I think it's safe to put out the songs like I did on SLIT with better production and throw in a few new sounding things to get feedback. This way we'll know in an instant if the new direction will help us or hurt us. As a matter of fact, I will be releasing a song in full blown MP3 that will not be on the album, and will only be available from my site at http://www.dannydanzi.com. It will be something that the whole band wrote, and it will give something to the fans for free and help us to choose our destiny a bit.

As Karen said in her post, the new song "Eternity" which is available here in full blown MP3, is one of the directions I wish to go in. It's almost a Journey meets Tonic feel with late 90's production, but our melodic rock feel. I'm all for versatility, but I don't want to be like "Extreme." I love that band, but it seems they never decided on a direction. Bands that change drastically usually don't have any longevity in this biz, and I don't want that to happen. I used a cool scenario in an interview I just did. Van Halen is a great example of longevity. Their first 5 albums had the same vibe and recording production to these ears. Diver Down, my least favorite (though there are a few cool tunes on it) showed the band was ready for a change and 1984 delivered the goods. Real boards were used (other than the way Eddie used them for the previously released albums for sound effects) the songwriting was and sound was maturing, and the transformation went very well.

So I think you have to give the people what they want.....that is the reason you were successful, you know? They expect to hear a certain sound from me, and they deserve to hear it for a few albums, or at least until you get some incredible notoriety. But hell, if it works, you stick with it. What my fans have told me in the past has helped me make decisions for what I do today. Yeah the music is for me as well, but they are the ones I do it for too! So majority will always rule to an extent.

I don't think the new stuff we've done as a band is going to hurt us, but it IS very different. More groove oriented because I have a drummer that thinks like a drummer and a bassist that does the same. Same thing with the other guitarist and the keyboard player. I can't think like them, you know? I did what I did on SLIT alone because there wasn't anyone else to contribute on a serious and professional level. All that has changed now, and I'm really excited.

The new stuff can be considered Whitesnakish or Led Zepplinish....meaning a bit more musically stimulating than my prior work. This stuff will take you on a nice little journey and still give you a hook big enough to catch a fish with. We've even worked on a few Dream Theater like things to showcase our musical abilities as a band, but we don't want to lose the listener as they sometimes do. So that's pretty much where I stand right now Jack. Yeah the songs are there, yeah the hooks are too, and the cool guitar solo's and added extra's will be there as well as some 5 part harmony like a barbershop quartet....man can these guys sing!

I still can't seem to find "Eternity" on Andrew's site here, and if you are having the same problem, go to my site and check out a Real Audio clip of it. I think you'll like the tune....I know I sure do, but then again I may be biased! ;-) Talk to you soon Jack, keep in touch!!!!

Sincerely,

Danny Danzi
http://www.dannydanzi.com]]> Danny Danzi NoticeboardSun, 04 Jun 2000 17:02:54 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1869#msg-1869 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1869#msg-1869
Rogue
http://RogueCreations.tripod.com/
]]> Rogue NoticeboardSun, 04 Jun 2000 15:12:27 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1867#msg-1867 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,1867,1867#msg-1867
How about giving us the scoop on your next album? Are the songs there? Change of direction? Will it be the perfect companion for my acid trips? When can we expect it?

I'd love to hear what's in store......

Adios,
Jack.
Skeletal Minion of the NRA.
]]> Jack. NoticeboardSun, 04 Jun 2000 09:32:36 +1000