Danko Jones won’t lie about ambition

I want it all: Danko Jones

Danko Jones makes no bones about the fact he wants to be one of the leading lights of rock’n'roll – and he says any musician who claims they don’t want that kind of acclaim aren’t being honest.

He believes part of the allure of the genre is acting young no matter what age you happen to be, and to that end he refuses to reveal his precise age.

Jones tells the Toronto Sun: “I don’t want to grow up. When bands grow up they get bad.

“The thing I love about my favourite bands is that they never evolve: AC/DC, Motorhead, the Ramones and Slayer stick to their story. When they ask Angus Young about AC/DC’s new album he says, ‘We don’t have a new album – we just have another album.’ That’s how I’d like to see our band.”

Having said that, Jones accepts his approach has modified over the years, particularly in terms of singing more than screaming. “I don’t deny that,” he says. “It’s been a natural progression and part of it is more confidence.

“I didn’t think we could pull this hard rock shit off if I wasn’t screaming. Now I like singing. Even so, I don’t view it as me growing up – I just view it as me getting more confident with my voice, but not watering it down.

“I’m still all about balls with the songs. That’s my main concern: ‘Does this song kick my ass?’ If it does, we proceed.”

Jones says he’s “somewhere between 25 and 50″ and explains: “It’s not like I’m embarrassed about my age – I just like to keep things private. You can look at me and try to guess my age, but people can’t. When the find out I’m as old as I am they can’t believe it. So I’m going to work that.

“I want to be the face of a genre that’s bigger than Lady Gaga of Jay-Z. But everybody who puts music out in the public forum wants that. If they say they don’t, if they say they’re happy with their little corner, they’re lying.”

Danko Jones’ latest album, Rock And Roll is Black and Blue, was released last month. Classic Rock premiered the video for the band’s track Just a Beautiful Day. View it below.