Monday, December 16, 1996 Mr. Entertainment Struggling young bands usually fall all over themselves trying to set their music apart from the norm. So it comes as a bit of a surprise when local singer-guitarist Danko Jones refers to his self-named, sharply-dressed trio as straight-up rock. "I like to keep things very simple," says Jones, whose band is at the Rivoli tonight opening for Washington D.C.'s The Make-Up. Oddly enough, Danko Jones -- "the man, the band, the five-year plan," which also features bassist Scaltro and drummer Gran Sfigato -- have made a name for themselves locally with their on-stage confidence and wild, garage-rock and blues-tinged sound. That doesn't exactly gel with rock's continuing preoccupation with dressed-down earnestness. "A band should think about existing on two different levels -- musical and performance," Jones says. "They're two completely different things." Soon after the trio's inception last year, Jones adopted an on-stage persona to add to the performance. It was probably the only way to go: The off-stage Jones is a friendly but cautious and interview-shy kid -- "off-the-record" is a favorite phrase. "If I didn't assume a character, we might play a different style of music," he says. "There might be less confidence in the performance and more toward the music on its own." And Jones is so down on himself as a guitarist that he thinks it would be an insult to "real musicians" to call himself one. "Blues music is beautiful, but so simple," he says, "really only three or four chords. Same with rock, punk and pop. You're not doing anything jazzy or complicated. In place of that, we emphasize performance. I don't care if there's three people or 500 people in the audience, you always have to be `on.' "We can concentrate on the music when we practise." Rock, Jones adds, is largely recycled. It shouldn't be put on a pedestal. It should be respected for being a legitimate form of entertainment. Take that away, and it's dull. "Too many bands these days don't realize that they're on stage," he says. "That was cool way back when: Everyone was putting on a show and it got really cheesy, so the new schtick was to act like a regular joe. That's come and gone, and I'm tired of it. I want to see showmanship." |
