Danko Jones on Wacken Open Air Festival Evolution and the Art of the Trio

0:04 Hi, you love done too? Yes, that's true. For wow, for you your. This is the pipe Man here on the adventureds Pipe Man W four C Y Radio, and I'm here. With JC from Danko Jobs. Nice here at. Vadkin, Red Vadkin, Yes, Red Vadkin. So I don't know. This is my first time at Vakan. I do festivals all over the world. This is my first time to Holy Ground. How many times have you ever been at Vakin? First time I played in Vacon was two thousand and six, and I've been back here for the five times since.

0:50 Nice. Yeah, how does it change for you every year when every time you come here? Because it's blowing the. Mess happened lately? Is that the last two years they've been serving Budweiser, which is not a really good idea. Oh my god, let's just set this straight, because I can tell you're from the United States. I am. Yeah, So Budweiser is not the king of beers in Germany. It's just a take of beers in America. But I just have to point out that being in Germany, they have a high standard for beer. Like from the band is from Canada. I'm not sure if you know high standard for beer, right Budweiser. I don't.

1:30 I don't know, do you am? I am? I erroneous to no, no, no, suggest that perhaps Budweiser should not be the sponsor for voking open air. We should be a hon spear or a beck spear. You know, we were just talking about this last night. I was hanging out with some German people and they all got Budweiser, and I remember why. I saw the booth out there, and I'm like, real, worst fucking beer. I just have to say, that's that's really uh, it should not happen. Should not be happening. We should put tariffs on me at Budweiser beer. I think I love that you just said that.

2:11 You see what I did there? I love it. I fucking love it. I did that because I'm from Canada. Listen, I live in I live in South Florida, and I'm bummed out because all my French Canadian friends left because we're fucking stupid in my country. Right now, we can't make a generalization. I'm just taking the piss out of Budweiser. Yeah, change about the festival and I'm taking a piss out about that. But the Canadians like you guys are the nicest people. Yeah, And I gotta tell you a story, Like sometimes on my radio show, I do like bits and stuff, funny bits. And when twenty sixteen, when we had this new president, if you could call it that, and I did a joke on my radio show and even my co hosts fell for it and thought I was being real. I'm like, you know what, You're not gonna believe what Trump did now he declared war on Canada, the nicest country in the whole world, because he decided he's pissed off that they're letting Americans escape America to Canada because and people bought into this because I could see him doing that, like why are we doing this to Canada of all countries in the world. But I'm on the page with you, like I'm an American. Budweiser's the worst shit ever. That's

3:44 for the rednecks to drink, Okay, And you're in Germany, like. Somebody, you have a bit of a different you know. I just think about it from an environmental standpoint. It should be beer that's made locally. I think so, so that's it. But it's Germany. I'm sure people who drink it bud Wiser or bud Light, the other beer left choice. It could be good, But you asked me what's changed in the festival here, So I was just saying that perhaps not having an American beer would be It is a change that's not the best. But overall the festival is a top notch international festival. The billing is incredible. It sets the standard for organization wise, and as a band coming to perform here, everything's top notch organized wise, so it's really really good. I just taking a piss out of the bill. I love it, the Budweiser thing.

4:38 I'm originally from New York, so I love doing that ship, you know, But I want I have a question for you then about it. So when you go to your trail trailer or you go on stage and they supply you stuff, they're not supplying you with Budweiser or. No, no, no, I'm drinking Guinness. Now, okay, good, they're giving you the real ship. Yeah no, no, we have it on our ride or no American beer. Apologies to all the people, but it's just it makes more sense. You know. What's funny about what you just said that I apologize. I apologize to the Americans for not not not purchasing your stuff, but I'm doing it in a plaid way. Yeah, you are then absolute reason why we didn't do it.

5:20 You know, I love that you put it on your thing. Did you hear about Captain kirk is doing a metal band at Riot Fest in Chicago in September. It's the debut of his metal band at ninety five, and he does have a list of demands. He's ninety five. Does he need to be doing this or maybe somebody's got I don't. Know what's going on with him. I would right, that would be funny, right, But he's actually getting like an all star like band. Of course anybody would want to play with him, right. I listen, I normally cover that festival, and I'm like, holy shit, it does.

6:03 William Shanner lived. Now does he live? He lives in that area, is in that Chicago area. So he made this whole list of demands. It's the funniest shit ever. One of his demands in the dressing room is to make sure he has a bowl of sour krout. Oh well, you know, he's Captain Kirkman, I know, right, whatever. He wants exactly and he doesn't want golf cart to go to the stage. He wants a Dolorean, that's one of his demands. And then he wants them to rename a ship after him so that he can captain a ship again. To bully Gold, where no one has gone before. That's a nice one. I don't think anybody else at ninety five started a metal band, too.

6:44 Good on him, Good on him, man. So, since I've been really bad today because I've been doing interviews, I missed your press conference, and I want to know what happened there, not the whole thing. Give me the nutshell version. Of I'm not I'm not sure we had a signing session. I think we had, as there's no press conference, we're just doing interviews. We had a show on we were played on the main stage. But I know, yeah, so that's really the press conference for them. Didn't you have like the thing in the press event there? Yeah? Yeah, we did a Danko did a Q and A and yeah that's why I meant for Magneta TV. So yeah, he just he did something there. I wasn't there for that, but.

7:26 Oh okay, he was doing that, So that's what I was referring to because they tell us it's a press conference. Yeah, so I think that's because it was actually a sanctioned event for for Vakans. So he was doing that and that's it. He was just answering some questions and just general chatting. I don't think he was chatting about Budweiser William Schattner like we are. I don't think so either. Yeah, he was covering some ground. So you personally, what part of Canada are you personally from. I'm actually I'm originally from the south of Italy. I grew up in the south of Itda and I lived in Toronto for many years, but now I left. I live in Finland. I live in northern Nice. I live on the sixty third latitude, so you figure Anchorage Bay, Alaska is the same latitude as Helsinki. I lived four hours north of.

8:17 There Nice, so live. How do you like it there? I love it. It's great, yea. I love being in Finland's a great country, and you know, I still go back to Canada. I love being in Canada and we're long overdue to coming to the United States. I'm not sure whereabouts you're You're in. Florida, but we used near West Palm. Okay, West Palm. So we used to come back down to Tampa and I used to do some shows for the Tampa Bay Lightning back in the day. So we did those tailgate parties and Whatnoteah yeah, yeah that was That was a lot of fun. And yeah, it's always great to go. Yeah, we'd love to come back. We need you at the Danny Wimmer festivals. Hey, we'll come. We'll come and play. I know, right.

8:57 The one I did last week is Incarse Race and it's at the Shawshank Prison. How cool would it be to play at the Shawshank Prison. It's kind of like you're Johnny Cash playing to inmates. Yeah, I mean a song is it's not in operation anymore. That one is not. But there's one next store. So the bands that are playing there are inmates out in the yard next door. But it is haunted. It's haunted, but it's really cool. It's like European architecture. Okay, what led you to Finland? I have a family in Finland, so yeah, so I have European passports so I can live in Europe. And so I just left Canada. I left Toronto a few years ago.

9:40 Because I do love it over here in Europe, Yeah, I think it's pretty cool. It's great and focusing on what you said before, yet, the Germans are very organized and I always like to talk about how festivals treat the artists because it could be either really great or it could be a real headache and you don't want to stress before you go in before definitely, you know, So what is it like here at Vodkan for loading for soundcheck? Vakan sets the standard really for festivals. You know, there's pretty much a bunch of festivals within Europe that set the standard for how music festivals should run. Vadkin Open Air, Montreal Jazz Festival, they're the ones that really kind of and and a lot of the major festivals in Belgium, they really know how to work with the musicians, artists and production and touring and they really set the standard.

10:36 And I think, you know, in Belgium and in the Netherlands, like all together and Benelux, I would say they a lot of the government funding goes to the arts and to a lot of these venues, so they have top notch venues and facilities. Germany is very world renowned for a lot of you know, like these major music festivals, so they've won this one in particular. Vadkin has been in operation for many, many years, so they really fine tune how to work it. It's a bit of a pitfall with this Budweiser, but that's the only thing that I've noticed, But that's, you know, things can get better.

11:17 Things just there's a little hiccups. But other than that, it's it's there's absolutely zero to complain about with regards to the technical aspect of the crew that's there, the logistical aspect, the hospitality, us being able to do a press in this room. Yeah, right, so organized and it's so well done. So it's it's William Shatner should be proud. We can let him know that he can beam up to Vadkan whenever he wants. Yeah, next year he'll be at Vakin. Right. Who would you like to see play at Vakin? I've been lucky enough to see a lot of bands play here at Vodkins.

11:58 Who haven't you seen that you like to see here? Maybe Maiden? I think they. I don't know if the Maiden would have been good, I don't know. If Kiss was here, they would have been great to see. And what was it that moment in time way back when that you decide this is what you were going to do with your life. I don't know. I just always since it was like a teenager, I just love music, and that's all I've been doing. It's not my hobby, it's not my pastime, it's my life. I've sort of treated accordingly, and I treated with reverence and respect, and I've been able to tour for many years and been lucky enough to kind of, you know, able to do that. So if I lose that love of music and that love of me wanting to get into wanting to listen to music, I think then just time to do something else. But so far I've had that that spark and that fire within.

13:03 I think that's smart, by the way, because I don't get if you're in this industry and you're not having fun, why you would be in it like. Some people are, you know. So there's it's I'm not going to talk down about people, but some people probably get like shot up to fame very quick and then they don't realize that there's a lot of work to be done, and there's a lot of friction and not band members not getting along, and for us there's three people on stage and the setup is very minimal. If people were to see us and there was friction between the three guys, it would be immediately noticeable. And part of the allure of watching our show is that you're watching three guys who love what they do, gel together and have a harmony. And I think that's I think it's crucial. Yeah, it's crucial. That's just you know, that's fifty per end of the game right there. Then, you know, being good at your craft and delivering the songs, that's the other arrest.

14:04 So yeah, because me as a listener, you know, I can tell if you're dialing it in or if you're having yeah, yeah and you're or if you're having the blast. And if you're having a blast, I'm going to have a blast, definitely. And there's so much part of this industry that is not fun. If you're not having fun doing the best part, why do it? I don't do it? You know, you can't call it in. It's it's a disservice to the audience. So that's what's your favorite story. In all the years of your musical journey that sticks in your mind. Most Talking to you right now, Man, this is. A good answer.

14:45 I love it, okay, quote you that forever my favorite story man. Being able to do what I do, like honestly, and this is not to like, you know, take the piss, but this is a great part of doing what I I get to do is you know, people wanting to talk to the band and know about the band and having new people listen to it. So, you know, but we've been lucky enough to play you know, we opened for the Rolling Stones in Toronto and a club for five hundred people where I was able to. We each allowed one guest, so I took my dad out to that gig. That's cool. Yeah, you know, we've we just recently played in montro at the Jazz Festival. We opened for Deep Purple, had my good friend out there as well, So that's you know, we've we were on tour with Motorhead, we played with Saxon, you know, playing with Judas Priest and just being able to all these years finally played with bands that we looked up to, admired and now call our peers.

15:46 So it's pretty wild, right, It's great. It's something that doesn't not go unappreciated. So and I love a lot of things you're saying, because some of the things that you're saying that you really appreciate are things that a lot of artists either take for granted or don't appreciate. So at shows that you're a true artist. Rights one. Thanks man, I'm just being myself. There's nothing more to it. That's all you should be, right, Dude. Loves to play music and it's in a rock band. And I also like, I've noticed that there's so many trios in Canada specifically that are like the greatest musicians ever.

16:27 Like you take some of the bands you take, Rush, Rush, Triumph. Triumph, Trump has been doing a bunch of shows lately now. I just saw them with April Wine. I did. I did press coverage for it, and I saw a Triumph at the nineteen eighty three US Festival on Heavy Metal Day. It was amazing. But it's like I look at them, and you know, you have bands like Slipknot that have nine members, and I see bands like yours with three people creating more music, more power, more depth than nine people, you know, and it's just a testament of I think it's your dedication to music completely.

17:13 I mean, it's just yeah, We're lucky to do able to do what we do what we do, and we do come from a Canadian lineage of trios. Yeah, exactly, So it's we've been fortunate enough to. Is there any band you have not toured with yet that you would want to. A band that we haven't played with that I would love to play with would be a CDC. That's the only nice although we've did spend an evening with Back in the day was Phil Malcolm and Angnes. And then once we played in the Netherlands and I met these kids at the end of the show and they were there with their dad and they saw the show and I was just chatting with them at the end of the show. Then the kids were.

17:57 Like, Dad, can we tell them? Can we tell them? And I'm like, all right, what's going on. It's like, well, Angus is our uncle and he listens to your album and I play guitar, and his little brother's there and he plays bass, and Uncle Angus showed us how to play your songs. I got wait a minute, what wow. We called dank Over and I go, can you tell the same story to Danko? So he did and and then around that time was one of our first album, Born in Line, and then there's even an interview where Angus had mentioned that he had listened to our band. So that's enough for me to kind of go, Okay, that's cool heart our band, and that's that's great. That's wild. Yeah, that's pretty cool. You know.

18:37 Those are those moments that, yeah, even no matter who you are, you're like pinching yourself. That really happened. It's pretty cool. And then you know, we played a gig with the C C Top. And that's another one, and. Another when we at Billy in Toronto. We have to go see the show in Toronto and we're like, hey, how's it going. I said, I was like, oh, the Danko guys. And he's like, oh, you're my colleagues, so you call this colleagues, which is pretty wild. So that's that is pretty cool, all right. I guess we got to wrap it up here. I was going to wrap it anyway before he knocked the door because I'm watching the talk. Yeah, but absolute pleasure, nice one. Totally bummed, Florida. But I'm totally bummed I missed your set. That's like my work life, you know, it's like I come to these festivals because I love music and man, it's like shit, I miss that set.

19:24 You miss it, and the listeners so they can check the live stream that's on the Wacken website and they can check it on our website. Here, I am doing the plugs shameless please. I like it. Yeah, So that's it. Thank you for taking the time. Thank you for being on the Adventures a pipe Man, nice one mate. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipemin. I'm w for CUI Radio.