GETTING TO KNOW DANNO, DRUMMER OF BALTIMORE BASED HARD ROCK BAND “SILVERTUNG”
LLTM: How was the band name “Silvertung” created?
Danno: That happened at an early rehearsal for the band. A porn movie was on in the background and someone said “Silver Tongue” and Speed said, 'That would be a great name for the band, but lets spell it “Silvertung”.'
LLTM: Who have your fans compared you to and do you agree? Why or why not?
Danno: Our fans were just talking about that on one of the Social Media sites and they compared us to Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin, Pop Evil, Alice In Chains and a bunch of others. It’s very flattering…we can only be “Silvertung“. We have influences just like every band does. We create music that we love playing.
LLTM: What has been the easiest thing so far in the music industry, and what’s been the most challenging?
Danno: The easiest and the most fun we have is playing live. There’s nothing better than getting on stage and sweating our hearts out for people who appreciate what we do. The most challenging- there’s so many obstacles in the music industry. The music business landscape is changing in dramatic ways and the dynamism of the environment requires us to think in new ways. Radio is important, but so is advertising, promotion and marketing. Media is proliferating and publicity is a valuable means of getting attention for us. We’re growing and still introducing ourselves to the world. I believe we have a story worth telling. Silvertung isn’t about being in fashion, it’s about us being true to ourselves. I’ve read lots of stories declaring that rock is dead. that music is dying out or losing it’s luster. The days of living the “rock star” life are few and far. It’s tough and we’ve been very fortunate to have 3 Billboard Rock Radio Chart hits, it’s not easy.
LLTM: If any one of your songs could be on a movie soundtrack, which song and what movie would it appear on?
Danno: “Face The Music” because it was inspired by something our manager said to us, “Keep pushing forward, don’t worry about what anyone says, because that doesn’t matter in the long run.” The lyrics are about taking some of the negative reactions and turning it into something positive. For what movie would it appear in… I’m going “old school” and say “Rocky.” Just like Rocky, we’re the underdogs, but we believe in our music and what we’re doing. This is our time to rise up and take our shot at the title.
LLTM: When was the moment when you realized that you wanted to be a musician for a career and not just as a hobby?
Danno: This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I was a real little kid the first time I heard my dad playing Metallica and I started banging on stuff and fell in love with the drums. I started hanging out and jamming with the older kids in the neighborhood and joined a few bands. When I met Speed, I found someone who shared my passion for music and we started writing together. There’s nothing better than hanging out with my brothers in the band, playing and creating new music together.
LLTM: What 3 words best describe Silvertung’s sound/style?
Danno: Aggressive, high performance, yet I believe we retain some melodic elements. It’s all about the songs for us.
LLTM: What is your 5 year goal for the band and what will it take to get there?
Danno: Touring, touring, touring!! We’re writing new music all the time. We want to continuously release new music every year. It’s a digital world, people aren’t buying physical CD’s like they used to. The latest trend is downloading a bands latest single or listening on Spotify. Our goal is keep writing new music, keep touring, and recording when we’re not on the road. Silvertung isn’t going away, new challenges lay ahead and we’re eager to embrace them.
LLTM: What do you hope people will get out of your music?
Danno: Enjoyment. A chance to escape whatever problems we all have in life. Getting up on that stage and performing is my escape. Playing music eclipses anything I’ve ever felt. It’s my passion and runs through my veins.
LLTM: With your new EP “Lighten Up” being released October 27th, (the first single “Dig” hits radio October 9th) what are the differences and the similarities to your last album “Out Of The Box”?
Danno: “Out Of The Box” is what Silvertung has always been about and who we are- which is a hard rock band. That’s what we do best. I love the aggressive presentation, it’s a very “in your face” release. With “Lighten Up,” people will hear Silvertung. like they have heard before. This is an all acoustic release. We’ve done some acoustic shows, but with “Lighten Up,” we reinvented each track for this release. It is the most innocent…hearts on our sleeves…exposed the nerve…kind of record. We took the honest approach on it and recorded it in the studio. We set up facing one another and performed the tracks live. We spent two days in the studio. The first day ourselves going over the arrangements and preparations. On the second day, we invited a few friends and some media people into the studio so we could perform live for them. We ran through the set list a few times and that is the basis of the release. It was very different for us and for everyone there. It felt more like a jam session. “Lighten Up” gave us a chance to stretch out and do something different. It’s already fired us up for our next release. We’ve already written 8 new songs and have booked studio time after the first of the New Year.
LLTM: Are there any shows or tours for the remainder of 2017?
Danno: YES- we have a few short runs that we are going to NC, TN, FL, SC, PA, VA, WV, OH and a few other places. We’ll finish off the rest of the year with shows. In between we will continue to write, rehearse and work out new material to prepare for our next release. We had a band meeting yesterday at our managers house and there’s so much going on with this band. Things I’m not allowed to talk about YET. It’s very exciting for us.
WE SAY THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT IF IT WASN’T FOR THE FANS, WE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
For more info on Silvertung, from touring, music, social media accounts and more visit http://www.facebook.com/Silvertungband
Peace, Love and Music
