Page 7 - Black Velvet Rock Music Magazine Issue 92

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t’s given me a whole new lease of life,” he Long Road Home’ was produced by wrote, the first day I went to Nashville. It was
“Isays Danny about his new album ‘The ‘TJim Kaufman, who has worked with originally about my ex-girlfriend. We’d driven to
Long Road Home’. “At the time, I didn’t know if everyone from Skindred and Helmet to Funeral Nashville to write some songs and when I was
I could or wanted to do this anymore – that being For A Friend and Emery. It saw Danny write with putting together the tracklisting I just didn’t want
music and being an artist in that respect. I didn’t Grammy-award winning songwriters John Paul to put it on the record. It didn’t fit. It wasn’t emo-
know who I was or what I was doing anymore. I White and Hillary Lindsey. The album includes tionally relevant. When Record Store Day came
spent my days sat in a hotel room, drinking and musicians including C.C. White, a talented soul about it was an opportunity to put out songs that
trying to escape reality. In writing this record, I singer who has sang and recorded with artists weren’t on the album, but were still such beau-
faced the things I faced; in the process of over- such as Lenny Kravitz, Chrissie Hynde, Barry tiful songs that people should hear them. So we
coming those things it gave me reason to con- White and more. Danny says she’s “an incredi- have that and ‘I Don’t Want To Die’ on there,
tinue and it gave me a drive and a passion ble singer in Los Angeles. She came in and we which is a very cinematic, epic piece. It’s not
again. I spend all day every day writing songs spent the day… I think she’s on about seven or necessarily a song, it’s a musical story.”
now. Even when I started I wasn’t writing as eight songs and we just sat, wrote and sang all Going back to one song that IS on the
much as I do now. It’s constant.” day. Her voice… Jim and I were reminiscing album, Danny tells us that ‘Anyone But Me’ was
Danny’s past included a lot of partying. about the day she was in the studio, it was just about his romantic relationships. “That was dur-
Being in a band like Asking Alexandria brought hairs on end the entire time, she’s got a magical ing the time that I was going through a break-up
Danny all the rock ‘n’ roll excesses. He had it all. voice, a great aura and amazing ideas and she when I was moving from Los Angeles to
The band gained a reputation for their wild and kind of breathed Nashville and I
crazy antics, and the partying continued with We new life into a lot of “I can’t talk about stuff… writing was in a head-
Are Harlot. But this album has taken Danny on these songs.” space of every
a brand new journey, a very cleansing one, one With different is the only way I can open up in that relationship I’ve
that has really brought out the best in him and musical styles respect, so writing these songs was had has kind of
helped him shed the bad. being explored on purely to face and deal with the ended the exact
“I’m no longer pounding cocaine and any this album, Danny same way, the
type of drug,” he tells us. “I barely drink any- says, “I think this is demons I had had, and kind of by exact same
more. I eat good, exercise. It was almost… the an opportunity for a the end of it, the weight had gone process, and at
first week it was a turnaround. Even just quitting lot of the younger almost the
smoking and drugs. That alone just infinitely fans to open their from my shoulders and I was able to exact same
turned everything over. It’s weird. You’re not ears to something give myself a clean start to begin time by me,
grey anymore.” they wouldn’t ordi- afresh and not carry the burdens every single
In ‘Quite A While’, Danny sings about ‘run- narily hear or time. It was
ning low on faith’. Black Velvet asks what he lost maybe discover by that I was.” - Danny Worsnop more an intro-
faith in. “Everything,” he replies. “Everything I’ve themselves.” Of spective look at
been through. All the unfortunate events that himself, he says, ‘maybe I don’t
have occurred in my life and the downward spi- “I’m a weird musical schizophrenic,” and that have the capacity for that, maybe there’s not
ral I was on. It’s enough for anyone to lose their he’s always been open to different styles of even room in my life for a relationship with a per-
mind completely. I think I lost faith in myself and music. “I’ve always tried to explore that as much son’.”
just in absolutely everything. And I didn’t know as possible. This isn’t the last musical direction
what I was doing or who I was. I was a stranger of Danny Worsnop, it’s definitely the main one, ell, Danny definitely has the capacity
to myself. It was a really dark time. To be com- but I’ll always explore everything. I think it’s my Wto write great songs and commit to
pletely honest, I am surprised I made it out.” calling to do that.” successful ventures. These days, Danny is
He says that making ‘The Long Road Home’ working harder than ever. His mind is alive with
was his turning point. “I didn’t write this to be re- anny headed to the UK in February and ideas and they are all coming to fruition. “Now, I
leased. I wrote this as self-therapy and it was Dperformed songs from the album live on have three musical projects, I have TV and
never supposed to be heard,” he says. “It was YouTube as well as at a couple of record stores, movies, I’m writing, I write songs for other peo-
supposed to be a collection of songs for me to with a headline show at London Lexington on ple. I have six or seven businesses going.”
face. I can’t talk about stuff… writing is the only February 14th. The trip saw Danny joined by his With the death of the old Danny Worsnop,
way I can open up in that respect, so writing best friend Aaron Birdsall on drums and Kasper and a new Danny Worsnop almost having been
these songs was purely to face and deal with the Jensen on guitar, as well as a couple of session born, we end by referencing the quote on Asking
demons I had had, and kind of by the end of it, musicians. “It was supposed to just be us but Alexandria’s ‘The Death Of Me’ video. Ralph
the weight had gone from my shoulders and I Jim called me and he said, “I’m not going to let Waldo Emerson said ‘The only person you are
was able to give myself a clean start to begin you go out there and celebrate this album and destined to become is the person you decide to
afresh and not carry the burdens that I was.” do all this stuff without me, so he flew himself be’. So what sort of person does Danny want to
One burden that he’d carried for a long time over to come and play on them and celebrate be, or become, from now on? Danny says he
was the death of his daughter – something he and join in during this time.” never tries to think about that. “I have the ambi-
faced when writing the song ‘I’ll Hold On’. “That tion to succeed in everything I do. I want to build
was about the death of my daughter, which is riginally, ‘The Long Road Home’ was my empire and have my brand be this timeless
something I’ve bottled up for a long time and Oannounced as being called ‘The Prozac piece of the world, but at the same time I want
haven’t really spoken about or come to terms Sessions’, but over time a change of name and to fulfill my art. I just want to keep doing what I
with or faced, so writing that song was definitely tracklisting surfaced. Songs ‘I Feel Like Shit’, do.
an emotional process. It took a lot out of me, but ‘Don’t Overdrink It’ (both amusing ditties), ‘Any- “The time I filled trying to escape reality and
it helped me overcome a lot of things at the one But Me’, ‘High’, ‘I’ll Hold On’ and ’Same Old be in that kind of dark place, I’ve now kind of
same time.” The heartbreaking song sees Ending’ weren’t originally listed as being on the shifted my mind and my focus onto positive
Danny sing ‘I’ll hold on to your memory’ and ‘For album but were later added, while others re- things, advancing my career and my life so that
you I stay strong, for you I stand tall’. We’re glad moved. I can hopefully, at some point in my life, just be
he’s standing strong and has turned into a new “I think we wrote about 30 songs,” explains completely free and go on tour when I want to
and better man. The album as a whole, he says, Danny. “When it came to figuring out the track- and release albums when I want to and just go
is “an imprint of my soul. It was such a personal listing, we spent about two or three months just and live on an island or something. I enjoy work-
record. It’s me. It’s my heart and soul with a going through every possible ordering until we ing. I love working. I think it’s given me a whole
soundtrack.” found the right one. It did mean that some of the new perspective and it’s given me the opportu-
Danny moved to Nashville, but says that he songs didn’t make the record, but hopefully I can nity in finding my somewhat sobriety to sit down
doesn’t fit in anywhere. “I’m a weird alien! I love release those somehow at a later time or some- and focus on my life and on the things I’m doing.
Nashville, it’s incredible. It’s a very artistic place, one else will have them. All the songs deserve It’s weird how much more you get done when
which works in favour of me, but I don’t fit in any- to be heard. Whether we release them or some- you’re not flat out drunk all day.”
where particularly. I mould my surroundings to one else, at some point they’re all going to get Visit www.thesnop.com for more info. Get
whatever I need at the time. I never really fit in out there.” ‘The Long Road Home’, out now on Earache
anywhere. I’m a very unusual human being, so One song that is definitely getting out there Records.
places usually adapt around me.” on its own is ‘Sanctuary’. This song has been
chosen as a vinyl release for Record Store Day. Words By Shari Black Velvet
Danny says, “That was one of the first songs I
DANNY WORSNOP