by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
WHO: Danger:Radio with Boys of Summer, Metro Station, Ashway, and We the Kings
WHERE: Jack Rabbits
WHEN: Wednesday, August 8th at 7 pm
An infusion of pop and a smattering of nearly every 80s fad in music wraps its way around the musical stylings of Danger:Radio. These guys are proudly pop, and they aren’t afraid to show it, though, as vocalist Andrew De Torres says “We’ve all got a special little place in our hearts for punk music.”
If there’s punk in their music, it’s sometimes difficult to find, hidden under layers of pop and classically high-voiced vocals that make De Torres sound like he’s still in high school and his voice hasn’t yet been subjected to hormones. It’s not far from the truth, since most of band members either just graduated high school or college. As of our interview, only two of the band members could buy beer. Still, like some of the best pop, their music is infectious and fun to listen to. I’ve put their song ‘You All Believe’ up as my song on my MySpace page, a high honor to be sure.
They’ve started to seriously tour and will be hitting Jack Rabbits this week. De Torres took the time out of his touring schedule to talk to EU about the band’s formation and future.
“We started the band in 8th grade, just kinda messin’ around…as a garage band…the line-up that we have now we’ve only had for about two, two and a half years.”
Most, if not all of the band was born in the 80s and Andrew ascribes their fascination with the era to exposure from parents and siblings.
The band is learning to work together in songwriting and musical layout, in a “less is more” philosophy that they espouse on their website.
“When we write music we have to, like, sometimes realize that there are, like, six of us in the band, so a lot of times we have to end up making sure that we mainly, like, write parts that, like, complement everybody else’s part, so like, sometimes, like, somebody won’t play and, like, other times it’s kinda like—not mainly that there’s not a lot going on in the songs as much as not everybody’s doing a lot at the same time.”
His record amount of “likes” was 11 times in less than a minute. It was contagious. I went from not saying “like” in any of my questions to, like, not being able to complete a sentence with out at least two. Thankfully, De Torres’ lyrics have the word “like” in them a lot less than his interview did. They’re actually, like, pretty good. De Torres and his drummer Nico Hartikainen, who form the core of the band, write the songs together, with input from other band members as they jam and shape each tune.
The band is going to be going into the studio, according to De Torres, in October or November and is hoping for a 2008 release “maybe like, early, like Spring.” He’s mum on what label will be releasing the album, though the band will be announcing it soon.
They’re doing their own touring this year, so you wouldn’t have seen them on Warped Tour. Last year they played the Warped Tour in just a few of the cities, including Chicago, and they got to hop on stage to great response.
They decided to tour now that many of the band members have graduated from high school and, in the case of De Torres, college. He’s just received his A.A. and sees this as a perfect time to tour.
“I’ve always liked going to school,” says De Torres “but I feel like I could go back anytime I want.”
I, for one, am glad that Danger:Radio is out and touring, because I’ve become, like, a total fan.
Catch them in person singing pop-filled tunes at Jack Rabbits on August 8th at 7 pm.
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