23 Apr The Danes
The Danes “can be described as rock, but this type of narrow band is certainly unfair… “(Chillsoundsgoodmusic 4/15). This is probably because the group consists of 4 musicians with completely different tastes in music.
2010 Chicago film school graduates Daniel Wolf and Dana Hobson made the trek to Los Angeles together with no intentions of starting a band. Although they were both musicians, it wasn’t really an option: Daniel preferred more experimental music, while Dana just loved anything you could sing or dance to.
In 2012 multi-instrumentalist John Mrazik, more of the pop rock type, moved to LA from Maine to find a career in music. His best friend introduced him to his co-worker, Daniel, who was looking for a bassist to jam with.
For the first practice, Daniel quickly wrote “I’m So Glad” for a song Dana would sound good singing. On the first run through, the band sparked what John now says was “duende,” a term Daniel hates but agrees with.
Within weeks, the group flirted with playing some more… eventually spiraling into a passionately argumentative songwriting process. It became miraculous to finish a song together, yet they proceeded to do it. They never tried to cover many songs.
They replaced their drummer with Patrick Zeinali, an LA native with those good street smarts who would learn the way of The Danes. He too would have a strong opinion. Nevertheless, songs were written: Dana’s dynamic, in-your-face-vocals would be backed by Beatlesque harmonies and fierce musical arrangements.
In 2013-14, The Danes tested a couple EPs on a live audience, sporadically playing Hollywood and the Sunset Strip. As their following began to grow, they dropped a music video for their single, “Sexy Sexist Narcissist,” the crowd pleaser. But playing the live shows meant less writing, so the band decided to go on hiatus to find a more concentrated sound.
Despite continuous emotional and financial hurdles, the band developed new material. This April they dropped their hard hitting single “The Ultimate Tool,” which Little Indie Blogs calls “a track that lingers after you’ve heard it once as it is quite different to most you may currently hear.”
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