【Interview】Danny Jones 'DREAM OF LIFE'

1. Do you think music has power?

“Music has so much power and is important for mankind, it has the ability to bring humans together and speak a language that we all understand without a word even spoken. It also brings us together without any judgement of sexuality, race or background. Music is ACE.”

2. How do you feel about people calling you a ‘Mentor of Rock n’ Roll’ ?

“Mentor of ‘Rock n Roll’ Eh? Well personally I’ve not heard that yet, but I will gladly take it. I’ve always been into Blues, Rock n roll and anything that touches the soul and I gladly tell my story as a mentor to see if it will encourage anyone who imagine themselves doing whatever they wanna do and want to be.”

3. How do you feel about coaching the younger generation?

“Coaching the young generation is a very inspiring experience for me as i see a little bit of me in them and I’ve been where they are now, so i can relate and guide them to whatever they wanna try and become. Make it reachable and help them to believe deep down they can do it and not to give up. That goes for anyone in any line of work.”

4. Do you think that this generation is similar to yours?

“The next generation and so impressive, they have more doors open to them to showcase their talent and an encyclopaedia of knowledge in a search bar (Google) also an encyclopaedia of visual knowledge (youtube). It so instant these days and thats exciting but also makes it harder to be recognised as its so saturated. But if you become a master at something, there is ALWAYS and audience for a master.”

5. You’ve created and sung so many songs, can you choose three of your favourites?

“My 3 songs would be - Shine a light - 5 Colours (LIVE) - Walk in the Sun (LIVE)”

6. Do you have a song that always makes you feel better when you are upset?

“Music in general is an amazing way to deal/cope with emotions.

I always resort to Springsteen to make me feel great and then Bon Iver for a total escape and almost meditate to.”

7. What was your dream when you were young?

“My dream was to play the same stage as Bruce Springsteen and we achieved that a few years ago when we headlined Hyde Park, my dream now is to play on the same stage at the same time.”

8. Have you ever struggled when you were chasing your dream? How did you overcome it?

“There has been many struggles along the way, Compromise was something i had to learn quick, Patience and tenacity are fundamental parts of this job. The hardest thing i think for me was loosing touch with friends and family which i have tried to get better at over the years. Im not great with my phone.

On a creative note one of the strangest feelings I’ve ever had to combat was opinions. This really was confusing for me as we would work on a body of music and create a magical atmosphere in the studio and we were all on the same page even the producer, manager, friends & Family, you name it we were all buzzing about it, This untouched, unjudged piece of art made with sound was so rewarding. Then it gets release and you get a review or a judgement or a bad comment. It was like someone calling your family bad haha…. At first this really confused me, i didn’t know wether to feel angry or upset. In the end i had to learn how to ignore it and thats what i do to this day. i believe in everything i do and thats enough of me. i don’t even read reviews or write ups, i just remember the gig or the experience and stories of making an album in my head and thats how i keep it.”

9. As a professional musician, could you please advise the young generation on how they could be as successful as you?

“Keep the faith, work hard, don’t give up, use failure as a lesson, share your stories, but most of all become a master of your art.”