Danko Jones Getting Props From Peers in the U.S.

Breaking into the U.S. market has been tough for the Canadian rock trio Danko Jones, who released their fourth album 'Never Too Loud' in the United States on Sept. 8.

"It's been hard, very hard," said Jones, the band's namesake and lead singer, during an interview with Noisecreep. "America isn't one country. It's like 50 countries. Georgia is different than California. They're two different animals entirely. Florida and Massachusetts. Tennessee and Massachusetts. Two different types of people. You just can't get them all like you can with a country in Europe. Everybody's a few hours away from each other [in Europe]. It's easier. It's faster. It takes less marketing and less time."

Hailing from Toronto, the group -- which also includes bassist John Calabrese and drummer Dan Cornelius -- has achieved hard rock hero status in Europe and in its home country. American rock bands have recognized Danko Jones as well, as Detroit's Raconteurs and Electric Six covered their song 'Samuel Sin' during performances.

"We were absolutely, 100 percent flattered beyond belief," Jones said of the Raconteurs' cover. "It was pretty crazy. The two other guys -- Dan and J.C. -- they were actually there watching them when they broke into the song. I wasn't there, because I just came out of eye surgery so every night I had to go to bed early while we were on tour.

"I knew something was up when I started getting phone calls at 11:30 at night," he continued. "'They're playing the song right now.' JC got to meet Jack White, and he said he was really nice. It was really cool that they did that. I met a couple of guys from the Electric Six back in 2004 while we were on tour. They said they used to do a cover of 'Samuel Sin.' So I know Detroit people were doing a cover of it. I didn't know it reached the upper echelon of the Detroit garage scene. [The Raconteurs] did a key change, too, and put in a solo, which we didn't have. They made it better."

British bands have acknowledged Danko Jones as well. They have had the opportunity to open for the Rolling Stones and Motörhead.

"That was definitely a big night for us," Jones said of the Stones date in 2002 in Toronto. "But over the years the most memorable moments have probably been just a lot of the European touring we've done. Some of the festivals we've played over there and some of the people we've got to meet over there. We just finished a tour last fall with Motörhead in the U.K. and in Germany. That was one of our favorite tours ever. We just finished our own tour back in the spring. We did seven weeks in Europe on our own. That was good."

When asked what made the Motörhead tour so special, Jones simply said, "It's because it's Motörhead."

"Plus they treated us really well, the crew and the band," he said. "They really treated us awesome. When you're the opening band, it can go either way -- especially when it's a band you really like. You kind of hope they treat you nice. When they do, it just makes it even better."