Danny Sage has been around the New York music scene for over twenty years, first gaining notoriety as the guitarist in the 90’s glam punk garage band DGeneration a band which also brought another New York rock icon to the world's attention…Mr. Jesse Malin. Danny was gracious enough to chat with me via email about his EP “Don’t Look Down”, his songwriting process, the books he is working on, New York and what the future holds for him.
AG: You have an ep out called "Don't Look Down" can
you describe the sound of the ep and the sound of
your solo material in general and how that differs
from the DGeneration sound??
DS: "Don't look down" was just an acoustic solo session
that I put down for a uk tour last year. that was the
only reason it was made, and the only reason it was
available... solely for people who came to the UK
shows in january of 2007... kinda a promo thing. it is
very basic, bare bones... that's what the shows
were---solo acoustic. so it was kind of a piece of
that...
it couldn't be further from d gen, where I was in a
loud band and played my les paul thru a marshall! AG: DGen was such a New York band and Jesse Malin and
his solo material have become so associated with the
New York and the Lower East Side in particular, how
much of your songwriting process is inspired by New
York City and what are some of the other inspirations that go
into your songwriting process?
DS: I was born and raised here, never lived more than 15
or 20 miles away... so, it stands to reason that it is
a huge influence, both my parents were from here... it
is an inspiration to be lucky enough to be a new
yorker... not everyone can say that (though nowadays
everyone tries)...
my process is usually to do with very personal things,
I have a list of people in my life that have been
really important for better or worse, and had a big
impact on me... the lyrics usually are about them, or
pieces of them, or things that I have experienced on a
very personal level...
I hate to say it, but a lot of it is just venting and
unloading a lot of shit that I have dealt with people
in my life... kind of like therapy... but it helps me
and I love writing secret little letters to people in
songs... it makes me feel better... AG: You've played guitar with Jesse on a few of his
solo shows and you've played guitar along side
Debbie Harry, do you prefer being a sideman or do
you prefer being out in front and doing your own
solo thing?
DS: to be honest, I have never played with jesse outside d
gen. we have done some fun stuff like encores, and
written and recorded together, but I have never played
with him in his band. I have fun with him, we grew up
together... we have the same record collection, except
he likes jethro tull and I don't! so it's fun to get
up and do one or two songs... we always laugh and I
think there is a definite chemistry.
the debbie harry thing was a dream for me, she is one
of my favorite singers, blondie always was one of my
favorite groups... I had met her a few times, she was
always real cool and sweet. so when I got asked to do
that, I jumped at the chance... I would have toured
and made a record, there was talk of that, but it
never happened...
but anyway, it was a great gig, and I will never
forget it. she was a doll. and she sang her ass off.
to be up there and hear "dreaming" coming out of the
wedges, her voice, and feel her right next to me, it
was amazing... I got to do that once with ronnie
spector, too, and it was great.
as far as my career, I like to play. I would have
loved nothing more than to keep my job as lead guitar
player in d gen--the guys I grew up liking were...
keith richards, jimmy page, mick ronson, mick jones,
joe perry, james williamson, johnny thunders, bryan
james, etc.--I felt right at home in that role... I
never wanted anything else...
though I do love to sing... and I definitely had
people pushing me to sing at different times... to me
I was happy in my band--my gang--and I would have done
it till i keeled over. oh well.
I do like the autonomy and independence of writing and
singing by myself... and I have no one to fight with.
which is kinda nice for a change. AG: I read that you are working on a book. Can you
tell us a little bit about that??
DS: I am actually juggling 2 different books... one is
about my growing up in new york... and how new york
has kind of died to a certain extent in the last 15 or
20 years...
the other book is about all these crazy things that
have happened to me in my adult life... like the d gen
years... it's called "rennaissance bum". I have had a
pretty "different" kind of life, and every time I
would tell stories, people would invariably tell me I
should write a book--so i did. AG: Finally what does the future hold for Danny
Sage??
DS: who the fuck knows? I hope I can play more, and get
some books out, and some albums... and I'd like to
maybe travel more than I have...To hear Danny’s EP “Don’t Look Down” and to find out things such as tour dates and other news check out Danny Sage’s official myspace page at: MySpace.com - Danny Sage - NEW YORK, New York - Rock / Powerpop / Other - www.myspace.com/dannysage
