Though the situation was extremely bad, and emotionally trying for John, the outcome was better than it perhaps could’ve been. This accident didn’t halt John’s participation in the band though. It changed it. Though Dananananaykroyd have always seemed a fluid outfit– having replaced three members in their history – with some instrument swapping and a lot of freedom in using the entire venue as their stage, John’s second drum kit had always added exhilarating chaos to the band. Now unable to drum, John increased his vocal contribution alongside little firebrand Calum. “It didn’t really affect the album other than the fact I wasn’t recording drums, of course,” John says. “So Paul (Carlin, drummer) did everything by himself. It’s weird recording two drum kits. You’re constantly keeping each other in check and feeding off each other. The record didn’t have that but it gave Paul a lot more space. Everything on this record is very concise and clear and solid instead of the rampage of two drummers.” There Is A Way, the bands follow up to 2009’s Hey Everyone! is a far less noisy beast. Instead the songs achieve more clarity amidst the clattering guitars, while Calum and John dosey-do around each other more convincingly than ever. The result are that songs Like Muscle Memory echo the adrenalized grace of British Knights from Sissy Hits EP or the Some Dresses single, while the amazing Think & Feel show a hitherto supressed side of the band side of the band that always threatened to escape; a funk-spliced free jazz-outro freak out. These days they’re far less fight pop and far more cartwheel rock. “I think the first album was a collection of songs up until that point and was something we had to get out of our system. In a way this album is the first album we’ve written as a complete record,” says John. He’s not wrong. Hey Everyone! contained brand new recordings of two Sissy Hits tracks (plus a third whose unfinished intro ended the EP), two old singles and an old B-side retitled Hey James from Hey Giles. “What Ross (Robinson, producer) said to us was; he puts the personality of every single member into the record. The first one was a mish-mash: Calum and Me were singing two maybe three songs on the first album that
were written by us, we were just filling up the gaps. So it was good to get a projection of what the album was gonna be and then start it and have everyone in this tight unit.” So, broken away from the shackles of old material, There Is A Way offers
a fresh perspective on Dananananaykroyd’s ethos and musical aerobics. New songs, a new approach, new band roles and a new producer, Ross Robinson, of nu-metal (i.e. Korn and Slipknot) fame, may not be the sort of producer you’d expect Dananananaykroyd to go with, but three of John’s favourite records, Glassjaw’s Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence, At The Drive- In’s Relationship of Command and Blood Brothers’ Burn, Piano Island, Burn were all produced by Ross.
“My surgeon in Australia had to do emergency surgery and said, ‘Look, this is a pretty severe break and I’ve never done anything like this before …’”
“They’ve got this total intense thing running through them,” says John of
those records. “And that’s what he’s about.” Dananananaykroyd’s raison d’etre has almost always seemed to be just that – playing live – suddenly Ross’ hiring makes all the sense in the world.
“Ross is all about emotional takes. When we were recording drums, we
were all in the room, all wearing headphones, all playing live.” Though John is keen to point out that the producer wasn’t tyrant, quite the opposite, in fact. “He’s the ultimate punk Buddha! He’s the most chilled-out, Zen guy ever. He’s totally straight edge and he does yoga and he’s pretty new age-y. But he has this absolute fucking punk hellfire. If he thinks you’re not in the moment during whatever you’re recording he’ll pick up whatever’s closest to him and smack you with it. It happened a few times. David Roy (guitarist) was
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