We meet Dananananaykroyd in the Best Before offices, located round the corner from Old Street. A very well known area to fashion kids and fashion lovers but also fashion victims, in any case a very fashionable part of town. Within the comforts of an enormous open plan office, gathered around a small coffee table, the six men band (David, Laura, Duncan, John, Calum and Paul) from Glasgow tell us a bit about themselves and about their sonic experience.
“We got together in 2006, or towards the end of 2005 to be more precise” says Laura “before that, we all used to be in different other bands, which happened to somehow dissolve at around the same time.”

What have you been up to since then, I mean since you have formed in 2005? “Well we were doing a few shows here and there around the country and have recorded a couple of singles with a small label. We have only had a record deal with the label we are with now (Best Before) for six months.”

This must be an exciting time for them as their new LP 'Hey Everyone' is being released in April this year and they have just come back from touring Europe with Kaiser Chiefs:

“It was amazing. We loved the European crowd, they were very lively and gave us a warm welcome, particularly in Leon, Barcelona and in Portugal. The food was fantastic!”

They say recalling their continental experience “at first we were a bit nervous in the sense that we did not know how people would receive our sound, but it turned out to be great!”

And what were Kaiser Chiefs like? They smile and reply “they were brilliant” and then Calum remembers “They gave us medals at the end of the tour” this seems to cause some excitement amongst the group and everybody starts laughing. Then he finds his medal in what looks like a very full rucksack and shows it to us… It is a bronze souvenir with the name Kaiser Chiefs printed on the back.

How would you compare your sound to that of Kaiser Chiefs then? They laugh again and their voices overlap as they tell us how a comparison would be absolutely out of place “They (Kaiser Chiefs) have this stage presence…and we are these kids who roll on the stage, screaming and shouting” explains Paul.

…and yes Dananananaykroyd have been described by many as a very frenetic band. The hyperactive energy produced by songs like Pink Sabbath is remarkable indeed and I find it uncompromisingly involving and charming in a very unique way. Some say their vivacity together with their big name is all they really are about.

They are aware of the online clamour and fuzz the name Dananananaykroyd is creating and the attention it is attracting, so as we confront them with some of these comments, they respond in a blasé and slightly amused manner “well we never intended for our name to be cool or be a sort of manifesto”. John adds “the reasons why we called ourselves Dananananaykroyd are exactly opposite to what is being said. We thought it would just be a fun name to have, we would have never thought it may attract so much attention and we do not think it is pretentious at all”.

One last question, as you say, your sound has not much in common with that of Kaiser Chiefs; which other bands would you count as your influences? David starts listings a few names, which include Smashing Pumpkins, but is soon interrupted by Duncan, who jokingly butts in and says “well there is a few names in there we do not really like or listen to…” more laughter… Great, so I will have to guess, or maybe I will just leave the guessing to the reader…















By Liza Adebisi
Pictures by Gaelle Beri

www.myspace.com/dananananaykroyd

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