A Dirty Dozen with DANNY from WICKED – November 2024

According to a recent press release: “WICKED is ready to raise some hell this Halloween with their latest single, “Hellraiser.” Digging into their sleazy, hard rock roots; the single feeds off a dark hard hitting arena vibe laced with punk rock intensity. Twin harmony guitars will put you in a trance for haunting and Chad Michael will command head banging till the bitter end. And catch WICKED emerging from the depths of darkness in the “Hellraiser” music video as they summon red hot rock n roll mischief! Comprised of members singer/guitarist Chad Michael, guitarist Scotty V, bassist Danny, and drummer Gunnar, Wicked hails from Rochester, New York, and issued their full-length sophomore album, Sunburn on March 1, 2024.” We get Danny to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Coming off of our spring release of our second full length album Sunburn that accompanied our North American tour with Raven, we just released our lastest single “Hellraiser” which leans away from the upbeat vibes of Sunburn and digs into a dark, heavy side of WICKED. Diehard fans might notice however this pattern of us using 5th harmony guitar solos often as we take a page out of our favorite influence Thin Lizzy. The track itself is actually reimagined from a very early song idea when the band was formed and now has it’s own place in Wicked Rock N Roll history! Listen carefully at the end and you’ll hear our drummer; Gunnar, screaming! That happens when he nails a song in one take!

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I played saxophone early on in school and it was such a chore for me at that age that I didn’t apprecaite it. Just a kid growing up in suburbia being told how this was going to help me in the future. Well that only pushed me harder to want to rebel and break away from the mold and when I saw a video of AC/DC playing TNT for the first time… that was it. That spark ignited an undying passion for a life of theatrical hard rock!

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

From there I spend most of my childhood emulating Angus from AC/DC, his moves, his guitar, the devilish themes in their content. But AC/DC was just a gateway drug that led my musical taste all over the map of hard rock and heavy metal. Thin Lizzy, UFO, David Bowie, Scorpions, Sum 41, Green Day…the list goes on.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Hands down, I would call on Butch Walker to collaborate on a song with. Butch had a carrer that took him from being in a late 80’s hard rock band called Southgang and then iterated with his band to follow called Marvelous 3. There was an evolution there, but one that I personally love and can relate to. I can’t think of anyone who would understand what I’m trying to do better than him! Not to mention Butch being an increadible song writer and producer.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

When I take a moment to step away from my musical grind, which isn’t often haha, I love to explore new recipes to cook. It takes me to a different level of focus and gives me the ability to bring my friends and family together.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I always say if you took 70’s hard rock and blended it with power pop, you’d be pretty close to giving birth to WICKED! Heavy and riffy with a pop sensability! As an artist it’s hard to take pride in the creation process of finding your own sound and then being boxed into a comparison. It might be because that’s the easy thing to do with a short attention span or maybe because the reviewer isn’t opened minded enough to digest what they are consuming fully, but the most cringy comparison we’ve recieve is the age old “are you an 80’s band” and we would obviously know that the answer is no…since it’s 2024 🙂

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Well we know who cooks… haha I’m the band dad! The cool thing about the band is we live together under one roof and have for 8 years now! Like bands used to! My brother / singer, Chad is always on a guitar lighting up the room with a new riff between drinks. Gunnar can’t sit still, so without the drums he’s the task man. Finally, Scotty our guitarist is my toxin twin. We’re usually just plotting some kind of prank or trouble to keep things interesting!

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

You’d think I would say the name of some major artist, but in reality, ususally those are the idols you don’t want to meet. I get starstruck by my contemperaries who put in the hard work, walk the walk and end up being super cool people to hang with in person. Just to name two; Tuk Smith (former Biters singer / singer of Tuk Smith and The Restless Hearts) and Randy Michael (singer of Solid State Radio).

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician is the creativity and ability to dream and mold your craft the way you want. No bosses and no rules! If I couldn’t continue to be a musician, yeah maybe I’d continue to be an engineer (like I am now) but ideally I’d go back into carpentry.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

You always flinch a little when you hear the question of who is your influence…yikes there’s that comparison box again. Yet, I’ve always wanted someone to ask how do you attempt to make your music unique? For me the answer to that is two fold; we have an initial influence, that can be musical or otherwise. If musical it needs to be disected for what specific factor makes it stand out and then that DNA is torn out and mixed with another different but complementing idea or influence…into the blender. Lyrically it can’t be overthought or pointed. When it comes out flowing naturally, that’s the topic of the track!

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I think that the missteps are important in a career if they become learning lessons. For us it was early on in our career, which I find fortunate. That is the classic story of being taken advantage of by a “manager.” Yet going back to the spark that got us into Rock N Roll, that rebellion over this misstep drove us and motivated us to learn and become more involved and knowledgable about the business end of music and every day we are working to learn more and more!

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Easy! It would be for the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Rick Ruben in the mansion where Harry Houdini once allegedly lived! Such a great album, but I just love the idea of being out of the box and recording in a house. Might be why we chose to record our first two albums The Last American Rock Band and Sunburn in the halls of a house we were living in!

13. What will the audience attending the Metal Allegiance show in January expect to see from a Wicked performance?

When we hit the stage at the House of Blues in Anaheim CA to support Metal Allegiance we are going to introduce that audience to High Energy Rock N Roll like they’ve never seen it before! Beyond the muscular, blonde, leather clad appearance you will visually see, the music although fully original will be so familiar in a primal sense and will make you stomp your hands and clap your feet until everyone is enjoying that moment of escape that can never be reproduced exactly or repeated. A moment of oneness with each other!

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Category: Interviews