On the verge of a nervous breakthrough
Danny Michel marks 15 years on the outskirts of the mainstream
PREVIEW
DANNY MICHEL
Tuesday, February 5
The Gateway (SAIT)
Wednesday, February 6
Liberty Lounge (MRC)
"I’m not as indie as people seem to think I am," says Danny Michel from his noisy hotel suite somewhere on the road. So far there’s no evidence of televisions flying off balconies, and the noises in the background are not those of a late-night-to-early-morning rock-and-roll party, but rather the unloading of band equipment.
For a spell it didn’t seem this interview would even take place – in complete non-rock fashion, the hotel telephone was lifeless and Michel had to request politely that it be connected in time for his scheduled chit-chats. The only rock extravagance seems to be Michel’s cross-country transportation. He and his band are braving Canada’s slippery highways in a typically beat-up frosty van, but theirs has a U-haul hitched to the back.
Still, his fourth solo album, In the Belly of a Whale, promises Michel won’t have to wait much longer to see the country from the comfort of a plush recliner bus seat. Considering his personal list of achievements, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Michel’s stepped into something that everyone wants a piece of. His first impressive performance in front of an audience came at the age of 15, opening for D.O.A. A riot broke out, which in rock ’n' roll is usually a good sign.
Most recently, Michel has inched within one degree of separation from David Bowie (both count Emm Gryner as members of their backing band), played a round of shows with Frank Black, and signed to the same management machine behind Sarah Harmer. Granted, his time in Ottawa's Starling didn't have the results he'd hoped for, but the lessons learned from a big label misfire are often worth more than the actual records.
"I joined Starling seconds before they put out Untitled and only got one song on there. I was more of a back-up guy in that band, and that’s something that I really don’t want to be."
Given his experiences at the hands of music industry professionals, Michel’s return to independence is no shocker.
"I’ll never cease to be amazed by the bureaucracy and red tape of the record business. As an independent, if I want to go out and tour, I can just go out and do it. [With Starling] everyone had a boss who answered to their boss who answered to their boss. It took five months to get an answer if people wanted the colour of blue on the cover boosted up, and it drove me insane. When you’re independent, it’s less talk, more dance."
In response, the only label information on Whale’s packaging is the catalogue number listed on the spine, C3P0 (haha! Star Wars references – indie rock cool).
Written and recorded during the dissolution of a seven-year relationship, In the Belly of a Whale works as a meltdown record with a surprisingly optimistic lift. With a pop sensibility somewhere between Elliott Smith, Matthew Sweet and Wilco, Michel’s main charm is in transforming a glass-half-empty perspective into the realization that at least there’s a cool and refreshing half-glass-full to drink from. He’s doing it his way, out on his own – at least for now. Maybe the "I" word is more fitting than he realizes. |
