Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Danny Ross Returns Bonus in Holiday Spirit, Keeps Custody of Tiger Kids

Hey Folks,

The first thing I will absolutely not do is show you an adorable animal video clip to win your favor... Now that I have your attention, I want to wish you a wicked sick holiday. And I hope that you haven't had to reschedule your winter trip like me due to a "Once in a quarter-century, life threatening storm" hitting the midwest Christmas Eve. What the hell.

And I know you've been meaning to, but while you're busy buying things, please take this moment to play the new album "One Way" absolutely FREE. CMJ says "I hope this album becomes a breakaway hit." So go ahead, take a minute, do it now and Pay What You Want For It at http://dannyrossmusic.com/records.php

It's been a wild ride of a year releasing "One Way" four years in the making, playing the St. Mark's Church with an orchestra, and getting written up in The New Yorker. We've already got new catchy rock n roll songs, a music video and big touring plans ready for next year. So thanks for helping us kick serious ass good friends, have the warmest happy holidays and catch you in 2010.

Sincerely,

Danny "The Wildcat" Ross


--
Play the new album "Danny Ross Presents One Way" FREE and Pay What You Want for it at http://www.dannyrossmusic.com
Danny Ross iTunes Store
To contact or unsubscribe please email danny@dannyrossmusic.com

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

CMJ Review : Danny Ross - One Way


Nov 20, 2009
By Michael Tedder

In case the black-and-white album cover isn't enough of a clue, one listen to the immaculately arranged opener, "Sleepy Dream," makes it immediately clear that New York songwriter Danny Ross is a classicist to the core. But what makes his debut album One Way more than just retro pastiche is that he's several kinds of classicists at once. Sure, there's plenty of gorgeous, tears-in-your-martini-glass ballads (a touch too many, honestly), but Ross also throws in some early Randy Newman barroom stompers ("Forgive Me Love") and a Broadway-ready, army-of-horns dance number ("And The Trumpets Sing...") that can only accurately be described as snappy. I hope this album becomes a breakaway hit, because the home made YouTube dance videos for these songs have the potential to be amazing. In fact, if Ross ever gets tired of a life of constant touring and middling album sales, he'd probably kill on the Great White Way.

"Always On My Way," isn't just a lovely country-ballad, but it also feels like a Rosetta Stone that decodes the album's success. It feels like a tip of the hat to Ryan Adams, the great pop’s great classicist of our times—when he's bringing his A game, anyway. Like Adams, Ross realizes that there's no point in recreating the past note-for-note when it's more fun to smash pieces of the past together in a collage. This probably explains why so much of the album seems to have a Led Zeppelin/art-rock jones. It's there in the slow build of "Waiting On The Wheel," and the violin-soaked crescendos of "Go," and it explodes on the album's best song "This Ancient Bridge," which even has a name that sounds Zep-ish, not to mention an incendiary drum run, some Jeff Buckley-esque moans and enough guitar shredding to make you double-check that you're still listening to the same album. Luckily, even a dedicated student of music like Ross knows that fidelity to the past doesn't mean you can't have fun with your influences.

Track Listing For One Way:
01. Sleepy Dream
02. Country Wind
03. Oh, Christine
04. Forgive Me Love
05. Woman
06. Stay Here With Me
07. This Ancient Bridge
08. Always On My Way
09. And The Trumpets Sing...
10. This Is Just A Test
11. Waiting On The Wheel
12. Go
13. One Way

http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=157548144

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Bonus Track! "A New Beginning"- 'One Way' Album Preview


One Way is available now -Hear the album free and Pay What You Want at http://dannyrossmusic.com/records.php Or get it on iTunes!

NOTES
"A New Beginning" is one of 2 songs I've written by starting with the lyrics first. At the time, I was introduced to Elvis Costello's "My Aim Is True" and found myself singing with rhythmical, percussive and hard-edged words with lots of consonants that cut deep. (I've since become a monstrous fan of Elvis' work) I love that style which combines the wordiness with old school rock n roll. So we got a fun horn part together, I banged on the keys in a high register, and had a Motown-ish guitar line happening. The vocal effect even sounds like something out of "My Aim Is True." Lyrically, the story is a cartoonish account of a man trying to win back his woman. This is a fun one.



FACTS
Music and Lyrics, Horn Arrangements by Danny Ross
Written in London, Spring 2005 (Age 20)
Inspired by: Elvis Costello, The Clash, 50s Rock
Produced by Rob Guariglia and Danny Ross
Recorded Spring 2008 at Galuminum Foil Productions;
Engineered by Jeff Berner
Except Piano Recorded at Metrosonic Studios
Engineered by Harley Fine

Instrumentation:
Danny Ross – Vocal, Piano
Carl Basler – Guitars
Fred Kennedy - Drums
Matt Wigton - Bass
Paul Nedzela - Bari Sax
Mike Maher - Trumpet
Evan Smith - Tenor Sax


LYRICS

Mama wake up the neighbors

Go on and wake up your dog

Daddy’s back from vacation

I know that you’ve unlocked the doors


Yes, I’ve been unkind

Oh, but I’ve seen the light

For a new beginning


A square of tissue paper followed me through the bedroom

Beneath a warm club soda I’ve been waiting to throw in my face

I put the radio on, cause they were playing our song

And all the voodoo dolls in the closet were singing along


I’ve been losing my keys

Now I’m back in this old town

How come when some girl rejects me

I’m down in this backseat
Retracing the way to your house


Baby

Fire up the candles

That delicious scent

Our grip will lose handle

Making love in the closet again


Yes I’ve been unkind

No, I’m not losing my mind

It’s a new beginning

I’ve never stopped singing for you


When I left for that other brunette

You threw that spare set to the ground

And you stomped on the nickel

At last blowing the whistle

But baby, the locksmith’s in town


Cause I’m a sucker for happy endings

And with you it’s never stopped

You once gave me protection

Now I pray that your door isn’t locked


Yes I’ve been unkind

Oh but I’ve seen the light

Yes, I’ve been so unkind

And what if I lost my mind?

It’s still a new beginning

I’ve never stopped singing for you

I’ll never stop singing for you

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Track 13 "One Way" - 'One Way' Album Preview



One Way is available now -Hear the album free and Pay What You Want at http://dannyrossmusic.com/records.php Or get it on iTunes!

NOTES
I've heard Bruce Springsteen say that he was aiming to write the biggest rock song of all time when he wrote "Born to Run." That certainly wasn't my ambition with "One Way," but I knew when I discovered that piano riff that it would be a Big song. Big chords, big arrangements, important lyrics. It may be my best set of lyrics - capturing the attitude of the whole album (which is why it also became the album title). I love the vastness of it. I actually listened to Born To Run quite a bit when I came to mixing it, borrowed a couple of ideas. Kudos to Evan Smith for killing that sax solo. "One Way" is also the closer at our live gigs, and it fits as a great conclusion to the journey.

FACTS
Music and Lyrics, String/ Horn Arrangements by Danny Ross
Written in Long Island 2001 (age 17)/ Ithaca, Fall 2005 (Age 21)
Inspired by: Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles
Produced by Rob Guariglia and Danny Ross
Recorded Spring 2008 at Galuminum Foil Productions;
Engineered by Jeff Berner
Except Piano Recorded at Bunker Studios
Engineered by Aaron Nevezie, John Davis

Instrumentation:
Danny Ross – Vocal, Piano
Carl Basler – Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Fred Kennedy - Drums
Matt Wigton - Bass
Dave Melton - Organ
Leo Adamov - Violin
Rachel Golub - Violin
Corrina Albright -Viola
Jody Redhage - Cello
Paul Nedzela - Bari Sax
Mike Maher - Trumpet
Evan Smith - Tenor Sax


LYRICS

Well I’ve seen changes

Turning pages

All this writing on the wall


And perfect pictures

Holy scriptures

Still I’m bound to slip and fall


But all this faith

Has led me to your open gate

I’m always new

As long as I’ve got you


See I’ve left highways

Climbed from low ways

Tried to be a better man


And I’ve sailed oceans

Endless motion

Never knowing where I am


You’ve got to breath

Nobody tells you what you need

But I can choose

As long as I’ve got you


And I want to thank you in the crowd

Now I can’t forget what I have found

Got my feet back on the ground

Got my feet back on the ground


And I am swinging back around

And I’m just beginning to get loud

Got my feet back on the ground

Got my feet back on the ground


And all that’s steady

Always ready

All my family and friends


Where I came from

All I ran from

I see now that’s where I’ll end


Cause you can’t see

Heading one way down that street

There’s only truth

As long as I’ve got you


And down that street

We can live how we believe

I’m living proof

As long as I’ve got you


Going one way

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Track 12 "Go" - 'One Way' Album Preview



One Way is available now -Hear the album free and Pay What You Want at http://dannyrossmusic.com/records.php Or get it on iTunes!

NOTES
I think"Go" is the hidden gem on the record. It's certainly the most creative use of strings - I found myself listening and studying "Eleanor Rigby" "God Only Knows" and Sufjan Stevens "Jacksonville" among others. I love the Radiohead "No Surprises" guitar sound and Matt Wigton's creative bass line in the last minute of the song. I also love how it transitions into the last song "One Way." Musically, I believe this is my most mature work. Lyrically, I was trying to evoke that overwhelming feeling when facing the enormity and beauty of nature, and the struggle to surrender to the big picture and live each day with such clarity. In fact, a few years later when my grandfather past away I found this song to be helpful, and think of him now when singing it live. Funny how meanings of a song can change as we get older...

FACTS
Music and Lyrics, String/ Horn Arrangements by Danny Ross
Written in Ithaca, Fall 2005 (Age 21)
Inspired by: Radiohead, Nick Drake
Produced by Rob Guariglia and Danny Ross
Recorded Spring 2008 at Galuminum Foil Productions;
Engineered by Jeff Berner
Except Piano Recorded at Bunker Studios
Engineered by Aaron Nevezie, John Davis

Instrumentation:
Danny Ross – Vocal, Piano
Carl Basler – Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Fred Kennedy - Drums
Matt Wigton - Bass
Dave Melton - Rhodes
Leo Adamov - Violin
Rachel Golub - Violin
Corrina Albright -Viola
Jody Redhage - Cello
Paul Nedzela - Bari Sax
Mike Maher - Trumpet
Evan Smith - Tenor Sax


LYRICS

Lost in thought

The sinking sun extends its glow

Let me go


Holy wind

And oceans singing violins

Will you forgive my sins?

And let me in


Take these words and go

Go home


Make a choice

And hear the timbre of my voice

And oh my God I feel so much

Let me trust


Take these words and go

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

"One Way" Released Today on iTunes, Pay What You Want??

Hey Folks,

And a dreary autumn day to you too. You may have seen me recently with my eccentric family on television puking after a wild balloon ride in Colorado. You may have also seen a rehearsal film of my last performance of "Thriller" before my untimely death. But you haven't seen this...

Pay What You Want! --Yes, Radiohead did this too... -- It's very important to me that my friends, fans and even awkward acquaintances own the debut LP Danny Ross Presents One Way as 4 years of sweat and soul went into it. So I'm letting you head to the following site, play the whole album for free and Name Your Own Price (Free shirts, EPs, Mix Tapes and Love Notes are also involved): http://dannyrossmusic.com/records.php

And also... One Way is released today on iTunes!

So you have 2 viable options 1) Name Your Own Price for the physical album and other free stuff or 2) Download One Way from Steve Jobs directly. It's a better deal than a Denny's Grand Slam Breakfast (if that's even possible). Thanks and fill in the gcal -- we're playing next Sat Nov 14 @ Rockwood Music Hall. Catch you on the flip!

- Danny?


"What Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Danny Ross strives for is truly awe-inspiring...One Way is a compelling, confident and creative masterwork from one of New York City's most promising young talents."
-- Greg Robson, Absolute Punk

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Track 11 "Waiting On The Wheel" - 'One Way' Album Preview



One Way is available now on iTunes. Play "Waiting On The Wheel” and the whole album free at http://www.dannyrossmusic.com

NOTES
I was hoping to articulate some of the unintended consequences of growing up in this song. A lot of my songs are about individual relationships or insights into a personal philosophy, but this one concerns a relationship with people in the outside world and certain expectations. It's one of the truest lyrics I've written. Also check out the guitar solo, it sounds that way thanks to our killer ax-man Carl and our drummer Fred, who is constantly forcing us to think outside the box even when it's not his instrument.

FACTS
Music and Lyrics, String Arrangements by Danny Ross
Written in NYC 2005 (Age 21)
Inspired by: Muse, Coldplay
Produced by Rob Guariglia and Danny Ross
Recorded Spring 2008 at Galuminum Foil Productions;
Engineered by Jeff Berner

Instrumentation:
Danny Ross – Vocal, Piano
Carl Basler – Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Fred Kennedy - Drums
Matt Wigton - Bass
Dave Melton - Rhodes
Leo Adamov - Violin
Rachel Golub - Violin
Corrina Albright -Viola
Jody Redhage - Cello


LYRICS

Waiting on the wheel

Floating in the harbor

The sun is rising high

Though summer’s wasting away


Feeling like a stone

Drinking on a Sunday

I’m filling up my mind with nothing

I found this broken home

Along the open water

My banner waving high

Through all the weather I survived


And I returned in no parade

A sinking anchor, broken chain

Now I’m washed up

In the shore of my own weight


The more that you know

The more that it’s nothing

And where can I find that feeling of home?


Well isn’t it the same?

Yes, I received your postcards

But I cannot relate

Though I can’t throw them away


Cause I don’t know what to say

The wind carried me the right way

I’m right but I am wrong in some way


Cause the more that you know

The more that it’s nothing

The more that you wind up being alone

And all that I’ve shown

Must lead to something

But where can I find that feeling of home?


Waiting on the wheel

Drinking into Monday

This ship will find the current someday


But all that I know

And all that I’ve suffered

Has only arrived at being alone

In all that I’ve shown

I’ve believed in something

But where can I find that feeling of home?

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Track 10 "This Is Just A Test" - 'One Way' Album Preview


One Way is available now on iTunes. Play "This Is Just A Test” and the whole album free at http://www.dannyrossmusic.com

NOTES
The idea here was to create something that rocked as hard as a Rolling Stones song, with big guitar chords, but on piano. I think "Gimme Shelter" was a big influence at the time, and certainly you can hear "Sympathy for the Devil" in the intro. But this is the oldest song idea of mine to make it on the record, and the intention was to make it a big fat jam - Freebird style. Not surprisingly it's become our hardest rocking song live. And lyrically, this song is the most different on the record -- it's not about introspection and growth -- it's about wanting a girl, pure and simple.


FACTS
Music and Lyrics, Horn Arrangements by Danny Ross
Written in Long Island, NY 2002 (Age 17)
Inspired by: Rolling Stones
Produced by Rob Guariglia and Danny Ross
Recorded Spring 2008 at Galuminum Foil Productions;
Engineered by Jeff Berner

Instrumentation:
Danny Ross – Vocal, Piano
Carl Basler – Electric Guitars
Fred Kennedy - Drums, Percussion
Matt Wigton - Bass
Mike Maher - Trumpet
Evan Smith- Tenor Sax
Paul Nedzela - Bari Sax
Dave Melton - Organ


LYRICS

This is just a test

Damn I’m failin’ it

You’ve got my head in a mess

Feel like bailin’ this

And when I’m sitting to rest

You wink and blow me a kiss


This is just a waste

Still I’ve got to say

I’m obsessin’ on the dress you’re in

When you walk away

I want to be in your head

At the end of the day


I’m losing my nerve for you

Cause I’ve been chokin’ from the smoke

That you wear like perfume

And now the dance floor’s shakin’

But I’m not playing the fool


Ready get set and go

You wanted a show

You’ve got me sweatin’ and stoned

Now I’m out of control

And I won’t take no

Take my hand tonight

I’m takin’ you home


Give me what I crave

In your wicked tricks

You got a hold a’ me like a hypnotist

And it’s got me pissed

Just how much you know it


So I suck in for air

I run and duck from your tease

But you seeped in my system

Like some kind of disease

Papa never taught me

These kinds of birds and bees