Interview with One lead vocalist Danny Rossi

Canadian band One have just released their newest disc, Dirty Valentine and they are preparing to embark on a North American tour beginning in late summer. I spoke with vocalist Danny Rossi about Dirty Valentine which is an album I would describe as modern rock affair with classic riffs and great big melodies. No matter how you classify it though one thing is for sure, this is fun, energetic rock and roll that is sure to please radio listeners everywhere. Here is how it went.

How are you? Are you doing alright?
Danny: Yeah life is good I can’t complain.

Are you guys in Canada now?
Danny: Yeah unfortunately.

No summer tours?
Danny: Just a few dates around this area and a few out of town gigs here and there.

Now that your brand new CD Dirty Valentine is out how do you feel about it and are you satisfied with the outcome?
Danny: We are actually really really proud of this album. It ended up going somewhere that we were not expecting it to. Music wise, production wise, lyric wise, the guitar work everything. We are so proud of this album as a whole in its entirety. It came out a lot better than we actually expected. We can sit back and analyze it and say we should have done this or we should have done that but in all reality we are so happy with it we cannot complain about anything.

What was the writing process like for this record? Did you all write together?
Danny: Well, we always have an open forum for writing. It is an open forum for whoever wants to be there. Mostly it has been the guitar player Chris and I. Ideas are welcome at anytime and can be a song in it’s entirely or something that progresses a song in a different direction. We are a team that is how we always work. Some people do not do it that way but we do.

What can fans expect when they pick up a copy of Dirty Valentine?
Danny: I think they should expect a fun record filled with emotions, I think you have to just listen to it. Anybody who likes Rock and Roll with modern touches will like it. There is something for everyone; there is a nice variety on it.

When you guys were writing and recording this record were you concerned at all about commercial success?
Danny: This is our style and this is what we write. We are not saying we want to put out a certain song so it can be on the radio. It just so happens we are a more commercial rock band.

Are there any tracks on the disc that are personal favorites or that have good stories behind them?
Danny: I love them all but I guess “High” has to be my favorite as well as ‘Thorn In My Side.” Those are my two favorites.

What are the songs you get the best response to?
Danny: We get the best response to a song called “Sorry,” a straight up power rock ballad. People just love this song and ask us to play it live all of the time. We like when people ask us to play stuff and we will do it with pleasure.

How quick are you in the studio? Can you usually knock things out in a couple of takes?
Danny: Well this is our second album and we had done this before. For our first album we kept on recording until we were satisfied. But for this album it was kind of like let’s go. Obviously vocals and guitar are the things that take up the most time but it did not take that long really. The whole album was done in about two and a half months, I guess.

What do you think is the toughest lesson you have learned since the release of your first album?
Danny: I guess I would say never allow anyone to set you back. If you take three, four or five steps forward, one step back is unacceptable. That is the toughest lesson we have learned so far. We are just never satisfied so we are just going to keep plugging forward and nothing is going to set us back.

I know you said you have a few dates this Summer but what about in September. Are you doing something different then?
Danny: September is a full tour starting in New York City and will be going all the way down the East coast of Florida to Vegas, California then back to Vancouver and the Midwest of the United States. It should be about a two and a half month tour.

Are you going out with any particular bands?
Danny: It is just us for now. We are going to be playing with other bands very often but nothing lined up yet.

Any closing words at all?
Danny: Don’t be shy come check us out. Message us, talk to us we have all of our links up online. Thank you for you support, our publicist told us you guys like the song “Sorry,” we appreciate that.  [ END ]