Danger Danger

Danger Danger

Danger Danger is a glam metal band formed in 1987 in Queens, New York. Despite enjoying moderate success in the U.S. with their debut album Danger Danger, the band vanished from the radar due to legal problems and changes in its line-up. However, they have remained solid and are still playing and recording albums.

Band history

Danger Danger was formed in 1987 by bassist Bruno Ravel and drummer Steve West. Mike Pont was the lead singer for a while, and Al Pitrelli was the guitarist for a while before going on to play guitar for Alice Cooper. After adding keyboardist Kasey Smith (ex-Get With It), they made an attempt to record a demo, but failed. Shortly after, they recruited a singer named Ted Poley (who was playing in Prophet as drummer). They made another attempt at a demo, and this time it landed them a record deal with Epic Records.

In 1989, Tony "Bruno" Rey (from Saraya) joined briefly as guitarist before returning to his previous band. Andy Timmons replaced him, and the band finally released their debut album that year. The album spawned two hits with “Naughty Naughty” and “Bang Bang,” with the former gaining a spot in MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. The band went on tour opening for KISS, Alice Cooper, Extreme and Warrant.

After that, the band went on to record their follow-up in the Netherlands, finally releasing Screw It! in 1991. The album spawned two other hits with “Monkey Business” and “I Still Think About You” and again, they went on tour with KISS. During it and due to the growing emphasis on guitars instead of keyboards, Kasey Smith left the band.

In 1993, the band had finished work with their third album titled Cockroach. However, surprisingly, the band fired singer Poley. Subsequent lawsuits from Poley prevented the album from being released. In the meantime, Paul Laine was hired by Ravel and West as the new singer and he re-recorded the vocals for the new album. Still, when they were about to release it, Epic thought it was in their best interest to decide to shelve the record. Shortly after, the band and the label amicably parted ways. Also, frustrated with all this, guitarist Timmons left the band to pursue a solo career.

Ravel and West went on to form their own label, Low Dice Records, and they started working on a new album together with Laine. They finally released Dawn in 1995 which featured a more somber and introspective tone. The album was partly marketed through the band’s fan club, newsletter and website. The band recruited bassist Scott Brown to help them, and they went on tour again in the U.S..

The band went back in the studio and released Four the Hard Way in 1998. The album was a return to the melodic rock that had made them famous at first. Former band members, Timmons and Smith, contributed to the album, and the band went back on tour. In 2000, they released The Return of the Great Gildersleeves.

In 2001, the band made a unique move after talks with Epic, releasing Cockroach, which was supposed to be their third album, but couldn’t be released for legal issues. The album featured two discs with both versions of the album. One with Paul Laine and the other with Ted Poley. The response to the album was positive. They followed it in 2003 with Rare Cuts, which is a collection of unreleased and rare tracks.

In 2004, Paul Laine left the band and original singer Ted Poley was brought back.

In 2005, the band released Live and Nude, which was recorded in 2003 and features former vocalist, Paul Laine.

The independent label Frontiers Records recently announced the signing of Danger Danger for the release of a brand new studio album during 2008, which will be the first to include guitarist Rob Marcello, and will feature original members Ted Poley, Bruno Ravel and Steve West.[1] The new album coincides with the 20th anniversary of the classic self titled debut release for Imagine Records, a record that went on to become gold, spanning two US hit singles with the songs “Naughty Naughty” e “Bang Bang“. In just a few years, also on the strength of the follow up “Screw It”, Danger Danger became one of the most popular bands in the Melodic Hard Rock scene, touring with the likes of KISS, Extreme, Alice Cooper and Warrant among others.

Trivia

• Al Pitrelli was an early guitarist of Danger Danger, who later went on to various other bands, including Savatage, the supergroup Asia, Megadeth and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He played on most of the songs on Rare Cuts.
• Former members Andy Timmons and Kasey Smith have contributed to several of the songs on further releases.
• Andy Timmons played guitar on both of Kip Winger's solo albums.
• The song "Naughty Naughty Christmas" was featured in the 2002 movie The Santa Clause 2 starring Tim Allen.
• In 2008, rock & roll comic C.C. Banana recorded a song called "Ted Poley," released on the album "KISS MY ANKH: A Tribute To Vinnie Vincent." The song is actually a parody of the Kiss song "Unholy," inspired by the story of Poley's first encounter with Kiss lead singer Paul Stanley.

Discography

• Danger Danger (1989)
• Down And Dirty Live EP
• Screw It! (1991)
• Dawn (1995)
• Four the Hard Way (1997)
• The Return of the Great Gildersleeves (2000)
• Cockroach (2001)
• Rare Cuts (2003)
• Live and Nude (2005)
• Revolve (2009)

See also

• Shugaazer

External links

• Official website
• Ted Poley

References

• Danger Danger announcement