DANNY & DUSTY: exclusive interview

words: John -diamonds- Simandiras

“Will The Dream Syndicate ever reform?”. That is the question. That is a question that Steve Wynn faces every now and then. Steve, fair enough, usually answers by posing another question: “Which version of The Dream Syndicate?”. Another question that both media people and fans keep asking Steve is: “OK, how about a Gutterball reunion?”. I don’t know what can make a Gutterball reunion happen, after the tragic loss of their guitar maestro, Bryan Harvey, New Years Day 2006. I mean, few people have asked Steve about a possible Danny & Dusty new record. That’s because everybody thought Danny & Dusty was sort of an one-off project, that rocked our mid-80’s days in a magic dylanesque way, and was never bound to come back.
Never say never. Steve knows how to suprise us. Dan Stuart is also very good at that. Not only Dan’s band, the always exciting Green On Red, IS back, but Danny (Dan Stuart) and Dusty (Steve Wynn) have a brilliant new album, due to come out April 1st, 2007. How did that happen? According to Danny & Dusty’s official MySpace page, “...Dan Stuart, upon hearing that Wynn had severely broken his ankle and was laid up at home, took it as a sign and wondered whether another record might be possible. Venturing uptown with guitar in hand, Danny found Dusty laying on the couch, watching baseball and chewing Vicodins. Surely not much had changed in two decades. After whiling away several afternoons picking and grinning, the duo decided that another album was in order and arrangements were made to record in Richmond, VA. Local ringers Johnny Hott (House of Freaks, Sparklehorse) and Bob Rupe (Silos, Cracker) were enlisted, along with Stephen McCarthy and Chris Cacavas from the debut album. Eclectic madman JD Foster agreed to produce”.
The result is ‘Cast Iron Soul’, an album well worth the wait. Our radio show has already an adance copy of ‘Cast Iron Soul’, and gives it heavy airplay.
As if ‘Cast Iron Soul’ wasn’t enough of a surprise, Danny & Dusty take the long and winding road, in support of their new material. They’ll play Thessaloniki, Friday, April 13. Nanoi, the fabulous locals, will open for them. Just as we’re looking forward to Danny&Dusty’s performance over here, Steve Wynn and Dan Stuart have honored us by answering our web-blog’s questions, and by putting up our interview on their MySpace Page. So, here they are, brothers and sisters, the glorious Dan and Steve, in excellent shape (We all hope that another breaking of Steve’s ankle won’t be necessary for this band to record their third LP…):

diamonds: There’s an undeniable, unbeatable chemistry between you two, and this new record of yours proves that this chemistry stood the test of time, and can still work, no matter how long you haven’t played together. Is that so?

Danny: Like pizza and beer.
Dusty: Yeah, it’s just like riding a bicycle-while you’re delivering pizzas after drinking six beers.

Stuart & Wynn. No beer. No pizza. Just the chemistry between them.

diamonds: Whose idea was it to pick JD Foster as the producer/conductor of the album?
Danny: We blame each other for that... he really was the maestro... bravo.
Dusty: I hadn’t been “produced” in 15 years and it felt great to let go of the reins. JD is a great musician and he approaches producing as part of the band -he really gains the faith of other musicians because they know that he can actually play.

diamonds: No Tucson, AZ, no Wavelab Studios this time (even though Green On Red hail from there). How come?
Danny: Well, according to Al Gore, ‘Desert Rock’ might be contributing to global warming. ‘Richmond Soul’, on the other hand, makes the world cry thereby increasing rainfall. We’ve always put the needs of the planet above our own petty desires.
Dusty: Sometimes you just want BBQ pork instead of carnitas.

diamonds: Obviously, you needed more than some hours to record ‘Cast Iron Soul’. Isn’t that a little long for Danny & Dusty’s old habits?
Danny: We cut fourteen songs in a week so it really wasn’t much different. Of course this one took 20 years to write.
Dusty: And between Dan’s hip and my ankle, it just takes a little longer to get around these days.

diamonds: Was there enough alcohol around during the sessions for ‘Cast Iron Soul’?
Danny: Yes, but we did run out of BBQ sauce.
Dusty: You know how people who did a lot of acid get flashbacks? Man, I can get drunk at this point merely by releasing the toxins inside my own body.

diamonds: Why does everybody want to talk about the good old days?
Danny: Because the present is such a drag and the future is so damn scary.
Dusty: Well put, Danny. I’m certainly not opposed to the past but I find that nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.

diamonds: What happened to the rest 3 songs that didn’t make it on the album?
Danny: They’ve been put in a special vault located below the Brill Building. They will be released “in the year 2525, if man is still alive”...
Dusty: Man, Danny, I don’t know if they know that song over in Greece. (diamonds: Come on, Steve. It’s Zagger & Evans, another Somebody & Somebody named band, just like Danny & Dusty... We ARE well educated, and you ARE aware of that!) But you know what? I just heard it on the radio a few weeks ago. How was that the biggest hit of 1969? It’s so awful that it’s… well, it’s so awful that it’s just awful. Anyway, one of the outtakes is up on our MySpace site. Your listeners should check that out.

diamonds: Did everybody agree on the final sequence of the tracklisting?
Danny: We agreed not to agree which was agreeable to all.
Dusty: I don’t agree.

diamonds: Which member of the band will wear the best shirt on Thessaloniki’s stage?
Danny: I don’t know, but I’'ll be wearing the number 37.
Dusty: Ah, that’s right. He’s going to the costume party as Cool Hand Luke. I’m going as Dean Martin. Next time we’ll do Redford and Lewis. Seriously, we will have just flown in from Rome via Athens so I think the question is which of us will have the CLEANEST shirt.

Danny & Dusty: a band of shirt-wearers, apart from Johnny Hott (far left, the only one in a T-shirt)

diamonds: Does your comeback with a record and tour behind it mean that, now that you have reformed, you’re here to stay? Practically, do you know if there’s more to come?
Danny: Popular culture is not something we really want to be part of, now UN-popular culture on the other hand...
Dusty: You know what they say about stray dogs. You feed ’em and they’ll just keep coming back.