Danger Danger is an American
glam metal
Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
band formed in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York, in 1987.
History
Danger Danger was formed in 1987 by former Hotshot members lead vocalist
Mike Pont
Mike Pont is an American singer, songwriter, and celebrity photographer. As a singer he has sung for several bands, including Hotshot, Trouble, The Mike Pont Band, Danger Danger, and the Gangsters Of Love.
Music
In 1983 Mike Pont co-founded a new ...
, bassist
Bruno Ravel (born 1964), and drummer
Steve West (born 1964). This lineup also featured then future Hotshot guitarist
Al Pitrelli (born 1962) and the former keyboardist of Jazz/Rock/Fusion group Get With It, Kasey Smith (born 1960). Mike Pont later left the band and was replaced by
Ted Poley (born 1962), who previously played in the band
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
as drummer, and sometimes lead vocalist. Somewhere during this time, they made a failed attempt at recording a demo.
They made another attempt at recording a demo and this time it landed them a recording contract with
Epic Records.
In 1988, Pitrelli left Danger Danger.
Shortly after, Pont and Pitrelli reunited to form a new lineup of Hotshot. Since then, Pitrelli has played in various other bands. Pitrelli played on most of the Danger Danger compilation album ''
Rare Cuts''.
In 1988,
Saraya guitarist
Tony Rey joined briefly and played on part of their debut album, before returning to his previous band.
Andy Timmons (born July 26, 1963) replaced him and played on the rest of their debut album, which was released the same year.
The album spawned two hits with "Naughty Naughty" and "
Bang Bang", with the former gaining a spot in MTV's ''
Headbangers Ball
''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more o ...
''. The band went on tour opening for
KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...
,
Extreme
Extreme may refer to:
Science and mathematics Mathematics
*Extreme point, a point in a convex set which does not lie in any open line segment joining two points in the set
*Maxima and minima, extremes on a mathematical function
Science
*Extremop ...
and
Warrant.
After that, the band went on to record their follow-up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 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. After the tour, Kasey Smith left the band and started a new project titled Shock together with friend and former Get With It drummer Michael Bellusci.
In 1993 the band had finished work with their third album titled ''
Cockroach
Cockroaches (or roaches) are a Paraphyly, paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are we ...
''. However, the band fired singer Poley. Subsequent lawsuits from Poley prevented the album from being released. In the meantime,
Paul Laine (born October 12, 1967) was hired by Ravel and West as the new singer and he re-recorded the vocals for the new album. When they were about to release the album, Epic thought it was in their best interest to shelve the record. Shortly after that the band and the label parted ways. In addition, guitarist Timmons left the band to pursue a solo career. Timmons went on to play guitar on both of
Kip Winger
Charles Frederick Kip Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American bass guitarist and singer, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass an ...
's solo albums.
Ravel and West formed their own label, Low Dice Records, and started working on a new album with Laine. They released ''
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ho ...
'' 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, who had previously played with Paul Laine as a solo artist, and they went on tour again in the U.S.
The band went back in the studio and released ''
Four the Hard Way'' in 1997. Former band members
Andy Timmons and Kasey 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 could not be released for legal issues. The album featured two discs with two versions of the album, one with Laine on vocals and the other with Ted Poley. In 2002 the song "Naughty Naughty Christmas" was featured in the
Tim Allen
Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom '' Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC ...
movie ''
The Santa Clause 2''. They followed ''Cockroach'' with ''
Rare Cuts'' in 2003, a collection of unreleased and rare tracks including early demos with original member Pitrelli, now playing with Megadeth and
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...
, that were recorded in his mother's laundry room. In 2004 Laine left the band and original singer Poley returned. However, in 2005 the band still released, ''
Live and Nude
Danger Danger is an American glam metal band formed in Queens, New York, in 1987.
History
Danger Danger was formed in 1987 by former Hotshot members lead vocalist Mike Pont, bassist Bruno Ravel (born 1964), and drummer Steve West (born 19 ...
'', which was recorded in 2003 and featured Laine on vocals.
In 2008 rock and roll comic
C.C. Banana recorded a song called "
Ted Poley", released on the album ''
Kiss My Ankh.'' The song is a parody of the Kiss song "
Unholy
''Profanum'' is the Latin word for "profane". The state of being profane, or "profanity," refers to a lack of respect for things that are held to be sacred, which implies anything inspiring or deserving of reverence, as well as behaviour sh ...
", inspired by the story of Poley's first encounter with Kiss lead singer
Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popula ...
.
On September 19, 2009, the independent label
Frontiers Records
Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples.
History
In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the ...
released ''
Revolve'', featuring the return of Poley as lead singer, as well as new member, guitarist
Rob Marcello (born September 9, 1977). The album coincided with the 20th anniversary of their debut release for Imagine Records.
The classic lineup of Ted Poley, Bruno Ravel, Steve West, Andy Timmons, and Kasey Smith reunited in 2014 for a series of touring dates.
Members
Current members
*
Bruno Ravel – bass (1987–1995; 1997–present), guitars (1993–1995, 1997–2000), keyboards (1993–1995, 1998–2014, 2014-present)
*
Steve West – drums, percussion (1987–1995; 1997–present)
*
Ted Poley – lead vocals (1987–1993, 2004–present)
*
Rob Marcello – guitars (2003–present)
*Steve Brown – guitars (2016–present, performance only, unofficial member)
Former members
*Phil Naro – lead vocals (1987) (no performance or recordings)
*
Mike Pont
Mike Pont is an American singer, songwriter, and celebrity photographer. As a singer he has sung for several bands, including Hotshot, Trouble, The Mike Pont Band, Danger Danger, and the Gangsters Of Love.
Music
In 1983 Mike Pont co-founded a new ...
– lead vocals (1987)
*
Al Pitrelli – guitars (1987–1988)
*
Tony "Bruno" Rey
Tony "Bruno" Rey is an American guitarist, writer, producer and arranger who has worked with bands including Saraya, the Mike Pont Band, Danger Danger, Billy Joel, Janet Jackson, Enrique Iglesias, Joan Jett & the Black Hearts, Kathie Lee, Taylo ...
– guitars (1988–1989, 1997, 2000)
*Kasey Smith – keyboards (1987–1993, 1997–1998, 2014)
*
Andy Timmons – guitars (1989–1993, 1997–2003, 2014)
*
Paul Laine – lead vocals (1993–1995; 1997–2004)
*
Scott Brown – bass (1995) (tour member)
Timeline
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bar:Laine from:10/01/1993 till:04/01/1995 color:Vocals
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bar:Marcello from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Guitars
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bar:Ravel from:09/01/1998 till:01/01/2000 color:Keys width:7
bar:Ravel from:01/01/2000 till:05/03/2014 color:Keys width:3
bar:Ravel from:11/08/2014 till:end color:Keys width:3
bar:Smith from:01/01/1987 till:03/01/1993 color:Keys
bar:Smith from:01/01/1997 till:09/01/1998 color:Keys
bar:Smith from:05/03/2014 till:11/08/2014 color:Keys
bar:West from:01/01/1987 till:04/01/1995 color:Drums
bar:West from:01/01/1997 till:end color:Drums
bar:Brown from:01/11/1994 till:04/01/1995 color:Bass
bar:Brown from:01/11/1994 till:04/01/1995 color:Live width:3
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
*''
Down and Dirty Live'' EP (1990)
*''
Live and Nude
Danger Danger is an American glam metal band formed in Queens, New York, in 1987.
History
Danger Danger was formed in 1987 by former Hotshot members lead vocalist Mike Pont, bassist Bruno Ravel (born 1964), and drummer Steve West (born 19 ...
'' (2005)
Compilation albums
*''
Rare Cuts'' (2003)
Singles
See also
*
List of glam metal bands and artists
The following list of glam metal bands and artists includes bands and artists that have been described as glam metal or its interchangeable terms, hair metal, hair bands, pop metal and lite metal by professional journalists at some stage in thei ...
References
External links
Official website*
Ted PoleyHotshot website – features info on Danger Danger's roots
{{Authority control
Epic Records artists
Frontiers Records artists
Glam metal musical groups from New York (state)
Hard rock musical groups from New York (state)
Musical groups established in 1987
Musical groups from Queens, New York