Dangerman

It is fitting that Dangerman hail from and make their music in New York City, the melting pot of the world. The duo’s music is a highly stylized blend of rock, Latin, jazz, blues and hip-hop sounds that tears up cultural boundaries and results in a sound uniquely their own. Their Brendan O’ Brien-produced 550 Music debut, Dangerman, featuring the fast-rising radio hit “Let’s Make A Deal,” is a collection of unforgettable songs brimming with Latin grooves, r&b beats, and jazz-based percussion. It’s a celebration of life and youth in the city, and it heralds the arrival of an exceptional new band.

Dangerman is the two-man team of Lower Manhattan natives Chris Scianni (lead vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica), and Dave Borla (drums, percussion, sequencing, background vocals). Chris’ first musical loves were classic rock and punk: the Stones, the Clash, the Sex Pistols. But his father, a jazz composer, made it his business to broaden his son’s musical horizons. “He played me Robert Johnson and Buddy Guy,” remembers Chris, “which I liked. But it wasn’t until he took me to see Buddy Guy when I was 14 that I was blown away. That was a life-changing experience.”

Dave’s first inspiration to become a drummer was the untraditional figure of Animal from The Muppets. Eventually he grew up to study piano and saxophone. “But my love for and desire to play the drums never wavered,” he says. “From high school on, I was a drummer.” Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham was a potent musical model. But it is Dave’s jazz influencesgreats like Elvin Jones, Chick Webb, Jo Jones, and Jimmy Cobbwhich account for much of the eclecticism in Dangerman’s grooves.

Although they’d known of each other for years, and had crossed paths in various bands, Chris wasn’t aware of Dave’s percussive prowess until he saw him on a club gig in late 1993. “When I saw Dave play,” he recalls, “I knew I had to play with him.” Chris himself had been touring the world as a guitarist in John McEnroe’s band (“A good dealI got free tennis lessons from McEnroe in exchange for guitar lessons”) while seeking a drummer to complete the lineup for his own new band.

With a grunge-style four-piece called G13, Chris and Dave toured the country. In the course of their travels, they met Jason Newsted and Lars Ulrich from Metallica. A friendship was struck, and the musicians even jammed together.

“I don’t think they liked our band much at all,” Dave admits, “but they were very encouraging to the two of us. Lars kept saying that the two of us had something special, and he really admonished us to stick with it. I think they planted the seed in both of our minds that we had to try something differentand trying to do something different turned into Dangerman.”

The pair convened at Dave’s East Village apartment in the fall of 1996 to work on what they thought would be a side project. Within two weeks, says Dave, “we knew it was better than G13. I got kicked out of my apartment for playing the drums at all hours, but it was worth it.”

The new group relocated its rehearsals, and as a consequence soon found its style. Chris: “I think that within a one-block radius of our rehearsal space, every single ethnic group is represented. We were exposed to a ton of different kinds of music, especially Latin music. Dave and I pooled the last of our money together to buy a three-dollar tape by Willie Colon (the great Latin composer and band leader). We listened to it over and over, and eight hours later we’d written and recorded the demo of ‘Let’s Make A Deal.’”

Soon the demo of “Let’s Make A Deal” and a few other early songs had won Dangerman a deal with 550 Music and the enthusiastic attention of producer/engineer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Neil Young, Stone Temple Pilots, Bob Dylan, and many more). O’Brien’s response was so strong that two days later, Chris and Dave were cutting tracks in his Atlanta studio. “Brendan was like a third member of the band,” says Chris. “He got the sounds that were in our heads onto tape.” In addition to producing, O’Brien added keyboards, mellotron, clavinet, Fender Rhodes, and lap steel.

Dangerman like to use the term “urban rock” when discussing their music, and the description is an apt one. Consider the deliciously salsa-fied feel of “Let’s Make A Deal,” the celebratory album opener and first single. “Roll ‘Em Down,” a song about a certain sticky situation with the NYPD, hooks up a laconic hip-hop beat to the half-witticism/half-warning lines, “Don’t get caught on this side of town/Just roll ’em down.”

Inspired by and quoting from blues legend Robert Johnson, “Good Friend” is a testament to love and friendship with a piano line straight from the Baptist church. “Remember,” built on a sample from a Pakistani folk song, looks wistfully upon life in the neighborhood prior to the onset of adult responsibilities. From the Cuban feel of “High Heeled Sneakers” to the pounding, straight-ahead rock of “You Never Really Know,” and the menacing nighttime vibe of “Luckiest Man,” Dangerman displays a confident command of styles and sounds drawn from music’s past, present, and future.

Dangerman, says Chris Scianni, “is our version of the New York we grew up in and live in today.”

“With these eleven songs, we feel like we just had eleven kids,” says Dave Borla. “We’re incredibly close to this music, it took us a long time to get here. We worked really hard on this record, and we’re ready for the world to hear it.”