Danny Cash article

[thebigbang]

In this week's Velocity Weekly, Danny tells all (or some,anyway):

 
All Rocked Out
My Morning Jacket gave Danny Cash a shot at fame and money. Then he walked away.

By Joshua Hammann

http://www.velocityweekly.com/sound/music.html

Photo by Matt Stone
"I don't think I'd ever want to go back," Danny Cash said.
 
Danny Cash has bonged Coors Light tall boys with Dave Grohl and slipped into the bubbling, milky-white waters of an Icelandic hot spring. He's been hugged by adoring fans and burned by music writers. He's done everything that anyone who ever picked up a guitar or wrote a song might envision as the ultimate fruit of their labors.

He has also decided that it isn't the life for him.

For almost five years, 26-year-old Cash played keyboards for My Morning Jacket, the Louisville band that has turned its brand of southern-inflected jam rock into a international sensation. He recorded a handful of EPs and two full-length records, including the breakthrough "It Still Moves."

But for almost a year, Cash had been souring on life on the rock 'n' roll fast track. This slow-building wave crested in a hotel room in London a few days before Thanksgiving.

Cash and guitarist Johnny Quaid met with the band and its manager and announced they were quitting.

"I don't think it was much of a surprise," Cash said. "When you tour with somebody and you spend 24 hours a day next to them for years on end it gets rough after a while. It could be Santa Claus but you end up hating them after a while."

Both members have since been replaced, and Cash has already begun life as potentially Louisville's own Pete Best.

"I thought doing the record and being home for a extended amount of time would be really nice, but doing the record, we were in the studio every day and I might as well have been on the road," Cash said. "And while we were still making the record we had to leave for the tour. It was a lot of nonstop touring and by the end of this year I had pretty much had it."

The band canceled the first few January dates of the tour. Rumors swirled around about a band member breaking a hand, but Cash said it was the band trying to figure out its next move.

Cash's next move is the Debutantes, a French pop, glam-inspired band started by some of his lifelong friends. Also, Cash is opening Kopilot, a toy and knick-knack art gallery at 618 Baxter Ave. that will feature works by local artists and items he picked up on tour.

Kopilot's grand opening is Feb. 6 and will feature the work of local artist Andy Sturdevant.

Cash had always been interested in art, but had also always dreamed of a life where music kept him from the bane of "a real job."

"It's cool to have fulfilled that and to have dropped everything and just gone out and played," Cash said. "That's obviously the life that Jim (James) and (Two-Tone) Tommy and Patrick (Hallahan) want, but for me and John, I think that lifestyle made us understand that we were home people."

Despite the timing, Cash said he and Quaid came to their decisions independently.

"John and I, I think, we were on the same page because we talked a lot, but neither of us really talked to each other about quitting," Cash said.

The band had been touring in England, Scotland and Sweden through November. It was cold, Cash said, and morale was not high. Then Cash heard that a close friend of the band was missing.

"One night, our drummer Patrick woke me up and told me that they found that he had killed himself," Cash said. "The tour really started to deteriorate from there."

Soon after, Cash and Quaid were gone.

My Morning Jacket's recent success has been massive. The band enjoys consistent coverage from the likes of Rolling Stone, Spin and NME. It has shared the stage with the Foo Fighters and Beck and appeared on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." It seems poised for only more greatness. But that wasn't the reality, Cash says.

"In the band, as much as I loved the music, we would record 12 or 15 songs every 21/2 years and then go out and play the same songs every night," Cash said. "You wake up, set up your gear, go do your interviews and eat and then come back and play and tear everything down. It's like (the movie) `Groundhog Day.'"

At home with his friends and family, Cash is more immersed in music than he was on the tour bus, playing with the Debutantes and helping record another band his friends are in, Your Black Star.

"I can be involved in a lot of bands and still be involved with the lives of my family and friends," Cash said. "That's perfect for me. I don't think I'd ever want to go back."

But there are things he will miss.

"Even where you are just basically playing the same set list of songs night after night, just getting up there, the vibe that all of us had, that was the best part," he said.

My Morning Jacket started with a brown van and five guys who were willing to drive four days to play one show. They would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drink generic cola. When there was money, they would splurge on turkey and cheese. But there was a goal in sight that made sleeping in a van living on Jiff worth it.

Four years later, My Morning Jacket reached that goal — shot right past it, actually — and that was enough for Cash, so he walked away.

[otter]

"In the band, as much as I loved the music, we would record 12 or 15 songs every 21/2 years and then go out and play the same songs every night," Cash said. "You wake up, set up your gear, go do your interviews and eat and then come back and play and tear everything down. It's like (the movie) `Groundhog Day.'"  

This is the only thing that I have ever been even moderately disappointed about MMJ.

Some bands you can see three nights in a row and never hear the same song twice. I can relate to what Danny is saying on this topic. It makes seeing more than one night on the tour less alluring..granted there might be a song or two that's different, but travelling 200 or 300 miles to the next town to see the same show is...well...still worth it. However, for as much talent as the band has...and as many good songs as they have..It would be nice if they would change up the setlists from night to night. I'll still go even if it is the same show.

[Oz]

I read you, otter. Saw the band twice in November and I was disappointed that they played the same set, even though there were 2 or 3 weeks in between. Hmm... This is not a very uplifting article. It does imply that Danny left on a sad note. But it is very understandable... Let's just say I'm going to want to hear more from those Debutantes.

[DD]

danny and i are just hired guns in the debutantes.  dont let it stop you from seeing the band though because it fucking RULES.  but if your really interested in dcash music just hold on for a while.  i have a feeling a lot of his origional music will be recorded and released in the coming months/years.

[ycartrob]

 

 "Some bands you can see three nights in a row and never hear the same song twice."

yeah right. Some bands play a 2 hour show, 3 nights in a row, and NEVER hear the same song twice? Please name those bands.

[otter]

Widespread Panic, Phish, The Dead. There were sometimes five or six nights in a row that the Dead would maybe only repeat a song or two.

I realize that My Morning Jacket is not a "Jam Band" (although in a different sense of the word they are "THE" Jam band).

That's why I never posted anything about it before, but when a band member talks about the repetition... that worries me for the long term.

[ycartrob]

well otter, I know widespread and the dead and all them play a lot of covers, too. I am sure MMJ could conjure up some covers to add to the festivities, or they could leave that to the "scene" bands (which is what they will do). You can't name a band that plays ALL originals and shakes up the set list too much. Any band that ever toured usually sticks close to home with a tour's set list, if they're playing their own music.

[otter]

You asked. What's wrong with covers?

[ycartrob]

well, if I had to choose to see a band play originals or covers, I would pick originals. But that's just me. I don't really follow bands around, so I could care less if their set list is the same. When Cash says, "You wake up, set up your gear, go do your interviews and eat and then come back and play and tear everything down." That's rock and roll man. That's the way it's always been and not eveyone is suited for that lifestyle. You really can't say MMJ is any different from any other band playing their own tunes.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

Hey now, we're all friends here.  

Remember, MMJ is barely in year 4 of touring, and probably only in year 2 of BIG touring.  (did year 2 ever stop?)

So, what I'm trying to say is that as time progresses, new material comes out, and whatnot, I think the show will evolve.  I know it has since 99 in a big way.

MMJ is certainly a band to go see multiple times, so I go regardless!

[otter]

I hear you John. I was just trying to answer a question, not trying to cause an uproar. I am allowed my opinion, and so is everyone else.

Am I not allowed to speak on the board if it isn't a compliment to the band? I have made more than a hundred posts here and I think this is the first time I have ever said anything negative (barring the little incident with Cheddah Frank, but that was a little different).

I didn't say they sucked...I was just wishing for a diversified set. Ycarb I hope there is no animosity. I respect what you have to say.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

Otter, of course you're allowed your opinion, be it positive or negative.  Everyone is entitled to say what's on their minds, I would never suggest otherwise.

I was just (ahem) trying to keep it civil, that's all.  Perhaps I was overstepping a bit...rock on man.

 ;D

[ycartrob]

np 8)

[marktwain]

MMJ used to do such great covers ("Hot Legs," "Tyrone," "Easy").  They really helped shake up a setlist.  But I heard that Jim didn't like how much more attention the covers were getting vs. the original material, and so they toned it down.

[Oz]

I also appreciate it more when a band plays just, or mainly, original tunes. And I think Motorpsycho is about the only band that plays a different set of originals each night, but yes, they also jam a lot and they have been building up a catalogue of material since 1992! So you can't compare that. As about Widespread Panic, The Grateful Dead and Phish... maybe it's just me not being American, but I always found them pretty boring...

[Garth69]

I agree with more diversified sets. It does depend on the band and kind of music, but given the amount of shows they play and the amount of quality material (including covers), it seems like MMJ could mix things up a bit more. They could easily play three nights in a row without repeating a song. But if they want to stick with the same sets, that's up to them. I'll still see them, but I'd argue that it would be more interesting if I didn't know what was coming. All the reviews I read from last year's shows seemed to note damn near the same set for all of them, which was kind of a disappointment, given all the great stuff in their arsenal. And while I'm a big Dead fan, that approach certainly doesn't work for any band. I've seen Interpol twice and it was exactly the same, not to mention exactly like the record. But it was good, so I wouldn't have expected otherwise.
And as far as negative comments...I'd have to argue that most of what I read about MMJ is way too positive. I love the band and all, but they can do no wrong to most people, especially the press. Maybe it's the nature of the media, but the reviews for the last record seemed to build on each other without offering anything new to say, only that it was great. They borrow the same phrases and list the same influences. The best review I read was from the LEO or C-J because it was actually somewhat critical, which I agreed with. Anyway...back to work.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

I like what you had to say about Jeffrey Lee Puckett's review (Courier-Journal).  It was critical without being nasty, and had some constructive things to say.

As for general comments or reviews being "too positive", I guess it is just that hard to come up with something negative to say about My Morning Jacket.  Press darlings?  Maybe.  Critical acclaim?  You betcha.

Thing is, the good stuff is well deserved.  I get defensive (to my own pitfall, I must confess) when folks say nasty shit about the band that doesn't have any basis in reality.  I find myself protecting them here and elsewhere not just because I love their music, but I feel it is important to not allow the "1/2 empty set" find fault in what they are doing.  

Everyone is encouraged to post their own thoughts, of course-just be ready to be challenged by losers like me who spend 1000 hours a week here!  Muwhahahahhaaa!!  :o

[Garth69]

I agree that these guys fully deserve all the acclaim they've been getting. My problem is that the media/public have a tendency to blow things out of proportion, to where the actual hype becomes something different apart from the band. In MMJ's case, it's only helped them, and I think they're smart enough to know that the tide could turn the other way very quickly. But some of the reviews/articles seemed to just perpetuate the flow of overwhelmingly positive coverage without adding anything remotely critical. I read Peter Buck say the same thing about REM's early critical success. It's like reviewers are afraid to go against the grain (although some do), like it's easier to copy the latest buzzwords and comparisons. Anyway, that's the media, not the band.

[hipkink]

I would just like to say that Danny, and Johnny are awesome guys. Nobody can understand how they felt on the road for those 4 years except the guys in the band. I was lucky enough to meet the guys a few times, and Danny and Johnny were two of the nicest, most genuiune and humble people I've ever met. I'm going to miss seeing them onstage with the rest of the guys. But those guys deserve to be happy. I think all of us would agree that they're also welcome guests in our respective towns. God bless em'. They gave us as many memories as they took.
  

[hipkink]

Oh yeah - and those guys can play whatever the hell they want. When I can put together a set as good as any of their's, then I might have room to criticize. And the reason they get good press and good reviews is because they've earned it. If you want to talk about a band that got tons of hype and good press undeservedly, talk about the Strokes! They hadn't even released their first album when the hype began. MMJ worked hard, and have earned their recognition.