Danger Danger - History

History

Danger Danger was formed in 1987 by former Hotshot members lead vocalist Mike Pont, bassist Bruno Ravel, and drummer Steve West. This line-up also featured then future Hotshot guitarist Al Pitrelli and former Get With It keyboardist Kasey Smith. Mike Pont later left the band and was replaced by Ted Poley, who previously played in the band Prophet as drummer, and sometimes lead vocalist. Somewhere during this time, they made an attempt at recording a demo, but failed.

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 line-up of Hotshot. Since then, Pitrelli has played in various other bands. Pitrelli played on most of the Danger Danger compilation album Rare Cuts.

In 1989, Saraya guitarist Tony "Bruno" Rey joined briefly and played on part of their debut album, before returning to his previous band. Andy Timmons replaced him and played on the rest of their debut album, which was released in the same 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 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.

In 1993, the band had finished work with their third album titled Cockroach. However, 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 shelve the record. Shortly after, the band and the label parted ways. In addition, guitarist Timmons left the band to pursue a solo career. Since then, Timmons played guitar on both of Kip Winger's solo albums.

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, 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 1998. 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 both 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 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, and recorded in his mother's laundry room. In 2004, Laine left the band and original singer Poley returned. However, a 2005 release, Live and Nude, which was recorded in 2003 featured Laine.

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," inspired by the story of Poley's first encounter with Kiss lead singer Paul Stanley.

On September 19, 2009, the independent label Frontiers Records released Revolve, featuring the return of Poley as lead singer, as well as new member, guitarist Rob Marcello. The album coincided with the 20th anniversary of their debut release for Imagine Records.