The music of The Danger Bees covers a lot of the same ground as a band like Bright Eyes: failed romance, women being mean to you, booze, you being mean to women, booze, self-pity. But where Conor Oberst wrapped his misery in dark poetic fantasy and quasi-philosophy, The Danger Bees’ singer-songwriter David Macmichael wraps his in humour. And that’s why it works.
Macmichael is pale, bespectacled, scrawny — actually, he looks quite a bit like someone who might, er, write a weekly music column for Post City Magazines. And in The Danger Bees press materials, we see the notion of “Dave” as the weak-kneed nerd played up for laughs, rather than swoons. Instead of a shadowy concept photograph of Macmichael brooding, here’s him panic-breathing into an LCBO bag, band looking relatively unconcerned. LOL, right?
But hold on. Actually listen to the music. (Here’s that MySpace link again in case you missed it.) Didn’t see that coming, did you? Go figure: this cat (pun: he loves cats) can really sing. Rather than Oberst’s pained, gyrating warble or the nasal whine of some lunatic folk-geek, we get a smooth, hearthrobby Bublé-by-way-of-indie. His band, meanwhile, does an extremely professional job of blowing up Macmichael’s songs into the dynamic range expected of soft indie rock, pulsing in subtle, gradually-expanding layers rather than doing a trite “lead singer plays by himself until 1:30, at which point all four of us kick in full-blast.” Which is probably why The Danger Bees’ newest three tracks — squeaky-clean, shiny, sometimes upbeat (!) tracks about why Macmichael’s life is horrible every day (it’s not) — have appeared on Degrassi: The Next Generation and in film.
Macmichael and I talked about his work and what makes it work. He also sent me a copy of his attempt at writing a “happy album” and gave me permission to share it for free. (Note: not a “happy album,” but funny.)
There’s a pretty interesting story behind the Danger Bees. You’re from Nova Scotia, originally; you loved, you lost, you drank, you wrote. If you’re not sick of telling the story, could you give us the reader’s digest version?
Sure thing. The band originally formed in Dartmouth, the underdog capital of Nova Scotia, around 2007. Eventually we decided that we were going to do better in a bigger city where the closest nice place to play isn’t an eight hour round trip in a van held together with duct tape and silly putty. We booked 11 shows between Nova Scotia and Ontario and left in November of 2009. Once we got here we had no money or jobs or food, and through a combination of busking, begging and borrowing, managed to not die before we found jobs. Actually, it’s probably worth mentioning that I answered an employment ad from a girl asking for someone to pretend to be her boyfriend for $50 a pop. I wasn’t exactly sure what the gig entailed but I was hungry and desperate. Sent in a head shot and never got a response. Oh well.
How much of the real David Macmichael makes it into what you do with The Danger Bees? Part of what makes your material punch is the presence of a really strong narrative with "Dave" (mentioned by name in "Why Won’t You Listen") as the narrator. "Dave" is smart, shy, way too sensitive and a loser in love. But David Macmichael is a very charismatic vocalist and, if your YouTube vids are any indication, a self-assured performer. What’s the relationship between the two?
Thank you very much! Unfortunately, it’s pretty much all true. I can only write convincingly if I’m being personal and specific, so that’s what I have to do. I often find myself erasing lines that I think are maybe just too much information to share with hundreds of people. I’ve been writing and performing my own material since I was 12 or 13 and fronting a band since I was 14, so I guess the time just has a way of giving you confidence, but I’m still not very confident and often times deathly afraid of getting on stage. Lorazepam was prescribed to me for my extreme anxiety issues and I’ve found it does wonders to appear relaxed in front of an audience. Also roller coasters.
Let’s talk about another kind of relationship: booze. It seems to have served as an inspiration and stumbling block for you. For writers and musicians (and you seem to be both), there’s a weird relationship between work and drink, in that it drives a wedge between you and the people you love. Yet, as Christopher Hitchens put it, many people just do their best work three sheets to the wind. What does that relationship look like for you today?
Unfortunately, there’s a very real relationship, or problem, that most of the band shares with alcohol. I’d say we were struggling with it, but no one is putting up much of a struggle. Wherein I only write about bad stuff that I do, I guess alcohol helps the writing process greatly. “Why Won’t You Listen” is a song exactly about that — the wedge booze drove between my ex-girlfriend and I. I’m working on a new song I’m pretty excited about that goes into the ménage à trois between alcohol, panic and myself. I can’t live with or without it.
“Awkward Guy” grows out from a quiet intro in an almost Sufjan Stevens sort of way, but it’s also got a Celtic kind of folky waltz-lilt to it. Then other tracks are more straightforward indie pop. Are you guys going to continue exploring these two personalities or do you have a singular direction in mind?
As a songwriter, I automatically default to gentle, quiet acoustic material, especially on the piano. I have to force myself to write the uptempo stuff; it doesn’t come naturally. Although “Awkward Guy” does have a Celtic feel, that was by design as the girl I wrote it for was Irish. But we’re always going to have the gentle quiet music represented. I could put out a record with all the quiet songs I’ve thrown away this year. Anyone who likes that track is definitely going to be interested to hear a new song called “Not So Heartless Jane” that I wrote over a country-esque riff that Josh Gillard, our rhythm guitarist, brought to the group. That is, as it stands, the only co-write that we’ve ever used.
What’s next on the chopping block for The Danger Bees? I know you guys had "Why Won’t You Listen" appear on Degrassi, and "Awkward Guy" was in a film.
Hopefully lots! Our new label, Daycare Records, was able to arrange all that stuff for us, and we are very thankful. We’ll be turning out our next three song e.p. before the end of the year and will then be trying to find placements for those as well. Degrassi helped us to afford our new van, so I guess we’re planning on touring soon but nothing is set in stone except a weekend in Vancouver and Vancouver Island that Ed Kramer (lead guitar) and myself will be doing as an acoustic duo (called The Dave-Ed Bees). We’re also shooting a promo music video for “Awkward Guy” for the movie the song is used in, Moon Point.
Recommended track: “Good Year”
The Danger Bees are:
David Macmichael — Piano, lead vocals
James MacNeil — Drums
Mike Dorton — Bass
William 'Josh' Gillard — Rhythm Guitar, backing vocals
Ed Kramer — Lead Guitar, backing vocals