The Dramatic Return of Dany Laj
It was the 3rd Wednesday of December in 2009 at Cecil’s when Dany Laj last took a North Bay stage, accompanied by Joey Clement on drums and backing vocals. There would not be much disagreement amongst those in attendance, that they saw one of the best rock shows in recent memory that night. Since then, Dany has been working to further establish himself on the Toronto music scene, regularly gigging at venues such as The Press Club, The Dakota Tavern, and Graffiti’s. Also, he has recently completed a 6 song EP called “The Match”.
On September 17, Dany Laj and The Old Youth will return to play 100 Georges.
Although, for the sake of his music career, he calls Toronto home, his roots are in the north and his connections to the north remain extremely strong. Before heading to the city, Dany lived in and belonged to the music scenes of Kirkland Lake, North Bay and Sudbury.
Of course it all started in Kirkland, as he grew up in a family with a strong musical tradition. “After dinner, the table got cleared, moved out of the way, the family sat in a circle and the instruments came out. The entire family was involved with music in some way,” Dany relates.
His first band in Kirkland Lake was called Swank, whose line up included another ex-citizen of Kirkland Lake, Chad Newton. After Dany failed to crack the line up of a band he wanted to join, Prime Tension, he heard Chad Newton outside of school talking about how Swank needed another guitarist. Dany would not to be foiled again in his attempt to join a band: “I kind of swindled my way in by saying I knew scales and stuff… which I really didn’t, but I really wanted to be in that band. The next thing I knew, I was playing my first show with that at the Polish Hall in Kirkland.”
Another major musical counterpart was Joey Clement, a talented musician and songwriter, with whom he played in Too 4 Flynchen. The pair eventually outgrew Kirkland and went to Toronto in another of Joey’s bands called The Awesome Team which was on the verge of making it. By the time that The Awesome Team was signed by a label, Dany had already gone back to Kirkland to reconnect with his roots. This is when he started writing songs for himself.
Sometime in 2003, Dany moved to North Bay, to once again join a band with Chad Newton, The Intesteens. This band consisted of Dany Laj (guitar, vocals), Chad Newton (guitar, vocals), Clint Mallete (drums), and Brett McNeaul (bass) who all emigrated from Kirkland to North Bay during the Kirkland invasion of the early 2000’s. They went on to become fixtures on the North Bay scene, and released an album on Shocknova Records which was owned by Jake Naylor, also a North Bay resident formerly from Kirkland. After the departure of Brett and Clint, Dany and Chad brought The Intesteens on a cross country tour with a rhythm section borrowed from Form One; Nathan Gray (bass), and Mike Brushey (drums). It would be their last tour.
After the untimely demise of The Intesteens, Dany moved to Sudbury to form The Old Youth with Julie Houle (vocals), and Steve Joncas (bass, vocals) and Luke Sellen (drums). North Bay native Russ Jack, formerly of The Drones, eventually replaced Steve Joncas on bass. This band was a regular headliner at The Townehouse, achieving critical acclaim and considerable success with an album called “Lost in Dust”.
After the untimely demise of The Old Youth, it was time for another roots discovering pilgrimage to Kirkland Lake. There was only so much that Dany Laj and the Modern Day Citizens could do in Kirkland, so Dany decided it was time to go where the music industry was, Toronto. Not surprisingly, in Toronto, Dany is collaborating with old friends and band mates from Kirkland. On the upcoming EP “The Match”, Joey Clement (drums, vocals) and Chad Newton (bass, vocals) are both involved. The EP was recorded in Parkdale by Dave Misener, who happens to own a cottage outside of Kirkland, and mixing was done in Guelph by former Awesome Team bandmate Dan Beeson, who is originally from New Liskeard. For this upcoming EP, Dany also worked with Toronto musician Lori Hirst who sang on one of the tracks.
The manifestation of The Old Youth that we’ll see in North Bay will be Chad Newton (bass. vocals), Sean Dignan (drums), Erika Werry (keys, vocals) and Sara Fitzpatrick (fiddle) .
Playing at the George is a perfect fit for Dany Laj and The Old Youth. No venue is more dedicated to supporting original music than is the George, and Dany is perhaps one of the hardest working promoters that the North Bay music scene has known. The knock on a North Bay bars is that they don’t bring in enough original acts. However, Dany sees his role as entertainer from the perspective of the venue owner. These are businesses and are interested in making profits. He knows as an entertainer, his job is to bring people out, and make sure the bar does good that night. So, when Dany plays, expect a party.
As a musician, not only is it important to promote your own shows, it is also important to support the efforts of other musicians who are playing original music. If you don’t show up for shows, don’t be surprised if people don’t show up for yours.
“You do have a duty. If you want there to be a scene for original music in whatever city you live in, you have to get out and be at shows even when you aren’t playing. I’ve lived in North Bay, and I understand the struggles that the North Bay Scene faces. It works when people are showing up, and fails when people stay home. It’s that simple. The bars will book original music when they think the people involved can be successful for the bar.”
It could be looking up in North Bay in terms of access to original music, with the return of Drew Vendetti and the re-launch of Organ Grinder, his promotional company. North Bay can look forward to seeing acts like C’mon, and The Sadies, in the not too distant future. Given Organ Grinder’s track record of success, Drew is not having any problems finding venues that are eager to work with him.
“It’s good for North Bay to have Drew back with Organ Grinder. If you support Drew’s shows, he’s the kind of guy that will help your band out in any way he can. I know this because I’ve dealt with Drew years ago. He knows how to promote, and works with people that support the scene. He’s successful because of it.”
Recently having turned 30, Dany has a long musical career already behind him. He also has a long musical career ahead of him, as his dedication to making music drives everything he does in life. The new album EP, is currently available on the CBC Radio 3 website, and will be released on CD and vinyl in the near future. If hard work and the quality of the product have anything to do with it, the sky is the limit for M. Dany Lajeunesse from Kirkland Lake.
Oh ya, by the way, come out to the George on the 17th, it’ll be a party.
