Biography
In the opening months of 2010 the house-rocking garage trio Danny & the Darleans first took shape. This project added another chapter to the string of ensembles launched by Danny Kroha, the founding member of Detroit garage punk legends the Gories. Once the Gories had ended, Kroha anchored groups such as Demolition Doll Rods and the Readies while also devoting stretches to solo work in a minimalist folk-blues mode.
During that lean solo stretch, drummer Richie Wohlfeil contacted Kroha with an offhand idea for a casual jam or the chance that he and bassist Colleen Burke might support one of Danny’s lone appearances. A handful of understated blues dates gradually hardened into a self-contained three-piece that folded heavier textures into its sound and began including R&B material from acts like Little Junior Parker and Nathaniel Mayer. Burke’s fluid, striding basslines and Wohlfeil’s spare yet potent drumming meshed exactly with Kroha’s high-energy punk-blues guitar command and unmistakable frontman charisma.
The band supplied a cut to the Nolan Strong tribute compilation Daddy Rockin’ Strong under the temporary name Danny & the Del Torros. Soon afterward they adopted their lasting title after spotting a promotional door hanger from the shuttered Darlean’s Beauty Salon. With the new name in place they started gigging around Detroit, shaping a party-igniting approach built on both covers and originals that felt every bit as enduring as the older songs. Releases arrived at a measured pace: a two-song 7" in 2012 and a self-titled LP near the end of 2013. In 2016 the group joined forces with celebrated garage punk imprint In the Red Records for their second album, Bug Out.
During that lean solo stretch, drummer Richie Wohlfeil contacted Kroha with an offhand idea for a casual jam or the chance that he and bassist Colleen Burke might support one of Danny’s lone appearances. A handful of understated blues dates gradually hardened into a self-contained three-piece that folded heavier textures into its sound and began including R&B material from acts like Little Junior Parker and Nathaniel Mayer. Burke’s fluid, striding basslines and Wohlfeil’s spare yet potent drumming meshed exactly with Kroha’s high-energy punk-blues guitar command and unmistakable frontman charisma.
The band supplied a cut to the Nolan Strong tribute compilation Daddy Rockin’ Strong under the temporary name Danny & the Del Torros. Soon afterward they adopted their lasting title after spotting a promotional door hanger from the shuttered Darlean’s Beauty Salon. With the new name in place they started gigging around Detroit, shaping a party-igniting approach built on both covers and originals that felt every bit as enduring as the older songs. Releases arrived at a measured pace: a two-song 7" in 2012 and a self-titled LP near the end of 2013. In 2016 the group joined forces with celebrated garage punk imprint In the Red Records for their second album, Bug Out.