The saying “A Prayer For The Loud” is something about me loving people who wasn’t afraid to tell the world who they were. I love people who are verbal and vocal about what they thought…People that dare show themselves…I love people who are alive so to speak, who’s not afraid to show up, so of course this fitted perfectly with a rock n’ roll track where everybody comes to a show, it fits with the audience. It’s a prayer for the audience, we love you because you come out here and raise your fist and sing along to our songs…!”
Uber fucking rock legends, D-A-D, alternatively known as Disneyland After Dark, have been on constant revered and loved rotation at my house since hearing their debut album Draws A Circle for the first time in 1987. Yes, I knew of them before Sleeping My Day Away/No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims came out in 1989 thanks to my frequenting of unholy and non-parental friendly record stores in my home city!
These four blokes from Copenhagen have been consistently releasing quality albums for nigh on forty years. Sure some of them haven’t been so hot, but in my mind, D-A-D have never sold out, releasing consistent and great album after great album without anyone (here and the US at least) even noticing which is an absolute shame because they are truly 110%, one of the worlds best rock bands and criminally overlooked and underrated.
For the uninitiated out there, Disneyland After Dark are a straight-up killer rock band that refuse to take themselves seriously, yet command attention. Singer Jesper Binzer’s voice is truly one of a kind, their bassist Stig Pedersen has a penchant for utilising fantastic and unconventional two-stringed basses that are incredible pieces of art that need to be seen to be believed and tie in magnificently theme-wise with their stage show and accompanying songs, with the rest of D-A-D rounded out by none other than Jesper’s brother Jacob on guitar and Laust on drums.
A young and sly seventeen-year-old Metal V was at D-A-D’s first (up to now) and only Melbourne show at the old Palace Hotel in St. Kilda, now unfortunately an empty space where this town’s best music venue used to exist. I was underage, my mother had no idea that I was going or what I was doing, therefore I had to convince a seemingly cool and alternative mature-age high school mate that was over eighteen, who had a car and license to come with me, so I could go and see D-A-D. Said mate thankfully agreed, we both went and the whole night was fucking RAD! I was front and center up against the stage watching this fledgling and at the time one hit wonders from Denmark. This was actually one of my first proper rock/metal gigs and has stayed with me for all these years, and I was intent on telling Jesper all about it.
I have been pestering the amazing PR agents for D-A-D for an interview opportunity and gig access for over two years, when the band initially announced an Australian tour. Cancellations ensued, courtesy of the ‘rona, but now, finally, the Disneyland After Dark tour is happening and seventeen-year-old me is losing his mind all while fifty-year-old Metal V is trying to keep his fan-boying to a minimum. I had the absolute honor and pleasure to finally get the chance to speak to lyricist, vocalist, guitarist, founding member and all round fucking legend Jesper Binzer ahead of their much anticipated and imminent upcoming gigs here in Australia. Without meaning any offense and jokingly my first question for Jesper was a cheeky one and went along the lines of “Are you ashamed of yourself for waiting thirty two years to get yourself and the band back here to tour Australia?”, we both laughed in unison and Jesper admits, “Definitely! There would of been times where you would have seen me on my knees begging the higher powers to take us back to Australia. It has been a very, very big thing for us for a long time. We tried to tie it up with (a tour to) Japan, asking, ‘is there something we can do about it?’ Japan is a funny market, we have sold a lot of albums, so we tried everything, but nothing really materialised until this tour which was postponed twice, and now I promise you we are so looking forward to this and yes…”very ashamed!”
Listening to the full interview below you will hear Jesper graciously giving a deeper understanding and insight into the whole rationale of trying to finally get D-A-D back to Australia.
“It is very important (for D-A-D) that you have a great evening. There has to be a give and take dialogue with our audience. We have no problem whatsoever playing all our favourite songs“.
Jesper
It always warms the heart and ignites a small flame in any journalist’s career when the interviewee responds first with – “That’s a very good question!” And my moment with Jesper was when I asked about D-A-D’s nearly four-decade-long career and how the band has managed to remain such a strong and tight-knit unit?
“It comes down to our (himself and brother Jacob) parents that made us into kids then grown-ups that are there to listen to each other and one’s not afraid to take small conflicts and definitely keeping the respect,” he replied.
Reiterating this important life lesson Binzer continues, “I think that what we need the most is patience with each other…which goes against the whole thing of being an artist which is – Follow your instincts, live by fire, be ruthless and no compromise; than being in a band you must not be ruthless, you have to make compromises, you have to listen to each other, and you must not let the beast inside your stomach decide everything!”
Rounding the question out, Jesper says humbly that, “it’s a funny life, but I must say that we have deep respect for each other and for our skills and even if there is nothing there between us there’s always fine riffs and good music. That has always been a constant, even if we are in a bad mood!”
Fuelled by his answer I took the opportunity to ask Jesper – stepping away from D-A-D as a collective -about his desire and intention to release two killer solo albums (Dying Is Easy (2017) and Save Your Soul (2020) so make sure you listen to the interview in full to get Binzer’s personal insight into looking artistically away from his career in Disneyland After Dark.
“Entering the rock n’ roll scene, you see there’s a lot of people that lack nuance, that lack diversity. I want all of life to be in rock n’ roll, not just the mask or the front. I want our songs not to just have different meanings but to try and engulf more of life. I think that sometimes rock n’ roll is very cliched and very one dimensional! I think that D-A-D is something that I have to live with, that describes to me where we are!”
Jesper
With a career that spans a generation and an album release catalogue of 23 (give or take) albums, I asked Jesper, considering the band have not having toured here for thirty-two years, how difficult it is to choose a setlist for their Australian audience and when I tell him that D-A-D MUST DO a four hour, four set long show he lets me know that I am pushing it, responding: “Picking a set is the most important part of our lives at the moment because there are so many songs to choose from. Of course, you can never do anything just for the audience because the audience don’t know what they want! They think they know what they want, but they need to see D-A-D at their best. Of course, we’ll play a lot of songs from No Fuel (Left For The Pilgrims) but we are definitely throwing in new songs, we have to bring you up to speed.It (the set list) is more or less something that we decide on the day if we play“Point Of View in Brisbane then we’ll play Girl Nation in Sydney, or something like that – You will not be disappointed, we will exactly cater for your needs plus we’ll put in a stupid new dessert and a stupid new entrée!”
To conclude both Mr. Jesper Binzer’s and my written contribution here, I will close out with some captivating and honest words on the personal emotion Jesper submits to whilst not only on stage but as front man for D-A-D as a collective and the incredible importance of choosing a setlist…“I must say actually…a lot of those title tracks, the big songs from each album is an immense pleasure to play because it’s nice to show off the jewels and the emeralds of D-A-D’s catalogue!”
“It is very important (for D-A-D) that you have a great evening. There has to be a give and take, dialogue with our audience. We have no problem whatsoever playing all our favourite songs!
Jesper
…this is a life, not a career!”
Get your highly anticipated DISNEYLAND AFTER DARK Australian tour tickets here
