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Interview: Danny Worsnop’s ‘The Long Road Home’ LP is a journey of pure sonic goodness

Jon Berrien
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‘The Long Road Home’ is finally here, Danny Worsnop has gone solo with the emotionally charged,  country-rock/blues album and we are stoked! It’s a new sound for the frontman of Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot, and it has our eardrums in pure delight.

With the recent release of ‘The Long Road Home,’ GroundSounds caught up with Danny to talk about his latest project, musical inspirations and more, check out the exclusive interview below.

 

For those just discovering Danny Worsnop, can you tell us a little about your upbringing and how you got started with music?

I began studying music, learning instruments, and writing songs at a very young age. Around 3 years old. I played in a touring orchestra for a few years as a child playing both trumpet and violin before moving over to guitar. I started college at 16 studying music and eventually left at 17 to move across to the US with my first band, Asking Alexandria. Six months later I signed my first record deal and have spent the last decade touring the globe and writing songs.

We are stoked about the release of your debut solo album ‘The Long Road Home,’ can you tell us about working on this project and bringing it to fruition?

The Long Road Home wasn’t ever supposed to be released, or even heard. It started out as a way of me to work through a lot of baggage I had from over the years. A form of self-therapy if you will. Over time the songs became so plentiful and moving that the few who’d heard them made it very clear to me that it was something I needed to put out into the world. It was an emotional rollercoaster writing these songs, facing my demons and overcoming a lot of things I had buried down and were drastically effecting my wellbeing.

What made you decide on the album tite ‘The Long Road Home?’

The title is a perfect representation of what this album is to me both as a man, and an artist. I’ve worked on many projects and musical endeavors in my years but creating this felt like it was… right. As if it were where I was supposed to be all along. It’s so personal and introspective, this record was a turning point in my life and helped me shed a lot of baggage, eventually rediscovering myself.

You have gone from metal to the country rock world, can you tell us a little bit about this music transition?

I have always pushed the limits and boundaries placed on artists and refused to be confined into a classifiable box. I have worked in classical, heavy metal, hip-hop, blues, rock, EDM, and now country. I will always continue to explore my abilities as I feel all artists should. I don’t consider this to be any kind of transition at all, merely another avenue in which for me to tell my stories. I approach my acting and photography the same way, and I’m sure I shall in whatever other directions I end up going.

You have been on an emotional journey and have been on tough times once before, can you tell us about your difficult times and how you pushed through to where you are now?

My life has definitely been one of ups and downs, thankfully with this record I was able to put a lot of the darkness behind me. I had a bad history with drugs, lost my daughter, and had been without a roof over my head more than I would wish on anyone. I would bottle everything up and ignore it, which turned sour and bit back in the form of addiction and depression. On the surface I was the life of the party but inside I was broken. The Long Road Home is exactly what I needed to shake all of that off and really come to terms with my reality so I could move on.

Can you tell us about the writing and creative process involved with your track “Anyone But Me?”

“Anyone But Me” was a song I wrote with two of my dear friends, Terri Jo Box and Randall Clay. We bounced around on a couple of ideas before I played that verse progression. From there the song really wrote itself, we just sat and let it go where it wanted to go. It’s a truly beautiful piece that I needed to write at the time coming out of a relationship and, after a few years of tumultuous ups and downs, I was in the belief of that just being something I was incapable of.

What musicians/bands are you currently listening to?

My music collection is infinitely varied and extensive. It really depends on my mood, lately I have been on a big Sinatra kick. When I’m writing I try to avoid listening to too much music so as to not duplicate someone else’s sound. I do my best to focus on my own soul and create something new and true to myself as much as possible.

After the release of the album, what’s next? What can fans look forward to?

After this, I will be touring extensively all around the globe. I have a couple of new movies I’m starring in this summer and hopefully some more film projects. I’ll be in the studio working on new music for both Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot. I also intend on releasing a video for every single song on The Long Road Home. I am excited to see what the future holds, and excited for all of my fans to hear what I’ve spent the last two years working on. This is very much a side of me that hasn’t been seen before and it’s going to be interesting to see how the public receives it.

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