Friday, May 15, 2015
By John Benson
John Dante is in his mid-20s but in some ways he’s already lived a lifetime most musicians would envy.
After graduating in 2008 from Howland High School, the singer-songwriter decided to roll the dice by moving to Nashville. Soon after his arrival, Dante was busking on the busy streets of the Music City playing the blues.
“I was 18, and I tried to do a solo career as an acoustic musician,” said Dante, calling from St. Joseph, Mich. “That didn’t really work. That’s why I was playing on the streets. I recorded an album in a hotel room, put it out and didn’t do a whole lot so that’s when I started The Inferno.”
While John Dante and the Inferno has always been his solo project, the Howland native has dabbled in other musical projects and school along the way. For example, in 2012 he attended the Musicians Institute in California.
In fact, it was his interaction with top-40 songwriters as well as studying the works of John Lennon, Buddy Holly and the Rolling Stones that led to Dante leaving behind his blues background for a more modern-rock sound.
John Dante and the Inferno played all around Northeast Ohio over the years, including shows at the Cove Niteclub in Geneva on the Lake, Peabody’s DownUnder in Cleveland, JB’s in Kent and the Empire in Akron.
It was the latter venue where Dante, who graduated from Kent State last year with a degree in psychology, was approached to join a Primus cover band. He’s still in that group today, but his focus now is squarely on John Dante and the Inferno, which is about to release its currently untitled debut.
“One of the songs is ‘Space Trippin’,’ which is straightforward stoner rock,” Dante said. “It’s very driving. Then we have ‘Funky Frankenstein,’ which is exactly how it sounds. It’s like all the crazy [expletive] you’ve ever heard and all the crazy sounds you’ve ever heard funk-ified into one fantastic horror tune.
“There’s also ‘Faces of Rock.’ That’s like if Black Sabbath meets Tool. It’s super hardcore and a little bit of alternative metal.”
The outfit has a CD release show tonight at Cedars West End in Youngstown. The band plans on playing the 12-track album in its entirety.
“When we come on stage we want to keep it fresh and exciting so the set list isn’t set in stone, especially the covers,” Dante said. “Sometimes you hear a song and the lyrics just hit you like they never did before and you want to share it with people.
“At Cedars, we’re planning on playing the full 12-song album but we might throw some covers in there that range from Muddy Waters to Buddy Holly to MGMT.”
Despite the band’s comparisons and various song descriptions, Dante promises the material won’t go over the heads of the unsuspecting Cedars West End audience.
“No, that’s what’s fun about it,” Dante said. “It’s really something you can dance to and get into. I like to be eclectic and out there but I want the music to be something that like everyone can dig it. This isn’t something where you have to be spaced out to enjoy it.”