Where Are They Now? Danny Russell Wolf of Small Towns Burn A Little Slower

Where Are They Now? Danny Russell Wolf of Small Towns Burn A Little Slower

The early 2000s post-hardcore and emo underground produced countless memorable bands, but few captured the emotional honesty and melodic urgency of Minnesota’s Small Towns Burn A Little Slower. From their early Rise Records release through Mortality as Home Entertainment on Triple Crown Records and their final album So Begins the Test of Man, the band earned a devoted following while sharing stages with many of the era’s most influential acts.

While the band ultimately called it a day, vocalist and guitarist Danny Russell Wolf never stopped creating. Based in Iowa and involved in a wide variety of musical projects, Wolf continues to write, record, perform, and build upon a musical legacy that still resonates with fans decades later.

In this latest installment of our Where Are They Now? series, Highwire Daze catches up with Danny to discuss his current music, the Well Wishers EP, touring later in life, memories of Rise Records and Triple Crown Records, working with Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Pierre, Warped Tour adventures, reunion shows, and what the future holds.

We’re here with Danny Russell Wolf of Small Towns Burn A Little Slower. Where are you based out of now, and what’s your local music scene like there?
Danny Russell Wolf: I live in Madrid, Iowa. It’s spelled like Madrid, Spain, but here it’s pronounced “MAD-rid,” which is kind of an Iowa thing. It’s near Des Moines, and I’m about 30 minutes away from most places.

The music scene here is pretty diverse, like most cities, but it’s pretty decent. Some venues have closed down, but others are opening up. We also do a few shows a year at my buddy’s screen-printing shop called Element OP. We do live screen printing there, too. Each band has a design made for that night, and people bring blank shirts to get printed. It’s pretty sweet.

For fans of Small Towns Burn A Little Slower, how would you describe your solo music?
Danny: It’s a little more indie rock and a lot mellower, but there are still some rocking parts. Sometimes I play acoustic by myself, and sometimes I have a backing band. It really depends on the day and the event.

Let’s talk about the Well Wishers EP. Is there any overall story or concept behind the title and songs?
Danny: Not necessarily. There’s not really a story to the EP. It’s just a collection of songs. I don’t even remember what the exact impetus was for the song “Well Wishers.” It kind of just popped out.

“A Pseudo Coup.” What exactly is a pseudo coup?
Danny: A pseudo coup is sort of a coup. That song is basically about self-sabotage and feeling like, even when things are going well, they’re still going to end poorly.

Covering My Assets” is another highlight. Tell me a little about that one.
Danny: Actually, “Pseudo Coup” was something I started writing when I was still in Small Towns.

It just took a long time before I felt like it was ready. I played it a few times with a family band I had for a while where my wife played bass, my brother played drums, my sister played keyboards, and her husband played guitar. It was called Doubting Dawn and the Deliverance. I never got a recording of it that I really liked, so I finally finished that one.

As for “Covering My Assets,” it’s kind of a similar theme. Not necessarily self-sabotage, but maybe what happens after you’ve sabotaged yourself. It’s about feeling like you just want to be done.

Let’s talk about the final song, “Young Adult Novel.”
Danny: That one is from the point of view of two people who meet and fall in love, but they know it’s not going to last. They see greatness in each other and help each other live up to those expectations, but they do it apart rather than together. I called it “Young Adult Novel” because it’s kind of a simple love story, like something you might find in a young adult novel.

How close are you to writing and releasing new music?
Danny: I have a few albums’ worth of songs written already and I’m always working on recording. I have a few things in the works. I’m also working on a cover album of The Weakerthans and John K. Samson songs that’s going to be called Gone and Going.

I’m also recording with a few other projects. BanjoKat and I were actually working on some recording today.

BanjoKat? Tell me a little about that.
Danny: BanjoKat is a 29-year-old musician from around here. I met her when I was doing sound for an open mic at a place called Lefty’s. One night I was helping her fix her banjo pickup, and we ended up jamming. I recorded one of her songs and we started playing together.

I actually hadn’t toured since Small Towns until last summer. She booked a tour that we did together. I play upright bass for her, and I also played some solo material on that tour.

I call the music “bubblegrass.” It’s kind of folk-punk with a more vaudeville-pop feel.

You have a show coming up with Swamp Rats. What are you looking forward to most about that show?
Danny: They’re really fun. I think BanjoKat played with them the last time they were in town. They’re cool people and great to play with. I also haven’t played Plain Talk Books in a while, so it’ll be good to get back there.

Have any of your solo projects played in Southern California?
Danny: The closest I got was playing a place near Joshua Tree called Giant Rock Meeting Room. I also busked in Los Angeles once just for fun.

Ryan from Small Towns had a place out in Joshua Tree for a while, so I’d drive out there, hang out with him, and do some touristy stuff. He’s actually the one who set up the Giant Rock Meeting Room show for me.

The show was really fun. I ended up playing for a couple of hours and had a great time.

Do you enjoy touring at this stage of your life?
Danny: I do. It’s a little different now. It’s not quite as fast-paced, and there are fewer people on the road. We’re not touring with a bunch of other bands, so it’s usually just one band, or one band and a solo artist, all looking to get paid. That makes things easier.

I’ve only done it a couple of times recently. We toured with BanjoKat last summer and again this summer, and we’ll probably do some more.

The first Small Towns Burn A Little Slower EP was released on Rise Records in 2004. What do you think of it now?
Danny: I don’t love how my voice sounds on it, but I’m still proud of it. Ryan and I had only joined the band the summer before, so everything happened pretty quickly. In less than six months we had an offer from Rise to release it.

We recorded it in a basement for about 400 bucks. Unfortunately, I’ve never gotten any money from Rise, but that’s how the record industry goes sometimes. Overall, I’m still okay with it.

What about Mortality as Home Entertainment?
Danny: I think the songwriting is really good. Everything sounds good except my vocals. It was my first time spending a lot of time in a real studio and I think I was overcompensating.

Ed Rose got great tones on everything, but he’s not a singer, so there wasn’t much vocal coaching. When I listen back now, I don’t really love how my voice sounds, but I still think the songs hold up.

What was it like having Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack contribute vocals?
Danny: It was awesome. Tommy showed Justin the song while they were traveling together, and Justin apparently listened to it repeatedly and really liked it.

He happened to be nearby while we were recording. He came in, knocked out his vocal parts really quickly because he’s such a pro, and then we all ended up playing an Epitaph Tour show that night.

Did you ever perform that song live with Justin?
Danny: Yeah, I definitely remember him coming out and doing it with us at Bamboozle in New Jersey. That’s the performance that stands out the most.

What was it like playing Warped Tour in 2005?
Danny: We weren’t officially on the tour. Josh Cain from Motion City Soundtrack told us to show up because a band usually dropped off every day.

So I carried an empty guitar case, got backstage, and put our name in as a replacement. Sure enough, somebody dropped out and we got the slot.

Since it was in Minneapolis, it was basically a hometown crowd. It was phenomenal.

Tell me about the There’s No Place Like Minneapolis split with The Cardinal Sin.
Danny: I haven’t listened to it in a long time, but I still like it, especially the song “Blood Money.” At the time I was selling plasma for gas money because I was commuting from southern Iowa to Minneapolis.

We recorded it in the basement studio at Twin Town Guitars in Minneapolis. I have really fond memories of that release and those shows.

Looking back on So Begins the Test of Man, what are your thoughts now?
Danny: We didn’t know it would be our last album.

We recorded part of it in a beautiful Spanish mansion near Miami with Josh Abbott and finished it later in New York with Josh Cain producing and Mike Kalajian engineering.

After we turned it in, Triple Crown didn’t seem very enthusiastic about it. We ended up buying out our contract because we thought another label was going to sign us, but that deal fell apart when the label went bankrupt.

Looking back now, though, I really love that record. I like how my voice sounds, I like the lyrics, and I think it was probably the best thing we ever did.

Any memorable Southern California shows with Small Towns?
Danny: The Knitting Factory was a lot of fun. Afterward our manager got us into this exclusive club-type event and I ended up hanging out with the guy in the bunny costume from Donnie Darko.

I also remember playing Jerry’s Pizza. One of the roadies was the actor from Problem Child, and he had this weird hand-cranked electricity device that shocked everyone holding hands. It was definitely memorable.

Do you still keep in touch with the former members?
Danny: Mostly Ryan and Tommy. Tommy works for Z.Vex Effects, so I’m always bugging him for advice. Ryan and I became friends when we joined the band together, and we’re still best friends today.

Would you be interested in another Small Towns reunion show?
Danny: I wouldn’t be opposed to it. We’ve already done a few reunion shows, including a benefit for a friend who needed a liver transplant. That sold out so quickly we had to add a second night.

I’d be open to another one, but I don’t really think it’s going to happen.

What’s next for you?
Danny: I’m playing with a lot of different projects right now. I play with Casey Joe Collins, BanjoKat and the Sit-Ins, and I play bass for The New Bodies.

I’m also continuing my solo work, sometimes with a backing band called The Revolving Doors. Hopefully I’ll have another EP out soon. I’ve got enough material for several full-length records, but I like releasing EPs because it’s fun to always have something new coming out.

Do you have a message for Small Towns Burn A Little Slower fans reading this?
Danny: I just want to say thank you. Every now and then I’ll run into somebody who still knows the band and still listens, and that’s always exciting.

Some of those years were the best times of my life, and some were the hardest. We never really made much money doing it, but we made a lot of music and a lot of friends.

I’m always grateful that people are still listening.

In Conclusion

More than fifteen years after Small Towns Burn A Little Slower played their final release show, the band’s music continues to resonate with listeners who discovered them during the height of the post-hardcore and emo boom. Listening to Danny Russell Wolf reflect on the journey, what stands out most is not record deals, festival appearances, or industry politics, but the friendships, the songs, and the lasting connection with fans.

While a full Small Towns reunion may remain unlikely, Wolf remains as creatively active as ever through his solo work and numerous collaborative projects. For longtime fans, that’s reassuring news. The chapter known as Small Towns Burn A Little Slower may have closed, but Danny Russell Wolf’s musical story continues to unfold, one song at a time.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Danny Russell Wolf on Instragram