We recently connected with Danny Sales and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danny, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

We did a lot of moving when I was a kid and things were pretty crazy. The first thing that gave me the assurance that it was okay to not fit in was music. In 3rd grade, my step-dad gave me my first album, American Idiot. The next time I saw my uncle, he then added on Insomniac and Dookie. Green Day filled that void in my heart that told me I didn’t belong. The artistic expression of angst and confusion became an outlet for me to understand myself. Years later I began writing music but it wasn’t until our other singer Mike and I reconnected. At the time, he was studying music and we linked in the summer just to hang out. We ended up writing some music, and things just kind of got rolling that summer. I was pursuing a degree in Physics/Engineering, so without Mike, I never would’ve realized that I could perform professionally. It wasn’t until our first festival performance that I even realized what we had built and that this is what I wanted from my life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Danny Sales and I sing in a Reggae/Ska band called Elephants Dancing. We are a high-energy 6-piece band, with dual-led vocals and a 3-piece horn section. We try to nail that sweet spot between catchy and angsty using the influences of Reggae, Punk, Ska, and Hip-Hop.

I think the coolest thing about Elephants is that it’s nearly impossible to not have a good time when you’re with us. Not just through our music, we like to make people feel at home. Nobody’s going to be afraid of looking or feeling out of place when you’re spending time with us because we’re a bunch of goofs. For this reason, people that come see us want to share that with us again, and I think that’s super special.

One of things we pride ourselves on is making use of our multi-genre background, to give our Reggae/Ska framework the influences of several other genres. We like to keep things unique and energetic, while maintaining a groovy vibe. This keeps our music fresh, but it all has that Elephants flavor. Some songs you’re in the pocket, some songs you’re in the pit, and some songs you want to sing with us. I think that’s a very crucial aspect of what we’re trying to build.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think the hardest thing currently is becoming a father at the very beginning of our touring stage. Figuring out the transition into parenthood and my own adult life, while also trying to push us towards success, are two things that tend to fight each other hard. How can I support my family while playing exposure shows and being on the road without significant income? How can I set myself up to overcome these problems? How can I make it so that everyone is making enough money in our band to fully commit to touring? Do I devise a method for outside income, or put all my focus into booking more and higher paying shows? What’s the balance between pay and exposure to be able to tour efficiently? These are all questions that circle in my mind every single day trying navigate the journey between being a new parent and a fresh touring musician. I think I’m making progress towards reaching our goals but this is definitely the biggest hurdle to overcome.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced after a show… Someone grabbed me and stopped and said thank you. As I responded with a genuine thanks for their presence at our show, they stopped me again and said, “No… thank you.” They proceeded to tell me what a positive experience it was being at our show, how much love they felt from the people we bring out, and that they absolutely needed that. Music changed everything about my life and helped me understand myself. To be able to have any sort of genuine impact on people through music we write, or a performance is just incredible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ElephantsDancing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elephantsdancing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elephantsdancingmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elephantsdancing
• Other: https://linktr.ee/elephantsdancing