Earlier this year, Rehab's "Bartender Song (Sittin' At a Bar)" made the leap from jukebox phenomenon to Hot 100 entry. Now Danny Boone, mastermind of the honky hip-hoppers, finds himself on the cusp of fame. On Nov. 8, Rehab will play alongside bands such as Hinder and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus at the Planetfest, a music festival in Jacksonville. Has life changed? How could it not? Says Boone, "We've got more beer than we've ever had in our life."
AVE: Do you find that crowds in the South respond better to your music?
DB: No, we get a good response all the way to Seattle, L.A… The kids in Seattle want to rip each other's heads off because they aren't just there to hear "Sittin' at a Bar." They know all the harder stuff too. I think that in the South, sometimes it can be somewhat dangerous because you'll have a mixture of the people who came to hear our harder stuff with the people who came to hear "Sittin' at a Bar." And they think it's going to be "Sittin' at a Bar" all night long. Since we play that last, people are like "Hey, hold on!"
AVE: You have a unique sound. Who were you listening to growing up?
DB: KRS-One. Beastie Boys, of course. LL, EPMD, Poor Righteous Teachers, Audio Two… But even after that, you know, a lot of the guys that are out now - Busta. He was hot. He is hot. Well [laughing], he's not hot sexually. Never mind. Next question!
AVE: Who are your favorite current artists?
DB: Jay-Z, T.I. Andre 3000 is about one of the sickest MCs I've ever heard in my life. Lil Wayne's hot. He's on some lizard shit. He's like slithering through some dewy grass. When he rhymes, he just sounds like that.
AVE: Who would you like to play with the most that you haven't yet been able to?
DB: You know what I'd really like to do? Do a whole hip-hop record - just a straight-up hip-hop record - but I'd like to do all the beats for Kid Rock. That would be hot! I met him and we hung out and partied, but I wouldn't say we knew each other because we were…I was drunk. So you know, if you only know a person while they're drunk, you don't know them too well.
AVE: What do you think the biggest difference between your next album and "Graffiti the World" is going to be?
DB: As of now, we did two songs - laid down two hooks, and they're really…One's almost like a love song. It'll be a first. [laughter] And the other one's a pretty stupid approach, but it's dope. You know we always leave it kind of quirky. Everybody says, "Keep it real." We just keep it quirky.
Planetfest will be held at Metropolitan Park in Jacksonville, and tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the gate.
