In "Music meets Football", we speak to some of our artists about their love of the beautiful game and the teams they support. Our latest feature is with Danko's Lewis White.
The frontman/guitarist of the Scottish rock’n’roll quartet is a lifelong supporter of his hometown side and current Scottish Championship leaders, Falkirk. Completed by Michael Garner (guitar), Jamie Burns (Bass) and Matthew McAllister (drums), the group longtime friends have spent several years trading musical obsessions, learning their craft together, and honing a raw and unfettered sound.
The quartet released their second EP, Taking Your Time yesterday via Distiller Records. Recorded with legendary producer Ethan Johns, Take Your Time leans into everything that Danko are as a band – influenced by everyone from U2 and Americana to Arctic Monkeys and Led Zeppelin. The record features five choice cuts from the band including latest single ‘Having Trouble’, which you can listen to now on our unofficial Falkirk FC Fan playlist.
SP: Tell us about how you became a fan of Falkirk?
Lewis White: I suppose I didn’t have much choice haha! Not that I’m complaining, my dad and grandad are both big Falkirk fans so I naturally followed their footsteps!
SP: What are your earliest memories of attending a Falkirk game?
LW: I think the first game I ever really remember being at was at Brockville against Airdrie and I’m sure we beat them 8-0. Not very often we get those score-lines so that’s probably why It’s one of my first memories of supporting Falkirk! Getting lifted over the turnstile and standing down behind the goals at Brockville also always stick with me.
SP: Who were your footballing heroes growing up – whether that be Falkirk players or otherwise?
LW: I’d definitely say Russell Latapy was like a god to me growing up, I loved Daryl Duffy back in the day as well. Paddy Cregg another one I loved when he was at Falkirk!
Away from Falkirk, Brazilian Ronaldo was probably my favourite player!
SP: Did you ever have any aspirations about becoming a professional footballer when you were a child? If so, how far did they come to becoming a reality?
LW: I did! I played for the first ever Falkirk Under 10’s, I think it was. Craig Sibbald and I signed for Falkirk on the same day.
I also played for Celtic for a couple years when I was 12, was in the same team as a few players who went on to have great careers – Jay Fulton was in that team along with Marcus Fraser and Joe Chalmers but my biggest claim to fame is that Andy Robertson was also in that team!
I ended up starting for East Stirlingshire’s Reserve team a few times and got into a couple first team squads when I was 16. Injury wiped me out not long after that though.
SP: What’s the best moment been in your time supporting Falkirk?
LW: That’s a tough one, I’d say watching Falkirk as a kid the 2002/03 season was unbelievable and had a special feeling about it being back at Brockville, but I think getting into Europe and going to Vaduz for the away leg has to be my best moment!
SP: What are your thoughts on how the 2024/25 season has gone so far?
LW: I think it has been unbelievable, to carry on the form from last season right up to the Ayr defeat. That seemed to shake us a wee bit along with trying to work out how to get players back in the squad etc. To be sitting where we are is unreal but it’s also a real chance for us to capitalise and go do the business. We’ve set these standards week in week out, now it’s getting to the business end I’ve no doubt this squad has the balls to go get the job done!
SP: What are your hopes for the rest of the season?
LW: WIN THE LEAGUE!! That’s it.
SP: Who are your favourite Falkirk players in the current squad?
LW: Hendo [Liam Henderson] has got to be first mention on how good he’s been going on two years now. Unreal how good he’s been for us and his attitude is infectious – a living legend.
Dylan Tait also a favourite of mine. I think he’s the best passer of the ball in our team, maybe even the league. His vision and how he reads the game is class.
SP: How important has the cross over between music and football been in your life?
LW: Yeah they’re two things that have been pretty much a constant as long as I can remember. Falkirk has always had an association with decent songs as well, the players running out to ‘Going Home’ at the stadium has always got me going!
SP: What song do you associate with a cherished football memory?
LW: It’s got to be ‘(Is This the Way to) Amarillo’. Such a Falkirk banger and has been blasted every time we score for as long as I can remember!
SP: If you had to pick one Danko song for Falkirk to walk out to before kick-off at a home game, which one would it be?
LW: I think it would have to be the first song we ever released ‘Rattlesnake’. I think with the riff at the start of the song it would be ideal for teams running out. A couple years ago it got played on the outro of a BT Sports Champions League round up and sounded very cool on there!
SP: Your second EP ‘Take Your Time’ is out now. Tell us a bit more about some of the inspirations behind the songs on the record, and what you’d learned going into it following the release of your debut EP three years ago?
LW: Yeah we’re extremely excited that it’s finally out!! We managed to work with our dream producer Ethan Johns on this EP so that’s like a dream come true for us. He’s done some of our favourite albums ever and his dad is a genuine legend having recorded pretty much everyone from The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and about anything else rocking from that era.
Some of these songs on ‘Take Your Time’ have been about for a few years like ‘Having Trouble’, ‘Morning Sun’ and ‘Consistent Ignorance’. We took a bank of songs into the recording process and these are the five we came out with. The title track is a newer song we wrote just before we went into record it’s a bit of a journey of a song and is massively about not stressing and rushing into things/making decisions just let it happen.
We 100% learned to take our time in that three-year gap between EP’s. A lot of that time was again not rushing into things and making sure we have some things in place to move forward.
SP: What’s coming up for the band following the EP release?
LW: We’re down in London from March 14-16 to play two sets at Country2Country Festival, so that should be a good one for us. We’re currently planning some more dates for later on in the year and hopefully a wee hometown show in Falkirk thrown in there!
