Danny McDonald (2002 – Current)

Danny’s first solo release, ‘Rock & Roll Records’ was released on 7” vinyl by French label Pop The Balloon Records in 2002.

His follow-up CD EP, ‘On the Beach at First Light’ was released in the same year through the same label.

Danny released his first full-length solo album ‘Summer City’ through Zip Records (USA), MGM (Australia) and Wizard in Vinyl (Japan) in 2003, showcasing his unique slant on jangle guitar pop and lyrical fixation with Australian surf culture. The album was inspired by and named after the 1977 film of the same name, produced by Phil Avalon.

His second full-length album ‘Fibrotones’ was released in 2005 through Off The Hip Records. Fibrotones was a more eclectic release, melding elements of garage rock & roll, power pop, acoustic folk and surf instrumental. It featured a host of guest appearances from Melbourne luminaries including Ashley Naylor (Even, Paul Kelly, The Church), Paul Thomas (Huxton Creepers, Weddings Parties Anything), Mick Baty (Off The Hip Records, Pyramidiacs, Crusaders, The Finkers) and Ian Wettenhall (Philistines, Freeloaders, Hands of Time).

His third full-length album ‘Last Man’s Tucker’ was minimalistic, featuring only Danny’s voice and his acoustic guitar – a format he would return to later in his career. It was released independently in 2007 and was followed by a series of digital-only releases including ‘In Melbourne Tonight’ (2010), ‘Suburban Interiors (2014).

In 2015, Danny released ‘The Melbourne Divide’, a lush, melancholic recording produced by close friend Nick Batterham. The song focused on Melbourne’s Yarra River and the role it plays in dividing the city’s northern and southern suburbs.

Danny’s ‘Modern Architecture’ EP was released in February 2020 on vinyl, CD and digitally through Popboomerang Records. Leading with the singles ‘Cordyline’ and ‘The Suburb I Grew Up In’ (with The Killjoys’ Anna Burley), ‘Modern Architecture’ was McDonald’s first collaboration with producer Craig Pilkington (also of the Killjoys), showcasing the work of a master songwriter in his prime.

In January 2025, Danny released the ‘Tired town’ single, a minimalistic and evocative acoustic recording portraying a forgotten small Australian town in urban decay.

P76 (1998 – 2002)

Danny formed P76 in early 1998, from the ashes of his previous project Jericho.

The debut P76 EP ‘Life in General’, recorded by Wayne Connolly (You Am I, Custard, Powderfinger) was released in 1998 and quickly sold out of its first and only pressing. It is now a rare and highly sought-after artefact of the late 90’s era.

Danny signed to USA-based label Zip Records in 2000 and released his second P76 EP ‘Sunliner’, followed by a national tour. It was during this period that he recorded a live session for the Triple J’s now defunct Australian Music Show with Tim Mills (bass) and Andy Strachan of The Living End on drums.

P76 released its debut full-length album Into the Sun to critical global acclaim in late 2001. Produced by Australian pop singer/songwriter Dom Mariani (The Stems, The Someloves, DM3, Summer Suns), the album made its way onto may top 10 lists all around the world and sold out of several pressings in the USA, Japan, Brazil and Sweden.

The first radio single from the album ‘Me & Her, the Road and our EJ’  received high rotation airplay on the national youth broadcaster radio station Triple J. The follow-up, ‘Sleeping In’ also received strong support from Triple J and commercial stations including Nova and MMM.

P76 entered an indefinite hiatus in 2002. Danny revisited the P76 project in 2013 for two Victorian shows and then again in 2017 for an East Coast tour and his first recorded output in 16 years alongside nineties friends including Custard, The Earthmen, Cordrazine and his former band Oscarlima.

Jericho (1993 – 1998)

Danny’s first foray into the Melbourne music scene began in the early nineties with his first recording project, Jericho.

Jericho quickly established itself on the inner-city circuit, playing regularly at venues of the day like the legendary Punters Club, The Tote, The Evelyn and The Public Bar.

Jericho’s debut EP was recorded during 1995-96. Its release in March 1996 marked the beginning of a near-constant two-decade touring schedule for Danny, up and down the east coast of Australia with bands of the day including  The Hoodoo Gurus, The Fauves, Screamfeeder, Bluebottle Kiss and 78 Saab.

Within six months of the release of the debut Jericho EP, Danny signed to Mushroom Records subsidiary MDS, releasing three more EP’s through the label and a limited-edition cassette recorded live for Triple J, before disbanding the project in early 1998.

In 2003, Melbourne label Popboomerang Records released a posthumous retrospective CD compiling most of the bands’ recorded output including tracks from their four EPs an unreleased tracks.

Danny revisited the Jericho project with a new lineup to headline the ‘The Melbourne divide’ festival in Melbourne in 2016, curated by Popboomerang Records as part of the City of Yarra’s Leaps and Bounds festival. The festival was named after the song of the same name released by Danny McDonald as a solo single.

In 2020, a previously unreleased Jericho recording made in 1995 was featured on the Sound As Ever Stuck on the 90s compilation alongside fellow Australian independent artists of the day including The Mavis’s, Autohaze, Rail, and The Warner Brothers.

Other projects

Casual studio appearances (2001-current)

Danny has contributed vocals, guitar and songwriting to several other Australian releases with artists including The Pants Collective with Andy Strachan of The Living End, Superscope, Joe Algeri and Prettymess.

Little Murders (2014-2020)

Danny was a member of seminal Australian post-punk outfit Little Murders between 2014 and 2020, playing guitar and contributing backing vocals on the Hi-Fab and Dromanarama (Off The Hip) albums and performing live regularly with the band around Melbourne.

Stoneage Hearts (2001-2002)

Danny was a founding member of Australian garage rock & roll band The Stoneage Hearts. He contributed vocals, guitars and helped write their debut album ‘Turn on’ (Off The Hip) in 2001 and two 7” vinyl singles including Suzie (Butterfly Records, Spain) in 2001 and Stephanie (Pop The Balloon, France) in 2002. Danny left Stoneage Hearts in 2002 and was replaced by Dom Mariani (The Stems, The Someloves, DM3, Summer Suns).

Oscarlima (1999-2000)

Danny toured Australia with Oscarlima during the late 1990s for around 18 months, around the release of their debut album ‘Desert caravan’ and Triple J favourite ‘If you wanna be my friend’.

As the fourth casual member playing guitar, keyboards and backing vocals, Danny joined the band on several national tours with highlights including appearances at the Livid Festival (Brisbane) and popular TV shows Hey, Hey it’s Saturday and Rove.