Rhode Island Punk Singer Jaimee Danger Spills Her Guts on Motherhood, The Misfits, and More

The first time I watched powerhouse punk vocalist Jaimee Danger — frontwoman of Rhode Island band Jaimee Danger &The Dynamite — take the stage, I was blown away by her presence and intensity. It’s like watching Brody Dalle of The Distillers, or The Misfits.

Her band plays like they’re headlining Riot Fest or Punk Rock Bowling — even while rocking out a small basement nightclub.

So I was shocked to learn that until a few years ago, Jaimee had never fronted an originals hardcore/punk band. She was essentially discovered by accident — because she happened to step up to the microphone at the right place and right time; specifically, on Misfits-themed night at a local dive bar. 

We recently caught up with Jaimee to talk about her super-fascinating life that took her from a religious Southern California upbringing to the Eastern shores of Rhode Island, where she splits time as a toddler mom and wife with work and band life.

She also shared a bit of the inspiration behind the band’s brand new, super-catchy single “Snake Bite” — which is possibly my favorite song of 2024 already.

Rockmommy: Hi Jaimee! Can you tell us a bit of your backstory and how you got into punk rock? 

Jaimee Danger: I grew up in Southern California in a teeny tiny town outside of Los Angeles. We were about an hour north of LA. and there was NOTHING to do in that town. If you wanted to do anything fun, you had to go an hour west to the beach, or you can go an hour south to L.A. Those were your only options. 

My father was raised Southern Baptist, and then my mother discovered religion when she met him. When he left, she threw herself into the church. She was a single mom to six kids in one of the most expensive parts of the country [Southern California] and the church really helped her out.

Our grandma helped a lot until she got Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is super rare and she died within six months. So a good portion of my childhood was spent with strangers (babysitters) and we were latchkey kids. I spent my free time with music. That was my emotional outlet. 

I realized in my preteens that my mom didn’t really have control of us. So, I kind of did whatever I wanted. My poor mom! I was just so full of rage and was very self-destructive. My best friend Katya introduced me to punk. Through her I discovered the L.A. punk scene.

Rockmommy: When did you discover you could sing and that you were interested in creating music? And did you play any other instruments?

Jaimee Danger: I grew up singing — we would take long road trips, like up to the mountains to camp with our church group, and we would listen to oldies and just sing in the car. Nobody was ever like, ‘you have a great voice.’ I just knew how to harmonize with the backup singers of soul. 

I played drums in high school. I went to an alternative school for kids that were failing traditional high school and the “school band” was an actual band. I was amazed! One day I said I was interested in playing drums and that was that! My mom bought me this junk kit that had some pretty gnarly heads, but it was good enough to practice in my garage.

Our teacher Bill Rotella was a rocker guy who taught all of us misfit kids how to play Creedence Clearwater and the history behind Sweet Home Alabama. I was horrible live, though! We would play shows and I would choke up and mess up or stop playing and then force myself to keep playing through the embarrassment.

Rockmommy: What happened after that?  

Jaimee Danger: When I was 18, I moved to Tacoma, Washington, and I moved in with my oldest brother. It was my first time leaving home. I didn’t know people, but I knew I was already a part of a subculture so that brought some comfort knowing my people were out there, I just needed to find them. Once I was settled I said ‘Okay, I’m gonna start a band’ but didn’t know what I was doing and it was hard to get people together regularly so nothing ever really came of it.

Rockmommy: When and why did you move to New England?

Jaimee Danger: I was living in Tacoma and met the man who would eventually be my first husband. He was from Boston, so after dating for two and a half years, he said he hated the Pacific Northwest and wanted to move closer to his family. He said, ‘Do you want to come with me?’ And I said to myself ‘Well, worst case scenario, we split up but at least I will have experienced the East Coast.’ So we moved out here together!

Rockmommy: So Jaimee Danger and the Dynamite is your first real band?

Jaimee Danger: This actually IS my first band. How we started was so random! I had gone to a show in October 2019, at a bar where a friend’s band was going to do Misfits-only set. I’m a huge Misfits fan so I knew I would have a great time. It was this weird townie bar, and the vibe was so strange. I got pretty drunk and our friend’s band came on, and I was in the front, singing all the songs. The singer for this band was in one of the other bands that played earlier that night, so his voice was shot.

No one in the crowd was really super into it. So, he looks over at me and he’s like, ‘do you want to sing one of the songs?’ and I was like, ‘Yes!! Show me your setlist!’ So I chose Hybrid Moments and I got up there and I just like kind of went crazy.

My husband recorded it and put it on IG and one his friends — Rob — saw it and commented, ‘Hey, do you want to start a band?’ I was like, ‘Yes!!!’ So we started Jaimee Danger & The Dynamite. 

[SEE RELATED: TIBBIE X SPEAKS ON ANARCHY, PUNK ROCK, ART AND PARENTING]

Rockmommy: And if Covid wasn’t enough, you had a baby right after your band was founded.

Jaimee Danger: Yes! Kyle, my husband, and I had tried several times. We had many miscarriages and had just about given up when Luna was conceived in 2021.

Later that year, shows had started again, and we as a band were ready. This show came up in Narragansett, at the Middletown VFW, and I was super, super pregnant. I put on this tiny black dress and thought people would give me dirty looks or would be turned off by this very pregnant woman screaming in a band. After the show SO many people told me they loved the band and were impressed that I was wailing up there. It was exactly the confidence booster I needed! 

We practiced right up until month nine. After Luna was born, I took a couple of months off and then we just got right back into it.

Rockmommy: Does your band family have kids too? How do you make it work? 

Jaimee Danger: Our drummer Adam also has a daughter but no one else has kids. Our partners are all really understanding about us all spending time practicing and then prepping for shows — and then spending Saturday nights out on the town after a show! For me, it’s been easy making it all work. Kyle is an excellent dad and they have daddy-daughter time while mama goes to band practice.

Rockmommy: What is your new song ‘Snake Bite’ about? 

Jaimee Danger: I didn’t write it thinking about a deeper meaning. What I did know was I wanted there to be a point in the song where the subject realizes they are dying and I wanted that fear to come through to the listener. Similar to the main character in Metallica’s One, who has lost hope and is living in agony. My person is bit by a snake and then realizes they are going to die and starts begging the snake gods to save them — a last attempt at survival at any cost.

Rockmommy: What’s the song writing process with your guitarist Rob like? 

Jaimee Danger: When I met Rob he had a grip of songs already written. I started listening obsessively and writing came pretty easy. Rob will write a song and post it on our private Bandcamp page and then I’ll start listening and writing. I usually come up with a chorus first and then work my way backward. 

Rockmommy: How has your songwriting evolved, or changed? 

Jaimee Danger: I have written a lot about interpersonal relationships and now I’m trying to write more about everything else that makes me angry. Rob has also been writing some heavier songs so it’s great having that influence come through. 

Marisa Torrieri Bloom is the editor and founder of Rockmommy.