At The Home Of Danny G.: Interviewin' Dino-holic Danny , Part I

Hey pallies, likes every so often dudes you comes 'cross a pallie who is a Dino-holic's Dino-holic...such is the case with our pallie Danny G. whose column "At The Home Of Danny G." has been featured in the last few months here at ilovedinomartin.

It has been my extreme pleasure over the course of the last couple of weeks to have been conductin' an inquiry into the deep, pure, and true Dino-passion of our Dino-devotee par excellant Danny G. What follows is part of one of three parts from the extensive interview conducted with Danny coverin' all the arenas of his Dino-focused life.

Likes I had the time of my life speakin' Dino with Danny and likes I just knows all you pallies are likes gonna totally totally dig learnin' the Danny G. Dino-story! Dino-loved, DMP


DMP: So Danny G., as we begin, please tell us 'bout yourself and your fam....name, rank, serial number...whatever you woulda likes the ilovedinomartin readers to know.....

DG: Hey pal, I'll start by sayin' "Hi" to all the readers and "Thanks" to you for welcomin' me on board! I'm a 41 year old Boston, Massachusetts area dad. I've been married for 10 long, hard years...just kiddin'! Ha ha! I have two wee Dino-one's. Some may remember my wee Dino-girl, Stella, made the Dino gingerbread man a couple of months back. She and her little brother, Nick, are really growin' into two wee Dino-holics! Makes their papa so so proud! At least I know they have good taste! I'll even catch "wifey" hummin' a Dean Martin tune every now and then. What can I say? Bein' a Dino-holic is very very infectious! I remember my first intro to Dino way back when I was just a wee one myself. I was hooked from then on.

DMP: That's a great lead in to my next question Danny G. Likes, please do share with us your "first intro to Dino way back when I was just a wee one myself."

DG: My Dad was actually the first one who got me into Dean Martin. I must have been around 6 or 7 at the time. I clearly remember the Saturday afternoons when my father and I would be glued to the set watchin' a random "Martin & Lewis" movie. Man, would my Pop laugh! And when Dad told me that Dean Martin was Italian...that was all I needed to know! Now he was REALLY like one of the family! I caught on quick that there was somethin' special about Dean. There was somethin' very charismatic about him. You wanted to watch him. You wanted to see what he would do next, and how he would do it. I was drawn into his calm, cool ways. No matter if he was singin' or bein' funny...he was ALWAYS cool.


DMP: How cool to know that it was your old man who first shared the Dino-way with you. Wonderin' how long these Dino and the jer sessions went on between you and your daddy-o? Given your age, you musta been born at the pinacle of our Dino's reign on TV! D'ya remember your fam partakin' of our great man's tv show or perhaps the Dino-roasts?

DG: Yea, It was definately my Pops that showed me the Dino-light! Saturday afternoons were ours til' I moved out in my late teens. We still shared a phone call whenever one would catch a Martin & Lewis movie airin'. He would call and say "Hey kid, hurry up...Dean Martins' on channel 56 (or whatever station)! I miss those days. I don't remember the Dino TV years. I was young and probably didn't get the whole Dino-vibe yet. If I only knew then what I KNOW now...man what A cool grammer schooler I would have been! Ha ha!

I gotta give some credit to my mom too though. She was more into the music side of Dean. She definately influenced that part of it for me. To this very Dino-day if you ask her who her favs are, its Dean Martin and Englebert Humperdink. What a pair!

DMP: Man, that is just what I was gonna ask next....today you obviously have such a great and growin' passion for our Dino's croonin'....could you share with us your journey to jivin' on our great man....how did your mom motive you to groovin' on the Dino-sound?

DG: My mother would have my Dad put Dino on the big ol' record player all the time when I was a kid. He was always her favorite. That must of had an impact on me because I ended up listenin' to him from those days forward. Even when I went through my "Heavy Metal" stage in the 80's, I always had a vibe for Dean Martin. He's the type of talent that you don't grow out of or away from...he's someone you grow more into everyday. I'm still gettin' to know him even now.



DMP: So, likes d'ya remember your mommy-o or daddy-o havin' particular fav Dino-tunes? And, you Danny-o...as a youngen did you have some Dino-favs that you 'specially liked to listen to?

DG: Well, my Dad was more into the Country/Western type croonin'..."Little ol' Wine Drinker Me," "Gentle On My Mind," "Just Bummin' Around," tunes like that. And Mom is more of an Italian/romantic type fan..."Your Breaking My Heart," "In The Misty Moonlight," "Sway. Me"...I love em' all! Seriously, I couldn't pick a fav. Too many fav's to list. I did always really dig "Volare". It used to be my recordin' on my answerin' machine in my apartment. This didn't go over too well when I first got into real estate sales. Other agents would call my house and instead of hearin' some stuffy realtor-type message, they got an earfull of VOLAAAREEE...OOHHHooohhhhh. Ha ha!!!

DMP: Great story Danny-o!....likes just gotta ask, likes how old were you when Volare! went on your answerin' machine? Was this your first public profession of your Dino-devotion?

DG: This was in my mid twenties. It was probably my first declaration of Dino-pride! Ha! From then on pallies, my Dino-devotion has grown and evolved, if you will, into an out-of-control freight train of Dino-motivated life choices!!! HI, MY NAME IS DANNY G. AND I'M A DINO-HOLIC. (ALL) HI DAN, WELCOME TO DINO-HOLICS ANONYMOUS. Ha ha haaa!!!!


DMP: Cool, so likes kindly elaborate dude 'bout your "out-of-control freight train of Dino-motivated life choices!!!"....'cause inquirin' Dino-minds just have to know.

DG: I've been tryin' to live the Dino life style more as I've grown older. I don't mean a swingin' playboy type. I'm really concentratin' on the positives in life. The carefreeness that Dean possessed. Takin' things a little less serious and just tryin' to enjoy my time on this big spinnin' ball. Life's too short to get caught up on things that can't be changed anyway. That's probably the biggest Dino-motivated choice that I try to follow through with. Just to let things be and enjoy my life! Being with my family, listenin' to great Dino tunes, havin' a drink...or two. That's all this pallie needs!

DMP: So, Danny G. am wonderin' if you recall when you made Dino-devotion you "own"....likes when you made the transition from Dino bein' an important part of your mom and pop's life...to ownin' Dino for yourself?

DG: I would have to say, pal, that there was no real "Awakenin'" type moment for me when it came to Dean Martin. I've ALWAYS admired him from day one. The movies & the music were parts of my life from as far back as I can remember. I never considered him a guy that I wasn't allowed to like because of my age or because of certain undertones to his jokes. Maybe it's because I come from an Italian/American family, but we ALL considered him "One of Us". Kind of like a distant relative. I read, on this very Dino-site, another Dino-fan's memories of Dean were that of an "Uncle type". Those are the same feelins' that I share.

DMP: Great to hear pallie! So, there musta been likes a time when you did make the Dino-decision to start gatherin' up your own Dino-treasure....Dino-discs, Dino-flicks....?

DG: I started my very own Dino collection in the 90's. I bought a few cassettes of all the old time crooners. Dino, Sinatra, Martino, Bennett...all the greats. Got myself familiar with "the standards". Although Dean was always my fav! Just kept collectin' from then on. CD's, DVD's, some posters, etc. Anything Dino! Gotta keep myself in check though...only grabbin' special items these days.


DMP: Always loves to hear other Dino-holics brag 'bout their Dino-collections. Woulda loves to hear you share Danny G. 'bout some of you most fav Dino-treasures....

DG: Hey pallie, I would have to say that my most treasured treasures are my original Matt Helm movie posters. These were the actual movie promos that were displayed in the cinemas back in the late sixties when Dino was rockin' the spy world! I've managed to grab all four over the last few months. Thanks to wifey, who framed them all so magnificently, they are hung with pride as you delve into my "Man-town". aka "Dan-town".