Danko Jones knows it's only rock n' roll, but that's just the way he likes it.

Hipsters beware, Canada's king of hard-core harmony is defending this country's right to rock out, and he's doing it with a smile on his face and guitar under his arm.

"I don't need to know what you (a musician) think about the political spectrum in the first and second verse, and then disclose to me your political view in the chorus," says Jones.

"I just want you to rock me."

There's nothing cerebral about that -- but don't be fooled -- the Toronto-bred musician is anything but dim-witted.

"What's wrong with that? It's not a diss, it's not negative -- it's just knowing who you are and what you are, your place. And there's nothing wrong with making music that's just fun, and fun only," says Jones.

For more than a decade the leather-clad frontman and his three-piece band of darkly clothed men have been ignoring musical trends and doing their own loud and lively thing.

Thus, they've been ignored by the Juno Awards, most of the critics and the majority of hip indie music mags.

Not a problem for Jones. He says he's not interested in fitting into what he perceives as the Canuck-manufactured mould of music.

"The image that Canadians want exported is safe, harmless music, yet with a cool arty image," he says. "And that's just something our band isn't. We're anything but safe and we're anything but poster kid like. I see the bands that get a lot of glorious press and I say this is harmless music -- it's not bad, I like it -- I love some of those bands like Feist and Broken Social Scene, but it's not my shield."

So, where does a loud mouthed lad go then to get a little radio play?

Jones is immensely popular in European countries, such as Sweden, where metal and hard rock is a celebrated fixture in pop culture.

"We're successful over there for a couple reasons: We tour a lot, and they just kind of get it a little quicker there," he says. "It's because they don't view hard rock or metal music in a low brow kind of way... The fact that Motorhead do OK in North America, but they rule the roost in Europe says a lot to me, and it makes me feel less lonely."

Jones hosts a syndicated radio show called the Magical World of Rock, which airs in Sweden as well as several Canadian cities.

He also writes for Hard rock publications in Germany, Norway and Sweden.

Danko Jones' new endeavour, Never Too Loud, was recorded at Dave Grohl's (Foo Fighters) Studio 606 in Los Angeles with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Marilyn Manson).

Jones was determined to make a more melodic album than some of his previous recordings.

"Bringing in more melody was something I'd been kind of avoiding unbeknownst to myself. But, when I took a good critical look at myself I saw that I needed to sing more," says Jones.

Make no mistake, melodic doesn't necessarily mean mellow.

The band is currently on a cross-Canadian tour which brings them through Calgary on Thursday to the Back Alley Nightclub.