D.D. VERNI

DD VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND
(BIO, 2025)

On their second album, BUCKLE UP, DD VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND make big band music more accessible and relatable than ever before, marrying rock ‘n roll’s visceral energy and succinct songwriting to suave, swinging throwback arrangements and aesthetics.

Released via Deko Entertainment on September 19, the 14-track BUCKLE UP brings the storm-the-stage ethic of DD’s long career as bassist/songwriter with thrash metal pioneers Overkill to his lifelong love of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Fats Domino and, more recently, the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

“Some of the charm of the Cadillac Band is that I’m not writing music with jazz chords,” mulled DD from his New Jersey home. “If you strip away all the horns and everything, it’s a rock ‘n roll song under there. That’s what makes it different.”

Raised in a large Italian family that would together enjoy AM radio staples of the era like Sinatra, Neil Diamond, and Frankie Valli, the teenage DD gravitated towards the ’70s punk and metal that would spawn the hybrid thrash metal genre. Overkill, the band he formed alongside vocalist “Blitz” Ellsworth in 1980, helped propel thrash’s first wave alongside the likes of Metallica and Anthrax.

DD has since cowritten and often coproduced twenty Overkill albums, selling millions of records worldwide and staying almost constantly on tour since age 17. At the turn of the millennium, he made his first foray into orchestration with gothic metal side-project The Bronx Casket Co., which evolved into an eponymous musical theater production for which DD wrote the score. This proved a steppingstone towards his long-held dream of creating a classic big band, which DD was finally able to realize when the COVID-19 pandemic found him, and the A-list musicians he would enlist for the Cadillac Band, with time on their hands at home.

While a heavy metal bassist helming a big band as guitarist/vocalist may raise a few eyebrows (“There’s a lot of ‘what the hells?’ around this project!” DD laughed), this fascinating mélange of influences was precisely why listeners gravitated to the Cadillac Band’s 2021 debut album, Let’s Rattle. Building upon that release, BUCKLE UP retains all its predecessor’s verve and vitality while adding more evolved horn arrangements written by Jim McMillen, known for his work on TV’s “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Bridgerton,” and with Grammy-winning artists Christina Aguilera and Ricky Kej.

“When I’m writing and demoing these songs, it’s just a guitar and me,” DD explained. “And they should be able to have that energy with just that, before anything else is added.”

Indeed, DD’s fun-first rocker’s approach and robust songcraft has attracted a who’s-who of musicians to the Cadillac Band, intrigued by its stylistic nuances and go-for-broke ethos. BUCKLE UP features longtime Brian Setzer drummer Bernie Dresel and slap bassist Johnny Hatton; horn players associated with Paul McCartney’s band and The Eagles; pianist Or Matias (Josh Groban/Broadway music director); guitarist Angus Clark (Trans-Siberian Orchestra); and backing vocals by acclaimed pop-rock duo Kingston and GreyStarr. Recorded in New Jersey and Los Angeles, BUCKLE UP was produced by DD and mixed by Michael Frondelli (Billy Idol, Pat Benatar etc.)

“I sent them demos, and everybody just loved the songs and jumped on very quickly,” DD recalled. “One thing they love, because they don’t always get to do this, is that I said to them to be as aggressive as possible. Don’t worry about getting in the way of the singer or whatever–-if you’re stepping on the vocals, then the vocal needs to step up! I’m in a band called Overkill, after all!”                                  

First single and BUCKLE UP opener “Lucky 13” sets the tone for the album, its blazing riff, blistering guitar solo and rapturous horns complemented by a similarly irresistible video featuring the full 13-piece band. “I was watching ‘Casino’ or maybe an old Dean Martin movie,” said DD of the song’s inspiration. “I love the idea of being at the craps table with your girl and she’s blowing on the dice, you’re having a few drinks, and your buddies are around. You really don’t care whether you win or lose–you just want to be with the girl!”

Follow-up “Two of a Kind” reinterprets the 1961 Bobby Darin/Johnny Mercer song with featured guest and kindred spirit Jim Heath (aka Reverend Horton Heat) dueting with DD on both the track and its accompanying video. “It’s a very old school, kinda vintage Vegas vibe,” said DD. “And I think Reverend Horton Heat fans will love it, too.”

BUCKLE UP also features an unlikely but brilliantly reimagined take on ABBA’s “So Long”; DD’s sublime reinvention of the Billy May classic “Man with the Golden Arm”; and a swingin’, rockin’ rendering of Gayla Peevey’s 1953 hit “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” which DD fondly remembers watching his three-year-old niece perform in a school talent show. With its cultured horn arrangements and five-part vocal harmonies, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” is slated as a holiday single and video.

Expect DD VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND’s live shows in support of BUCKLE UP to be everything that you’d expect in a big band built by a member of a larger-than-life metal act. “This is a big rock ‘n roll show!” DD enthused. “I want the whole band up there; I want lights; I want it popping; I want people singing along and room for them to dance. It’s just a fun night of music, smiles, goofing around, and interacting with the crowd.”

Ultimately, the brilliance of BUCKLE UP is that, for all its adroit arrangements and ringer musicians, it remains at heart an uncomplicated, booty-shakin’ good time oozing warm, celebratory vibes.

“It’s not sophisticated music that you really have to digest,” DD concluded. “It’s easy, it’s fun, and it doesn’t take a lot of thinking. It’s like comfort food: absolutely great, every single time!”

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