First Date

"First Date" was the lead single from the band's 2006 album Sleep is the Enemy and reached #34 on the American Mainstream Rock Chart.

In our 2013 interview with singer/guitarist Danko Jones, he said: "Coming up with that song, it was mainly like an AC/DC kind of riff that started it. And then the 'Whoa, whoa, whoa,' I just wanted to juxtapose that with a kind of rousing melodic chorus. At the time I was really uncomfortable with singing melodies, which sounds weird, but it's true. I really bumped heads with a lot of people on the way to this album over the years, people wanting me to sing more. I'd sing in the dressing room, I'd sing here, and people would say, 'Why don't you sing more on the records? You can sing.' And I'd go, 'Well, no.' It was more of a macho stance.'

He added: 'So that was juxtaposing a melody sing along part with the AC/DC part. It was the beginning of me kind of melding the two worlds together - now it's seamless for us on Rock and Roll is Black and Blue and Below the Belt. I sing a lot more now."

The song contains several references to musicians: American indie rock band Superchunk; Joan Jett, an American guitarist and frontwoman for Joan Jett & The Blackhearts; and the iconic '70s rock band the New York Dolls. In a 2012 article for Revolvermag.com, in which Jones picks the top-five 'Daves' in rock and metal, he refers to New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen as a "rock pioneer."