Press
01-01-1998
Silverchair Learning their Craft
By Wayne Thomas (Hit Parader)
It's the question that silverchair's vocalist/guitarist Daniel Johns
has heard over... and over... and over again. It rattles through the
ever-clever caverns of his brain when he sleeps, it confronts him at
nearly every turn when he's awake, and it serves as his constant
travelling companion, no matter in which exotic port-of-call he may be.
That question has become his nemesis, his sparring partner and his best
friend all rolled into one. It's a question that may eventually turn
out to be his legacy, but it's also one that cries out to be asked of
the most successful teen-aged hard rockers of the decade; "Are you ever
concerned that your greatest success may have come when you were only
16 years old?"
While he repeatedly tried to dismiss this query with a haphazard shrug
of his shoulders and a devil-may-care shake of his trademark blond
hair, there's little doubt that young Mr. Johns constantly considers
the inner meaning of that question. After all, what do you do for an
encore when your first album -- initially released when you and your
band were all of 15! -- makes you an international superstar, and your
second solidifies your place in rock's upper echelon? For anyone such
thoughts would weigh heavy upon their rock and roll soul, but somehow
Daniel, along with his equally young bandmates Chris Joannou and Ben
Gillies, have managed to handle the potential problems associated with
becoming too big, too fast and too young an age with all the grace,
uplomb and skill that they've continually exhibited through their
chart-topping music.
"I don't think that our age really has that much to do with it," Johns
said. "Either it's good music or it's not. There isn't any chart
category for rock and rock bands made up of musicians in their teens,
is there? I don't hear anyone going, 'Hey, that's really good -- for a
25-year-old.' The fans aren't going to spend their money on music that
they don't like no matter who's making it or how old you may be."
The recent facts regarding silverchair speak for themselves. Over three
million copies of their out-of-nowhere debut disc, frogstomp, have now
been sold world-wide. Nearly two million copies of their latest effort,
Freak Show, have moved out of record stores from Sydney to San
Francisco. The band's two headlining tours have packed concert halls
wherever these young Australian rockers have appeared. And their barely
postpubescent faces and pearly-white smiles have made them Grade-A,
teen-dream poster gods to a generation of young girls who seem to
worship every move they make and every breath they take. Certainly life
has been sweet for these still-only 18-year-old Newcastle residents.
They're finally out of school, away from their parents' protective
eyes, and free to enjoy all the myriad (and occasionally slightly
sordid) benefits that rock stardom can provide.
"Things are a little difference now, but we haven't gone too wild,"
Johns said. "On our first tour, everyone really watched over us very
closely. We couldn't go anywhere, or do anything without someone on our
crew -- or one of our mothers -- being there. This time things are
quite a bit better. It's still not the kind of thing you read about
with most rock and roll bands. But now our days are at least more
exciting then eating hamburgers in our hotel rooms. We've managed to
get out a bit and enjoy ourselves -- even if our road managers are
still very much present."
Life on the often demanding tour trail has proven to be lot more fun
this time for silverchair -- and seeing the group perform live has been
a lot more fun for their ever-loyal fans, as well. Even the boys in the
band will admit that at certain moments during their first North
American tour they appeared a bit stiff and unsure of themselves while
they stood under the harsh glare of the spotlight. There were times
when they understandably felt more than a little uncomfortable on the
Big Stage with up to 20,000 pairs of eyes staring intently at them,
devouring their every movement. This time, however, the silverdudes
have taken to performing on stage like the proverbial fish to water.
Their movements and actions as they play appear far more fluid and
natural. Daniel's between song banter seems far less labored. And it
actually appears like these guys are having some fun up there!
"We're learning new things every day," Gillies said. "When you're
young, sometimes you think you know everything. But as you get a little
older, you begin to realize how much more there is to learn. When we
first went on the road, we felt that we had good songs, and that we
played our instruments well. We thought that was enough. Now we've
learned a little about staging and showmanship, and it's made it a much
better experience both for us and for the fans."
Their fans certainly have appreciated every action that silverchair has
taken -- both on-stage and off -- over the last few years.
silverchair's popularity throughout the world has grown precipitously
over the last 12 months. Now the attention of many fans -- and the band
members themselves -- has begun to slowly shift towards the future, to
the time when silverchair will begin work on their all-important third
album. The group is well aware that following their surprising initial
success, their second disc received a veritable "free ride" from the
rock scene. But they also realize that in all likelihood it will be
disc three that forever cements silverchair's role as either temporary
players upon the rock stage -- or as permanent fixtures in the minds
and hearts of fans everywhere.
"The bands we admired we're groups that made great album after great
album," Gillies said. "That's what groups like Led Zeppelin did. I'm
certainly not comparing us to them in any way -- but they were an
influence. You have to learn from your influences, and I think we have.
We want to be doing this ten years from now -- maybe even 20 years from
now. We know how important every album is. We're not just a bunch of
kids anymore -- we're a rock and roll band that people expect some
great things from."
Thanks to Kathy Andrews and Tigerlily's silverchair Jungle.