Press
28-07-1999
Strictly Silverchair Ballroom
By Murray Engleheart (Beat Magazine)
OK so Nostrodamus got it wrong. So far anyway. But if the place had
gone Boom! a few weeks back as the old sage predicted all those
centuries ago silverchair could be well pleased with their achievements
thus far. Their third album, Neon Ballroom positioned them squarely a a
smart and highly muscal force not just a skillful phenomenon. It also
provided them with the Anthem for the Year 2000 single which the
perspective of time might well view as their generational edition of
Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. The cream has been that the
subsequent world tour for the album which all but wraps up after their
coming Australian dates with a few weeks in Europe has been virtually
sold out. Hell, it'd all be almost supernatural if it weren't such damn
hard work.
"Scully from the X-Files is a bit of a fan," says drummer, Ben Gillies
from Winnepeg, Canada where the band were taking part in travelling
Edge festival with Hole, The Offspring and a cast of tens of thousands.
"That was a bit of a surprise. We went to this little photo shoot that
they were doing and she came up and said hello. She said, I'm really
into you guys, I've liked you for a few years. I was like, cool! She
had a bunch of CDs with her and she put ours on. She said to us while
we were there they were shooting a bit of an episode and that if we
wanted to go down and have a look we were welcome. So we did. That's
where we met David Duchovny. We had a gig that night and we invited
them along and they actually ended up coming which was pretty
surprising."
For Gillies the most significant indicator of the band's standing and
success comes from much closer to home than any L.A. movie set. "The
good thing for us was when the tickets for the Australian tour went on
sale. We saw the ticket sales and when little things like that happen
it's kind of like it gives you a good kick. You go, Holy shit! There's
lots of frigging people coming to see us play! It's pretty amazing."
The band's musical territory of late and indications of their intended
horizons are just as startling. The structure and arrangement of songs
like Cemetery on the Freak Show album indicated that this was one
outfit who were adamant that they were going to give any and all
expectations of them a hell of a run for their money. As a result they
can seamlessly appear on that recent and otherwise mighty ordinary
Clash tribute album, have a slot on the Godzilla soundtrack, cast out
something like Ballrom's Ana's Song [Open Fire] or Miss You Love,
flatten you with the same album's Satin Sheets and firmly command full
attention in each instance.
The direction and influence absorption of the band that originally
graphically idolised the Seattle school and the likes of Helmet [to the
extent that Daniel Johns quite rightly wanted the same gear rig as
everything louder than everything else guitarist, Page Hamilton] is now
virtually impossible to pinpoint let alone plot with any rough degree
of accuracy. "In the past a lot of influences were very obvious,"
admits Gillies. "but to be quite honest now I don't think any critic
around the world could possibly pick what we're listening to because
it's just everything. Over the last say, year and a half, two years or
so I don't know, something happened to all of us. We just kind of went
spastic! We listen to anything and everything, we don't care. If we
think it sounds good.
"Actually, I used to be a bit of a closet Madonna fan. I'd liked her
for yonks but it was kind of like, yeah, Madonna, yeah, whatever. Then
a while ago I was like, bugger that! I think she's cool! So I went out
and bought all her albums and on one tour I think I brought that I
think it was the Immaculate Collection? With all the hits on it? And
the guys were like, what are you doing? I like Madonna! They're like,
Oh my God! It was funny. They accept it now."
So given the moves the 'chair have made over the course of three albums
does Gillies have more of an insight thanmost on what it was that drove
the Smashing Pumpkins to make the artistic schitzo switch from Siamese
Dream to Mellon Collie and finally Adore?
"It's hard to say because they might have a different kind of motive
behind their's I guess you could call it. The reason we did that was we
wanted something fresh and something new and we wanted to try and do
something different that not many people were doing. So yeah, I guess
they were trying to do the same thing."
So exactly what does a band that has such broad tastes these days play
before they hit the stage and the lights each night? "Actually the last
couple of shows we haven't really done it in the past but Chris
[Joannou] has brought his little speakers and CD player along and we
just put o whatever's good psych up music. Usually Zeppelin's a bit of
a favourite. It always kind of gets us psyched. Have you ever heard of
a band from New Orleans called The Meters? The funk band? When we come
offstange we put the Meters on and just chill." Speaking of the mighty
Zep does Gillies still like to see himself reflected in his drum heads
as a young John Bonham or has that self image faded with his changing
musical tastes? "Oh no!" he replies clearly horrified. "That's the one
thing that will never ever change. John Bonham is my biggest idol ever
He's the man. Any Led Zeppelin song you turn it on and the drums are
just so fat and hae got the best groove. It's the best. You can't beat
him. No-one can beat him.
"Actually I met John Bonham's daughter. I didn't even know he had a
daughter. Her name was Zowie and she was like the spitting image of
him. It was at an L.A. gig at the House Of Blues. Chris came up to me
and said, Zowie Bonham's here and she wants to meet you. And I was like
who? Bonham? And he goes, yeah, Bonham as in John Bonham's daughter. I
was like, you're joking! I was so excited! I went up to her and I was
trying to contain myself. The funny thing was all I wanted to do was
ask her about her Dad but I felt pretty bad doing that so I was trying
to mix it up."
So with all the band's success have there any close encounters of the
supermodel kind? Gillies seemed somehow to be almost waiting for the
question. He fired back his response immediately without a flinch.
"Well, I consider my girlfriend a supermodel."
silverchair are performing at Melbourne Park on Thursday August 12 with
guests Placebo and Pre Shrunk. New seats ahve been released and are
selling fast! Book at Ticketek. This will be the largest capacity
headline show silverchair have ever played in Australia.
[Thanks to Alex for the transcript]