Press
01-04-2000
Winner Takes All
(Rolling Stone (Australia))
"Once it starts hurting me emotionally to sing, I'll just have to
stop," Daniel Johns said when silverchair's third album Neon Ballroom
was released in March 1999. "I don't want the songs to lose their
meaning... especially if people are paying money to see us play these
songs that might have helped them emotionally."
Almost a year after Johns told Rolling Stone about his eating disorder
and battle with depression, his lyrics and thoughts are still helping
many fans and touching thousands more. Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies and
Chris Joannou worked tirelessly throughout 1999, taking the Neon
Ballroom tour around Australia and the world. Despite the odds, Johns
did keep the meaning in his songs and gave stunning, emotional
performances night after night.
Now you, the Rolling Stone readers, have honoured Daniel Johns and
silverchair with four top awards: Artist Of The Year, Best Male
Performer, Best Rock Artist and Best Dressed. But you didn't just vote
for silverchair, you took the time to thank them. Why? "Because they
have given us emotional and honest music over the past five or six
years," says Dana Voysey, 20, Brisbane. Another reader, Lila
Sugarevski, 22, of Melbourne said: "There is so much emotion and pain
in Daniel's voice, it gives me hope that I'm not the only one with
disorders." And as 14-year-old Daniel Smith of Rowville said simply:
"Because they work so hard and Daniel Johns is a survivor."
When we told Daniel Johns about the awards, he wanted to thank you
personally by answering questions from readers rather than a
journalist. So we randomly asked readers who had voted for silverchair
to come up with three questions each. What follows is the questions
Johns personally selected to answer:
Tshinta Hoey, 16, Venus Bay, Victoria
tshintah@hotmail.com
Q - Your song lyrics seem to contain such personal reflection and
depth. Do you experience any difficulty in sharing them with other
people, particularly if it's new material?
A - "Yes, I do initially because my lyrics expose parts of my life
which I don't really talk about, but after a while I feel a sense of
relief which is a gratifying part of writing."
Q - What has been the most dramatic change either emotionally or
towards your personality since silverchair became so successful? A -
"At first I was confused with the idea of fame, but I've learned to
appreciate how lucky I am to be able to express myself for a living."
Q - If you could change anything about this world's current situation, what would be your first decision?
A - "For Neighbours to be played on weekends as well as weekdays."
Trisha Farman, 19, Perth, WA
medellia25@hotmail.com
Q - As a fan who's been there from the beginning, I hope the band stays
together and stays happy forever. Failing that Daniel, maybe you'll do
a Chris Cornell and go solo. How long do you think you'll keep doing
the rock & roll thing? And don't say 'until you don't enjoy it
anymore' because, honestly, you often seem not to enjoy it already, and
you're still going!
A - "My life will always revolve around music in some form or other but
at the moment I have absolutely no plans to do anything. It's the first
time in over five years that I haven't been committed to something and
I am enjoying that and just keeping my options open at the moment."
Antony Dwyer, 20, Newcastle, NSW
adwyer@idl.net.au
Q - Most of your lyrics could be described as somewhat melancholy in
theme: does releasing this energy in your music leave you relieved and
happy, or exhausted?
A - "The environment in which I write my lyrics is definately conducive
to mental exhaustion but there's also a sense of relief that comes with
that kind of expression."
Anna van Hees, 17, Brisbane, QLD
theavh@ozemail.com.au
Q - In your career as a member of silverchair, have you ever had any
regrets about the way you are presented in the eye of the public?
A - "Maybe just by the nature of my song lyrics, people may get the
impression that I'm depressed all the time, but people who know me know
that that's only a small part of who I am."
Warren
stolly@alphalink.com.au
Q - Who was your role model as a kid? And why?
A - "Mr T, Mr Music and Mr Johns."
Buckley, 20, Cottesloe, Perth, WA
Q - When you are standing backstage just before the concert begins, the
lights are turned off and you hear the roar of the crowd, how does that
make you feel inside?
A - "I get a nervous energy just as the lights go down because I don't
want anything to go wrong, but the best feeling is seeing the crowd
respond to the music."
Melissa Fenwick, Christchurch, New Zealand
Q - How do you feel when you are sent letters from people who suffer
from depression, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies, and they say
things like you going public with your problems, the band's music and
your lyrics have given them the courage to get help or deal with things
better?"
A - "That has definately been one of the big positives to come out of
my music - to know the music has helped people makes any criticism seem
insignificant."
Q - Do you think it is easier to sing your lyrics with more passion in a "live" environment? If so, why?
A - "I think if you are passionate about the words, it is just as easy to convey that passion in the studio."
Q - Has fame, in your opinion, isolated you?
A - "Well to a certain extent it has to. It's a little bit scary to
know that so many people that I don't know, know me... or think they
know me. I have my own group of friends who I feel comfortable with,
but generally I'm happy to lead a pretty solitary existence."
Q - What kind of influences has your parents had over choices in your life? For example, do you still ask for their opinions?
A - "I still ask for their opinions if I feel it is relevant, but I basically do what I feel is right."
Paul Bowell, 22, Montmorency, Vic and Casey Richardson, 19, Greensborough, Vic
Q - A year or so after the release of Neon Ballroom how do you feel now about the personal nature of songs such as Ana's Song?
A - "I don't regret anything at all about this album. I did what I wanted, and made a really honest album which I'm proud of."
Q - After seeing you live at Melbourne Park in '99 I got the impression
that silverchair are sick of their number one hit Tomorrow. Is this
true?
A - Tomorrow was written seven or eight years ago when I was 12 or 13.
Obviously the most recent songs I've written are more relevant and
meaningful to me but of course I can't deny that Tomorrow kicked off
our career and people are still going to want to hear it no matter how
sick we get of playing it!!"
Q - What advice would you give to young artists who have the chance to sign with a record label and produce a hit record?
A - "I'm not a big expert on any of this stuff - that's why we have a
manager and a lawyer - but I guess if I had to offer advice it would be
'dont rush into anything'. From both a musical and a business point of
view you need to take some time to make sure that each step you take is
the right one for you. Once you've signed a bad deal or released a bad
song then you're normally stuck with it for a long time so it's worth
taking some time to really think about what you're doing and get some
good advice from people whose opinions you respect. Also, I think you
need to have realistic expectations. If you expect to make lots of
money and have lots of fun while doing no work then you're almost
certainly going to end up being very disappointed. Like any job, you
have to be ready to make some personaly sacrifices if you want to do
well at it."
Brad Lacey, 16, Mooroolbark, Victoria
braddles@beer.com
Q - "I don't even try writing when I'm in a good mood" is something
that you mentioned on the Neon Ballroom video. Do you think this alters
the public's perception of you (maybe getting the wrong impression of
Daniel Johns, the musicial, compared to Daniel Johns, the person), and
is it something that concerns you?
A - "It doesn't concern me because I am comfortable with how much of
myself I expose to the public. There are certain things I write about
but don't release because I don't feel they will be beneficial to
anybody."
Larry Milliken
birdman@nccoast.net
Q - Have you ever ran wild and naked outside when you were drunk? What's the story?
A - "Nah, sometimes I'd like to do that sort of stuff, but it's
probably end up in the paper and I'd have to live with it for the rest
of my life! So I save it for private functions."
Q - I have read that you also pain. Who are your favourite painters and why?
A - Brett Whiteley because I admire his uncensored self-expression and because he's Australian."
Q - When you just chill at home, do you watch Steve the Crocodile
Hunter? If so, what do you find so cool about his show? (Note: he is
animal friendly.)
A - "He's the best!! Well, with a title like Steve the Crocodile Hunter
I probably would have assumed he was running around with a gun killing
things, so I wouldn't have even thought of tuning in. But if he's
'animal friendly' maybe I should tune in on your recommendation and see
what he's about."
Jenna Harriss, 15, Perth, WA
jennastix@hotmail.com
Q - What do you want written on your tombstone?
A - " 'See, I told you I was sick.' "
Q - Why do you insist on having candelabras in your suite before you go on stage?
A - "Well they come in very handy in our suites for the satanic
ceremonies which we conduct before each show... Actually we don't have
'suites' we just have exactly the same dressing room as every other
band that's played at that venue and we certainly don't insist on
having candelabras in them. If it's particularly bright and sterile we
might turn off some of the lights or light a candle occasionally to
give the room a bit of mood but nine times out of ten we just take it
as it comes."
Q - Do you believe in reincarnation and if so, what do you think Sweep [Daniel's dog] was in her past life?
A - "I don't know what she would have been but it would have been something really special. Maybe she was Jesus."
Maria & Jadee, Melbourne
Q - If you could be a leader of a country, which would it be and what would you do to improve it?
A - "I'd choose Australia, and even though there's plenty of things
that could be done to better it, seeing as though my particular passion
is animals, I would love to see compulsory desexing of cats and dogs so
that anyone who wants a pet would have to take it from an animal home
and save their lives. I think it's a crime how many innocent animal
lives are wasted just because people allow their animals to breed
unnecessarily."
Raven 74
raven74@one.net.au
Q - Is it true you have a tattoo something to do with animal
liberation? If so did you design it yourself or was the design your own
idea?
A - "Yes, it has to do with Animal Liberation. Seeing as though you
have to live with a tat for the rest of your life, I made sure that
mine would be something that would always be relevant to me."
Helena Geyer, 19, ACT
helena_geyer@yahoo.com
Q - What's the best/funniest/most illegal thing that's happened on tour this year?
A - "We had an incident in New York which fits all three of your
criteria. I wasn't there but I heard all about it the next day. We were
doing some shows with Blink 182 so Ben and Chris went out with some of
the guys from Blink after the show to this place called the Russian
Vodka Room. Strictly speaking that was illegal because they were only
19, and the legal drinking age over there is 21. Anyway, they were all
apparently drinking these really weird vodkas that tasted of different
sorts of fruit and were really strong. Ben was very thirsty and he
really likes fruit so he ended up accidentally drinking more than he
should have done. At about 3am he projectile vomited right into the
face of Blink's manager who was extremely unimpressed & went kinda
crazy about it. Everybody else thought it was pretty funny though."
Kit Darling, 16, London, Ontario, Canada
llama6@yahoo.com
Q - If sleeping didn't exist, what do you think people would do in those extra hours where humans usually sleep?
A - "Sometimes I feel that sleeping doesn't exist for me now! And when
that happens I sort of use that time to think too much about stuff. So
if it didn't exist at all I guess that's what people would do."
[Thanks to Helena Geyer for the transcript]