The Australian band Silverchair (singer/guitarist Daniel Johns, bassist Chris Joannou, drummer Ben Gillis) started its unusual journey as a teenie bopper attracting hard rock/grunge band. After releasing 4 powerful albums, though, they are now a respected band that has proven its staying power. (And they’re only in their early 20s!)
The teenie boppers’ admiration was only part of the band’s initial success. After winning a demo contest in their homeland, they burst on the international music scene in 1995 with their first album, Frogstomp. The funny title, though,hat belies the dark, grungy songs therein. Their first single, Tomorrow,. gained heavy rotation on MTV and procured the band a reputation as a new “grunge” outfit, although the moniker was inaccurate. The fact that the band members were barely 15, and lead vocalist’s Daniel Johns blond good looks added further fuel to this dichotomy. Johns’ voice was dark and penetrating, more like a 35 year old man than a 15 year old boy. For a bunch of fresh-faced school chums, their music certainly did have more in common with Pearl Jam and Nirvana than a group like Hanson. (Not surprisingly, Nirvana was one of the band’s main influences.) The second release “Pure Massacre” was also an MTV hit.
The band toured through 1996 (opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others) and released their sophomore CD Freak Show in 1997. The album proved that Dan, Chris and Ben were no flash in the pan. Although Freak Show clarified the band’s hard rock/grunge sound, they did expand their creative vocabulary on the ballad Cemetery.
1999’s Neon Ballroomshowcased the band’s musical coming of age effort Johns’ bout with anorexia was well-documented in Ana’s Song, and the emotional effects of early stardom were subjects for many of the other tracks. The CD’s first track Emotion Sickness featured classical pianist David Helfgott of Shine fame.
After playing huge outdoor shows like Big Day Out in their native Australia and Rock in Rio, the band recorded their fourth album Diorama, released in the U.S. on August 27th. The first single The Greatest View has sold well throughout Australia, Europe and Brazil, and a documentary ("Across The Night") filmed during the band’s recording session for the album has been broadcast on cable in the U.S. and will be available on DVD soon in Europe as well as America. Legendary musician Van Dyke Parks helped out with orchestral arrangments on this record.
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