STATE OF MIND.
Interview with Daniel Johns
Rock Sound Magazine
William Luff speaks to the angelic Daniel Johns of Australian
teenage angst gods silverchair.
Do you believe in aliens?
Definitely. I'm obsessed with alien links to Egypt. Itstarted
when I was about 15 and I got
really into the Pyramids. It's so amazing. If there's a
possibility that something like God
created humans then there's definitely a chance that some
species of aliens could have come to Earth and done the some thing.
Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Oh yes. About a year ago I was in my house with a friend andmy
parents were on holiday. We
were watching telly and for some reason I felt I had to check
the back door. There was this
bright light there and it was so bright it hurt my eyes.Then,
it just shot off. We were freaking
out. The television switched itself off and then a cup in the
kitchen started swaying and
wouldn't stop. My dog was hiding under the table and we hadso
much adrenaline flowing and
were so scared that we left the house and took her for awalk.
When we got back all my
mum's cooking knives were laid out on the floor. That was it,I
went over to my friend's house
and stayed there until my parents got back.
Who would be your ideal partner for dancing around your ballroom?
Kate Bush. When I was 16 I heard The Dreaming and that's the
most amazing album ever.
What's your idea of perfect happiness?
Just being comfortable with yourself. I think that anyone who's
unhappy is probably not very
comfortable with themselves. That's why most people find
contentment in middle age. They
don't worry anymore about image or how people see them. I have
phobias, really bad anxiety
problems. I have to take medication whenever I'm going to be in
large groups of people. I can
sing in front of 50,000 people but as soon as I'm among them I
freak out. I'm really
claustrophobic as well. I've been caught in six lifts in my
life. One time I was in there for 3
hours by myself and it was totally dark and I was just sitting
in the corner pressing the alarm
button. I was freaking out and sweating. And then I heard this
tapping on the roof, and it was like, Thank fuck, about fucking time!
You spend a lot of time barefoot. Why?
It's more natural, it's a good feeling. If I'm just hangingout
with friends and wandering around
I don't wear shoes at all but if I'm going to a club I will.
Did you have an imaginary childhood friend?
Yeah, for two years Mum and Dad took me to a psychiatrist cosI
was a real crazy arse. I used
to have fits when I was about two years old and that's when I
started to have my friend, Robin.
It was really serious. If I sat down for dinner and it wasjust
my family that had plates, I'd cry
and throw tantrums 'cos they hadn't made food for Robin. Andif
Dad went to sit down I'd scream,
"You're going to sit on Robin." And Dad would be like "OK." If he
ever bought me chocolates
he had to buy one for Robin. I could actually see him. I swear
to God, he was so real.
What was the last book you read?
'Everything In This Book Is A Lie But It's Exactly How Things
Are'. It's pretty spiritual book
about links to aliens and it's really amazing, full of great
theories. And I bought a book today
about government conspiracies which has a chapter on why they
won't legalise cannabis. It's
because the cotton industry pays them not to.
Have you ever been attracted to anyone of the opposite sex?
Um…not in a sexual way. I've been extremely interested in the
people of the same sex but I
don't really go looking for sex. Like, I've never had agroupie
shag in my life. I don't believe in taking advantage of people.
What's your favourite film?
'Leaving Las Vegas' is really moving. I like the darkness,it's
a really unorthodox way of
presenting the film. I like dark things to have anundercurrent
of sarcasm and irony, so it's great.
What was the last dream you had?
I was running through a field and all of these people were
throwing knives at each other and I
was trying to escape and fell into a huge pit. All the blood
from the people started flowing into
the pit and I was drowning. It was fucking scary. It's possibly
linked to my anxiety attacks. I
think everything in the subconscious part of the brain has links
to things like phobias.
If you could travel back in time where would you go?
I'd go back to Egypt, really fucking early to find out ifthere
were aliens there. I wish there'd
been a hidden camera when they built the pyramids because
they're just too precise to have been built by men at that time.
Why are you a vegetarian?
I'm actually a vegan, although I love the smell of chicken.When
I was 16 I because a
vegetarian and six months later I did the full thing andbecame
a vegan. It's not as hard as
you'd think 'cos I have simple tastes, just fruit andvegetable
and cereal. I take protein tablets
to keep me healthy so I very rarely get sick. I don't drink
alcohol either because of a stomach
ulcer, but I'm definitely not straight-edge. I mean, I'lltake
certain stimulants if you know what I
mean, when I'm at parties but nothing too out of control. Alot
of people get drugs and drug
addicts mixed up. I'm not hugely into drugs, but it's good to
experiment now and again.
What's the most embarrassing situation you've ever been in?
I don't get embarrassed by things that I do. Sometimes I'llsay
things on stage that are totally
irrelevant or stupid just cos I'm off in my own world and
afterwards people ask ' What did that
mean?', and I'm like, 'I don't know'. But there was a time in
Germany and I really needed a
piss so I put my guitar down and dashed off and Ben and Chris
were on stage for five minutes
while I was backstage looking everywhere for a toilet. I hadto
explain to everyone where I'd gone.
Have you ever been anorexic?
Anorexia is a mental phobia, about distorted views ofyourself
and I've suffered disorders but not specifically anorexia.
If you could spend one hour with either John Lennon, KurtCobain
or Beethoven who would you choose?
Beethoven. I've seen John Lennon interviews and Kurt Cobain
interviews but I've never seen a Beethoven interview.
