Interviewer: This is Daniel from silverchair, talking about the new album Freak Show. Is that a
good title for an album?
Daniel: Aahhh, I think so.
Interviewer: In terms of how it relates to the rest of the record?
Daniel: Yeah it relates well to the rest of the record. We think it's just got a good kind of theme,
the album name and the cover. It's just a good theme for an album. Good theme for a travelling
rock band really.
Interviewer: Feeling like freaks?
Daniel: Yeah (laughs)
Interviewer: Are you getting used to feeling like freaks?
Daniel: We don't feel like total freaks. We just feel that its kind of similar to being in the freak
show. It's just like people like treat you differently - think you're different but your not. People think you're a lot different than you are and that's also like freaks look different from the outside than they are on the inside really. And it's the same with being in a rock band, really.
Interviewer: Freak show is a great album. What do you reckon of it?
Daniel: Umm...I like it a lot more than the first album. Just because on the first album we
wrote a lot of the songs when we were about 13, 14, and we just ... by the time we recorded them
we were already sick of a lot of the songs. And umm ... with the new album all the songs we wrote
within eight months of recording the album or something so we were really keen when we were
recording and stuff, and we weren't sick of the songs. So it was really good.
Interviewer: Were a lot of the songs when you did have to write for the second album, did a lot of
them come quickly?
Daniel: Ummm ... yeah ... once we got home, had some time off, we just started like really writing
a lot. Like once you write one song, I usually get on a roll.
Interviewer: And then you've gotta get them all out and try not to forget them.
Daniel: Yeah yeah, usually you just go up to a tape recorder and play them quickly.
Interviewer: Do you record a lot of your stuff like that?
Daniel: Yeah. Quite a lot. And then when I've got all the like ideas that I've got down I usually bring
it to practise. And then, yeah, it usually changes a little bit, just tempo and stuff and then once
we’ve got all the music down properly I usually just go home and then write lyrics
Interviewer: OK, so the music always comes first?
Daniel: Oh yeah, most of the time. There's a few songs where it doesn't but the majority of the
songs.
Interviewer: Some of the songs are actully written lyrics first were they?
Daniel: Yeah, because sometimes I just sit up in my bedroom when I'm bored and just write lyrics
and you've just got to wait for the right music to come along for them to fit. And I've got heaps of
lyrics at home that just dont fit any music yet. So I've got to wait until the song comes up where
they fit it.
Interviewer: So give us an example from the tracks off this new album. Ummm, lyrics first and
then music second. Which Ones?
Daniel: Ummmm ... well Learn to Hate, Ben actually wrote all the music for and when he gave me
the music and said write lyrics to this I already had lyrics that I'd written that fitted in perfectly.
Interviewer: What are the lyrics about in that track?
Daniel: It's just about like, hate and stuff, and how people hate other people for silly reasons.
Interviewer: Like racism and prejudice against people for their religion and color and stuff?
Daniel: It's just anything. Like it could be ... it ranges from like hating someone just because they
took your girlfriend or something. Or hating people because they have different interests or
different beliefs than you. Just about anything like that.
Interviewer: Where did the idea for that one come about? Was there any sort of incident in your
life that made you write those lyrics?
Daniel: Umm, not really one particular incident, just stuff that I was thinking about. I only write
lyrics when I'm like in a kind of depressed mood. Not depressed, just like ... when I'm not in a
good mood. 'Cos when I'm in a good mood I'd rather be out playing with my dog or going to the
beach or something. But yeah, when I'm in a bad mood I sit at home and write lyrics and do
musical stuff. That's why the music tends to be a lot darker than you'd expect from us three, 'cos
we're not really that dark of people.
Interviewer: So the music's sort of is produced from that dark element of your personality?
Daniel: Yeah we get it all, all the...or most of the dark side out of us in the music, try and be as
nice as possible when we're not playing music.
Interviewer: Well that's nice to know now. Ahh, the angry side of the album as well - I said to Ben I
said I think this is a really angry album from you this time round. Would you describe it that way
too?
Daniel: Ummm, yeah I would but I reckon any rock n roll's angry. That's the idea of it I think, the
idea of rock. I just think any rock album's just anger mainly except for bands like - I dont know -
The Presidents, who like have more fun with their music and stuff. We have fun but we like get all
the anger out as well. A lot of rock music is young people out getting all their anger out in the
music so they can have fun in their life really.
Interviewer: Do you feel you get a lot of that stuff, that side of you out through your music?
Daniel: Yeah ummmmm, that's what a lot of the songs, most of the songs on the album are like
about that, like being perceived as being different just because you're in a band - just because you
tour around like the country and stuff. People just think you're different. Like they just throw
negative comments at you all the time just 'cos they think you're different. They dont really know
what you're like. And that's what Abuse Me is kind of like. It's kind of like a joke in ways, that's why
it's so mellow but it's such like kind of agressive lyric. It's a really like mellow song. That's the idea
behind that song anyway.
Interviewer: Do you feel much different to how you felt when you first got the band together?
Daniel: Ummm, no not really. When we first got the band together we just got the band together
just for like to have some fun and just play rock music really. Now it's just the same but it's got, but
it's also like a way to get your feelings out as well. Kind of like a small outlet, and it's just - all it is,
is just another added bonus for being in a band. You just get to get your feelings out in music
rather than like having it all inside and just being pissed all the time.
Interviewer: There's a lot of aggression on the record, but there's still a lot of melody there as well.
Daniel: Yeah we like to ... like we're really into bandslike Tool and ummmmm Slint, stuff like that.
We really want to be a heavy band but still manage to have a melody there - still have heavy tunes
but they're also songs, they're not just riffs and telling.
Interviewer: Do you reckon this album's going to be in any way too aggressive for the silverchair
fans that got into frogstomp?
Daniel: Nah, I dont think it's too aggressive. It's not...it's not about killing people like Cannibal
Corpse or anything. It's not the same kind of idea of frogstomp but it's like that kind of aggressive
kind of feel to it. It's just been ... it's just developed a bit more and got into more ideas and got a
bit better at lyric writing. A lot of the lyrics on the first album were written when I was 13 or 14 I'm
not really happy with. But I'm a lot more happy with the lyrics and stuff on this album.
Interviewer: Although the success silverchair has had has obviously brought you a lot of things in
your life, have you also found that it's restricted you from doing stuff that you used to do before
that?
Daniel: Yeah it has sometimes but you can't really complain about it because there's also like a lot
of advantages from like playing in a band. I'm not going to just complain about the fact that we
don't get to go out and do other stuff that we used to do that...it's not that bad because there's
also...there's like bad sides and good sides to every job. That just happens to be one of the bad
sides to this job.
Interviewer: Have you got over it ... in terms of like being able to - i dont know - hang out at the
beach or go into town here in Newcastle. Have you been able to sort of get over that hurdle?
Daniel: Umm...I just don't go into town. I never went into town anyway. I don't...I was never
really the kind of person that went out a lot. I just don't really go out that much. The only time I
really go out is when I'm out walking my dog or just going for a drive or something. I was never
really into going out anyway
Interviewer: What sort of car do you have?
Daniel: Umm..I have an XP 66 Ford.
Interviewer: Cool.
Daniel: Yeah. It's a rockin car.
Interviewer: Sounds like it.
Daniel: Rock 'n' Roll mobile
Interviewer: Rock 'n' Roll mobile!
Daniel: Yeah.
Interview with Richard Kingsmill
Daniel Page
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