This is Daniel from silverchair, talking about the new album Freak Show. Is that a good title for an album? Aahhh, I think so. In terms of how it relates to the rest of the record? Yeah it relates well to the rest of the record. We think it`s just a good kind of theme, the album name and the cover. It`s just a good theme for an album. Good theme for any travelling rock band really. Feeling like freaks? Yeah. (laughs). Are you getting used to feeling like freaks? We din`t feel like total freaks. We just feel that it`s kind of similar to being in the Freak Show. It`s just people like treat you differently-think you`er different but you`re not. People think you`re a lot different then you are and that`s also like freaks look different from the outside then they are on the inside really. And it`s the same thing with being in a rock band really. Freak Show is a great album. What do you reckon of it? Ummmmmm.... I like it a lot more than the first album. Just because on the first album we wrote a lot of songs when we were 13, 14 and we just.... by the time we recorded them we were already sick of the songs. And ummm ... with the new album all the songs we wrote within the eight moths 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. Were a lot of the songs when you did have to write for the second album, did a lot of them come quickly? Umm... 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. And then you`ve gotta get them all out and try not to forget them quickly. Yeah yeah, usually you just go up to a tape recorder and play them quickly. Do you record a lot of your stuff like that? Yeah. Quite a lot. And then I`ve got all the ideas that I`ve got down i usually bring it to practice, 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 the lyrics. Ok, so the music always comes first? Oh yeah, most of the time. There`s a few songs were it dosn`t but the majority of the songs. Some songs off the the album are actually written first were they? Yeah, because sometimes I just sit up in my bedroom when I`m bored and just write lyrics and you`ve 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 don`t fit any music yet. So I`ve got to wait until the song comes up were they fit in. So give us an example from the tracks off the album. Ummm, lyrics first and the the music second. Witch ones? 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. What are the lyrics about in that track? It`s just about like, hate and stuff, and how people hate other people for silly reasons. Like racism and prejudice against people for their religion and colour and stuff? 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 then you. Just about anything like that. Were did the idea for that one come about? Was there any sort of incident in your life that made you write those lyrics? Ummmm, not really one particular like incident, just stuff that I was thinking about. I only write lyrics when I`m like in a 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 like 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 stiff. That`s why yeah music teds to be a lot darker then you’d expect from us three, `cos were not really that dark as people. So the music sort of ..is produced from the dark element of your personality? Yeah we get it all, all the ... or most of the dark side of us out in the music, try and be as nice as possible when we`er not playing music. Well that`s nice to know now. Ahhh, the anger side of the album as well - I said this to Ben, I said I think this is a really angry album from you this time round. Would you describe it that way too? Ummmm, 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 don`t know-The Presidents, who like have more fun with the 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. Do you feel like you get a lot of that stuff, that side of you out through your music? Yeah ummmmmmmmm, that`s what a lot of 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 don`t really know what you`re like. And that`s what Abuse Me is kind of like a joke in a way, that`s why it`s so mellow but it`s such like kind of aggressive lyric. It`s a really mellow song. that`s the idea behind that song anyway. Do you feel much different to how you felt when you first got the band together? 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 the music rather than like having it all inside and just being pissed off all the time. There`s a lot of aggression on the record, but there`s still a lot a melody there as well? Yeah we like to ... like we`re really into bands like 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 thy`re also songs, they`re not just riffs and yelling. Do you reckon this album`s going to be in any way to aggressive for silverchair fans that got into frogstomp? Nah, i don`t think it`s too aggressive. It`s not... it`s not about killing pepole like cannibal corse or anything. It`s not the same kind of idea of Frogstomp but it`s like that nind of aggressive kind of feel to it. It`s just been ... it`s just developed a bit more and got 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 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. Have you got over it .. in terms of like being able to- I don`t know- hang out the beach or go into town here in Newcastle. Have you been able to sort of get over that hurdle? Ummmm ... 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 go for a drive or something. I was never really into going out anyway. what sort of car do you have? Ummmmmm, I have an XP 66 Ford. Cool. Yeah, it`s a rockin` car. Sounds like it. Rock n roll mobile. Rock n roll mobile? Yeah.

The first thing I want to chat to you about was your feelings towards Frogstomp now. How do you regard that album? What do you think of it? Looking back on Frogstomp now, its ummm ... I wish we could play on it again because i think that we played poorly, oh not poorly, I just think we could have played better then what we did. But other then that I was. Looking back on it I`m pretty pleased with how we did for the first album. Sure well it went incredibly well, so i mean you should be pleased about that. Yeah. We`re really happy how it went and ummm ... yeah, we didn`t expect to go like that. We were just planning on 6,000 I think it was. That`s how many we were first going to print. 6,000 copies. And how many did it end up selling? I think its up around 3 million now, something like that. That`s not too bad then 6,000 copies. Yeah.(laughs) We`re pretty happy. So you have learnt a lot in the last couple of years? Learned a hell of a lot in the last couple of years, It`s like ... umm ... Learned a lot about the live scene as well, not just recording and stuff like that. Learned a lot about people and ... ahhh It`s heaps good. Freak Show sounds like there is a lot going on in the lyrics and also in the sound of the band that wasn`t there on frogstomp. I would describe the album as being ... having a lot of variety on it, like it`s got a punk song, it`s got like a real long, longer song that`s like 6 minutes or something. i`ts got loud and soft and umm .. it`s even got strings and timpani and what else? There is sitar, oh there`s heaps of different stuff on it. There are Indian musicians working on one song as well? I thought if you put the Indian instruments on any other song it wouldn`t fit but the song that it was on, Petrol & Chlorine, I thought it really fitted with that song. Petrol and Chlorine and The Door was the other kind of Led Zeppelin. Do you reckon so too? Yeah. I thought Petrol and Chlorine and The door was the other kind of Led Zeppelin feeling songs. yea, but we were really happy with them. We weren`t really going for a Led Zeppelin sound but that is just the way the way they turned out. The Door has a feel to it that is very Physical Graffiti type Led Zeppelin feel to it. You guys fans of Led Zeppelin? Oh yeah, Im a big fan of Led Zeppelin. i`ve got skillions of posters of theirs and i`ve got all their albums and yeah, I love them. They`er great. So therefore the influence of Led Zeppelin mightn’t be that strange, the thing in silverchair. Yeah, on the last album I don`t think you could hear the Led Zeppelin influence but I think on this one you can hear it. As much as you guys like other bands like helmet and you talk about liking them, you can`t really hear a lot of other bands within the sound of silverchair. You can in certain songs, but for the whole album you kind of go, well they have taken a bit of that maybe and a bit of that, but there is no overriding influence right throughout the sound of the band. Yeah. That`s the reason that we have got all those different kind of sounding songs and different styles through the album. It is just because we wanted to get away from being compared to other bands. basically getting away from the first thing. Getting compared to other bands like you always do with your first album, and just so that people would go ahh that`s silverchair`s album, and if they heard one of the songs they would go that`s silverchair. That`s what we`re going for. To try to confuse them little bit more so that they couldn`t pick that as easily? Yeah, Yeah. Just basically just to get our own sound so people could distinguish us from other bands. I reckon you have got it do you? I think if we`re not already three now we will be getting it like maybe next album or the album after that for sure. When I was listening to the album the one thing I thought it was a lot tougher then Frogstomp, but the element of melody was still pretty much there. I think it is just a combination of everything because me Chris try to play as tight as possible just to make it sound really ballsy and then, also then you have got the tune and the melody over the top and that makes it sound melodic. I reckon this is your third album. I said that to the record company when I heard it. I thought you had missed your second album and you have gone straight to your third. yeah. I am really ... umm the way this albums turned out I am like really pleased with how we did.

Befor we about talk about the new album i actually wanted to find out what`s your best subject at school. Ummmmm... recess and lunch probably. No, no the real best ones ... sort of, school`s just sort of to fill in time, I think. Yeah. That`s the attitude towards it? Ahhh ... a bit of a social life. You know, we don`t think it is that impotant but other pepole do. Do you enjoy it? Yes. I is good fun. There is nothing really bad about it unless you get a heap of detention or somthing. Do you get heaps of detentions? Nahh .. not really. None at all really. Do you find school a good escape from rock and roll. Do you kind of like to go to school becouse it gets away from all the crazy stuff that happens with the band. Yeah. It`s sort of a lot slower. Like when we gi away everything is like very sort of fast and then you come back and it is sort of like ... you wake up each morning going school. okay. And it`s sort of like a routine sort of thing, so it is good to get a routine again, actually. yeah. Is it hard to fall back into that routine though? It is a bit becouse haveing to get up at you know, 8 oclock each mornig like you get days off and sometimes you just lay in bed untill lunch time when you are away somtimes and stuff like that, and it is a bit different having to get up at 8 every mornig and get a uniform on and get your books and do your homework, all that sort of stuff. But it`s okay. So you`re the lucky one in a way becouse you don`t have to do it like every day of the year, whereas all your friends probably do. yeah. In term of the first single, how long ago dose that seem to you? Dose it seem like about 10 years ago or dose it seem like it was quite recent? Yeah i think having to play the song over and over again makes it seem ages ago as well. That was about two years ago wasn`t it? A lot has happened. It is probably only two years but seems like even more. Yeah. it seems like about ten that`s for sure. Justhaveing to play you know, we always joke around with how we always have to play the song you know and we`re just oh we won`t play it this time, and it`s like oh again and again. But you know sometimes when the crowd`s sort of enjoying it and stuff like that it makes it a lot better you know. Dose that make you change it in terms of how you play it on stage if the crowd really wants to hear it? Yeah yeah it dose. you know, when the crowd sort of ummmm. is a bit of a lull there or something like that you know, it sort of turns in to Oh this song again you know blah blah blah. But when the crowd`s really into it it`s like Oh great, let`s go. What do you reakon of this album then chris? Heaps better. For us, yeah. it is sort of like a big step from frogstomp. I think we did three weeks this time instead of nine days or something and it was sort of ... had the same sort of atmosphere like but we weren`t just little idiots running around, we sort of knew what we were doing this time. What else do you sort of bring to the studio to make it seem more of friendlier and homelier environment to work within? We used to always just have ummm ... spurts of stupidness you know, and we used to put each in quad cases and do `em up and hoon `em up the hallways and crashing into walls and stuff, and just doing stuff you normally do aroud home. Did the studio mangers mind about that? The ummm. ... the carpenter there had a bit of a fit ... a few holes in the wall and stuff like that. Seriously? you put holes in the studio walls? Yeah. Still there from like two years ago when we did Frogstomp. A major question i have to ask you is why did you cut your hair? it was of ummm ... first i said it as a joke, and then i said No I`m going to do it. And then i set a day. I said the first day of christmas holidays and i went home and did it. i just thought Oh this is so much more better and there`s just no more worries-you know, just get up and go you know. Don`t have to worry about haveing a big mangled knot in the back of your head, you know just waking up with bedhead and stuff like that, you know. Short hairs heaps better. So you`ve never looked back? Never. And what about the other guy`s? They`re not going to learn from your lesson? Ummmmm ... I don`t know. Ben always talked about growing his hair down to his arse and, i don`t know just, Daniel just gives his a bit of a trim every now and then,I don`t know. But you haven`t been able to convert them? No, I want to give ben a mohawk. I reckon he`d have the best mohawk if we cut that. And what`s his opinion on that? I haven`t asked him yet.

How much better do you reckon this album is compared to frogstomp? I mean can you give it a rating out of ten like compare frogstomp to it and tell me how much better it is as an ablum? Freak Show is five, Frogstomp is one. In terms of sound and songs. Yeah it`s definitely better. yeah, we don`t know how to compare it but it`s better then the first album. Just `cos we`ve got more experience. It`s becouse we played better on it. And the sounds are heaps better. The songs also are better too though aren`t they? Yeah I think the songs are way better then the first album. They`re more mature. In terms of OK, That`s been two years on, in two year`s time where do you think you reckon Silverchair will be? Can you give us some sort of indication? Country rock I reckon. Country and western. Maybe, you know, more toward the hip hop kind of rave kind of music. Rave music.(makes rave music noises with his mouth) Do you reckon rave will still be in by that stage or are you going to bring it back? (more rave music sounds) We`re going to bring it back. Yeah, we`re going to be the rave revival band. We`re going to bring back rave. It`ll be heaps good. I think raves going to be around.... It`s going to be the new sensation sweeping the nation. Do you like any of it at all? Nah. We`re going to play it. What have you guys made of America? Do you like being over there playing? Yeah It`s heaps good fun. Really.... when we`re playing it`s pretty much fun anywhere. So it`s just ... Yeah i like it The croweds are more Psycho there too. They sort of don`t really care if you punch someone in the crowed or somethin and give them a bloody nose sort of thing. They`re even more violent then Australian crowds? Yeah. Americans are just like psychos. They run around in these big circles and just punch pepole. And there`s always a leader. There`s... Big guys in front. He`s like king of the castle. In australia just everyone`s just kind of an equal, an equal psycho. But in america there`s leaders of the pack. There`s one big heavy dude just walking around going get out of the way or i`ll break you. In terms of the perception- the journalists, the radio pepole, the record company pepole over in the states. Do they have a lot of high hopes in what this album will achieve over there and what you can achieve in the future? Hope not.(laughs) I mean have you got any sort of indication back from the American record company what they`re expecting this time round? They said they`re expecting round 52 million didn`t they? Yeah I think so Yeah. That`s just in australia. Everyones going to buy three. Yeah That`s befor they release it ove there 52 million here and then it`s got a chance. yeah. Great, thanks, congratulations with the album. Hope it goes well. Thanks. Thanks. Thank you very much.