Artist Spotlight: Daniel Johns of Silverchair

     After a teenage explosion in the U.S. with their Grungy debut Frogstomp, the boys in Silverchair have grown into men. One listen to their new disc, Young Modern (and glance back further at 2002’s Diorama), and it’s evident there’s no flannel, teen spirit or fashionable apathy anywhere to be found. What you’re left with is a stunning piece of work that incorporates classically-tinged piano, brilliant orchestration, a well-honed rhythm section and a newfound respect for Daniel Johns’ vocal prowess.
     The Aussie trio’s first single, “Straight Lines” is already setting new standards for the band Down Under and stateside, spawning a whole new legion of rabid fans. We caught up with front man Daniel Johns as he geared up for the band’s first run of U.S. shows in quite some time.

eQB presents excerpts from the FMQB August Magazine Modern Rock Up Close featuring Daniel Johns of Silverchair

On Silverchair's triumphant return to American airwaves...
We’re so proud of it and so excited for [the album] to come out here… With our last album, Diorama, we thought that was going to be the record that would change people’s perception of the band here, and then I got really sick.  I was in the hospital for a long time in a wheelchair and all that stuff.  It was really depressing.  To be honest, I didn’t know if we’d get another opportunity.  I thought maybe the gap was too long or people would just forget, or we’d be forever associated with the album with the frog on the cover.  We’re really proud of the record, and really happy that we’ve got another opportunity to come out and prove our point. I just want to keep making music and keep enjoying it, that’s the main thing.  Just keep staying inspired, and if I’m not inspired I’ll stop doing it, I promise. 

On Alternative music in 2007...  
It feels like people are taking a bit of a gamble I guess, and I don’t feel like that would have really been an option in 2001.  Even with Diorama it was still at that point in the music industry maybe where music was only ten or fifteen-percent of the whole thing, it was more about associations and people that knew people that knew other people.  This time I feel like we’re really lucky to have some people behind us who are working hard on the record, that feel passionate about it, and we feel very passionate about the record itself.  So people are probably taking a risk in that respect but, at the same time, there are definitely worse things that they could be playing.

On the band's past and their musical evolution...
I definitely don’t frown upon the first two albums, but also there’s a large part of me that can’t relate to the first album especially at all. I was 14 when I made that record so, to me, when I listen to Frogstomp or Freak Show , it still feels like my high school band. I’m definitely not embarrassed about it, but I can’t relate to it in the same way that I can relate to anything that I’ve done since 1999 or whatever. I don’t think that’s anything unusual to prefer what you’re doing now than what you were doing when you were 14.  And it would be pretty sad if it was the other way.

On Silverchair's fifth album, Young Modern... 
 I knew the possibilities of how ornate this record could have become, it could have quite easily been ten steps beyond Diorama in terms of the depth of the orchestration.  But I really wanted this time to learn the art of saying no.  I really wanted to learn when to pull the plug and say ya know what, that’s not making it any better, it’s just making it bigger.  I learned that a lot more on this record, and learned when to push the eccentricities and all that.  When to reign it in, and for it to sound like a Rock n’ Roll band.  I did want the focal point to be on the band, and everything else is just a color around it this time.  Whereas on Diorama it was all about the color around the band, as opposed to the actual core.

** QB Content Mike Bacon **
 

Q&A: WBRU/Providence PD Chris Novello

WBRU/Providence is renown in the radio industry for its ability to grow excellent programming and on air talent and also draw alumni back to the PD chair. Examples include Alexa Tobin, Tim Schiavelli, and PD-turned documentary filmmaker Seth Resler. Filling the void left by Resler’s departure is a ‘BRU alum that never really left the building – Chris Novello.
     We caught up with the young upstart as he rolls through a busy summer of programming, booking shows and, of course, passing along his knowledge to the Brown University students that grace the heritage Alternative outlet.