The seven day period from July 4, 1998, through July 11, 1998, has been the best time of my life thus far. (and it's going to take a hell of a lot to top it!) MTV popped into my little world for a short time and whisked me off to L.A. to meet and interview my all-time favorite group, Savage Garden! It rocked my world, and I am currently the happiest person on this planet! The guys (Darren and Daniel) were FANtastic! They are so down to earth and laid back and nice. I may now qualify as their biggest fan in the world! **grin** I want to say thanks to Savage Garden for taking time out to meet with me and for the inspiration. I also want to thank MTV -- you guys are great. Thanks Michelle for picking ME! Thanks Joel for such a great time in L.A. Thanks Diin for the horrible joke (I'm still laughing) Thanks Dixon for picking on my sister! **laugh** Also thanks to everyone else who joined us over the 36 hour period! It was taped for a new show called FANatic. In case you missed the show -- or for those of you that saw it and wondered what the other questions were that I asked, wonder no more! Posted after the CD image is a summary of my interview with Savage Garden. Enjoy!
Thanks to FANatic I got to interview Daniel and Darren prior to their July 10th, Los Angeles show on their tour bus. After the interview, the guys were kind enough to give me tickets to the show, one of the pink dragon T-shirts, and sign my CD cover. Here it is. **grin wildly**
Here are the questions -- I've paraphrased the answers since I don't have a copy of the interview to transcribe! Forgive me and enjoy the poetic license!
1. Why did you choose Norman Mailler to include in Santa Monica?
answer: Mailler represents the intellectual side of Marilyn Monroe. He was one of her attempts to show the world that she wasn't just this mindless beauty. It's about masks and public versus private person. In the song Mailler compares to the "supermodel" and you never know whether D&D are in supermodel mode or intellectual mode!.
I figure this is the spot to insert a pic of Sue and I on Santa Monica beach!
2. What are your plans once you finish the US Tour?
answer: They guys are going to return to Australia (finally!) and attempt to relax just a little bit with family and friends and then create that new album we are all axiously awaiting for!
3. What would you be doing with your life if your music career hadn't taken off?
answer: Darren -- I'd probably be a movie star. He'd definitely be somewhere in the Entertainment Industry.
Daniel -- (keep in mind the World Cup Championship Game was the weekend I interviewed them) He'd be playing World Cup Soccer for England.
4. Do you set aside time to write your songs, or does something strike you and you have to write about it?
answer: Daniel always starts the process by giving Darren tapes of several songs he's been working on. Darren works on these and tends to find others Daniel's worked on and wants those right away -- but evil Daniel makes him finish what he's got before he'll give him any more. They actually have quite a stash of songs that are completed, but they don't always think they are quite what they want to have released. (On a personal note, I'd be more than happy to review their libraby of music and let them know what I think! :)
The rest of the interview consisted of follow up questions and was more conversational. But here are some of my favorite parts...
During the interview, I got to tell Darren and Daniel how their music has been inmprtant to me in my life. Not only are these guys intelligent, but they are truly caring individuals. I was most impressed by the fact that both Daniel and Darren empathized with me. :) Daniel related their stories about getting rejection letters from labels regarding their demo tape, and Darren talked about meeting his music idol -- Bono. It really touched me to know how much the guys listened and processed what I told them instead of just smiling pretty for the cameras.
Click below to see some great stills taken from the interview!
Ironically -- over my FANatic weekend I had two people relate a philosophy to me on music that I think is extremely accurate and a wonderful way to approach life. Both Joel (the director) and Darren (you know who he is) expressed the idea that music is a soundtrack to your life. That your life is set to music based on your own personal experiences and how you chose (in many ways) to incorporate those melodies into your life. (Once again, I took a little poetic license there! But hey, it is my page! **laugh**)
MTV was kind enough to send these 3 guys with us wherever we went! In the back is Savage Garden's tour bus! (Yes, the bus I interviewed them on!)
Here's a shot with all the gentlemen MTV sent with us on July 10, 1998. :)
I managed to get some great pictures from the concerts I went to of the guys performing and a few random shots. Click below to read about the concerts and see my pics.
Concert stories, anecdotes, and lots of pictures! :)
If you love Savage Garden and are not a member of the fan club --or if you are -- you should check out the Fanzine homepage!
Savage Garden Fanzine home page
This pic didn't turn out very well, but it was so cute I had to add it anyway. After the Louisville show, the guys used little scooters to zoom back and forth from the stage area to the bus area. Here's Dan as he heads back to the stage ares.
I had to include this one shot as the last picture on my main Savage Garden page. It's the perfect way to show the end of my Savage Summer. This is a shot of SG and their back-up band after they finished performing I Want You at the Louisville show. Darren talked about how he was closing one book and about to open another one as this tour ended. I understand how he feels -- a book in my life has just closed, and I've pulled another one off the shelf. When I open this one, I think it will be an adventure!
To locate some of those hard to find Savage Garden Imports, click below!
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