SILVERCHAIR

Grunge trio Silverchair was formed in Newcastle, Australia in 1992 by Ben Gillies (drums), Chris Joannou (bass) and Daniel Johns (guitars and vocals). Initially these three schoolmates received more attention for their age than their music; all three members were just 15 when their 1995 debut album, Frogstomp, became an international hit. Gillies, Joannou and Johns began playing together under the name the Innocent Criminals in Joannou's parents' garage, taking their musical cues from Nirvana and Pearl Jam. In 1994 they submitted a demo tape to an Australian radio contest and won first prize: a recording session and a video for their song "Tomorrow." The single became a radio hit in Australia and attracted the attention of record label Murmur, a Sony subsidiary, who signed the up-and-coming band. The group changed their name to Silverchair -- derived from a misspelling of Nirvana's "Sliver" and You Am I's "Berlin Chair" -- before re-releasing "Tomorrow" on their new label. "Tomorrow" hit No. 1 on the Australian charts as did their follow-up single, "Pure Massacre." Silverchair's debut full-length, Frogstomp, was released in early 1995 and entered the Australian album charts at No. 1, the first debut by an Australian artist to do so. Within one week of its release, Frogstomp went platinum. In the summer of that year, the album came out in America, where it achieved equal success thanks to heavy MTV rotation of "Pure Massacre" and "Tomorrow." Musician magazine heralded the young threesome as "masters of sonic sculpture, deftly using feedback and distortion to build vast cathedrals of sound out of their barrel-chord riffs and lean catchy choruses." Silverchair spent much of 1996 on tour and in the studio recording their follow-up, all the while trying to keep up with their high school studies! Freak Show, their 13-track sophomore effort, was released in early 1997. The album was produced in Australia by Nick Launay (PiL, Killing Joke, Posies, Gang Of Four) and mixed in New York by Andy Wallace (Rage Against The Machine, Jeff Buckley, Helmet). Though critically hailed, Freak Show didn't come close to matching the commercial success of Frogstomp. In 1999 Silverchair returned with their third release, Neon Ballroom, a more eclectic less grungy effort that includes an appearance by the schizophrenic classical pianist David Helfgott.