Elegant Interviews!


Welcome to our Savage Garden Interviews page. Here you will find tons of articles about Savage Garden. Just click on the report you want to see, and then you can read, read, and read some more about this cool band! Due to space constrictions, we have seperated the articles into separate pages.




How It All Started
A Really Cool Interview
Savage Info
What is Daniel's Middle Name?
Garden Party
Fresh Face of Pop's Next Big Thing
VH1 Interview with Savage Garden
Interview with the Boys



How It All Started

It all started in two cities a long distance away from each other -Brisbane, Australia and Essex, England. In each of these two places, a very talented musician was born. The two grew up each desiring to be an entertainer. Darren Hayes dreamed since age 5 of becoming an actor. He always made up plays and put up signs for them when he was young. Daniel Jones had his heart set on being a musican from the beginning. He spent hours of his childhood teaching himself to play his older brothers' instruments. Daniel moved to Australia when he was around one year old.
Through High School Darren discovered and used his singing abilities . His first two years in high school he was labelled as a nerd. After the Juniors and Seniors left, he made the lead in all the plays and was there for known as "The kid who can sing." Darren became very popular to say the least.
Daniel however dropped out of school to pursue a musical career. After college, Darren started to think less of his other plans and started thinking more of a singing career. Daniel was fully enclosed in the world of music... he was in a band that desperately needed a singer, so he advertised for one in a musicians magazine which Darren read. Darren immediately responded to it. At auditions he freaked and made a couple mistakes in his audition piece. Despite those problems, he instantly clicked with the band-- especially Daniel. So Darren became the newest member of the group.
Not long after that, the two left the group to write their own music. They sent out around 150 tapes to different radio stations around the world hoping to get a response. One day , a D.J. from Texas played the song "I Want You" on his station. The song received many phone calls and compliments, and the rest is history !!


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A Really Cool Interview

Things have gone ballistic for you both . . .
Daniel: Things have gone great - it's awesome
Darren: Yeah, it's taken us by surprise - it's what we hoped for, but it's been amazing.
N: Now, just for the audience - you're one of the most added tracks, which means all the radio stations around the country said 'hey, we love this', and bang! put it on. That was some months ago . . .
Darren: Yeah, it was for a couple of weeks, which was amazing. We had hoped we'd hear it on radio once, but to hear it this much is just amazing.
N: Who are you affected by mainly; what influences would you say you had?
Darren: It's pretty vast
Daniel: Yeah, me and Darren don't listen to that much music; we tend to concentrate more on our writing, but back at school it was stuff like sca and punk and stuff like that; there's no real elements of that in our music today.
Darren: Yeah Daniel's more of a music maker; I've always been a big fan of music, but I grew up listening to Motown, Marvin Gay, Diana Ross and the Supremes. I'm a big Prince fan I guess, more sort of black music, so I'm sort of American I guess and Danny's more European. I don't know why it works, but it does.
N: You decided in 1994 for some reason to go and form a band of your own, get away from bands you'd been working with, and go and get a recording contract.
Daniel: We didn't really stop and think that we couldn't do it, or for that matter how it would happen.
Darren: On reflection that was pretty suicidal, I mean it was blind faith and devotion, and every day we'd drive to each other's house, eight hours a day, five days a week. If it hadn't come off, we wouldn't have been too happy. But you can't look down in that situation, it's all straight ahead.
N: So I guess we can look forward to seeing you live at some point.
Daniel: Yeah, for sure
Darren: We sort of met in that arena, that's how we got together, in live bands. We've spent such a long period writing and recording, that we're itching to. But we want to get it right, we're setting up a band at the moment.
Daniel: Yeah, we'll get a band together soon
N: Savage Garden Thank you very much, and guys, all the very best. It's only going to get bigger and better, I'm sure.
Darren: Thanks
Daniel: Thank you


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Savage Info

There were screams throughout a Brisbane hospital, it was the 8th day of May, 1972. A boy was born, his parents, June and Robert Hayes decided to call their youngest new-born, Darren.
When Darren turned one, little did he know that fate and destiny were taking shape, because on the other side of the world, another family were preparing for a new-born. Two months later on the 22nd day in July, 1973, in a hospital in Essex, another boy was born, this time to Chris and John Jones, he was named Daniel, the youngest of 3 boys.
Daniel at age one, found himself being moved half way across the world, to a place called Brisbane. For the boys time flew by, they found themselves living in the same suburb, Logan. Fate decided they were not ready to meet yet, the Gold Coast Highway separated them, which meant that they were going to go to two different high schools. Mable Park State High School was Darren's chosen School and as for Daniel he went to Shailor Park State High School.
Darren found himself loving High School, especially the school musicals and subjects like Science and Biology, but he hated Math. Being one boy amongst 100 girls in the School Musicals, he found himself gaining admiration, his voice, charm, passion and love for music made everyone listen. A job at the local music store, Woody's, soon followed, the Jacksons being one of the first albums he bought. By the time he graduated Year 12 he was admired and loved by his peers. Kelvin Grove Uni, was the place Darren found himself studying to be a teacher.
Meanwhile Daniel had enough, he left high school, graduating Year 10 after adopting the nickname waggin (for various reasons!) Daniel decided he too wanted to be involved in music, for the next few years Daniel played in various bands, his last Red Edge. He needed a singer so they placed an ad in the local free music guide, Time Off. Fate stepped in when Darren found himself looking at this particular ad, 1992 was the year that they, Darren and Daniel would meet. Having had enough of playing other peoples music in Red Edge, Darren quit to go at it alone, the year being 1994. Soon after Daniel followed, found Darren and as they say The seeds of Savage Garden were sown. They wrote and recorded non stop for the next two or so years, some odd jobs were worked along the way, like the video store Darren was working in when he first heard I Want You on the radio. Industry books were bought, sent were some 150 recordings of their music, to different management teams, a lot were answered, but it wasn't what Darren or Daniel were looking for, until...
Enter John Woodruff, pulling and pushing the talent of these two great music talents, next it was Roadshow Music followed by Sony's company Columbia, who out smarted another two music giants for their record deal. I Want You, To The Moon and Back and Truly, Madly, Deeply their first three releases have all peaked in the top five on the ARIA charts, lookout America.
Their name, which came from Darren's passion for Anne Rice's vampire Novels, of course is Savage Garden. The rest as they say is history!!!!!!!!!!


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What is Daniel's Middle Name?

Well Hi there! My name's Daniel, and I happen to know from experience that my middle name's not something I want advertised because I'm ashamed of it. It's really quite embarrassing. But since you seem like a truly loyal fan I am just absolutely compelled to answer your request. So here it is, my God-awful secret...are you ready? Here it comes!!
I can't do it , it's too embarrassing! I'm soooo sorry. Gasp, gasp, lets breathe. Okay, I'll try again. Nope never mind, I'm truly not in the right state of mind for this task, let me rest a bit ....................................breathe in, breathe out.................. There that's better. Let me try again. Actually, it's really my first name but I use my second name because I prefer it to Metheuselah. Whoops! I said it! NOOOOOOOOOO! Well I'll have to live as a hermit from now on because I can't face the light of day, well, I'll leave you shattered now for ruining my career. I hope you're satisfied!
By: Daniel Jones??


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Garden Party

They've come from out of nowhere (Ok, Brisbane actually) to be our hottest new pop group! Oooh-ahh-ooh-ahh-ooh...meet Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones from SAVAGE GARDEN!

OK, you've come from out of nowhere with "I Want You". What's the story?

Darren Hayes: Well, for us, it's probably been a three-year sort of thing, I guess. We were a covers band, then it ended up being two guys writing songs and having a great management team. It was a lot of stuff behind the scenes for the last two years leading up to this. We just decided to make a record, to be honest. We sat in a room for about eight months, wrote songs, sent a demo and basically got signed after that first demo.

Did "I Want You" break in the Brisbane charts first?

Darren: No, Melbourne radio picked it up first.
Daniel Jones: I guess it was all done without the hype. It was like, "Here's our song, make of it what you will," and I think radio took a genuine interest in it.
Darren: Brisbane was one of the last places to get on board, even though we're from there.

What about this whole Roxette-sounda like thing? Are you fans of theirs?

Darren: No, never have been. I respect them but I've never bought a Roxette single. I think when people hear our next single "To the Moon and Back" they'll see we're not like Roxette.
Daniel: I think the whole Roxette thing came from an industry mag. A reviewer said something about "I Want You" sounding like Roxette, so, of course, when most DJs read it they think, "Blah blah Roxette!"

Do you two have similar taste in music?

Darren: No, we're pretty much different all the way down the line. I'm a really big music fan so I listen to lots of different stuff. I'm a big Prince fan, I love U2, Michael Jackson, and I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac and Motown.
Daniel: I'm a song-person really, but I don't have any real idols. If George Michael or Sheryl Crow come up with a really good song I'd like it. It's not dishonest to the artist...but if they please me with a good song over and over again then they get all my credit and I respect them.

How does your relationship work in terms of writing and performing?

Daniel: We haven't got a set ingredient yet and that's good 'cause were still finding our feet...
Darren: ... but we write everything together.

Do you guys ever argue?

Darren: Not about music.
Daniel: We did during the recording. But we were going through a lot of changes - here we are from Brisbane, two guys who came from nowhere, sitting in a room with Charles Fisher, who is a fantastic producer. Three in one room is better than two but not easier than two. Two people in one room is easy!
Darren: It was like a family, you end up siding with one.
Daniel: It was really difficult because sometimes Darren and Charles would agree on something and then sit out on it. And then sometimes me and Darren would agree on something.
Darren: But in terms of our relationship together, we muddled that out years ago! There's a chemistry here that works. On the friendship basis, we try not to spend a lot of time together. When we work, it's really intense.

Do you worry about being a pop group in Australia when bands like You Am I and Regurgitator get all the press?

Daniel: Well, we can't get away with not being a pop group because that's what we are. And we believe in what we do.
Darren: I listen to Triple J so I don't listen to a lot of commercial music. But I'm not going to apologize for my commerciality because it's not a compromise. We are commercial - that's the music we write.
Daniel: To be honest, I'd just rather do what's in my heart. Just because we're commercial doesn't mean our hearts are marketing strategies... Besides the lyric content is fantastic and a lot of the arrangements are great.

Daniel, do you ever get mixed up with Daniel Jones form Silverchair?

Daniel: No, but once they called me "Daniel Jones, but not the one from Silverchair" on the radio the other day.

What's your new single "To The Moon And Back" about?

Darren: It's about a very dear friend. It was one of the first songs we wrote together and it's probably the reason we got signed. It's a beautiful song and we're really happy with it. It features the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Daniel: Even if it doesn't do anything on the charts we're releasing it to get away from the whole Roxette thing.

What's your Favourite Roxette song?

Darren: The only song I really liked is "Listen To Your Heart", that's a great song.
Daniel: "It Must Have Been Love" was good.

What is the meaning of life according to Savage Garden?

Darren: (in Swedish accent) To listen to your heart.
Daniel: To come join the joyride.


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Fresh Face of Pop's Next Big Thing

The Sydney Morning Herald (Newspaper) March 15th, 1997

In a world of post-grunge pop, Brisbane's Savage Garden stick out like new romantics at a heavy metal convention.
They play synthesizers, not guitars, sport what can only be described as hairstyles and write toe-tapping pop songs reminiscent of '80s acts such as Duran Duran, Howard Jones and Tears for Fears.
If the fashion police had their way, they'd be run out of town. Yet while the ARIA Awards are lavished on hip alternative rockers like You Am I and Regurgitator, this synth-pop duo from suburban Brisbane are quietly preparing to become Australian music's next big thing.
Two days ago their first single I Want You - the highest-selling Australian single in 1996 - moved to Number 14 on America's Billboard chart.
A second single, To the Moon and Back, is already this year's highest-selling Australian single and the band's first album will be released simultaneously in America and Australia later this month. Shows in Coffs Harbour and Mooloolaba this weekend mark their debut as a live band and a warm-up for a national tour which begins next month.
Under the watchful eye of veteran rock manager John Woodruff, whose past credits range from The Angels to Girlfriend, they've signed an international deal with New York's Columbia Records (Village Roadshow handles them in Australasia). Industry pundits have them as favourites to repeat Silverchair's success in North America and a push into Japan, Britain and mainland Europe is imminent.
Rolling Stone's music editor, Andrew Humphreys, is among their boosters. "The band to crack America is not going to be You Am I, it's going to be these guys," he said. "Sure, they're out of step [with music fashion] but there's a great honesty there which I find quite refreshing."
Surprisingly, 24-year-old singer and lyricist Darren Hayes and 23-year-old keyboard whiz Daniel Jones seem to be taking impending pop stardom in their stride. Hayes attributed the band's breakthrough to a shift in the musical climate, particularly in America, towards pop: "None of this was calculated. We were born in the early 1970s and our idols are people like Prince, The Human League and Duran Duran. It's just the music we were always going to write, and now the climate has changed to let us fit in."
The seeds of Savage Garden were sown five years ago when Hayes auditioned for Jones's "bland, straightforward Oz Rock band". "I sang the audition piece in the wrong key and my voice split, but we clicked immediately," said Hayes. The Oz Rock band dissolved and Hayes and Jones formed a song writing partnership with big ideas.
"We shared the same goals and it was always very businesslike," said Hayes. "We sat in a room, sent out 150 demo-tapes and waited for the calls. We didn't think for one second they wouldn't come." Even so, luck played its part. A disc jockey at a Dallas radio station began playing a copy of I Want You bought during a business trip to Australia. The audience response was immense, so copies were distributed quickly to other stations. "By the time we got to America, the song was on moderate rotation," recalled Hayes. "We had the pick of record companies and management."
The band's success hasn't been hurt by Jones's and Hayes's boyish good looks. The acting editor of Girlfriend magazine, Vicky Mayer, confirmed the existence of spunk factor. "They're quite androgynous, like Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo and Juliet," she said. "The music is accessible too. A lot of girls get into hard rock because the guys they fancy are into it, but they tend to prefer stuff that's melodic."
Hayes is modest about his teen-scream appeal and career prospects. "I've never been the kind of person anyone would stop in the street," he said. "This is just a big ride. If it lasts five years we'll just enjoy it while it lasts."
By: Richard Jinman


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VH1 Interview with Savage Garden

Hey Savage Garden. Your first American single just went gold; how do you feel?

(Darren and Daniel are speaking, joking actually, at same time)
DARREN : You know they're such friendly people and if they bite you, every now and then, you can stick them in the retired home for the monkeys.
DANIEL: Blah, blah, blah, blah, ran out of words (To others behind camera) Help me out guys.

No guys, seriously.

DARREN : It's like every musician's dream. We sat in Daniel's bedroom four years ago and wrote some songs and dreamed about going to other countries and we're sitting here in New York City and we've got a gold single, so that feels fantastic.

The gold single is for "I Want You" from their self-titled debut (Clip from "I Want You" is shown)

DARREN : I guess it's about connecting, and the song is about obsession and attraction and whatever and we just rather have that than the "boy meets girl" kind of thing , we say something a little different. (Another clip is shown, now commenting on the woman in the video)

DARREN : We wanted someone really tough and had a bit of attitude or whatever but still was beautiful, but not conventionally, you know, what you call a babe or whatever cause umm...I think she did really well and came across really great, so.

Uh, yeah guys. Well that's all fine and good, but what we want is the real dish about Australia...Kangaroos?

DARREN : (making a claw with his hand) When they get older they have big claws and they can rip your stomach open (Both Laugh ) Seriously!

Backwards toilets?

DANIEL : It's the southern hemisphere (Making image of earth with hands) This is us, this you guys, so it goes around that way instead of that way (Daniel shrugs)
DARREN : The first thing any Australian does when they come here is they sit there and watch the toilet (Pretends to be watching toilet)

What's the deal with vegimite anyways?

DARREN : It's DISGUSTING, don't believe the hype. (Looks at camera) Don't believe the hype. It tastes like someone scraped off the bottom of a birdcage and stuck it on a piece of toast.

Koala bears?

(Daniel about to say something, but Darren cuts him off.
DARREN : Koala bears are really cute, they're very nasty; don't ever pick them up... they'll scratch your face off...they pee on you...

Well, that's some good advice from a couple of Aussies who are conquering America

DARREN : well...
DANIEL : Well, we haven't done it yet...
DARREN : We're practicing to say things like "Would you like fries with that" just incase the career doesn't happen. This is a shot we're taking and we'll see what happens...


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Interview with the Boys

1. Who was your childhood hero, and why?
Daniel: The Lone Ranger- it is hard to be a legend on a horse!
Darren: Luke Skywalker cause he was so damned cool.

2. Name your most unusual possession.
Daniel: My inflatable girl(crossed out)globe!
Darren: My Star Wars toys

3. What, apart from keys, do you never leave home without?
Daniel: My car or suitcase.
Darren: Mobile, lip balm, Rolling Stones, etc, etc

4. What was the first gig you ever went to?
Daniel: Quickexit (my old band)
Darren: Alison Moyet

5. Repeat the worst come-on line you've ever tried.
Daniel: I'm still working on a good one.
Darren: "I'm not trying to pick you up but.."

6. Name a fantasy you have yet to live out.
Daniel: I'll know it when my pick up line works.
Darren: New Year's eve NYC.

7. What is your motto?
Daniel: Get what you want anyway you can.
Darren: Laugh for Christ's sake!

8. What is the secret to your success?
Daniel: Don't stop when you think you should.
Darren: Positive thinking/ dream!

9. Define agony.
Daniel: Dentist.
Darren: Being put on hold.

10. Describe yourself after a few drinks.
Daniel: Anybody's!
Darren: Don't drink ever.

11. What's the most fun you can have with your clothes on?
Daniel: Laser Force.
Darren: Twister!!

12. What is your most underrated talent?
Daniel: Erotic Dancer.
Darren: Stand up comic

13. Who were you in a past life?
Daniel: Barney (From the Simpsons).
Darren: Bart Simpson

14. Finish this sentence: Never attempt to...
Daniel: TRY to be funny when your not!!
Darren: Tell a Jewish joke to a New Yorker.


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Elegant Articles Part Two
Elegant Articles Part Three
Elegant Articles Part Four
Elegant Articles Part Five
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