Beyond Pretty Boys
The current Savage Garden could very well live up to the heights suggested by its lunar title- above and beyond the incredible suof the debut I Want You- especially now that Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones are finally being treated like serious musicians.
"That poster boy thing ended when people realised that we write our own songs and can perform them live in different ways [they do an all acoustic live version of I Want You], " explains Jones. "It doesn't take long to convince sceptics what we're about."
That's not to say that over- zealous fans are any easier to communicate with. The 24 year old keyboardist, guitarist and background vocalist admits to being a little frightened by certain members of the adoring throng who follow him and singer Darren Hayes from one country to the next. "they're a little more Savage than Garden" he laughs.
THEY WILL FOLLOW
"It's freaky," he adds. "They know where we are all the time. You never know when they're going to pop up."
Before images of Alicia's Siverstone's slick and sexy psychopath from The Crush surface, Jones quickly points out that the majority of "gardeners" out there are pefectly normal music lovers. And some even offer (gasp!) criticism. "Our fans keep us on our toes," Jones admits. "They love to blast us: make fun of our hair or what we might be wearing. when they're writing letters, they think we never read them- but we do."
As for Savage Garden's sound: if you think that it's slightly retro '80's you aren't too far off base given the music Jones and Hayes listened to when they were teens. "We were born in the '70's says Jones. "so when we were most impressionable, we were listening to the music of the '80's."
NEVER ROMANTICS
The guys admit to being fans of such '80's greats as Michael Jackson, The Smiths and Peter Gabriel, and say that a little bit and more of these sounds and more can be heard in Savage Garden's funked-up '90's pop.
"We're an honest pop band," Jones shrugs. "We can't help but be anything else with all of our influences." Honestly history lovers: listen for a "new romantic" tinge in To The Moon & Back borrowed from Duran Duran's Planet Earth as well as a Prince-ly nod in Violet that's a cross between 1999 and Raspberry Beret.
Obviously Jones and Hayes were listening when their moms said; find something you're good at and go for it. There's nothing wrong with taking cliched advice if it ends up sending you to the moon - and back.