This is a transcript of an interview from a Tampa, Florida radio station live broadcast on 7/31/97. I sat and transcribed this myself, and it took forever and a day. I've tried to get everything as accurate as possible, but of course a few mistakes are not only possible, but likely. At any rate, read on and learn more about these guys!
*Note* - Darren's comments are in blue, Daniel's are in purple, the announcer's are in black as is any background or miscellaneous conversation.
Hello - Good morning to you...
How are you guys doing this morning?
We're doing good
You got up early and started making the rounds today didn't you?
Yeah, we were up at 6 [am], doing the rounds...
It was an early start, yeah.
Alright, what I want you to do here is kind of introduce the rest of the gang here, because we're not...we're not looking at an acoustic set out of these two this morning; uh, they've got the whole band here! We've got a major setup - a sound board and everything!
(laughing) Well, it kind of is acoustic, its just that we're not plugged into amps. Okay, at the end here we have Glen on drums and percussion,...
Good morning Glen (Glen: Good morning)
...slade on guitars...
Slade. (Slade: How ya doin?)
Uh, Lee on bass guitar...
Lee, good to see ya (Lee: ?)
Jennie is to my right; on vocals...
Hi Jennie (Jennie: Hi)
...And you know Darren and Daniel, so...
Yes, I certainly do. Now, Daniel you kind of started this whole thing I guess, because you're the one that advertised for a singer and, got the two of you guys uh, together. How did it all come about? How did you two get hooked up? And then we'll kinda work into the rest of the band that's joined you here.
Oh, I didn't actually start Savage Garden; it did evolve from an advert (?) that I had put in a magazine...
Right...
...from a band that I was in at one stage and uh, I guess that's how I met Darren eventually after sort of this band auditioning twenty singers - Darren surfaced out of that, so we did sort of Australian pubs for about twelve months to eighteen months. Out of that, Darren and I sort of built up a relationship - we kind of shared the same dreams within music and the same interests. We sort of...hooked up, got rid of the other guys in the band (laughing)...
(laughing)that makes these guys feel good, doesn't it huh? (laughing in the background)
I guess, the people in this room, I mean gosh - we, we made this record about a year ago I guess and uh, we got signed to Sony for the rest of the world and um, it was just the two of us in the studio; we had session plays, but we didn't have a band as such. And so everyone in this room is from my hometown in Brisbane, and um, they're local musicians and um we just finished a national tour in Australia in April and May and um, we'll pretty much be hanging out together for the next couple of years for this record and we'll see where it takes us.
Well, I'll tell 'ya the first...y'know, sometimes when you get something as unusual as uh, ''I want you'' which was uh, compared to and...had you guys ever heard in uh, before...I mean, you get the "Life as a rock star" by Reunion - y'know, the same kind of thing -
right
mhmmmm...We had never heard it before, actually, see the first time we heard that song was on american radio; a D.J. played it to us; we don't think for one second that its an original idea - I mean there are songs like um, Billy Joel's song, ''We didn't start the fire'',
sure
Um, ''Numb'' (?) by U2, Janet Jackson...all it is, its using the vocal like a um, a percussive instrument, or a rhythm instrument and its just one note; its saying syllables and stuff, but um, no. It was a bit of a shock to us actually, to hear that song as well.
No kidding - good, well that, that...that probably rests a lot of rumors that we heard in the beginning and the other thing - of course my partner Bill Conelly, who's on vacation this week, uh, and myself uh, are former musicians, still musicians, and the first time we heard it, the thing is, um uh, its in the same key too.
yeah... yeah...
I don't know if you're aware of that, its in the exact same key.
yeah.. The verse is, I mean the chorus could...you couldn't get two more different songs, I think. Like when "Life as a rock star" - the chorus of that; I remember thinking, ''Hang on, like where's the comparison?''. But, I know what you're saying
Yeah, just the fast-talking part
Yeah.
And the comparison - we had fun with it too - I'm sure every radio station in the country did, did the immediate comparisons on it 'cause uh, we grabbed the songs up, put the two of them on at the same time and uh, cut back and forth between the two and it was great, 'cause they were in the same key.
mmm...
At least you weren't doing it with the ''Macarena''!
(laughing)
But some people did, (laughing) so don't worry.
(laughing) No, we didn't put this with ''Macarena'', but you get a song that's unusual like ''I want you'' and then you come back right after that, and you think, ''Ok, uh, its unusual, its a little bit different, alright, you've got one-hit-wonders here.'' And, y'know, one song off the album; and then boom, the second single, and I had a chance to listen to the album early on, and there's a , there's a lot of depth there to the band and , um uh, the response we've been getting to ''To the moon and back'' has been phenomenal.
mmm...
And the song is wonderful...and um, uh, um, people are commenting on the voice. They love your voice on that song.
Well, that's great. I mean, I think the thing with the record is that each song is completely different, you're right and um, in Australia we're up to our fourth single right now and um, each one has actually been a bigger hit than the previous one. So, if that's any indication um, we feel pretty confident about it. I mean, ''I want you'' is an introduction to the band, but it doesn't sum up what we're about, so...
No, it really doesn't,
no...no.
...because uh, uh, it almost is uh... to a certain extent almost kinda like a novelty song, but then you, you hear the depth in uh, ''To the moon and back'', now two more singles off the album, I guess have gone number one is Australia; which other two from the album?
The next track is ''To the moon and back'', which you've got,...
It's doing well.
Yeah, and then there'll be a ballad, um, ''Truly madly deeply'' - will be the third single here and that is...so far, its been our biggest hit in Australia; is the third single...
No kidding
Yeah, so, we'll see what happens. I mean, I think with ''I want you'' its a, its a pop song, this is a pop record, you know - and we can be light and we can be very deep. I mean, ''I want you'' is very light and fun and ''To the moon and back'' is a very serious song.
Right
...it just depends what kind of a mood you're in, and what you want to listen to.
I got a little Tears for Fears kind of feel out of ''To the moon and back''
Hmmm, I guess its um, y'know, the way we use technology and keyboards; its not that different to how they were using them in the [19]80's...
Right.
...and that's helped us sort of create the sound that we've got today, I guess...
Well, y'know Daniel uh, the, the 80's sound has always been, been strong; and we just kind of went through a period of time there where it got lost and out of control, it went into dance music, it went into rap music, and then it went off into one direction...
Hmmm
...uh, and now we're seeing it begin to come back again, and uh, thanks to what you guys have done with Savage Garden, and then of course the kids from Oklahoma, the Hanson brothers; and...
(laughing) (laughing)
...who really put pop back on the map again. Now all of a sudden, uh, everybody's going, ''Hey, y'know this pop music sounds pretty good.'' And it goes in cycles, and I'm sure probably music in Australia has done the same thing. What, uh...for everybody who's not maybe aware of it - music scene in Australia - uh, very much different from what you've seen since you've been over here?
Its actually getting very similar - it used to be very different. When we wrote these, these songs it was very guitar-based, very rock'n'roll, very grunge...
Uh huh
...like the world was.
Like the alternative that we went through here for awhile.
Yeah, very much, and and that's still strong. I, I think at the moment, its a world thing; its a cycle, like you said, and at home, y'know, we pretty much have the same songs in the top ten as, as America does, as the U.K. does,
Right
...there are slight differences, and that depends on local artists or whatever. But I really think that as we travel around the world, similar songs are making (sense?), and, and melody seems to be back in fashion...
yeah...
...melody and pops...
Melody and pop, yeah. The...good lyrics, good chords, good uh - things that make up a really nice pop song are back again and uh, uh, thanks to you two and and the band for really bringing it back to us because uh, we needed it for awhile - y'know, we got over..and the worst thing about the alternative music - you talk about the grunge stuff - not only is the sound dirty, its um,
Negative?
Its very negative - its its wierd, its like fingernails on a chalkboard.
(laughing)
(laughing) You know what though...?
(laughing) Everybody's bitching about something, you know what I mean? We're tired of that!
...I think, I think - everything's good for its own reason. I mean, for us this music is as serious as grunge is to a grunge (album?) - We're not making any compromises - this is what we love to do, as y'know; grunge music is what, what a three piece guitar band likes to do. Uh, we're not making any judgements or comparisons, I think we feel lucky that y'know, for a very long time what we do, was not cool, and now its kind of being played on the radio, so we just feel very lucky about that.
Well, it is very very cool; it does go in cycles, but one thing about pop music - uh, its really always been there, uh, and uh, for radio stations like ours that have a little more depth, y'know. Certain stations are, are pretty well locked in to what's playing right now - y'know - they're not going to play any song that's older than thirty minutes on their radio station...
(laughing) (laughing)
...if its been out for thirty minutes, its already y'know - its in a (recurrent?) or something, you know - its too old. Uh, we get to play a lot of that great 80's music, that uh, was out there and uh, some of the great 70's stuff that was out there too. And, you find the songs that sound the most like the last three decades are the songs that come back around again, and your pop music sounds like 80's pop music, sounds like 70's pop music,
Mmmm...
...and that stuff just never goes away.
I think its an indication of songs really, y'know, good songs, it doesn't matter what production they've got behind them. Um, if they're a good song, they'll shine through whatever's on the radio, yeah...
A good song jumps right out...and a lot of it has to do with people's uh, I think their attitudes and the economy. If their lifestyle...if they're going well and they're happy, they like pop music.
Mmmm...
Y'know, if things are going bad, if the economy is bad, money's tight - if you get into those kind of situations - then they want to hear music that fits that mood. Y'know, that sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard,
Mmmm
...they go, ''I can relate to this - Man, I wanna kill somebody - AARRRGGHH!!!''...
(laughing)
Y'know, but when they're happy, they like good pop music, and that's what you guys have brought to us. And we would love to hear you do some for us.
Sure.
We're going to do a very different version of ''I want you'' its kind of uh, a bluesy-acoustic version so, we'll take this away...
I'd like to hear it - let me get everything going here - and Savage Garden is on KISS fm.
(guitars playing)
(singing)''Oh, yeah yeah...''
(with a smile in his voice) Um...hang on, we have to stop... None of us are hearing anything.
Uh oh. (laughing all around) Well, now - alright Andy, they don't hear anything - how did that happen?
(laughing) At least you know its live, folks!
(background: Kick it!...) It was absolutely live...(background:*squeaky voice* Kick it to the max, brothers!) (boisterous laughter from all)
(keyboard tuning up)
We had it all figured out before we started this thing and um, you guys were not hearing that at all...?
No.
Not a thing!
Not a thing...
But we've got a Happy Birthday message, if we can stall for a second...(laughing).
Well, you know what - I do have somebody on the telephone I'll let you talk to - good morning, KISS fm -
Caller1:Good morning. I have a friend; her Birthday is today and she loves you, Savage Garden. I was wondering if you'd just say hi to her - her name is Missy...
Hi Missy, how are you? Happy birthday.
Hey Missy, how 'ya doin?
Caller1:Its her sweet 16...
Ahhh...
You just made somebody's day big time guys.
We Missy you!
(laughter all around)
Sorry we Missy'd your 16th.
Caller1:(laughing) Thank you.
Let me get another phone call here...Good morning, you're on with Savage Garden.
Caller2: Hello - I'd like to talk to them because, they are my favorite singers and um, I've been meaning to get their CD, (background: singers?), I just can't find it.
Well, check a music store - I know a lot of places have been sold out of it - first time around it sold like gangbusters, then the album backed up a little on the charts. And then ''To the moon and back'' came out and as soon as they released that, the album took back off again.
Caller2: Well, I like the CD...the minute I saw them on Rosie O'Donnell - it was the best music.
Well you're about to hear them do the same thing.
Caller2: I couldn't believe they were from Australia because it didn't sound like it.
Well, we are - from Australia...does that prove it? G'day mate!
(laughter all around)
That's the truth, Daniel.
(laughing)You're expecting a blooming onion or something out of these guys, come on!
Caller2: (laughing) something like that. I just want to let you guys know that I love your music, and so does more than half my friends in the county - its so cool.
Well thank you, that's really sweet, thanks a lot.
Thank you
Thanks for calling, goodbye.
Caller2: Thanks.
Let's see if we got our headphone problem worked out here - you guys talk into those microphones there...(keyboards and all kinds of noise in the background)
*singsong voice* Rock'n'roll, rock'n'roll, rock'n'roll - don't hear anything...
(laughing) Welcome to live radio.
Can't hear a thing?!
Can't hear a damned thing.
Aww, well, we gotta - tell 'ya what to do - give me a second to get it worked out - we're going to figure out exactly what went wrong, and uh - it was working just a second ago...and it should be working!
(background: As soon as you went to this feed...)
Everything quit...(laughter in background)
(laughing) Let's just have a conversation!
*loudly* let's get EVERYONE involved! Come on Tampa, if you know the problem, ring in, YOU can help!!! (laughing)
(laughing)
(laughing) We'll figure it out, it'll take a second, but we've got to turn all of the microphones off to do that uh, and in order to do that let me try this button and see what happens...
*(commercial break)*
...We have it all working now, don't we guys?
Nope...
Well, we hope so...
Yeah, you can hear the radio - you won't hear that until I do this...(keyboards)...Now you hear that in your headphones? (guitars in the background)
It's starting to feed...(keyboards)
(clearing throat) Uh, no...
Could we just tell everybody that it took us nine hours to get to Tampa from Atlanta last night? (laughing) I do believe we have a Tampa curse, and we love you Tampa!!!
It took us eight hours...on a plane...no food...
(much confusion in the room - everyone but Daniel is somewhat distracted)
Eight hours?! Can you hear that? (keyboards)
(to the band) Can you hear that?
...eight hours...
They can hear that - you can hear that...
That's good, wooo-hooo!
...there was no food, no radio...
Savage Garden is ready to go live on the radio
Let's have some fun!
Let's do it!
(begins acoustic version of "I Want You")
(laughter and clapping)
In spite of what you may have been hearing in your headphones that sounded wonderful by the way.
(laughing) Well, thank you!
(laughing)
That, that ended up doing just fine, Thank you very much. What, now, you guys, yes, your mikes are on -
Oh, no, its not...
Well, whatever - if you can hear me, that's great, I tell 'ya! (laughing) I think I just need to go home and lay down; but we all had fun - that was great.
(laughing)
Well, actually the way this is set up is - when you have the headphones on, you can hear yourself performing, but when we're talking to you, you have to take the headphones off because you're not hearing what's coming over the air...
"...Daniel Jones; Darren Hayes - Savage Garden! Good morning!
*quietly* don't you have to switch this over?...isn't there something here...that happened...?
I can't hear a damned thing...
Sure, no problem (sarcastically, with laughter) - as long as...
(bursts of laughter from everyone)
...hey, as long as the people at home heard it, that's no problem. (laughing)
Allllright - guys out in the hall - how did it sound on the radio?
("Wooo" from the background and a few claps)
Well, that's enthusiastic! (sarcastically)
Alright, loud! (laughing)
(laughing)
Everybody says yes, it sounded wonderful out there.
Alrighty, well; thanks for having us...
(laughter from everyone)
...appreciate it...
Ah, ha! Look - he's trying to get outta here now; he's going, "I'm not going to hear this, I'm getting out the door" - Arrrghttt! Wrong!!! (laughing) Well, let's go - look at the phones all lit up to talk to you guys. (background: No!)
Hey, I'll do that!
Yeah, let's talk to a few callers. Can we do that?
yeah...
We'll do that as soon as Mark gets them all sreened out here in just a second - Mark is, is, shaking his head, nodding his head, is there something you'd like to say, Mark? No...Mark doesn't want to say anything.
(laughing)
He wants to go to a break.
He wants to go to a break...alright, we'll go to a break and come right back.
*(commercial break)*
...nine hours to get here from Atlanta, right, yeah...
Its the Tampa curse, man.
There is something, there is something looking over your shoulder here.
I think its like that episode of the 'Brady Bunch', where they had the tiki curse in Hawaii...
Yeah
...but this is the Tampa curse in Florida.
It's the Tampa curse in Florida, we're, we're going to get over the curse, we've been exorcised at this point.
Cool.
We're exorcised - pick a song, do something else for us.
Sure...(laughing)
Here we go.
Here we go...
*(Second, improved acoustic version of ''I Want You'')*
(clapping, laughter, all kinds of background music and yelling)
Yeah now!!!
Did you get it that time? (laughing)
(background: We got it!)
(laughing)
That's for what everybody didn't hear a few minutes ago. That was beautiful, wonderful, and just fine, thank you very much. The only thing we got to do is get her headphones working over here...and that was good!
(laughing) (laughing)
Listen, I want to say thank you for everybody, for their patience, and thank you for the people that heard dead noise at home...
Awww...
We, we had fun.
Well, they had fun doing it...and...
We did have fun.
...and it at least sounded good in here.
Well, thank you.
There is something up with us getting to Tampa, though, 'cause we did spend nine hours trying to get here last night, on a plane, on Delta airlines, from Atlanta.
Three planes broke down...
...yup, three planes - this is serious.
...three planes...
We actually ended out; we were actually on the runway, ready to take off and they pulled us in, and then they got another plane, and did it again, and another plane - we finally got here at 11:30 last night.
Well, they got us in the air, and kept us waiting for an hour to put food and ice on the plane, and then we had such bad turbulence that they couldn't actually feed us.
...and then they, then they decided that they weren't going to land because they lost radio signal with air traffic control! (laughing)
(laughing)
Geez...
This is dead...yeah...this is dead serious...all these problems...
This was a nine hour flight! (laughing)
This is...this is crazy!
So, maybe we'll come back to Tampa another day.
(laughter all around)
Yeah, well, I tell ya what, after we fixed this little situation here; and its working fine now - it sounds great. What time did you guys finally get here?
About 11:30 last night, and our plane was due to leave [Atlanta] at 1:00 yesterday afternoon.
And you finally got here at 11:30?
And this is just from Atlanta, we should've drove!
(laughing) Yeah...
You could've been here in...you could've been here in, just about seven...seven hours in a car.
Yeah! Yeah... Yeah.
Instead we sat down eating doughnuts in,(eating doughnuts?) , in an airport.
All you would've needed was, yeah, a couple of minivans, pack you guys into it, a little bit of the equipment, and down the road you go.
Yeah
Yeah
Sure thing; a sing-along, yeah.
You know what? I have to say, it is such a pleasure for us to actually get out of Los Angeles and New York, because this is about our seventh trip to the states this year, and uh, we've never really seen anywhere else in America and its such a pleasure for us to actually be here, so thank you.
Well, this area is so beautiful here, because um - you look around, there is so much water, the palm trees, I mean, it is just a great...
it is, very beautiful.
very beautiful.
...great place to kick back. By comparison now,
Sure.
in, in Australia, because I remember seeing a survey that said, um; a survey of Americans that wanted...where, if there was one place in the world that you could go...
Mmhmmm...
...and uh, the overwhelming choice was Australia...
Australia.
Australia, yeah.
...of Americans, yeah.
It, it really is a beautiful country, I think what's so special about it - is the fact that it's such a large continent, and it has such a small population, so obviously there's, there's not a lot of pollution, there's not a lot of uh, environmental problems, and um, you have lots of open spaces and people really do live on acreage, and uh, we have a very happy lifestyle, I guess...so its gorgeous - you've got things like harsh deserts, or you have tropical rainforests, or y'know...beautiful reefs, y'know, and um, tropical islands. So its a, its a stunning place.
Well, build a wall around that sucker and keep everybody out.
(laughing)
(laughing)You're welcome to come.
(laughing)...come visit, stay a little while, uh, pick up your trash and leave uh, after about three weeks, right? Two weeks, maybe.