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Acting Freaky There are three members of Silverchair. For those well initiated with the
inner workings of this platinum-coated band of teenaged Aussie rockers, such news borders on the mundane-of course
there are three members of Silverchair. But for those not quite as aware of the internal structure of this pubescent hit
machine, at times it might appear that Silverchair is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Daniel Johns and a pair of side-men. It is
Johns' face that usually accompanies a magazine feature on the group, and it's his voice that routinely conducts the bands
press interviews; for some young Daniel has become Silverchair. In truth, bassist Chris Joannou and drummer Ben Gilles
have rarely gotten the attention they deserve. But with the release of Silverchair's chart-topping second disc, FREAK
SHOW- which follows on the heels of their breakthrough effort, FROGSTOMP- all that seems to be changing. Ben and
Chris have been far more up-front this time around, gladly sharing the interview microphone with Daniel and smiling for the
camera wvery chance they get. With all that in mind, we're happy to present this special interview with Silverchair's two
"other guys"- Ben Gilles and Chris Joannou. Hit Parader: What lessons have you learned by the success you've enjoyed
over the last few years? Ben Gilles: I learned a lot about people. When you get the chance to tour as much as we have, it
really opens your eyes. It really has been a great experience to get out there and see some of the world. Chris Joannou: I
learned that short hair is easier to take care of than long hair. Now that I cut my hair shorter, I can just get up and go in the
morning. I don't have to worry about getting up with a big mangled knot in the back of my head. HP: Do you both agree that
FREAK SHOW is a rather radical departure from FROGSTOMP? CJ: In think it really sounds different...better! We took
three weeks to make this one, while the last one only took us nine days. And,more importantly, we felt like we had an idea
of what we were doing this time. When you're in the studio for the first time, you tend to run around like a bunch of little
idiots. This time we approached it with a more serious and knowledgeable approach, though we did have much of the same
atmosphere in the studio both times; it was a lot of fum, a lot of joking around. BG: This album has a lot more variety on it.
It's got a punk song, and a real long song that's like six minutes, and it also has loud and soft stuff on it. It's even got strings
and timpani. There's just a heap of different stuff on it. HP: On FROGSTOMP there were so many comparisons between
Silverchair and Nirvana. This time it sounds like there's more of a Zeppelin influence. BG: There are a couple of songs,
especially Petrol and Chlorine and The Door, that kind of remind me of Zeppelin. But we weren't really going for a Led
Zeppelin sound, but that's just the way they turned out. As it happens, I am a big Zeppelin fan, so any comparison is greatly
appreciated. I've got their posters on my walls and all of their albums, but this is a Silverchair album. CJ: Last time, we did
hear a lot of comparisons, so I imagine we'll hear some this time as well. That's okay. We know it's a big step foward for us,
and that's all that matters. HP: Let's talk about some of the new songs. Pick out one or two that you particularly like and talk
about them. BG: Okay, let's start with the last track on the album, The Closing. Since it's called that, it's a good way to close
the album. It should be easy to mosh to. I wrote all of the music for that one myself, and I came into practice and I showed
Daniel what I had done. We just started to jam, and then he started singing. They were the samee kind of stupid words he
always sings, but it sounded good! It just came together. Another one I really like is Lie To Me. Daniel's really influenced be
Minor Threat, and most of their songs go for like a minute, two minutes. So one day we came into practice and we said,
'let's write a song.' And then Johnsy goes'aww, I've got this riff', and he just showed it to us. Then we all started playing and
after a few minutes he said, 'that's the song.' And that was it. CJ: It's hard for me to pick one. I like 'em all. They're all really
interesting. HP: So are you guys completely finished with school now? CJ: No, we still have classes. But to me, school just
sort of fills in the time between out music things. It's more of a social thing. We don't think it's that important, but other
people seem to think it is. It's a nice change of pace for us. It's a lot slower. When we're on the road, everything happens so
fast. One day we're in one city, the next we're five hundred miles away. It's kind of nice to wake up in the same place every
day and know that you're going to school. It's nice to have that kind of routine again. BG: It's nice to be back with people
we've known for a long time. They don't treat us special. They're interested in knowing what it's like in certain places, but
we're not some important band to them-we're just three guys they've known all their lives. It's good fo us to stay in touch
with all those people. HP: Has it been hard to shift back from a more rigid routine to the wild and crazy routine of rock and
roll? CJ: No. It's more fun. With rock and roll we just work at what we really enjoy. It's not homework and we don't have
to worry about getting up at 8 in the morning. But it's okay. BG: We're trying to enjoy every part of our lives right now. Why
shouldn't we be enjoying all of this?