"I'm very paranoid," Johns says "I'm always told by my friends and stuff just to kind of chill. I'm very anxious about things."
Ever since Johns, drummer Ben Gillies and bassist Chris Joannou
released their debut album, Frogstomp, after winning a
1994 radio contest in their homeland, the future looked bright
and indeed , "Tomorrow" became a hit single. Not Johns is simply
reacting to the ordeal of coming of age in the public's eye.
"It made me paranoid because people would come around to the house
and try to get close because they thought they'd be endowed," he admits.
The public's eye was also painfully critical; Johns doesn't deny the
Seattle influence silverchair were pegged with - in fact, he's embarrassed by it.
"We always knew that there was nothing different or creative about the albums,"
Johns says. "I can understand why people didn't like the last two albums. They
weren't very different."
Conscious that much of the band's earlier arrangements occupied a space between
the pillars of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Johns changed his recording habits. He
practically locked himself away in his house, forcing himself not to see or listen
to any music for three months. The resultant album, Neon Ballroom, is a 12-song
collection that finds silverchair further moving in the orchestrated-rock tradition.
"With this album it was more poetry than it was in the past," says Johns. "I wanted to
create a kind of art album with different layers and more abstract lyrics, but without
wanking, without being self-indulgent."
Johns plans to shit the focus onto silverchair's music, which he readily admits, now owes
more to Led Zeppelin than it does to grunge. Evidence? "Paint Pastel Princess" more obviously
apes "Going to California" than Pearl Jam's "Given To Fly"
"Everything I ever do musically will always be in some way influenced by either Black Sabbath
or Led Zeppelin." Johns says. "I really admire Zeppelin. They were very creative and ahead of
their time, so hopefully this album will still sound fresh and new to some."
My Favorite Web Sites
This is a link
This is also a link