Daniel Hall
Name: Daniel James Hall
Nickname: Buana
Birthday: June 30
Birthplace: London, England
Current home: Melbourne, Australia
Siblings: One brother, way older.
Pets: One cat (hopefully a dog too, soon).
Q: What instruments do you play?
Guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards and drums (Jack of all trades).
Q: How long have you been playing and singing?
I started playing at age four, so, around 17 years.
Q: What makes of guitars and amps do you have?
Guilds, Gibsons and Fenders are the preferred for the stage. Marshall and Matchless are preferred amplification.
Q: What's your favorite song to play from the album and why?
I don't have one particular favorite, but "Can You Feel" is always one to get the blood flowing.
Q: Give us an anecdote about the recording of the album.
A favorite thing for me was working with people whose work I grew up on and working on my craft at the same time. Having great session players (percussion, horns, etc.) to add the icing was great. Just the possibilities...
Q: How about shooting the video for "Get Set"?
The crew were so easy to work with. Having never shot a video before, it was great because they made us so comfortable, and they were fast and efficient, which suited my attention span!
Q: You recently went on a promo tour of the States. What was your favorite American city?
I loved Chicago and New York; Chicago because it reminded me a lot of Melbourne, and New York for its total chaos. Nashville was great too.
Q: What were you listening to, watching and/or reading on the bus?
I saw Pleasantville, which was funny, and I'm listening to a lot of new stuff like The Push Stars and various film soundtracks, plus for educational reasons, I've been analyzing the New Radicals, Garbage and TLC.
Q: What was the highlight of the promo tour?
Crowd hysteria at the Nashville show.
Q: What has been your favorite thing about being in the U.S.?
Learning the truth about the real America, not the watered-down TV version we get in Australia.
Q: What sports do you like to play and watch?
I like to watch cricket and Australian rules football, but I'm a bit of a hack at it. I can play tennis and soccer a bit. Alright, I'm shit at sport!
Q: What kind of vehicle do you drive?
No comment on current vehicular status. I will one day own a late-'60s Corvette and a Harley, I hope.
Q: Could you name your favorite authors and books?
J.D. Salinger: Catcher In the Rye, W.B. Yeats: Collection, Kerouac: On the Road, Roald Dahl's adult stuff. Heaps o' shit.
Q: What's your favorite magazine?
I have several favorites: Rolling Stone, Juice, Melody Maker, NME, Face, Benetton Quarterly.
Q: How about your favorite movies and actors?
Romper Stomper with Russell Crowe, The Crow with Brandon Lee, Leaving Las Vegas with Nick Cage.
Q: Favorite TV show?
South Park, The Simpsons, X-Files (early episodes). Some Aussie stuff, none worth mentioning. Mayle Rage (all-night alt. music videos)
Q: Favorite music?
Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Doors, Hendrix, Korn, Beatles, Crowded House, Grays, Jellyfish, funk, R&B, soul, blues, jazz, rock, pop (as long as it's got guitars).
Q: What's the best live performance you've seen?
Radiohead in Melbourne Feb. '98; Jon Brion at Largo, L.A., March '99; Mike Errico at Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta, May '99; Jeff Buckley (on video) at Horden Pavillion, Sydney, '95.
Q: Who's your favorite visual artist?
Whitley, McFarlane, Luenig.
Q: Favorite website?
Not applicable --not computer literate. Probably a music one of some sort.
Q: Favorite foods and drink?
Italian food, Asian food. Vodka, Bourbon, red wine (cabernet sauvignon or shiraz)
Q: Do you cook? What's your favorite dish to make?
I'm not a great cook, but I do a mean nachos.
Q: Do you have a favorite drinking story?
Getting smashed with Tim Freedman from the Whitlams in Los Angeles at some swanky bar. Getting wasted with Ed from Live at the studio. Plenty of drinking stories, all bad.
Q: What was your favorite subject in school? Your least favorite?
Favorite subject was English and international studies. Least was sport and mathematics.
Q: Do you collect anything?
Never had the patience to collect anything except musical instruments, very slowly.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about Australia and Australians?
The fact that we don't drink Fosters and Crocodile Dundee is not our national hero. We don't have koalas for pets. And we do have electricity.
Q: Who would you most want to be stuck in an elevator with, and why?
I'm claustrophobic, so perhaps a doctor or someone in the medical profession.
Q: Anything else you'd like to say?
What are all these questions for? !
