This time last year, no one
had heard of Savage Garden. Now they are one of the most successful Australian
bands of recent times. Lets recap what they've achieved: Their hot debut single
I Want You went platinum and became the biggest selling Aussie single for
1996. It peaked at no. 3, and earned the lads an ARIA nomination for Best Debut
Single. This success was quickly followed by the haunting To The Moon & Back
which rocketed to number one! Now the boys have a new single out and their self
titled debut album has also hit the streets. STAR! had a chat with Darren and
Daniel, who were recently in LA filming a video. From Brisbane video store to
Beverly Hills studio, Savage Garden have truly, madly, deeply bloomed.
Hi guys, are you staying in a nice hotel?
Darren: Yeah, we're in Beverly Place in Beverly Hills, basically.
Daniel: (yells out in background) It's so nice to hear an Australian accent!
You're shooting a film clip for I Want You with the same director who did the
Oasis videos- how did that come about?
Darren: We signed to Columbia Records out of New York, and they had a fantastic
video department there, and basically we had a budget that we could only dream
of at home- it was huge! Basically we took the reels and reels of direction, and
he was the one.
I Want You is being played on 78 commercial stations- have you heard it play on
air in the States yet?
Darren: Ha...ha...ha...no, not as yet, it's funny, it's playing on a couple of
stations here, but we really haven't had a chance to listen to the radio. We
hopping in the car...actually this week it's (I Want You) the most added track
to the radio in America. We were looking in a radio magazine and there was a
full page ad of us staring back in full colour.
Have you seen any stars in LA yet?
Darren: No, Daniel thinks he saw Madonna, and I went chasng after.. No I don't
think so, not yet.
Are you really busy with work or have you had time to chill out and see the
sights?
Darren: We've been really busy, actually, it's been pretty full on. I actually
forgot about this interview. We just popped into our hotel to have a drink and
then the phone rang. Thank God we were here! Apparently we have one day ff after
we finish shooting, we're actually going to Disneyland.
What are your plans after you leave LA?
Darren: We're going to Sydney for two or three days, then we're going back to
Brisbane for full on rehearsals woth the band, and then a couple of acoustic
sets around the place. That weekend prior to the release (of the album) we've
got a Hey Hey performance and a bunch of instores and things around the country.
Do you get recognised on the street much?
Darren: It's starting to happen now, it's quite funny, it's just really
flattering actually. Mainly people walk past, then they look at you, and then
they do a double take, and a couple of times they'll come up to you when you're
eating a kebab, lettuce betwen every possible tooth, and they'll say, aren't you
that guy from...
Do you have a message for your fans back in Autsralia?
Darren: Hang in there, thanks for your support, because we love it, and we're
counting on you coming to see us, basically.
What are you doing for the rest of the day?
Daren: We have two vey lovely stylists, sitting in our room right now, we're
just about to go and get dressed for them, and think of ways to make me look
thin and Daniel look muscly and then we've got more meetings with production
people tonight, and then we've got like a 7 am start for a video shoot tomorrow
morning.
Write to: Savage Garden, GPO Box 145, Brisbane, Qld, 4001.
SAVAGE GARDEN
CENTRAL MAIL Sign-Up Now! For Your Own
Free Web-Based
Email Account
@savage-garden.net. Check Your Mail
.gif){kind=small}