We Blew Up The Garden Gnome

One is a bit of a wag. The other is a nerdy swot. They are the complete opposites - the Ying and Yang of pop, so to speak! Diane Godley finds out what make Savage Garden roar.

Have you ever been savaged by a garden?

Daniel: I've been stung by bees before, haha.
Darren: We blew up the garden gnome to destroy any future references to gardens. Savage Garden is actually inspired by Anne Rice novels about vampires (the author of the book "Interview With The Vampire") I love those books. Its got a deeper meaning. Its not about garden gnomes.

What were you like at school?

Daniel: I dunno. I didn't go very much. My nickname was "waggin" haha! I was in control at school. I had older brothers who went through the school before me. They didn't have a bad reputation, but they didn't have a good one either. So my reputation was a spin-off of theirs - instant credibility.
Darren: I was normal. A completly normal kid: the school nerd. In grade eight and nine I got picked on. I was a freak - no one understood me. I was the kid who wanted to be abducted by ET. Then all the losers left in Year 10.
Daniel: I was one of those losers!

Diane: So was I!

Darren: I was quite good at school and very artistic. In Year 11 it was a turn-around. I was one of the coolest kids in school. I was in school musicals: the kid who could sing. It was bizarre. I loved school. It's an amazing little world. The rules inside school are totally different from the outside world.

Spell "reservoir"

Daniel: Reservoir Dogs - R-E- I'm not a good speller. That comes from wagging school, haha! I can spell dogs. D-O-G-S.
Darren: R-E-S-E-R-V-O-I-R. Is that right?

Diane: Yep. What's the square root of 625?

Darren: Wouldn't have a clue. I got limited achievement in maths. I loved science - biology - but I hated maths.
Daniel: 12? don't ask me questions like that!
Diane: Erm... 25 actually.

When was the first time you heard yourself on the radio?

Daniel: I was sitting in my car. I knew the song had gone to radio - friends in Melbourne rung and told me they had heard the song on the radio - but I hadn't heard it and I was getting really frustrated. Then, one day I was sitting in my car and it just came on. It was a beautiful feeling.
Darren: I was actually working in a video shop and I was having a really bad day. Then the song just came on the radio and it just made my day. The first time I saw myself on tv I remember I hated it. I think you go through that period where you first hear your voice but I'm over that now. I can hear my voice now - I know what I sound like. So its not that big of a shock to me. But to see myself on TV! I've dealt with that now too. It was like, okay, that's what I look like, all right, I'll deal with that. Everyone else has for 23 years. It was the first time I realized what I looked like in 3D.

Would you ever consider doing a remake of "Smoke on the Water"?

Darren: N-E-V-E-R. Never. I'm not influenced by classical rock at all. I don't know if we'd ever do a cover version of anything. Live we would, but we'd never release anything. I think we have too much to say - we can't shut up as it is.

When was the last time you went moshing?

Darren: I missed the entire mosh pit experience. I think im going to mature and be buried without ever having experienced the joys of guitar rock moshing.
Daniel: Although they're not really a mosh band, there was a mosh pit at a Hoodoo Gurus concert I went to once. That was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed being a yobbo for once in my life, haha!