Darren Talks On AOL Live, May 3, 1999!





StageLive: Welcome Darren Hayes!
OnlineHost: Copyright 1999 America Online, Inc.
SavageRdn: Sorry I'm late. I was recording. SavageRdn: Can I start by saying one thing? SavageRdn: There's been a lot of confusion on the Internet about
StageLive: Please do!
SavageRdn: chatters on the Internet talking to Savage Garden. SavageRdn: If you've been talking to people on the Internet, SavageRdn: Daniel and I don't go into chat rooms so it's not us. SavageRdn: But hello, I'm happy to be here.
StageLive: Here's our first question... Question: I love your music! Do you know how many tracks there are going to be on the new album?
SavageRdn: At the moment, there's 13. SavageRdn: And we've got another two songs that will be B-sides. SavageRdn: So there's 15 brand new songs kicking around.
Question: Since the new album is being recorded in California, What are you guys doing after long days in the studio?
SavageRdn: We are having a blast. SavageRdn: We're at place called WallyWorld. SavageRdn: We've spent our downtime on motor scooters and 4-wheeld SavageRdn: rives playing roller derby. SavageRdn: Lots of boy things. SavageRdn: I hang out at the local Starbucks and everybody there knows myn SavageRdn: ame now.
Question: What will the next single be like? A slow love song like Truly or Question: upbeat like I Want You or The Animal Song?
SavageRdn: We don't know. SavageRdn: At the moment, I can just tell you that I love this record. SavageRdn: I'm always going to say it's the best thing we've ever done. SavageRdn: It's really emotional. SavageRdn: There's about a third of the record upbeat and poppy. SavageRdn: And another good chunk of it is very emotional. SavageRdn: I don't think there's anything on there as innocent as "Truly Madly Deeply." SavageRdn: It's very electronic.
Question: Since you guys hit it big, things have changed alot in yourlives...is Question: there anything you would take back to change any event that has taken place or Question: are you perfectly happy with your sucess?
StageLive: We're talking right now with Pop Sensation Savage Garden, whose newest single StageLive: "The Animal Garden" was released earlier this year.
SavageRdn: I was talking to my mother last night about that. SavageRdn: I wouldn't change a single event in my life, good or bad. SavageRdn: It makes you who you are. SavageRdn: You bend and shape yourself according to your experiences. SavageRdn: The present wouldn't be the present day without past experiences, SavageRdn: good or bad.
Question: Do you have any other hobbies or aspirations besides music andwriting? SavageRdn: At the moment, I'm kind of preoccupied with home things. SavageRdn: I've just bought an apartment in Manhattan. SavageRdn: It's kind of become my baby. SavageRdn: I keep saying this but we get paid to do our hobby. SavageRdn: So what I would do in my free time is kind of taken up in my career. SavageRdn: So besides my obsession with Star Wars, I'm kind of a simple guy. SavageRdn: There is one thing ... SavageRdn: American diners. SavageRdn: I'm fascinated with them. SavageRdn: From New York, I've driven to Boston and Washington. SavageRdn: In California, I drove to Sacramento.J SavageRdn: ust little dives. SavageRdn: I visit diners and I compare them to diners in my little diner book SavageRdn: I just bought.
Question: Will Daniel be singing in any of the songs on the new album? SavageRdn: I don't think so. SavageRdn: That's like asking me if I'll be playing any instruments. SavageRdn: No.
Question: darren and Daniel, Do youu know if Anna Maria LaSpina will be coming Question: with you on tour again? and how is her solo career going?
SavageRdn: We would love her to come on tour with us. SavageRdn: She has a permanent job with Savage Garden if she wants it. SavageRdn: Anna is a dear friend of mine. SavageRdn: and she's currently working very hard with a publishing company SavageRdn: writing songs and working with record companies about a deal. SavageRdn: But it takes a long time so we'll see.
Question: Is any of your new material influenced by acts on the charts today? What Question: kind of music are you into now?
SavageRdn: I don't know if any of the music on the new album is influenced SavageRdn: by the top 40 at the moment. SavageRdn: A good chunk of it was influenced by Madonna's "Ray of Light" album. SavageRdn: And it was influenced by a group called K's choice. SavageRdn: But really, every time we sit down to write a song,w SavageRdn: e're drawing from influences from birth right through to the SavageRdn: present day. SavageRdn: I love songs. SavageRdn: For instance, the new TLC song I think is incredible. SavageRdn: So we'll bring that song into the studio and say, "What is it about SavageRdn: that song that sounds so magic? And how can we bring the samem SavageRdn: agic into our music?"
Question: When you tour again in 2000, will you be using the same backup band? Question: ~~Lisa =)
SavageRdn: Some of them.
Question: If you could do a duet with anyone, who would it be and why?
SavageRdn: Good question. SavageRdn: That's a really good question... SavageRdn: Anna Maria LaSpina because she's the only person on the planett SavageRdn: hat I think my voice fits with like a glove.
Question: What difference do you see in your fans in America compared to those Question: around the world?
SavageRdn: American fans are less excitable. SavageRdn: Very down to earth, and I like that. SavageRdn: They can often have conversations with me on the street SavageRdn: rather than screaming hysterically. And I love a chat.
Question: In an interview a while back, when asked about what we could look Question: forward to in the new album, Darren replied it would be a mix of Pop and Question: Trip-hop.....and since the animal song is totally opposite from that, what kind Question: of sound should we be gearing up for?
SavageRdn: I think there's only one song on the record that has elements of SavageRdn: trip hop. I don't even know if we said that. SavageRdn: There's only one trip hop song. SavageRdn: The pop is very pop. SavageRdn: And the ballads are very sad. SavageRdn: It's not so much a record about music fashion as opposed SavageRdn: to song writing. SavageRdn: It's definitely a different style of song writing on this record. SavageRdn: It's more about moods and emotions. SavageRdn: At first glance, it's probably going to look like quite a sad album. SavageRdn: There's a lot of heartache on there. SavageRdn: but overall it's a very positive record. SavageRdn: It's a record about getting through and living through difficults SavageRdn: ituations and coming out on the other side. SavageRdn: If anything, "The Animal Song" is like the happy ending to this album.
Question: What's your most memorable event while performing?
SavageRdn: There are many. SavageRdn: Usually embarrassing ones. SavageRdn: Falling off stage in your hometown is always a favorite. frustrations out in his songwriting SavageRdn: Being mobbed on stage in Miami. SavageRdn: Performing to 40,000 Hindus in India.
Question: Is it harder for you guys to work together since you two are in two Question: different locations?
SavageRdn: No. We are getting along better than ever. SavageRdn: We did write together for this album. SavageRdn: I think the media hyped it up a lot because I was in America and Daniel SavageRdn: was in Australia. SavageRdn: But I flew home a few times and Daniel came to San Francisco SavageRdn: prior to the recording of the album to finish writing songs with me. touring endlessly for 2 years SavageRdn: And we've since written another two in the studio whilst recording.
Question: do you take time off for family?
SavageRdn: There's not a lot of time off in this business. SavageRdn: We just took nine months so that probably qualifies.
Question: what is your personal favorite song that u guys do?
SavageRdn: It's a brand new song on the album and it's called "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine."
Question: How did you come up with the name Savage Garden and what does the name Question: mean?
SavageRdn: See Ann Rice.
Question: In what ways have you grown since the debut album?
SavageRdn: In so many ways. SavageRdn: Personally and musically. SavageRdn: I'm four years older than I was when it all started. SavageRdn: I think that our success and our experience so far has taught SavageRdn: us more about life than I've learned in 26 years on the planet. SavageRdn: It's been very fulfilling.
Question: Do you guys enjoy meeting w/your fans, including chats?
SavageRdn: I love this. SavageRdn: I love a conversation. SavageRdn: I'm not always comfortable being a person on a pedestal.I SavageRdn: t can make a meeting kind of uncomfortable. SavageRdn: I'd much rather run into a fan on the street than I would have them SavageRdn: meet me backstage because there's so much more expectation SavageRdn: when you're seen as "the popstar."
Question: Hey guys, I really love your music, and I was wondering where you get Question: your inspiration for your lyrics?
SavageRdn: Everything that we write is based on personal experience. SavageRdn: And when we write together, Daniel and I just inspire each other. SavageRdn: He comes up with a piece of music and it triggers a memory in me SavageRdn: and we're constantly building off each other.
StageLive: We have time for one last question from the audience... Question: When do you guys estimate the new album will be released and can you Question: tell us a little bit about it?-Taylor
SavageRdn: Hopefully August of this year. SavageRdn: There will be a first single from it in July. SavageRdn: It's really colorful, very energetic SavageRdn: painfully honest. SavageRdn: And I don't know ... SavageRdn: it just feels like 10 steps from where we've come from. SavageRdn: I'm very proud of it at the moment. SavageRdn: I just want to say thank you to everyone for your support and your SavageRdn: love and your patience. SavageRdn: I can't wait to give you this big present SavageRdn: and get back on the road and play the songs for you live. SavageRdn: Thanks for such a beautiful life.
StageLive: Thank you Darren -- any final comments before you have to leave?
SavageRdn: I have one final comment. SavageRdn: Up until recently, it has been extremely difficult to determine SavageRdn: which is the order line and which is the pickup line at a Starbucks. SavageRdn: And I'm happy to see that more and more Starbucks are beginning SavageRdn: to place signs for the pickup and the ordering. SavageRdn: Thank you.
StageLive: Thanks Darren, and thank all of you for being with us tonight! OnlineHost: Copyright 1999 America Online, Inc.


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