Silverchair

CONFRONT: Hi Ben. Nice to meet you!

BEN: Nice to meet you too.

CONFRONT: OK, since we’re limited with our time let me start by quickly explaining to you who we are. The name of our magazine is Confront magazine; we are a new online magazine with a very specific purpose. Our motto is Dare, Defy, Provoke. Actually it is Dare to Listen, Defy Stereotype and Provoke Change. Basically what we want to be doing is we want to make sure we allow the mainstream to evolve and we want to be one step forward and make sure our readers are aware of all the music styles that are out there.

BEN: Wow that sounds very interesting…

CONFRONT: Oh thanks. So talking about mainstream, what would be your definition of mainstream today?

BEN: I don’t know I guess mainstream is always seen as something that’s successful but you know when the whole Seattle scene came out…

CONFRONT: Yeah.

BEN: They were considered underground at first and then with the popularity it became mainstream. Yeah, I don’t know, I think mainstream is more accessible music to everybody but it doesn’t necessarily mean good music.

CONFRONT: That’s true. OK now I’ll go with a couple of our CONFRONT questions first and last CD bought?

BEN: Wow, I can never tell which is the first CD or album I ever bought… can I start the opposite way?

CONFRONT: For sure.

BEN: Ok so the most recent one is by a guy called Whaty, he is a one man band from the UK. It’s like more dance stuff, I don’t think he uses any type of electronic devises, he plays all the instruments and stuff, and it’s very good. The first one I’d say would have to be something like Led Zeppelin, or so let’s say Led Zeppelin’s”Remasters” .

CONFRONT: That’s good. Now what would be your guilty pleasure musically?

BEN: Ok, I have to say that the most recent one would have to be… Rihanna… not only musically but also she is amazingly attractive.

CONFRONT: I agree with you. OK, so the new album ‘Young Modern’ was released here in Canada last week on July 27th, talk to me about the process leading to the creation of this album. You guys were not on the scene for a while, what was it like going back in the studios, was it like, we’re back to something cool, or was it a hard process?

BEN: Oh no, I think this is probably the most fun we’ve had while making a record ever. You know, we’ve probably started working on it like two and a half years ago. Daniel had all the songs ready to go and then we rented like a little shack in rural New South Wales in Australia. Seriously in the middle of nowhere, it’s like only a dirt road to get there. So yeah, we really wanted to just breathe and live music, not have any distractions at arms. We did that and then went in the pre-production and then the recording and our mixing. So yeah, for most of our time there we were in Silverchair mode. But you know we had so much fun, then we went to LA to record it, we had rented a house, it had its own studio in it, like when you hear the record, it sounds like, you know it was recorded like, in a very expensive studio but you know the truth is that the house was in a valley in LA, so suburbia. The studio was about fourteen meters long and across maybe my height not more. We had the control room in there and everything, it was so tiny and for fun we rented some props at like a props place in LA that has like props for big movie studios.

CONFRONT: Oh yeah, what did you rent?

BEN: We got like a HUGE chandelier and put it in the house…I think it was like 200$ a week to have it, put some ambiance in…

CONFRONT: Yeah like make a statement, create an atmosphere.

BEN: Exactly, we thought it was cool; we were in there all day long so we tried to make it comfy, just make it an enjoyable experience.

CONFRONT: Yeah, make it cosy.

BEN: Yeah and I think it helps the music as well.

CONFRONT: Yeah. You guys have different fan bases all around the world. In Canada, in the US, in the UK and of course in Australia. How do you feel the anticipation was for your new album? You know in Australia you guys have been around a bit, doing concerts and some stuff on your own so you were around, but here in Canada and in the US for example we haven’t seen you guys for so long, do you feel any difference?

BEN: Yeah, actually, I don’t know it’s almost like…it almost feels like in America, maybe it was more, in Australia, people are pumped but you know here in Canada and in the US people are very pumped up, we go to venues and there are people waiting to get in around the corner and stuff. Because we’ve been away for so long, we know how it is people can forget about you, so we’re very happy to see that we were not forgotten.

CONFRONT: For sure, ok two more questions and we’re done here… Since we are an online magazine I feel it’s important for me to mention this part of a band’s life; so you guys have a MySpace page, what is your relationship with the whole internet connection to your fans? All the comments, messages, blogs, is it fun or is it too much?

BEN: It’s a bit of both to me…it’s good because we get to see how fans react more directly then on message boards for example. I think it’s good for that, but can also lead to fans expecting more from it so I don’t know, it’s like if you don’t do it you suffer from it and if you do it there are bad sides to it.

CONFRONT: I agree.

BEN: I think it helps more for new bands.

CONFRONT: Exactly, ok last but not least, what would you want your legacy to be? Or where would you want to be in the future?

BEN: One of the greatest bands of all time…

CONFRONT: That’s great, thanks a lot for your time.

BEN: Thanks to you.

MySpace: www.myspace.com/silverchair

Official Website: www.chairpage.com