Don't hate them because they're young (17),beautiful (undisputed) and richer than most of the
general population. That's just the way it goes when your debut album sells more than 1.7 million
units and your followup release is Epic's top priority for the first quarter of 1997. Who took on the
U.S. album charts in 1995 with their debut release Frogstomp, are set to really wreak some
havoc with their new outing Freakshow. LAUNCH caught up with Silverchair's DANIEL, BEN and
CHRIS during a brief stint in L.A. as they were warming up local audiences for some of their
blazing new tracks. In fact, Issue No. 11 of the LAUNCH CD-ROM features a live, exclusive
video of the song "Slave." Read on and Listen to some selected audio clips to find out more
about what's happening in the lives of Silverchair. It's a Freakshow, to be sure.


LAUNCH:
Tell me about the title Freakshow.

BEN:
Freakshow has got to do with how bands travel around from city to city, kind of like the old freak
shows used to do. The "freak" part has to do with the freaks you meet in the music industry, like
all the idiots and that.

CHRIS:
As the band travels through a town--sets up, packs up and moves on--they come across tons of
freaks, they're maybe even freaks themselves.

DANIEL:
It's called Freakshow because it's similar to being in a band these days. Freakshows in the 40s
used to travel around from city to city, and people looked at them like they were really weird;
perceived them as being different because they looked strange. So being in a band and traveling
around, people look at you like you're really strange, so we just thought it was a good theme for
an album.

LAUNCH:
Have you ever been to an actual freak show?

BEN:
We've heard a lot about the freak shows, but we've never actually seen one. Maybe one day,
hopefully, we'll get to see something like it, but I don't think anything will be like the old ones with
the bearded lady and the weird people.

LAUNCH:
Why is Freakshow a better album than Frogstomp?

DANIEL:
The new album's better than the first one just because it's kind of branched out in both directions.
On the first album, there's quiet songs and loud songs. On this album, there's really, really quiet
songs and really, really loud songs.  It's just kind of developed and we've experimented with
different instruments. We took our time to get the sound right.

BEN:
I think the new album is just better because we're older basically and we've matured, and we
write better songs. And we've been listening to different bands, too, like Tool and Korn and Rage
Against The Machine; just heavier bands and I think that's influenced our band a lot.

CHRIS:
I think what makes it better is first, we're playing a lot better as a band: we're tighter, we have
more experience soundwise in terms of what we want, we just know a lot more and that helps us
out a lot.

LAUNCH:
Have you found that it gets harder to write songs as you become more successful and the
demands on your time increase? How does the songwriting process work in your band?

DANIEL:
It wasn't really harder, it was really easier because we had experience. Just being on the road
awhile, the ideas built up in my head; getting home, they all just flowed out and I just wrote all
this stuff, and by the time it came to record the album, we had 16 songs.

BEN:
We write songs pretty well the same as we did on the first album, but the only difference is we
sat down and wrote the music as a band this time. Me and Daniel would come up with the tune,
the riff and then take it into practice and we'd just jam, and whatever came out came out. Then
Daniel would go off by himself and write the lyrics to it.

CHRIS:
Don't ask me how it happened. It just did.

LAUNCH:
Did you guys ever reach a point where you realized: "Hey, this Silverchair thing is really starting
to happen. I think I could do this the rest of my life!"?

DANIEL:
Not really, we never thought we'd be happening at all. We were playing in a garage three years
ago five people a night, not being able to get shows, and we just thought that's how it always
would be. And that didn't really bother us because we were still really just enjoying the music,
and as long as you're enjoying it, it doesn't matter how many people you're playing to or whether
you're recording or not. We just thought we'd be a garage band for the rest of our lives. We were
just lucky to get a break.

BEN:
When Frogstomp was starting to go up the charts in the U.S., it went from something like 30 to
24 to 15 to 9 or something, and that's when we started thinking maybe we could do this for the
rest of our lives. We were making money and touring around the world, and yeah, it kind of
made me think I could do this the rest of my life.

CHRIS:
Yeah, I would say maybe halfway through Frogstomp is when we realized that we were going
somewhere.

LAUNCH:
It's no secret that critics compare you to other bands. When Frogstomp came out it seemed as
though everyone accused you of ripping off Pearl Jam, not to mention every other band that
came out of the Pacific Northwest. How do you respond to that kind of statement and did you
make a conscious effort to avoid comparisons this time around?

DANIEL:
Well, on the first album there were a lot of comparisons to Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Nirvana
and whoever else is from Seattle--it got annoying after awhile. We always liked that kind of
music, but we never were huge fans. We were really always into Led Zeppelin and Black
Sabbath and stuff like that, and we just figured Soundgarden and Nirvana must have listened to
the same stuff as us. People just--because we were so young--people must not have realized we
listened to Black Sabbath. They just thought we listened to Soundgarden. And we were like,
whatever. I mean, we didn't say, "Oh we're going to make this album and not sound like
anyone."Every band on their first album sounds like someone whether it's a popular band or
some underground band. We just went into the studio to make a really strong album so people
could say, "Yeah, this isn't just a one-album band and this one is just as good as the last."

BEN:
When people criticize us or compare us to other bands, we usually don't care; we ignore them
and go on with what we do. Everyone's got influences; whenever a band starts they sound like
something else at first, and it takes time for them to get their own sound, and I think we're still
getting our own sound. I think Freakshow is getting closer to our sound, and I think by our third
album, we'll be pretty well there.

LAUNCH:
You guys are so young, and I'd guess most of your friends are probably very envious of your
lifestyle. What would you be doing right now if you weren't in a band?

DANIEL:
I don't know. If it wasn't for music, I don't know what I'd be doing. Since I was eight years old, all
I've ever wanted to do was music. If it wasn't for music, I'd be laying on my bed watching telly
being bored.

BEN:
If I wasn't in a band, I'd probably be going to school, going to the beach, going to parties,
shooting pool with my friends--anything--anything to keep my mind occupied. If I'm bored I can't
stand it. I always have to be doing something.

CHRIS:
I'd probably be a motor mechanic and surf on the weekends--that's what I'd do if I wasn't in a
band right now.

LAUNCH:
I bet you've seen a lot of wild stuff in your travels.

CHRIS:
Mainly one thing. One thing that happened last week in South America--total voodoo. Our stage
guy picked up these flowers from this bush by this waterfall. The driver said: "Put them down!
You'll get voodoo." Next day he was sicker than a dog and totally in bed. Next day, he came on
stage and threw his back out. Next day after that, on the plane, he was vomiting the whole time.
He learned his lesson. That was freaky.

DANIEL:
That was probably the weirdest thing: the voodoo curse. We always thought it was crap, now
we're seeing the light. We're never going to rip off voodoo again. It's true, it really happens.

BEN:
Seeing other countries really is a bit of a spin out. When we went to South America, it was a bit
weird at first, to see all the big skyscrapers and expensive buildings, and right next door on a hill
there'd be all these shacks with windows cut out of a wall. It was wild just seeing how dirty the
world is because where we come from in Newcastle, it's so clean. There's no poverty at all in
Newcastle. It's just so small. When you see all the poverty and everything in the world, it just
kind of spins you out.

LAUNCH:
What are the good points and the bad points about being so young and so successful?

DANIEL:
The bad side is traveling around with your parents--it sucks. It's not like, it's not really bad, but it'd
just be better to go on by yourself so you could go off on your own after the show. If we weren't
with our parents, we could go out to the Viper Room; see how River Phoenix died. With our
parents, we come back to the hotel, have a drink, watch telly. The good side is....Nothing!!!!!
[Laughter all around] We'll have to wait for the good side; we'll have to wait 'til we're 18.

BEN:
When you're young it's good because, oh God, I don't know, I guess by the time we're 32, that
means we'll have been together for 20 years whenever most other people are 32, they've been
together five or 10 years. The bad part is that people only focus on your age. A lot of people
might only consider you a pinup band, a girlie band. Hopefully, we'll prove them wrong on our
forthcoming albums.

CHRIS:
Well, you're kind of at that stage where you think you can do everything but you're not quite
there yet; you've got another 10 months yet 'til you're legal and can say, "I'm doing this, I'm going
here." You're at that point where you're like, "Come on. Hurry up."

LAUNCH:
Tell me about your heroes: who have you always aspired to be like, to emulate?

DANIEL:
My real hero when I was 12-15 was Richie Blackmoor from Deep Purple because Deep Purple is
my dad's favorite band. He had all these videos. Whatever Richie Blackmoor did, I would do in
rehearsal. If he threw his guitar down and played it with his feet, I'd do it in practice; I'd never do
it properly though.

BEN:
My biggest hero would probably be John Bonham from Zeppelin--I've always wanted to be like
him. I guess there's a lot of drummers I'd like to be as good as: the drummer from Tool,
Soundgarden, Korn, Helmet; those are all guys I'd like to be like, but John Bonham is the top. I
love him, he's an animal.

CHRIS:
I never really had any people I wanted to play like; I figured I'd just play as a band person, not a
solo artist. Someone who plays in a band and is very tight as a rhythm section.

LAUNCH:
Have you gotten advice from any of the bands you've played with? Older guys who want to take
you under their wing and share their words of wisdom?

DANIEL:
Oh yeah. We haven't met any bands that have been negative in any way towards us. All the
Australian bands we know have been really supportive; if we need advice we can talk to them.
They're all just really good, all the bands we've met.

BEN:
The Chili Peppers, when we did our tour with them, they gave us their numbers and we gave
them our numbers. We just did a tour of South America with the guys from Cypress Hill. They
actually watched both our sets from the first night to the second night--that was so cool.

LAUNCH:
Now, the fact that you're so young means you have to take your parents on the road, right? It's
got to be weird to take your parents on tour!

CHRIS:
We really don't see them that much; it's just an excuse for them to come along really. They're
not bad at all. They're not against what we're doing. The other night before we went on stage,
Daniel said to his mom, "Mom, I'm going to swear tonight." And she said, "No you're not." Sure
enough, he swore on stage. He's just stirring her up, you know.

BEN:
We usually take one parent on tour, either Mom or Dad. Usually the dads do most of the touring
probably because they get the biggest kick out of it. It's alright because you never see them
usually. When we turn 18 that's all going to change, though, don't worry about that.

LAUNCH:
What are you going to do when you turn 18?

DANIEL:
I found out about a month ago when I turn 18 I'm going to be on tour with my dad, so I'm just
going to get my dad to buy me a bunch of alcohol and get really drunk in front of him.

BEN:
When I turn 18, I'll probably go out and get really drunk, I'd say so.

CHRIS:
We'll see that night. I can just imagine.

LAUNCH:
Are there any secrets about Silverchair? Anything your fans don't know?

CHRIS:
Ben's got a major leak in his ass.

BEN:
Sometimes Daniel always says how muscle-y he is; being very sarcastic 'cuz he's like a puny
bastard--mega skinny. You know how if you're right-handed your right arm is stronger than your
left arm? His right arm--he's got a bit of muscles there--but his left, there's nothing there; just skin
and bone. So he always walks around and says, "Yeah, I'm pretty muscle-y, aren't I?" He picks
fights with me and Chris, but we always show him who's boss.

DANIEL:
I could say so much stuff. Ben is actually getting braces because he's got a bit of a teeth
problem; a really bad tooth deformity. He just doesn't use his Colgate; doesn't brush--he's having
a few problems. And Chris is growing his hair again because he looks too tough; he gets too
many comparisons to Henry Rollins.

LAUNCH:
Describe your native Australia for us in three words.

BEN:
Hot, sun, surf. That's how I'd describe Australia.

DANIEL:
Warm, beach, my dog. That's four words. Warm, beach, dog.

LAUNCH:
Tell me about some of the really good bands coming out of Australia right now.

DANIEL:
There's a band called Midget who are really good, kind of influenced by Steve Albini's stuff, but
they have their own kind of thing going; there's an indie pop punk guitar band called Magic Dirt;
there's a really weird hip hop thing called Regurgitator; Spider Bait; there's just so many bands in
Australia who are really good.

LAUNCH:
Are you guys into computers at all?

DANIEL:
I'm not gonna lie, we're pretty much computer illiterate, all of us. My brother's really into the
computer. I just can't understand it. I like looking at it when my brother's doing it, but I'm just not
smart enough.

BEN:
I don't really know much about the Internet. I know a lot of people who--what do you call it? Log
on to it or whatever. It's all a mystery to me. I've got a Sony Playstation, they're rad, I love
playing them. It's like an arcade in your own house. I like Destruction Derby, it's rad--smashing
the cars up.

CHRIS:
I'll load the old game up, but that's about it. Dad's the only one who knows the code to the
Internet so no one can rack up a bill. I don't mind the war games or the car racing games.

LAUNCH:
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

CHRIS:
I reckon if the band's not doing anything I'll be a greasy mechanic in the corner shop doing
nothing; being a bum. If the band's still going, it'll be good. We'll have been together 10 years, 20
years, 15 years or something.

DANIEL:
In 10 years, I'll still be doing music. I don't know if it will be with Silverchair, another band, or by
myself. But it will be something to do with music because I've wanted to do it since I was really
young.

BEN:
Ten years from now, I'll probably be an accountant or something; maybe a rocket scientist, that's
what I'm aiming for. I've got a few degrees, I'm actually going to go to Yale, yeah.I'm pretty
intellectual, yeah. You know, whatever you call it.