Interview with Silverchair bassist Chris Joannou By Stephanie Nolasco Why did it take five years to finally release Young Modern? Well, the first two years after DIORAMA was just all about Daniel getting over the reactive arthritis. We all then went off and did some other projects. I think it was great for all of us to take some time out from Silverchair, to work with other people and then come back fresh for this record. It took us about two years from when we started working on YOUNG MODERN as a band to its release. How is Young Modern different from your past albums? When did you feel that this album created some sort of impact for all three of you as artists? Young Modern is different in that we funded the entire record ourselves. I will never forget when we were rehearsing the new songs before going into the studio. We went out into the country (in Australia) and set up in the lounge room of this little house and we just played the new material all day, everyday for about four weeks with nobody around for miles. We cooked our meals out on a campfire each night and swam in a dam everyday. By the end of it, we were so rejuvenated and really ready to buckle down in the studio to start the recording. Speaking of producers, which producers were involved with Young Modern and why? In what ways did their talents affect the kind of music that the band wanted to release? Daniel and Nick Launay co-produced the record together. Daniel had a really strong vision as to how the record should sound and feel. Nick is great at capturing a performance and with this record, we really wanted to use whole takes of songs and keep the live feel of a band playing together in a room. A good example of this is the last record that Nick did with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. We used Dave Bottrill, who produced DIORAMA for us to mix the album. This guy has an amazing set of ears on him and we felt there was no other man for the job! In 2006, you spoke at a mental health scholarship launch, which raised awareness for your cousin, who committed suicide. Did you ever choose to reflect your own past demons in Young Modern? Why or why not? No, not in the album. It was a great time all around and I would have to say the best recording experience ever in our career of making records. I chose to get involved with the mental health scholarship, as it was a cause that is very close to my heart. If I can use my own position to benefit and help raise awareness for a great cause then of course I would! Your album immediately became #1 on iTunes before it was even released, which is a major accomplishment for a band that many fans in America thought disappeared. In what ways has the Internet brought you closer with your fans, especially here in the States? The Internet is a very instant thing. It is another way for us (and all bands) getting our music out to more people. A lot of things have changed since we last put a record out. You hear of more people saying that they found a great song on iTunes rather than they just bought an album at a record store. If you could go back to your 15-year-old self when Silverchair just started, what would you do differently as an uprising musician? I wouldn't change anything. How we have evolved and where we are as a band right now is great! We are really enjoying playing as a band now more than ever. I think we had to go through everything that we did to get to the point that we are now. We are loving it and feel very fortunate everyday that we have come this far. What is this famous bass walk that everyone keeps talking about? I'm not sure myself what it even is! I think it must be some killer move that I do on stage that I'm not conscious of after.

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Published on: 2007-10-17 (534 reads)