In this episode, I welcome a very, very, very VERY special guest. And I know I say that a lot and it’s always true. But this time, I’ll be talking to Ben Gillies. That’s right, the drummer from the band we’re all here to celebrate! The co-writer of Tomorrow! The guy who rammed his head into a bass drum at the 1995 ARIA awards! Bloody Ben Gillies!

Among other things, we talked about Ben’s songwriting process, some favourite memories of Silverchair and what actually goes into putting a setlist together. If you’re a fan, you don’t want to miss this one. 

Ben’s website is bengillies.com and is on Instagram @bengillies888.

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[email protected]
http://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com 

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 In this episode, I welcome a very, very special guest. David Bottrill is a legendary producer, mixer and engineer who has worked with everyone from Peter Gabriel and Rush to Tool, Dream Theater and Coheed and Cambria. He’s won three Grammys and an ARIA. He is also the producer of the one and only Diorama by Silverchair, as well as the mixer of Young Modern.
 
David Bottrill’s website is www.davidbottrill.com and is on Instagram @davidbottrillofficial 

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This episode is the conclusion to our two-parter on Silverchair’s fourth album Diorama. 

Diorama was released March 31, 2002 in Australia and debuted at number one on the ARIA chart, the band’s fourth straight album to do so. It eventually went triple platinum in Australia and won five ARIA awards. Diorama is a work of genius but it came at a cost to the band, especially Daniel Johns. But time has been kind to Diorama. Two decades on, it more than holds its own as an ambitious masterpiece.

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Designed to capture a positive new energy and explore a broad spectrum of emotion, 2002’s Diorama was an album that featured some of the most ambitious songs of the band’s career. Although it went triple platinum in Australia and won five ARIA awards, the album was never as successful as it should have been. The band was unable to tour the album due to Daniel developing reactive arthritis, stagnating their momentum overseas. Despite that, it remains a milestone in not just Silverchair’s career but in Australian music overall, a true masterwork.
 
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[email protected]
http://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com 

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This episode, we’ll cover the original B-sides from the Neon Ballroom era: Untitled and Trash. These songs represent a bridge between the darkness of Freak Show and the…different flavour of darkness of Neon Ballroom. One is a fan favourite, the other a look at a road not taken by the band. Should Untitled have been on an album? Was Trash Ben’s idea? We get into it. 
 
(By the way, in the episode I say I don’t know what Daniel’s saying at the start of Trash but I’m now pretty sure he’s saying “I’d like to be extraordinary.”)

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Instagram: @silverchairpodcast
Facebook.com/silverchairpodcast
[email protected]
https://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com

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This episode is a VERY special guest episode, where I speak to the one and only Nick Launay, the producer behind Silverchair’s Freak Show, Neon Ballroom and Young Modern. Not only that, Nick has worked with some of the greatest artists in history, working with everyone from Nick Cave and Kate Bush to Arcade Fire and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. We had a free-flowing talk about his time with Silverchair and shared some classic stories.
 
Nick Launay’s details:

Instagram: @nicklaunay
www.launay.com 

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[email protected]
http://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com 

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Silverchair’s 1999 album Neon Ballroom is the album that drew a line in the sand. With Neon Ballroom, the band had made a definitive statement: This is who we are now and we’re going to continue on this path. You can come along for the ride or you can get off here. But make no mistake, we’re won’t be going back.

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Instagram: @silverchairpodcast
Facebook.com/silverchairpodcast
[email protected]
http://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com  

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It’s happening! There was one piece of unfinished business for the podcast: I never got to the B-sides. It’s a daunting prospect so I’m taking it piecemeal. This episode, we’ll cover the original B-sides from the Frogstomp and Freak Show singles: Madman (Vocal Mix) and Punk Song 2.

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Facebook.com/silverchairpodcast
[email protected]
https://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com

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That’s right, I’m breaking format! 

This episode is a bonus episode, where I speak to Kristen S. He, an award-winning music writer and one half of the pop duo Elle. She's always got a really interesting take on things and we had a great, wide-ranging talk about Silverchair that touched on their writing process, their perception overseas, their place in the culture and keeping their music alive into the 2020s. I really hope you enjoy.

Kristen's Lady Gaga piece:
https://www.vulture.com/article/best-lady-gaga-songs-ranked.html

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Instagram: @silverchairpodcast
Facebook.com/silverchairpodcast
[email protected]
https://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com 

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The difficult second album. Released February 3 1997, Freak Show hit number 1 on the ARIA charts and the first three singles were all in the top 10. It went double platinum in Australia and gold in the US, where it peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200 (before slipping quickly). Was it the sophomore slump or an underrated work by a quickly maturing band?

Contact me:

Instagram: @silverchairpodcast
Facebook.com/silverchairpodcast
[email protected]
https://silverchairpodcast.buzzsprout.com 

Support the show