The Savage Gardener #70

Hellooo! Ok, I messed up big time. This issue is supposed to be #70! I messed
up during #68 so here we are...#70, not 69! Anyhoo, I got quite a few
responses to the "Memories" debate. And included in that is the answer! The
truth behind the song! I'll let [email protected] tell it to you in her own
words:

Hi there,
 I've heard that in an interview Darren said he wrote this song about the
movie "Strange Days" (one of my favorite movies :) ).  It was made 1995, with
Angela Basset staring in it.  His lyrics are as if he is Angela talking to the
man she is in love with in the movie. You can probably rent it if you want to
see it, but it's also showing on the Sci Fi channel this month for the
November movies. You should be able to see it, because they show it a lot,
well unless you don't have that channel. Just check your TV Guide for times.
lol (I sound like an anouncer)  Anyway, I hope that helps you out.

It sure does!! I know for sure that "Memories" was originally titled "Strange
Days", so there you have it. One Savage mystery solved! Thanks, Keena!!
Hmm...maybe they should write a song about the "X-Files". Being one of
Daniel's favorite shows (and mine!!), I'm sure they could write a beautiful
song surrounding the ever-developing, ever-intriguing relationship between
Mulder and Scully! And with the shocking "Scully...I love you" this past
Sunday, it should be very easy. I'm sorry, I was told by Sarah to incorporate
that into this week's SGer!! :D Anyhoo, some TERRIFIC news for the boys
themselves! Read on to find out!!!!

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SaVaGe NeWs

**In this week's Billboard, "Truly" falls out of the Top 50 while the album
jumps up 3 spots to #91.

**And now the NEWS!!!! Savage Garden are nominated for 5 Billboard Music
Awards!!!! The show will air Monday, December 7th at 8pm EST on the Fox
network. I'm working on finding out what they're nominated for, so if anyone
can find out or knows, please let me know! Thanks, and major congrats to
Darren and Daniel! Their very first American music nominations!!!! And
multiple nominations at that! Thanks to [email protected] for letting
me know!

**And good news for Aussies! If you'd like the entire collection of the
American releases of Savage Garden's music videos, you'll be able to get them!
You Aussies will be having the exact same video collection released over there
as we got here in America, only yours will have an exclusive interview
included. This will be released the second week in February. Enjoy!!

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Savage Trivia

Last week's trivia question was: According to Darren, what do you have to use
in order to chat up Daniel? The answer is violence! Here's the exact quote: "I
think if you want to chat up with Daniel, you have to use violence, he won’t
come up to someone as soon as I would." Daniel's response? "He’s much more
interested in other people than I am. Just leave me alone, let me enjoy
everything in the background." LOL, can you imagine seeing Daniel someplace
and in order to talk to him, you have to smack him around for a while?!
<insert impossible scenario here> You: "Oohhmigod! That's Daniel Jones! Hey
Daniel!" BAM!! Ok, sorry! Now, congrats to the one person who got it right
(and that's only because she's the one who sent me the article!!)!

[email protected]

This week's question is: Why does Darren prefer singing about a lost love
rather than a found love?

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SaVaGe CoMmEnTs

A long one here! Note: If you are a die-hard Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync fan,
don't read. You have been warned :)

Hi Lauren!! Please oh please put this in the next sg'er!!

Hi y'all!! I'm assuming you all read the last issue of the newsletter (#68),
and if you read something from Sarah about pix on the website by Erika, that's
me!! :D Don't know if anyone out there (besides Jaime and Lauren of course,
and "Mogugu") knew my first name. My e-mail addy is family, so (totally
unfortunately) I don't get my own savage garden name choice about it or
anything. :(
You know, I highly doubt there are any adults out there who LIKE the BSB, 'N
SYNC, the Spiceys and all them "teeny-poppers" (LOL)!! My sisters are 23 and
26, and I can tell you they DON'T like them one bit, especially my oldest
sister who can hear the bass thumps that are if not the same then very much
alike in every song, through the floor!! (she lives downstairs.) Mind you,
they don't really like SG either, but that's okay because one savage garden
addict in the house is enough!! I think what many parents do as for the
teenypops, is scowl at you or something to shut up and turn it off and get mad
when you scream when the appear on the TV set and you hear them on the radio,
or "OH  MY GOD OH MY GOD!!MOM!!! MOM!! Backstreet Boys are coming to whatever
city you live in, and I need tix NOW!! Please mom, let me go to the concert!!"
Sure I got really hyper when I heard Tears of Pearls, but I didn't
scream my lungs off and yell at people, I just wrote in for the SvGn'er
and skipped around the top floor of my house and whispered oh my god oh
my god oh my god over and over again!! But when these girls start screaming
their heads off because these guys are major hunks and they
sing and what-not gets on parent's nerves I'm sure (and not to mention
mine...). How many 16 to 19-year-olds do you see at teeny-pop concerts? At the
fantastic SG concert I thankfully got a hopefully-more-than-once-in-a-lifetime
chance to go to in Vancouver, there were people from age 3!!!! or somewhere
around there to I'd say at least 45!!! I mean, hey, Savage Garden is made up
of two incredible MEN of in their mid-twenties and the tour-and-backup band
are adults too, so it makes sense that adults also like them! That and their
various subjects and awesome lyrics if I do say so myself... Take 'N SYNC for
example: (I don't know how old they are now, but...) Justin: age 17, Lance:
18, J.C.: 21 Joey: 21 and Chris just turned 27 a little while
ago. (YIKES!!) Aim: teens and under. BSB: Nick: still thriving at age 18, and
the oldest,Kevin, is the same age as Darren and my sister!! that's scary ;).
Otherwise, all but one are in their 20's. They sing for TEENS and PRE-TEENS
ONLY, right??? Give me the names of 3 people, just 3 who are over 20 who like
these bands!!
So ex-Spice Geri is 35 or 36 but she preffered to portray herself as 25!! What
a joke... Who does Rod Steward sing for? Mature adults, I'm sure. Moffats and
Hanson? I hope there are NO adults there. They can like what they want to
like, but in my opinion these young pop bands are aimed at short success in
the teen field. Oh and to all the adults who recieve this newsletter, do you
like the Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and 'N Sync (whoa- almost wrote 'N
Sync!! :) )??? Or do you prefer Savage Garden (I would think so) and maybe the
sued or almost-sued Sarah McLachlan?
So critism, come as it may, also comes with teenybands (and SG, tho).
Savage Garden? Someone 100 years old out there might be listening to Truly
right now, you never know!!

And hey, "titanictrekcreek" is it? when did you last hear Tears of
Pearls? Please e-mail me at [email protected] . Thanks!!

[email protected]

Alrighty, I HAVE to comment on this one! First of all, I have no personal
problem with BSB or 'N Sync. I have both their CDs (just for the record, I
like 'N Sync's better, though!). They're talented boys. That's BOYS. Yes, some
of these members are the same as Darren and Daniel, but you gotta admit that
in terms of music, they haven't really grown up. Their songs don't have the
maturity of Savage Garden. Heck, they don't even WRITE their own songs.
However, there ARE adults out there who like BSB and 'N Sync. There might even
be a lot of them. But it's pretty obvious that the MAJORITY of the fan base is
squealing 12 year old girls. My mom likes that BSB song "As Long As You Love
Me", but she wholeheartedly agrees that they're nothing but the new New Kids,
and won't be around 10 years from now, maybe (and most likely) even less. And
by the way, she once came to me and said that out of all the new bands, Savage
Garden is the best and has what it takes to make it :) GO MOM! Anyhoo, if you
have personal problems with Erika's comments, please email her and NOT me. Oh,
and no rebuttals to her comments will be put in the newsletter. And one more
thing, I think it's about time to put a rest to the Backstreet Boys/'N Sync
thing. The two boy bands don't compare in any way to Savage Garden! ~Lauren
:o)

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Woooo! As promised, here's the article from "The Best of the Boys"! This
chapter is typed exactly word for word. Oh, and any comments from me are put
in brackets like this: [   ]

                                             Opposites Attract
                                         from "The Best of the Boys"

In January 1998 a new sound topped the American charts. Two Australians
brought their emotionally wrought, carefully crafted music [ha! No sugary-
sweet pop stuff here!] halfway around the world and conquered the Billboard
singles list, reaching number-one with "Truly Madly Deeply." With that song,
Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones have achieved what no other Australian band has
done since INXS blew away the U.S. competition with "Need You Tonight" to gain
the number one spot in 1987 [that would be 11 years! Way to go, Darren and
Daniel!]. Savage Garden listeners agree their music is awesome, but Savage
Garden watchers know that so are the guys! Their fascinating looks and
intriguing personalities [translated - guys who actually aren't afraid to say
how they feel and what close friends they are. Take a hint, boys!] did more a
little to draw in the screaming fans who pack their shows and demand their
music on the radio. Let's bring some information up from Down Under on these
two young musical hotties.

Both boys grew up in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. While Darren went to
Mabel Park Infants School (grammar school) and Mable Park State High School,
Daniel attended Shailer Park High. Although the two never shared a classroom,
they shared a deep love of popular music, even though they liked totally
different bands. Spinning in Daniel's CD player were albums from smart, edgy
English musicians such as Peter Gabriel, XTC, and Tears for Fears, while
Darren's family heard American pop pouring from his speakers - tunes by
Prince, Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, and Diana Ross, as well
as such British 1980s classics as "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" by the
Smiths (singer Morrissey's former band).

Daniel idolized Michael Jackson's Thriller, then buckled down to work by
joining the first of many bands at age fourteen. Darren fantasized about being
interviewed by Oprah Winfrey [LOL! I love that story!!]. Once out of school,
Daz and Dan played in bar bands and cover bands, totally unaware of the
existence of each other. Darren married his schooldays sweetheart, Colby
Taylor, and even taught nursery school, while Daniel enjoyed the dating scene.

Up and down the beautiful beaches of Australia's Queensland coast, there are
lots of venues for good cover bands, so the boys found plenty of work. In
1992, Daniel, who specializes in arranging and orchestrating music
[specializes is an understatement!! How about "excels"?], needed a singer for
his band Red Edge and ran a "Band Looking for Singer" ad in the local Time Off
newspaper. When Darren walked in the door, fireworks went off. Daniel told BB
magazine, "I think there are only a few times when you meet the key people in
your life and go 'Wow, this is amazing' "; Darren, always more dramatic,
recalled, "I actually remember thinking that my world was never going to be
the same." One thing's for sure - the world of pop would never be the same!

It took the two of them two years to ditch the cover-band gigs, and then they
immediately settled down to match Daniel's intricate instrumentals with
Darren's imaginative, deeply felt lyrics. After they laid down a few dozen
demo tracks, they picked five and sent a tape, under the name Bliss, around to
record executives. Lots of A&R people didn't even bother to respond [ha!!!
I'll bet they'll be kicking themselves for the rest of their lives!], but one,
Steve Woodruff [MISTAKE!! It's JOHN, not Steve!], finally did, and matched
them up with a producer to finesse their sound.  He wasn't the right producer,
but he knew someone who was: Charles Fisher. Finally, two years after taking
off on their own, Darren and Daniel officially became Savage Garden. Their
June 1996 single "I Want You" was a huge Australian hit. But it was with the
April 1997 Australian release of Savage Garden, the album, that they began a
ride other musicians only dream about! And as Darren told an interviewer, "So
far the ride has been amazing."

More copies of "I Want You" flew out of record stores in 1996 than any other
Australian song. Three singles from the first record - "I Want You", "To the
Moon and Back", and "Truly Madly Deeply" - shot to number one in Australia.
After busting out of the gate with 70,000 unit sales in its first three days,
Savage Garden has sold more than 4 million copies around the world and has
gone platinum in Australia, the U.S., New Zealand, Canada, and throughout
Indonesia. "I Want You" even beat out the Spice Girls' and Hanson's debuts for
the top spot in India! Darren and Dan set off on a major whirlwind tour of
Australia, visited and played in India, then hit the United Sates, playing
seven shows in Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Orlando, Florida;
Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles, California [I was there!
And I admit I cried my eyes out when I won the tickets!]. In 1997, these guys
spent three hundred days in hotel rooms!

In December, just six months after the album was released, they were featured
at the Jinglebell Concert in Madison Square Garden along with the Wallflowers,
Hanson, and Sarah McLachlan. They won a record ten ARIA Awards, Australia's
equivalent of the Grammys; no band there had ever done that! But although
Australia is the home of absolutely devoted, rabid music fans, it doesn't have
the population of the United States. "I Want You" reached only number four in
the U.S., "To the Moon and Back" hit number tne, and when New Year's Eve
rolled around, the fabulous "Truly Madly Deeply" was at number six. After
triumphing one hemisphere, were these sensitive sorts strong enough to take on
the biggest music market in the world?

After a quick Christmas break in Brisbane, Dan and Darren were on the road
again - but this time they planned a much different tour. They loved the
spectacle of major musical events such as U2's ZooTV and PopMart tours, so
they worked feverishly with production designers, choreographers, and some of
Australia's hippest fashion professionals to craft a wild, futuristic look for
their big two-and-a-half-month Australian tour beginning January 29, 1998 -
the Garden of Earthly Delites tour [another MISTAKE! It's FUTURE, not
Garden!]. (The title refers to a mind-blowing, surreal painting by fifteenth-
century Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. You can see a reproduction inside the
Savage Garden album.) But when Savage Garden had become such a big hit, the
boys realized that they'd been living with these songs for years. Their
constantly evolving thoughts and feelings made them want to explore other
nuances in their music. The two intellectual cuties wondered, "What would
other mixes do for these songs?" The result was The Future of Earthly Delites,
a remix album. That, too, was a smash with their fans. And the tour they had
built around that album was something else! It allowed them to really express
their incredibly imaginative vision, bringing together all kinds of pop-
culture references, wild costume changes, and futuristic artistic backdrops,
in addition to Japanese animation references, gothic imagery, scaffolding, and
a twenty-foot catwalk.

Just a few weeks before the tour started, Dan and Darren heard the news -
"Truly Madly Deeply" was number one in America! On that January 8 the boys
knew they had really conquered the world. Som erumored that Columbia, their
U.S. record company, was pushing them to tour the States instead of Australia,
in order to capitalize on their success, and of course, rake in the dollars.
Whatever happened, the Garden of Earthly Delites tour (excuse me - FUTURE of
Earthly Delites tour, lady!] went off as planned and was a smash in its native
Australia. Tickets for some shows sold out in three months in advance, unheard
of on a continent where there may be more kangaroos than people in some areas!

Within three weeks, the delicious duo were on their way to Japan for a four-
show gig, then on to Taipei, Taiwan; Kuala Lampur, Malaysia; Singapore; and
Bombay, India. With so many exotic places and images swirling through their
experience, it's no wonder their songs boast a lush, moody depth that few
other new bands match [gotta hand it to this lady, she makes a lot of
mistakes, but her descriptions of the music are perfect!]. Finally, in the
summer of 1998 they got to America, the land of major $$. Twenty-one of July's
thrity-one nights were spent onstage, and in August, fans in more than twenty
North American cities finally got the chance to see the Garden of Earthly
Delites tour in all its splendor (ahem - FUTURE of Earthly Delites, and no, it
was changed to the To the Moon and Back tour in America!]. It's a good thing
these Aussies seem to keep their stardom in perspective. Darren and Daniel
have told interviewers that they know the entertainment industry is fickle and
that they know they are mostly definitely not the figures onstage and in their
videos. Darren has said, "If this ride ends tomorrow, I would never regret
anything." Fans would sure regret all the music they'd miss, but fortunately,
there is no end in sight for these two musical hotties!

THE END!

Phew, there's more! These are little fact stuff thingies:

The 411 on the Brunette
Full name: Darren Hayes
Birth Date: May 8, 1972
Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Brisbane, Australia
Raised in: Logan City, Australia
Lives in: Brisbane, Australia [now New York City]
Height: 5'8"
Hair: Dark brown
Eyes: Blue
Siblings: One older brother; one older sister

The Blonde's Basics
Full name: Daniel Jones
Birth Date: July 22, 1973
Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Essex, England
Raised in: Logan City, Australia
Height: 5'8' 1/2 [that is SO wrong!! He's about 6'!!!]
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Green
Siblings: Two older brothers, Jonathan and Oliver

Savage Raves They Agree On:
Author: Anne Rice - they took their name from her Vampire Chronicles series
Color: Blue
Daniel thinks Darren is compulsive
Darren thinks he and Daniel need to loosen up

Savage Faves They Don't Agree On:
Darren's music: U2, Sarah McLachlan
Daniel's music: George Michael, Sheryl Crow
Darren's fave food: anything totally veggie, totally nonalcoholic
Daniel's fave food: Indonesian chicken satay
Darren's contribution: Vocals
Daniel's contribution: Keyboards, arrangements, guitar
Daniel dropped out of high school his junior year; Darren graduated [actually,
I heard he dropped out in 10th grade, but I have no idea if that works the
same way American schools do (ie - freshman, sophomore, junior, senior)].

Ok, there you have it!! The pic that's included is way back from the
Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards in March of '97. In fact, when I first saw it
I had to gush because it's a great pic and that's exactly what they looked
like when I saw them in concert for the first time :) How they've changed!

That's it for this week! A very Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans (even
though it's technically not Thanksgiving on the east coast anymore)!! Catch ya
next week!!

Peace, love, and Savage Garden!
Lauren ( <A HREF="mailto: [email protected]">[email protected]</A> )

~*~Visit the Savage Gardener on the web~*~
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/suede/263/