PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 04, 1998
BY NICK KREWEN
DANIEL JONES sounds a little miffed when you mention his band SAVAGE GARDEN in the same breath as HANSON, BACKSTREET BOYS and 'NSYNC.
For one thing, the Australian duo of Jones, 24, and his songwriter partner DARREN HAYES, 26, aren't the adolescent heartthrob pin-ups that many dreamy-eyed teens have portrayed them to be.
But the ear-popping success of such sugary sweet hits as "I Want You", "Truly Madly Deeply" and "To The Moon And Back" have cast a spotlight on Jones and Hayes' handsome mugs, scattering their pictures in a plethora of teen magazines.
Such is the price of fame.
"When `I Want You' first came out in Australia, it was probably the poppiest la-de-da type of song around," Jones said last Thursday following a Tampa soundcheck. Savage Garden plays the Molson Amphitheatre Wednesday (tomorrow).
"We got a lot of comparisons to ROXETTE, and I turned around to the head of the record company and said, `What's the story with all the young kids? It's not that pop!' I was amazed that 13-year-old girls were listening to it.
"It was hard for me at first because I thought the album had a little more substance."
Then the song "To The Moon And Back" hit the charts.
"All of a sudden our audience got a little bit older," says Jones. "Then `Truly Madly' came out, and our audience sometimes got too old! I turned around to the company head and said, `I don't want 50-year-old people coming to our concerts! My Mom's going to like it.'
"I guess we're playing music that generations want to hear, and I take it as a compliment."
Much to Jones' chagrin, moms, daughters and even your neighbour's cat probably like the music of Savage Garden, as eight million copies of their self-titled album attest. Six hundred thousand of those fans have scooped up the band's debut album in Canada alone, and Jones says the sudden swoon of success can be headspinning.
"It's a bit daunting at times, but we've been very fortunate from the word 'go,'" says Jones, whose band will be augmented by five additional musicians tomorrow night in Toronto.
"Every thing has been happening so incredibly fast, which can be a bad thing. But while it's here, you have to say it's a good thing. We now have an expectation that's relatively high. We have to follow up where we've come from, and that task in front of us is going to be fairly difficult.
"At the same time, I wouldn't say we want less success."
Jones says he has no inkling as to why Savage Garden has succeeded where others have failed.
"I think about it a lot, and I don't really know why. You can't just put your finger on what it is about yourself that gives you the chance to make it and not any other band.
"I guess it's just a return to melody. After the grunge movement happened in Australia, we came out with pop songs. I guess people had gotten all they wanted from grunge, and we were just lucky enough to be in the right place in the right time."
Formed in 1993 after the duo split from a Brisbane cover band called RED EDGE, Savage Garden's popularity spread like wildfire shortly after the release of "I Want You". After "To The Moon And Back" created another pop tsunami, an international contract was offered.
Although Jones gives credit to his partner and their incredible chemistry as a reason for success, he doesn't discount producer CHARLES FISCHER's role.
"We call him `The Song Doctor,'" muses Jones. "He was like a plastic surgeon. He would cut and edit until it was all fixed up. He was also great with the big picture. He could hear the end result, and he made a lot of right choices."
The next choice Jones has to make is where to go for vacation. Savage Garden's extended world tour wraps in September, and the keyboardist feels it's time for another type of R&R -- rest and relaxation.
"I think I'm going to hit the Australian beach and do some surfing," says Jones, adding that the band will return to the studio in October if he has anything to say about it.
"There are a few waves I have to catch up with. Then we'll dream it all up again."
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DISCOGRAPHY
1997 -- Savage Garden -- Sony
1999 -- Affirmation
COLLABORATIONS
1999 -- Various Artists, The Other Sister
1999 -- Various Artists with Rosie O' Donnell, A Rosie Christmas (Darren Hayes)
THANKS: LORRAINE QUARTARO, BOB HUTTON
©1998, 1999 Nick Krewen, Octopus Media Ink