Daniel Johns has confirmed that there is no possibility of Silverchair ever reforming.
Silverchair announced their indefinite hiatus in 2011. “If the band stops being fun and if it’s no longer fulfilling creatively, then we need to stop,” the band wrote in a statement at the time. As Johns would have it, that indefinite hiatus is erring more towards definite.
During a recent interview with Carrie Bickmore on The Project, Johns addressed the possibility of a Silverchair reunion, which he previously said wouldn’t happen for “a million bucks or if someone had a gun to his head” – contradicting statements from drummer Ben Gillies and bassist Chris Joannou that the band is just on a break.
“I was firm that Silverchair were not getting back together and one of the other members kept saying ‘No, we’re just on a break and we’ll be back’,” Johns told The Project.
“And I was like, ‘This is really starting to really affect my mental health because I’m saying that’s it. And every time I tried to tell the truth, someone told a lie’. So I said, ‘I wouldn’t get Silverchair back together with a gun to my head or a million bucks.’ Maybe that was too harsh in hindsight.”
Johns went on to claim that he will likely never perform live again, irrespective of having new music on the way. “I honestly don’t think you ever will,” he said. “There’s so much music coming and I’m really proud of it. You don’t need to see it live – just listen.”
Formed in Newcastle in 1992, Silverchair struck fame in 1995 with the release of their debut album, Frogstomp. The record turned the band into a cultural force, and Johns, who was sixteen at the time, struggled to cope with the pressures of fame.
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During the interview, Bickmore asked Johns whether his relationship with Silverchair is “tricky.”
“It’s a very accurate appraisal,” Johns mused. “It’s not that I’m not proud of the work, I’m actually really proud of the work. It’s just that it’s emotionally triggering for me; it still kind of burns.” You can watch the interview below.
Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns opens up to Carrie about his complicated feelings towards the band and why we’ll probably never see him perform live again.
The first episode of Spotify’s ‘Who Is Daniel Johns?’ is out today.#TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/asr5SHXtQs— The Project (@theprojecttv) October 20, 2021
The interview comes on the heels of news Johns has teamed up with Spotify for a new original podcast, Who is Daniel Johns?
The podcast promises a deep dive into the life and career of “one of the most successful, controversial and mysterious artists in Australian music history”.
With five episodes set for release, Johns will engage in one-on-one conversations with key figures, collaborators, and luminaries in his life, including former wife Natalie Imbruglia, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Tom DeLonge of Blink-182, and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.
“I’m happy to do it because I think it’s a good vessel to release art,” Johns says of the podcast. “Above all things, I just want to make art, and I would really love for people to hear it. And the only way to get people to hear my art is through vessels like this because I don’t want to perform on stage.” Listen to the first episode below.
