The Magic Show

11/29/1999 4:00 AM, LAUNCH
David John Farinella

As Savage Garden's Darren Hayes sits in a San Rafael, Calif. recording studio listening to a mix of "Crash And Burn" from the band's current offering, Affirmation, producer Walter Afanasieff and mixer Dave Way are thinking of new things to add to the song. They run some ideas by the singer, and after he agrees, he says, "I don't want to be backstage at the show, I just want to see the magic." Then he laughs.

Truth be told, this is not the first time the Savage Garden team of Hayes and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Jones have made magic. Their smash-hit 1997 self-titled debut sold 11 million copies around the globe behind the singles "I Want You," "To The Moon And Back," and "Truly Madly Deeply."

While their debut was, as Hayes explains it, naive, this album is brutally honest. "It's a very indulgent record, lyrically. I was a little concerned halfway through the process because it wasn't a very happy record," he explains. "It is now, when I listen to it all. In about 70% of [the album] there's a sense of melancholy or sadness, but it's not hopelessness."

Indeed, tracks like "Hold Me," "Gunning Down Romance," and "The Best Thing" detail some very personal episodes in Hayes's life. "I went through some relationship stuff and I really wanted to talk about that," he says. "I wanted this to be an album about relationships, and not so innocent. The last record was very naive because that's how I was; I was a young kid and I was really naive about the world and about the industry."

That all changed when Hayes moved to New York in 1998, while Jones stayed in their hometown of Brisbane, Australia. Rather than pulling the duo apart, the move has seemed to cement their partnership, mainly because each knows his place in Savage Garden: Jones is the musician, Hayes the face. With a laugh, Hayes explains that being in the limelight does a lot for him. "It's a way for a 10-year-old kid to feel popular," he says. "Just invent this career and suddenly the nerdiest kid in school is a pop star. It's completely ironic to me, because I never have been stopped on the street, so I never take any of that seriously. I'm like, 'You recognize me? You don't necessarily find me attractive, but you recognize me?'

"But really it's beautiful and kind of tragic that it's the most happy I am in my life," he continues. "When I'm singing or making music or performing, it's almost like the status quo. It's a bit of a curse because nothing out there can compare to that feeling and it's a little bit like a drug."

That said, Hayes realizes he's not performing in a vacuum. "I feel a responsibility because we're preaching to young kids and you're dealing with self-esteem," he explains. "I didn't want to think too much about social consciousness--I mean, we're not a political band--but you're dealing with impressionable people and I wanted to say, 'Look, this is really indulgent of me because I got this stuff out, but I also got through it. The way I deal with life is through music, not through violence or taking drugs.'"

Though Hayes's lyrics are emotionally honest, he sees Savage Garden's music as decidedly angst-free. "We really do provide five minutes of peace in an otherwise chaotic world," he says with a smile. "I think music is wonderful because it can be your heroin or your morphine. It can be a release or a way for you to relate to something."