Daniel Paul Johns (born April 22, 1979) is an Australian vocalist, composer, guitarist, and pianist, best known as frontman of the rock band Silverchair.

Career

Growing up in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, he, Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou formed their band at the age of 12, originally named the Innocent Criminals.^[1][2]

The band's career began when they were just 14 years old, and signed to Murmur Records in 1994, after their demo "Tomorrow" won a competition by the SBS TV program Nomad, and was then picked up by radio network Triple J. Their first album release was Frogstomp, in 1995.

In mid to late 1997, during the Freak Show tour, Johns began to show the physical signs of his internal struggle with fame and clinical depression. He appeared thinner and thinner, and on advice from his therapist, moved out of the family home into a unit to try to take a break and recover from the stress of touring. However, for the first half of 1998, he spent little time outside the house, and became more and more withdrawn with his imposed seclusion having the opposite effect as was intended.

When the band's next album, Neon Ballroom, was released in early 1999, it was obvious to the public and the press that Johns was dangerously thin. After rumors that he was suffering from a drug addiction, Johns decided to clear the air and gave an interview with Rolling Stone Australia to finally explain that he had developed Anorexia Nervosa^[3]. At his thinnest, Johns claims that he weighed less than 50 kilos, or 110 pounds. He was praised for his honesty and thousands of young people were able to connect with his battle with self-esteem and their own body image issues. The magazine received the biggest response of its history. With Neon Ballroom came the acclaimed single "Ana's Song (Open Fire)" about Johns' battle and inner feelings struggling with the disease.

By 2002, Johns appeared to have recovered from his internal trauma and was ready for the release of what he regarded as his band's masterpiece, Diorama. However, just as the album was due for release Johns was struck down by a severe and rare case of reactive arthritis. His joints became inflamed and locked up, with any movement being painful, so that he could no longer play guitar or do everyday things. He spent most of 2002 unable to perform. It was feared that he may not be able to perform for years, if at all, as the disease takes many months to recover from, and sometimes returns after many years.

Still unable to play for extended periods, he performed again in October 2002 at the ARIA awards ceremony. The guitar line of "The Greatest View" had to be changed so Johns' hands would not lock up. His recovery proceeded apace, allowing Silverchair to perform an extended Australian, European and North American concert tour.

Johns announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend, actress, singer and model Natalie Imbruglia in late 2002, and they married on New Year's Eve 2003. Johns has also done the side projects The Dissociatives and "I Can't Believe It's Not Rock" with dance musician, Paul Mac. "I Can't Believe It's Not Rock" was a fun thing for Daniel Johns and Paul Mac, while The Dissociatives was a reasonably serious - and successful - project between the two. The Dissociatives album was recorded by Daniel Johns, who "[penned] the words and melodies", and Paul Mac, who was intricately involved musically, in London; "a few months later they regrouped in Sydney and Newcastle to finish it off". They toured with musicians Kim Moyes on drums, Julian Hamilton on keys, and James Haselwood on bass.

In late 2005 Johns and Silverchair joined up again and put rumors of a split to rest by announcing the production of a new album titled Young Modern. The new album was released on March 31, 2007, and was followed by the huge 'Across The Great Divide' tour with Powderfinger.

In July 2007, Johns unwittingly created a scandal after he revealed, on national youth station Triple J, that he had shared a joint with his wife Natalie Imbruglia, Australian Federal MP and ex Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett and Bono of U2 in November 2006, while listening to a demo tape of silverchair's new album Young Modern. Anna Wood's father Tony Wood suggested that Garrett submit to a drug test^[4], despite Garrett's assertions that he had not touched marijuana since his 20's and Johns countering the claim by claiming it was a joke. He also said that he thought it would be obvious that it was, seeing as both Peter Garret and Bono were publicly against drugs.^[5]

Equipment

In the early of Silverchair, Johns primarily used a Gibson Firebird, later switching to PRS Guitars, which were his primary instruments for recording promoting Freak Show. For Neon Ballroom and Diorama, his preference seemed to be Gibson Les Pauls and SG's, with the exception of a Rickenbacker twelve-string used for "The Greatest View". Since the Dissociatives, his main instrument has been a Fender Telecaster Deluxe, and it seems to be his main instrument today.

Johns' main amplifiers are made by Soldano, although he used to used Marshall JCM900 Dual Reverb amplifiers.

References

External Links

• Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
• Interview at animal-lib.org.au
• Official Silverchair website
• Interview at vegetarianteen.com

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