Silverchair’s Daniel Johns May Never Perform Live Again, Band Won’t Reunite
Silverchair went on indefinite hiatus in 2011, a move that allowed singer Daniel Johns to take a step back from the stress of the band and being in the public eye, and in a new interview with The Project's Carrie Bickmore (as seen below) on Australian TV, it doesn't sound like the musician is interested in returning to playing live again.
Johns has openly discussed the toll that the pressures of the band took on his mental health, explaining that the 2011 decision to go on hiatus while they were still releasing well-received material was a brave step to take. "I consider it a pretty brave move cause I gave up millions and there were possibilities endlessly just to be internally happy," he explained, later adding, "It's good to feel [as I do now], but it took me years and years and years of really heavy, heavy therapy and if I didn't do that work, I don't think I'd be here."
While there's always speculation about a potential reunion of Silverchair, Johns attempted to lay those questions to rest previously stating that he would never reunite with the band “for a million bucks or if someone had a gun to his head."
The singer says of that statement, “I was firm that Silverchair were not getting back together but one of the other members kept saying ‘No, we’re just on a break and we’ll be back.’ 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."
Agreeing that his relationship with Silverchair is "tricky," the musician offered, “It’s a very accurate appraisal. 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.”
Johns is currently re-entering the public eye of sorts with a new Spotify podcast called Who Is Daniel Johns? in which he interviews some fellow musicians and famous friends, but don't expect him to return to the concert stage anytime soon.
While he does still work on music, the singer told Bickmore, "I honestly don't think you ever will [see me perform live again]. There’s so much music coming and I’m really proud of it. You don’t need to see it live – just listen.”
See more of the chat below, and check out the Who Is Daniel Johns? podcast here.