Darren Hayes Interview
WBLI 106.1 interview transcript
Long Island, New York
January 28, 2002

To hear the audio of the interview, WLBI has it up on their website: http://wbli.com/about_us/darrenhayes.html

A huge thank you to Caroline (Skylark on the bbs) for typing up this transcript and letting me share it with you!

Part 1:

Darren Hayes: Thanks for having me

Reno: Long Island loves ya by the way, some people have been talking about you coming here.

Darren Hayes: I love the accent.

Reno: Well we thought you had the accent (laughs)

Reno: So Spin is your new one huh?

Darren Hayes: New album comes out March 19th

Reno: Aw that's great. Do you still keep in touch with your counterparts over with Savage Garden or?

Darren Hayes: Sometimes, I mean its weird, because, you know, we worked together for so long, like it was 8 years of, really collaborating together and err…it was pretty intense, he's producing records now, at the moment and erm I'm sort of doing this so.

Reno: At least you guys are still in the same business right?

Darren Hayes: Yeah exactly

Reno: You didn't become plumbers after you'd done.

Darren Hayes: Right! Or work at Starbucks, but we'll see what happens.

Reno: Was everybody in your entourage, when you were with savage Garden, originally from Australia, or was there just a variety?

Darren Hayes: Yeah, Well the band was just Daniel and I, basically, we had a touring band of about 8 people and erm… you know on the first album everyone was Australian, and erm… the second album erm… we had a couple of different Americans, but now I live in America, I've been here for 4 years, but I continue to surround myself by Australians

Reno: I'm hearing that there are no instruments on this, there maybe a couple of air guitars here and there?

Darren Hayes: Actually you know its funny, there's guitars, there's an entire orchestra on many songs, but it is quite a keyboard record. You know its erm…Its, its kind a funky, I mean its still romantic. I think I'm famous for writing love songs and there are quite a few of them on the record. But its just a little bit more current, I think, this record, than what I've done before so…

Reno: Right, well its funny that you mentioned the romantic part, cos I was listening to your song on the way home the other day, actually over and over, it was just like track 1, track, 2, kept revolving it… and I was like, my god this is a GREAT song, and a lot of women like these types of songs. For instance this Maxwell song, now, mind you he's on your label as well?

Darren Hayes: Yeah he is, right.

Reno: Sony Music, Julie, who's the lovely lady who brought you here today…Hi JULIE! Er any case, now frankly, I personally, cos I'm a guy, I don't get this song only because you know its sort of…

Darren Hayes: Right

Reno: But I get sooo many calls for this song and we keep playing it because people keep demanding the song,

Darren Hayes: Right

Reno: I listen to your song …and I'm saying to myself….

Darren Hayes: (interrupts)…I don't get it!!!

Reno: No! But that's the thing I DO get it, but I think the women will love it.

Darren Hayes: Well that's cool, you know, I mean, I think anything that makes people, you know, love each other, is a good thing and maybe that's what my songs do.

Reno: Well, I'm gonna play, if you don't mind, me going back just a little bit, I'm gonna play the acoustic version we have of you doing IKILY

Darren Hayes: wow

Reno: with Savage garden here on BLI….

Part 2

Reno: Former member of Savage Garden, Darren Hayes…welcome…again

Darren Hayes: Its great to be here

Reno: And Spins your new cd's coming out in stores in a few weeks or so, January, so its coming out in a couple of months.

Darren Hayes: Right

Reno: What's different on your solo work from your work with your counterparts with Savage Garden?

Darren Hayes: What's different?…erm well I wrote like 40 songs for this album, you know and I co-produced it with Walter A, it took about a year to make it. Its probably, erm..I think it's just a natural progression. You know...It's hard for me to say because, you know, I'm so close to it. But, you know, I thinks its probably a little bit …Its more up actually than the last album I did. It's a very romantic record, its very sexy. Its just probably a little bit more electronic. It has a soul and R n B flavour to it which my previous stuff never did, but it reminds me of the stuff I grew up listening to, which was Stevie Wonder, you know, Micheal Jackson, that kind of thing so…It kinda has a blue eyed soul to it.

Reno: You're new song insatiable, as you mentioned earlier, the romance part of it, its certainly romantic, insatiable. Is there anyone in particular that you're writing about, or is it something that's just a feeling that you have, just in general?

Darren Hayes: In general, I live on this planet that I don't think anyone else lives on, I have my own zip code up in the clouds and I am very idealistic and romantic. When I wrote that particular song, it wasn't about anyone, but when I sing it, I think about someone. I mean I'm always falling in love. But erm…I don't know…I kind of…I mean for me whether I'm in a relationship or not, I always kind of erm…you know, I kind of paint the world in pretty bright colours when I write music. I think that's what my job is in so many ways. I think after Sept 11th last year, I think that it made me feel really great about how music has the ability to come and pick you up, you know and take you somewhere else You know this record is erm…yeah it is very romantic Its an album about relationships essentially and its an album about the best year of my life. I was in San Francisco recording this album and erm…you know really enjoying the stage that I'm at in my life and feeling comfortable and happy. But there's a song on the album called Spin, which is talking about the problems in the world and I actually wrote it before Sept 11th, but it does mention terrorism and you know, aids and disease and you know, the things that the world faces and talking about how music has the power to maybe heal and make you unite and forget about these things.

Reno: Darren how cool is it for you to be able to have a feeling, like most people do, an opinion about something, but to be able to sit down at a desk, or just on a couch, or wherever it is you write this stuff…on a boat or… I don't know

Darren Hayes: On my jet….not! I: While your making love to a lovely young person...erm, (laughs) but what I'm saying is, it seems like you're just being so honest.

Darren Hayes: Yeah, I means sometimes I get criticised for that, because I'm so earnest and sometimes people think, is he for real, is he sincere…. But yeah, I am that person, I think that I have the ability to really describe how I'm feeling and like I said, sometimes that can be a curse, but sometimes its something that people really respond to. I know from my point of view that's why I buy records. If I think an artist erm….is saying something that I can relate to, then I really get into it, and that's what I do.

Reno: Lets play the new single, Insatiable. Is this you playing guitar by the way?

Darren Hayes: No it's Walter Afanasieff

Reno: Aw its fantastic, its why I love it!…on BLI.

Part 3

Darren Hayes: Thank you.

Reno: A little different than your Savage garden stuff. Just a little bit….

Darren Hayes: A bit smoother

Reno: Yeah, its got that little smooth action going on there, more relaxing.

Darren Hayes: Its funny, cos that track is erm…its interesting, its probably the closest to what I've done with Savage Garden on the record. I mean there's another couple of ballads on the album as well which erm…to be honest, I write them in my sleep, I love, love songs and I could write them forever and ever

Reno: You wake up in the middle of the night and think, I gotta write these down…..

Darren Hayes: That really happens actually. Sometimes I have to call,…erm I don't have a tape recorder like most songwriters would, so sometimes I call myself and leave voice mail messages with these…

Reno: Sounds a great Idea

Darren Hayes: with these bad melodies on there.

Reno: Great Idea. Just before I wrap this up, you say you wanna do this until you can't walk anymore. How hard is it, do you think, to achieve that goal do you think. I mean a lot of people do it, a lot of people don't?

Darren Hayes: Erm…you know…I think if I hadn't have gotten a record deal, I would probably be still trying. A lot of younger people say to me, what would you recommend, what are your tips for being in the business, and I was eighteen when I started, I'm 29 now, so I'm not an old seasoned professional you know, but I've been doing it for a little while…

Reno: But you're certainly not a little kid

Darren Hayes: But I think you have to want to do it more than any thing. You know, I know I ate, slept and breathed music constantly, you know it was all I cared about and all I wanted to do. It is my favourite thing in the world, so its not even a job to me. So erm…if that's how you feel, then maybe you should do it!

Reno: I hope you do this job until you can't walk anymore

Darren Hayes: Thank you. I hope I don't get hit by a bus though! (laughs) I hope I just get old and can't walk any more. But thank you for saying that.

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