Soulful Savage

Aussies take stardom with a grain of salt

James "Lance" Bass likes to live dangerously.   Since the release of their debut CD last year, Savage Garden have gone from young pop hopefuls to fully fledged members of the international pop superstars' association.

After four hit singles and more than four million in album sales in the U.S. alone, the Australian duo of Darren Hayes (singer-lyricist) and keyboarding and sequencing mastermind Daniel Jones should be more arrogant than they come across.

Calling during a stopover in New York, Hayes is even downright apologetic for phoning a few minutes late and then having to answer a cell phone a few minutes into the interview.

His down-to-earth attitude may have something to do with his philosophical view on fame and fortune.

"The fame for me is just part of my job -- it's not who I am," says Hayes, who brings Savage Garden to the Max Bell Centre July 3.

"I know that I don't look like my videos or I don't look like my promo shots -- that's all costume, it's all fake.

"None of it makes me a better person, just a more recognizable person.

"And I always think this could end just as quickly as it began ... I could be pumping gas tomorrow.

"So now that I have power, I actually try and be more unassuming.

"What you give is what you get back."

Hayes admits he enjoys the spotlight, but says Jones is rather uncomfortable with all the attention the band has been receiving.

"It's harder for Daniel -- I don't think he's comfortable with it at all. As a reaction, he's shied away from it.

"I feel like I'm right in the middle of it and I don't really know how much it's changed me because I'm older or how much of it is because of the business."

Although he considers himself "blessed," Hayes says he is taken aback by the way some members of the Australian press have stalked his friends and family and the vicious gossip that seems to follow any successful artist.

"In the end, I can't complain. I've been to India and seen incredible poverty; I'm in New York at the moment and I see homeless people everywhere.

"I wake up every day and thank God for what I've got."

While on the subject of the next album, Hayes says his songwriting will be more emotional and a bit darker, focusing more on relationships than his experiences in the music industry.

"I would never really write an album based on my reaction to the entertainment industry," he says.

"I think it will be more about the fact that I'm 26 and my whole life has completely changed for good or for bad.

"I've learned a lot about myself, the people around me and the world," says Hayes.

"I think that's what the record will be about rather than, 'Gee, I don't have any free time any more.' "