Categories > Celebrities > Savage Garden > The Fortress of Silence
The Fortress of Silence
Chapter Three – Part Two
Darren’s heart ached at the thought of their past. Those happy memories tarnished by the dust of time…no, not always happy. Not after the starred career of the band disillusioned Daniel and corrupted Darren himself.
*
‘Dan, it’s about time! Why don’t you just get prepared for the photo shoot?!’
Daniel looked lazily over his shoulder at Darren’s direction. ‘How many times have I told you I don’t want to go to that one?’
Darren groaned with frustration. ‘Complaints be complaints, Dan, but after all you have to come!’
‘Go on alone if those stupid artificial photos are want you want.’ Darren unfortunately took no notice of the danger sign Daniel’s icy tone was putting up.
‘But they are what we need, Daniel, it’s helpful for our career!’
‘I never protest that you go on alone.’
‘Daniel,’ Darren felt his temper firing up rather rapidly. ‘Aren’t you the other half of this Savage Goddamn Garden?’
The last bit of his unwise words did their job. A short deafening silence descended. Then –
BANG! Daniel threw the drumstick he was holding onto the drum kit with such force that Darren’s knees gave a violent shake. And he stood up so quickly that knocked his chair aside. ‘No, Darren Stanley Hayes, I’m telling you no! As long as you insist on those utmost boring activities then I’m quitting! What the hell about the photo shoot, does the band matter to you anymore? Does the music matter to you anymore? Do I matter to you anymore? What is it, “it’s helpful for our career”, if you don’t stop doing stupid meaningless things and begin concentrating on our music then we don’t have a blasted career! I’m all sick and tired of it and yeah, we’d better have it wrapped up! I’m quitting!’
With this he stormed out of the room leaving Darren shocked, rooted to the spot.
Half and hour later, Walter, their producer at that time, entered their recording room only to find a dumped looking Darren sitting in a corner of the room, sobbing his eyes out.
‘Goodness me, Darren, what happened to you two today?’ Walter gaped. ‘Look, aren’t you supposed to be at that photo shoot?’
Darren’s sobs grew louder. ‘Shit photo shoot! Where do photos come from when he’s quitting? It’s gonna be over!’
Walter handed him a stack of tissues. ‘Come on, Darren, you’re ruining your makeup. Who’s quitting? You don’t mean Dan? I saw him just minutes ago and it took me an awful lot of effort to drag him to the nearby clinic…’
‘Clinic?’ Darren managed to speak out through his whimpering.
‘What, don’t you know?’ Walter looked amazed. ‘A bad stomachache indeed, he couldn’t even stand up… and still so stubborn to be left alone…’
Darren leapt to his feet and nearly knocked Walter over.
‘What on earth are you going to do?’ Walter shouted at Darren’s back as he ran out of the room.
‘See him and apologize…’
‘Hey! Your eyes are damn bad swollen! You’d better wash your face now if you don’t want to scare him instead!’
But Darren had already vanished from view.
‘Whew,’ Walter sighed wryly to himself. ‘When are they going to behave like grown men?!’
*
That was better, Darren thought bitterly, a lot better than their last days. At least Daniel would fight with him and shout at him and would throw his drumstick to show he was angry. Darren just couldn’t stand his complete ignorance at last. Indifferent. Cold and detached. He stayed in Sydney while Darren went to America to promote the band. He ignored almost all the business of the band. They became so eerily polite on the phone that Darren began to wonder if they only just barely knew each other.
Everything showed that there would be not point hanging on.
*
But he wanted revenge. Darren wanted to make him pay, for all his carelessness towards his band and Darren himself. All the agony and anguish, all the silent screaming, the absence of the mutual understanding that never used to lack between them. Somewhere along the road they lost something and they both knew it. Falling apart was just a matter of time.
And finally Darren came up with an idea which he never knew would make him regret until five years later, even might proceed to last all his lifetime.
He planned it discreetly before flying back to Sydney without informing Walter or Daniel. An interview… and a rather important one, he muttered to himself as he sat on the chair, smiling, facing the reporter from Glamour TV.
‘Well, can you tell us how’s Savage Garden doing currently? Are you working on your third album?’ After some regular questions about life on the road and stuff, the reporter asked.
Precisely what I want. Darren took a short pause before turning calmly to the reporter again, a blank smile on his face.
‘No, actually… and we won’t anymore. There’s no more Savage Garden. Dissolved. And I am awfully certain that there will not be any chance to reform.’
For a moment the live room was completely silent except for the reporter’s own jagged breaths. The expression on his face quickly changed from genuine shock to gleeful that he got the first-hand news of the most successful band in the world.
‘Tell us about it, Darren! How do you plan your career after the breakup? Going solo?’ Pure excitement and hunger in his voice. Maybe Daniel had been right about them reporters. Never showing any mercy.
‘Yeah… I’ve got my solo contract with my manager Louisa, and the new single would be out in two months’ time. There’s only one thing I hope you to remember about the breakup – it’s actually Daniel’s idea.’
He was satisfied to see the shock playing all over the reporter’s face again. Mission accomplished. Job done. A half of his heart was laughing madly but the other half bleeding. Was this kind of ending he really wanted? Perhaps not, but he just wanted to scream out that he’d been left no choice.
And meanwhile Daniel was working in the studio with Walter constantly giving out ideas and suggestions.
‘You may add a few progress chords between the two bars,’ Walter pointed to the sheet launched on Daniel’s Roland Keyboard.
Daniel only hit the pause button and sighed heavily. ‘Stop. This isn’t right. Since when did I need so much assistance during just one single song? For God’s sake, how am I supposed to write it down when I don’t even know what we’re – he’s – I’m thinking about?’
Walter put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. ‘Dan, ease a bit, you’re just strained. Maybe I pushed you too hard. But have you two ever discussed the song? What is it about, I mean?’
Daniel stared at him blankly.
‘You’ve been way too isolated recently, mate, you really should call him – ’
His voice was interrupted by the shrieking of the telephone.
‘Excuse me,’ Daniel, who was already searching for a chance to leave, stood up immediately to take the phone.
‘Daniel Jones,’ he stated.
‘Danny, it’s your father.’ The sound of Mr. Jones reached him as almost a whisper of insecurity and anxiety.
‘Yeah Dad, everything OK at home? How’re you and mum doing?’
‘Don’t worry about us, Danny, I just… want to know what exactly happened, if you don’t mind.’
Daniel felt perplexed. He quickly skimmed through his past few days in his brain. Nothing peculiar happened. ‘I don’t mind what, Dad?’
‘You don’t need to keep it from me, son, I know there has to be a reason which Darren wouldn’t let the public know…’
‘Let the public know?’ Daniel repeated in more than a little confusion and suspicion. An ominous feeling started to grab hold of him. ‘I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about, Dad.’
He could hear his father’s sharp intake of breath between the small gaps of silence in their conversation.
‘Are you telling me you don’t even know about it? That Daz did it himself without even discussing with you?’
Of course Daniel had sensed the danger. There was just too much undone when it came to Darren. ‘I have completely no idea, Dad. I haven’t heard from him for a long time after the tour. I only know perhaps I… was kinda distant towards him recently and it might be a minor disturbance…’
‘Minor disturbance?’ Mr. Jones splattered. ‘That’s an underestimate, son. I was going to ask you for the reason you broke up your band, because Daz is in Sydney saying so and declaring it’s your idea. The news is all over the TV and radio and newspapers and magazines. And here you’re telling me you don’t know about it!’
‘He WHAT?’ Daniel bellowed through the phone line, and Mr. Jones wisely chose not to reply.
A stormy silence followed and as the seconds ticked away, the tension built to wait for the final spark to ignite it. This was getting all too much.
‘Danny, are you all right?’
Mr. Jones began to feel worried.
‘Yeah, I guess,’ finally there came Daniel’s feeble voice.
‘Is there something unpleasant going on between Darren and you? Did you fight or – ’
‘That’s enough – I mean, it’s OK father, I will handle it myself. Please don’t worry about me.’
‘Are you sure, son? Do you need me to be there?’
‘I’ll be quite alright, Father. After all it is still my band. And never does hiding from a problem mean you didn’t see it.’
‘Fine, then, everything goes well for you… Drop a call to us whenever you need support. You’d better come home for a long vacation after all this mess.’ Mr. Jones’ voice was deep, calm and reassuring.
‘I will, father. Say hi to Mom, Demelz and Seb for me.’
He hung up the phone slowly, feeling a piercing pain rising from the depth of his heart. Tears spilt over the eyelashes and threatened to fall.
‘Don’t you want to do something about it?’ Walter had been standing behind him without him realizing it.
Daniel tried to stifle the strong will to break into tears.
‘Leave it that way,’
Walter walked up to hug him. ‘It isn’t how you want it.’
‘Hanging on the spot isn’t what I wanted, either.’ Daniel hugged back. ‘You always know that, Walt… Can’t you feel that Darren has changed a lot along this road? Staying away from him doesn’t mean I don’t care about him anymore. I’m just so unfamiliar with him now. I lost track of our time, when there were only us… maybe we’ve just lost sight of what is important, what initially attracted us together… it’s like losing a life. I don’t want to hang on, but letting go is just equally hard...’
‘I know, I understand,’ Walter replied quietly, ‘but he’s been telling public it’s your idea. Do you want to clarify this?’
‘There’s no need. Maybe it is my idea.’
‘I know it isn’t yours, Dan,’
Daniel sighed. ‘Walt, isn’t this obvious? It is revenge. He wanted to make me feel painful and guilty for the rest of my life. Yeah, perhaps it worked. It will do.’
*
Darren got to know all this when afterwards he worked with Walter. Walter also told him how much it actually hurt Daniel, though he never proposed to make it back. He was once spotted by Walter on a late night underground train when it was raining downpour, wet from head to toe, when Walter finally figured out that everything went much deeper than he thought they did. At least for Daniel it seemed so.
It’s like losing a life.
Later that year Daniel moved back to his home in Brisbane and then established Studio Seven. Maybe this was his way to start another life. And so Walter rarely had close contacts with him since then.
And that was when Darren discovered that his revenge seemed to have ironically worked on himself as well.
Chapter Three – Part Two
Darren’s heart ached at the thought of their past. Those happy memories tarnished by the dust of time…no, not always happy. Not after the starred career of the band disillusioned Daniel and corrupted Darren himself.
*
‘Dan, it’s about time! Why don’t you just get prepared for the photo shoot?!’
Daniel looked lazily over his shoulder at Darren’s direction. ‘How many times have I told you I don’t want to go to that one?’
Darren groaned with frustration. ‘Complaints be complaints, Dan, but after all you have to come!’
‘Go on alone if those stupid artificial photos are want you want.’ Darren unfortunately took no notice of the danger sign Daniel’s icy tone was putting up.
‘But they are what we need, Daniel, it’s helpful for our career!’
‘I never protest that you go on alone.’
‘Daniel,’ Darren felt his temper firing up rather rapidly. ‘Aren’t you the other half of this Savage Goddamn Garden?’
The last bit of his unwise words did their job. A short deafening silence descended. Then –
BANG! Daniel threw the drumstick he was holding onto the drum kit with such force that Darren’s knees gave a violent shake. And he stood up so quickly that knocked his chair aside. ‘No, Darren Stanley Hayes, I’m telling you no! As long as you insist on those utmost boring activities then I’m quitting! What the hell about the photo shoot, does the band matter to you anymore? Does the music matter to you anymore? Do I matter to you anymore? What is it, “it’s helpful for our career”, if you don’t stop doing stupid meaningless things and begin concentrating on our music then we don’t have a blasted career! I’m all sick and tired of it and yeah, we’d better have it wrapped up! I’m quitting!’
With this he stormed out of the room leaving Darren shocked, rooted to the spot.
Half and hour later, Walter, their producer at that time, entered their recording room only to find a dumped looking Darren sitting in a corner of the room, sobbing his eyes out.
‘Goodness me, Darren, what happened to you two today?’ Walter gaped. ‘Look, aren’t you supposed to be at that photo shoot?’
Darren’s sobs grew louder. ‘Shit photo shoot! Where do photos come from when he’s quitting? It’s gonna be over!’
Walter handed him a stack of tissues. ‘Come on, Darren, you’re ruining your makeup. Who’s quitting? You don’t mean Dan? I saw him just minutes ago and it took me an awful lot of effort to drag him to the nearby clinic…’
‘Clinic?’ Darren managed to speak out through his whimpering.
‘What, don’t you know?’ Walter looked amazed. ‘A bad stomachache indeed, he couldn’t even stand up… and still so stubborn to be left alone…’
Darren leapt to his feet and nearly knocked Walter over.
‘What on earth are you going to do?’ Walter shouted at Darren’s back as he ran out of the room.
‘See him and apologize…’
‘Hey! Your eyes are damn bad swollen! You’d better wash your face now if you don’t want to scare him instead!’
But Darren had already vanished from view.
‘Whew,’ Walter sighed wryly to himself. ‘When are they going to behave like grown men?!’
*
That was better, Darren thought bitterly, a lot better than their last days. At least Daniel would fight with him and shout at him and would throw his drumstick to show he was angry. Darren just couldn’t stand his complete ignorance at last. Indifferent. Cold and detached. He stayed in Sydney while Darren went to America to promote the band. He ignored almost all the business of the band. They became so eerily polite on the phone that Darren began to wonder if they only just barely knew each other.
Everything showed that there would be not point hanging on.
*
But he wanted revenge. Darren wanted to make him pay, for all his carelessness towards his band and Darren himself. All the agony and anguish, all the silent screaming, the absence of the mutual understanding that never used to lack between them. Somewhere along the road they lost something and they both knew it. Falling apart was just a matter of time.
And finally Darren came up with an idea which he never knew would make him regret until five years later, even might proceed to last all his lifetime.
He planned it discreetly before flying back to Sydney without informing Walter or Daniel. An interview… and a rather important one, he muttered to himself as he sat on the chair, smiling, facing the reporter from Glamour TV.
‘Well, can you tell us how’s Savage Garden doing currently? Are you working on your third album?’ After some regular questions about life on the road and stuff, the reporter asked.
Precisely what I want. Darren took a short pause before turning calmly to the reporter again, a blank smile on his face.
‘No, actually… and we won’t anymore. There’s no more Savage Garden. Dissolved. And I am awfully certain that there will not be any chance to reform.’
For a moment the live room was completely silent except for the reporter’s own jagged breaths. The expression on his face quickly changed from genuine shock to gleeful that he got the first-hand news of the most successful band in the world.
‘Tell us about it, Darren! How do you plan your career after the breakup? Going solo?’ Pure excitement and hunger in his voice. Maybe Daniel had been right about them reporters. Never showing any mercy.
‘Yeah… I’ve got my solo contract with my manager Louisa, and the new single would be out in two months’ time. There’s only one thing I hope you to remember about the breakup – it’s actually Daniel’s idea.’
He was satisfied to see the shock playing all over the reporter’s face again. Mission accomplished. Job done. A half of his heart was laughing madly but the other half bleeding. Was this kind of ending he really wanted? Perhaps not, but he just wanted to scream out that he’d been left no choice.
And meanwhile Daniel was working in the studio with Walter constantly giving out ideas and suggestions.
‘You may add a few progress chords between the two bars,’ Walter pointed to the sheet launched on Daniel’s Roland Keyboard.
Daniel only hit the pause button and sighed heavily. ‘Stop. This isn’t right. Since when did I need so much assistance during just one single song? For God’s sake, how am I supposed to write it down when I don’t even know what we’re – he’s – I’m thinking about?’
Walter put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. ‘Dan, ease a bit, you’re just strained. Maybe I pushed you too hard. But have you two ever discussed the song? What is it about, I mean?’
Daniel stared at him blankly.
‘You’ve been way too isolated recently, mate, you really should call him – ’
His voice was interrupted by the shrieking of the telephone.
‘Excuse me,’ Daniel, who was already searching for a chance to leave, stood up immediately to take the phone.
‘Daniel Jones,’ he stated.
‘Danny, it’s your father.’ The sound of Mr. Jones reached him as almost a whisper of insecurity and anxiety.
‘Yeah Dad, everything OK at home? How’re you and mum doing?’
‘Don’t worry about us, Danny, I just… want to know what exactly happened, if you don’t mind.’
Daniel felt perplexed. He quickly skimmed through his past few days in his brain. Nothing peculiar happened. ‘I don’t mind what, Dad?’
‘You don’t need to keep it from me, son, I know there has to be a reason which Darren wouldn’t let the public know…’
‘Let the public know?’ Daniel repeated in more than a little confusion and suspicion. An ominous feeling started to grab hold of him. ‘I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about, Dad.’
He could hear his father’s sharp intake of breath between the small gaps of silence in their conversation.
‘Are you telling me you don’t even know about it? That Daz did it himself without even discussing with you?’
Of course Daniel had sensed the danger. There was just too much undone when it came to Darren. ‘I have completely no idea, Dad. I haven’t heard from him for a long time after the tour. I only know perhaps I… was kinda distant towards him recently and it might be a minor disturbance…’
‘Minor disturbance?’ Mr. Jones splattered. ‘That’s an underestimate, son. I was going to ask you for the reason you broke up your band, because Daz is in Sydney saying so and declaring it’s your idea. The news is all over the TV and radio and newspapers and magazines. And here you’re telling me you don’t know about it!’
‘He WHAT?’ Daniel bellowed through the phone line, and Mr. Jones wisely chose not to reply.
A stormy silence followed and as the seconds ticked away, the tension built to wait for the final spark to ignite it. This was getting all too much.
‘Danny, are you all right?’
Mr. Jones began to feel worried.
‘Yeah, I guess,’ finally there came Daniel’s feeble voice.
‘Is there something unpleasant going on between Darren and you? Did you fight or – ’
‘That’s enough – I mean, it’s OK father, I will handle it myself. Please don’t worry about me.’
‘Are you sure, son? Do you need me to be there?’
‘I’ll be quite alright, Father. After all it is still my band. And never does hiding from a problem mean you didn’t see it.’
‘Fine, then, everything goes well for you… Drop a call to us whenever you need support. You’d better come home for a long vacation after all this mess.’ Mr. Jones’ voice was deep, calm and reassuring.
‘I will, father. Say hi to Mom, Demelz and Seb for me.’
He hung up the phone slowly, feeling a piercing pain rising from the depth of his heart. Tears spilt over the eyelashes and threatened to fall.
‘Don’t you want to do something about it?’ Walter had been standing behind him without him realizing it.
Daniel tried to stifle the strong will to break into tears.
‘Leave it that way,’
Walter walked up to hug him. ‘It isn’t how you want it.’
‘Hanging on the spot isn’t what I wanted, either.’ Daniel hugged back. ‘You always know that, Walt… Can’t you feel that Darren has changed a lot along this road? Staying away from him doesn’t mean I don’t care about him anymore. I’m just so unfamiliar with him now. I lost track of our time, when there were only us… maybe we’ve just lost sight of what is important, what initially attracted us together… it’s like losing a life. I don’t want to hang on, but letting go is just equally hard...’
‘I know, I understand,’ Walter replied quietly, ‘but he’s been telling public it’s your idea. Do you want to clarify this?’
‘There’s no need. Maybe it is my idea.’
‘I know it isn’t yours, Dan,’
Daniel sighed. ‘Walt, isn’t this obvious? It is revenge. He wanted to make me feel painful and guilty for the rest of my life. Yeah, perhaps it worked. It will do.’
*
Darren got to know all this when afterwards he worked with Walter. Walter also told him how much it actually hurt Daniel, though he never proposed to make it back. He was once spotted by Walter on a late night underground train when it was raining downpour, wet from head to toe, when Walter finally figured out that everything went much deeper than he thought they did. At least for Daniel it seemed so.
It’s like losing a life.
Later that year Daniel moved back to his home in Brisbane and then established Studio Seven. Maybe this was his way to start another life. And so Walter rarely had close contacts with him since then.
And that was when Darren discovered that his revenge seemed to have ironically worked on himself as well.
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