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Hi Everyone, I'm going to start out today's update with a multiple choice quiz for you all.. it's called... 'THE, HAVE A GUESS WHERE DARREN AND LEONIE ARE TODAY QUIZ'. Let's see how you go with this one! Are we: A) Lying on a tropical island, eating fresh mangoes, swimming in the deep blue ocean, basking in the sun, whilst all the while looking incredibly thin and tanned and laughing like there is no tomorrow at each other because, let's face it, somebody has to! or B) Shopping in Paris .... where the staff at Chanel are showering me with free clothes because, of course they are avid fans of the Savage Garden website and they instinctively know that to dress me would be an incredible savvy marketing move. After all, with all those celebrity parties that Darren willingly attends, there is BOUND to be a photo of me cropping up SOMEWHERE! or C) Sitting at home in San Francisco ... relaxing, sleeping late and channel surfing through the 12,000,000 cable tv stations available in America. Always on the endless quest to locate Dawson's Creek, and ALWAYS succumbing to infomercial hell instead. (Actually, if anybody DOES know when Dawsons Creek is on.. I would LOVE it if you could let me know.. not for me, of course.... it's Darren... he is a MASSIVE FAN!!) or.. last.. but certainly not least... ... D) Sitting on another crappy plane flying between Houston and Charlotte. Hmmmm... now what could it be?? Which could be the right answer??? Get your thinking caps on, you have two minutes to answer.... OK.. time is up.. if you picked D), you have just won yourself a set of steak knives and Darren's new home video.... 'My Hairstyles and Me.......A Stroll Down Memory Lane'
Okay... that said, let me get you up to date with the events of the last few weeks. We were on our way to Japan last time I wrote. This was my first visit to Japan, and I really couldn't help noticing that getting from the airport to Tokyo was a day trip that required a packed lunch. After an incredibly long flight from Paris, tempers were very frayed in the car and after driving for three hours we were no longer the happy little Savage Garden campers we were supposed to be. My attempts at singing 99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall, with a smile on my face and a swing in my step (or as much of a swing as you can get in your step when you are sitting in a cramped van for HOURS ON END!!) were met with evil and scary looks from Darren (who from that moment on, and for the duration of the longest airport drive in history, was referred to only as Lord Vader). When he started foaming at the mouth I realised that was my cue to shut up. It was so surreal driving into Tokyo.. I felt like Judy Jetson (and in fact started singing the Jetsons theme song.. once again I was met with an evil stare and my fun was cut very short). But, seriously, Tokyo is like a scene straight out of Blade Runner.... amazing. Anyway, we arrived at the hotel and the fans were there to greet Darren and Daniel. They were so sweet to them, and CONSTANTLY ... every single day.. gave them new presents. It was crazy. As Darren said the other day, you really shouldn't get the guys presents. Not only do they not want you to spend money, but they also can't take a lot of stuff with them when they are travelling, so it really is just a sweet thought on the fans part (and, of course, very much appreciated), but you guys shouldn't go to this sort of trouble. They do love reading your letters though, and I promise you that if you meet either of the guys in any town, they will read your letter.. so get your writing pads out!!! So, whilst in Japan, Darren did the bulk of the promotion, but Daniel was a part of an instore they did at HMV. I have taken some pics for you. Originally Darren and Daniel were supposed to just say hi and shake everyones hands.. but as Anna, Ben and Lee decided to come down to the instore, and they had their instruments.. AND there was a p.a... they decided to perform some songs acoustically. This was a real treat for the fans that were there, and completely unexpected. They performed THE LOVER AFTER ME, I KNEW I LOVED YOU, TRULY MADLY DEEPLY and I WANT YOU. Later that night Sony Japan, threw a party at an Italian restaurant for the guys. It was so much fun and we all received beautiful gifts from them. The whole band received world clocks, Darren and Daniel got mini disc players and I received a digital voice recorder. I am so HIGHLY impressed with my voice recorder that I have thrown the notebook away. Darren refuses to allow me to indulge in the technology that constantly surrounds my very busy life and I have to use my new voice recorder in secret. In fact, it is very handy for those times that he tells me he will do something.. I record the date, the time and the conversation so that when he denies ever saying it a month later (which really is a pop stars perogative, after all).. I can just WHIP out the digital voice recorder and say AH HA!!! GOTCHA!! Pretty tricky....... The highlight of the night was when the entire Sony office performed their own rendition of I KNEW I LOVED YOU. It was amazing and so much fun. We were very impressed with their musical skills. Darren got up and gave the official Japanese ending to a party for everyone. I have no idea what this is called but he jumped around a lot and clapped... A LOT!!. Apparently it IS a tradition... but I just thought he was up there getting all excited and carried away. I could do nothing but smile indulgently at him and check to see he hadn't had too much wine to drink with dinner. They also performed at a SECRET LIVE GIG. The reason I have capitalized this is because... as is also Japanese tradition.... it was not a secret. In fact, when they were soundchecking for it, Daniel went outside and ran straight into a life size poster of himself and Darren that said SAVAGE GARDEN - SECRET LIVE - TONIGHT - HERE! (sshhh.. don't tell anybody!). It was very funny, the performance was terrific and was a good warm up for their launch in Australia that was to be held a few nights later. After Japan we headed home, on what was possibly the worst flight we have ever had. Which is why you got your own special little update from Darren (lucky ducks). You just need to pray for more of those terrible flights where the first class seats only go back two inches and the air stewards wonder WHY you are so cranky! Hello! First Class is very very expensive! It takes more than a hot towel and a free chocolate to justify the fact that the ticket is 17 times the price of economy. We don't just want reclining seats...we want the air hostess to tuck us into bed with a story and a night light! Just thought, while I was here (and whinging!).. I'd give you an insight into a typical day on the road.. The day we left Tokyo for Australia, Darren did interviews every 15 minutes from 9.00am to 6.30pm. He then had 10 minutes to shower, we jumped into the car for the three hour drive to the airport, got on a plane, landed in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday, 27th October at around 10.00am... having had NO sleep the night before on the plane due to the previously discussed un-reclining seats, got to the hotel around 12.00pm, had two hours to freshen up and take a 'nap', got in the Tarago, made the trek to Fox FM, sang three songs live to air, left Fox FM, went back to the hotel for a shower, arrived at The Panel at 8.00pm and performed I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE, live to air at 10.00pm.... FINALLY, at 11.00pm we left Channel 10 and went to bed.... and people are wondering why Darren is looking a little 'tired' and 'peaked' at the moment. Phew!!! I can barely keep up with it all, and I just have to stand there!! Oops.. gotta go the plane is about to land. ..... HOURS LATER..... 'Well, hi y'all'.... Guess where we have just been! That's right, back again, different plane, different destination (Atlanta).. but we've just spent the afternoon in Charlotte, North Carolina, where everybody had wonderful Southern accents that I could have listened to all day long. Darren chatted to everyone in the room, played them the album and answered any questions they had to ask. He has been so open and honest to everyone on this promo trip.,. I've been very impressed. I think the people he is meeting feel like they are walking away with a little piece of him.. and they are! I have been meeting a few of you guys from the BBS at these functions. I met a lovely girl and her mother in LA on the first night (and I'm so sorry I can't remember your name.. but you were very sweet!!!) and I also met another couple of girls in Phoenix, who were great.. and again.. I"m sorry I couldn't write your names here (actually I don't think you gave them to me).. but you know who you are! So... let's get back to Australia. After the ridiculousness that was the Wednesday we flew in to Melbourne, we left for Sydney on the Thursday morning. Darren did tv interviews all day, and throughout that day his and Daniel's family and friends started to arrive from Brisbane for the album launch that was to be held the following night. Everyone was really excited about the launch as it was to be the first time that they performed a few of the songs from the album live, and especially in the setting that the party was held in. Catherine Caines, who art directed the FUTURE OF EARTHLY DELITES tour, took on the responsiblilty of art directing the album launch. It was held on the Friday night in St. Peters Church in Darlinghurst. What an amazing venue. As you walked up to the front of it there were lights flashing all over the church that said AFFIRMATION. The paths were lined with candles and there were fairy lights hanging from the trees. There were spotlights shining up to the stained glass windows, so that from the inside of the church you could see all the colours and shapes of the glass. Once inside, the whole place took on an Eastern / Religious vibe and scattered everywhere were antique velvet couches, yin and yang symbols, statues, stars hanging from the rafters.. you name it, it was there. It was a visual feast. Darren, Daniel and the band performed on a low stage, which lent itself beautifully to the intimacy of the event. The guys were dressed very casually, and the girls (Anna, Angie and Jennifer) looked stunning in Collette Dinnigan. Now, I have seen these guys perform live - A LOT.... but let me tell you... they were astounding this night. I'm not sure if it was because we were home, they were happy, they were with family and friends, there was magic in the air and in the water... I DON'T KNOW.. but... they were wonderful and Darren was holding notes that I never thought possible. I have only managed to get a few digital photos for you, but I have posted them here so that you can see how it looked on the stage. You'll also note that I have put a shot of Darren and the girls in the band up... 'DARRENS ANGELS' we like to call this photo. As you can imagine, as soon as I pointed the camera in their direction they posed like this very spontaneously and naturally (much the same as the UP NOD!). The day after the launch we all dragged ourselves out of bed (very difficult considering the partying that went on the night before) and headed down to Melbourne for Hey Hey It's Saturday. This was one of the last shows EVER. The show, after 28 years on television, has been axed... it was very weird. The guys performed AFFIRMATION and I KNEW I LOVED YOU and Darryl Somers presented them with their ARIA Award for BEST POP RELEASE for THE ANIMAL SONG. Then... after the show.... with exhaustion seeping out of every pore... we went to see THE EURYTHMICS at the Melbourne Tennis Centre. Okay.. If I can tell you one thing .... it is this... Go running and screaming to see this band if they are playing in a town near you. It was one of the most awe inspiring performances I have ever seen. Annie Lennox sounded superb and Darren and I sat rivetted to our seats, mesmerized, for the entire show. Daniel, who was desperate to see them, was feeling so ill at this point that he had to go back to the hotel.. which was such a shame. The good news is though, we will be going to see them again at Madison Square Garden when we are in New York next week. .... MUCH LATER AGAIN!!! We have now landed in Atlanta (quite possibly the largest airport in the world) and are on our way back to the hotel for half an hour before we go to the radio event. We have just had a phone call with some fantastic news. MTV in the USA have officially added I KNEW I LOVED YOU to their playlist today. So.. if there were ever a time that you needed to get your votes in to TRL .... now is that time!!! I am putting my faith in you; the Savage Armed Forces! Good luck with your mission troops! Okay.. gotta go for good (or at least for this week). Speak to you soon.. and hopefully Darren and I will get a chance to say hi to some of you during this whirlwind radio tour.
Bye! Leonie |