DANIEL Johns says he still considers his Silverchair bandmates as friends, but admits they have "never really healed" a decade on from the Newcastle band's break-up.
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The usually publicity adverse Johns opened up about the demise of Silverchair in 2011 and his relationships with Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou for the first time in detail this week in episode four of his chart-topping podcast Who Is Daniel Johns?
Episode four also explores Johns' failed marriage with pop star Natalie Imbruglia through interviews with the pair, who remain friends.
However, Johns' relationship with Gillies and Joannou is more strained. The drummer and bassist, who still live in Newcastle, declined to be interviewed for the podcast.
"We're still friends," Johns says. "It's almost like a divorce. We were friends since we were seven years old and I think they feel like when I wanted to leave the band that I abandoned them.
"Which is a fair enough assumption, but in my head I felt I'd done enough and I want to do something else now. I think that's all perception isn't it? I didn't abandon them, I just got over it.
"We've never really healed. I don't dislike them and they don't dislike me, but it's really awkward and really hard to mend that bridge."
Silverchair announced they were going on "definite hiatus" in 2011 after attempts to record a sixth album broke down. Johns says he had 40 potential songs for the album but the vibe in the studio was "uncomfortable."
Eventually Johns decided he wanted to quit Silverchair.
"I wanted to remain friends, but I didn't want to remain in that band," he says. "Unfortunately they thought it was one or the other."
In the podcast Johns explains his bitterness towards his Silverchair bandmates began as far back as 2002 when his reactive arthritis forced the cancellation of their initial Diorama tour.
"I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but for lack of a better term, I was the cash cow," Johns says with discomfort.
"As soon as I got sick and I was desperate for support everyone just got angry at me. It was really sad.
"So all these people who are my best friends and my counsellor, my everything, just got angry at me because I got sick and couldn't pay their bills."
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
