Aussie Ben Gillies started playing drums when he was eight years old. Ben Gillies bought himself his first drum kit for $75 and took lessons for a few years. After getting ahold of the technical aspect of drumming, Ben Gillies started mimicking John Bonham.
In 1992, Ben Gillies and his primary school classmate Daniel Johns often played music together. When they went to high school, Chris Joannou joined them and they became Innocent Criminals. After winning a national competition, they changed their name to Silverchair before releasing a video for their winning song Tomorrow.
Their debut full-length album, Frogstomp, was released in 1995; all the band members were 15 years old. The album was very well received. Silverchair toured with Red Hot Chili Peppers when they were still in school.
After they released their second album, Freak Show, in 1997, they all graduated from high school and started working on their next album, Neon Ballroom. Both albums soared to the top of Australian and international charts. No longer tied down with school, Silverchair toured extensively promoting Neon Ballroom.
Silverchair's following album, Diorama, was also a hit. Nonetheless, in 2002, the band announced they would take an indefinite hiatus because, "given the fact the band were together for over a decade and yet were only, on average, 23 years old." During this hiatus, Ben worked with Tambalane and recorded their self-titled album and toured around Australia.
In 2006, the band returned from their hiatus and started working on their next album Young Modern. They toured before finally releasing the album in 2007.
Silverchair's sound has evolved as the members grew up, but it always maintained core elements of alternative rock and post-grunge. Impressionable in their youth, the young men channeled Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Black Sabbath in their early work.