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Nickelback Work Naked
Monday January 21, 2002 @ 05:30 PM

As Nickelback's Chad Kroeger strides into a hotel room in downtown Toronto, you can tell he could use a few more hours sleep. His hair's still wet, and as he calls downstairs for room service he rubs his eyes and yawns. It's noon and it's the first of three hours of interviews.

"It's a little more fame than I'd like, and a little more fortune than I know what to do with," says Kroeger regarding the two and a half years since Chart first interviewed the band when The State was still an independent release. But this is the kinda shit that kids with guitars dream of at night and Chad doesn't seem to take it for granted.

"It's pretty bizarre," says the kinky haired singer. "You can't believe you're actually that guy - that you get to be that guy," he says of this rock 'n' roll dream that has seen him, his brother Mike, Ryan Peake and Ryan Vikedal bat one out of the park in a big way in Canada and the States with the album Silver Side Up.

But every rock 'n' roll dream comes with consequences.

"Two days ago I was standing in my dressing room, and we were playing in an arena, so I was taking a shower and the merch guy comes in while I'm showering, and is like, 'O.K. Chad, what do you think of this T-shirt?' While I'm showering!" Kroeger says. "So, I'm like 'Well, I don't like the red.' Then the drum tech comes in and he's like, 'Chad are we going to change anything in the set tonight?'" he continues exasperated. "At one point there were three of them standing around taking notes while I'm completely naked showering — so me hiding is impossible."

Chad feels that the band's imprint on the music scene and sudden lack of privacy is based on hard work, but has a sneaky suspicion that others may credit themselves with the band's rise to fame.

"I think a lot of radio stations around Canada claim that we're theirs and that they are responsible for breaking us," Kroeger says.

As for the sudden flare up between the Nickelback boys and Matt Good, it seems that Kroeger’s not about to add fuel to the fire.

"I've said what I wanted to say and there's really not much else to say," he explains. "He just shot and we fired back."

All's fair in rock 'n' roll.

—Tim Melton

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