nickelBack

Metal Edge
April 2002
Nickelback- Canada's Conquering Force
The Appeal of Untamed Open Spaces
pg. 26
by: Cathy A. Campagna

They may have been a mainstay on commercial rock radio festivals, rather than OZZfest and Merry Mayhem, but don't be fooled- Canada's Nickelback share the fervor for onstage adrenaline and the bare-fisted approach of the bands that have once again made metal a fixture. Speaking to bassist Mike Kroeger, the brother of frontman Chad Kroeger, one is immediately stricken with an anti=rock star persona, despite the fact that the band has become a household name, their platinum release spending 13 consecutive weeks on the Billboard album chart at the time of our interview, climbing as high as No. 2. Their quick and diligent use of time in the studio, and a blue-collar, redemption-seeking work ethic, quickly proclaim them as an outfit that are a touring band first and formost, not a TRL flavor of the week.

A mainstream band? Maybe. But then again, so is Papa Roach, who tapped into the popular kids' table in the cafeteria, yet the album bares the spice and rumble of rock from a more indie label perspective. The same is true in Nickelback's case- Pop appeal, rugged and focused licks, and emotions that share a common ground with their audience. And, Nickelback are on an indie lavel. They also have enough salty swagger and stamina in their material's portrayal to tour with the more metallic Saliva, as well as Nickelback's own proteges, Default.

Smash single "How You Remind Me" swars into self-pity, breaking it's own chains with brassy vocals that thrive on rich grooves. Silver Side Up, the band's sophomore roadRunner release, stirs with a low-rider motorcyclist mentality, embracing the charge and independence of the wide open and untamed backroads of America... Or Canada, for the matter. None the less, it's a pure terrain with reflections of classic rock moments, Souther rock stylings, and etchings of utter rebellion. The hollowed-out basslings throb on "Just For," and Ryan Peake's skin-grazing guitars rev the swift kicking "Woke Up This Morning." The same could be said of the groups' RoadRunner debut, The State, with its crisp and charmed harmonies highlighted on songs like the unapologetic and minimalistic "Leader of Men."

The four-piece's token metalhead divulged what is at the core of Nickelback when he phoned Metal Edge after a sound check in Portland, Maine.

Metal Edge: How has the tour with Saliva and Default been going?
Mike Kroeger: It's a lot of fun. We have a great time up there, especially for me, personally, that's the best hour of my day, on the stage. That's the most fun I have, it has to be- If that doesn't fill in the void, then you've got problems and you might want to reconsider your employment. But I love it, I have a great time up there.

Metal Edge: You have interesting entrance music...
MK: It's the them from The Dukes of Hazzard, it's Waylon Jennings.

Metal Edge: Do you have country roots?
MK: Yeah, actually we do. We all come from rural communities in Canada, where there's a lot of horseback riding and a lot of shooting and a lot of that sort of thing, pretty ryral. That's the kind of thing we come from. So when we rock up there, we like to shake things up a little bit. And it is a little bit different, don't you think?

Metal Edge: Yeah, it stands out from the norm.
MK: Well, you know it was something that we tried once, somewhere in the South, and people just went ape shit, so we decided to keep it going. People in the Southern part of the nation react really well when you play anything Waylong Jennings. And that is where our roots are- All of us could safely say that we grew up with a lot of country and western music in the background.

Metal Edge: So you are more Lynyrd Skynyrd that AC/DC?
MK: Oh, that's tough. I wouldn't say that... I'd put that straight down the middle, because AC/DC has been a big part of it, too. Of course that's universal.

Metal Edge: Your music does have that grassroots quality that's found in both.
MK: Yeah, it's just basic rock music. No tricks, no smoke, no mirrors, it's just plug it in and turn it up. That's the way we do it.

Metal Edge: What catches your ear right now? There isn't that much of that going on.
MK: There's a band from Boston, and independent band call Scissorfight.

Metal Edge: Metal Edge just featured them in our Bands to Watch in 2002 issue...
MK: You're damn right! My brother Chad went to a radio station in Boston to do an interview, and he comes to me after the thing, and he's like, "You like heavy, groovy rock, right?" And of course, he's my brother, so he knows. He goes, "Here, take this. I think you're going to love this." I think any band that has a song called "new Hampshire is Alright if You Like Fighting," they are alright by me. I like these guys a lot. I'm a huge fan already.

Metal Edge: Would you ever take a heavier band like Scissorfight out with you, or mostly bands like Default, bands that are more in your vein?
MK: We've know Default since they first started, so it's kind of different, it's kind of like your little brother's band. We're getting them out there, sort of helping them out, being there to help them learn their lessons on the road and stuff, because there's lots of them.

Metal Edge: What have some of these lessons been for you?
MK: [Laughing] Oh man, I don't even know where to start! Don't party too much or you'll get sick, and sleep all you can, because, you'll regret it if you don't. There's a million little things, like how you alter your eating schedule- Don't eat too close to your set time or you'll be a loser out there. If you eat a 16 ounce steak and then you go up onstage, then the changes are that the show isn't going to be very good. Things like this, just little tipcs that make life easier.

Metal Edge: With all the notoriety that you're getting as of late, how has touring changed for you? Are you basking in the light of that stardom, or are you more of a to yourself type person?
MK: For me, personally, there's a reason why I wear a cowboy hat whenever we are in a TV situation, whenever I can, basically- I wear something to keep it down a bit, so I can take that hat off and go wherever I want to go. I don't really like to be in the spotlight, I'm not really interested in that.

Metal Edge: Why you do think you broke to bigger audiences with Silver Side Up and not with The State?
MK: No idea... You could attribute it to that x-factor, the thing that makes people hear a song once and then say, "I have to hear that again," or "I have to go buy that." Whatever, apparently it wasn't there on The State, and apparently it really is there on Silver Side Up.

Metal Edge: Do you think that worked to your advantage, in terms of giving you greater credibility musically? You're not an overnight, here today/gone tomorrow band. Are you glad it happened that way?
MK: I guess so, because credibility-wise I'm not too worried- I think that our credibility is demonstrated at the live show. No matter what you think, if you're going to come to the live show, you are going to see a very different side to Nickelback than what you hear on the record. It's a version of us, but it's a different version of us, so credibility isn't something I'm worried about. But, am I happy that we got to ecperience that struggly before having the success that are having? Yes, I am. It makes it all the sweeter, and when you don't work for something, and you just have it handed to you, there's really very little satisfaction in that. When you are out there and you beat yourself to death, and it works okay, then you leep going and you keep going and it gets to where you are really good, and that's a real reward.

Metal Edge: So you've earned your badges on the small club dates, traveling in a broken down van?
MK: Yeah, absolutely. We've been through it all. Every possible van situation, yeah- Standing on the side of the road wondering if we are going to make it to the gig on time, that kind of thing. The way it worked, when we were touring ourselves, we would never miss a gig! There were a few gigs that we showed up to in Canada, and it would be snowing like hell, and they would be getting ready to close off all the higways, but we would pull up to the fif and there would be a sign on the door that said the show was cancelled. We don't stop for anything, we have only recently have to cancel shows due to logistical reasons, and we are not really used to that. There was one case where we had to fly from a show in Vancouver, to another in Toledo, Ohio- we got stopped at the border, our flight left without us, and it was impossible for us to reach Toledo for the date... These are the kid of logistical nightmares I'm talking about.

Metal Edge: Where does that dedication to never miss a date come from?
MK: There's just a lot riding on our gigs. I don't want to toot my own horn too loud here, but to a lot of our fans, that show's a really important thing, and for some of the hardcores, it's like the highlight of their life. I see some kids in the front row that are so deeply touched that there's tears in their eyes. Would you just flippantly cancel something like that? Something that means so much to somebody? I wouldn't. I remember what it feels like to go to a concert and just be completely overwhelmed by it. I remember that feeling really clearly, and I respect it. And if we are that important to the kids, then I don't want to let them down.

Metal Edge: How about your approach to the writing process? Do you have a formula down pat?
MK: It usually just comes out of us at a pretty steady rate, and whether we are on the road or whether we are home, it just happens.

Metal Edge: I was talking to Ryan [Vikedal, drums], and the story of guys playing a spiral binder on "Woke Up This Morning" for the perfect drum effect came up. Are you always that open to experimentation when recording?
MK: As much as we can without being wasteful with the time. We like to use our time effectively, and that's why when we did The State, we took 20 days to make the album, and when we did Silver Side Up, we took five weeks. We don't fool around- We know that we could do our best work in a timely fashion, we don't have to sit down and try to write a frigging opus. A lot of it comes out of us naturally, it doesn't have to be forced out. Anything beyond five, six, eight week even, is sort of a real waste.

Metal Edge: Do think that promotes the record sounding so uncontrived?
MK: It can come out contrived, and a lot of bands write their records in the studio, and that's fine, that takes time, no question. We do our work in pre-production, and get all our ideas worked out, all the parts written, then we go into the studio. If you go into the studio to write an album, you can take a year, you can take as much time as you want, but you have to question the efficiency of it, I guess. If it takes you a year to make an album then you're in trouble, unless you have the Boston Philharmonic throwing down with you- And even then they can get it done in two weeks, so come on! It isn't necessary, it's wasteful and that's not how we do things.

Metal Edge: You're on RoadRunner Records, and they are known for their metal acts. Were you ever worried that you weren't going to be handled properly, sharing attention with bands like Slipknot and Fear Factory?
MK: We were assured at the beginning that there would be certain steps taken to help us succeed and flourish at RoadRunner. And first, let's start by saying that some of my favority bands in the world are on RoadRunner Records- like Slipknot, Fear Factory, MachineHead, even Dry Kill Logic. Heavy music is my thing, that's what I do. I love it, and I love listening to heavy music. So getting that out of the way, the first push for me to go to RoadRunner was that I know what they've done for these bands that don't get radio- They go out on tour when they want fans, they go out on the road. They don't get radio on a wide spread commercial basis, so I thought these people know how to work really well, and they aren't afraid to work. So that sold us. Second, we were assured that there would be a move at RoadRunner at making a real effort at radio, and they were going to hire on a radio staff that would be comparable to any major label, which they did. They took a lot of the radio staff from RCA Records, including our friend David Loncao who is the guy that helped break Dave Matthews' career, helped break lit's career... He did some huge things. And he says to us, "Listen, I'm going to be your biggest fan in America whether you sign to RoadRunner or not. So there you go, make your decision." And I made my decision right there- That kind of conviction, that kind of commitment, is hard to come by, and really worth perusing.

Metal Edge: What was it like before getting signed?
MK: We put the whole thing together in 1996, and in the year 1998 we had to make a drummer change, because the drummer at the time was my cousin Brandon [Kroeger], and he decided that he wasn't interested in riding a bus for a couple of years and starving to death. He said, "I don't have any doubt that you guys are going to be successful, it's just that I want a family, I want a real job, I want a life. I'm going to have to bow out of this, I'm going to have somebody else take over for me, because I can't pursure this and still be happy." So we respected his decision, and it took a long time to find a replacement for him, we had six to eight months of sort of fill-in people, then we finally got Ryan ['Nik' Vikedal], the drummer that we have now, we had him one week before we had to record The State. So there's a level of spontaneity that came from that.

Metal Edge: For you personally, since you're into the heavier stuff, were you in heavier bands previously?
MK: Yeah, that's actually the kind of stuff that I used to play in Vancouver before we all got together. I was playing in a sort of straight-edge- I wouldn't say it was hardcore, but I wouldn't know what you'd call it- groove metal... Stuff in the vein of like Kyuss, that's the kind of thing that I was doing, kind of really slowed down, tuned down, heavy dirgy kind of stuff. Like some of those old Soundgarden songs from Badmotorfinger that are just so slow and so heavy, it's great.

Metal Edge: Your new single is "Too Bad." How was your experience filming the video?
MK: We did the video with Nigel Dick, and he is just too awesome. He is an absolute progessional- He has done 280-something music videos in his career, the guy knows what he's doing. I can't even tell you how good it was to work with him. I think the video came across very well, I'm happy with it, and I'm super critical of videos. I don't really like them for the most part, there are a select few artists that will push the envelope, and make something artistic and somewhat controversial, and we are not really like that. I mean, for us to do something like that would be completely out of character, we are not out there stirring the political pot, so to speak. We're not real controversial as a band anyway, it's quite a stifled medium, for reasons of a commercial nature, you know? "Don't do that or it won't get played." "Don't do this or it won't get played." Whatever. So I feel like this video is the best video that we could have possibly made, under the circumstances.

Metal Edge: What circumstances?
MK: That whole commercial paranoia that everybody has... Like if two people are walking down the street, and a guy bumps into a girl, they are worried that that's a representation of violence towards women, you know what I mean? It's like, "Oh God, you people, take it easy, everybody just relac a little bit." I'm very much of the Bill Maher [host of TV's Politically Incorrect] way of thinking, that is that we have free speech for a reason. The whole kind of politically correct movement has been kind of a step back as far as liberty and freedome goes, and the whole thing just freaks me out! Holy shit, I'm getting on the soapbox... Anyway, to answer the question, the video looks great.

Metal Edge: That freedom and unburdened, shoot-from-the-hip sensibility comes through in your music, as well.
MK: Also, politics have no place in music. I feel like music should be the diversion from poikitics. And I think that 99.9 percent of all cases when you jump up there, and you try to make a political statement with music, you usually are contradicting yourself.

Metal Edge: What is your message?
MK: I think just the message of positivity. There are lots of real life experiences in the lyrics- some positive, some not positive- but it's all human emotion that the lyrics are about, and I think that's positive. I think that talking about those things is a positive thing.

Metal Edge: What's been your favorite show so far?
MK: Oh man, that's so hard to do... I can't do that, because this is national. I'll have one city that goes, "Yeah," and all the other ones go, "Awe..." So here's a diplomatic dodge- I think that our best show is yet to come.

Metal Edge: That's kind of politically correct, wouldn't you say?
MK: Hey, those are fighing words! Wait, I'm talking to a woman. I can't say that! [Laughing]