Doesn't Get Any Better Than this

11/24/2000 9:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Darren Davis

From the moment the phone started ringing at Biloxi, Mississippi radio station KCPR, 3 Doors Down's career has been on the rise. "It was just a local CD," says 3DD vocalist (and former drummer) Brad Arnold. "It was an indie, and we sold it at shows. It was selling good at the shows, but I would definitely say that when the station decided to add it to their playlists, the copies we had were like--BAM! Gone."

Two years later, the band is still riding high, with a second hit single, "Loser," after the first one, "Kryptonite," became a cross-format radio smash and catapulted the band to instant notoriety. Arnold and his bandmates--bassist Todd Harrell, and guitarists Chris Henderson and Matt Roberts--could only dream of such success when they first came together in Escatawpa, Mississippi, a town even more under the radar than Biloxi. Arnold says 3DD's album title, The Better Life, epitomizes the American dream: "Definitely man, that's what everybody wants--the better life, in one way or another."

In this interview, Arnold and Harrell discuss their early days, their success, and how these small-town dreamers got their own taste of the better life.

LAUNCH:
How did 3 Doors Down form?

TODD:
3 Doors Down came about about five years ago. Me and Chris Henderson played in bands growing up, and we knew Brad and them. Brad and Matt are a little younger than me and Chris. And 3 Doors Down came about just by jamming and getting together in the local town. Me and Chris played in a few bands and they knew that we played. So when they got old enough to play, they came down and we put it together.

LAUNCH:
Were there other band names you were considering besides 3 Doors Down?

BRAD:
We had like, a double-page list of names.

TODD:
Yeah, some real strange names. The actual name came from [when] we were shopping one night in Foley, not far from the house, and we were coming through there and me and Brad, and I think Matt was with us, and there was an old boarded-up building. The doors were boarded up and across the front of the door it said, "Doors down." And at the time there were just three of us in the band, you know? So we said, "What about 3 Doors Down?" And it stuck. It's been there ever since.

LAUNCH:
At what point did you know you had something special with 3 Doors Down?

BRAD:
When we first started playing, it was just like, instantly: "This feels good." I haven't really played with that many people, but I played around with a couple of people, and you know when something feels good. And it felt good, man, and it just keeps getting better and better. And we've always lived around each other all our lives, and so we didn't really have to overcome the obstacle of learning to know who you're in the band with and things like that, because we've all known each other. Todd used to date my sister when he was in high school, and I was like the little ankle-biting brother.

TODD:
Hell, yeah. Pestering everybody.

LAUNCH:
Todd, were you keeping an eye out for Brad when you were with his older sister?

TODD:
You couldn't help but keep an eye out for him, because he would come running in there and literally just pester the hell out of ya. Just little brother stuff.

BRAD:
Typical little brother stuff. I still do that little brother stuff, too. I still have to pester him every now and then!

LAUNCH:
Pardon my ignorance, but I wouldn't believe that the town you guys are from--Biloxi, Mississippi--is a thriving metropolis, as far as bands and the music scene are concerned.

BRAD:
Definitely not. There have been some good acts coming from Mississippi. Elvis is from Mississippi, and like, Faith Hill and stuff. But I wouldn't say it's "thriving," for the most part. Actually, the music scene is getting a little better, at least in the Biloxi area. I know a few years back, if you really wanted to go see a band, you just couldn't. And now there's some bands worth going and watching in that area. [But] it's definitely not the thriving metropolis at all.

LAUNCH:
What kind of stuff did you guys grow up listening to?

TODD:
I grew up listening to the Cult, Skynyrd...the Cult is my all-time favorite band. They're my favorite. Creedence, any good music...

BRAD:
I came up a little behind him. I was just getting into music in the '80s. I used to like some Poison and some Bon Jovi, the typical '80s music, but I also liked some old Skynyrd and some Rush, and stuff like that.

LAUNCH:
So you guys are like, pure rock guys?

TODD:
Yeah--we got a chance to work with Rush [guitarist] Alex Lifeson.

BRAD:
We just recorded three songs with him. There's not anything set for what we're going to do with them just yet, but it was three songs: "Dangerous Game," "Dead Love," and "Wasted Me." And we got the chance to work with him and record those three songs down in New Orleans, at the American Sectors studio down there, and man, he was a super guy. You would never know where he's been or what he's done just from looking at him. And he's such a nice guy, as cool as they come. He's got no ego--and he deserves one, you know what I'm saying? We got to kind of know him a little bit and became friends, and invited him to our CD release party in Biloxi. And he actually got up onstage and jammed on a song with us. That was pretty fun. I can die now. He played "Dangerous Game" with us that night. It was definitely an honor. I was tripping.

LAUNCH:
What would you say was the turning point for the band?

BRAD:
I would definitely say when KCPR started playing our song down in Biloxi. The CD had been doing pretty good, you know, but it was just a local CD. It was an indie, and we sold it at shows. It was selling good at the shows, but I would definitely say that when the station decided to add it to their playlists, the copies we had were like--BAM! Gone.

TODD:
Once it was added to CPR, it went up to number one and stayed there for a year. It's been there through when we got our deal.

LAUNCH:
What was the biggest obstacle in getting The Better Life done?

BRAD:
The biggest obstacle for us, so far, would be producing it ourselves and financing it ourselves [before 3DD got a record deal]. It's definitely hard for four guys to find the money to do it. I guess we had to come up with five grand the first time--which isn't that much money--but at the time, to me, it was a lot of money. I was 17 years old. So that was probably the biggest obstacle we've run into yet, I would say. As far as obstacles now, I'm not intimidated by anything, to be honest--because we've got a good team behind us and they're strong and they're pushing us hard, so I don't think there's anything we can't do.

LAUNCH:
While you were in the studio, were there any pressures building up?

TODD:
They made it real easy for us. They let us do what we kind of wanted to do. We weren't pressured. We took our time.

BRAD:
About the only pressures we felt in the studio was at the time we were--and I'm actually glad it worked out the way it did--but we were kind of moving along quickly and not having any down time and not wasting any time, because we were trying to complete it a little bit before it got completed. But I'm glad we kind of laid back, chilled, and kind of let it run through a little bit, before it went straight out, because it definitely came out better in the end, doing that.

LAUNCH:
What was behind the single "Kryptonite"--what inspired it?

BRAD:
You know, I can't really think of a particular incident that inspired the song, but it's just like, I don't really like to see people put up on a pedestal a lot. "Kryptonite" is saying-- from [the point of view of one] person to that person looking up to him--"If I weren't so great to you, or whatever, would you still be there for me?"

LAUNCH:
How much as a band do you share what the songs are about?

TODD:
Brad writes all the lyrics, and then Matt and Chris and myself, equally, just kind of distribute the songwriting. We throw out licks to each other, and that's how songs get written, you know?

BRAD:
Everybody just kind of writes his respective parts.

TODD:
Everybody just does their thing.

LAUNCH:
Brad, at one point did you realize you had a special talent? To simultaneously play drums and sing is very unique.

BRAD:
I've been playing the drums since I was in the sixth grade, just like on the snare like you do in school, and I went a couple of years without a set and actually got back into it when me and Matt got together and started playing. And that's when I really started taking it a little more seriously and stuff. On the singing aspect, it really wasn't anything to really get used to a whole lot--mostly just getting used to the mic being there, because I found that before I was singing, even when I was playing, I was still singing along. So it was basically just putting a mic in front of me and we needed a singer, so it was like, "I'll do it!"

LAUNCH:
I know you have a drummer now in Richard Lyles, but was it difficult being behind the kit and not being out front in the early years?

BRAD:
For all those years, it was a little awkward. I know it was awkward for people watching, because you're looking for a frontman, and there's no one.

TODD:
We used to set the drums up right in front, and then me and Matt would walk around him.

LAUNCH:
Brad, do you ever have the itch to go back behind the drum kit?

BRAD:
Actually, on the same song that Alex [Lifeson] was recording with us, "Dangerous Game, it's got a little funky bridge and it kind of travels, and it's got like different drum licks in there and it's got a bunch of different stuff, so I actually get up on his kit and beat up on 'em a little bit during that song. It's just a kind of release. I'd like to get it out of my system once a day.

TODD:
If it ever works out, we're going to put two drum sets on the stage, where Brad can go back there and do his thing, you know?

LAUNCH:
Do you guys remember your first gig?

TODD:
It was at a friend of ours' party, I think. We had the gig before we even had the songs to play it. Just a friend gave us a chance to play.

BRAD:
We knew four songs, and we just played 'em over and over and over again. We played those songs four times that night.

TODD:
We had a Bush block. I think we knew like, three Bush songs, and a Metallica song, and one original.

LAUNCH:
What has been the biggest mishap you've had while playing?

BRAD:
We were headed to Tampa earlier this year. We had had a little mix-up with our transportation, so we went to take Todd's mom's truck down there--it's like a full-size Chevrolet with an extended cab--and we were pulling a trailer. And we got about to Pensacola and Todd didn't realize that you weren't supposed be pulling a trailer in overdrive--and it was a pretty heavy trailer, a big U-Haul full of our gear and stuff--and I was following him, actually, in my mom's car. And they just disappeared in a cloud of smoke and I hit my brake, because I thought I was fixing to run through a wreck. I was having Days Of Thunder flashbacks, you know? And so I came out of this cloud of smoke and they're stopped on the side of the road, and I'm like, "Oh, man." We pulled up behind them and there was fire dripping from beneath the truck. The truck catches on fire and burns to the ground. I'm talking about ashes. The trailer was unscathed. The fire department got there as fast as they could, but from the cab forward--ashes.

LAUNCH:
Todd, did you have hell to pay with your parents?

TODD:
Yeah, but they took it pretty well. I called, I figured, 'They're gonna kill me." But they took it real well.

BRAD:
We took it worse than his mom and dad, who owned the truck.

LAUNCH:
In general, are your parents supportive?

TODD:
Very supportive. Everybody's parents in the band have gotten behind us. That means a lot to us.

LAUNCH:
Did you guys grow up in musical households? How did you get into music?

BRAD:
My mom bought me my first set of drums, and I set 'em up in like a spare room in the house, and I mean, they didn't care--I could beat on them any time. Just go out there and play 'em all I wanted to, and they were always supportive. Anybody who has had a set of drums in the house knows it can get aggravating at times, but they were always supporting, didn't care. The only time I remember that they wouldn't let me play 'em is when there were 30 or so people in the house--which is to be expected.

TODD:
That was all the time, because Brad comes from a family of about 20. I've got four sisters and two brothers.

BRAD:
There are a lot of us. I'm the youngest of seven.

LAUNCH:
What was it like to grow up in a family that large? What did your parents do to support you guys?

BRAD:
I would say it was definitely better for me than it was for the older ones, because a family starting out, obviously, isn't doing as good as a family that's been around a while. It got better for me. I can only remember a pretty short period of time where everybody was there. I remember it was pretty hectic. Supper time gets a little dangerous. But it was fun. I love 'em all and I'm glad they're all here.

LAUNCH:
Did any of your family members shape your musical direction?

BRAD:
I was actually inspired to play the drums by my brother, because I can remember I still have the same snare drum that me and him played through school. But I can remember when I was just little, I mean two foot tall, he'd be at home, practicing. He played the drums in school, as well, and he'd have his snare sitting on the stand, and I can remember having to reach over the top of the stand to hit a snare, which was only a couple of feet off the ground. That definitely got me my start. After that I'd set up pots and pans and just beat on stuff. That's definitely where I got my start on the drums.

TODD:
I had a lot of cousins and stuff. My aunt gave me my first guitar, and her son Paul taught me how to play, so it was kind of like family taught me. But I don't come from a real big family of musicians. Not at all. I just kind of fell into it myself.

LAUNCH:
How are you looking at 3 Doors Down so far? Is it successful?

BRAD:
Oh, man, I couldn't have asked for it to be any better. What I'm doing now, and what we're doing now, is something that I've always dreamed about doing. It's awesome just to have a chance to get to do it. I see a lot of good things to come, and I can honestly say it's going to get better. If it were to end tomorrow, I wouldn't have any regrets, and I wouldn't feel sorry. It was worth everything just to do what I've already done, you know what I'm saying? I think it's going to get so much better. I know it will.

LAUNCH:
On that note: Why choose The Better Life as your album title?

TODD:
Everybody wants the better life.

BRAD:
Definitely, man, that's what everybody wants--the better life, in one way or another.

LAUNCH:
What is the better life?

BRAD:
This, what I'm doing right now. I could actually have to get up and go to work in the morning. [Music is] a job, but there's never a time that it feels like a job. I'm lovin' it. It's great.