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Interview with Three Days Grace
By: Morley Seaver
 Three Days Grace is on a real roll. Their latest record
One-X has picked right on up from the great
success that was their debut, going platinum in Canada and very
close to it in the US. They have also been touring North America
steadily, even opening for the Rolling Stones at one point. Their
energetic stage presence has been a big part of their appeal.
NowOnTour spoke with drummer Neil Sanderson and bassist
Brad Walst while in Ottawa on their headlining tour. Here's what
they had to say:
NowOnTour: You guys have gotten huge right out of
the gate. I know all of you have paid your dues before this but
your first record just exploded and the new one is doing great as
well. You're up to headlining status in Canada. To what do you
attribute your great success?
Neil Sanderson: To our fans really. You can talk about talent and
songs and everything but if there isn't an audience to listen to
you and appreciate what you do, it's a waste.
It's almost three years between records. You were
touring madly for quite awhile but then you took time off before
getting into this one. Coming from a less metropolitan area, was
it important to get away from the craziness to find the
headroom to write?
Brad Walst: Yeah, you can't keep going at the same pace, doing
the same things and expect to put out anything good. We went
home and took our time and got our heads together before we
started with anything new.
Tell us about your new record. How long were you in
pre-production and how fast did it come
together?
Brad: It wasn't too long once we had the songs together. When
we got down to LA, we finished it off in a month.
Were you trying to do anything different on this record
from your first?
Neil: We didn't really think about it conciously. I think naturally it
evolved into something different. This record is a lot different
than the last one but it wasn't calculated.
Brad: We had a lot more responsibility as far as production
goes this time, I think and that was big for us. And it worked out
well.
What's the significance of the title
One-X?
Neil: One-X kind of stands for feeling like you're
the only one in the crowd that understands you. Like you've a
target on your back. And I think that comes from us. Ironically
enough, the road can be a pretty isolating place because you
pretend that you know everybody and everybody pretends that
they know you. But nobody know anybody outside of your little
circle and you carry on as if you do and that can cause you to
isolate yourself from what's going on. So One-X is
being X'd out in a crowd…being not quite one with what's going
on around you.
Lyrically you guys are pretty dark. A good portion of
everything is stuff like "I Hate Everything About You," "Never Too
Late," "Pain," "Get Out Alive," "Animal I Have Become." Your life
seems pretty dark. I've read about Three Days to Change. Do
you think part of your appeal is that your audience connects
with what you're going through as well.
Brad: I think that's ultimately what you want to do is relate with
your fans and I think it's very cool that people can relate to what
we're going through in our personal lives. I think it's one of the
best feelings in the world where people come up to you and say,
"You put into words exactly what I was going through and I
didn't feel so alone."
How easy has it been for you to adjust to the big
stage. Does interacting with a big crowd come naturally to you?
Neil: The big stage is really great because it's the big rock show
aspect but it's nice to have the variety. We still definitely
continue to play smaller intimate shows, whether it's acoustic or
full-out electric because that's part of the great thing about
playing is being able to look right into the eyes of your
audience. And that's sometimes not possible at the bigger
venues.
So, I wouldn't want to do one or the other exclusively. It's cool to
mix it up. We just opened for the Rolling Stones in Regina. We
did two shows with those guys and that stage was actually the
largest touring stage in rock and roll and we were privileged
enough to play on it. I didn't even see these guys much while we
were playing. I'd just see glimpses of them while they were
running here and there.
You've toured with a lot of big names now. Have you
learned anything about touring on this level from them or is
touring just touring?
Neil: You definitely learn things. Not so much about playing. I
think it's more about longevity. How to last on the road.
Definitely you watch some of the guys like the Stones and
there's definitely a formula to being successful and staying
healthy and rocking out every night.
How did the appearance on The Ghost
Whisperer come about?
Brad: It was really cool.
Neil: It was easy because we only had to play Three Days Grace
so it was a pretty easy role to play. We basically just did what we
did in a bar and they filmed it and somebody gets possessed by
a ghost [laughs]. But it was pretty cool. I think it's going to be a
really good episode.
A lot of bands make it outside of their home country
first. Especially Canadian ones. Rush and The Guess Who come
to mind. You've done very well since the last record came out. Is
it important to be accepted at home more so than anywhere else
or you just happy to make a living doing this
anywhere?
Brad: Well, we've always wanted to play in a band and so to play
in Canada is just a great thing.
Neil: It's the best country in the world. It's the best place to be.
We're a real patriotic band. We're accepted south of the border
as well though, so it's a really terrific position to be
in.
Is there a five- or 10-year plan to Three Days Grace or
do you take it record by record?
Neil: The plan is just to get out of bed [laughs]. No, just to have
something to do every day and as long as we can do it and have
fun at doing it, we can't ask for anything better than that.
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