hen radio station WCPR in Biloxi, MS, started
getting phone calls for a song by a band from
nearby Escatawpa, the staff figured it was hearing
from the groups friends and relatives. But then
the number of phone calls exploded. "This went
way beyond just girlfriends and family calling with
requests. I have never experienced phones of this
magnitude," WCPR operations manager Kenny
Vest told the Biloxi Sun Herald. The song was
"Kryptonite," and the group is 3 Doors Down, a
four-piece rock band whose beefy sound and
explosive dynamics generate a high-impact blend
of modern sonics and timeless rock conventions.
Produced by Paul Ebersold (Sister Hazel) and
mixed by Toby Wright (Alice in Chains, Korn),
The Better Life, the bands debut album for
Republic/Universal Records, offers tight, finely-
constructed music thats driven by an energy that
is at the same time almost out of control and
supremely focused.
Music has always been in the crosshairs for
singer-drummer Brad Arnold, bassist Todd Harrell
and guitarists Matt Roberts and Chris Henderson.
Longtime friends from Escatawpa, each of the
musicians felt the call earlyparticularly Arnold,
who as a child would "set up pots and pans when
I was little, just beat on stuff, whatever I could
find."
Having older siblingsfour sister and two
brothersgave the fledging, utensil-banging
drummer and his friends a valuable musical
grounding. Through his brothers and sister, he
developed a taste for commercial rock before
graduating to heavier fare. "I kinda like
everything," says Arnold. " Everything influences
me everything I hear."
After one of his bands broke up about four years
ago, Harrell hooked up with Arnold and Roberts.
The resulting music clicked for all of them. Arnold
soon found himself not only pounding the skins
but doing the groups singing as well. "I always
used to sing to myself when we were playing, "he
says. "I was always singing around the house.
Then one day I got a microphone, and nobody
else would do it, but I did and I enjoyed it."
Arnold became the bands lyricist as well, often
coming up with material in his high school algebra
class.
The trio played its first gig at a friends party,
roaring through a repertoire of four songs. "We
knew one by Bush, one by Metallica and a couple
of originals, "Arnold says. We played em over
and over again." The repertoire grew in short
order, however, and the group started playing out.
One of these road tripsto Foley, Alabama also
netted them a name. We came out of this building,
and some of the letters had fallen off the front and
it said Doors Down, "Arnold remembers. "At the
time there were just three of us, so we said 3
Doors Down.
The three became four about two years ago, when
Henderson, whod played in previous bands with
Harrell, was invited in to bolster the groups
sound. Now they are five, having added a
drummer from nearby Hattiesburg so Arnold can
step out and front the band. Meanwhile, the songs
kept coming, and in 1997 3 Doors Down recorded
some demos. They pressed a CD to sell at gigs,
and fans flocked out to see them live, numbering
more than 2,000 per show. That, coupled with the
buzz generated by "Kryptonite," brought major
labels calling and sent the band to New York City,
where it showcased at the legendary CBGBs and
was signed by Republic/Universal.
"We like to rock," Arnold says, and thats borne
throughout The Better Life, which kicks off with
"Kryptonite" and moves through the ringing ebb
and flow of " Loser," "Life of My Own," "Duck
and Run," and "Be Like That" as deftly as it does
the crunchy fury of "By My Side," "Smack," "Not
Enouth" and "So I Need You." All of the songs
feature the dynamic interplay of Roberts and
Hendersons guitars atop the muscular rhythmic
bed provided by Arnold and Harrell.
"Weve got good lyrics; everything tells a story,"
explains Harrell. But ultimately, the bassist and
senior member of 3 Doors Down feels the sound is
what says the most about the group. "Its a rock
n roll band, straight up, " Harrell explains. "Its
not really alternative or metal or anything its
rock n roll."
