Formed in Escatawpa, Mississippi, the resilient 3 Doors Down has blazed a trail as the quintessential rock band, attaining massive mainstream success but somehow never losing that small town identity that has branded them rock's truest underdogs. They've reigned as a genuine force of nature, boasting rock n' roll's most earnest work ethic - 'The thoroughly modern American band' - crowed Billboard, one part swagger/one part tireless road warriors, brandishing an arsenal of battle-tested radio gems like their breakthrough anthem, "Kryptonite." Unleashed at the beginning of the decade, the song seemed to capture the band's heroic climb and steadfast refusal to be pigeonholed as just another rock band.
Now, with the release of their first self-titled album (their fourth studio album and what some have appraised as '
their most definitive,') the group weighs in on what it took to refresh their innate sense of 'place' and deliver what just might be their masterwork - a blistering, both-barrels approach etched in the grain of brand new hits like the wistful wakeup call of "
It's Not My Time," the contemplative "
Pages," and the stem-winding lure of "
Train," among others.
Guitarist Chris Henderson recently spoke to Joe Matera about the new album, getting political and becoming road warriors once again.
UG: The new album has some very '80s hard rock moments on there, was that something that naturally arose from your love of '80s hard rock?
Chris Henderson: Yes and it was also really where our head was at and what we were listening to at the time. We’re kind of an Eighties metal band at heart anyway because of the fact that we grew up in that era. Brad [Arnold, vocals] for example calls the Eighties and early Nineties very important as it shaped who he is as a musician. So it is a natural thing for us to do that. But, we couldn’t do it full on because we wouldn’t get away with it, but we certainly do pay homage to it.
The track “Citizen/Soldier” has been noted by some critics as being propaganda for the military. Does it concern you that the band is getting tagged by some as being a political band now?
Critics know nothing about this band to be honest with you. And they don’t know what that song really is about too. That song is not propaganda. It is basically a tribute to the National Guard whom asked us to write a song for them, to pay tribute to. And whatever anybody takes away from that, will be their own thing. As far as being a political band, this is band is anything but a political band.
The military is close to your heart because you have actually done a tour of duty?
Yes. I did a few years and I was actually in the first Gulf war. As far as anybody’s political view is, I don’t care. The United States has an all volunteer service and I think that, in it self should be commended because of the fact that these guys will go and die for their country. They’re not doing it for the money. I think that should be commended no matter what your political views are, no matter what the President says and no matter what anybody in this country says. These guys are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.
This album sees you back working with producer Johnny K again.
Yes. We love working with Johnny because he is a real hands on dude, a real intricate guy. He wants to get involved in everything not just the guitar work, the drums, the singing or the bass playing. He really wants to get right into the heart of the song and will work tirelessly on it. He will work 24 hours, 7 days a week if you asked him to. And because we’re the same and I would do the same thing too as I’m a workaholic, those are the sort of people we want to surround ourselves with. It is a tough business and you have to be a hard working son of a bitch to make it and so that is why we chose him again.
You took more time to record this album this time around and because of that, did it allow you the ability to experiment more in the studio?
Absolutely. I mean the track “She Don’t Want The World”, have you ever heard anything like that from 3 Doors Down before?
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| "This new record isn't a crank out or a cash in, this is a record that took us two years to make." |
No I haven’t.
And that is the kind of stuff that came out of the experimentation. We took steps and did things we would have never done before where we didn’t have the time to sit down and think about it. We would just crank out another record. This new record isn’t a crank out or a cash in, this is a record that took us two years to make.
There were 16 tracks recorded for this album but your label wanted you to choose 12 only for the album, what will happen to those other four. Will they appear on B-sides down the track?
I don’t think they’ll be appearing as any sort of B-sides because we have a habit of not recording any bullshit. We pretty much stick to the best stuff we possibly can. I think a couple of them will actually be singles. I think one in particular, I don’t even know the name of it, but that will probably become the next single from the next album.
When it came to gear for this record, did you use your PRS guitars?
Absolutely, they were the only guitars I used. I used a collection of signatures that I have, as well as some special ones that were made for me. I also used a Mark Tremonti model on every track. And PRS built some special signatures for me especially for the recording sessions.
And what about amps and effects?
I don’t use any effects whatsoever, even in the studio. I’ve never been an effects guy. I’m all about the sound of the amp and the sound of the wood. My main amp is a Hughes & Kettner Triamp which is for my heavy tones. And for clean sounds, I use a Vox AC-50 believe it or not. And that is my sound, the PRS guitar, the Hughes & Kettner. If you go into any Guitar Center and plug one of my guitars into a Hughes & Kettner, right there you will have my sound. And when I play live I will use the exact set up. I don’t deviate from it at all. Live I also use one amp for one sound and one amp for the other sound and I have an A/B switch which switches back and forth from the heads as I don’t blend the two tones together.
You are very much hands on in the studio too since you have your own studio at home.
Yes the first studio I had was gutted by Hurricane Katrina so when I moved to Nashville I got another built. I like to be hands on because when you’re recording bands you’ve got to make sure that everything is done right and everything is done pristine starting with the first sounds you record. Before you lay down any sounds, you have to make sure it is perfect and exactly what you want. Because if you stack ten thousand things together and some of them aren’t perfect, by the time you’re done the track, it is not perfect itself. To me there really isn’t a sense of creating something if you’re not going to do it right.
Is there any method you prefer when it comes to capturing your guitar tones in the studio?
In the studio I use two mikes, and both are up close to the amp; a Sennheiser 421 and a Shure 57. I usually place them on the same cone and sometimes I try different cones too. I also use a hand made cabinet called a Mills Afterburner 412B which as a cabinet that are really hard to find and really hard to get. But there is a guy in Alabama called Dave Mills who makes these things and they’re incredible. I use those exclusively in the studio. And believe it or not, I also used the new EVH head for 90% of the solos.
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| "As far as being a political band, this is band is anything but a political band." |
How do you and fellow guitarist Matt Roberts go about approaching each other’s parts?
It is a very organic approach. When you’re writing parts, it is very difficult to get intricate because you have to know who is going to play what. And so when you’re in the studio and working on it together with another guitarist it is easier to pull that stuff apart. And that is how we do it too. I mean even while the rhythm parts are getting done, the next guy is already thinking of what he’s going to be doing next come his turn. And it is about complimenting the part, not about playing the same exact thing. And that is the part of the process that makes it so creative. I know that when I lay down a rhythm part, I know that Matt is not going to come in and double me. He is going to come in with his own part and it going to be something that will make the song do something else.
You toured a few years back with Lynyrd Skynyrd who are your musical heroes, so what was that experience like for you?
Well Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines and Allen Collins were three guitar players in that band that influenced my writing the most. If you listen to some of things that I and we do, you can trace it back to the Skynyrd records and you will hear that. I would never have dreamed that I would end up playing with Gary and Skynyrd. But it was a wonderful experience because I modeled myself on those classic Skynyrd songs.
Come July, 3 Doors Down will head out on a co-headlining summer tour with Staind and Hinder. With Hinder having a reputation for being wild boys out on the road, how do you think 3 Doors Down are going to fare amidst all the debauchery?
You know what? Rock and roll in general is wild so I think we’re going to do just fine. And all those stories you’ve heard are definitely true, I will tell you that.
So when it comes to partying, you guys can do it just as hard as those Hinder boys can?
Yes we can. And I would say we’re going to be just fine doing all. Actually we’re all going to have such a good time that we may not even remember that we toured together!
Interview by Joe Matera
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