by antiGUY
Back to Part II
RNW: “Hangnail” ?
Mike: “Hangnail” is one, I remember when
that one came up because that one was.. I don’t know how the lyrics tie
in but it came from this one journalist in  Vancouver
who panned us so hard on a show that we read it and you know every artist
is going to get some negative feedback or criticism right? That’s just
to be expected. We read this though and this guy was so out in left field
that we were almost positive that he wasn’t even at the show.
RNW: Yeah I see that a lot
Mike: At the same time it was obvious that
he couldn’t find his ass with both hands, he didn’t know music at all.
And second he couldn’t have been at the show because he made references
to things that just couldn’t be, you know what I mean, like the kind of
comparisons he was drawing are not possible.
RNW: I’ve seen reviews of shows that I’ve
covered personally and I don’t know where this other writer is coming from.
Mike: Exactly and you can kind of attribute
some of it to them not knowing anything about music or not even liking
music because I find a lot of the people in the music press are not music
fans
RNW: Yeah, yeah!
Mike: You know what I mean? They have kind
of a almost hate on for music or maybe just a hate on for musicians, maybe
that’s more like it. It just seems like an odd profession to be in if you
don’t love it. There is always going to be those kind of people whether
you are a musician or a construction worker or whatever. There’s
always gonna people you meet with their head up their ass. The music business
is no different.
RNW: Exactly. Ok what about “Good
Times Gone” ?
Mike: “Good Times Gone”. I’d say it’s easily
drawable from the lyrics. I don’t want to keep anyone is suspense but I’m
gonna. One more week and you will find out what I’m talking about.
(laughs)
RNW: What are your favorite tracks from
the new album?”
Mike: I think that the whole band is on
the same page and that is that there are two songs that just sort of like
happened. They were basically done and we learned how to play them. I mean
like the songs taught  themselves
to us. One of them being “Too Bad”; another one being “How You Remind Me”,
both songs were written in a matter of a half an hour. They just sort of
happened and I don’t understand how it happened but it happened this way.
It was very much a, I don’t know, it was like channeled through us. I can’t
imagine how to communicate this to you. It was something that was just
a, it was already done and we just had to put it to paper, put it to music
or whatever. It was already done it was just given to us. You know what
I mean, it sounds really nebulous and weird but those songs just came out
of us.
RNW: Ah very cool
Mike: Yeah if you listen to “Too Bad” it
starts out with a guitar part and that guitar part was, you haven’t heard
it yet so it’s hard for me to tell you this but the opening guitar part
for “Too Bad” is what we based the song on. When you hear how ridiculously
simple that part is, you can see what I mean when I say that there was
a lot of intuition that took place when we began putting that together.
Because that opening guitar part could not be any simpler but we were all
so focused on the same exact direction that it just unfolded to us and
it was like “this goes here”, “this goes here”, “we’re gonna put a stop
there” and this is it once it was done. Rick was there and he was like,
we were playing it for him and we asked “What do you think we could do?”
and he was like “Nothing, it’s done!”
RNW: Is that how you write most of your
songs? You just get together and jam or ?
Mike: Umm we do collaborate but usually
Chad brings… like sometimes with like “too bad” where sometimes it just
sort of came to Chad just playing this guitar part, this opening guitar
part and then everything fell into place. He had some ideas and he just
brought them in, little by little. But usually the way it goes is Chaddy
writes the initial skeleton of the song and he takes care of the lyrics
and we come together, all of us and complete it.
RNW: You don’t have to answer this but
I’ll ask it anyway. Did the fact that a Beaver is on the back of the Canadian
nickel have any subliminal influence on you guys selecting your name?
You know the sexual connotation?
Mike: (laughs) what the hell are you talking
about?
RNW: you know beaver?
Mike: (laughs) oh I see where you’re going…
No, No.. I have had people ask what’s on the back of a nickel in
Canada.
RNW: Do you know what’s on the back of
a nickel in America?
Mike: Someone just ask this the other day.
I told him I didn’t know and they said they didn’t either but they thought
it was the Lincoln Memorial.
RNW: Nope..
Mike: (Laughs) Ha Ha an American
was wrong about  their
own nickel!
RNW: It’s actually Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s
home.
Mike: Oh, Ok.
RNW: So you learned something today!
Mike: Shame on that American I was talking
to!
(laughs)
RNW: One final question for you… What do
you want people to take away from your music?
Mike: Ahhh …. I just want them to feel
it. I want them to come to the show and to feel it how we feel it and the
people close to us feel it. I want people that when they see the show I
want them to get Goosebumps. I want them to feel the chills because we
do! And there is something magical about that, when music can do that to
you.
RNW: Alright that’s all I have, Good
luck with the new album, I’m sure it’s going to do great! I’m looking forward
to seeing you guys in October here in L.A.
Mike: Thank You. You’re in Los Angeles,
are you?
RNW: Basically.
Mike: Well we’ll have a good time there.
We always have a goodtime in L.A. it’s gotta be one of the craziest towns
in the world.
(laughs)
RNW: that’s a headlining date so it will
be doubly cool.
Mike: Yeah, doubly crazy!
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Photos by Debbie Seagle.
Originally appeared as part of our Nickelback - You Can't Kill Rock n Roll
special. Copyright 2000 Iconoclast Entertainment Group - Groove Quest Productions.
All Rights Reserved |
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