3 DOORS DOWN *****

 
3 Doors Down are an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band consists of Brad Arnold (vocals), Matt Roberts (guitar/vocals), Todd Harrell (bass), Chris Henderson (guitar), and Greg Upchurch (drums/percussion).


 

The band rose to national fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which charted in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed onto Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Their second album, Away from the Sun, (2002) continued the band's success; it debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and went multi-platinum in the United States like its predecessor. The band followed it up by extensive touring for two years before releasing their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within its first month of release. Their fourth, self-titled album, 3 Doors Down, also debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's fifth studio album, Time of My Life, is due for release on July 19, 2011.

The band often performs more than 300 concerts a year and has performed with artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Megadeth, Staind, Nickelback, Alter Bridge, Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Shinedown, Hinder, and Daughtry. Since the start of their career, 3 Doors Down has sold over 16 million albums worldwide.

History

Early years (1996–1999)

3 Doors Down was formed by drummer/vocalist Brad Arnold, guitarist Matt Roberts and bassist Todd Harrell. The three grew up together in Escatawpa, Mississippi and shared an interest in rock music. The band played locally around Escatawpa, playing a mix of cover songs and original songs that would eventually be recorded on their first album release. Arnold eventually ended up acting as the group's singer because, as he puts it, "nobody else would do it, but I did and enjoyed it." Arnold is also their lyricist, and wrote some of their early hits when he was 15, often working on songs during math class.

The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, and it was during a trip to Foley, Alabama that they came up with their official name. When the three men were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, and it read "Doors Down." Since at the time they consisted of three people, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down."

A couple of years after performing together, Todd Harrell asked guitarist Chris Henderson to join the band. They recorded a demo CD of their original songs at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the band gave the CD to local radio station WCPR-FM they started playing the EP version of "Kryptonite", and it became the #1 requested song on the station for over 15 weeks. The station's program director sent the song to manager Phin Daly who in turn showed it to Bill McGathy, his employer at In De Goot Entertainment. They decided to fly the band in to New York to perform a showcase at the CBGB music club. Daly told HitQuarters: "Once they got on stage and started playing it was apparent the magic was in the music. So we moved to sign them." 3 Doors Down's success on the radio also led to Republic Records signing the band.

The Better Life (2000–2001)

3 Doors Down's first album, The Better Life was released on February 8, 2000, and went on to and become the 11th best-selling album the year, selling over 3 million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first 3 lines. This version is known as "The American Pie 2 Edit".

For recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum parts. However, the band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.

Away from the Sun (2002)

Session drummer Josh Freese was hired to record drums for Away from the Sun. Rush guitarist Alex LifesonDaniel Adair to play drums for the Away From the Sun tour. He would go on to record the drums for the band's next studio release, and was with the band aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) to film the music video "When I'm Gone". produced and performed on three tracks for the record, "Dangerous Game", "Dead Love", and "Wasted Me", but only "Dangerous Game" would appear on the finished product.

Another 700 Miles (2003)

In 2003, 3 Doors Down released a live E.P. entitled Another 700 Miles consisting of recordings from a live performance by the band in Chicago, Illinois. Another 700 Miles has since been certified Gold in the United States. Besides featuring some of 3 Doors Down's hit singles from their previous two albums, the E.P. also contains a version of the popular Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell".

In 2003, the band began hosting the annual "3 Doors Down and Friends" benefit concert, through the band's own charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2006, this event was held at the Mobile Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina survivors. As residents of Escatawpa, the members of the band saw the effects of Katrina's devastation.

Seventeen Days (2005–2007)

The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has since been certified platinum. "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlined many shows of their own.

Also in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days.

Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to accept the position as drummer and contributing member of Nickelback.

3 Doors Down (2008–2010)

3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive #1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song “In The Presence Of The Lord” on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.

The band recorded in 2009 a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written.

It was digitally released along with 7 acoustic songs on December 8th. 6 of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of 'Where my Christmas Lives'.

Time of My Life (2011–present)

On February 9, 2010, the band released a song called "Shine", through digital media such as iTunes, which was used as a promotion for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is available through digital outlets.

On July 22, 2010, the band stated during a concert in London, Ontario, Canada that they were due to start recording their new record the very next week. They also performed a new song, confirming it was going to be on the next record, entitled "On the Run."

During an interview in November 2010, lead singer Brad Arnold revealed the album was to be titled Time of My Life. The first single from the album, titled "When You're Young" was released to radio on January 10, 2011. In a video blog on January 14, Brad Arnold revealed the single would be released to iTunes on February 1.

On January 30, 2011, the band performed during the 1st intermission of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina.

On March 28, 2011, 3 Doors Down announced they are to return to the UK in June 2011 for a four date tour.

On March 31, 2011, 3 Doors Down announced that Time of My Life was set to be released on 19 July 2011. Lead singer Brad Arnold spoke very positively of the album, "This record shows some growth on our part. We've had success in the past and we're very thankful for that, but there's always room to… take it up to another level. And I feel like we did that. There's a lot of songs that people can immediately identify with. We just really wanted to do our best on this record, and looking back on the whole experience, I can really say that we did."

On April 15, 2011, "When You're Young" was used by WWE on an episode of WWE Smackdown in a video retrospective to World Heavyweight Champion Edge where he surrendered the title for the last time after he announced on WWE Raw that he is forced to retire due to a career threatening injury.

On May 19, 2011, it was announced the second single from the album, entitled "Every Time You Go," was to be released to digital outlets on May 23, 2011.

Charity work

The Better Life Foundation

3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities nationwide, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.

When the Mississippi town of Waveland took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the charity was able to purchase three police cars and a fire truck to help with rescue efforts. Also, in connection with Wal-Mart, they were able to supply the town with three semi-trucks full of rescue supplies. There was also extensive support from TBLF in providing funding for rebuilding efforts in the town.

3 Doors Down and The Better Life Foundation host a yearly show in at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, MS to raise money for the charity. In addition to a concert from 3 Doors Down and friends, there is also an auction, which includes numerous items from musical friends, sports icons, and other various supporters of the band and the charity. There is an average of sixty items auctioned off yearly, and proceeds are given to TBLF.

Past performers at the show include, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Staind, Hinder, Switchfoot, Tracy Lawrence, Sara Evans, and others. Past auction items include a Paul Stanley guitar played on the KISSDale Jr. racing suite, NASCAR artwork by Brad Daley, numerous signed guitars and sports memorabilia.

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