Interview with Nickelback's Mike Kroeger

Hey Mike, this is Erick from Steal the Spotlight Online Magazine, how are you doing today?

Mike Kroeger: Very well thank you!

STS:        I have to ask, how many of these have you done today?

Mike: consulting with my publicist you are #8 and final for today…

STS: Okay to the new album, it dropped in stores worldwide November 17. Can you say a few words about the release?

Mike:  No Fixed Address was recorded all around the world at numerous locations, Canada, California, Hawaii, Europe…we came up with a very mixed album of different styles and it feels different because we were in all those places. 

STS: I have heard or own all of the previous 7 albums, what makes the “No Fixed Address” album different from those albums.

Mike: see above

STS: You have released several tracks off the album, including “rock” and “pop” singles. How do you pick the singles that you release?

Mike: over the years we have developed an intimate awareness of what radio is looking for.  We put our own songs through that filter, consult with our advisers, then consult with the label…if everyone agrees we go ahead.

STS: The next set of singles are said to be a trio of singles, which means a different single in different parts of the globe. Why did you decide to release them that way?

Mike: That decision was based solely on those needs. Especially the international markets, and the radio climate in each of those markets.  They were asking for different songs than in the U.S.…Australia felt one single, then Europe felt another track, US and Canada had different thoughts.  It was more relying on our trusted advisers and determining the needs of each territory.

STS: The album offers up 11 tracks that span a little over 43 minutes. How many tracks were actually written and recorded for the album before getting trimmed down to the 11.

Mike: As with every album we do, and have done, we don’t have a lot of bonus tracks sitting around.  We only record what we want.  If there is anything we want that does not make the cut we will stop recording come back to it later.  We honestly record what we are going to use and nothing else.  We do not have 100 tracks sitting in the vault.

STS: It seems like you either love Nickelback or hate Nickelback, do you have a response to those people that say you just write songs to put on the radio?

Mike: My response to that question would be that we do write songs for the radio. We also write songs for our fans, and we right stylistically – songs that don’t fit into the paradigm of Nickelback.  We try different styles that do or do not work…we don’t just write songs for the radio.  We do know how to write songs for the radio. You don’t get songs on the radio by dumb luck anymore

STS: You guys are getting ready to embark on a massive tour of North America, Australia, and Europe. If my count was right that is 100 days of being on stage this year. Is that accurate?

Mike: That number is a little bit low, we will have well over 100 dates by the time we get through Russia and Eastern Europe. 

STS: I’ve seen a couple Nickelback shows over the years and the amount of pyrotechnics that goes on during the show is insane. What made you guys add that to a show?

Mike: You know we added pyro to the show a long, long time ago because we really wanted it bigger.  We interviewed a guy for the job a long, long time ago, he had done pyro for Pantera, and we are huge Pantera fans…we liked him so much he became a member of our family.  For this tour we decided not to do pyro.  It’s more a function of there not being room for pyro.  The show is so large now the pyro would not be effective and would actually take away from the show so we left at home.

STS: Will there any fun antics that you have planned for this tour or do they just seem to pop up from night to night depending on how your brother feels?

Mike: Actually there will be fun antics depending on how Chad feels – we are coming up with mini events throughout the tour that will involve the audience.

STS: What is it like being on tour with your brother all the time?

Mike: it’s great!  We are brothers, we get along great

STS: Have to ask, spaghetti o’s, with or without meatballs?

Mike: Being that I have been a vegetarian for 2 years…I gotta say without, although there is probably not a lot of meat in their meatballs!

STS: What’s a normal meal while on tour?

Mike: It’s not what I eat but what I don’t eat...I don’t eat any meat or fish or animal bodies of any kind.  I avoid the beige diet, no white processed carbs.  I eat a lot of plants…I do have a weakness for dairy.  Cheese is my friend/enemy.

STS: Is there anything else that you would love to tell the fans and the masses?

Mike: Come on out to the show…you just might meet somebody!

STS: The last question, if you were able share the stage with anyone (passed on or still kicking) who would it be and why?

Mike: Not because of the obvious talent and artistic greatness…I would like to share the stage with Kurt Cobain because he was so unpredictable …you would see he would throw himself into a drum kit, or off the stage…someone who was talented and unpredictable. But I would not want to live there.