If there’s one thing Nickelback and their frontman Chad Kroeger can be known for, it’s their ability to write songs that absolutely blow up in the mainstream. And while we all laugh at their music and outwardly wonder how people could like their music, you can’t deny their work ethic.
So it only makes sense that when he notices other musicians, especially ones early on in their careers, phoning it in, he has to comment. During a recent interview with The Bailey Show on Audacy’s 98 Rock, Kroeger laid out why some of today’s new generation of musicians lack the drive to make it.
“Do you know why most musicians become musicians? Because they don’t wanna get a real job. And then they date hairdressers, because they actually have a job, and then they support them until they move on to their next hairdresser. And they’re like, ‘Someday I’m gonna make it.’ – and so when you get in the studio with these people and you realize like, wow, you are incredibly lazy, even when it comes to something you truly love. And that is just a crying shame.”
Now, to be clear it doesn’t sound like he’s denigrating an entire generation with his comments. Instead, he’s focusing on the individuals who fail to commit more than a few minutes at a time toward their goals.
“I’ve been in this studio with hundreds of [newer musicians], and they’re like, ‘Bro, bro, that was a solid 10 minutes, dude. Like, let’s just go do something else.’ So just because my work ethic when it comes to, you know, creating something or making something special, I’m like, ‘You know, the world’s gonna hear this, right? So do you just want a half-ass it or do you wanna make it good? Or do you wanna really put some time and effort into it and make it really good? Because the world is going to hear this.’
“If you go to Nashville and you go up and down writer’s row, those guys have a cup of coffee and they’ve got an acoustic guitar and they write it at 10 o’clock, they got a session at noon, and then they got another one at 2:30. Every single day. Three songs a day. Different groups of people writing songs professionally, every single day. Tennessee all day, the craft of crafting a song.”
In addition to that topic, Kroeger explained what it feels like to play in front of huge crowds, likening the feeling to taking drugs.
“We all know what it’s like to be inebriated. We all know what it’s like to be high on weed. A lot of us know what it’s like to be like if you’ve tried acid (or) mushrooms. I’m not a cocaine guy, thankfully, otherwise, it’d just be a mountain in front of me at all times – I’m kind of a drinker. But when you know what all those drugs feel like, all of them, you go, ‘Yep. I’ve been on a mushroom trip and yes, I know what it’s like to be drunk or whatever it is.’ And the feeling that each one of those drugs give you is nothing like standing on stage in front of thousands of people and have them sing back lyrics that you wrote in a studio and just sang into a microphone. That is a drug… You feel really euphoric.
“There’s definitely a state of euphoria. And then you also feel very powerful and, and then you feel this wonderful sense of comradery. And, then you’re like, ‘Wow, I’m in charge of the party. I’m in charge of the way these people are feeling right now, and I can move them through love, pain, joy, exuberance, party, all of these things. And, when you realize that you are the master of ceremonies you definitely feel this thing, like, ‘This is a cool feeling.’”
You can hear more from Kroeger on a whole range of topics over on The Bailey Show.