NICKELBACK

Chad Kroeger – Vocals/Guitar
Ryan Peake – Guitar/Vocals
Mike Kroeger – Bass
Daniel Adair - Drums

By the summer of 2004, Nickelback had been on tour around the globe for the better part of the previous 5 years, at that point supporting their third album, The Long Road (which at the time had sold 5 million copies worldwide).  The plan was to take some time off to enjoy the fruits of their labor before even thinking about new songs. But two weeks into their vacation Chad, Mike and Ryan started feeling that old familiar urge, so they gathered in Chad's studio near Vancouver to jam.  “Once we got in there and started to mess around, we just didn’t stop,” says Chad.

Since Nickelback used Kroeger’s studio and co-produced the album with their friend Joey Moi, they were not in a fevered rush to finish up. And, over the next seven months, they spent countless hours making sure every song on their fourth album, All the Right Reasons, was exactly the way they wanted it.  The resulting 11 tracks are the most insistent, dynamic and diverse Nickelback has conjured to date. The first single “Photograph” is reflective and earnest, constructed on a foundation of multi-layered vocals, infectious melodies and guitars that build to a triumphant buzz. “Fight For All The Wrong Reasons” echoes with textural guitars and evolves from a moody melody into a crunchy, southern-tinged riff. And “Savin’ Me” is a call for redemption that’s driven by a combination of ringing and fuzzy guitars, undeniable vocals, gliding strings and delicate piano. “We were a little scared of using piano,” admits Kroeger. “We just didn’t think it was very rock and roll. It wasn’t until we heard piano in a Nickelback song that we all said, ‘Yes, we like this and we want to do more of it.’ It just complimented the part so well and really showed that we shouldn’t be narrow minded about any instrument, no matter what it is or what sort of stigma might be attached to it.”

Nickelback’s eagerness to experiment and evolve lights up All The Right Reasons like a bonfire. While the band’s music has always been deeply personal, this time not only have they laid it all bare but they also searched every inch of their sonic spectrum to create an album that appeals on many different levels. “On The Long Road we went in a heavier direction, but with this album we really wanted to show our range and have songs that work for all the diverse fans that go to Nickelback shows and listen to our records,” Kroeger says, giving a window into the impetus for his songwriting – making music for real music fans like him.   Nickelback’s all-inclusive approach has been a large part of the band’s immense success. The Long Road went triple platinum in the U.S. and included the radio hits “Someday,” “Figured You Out” and “Feelin' Way Too Damn Good.” Their previous disc, 2001’s Silver Side Up, was even more successful, selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. and containing three number one hits, “Too Bad,” “Never Again” and their mega-successful breakout single, "How You Remind Me," which was the number one Most Played Song of 2002. 

Joining Nickelback just in time to make All the Right Reasons was new drummer, Daniel Adair.  Adair’s hard-hitting yet multifaceted style perfectly matched the band’s new material, from the foot-to-the-floor stomp and grind of “Animals” to the “lump-in-throat sentiment of “If Everyone Cared.”  Adair jumped right in to the fold and his ‘audition’ in Chad’s studio even made its way into the finished album.  “We are totally thrilled to have Daniel in the band,” Chad says. “The creativity that went on with him in the studio was really inspiring. He’s a totally amazing player.”   

Over the years, Nickelback’s music has appealed to listeners of pop, hard rock, alternative and metal. A number of seemingly disparate celebrity artists have also embraced the band, including  ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons and ex-Pantera members Vinnie Paul and the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott.  Both Gibbons and Abbot (albeit posthumously) aided in the creation of All the Right Reasons. Nickelback met Gibbons backstage after one of their shows in Colorado and they all immediately hit it off. When a guitar solo was needed on the track  “Follow You Home,” they asked for Gibbons’ help, then flew to Los Angeles to record the part.  “I wanted a real different flavor for that solo, and Billy totally nailed it,” Chad says. “After he did the guitar part, he actually sang the third verse on the song in that low, gravelly voice of his and we put this distortion effect on it.  It’s really cool.”  Gibbons’ contribution did not end there, he also lent backing vocals to the track “Rock Star.”  

The Pantera connection was more complicated and stemmed from a darker place. Chad became friends with drummer Vinnie Paul and the late guitarist Dimebag Darrell while on tour with Jerry Cantrell, and wound up working with Dimebag on a cover of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” which appeared on the “Charlie’s Angels” soundtrack. After the legendary guitarist was shot and killed onstage, a devastated Kroeger wrote an aggressive song called “Side of a Bullet,” as a lasting tribute to his friend.  “After I put the song together, I really wanted Vinnie’s blessing,” Kroeger says. “So, I called him up and played the track for him over the phone. He said, ‘I’d love to have you do a song about my brother.’ Vinnie then sent some guitar outtakes and we pieced together a solo and put it on the song.  The result is a new Dimebag Darrel solo.” 

“Side of a Bullet” is just one of the many tracks on All The Right Reasons that’s rife with compelling narrative. Ever since Kroeger started writing about his personal trials on “Never Again” and “How You Remind Me” he has strived to tell stories his fans could simultaneously relate to and be transported by. “Animals” is about a nice girl and a bad boy who get caught in the act by the girl’s dad, and “Savin’ Me” addresses a man in prison who wants to be saved and a fallen angel who must return to earth to be forgiven for his sins.  “I really like to tell a story that comes off like a movie inside the listener’s head,” Kroeger says.  “And I try to put myself in the scene when I’m writing it. That makes it easier for me to look around and see what I can sing about. Otherwise you don’t get any details and it doesn’t play out very well.”

One of the most personal songs on All the Right Reasons, “Photograph,” is a glimpse back at Kroeger’s teenage years in which he recalls his first kiss, the friends he used to hang out with and the time he got busted for breaking into his high school.  “I think I just wanted to take a trip down memory lane, and I wanted to see if I had enough ideas that would make other people take that trip, too,” Kroeger says. “It’s so funny throughout the course of a day how many times you look back and think, “I wonder whatever happened to that one girl or I wonder if the house I grew up in is still standing.’ And after people started listening to it, I was amazed how many of them thought the same thing.” 

Like all of Nickelback’s albums, All the Right Reasons was born of sincerity, emotional revelation and a genuine love for music, but this time the music also stemmed from necessity – not the necessity of making deadlines or getting albums on the shelf. Rather the necessity of an artist to create, explore and try to understand more about the world around him. Hence the album title, which was a play off the track “Fight For All the Wrong Reasons.”  

“I really want to make music for the right reasons,” Kroeger says. “The most important reason is to make music because you love it. And I think that’s why we spend so much time on it. On this record, we didn’t want to overlook any small detail.”  Throughout the creation of All the Right Reasons, the band tweaked verses, changed choruses and altered arrangements until the songs passed the band's own litmus test- no song was deemed "done" until it made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. “We’re perfectionists,” he says. “If you finish a song and it’s not stuck in your head, then how will it stick in someone else’s head when they’ve only heard it once or twice?”

Animals 

I, I’m driving black on black
Just got my license back
I got this feeling in my veins this train is coming off the track
I’ll ask polite if the devil needs a ride
Because the angel on my right ain’t hanging out with me tonight
I’m driving past your house while you were sneaking out
I got the car door opened up so you can jump in on the run
Your mom don’t know that you were missing
She’d be pissed if she could see the parts of you that I’ve been kissing
Screamin’

No, we’re never gonna quit
Ain’t nothing wrong with it
Just acting like we’re animals
No, no matter where we go
‘Cause everybody knows
We’re just a couple of animals 

So come on baby, get in
Get in, just get in
Check out the trouble we’re in 

You’re beside me on the seat
Got your hand between my knees
And you control how fast we go by just how hard you wanna squeeze
It’s hard to steer when you’re breathing in my ear
But I got both hands on the wheel while you got both hands on my gears
By now, no doubt that we were heading south
I guess nobody ever taught her not to speak with a full mouth
‘Cause this was it, like flicking on a switch
It felt so good I almost drove into the ditch
I’m screamin’
No, we’re never gonna quit
Ain’t nothing wrong with it
Just acting like we’re animals
No, no matter where we go
‘Cause everybody knows
We’re just a couple of animals

So come on baby, get in
Get in, just get in
Look at the trouble we’re in 

We were parked out by the tracks
We’re sitting in the back
And we just started getting busy
When she whispered “what was that?”
The wind, I think ‘cause no one else knows where we are
And that was when she started screamin’
“That’s my dad outside the car!”
Oh please, the keys, they’re not in the ignition
Must have wound up on the floor while
we were switching our positions
I guess they knew that she was missings
I tried to tell her dad it was her mouth that I was kissing

Screamin’

No, we’re never gonna quit
Ain’t nothing wrong with it
Just acting like we’re animals
No, no matter where we go
‘Cause everybody knows

We’re just a couple animals
So come on baby, get in
We’re just a couple of animals
Get in, just get in
Ain’t nothing wrong with it
Check out the trouble we’re in
Get in, just get in

Fight For All The Wrong Reasons

Well I wanted you
I wanted no one else
I thought it through
I got you to myself
You got off
Every time you got on to me
I got caught up
In favorable slavery
Was it wrong? Was it wrong?

I guess it wasn’t really right
I guess it wasn’t meant to be
It didn’t matter what they said
‘Cause we were good in bed
I guess I stuck around so I could watch us fight
for all the wrong reasons
No, it didn’t matter what I tried
It’s just a little hard to leave
When you’re going down on me
I guess I stuck around so I could watch us fight
for all the wrong reasons

Well you know my friends
Well they know your enemies
I’d pretend
Not to hear what they said to me
‘Cause I got off
Every time you got on to me
Was it wrong
To go along with insanity? 

Was it wrong? Was it wrong?
I guess it wasn’t really right
I guess it wasn’t meant to be
It didn’t matter what they said
‘Cause we were good in bed
I guess I stuck around so I could watch us fight
for all the wrong reasons
No, it didn’t matter what I tried
It’s just a little hard to leave
When you’re going down on me
I guess I stuck around so I could watch us fight
for all the wrong reasons

Photograph 

Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red?
And what the hell is on Joey’s head? 

This is where I grew up
I think the present owner fixed it up
I never knew we ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneakin’ out
This is where I went to school
Most of the time had better things to do
Criminal record says I broke in twice
I must’ve done it half a dozen times

I wonder if it’s too late
Should I go back and try to graduate
Life’s better now than it was back then
If I was them, I wouldn’t let me in 

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It’s hard to say
It’s time to say it
Goodbye, Goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for

It's hard to say
It’s time to say it
Goodbye, Goodbye

Remember the old arcade
Blew every dollar that we ever made
The cops hated us hangin’ out
They say somebody went and burned it down

We used to listen to the radio

And sing along with every song we’d know

We said someday we’d find out how it feels

To sing to more than just the steering wheel

Kim’s the first girl I kissed

I was so nervous that I nearly missed

She’s had a couple of kids since then

I haven’t seen her since God knows when

I miss that town

I miss their faces

You can’t erase

You can’t replace it

I miss it now

I can’t believe it

So hard to stay

Too hard to leave it

If I could relive those days

I know the one thing that would never change

Look at this photograph

Every time I do it makes me laugh

Every time I do it makes me

Next Contestant

I judge by what she’s wearing

Just how many heads I’m tearing

Off of assholes coming on to her

Each night seems like it’s getting worse

And I wish she’d take the night off

So I don’t have to fight off

Every asshole coming on to her

It happens every night she works

They’ll go and ask the DJ

Find out just what would she say

If they all tried coming on to her

Don’t they know it’s never going to work

They think they’ll get inside her

With every drink they buy her

As they all try coming on to her

This time somebody’s getting hurt

Here comes the next contestant

Is that your hand on my girlfriend?

Is that your hand?

I wish you’d do it again

I’ll watch you leave here limping

I wish you’d do it again

I’ll watch you leave here limping

There goes the next contestant

I even fear the ladies

They’re cool but twice as crazy

Just as bad for coming on to her

Don’t they know it’s never going to work

Each time she bats an eyelash

Somebody’s grabbing her ass

Everyone is coming on to her

This time somebody’s getting hurt

Here comes the next contestant

Is that your hand on my girlfriend?

Is that your hand?

I wish you’d do it again

I’ll watch you leave here limping

I wish you’d do it again

I’ll watch you leave here limping

There goes the next contestant

I’m hating what she’s wearing

Everybody here keeps staring

Can’t wait ‘til they get what they deserve

This somebody’s getting hurt

Here comes the next contestant

Is that your hand on my girlfriend?

Is that your hand?

I wish you’d do it again

I’ll watch you leave here limping

I wish you’d do it again

I’ll watch you leave here limping

I wish you’d do it again

Each night seems like it’s getting worse

I wish you’d do it again

This somebody’s getting hurt

There goes the next contestant

Savin’ Me

Prison gates won’t open up for me

On these hands and knees I’m crawlin’

Oh, I reach for you

Well I’m terrified of these four walls

These iron bars can’t hold my soul in

All I need is you

Come please I’m callin’

And oh I scream for you

Hurry I’m fallin’

Show me what it’s like

To be the last one standing

And teach me wrong from right

And I’ll show you what I can be

Say it for me

Say it to me

And I’ll leave this life behind me

Say it if it’s worth saving me

Heaven’s gates won’t open up for me

With these broken wings I’m fallin’

And all I see is you

These city walls ain’t got no love for me

I’m on the ledge of the eighteenth story

And oh I scream for you

Come please I’m callin’

And all I need from you

Hurry I’m fallin’

Show me what it’s like

To be the last one standing

And teach me wrong from right

And I’ll show you what I can be

Say it for me

Say it to me

And I’ll leave this life behind me

Say it if it’s worth saving me

Hurry I’m fallin’

Far Away

This time, This place

Misused, Mistakes

Too long, Too late

Who was I to make you wait

Just one chance

Just one breath

Just in case there’s just one left

‘Cause you know,

you know, you know

That I love you

I have loved you all along

And I miss you

Been far away for far too long

I keep dreaming you’ll be with me

and you’ll never go

Stop breathing if

I don’t see you anymore

One my knees, I’ll ask

Last chance for one last dance

‘Cause with you, I’d withstand

All of hell to hold your hand

I’d give it all

I’d give for us

Give anything but I won’t give up

‘Cause you know,

you know, you know

That I love you

I have loved you all along

And I miss you

Been far away for far too long

I keep dreaming you’ll be with me

and you’ll never go

Stop breathing if

I don’t see you anymore

So far away

Been far away for far too long

So far away

Been far away for far too long

But you know, you know, you know

I wanted

I wanted you to stay

‘Cause I needed

I need to hear you say

That I love you

I have loved you all along

And I forgive you

For being away for far too long

So keep breathing

‘Cause I’m not leaving

Hold on to me and

never let me go

Follow You Home

Well you can dig me up a grave

And try and stick me in the ground

Well you can tie me to the bed

And try and beat me half to death

But you can never keep me down

Well you can stick me in a hole

And you can pray all day for rain

You can shoot me in the leg

Just to try to make me beg

And you can leave me there for days

And I’ll stay alive

Just to follow you home

And I will survive

‘Cause you’re my Mississippi Princess

You’re my California Queen

Like the Duchess of Detroit

And every city in between

You can slap me in the face

You can scream profanity

Leave me here to die alone but

I’ll still follow you home

I’ll still follow you home

You can make a couple calls

And tell your brothers I’m in town

Put a bounty on my head

And tell my parents that I’m dead

And hope to hell I’m never found

You can steal me the keys

To your daddy’s Cadillac

You can tamper with the brakes

Call it a mistake

And pray I’m never coming back

And I’ll stay alive

Just to follow you home

And I will survive

‘Cause you’re my Mississippi Princess

You’re my California Queen

Like the Duchess of Detroit

And every city in between

You can slap me in the face

You can scream profanity

Leave me here to die alone but

I’ll still follow you home

I’ll still follow you home

You can dig me up a grave

And try and stick me in the ground

You can tie me to the bed

And try and beat me half to death

But you can never keep me down

And I will survive

‘Cause you’re my Mississippi Princess

You’re my California Queen

Like the Duchess of Detroit

And every city in between

You can slap me in the face

You can scream profanity

Leave me here to die alone but

I’ll still follow you home,

I’ll still follow you home

Side of a Bullet

Uncle Sam taught him to shoot

Maybe a little too well

Finger on the trigger, loaded bullet

He hit the stage so full of rage

And let the whole world know it

Six feet away, they heard him say

“Oh God, don’t let him pull it”

Please God, don’t let him pull it

How could you put us through it?

His brother watched you do it

How could you take his life away?

How could you be so full of hate?

And when I heard you let him die

And made the world all wonder why

I sat at home and on my own,

I cried alone

And scratched your name

On the side of a bullet

And in the wake of his mistake

So many lives are broken

Gone forever from a loaded bullet

And no excuse that you could use

Could pull somebody through it

And to this day so many say

“God why’d you let him do it?”

How could you let him do it?

How could you put us through it?

His brother watched him do it

How could you take his life away?

How could you be so full of hate?

And when I heard you let him die

And made the world

all wonder why

I sat at home and cried alone

and on my own

I scratched your name

On the side of a bullet

On the side of a bullet

On the side of a bullet

If Everyone Cared

From underneath the trees, we watch the sky

Confusing stars for satellites

I never dreamed that you’d be mine

But here we are, we’re here tonight

Singing Amen, I’m alive

Singing Amen, I’m alive

If everyone cared and nobody cried

If everyone loved and nobody lied

If everyone shared and swallowed their pride

We’d see the day when nobody died

And I’m singing

Amen I, I’m alive

Amen I, I’m alive

And in the air the fireflies

Our only light in paradise

We’ll show the world they were wrong

And teach them all to sing along

Singing Amen I’m alive

Singing Amen I’m alive

If everyone cared and nobody cried

If everyone loved and nobody lied

If everyone shared and swallowed their pride

We’d see the day when nobody died

If everyone cared and nobody cried

If everyone loved and nobody lied

If everyone shared and swallowed their pride

We’d see the day when nobody died

And as we lie beneath the stars

We realize how small we are

If they could love like you and me

Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried

If everyone loved and nobody lied

If everyone shared and swallowed their pride

We’d see the day when nobody died

We’d see the day, we’d see the day

When nobody died

We’d see the day, we’d see the day

When nobody died

We’d see the day when nobody died

Someone That You’re With

I reside in 209, you’re in 208

You moved in last Friday night,

and I just couldn’t wait

So I tried to call across the hall,

to ask you out someday

But a lineup formed outside your door, and I was way too late

Well I’d rather start off slow

This whole thing’s like

some sort of race

Instead of winning what I want

I’m sitting here in second place

Because somewhere

the one I wanna be with’s

with somebody else

Oh god, I wanna be that

someone that you’re with

I wanna be that someone

that you’re with

And I can talk about it all day long

‘til I run out of breath

But I still wanna be that

someone that you’re with

I’ve got to be that

someone that you’re with

And I’m pacing by the phone

‘Cause I hate to be alone

And if you’re out there with him

somewhere and just about to kiss

God I wanna be that

someone that you’re with

Well I hear your favorite songs

you sing along with everyday

And I borrow things that

I don’t need for conversation sake

Last night I heard your key,

it hit your lock at 4 AM

Instead of being out with me

you must be out with them

Well I’d rather start off slow

This whole thing’s like

some sort of race

Instead of winning what I want

I’m sitting here in second place

Because somewhere the one

I wanna be with’s

with somebody else

Oh god, I wanna be that

someone that you’re with

I wanna be that

someone that you’re with 

And I can talk about it all day long

‘til I run out of breath

But I still wanna be that

someone that you’re with

I’ve got to be that

someone that you’re with

And I’m pacing by the phone

‘Cause I hate to be alone

And if you’re out there with him

somewhere and just about to kiss

God, I wanna be that

someone that you’re with

Well somewhere the one

I wanna be with’s

with somebody else

Oh god, I wanna be that

someone that you’re with

And I can talk about it all day long

‘til I run out of breath

But I still wanna be that

someone that you’re with

I’ve got to be that

someone that you’re with

And I’m pacing by the phone

‘Cause I hate to be alone

And if you’re out there with him

somewhere and just about to kiss

God, I’ve got to be that

someone that

I wanna be that someone that

I’ve got to be that

someone that you’re with

RockStar

I’m through with standing in line

to clubs we’ll never get in

It’s like the bottom of the ninth

and I’m never gonna win

This life hasn’t turned out

quite the way I want it to be

I want a brand new house

on an episode of Cribs

And a bathroom I can play baseball in

And a king size tub big enough

for ten plus me

I’ll need a credit card that’s got no limit

And a big black jet with a bedroom in it

Gonna join the mile high club

At thirty-seven thousand feet

I want a new tour bus full of old guitars

My own star on Hollywood Boulevard

Somewhere between Cher and

James Dean is fine for me

I’m gonna trade this life for fortune and fame

I’d even cut my hair and change my name

‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars

And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars

The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap

We’ll all stay skinny ‘cause we just won’t eat

And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars

In the VIP with the movie stars

Every good gold digger’s

Gonna wind up there

Every Playboy bunny

With her bleach blond hair

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels

Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes

Sign a couple autographs

So I can eat my meals for free

I think I’m gonna dress my ass

with the latest fashion

Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion

Gonna date a centerfold that loves to

blow my money for me

I’m gonna trade this life

For fortune and fame

I’d even cut my hair

And change my name

‘Cause we all just

wanna be big rockstars

And live in hilltop houses

driving fifteen cars

The girls come easy and

the drugs come cheap

We’ll all stay skinny

‘cause we just won’t eat

And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars

In the VIP with the movie stars

Every good gold digger’s

gonna wind up there

Every Playboy bunny

with her bleach blond hair

And we’ll hide out in the private rooms

With the latest dictionary and

today’s who’s who

They’ll get you anything

with that evil smile

Everybody’s got a

drug dealer on speed dial

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

I’m gonna sing those songs

that offend the censors

Gonna pop my pills

from a pez dispenser

When they ask why I drink all day

I’ll say because I can

I’ll get washed-up singers writing all my songs

Lip sync em every night so I don’t get ‘em wrong

Then listen to the fans tell me how damn good I am

I’m gonna trade this life for fortune and fame

I’d even cut my hair and change my name

Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars

And live in hillltop houses driving fifteen cars

The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap

We’ll all stay skinny ‘cause we just won’t eat

And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars

In the VIP with the movie stars

Every good gold digger’s gonna wind up there

Every playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair

And we’ll hide out in the private rooms

With the latest dictionary and today’s who’s who

They’ll get you anything with that evil smile

Everybody’s got a drug dealer on speed dial

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar