Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace

Q: How did the band form?

Adam: We all met in high school, grade nine we were like 14 years old. We basically met each other thru mutual friends and we all liked the same sort of music. So we got together and started jamming in each other's basements and attics. That sort of thing. We took it from there and eventually made our way to Toronto, Canada. We're from a small town (in Ontario), so we had to get somewhere that had quite a music scene. Toronto had a good scene so we moved there and started to take music really seriously. That was around 1997. That's how we formed anyway.

Q : What was the small town in Ontario your from?

Adam: Norwood, Ontario. 1500 people. One set of street lights. Not much going on really in the way of music.

Q: Is there a hidden meaning behind why the band chose the name Three Days Grace?

Adam: No, we sort of look at Three Days Grace, as it sort of stands for sense of urgency. Time to pay a debt. if you had three days to change something in your life or if wanted to changed something in your life could you do it in three days. That sort of urgency, I guess.

Q: What makes Three Days Grace different from other bands?

Adam: There's a lot of great bands and great musicians. For us it's not something we think about. We don't try and compare ourselves to other bands. We like a lot of bands and musicians. The main thing for us is it's always been about playing live. We love to play live. When we first started that was what we always wanted to do. To get on tour and wake up in a new city every day and play to new people every night. There's a lot of bands out there that focus on making a great record and just writing hit songs and trying to make money off of a good studio sounding record. That's not really what were about. Were more about actually performing and putting on good shows.

Q: Is it harder for an Underground band to get discovered then sign with a major label like Jive?

Adam: Yeah, I guess. We were together for ten years before we even ran into the right people that were going to help us out. It's definitely tough if your a musician; you have to decide what route your want to take. If you do want to get signed you can, it's not impossible. You have to meet the right people and if you network with the right people like producers and publishers I think you can do it.

Q: Did the band ever get frustrated that success wasn't happening soon enough?

Adam: Yeah for sure. We were together long enough and spending enough time in Toronto, trying to get out there and play shows. Play to more people. Basically in the early stages of the band we were just playing to our friends and family. It was like that for a while, until we built a buzz for our self and had people coming out. It's tough. There were definitely times we considered quitting; giving it up. It comes down to the love of music. We all love music. We stuck through any hard times we had.

Q: How difficult was it for the band to get airplay?

Adam: It's pretty hard in a big city like Toronto, 3 million people, you don't get airplay at all unless your signed and have a lot of money behind you. That sort of thing. The smaller town were originally from we had a big listening party for the first time our song was on the radio. We put out an independent CD and the radio station in the small town had picked the song to play. We had this tailgate party with all of our friends. I guess, If your an Independent band it's definitely tough. After you get a label behind you it's easier.

Q: What went thru your mind the first time you heard I. Hate Everything About You on the radio ?

Adam: I was blown away. Because our song was squashed between somebody like I think it was Linkin Park and Audioslave. I had heard our song million times before that. But hearing it on the radio between those two bands was really cool.

Q: How long did it take to produce the album and make the music videos?

Adam: We spent roughly six months recording the record. The songs on the record were written over the course of ten years. The videos like most videos took us a day.

Q: What was the inspiration for the song, "I Hate Everything about you"?

Adam: The song is pretty blunt you know? It's to the point. It's about realizing there's something in your life your wasting time on. I think everybody, even in this band and a lot of other people have felt that way before at one point or another in their life. Whether it's a person, a relationship whatever it is your just wasting time on it. The song is a realization of that.

Q: I've heard a lot of people call it the ultimate Love/Hate relationship song. Do you agree with that analysis?

Adam: Yeah, sure. I don't know if it's the ultimate but that's definitely what its about. Love hate relationship.

Q: What about "Just Like You" ?

Adam: Its about being told how to live your life. When we were growing up we saw it sort of first hand. A lot of our friends were pushed into doing jobs their parents were telling them to do. It's about being pushed around and told how to live your life and standing up for yourself.

Q: Were your parents ever trying to tell you don't be a musician?

A: No, my mom is a musician, my dad loves music. They were supportive. I grew up with a lot of people who were into music and art that were told they couldn't do it.

Q: What's your personal favorite off the album?

Adam: "Home" is one of my favorite songs. It hits a spot with me. It's a fun song to play live as well. It's tough to pick a favorite. But because of the amount of energy we give it live I'd say it's "Home."

Q: How did the band get involved with Livestock 14 (98 Rock of Tampa) and EDBD XI (Real Rock 101 one of Orlando) radio show festivals?

Adam: Touring in the summer it's nice to play the radio festivals. The bills are stacked with really great bands. We basically told our management any radio station festivals or any sort of summer festival we can do we want to be involved in. We have people in our crew working for the band trying to get us into those shows. We've done a lot of Radio shows and they've been great.

Q: Any chance the band will do those shows again next year?

Adam: Yeah, hopefully. I'm sure we'll come back next year.

Q: What are some of the pluses and minuses of playing a show in a bigger venues compared to playing in a smaller venues?

Adam: They both have pros and cons, I guess. Just playing shows in general is fun. I think the one thing about playing a really big venue like an arena you sort of get separated with the crowd. At least a twenty or thirty foot gap between you and the people in the first row. Which separates you from the audience a little bit. But the good thing about playing a big show like that is when you go on there's at least five or six thousand people that are going to be watching you. You play to a lot more people in a big venue. In a small venue it's a lot more intimate and you pick up the vibes from the audience and that's what it is about for us picking up the vibe from the audience.

Q: Can you give me a couple of examples of how the band is spontaneous in concert?

Adam: It's really tough when your doing an opening slot like what were doing here with Evanescence. Our sets are short, 30 minute sets. In that scenario we have a set that we play and we stick to that. When were headlining in a club we have a little more of an opportunity to improvise. We have a couple of little parts in the set where we mess around and just jam sort of thing.

Q: What will be the first and last song for tonight's show and how does the band decide this?

Adam: First song will be "Burn" and the last song will be "I hate everything about you" Burn is the first track off the record. It represents what this band is all about. That's the reason why it's the first song. We want to introduce the people in the crowd to the band. In that sense, Burn is the right song to open with. I hate everything about you is just a good closer. People like it.

Q: What do you think the future holds in store for Three Days Grace?

Adam: Lots of touring. I have a feeling we're going to be on the road forever. We're going to tour and work on the new record the beginning of next year. Until then we're going to tour and when the second record is done were going to tour.

Q: Any Idea when the new record will come out?

Adam: No, were not sure exactly when it will come out. All we really know is were coming up with Ideas now. Sometime in the beginning of next year we'll get into the studio. Probably a few months after that we'll put it out.

Q: Do you have anything you would like to say to your fans?

Adam: Thanks for being fans of our band. It's nice to see people. Were from so far away when we come to a new place and meet new fans it's amazing. We want to thank the fans for liking the band and digging the music.

Q: Adam thank you for your time, I wish you much success.

Adam: Thank you very much.

Interview by Michael Montes - Copyright © 2004 Florida Entertainment Scene - All Rights Reserved.