Three Days Grace founding member Neil Sanderson has always been a “big sports guy” who loves getting the chance to visit a “big sports town.”
“[St. Louis] is one of the best places to see a ball game if you ask me,” the longtime drummer tells SLM mere days before the band’s March 2 stop in St. Louis as part of Disturbed’s 25th Anniversary Tour. “I’m from Toronto, so we get similar vibes. It’s just a true American rock show whenever we’re there, so we can’t wait to come back.”
A ‘true American rock show’ is exactly what the fans of Three Days Grace continue to crave, despite the band’s Canadian roots. The hard-rock band with multiple decades of hits such as “Time of Dying,” “I Hate Everything About You,” and “Riot” continues to find ways to keep things interesting for their loyal following.
“Three Days Grace has been through a lot of twists and turns along the way, and to have hardcore fans that are still on this journey with us is pretty gratifying,” says Sanderson, whose bandmates now, once again, include Three Days Grace’s original lead singer Adam Gontier, who left the band in 2013 while dealing with addiction issues. “The fans and the music industry are in it for the long run when it comes to supporting this band. And we don’t take that for granted at all,” he says.
Indeed, the band’s latest number one single, “Mayday,” has hit home with many of those very fans, as the song not only includes the lead vocals of both Gontier and Matt Walst, but also seems to contain the screams of the inner chaos of so many these days.
“The song is a social commentary on feeling like we’re hurling through life at warp speed and not really knowing who’s at the wheel and who’s in control, if anyone,” says Sanderson, who served as a co-writer on “Mayday.” “I think that it’s an overwhelming feeling that a lot of people can relate to. It’s about putting one foot in front of the other, even though you might not know where you’re going.”
Granted, Sanderson seems to know exactly where this band is headed.
“The music is pretty much done and under the belt,” says Sanderson, referring to the progress of Three Days Grace’s next record. “It was our goal to have the record pretty well done before we go on tour, and here we are. It’s time to take the brush off the canvas, I guess.”
