Three Days Grace grows up on the road

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By Jesse Claeys / Sioux City Journal | Wednesday, March 19, 2008 10:46 AM CDT | () comments

(ZOMBA LABEL GROUP) Three Days Grace is set to perform at the i wireless Center in Moline next week. Buy this Photo

Ever wonder how rock stars spend their time off?

Three Days Grace bass player Brad Walst has found an interesting way to fill the days between tours and recording sessions.

“I’m a bass player and an apple farmer now. I know, it’s weird,” he said with a chuckle.

Yes, Walst said he is a part-time apple farmer, a sort of Johnny Appleseed by day and a sort of Johnny Rotten by night. He is the proud owner of Applewood, a “big piece” of property in Norwood, Ontario, Canada, that is home to 80 apple trees.

But don’t expect to see any Three Days Grace apple juice at the merchandise table when the band performs at the i wireless Center in Moline next week.

“Not yet, but maybe someday,” the 31-year-old said.

Walst’s decision to trade the hustle and bustle of Toronto for the small town charm of Norwood (population 1,300) came down to one simple need: rest. When a band has either been touring or recording for nearly five years straight, time away from the tour bus becomes all the more important.

“We’ve been living in Toronto for about 12 years, and I found every time I came home from the road, I just couldn’t relax. I guess I’m just a country boy at heart.”

Norwood is, after all, an important place in the history of the alt-metal band Three Days Grace. It’s the hometown of Walst and lead singer Adam Gontier, who met in their teens, not knowing the musical friendship formed in rural Canada would lead to international fame and millions of records sold.

It nearly all came to an end in 2005.

“By the end of the first record, we were pretty distanced from each other, and Adam’s problems had a lot to do with it,” Walst remembered.

The band released its self-titled debut album in 2003 and spent the next two years touring in support. Crowds swelled as the first single, “I Hate Everything About You,” and the second, “Just Like You,” topped both U.S. and Canadian rock charts.

So did opportunities to fall into the old cliche of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.

“We just got overwhelmed with everything,” Walst said. “When you’re a young band coming from a small town and getting a little bit of success, everyone becomes your friend and you can do anything you want anytime of the day or night. It’s a pretty scary environment if you don’t keep it under control.”

Everyone struggled with their new rock star lives, he said, but no one more than Gontier, who eventually entered a Toronto rehab clinic for substance abuse. After completing his treatment, he reunited with Walst, drummer Neil Sanderson and guitarist Barry Stock and headed into the studio once again.

“It’s definitely showed us we’re a tight unit — we’ve been together for 15 years — and we can’t let anything stop us,” Walst said.

By March 2006, the group’s sophomore album, “One-X,” had hit record stores. Three No. 1 hits landed on Billboard charts: “Animal I Have Become,” “Pain” and “Never Too Late.” Three Days Grace — along with opening acts Breaking Benjamin and Seether — is now on the third leg of a tour that began back in 2006.

“It’s been nonstop pretty much since April of ’06. Two years go by like that. You feel like you’ve been in a time warp,” Walst said.

Future plans for Three Days Grace involve wrapping up the tour in early April and returning home to Canada. From there, he said, the group will continue writing songs with the hope of recording a new album that can be released before 2009. Or not.

“It’s not something we want to rush. On ‘One-X,’ we didn’t rush. There are some people in the business who want to get it out as quick as possible, but you can’t rush creativity. In the end, nobody is going to argue with you if you’re just trying to get it right.”

(The Sioux City Journal is a Lee Enterprises newspaper.)

Jesse Claeys can be contacted at (712) 293-4221 or jesseclaeys@siouxcityjournal.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

ifyougo

What: Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and Seether

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27

Where: i wireless Center, Moline

How much: $32.50

Information: (309) 764-2001 or iwirelesscenter.com

On the Web: ThreeDaysGrace.com