3 Doors Down

"A lot of the music that comes out today sounds like music that came out last week, I'm pullin' back to my roots and listening to all of the older stuff."

3 Doors Down is a rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi. They were formed in 1996, by Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold as well as bass player Todd Harrell. They bring more meaning into rock. They place personal experiences, as well as views into the songs they sing, to bring more meaning into their songs for their fans.

In the Beginning

The three band members were friends who grew up in Escatawpa. They shared the common interest of rock music. They played all around the city they played their original songs that became part of their first album. While on a trip to Alabama, they came up with the name for the band. As they walked through the town of Foley, they came across a building where letters had come off of a sign that read "Doors Down." Since the band had only a total of 3 members, they added a 3 to the front of it to create 3 Doors Down
After a few years of performing together, Chris Henderson was asked by Todd Harrell to join the band to make their sound complete. They made a demo of original songs while they were at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. A local radio station began to play a version of Kryptonite. This single became the number one most requested song on the local stations for nearly six months. This went on to lead to Universal records deciding to sign the band on to their record label.

Gaining More Success

3 Doors Down's first album release The Better Life was sent out in February of 2000. It went on to be the 11^th bestselling album of the year. It sold over three million copies. Also, it has been certified six times platinum. Their fourth single and one of their most free mp3 downloaded singles Be Like That was re-recorded for American Pie 2 with the American Pie 2 edit. For the albums, Arnold does the vocal and drum parts but during the tours Arnold is front stage for vocals and a drummer is hired. Rush guitarist, Alex Lifeson not only produced, but he also performed on three tracks for their record.

During 2003, they released a live SP titled Another 700 Miles which held live performances from the band. The CD was certified gold. Also, during this year they started hosting the 3 Doors Down and Friends benefit concert, raising money for the bands charity, The Better Life Foundation. The benefits from this fundraiser that was held at the Mobile Convention Center were to go to Hurricane Katrina victims.

Moving on Down the Road

Their third studio album, Seventeen Days was certified platinum. Let Me Go has had the most success. The single,Live for Today was released with a few other songs. When they went on the Seventeen Days tour, they appeared alongside Lynyrd Skynyrd. They also headlined many of the shows on their own. A live DVD was released in 2005, produced and directed by Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. In 2005, Greg Upchurch replaced Daniel Adair as drummer. In 2008, they released their fourth album, Three Doors Down. It sold over one hundred and fifty thousand copies in its first week, and made it to number one on the Billboard 200. They are expected to send out their next record in the fall/winter of 2010.

They recorded a Christmas song in 2009 called Where My Christmas Lives. This was the first Christmas song Arnold has ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs in December. In 2010, they will release their first single from the album Shine. They have started their foundation to help provide children with a better life from around the world. They auction an average of sixty items every year for the charity.

Did you know that...

...the band has sold over sixteen million records worldwide since their debut album that was released in 2000.
...they perform in more than 300 concerts a year worldwide with artists such as Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, and Seether.
...Brad Arnold is only the group's singer because no one else wanted to do it, and he tried and enjoyed it.
...Brad Arnold worked on their first songs when he was 15 in math class.

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