Don’t keep them waiting

• Rockers 3 Doors Down gives its fans what they want — a fourth album.

Ashley Hindsman

ALBANY — Unlike comic book hero Superman, “Kryptonite” transformed rock band 3 Doors Down from Escatawpa, Miss., natives with great potential, to rock superheroes whose powers are generating radio play and selling out hundreds of concerts a year.

Eight years and nearly 13 million records sold later, the quintet is aiming to keep its fans moving with the release of its self-titled fourth studio album to be released May 20.

It seems the band is on the right track to at least equate the successes of its previous albums, with its latest single, “It’s Not My Time,” released Feb. 19, spending two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s U.S. Modern Rock singles chart.

After touring for a year in 2006 and taking a break in 2007, guitarist Chris Henderson said they decided it was time to get back to writing and recording.

“We never really thought, ‘Let’s write a record about this,’ ”,” Henderson explained in a phone interview. “As the songs are finished they get picked to go on the record and we kind of go with it then. It’s more fun that way, like a painting kind of throwing colors together.”

He said when the band decided to begin writing new material for the album they secluded themselves from everyone else in a log cabin in Nashville, Tenn., so they could focus on their creative energy.

“It just kind of felt like what needed to happen,” Henderson said. “We really just needed to figure out who each other was. We didn’t need to have girlfriends and wives and others hanging around. We just kind of had to get out of town.”

Though they are far from the one-hit wonder classification, Henderson said the band had enough faith in its fan base that they didn’t worry about whether or not they would still be relevant or generate interest from audiences.

“We really didn’t think about it,” Henderson said. “I don’t remember having a conversation with anybody about it. We kind of take the spaghetti-against-the-wall approach and see if it sticks.”

He said they took the same approach when they picked “It’s Not My Time” as the first single, saying it kind of just made sense.

“It just seemed to be the no-brainer and so far so good,” Henderson said. “You get the feeling as you’re writing them (songs) if they are or they aren’t. It’s all about timing.”

The success of the single was a clear indicator of the level of anticipation for the album amongst 3 Doors Down fans, who within less than a month of the single release had downloaded the song more than 50,000 times.

Even President and CEO of Universal Republic Records Monte Lipman said he is expecting record sales to exceed those of the band’s previous albums.

“The early radio success of ‘It’s Not My Time’ is an incredible indication of the album,” he stated on the band’s Web site, www.3DoorsDown.com. “They have delivered a career-defining album that we cannot wait to get into the hands of fans.”

Henderson spoke with The Herald about how the band has grown together, the release of the new album and life on tour.

Q: How has the band evolved since you first debuted?

A: We definitely got tons of more experience as world travelers, songwriters and musicians. We forced each other to grow. It just kind of happened. As people in the band become better at what they do, everybody else has to become better and step up.

Q: How do you guys maintain your relevance in rock music with so many big name bands rising and falling?

A: You can compare yourself to other people, but what other bands do doesn’t affect what 3 Doors Down does and our fans respond to that.

Q: What is the band’s favorite pastime while on tour?

A: On the phone doing interviews and we go to the gym a lot to relieve some stress. Show days are always busy days.

Q: What are the key essentials you guys have to have with you while on the road?

A: An Xbox and whatever games we play. ‘Call of Duty 4,’ ESPN, whatever sport is relevant at the time.

Q: What does your tour bus look like?

A: It’s like the Taj Mahal. Marble floors and gold fixtures everywhere. We roll in style.

Q: What do you do when you are tired on the road to get yourself ready for a show?

A: We’ve done so many it’s kind of like all you can do is just warm up before the show and do whatever relaxes you and do whatever gets your head in the game.

Q: What keeps you motivated to keep making music?

A: The love of the music is what got us into this in the first place. Just creating and getting the creative juices flowing and letting people hear it. That’s every artist’s dream. That’s what started it for us and that’s why we continue to do it. It’s in our blood.