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Theory of a Deadman’s ascension continues
Being in Theory of a Deadman these days sounds like a decent job. The hard rock band is playing the main stage on Crue Fest 2, hitting some of the larger amphitheaters in the U.S. and performing to tens of thousands of rabid fans every night.
Theory frontman Tyler Connolly explains his daily routine, which begins with eating and doing a vocal warmup — “It sucks, but I gotta do it.” After some phone interviews, it’s off to the venue to soundcheck with his bandmates, then a 7:30 p.m. performance slot.
“At 8, we’re done,” the singer says in a recent interview with the Weekender. “Then I watch TV or chill out. It’s definitely pretty posh.”
Theory of a Deadman will roll into NEPA when Crue Fest 2, headlined by Motley Crue, comes to the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain on Friday, Sept. 4.
The trio’s current upper-tier standing in the mainstream hard rock world is rooted in hard work and dedication. And that approach hasn’t changed now that the band has a string of radio hits and gold albums.
“I always try to remind the guys and myself that there are 20 bands lined up behind us just waiting for a chance to take our place,” Conolly said in the press release issued with “Scars & Souvenirs,” Theory’s latest — and biggest album.
That drive, Connolly said in our interview, has helped push Theory to embrace radio, which in turn has helped get “Scars & Souvenirs” to gold status. The British Columbia, Canada, band’s third album, was released last April and is still yielding singles, with seven of its 13 tracks charting.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we’ve built relationships over the past years,” he says. “We’ve been touring for seven years, and we try to be good to these stations that have played us.”
That means visiting the stations to do interviews, perform or meet fans.
“We’re good, honest people, not a bunch of rock stars, and we don’t come to the station drunk,” Connolly explains. “We figured out how it works. Radio people are good people, and they love music just like we do, and we respect them and treat them like we would treat each other.”
Following Theory’s self-titled debut and 2005’s “Gasoline,” “Scars” is clearly the band’s most commercially successful. It might be Theory’s best, too.
“I think so,” Connolly surmises. “I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Some people might say, ‘Artistically, their best record was their first’ or something. For us, being a radio band, which we can honestly say that we are, it goes without saying that we’ve had the most hits on this record.”
The band — Connolly (lead vocals, guitar), Dean Back (bass) and David Brenner (guitar), with touring drummer Joey Dandeneau — reaches a wide audience with songs full of universal themes of relationships gone bad or simple rock anthems. And that’s by design, says Connolly.
“The kind of band we are, we need to relate to people that listen to the radio,” Connolly says. “Ninety-five percent of the fans are people that came to us from the song ‘Bad Girlfriend.’ I’d like to think people buy my records because of my hairdo (laughs), but it doesn’t happen. There’s a conscious effort of (thinking), ‘How are people going to relate to this?’
“I think that’s smart. I think a lot of bands should do that.”
After rocking the main stage at Crue Fest 2, Theory of a Deadman will headline an early-fall European tour before returning to the States in October to tour with Daughtry. That tour, which will also feature Crue Fest 2 second-stage band Cavo, will hit the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre Twp. on Nov. 16. Daughtry frontman Chris Daughtry, a former “American Idol” finalist, added some vocals on “Scars” track “By The Way.”
“I think that’s gonna be an amazing tour, I really do,” Connolly says. “The Motley Crue stuff is amazing and keeps our rock credibility alive, but it’s nice to go out with the Daughtry camp and cater to those Top 40 fans.”
Connolly says Theory tailors its setlists to the type of fans coming to the shows, so Crue Fest 2 ticketholders should expect a no-frills, guitar-heavy show on Friday.
“By now we have to start cutting singles,” says Connolly, who says that Theory performs for 40 minutes. “And we kind of cater the set to the Motley Crue kind of fans, so we play a lot of rock stuff. We try not to play any ballads or mid-tempo stuff unless we have to. We try to be the best band of the night.”
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Crue Fest 2: Motley Crue,
Godsmack, Theory of a
Deadman, Drowning Pool, Charm City Devils and more, Friday, Sept. 4, 5 p.m. Tickets: $29.50-$95 advance, $31.50-$97 day of show available at box office, LiveNation.com. Info:
www.theoryofadeadman.com, www.motley.com.