Nickelback's Chad Kroeger
Photo: David Unger

Early next month, Theory of a Deadman will begin a festival tour with Nickelback, whom they consider to be their guardian angels and best friends. It wasn't always that way.

Theory of a Deadman were discovered by Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, who produced their music, signed them to his label 604 Records and introduced them to the road (see "Nickelback's Chad Kroeger Brings Theory Of A Deadman To Life). When Kroeger first told frontman Tyler Connolly that he wanted to produce his band's record, Connolly was thrilled, but Kroeger's hands-on production approach at first left Connolly wanting to strangle his savior.

"It took a while for us to hit it off, because at first I made a lot of mistakes," theorized Theory's leader. "Chad was basically like, 'They're not going to play what you've written on the radio, because it's long and we've got to chop all this sh-- up. This is how it has got to go.' And I was like, 'F--- that, man. You can't do that to my songs.' "

When Connolly distanced himself from his songs and looked at them from a different perspective, he realized that Kroeger was right. So he resolved to let the Jedi Master take control while he sat back and absorbed the tricks of the trade.

"I guess I was a little scared he was going to destroy my songs," Connolly explained. "But then I realized he had a reason for everything he wanted to do. I think we're pretty much on the same level in terms of what we want to do in music, and we're the best of friends now."

Theory of a Deadman aren't the only ones who didn't like Nickelback at first. On Monday, an audience at the Ilha Do Ermal festival in Braga, Portugal, gave the band two songs before pelting them with rocks, forcing Kroeger to remove his guitar and exclaim, "Have we got any Nickelback fans in Portugal?"

Unlike Theory of a Deadman, the crowd didn't give Nickelback a second chance. Instead they booed and flung more debris.

"Are you sure? It's up to you. You guys wanna hear some rock and roll or you wanna go home?" Kroeger asked. At last he gave up, said, "See ya," and flipped the audience his middle finger as he walked off.

Nickelback are still touring behind Silver Side Up, which has sold over 4.27 million copies to date, according to SoundScan. Theory of a Deadman's self-titled debut comes out September 17.

Nickelback/Theory of a Deadman festival dates, according to Theory of a Deadman's publicist:

• 9/5 - Blackfoot, ID @ Eastern Idaho State Fair
• 9/6 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fair
• 9/12 - Kearney, NE @ Buffalo County Fairgrounds
• 9/13 - Hutchinson, KS @ Kansas State Fair
• 9/14 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Lyons Fairgrounds
• 9/15 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Lockhart Stadium
• 9/20 - Louisville, KY @ Broadbent Arena
• 9/21 - Antioch, TN @ AmSouth Amphitheatre
• 9/22 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
• 9/24 - Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
• 9/27 - Huntsville, AL @ Big Spring Jam
• 9/29 - San Antonio, TX @ Sunken Gardens Amphitheatre

• Nickelback
• Theory Of A Deadman

Theory Of A Dead Man
Photo: Daniel Moss

Many fans credit Nickelback's Chad Kroeger and his songs with helping them get through tough times. Tyler Connolly, frontman of Theory of a Deadman, has Kroeger to thank for just about everything.

Before Nickelback were rock stars, Connolly was a struggling musician without a band, manager or record deal and with only a pipe dream of ever being recognized outside his hometown of Vancouver, Canada. Then one night at a party Connolly handed a demo tape to Kroeger, which led to an enthusiastic call from the burgeoning musician, who wanted to produce Theory.

Kroeger's contribution didn't end there. When Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell failed to show at a scheduled studio session for the "Hero" song Kroeger wrote for the "Spider-Man" soundtrack, the Nickelback maestro called Connolly, who played a guitar solo for the track and also appeared in the video shoot the next day. And when Kroeger decided to launch his own label, 604 Records, he recruited Theory of a Deadman as his first signing and produced their self-titled debut record, due August 20.

The celebrity promotion has paid off. Kroeger helped get Theory of a Deadman's "Invisible Man" on "Spider-Man," and the group's debut single, "Nothing Could Come Between Us," is starting to heat up at radio.

"We have no one to thank except Chad for everything that's happened," Connolly said. "He helped me a lot with my songwriting, and if it wasn't for Chad asking me to do the 'Hero' video, we wouldn't be at the level we're at. It definitely gave us a little boost."

"Nothing Could Come Between Us," a melody-rich slab of hard rock in the vein of Connolly's heroes, is about a relationship that drags on for far too long.

"This guy's dating a chick and he's just sick of her," Connolly explained. "He wants to get the hell out of the relationship and she doesn't. She just sort of hangs on, and it becomes a train wreck because he's a little too scared to admit it should end and too frightened to just tell her off."

Three weeks ago, Theory of a Deadman shot a video for the track in Vancouver with Glen Bennett, who directed Drowning Pool's "Bodies" and Sevendust's "Praise."

"It shows me jamming and rocking out at a crossroads," Connolly said. "There's a rig driver and a girl in a Camaro. And we've got all these stacks of speaker cabinets set up in the road. And during the solo, they just crash through all our gear while we're playing right there in the road."

Connolly emphasized that at no time were Theory of a Deadman in danger of being rendered dead men by the speeding vehicle.

"We weren't really standing in the middle of the road when they crashed," he said. "They used computers to make it look like we're standing there. I've seen a couple rough cuts, and Glen Bennett is a big special-effects whiz, so he's gonna make us all really awesome."

While the video might be heavy on effects, it's pretty light on plot. Aside from the girl in the Camaro, there's little to reflect the turbulent subject matter of the song. Connolly didn't write the treatment, but he said the band intentionally avoided a story line.

"Our manager told me I didn't want to have a video where the story is too involved, 'cause a lot of people are gonna listen to the song and interpret it their own way," he said. "And if you have a video where there's too much of a story line, it's gonna change people's look on the song."

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MTV.com Exclusive: Theory of a Deadman Photos 05.27.2005

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