New album on the way Nickelback bassist Mike Kroeger: "We still have so much to do!"

The Canadian rock band Nickelback has released a new album entitled "Get Rollin'". Bassist Mike Kroeger in an interview.

Eleven new songs, ranging from hard rock to country rock to pop: This is the new album "Get rollin'" by the band Nickelback.

To mark the release of the new album, bassist Mike Kroeger, half-brother of singer Chad Kroeger, answers blue News' questions.

Chad Kroeger, after 25 years Nickelback is still alive. How do you explain this longevity?

Mike Kroeger: I think all Nickelback did was never stop (laughs). I can't explain why we keep going, it's such a luxury and a gift ... a blessing! It's hard to believe we've been around this long.

My favorite artists' careers haven't even lasted half as long as ours, that's impressive. I consider at least the last ten years a bonus. Every day I do this, it's sunny and fun. It's still hard for me to tell myself that this is my work. The fact is that people still pay attention to our music, that's lucky.

Luck and maybe talent?

(Laughs) Like all Canadians, I have trouble accepting compliments. Maybe it's because I'm Canadian, but I don't think we've achieved everything yet and we can't accept compliments until our career is over. We still have so much to do!

Listening to your new album, one is struck by the variety of styles. Would you say that Nickelback has many faces and you don't want to choose just one of them?

There has always been a variety on our albums. But you always hear Nickelback songs played on the radio, so you might think they're just a "radio band". But we do tracks of all kinds, we love to explore, to have many faces, as you say.

How difficult is it to write and compose new songs when you know you can't have the same success every time?

When you have an idea while composing, do you just follow it?

We all listen to many different styles of music. That's something you can understand: You live in a country where many different languages are spoken. We do the same with our music.

You can't mention Nickelback without thinking of "How You Remind Me". How did you deal with this enormous success?

I think the key is honestly not to take it too seriously. It's fun, it's good, we like it, but I think it's a mistake to waste too much time thinking about what we've done instead of focusing on what we're going to do.

Granted, it's unrealistic to think that so many people will hear your songs every time. That's rare in an artist's career. But all you can do is write and record the best songs you can, the rest is out of our hands. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. On good days, you've written your best song and people are waiting for it.

We've always done our best in the studio and the big question is: Is the world ready to hear our songs? We have so many moments of doubt ... I feel gratitude, because when that happens, it's always a very good moment.

And is the world ready for "Get Rollin'"?

It looks like it. People seem to be excited, they're looking forward to the songs we've already released. There's a lot of anticipation for the upcoming album. Perhaps even more than with the two previous albums. But once again, we've done our best in the studio, now we're going to present it to the world and then it's all up to the people! The decision is up to them.

People aren't always nice, though. Although you sell large quantities of records, you have a lot of "haters" (i.e. people who hate you): How do you analyze this phenomenon?

I think it's an overall picture. The wider the spectrum of people you reach, the more likely you are to reach people who don't like what you do. There's this weird phenomenon of negative openness that exists today, you know. It happens when you reach a large portion of humanity, so I actually think it's a sign that you're winning.

I don't know anyone who's had a great career who hasn't had haters. We didn't have any ourselves until we were successful. In the beginning we were surprised and it might have hurt us, but now we've learned to accept it. It's like the question of whether the audience likes our songs or not: we have no influence on that.

Do you prefer being on stage or in the studio?

I like both. In the studio, you try to sound spontaneous and be precise at the same time. On stage, you are spontaneous and try to sound precise. They are two different experiences. When you perform live, your mistakes are always behind you and you don't have to worry about them, whereas in the studio you have to track them down and correct them. For us, playing live has always been very important. We don't want to be that kind of band that writes good songs and puts out good albums but can't manage to play them live.

The stage is an exchange of energy with the audience: can you describe what that feels like?

Oh, I don't know if there's a right answer (laughs)! As you say, it's an exchange of energy with the audience ... There is no other feeling like it in the world! I would love to explain it to you, but I can't. You get this positive energy just as much when you play in a small pub as you do in a theater, a club, an arena or a stadium, it's the same. It's pure love, I love it!

Is it hard to come back down?

Oh yes! You just don't want it to end. After the show, we meet in the dressing room and talk about everything that happened during the concert. The music, the fans, the audience's reactions ...

Will you also be coming through Switzerland on your tour?

Absolutely, there's no doubt about it. Switzerland is one of the places we absolutely have to visit on every tour. Nickelback has very fond memories of Switzerland. Every time we've been to Switzerland, it's been an unforgettable concert! The Swiss fans are fantastic.