- Sun, 2007-12-16 13:30
After the success of their self titled debut album, still polled as the best selling US album 2007 and reaching number 13 in the UK music charts, Daughtry headed off on a world tour. With a string of American Music Awards under their belt, Favourite Pop/Rock album, Breakthrough artist and Adult Contemporary Artist Daughtry are refusing to stop there. Headed by vocalist Chris Daughtry, American Idol runner up, I Like Music caught up with the man himself and guitarist Brian Craddock to chat about new single ‘Home’, writing music and playing live.
'' I like music because... it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.” Brian, Daughtry
''I like music because... it’s an escape from reality.” Chris, Daughtry
ILM: Your new single, ‘Home’ is due out in the UK on 7th January. Can you describe it’s whole vibe and how the track came about?
Chris: It came about being at home. I actually wrote it at home, sitting on the couch. I knew I was going to be leaving my family for a while and I guess I’d never done that before. I was just thinking about that and it came about pretty quickly, I finished it in like five minutes.
ILM: You recorded your triple platinum album with Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, All American Rejects) which went on to spend over 30 weeks in the Billboard Top Ten on release, which track did you enjoy laying down the most?
Chris: Oh man. Um…..gosh, that’s tough. They were all fun to do. Probably ‘There and Back Again’ might have been one of the more fun ones. It was one of the last ones. I didn’t care about my voice by then, so I was just screaming and having fun with it.
ILM: What did you learn from Howard about making music?
Chris: I think I taught Howard a few things! Haha! Actually I learned quite a bit. I feel like I grew as a writer. I learnt how songs work and what makes them go together and how parts of the arrangement that you think are cool, sometimes the song just doesn’t need. Just wrapping my head around why a song can become successful. It was definitely a fun process. He was cool with my ideas and we threw them back and forth.
ILM: The album sold more than 1 million copies after just 5 weeks of release and is the biggest selling album in the US this year, becoming the fastest selling debut rock album of all time. It went to number one on the Billboard charts too. Are you able to enjoy the journey and your success? Can you smell the roses as they say or is it like a whirlwind?
Chris: Bit of a whirlwind actually. We’ve been on tour since January. There’s not a lot of time to sit down and think about where you’re at. Sometimes I guess we forget what we have accomplished, with all the things that are going on, because we’re just kind of going from one place to the next, show after show after show. You don’t really get a chance to let it sink in and really enjoy it. You know, we’re enjoying what we’re doing but you don’t really have the opportunity to enjoy all of it.
ILM: You were nominated for three American Music Awards: Favourite Album (Pop or Rock), Favourite Artist (Adult Contemporary) and Favourite Breakthrough Artist. What do you like and dislike about award ceremonies?
Chris: I’ve been to two. I actually like going to them. At this point I feel like a freshman as such and the fact that we were nominated for three categories, hopefully means we’ll graduate!
I like being there, I think we all do, its pretty fun. It kinda reminds you where you’re at. You know, you look around and you see all these people that listen to your music and are doing what you’re doing, and, to be lumped in that category is a pretty cool thing.
ILM: Your songs are very emotive with a lot of classic songwriting. Please describe the Daughtry songwriting process. Is it lyrics or melody first or just random?
Chris: Sometimes it’s random. But mostly the lyrics are always last. Sometimes the lyrics come as I’m playing. Sometimes I’m sitting there with the guitar and the lyrics come right away, although that’s pretty rare.
ILM: You performed live in London at the Scala on 27th November, your second ever UK show. Have you got to see much of the UK yet?
Chris: Big Ben. Probably. What else did we see Brian?
Brian: Um…we saw a lot of the hotel bar! And the café round the corner. We didn’t get much of a chance. We were busy!
ILM: What do you look forward to most about playing live?
Chris: Well, I like to see what Joey is going to wear. Our drummer is very unpredictable in what he’s going to wear. Sometimes it’s not a very good surprise!! Just wait…Haha! We are playing live a lot so it takes a lot to get excited about it. Sometimes Brian and one of the guys will sit around and add some cool jams to one of the songs or the end of the set...
Brian: Cool jazz jams…
Chris: Yeah, that’s right! Haha…and it’s a way of getting everyone amped up to play again, because they get to do something new on stage.
I guess we just look forward to having an amazing show and having the crowd totally be there with us. That’s what makes it fun for us, because, if the crowd isn’t really into it, if they are going through the motions, then we just turn round and sing to each other!
ILM: What’s your advice to young people on following their dream career, not necessarily in the music industry but just doing what they want to do career wise?
Chris: I guess you just have to take every opportunity. A lot of people have a fear of failure that stops them doing what they want to do. Sometimes you have just got to take the risk.
