Nickelback. And you know what you listen to. For thirty years the Canadian quartet has had to defend itself from the musical snobbery that branded it as a commercial phenomenon, transforming it into the favorite target of those media which, tour after tour, it has managed to tame as evidenced by the excellent reviews of the Get Rollin’ World Tour expected today at the Unipol Arena. “Get Rollin’ is our tenth album and with so much repertoire a concert should last 3-4 hours, but we try to keep within physiological limits” explains bassist Mike Kroeger in a video call, co-starring with frontman Chad Kroeger (Avril’s ex-husband Lavigne) as well as the documentary film Hate To Love: Nickelback, released in theaters in March to tell the human and artistic adventure of the band How you remind me, Photograph, Far away. “The most delicate part becomes that of adapting the repertoire to the public’s tastes by including or excluding pieces, but also by moving them within the set list depending on the feedback we receive night after night. A continuous job which, after a year spent on the road, now gives its best results”.
You played in Bologna only once, at MTV Day in 2003. And only six songs.
“I remember that September evening at the Arena Parco Nord as if it were yesterday. Our set was quite short because there were eight other bands on the day’s bill, but we tried to make the most of the time available. Even if the best came later, when some friends took us to dinner in a slightly out-of-the-way restaurant: one of the best dinners of my life.”
Is the welcome the same everywhere or does it vary from country to country?
“Some fans are rather ‘reserved’, while others are decidedly more extroverted. Emotionally speaking, for us the Italian audience is a high-end audience, second only to the Spanish one, the warmest in Europe.”
Is there any album in your discography that you wouldn’t do the same way again today?
“Perhaps those from the early years, recorded on old media with two-inch tape; a completely different experience compared to the digital age. With modern technologies today everything is faster and safer. Even if the tape still sounds better. But it’s a matter of time: the digital system continues to progress and get ever closer in terms of quality to the analogue one.”
Why did you choose British indie-rock Lottery Winners as a supporter?
“There was a moment when some, for laughs, started reinventing more or less well-known songs in the style of seafaring ballads on TikTok. The Lottery Winners did it with our Rockstar and it was liked so much that we became friends. So we asked him to follow us on tour and during the show we usually also share the cover Don’t look back in anger by Oasis”.
Did you resent that episode of ‘Family Guy’ in which the Canadian girlfriend of the protagonist Chris confesses to him that she has a ‘loser father… who plays in Nickelback’?
“I think making fun of Nickelback was just a way to try to have an amused reaction to an episode that wasn’t that funny. Just kid stuff.”
And do you have any kids at concerts?
“On the last European tour we noticed that the average age had halved. I found myself in front of teenagers who were younger than my children and I couldn’t find a reason. So I stopped looking for it.”
