NICKELBACK's MIKE KROEGER: 'We Don't Have To Do Anything We Don't Wanna Do'

NICKELBACK bassist Mike Kroeger spoke to Germany's Radio Bob! about the Canadian rock band's long-awaited tenth studio album and first release in five years, "Get Rollin'", which will arrive on November 18 via BMG. Asked what it meant for him and his bandmates to have more "freedom" to work on the new LP, Mike said: "Mostly that means time. The time freedom is the thing that we have now, because we're lucky. We've been doing this for a while, and we've had a really good time, so we get to make our own choices on time and how long we take to do things. When something's not ready, we don't release it until it's ready, so everybody has to wait. [Laughs]"

He continued: "Early in your career, you're at the command of others. And also because it's more important for you to work faster and get more done early in your career. As lucky as we've gotten, we're at the point now where we don't have to do anything we don't wanna do ever, and we definitely don't have to do it on time. It's good for the creative process. Creativity doesn't always work well on a deadline."

On the topic of the songwriting process for "Get Rollin'", Mike said: "Chad [Kroeger, NICKELBACK vocalist/guitarist] is the primary songwriter in NICKELBACK, for sure, and in this case, because of COVID restrictions and things like that, he did this album by himself more than any previous one because we weren't really permitted to gather. It was very difficult for me to get from Los Angeles [where I live] to Vancouver during the pandemic lockdowns. The border was very interesting during that part."

NICKELBACK has released two singles so far from "Get Rollin'": "Those Days" and "San Quentin". "San Quentin" was inspired after Chad met a real-life warden from the notorious high security California prison. The song follows the story as he plots his clever escape.

Regarding why it took so long to produce the follow-up to 2017's "Feed The Machine", Chad told the WRAT radio station: "Well, we should have been making a record a lot sooner, with all that time off [due to the coronavirus pandemic]. But it's weird to say this, but for 25 years it feels like someone's been standing behind us with a cattle prod and telling us, 'Hey, the record's gotta be done at this time. We're gonna tour at this time. We're gonna do Australia and then we're gonna go do Europe and then we're gonna come back. We'll go across Canada. We'll hit America.' Just like every other band that has to do this stuff, you wanna get a chance to see your fans all around the world. But with this, we were, like, 'We'll get to it when we get to it.' [Laughs] And yeah, we took our time with it, which was just a wonderful luxury, to be able to sit back and [go], 'No. I'm gonna play this guitar solo 40 more times for another three days and make sure it's just exactly how we want it as opposed to deadline, deadline, deadline."

"Get Rollin'" and "Get Rollin' (Deluxe)" will be available via digital platforms and physical CD format. The deluxe edition includes four bonus tracks — acoustic versions of "High Time", "Just One More", "Does Heaven Even Know You're Missing?" and "Horizon". Standard and exclusive versions of the album will also be released on vinyl in 2023.

NICKELBACK will play three intimate shows later this week to celebrate the release of "Get Rollin'". The band's first performances in three years will take place at the following venues:

Nov. 15 - Toronto, ONT, Canada @ History
Nov. 18 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom (WRAT Nutcracker Ball)
Nov. 20 - Mashantucket, CT @ Foxwoods Resort Casino

Amassing hits for over two decades, NICKELBACK is the 11th best-selling musical act of all time, counting over 50 million units sold and over 4.7 billion career streams to date. The band has released 23 chart-topping singles, with 19 reaching the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their undeniable success has resulted in over 26 awards, including Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, MuchMusic Video Awards, People's Choice Awards, JUNO Awards, and more. Among their numerous accolades the band has also achieved 12 consecutive sold-out tours, with nearly 10 million tickets sold worldwide.

Named the "most successful rock back of the decade" by Billboard in 2009, NICKELBACK is one of the most commercially viable and important rock acts of the past two decades. The four-piece, comprised of Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and Daniel Adair, is globally celebrated for its career-defining and award-winning hits, including "How You Remind Me", "Photograph", "Far Away" and "Rockstar", which all held top spots on the Billboard 100. Their success includes worldwide sales of more than 50 million units, solidifying their status as one of the top-selling acts of all time and the second best-selling foreign act in the USA in the 2000's decade, behind only THE BEATLES. Their inescapable, irresistible smash "How You Remind Me" was named Billboard's "Top Rock Song Of The Decade". It was the number-one most played song on U.S. radio (any format) in the 2000s decade according to Nielsen Soundscan, with over 1.2 million spins.

Amongst all these accolades, they've also been named Billboard's "Top Rock Group Of The Decade" and received nine Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People's Choice Award, twelve JUNO Awards, seven MuchMusic Video Awards, and have been inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame (2007). With more than 23 chart-topping singles and fans spanning the globe, NICKELBACK boasts twelve consecutive sold-out world tours, playing to well over 10 million diehard and adoring fans.