Before you ask—yes, Mike Kroeger has seen more naked people at a concert than you have. And no, not just shirtless dudes in cargo shorts. “I mean naked,” the Nickelback bassist specifies. “Like… nothing.”
That gem came while reminiscing about the band’s live album recorded at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a cultural event Kroeger describes as “a gigantic party” and “not a business decision,” which is a delicate way of saying “we played to thousands of people revving Harleys instead of clapping.”
But let’s back up. It’s the 15th anniversary of All the Right Reasons, the monster-selling 2005 album that gave the world “Photograph,” “Rockstar,” and the most aggressively mocked sincerity this side of Creed. The band just dropped a deluxe edition, complete with the aforementioned nudity-laced Sturgis set, and Kroeger joined Kyle Meredith With… to unpack the pain, the pressure, and the power ballads that made the album what it was.
“Every song got maximum focus,” Kroeger says of the recording sessions. “Sometimes it flowed freely, and sometimes it was battle. But we decided they all deserved the most we could do to make them the best they could be.”
Even with that effort, they didn’t expect “Photograph” to be the commercial behemoth it became. “It wasn’t like we smelled blood or a hit,” he says. “But those lyrics—Chad really captured our lives. Our actual childhoods in the town of Hanna.”
So yes, the line “What the hell is on Joey’s head?” has roots in genuine Canadian adolescence. “It really is what it was like,” Mike confirms. “It felt good to have that encapsulated in a song.”
While “Photograph” was earnest nostalgia, “Rockstar” leaned into the band’s favorite coping mechanism: absurdity. “We wanted to write a song of comedy,” Kroeger says. “We still find that stuff preposterous. The lyrics were meant to be absurd. It’s the kind of thing we laugh about in a rock band—like throwing TVs out of hotel rooms. Those stories are always rooted in fact, and that makes them even funnier.”
As for the lyrical source material across the album? That was mostly Chad’s lane. “It’s not easy to write lyrics for another person,” Kroeger explains. “And he’s the one who has to sing them. So, it makes sense that the bulk of the lyrics came from him—and yeah, a lot of them were autobiographical. You can hear that edge. Some of those characters come into the room ready to fight.”
In other words, All the Right Reasons was a blend of personal truth, big riffs, and an almost scientific pursuit of the perfect radio-rock sheen. But it also captured a moment when Nickelback was trying to reckon with the price of fame—loudly, proudly, and without irony. Or, well, maybe some irony.
Now, 25 years into their career, there’s a new album on the horizon. COVID threw a wrench into everything, of course, but the band’s still got plans. “We need to get back to work on this new record,” Kroeger says. “Get our COVID beards on and get at it.”
Listen to the interview above and then check out the videos below.
