3 Doors Down

The three pilot members of 3 Doors Down have been collecting things that they could use as instruments ever since they were kids. They had also been bonded by childhood and their breakthrough single was written by drummer slash vocalist Brad Arnold as early as high school years. Arnold wrote the lyrics to "Kryptonite", the single that propelled them to great success later on, during algebra class at East Central High School but little did he know that the song could brought him millions in the years to come. Arnold, guitarist Matt Roberts and bassist Todd Harrel, the Mississippi natives who were hailed from a relatively small town called Escatawpa built their dreams of becoming rock stars by forming a band in 1994 with their first gig being a backyard party of a friend. Self-proclaiming to be a fan of Metallica, Bush and Pearl Jam, their early play list are mostly cover songs of the rock bands although few moments later they realized that they can bring their own materials. They slipped "Kryptonite" in the play set and it surprisingly became a hit, sending them bookings at local clubs. Later on they felt the need to make their sound stronger and therefore hired guitarist Chris Henderson to join the lots.

A gig at New York City's famed venue CBGB's and a self-titled recorded demo in 1997 catapulted their career that record labels started paying attention to them. Republic Records, a branch of Universal, eventually landed a recording deal with the four piece and soon the band released a debut album called "The Better Life" in 2000. The set quickly gained fame that by the time it was released, the sale went high and Billboard Hot 200 chart put it on the third post. Soon their days were filled with constant promotions, meet and greets plus extensive tours, a period that the band described as "head-spinning". Post the road trip, the members decided to have a rest for few months before crawling back to the studio to make another album. By this time, their label requested that Arnold moved from being a drummer to the lead vocalist while the empty slot was given to Richard Liles. However Liles' involvement was short-lived for he quit in 2001, during the time the band received several awards including the prestigious Grammy Awards nominations. The band in the end hired Daniel Adair to play drums on the "Away from the Sun" tour.