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Collective Soul (Photo by Joseph Guay)
Collective Soul (Photo by Joseph Guay)

3 Doors Down, Collective Soul bring 'Rock & Roll Express Tour' to Seneca Niagara

by jmaloni
Wed, Aug 8th 2018 10:00 pm
Preview by Joshua Maloni
Managing Editor
If you're the kind of concertgoer who likes to both know and sing along to every song at a show, then have we got a gig for you.
Double the bands means double the hits on the "Rock & Roll Express Tour" double-bill with 3 Doors Down and Collective Soul. These hitmakers will bring three decades of songs with them to the Events Center at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls on Saturday, Aug. 18.
"It's going to be hit after hit, for sure," 3 Doors Down guitarist Chris Henderson said in a recent phone interview.
Accordingly, fans can expect 3 Doors Down's setlist to include "Kryptonite," "Here Without You," "When I'm Gone," "Let Me Go" and "Away From The Sun." Collective Soul, meanwhile, will likely perform songs including "Heavy," "Why, Pt. 2," "Precious Declaration," "December" and "The World I Know."
For both acts, the double-bill was the way to go in 2018.
"It makes a lot of sense for everybody involved," Collective Soul bassist Will Turpin said in a phone interview this week. "And I think, in the end, unless the fans have a hard time getting after that first band, I think in the end the fans enjoy it, too. You know, as long as we've got at least a 75-minute set, I think the fans are more pleased to see a little variety."
Henderson said, "Not only is it easier, it's more fun, you know what I mean? And it takes a lot of pressure off of everyone, and it allows us to have a good time - a really good time - and not worry so much about anything but just having a good time. And it's nice, man, it really is.
"And I'm a Collective Soul fan, so not only do I get to go out and work with these guys, but each night I get to see one of my favorite bands play. You know what I mean? It's kind of cool. I'm living my rock 'n' roll dream, and I get to do it night after night after night. And I'm excited about it."
3 Doors Down is known for its unique fan experiences. The band will often sell packages where concertgoers can sit on the stage.
"We played a show, a benefit show, I don't even remember how long ago. It was a long time ago. But it was with Sammy Hagar. And Sammy Hagar has bleachers. He had like baseball bleachers behind him. And he had those things full of fans. And in the bottom of the bleachers - which we don't do this - but at the bottom of the bleachers he had full bar setup. So, people were able to, basically, they purchase the seats, sat behind him, watched his show from behind, and were able to go down and buy drinks from their own private bartender at the bottom of their seat all night long," Henderson said. "When he played, we opened for him, and then he let us sit in the seats, you know, as like we were fans. And we were all sitting there going, 'Man, this is incredible. Like, how cool is this?'
And that gave us (an idea). We talked to our manager right after that show - in fact, our manager was there - and we were like, 'How can we do this kind of thing, and not do the same exact thing, but how can we kind of make this? Because this is a really cool experience.' I'd been playing rock 'n' roll for 15 years at that point; I had never experienced it like that. I thought it was one of the greatest things I've ever seen.
"So, we started doing it instantly. I remember Metallica, back in the day, did the snake pit. They sold the pit right around the drum riser there. And I always thought that was cool. But, you know, you got to have a ton of money to be able to knock a hole in the stage and put it up, take it down, night after night after night. That wouldn't really work for us. So, this, we thought, was really crazy and cool.
"So, when we get the next acoustic run, we put the couches up on stage. And that was cool, man. People get to sit on a couch, and sit right behind us, and (we'd) talk to them all night, and we're good friends with a lot of those people now."
Some variation of this crowd section is expected at Seneca Niagara.
3 Doors Down (Photo by Nicole Schoen)
Collective Soul, meanwhile, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of "Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid." The band's first studio release was a chart-topper and, when paired with follow-up releases "Collective Soul" (1995), "Disciplined Breakdown" (1997) and "Dosage" (1999), propelled vocalist and songwriter Ed Roland, guitarist Dean Roland and Turpin to the height of fame.
"Time is a complex thing, but it doesn't seem like 25 years," Turpin said. "By the same breath, I mean, Woodstock '94, I was a kid, man. That almost seems like a different lifetime ago, sometimes, too. When I think about individual things that I've done, or places I've been, even the Van Halen tour in '95, on a day-to-day basis, doesn't seem like it was that long ago. But when I think about when I was hanging out with Eddie, like I said, we did every arena with those guys. That whole friendship, and that moment in time, seems like it's a long time ago."
The band will more formally celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2019. 
As their co-headline tour continues, both 3 Doors Down and Collective Soul are working on new albums.
"We're just kind of writing what happens. And, you know, instead of trying to control it, just let it control us - if that makes sense," Henderson said. "The last record, we were trying to do this, and trying to rewrite a little differently, and trying to do some different instrumentation. This time we're like, 'You know what? Let's just do it. Just do it the way we do it. Put it out there. Let the fans have it. The people that really want to hear it are going to hear it, and it's gonna be awesome. And let's do a 3 Doors record like we've always wanted to do.' "
Turpin said, "When we get together and create, it still, literally it's still the same magical feeling that we had 20 years ago. So, with that in mind, it's like, why not release it?
"And the fans still really enjoy the songs. You know, if the songs weren't quality that we're doing, if they didn't have that magic that I feel like I hear and experience when we're creating them, I think it'd be different.
"We've got over 20 songs done, and we're gonna have 25 done. I don't know how exactly we're going to release it, but in the end, it will be a two-part double-album that will release next year for 25 years. Twenty-five new songs."
The "Rock & Roll Express Tour" visits Seneca Niagara on Aug. 18. The show begins at 8 p.m. Click HERE for more information or for tickets.

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