The goal is music, said Theory of a Deadman drummer Tim Hart. "We like to play. It has been that way since high school."
Hart and guitarist/vocalist Tyler Connolly started playing guitar together during high school. "As we progressed, I moved to the drums," Hart said during a telephone interview from Vancouver, B.C. "We started getting serious and began writing music and songs for gigs around the Vancouver area."
In time, guitarist Dave Brenner and bassist Dean Back joined them, and the group decided to record a demo. "We didn't have a name at the time," Hart said. "But we recorded a demo with a song that we called 'Theory of a Deadman.' It was about a man contemplating suicide, but it wasn't a negative song. It was about all the things he would miss after he kills himself. We left it open to whether or not he took his own life.
"Anyway, we decided to rename the song 'Last Song,' and used the other title, 'Theory of a Deadman,' as our band's name."
After Theory of a Deadman recorded its demo, Nickelback singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger got a hold of it and liked what he heard — which wasn't surprising, as Theory of a Deadman sounds a little like Nickelback.
Within a few months, Theory of a Deadman was the first band signed to Kroeger's record label, 604 Records, which is distributed through Roadrunner Records.
Now the band is opening for Nickelback, which it will do at the Utah State Fair on Friday, Sept. 6. Show time is 7 p.m., and tickets are available through all Smith'sTix outlets by calling 467-8499.
"We had a few talks with the record company about our name," Hart confessed. "They thought there would be some confusion about us being a gothic-metal band. But when we explained where it came from, we were able to keep the name."
Another break for Theory of a Deadman was finding its single "Invisible Man" becoming a B-side of the Kroeger/Josey Scott track "Hero" from the "Spider-Man" movie.
"These days we've been getting a lot of respect — from our families," Hart said. "I can tell my parents what I'm doing with the band without having them roll their eyes. They see that Theory of a Deadman is actually gaining some international recognition."
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com