JOCELYN MURPHY

jmurphy@nwadg.com

“It’s an hour where you’re not worried about all that crap that’s going on — good or bad or however you feel about it, you don’t have to worry about it for an hour and a half. And it’s really actually nice. It’s refreshing.”

That’s the first, and one of the most emphatic things, guitarist Chris Henderson has to say about how 3 Doors Down’s current tour is going. The Mississippi rockers have been back on the road for more than two months, celebrating (last year’s) anniversary of their debut album on “The Better Life 20th Anniversary Tour.”

“It’s been a good tour — one of the best we’ve ever done, actually,” Henderson asserts. Maybe it’s because the five-piece has been off the road for going on two years, or maybe it’s because audiences are so hungry for live music. Henderson suspects it’s a mix of both.

“Every move you make anywhere in the world, anywhere on planet Earth, every single move you make is dictated by something,” he poses. “It’s like there’s a rule — do I have to do this here? Do I have to do this here? You know, like, do I have to stand away from this person? Do I got to watch what I say? It’s weird. And in a rock show when a band’s playing, you ain’t gotta do that. Not right now. Sept. 24, maybe, but right now, you don’t have to do that.”

In recognition of the album that launched their career — propelled by juggernaut hit “Kryptonite” — 3 Doors Down is playing their six-times-certified platinum “The Better Life” from front to back for the first time ever on tour. Some of the tunes, Henderson reveals, the band hadn’t revisited since the album’s 2000 release.

“It’s almost like, for me, every night on stage, it’s almost like I’m 20 again, you know? And I’m not, obviously,” Henderson says with a laugh. “But it feels like it, and it brings back a lot of memories. Because songs are nostalgic, and they bring back smells and sounds and all these feelings that you get, and that’s what’s happening. It’s happening to me on stage every night, because I’m playing these songs again, that we haven’t played since they were recorded, a lot of them. And it’s a lot of fun, I’m not gonna lie.”

In an industry that pushes singles now, and the world of streaming where arts consumers rarely sit and listen to a full collection anymore, Henderson relishes going back and listening to the first 3 Doors Down demo the band ever did.

“It was like you put that record in, you push play, and it just went, right? It never stopped. ‘The Better Life’ was a continuation of that,” he says of the album’s gripping flow of singles at the top of the collection. “I can put it in and listen to the whole thing. And a lot of people over the years said, especially when we first came out, that that record was that [experience for them as well]. You put it in — ‘Kryptonite,’ ‘Loser,’ ‘Duck and Run,’ ‘Be Like That’ — boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Single, single, single, single, single. And then after that, it was just like a cruise.”

Along with the distribution and consumption trends in the industry, the sound has, of course, also changed as technology continues to evolve. “The Better Life” is singular among 3 Doors Down’s six studio releases because it is the only album the group ever recorded to tape, Henderson reveals.

“Because right around that time, like ‘99 or 2000, is when Pro Tools came in, and the producer suites and all these different softwares came in,” he remembers. “And those are great, I love those. But they kind of suck the life out of the recording process, because you have to know what the heck you’re doing to record to tape. You’ve got to be a musician. You just don’t walk up in there and do that, it just doesn’t happen. Everyone in the room has to know what they’re doing. That’s important. That’s a big deal.”

One incredible part of being together for more than two decades that hasn’t changed is 3 Doors Down’s fans continuing to stick around, Henderson shares. And not only that, now they’re bringing the next generation to shows, and parents and kids alike are rocking out and know all the music. It’s something Henderson assures he’ll never take for granted.

“Because you know, a lot of bands, I’m not gonna say any bands’ names, but there’s bands out there that their fans outgrow them,” he points out. “They come out with this record, they’re this [specific] thing… the fans will outgrow that. They’ll become adults, and they won’t listen to that crap anymore, but the band won’t evolve. And that’s something that we didn’t have to worry about. Our fans got older and stayed with us and brought their children to us. I’m going to say that’s probably one of the coolest things and that surprises me.”

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FAQ

3 Doors Down

WHEN — 8 p.m. Sept. 24

WHERE — Walmart AMP, 5079 W. Northgate Road in Rogers

COST — $29-$89.50

INFO — 443-5600, amptickets.com, 3doorsdown.com

FYI — Seether will also perform.