INTERVIEW: Come hell or coronavirus, 3 Doors Down’s Greg Upchurch will keep making music
Photo: Greg Upchurch, drummer of 3 Doors Down, has penned a new song called “Skin to Skin.” Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by RSN Entertainment with permission.
Greg Upchurch, the drummer of the rock band 3 Doors Down, has been holed up in his house during the coronavirus pandemic, but he has not been sitting back and enjoying a rare break from the road. Instead, he has started to write some tunes, including one that has become something of an anthem during these difficult times.
“Skin to Skin,” which racking up social media likes, is Upchurch’s response to how the world has been turned upside down these past few weeks. For the drummer, this pandemic has not only put his gigging on hiatus, but he also had plans to open a new small business in Oklahoma. Both parts of his professional life have hit the pause button, and “Skin to Skin” came from the resulting frustration.
“I was going to open up my own coffee shop in Oklahoma,” Upchurch said in a recent phone interview. “As a musician, in this day and age, you need to think about diversifying. … What I wanted to do was have a coffee shop, and I wanted to put vinyl records in there, like a really cool place. What really kicked it into high gear was I was building in this little bitty town, and they legalized medical marijuana. And the only marijuana place in town opened up right next door, so I’m like the coffee has got to work, with vinyl records, classic music. So then the whole coronavirus thing happened, and that just got shut down to a grinding halt. I had been working on it for two years. I was in a pretty bad, dark place, depressed and also with the band and not knowing what concerts are going to look like.”
Then a suggestion came from a friend who rents a property of Upchurch’s. This friend also happened to be a sound engineer.
“He’s like, ‘You should just write a song about this,’ so I did,” the drummer said. “Dude, I wrote a song, and we went and tracked it in a day. And it took three days total, and we’re like, that sounds pretty good. I never released anything. I never sang on anything, so let’s put it out there. My family will dig it. My friends will dig it, so I just put it online. And it surprised me how well it’s done. They’re playing it on the radio in Nashville like every day. I don’t have a record label or anything. It’s just me.”
“Skin to Skin” was actually recorded in the studio that 3 Doors Down uses, which is located 2 miles from Upchurch’s home. He had the key to the facility, and it’s currently not being used. So he and his engineer buddy headed there and laid down the track.
“I’d be crazy not to be taking advantage of this,” Upchurch said. “A home studio is one thing, but to have my drums set up in the drum room and [use] a real studio, why not quarantine there? … I wrote the lyrics probably in about 15 minutes, maybe 20 minutes, just playing the guitar. I knew I wanted to sing about this. I didn’t know what words to use, and I was just sitting there and looking out my window, playing my guitar and struggling with this little note. And I start thinking about my son, and he’s 14.”
Upchurch’s son, like many teenagers across the United States and the world, has been holed up in the house and unable to hang out with his friends. Even though everyone is off from in-person school — perhaps a dream come true — they can’t take advantage of the time off. This is no snow day.
“There are several kids around here that are his best friends that he hangs out with all the time,” said Upchurch, who has played with Puddle of Mud and Chris Cornell. “He’s out of school. Everyone’s home, but they can’t hang out because of this. We’re not letting any kids into our house. He’s not in anybody else’s house. They got to stay away from each other. They can’t control themselves in doing that, so we have them locked up, so to speak. That’s where that first line came from, ‘I look outside / And there’s nobody left to play with me.’ I was just thinking of him, and after that, it steamrolled. It was the easiest thing I ever wrote because I was just writing about everyday life and how I felt. When is the next time the whole entire world is going to feel all the same emotions, go through the same thing. It’s crazy.”
Upchurch has other songs that he’s recorded as well, plus a few more in the arsenal. When this burst of creativity is complete, he may have an entire EP ready to go. Still, even though the songwriting and recording came fairly easy, he had to get over some early trepidation.
“I can’t stand my voice,” he admitted. “I listen back, and I’m like, ahh, I can’t stand the sound of my own voice. It drives me crazy, but then people are like, it sounds good. Really? OK. I recorded another song about the same time. It sounds kind of similar. It’s definitely a little darker, a little heavier, and then I wrote another song. … I’ve got listens and streams all over the world. I’ve got Germany and the UK. Shoot, maybe I should pursue this. Obviously, I’m not leaving 3 Doors Down. I’m the drummer in 3 Doors Down first and foremost, but we’re not really doing anything. … We’re writing, but nobody is doing anything, no band. And I have access to this, and I’ve got a lot of songs that I’ll be able write right now. So I’m like I’m going to see how far I can take this. Maybe I do an EP. I can easily put out five songs right now. It’ll just boost my confidence.”
The uncertainty in the music industry is strangely ironic. Many musicians and bands are finding untapped creativity, and some of them are finally able to get to some recording projects that have long been on the back burner. Still, in the same breath, those same bands are unable to tour, and it’s not looking good for the remainder of 2020.
“Nobody knows about what’s happening with concerts, so we can’t rely on that,” Upchurch said. “[3 Doors Down has] been meeting two days a week on Zoom, and we’re doing songwriting sessions basically. This is what we can do in the time being, to do something, so we’re writing songs right now. We just started, and it’s interesting because we have a lot to say after this. You can get a lot of emotion in music right now. Even if we wanted to record a record, we could record an album and not one of us see each other because we’ve got a studio. … Obviously that’s not ideal. What we’d like to do is all get tested, and then maybe we can start getting into the studio and tracking some stuff. We’ve got the capabilities to do it ourselves. Who’s to say we don’t? It’s all a fluid situation.”
He added: “We’ve got to adapt. Every day is something new. It’s safe to go out; it’s not safe to go out. We’re opening up stores; we’re not opening up stores. Concerts happening this year; concerts not happening. I don’t know what to believe. Everything is so up in the air. At least we can make music. Nothing can stop that — unless we lose the wifi.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Greg Upchurch’s new single is “Skin to Skin.” Click here for more information.
