Canadian act finds its songwriting groove

By John Benson

Theory of a Deadman is spending the summer touring with M ∂tley Cr ºe as part of Cr ºe Fest 2: The White Trash Circus.

After a few years of rising through the rock-radio ranks, Canadian act Theory of a Deadman has finally broken into the mainstream with its certified gold 2008 effort “Scars and Souvenirs” and its ubiquitous hit singles “Bad Girlfriend” and “Hate My Life.”

Regarding the aforementioned songs, it appears as though the group’s approach, albeit familiar, has been to write about an everyday male perspective detailing a naughty romance (the former) and the daily grind (the latter).

“What’s funny is that with a song like ‘Bad Girlfriend,’ lyrically it caters to men, but for some reason women love it more than men,” said Theory of a Deadman guitarist Dave Brenner, calling from the Toronto area. “Like our T-shirts say, ‘I’m a bad, bad girlfriend’ and the girls just love it. So, I think the girls love that song more than the guys, which is good because if girls love it, then the guys automatically love it.”

As for “Hate My Life,” the ranting song takes on a modern day “Take This Job and Shove It” vibe that, oddly enough, may have benefited from the downturn in the economy.

“We thought about that,” Brenner said. “It wasn’t something we planned on. We didn’t know what was going to happen and how the economy was going to change. But rock ’n’ roll in general, I think, is one of those things that sort of thrives when the economy is slow because I think people need that escape, and ‘Hate My Life’ is the perfect example. I think I always wanted somebody to do some kind of promotional thing where people could write their own verse to that song because I swear anybody can write a verse from their own life to that song.”

With all of the continued success Theory of a Deadman has enjoyed in recent years, Brenner said the band is finally starting to find its songwriting groove.

“Really, we’re always just open and try to do what feels right and natural,” Brenner said. “A lot of our songs come about through jamming. And when you’re jamming, you’re just really playing what you want to play. So for us, it’s probably taken until now to find our niche. We started with the first record, and then on the second record we got closer to what we wanted to do.

“And I think now we’re pretty much hitting the nail on the head as far as what Theory of a Deadman is. Who knows, on our fourth record we could be moving in a bit of a different direction. You never really know until you start writing.”

For now, the band isn’t really thinking about its next album. Instead, it’s focused on spending the summer touring with M ∂tley Cr ºe as part of Cr ºe Fest 2: The White Trash Circus, which has a date Tuesday at Blossom Music Center and an Aug. 16 show at the Post Gazette Pavilion At Star Lake. So does hitting the road with the “Wild Side” band live up to its debauched history?

“No, I think M ∂tley Cr ºe has slowed down a little bit,” Brenner said. “Actually, not all of the guys party hard anymore. Tommy Lee is really the only guy that parties. He’s always setting off fireworks and having DJ equipment set up in his dressing room and a parade of hot chicks in his room after each show. But the other guys, I think a lot of them are sober, relax and don’t party.”

This brings up an interesting question: Looking ahead a few decades, does Brenner see himself partying like Lee or taking it easy like the nonparty-hard Cr ºe members?

“I think probably not like Tommy Lee,” Brenner laughed. “I don’t know how he does it. He just keeps going full time. But I guess when you started at the age of 17, this is what seems normal. I think for me, when I’m 46, I expect to probably be married with some kind of children, but you never know. We’ll see.”