I Hate Everything About You

“Every time we lie awake
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet

Only when I stop to think about it

I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?”

I Hate Everything About You – Three Days Grace

Today I heard some sad news from the music industry. Adam Gontier, the lead singer of Three Days Grace, has formerly resigned from the band due to non-life threatening medical issues. I listened to Three Days Grace throughout my teenage years and this news saddens me for purely nostalgic reasons. When teenage life got a bit much and I needed a bit of delicate screamo music – you know, the type which doesn’t hurt teenage ears but still cures my teenage madness, I turned to Three Days Grace. I haven’t listened to a lot of the band’s music over the past year or so, but it still lives on my iPod just in case I have the urge to tune in.

One thing which strikes me about Adam’s announcement is the thought of ending part of your life after more than twenty years involvement. Adam and some of his mates formed their first band in 1992 before going through some musical and member changes and reforming as Three Days Grace in 1995. It took them eight years before they got a chance to release their debut self titled album, which included their breakout hit I Hate Everything About You. I can’t imagine committing that much time and effort, then having to make a decision to leave it. As the band said in their statement following Adam’s resigning “Three Days Grace has always been and will continue to be not only our job but our passion. Three Days Grace has always been and will continue to be not only our job but our passion.”

Members of bands are constantly coming and going and most of the time a band can still succeed - though these members tend to be the less significant ones. There are some bands which rely on some sweet guitar work or drumming to make the band significant – or indeed another, slightly more unique instrument like the violinist in Yellowcard – but most of the time the signature sound comes from the lead singer. It’s generally the first thing you would recognise when you come in halfway through a new song on the radio and think “that sounds like a new such and such song”.

So, can Three Days Grace survive without their lead singer, particularly in a time when their type of music isn’t trending? The TDG boys haven’t been the most prominent on the music scene since their second album One-X, which earned them Rock Artist of the Year from Billboard. Their third album sort of slipped by and, to be honest, it wasn’t until I read up on Adam’s resigning that I realised they had released their fourth album. Of course, diehard fans will be lamenting the lead singer loss – and already criticizing his replacement “His rehersal audio is horrible. Doesn't sound anything like Adam, and is auto tuned. Will not be seeing you live until you hire a good singer” (from Facebook). It will be an interesting story to follow – but for now, I just want to thank Adam for his delicate grungy voice which helped me calm down and throw fewer pillows during my teenage angst days, and I wish him the best of luck for his future.